Fig. 40		Fig. 41		Fig. 42

Fig. 43		Fig. 44		Fig. 45

Fig. 46		Fig. 47		Fig. 48		Fig. 49

Fig. 50		Fig. 51		Fig. 52

Fig. 53		Fig. 54		Fig. 55		Fig. 56

With the coming of camera it was possible to produce pictures of popular reform leaders in large quantities. Of these, images of Sree Narayana Guru are the single largest cache available today. The series of images given here display the different stages and moments of his life [Figs. 40-49]. Another set of serialized pictures also shows the evolution of the visual persona of a Guru [Figs. 50-56]. It seems that the iconising elements begin to proliferate in the later pictures, whereas some of the earlier ones retain a measure of the 'thereness' or palpability of the object of photography [see Figs. 40-49].

In fact the later pictures show the seeping in of the iconizing elements in contrast to the earlier pictures of the Guru. The early photographs are so raw that they cannot, without retouching or painting, function as an icon. Iconisation is accomplished through the use oftechnologies of printing, and painting over the photographic image.

It is in this context that I would like to consider some of the earlier photographs of Sree Narayana Guru and their contemporary pictorial representation.The iconography of the calendar and painted images of Sree Narayana Guru clearly had their genesis in photography. Here the Guru's image becomes an 'icon of history,' functioning as an index of a social movement.

Using photographs, which in themselves have no iconic value, the images nevertheless acquire such value through the overlay of painted elements which are common to a whole series of photographs. Thus the halo around the head of popularly circulated images of the Guru suggests his divinity.

Painted images of Narayana Guru supplement the physical presence of the photographed subject with painted ornamentation that met prevailing aesthetic tastes. In this process, it can be observed that a trend of replacing photographic backdrops with painted landscapes began. In this practice, the images were located within another atemporal space created by local artists. The original backgrounds were obliterated in these pictures, and subjects were transposed into a cherished imaginary space where Narayana Guru's image was qualified with several new features that include a saintly posture and look, ochre coloured robes, ritual paraphernalia such as the sacred spout, books, etc. [see Figs. 50-56].

In the case of earlier images of Sree Narayan Guru [Figs. 46-49], although we occasionally find him wearing a ochre-colour dhoti on a few occasions, such as when he left for Ceylon, most other times he appears in white. It may be recalled that the ochre colour dhoti was presented to him by one of his
disciples. It is noteworthy that he had advised his followers to use yellow dhoti coloured so by turmeric water on the occasion of Sivagiri pilgrimage. Calendar art must have helped cater to a variety of demands such as the display of the Guru in yellow dhoti. Today, for instance, followers of the Guru in SNDP (Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana Yogam) use yellow colour flags and clothes as sign of their community (Ezhava) strength and unity.

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