SHAKTI-RUPA
Una narración de mujeres de la mitología hindú
Ramyana has always shown Sita as a weak and vulnerable character, however Sita’s story is that of sisterhood and solidarity. Looking at this epic from Sita’s eyes, we understand in the story, a different perspective instead of the monolithic good vs evil story that has been told time and time again. We find out that Rama fights this war as his mission not for saving his beloved queen Sita but rather to save his honor as a man. Sita in her lifetime made choices to celebrate womanhood and power.
It is a story of conflicts, of purity and pollution, of illusion and reality, of desire and punishment. In many versions of the epic, Ahalya indulged Indra in spite of knowing his truth, and some where she fell prey to his treachery unaware. In all versions, however, she gets punished by Gautama for infidelity, and is turned into rock. This story still persists in the living reality of our society where victim-blaming is a common practice. Patriarchy doesn't accept a sexually liberated woman.
Ramyana has always shown Sita as a weak and vulnerable character, however Sita’s story is that of sisterhood and solidarity. Looking at this epic from Sita’s eyes, we understand in the story, a different perspective instead of the monolithic good vs evil story that has been told time and time again. We find out that Rama fights this war as his mission not for saving his beloved queen Sita but rather to save his honor as a man. Sita in her lifetime made choices to celebrate womanhood and power.
“Few understand the power of mythology. It expresses perceptions of society. It always has. It always will. Those who do not understand or accept the reality of myths relegate myths to the past or too primitive people. As people change, their myths change and so do their stories, symbols, and rituals.”
-Devdutt Patanaik
The role of women in Hindu mythology is set in stone with very little room for rebellion. The female characters are merely used as supportive tools who help the male characters or 'heroes' save the day and restore order in society. These stories have been narrated to us time and again, where the Hindu upper-caste men, mostly Kshatriyas, are rescuing the women and often fighting for their honor. The female characters here are shown vulnerable and devoted to the patriarch be it their husband, father, or brother. They have to be saved and are nothing without their male counterparts. The “masculinities of war” are brought out in that the war projects male soldiers as brave and valiant warriors who are saviors to women and children, often by protecting them through the ultimate heroic act, self-sacrifice.
The portrayal of characters in this series is nothing as discussed above. These characters -- are powerful, liberating, and do not need a male counterpart to save them. Their emotions are their strongest quality. This series depicts emotions as being the strength unlike how they are conventionally understood as feminine qualities that make them weaker than men. This mini-series of Hindu mythology constitutes of realism form of portraits of characters from the epics, Mahabharata and Ramayana.
Features:
https://www.delhievents.com/2019/08/raga-group-show-paintings-artizen-gallery-pearey-lal-bhavan.html