Oil, acrylic, & mixed media on canvas

2016

Part 2 of the “Desi Remix” series, which explores the past by reimagining India’s rich history of mythology, epics, and folktales by juxtaposing feminist icons onto Western classical paintings. (Inspired by “The Creation of Adam” by Michelangelo) 

Urvashi is Sanskrit for “she who can control the hearts of others.”

Urvashi was considered the most beautiful of all the “apsaras” (nymphs), and was known for being youthful and charming but always elusive. She was also a source of both delight and anguish. 

Urvashi found heaven to be quite suffocating. Everything was cold and synthetic, the colors were mundane, and the flowers lacked fragrance, which is why she often escaped to Earth in the middle of the night to feel the mist in the air and the breeze of the wind against her skin. On the other hand, King Pururavas was envious of the gods. He was regularly invited to events at King Indra’s court, and was ashamed of the grandeur he saw there. One night he got in his chariot and flew through the skies. It was there that Urvashi and King Pururavas met. 

Urvashi was returning from her task of breaking penance to the “rishi” (saint), Vibhandaka, when she was abducted by a demon. Pururavas was quick to notice and chased the demon away, freeing Urvashi. 

The brief moment they touched changed their lives forever. 

Similar to Michelangelo’s depiction where God is seen stretching his arm out towards Adam to pass the spark of life, the moment Urvashi & Pururavas touch ignites a passion so intense but unfortunately fleeting. Her aura gives him “life,” but true to her nature, she is the beauty he can’t have.