Hey guys! I am back after a week of 24×7 fun, food and festivity of the 'Durga Puja'. 'Durga Puja' is the biggest and the most awaited festival of the Bengalis because it gives them an opportunity to indulge in food, clothes and get-togethers with friends and family, without any hindrance. During 'Durga Puja', the streets of Kolkata are lit up with string lights and littered with 'pandals' (temporary canopies) of all shapes, sizes and decors. People throng to different 'pandals' to see and enjoy the artistry. The decor of each 'pandal' is based on a particular theme which conveys a social message and is a visual feast to look at.
I visited one such 'pandal' and the message it conveyed will forever be embedded in my mind. It celebrated the "extraordinary in the ordinary woman". The 'pandal' was littered with portraits of ordinary women like simple housewives, fruit sellers or office going women. However each woman's portrait had a third eye painted on her forehead. According to Hindu Mythology, Lord Shiva, a Hindu God, has three eyes. The Third Eye on his forehead symbolises eternal knowledge and truth.
The Third Eye in the portraits depicted and highlighted the power of knowledge, education and truth which every woman possesses. It celebrated the progress women had made in the past century, overcoming social hurdles, patriarchal mindsets and irrational suppressions. The concept of depicting every ordinary woman with a Third Eye is a tribute to all those women who have fought relentlessly for gender equality and equal social rights. Those portraits were truly the correct symbolism of a woman's power.
-Amritaya
The Third Eye in the portraits depicted and highlighted the power of knowledge, education and truth which every woman possesses. It celebrated the progress women had made in the past century, overcoming social hurdles, patriarchal mindsets and irrational suppressions. The concept of depicting every ordinary woman with a Third Eye is a tribute to all those women who have fought relentlessly for gender equality and equal social rights. Those portraits were truly the correct symbolism of a woman's power.
-Amritaya