Event Details

GODDESS: A Celebration of the Divine Feminine

4.00 pm to 4.15 pm: Introduction

Session 1

4.15 pm to 5.00 pm: Goddess: A Metaphor Called Woman: Devdutt Pattanaik

Distinguished mythologist, author, illustrator and columnist, Devdutt Pattanaik, will discuss how male and female forms, and their marriage, were used as tools to explain Vedic ideas —who we are and what we have. This was the fifth Veda, where non-gendered ideas were embodied with gender. The choices were not random, nor patriarchal or sexist. But our modern gaze certainly is.

Session 2

5.00 pm to 5.20 pm: “This World That Was Created By Opening Your Eyes”: Mani Rao on the ‘Saundarya Lahari’

The ‘Saundarya Lahari’ is a celebrated eighth-century Sanskrit poem of adoration dedicated to Shakti, the consort without whom Shiva is self-confessedly powerless. Who is Shakti? What makes her unique? Scholar, poet and translator of this iconic text, Dr. Mani Rao (author of Saundarya Lahari: Wave of Beauty, Harper Collins, 2022) will introduce audiences to its magic and its power.

Session 3

5.20 pm to 6.10 pm: “I’ll Rub Kali On My Face”: Translating the Goddess

Three noted poet-translators will discuss the rewards and challenges of translating some acclaimed Goddess poems in recent times. This will be interspersed with readings of their translations. Sampurna Chattarji will discuss her translations of the 18th-century Bengali mystic poet, Ramprasad Sen. K Srilata will discuss her translations of the 20th-century Tamil poet, Subramania Bharati. Mani Rao will unpack the nuances of the ‘Saundarya Lahari’, believed to have been authored by Adi Shankara.

Box Office now open.