Portrayal of Tamil Brahmins in popular media

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Tamil Brahmins
have been portrayed both positively and negatively in popular media. These portrayals extend across both literature and film.

Positive portrayals in literature date back to ancient works such as the Cilappatikaram and the Tolkāppiyam. In film, examples include Thyaga Bhoomi (1939), Vietnam Veedu (1970), and Tere Mere Sapne (1996).

On the other hand, negative portrayals, influenced by anti-Brahminism, also have many examples, such as The Folk Tales of South India (by Charles E. Gover) andClarinda (1915, by A. Madhaviah). Films ridiculing or insulting Tamil Brahmins include Bhakta Nandanar (1935), Parasakthi (1952), and Nala Damayanthi (2003).\

Positive portrayals

In literature and print media

A statue from the Silappatikaram

There have been references to Brahmins even in the earliest period of Tamil literature. A sage named Gautama who served in the court of

Puṟanāṉūṟu written by one Mulam Kilar of Avur praises the learning and character of a Brahmin Kauniyan Vinnam Tayan of Cholanadu. The poem praises his efforts and those of his ancestors in combating the penetration of Buddhism in the Tamil land.[2] Kauniyan Vinnam Tayan is also praised for the faithful performance of sacrifices.[3]

The Tamil novel had its beginnings in Mayuram Vedanayakam Pillai's Prathapa Mudaliar Charithram which appeared in 1879. The second Tamil novel was Kamalambal Charitram written by B. R. Rajam Iyer in 1893 and the third was Padmavathi Charitram written by A. Madhaviah in 1898. Both these novels portray the lives of Brahmins in rural parts of Madras Presidency.

In R. K. Narayan's famous book Swami and Friends he depicts the vagaries in the school-life of a young Iyer boy, Swaminathan, and how he and his family, especially his father, W. S. Srinivasan, deal with them. The book provides an interesting insight into father-son relations in traditional Iyer households in the early twentieth century, besides providing details of day-to-day life. Along with the text of the tale, the sketches to accompany it, by R. K. Laxman, in early editions, provide a wealth of information about the latter.

In films

Iyers have been positively portrayed in Hindi films such as Tere Mere Sapne. Malayalam films such as Iyer the Great[4] and the Sethurama Iyer series which have fictitious Iyer characters in the lead.

There have always been movies in Tamil portraying Brahmin society and traditional values in a positive manner until 1970. The black-and-white era saw Tamil films as

Thyagabhoomi and Vietnam Veedu
.

Except for the film Aaha (1996), Tamil brahmins have been portrayed negatively till date.

Recently, movies by S. Shankar, such as Gentleman and Anniyan, Ajith's film Aalwar and Simbu's film Silambattam has a Brahmin playing a protagonist character, where they use religion as one of the motivations, to get rid of corruption and other bad elements in society.

Negative portrayals

In literature and print media

According to J. H. Hutton, there was opposition to Brahmins from Tamils as early as the 13th century AD.[5]

During the Raj, anti-Brahminism was actively propagated by both British administrators as well as writers.[6] J. H. Nelson, a popular administrator and writer, spoke of non-Brahmins as superior and degraded Tamil Iyers and Iyengars.[7] Charles E. Gover's The Folk Tales of South India is replete with anti-Brahmin rhetoric. He remarks:

The Brahmans have corrupted what they could not destroy[8]

Bishop

Sudras were a part of an Aryan-Brahmin conspiracy and launched a veiled attack on Brahmin historians and intellectuals.[9]

From 1930 onwards, with the rise of Periyar and the Justice Party, anti-Brahminism intensified to larger proportions. The periodicals and newspapers of the Justice Party such as Viduthalai and Justice

casteism and superstitions. Periyar's pattern of anti-Brahmin rhetoric was absorbed by his followers and the Dravidar Kazhagam, the cultural organisation that he established continues to indulge in vehement anti-Brahmin rhetoric in its magazines and periodicals, though popular support and enthusiasm for their anti-Brahmin tirade has died down with the passage of time.[15]

There have also been novels criticising the patriarchal nature of Tamil Brahmin society and critically portraying the plight of Brahmin women[16] A. Madhaviah, one of the earliest Tamil novelists, launched a sharp criticism of the sexual exploitation of young girls by older men in the 19th century upper caste society.[17] His English novel Clarinda tells the story of a Brahmin woman who is saved from sati by a British soldier.[17] She falls in love with the soldier and converts to Christianity on the death of her lover.[17] In his Tamil novel Muthumeenakshi penned in 1903, he describes the plight of a Brahmin child widow.[17] The story ends on a happy note with the remarriage of the widow as per her wishes.[17] Ameen Merchant's The Silent Raga depicts the life of women in an agraharam as a gruesome endeavour.[18]

In recent times, apart from sporadic outbursts of anti-Brahmin sentiment in newspapers and television, anti-Brahminism has largely subsided.[15] Anti-Brahmin sentiment reached intense proportions on the occasion of the arrest of the Kanchi Shankaracharya[19][20] and when Periyar's statue in Srirangam was defaced by activists of the Hindu Munnani.[21][22]

In film

There have been an extensively large number of Indian movies in which Brahminical practices and customs have been ridiculed or broadly stereotyped and played for laughs. Some of the early Tamil films ridiculing the Brahminical orthodoxy as

sacred thread.[24]

When

Panchathanthiram, Dasavatharam and Seval
.

Kerala Iyers too have been portrayed in Tamil films as naive people in films such as Michael Madana Kama Rajan[29] and Nala Damayanthi.[30]

There have also been a few non-Tamil films in which Iyers have been portrayed in a negative way. The portrayal of Iyers in

Mr and Mrs Iyer
can be viewed as negative, but it also shows a positive change in one's outlook due to the dramatic events that occurred.

Notes

  1. ^ a b Krishnaswami Aiyangar, Pg 47
  2. ^ Krishnaswami Aiyangar, Pg 51
  3. ^ Krishnaswami Aiyangar, Pg 52
  4. ^ "Characters in Malayalam movie 'Iyer the Great' from IMDB". IMDb. Archived from the original on 26 January 2009. Retrieved 11 September 2008.
  5. ^ G. S. Ghurye, p 360
  6. ISBN 978-81-260-1221-3
    .
  7. ^ a b Companion Studies to the History of Tamil Literature,Pg 257
  8. ^ Folk Tales of Southern India, Pg 14
  9. ^ Sachi Sri Kantha (1992). "Part 8: The Twin Narratives of Tamil Nationalism". Selected Writings by Dharmeratnam Sivaram (Taraki). Retrieved 3 September 2008. [dead link]
  10. ^ Revolt, Pg 10
  11. ^ Revolt, Pg 11
  12. ^ Revolt, Pg 12
  13. ^ Revolt, Pg 13
  14. ^ Periyar Speeches and Writings
  15. ^ a b Subramanian Swami (2003). "Is the Dravidian movement dying?". Frontline. 20 (12). Archived from the original on 14 December 2006. Retrieved 11 September 2008.
  16. ISBN 81-89013-11-4
    .
  17. ^ a b c d e Viswanathan, S. (2005). "Portrait of a novelist as a social reformer". Frontline. 22 (17). Archived from the original on 25 January 2013.
  18. ISBN 978-1-55365-309-7
    .
  19. ^ Siddharth, Gautam. "Crisis before Brahminism". The Pioneer. Archived from the original on 6 May 2021. Retrieved 3 September 2008.
  20. ^ Ravishankar, Ra (16 November 2004). "The Brahmanic citadel shaken". Counter Currents. Archived from the original on 16 May 2008. Retrieved 3 September 2008.
  21. ^ Chanda, Arup (8 December 2006). "Stir in Tamil Nadu over Periyar's statue". The Tribune. Archived from the original on 25 October 2020. Retrieved 7 September 2008.
  22. ^ Marx, Rajan (12 December 2006). "Idol-breaking as politics". India Interacts. Retrieved 7 September 2008.
  23. ^ a b c Guy, Randor (8 February 2008). "Nandanar – 1935". The Hindu: Cinema Plus/ Columns. Chennai, India. Archived from the original on 23 May 2008. Retrieved 20 July 2008.
  24. ^ Guy, Randor (1 February 2008). "Seva Sadanam – 1938". The Hindu: Cinema Plus/ Columns. Chennai, India. Archived from the original on 23 May 2008. Retrieved 20 July 2008.
  25. ISBN 978-81-250-0422-6. Archived
    from the original on 28 January 2022. Retrieved 27 June 2010.
  26. ISBN 0-8223-0766-9. Archived
    from the original on 28 January 2022. Retrieved 27 June 2010.
  27. ^ A. Srivathsan (12 June 2006). "Films and the politics of convenience". Chennai, India: idlebrain.com. Archived from the original on 13 June 2006. Retrieved 20 July 2008.
  28. ^ Vedham Pudhidhu
  29. ^ Kalyanaraman, M.; Nurullah, Abdullah. "Is Kamal Haasan giving saffron shades to his Leftist image?". The Economic Times. Archived from the original on 28 January 2022. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
  30. ^ "25 Years of Maddy: From 'Chocolate Boy' To A Versatile Actor!". JFW Just for women. Archived from the original on 4 June 2021. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
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