Unity in Diversity (2003)

• 80%
• 2003
• Nalini Malani

Unity in Diversity is based on the allegorical painting Galaxy of Musicians by the late 19th century Indian painter Raja Ravi Varma. It shows eleven musicians, all women dressed in the different costumes of India signifying unity in diversity. This painting was shown at the World Congress of Religions in Chicago, in 1893, where the philosopher Swami Vivekananda addressed the danger of orthodoxy in religion. A nascent concept of nationalism was emerging at this time with strong reformist movements. The video contrasts this with later histories of the rise of fascism in India and the genocide in Gujarat in 2002 that shook the roots of this democratic country leaving mayhem and despair in its wake. What starts off as a visual fairy tale, where all parts of the nation play in harmony together, ends in a bloodbath.