Ardhonarishwar

The Aesthetic integer of the short film “Ardhonarishwar” combines classical mythology with the everyday tale of Indian Country life. Here, however, the ruthless reality of poverty in rural Bengal has served as the metaphor of contemporary awesomeness. This awe has been manifested through the wonder of recognition of the everlasting motherhood in a child.

The child is the daughter of a ‘Bahurupi’ who earns his livelihood by showing off himself in the guise of Indian deities. The theme music of the film vibrates with the tune of ‘charak’ festival while ‘Bhola Maheshwar’ (The forgetful, The Lord of everything) re-vibrates as the principal idiom in the song.

It is the tale of a day in the life of this country dweller. He plays in the roles of religious icons, roaming around, to earn livelihood for himself and his motherless child. The day is the last day of Bengali Calendar Year and the celebrations of Lord Shiva’s festival are being performed. The ‘Bahupuri’, nameless and almost without any proper identity, is bewildered by the ruthlessness of his poverty and inability to take care of his child. Finally, however, the true incarnation of the Mother Eternal emerges from the smiling face of the little girl, the light of the smile merges with the glow of the dawn of the first day of the new year.

Ardhonarishwar is a wonderful image of female and male deities combined in the same body. The idea is so unique that it attracted attention of artists and philosophers, down from Plato to Rabindranath. Plato’s concept of Daemon and Rabindranath’s idea about the Friendliest of Friends allude to Ardhonarishwar myth. Here, in the present film, an humble attempt at drawing up a synthesis of the sophisticated myth with the folk tradition may be noted.