She Takes Her Pleasure: Women, Desire & the Kama Sutra | Art Indica Episode 12

Who gets to speak about desire in the Kama Sutra? For centuries, the conversation has centred on men. In Episode 12 of Art Indica, Dr Alka Pande shifts the focus to women, drawing on her books A New Age Kama Sutra for Women and Naika and Kama: She Takes Her Pleasure.This episode explores how women appear in Indian erotic art, literature and visual culture—from the Ashta Nayikas of poetry to the Padmini, Shankhini, Hastini and Chitrini classifications in the Kama Shastra. Dr Pande examines sculptures from Khajuraho and Hampi, Nathdwara and Jaipur miniatures, and other works where women are not passive subjects but active participants in pleasure.Key themes include:Writing the Kama Sutra from a woman’s point of viewParvati as a model of feminine agency and desireThe Ashta Nayikas and the different emotional states of the heroineBody types and classifications of women in erotic textsVisual representations where women lead, pleasure themselves, or engage in same-sex intimacyThe difference between public patriarchy and private power dynamicsMale gaze vs female gaze in Indian erotic artWhat the Kama Sutra can mean for a modern woman in 2026Rather than treating the Kama Sutra only as a manual of positions, this conversation reframes it as a text about emotion, aesthetics, identity and agency. Dr Pande argues that reading these traditions today can serve as a kind of “wellness” practice, helping women understand their feelings, sexuality, and relationships within a deeper historical and cultural context.This episode is part of Season 2 of Art Indica, a podcast by Abir Pothi on Indian art, culture, architecture and visual history.Listen to Art Indica on YouTube, Spotify and Apple Podcasts.Content note: This episode discusses historical representations of sexuality, erotic art, female desire and gender in an art-historical and cultural context.