A Struggle for Dignity: The Kalavanteens of Maharashtra

Abstract

Thrice alienated, Dalit women face a triple burden of caste, class and gender. The subaltern women belonging to Dalit communities in Kolhapur, Maharashtra is the focus of my paper. I have conducted in-depth interviews of the women I have met; and carefully documented their lives over a period of years. In due course of time, I realized that there are kalavanteen women (artistes of various folk-art forms) who are struggling to leave behind a tainted life and seize the opportunity to live a life of dignity. These are women who are involved in the performing arts, including singing, dancing and acting; Lavani, Tamasha and Jalsas. Such women who performed and entertained were available for sexual pleasures, but rarely married. They were rarely considered honourable women. Now when the image is that of a performing woman, she too will be consumed with greedy/hungry eyes. Her body parts too, are exposed to male glances, she has to attract them, as such, she cannot be expected to be chaste. However, in Kolhapur today, these kalavanteen, women have challenged their Dalitness; contested their being downtrodden; and finally derived a sense of agency from their being Dalit, their being downtrodden. I felt that it is highly significant to trace the manner in which they have attacked the systemic degradation that has eroded their lives for decades and tried to bring a sense of dignity.