Gender specific roles in a family

[Full title: Socio-Religious Life of the Pallava Period: Gender specific roles in a family]

The panel (fig. 35) shows a group of individuals consisting of a male and two females entering into the shelter provided by Krishna. The young woman in front, carries by her hand, a set of three pots placed one above the other in a rope-sling and a bundle of haystack on her head for the cattle. Behind her, is a man with an axe and following him is another woman with a child. At the far right end of the panel is an elderly man carrying a child on his shoulder. Similar stance can be especially seen in the rural areas even at present. From this, it can be inferred that women and even elder men generally looked after the younger members of the family. Perhaps women also used to feed the animals in the cattle-pen, carry out domestic chores and engage themselves in selling milk and its products. Thus, the economic subsistence and the routine life of a pastoral village are well depicted in this panel.