This profile of a human head contains inscriptions from three different languages: English, Sanskrit, and Gujarati, the language of the Gujarat state of India and the artist’s home. Most of the inscriptions derive from Hinduism, one of the world’s oldest living religions and followed by eighty percent of the population in India. Some words, however, are also used in other religions, such as Buddhism and Islam. For instance, on the forehead is the Sanskrit symbol for hum, and at the nape of the neck, the Sanskrit for om. Both words are found in Hindu and Buddhist mantras (chants). Around the mouth is the word Rahim in Sanskrit, a word referring to Allah or God in Islam. On the neck is the name of the artist, Jyoti, written in Gujarati and meaning “light.”
Jui Mhatre translated the Sanskrit and Gujarati inscriptions.--Aileen June Wang