Embodied aesthetics and populist appeal of communist portraits in contemporary Kerala

In contrast to their career in the rest of India, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) [CPI (M)] continue to thrive as a highly successful electoral and cultural force in Kerala. Popularly known as the ‘Party’, an important aspect of CPI(M) has been its populist streak even though its official discourse is one that strongly adheres to rule-based reasoning by prioritizing ideological principles in its policies and decisions. The populist streak often manifests through myths and cultic adoration built around its leaders as well as through the occasional branding of Indian judiciary and democracy as bourgeois. It is further characterized by a strong ‘us vs. them’ rhetoric in which the ‘them’ is a powerful other, variously identified as CIA (Central Intelligence Agency of the US), or the media syndicate, or the government of the Indian Union, etc. Usually, the Communist Party is studied only with reference to its history and policies, and it has seldom been interrogated on the affective energies it generates in the everyday. This paper proposes to discuss communist iconography, such as portraits of yesteryear leaders circulated via social media and displayed in communist family homes, as sites where affective energies are generated and realised. Taking its cue from Christopher Pinney’s corpothetics, the paper intends to study this visual practice as an embodied aesthetic engagement, which by invoking filial sentiments, renders the Party felt for its supporters. By drawing on the concept of darshan, the ritualistic and devotional viewing of deities, the paper endeavours to place the affectivity of these portraits in a broader cultural milieu.