I found this picture to be a shocker.... well not really as we have known about women's exploitation through books etc.... but knowing something and seeing something are two different things.
This is not a photograph of some movie of the times of Nawabs... this is the real picture clicked in a photo studio of Raja Deen Dayal, the photographer.... This is the picture of power.
I wrote about the pic of a nautch girl in this post... and promised to post something which will make you sit up and think.
The presence of girls (understandably nautch girls or prostitutes) and the bottle of some hard liquor makes a statement, when it's clicked in a photo studio. It's a statement of power. And why I say so, is because of the helpless expressions the girls have on their face. The attire, the sherwani, the head gear (pagdi) and the mustache of the men surrounding the girls, one of them holding one girl, gazing at her as if he is looking at an object of desire says it all....
This was a shocker for me.... I stood still for some time.... feeling the helplessness of the girls sitting there.
Pic courtesy here. (Raja Deen Dayal Photo exhibition : IGNCA)
RESTLESS
18 comments:
the picture speaks more than any speeches or articles made on the pathetic state of women. And I dont think we have moved an inch forward from this stage.
Well vices and wealth go together. It was true in the past and holds good in the present too......with 3G culture in vogue you will get to see it live too
Obiously, This was a shocker for us. but I think women empowerment is going on.
Harish - so true.
Deguide - well, true.
JObs world - Yes, change is there, but mindset is still the same... women are still material possessions.
RESTLESS
A typical scene of aristocracy those days!
Rightly said.. the picture is very poignant in itself..
thanks for posting these pictures.. as someone said in a comment above..these more than make up for the countless number of written pieces on exploitation of women..
and..one more thing.. thanks...for posting these photos one by one.. we get enough time to discuss each one too.. if you had posted them along.. the impact would have got lost in between...
It's World Womens Day today. Why do we need a day to remember the harsh realities this half of the world faces? harish is spot on, with how things have hardly changed. But its a known fact, which males will deny, Women are the stronger breed.
It's amazing how much information this one picture is delivering to us. Pictures do speak a 1000 words.
Good job Restless.
Kudos for ur thinking...
AWE-some post...
It is important that we realize that neither the past, nor the present has seen an evolution in the bestial desires that come naturally to people and which, most of the time they give in to.
The jargon on society and civilization only breeds more hypocrisy and power politics.
Restless,
You said all I wanted to. That man on left side of sofa is lust personified. Power or rather naked power is so evident.
Take care
harsh reality of olden times...
thanks for sharing
yes indeed RS..Especially the one sitting in the floor is pathetic!!
Hi, I stumbled upon your blog after googling asia mag and read one of your articles there. Great read! I'm a writer from Malaysia and would like to email you regarding some writing notes which I think it's better on email level. Is it ok for us to correspond through my email: theskyiscrazy@gmail.com?
Thank you and have a pleasant day ahead!
Regards,
Yvonne Lee
a very hard hitting photo clearly depicting that in a patriarchal society of ours..women had been an object to be used and thrown. which is extremely sad but ultimately these helpless creatures did understand and succumbed to their destinies. indeed it shows clearly on their faces!
thnks for sharing this one..truly touching !
sarah
As you say knowing something through books or records and seeing it face to face are two different things -- the latter is incontrovertible proof and so hits harder. Today's aristocracy is more deviant and sly. We don't have such proofs, but these things still go on, only it is just the powerful, not necessarily the aristocracy.
In few words you brought the agony and helplessness of past at the surface.
I wonder if the plight of women in today's India is any better than it was in the good ol' days of randy Maharajahs!
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