Sadhu with Withered Hand (India)

Item Information

Title:
Sadhu with Withered Hand (India)
Description:
This lantern slide, “Sadhu with Withered Hand (India),” shows a Sadhu holding his arm above his head as penance, an act that means dealing with excruciating pain while the muscles atrophy. Sadhus are wandering ascetics affiliated with a wide range of Hindu religious orders and schools. They are respected by Hindus and given food in return for their blessings and prayers. Sadhus will perform acts of penitence such as spending years with their left hand in the air, standing on one leg, or lying on a bed of cacti. They believe that severe penance will liberate them from the endless cycle of death and rebirth.
Creator:
Hawkes, Joseph
Date:
[1910?–1930?]
Format:
Photographs
Location:
Springfield College Archives and Special Collections
Collection (local):
College Archives Digital Collections
Series:
Lantern Slide Collection
Subjects:
International Young Men's Christian Association
Lantern slides
Hinduism
Beards
Mustaches
Older people
Thatched roofs
Raising hands
Turbans
Extent:
3.25x3.25 in
Link to Item:
http://cdm16122.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/p15370coll2/id/3161
Terms of Use:
Text and images are owned, held, or licensed by Springfield College and are available for personal, non-commercial, and educational use, provided that ownership is properly cited. A credit line is required and should read: Courtesy of Springfield College, Babson Library, Archives and Special Collections. Any commercial use without written permission from Springfield College is strictly prohibited. Other individuals or entities other than, and in addition to, Springfield College may also own copyrights and other propriety rights. The publishing, exhibiting, or broadcasting party assumes all responsibility for clearing reproduction rights and for any infringement of United States copyright law.
Contact host institution for more information.
Publisher:
Springfield College
Notes:
The Y.M.C.A.’s work in India began in 1889, when they sent a young American named David McConaughy to Madras to serve as the first foreign secretary in India. McConaughy encouraged the development of pre-existing Associations and held the first National Convention in 1891, resulting in the formation of the National Council of India, Burma, and Ceylon. The Association’s most notable contribution in India was its rural development work, first begun by K. T. Paul in 1913. Paul established microloan programs that freed the rural poor from the grips of moneylenders and won many converts among India's lower classes. Joseph Hawkes, the slide’s creator, spent much of his life producing and coloring lantern slides from his home in New York. This slide is part of Springfield College’s lantern slide series depicting Y.M.C.A. work in India, Ceylon, and Burma in the early twentieth century. The series was prepared by the Foreign Division of the American and Canadian Y.M.C.A, which established self-sustaining associations staffed by trained secretaries in foreign lands.
Text on border reads, "India - A Passing Ideal; 47; Man with Withered Hand; Made by Joseph Hawkes."
Part of the Y.M.C.A. Work in India and Sri Lanka Lantern Slide Series
Identifier:
LS-08-11