{"product_id":"lankini-in-tholu-bommalata-by-sindhe-siva","title":"Lankini in Tholu Bommalata by Sindhe Siva","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThis arresting Tholu Bommalata artwork by Sindhe Siva depicts Lankini, the formidable demoness who guards the gates of Ravana's island kingdom in the Ramayana, rendered through the shadow puppetry tradition of Andhra Pradesh. Her confrontation with Hanuman marks one of the epic's pivotal turning points, and this piece captures the ferocity befitting a guardian said to be invincible against gods, demons, and men alike.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eTholu Bommalata, meaning \"the dance of leather puppets'' is the traditional shadow theatre of the Telugu-speaking Deccan, with roots reaching back some two thousand years and a repertoire built substantially around the Ramayana, whose Lanka-set episodes, including Hanuman's search for Sita, form a distinct and popular section of the puppeteer's night-long performances. Puppets are fashioned from treated, translucent animal hide, hand-painted with natural pigments and finely perforated so that light from behind the screen turns each figure into a glowing shadow. Sindhe Siva practises this craft within the Nimmalakunta lineage of Dharmavaram, Anantapur district, an eighth-generation family of National and State award-winning puppeteers.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eLanchini is rendered here with an orange-toned complexion, her upper body wrapped in a grey blouse worked with a fine cross-hatched pattern, and her lower garment styled as a checkered skirt in bold red and green, edged with a wide decorative border. Her hair is depicted wild and unbound, rising in dense, flame-like strands above a face fixed in open aggression: bulging eyes, a hooked nose, and a wide mouth baring sharp fangs beneath heavy features, all conventions used across the tradition to mark a demonic or rakshasa figure. Large circular earrings, a beaded necklace and matching armlets and anklets complete her ornamentation, rendered in gold-toned perforated detailing. She grips a curved sword, held ready in a stance of active defence.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAccording to the Ramayana, Lanchini was once a guardian of Brahma's own abode, but grew arrogant in her position and was cursed by him to instead guard the demon city of Lanka, with the promise that she would be freed only when defeated in combat by a vanara. When Hanuman arrives at Lanka's gates in search of Sita and attempts to slip past her, Lankini challenges and attacks him; Hanuman, striking her only enough to fell her, brings about the very prophecy that ends her long vigil. Recognising this as the sign foretold by Brahma, she permits him to enter the city, and her defeat is understood as the first tremor of Ravana's coming downfall, a moment in which the invincible guardian yields before the beginning of the end of the rakshasa age.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThrough her wild hair, bared fangs and drawn sword, this artwork conveys both the terror and the tragic inevitability of Lankini's role, a formidable protector whose fall signals the turning of the epic's tide. Sindhe Siva's rendering shows how Tholu Bommalata gives even its female demons the same dramatic intensity and fine craftsmanship as its heroes and gods.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Sindhe Siva","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50044392931542,"sku":null,"price":4000.0,"currency_code":"INR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1194\/1498\/files\/1._Lankini_in_Tholu_Bommalata_by_Sindhe_Siva.png?v=1786001705","url":"https:\/\/www.memeraki.com\/products\/lankini-in-tholu-bommalata-by-sindhe-siva","provider":"Memeraki Retail and Tech Pvt Ltd.","version":"1.0","type":"link"}