108 chapter
that is hard to discern from this statement. Benny interprets that the incident
involved a socially acceptable use of physical discipline. Mary then explains
that she was scolded while she was praying and that her family hits her when
she refuses to eat:
Mary: [.. .] When I am eating, they will hit me.Benny: Who? Your family?Mary: My father.Benny: Th at will be because you were probably doing some mischief while you
were eating.Mary: I can’t eat.Benny: Do you sit without eating? Th en they will hit [ati] you. Th at is because they
love you. Th ey don’t want you to become too thin. So why are you worrying?Mother: She’s not willing to eat anything.Benny: Is she reluctant to eat now also?Mother: Yes. Now also I...Mary: I am eating.Mother: When I take a stick she will eat.Refusing to eat is a common symptom of distress and psychological suff er-
ing in Kerala, and is taken very seriously. Ultimately, the issue of “hitting” is
diffi cult to engage. I hope that this attempt to translate these incidents does
not make it sound like these are barbaric, exotic acts. At the same time, I
do not think it is right to over-relativize the situation and assume that what
occurs is not painful for Mary or more serious than what is being revealed. We
will hear a concern about a form of violence that is unambiguously condemned
in Kerala when Mary later reveals that she does not wish to get married for
fear that her husband may beat her.
Mary and her mother go on to recount the eff orts they have made to fi nd
a solution to Mary’s problems, which fi rst emerged ten years earlier. For seven
years, Mary received treatment from two allopathic doctors as well as from
a church “father” who was qualifi ed as an allopathic psychiatrist and treated