Oil, acrylic, & mixed media on canvas

2017

36″ x 48″

Part 7 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 “Young Spartans” by Edgar Degas) 

Queen Mandodari was the wife of king Ravana, the antagonist from the Hindu epic, Ramayana. Ravana was a man of many flaws, but despite all of them, Mandodari was the type of woman to always lead her husband towards righteousness. When Ravana kidnaps Sita, wife of Lord Rama, she advises him to return Sita back to Rama. In a fit of rage, Ravana threatens to kill Sita unless she marries him. Just as he is about to raise his weapon, Mandodari interferes, refusing to let him cause Sita any harm. She saves Sita’s life and explains the severity of Ravana’s actions by telling him that the murder of a woman is a heinous sin.

Persistent in doing what’s right, when all attempts at returning Sita peacefully fail, she’s the last person to make a final attempt at dissuading her husband from war. Despite her efforts not always being fruitful, it is the thought that counts.

As writer Dhanalakshmi Ayyer puts it:

“Her story is a reminder that the universal denigration of a group, based on the behavior of a few, cannot cloud the greatness of the individual. Mandodari defies the stereotype of this racism. She is simple, unswerving, and self-effacing, driven by the light of knowledge which gives meaning to solid materialism in an age that is shrouded by impulse, passion, and desire. She is the instrument that awakens the mind and counsels reason when irrationality becomes the core being.”