Prerana Kumar (QMUL) - 2023-24 Students
p.p.kumar@qmul.ac.uk

‘BLACK-TONGUE BABY’: DISMANTLING SOUTH INDIAN PATRIARCHAL HIERARCHIES THROUGH A QUEER ANTI-CASTE RITUAL POETICS


‘Black-Tongue Baby’, a hybrid project (text, audio-visual poetry, autofiction) deploys feminist and eco-critical perspectives (non-human characters, ecological transpositions) to explore how Hindu rituals uphold violent caste-based patriarchy in South India. In three Acts, the book follows Kali, an upper-caste queer woman from a rubber-plantation in Kerala to a non-monogamous flatshare in London. Kali queers and re-orients rituals, unlocking their capacity for healing and resistance. This project explores transmuting facets of intergenerational trauma, along migratory routes, and through a caste-privileged lens. It critically considers the connection between rituals, right-wing patriarchy, and the bodies and spaces we inhabit.

Primary supervisor: Dr Nisha Ramayya

Secondary supervisor: Dr Swati Arora

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