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SUMMARY:Death and sanitation: Imperial representations of The Ganges  - Cl
 eo Roberts\, UKIERI PhD researcher
DTSTART:20150427T150000Z
DTEND:20150427T170000Z
UID:TALK54992@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Dr Annamaria Motrescu-Mayes
DESCRIPTION:The Ganges is historically associated with bodily cleansing an
 d ritual purity. Playing an important role in the vratas\, the river has b
 een ideologically associated with its ability to ensure eternal health and
  well-being. From sculptures of Mother Ganga during the Gupta period to co
 ntemporary photographs of GangaMela\, visual representations have posited 
 The Ganges as a site inextricably linked to cycles of life and death\, pur
 ity and religious orthodoxy.\n\nImperial representations of the river\, th
 ose emanating from the period of the height of the East India Company’s 
 presence in East Bengal\, are particularly concerned with the river’s si
 gnificance as a site of death. The physical enactment of sati/suttee and p
 ublic burning ghats challenge the colonial administration’s predominatin
 g Enlightenment ideals of health\, hygiene and sanitation. Utilising a ser
 ies of these representations including images from the Centre of South Asi
 an Studies archive\, the paper will explore the cultural disjuncture betwe
 en indigenous and colonial interpretations of the river. Engrossed by this
  practice of immolation\, it will be argued that these images of the river
  enter into European visual culture forming an inherent part of greater po
 litical narratives intended to consolidate imperial dominion in Bengal and
  beyond. 
LOCATION:S2 Seminar Room\, Alison Richard Building\, 7 West Rd.
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