Calcutta Chromosomes - Durga

नमस्तेशरण्येशिवेसानुकम्पे,
नमस्तेजगद्व्यापिकेविश्वरूपे।
नमस्तेजगद्वन्द्यपादारविन्दे,
नमस्तेजगत्तारिणित्राहिदुर्गे॥१॥

"She the refuge, peaceful and merciful undoubtedly,
She pervades over all, is universal form certainly,
Her lotus feet worshipped by universe – all Glory,
On your appeal “Protect me Durga” saves entirely..."

Durga,The Goddess, epitomises the strength of a Woman and the one who saves the Humanity from all the crimes and savages and restores peace and order in the Universal being of Life.

And ironic is the fact that our Goddess whom we celebrate is now in a perennial threat.Threat of existence! From the very same society and civilisation whom She had been urged and prayed to protect.

The dichotomy of the society is that it celebrates Her as a Supreme Celestial Being and on the other hand kills Her human form in the foetus.Rape Her dignity.Plunder Her as a loot.

When will the Durgas breathing alive will be celebrated as Women and not as Celestial Being ? When will we stop violence against them ? When will we start accepting Them as our Comrade at Arms and give back their dues ?

Durgas don't need our patronage and prayers.They need us to live them alone and decide their own destiny. And when we learn to do that I am sure the celebrations will begin and we as a Human race will have another chance to exist...

The White Desert Story - The Widows

White Desert Story

White Desert Story - The Widows

This series celebrates the scent and aroma of womanhood in the White Desert. I was going through the images and what made me feel so unique and exciting is that these women are unconventional to the traditional sense of "Widows" in the Indian context.

If you see them carefully you would find in them a reflection of "Maurya", the celebratory  protagonist of J.S.Synge's Riders To The Sea. Like Maurya these women must have weathered all storms of life and death and yet there is a stark and yet poignant grace in their characters.

There's a colour in them which defies the barrenness of the landscape. Young and old alike they share a bond. A bond in their abject fate and yet together they stand and face life.

Actually I saw them celebrating life in their very own manner with grit and determination written all over their faces. There's an unique and unimaginable sense of melancholia in them which is so distinctive than the traditional way a widow is seen in India. And I think it has lot to do with the terrain of White Desert.

As if they are the Riders of this White Desert!