
CHANDIGARH, Nov 3: A 26-year-old in Hardwar is gangraped by eleven people. The tragedy of Mithilesh is an oft-repeated one, seen in newspapers and bulletins all over India. For the perverse it8217;s a titillation on and for the righteous, an act of desperation.
The agony that Mithilesh underwent was all her own, but for the first time since the incident happened on July 26 earlier this year, Chandigarh will bear witness to the pain of another victim of a one-sided and cruel social psyche, degenerated through the ages. The story of Mithilesh is revealed by Deepa Bajaj as part of her exhibition of painting, Bha-Sanskriti, which was inaugurated in the city on Monday.
quot;Our myths and scriptures celebrated the manifestations of the Woman. But today, her position in the Indian society is very sad,quot; says Deepa. To highlight this, she portrays the conflicts of modern woman in Hybrid: The girl in Western attire, vacantly staring at the onlooker, sits in a room with a chink of a window for 8220;escape.8221; Near her feet rests a dog quot;that depicts a woman8217;s position in the society 8212; that of a pet.quot;
Bajaj creates contemporary images relevant to the times. In one of her oil paintings, the name of which is a Shloka from the Vedas, Deepa depicts the powers of Shakti, the birth-giver, the delegate, the professional, the artiste, the hostess, et al. As the Shloka says, quot;May the Supreme Power protect us now and ever after,quot; so she invokes the spirit of Shakti to safeguard her daughter, the Woman. A multi-lingual, multi-message exhibition, Bha-Sanskriti narrates the story of Woman in India well, beautifully.