Maadathy

India is a land of Subaltern deities for and by clans and communities. Locally known as siru theivam in Tamil (little-deities), the presence of these deities is supreme, and they reign every enclave of sub-continent. Each little deity has unique legends of his or her origin. These legends are often interwoven with socio-historic tropes of India. Individuals who sacrificed their lives for greater cause of the society; people whose extra-ordinary and honourable actions paid to martyrdom; and those who people in authority and power unjustly massacred – were immortalized as deities in the Indian tradition of little or folk-deities. Puthirai vannaar is a Dalit caste group living in the southern part of Tamil Nadu in India. Their forced occupation is to wash the clothes of other Dalits, the dead, and the menstruating women. The sight of Puthirai vannaars, as per caste norms, could pollute the so-called upper caste groups. Puthirvannars were forced to live in shrubs to remain unseeable to others. Maadathy is their deity. This film is a tale about a young girl who grew up in Puthirai vannaar caste group and how she came to be immortalized as their local deity, Maadathy.