[Reader-list] bharti kher...matrimonial columns in the popular press

[khergupta]

REF:   Sarai Independent Fellowship 

Video Work by bharti kher

The title of my project " Love ....an absence of assignable cause" proposes to deal with a number of issues that relate to the 40 odd words that invite and initiate the realities of an Indian marriage....

obvious are the hierarchies: gender, caste and wealth seem to me to be 3 major factors. More subtle but equally important is the role of the pundit ...(its interesting to note that the role of the Hindu pundit has always been one of deep respect,fear and faith, a strange mixture of control and inextricable linking to the day to day lives of everyday people)...and hence the BHP (biodata, horoscope,photo)

Do the matrimonials in different parts of India differ?...Delhi is prone to financial status selling...and yet the cosmopolitan sections are incredibly varied. Women's photos differ greatly to men's...the idea being...(we all know)... Do the words used in the matrimonials raise questions of fantasy or truth? (why are children "issues"..."early" means: i want to get married quickly: Fair,homely and convent educated...are polite and frightening ways to describe virgins.

My research and questions will not necessarily lead to any concrete conclusions...but the art work that I make,(in most likelihood through the medium of sound and video) I hope will reflect a sense of the comic tragedy/happily ever after..ritualistic scenario and reality of boy meets girl....with all cliches and banality. 

Does anyone have any stories to tell?? any photos? comments?

Thanks, 
Bharti kher




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