Wednesday, August 2, 2017

About Ahalya....of the Past and Present

Let me start with what we know from our Hindu mythology of Ahalya - the chaste wife of the great sage Gautam Maharishi and Indra - the god of gods. Indra had his heart set to seduce Ahalya - a task that would have been impossible had he not used magic powers to transform himself to look alike Gautam Maharishi.
The unsuspecting Ahalya offers no resistance to Indra's cunning and it is only when Indra is caught sneaking out of the cottage by Gautam Maharishi that she realizes the full effect of what she has been caught up in.
Gautam Maharishi is furious and turns her to stone. (She is eventually delivered from her curse by Lord Rama)
The scriptures differ in their interpretation of the story of Ahalya. Some scriptures tell of the fact that she had indeed seen through the disguise of Indra but allows herself to be seduced by him. Some scriptures portray her as a victim of Indra's cunning and Gautam Maharishi unjustified wrath.
Clearly, debatable. However, the question that comes to my mind is - Indra might have looked the same as her husband but what about his touch? Did it feel the same too? As women we are sensitive enough to sniff out a man and his intentions in the way that he looks at us. Every touch tells a story. Even when it comes from the same hands. And Ahalya was not an average woman - she was the most beautiful one crafted by Brahma the Creator and the wife of a sage.
In my opinion, Ahalya should have known.
Coming to the present, Sujoy Ghosh's Ahalya short film is a far off reminder of mythology and is an out and out thriller. Its a piece of twisted horror that I bet you can't turn your mind off from for the 14 minutes that it runs. Slightly predictable, but brilliant nonetheless! 
Watch it here...

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