दहलीज़ (Dehleez)

A Site Specific Project for Jodhpur Art Week 2025, in colloboration with Toran maker of Jodhpur – Thanchand Mehra, Shila Devi, Rakesh Mehra, Ranjana Mehra, Tamanna Mehra, Curated by: Sakhshi Mahajan & Tapiwa Matsinde, Supported by Shrine Empire Empire and Public Art Trust of India(PATI)

Date: 1st – 7th October 2025

“ What does it mean when rituals of joy also reproduce rituals of power? ”

Awdhesh Tamrakar’s work Dehleez (or dehlīz), meaning threshold, both as the literal entrance to a home and as a symbolic site of transition, references torans which are decorative hangings placed above doorways during auspicious occasions. In Rajasthan, they are associated with new beginnings, protection and ritual transformation. Tamrakar draws from a folktale in which a toran becomes the resting place of a shape-shifting demon parrot spirit that disrupts wedding ceremonies. Traditionally, the groom strikes the toran with a sword or neem stick to banish this force, asserting authority and protection.

In this work, Tamrakar explores how the tradition encodes broader structures of power and gender. The parrot, as trickster or disruptor, reflects anxieties around marriage, control and societal expectations of women. Without dismissing tradition, Tamarakar reimagines the ritual as a space for collective reflection, dialogue and shared participation.

The installation takes the form of a sculptural toran, built from blue-painted planks and adorned with smaller motifs handcrafted by local artisan Than Chand Mehra. These micro-torans remain blank on one side inviting the public to inscribe and return them, transforming the work into a living archive of thoughts and memories. Each inscription, whether a memory of a threshold crossed, a wish for protection, a reflection on silence, or a thought to be carried forward unsettles inherited hierarchies.

-Sakhshi Mahajan