‘The Hindu Thread’ is a very simple, concise animation by writer, animator and director Jennifer Higgins. In her short film the director tells the story oxf hindu gods: Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. Each with his own role: Brahma creates, Vishnu sustains and Shiva destroys, the three gods follow the work each of his own predecessor.
Jennifer Higgins’ story makes one contemplate on human condition and the origins of the Universe. While, as in most religions, Universe is the creation of a powerful being at the end of times it will be destroyed in a dance of fire. In between the play of gods, human destiny appears as being very small and somewhat random.
‘The Hindu Thread’ is nonetheless a story about purification too. While Brahma creates and therefore gives life, Vishnu’s duty is to maintain the life that has been created. It is never explained directly when exactly and why will Shiva destroy the Universe and everything existing but it makes us think that it is connected to reaching a certain level of imperfection.
Like any thing created, when new, the Universe has a certain degree of perfection – this is easier to understand by referring to Human Universe and associating everything with the human society’s development. This perfection lies in the creation’s incipient state. As things keep developing, perfection dilutes by the knowledge people acquire – be it that it is the knowledge about the origin of creation that defies the gods, or a parallel human knowledge that is obviously not ‘absolute’ as a god-like knowledge and therefore leading to an overall degradation of the Universe, this requires purification. It is this the moment when Shiva’s role starts to make sense. The surprise is that Shiva’s dance is not the end.
‘The Hindu Thread’’s cyclical story reminds in a way of the man’s duty to persist in accomplishing their own obligations, in working their labour to the end.
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