
The Criterion: An International Journal in English
Indian Literature
Narrative Techniques and Colloquial Style in the Short Stories of Bama
Abstract
Abstarct: This article examines the distinctive narrative techniques and the strategic use of colloquial language in the short stories of Bama, a prominent Dalit feminist writer in Tamil literature. Rooted in lived experience, Bama’s narratives depart from dominant literary conventions by foregrounding Dalit subjectivity, collective memory, and everyday resistance. The study analyses how oral storytelling modes, episodic structures, first-person narration, and community-centred voices function as narrative strategies to challenge upper-caste literary aesthetics. Particular attention is given to Bama’s use of colloquial Tamil, idiomatic expressions, and folk speech, which not only authenticate Dalit life but also serve as an act of cultural and linguistic assertion against hegemonic norms. Drawing on theoretical frameworks from Dalit aesthetics and Ambedkarite thought, the article argues that Bama’s narrative style embodies what Sharankumar Limbale terms “writing from lived experience” and what Gopal Guru identifies as the ethical urgency of Dalit discourse. Language in Bama’s short stories emerges as a political tool that resists sanitisation, disrupts literary elitism, and reclaims marginalized voices. By situating Bama’s storytelling practices within the larger context of Dalit literature, this study highlights how narrative form and colloquial language together become instruments of social critique, identity formation, and transformative resistance.
Keywords
Colloquial literary conventions Idiomatic express Colloquial language, literary elitism Resistance Sanitisationation
How to Cite
Dr. Y. Jaya. “Narrative Techniques and Colloquial Style in the Short Stories of Bama.” The Criterion: An International Journal in English, vol. 17, no. 1, Feb. 2026, pp. 368-383. ISSN: 0976-8165.
