The Timeless Dancing Girl
The Dancing Girl * is a reflection of standards of beauty followed by one of the most developed civilization of its time- Indus Valley Civilization. The lady stands thin as stick, tall, with almost no clothes. Her posture and stance shows her level of confidence. With her chin up, she commands her status, she is not looking for any kind of approval or permission, and rather she is swollen with self pride. She carries her arrogance with grace and subtlety.
This image depicts finer nuances of the society. It brings about the status and privileges enjoyed by the women in Indus Civilization. No need to say, a lady figure adored with such suitably chosen jewellery, standing proudly- makes a clear statement that women were enjoying a powerful and very independent life. Interestingly, there is no attempt to make her beautiful or highlight the feminine features of the figure. To me, it is a portrait of a young lady belonging to a status of importance.
I would like to recall words of three great archaeologists:
Mortimer Wheeler (1973) in a television program talked about this amazing image:
"There is her little Baluchi-style face with pouting lips and insolent look in the eye. She's about fifteen years old I should think, not more, but she stands there with bangles all the way up her arm and nothing else on. A girl perfectly, for the moment, perfectly confident of herself and the world. There's nothing like her, I think, in the world."
This image depicts finer nuances of the society. It brings about the status and privileges enjoyed by the women in Indus Civilization. No need to say, a lady figure adored with such suitably chosen jewellery, standing proudly- makes a clear statement that women were enjoying a powerful and very independent life. Interestingly, there is no attempt to make her beautiful or highlight the feminine features of the figure. To me, it is a portrait of a young lady belonging to a status of importance.
I would like to recall words of three great archaeologists:
Mortimer Wheeler (1973) in a television program talked about this amazing image:
"There is her little Baluchi-style face with pouting lips and insolent look in the eye. She's about fifteen years old I should think, not more, but she stands there with bangles all the way up her arm and nothing else on. A girl perfectly, for the moment, perfectly confident of herself and the world. There's nothing like her, I think, in the world."
John Marshall, one of the excavators at Mohenjo-Daro, described her as a vivid impression of the young ... girl, her hand on her hip in a half-impudent posture, and legs slightly forward as she beats time to the music with her legs and feet...
As author Gregory Possehl says, We may not be certain that she was a dancer, but she was good at what she did and she knew it.
She is a beauty belonging to a class apart.The grace of the image takes a viewer beyond the timeliness and geographical boundaries. She is classic, she is timeless, and she embodies the power of womanhood, so naturally.
*Facts :The Dancing Girl, 2500 BC, 10.8 centimeter high, Bronze-lost wax method, Excavated in 1926, Mohenjo-Daro, Pakistan.
Comments