Mapin books are jointly published and distributed in the US, UK and Europe through our US-based partner, Grantha Corporation. All Mapin books carry a Grantha ISBN for the ease of ordering through our respective distributors in this region. Customers in the regions mentioned above should use the Grantha ISBN for reference while looking for our books in bookstores, online stores and libraries.
A new iconography of the Indian woman seems to be emerging which challenges the traditional “images” and roles of women. Dramatic changes in projecting the woman reflect changes in societal norms and taboos. These roles for the modern woman are subversive, mapping out bold new frontiers for her to explore. The effects are persuasive in being projected through the media, the fourth estate in society, and through the popular genre of Hindi cinema.
Set against the feminist discourse, these images raise different questions about “seeing” the Indian woman. Traced over the century, they suggest an extraordinary transformation in imaging the Indian woman, as manifested in painting, photography, popular posters and classical cinema. In five seminal essays, this book examines central issues regarding the woman: whether she is regarded as a woman or a goddess; whether her body is treated as an object or subject of pleasure; if she has the freedom to move from home to the world outside; if she is expected to play multiple roles or is perceived in her integral self; and if she has learnt now to re-assert her own power.
About the Author Geeti Sen is an art historian and critic. She has written books on contemporary artists and has edited magazines and journals on art and culture.
Praise
“Feminine Fables is a welcome addition to the amazingly small corpus of written work that privileges the visual in an understanding of Indian society.”
