Her Farewell in Vermilion

My present painting depicts a religious festival called Durga Puja, celebrated in the state of West Bengal - eastern India, that created history in 2021 when UNESCO marked it’s ten day annual celebration as an ‘Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity’ thereby making it the first Asian festival to have received such a prestigious recognition. Being one of the oldest religious traditions of Hinduism, the festival pays homage to the female goddess Durga and her win over evil. However, the uniqueness of this festival lies on its final day, when the goddess is given a farewell with a game of vermilion commonly termed as ‘Shidur Khela’, which is historically believed to have originated 400 years ago to usher bonhomie amongst the housewives of the landlords, and the women of the community - irrespective of their caste and social status. Although predominantly a spiritual celebration, the beauty of the festival lies not in its religious sentiments, but in the power to strengthen the bonds of unity and more so observed as a social celebration, which over the years has morphed into an inseparable part of India’s culture with a diverse group of people celebrating this festival in their unique way, whilst still maintaining it’s traditions.

There is no doubt that the aesthetic appeal of Durga Puja celebrates womanhood, strength and unity within community, however its antithetical nature cannot be ignored since Indian women continue to face social discrimination as an inferior gender to it’s predominantly patriarchal society and yet strangely enough, men are barred from partaking the festivals final day of celebration - thereby leading to the practice of gender discrimination in religion. Without a doubt, religion as a social concept has long been the topic for social debates and discussions. Whilst it can be the source of societal demise, it also holds the power to lay down the foundations of a society, hence making the concept rather contradictory in nature. My present painting which is a ‘participatory art piece’ aims to open up these ideas for discussions, encouraging the audiences’ participation, interpretation and reaching their own conclusion about the concept of religion and its connection to gender discrimination in our society.

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