As author, art historian, cultural anthropologist and photographer, Stephen Huyler?s hats are multifaceted. And it all has tied together in his work as an Indophile who has been following the country for the past 37-odd years. Work for which he has received wide acclaim. While his interests have taken him to discover various sides of the land, many of which have fallen off the mainstream map, his new book, Daughters of India: Art and Identity, returns to his original take off point, women?s art and identity in India.
?One in six women in the world is an Indian, more than the combined female populations of North America, European Union and the Middle East. And no one is telling their stories,? says Huyler. Whenever I am in the West, people?s opinions are at loggerheads with my impression of Indian women,? he says. ?Indian women are seen as victims and are at the receiving end of violent social injustice. While it is true that women do not have an equal position in a patriarchal society, there is also that inherent recognition of strength of character, of an innate understanding that they are strong, of recognition of the power of the female, which is missing in the Judeao-Christian tradition.?
Huyler is full of admiration for the Indian woman, who, he says, are remarkable in the way they stabilise their lives, try to improve the situation for their children, and hold homes together. And art is often the space where creativity and aesthetics become part of their lives. ?Far more women create art as part of their daily lives ? and they do new designs rather than repeating the ones they have mastered, as men do.?
Huyler?s East-West comparison is unique too. ?Loss of identity in the West is remarkable,? he says about Western women. On the other hand, few Indian women have to look for their identity, they are not anchorless. Despite myriad challenges ? social, political, economic ? they have a strong sense of family and tradition, something missing in the West.
He takes the case of Mumbai slums, much highlighted recently, and points out that even in those harsh conditions, there is a strong sense of who they are. He illustrates the life of Pushpa, a sweeper for whom life is extremely hard, but who maintains her home and does not even need to lock, for she lives in a safe community. The women, he says, ?find a way to create balance for their lives, to reach out to those in the community, to protect the family?. It?s a sort of sorority, a sense of interconnectedness.
Huyler has written an earlier book on the theme, Painted Prayers: Women?s Art in Village India (1994). Then, as now, a large part of his book is set in the villages ? there are 20 women profiled in the book, of which four are urban. A coffee table book with glorious visuals supported by excellent production qualities, the book could lead you to forget that hardship and injustice are part of women?s lives too. Till you read the stories.
In over eight years of research, he came across hundreds of stories, he says. The stories here are just a sample. The proceeds from the book are to go to the Global Funds for Women, the Self Employed Women?s Association and Folk Arts, Rajasthan.
He is confident about the future too. ?Women have a growing sense of self-worth and expression in this country,? he says. And that allows for the further possibility of going in that direction.
Pushpa
?In 1997, Pushpa secured union employment as a sweeper for the Airports Authority of India. This new job guaranteed her a much larger salary, unlimited medical care, a free lunch every day and bus fare to and from work. With her employment as collateral, Pushpa took out a bank loan in order to finally build a permanent structure on her plot. She and her teenage children mortared concrete brick walls into two stories with a tin roof. The Bombay Municipal Corporation began to supply electricity and limited water. Pushpa?s house has a tiny kitchen with a gas stove and a small bathing cubicle (no toilet). The entire neighbourhood was similarly transformed. Two thousand families now live there ? an average of 470 people per acre, with no dwelling taller than two floors! And although the shared latrines and the open sewers are foul, each home is remarkably clean. The members of this community are proud of their achievement, and their morale was high until a recent threat of airport expansion. Pushpa?s honesty and vitality are well-respected.?