Ipsita Roy Chakraverti - Influence and Legacy

Influence and Legacy

Chakraverti's advance and declaring of herself as a witch came at a time, when India still considered the word "witch" as a taboo. Author Kumkum Bhandari said that "Ipsita was a pioneer. Remember, call someone a 'witch' and you could be in for slander. Legally. But she was easily accepted. Partly because of her packaging and presentation—she is elegant, articulate and poised. People listen when she speaks. Life and magic course through and around her. Being a witch is about ripping away layers of social conditioning, gender limitations and protective shields. It is, in a sense about moving towards being the complete and total woman. There is intensity, conviction and passion in the way Ipsita talks about witchcraft, or Wicca—the Craft of the Wise—and its relevance throughout history." Chakraverti also observes that "If I had come from a different rung of society, or was illiterate, the reaction wouldn't be the same. I have observed that it is always the person they will accept, and then the word Wicca. Witches are not born, they are made. Or perhaps they sculpt themselves." According to her, every strong women can be considered a witch. "A witch is the total woman. Strong daring women who have dared to live their own life, whatever it is. Jacqueline Kennedy, Indira Gandhi, Marilyn Monroe, Madonna, Namita Gokhale, Kiran Bedi—all of them could count as witches." Chakraverti has argued that Wicca is the first feminist movement in history and the oldest women-oriented branch of learning.

In Beloved Witch, Chakraverti stated that "The witches of olden times were learned women. They were goddess worshippers. They were doctors and wiser than the panchayat men." According to scholar Gary F. Jensen, who wrote the book The path of the devil: early modern witch hunts, Chakraverti's self-confession of being a witch, brought a new light on the taboo subject of witchcraft in India, and the rest of the world. She paralleled the conflict between women as healers and tribal leaders of Indian villages to the conflict between women, accused of witchcraft and the male-dominated society during Medieval Europe. Jensen added, "I think what Chakraverti has done is open up a new door, not only for India, but for the rest of the world, by showing that women can't be held down by norms. She can be anything she wants." She commented about being a Wiccan as,

"A Wiccan knows how to live life. There is no negativity no dullness, no pulling back. That effortlessness is there. Before you can draw energy from the elements to rejuvenate yourself, you have to love nature, attune and identify with it. To bring it to more practical and understandable levels, you must have an almost sensuous and sensual relation with what is around you. Attune your senses finely to recognize the sensuous touches of nature. Winter flowers are not fragrant, but there is a smell to them. Identify it. Only as you become finely-honed and centered will you be able to sense and use the presence of earth energy or that of other elements. The more you sensitize yourself, the more Nature reveals her secrets."

Chakraverti's greatest influence has been on her daughter Deepta, who was chosen as her successor to helm the task of promoting about Wicca. Chakraverti commented: "There are certain aspects of Wicca that you can't teach; they have to be absorbed. Something that I am not consciously passing on, something that has to be taken from me. I felt Deepta had the potential and I would have never forced her had she not been so keen. This is not necessarily through a mother-daughter bonding, it can be guru-shishya (mentor-protégé), or any form of relationship where there is a guiding force." Deepta, was trained by Chakraverti in meditation, physical exercises, studying old religions, and other Wiccan regimen. Chakraverti has also brought forth similarities between Old Wiccan findings and the discoveries of modern physics and parapsychology. According to Sudipto Shome of The Hindu, "You could be called a dayan and burnt alive, or you could be called an enchantress and enlighten an audience on the art of Wicca. Ipsita is the latter, and she has used her social and economic padding to make others listen to her."