Caste in Gond

BR Amebedkar's life and anti-caste mission find their way into a first-of-its-kind graphic novel, brought to life by Pardhan-Gond artists

BR Amebedkar's life and anti-caste mission find their way into a first-of-its-kind graphic novel, brought to life by Pardhan-Gond artists

It was no surprise that an entire session at the recently concluded Jaipur Literature Festival was dedicated to the form and future of the graphic novel. It's a promising genre, and the most innovative new addition is the uniquely-presented Bhimayana.

The latest offering from Navayana Publishing, India's only book house that focuses on caste from an anti-caste perspective, caught our attention for all the right reasons.

Panel discussion
Based on incidents from the life of Dr BR Ambedkar, the book is a labour of love from Pardhan-Gond husband-wife artist duo Durgabai and Subhash Vyam. The story is co-written by S Anand and Srividya Natarajan.

These pages highlight Ambedkar's historic Mahad speech on
the Dalit's basic right to access water, which reaches the
audience through sprinklers. Here, we see one of the most
imaginative and original uses of gutter space in page design

Bhimayana takes the reader on a journey that probes the reality of being an untouchable in India. The canvas is huge, the storyline is unconventional, so don't be surprised if you can't spot a structured storyline or characters emoting from speech boxes. In its place are dignasu00a0-- the traditional auspicious design patterns and free falling animals including fish, snake and lion that represent lakes, trains and forts.

The book redefines the norms of conventional grammar of graphic books. The project that took two-and-a-half-years to complete, was created after several readings between the writers and Gond artists, who were neither familiar with Ambedkar nor with working on a complete graphic novel.

Ambedkar,u00a0likeu00a0never before
The narrative uses a contemporary setting to juxtapose Ambedkar's journey with modern-day atrocities committed against untouchables. With plain yet deeply insightful chapter names (Water, Shelter and Travel), the book follows Ambedkar from his experiences as a 10 year-old child to his encounters in Baroda after his return from Columbia University, and while travelling across India.

Historic moments like the Mahad Satyagraha, the framing of the Indian Constitution and Ambedkar's conversion to Buddhism are presented in a never-seen-before format.

A water tank whose construction young Bhim's father is
supervising in Mumbai's Goregaon area, appears like a fish,
as does the common village tank in Satara. The fins make
room for narrative text

The fluid, magical art plays tricks on the mind, even as the reader discovers newer interpretations each time he re-visits the book.

It teases you to read between the lines, look for underlying connections and soak in the visual sophistication of the Pardhan-Gond art form.