The original negative was produced by a traveling photographer, “Anna Studio,” who set up a painted backdrop of the Shirdi Sai Baba shrine. Kalavati is positioned stiffly, her hands folded, revealing no index finger (a common sign of a missing joint due to a childhood thresher accident). This indexical trace – the physical absence made present – is the photograph’s punctum (Barthes, 1980).

Drawing on field notes from 2022-2023, we identify four non-representational functions of the image.

For followers of the Shri Harimandir tradition, standing before a "Kalavati Aai photo" is a meditative experience.

Devotees search for various representations of the Holy Mother to suit different devotional needs: Shri Kalavati Mata - Hindupedia, the Hindu Encyclopedia