Now let us consider another of such order of gurus presented in the home page of the website belonging to the same ideological group [Fig. 81]. Though not placed in a hierarchical order, most of the Gurus portrayed in Fig. 80 are displayed here.  An acceptable common factor among all the images used by these two organisations is that of Sree Narayana Guru. His in, in a way, the most commodified icon among all others. Principles of inclusion and exclusion would be meaningful only when the images are inserted in the specific ideological context. Further, in the current social context, the sign value of Sree Narayana Guru achieves circulation in multiple realms of commodification [see Figs. 82-85]

Fig. 82		Fig. 83

Fig. 84		Fig. 85

Fig. 86		Fig. 87

Fig. 88		Fig. 89

Fig. 90

Fig. 91		Fig. 92		Fig. 93

The group of images on this signifies other public spaces: restaurants and public eating places [Figs. 86- 90] and private buses [Figs. 91-93]. In all of these sites, Sree Narayana Guru’s pictures are prominently displayed. What particular meaning does the insertion and display of his image intended to provide these public spaces? What kind of visibility does this image foreground when it is installed in these interactive spaces?

In the eating places photographed here, Narayana Guru’s image finds place among other images of divinities of various religions [Figs. 86-90]. One may in a quick reading consider this as a religious space, or a space indicating the religiosity of the proprietor. However, the very presence of Narayana Guru’s image adds another dimension to the space. What enables the production of this public space here is Narayana Guru’s teaching, of which the most famous and general dictum is ‘One Caste, One Religion and One God for the Mankind’. In other words, for the spectator who is already informed of an ideal ‘image’ of Narayana Guru, this picture is another reminder of the popular perception of Guru, which is ‘secular’. The secular aspects of Naryana Guru’s image achieve maximum visibility when it is exhibited along with different religious icons as in the Figs.86-88, and this space is rendered harmonious. It is the same societal imaginary of Sree Narayana Guru that catalyses production of the public space in a bus, where a large image of Narayana Guru is displayed on the panel separating the driver’s cabin from the passenger’s space [Figs. 91-93]. The icon of Narayana Guru is deployed here owing to its ability to enunciate the ‘publicness’ of such spaces. This fact is highlighted when we examine the private-sacred spaces that are found invariably associated with such public spaces. In the case of restaurants and tea stalls, such spaces are found in a prominent corner with images of gods, and  of worship [see Fig. 90]. In the bus similar private-sacred space is found in the diver’s cabin.

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