PRIYA AND THE LOST GIRLS
Story by Dipti Mehta and Ram Devineni. Artwork by Syd Fini and Neda Kazemifar. Priya continues her adventures with her flying tiger, Sahas. She returns home and discovers all the young women have disappeared in her rural village including her sister, Laxmi. She learns from her parents that they were taken to an underground city called Rahu. Priya searches out for the city and discovers it is run by a demon living in a volcano, who gets his power through fear and entrapment of women in his brothel city. The city used to be a tranquil kingdom run by Manidhari, half-snake and half-woman and her husband, Paatal. But, Rahu tricked them and turned the kingdom into a wasteland and put his servant, Amrit, in charge of luring women and controlling them. Priya has to convince her sister and the other women to leave Rahu and break his spell over them. When the women escape and return home, they face the stigma and prejudices from their own people and family — which angers Priya and leads to a dramatic conclusion. Available in English, Portuguese, Spanish, Italian. ISBN: 978-1-892494-46-7
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CURRICULUM
Download the Comic Book Student’s Materials (PDF) and Comic Book Teacher’s Guide (PDF) and use it in your classroom. We host the curriculums on Dropbox, but if you need an alternative option — click these links and File > Save As to download the PDF. Comic Book Student’s Materials (PDF) / Comic Book Teacher’s Guide (PDF)
The comic book is funded by the The Jerome Foundation, National Endowment for the Art, and the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of New York State Governor and the New York State Legislature. The comic book series and interactive work was developed at Crossover Labs. PRIYA AND THE LOST GIRLS is proudly supported by the Merriweather District’s artist-in-residence program, funded by Howard Hughes Corporation. Located in Columbia, MD, the residency provided an environment and resources for creator, Ram Devineni and his colleagues to continue to produce the third installment. The comic book is dedicated to poet and teacher Meena Alexander, who was the inspiration for the series.
View the augmented reality elements in the comic book and exhibitions through ARTVIVE app.
Priya and the Lost Girls is inspired on the life of Ruchira Gupta and her journey from making the documentary The Selling of Innocents to building Apne Aap Women Worldwide, an NGO that works to end sex trafficking, while simultaneously working with the United Nations to devise better policies for the poor and young often neglected by society. The story highlights crucial moments in the lives of Apne Aap women and children; trafficking survivors that freed themselves from a system of inter-generational prostitution in India. Through the lens of both Ruchira’s and the survivors’ experiences, Apne Aap has designed a campaign called The Last Girl to draw worldwide attention to the plights of the 13-year olds in brothels and the 15-year olds standing on street corners. View videos about Apne Aap through the augmented reality app Artivive. Learn more and support the campaign at www.apneaap.org/donate
Priya e le ragazze perdute (Italiano)
Continuano le avventure di Priya e della sua tigre volante, Sahas. Di ritorno a casa, l’attende una scoperta: tutte le ragazze del villaggio sono scomparse, compresa sua sorella Lakshmi. Sono state portate a Rahu, città-bordello sotterranea governata da un demone malvagio che si fa forte della paura e del raggiro di cui sono vittime le donne. Traduzione di Mila Fahren. (scaricare PDF / Apple iBooks)
Priya e as Garotas Perdidas (Português)
Priya continua suas aventuras com seu tigre voador, Sahas. Ela retorna a sua casa e descobre que todas as jovens mulheres desapareceram de sua vila, incluindo sua irmã, Laxmi. Ela descobre que elas foram levadas uma cidade subterrânea chamada Rahu, governada por um demônio que ganha poder através do medo e do aprisionamento de mulheres. Traduzido por Karine Bender. (baixar PDF / Apple iBooks)
Priya y las chicas perdidas (Spanish)
Priya continúa sus aventuras con su tigre volador, Sahas. Cuando regresa a casa, descubre que todas las chicas jóvenes han desaparecido de su aldea, incluida su hermana Lakshmi. La heroína descubre que se las han llevado a una ciudad subterránea de burdeles llamada Rahu, gobernada por un demonio que obtiene su poder atemorizando y engañando a las mujeres. Traducción: Natalia Contreras de la Llave. (descargar PDF / Apple iBooks)
Priya and the Lost Girls (China)
Priya continues her adventures with her flying tiger, Sahas. She returns home and discovers all the young women have disappeared in her rural village including her sister, Laxmi. She learns they were taken to an underground brothel city called Rahu, which is ruled by a demon who gets his power through fear and entrapment of women. Created by China Women Film Festival (Download PDF )
Priya and the Lost Girls (Hindi)
Priya continues her adventures with her flying tiger, Sahas. She returns home and discovers all the young women have disappeared in her rural village including her sister, Laxmi. She learns they were taken to an underground brothel city called Rahu, which is ruled by a demon who gets his power through fear and entrapment of women. Translated by Dipti Mehta (Download PDF)
“In a country where religious fundamentalism is on the rise and society is seen shifting back to conservative values, a female superhero — dark-skinned and salwar-kameez clad, no less — with a compelling origin story involving surviving rape and resisting the stigma that comes with — was path-breaking at several levels.”
“The younger population is much better poised to join conversations about all the ways in which we can change the world than even millennials were at that age. They’re at the forefront of protests, online campaigns and in general, are leading by example by being more socially conscious. Popular culture ought to keep up with that and feed that further — and superheroes like Priya are going to lead the charge.” – The Huffington Post
“A Revolutionary Women's Rights Comic. The trio of comics consider rape culture and its torturing and discarding of vulnerable young women. It not only alerts people worldwide to the problem but also its solutions—learning respect and love for the vulnerable in the community.” — VIVA