Since the inception of literature, animals have always been speaking, even if they may not have always been audible. Especially in Dalit writings, the constant presence of animals and birds such as dogs, buffaloes, cows, pigs, vultures and many more cannot be disregarded. The Tamil writer Cho. Dharman uses the figure of the koogai (the Tamil word for owl) in his narrative to raise some pertinent questions on how the state deals with caste atrocities in India. Dalit lives are often marked by a degree of liminality, rendering them non-human. ‘Owl’ is commonly used as a term of abuse, similar to how caste names such as chamar and bhangi themselves are used as swear words. In Tamil, another word for the owl colloquially is aandai, which is, again, often used to ridicule or to insult someone. The Hindi word for owl is ulloo, a slur that implies stupidity. So, by placing owl as a central figure in the narrative, is Dharman reclaiming an expletive or is he creating an alternative meaning to the word?

One of the major objectives of this chapter is to question the construction of animalities. Animalities or animal-ness is often posited in contrast to a conventional understanding of basic human nature (such as possessing autonomy or self-awareness) and underlining the human–animal distinction by relegating animals to an instinctive bestiality.

Besides the physical presence of the owl in Koogai, it also serves as a vehicle for the need to raise Dalit consciousness, subjected to dehumanisation, by embracing the Ambedkarite ideals of self-dignity, liberty and equality. Koogai interrogates and addresses the overlapping binary construction of the marginalised Dalit, often rendered as the other, and the animal.