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NEW EXHIBITION

T e true meaning of Tantra

PHOTOGRAPHS: Some exhibitions don’t need much in the way of explanation to draw the crowds (witness the Tutankhamun spectacular now in its last weeks in London). The British Museum –on the other hand –is about to tackle a subject that’s been at the heart of spiritual life in India and many of its neighbours for 1,500 years, but is most o f en thought of in the West as having something to do with advanced sexual techniques. This new exhibition, ‘Tantra: enlightenment to revolution’, brings together objects from India, Tibet, Japan and beyond (including a Bengali depiction of the goddess Kali, pictured here), to explore the diverse ways that Tantric philosophy changed the practice of Hinduism and Buddhism, and even came to shape 1960s counter-culture. Kali herself embodies much of the mystery of Tantra: o f en cloaked in violent imagery, yet also worshipped as a symbol of maternal love, and more recently seen through a feminist lens. Tickets £15; 23 Apr–26 Jul 2020; britishmuseum.org KALI STRIDING OVER SHIVA, PROBABLY KRISHNANAGAR, BENGAL, 1890S. ©THE TRUSTEES OF THE BRITISH MUSEUM, HIRAPUR TEMPLE ©THE TRUSTEES OF THE BRITISH MUSEUM, HIMANGSHU SEKHAR / ALAMY, DANITA DELIMONT STOCK/ AWL 1 During India’s Medieval period, rulers commissioned temples that incorporated Tantric goddesses as guardians, such as the 10th-century Hirapur temple in Odisha . Sixty-four goddesses known as yoginis, seductive yet dangerous, encircle the interior walls. Tantric masters sought to access their powers, from shapeshif ing to immortality and flight. 2 Crowning a hill on the banks of the Brahmaputra River, the temple of Kamakhya in Assam is regarded as the most revered site of goddess worship in South Asia. Every summer, the Ambubachi Mela (‘issuing forth of rain festival’)

celebrates the goddess Shakti’s annual menstrual flow, which is believed to nourish the earth. 3 The annual Kali Puja (‘Kali Worship’) festival is celebrated every autumn across Bengal. Hundreds of painted clay icons of the Tantric goddess are made to adorn temporary shrines (pandals) for the festival. In the days leading up to Kali Puja, visitors to Kolkata can see the preparations first-hand in the backstreet workshops of Kumartuli, a traditional potters’ quarter. THREE TANTRIC SITES IN INDIA, CHOSEN BY EXHIBITION CURATOR DR IMMA RAMOS

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