The missing male

The Female Figures of Ravi Varma and the Concepts of Family ,

Marriage and Fatherhood in Nineteenth Century Kerala

Submitted by: Lakshmipriya

P Santhosh
II MA ENGLISH
Roll no: 3303
 Raja Ravi Varma
Raja Ravi Varma (29 April 1848 – 2 October 1906) was an Indian painter
and artist from the princely state of Travancore (presently in Kerala) who
achieved recognition for his paintings depicting scenes from Indian
literature including the epics of Mahabharata and Ramayana. He is
considered among the greatest painters in the history of Indian art and
his paintings are considered to be among the best examples of the fusion
of Indian traditions with the techniques of European academic art.
Varma’s paintings portrayed sari-clad women in graceful manner which
became an important motif of that time, reproductions being found in
many homes.
 The Lady with a Mirror(1894)
• Also called as “ A Nair Lady at Toilet”
• The interchangeability of title represents contradictions
• These deprived the female figures of the attributes of their essentially Kerala
Nair identity.
• This deprivement was a kind of atonement for the “morally degraded” condition
of womanhood(through different institutions of marriage- polygamy, polyandry
etc.)
• It was also done to arrange it to the wider pan-Indian situation.
• the drapery was so out of sort with the habits of dress of the Kerala society of
Ravi Varma’s age.
• It denatured the natural qualities
• Throws light upon the cultural norms regarding dress enforced by society
 The collective representations
• The different hair-dos, costumes, ornaments, of his
female figures-represent the mix of culture- in order
to stand for the collective womanhood.
• Similar is the case with his male paintings- Janaka-
Breaking The Bow,
Amma Thampuran

•The dressing is factual

•Young girl- sits cool and composed with no upper garment to cover her breasts
•Grandmother/old figure- with a thin cloth wound round her armpit and tucked up
above the breasts.
•Similar is the case with the paintings “ There Comes Papa”, “ Veena Player”, “
Malabar Beauty”
•All these paintings had the same dressing styles in order to depict Kerala domestic
scenes
• But in Allegorical/Metaphorical paintings , Ravi Varma has used Non-Malayali drapery.
• Eg- “ The Alms Giving”, “ In A Sense”, “ We are Equal” etc.
 Upper cloth varieties
• The way of dressing, without blouse, was in use only among the royal lineage and Nair nobility
of Travancore region
• The hairdo and heavily crafted gold ornaments served the evidence of their hierarchical status
and family honour
• In the 19th century , the upper cloth used to cover breasts were practically unknown as a
manner of dressing
• The Nair women of social and economic status could use an upper cloth, but in imitation of
Namboodiri women, they were required to be leave their breasts uncovered above the waist in
presence of Brahmin/respectable gentlemen.
• Low caste women had to leave their bosoms uncovered
• Covering bosoms was considered as “disrespect towards the upper class men “ and was
considered as “ immodestly dressed” or “overdressed”
• It was a way of recognition of a person’s caste.
 Breast Tax
• Nangeli and her revolt against Breast Tax
Collection
• Tax collected depending upon the size and
proportion of breasts.
• Chopped off her breasts as a symbol of protest
when the officials came to collect the tax.
• She died of bleeding but laid the foundation
for an impending revolt of great vigour.
 Breast cloth revolt (1813-59)
Chandumenon’s • Also called as “Maru Marakkal Samaram”
Indulekha • Nadar Climbar women were the initiators
•Educated and belongs to upper class • Many converted to Christainity- as they
•Wears a THIN white cloth around her
breasts considered everybody equal and gave the
•Chandumenon did not risk his freedom to wear upper cloth.
contemporary heroine.
•Wearing of a thin white cloth was not
• It ended finally on 26th July 1859
a viloation of the universally honoured
code.
•English educated , she disapproved of
her marriage againt Suri Namboodiri
 Women paintings
• Ravi Varma did not risk his Nair beauties-to look overdressed, immodest or go against
social custom
• Nor did he paint the exotic Indian counterparts of Venus
• Rather he detached his female figures by providing a different space- an emerging
cosmopolitanism.

Why was wearing an upper cloth considered immodest?

• The characteristic expression of fear of moral outrage
• The anxiety of dominant classes when faced with structural and cultural change