Bangaruamma stands firm. Her sturdy, child-bearing hips rest on slender calves and ankles, with delicate feet squarely rooted on earth. She is comfortable in her world and in her glowing, golden skin. Her ample breasts and swollen child-birthing belly, sagging waist and buttocks on a self-reliant back and shoulders narrate use, overuse, care and resilience. Her short neck upholds a gentle face, dressed for the world with neat, ornamented hair. Her arms half-rise ambiguously upwards, does she hold an imaginary garland for us, a cloth to veil herself, string to rock a baby’s hammock?

Woman Holding Hair echoes a similar body landscape. Is her outstretched hair an offering to us, a sinister, serpentine threat, or perhaps, a self-protective shield? Woman Tying Her Hair is young, timid and unformed by time, but similarly anchored. Parvati, and monumental Head/ Devi with their blue and golden-faced radiance and sophisticated hairdo, face us with open-eyed confidence. They, too, are self-aware, ready to take on the world with calm, curiosity, and courage.

Not objectified and sexualized through a patriarchal gaze, these women are subjects with agency, seen with generous empathy and respect. They are, may I suggest, tender experiencers of life, intuitive, playful, open-hearted and deeply rooted, the Feminine or Shakti within us all.

Description of artworks are by courtesy of Tara Sabharwal in September 2024.