South Asia

Learn about the main events and conflicts in the Rama epic.

Why is the epic of Rama a beloved tale in many cultures across South and Southeast Asia? Explore how this story and its characters has remained significant in the lives of millions even today.

Dancer and storyteller Pranita Jain from Kalapriya Center for the Indian Performing Arts leads a special interactive storytelling demonstration animating tales of King Vikramaditya with mudras (gestures) and facial expressions at the Asian Art Museum.

Learn about the festival in India for one of the most popular forms of the Goddess—Durga.

This video depicts a cremation ceremony for members of the Balinese royal family. There are dozens of steps in the Balinese cremation process which can take many months depending on the wealth and status of the deceased. Wealthy people often have extremely elaborate pavilions and other implements that are part of this process. When the body finally makes it to the cremation grounds, there is a pavilion built there under which stands an animal-shaped coffin. The shape of the coffin is related to the caste of the person who has died.

A time-lapse video of the installation of a vast 10 x 20 foot oil painting of the “Delhi Durbar of 1903” by Roderick McKenzie at the Asian Art Museum. Part of the special exhibition, Maharaja: The Splendor of India’s Royal Courts (on view at the Asian Art Museum from October 21, 2011–April 8, 2012).

Asian Art Museum Storyteller Amit Pendyal tells a scene from the Rama epic (Ramayana) with the use of artworks in the museum’s collection. Discover more fresh takes on this ageless tale in the exhibition, The Rama Epic: Hero, Heroine, Ally, Foe.

Krishna overcoming the serpent Kaliya, 1400–1500. India; reportedly from Sundaraperumakoil, Tanjavur district, Tamil Nadu state, former kingdom of Vijayanagara. Bronze. The Avery Brundage Collection, B65B72.

The political enlightenment of the West articulated ideals that had no substantial counterpart in the spiritual traditions of Asia according to this event’s featured speaker, Akeel Bilgrami, a leading philosopher and political and cultural commentator. Yet Gandhi, appealing precisely to those traditions, managed to construct a radical political philosophy. In what ways was Gandhi modern despite his explicit opposition to modernity? Is Gandhi relevant to our own time and politics? Dr. Bilgrami presents Gandhi’s political philosophy to explore these questions and other contemporary concerns of religion, politics and culture.