Picture This!

Radhaben Garve

Zubaan Books

200 pages, Rs1,500

In her paintings, Radhaben Garve, an artist from a small village in Kutch, has for many years been documenting the women’s movement in the area. She has also chronicled the role of the Kutch Mahila Vikas Sangathan, the NGO she works with, in campaigns for women’s rights, equality and economic empowerment, and also against globalising corporations. In one sequence of pictures, Radhaben paints her first journey abroad; in another, she depicts the Chipko movement; in a third, the fragmentation of fields and farming activity as a result of globalisation. This unusual document provides a grassroots political perspective on India, and a vibrant portrait of the rural women’s movement.