What can the radio-listening practices of working-class Malayalis in the Gulf, and the inter-ethnic tensions they produce, tell us about[…]
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Tag: family
Mr. Family Historian (or kudumba-charitrakaaran): The Syrian Christian Case
Accompanied by original sketches, Nidhin Donald presents a tongue-in-cheek perspective of the trend of producing written ‘family histories’ among Syrian[…]
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The Changing Face of Family and Marital Relationships in Kerala
Sensationalized reports in Kerala of women involved in family murders and extramarital affairs serve to obscure more than they reveal.[…]
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Between Fact and Fiction: Couple-photographs in Malayalam Cinema
S. Harikrishnan writes about how Malayalam cinema uses couple-and-wedding photographs as a useful plot device—to guide narrative, enhance contrast and add depth to characters.
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Spices, Mattancherry, and the Making of a Children’s Book
Filled with illustrations as colourful and flavourful as the spices it describes, A Little Spice Is Extra Nice is the[…]
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A Savarna By Any Other Name, or a Personal History of Caste Privilege
Many people of Malayali origin bear surnames that indicate their upper-caste status. Are they just relics of a feudal past that hold no meaning in today’s world? Shilpa Menon examines the larger implications and histories of such surnames through a personal reflection on her surname.
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Dreaming Dar es Salaam: Forced Migration and the Impossibility of Return
Moving between memory and history, poetry and prose, Kerala and Tanzania, May Joseph reflects on her parents’ experiences as Malayali migrants to Tanzania in the mid-twentieth century.
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‘Let us tie a “legal” knot’: Marriage, Family, and Transgender Identity in Malayalam Films
Anu Kuriakose critically looks at the traditional concepts of ‘marriage’ and ‘family,’ the recent marriages of transgender people in the[…]
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How Christian Familism Prevails: Reflections on ‘Kettiyolaanu Ente Malakha’
Nidhin Donald explores the themes of Christian familism and individual agency, secular institutions, and reason in the 2019 film Kettiyolaanu Ente Malakha
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Is ‘Another Family’ Possible? Why Kumbalangi Nights Breaks New Grounds in Malayalam Cinema
Kumbalangi nights garnered critical claim and praise for its perceptive portrayal of the lives of four half brothers. Lipin Ram delves deeply into the question of family at the centre of the movie.
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