Ganga, Allahbad, India
Ganges, Allahbad, India
Ganga, Allahabad
Allahbad, India
Ganga, Allahbad, India.
Lucknow, India
thoughts-memories
Source: boy-so-pale
unadvisablesuggestions
Flowers
There’s beauty to be admired in nature
We are blessed to see such elegance blossom
Precious life sprouts from the soil
And soft petals burst open in a variety of colours
Fragile bodies fated to be plucked up so soon to only fade away.
Source: unadvisablesuggestions
radixth-deactivated20160611
when you want to do art and you attempt to do art but nothing you do is any good so you do art stressfully and furiously and then throw it away
artist-problems7
Artist Problem #27
Hating the peice your working on before you even finish it
a few life drawings from earlier this week
ladybrun-deactivated20140111
sandookchi
Zohra Sehgal, a South Asian actress par excellence, actually spoke multiple languages including Urdu, Hindi, English and German. She is one of the earliest international actresses who came from an aristocratic Muslim family in India. When her father insisted that she get married, she outright said, ‘I don’t want to get married,’ and announced that she might become a pilot. In 1917 she went to a boarding school in Lahore, after which, in 1930, she donned a burqa and set off for Europe by road — crossing Iran, Syria, Palestine and Egypt. She trained as a ballet dancer in Germany. Zohra was quite blunt when it came to expressing her opinions. She was an agnostic and defied all the stereotypes about a “Muslim girl from a traditional family”. She was unbelievably bold and confident and was known for her mischievous humor. She earned immense respect in British TV at a time when people were not accepting of ‘diversity’ and even the Asian roles were played by white people. When she had first arrived in Britain, “it was such that if we were sitting in the bus, the British did not sit next to us. Unconsciously in the minds of white people, there was a hesitation”. She defied cultural norms once more when she married her Hindu student eight years younger than her. She never felt welcomed in Lahore, so she left half her family in Pakistan after 1947 Partition and settled in Delhi where she taught a theater group. She raised her children on her own when her husband committed suicide at a young age. She was literally unstoppable and appeared consistently in British TV series like The Jewel in Crown, Mind Your Language and Doctor Who. She has acted in myriad Bollywood films and performed across Japan, Egypt, Europe and the US. She was a classical dancer, choreographer, cinema, theater and television actress whose career spanned over 8 decades. She was awarded Padma Shri and Padma Vibhushan, some of the highest civilian honors in India. She was a fighter all her life, she even defeated cancer. On her 100th birthday she said, “I want an electric cremation. I don’t want any poems and fuss after that. And for heaven’s sake don’t bring back the ashes. Flush them down the toilet if the crematorium refuses to keep them. If they tell you that I am dead, I want you to give a big laugh". Zohra aapa lived the life of a grand diva and passed away in 2014 at the age of 102.
“Oh, my burqa was of lovely silk and I was so glad I made petticoats out of it!”
Zohra with her husband Kameshwar Sehgal in 1945.
“What actually makes brings out your beauty is the radiance of being content and you can only be content when you are employed in something you love.”
“You see me now when I am old and ugly, in fact you should have seen me earlier — when I was young and ugly!”
Zohra at her 100th birthday was quietly humming “Abhi To Main Jawan Hoon” (I am still young) by poet Hafeez Jullundhri, as she attacked the huge cake.
“Life’s been tough but I’ve been tougher. I beat life at its own game”
Standing Parvati India (900s) [Source]
Parvati [Source]
Parvati suckling Baby Ganesha India (c. 1820) [Source]
Parvati Vietnam (900s) [Source]
Uma Cambodia (600s-700s) [Source]
Parvati Nepal (800s) [Source]
Parvati India (1000s) [Source]
Ganesha in the lap of Parvati India (late 1800s) [Source]
Now here’s the last member of the Tridevi: Parvati (aka Uma), goddess of love, fertility and devotion, and an embodiment of divine strength and power.
In art, she’s often in a red dress with a headband; she may be carrying a conch, crown, mirror, rosary, bell, dish, farming tool such as goad, sugarcane stalk, or flowers such as the lotus.
Or she may be represented aniconically as the yoni (vaginal symbol) - just as her consort Shiva is represented by the lingam.
A stone yoni found in Cát Tiên sanctuary, Lâm Đồng Vietnam (300s-800s) [Source]
But very often she isn’t portrayed alone. She’s with Shiva (whom she’s consort to) and/or other members of their family - their sons Ganesha (whom she created out of clay) and Kartikeya/Murugan, and their bull Nandi.
Parvati with Shiva and sons Ganesha (leftmost) and Kartikeya (rightmost). Malaysia Batu Caves [Source]
And why shouldn’t they be together? As a goddess of devotion, she is passionate. The stories of how she, as a princess, got married to this wild-haired hermit of a god are a classic tale of a Beauty subjugating herself to be a beast.
Many tales start with her earlier incarnation as the Princess Sati:
The Puranas tell the tale of Sati’s marriage to Shiva against her father Daksha’s wishes. Her father Daksha and her husband Shiva do not get along, and ignore the wishes of Sati. The conflict gets to a point where Daksha does not invite Shiva to a major fire ceremony, and Shiva does not come on his own, humiliating Sati. She self-immolates herself at Daksha’s yajna ceremony.
The self-immolation of Sati [Source]
This shocks Shiva, who is so grief-stricken that he loses interest in worldly affairs, retires and isolates himself in the mountains, in meditation and austerity. Sati is then reborn as Parvati, the second daughter of Himavat and Minavati, and is named Parvati, or “she from the mountains”, after her father Himavant who is also called king Parvat.
According to different versions of her myths, the maiden Parvati resolves to marry Shiva. Her parents learn of her desire, discourage her, but she pursues what she wants. She approaches the god Kama - the Hindu god of desire, erotic love, attraction and affection, and asks him to help her. Kama reaches Shiva and shoots an arrow of desire.
Shiva opens his third eye in his forehead and burns the cupid Kama to ashes.
Madan-Bhasma (Shiva Turns Kama to Ashes) India (1890) [Source]
Parvati does not lose her hope or her resolve to win over Shiva. She begins to live in mountains like Shiva, engage in the same activities as Shiva, one of asceticism, yogin and tapas.
Amar Chitra Katha Shiva Parvati: A Story of Divine Love India [Source]
This draws the attention of Shiva and awakens his interest. He meets her in disguised form, tries to discourage her, telling her Shiva’s weaknesses and personality problems. Parvati refuses to listen and insists in her resolve.
Shiva finally accepts her and they get married.
A complete Kalyanasundara scene where Parvati’s parents are giving her away as Vishnu and Lakshmi (extreme right) look on. India [Source]
Shiva and Parvati are often paired as divine lovers - not just as a family or enthroned, but in actual embrace.
So let’s get them closer:
Figure of Shiva and Parvati (Uma-Maheshvara) India (early 1000s) [Source]
CLOSER!!!
Ardhanarishvara, the combination of Shiva with Parvati India (c. 1825) [Source]
Yup: that close!
Ardhanarishvara represents the synthesis of masculine and feminine energies of the universe (Purusha and Prakriti) and illustrates how Shakti, the female principle of God, is inseparable from (or the same as, according to some interpretations) Shiva, the male principle of God. The union of these principles is exalted as the root and womb of all creation.
Parvati also takes on other forms, such as the demon-fighting Durga, the goddess of time and change Kali, and the goddess of food, Annapurna. But each of them deserve to be explored individually, in future posts.
Till then, let’s say goodbye to the happy family!
Lord Shiva and Family [Source]
SHO SHWEET.
Woman Committing Sati Iran (late 1600s) Folio from an album Black ink, opaque watercolor, gold, and silver on paper with underdrawing in black ink [Source]
Harvard Art Museums says:
This painting dramatically represents a young woman about to commit sati, or self-immolation. The literary subject of a woman’s sacrificing herself on the funeral pyre of her dead husband was popularized in seventeenth-century Iran through the poet Nawʿi Khabushani’s narrative Sūz u Gudāz (Burning and Melting). Set in India, the poem tells of a Hindu bride who vows to cast herself on her bridegroom’s pyre and will not be dissuaded, even by the Mughal emperor himself…
In this illustration the young woman kneels next to a small pyre. She rends her gown in grief, exposing her naked torso, and pulls out locks of her hair, which she casts into the fire. Two other women try to restrain her; below them a man crouches, his turban undone and his facial features contorted with grief. Opposite the fire, an older man sits hunched over, his eyes closed. At the horizon is a group of male observers, the one on the right wearing a European hat. Dramatic clouds bracket a tree with leaves similar to those found in early seventeenth-century Mughal paintings.
One may conclude that this painting, which blends Persian and Indian elements with European techniques of modeling and shading and demonstrates knowledge of and interest in the female body, was created as a single-page work illustrating the exotic topic of sati and eroticizing the foreign (here Hindu) woman. This hybrid style is characteristic of Safavid painting in the second half of the seventeenth century
brahmaanda
Mala Das can just about write her name. At 16, this has been her greatest achievement. “When I came here I was completely unlettered. Today I can write my name,” she says. But Mala is still unsure about numbers - when asked about the year she came to India, she draws a blank. Her family and neighbours say they arrived in 2011 from the Pakistani city of Hyderabad in Sindh province to escape “religious and cultural persecution and government apathy”.
About 1,200 people, who have migrated from Pakistan in the past five years, are housed in three camps in Delhi and many say one of the biggest problems they faced back home was that they were unable to educate their children. Bhagwan Das, who was among a group of 71 people who reached Delhi three weeks ago, has two growing children with no formal education. He says they were treated like “second-class citizens” in Pakistan. “Our children don’t feel welcome in schools there. Muslims taunt us for being Hindu. Our girls are also sexually harassed,” Mr Das says.
Rajwanti, 13, and other children in the camp allege that Hindu boys and girls are made to read the Quran (Muslim holy book) in Pakistani schools and that Muslim students laugh at their religious practices. Mala says she is happy to see that Hindus in India can practice their religion openly. “Here Hindus pray without fear in temples and organise religious festivals outdoors. In Pakistan we prayed at home. If we went to temples, we avoided the gaze of our neighbours.”
Ishwar Lal, 18, who came to Delhi five months ago, says he feels liberated in India. “We have full religious freedom here. We are free.”
Pakistan was created in 1947 after being carved out of India’s mainly Muslim areas. A huge exchange of population took place during the partition which was often bloody. Today, Muslims constitute 14% of India’s population, while in Pakistan, Hindus are said to be just over 2%.
There is no official estimate of the number of Pakistani Hindus living in India, but over the years, small groups have been crossing the border to reach Delhi or other northern states, such as Rajasthan and Haryana. Once in India, they apply for asylum and, eventually, citizenship.
Islamabad has repeatedly said its Hindu community is safe and reports of their leaving are exaggerated. In a written reply to a BBC query, the Indian government has revealed that more than 1,400 Pakistanis have been given citizenship since 2011 and that an overwhelming majority of them are Hindus.
Those living in the Delhi camps, however, say they are yet to get Indian citizenship. “We applied in 2011 but nothing has happened. The BJP government which claims to have sympathy for us is no different from other governments. We feel frustrated,” says Arjun Das, who is regarded as the leader of Pakistani Hindus in Delhi camps.
Pahlaj, who arrived three weeks ago, says he is disappointed that “no Hindu leader or neighbour has visited us yet”. But most say they are happy to be in India where they feel “at home” and Pahlaj says most Pakistani Hindus want to leave their country. “A small number has come to India. Millions of Pakistani Hindus are waiting for an opportunity to do the same.”
This just came into my feed.
Wanted to remind everyone that while Hinduism is being used for intolerant purposes in India, it’s still being persecuted in Pakistan (among various places). Nor is India doing much to help those persecuted.
HAPPY HOLI, EVERYONE!
Behold: images of the Hindu spring festival from all six inhabited continents:
MTV Iggy and Naomie Wijnhard Flinging Paint at Phagwa in Paramaribo Suriname, Paramaribo (2013) From here
Trinidad and Tobago celebrates Holi Trinidad and Tobago, Port of Spain (2014) From here
Holi Festival Mauritius (2010s?) From here
Holi in Krishna Mandir in Lahore Pakistan, Lahore (2010) From here
Michael Noel Fiji - Kava Shots and Holi Wars Fiji, Suva (2011) From here
Kirth Ferris Belfast’s Lord Mayor Niall O'Donnghaile gets covered in paint Festival of Colour UK, Belfast (2012) From here
I honestly didn’t know that this festival was celebrated so widely - it’s big among the massive Indian communities of Mauritius, South Africa, Surinam, Guyana, Trinidad and Fiji, as well as having variants across India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal.
It is not a big thing in Singapore or Malaysia though, because most of our Indian community comes from South India, which doesn’t observe the festival. I attended one expatriate Holi celebration back home once, and it was meh.
By the way, the story goes far beyond just flinging coloured powder. Some stories say it’s meant to commemorate Lord Krishna’s romantic dalliances with Radha and her fellow gopis (female cattle-herders) in his youth, an expression of divine love, using the metaphor of eroticism. (I’m sure it’s just a metaphor, innit?)
Nihal Chand Krishna Celebrates Holi with Radha and the Gopis India (c. 1750–60) Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. From here.
EDIT: Others say it’s to mark the immolation of the demoness Holika by the hero Prahlad. The images for that are creepier:
Holika, though immune to fire, was reduced to ashes, for an evil plot, while Prahlad, sitting on Holika’s lap, was left unharmed due to his devotion to Lord Vishnu From here
Find out more at this link:
Still, what’s kind of amazing is how it’s become a non-denominational event in certain parts of the world. These copyrighted images from Suriname are effing heartwarming.
Part of that, however, involves commoditization of the festival - and removing any religious significance to it. There’s the infamous case of the Colour Run in the USA, that removes all religious context to the coloured powder ritual and has thus been condemned as appropriationist bullshit catering to kids who don’t want to feel like they’re making Jesus angry when they play with chalk.
Also, there’s an international thing called the Holi One Festival, based in Birmingham, which says the following in its FAQ:
The HOLI ONE Colour Festival is inspired by the original Indian Holi fest, but is not associated with or related to that festival. It is important to note that the HOLI ONE Colour Festival is not a religious festival or event. It does not aim to promote any religious aspects or groups. Instead the festival is about promoting the ideas of togetherness and the colour of everyday life during a day of fun and exhilaration.
Holi One Cape Town Festival South Africa, Cape Town (2012) From here
It really seems to have taken off in South Africa, which is ironic given how many genuine Hindus live there. There’s a great essay about this by Neelika Jayawardane, who adds a comment from a reader:
They went, expecting «a multi cultural event, drawing liberals and leftys, old and young, [hoping for] authentic food and explanations of the festival, and some grounding in the India version of Holi.» But it turned out to be «a mortifying experience». The only multi cultural dynamic was brought – tragically and seemingly unnoticed – by the cleaners, who desperately scrambled between, around and through drunk, disrespectful and inappropriate white youth – trying to pick up the empty used packets from the ‘paint/powder/chalk’…. these cleaners where pushed, cajoled, heckled and of course not assisted in any way in their job (despite the large numbers of maxi sized plastic bins around the circumference of the paint area)… My partner toyed with the idea of taking a picture of this ‘multi cultural’ (cleaners) dyamic and posting it where ever we could – with a bit of commentary about the festival… but in the end – he was unsure how it would be received in this ‘new’ South Africa, and decided against it.
From here
Capitalism, why you gotta ruin everything? Anyway, I’ve been informed that today’s also St Patrick’s Day. Any leprechauns I can put up on this blog?
Steve M. Curry Holi India, Rajasthan (1983) From here You’ll do.
Happy Holi 2016!
My post above dates back to 2014, though–this year, Holi overlaps with Purim!