Nine yard sarees : a family portrait

• Main Author: Prasanthi Ganapathy Ram
• Other Authors: Boey Kim Cheng
• Format: Thesis-Doctor of Philosophy
• Language: English
• Published: Nanyang Technological University 2021
• Subjects: Humanities::Literature
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/10356/153658
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

This doctoral dissertation comprises an original creative project as well as a critical exegesis that positions the work in relation to the larger canon. The creative project (redacted) is a short story cycle titled Nine Yard Sarees that considers the varied evolutions of the Tamil Brahmin community in its migration out of the homeland into the global diaspora. It is made up of eleven closely linked short stories that center on the extended family of the Singaporean Tamil Brahmin Srinivasans. Spanning across India, Singapore, Australia and even America, the multigenerational family portrait examines the idea of inherited tradition and identity by delving into several issues including patriarchy, arranged marriage, interracial relationships, pregnancy, as well as domestic abuse. The accompanying exegesis is divided into three chapters. Chapter One historicises the short story cycle form–starting with Forrest L. Ingram’s formative work–and widens the established Western canon by studying a selection of contemporary Asian cycles and their explorations of respective diasporas. Chapter Two, in examining the creative process behind Nine Yard Sarees, argues that the form can be read as a metaphor for family and is an ideal, even utopian form for unpacking familial relationships. Lastly, Chapter Three contextualises the work by exploring the Tamil Brahmin diaspora in Singapore and investigating representations of both the native and diasporic community within Tamil cinema and literature.