Lokhkhi

8x12 inches; Pen drawing on handmade paper with watercolour wash (Click on image to enlarge)
In private collection

Lakshmi, daugter of Durga and Shiva, is the Goddess of prosperity and good fortune. We Bengalis believe that if the first born child in any house hold is a girl, she is the incarnation of Lokhkhi(Bengali pronunciation of Lakshmi), as she is supposed to usher in good fortune for her parents. I wish more people start believing the same, then the statistics of female infanticide in India will surely witness a downward sloping graph! On another note, all new brides are seen as incarnations of lakshmi and welcomed in to the grooms household with much fan fare but as soon as the in-laws find out that the expected dowry is not forthcoming, she becomes the witch to be burned alive! The equivocal aspect of the so called 'norms' of the Indian Society completely baffles me! Well, Coming back to Lakshmi, she has become synonymous with wealth as in gold and money! Needless to say she has the most fan following amongst all Indian Devis!