The stories that my paternal and maternal grandparents have shared return and surprise me at seemingly random instances, lingering to grow – leaving me with a wonderful network of connectives. These sometimes lead to larger ideas for my work but at other times, enrich an experience even if it were just for a moment.
I chanced upon Jarvis Rockwell’s installation in a gallery in North Adams, Massachusetts after visiting the MASS MOCA with other friends from the residency in Troy this summer. His exhibition titled ‘Maya’ was apparently influenced by the temple architecture in South India. More details about his installation can be found here. However it triggered a memory for me even without reading the concept note. Here’s an old photograph from our family archive of my maternal grandmother’s ancestral home celebrating Dussera with a massive display of curios and artifacts collected, bought and inherited by various individuals in the family; each telling a story of its source or the journey it travelled to find its place in the house. A minute fraction of that collection was passed on to my mother and I have over the past few years whimsically taken some from her. My grandmother has left us, with the riches of her stories and a some of these curious objects as testimony.
The display of dolls, artifacts and collected objects for the 9 days of Dussera at my maternal grandmother’s ancestral home in Hyderabad. Photograph taken sometime in the late 1940s or early 1950s. Towards the right hand corner of the photograph is what looks like a child standing but is in fact a Shirley Temple doll which was very popular during that time. The entire display measured 21 feet across and rose up beyond 12 feet over 21 steps.
Malavika Rajnarayan 