Pink lady gets a voice

The idea, she says, was to convey on behalf of the Indian woman: ‘Don’t mess with me’. Photo: Pradip Das

The first time Jas Charanjiva, an artist with the collective Kulture Shop, created “the pink lady” was in 2012. It was her response to the anger that followed the December 16 Delhi gangrape.

“It was also in keeping with the theme we had then — traditional yet modern,” she says of the artwork of a woman painted in pink, dressed in a sari with her head covered but who sports a knuckle buster with ‘boom’ written on it. The idea, she says, was to convey on behalf of the Indian woman: ‘Don’t mess with me’.

The mural photographed here, which she has titled ‘Don’t mess with me’ and is located in Bandra’s Pali Hill area, was painted in 2015 after the juvenile accused in that gangrape case was released.

“Usually, the pink lady doesn’t say anything, but we gave her a voice this time. My friend, actor Poorna Jagannath, suggested she say ‘Justice, I am coming for it’.” The artwork of “the pink lady” is also available on products retailed at Kulture Shop.