
Rushdie's Pampa is a woman who is reborn after her mother walks into the embers of sati. She prays to live forever and is granted a life of 247 years, during which she will build and rule over the most beautiful city in the world, Bisnaga or 'victory city'. After she dies, the city will be in ruins. Bisnaga is based on Vijayanagara in Karnataka. Pampa is another name for Parvati, hoping to entice a meditating Shiva into matrimony. It is also the old name for the river Tungabhadra, and the ancient moniker of Hampi, a UNESCO World Heritage site.
It is no surprise that textile advocate Lavina Baldota named her newest exhibition 'Pampa: Textiles of Karnataka,' which took place at the 17th century stone-lined Mantappa exhibition centre in Hampi Bazaar. It's just a few feet from the revered Virupaksha temple, which has a small home for Pampa Devi in its compound.
Dit verhaal komt uit de March 23, 2025 editie van THE WEEK India.
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Dit verhaal komt uit de March 23, 2025 editie van THE WEEK India.
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