Pushpamala N is a sculptor, visual artist, and provocateur whose work is marked by a witty subversion of mainstream iconography particularly around themes of gender and history. Pushpamala was also a dear friend of Gauri Lankesh who was shot dead three years ago by the intolerant Hindu Right goons.
Exploring the person that Gauri was through those who knew her, Aparna of the Indian Cultural Forum spoke to Pushpamala. In this poignant and personal account, we meet Gauri as an affable person, a friend who one could talk to about anything, as a neighbour who brought people together, as someone with unwavering commitment to her work despite the costs that come with it particularly for women, as a political fellow traveller who one had disagreements and debates with, and as a symbol of resistance that continues to unite voices against intolerance and hate. In Pushpamala’s words, “The meaning of Gauri was that this solitary woman, vulnerable woman stood up fearlessly, and became a model of what women could be.”
