Wind Beneath Her Wings

Every session was a lively discussion that often shocked the artist. Once, the girls were shown an image of young Durga from Satyajit Ray’s Pather Panchali. Most girls in the audience interpreted it to mean simpler times, of being young and running wild. For a 17-year-old, the image was a reminder of being molested. Ijlal says, “I was not prepared for it. Throughout the conversation, she had not said a word. But the image of a five-year-old Durga triggered the memory of an incident that she was talking about for the first time.”

The Bird Box project started about a year ago after Ijlal had completed Silent Minarets and Whispering Winds, an installation at Mumbai’s T2 Terminal. “Our intention was to show how women are represented and how it affects policy. How do girls look at themselves and what is a 14- to 18-year-old thinking about herself and everything around her. This led to our curating images and clips that would trigger reactions and lend to conversations. In the course of collecting data, we found that a girl’s development into a woman focuses on a single aspect, that she will marry and be a part of a system that will enable her to be a better mother,” says the artist.

Ijlal, 40, found that the girls did not shy away from discussing the images threadbare, even if it made them uneasy. “What drew me in is the factor of anonymity. Women and girls are kept anonymous all their lives but I found that the anonymity also empowers them. The possibilities that such engagements provide — of free-flowing conversations free of judgement — is immense. It’s as intimate as picking up the phone and listening to two girls talk,” she says.

Ijlal’s association with the Sadbhavna Trust ensured that she could meet girls in the age group of 14 to 18 in the cities she visited. She wants Bird Box to be accessible to all, like a traditional bioscope travelling to “every gali, nukkad, mohalla”. “I want more girls to participate. Girls from villages in Haryana, girls growing up in conflict areas, tribal girls. Delhi has a sizeable migrant and refugee population, with whom I have been engaging for some time. I want to initiate a conversation on movement and adolescence with them. It’s time we start asking questions,” she says.

The installation, available in Hindi and English, will be displayed at Sadbhavana Trust, Delhi, and will travel to Khoj International Artists’ Association, Delhi, and Conflictorium, Ahmedabad in 2017.