A forgotten voice from medieval Maharashtra, Kanhopatra was a courtesan’s daughter, a poet, a musician and an enchanting dancer. Refusing to live a life of luxury amidst patriarchy, she subversively chose a life of piety, immersing herself in a spiritual quest towards Lord Vitthala of Pandharpur. Navigating persistent vulnerability from her desirable physicality, Kanhopatra braved various odds including a final summon by a King to be his concubine. At this sensitive zenith, she demands an equal footing with Her God, leaving her mortal coils to merge into His Divinity. 

A symbol of resistance, resilience and unabashed faith, to this day, she remains enshrined in the precincts of the temple. Kanhopatra’s powerful feministic voice is largely reconstructed by lore and shrouded by subjective opinions from varying socio-politico-economic contexts. Divya Ravi’s multidisciplinary artistic exploration traces Kanhopatra’s emotional progression, evidently subsumed in her own evocative poetry.