Parvati पार्वती | The Half That Holds the Other | Museum Poster

पार्वती | The old grandmothers used to say, grandchild, that Parvati is the half that holds the other. Look how she leans against him — her head on his shoulder, his hand quietly in hers, the snake at his throat as easy as a scarf. They are Ardhanarishvara, the lord-who-is-also-the-lady, woven so close that the threads of one are the threads of the other. The mandala behind them is their world, and they are at its centre. Long love, child — the kind that doesn't need words. The kind that simply rests, side by side.