Ophelia: How Horses Make Meaning

There is a moment in everyone’s life when you feel you have found something so special that you cannot do anything but share it with the world. This was exactly what I felt when I walked through the hallway of the Bharat Kala Bhavan Museum. I was not bored, but there was nothing that truly intrigued me. So I sauntered outside where I found some pillars. Little did I know that I would find what would make the entire day worth it amongst the ancient rocks and dust. It was the oddest looking, indescribable animal that I have ever seen. I was so confused that I could only express what I felt through laughter, and oh did I laugh! I walked around it numerous times, attempting to comprehend this object in front of me. I thought it was too impressive not to share so I went inside and found the closest classmate: Tori.

I led her blindly to the eighth world wonder and her reaction was very similar to mine. We laughed together for a few minutes, inspecting the sculpture. The more we looked, the more we were confused, yet also the more we were intrigued. With features so undefined and so little in size, we were baffled as to what it could be, so we brought another person.

We led Bunny to the statue and after careful inspection, we decided that it had to be a horse. Yet, not only was it a horse, it was a horse that had been decapitated. Also, its legs were not even half the size of a normal horse, making it stand a mere meter tall.

Over time, we brought every single person out to the horse. We were laughing together because it was the only way to process something so ridiculous-looking. Our way of dealing with the horse’s existence might have been assumed to be inappropriate, but in my opinion, it was the only appropriate method of processing the most odd-looking statue to ever have been encountered.

Our rowdy behavior caused the museum guard/archeology student to walk over. He explained the entire history of the horse, why its head and legs were cut off and the significance of the lack of features. It was fascinating to hear about what the miserable being had meant in the past and how to this day it still impacts museum-goers. It is ironic to think that the least meticulous, most ridiculous object could enthrall us the most, but it just goes to show that beauty lies in the eye of the beholder and I thought it was stunning.

Tori: Asvamedha Ritual

The ancient ritual of Asvamedha (also called Ashwamedha) was an important ritual for the kings of many dynasty kingdoms. In this ritual, the king selects a stallion that he believes truly reflects his leadership. Once the horse was selected and rituals were performed to bless the horse, they would let it run around the dynasty kingdoms. If the horse stopped in that kingdom, its leader would be forced to fight the horse’s king. If the horse just continued running through the kingdom, the kingdom was known to surrender to that king. Then, once the ritual was over, the horse was beheaded and its legs were cut off as well. Eventually, they began to sacrifice a stone horse, such as the one shown in the picture, instead of slaughtering the true horse that ran amongst the kingdoms.

I believe that this horse statue, although at first, we found it amusing, actually has incredible connection to our class. We study How Movement Makes Meaning. The horse that the king selects creates a meaning of fight or surrender based entirely on its movement or lack thereof. It is incredible to me that a statue that started out as a silly joke amongst friends could turn out to have such an amazing history and connection to our class.

Image Link ***Note: This image is not the actual statue from Banaras Hindu University.***

Bunny: An Impression of Ears

It’s curious how humour and amazement can bring people together. It all started with closing your eyes. As a class, I would say we have grown accustomed to being led through space, but I’m still surprised at the level of trust that persisted among us, something I can’t say I necessarily experience with many people, not seen my closest friends or relatives. And then, after being led through the dark, through a museum with heaps of exposed old sculptures and statues, may I add, you were situated and asked to open your eyes. And before you stood this stout, unidentifiable rock animal that had a line around its’ neck. Turns out the head had been chopped off at some point. Everyone was in awe. We named him Ears, because he did not have ears. We learned as much as we could about ears, together, all bound and completely drenched in interest about this magical creature. It felt borderline religious, but it also felt beautiful to know that something seemingly unimpressive could leave such an impression on the group and bring us closer together, into a space of intrigue where we could learn more about the thing, the object. And here, it was amazement, but also humour, the intrinsically contagious act of laughter, that made the horse Ears seem extremely valuable and allowed us to make a warm collective memory.