Theme: Hindu Mythology

Hinduism is one the primary religions of India and is considered the oldest religion in the world. It comes with a series of rituals of worship, festival, clothing and pilgrimage (which can vary greatly between region and factions), a belief in Reincarnation and non-meat eating.

Hinduism has a complex series of creation myths and a godhead that is made up of the Trimurti of personalities – Brahma the creator, Vishnu the preserver and Shiva the destroyer. Underneath this are a number of other gods, the most popular of which to Westerners is the goddess Kali, who is often portrayed as a force of evil.

Outside of Bollywood Cinema, which as a rule rarely delves into matters religious, Western cinema remains woefully ignorant of Hinduism as a religious/cultural tradition, instead resorting to cliches of yogic masters and obscure traditions, snake charmers, personifications of Kali or snake goddesses and thuggee cults.

Perhaps the concepts from Hinduism that have filtered through into modern use are the idea of the avatar (in actuality a manifestation of godhead) and the practice of yoga.