In the lushly produced coffee table book Ganika: In the Visual Culture of the 19th-20th Century India , edited by art historian and curator Seema Bhalla, the world of courtesans comes to life. Over eight essays, including two by Bhalla herself, the book marks the journey of courtesans from the tradition of the devadasi to their representation in post independence popular culture, through depictions in paintings, photographs, films and use of textiles and accessories. Beyond the boundaries of contemporary discourse on courtesans, the book stitches a textured account of their lives and cultural influence, dispelling myths and bringing their artistry into focus.
It began with Devi The central motivation for the book, says Bhalla, was to offer a more truthful narrative that is not reductive and reflects the reality of the various roles they played in society over time and the footprint they left behind. “While curating an exhibition titled Devi a few years ago, based on Siddhartha Tagore’s art collection, I realised that women are categorised too easily in society. It played heavily on my mind.
I wanted to go back in history and see if women were always treated like this?” A clip from the 1966 historical Hindi film Amrapali , directed by Lekh Tandon and starring Sunil Dutt and Vyjayanthimala in the lead was used as a loop in that exhibition. In the film, a king refers to a courtesan Amrapali as ‘Devi’, or goddess. It revealed to Bhalla that there was much more than met .
