{"product_id":"from-possession-to-freedom-the-journey-of-nilinilakeci","title":"From Possession to Freedom: The Journey of NiliNilakeci","description":"\u003cp\u003eThe Tamil text Nilakeci, dated around the 5th century CE (debated), is an unusual literary creation. It retrieves a violent, vengeful pey (female possessing spirit) of Palayanur, transforming her into a Jaina philosopher. It was a profoundly subversive idea of its time, using the female persona and voice (for a hitherto disembodied being) to debate with preceptors of different schools of thought\/religions of the time, all male, barring the Buddhist nun, Ku??alakeci. Nilakeci\u0026amp;;s debates focus on questions of non-violence, existence of the soul, authorship and caste, among others.However, in order to truly appreciate this alter-texting, one has to unravel layers of other texts and traditions: the lesser known villuppattu (bow-song) and natakam (theatrical) versions of the pey Nili stories, as well as the story of Ku??alakeci\u0026amp;;s own transformative journey. Umamaheshwari situates these in a comparative context, while maintaining the centrality of the debates within Nilakeci, using translation of selected excerpts.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Zubaan Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45876337246406,"sku":"DADAX9385932284","price":10.22,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0695\/9389\/1014\/files\/710IvVNeOvL.jpg?v=1779634167","url":"https:\/\/ergodemedia.com\/products\/from-possession-to-freedom-the-journey-of-nilinilakeci","provider":"Ergodemedia","version":"1.0","type":"link"}