TITLE - सुक्या बरोबर ओलं पण जळत
SIZE – 68. 5 CM x 91 .5 CM
MEDIUM - Oil on canvas
YEAR – 2024
IMAGE COURTESY TO KETAKI SARPOTDAR
सुक्या बरोबर ओलं पण जळत
Whenever I see a vase with artificial flowers, one thought always comes to mind: perhaps it brings us happiness and joy. However, no matter how much happiness it provides, it cannot change the fact that it is man-made, much like the rituals we have created to comfort ourselves.
On a particularly rainy day, my mother mentioned that she had placed a bowl of curd rice in the window to stop the rain, as her mother used to do. I then shared with her the news about “Frog Marriage,” an incident that occurred in Madhya Pradesh, highlighting how those in power exploit people's beliefs and superstitions to maintain their authority under the guise of tradition.
In 2018, the Minister of State for Women and Child Development in Madhya Pradesh organized a wedding ceremony for two frogs at a temple in the Chhatarpur district. This event was intended to appease the rain god. The minister is affiliated with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which is part of the current government in India. Hundreds of people gathered at the temple to witness the wedding, which was followed by a feast. In 2019, Bhopal, a city in Madhya Pradesh, experienced a severe drought. In response, local organizations, including the Om Shiv Seva Shakti Mandal of Indrapuri, arranged a large traditional frog wedding, investing a significant amount of money into the event. That year Bhopal received more than 77 per cent additional rainfall compared to normal levels. The rain resulted in flooded streets, damaging 9,000 homes and causing 213 to collapse. To counteract the excessive rain, the same organization decided to hold a Frog Divorce Ceremony. This time, clay frogs were used as a symbolic separation ceremony to plead for an end to the heavy rainfall. This frog marriage ritual is not an isolated incident; similar ceremonies are conducted in public spaces across various cities and states.
Even before the 2018 incident, this ritual has been practiced by several people in India, and in the upcoming years the number has increased. The reason that pushes me to create the work titled "सुक्या बरोबर ओलं पण जळत" is when a chain of these incidents happened, and the same government later removed the chapter on EVOLUTION from school textbooks. Rather than promoting knowledge based on facts and science, these government authorities are fostering superstitions in the society.
The painting portrays a group of privileged individuals seated comfortably in the shade during the ceremony of a Frog Marriage. I took references to draw those characters from photographs of a Frog Marriage published in a newspaper in 2018 and 2019. The two central figures, dressed in white cloth to signify authority, have fox heads representing cunningness and opportunism, reminiscent of the fox character in many Panchatantra stories. They tightly hold the frog to prevent its escape during the ritual. In the background, I have painted a school, an important institution where we learn essential lessons, as well as encounter various positive and negative aspects of our surroundings. Outside the school walls, I depicted a partially removed mural of human evolution. But still not erased completely, suggesting that these actions cannot change the reality.
In this modern age, people often repeat what they hear, cling to the opinions of the majority, and fear standing apart. This raises an important question: how much of our choices and deepest beliefs are truly our own? The herd mentality, driven by authority, creates a new narrative in society that allows those in power to easily control public opinion during crucial times. The Marathi proverb "सुक्या बरोबर ओलं पण जळत," which translates to " the wet also burns along with the dry," illustrates this concept. False opinions and decisions made by a group can lead to the sufferings of others. If such superstitions continue to spread, future generations will also be affected. In the visual representation, a bunch of burning wood sticks tied together is shown in the background of the crowd, symbolizing the strength we possess as a collective. However, if that strength is misused by others, it can ultimately become our weakness.