Kamadhenu Vindaloo

100cm x 100cm
Oil on canvas
Embellished with Swarovski & 24 karat gold leaf

Kamadhenu Vindaloo questions the social norm of the woman’s significance and value mostly for the duration of fertility almost a revered property. The image is of a solitary, luminous cow floating in a hot gold desert, tossed around are curry leaves and marigold blooms. At first glance, it evokes the sacral. But this is not the mythic Kamadhenu, the wish-fulfilling cow of Hindu lore, revered as divine mother. This is her contemporary counterpart - independent, flawless, assured of the presence of higher awareness in herself - her work incomplete.

Cloaked in visual opulence, the work explores the objectification of womanhood through a deeply personal yet universally resonant lens. The gilded desert is no sanctuary; it is the scorched aftermath of a societal transaction. One in which fertility, youth, and availability determine value. The cow—symbol of nourishment, femininity, and sacrifice—stands here not as a deity, but tender and tangible, aware of the limitations.

Interrogating cultural, biological, and emotional expectations that orbit the female body, what happens when a woman ceases to be fertile? Who is she when she cannot give birth—to children, to legacy, to male fantasy? Is she still seen? Or simply shelved—past her “sell-by” date, wandering the supermarket aisle of human worth?

Marigolds—flowers of celebration and mourning—surround her. Are they offerings or decorations at a wake? Vindaloo, a dish with colonial roots and fiery undertones, hints at heritage both beloved and burned. Beneath the surface, it offers what she does: a soft, kind, quiet strength that refuses to disappear and a reminder that if nothing works at least it’s delectable.