To Reclaim Forgotten Feminist Icons

What if Kannagi and Madhavi were not rivals bound by the tragedy of a man, but friends—women who shared laughter over filter coffee, reflecting on how love once led them astray?

- SONU M KOTHARI

What if Kannagi and Madhavi were not rivals bound by the tragedy of a man, but friends—women who shared laughter over filter coffee, reflecting on how love once led them astray? This reimagining forms the core of educator Vaishali BK's miniseries, Favourite Feminists from Tamizh Literature, where she retells epics through a feminist lens on her Instagram page @ammatoday.tamizh.

Stories—historical or fictional—have often pitted women against one another, defined them through their relationships with men. Take Silapathikaram, for instance. Kannagi and Kovalan are married, but Kovalan falls for Madhavi, the daughter of a dancer, and leaves his wife. A year later, he returns, regretful, only to be wrongly executed for theft. Kannagi proves his innocence and curses the city, which then burns. Vaishali asks—what if, instead of being adversaries, Kannagi and Madhavi had supported one another? "I noticed a clear gap in Indian literature. Unfortunately, not many of us know about tales or characters, and I have wanted to do my bit to take these characters to more people," she says.