The Transformation of Hanuman from a Divine Hero to Hypermasculine: A Talk by Dr. Sudipa Topdar in Hindi class

I really enjoyed Dr. Sudipa Topdar’s guest lecture in our intermediate Hindi class. She spent the class analyzing the role that Hanuman plays in Indian culture. I was raised learning stories about Hanuman. I read the Amar Chitra Kata discussed in class repeatedly when I was a kid. Due to the fact that I was raised in America, even though I was raised on Ramanand Sagar’s Ramayana and Amar Chitra Kata’s, I did not get the chance to see the place that Hanuman held in the public Indian consciousness. Dr. Topdar went into detail as to the role that Hanuman used to play as a mythical figure. He was a strong and moral warrior that people prayed to for protection. She contrasted that with the hypermasculine version of Hanuman that is becoming more common today. She shared modern images of Hanuman with ridiculous muscles and always frowning. She used Hanuman as a mythological figure to make a general point about the way India’s swing towards Hindu nationalism is bastardizing and changing the very religious figures that the movement pledges to revere. The hypermasculine version of Hanuman is not the same Hanuman that provides comfort to a kidnapped Sita, or leaves Ravana’s women alone. He is not the man that lovingly brings an entire mountain to Lanka in order to heal an ailing Lakshmana. While Hanuman has always been a strong figure in the text of the Ramayana, he was not necessarily a violent one. Through using a very specific selection of images, Dr. Topdar was easily able to show us how the Hindu nationalist movement has perverted his essence. I was particularly struck by one of the temples she showed us. She told us about a Muslim woman that had the temple built in honor of Hanuman because she hoped honoring him would help her fertility issues. I think this particular example reminds me of India at its best. India is fundamentally a nation of great diversity, and there has not always had to be such animosity between religions. Right wing movements want to rewrite history and say that Muslims are violent, monstrous, aggressors, when that was not the case. The real India of interreligious compassion still exists, but it’s being drowned out by the right wing.

Additional Hindi student comments about Dr. Sudipa Topdar's lectures.

Carlie: The Hanuman presentation was great, as someone with little knowledge on Hindu mythology, I found it really informative and interesting. The way she expanded it to modern issues with masculinity and sexism was extremely interesting. The background information was really comprehensive and led into the present context very well. 

Her presentation on the Loreto school girls was very interesting. I think that she did a really good job connecting the experiences of girlhood in India with colonization and other historical contexts. It was a very niche subject, but she made it broadly applicable to Indian cultural history.

Ishan: The presentation on Hanuman was very बढ़िया and I learned a lot about the deeper meaning behind the story and how certain themes were portrayed. I really enjoyed learning more about the history of the comic company as well. I feel like the portion about the evolution of the representation of Hanuman was also quite fascinating. I enjoyed seeing the change in portrayal and what that meant. She seemed very knowledgeable about the topic and I felt like I was able to appreciate the story much more after her presentation. I learned a lot about the symbolism of Hanuman and how it has played into the current world politics (in terms of certain political and social groups, like the group she discussed who was very anti muslim and traditionalist). It helped me gain a new insight into the minds of certain people to understand how and why they think the way they do. 

Ali: The presentation on Hanuman was extremely interesting. I learned a lot about Indian mythology as well as the pedagogical teachings that arise from them. I also learned a lot about the history of comics in India and why there was such an urgent attempt to improve religiosity among the youth. Moreover, I was extremely fascinated by the political and cultural bastardization of Hanuman related imagery and symbolism in current day India. I thought the presentation was really good and I thought that Dr. Topdar was engaging and very knowledgeable about the topic. I only wish there were more time for questions. I especially enjoyed how she was able to bridge the topics and provide nuance as to how the need for theology, Indian mythology, and the current hypermasculinization of Hanuman were all closely related. I enjoyed the talk a lot, but only wish there was more time. Thank you!

Malika: I really enjoyed the presentation! I feel that Hindu mythology is an area of knowledge that I should know about, but still do not have a full understanding of despite being of Indian descent. The imagery of Hanuman and extreme masculinity made a lot of sense to me, and it was something that I never realized could have such an extensive impact on India’s youth. Her topic on childhood voices and Hindu mythology was niche but she was able to explain it very well to a listener with average background on the topic. I could conceptually understand the main points she was arguing, and her presentation was very thorough. Thank you for presenting to our class! 

Prisha: Her presentation on the Loreto girls was very good - I wish I had been there to hear the first couple of minutes, though! I’m very interested in childhood, so the presentation aligned well with my interests. I found the way she thought to research childhood voices by finding childrens’ letters in magazines to be very insightful, and something I might consider in my own research. 

Her presentation on Hanuman was well done! I felt like I could follow along well with her Hindi, and I thought that the part about the history of the Amar Chitra Katha was very interesting. I grew up reading Amar Chitra Katha, but I never really thought about the purpose of it or how it was spread before. I also thought that her discussion on the hypermaculization of Hanuman was interesting, although I wish we had more time on that. 

This lecture was supported and funded by Asian and Middle Eastern Studies Duke India Initiative and Duke Service Learning.