Plain Speaking The Hindu 14jan07

http://www.thehindu.com/thehindu/mag/2007/01/14/stories/2007011400080200.htm Magazine IN CONVERSATION

Experiences of social disadvantage SURESH NAMBATH Uttara Natarajan talks about her grandfather A.N. Sattanathan's memoirs and her decision to publish them. Not all autobiographical narratives embody a collective consciousness, but Sattanathan's memoirs capture the social and economic life of the lower middle-class, low caste people of the time. PHOTOS: COURTESY RAMANI NATARAJAN

Still relevant: Sattanathan handing over the report of the First Tamil Nadu Backward Classes Commission to the Chief Minister in 1970, WHEN Uttara Natarajan first began typing out her grandfather's memoirs, she only wanted to make a permanent record of the contents of a frail notebook of 1958. The Senior Lecturer in English at Goldsmiths College read as she typed, and her initial response to the work was aesthetic: she thought her grandpa was a very fine practitioner of Indian writing in English. But as she copied page after page of the ruled notebook onto her hard disk, she realised the social import of the autobiographical fragment. A.N. Sattanathan, who headed the first Tamil Nadu Backward Classes Commission, was describing the life and struggle of a lowcaste in rural India in the early years of the 20th century. The memoirs thus found their way to publication, 48 years after they were first written, as Plain Speaking: A Sudra's story. "As I was typing, I realised what a fine piece of writing it was. I didn't expect to find it as good as it was." Some one asked Uttara if she would have taken the same effort if the memoirs were not her grandfather's. "I honestly believe I would have, but maybe it would not have brought me as much joy."

First-hand experience Quite evidently, Sattanathan's early life in rural Tamil Nadu informed his later work in the Backward Classes Commission. "Even if you read the Backward Classes Commission report, which should just be a dry document, in every line you can see first-hand experience of social disadvantage. It is not somebody writing from the outside. It is somebody who has suffered." Perhaps that is why the book includes the three lectures that Sattanathan delivered at the University of Madras in 1981 under the Periyar E.V. Ramasami Endowment in which he traces the history and legacy of the Dravidian Movement. Although memoirs, which draw upon personal experience, and lectures, which have to necessarily be more comprehensive and objective, rarely combine well; this book seeks to be an exception. K. PICHUMANI

Uttara Natarajan who was responsible for publishing her grandfather's memoirs. The three lectures were included at the suggestion of Uttara's friend, Rajeswari Sunder Rajan, who helped with the publication of the book. The rationale was that an important part of Sattanathan's life was his work as chairman of the Backward Classes Commission. The memoirs end with 1928, when Sattanathan was only 23, and the lectures delivered in the latter part of his life give the book a rounded look. In the lectures, Sattanathan articulates his concept of removing the upper crust of the backward classes from the list of beneficiaries, much before the courts came up with the concept of the creamy layer. Collective consciousness At first, Uttara had only an "informal familiarity" with caste struggle, but she had no difficulty in grasping the issues. "As an academic I work with English literature, I had to learn, I could grasp it very much more quickly than I could mainstream English literature."

Not all autobiographical narratives embody a collective consciousness, but Sattanathan's memoirs capture the social and economic life of the lower middle-class, low caste people of the time. In one of the chapters, he recalls how he went to the houses of rich patrons seeking money to fund his education: "In those days I seldom wore a shirt. I had only my loincloth, and even if I had the customary towel, which people carry on their shoulders, I was not expected to put it on my shoulders or cover my body with it. It had to be tied round the waist or carried on the arm. Otherwise it would indicate lack of respect and I stood the risk of being chastised. I never took that risk. No one would ask me to sit on the benches generally provided in the verandahs, and to sit unasked would have been a crime. Standing for hours together, often on an empty stomach, could never be a pleasant experience for a boy. Beggars, if they were Brahmans, would seat themselves unasked, and would cover their bodies too, even if they were of no better status. Because I was poor and a supplicant for favour, I had to humiliate myself." Was Uttara ever tempted to try her hand at a biography of her grandfather instead of editing an autobiographical fragment? "I didn't want to speak for him. He speaks for himself better than I could. A biography involves piecing together, speculations, suppositions." Fresh voice She certainly didn't want to tell some rags-to-riches story. "A biography would have to cover the whole course of his life, it would have been stilted; this is a fresh voice." The book, despite being an autobiographical fragment, suggests a totality, she says. "It brings home to you a particular social reality; a personal record can often be more engaging."

Now that the book is published, every one in the family is moved by it. "My writings so far have been very academic, which my family is very proud of, but does not particularly relate to. It was such a pleasure to have done a piece of research that's brought such joy to people who are close to me. That is one of the most of fulfilling things."

One of the features of the book is the `Explanatory Notes' at the end that, unlike footnotes or references, is truly non-intrusive. The notes were put considering the difficulty the book might pose for a western reader. But the notes are like a parallel text, catering to people with different levels of awareness. The notes also correct some minor inaccuracies in the lectures. "I did it in the way anyone in academics would do a scholarly edition; you would provide annotations of this kind." Uttara now intends to put together a compilation of his contributions to newspapers, and also reissue two of his books for children, which are currently out of print: The Jester, the Judge and the Minister, and Folk Tales from the South. © Copyright 2000 - 2006 The Hindu