The 2018-19 edition of the magazine of People’s Arts and Science College in Kasaragod district’s Munnad in Kerala, made some bold and beautiful strokes busting taboos around sexuality, fake morality, religion and patriarchy. From Sabarimala and menstruation, to the Kathua rape case, to transgender issues and homosexuality – the articles, poems, short stories and illustrations in Ura Marachath magazine have taken a bold political stand, but not without receiving flak from a section of student organisations.
“Thfuu..” (the sound of spitting) is what the poem shown to be authored by Kathua rape victim is titled in the magazine. The poem which is written in remembrance of the eight-year-old who was abducted, sexually assaulted and murdered inside a temple in Jammu and Kashmir in 2018, speaks about the hypocrisy of men, religion and law.
“Without knowing whether to cover up or below her waist, her darkness again burned and melted in the black stars,” reads a rough translation of poem Avarannere Kithachu, meaning, ‘they panted a lot that day’. The poem which speaks about the account of a rape survivor, tries to make the reader feel the victim’s pain.
Another essay in the magazine is called ‘Politics of Sexuality’, and calls for a sexual revolution, while also busting religious myths and taboos around sexuality.
The magazine also features a handful of articles on menstruation taboos. The article on same-sex relationships between women titled ‘Lesapians’. They give a historical perspective, shedding light on how normalised such relations were in texts like Quran and Ramayana.
Alongside the literary pieces themselves, which are mostly written by women students of the college, what also seems to have irked a section of people is the sensual artwork in the magazine. Some social media users have even called the magazine a pornographic book.
Meanwhile, student organisations like Kerala Students Union (KSU) and ABVP have reportedly raised complaints against magazines published by the students’ union, which is run by SFI. It is reported that the former two organisation have filed complaints with the Kerala Governor, Kannur University (to which the People’s Arts and Science College is affiliated), and reportedly, have even written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
However, Krishna Raj, a student of the college and member of magazine committee, said that KSU and ABVP are trying to make political gains by creating trouble. "This is 2018-19 magazine, and that is a year where Kerala talked a lot about women's equality. The magazine is a reflection of that. Those who have other aims will keep raising controversies. We are happy that the magazine is read by more and more people every day," he said.
The editors of the magazine seem to have foreseen the criticisms as well. In the editor’s note, Anu Sebastain, staff editor of the magazine writes, “Sometimes essays, poems, stories, literary and other non-literary items in this magazine might come across as inappropriate for some persons. But if the words written here haunt you and irritate your mind and logic, then think that these questions are the remains of minority thoughts. With that realisation you can stop reading here.”