Priya's Shakti
| Priya's Shakti | |
|---|---|
| Date | 2014 |
| Publisher | Rattapallax |
| Creative team | |
| Creators | Ram Devineni, Lina Srivastava, Dan Goldman |
| Original publication | |
| Date of publication | 2014 |
Priya's Shakti is a graphic novel by Ram Devineni, Lina Srivastava, and Dan Goldman.[1]
About the book
Priya's Shakti is India's first augmented reality comic book and was launched at Mumbai Comicon 2014 June 2015. The graphic novel or comic book tells the story of Priya, a villager from India who is gang raped by men in her village. When she recalls her ordeal to her family, they shun her saying she has brought shame on them. The village elders too blame her for "provoking" the men. Ashamed and scared Priya flees to the forest to end her life. But the Goddess Parvati, queen to the King of Gods Shiva, sees her plight and seeks to help her. She enters Priya's body and confronts the men who raped Priya. The men do not realize Parvati is inside Priya and try to rape her again. This angers the Goddess and she takes her true form. Meanwhile, Shiva is awakened from his slumber and sees how mortals (men) are treating his wife. Furious he curses all mankind to impotency! Chaos reigns. The story of Priya then takes a new turn. How Priya champions the cause of women's rights and transforms at least her own village - is the story of Priya's Shakti (Shakti=power) [2]
Awards & Recognition
Since its publication, in a very short time the graphic novel has claimed global acclaim. The comic book has been bought or downloaded on the internet over 3,00,000 times and the app has become a rage across India. The book has also received several awards including ones from UN Women, which named it the 2014 Gender Equality Champion, the Ford Foundation and several other organizations.[3] The books photographs and story is travelling the world through exhibitions at New York, Paris, London etc.
The graphic novel's physical copies are now being distributed to rural schools in India as a pilot project, to see if such books can create awareness among children and the youth, about the evil of rape so that men can be sensitized towards rapes and how rape victims are treated [4]
- 2012 Delhi gang rape
- Blank Noise
- List of feminist comic books
- Rape in India
- Sexism in India
- Women in India
References
- ↑ Pandey, Geeta (December 7, 2014). "India's new comic 'super hero': Priya, the rape survivor". Delhi: BBC News. Retrieved December 19, 2014.
- ↑ "Rape Survivor Turns 'Superhero' in India's First Digital Comic". The New York Times. 2014-12-17. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2015-06-02.
- ↑ "Groundbreaking Augmented Reality Exhibit Coming to New York's City Lore Gallery". Reuters. Thu Apr 23 13:49:28 UTC 2015. Retrieved 2015-06-02. Check date values in:
|date=(help) - ↑ "India's Newest Heroine Breaks Rape-Talk Taboo with Comic Book - NBC News". Retrieved 2015-06-02.
Further reading
- Bahree, Megha (December 16, 2014). "Meet Priya: A Comic Book Character Out To Fight Rape". Forbes. Retrieved December 19, 2014.
- Chatterjee, Rhitu (December 16, 2014). "India's New Comic Book Hero Fights Rape, Rides On The Back Of A Tiger". NPR. Retrieved December 19, 2014.
- Chowdhury, Jennifer (December 15, 2014). "India's Newest Heroine Breaks Rape-Talk Taboo with Comic Book". NBCNews.com. Retrieved December 19, 2014.
- "Comic book for women's rights launched". Deccan Herald. Delhi. DHNS. December 17, 2014. Retrieved December 22, 2014.
- Lazarus, Susanna Myrtle (December 16, 2014). "More Power to the Pencil". Hindu. Retrieved December 19, 2014.
- Srivastava, Lina (December 17, 2014). "An Interactive Fight Against Gender-Based Violence: Priya's Shakti". HuffingtonPost.com. Retrieved December 19, 2014.