குமரி மாவட்ட கவிஞர்களின் கவிதைகளில் அடித்தள மக்களின் வாழ்வியல்

The Lived Experiences of Subaltern Communities in the Poems of Kanyakumari District Poets

Abstract

The poems of the poets of Kanyakumari District reflect the lives of the marginalized communities: the Vannars (washerfolk) who earn their livelihood by washing soiled clothes; the Navithars (barbers) who make a living by grooming and cutting hair; and the goldsmiths, whose existence and economic stability have been severely affected by urbanization and technological advancements. They also portray the lives of people who survive by tapping rubber trees, climbing coconut and palmyra trees, and harvesting paddy in the forests, hill tracts, agricultural fields, and villages at the foothills of the mountains. Furthermore, these poems depict the hardships endured by women working in brick kilns and represent the lives of other subaltern and working-class communities.These poems serve as a bridge between the land and its lived culture. They record the cultural transformations experienced by both the poets of the soil and the people themselves. The poems of Kanyakumari District vividly portray the struggles of the marginalized people, whose lives are shaped by debts, hopes, customs, and rituals. The poems of Thanupichchaiya, N. Sivakumar, T. Regith Kumar, and Benjamin not only powerfully articulate the cultural voice of the soil but also bring to light several cultural elements that have hitherto remained outside the mainstream and have not received central attention.