Song Analysis: Feudalism

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HISTORICAL CONTEXT
The folk number Appozhum Paranjille is one of the songs from the film Kadamba, produced in the year 1983. In short, the song portrays the unfortunate event of abduction of the young girl Neeli when she accompanies her affectionate young Koran to watch the carnival (vela). (Menon)
Appolum Paranjille addresses the issue of sexual exploitation of women in the heydays of feudalism. The landlord (thambran) who becomes visible in the lyrics is the typical figure of the patriarchal (male-dominated) society. The feudal structure in Kerala was designed in such a manner that the power is vested in the hands of the people who owns land, the landlords. The landlord whom we encounter in the song exemplifies the exploitations against women of the time, which is often kept under the conspiracy of repression or silence and rarely voiced against. "The …show more content…

"Bonded labour being a social and economic evil practiced by the influential high castes on helpless tribals of Wynad have deprived them of their living conditions. The increasing population of tribal folk which suffered from shortage of land offered a tempting field for recruitment of bonded labourers" (Bose).
Nonetheless, this song take up the theme of exploitation of bonded labour to an epoch where nature is portrayed as playing a key role in the process. "The most significant feature of the system was that a Paniya pledges the members of his family to work for the creditor for which they get only daily meals 'paika ' (meals) and a pittance in kind. The wage given to them in the form of kind is 'vally ' (raw paddy) and the work for this 'vally ' is known as 'vallipani '. Besides this, some other benefits like 'kallum mannum ' were also sanctioned" (Municipality Development Records - Kalpetta,

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