A call for mutual change and progress: An interview with Aravind Malagatti and Dharani Devi Malagatti

Surya Simon

doi:10.1177/00219894211049091

Abstract

This interview with Dr Aravind Malagatti and Dr Dharani Devi Malagatti, conducted in Mysore, India, in April 2019, was one of several interviews I conducted for my doctoral thesis that examines caste system and Dalit struggles in the context of India. Dr Aravind Malagatti has contributed more than sixty books to Kannada literature, out of which his autobiography, Government Brahmana published in 1994 is considered the first Dalit autobiography in Kannada ( Government Brahmana, 2007). It was translated and published in English in 2007, and Dr Dharani Devi Malagatti is one of the three translators who translated the work. In this interview, Government Brahmana is discussed as a springboard to understand the social, economic, religious, political and legal aspects of caste and its practices in modern India. Dr Aravind Malagatti provides anecdotes to explain the significance of Dalit consciousness, what it entails and who can possess it. His responses are powerful statements calling for mutual change and progress for Dalits and non-Dalits. Dr Dharani Devi Malagatti talks about the challenges of translating the radical aesthetics of Dalit personal narratives as well as the scope and possibilities offered through translation. The interview explores the undertones of patriotism in Dalit identity, and the synthesis of individual and collective consciousness.

Highlights

Dr Aravind Malagatti is a professor of Kannada in the Kuvempu Institute of Kannada Studies, Mysore University
Karya [Rite] (1988), has been translated from Kannada into English by esteemed Indian translator, Susheela Punitha, and was published in 2021 by Penguin Random House.1. Some of his other notable works are a collection of short stories, Mugiyada Kategalu [Unending Stories] (2000); the poetry collections, “Mookanige Baayi Bandaaga” [When the mute opens his mouth] (1980), “Chandaal Swargaarohanam” [The Untouchable Ascends to Heaven] (2003); and, Masthakaabhisheka [The Ablution] (1983)
(AM continues in Kannada): DDM: When people say that my autobiography is very good, I feel bad

Summary

Introduction

In the course of the interview, Dr Aravind speaks in Kannada and Dr Dharani Devi translates his responses. It is Aravind Malagatti’s story and of the experiences of many Dalits, like me. (AM continues in Kannada): DDM (trans): When people say that my autobiography is very good, I feel bad. People have commented that this autobiography is lacking completeness and that this book has not talked about non-Dalits.

Results

Conclusion