A Subaltern: The Study Of Ammu's Alienation By Antonio Gramntos

A Subaltern Study:
Subaltern is a word that is used to denote some one with low ranking in a social political and other hierarchy. It also used to describe some one who has been marginalized or oppressed. This term was first adopted by Antonio Gramsci who was an Italian Marxist. He used the term subaltern to refer the groups who are outside the established structure of political representation. It may also be emphasized that Bonaventura de Sousa Santos (2002) used the term subaltern cosmopolitan in his book. It denotes the context of counter hegemonic practices movements, resistances and struggles against the neo liberal globalization especially against the social exclusion. Here the term subaltern is used to denote marginalized and oppressed
She spent hours on the river bank with her little plastic transistor shaped like a tangerine. She smoked cigarettes and had midnight swim.” (p. 44) she became a virtual social outcast alienated from her home, family and society. Baby Kochamma, Ammu’s grandmother who was the most biased and was always against Ammu says:
“…..A married daughter had no position in her parent’s home. As for a divorced daughter, she had no position anywhere at all. And as for a divorced daughter from a love marriage, well, words could not describe Baby Kochamma’s outrage. As for a divorced daughter from in intercommunity love marriage. Baby Kochamma chose to remain quiveringly silent on the subject” (p.
In Mammachi time, Paravans like other untouchable were not allowed to walk on public roads, not allowed to cover their upper bodies, not allowed to carry umbrellas. They had to put their hands over their mouths when they spoke to divert their polluted breath away from theose whom they addressed”. (p. 72-74) Ammu and Velutha love each other. Velutha was a very talented craftman and had developed ‘a distinctly German sensibility’(p.75). She saw Velutha when she returned to Ayenemenem. She saw him…. ”marching with a red flag. In a white shirt and mundu with angry views in his neck” (p. 71-72). Ammu loved Velutha’s fiery spirit of revlolt perhaps the reason being that she too unrsed the feelings of protest and anger and rebellion. “She hoped that under his careful cloak of cheerfulness, he used a living, smug, ordered world that she so raged against” (p. 176). When Velutha had held her daughter in his arms, she felt that both of them had something to give to each