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The Museum of Art and Photography is presently hosting In Celestial Company, an accumulation centred astir the oft-overlooked divine helpers to the deities.
“This exhibitions focuses connected those beings we usually bash not announcement due to the fact that the deity is the halfway of attraction successful astir each mentation of the divine crossed mediums,” says Priya Chauhan, who is curating the accumulation with her team.
“In Celestial Company is astir the companions of gods and musicians; these guardians who are often animals oregon hybrids, and are seen carrying, flanking oregon guiding the divine,” adds Priya. “We besides wanted to absorption connected the information that thing works successful silos, not adjacent successful mythology. There is ever an ecosystem.”
There is an exquisite figurine of Yamuna and the turtle she stands atop of housed successful the aforesaid show lawsuit arsenic the Makara, part-crocodile and part-fish, which carries Ganga. The detailing connected some are intricate and 1 cannot assistance but marvel astatine the craftsmanship.
Brightly coloured textile labels picture Gajalakshmi, and a copper alloy statuette of Bhairava pays arsenic overmuch attraction to the deity arsenic it does to his vehicle, the dog. Similarly, kinnaras, ganas, gandharvas and others travel nether the spotlight astatine this exhibition.
According to Priya, the amusement came unneurotic seamlessly since the squad knew “the benignant of stories we wanted to bring together. It is simply a immense taxable and these narratives beryllium crossed cultures astir the satellite and not lone successful the mythology we are acquainted with.”
From MAP's In Celestial Company exhibit | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
“A winged fig that exists some successful Islam and successful Christianity hints towards this,” she says, mentioning the angel holding a instrumentality depicting Karthikeya, which is portion of the display. This 19th period portion of wood and metallic from Puducherry, is simply a carving successful French benignant portraying a country which is undeniably from Hindu mythology.
Given the expansive quality of this theme, the squad believes the amusement volition service arsenic a “starting constituent of making radical displacement their regard conscionable a little,” by highlighting a fewer examples and stories of antithetic kinds, successful the anticipation visitors would look astatine different things too, done that lens.
“Our eyes person been guided successful specified a mode that we often don’t spot beyond what is told. In Celestial Company brings different position altogether,” says Priya.
The accumulation has been designed successful specified a mode that astatine each space one’s regard rests connected what is usually deemed inauspicious. “While determination is simply a acheronian astir definite figures successful mythology, abstraction is besides fixed to these shadiness figures to find their light. What has been seen arsenic a vice oregon menace, with a small redirection oregon assistance tin go a strength,” says Priya. She talks astir the crow that accompanies the goddess of inauspiciousness Dhumavathi and Mooshika, Ganesha’s mount.
From MAP's In Celestial Company exhibit | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
“ A rodent that is considered destructive becomes a portion of the divine. It is simply a reminder of however myths tin transform, however challenges tin besides crook into boons; present is simply a playful find made with symbolism and unexpected turns.”
She elaborates connected however Garuda who transports Vishnu is ever seen successful a definite light, but erstwhile 1 focuses connected Garuda himself, his relation is not confined to the work of the divine alone. “There is much of a collaboration and dependency. We anticipation radical look astatine these margins and greys and spot however things enactment successful balance. We are each a portion of a larger ecosystem wherever each azygous being holds abstraction and value.”
“I would ideate if these pieces were to travel alive, the country would beryllium filled with chaos and wonder. It is simply a magical abstraction to beryllium in, knowing these stories and not limiting them to the abstraction and artworks, and looking beyond that to make stories astir america arsenic well.”
In Celestial Company covers an bonzer scope of clip periods and media, from a chromatic carving of Ketu from Gujarat dating to 1636 and aged textiles, to modern paintings and a 2016 watercolour and metallic pigment artwork of Goddess Dhumavati.
In Celestial Company is connected show astatine the Museum of Art and Photography, Bengaluru, till February 15, 2026.
