GRAPHIC COMMUNICATION DESIGN / ANIMATIONNanhi Chidiya
This project commenced with an engagement in discourse through the act of making, inspired by Craig Martin’s observations on the implicit assumptions that arise from what is regarded as socially “normal” in his book, Deviant Design: The Ad Hoc, the Illicit, the Controversial (Martin, 2022). The reading served as a springboard for my design response, prompting a contemplation of the cultural implications of menstruation in a context as nuanced as India. Specifically, I reflected on the symbolism and significance of the deep red hue of menstrual blood within Indian culture.
Bindi (source: www.pexels.com)
Sindoor (source: www.pexels.com)
Alta (source: www.pexels.com)
In the cultural tapestry of India, red is a significant and auspicious colour, signifying sexuality, and fertility in marital life (Lamb, 2000). It adorns Hindu brides in wedding ceremonies and manifests in various customs, such as the application of a red dot (bindi) on the forehead, a symbolic marker of the third eye, symbolising energy and wisdom, and the use of vermillion (sindoor) by married women as a marker of marital status. These traditions celebrate fertility and prosperity, indicated by the bright red hue of dye (alta) and the ritual of a bride leaving red footprints in her new home as a symbol of the goddess Lakshmi, believed to be the bringer of wealth and good fortune.
However, this positive symbolism sharply contrasts with the stigmatisation of menstrual blood in the same cultural context. This incongruity propelled my design response, which serves as a commentary on this paradox—the simultaneous celebration of women’s fertility through menstrual blood and its tabooed physical state. The response takes the form of a micro-animation, juxtaposing cultural symbols like the bindi, sindoor, and alta with the physiology of menstrual blood.
Nanhi Chidiya micro-animation
In crafting the animation, I drew inspiration from India’s history of social messaging through storytelling, in particular, the animated short educational film Ek Anek Aur Ekta. Produced and released in 1974 by the Films Division of India, the film popularly known as Ek Chidiya, Anek Chidiyan after the title song accompanying the animation uses the metaphor of a group of birds to convey the value of unity in diversity to Indian citizens. Adopting a minimalist illustration style reminiscent of this classic, I crafted the animation as a digitally hand-drawn frame-by-frame design. To extend its tangible impact, I transformed it into a flip book—a versatile and interactive communicative medium, that can be collected and shared.
Screengrab–Films Division (Director). (2013, March 3). Ek Anek Aur Ekta. www.youtube.com/watch?v=bI376UnsUMg
Nanhi Chidiya flipbook.
This project serves as a visual and narrative tool to question entrenched norms and encourage conversations around menstruation, challenging oppressive structures in conservative societies. The animation, with its playful visual style and tactile manifestation as an artefact, aims to empower discussions on contradictory cultural diktats that regard the biology of menstruation as taboo but venerate its significance in symbolism.