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Smith Poster Archive - Santoshi Ma

Santoshi Ma
Artist: S. Sitaram
Publisher: Shree Lakshmi Agencies, Sivakasi
12 9/16" X 9 1/8"
H. Daniel Smith Poster Archive, Department of Special Collections, Syracuse University Library, no 0539A

The goddess Santoshi Ma moved from obscurity to widespread popularity after the successful 1975 Jai Santoshi Ma (roughly, "Hail to the mother of Satisfaction"). This film's style was strongly influenced by the bright colors of the Indian poster industry, and its content soon became a common subject for poster art. This twentieth-century goddess has become most popular in urban areas, where posters featuring her can often be found near stores where lottery tickets are sold.