Perpetually confused

An enquiry into the Sectarian affiliation of the ruins at Harwan

2012-01-11T22:47:00.000-08:00

Introduction:

This paper seeks to address questions of representation and interpretation of the monuments unearthed at Harwan, Kashmir. These days, strenuous efforts are being made to project Harwan as an unproblematic Buddhist site and promote it as a destination for cultural tourism by linking it with the great Central Asian tradition. In this effort, scholars have deliberately underplayed facts and attributed all monuments found in the area to Buddhists, ignoring any other cultic possibility.

Stein identifies ‘Harwan’ with Shadarhadvana (grove of six saints), a locality mentioned in Rajatarangini [Stein M.A., ‘Kalhana’s Rajatarangini,’ Vol. II, p. 455 & Vol. I, Book I, p. 31, Delhi 1989]. According to Kalhana, the great Buddhist thinker Nagarjuna belonged to this place; hence the Buddhist connection is inevitable

The Complete Paper published in:
Heritage of Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh
Edited by G.L. Badam and K.K. Chakravarty, Research India Press, 2010

Contents:

Preface.
I. Historiography:

1. Kashmir's contribution to Persian historiography/Peerzada Mohammad Ashraf.
2. Some important Sharada inscriptions of Kashmir--a socio-political study/B.K. Kaul Deambi.
3. Ahad Raza--Kashmiri Theory of politics/Manzoor Fazili.
4. The Bakhshali: an extant Sharada Manuscript/Sushma Z. Jatoo.
5. Our heritage our roots: an insight into the literary history of ancient Kashmir/Girdharilal Kaw.
6. The School of Historians in Kashmir/Mukesh Kumar.
7. A glimpse of Kashmir in Chinese travelogue/Devendra Nath Thakur.
8. Kashmir's Role in the development of India's Cultural traditions--an overview/S.S. Toshkhani.
9. Influence of Kashmir on the ritual literature of Orissa/G.C. Tripathi.

II. Art and architecture:

10. Master Artist--Pandit Sansar Chand Sharma/Navin Atal and C.K. Atal.
11. Indigenous architectural heritage of Kashmir/Virendra Bangroo.
12. An enquiry into the Sectarian affiliation of the ruins at Harwan/Geetika Kaw Kher.
13. An endangered monument in Ladakh--Sumda Gogpo/Nawang Tsering Shakspo.
14. Terracotta sculptures of Greater Kashmir/Mohammad Shafi Zahid.

III. Philosophy:

15. Buddhism and its development in Kashmir/Advaitavadini Kaul.
16. The philosophical orientation of Trika spirituality/Moti Lal Pandit.
17. The ancient shrine of Summah Devta/O.P. Shahkir.

IV. Language and literature:

18. A survey of Sanskrit poets of Kashmir/Sudhir Kumar Lall.
19. Sanskrit and Kashmir/K.C. Sharma.
20. Stutikusumanjali/Vidya Sharma.

V. Performative traditions:

21. Drama in Kashmir and the North-West/R.K. Braroo.
22. Introduction to the history of the theatre in Kashmir/V.N. Drabu.
23. Bhand Pather (Folk Theatre of Kashmir)/Moti Lal Kemmu. VI. Bio-diversity:
24. The Karewas of Kashmir (Revisited)/G.L. Badam.
25. Folk herbal treatment in Kashmir/Badrinath Bhat.
26. High altitude lakes of Jammu and Kashmir--myths and mythology/Sati Sahni. Additional references.

Gloom

2011-12-22T20:37:00.000-08:00

Ah that dreadful wail
that ceaseless river of despair
Despite all the boundaries
which did find its way

Ah that one weak moment
of untold frenzy and gloom
That hapless instant
which failed to hide the truth.

People's revolution:Fact, Fiction and Memory

2011-03-14T22:01:00.000-07:00

Reading ‘Snow’, a novel by Orhan Pamuk, in these days of unrest in Egypt interestingly brought back the memories of my childhood spent in post revolution Iran. I am no political expert neither can I claim to understand the ongoing political situations in all their intricacies yet in recent developments there are some issues which have caught my attention and which need to be put in a certain perspective....
To read the whole column log on to
http://theviewspaper.net/people%e2%80%99s-revolution-fact-fiction-and-memory/

Book Review: Hamare Ishwar ko tairna nahi aata by M.K Santoshi (unedited version)

2011-02-14T21:38:00.000-08:00

The apt title ‘Hamare Ishwar ko tairna nahi aata’ literally meaning ‘our lord doesn’t know how to swim’ poignantly betrays the feeling of helplessness and subjugation to the ordained fate which the stories in the book talk about.directly or indirectly. Comprising of thirteen stories revolving around author’s constant yearning for Kashmir, it makes a thought provoking and emotionally charged reading.

Having read earlier hindi poems by Santoshi and finding them intense and extremely stimulating it was with a feeling of excitement and curiosity that we started reading this book of short stories.. Every writer has a personal style, concerns and issues which are close to his heart and these get betrayed in all his artistic and literary productions regardless of the medium, however possessing flair for writing both excellent poetry and prose is a rare quality primarily because both demand a completely different manner of expression. In case of Santoshi an accomplished poet it is the lost land of Kashmir which hovers over every poem, every story that he writes. Whether it is a poem ‘Vitasta ka teesra kinara’ or the stories ‘Ghar devta’, ‘Akanandun’ etc it is the feeling of loss that characterizes the writing. This loss is contrasted with the narratives about the initial trying years spent in Jammu,and facing problems like harsh weather, indifferent beaviour,uncertain future ghettoization and petty politics, all these toghether becoming points of torture for his soul…a soul which keeps wondering what went wrong…why did our deities forsake us..why did they play a mute spectator when we were thrown out of our houses..It is in short a silent cry of a sensitive but helpless author to whom words and appropriate phrases come naturally..

Use of metaphors to enhance the quality of writing and to emphasize a certain point is a common practice but to use an actual incident and see it as a metaphor or as a premonition for future days to come is an interesting approach used by the author in the story ‘Ladai’. The story is about two fighting bulls belonging to pandit and a muslim family respectively. The intolerance of the majority community and violent reaction to the winning of the bull belonging to a pandit is deeply significant of the pent up anger and hatred that was unleashed completely in 1990’s . The words “to win you have to make your bull stronger” said in jest by the author to his muslim friend actually became a reality and then as most of us witnessed there was no stopping the bull…. The pain of exile comes across strongly in stories like ‘Bicchu ghass’ and ‘Aayenge lautkar ham ae vatan’ which are more of personal memoirs of early days of exodus. Yet in these emotional outpourings and other stories he manages to raise extremely important questions regarding who has benefited from this large scale exodus Are KM’s any better off without KP’s around?…Can suffering be only on one side and other side go completely unaffected?….Is the price that KM’s have paid in terms of their life and honor worth what they have today?…questions .which have no one answer but which makes us think about the absurdity and futility of violence. ‘Kokh’, one such story about three muslim mothers who lost their sons in different manners to this madness is heart wrenching and problematizes the whole issue of aazadi.

What is noteworthy is that the stories narrated are not lopsided. They give a fair view of the situation.They do talk about timidness of Kashmiri Pandits, pain of muslim mothers who lost their sons to mindless jihad, and muslims who felt things weren’t right but could not speak out for the fear of the gun. Repeatedly he stresses on his friendship with Kashmiri muslims but also talks about the mistrust and hatred they harbor as a group…his intense words to a KM friend ‘ bheed me tum vahshi ho jaate ho” expresses it all.It hints at the common culture of friendship, brotherhood and camaraderie, a great binding force till religion and faith does them part. ‘Apharan’ is one such story where these ironical feelings find a complete expression.

In Santoshi’s hands all these different issues connected with a common thread ,are deftly woven into sensitive stories to which anyone can react. Nowhere the writing is contrived or affected. It just flows like a steady river gaining weight and meaning as it proceedes and by the end it leaves your eyes tearful and yet there lingers a smile on your lips. Not only did these stories left me and my husband mesmerized but were read and enjoyed by my mother in law as well as my maid, a young girl from Orissa. We even read few of the stories to our four year old daughter who listens to everything about Kashmir with rapt attention and awe as if listening to a fairy tale.This is the magic of simple lucid yet forceful and emphatic writing which crosses the barriers of age, region and religion, touching hearts and stimulating the readers mind.

Book Details:

Hamare Ishwar ko tairna nahi aata

Maharaj Krishan Santoshi

Published by Unistar Books Pvt.Ltd.S.C.O 26-27,Sector 34 A, Chandigarh- 160022, India

Price Rs 150/-

Number of pages 92

ISBN 81-7142-939-4

Art bond

2010-12-23T07:09:00.000-08:00

As Bharti started sketching the portrait of Majboor Saab for the condolence meet organized by Praznath I was glued to a chair next to her. Unfortunately all I could provide her as a point of reference was a picture downloaded on my phone which I had transferred to hers..thanks to blue tooth.. Line drawing was all I had asked her to do as there was hardly any time.I sat there studying her every move, my eyes were eagerly following her pencil which glided so easily and deftly on the paper. Ah how tempted I felt to pick up a pencil myself…Seeing an artist at work is one of the greatest pleasures .and seeing the end product right after two hours is nothing short of a miracle. I could see the simple line drawing gradually developing into familiar features of the dear departed poet scholar …The moment I could identify the portrait I was elated and could not thank her enough for such a beautiful experience. Soon she started playing with light and shade which automatically lend character to the well executed portrait. In between she would sit back and study the image on her paper and then cast a look at the small image flashed on the screen of her cell phone…I just sat there chatting with her quite casually but all the time I couldn’t help wondering how Majboor Saab would have reacted to this work of art executed in complete spirit of enthusiasm and dedication.

Bharti giving finishing touches...

2010-05-23T23:28:00.000-07:00

Praznath:The Magazine

2010-04-01T08:06:00.000-07:00

Praznath was finally launched on 18th March 2010. It was a great feeling to see our collective dream materialize in form of this magazine. The long sessions and discussions over the endless cups of tea and kehwa at Sushilji’s office ultimately did bear fruit. I congratulate the entire team for the successful show and also for a good magazine which has definitely a potential to become a great reference material. I have my fingers crossed…

to read a review of the Praznath launch function by me log on to :

http://www.organiser.org/dynamic/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=339&page=22

Praznath Launch

2010-03-15T22:05:00.001-07:00

Praznath Launch
Type:
Music/Arts - Opening
Date:
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Time:
6:30pm - 8:30pm
Location:

Gulmohar Hall
India Habitat Centre, Lodhi Road, New Delhi

Description:
Praznath is the idiom of the discourse, a reflection of the self in the mirror of conscious.Together we shall write, rewrite, delve, learn, unlearn, work, enrich ourselves and the world around us with our focus on Art, Culture and Thought of and from Kashmir and Kashmiris. This shall be "the forum" for interactions and one day shall be the reference archive for anyone wanting to know KashmirWe request your presence at the launch of the quarterly - PRAZNATH at India Habitat Centre. Praznath will document Kashmiri art, culture, literature, tradition and history.

A panel discussion on - IDENTIFYING IDENTITY IN KASHMIR - will mark the occasion.

The PANELISTS are:

Dr. Kapila Vatsayan (Eminent Scholar)MP, Rajya Sabha & Member, Amarnath Shrine Board

Sir Mark Tully (Eminent Journalist)Padma Bhushan, formerly BBC Correspondent in India

Dr. Swapan Dasgupta (Eminent Columnist)

Mr. Francois Gautier (Founder, FACT India)Editor-in-Chief, La Revue de l’Inde

Dr. Khema Kaul (Eminent Writer)Awarded ‘Hindi Writers Award’ by the President of India, 1997.Her published works include Samay ke Baad, Baadalon Mein Aag (poetry) and Dardpur (novel).

For details contact: Rashneek Kher - +91-9810049979 - rashneek@gmail.com

Sinead Kachroo - +91-9717059747 - sinead.kachroo@gmail.com

An initiative by Roots in Kashmir.

Kashmir’s contribution to the visual imagery at Alchi

2009-08-23T02:05:00.000-07:00

Introduction:
The monastic complex at Alchi in Central Ladakh largely datable to 10th - 11th century A.D. lies in the scenic mountain valley of Indus. It is considered as the most important of all the monastic complexes masterminded by Rinchen-bzang-po (958-1055 A.D.) primarily because it has been left intact. This complex comprises a group of six buildings and its importance lies in the fact that it has the best preserved mural paintings in the area especially in two of its monuments viz. Du-khang (The assembly hall) and Sum-tsek (three tiered temple)

According to the inscriptions at Alchi , the Du-khang was built by Kalden Sherap and Sum-tsek by Tshultrim O, both followers of Rinchen-bzang-po , undoubtedly the most dominating religious personality in Ladakh of that time. Moreover the iconographic program followed at Du-khang reflects teaching of this great religious teacher and the complete layout almost parallel the one seen at Sumda which can be directly attributed to him.

While on the one hand the mural paintings on the monuments here are considered as hallmark of Buddhist painting in the area on the other they have multitude of stories to tell about the contemporary painting scenario in Kashmir valley. Unfortunately as Huntington[i] ,Snellgrove[ii] and P. Pal[iii] unanimously observe there is hardly left any trace of Kashmiri painting of that time which can be directly compared to the ones at Alchi. Nevertheless there are enough historical, stylistic and epigraphical evidences which strengthen the contention and here onwards my hypothesis that Kashmir valley played a very important role in the the stylistic and iconographical development of the murals at Alchi and other temples/monasteries which fall on the route between Srinagar to Guge.

[i] Susan L. Huntington., ‘The Art of Ancient India’, NewYork ,1999 pp.385
[ii] David L. Snellgrove and Thaddeus Syrups, ‘The Cultural heritage of Ladakh’ Volt I- Central Ladakh, New Delhi, 1977 pp 8
[iii] Pratapaditya Pal., ‘Marvels of Buddhist Art’ Alchi- Ladakh, Paris, 1988 pp 19-20

The complete paper published in
Cultural Heritage of Kashmiri Pandits
Edited by S.S. Toshkhani and K. Warikoo, Pentagon Press, 2009, xxviii, 364 p, 26 black and white figs, ISBN : 81-8274-398-4

Contents: Preface.
1. Kashmiri Pandits and India’s cultural traditions/S.S. Toshkhani.
2. Kashmiri Pandits through history: from the early times to 1947/Tej N. Dhar.
3. Abhinvagupta and the Shaivite tradition of the Sarada Desa/Rajnish Mishra.
4. Social structure and cultural identity of Kashmiri Pandits/S.S. Toshkhani.
5. Religious rituals and ritual arts of Kashmiri Hindus/S.S. Toshkhani.
6. Kashmir’s Contribution to Sanskrit poetry and poetics/Ved Kumari Ghai.
7. Some Kashmiri Pandit historiographers/Mushtaq A. Kaw.
8. Shrines and pilgrimage places/K. Warikoo.
9. Amarnath—the Abode of the God of Immortality/K. Warikoo.
10. In search of roots/A.R. Nazki.
11. Shankaracharya and some Kashmiri Pandit traditions/Rashnik Kher.
12. Beginnings of Bhakti in Kashmir/S.S. Toshkhani.
13. Lal Ded and her spiritual journey/S.S. Toshkhani.
14. Political content in the Vaakhs of Lal Ded/R.L. Bhat.
15. The mystic and the romantic: Two Kashmiri women poets—Rupa Bhavani and Arnimal/Neerja Mattoo.
16. Paramanand: devotional raptures of Krishna Lila/S.S. Toshkhani.
17. Prakash Ramayana and other works on Ramayana Theme in Kashmiri/S.S. Toshkhani.
18. Krishnajoo Razdan—melodic expression of devotional ecstasy/S.S. Toshkhani.
19. Swami Lakshman Joo: the sage of Ishaber/Jankinath Kaul ‘Kamal’.
20. Kashmiri Pandits—originators of Pahari-Kangra School of Art/P.N. Kachru.
21. Kashmir’s contribution to the visual imagery at Alchi/Geetika Kaw Kher.
22. Deodar in a storm: Nadim and the Pantheon/Braj B. Kachru.
23. Kashmiri Pandits in journalism/M.L. Kak.
24. Kashmiri Pandits in retrospect and prospect/K. Warikoo.

Madhav mandir at Khaju near Guwahati

2009-07-12T21:43:00.000-07:00

Vacant Eyes

2009-07-12T21:36:00.000-07:00

Vacant eyes
staring hard at nothingness
Contemplate
on the growing void

Branded a naysayer
Othered at once
Tries to look forward
but for the blackhole blinding her vision

Scared
she shuts her eyes
Lest the gravity
sucks her sight too

In her closed eyes
dreams dwell
Her sole respite
where her gaze
for a change
can pierce the dense blackhole
And lead her to light

On the way to Bhairava temple in Gumkhal near Lansdowne

2009-05-18T21:52:00.000-07:00

Hollowness of White Man’s Burden ...A book review

2009-04-06T08:12:00.000-07:00

With the arrival of Vasco da Gama at the port of Kozikhode way back in 1498 began the process of colonization of India, which unfortunately has been celebrated as the ‘discovery of India’ in our history books. It is this ‘discovery of India’ that has been problematized by George Thundiparambil in his novel ‘Maya.’

To read the edited version log on to

http://www.vijayvaani.com/FrmPublicDisplayArticle.aspx?id=486

Musings

2009-03-25T01:54:00.000-07:00

Existence
Unsolved mystery
This unbreakable code
Mocking
All our senses

Yet

Yearning
This hopeless yearning
Yearning to know
Neither feels insulted
Nor dies a silent death

Ponderings

2009-03-24T10:05:00.000-07:00

I long for the sea
sheer mystery of it
The silent waves………carrying a story
Clashing
Breaking
Receding back……..to carry another one

Stories of incomplete lives
Broken hearts
And love unconsummated

Not only that
In some secret corner
From time immemorial
Carry tales of slaughter
Deceit
Lust
And caprice too

Their deadly silence
Holding so much violence
Dumbfounded by the utter noise of hatred
Possessing power to benumb the senses
Ironically
Bestow a strange sense of peace

Perhaps
Human optimism
In its extreme
Waiting to find in debris
Beginning of a new life.

महाम्हौपाध्याय डॉक्टर गोपीनाथ कविराज और काश्मीर्य शैव दर्शन

2009-03-07T07:15:00.000-08:00

My first write-up in hindi

Sunday on the island of Elephanta: by Octavio Paz

2009-03-02T22:36:00.000-08:00

I had been introduced to Paz way back in year 2000 but somehow never got to delve too much into his writings...probably because they have not been written in english...I remember finding him extremely profound and simple. The directness of his approach instantly appealed to me...
and when last night me and my husband got to read his poems i couldn't help but marvel at his style...
Moreover Elepanta holds a very special place in my heart...its the first arthistorical site that i visited with my department...i recall being completely floored by the over life size sculptures of siva in various lilamurtis...

Here is Sunday on the island of Elephanta by Paz trans by Eliot Weinberger.....hope every one enjoys it as much as i did

IMPRECATION:
At the feet of the sublime sculptures,
disfigured by the Muslims and the Portuguese,
the crowds have left a picnic of garbage
for the crows and dogs
I condemn them to be reborn a hundred times
on a dungheap,
and as for the others,
for eons they must carve living flesh
in the hell for the mutilators of statues

INVOCATION:
Shiva and Parvati:
we worship you
not as gods
but as images
of the divinity of man
You are what man makes and is not,
what man will be
when he has served the sentence of hard labor
Shiva:
your four arms are four rivers,
four jets of water.
Your whole being is a fountain
where the lovely Parvati bathes,
where she rocks like a graceful boat.
The sea beats beneath the sun:
it is the great lips of Shiva laughing;
the sea is ablaze:
it is the steps of parvati on the waters
Shiva and Parvati:
the woman who is my wife
and I
ask you for nothing, nothing
that comes from the other world:
only
the light on the sea,
the barefoot light on the sleeping land and sea.

Enquiry into the sectarian affiliation of Harwan

2008-12-27T23:45:00.000-08:00

This paper seeks to address questions of representation and interpretation of the monuments unearthed at Harwan, Kashmir. These days, strenuous efforts are being made to project Harwan as an unproblematic Buddhist site and promote it as a destination for cultural tourism by linking it with the great Central Asian tradition. In this effort, scholars have deliberately underplayed facts and attributed all monuments found in the area to Buddhists, ignoring any other cultic possibility.

to read the edited version log on to http://www.vijayvaani.com/FrmPublicDisplayArticle.aspx?id=285

Toying with my computer

2008-12-14T23:03:00.000-08:00

Jesus in Kashmir: A book review

2008-11-24T00:39:00.000-08:00

Jesus in Kashmir The lost tomb by Suzanne Olsson is an eclectic mix of science fiction , hypothetical racial claims and a good number of fantastic speculations and possibilities. The entire work is focused at justifying the legitimate claim of Jesus on the throne of Kashmir and his having been buried in a tomb named ‘Roza Bal’ in Kashmir.What seems to have instigated the author in writing the book is the so called deliberate proclamation of the site as an Islamic one and the misuse of the money donated to the shrine by Islamic fundamentalists.

(to read the edited version log on to http://www.vijayvaani.com/FrmPublicDisplayArticle.aspx?id=215

2008-11-13T04:56:00.000-08:00

2008-11-13T04:36:00.000-08:00

My brush with sublime

2008-09-25T08:14:00.000-07:00

While making last minute notes for my class on Kant and his insights on sublime and beautiful I lingered much longer than required on the former concept.It brought alive some pleasant memories of bygone days. To be precise I was reminded of our study tour to western Indian rock caves and particularly the journey to Nane Ghat situated in Western ghats. It was raining cats and dogs that day with hardly any visibility .Road was extremely narrow and I thought the scene was right for shooting a thriller movie.

I remember leaving my seat to sit on one of those red satin mattresses put on the front of bus where seats had been removed.As I looked out of the window the road was nowhere in sight..it almost seemed as if the bus was gliding on the valley.For a moment my heart stopped beating ..it was scary but probably it was more than that…because after a short time the fear was replaced by the sense of awe and respect for nature. The breathtakingly beautiful lush green mountains and gurgling sounds made by the river down in the valley had a wonderful impact on me.

While I was undergoing these unexplainable emotions which I am trying to weave in words I saw another bus coming from the opposite side. Suddenly I was curious to see how our driver would negotiate the problem.After what seemed like an eternity our bus driver reversed the vehicle and adjusted it so that one of its rear wheels was no longer on the road but was hanging in the air. Getting enough space the other bus moved ahead but I will never be able to forget the experience of hanging in mid air…It was fear mixed with extreme devotion…it made me feel so small…I was almost in a trance but I do clearly remember my thoughts which ran as……………

god I would have no regrets if I were to fall and die in this valley

Not that I have any suicidal tendencies but nature in its wildest form does have a maddening impact on people…it can make you cry, laugh, feel extremely insignificant or as I experienced ,happy to die it its lap….probably this is what Kant meant by a sublime experience………..

A trip to Kayavarohana

2008-06-20T08:50:00.000-07:00

Last night before going off to sleep I hoped and prayed with all my heart for heavens not to pour the next day.After canceling and postponing for what seems like an eternity I had finally decided to go to Kayavarohan (Karvan) for my first documention trip and noway did I want the plan to get cancelled again. My prayers had been generously answered, there was no rain and on top of that it was a bright and beautiful day. Had an early breakfast and left for the station armed with my camera and notebooks. After a half an hour wait I managed to get into a bus which would directly take me to Kayavarohan once inside I got talking to the elderly couple who were waiting with me. Interestingly the husband knew quite some about the temple and was extremely glad that someone was working on the particular site. They had to get off the bus before me and we parted with a cheerful ‘aavjo’ and his words ‘you are doing a good job...

Since I was visiting the site for the first time I was anxious not to miss the stop. The old woman sitting next to me who must have been in her eighties finally asked me where I was going. Interestingly she would pull my arm whenever I was about to get up to ask the conductor…still remember her kind and assuring face…’haji vaar che…hu tamne kahish’ I had no choice but to sit with an disarming smile. She kept her word …just few seconds before reaching the temple she told me to stand in front otherwise it would be difficult to get out of the crowded bus.

Contrary to what I had expected I came across a well maintained temple gate flanked with all kinds of shops. Inside to my utter surprise there was standing a late temple structure with amazingly well maintained lawns and fountain. Didn’t look like a site at all. The temple has been construced in 1971 but the idol inside is ancient and the iconography of the temple is what I was interested in. I took a general round and to my chagrin saw a ‘no photography’ board. After the usual darshan I realized that there were all kinds of yogic postures displayed on the walls along with various mantras and mahatmayas. The walls of both garbhagriha and mandapa were completely covered with writings…shivmahimnastotram, rudrashtakam etc. haven’t come across any temple like this before…dpwnstairs I was amazed to find whole pasupata sutra written on the walls…clear in red ink…it was a shame that I couldn’t click photographs. I decided to try my luck and went to the main office. Fortunately enough I was able to meet the trustee who was pretty helpful and guess what not only did he let me click the photographs, but he also asked one of the volunteers to go with me. He also supplied me generously with some extremely useful literature about the history of the temple.Generosity didn’t end there he asked me to have lunch at the campus itself once my work was over. I told him I wanted to see the other temples in the village too and he gave me a long list. After clicking all the desired photographs I thanked him profusely and made some notes.

Once outside I started inquiring about the archeological museum displaying all the rare finds from the site. After walking for some 15 minutes I reached to an isolated rather dull loking building which a panwala confirmed was the museum.Though there was a man standing there I could see the heavy lock on the gote…I inquired bhai museum aaje bandh che?

Na behn, koi aavtu nathi aetle lock marya che…tame jovo to kholoon

He did open the gate with reluctance and right in the outset told me not to click any photographs. The collection was beautiful though most of it was broken. I particularly liked a little less than lifesize sculpture of kala bairava. The ematiated form and the violent posture lend an eerie feeling to the image.

I was pretty tired and could do with some icecream and also thought of asking the locals for some information about the temples. The shopkeeper lady told me that bhagwan rajarajesvar temple was deep inside the village and there was the other sivalinga I was looking for.Actually the broken temple I was looking for had been renovated hence no one could tell me where the broken temple is. So I took her leave and set afoot again. Meanwhile I kept asking people for the direction and knowing my wonderful sense of direction was mentally making a note of landmarks. I passed through various lanes bylanes darwazas to reach my destination. The temple has been renovated so there is nothong interesting about the structure but I did find the sivalinga I was looking for.After clicking photographs I talked to the caretaker madhuben and her grandson. On my way back I clicked some photographs of the village and reached the village bus stop.I was told I had just missed a bus to baroda and the next would take some time to come. I took a minibus more like a chakda to por, the nearest town from where I was told I will easily get a bus to baroda. Once in the bus I started reading the literature that I had got in the temple. Got so engrossed in reading that realize when we reached baroda.

As soon as I got down the bus I rushed to the hostel and after having a ‘solid naashta’ crashed onmy bed.

An open letter to Niyeti

2008-05-01T22:19:00.000-07:00

Dear Niyeti,

Since a long time your drawings are saved in my computer. Whenever I open ‘My pictures’ the folder containing them stares at my face and forces me to open it. I click on it and there it reveals an array of drawings talking about your exciting artistic journey which I have been following closely.

I have been wanting to write about them but ironically the things I want to do the most are the ones that give me maximum starting trouble I kept waiting for the right time…does the right time really come? Who knows? Probably it does …that’s why I am writing…getting too cynical I guess…chal let me come to the point..

First time I saw these drawings I recalled your early BFA works…your silent yet firm effort to gradually do away with the conventional form and still express your deepest feelings….your effort to reduce everything to lines and planes….everything rolled in front of my eyes like a motion picture. I was reminded of our loooong discussions, our aspirations and not to forget the crazy 10 O clock syndrome…because its every tiny moment which we live to the fullest that makes us what we are..

I often marveled at your ability to be different…to go for absolutely abstract works in a place like Baroda which is known for its figurative narrative trend. The painstaking method, the absolute faith and trust and last but not the least the love and passion you have for your works make them very special for me.

I think these latest drawings are a genuine example of learning unlearning and in the process learning something totally unconventional….Was I glad to see forms in your works…not that forms are essential but because I had anticipated that one fine day you will come up with a language of your own…and here I can see the elementary alphabets..

Now you are ready to speak…speak your heart out. What is the most exciting part is that you have arrived here after a long journey through difficult paths…an outstanding one…and had to face severe criticism from various quarters…But unmoved by all this you steered ahead and definitely have made a mark for yourself. You still have a long long way to go…

Wishing you all the luck and success

Love
Geetika

Destined Fate

2008-04-09T21:54:00.000-07:00

Few days back while sifting through my books i spotted a yellowish looking paper with very small print on it. On a closer look I realized it was a short story i had written back in year 2003. Rather it had been a product of a very boring and uneventful day at office. I had really liked it then and shared it only with some close friends.But as it is usual of me I lost the only print-out i had taken of the story and soon forgot all about it.I somehow never tried my hand at story writing again. In these days of retrospection its great to have found that story...

Here is finally the 'Destined Fate'

And after the long wait finally the time came for executing her duty once again. It was usually a simple task but the old woman clung to those few breaths with all her might, making it terribly difficult for D this time. D had always been proud of her capacities and seeing them thus challenged by a frail dying old woman made her furious. Sometime back the old woman had pushed her out and she had no choice but to succumb to the act. In hearts of their hearts both knew D was invincible but that knowledge did not deter the latter’s resistance.

D decided to let the old woman have her way for sometime. Maybe that would make her realize the inevitable destiny. Thinking thus, out she flew through the window and began witnessing the scenes of daily life. Aimlessly floating and contemplating D came to an open window which revealed a very cozy and lively room. Peeping inside the window D caught sight of a beautiful young girl lying on a sofa…probably deep asleep…The girl M was absolutely still, like death itself…how peacefully she slept. D looked at her for some time but there was no movement in M’s body. Suddenly D got a wicked idea. She quietly glided in the room and spread her frozen limbs in M’s youthful body, thus turning her into cold marble.D knew very well it was an offence for which she would surely be punished but the temptation of doing the unexpected was too much o resist. M was as motionless as before…but there was a drastic difference now….Now she was dead. Lying still as a statue she had invited death to reside in her.

After some time another young girl K barged in the room. Sitting on the edge of the sofa next to M she began chatting. Getting no response she touched M on her forehead and instantly a chill ran down her spine. Taking courage she tried in vain to locate latter’s pulse and heart beat. The sudden shock of her friend’s untimely death brought a terrible shriek from her and she began to cry hysterically.

All this hue and cry woke D up who had gone off to sleep in M’s body. As soon as D saw K she realized her mistake and was scared to see a friend weeping and wailing over what had not been ordained…what was just a whim…what was not true…M has a long life ahead. D had to leave before it was too late. Noiselessly she escaped M’s body and flew out of the open window.

Suddenly there was a movement in M’s body ..as if she was getting up from a deep sleep. She opened her eyes and saw a white faced and terribly shaken K. She put her hands on K's shoulder and tried taking her hand but the latter had already run out of the room…out of the house...out on the road. Running frantically with fear written all over her face K could hardly see a pick-up van which ran over her ending all her fears and worries forever;

On the other side D had won the battle. The old woman had finally given up. The ultimate look of defeat and surrender on her victim’s face elated D. She calmly resided in latter’s body. After her much awaited victory D had to immediately reach the road T for her next assignment. As D reached the place she saw K running madly on the middle of the road. It was not with a triumphant smile but a very heavy heart that D spread her limbs in K as the pick-up van crushed the latter’s body.

Art at last!

2008-04-08T04:47:00.000-07:00

Ironically during six years of college I never thought of practicing art seriously.Theory and philosophy had completely occupied me and I found myself constantly battling the flying time…to read more…to grasp more …. to actually internalize more…In this mad rush to “understand” where was the time for indulging in art itself?

While I was busy reading about radical art moments, revolutionary art theories and beauty of Indian temple architecture the practical aspect took completely a back seat. I visualized myself as someone behind the scenes…someone interpreting and deciphering a certain code….someone trying to penetrate in the artists mind. This seemingly passive role that I saw myself in, unknowingly never allowed me to artistically express myself.

Last few months of teaching expierence in College of Art and especially the glass painting workshop that I participated in made me realize what I was missing in life. Moreover discussing with students about their works and ideas which propel them ahead I started craving for producing art myself.After a long gap of sixteen years I touched my oil paints and brush not quite without hesitation. I bought the smallest canvas and started to paint a landscape…..and there started the journey which I hope never ends….

Links to the other two parts of the write up by Arun Shourie

2007-12-30T22:27:00.000-08:00

http://www.indianexpress.com/story/255484.html

http://www.indianexpress.com/story/255906-3.html

Wonderfully articualted!

Hindutva and radical Islam: Where the twain do meet by Arun ShouriePosted online: Friday, December 28, 2007 at 0000 hrs

2007-12-28T02:23:00.000-08:00

Though it mind sound like a complete exaggeration but the write up by Arun Shourie in today's Indian Express completely made my day which had indeed started on a depressed note..The fact that I m writing this post rather than sleeping on my cosy bed is the proof enough...

Not being a regular newspaper buff it is rather difficult for me to follow an article completely without losing interest and yawning infinite number of times....but reading this was different...Each line revealed thorough insight understanding and passion.

I read the whole piece while holding a soaked tissue with which i was constantly wiping my painfully watering eyes...but honestly each line was worth the pain

Don't believe me? Read it for yourself
http://www.indianexpress.com/story/254969._.html

Was I thankful that my newspaperwala inspite of my repeated instructions hasn't stopped delivering Indian Express yet!!

Artists at work-Khirsu

2007-11-29T22:46:00.000-08:00

Temple of Kandoliya Mahadeva at Pauri

2007-11-29T22:30:00.000-08:00

Relevance of Ancient Indian thought on present Critical Practice in India

2007-11-07T07:32:00.000-08:00

Often in Indian academic circles where a lot of importance and attention is given to critical theories and multidisciplinary studies the non relevance of Sanskrit texts and ancient thought is subtly stressed upon.

At the most these ancient thoughts are considered as some valuable museum pieces which have no bearing on the present art or critical writing scenario.The propounders of such ideas happily take refuge in Western theories and critical practices and quote extensively and many a time quite meaninglessly from these schools of thought.

As a student of Art History I have many a times wanted to and in my own way tried to question this hegemony of Western thought on the mind of our so called intellengensia.With all due regards to Ferdinand de Saussure, Jacques Lacan and much misquoted Derrida, I really don’t see how their theories are extremely relevant for present Indian art and literature scenario when works by giants like Abhinavagupta, Anandvardhana Batta Nayaka..etc are outdated and unscientific. Now if we argue that the relevance of great theories surpasses time and place then shouldn’t we give if not more than at least equal credit to theories of Indian Aesthetics and philosophy?

Ferdinand de Saussure hailed as father of Structuralism and in a way father of modern linguistic theories was a student of Sanskrit language and his doctoral study was on the use of Absolute Genitive in Sanskrit too.He was profoundly influenced by Sphota doctrine introduced as a philosophy of meaning by Bhartrihari in 500AD. In fact many of the foundational ideas proposed by de Saussure are directly or indirectly influenced by the Indian grammatical tradition particularly by Panini and Bhartrihari. Ironically we Indians today get taught the interrelation between Sign, Signifier and Signified as explained by Saussure but no one tells us about the beauty of Sphota theory….no one tells us about Saussure’s sources. And unfortunately we want to be spoon-fed while Western scholars do the groundwork for us.

To quote another example lets look at Jacques Lacan who for the first time related Freudian psychoanalysis to art. His theories are referred to, quoted from and provoked by most of the present art critics and feminists. In his widely known essay, "Function and Field of Speech and Language," Lacan makes an explicit reference to the Dhvani theory in order to point out that the unconscious does not express itself in language; it reveals itself through suggestion. More narrowly, Lacan traces the sources of the "full word" in what he calls "the power of the symbol," a power that the analyst can evoke "in a carefully calculated fashion in the semantic resonances of his remarks" (Ecrits 1966, 82). He adds, "this is surely the way for a return to the use of symbolic effects in a renewed technique of interpretation in analysis"

Lacan’s precccupation with Dhvanyaloka and his understanding of the text is made clear by his refering to the follwing passage from Dhvanyaloka of Anandvardana:
“A girl, it begins, is waiting for her lover on the bank of a stream when she sees a Brahmin coming along towards her. She runs to him and exclaims in the warmest and most amiable tones: 'What lucky day this is for you] The dog that used to frighten you by its barking will not be along this river bank again, for it has just been devoured by a lion that is often seen around here'....
The absence of the lion may thus have as much affect as his spring would have were he present, for the lion only springs once, says the proverb appreciated by Freud (Ecrits 82).
The example of the girl, the Brahmin, the devouring lion and the dog is one of nearly five hundred examples discussed at length in Dhvanyaloka. Anandvardhana and his commentators and others use these examples from Prakrit and Sanskrit literatures to isolate various properties of speech that facilitate poetic communication by concealing, negating, erasing of primary sense the mukhyartha. Besides being preoccupied with the suggestive functions of utterance in general, in the passages that follow the elaborate reference to dhvani, Lacan affirms the interdependence of analytic and aesthetic uses of language. This connection is particularly relevant to his concept of the "full word," its reliance on the internalization of the poetic resources of language.
Now to conclude my rather frustated outpourings I ask myself do I feel handicapped when it comes to understanding Indian thought and ancient tradition? The answer definitely is yes…My six years of arthistorical training and participation in various seminars and dicussions have not given me any clear insight in our ancient wisdom and thought….If tommorow I want to apply in any university abroad I have to devote two full years to learning Sanskrit properly.Regretfully I confess while I can quote Foucault, Lacan and Derrida like back of my hand I get cold feet when encoutered with Sanskrit texts.My meagre knowledge of Sanskrit is pitiable and whom do I have to blame?

Iqbal: Of meaning and interpretation

2007-09-10T07:54:00.000-07:00

Dil se jo baat nikaltee hai asar rakhti hai par nahi taqt e parwaz magar rakhti hai

These two lines from Jawab e Shikwa by Iqbal, a great revolutionary Urdu poet started an interesting and thought provoking debate with a friend some time back More than the discussion it was the questions raised about deciphering the meaning of any art or literally work which caught my attention and which makes me write this piece.

Before I start I need to admit that my knowledge about the said poet’s writings is negligible and hence I have no idea of his complete oeuvre or style. Therefore when my friend interpreted and translated these lines as follows I couldn’t see any point to disagree upon.

‘The voice emerging right from one’s heart has a sure impact
But it alone is not enough as it does not have power to fly’

Here he was referring to the revolutionary aspect prominent in Iqbal’s writings. He kept stressing on the fact that what the poet here wants to convey is that all weeping and wailing by itself is not enough but there is a need to wake up and put in real effort to make things actually work.

To tell the truth till last fortnight I hadn’t bothered about the couplet and also his explanation which we had discussed once before sounded quite plausible. But the turning point came when another friend, a poet in her own right, gave a totally different and to me a more apt sounding interpretation of the same couplet which goes on as:

The voice emerging right from one’s heart has a sure impact
Even though it does not have wings still it has the power to fly

As one can see here she has interpreted ‘par’ as wings rather than ‘but’ and by doing so the meaning of the couplet not only changes drastically but also it gives a whole positive and optimistic meaning to the entire piece. Though on one hand in a flash of moment I saw such a wonderful possibility in these lines my another friend remained adamant on the socio-revolutionist meaning and started quoting other couplets by Iqbal to stress his point.

While both of them were discussing and debating their manner of interpretation I was deeply hit by the Vyanjana aspect in the lines…ie. The meaning beyond the literal and the metaphorical one. The capacity of a real work of art or literature to create various and sometimes totally opposite meanings. I intercepted their rather loud argument by this sublime thought even on cost of sounding entirely ridiculous and uselessly complicating the issue. My dear friend laughed at me and declared that because I don’t know Iqbal I am taking refuge in intricate theoretical fabrications…an allegation which I often have to face from various quarters as people nowadays cannot see or don’t bother to see the relevance of our ancient thought on the present day scenario.And isn’t it why we turn to western scholars who have for most part simplified our own ancient wisdom for us?

Anyways that is a huge debate in itself..coming back to the discussion, since we were reaching no where we decided to ask few experts for their opinion. After grammatically analyzing the lines and drawing comparisons and contrasts between Ghalib and Iqbal we were informed that the second interpretation is the valid one ie.the one where ‘par’ is translated as ‘wings’

Finally our argument seem to have reached somewhere. While my friend was reluctantly somewhat convinced the question of interpretation kept troubling me and raised various questions in my mind…Would like to share some part of this introspection here…..

Why should one fix a work of art with one final meaning?…Doesn’t it limit the scope of the piece? To me a real engaging work of art or a poetry would be that which has the power of generating various meanings. To substantiate my point I would like to draw your attention to ‘Rasa Sutra’ of Bharata which has been commented upon by not less than six scholars including the great Abhinavagupta. Imagine if Rasa Sutra would have been fixed with one meaning would such a stimulating body of literature exist?

Let a work of art grow on you…explore its various facets …and if you feel like going back to it again and again then it surely will have the capacity to generate various meanings for you….isn’t that how an art writer culls out meanings not even dreamt of by the artist and hence in the process becomes an artist her/himself.

Ponderings

2007-07-13T04:33:00.000-07:00

Mute spectator
isn't that mute
It's brain constantly at war
Registering, rejecting and reinterpreting
The ongoing drama flashed on the screen!

Voilence of silence
Slow poison
is deadlier
than all the nukes!

What if I was asked
What do I want
want the most
most of all things

Would I be able to answer?

Life

2007-07-11T23:57:00.001-07:00

Joyride or a dull routine
Life has its way of which
we know not
We toil, we plan we see to it
That it remains in our control

Fickle life laughs at us
At out futile attempt to hold
And in a single moment itself
Changes our entire approach

Destiny

2007-07-11T23:54:00.000-07:00

I kept standing
and life passed by me
Making me wonder
and ultimately surrender
to that something
which men call destiny

Objectivity

2007-07-11T23:50:00.000-07:00

As imagination creeps into nostalgia
There is no way
one can say
What was and what was not

Torn between two stands
With a history of glorious past
written all over the mind
Objectivity suffers!
And quietly takes a backseat

True Story with no Glory!

2007-07-02T00:30:00.000-07:00

A story on the 20th June event organized by activists of Roots in Kashmir in Delhi on the occasion of The World Refugee Day...

.....to read more http://www.artconcerns.net/2007july/html/review_geethika.htm

.......And the world remained silent.......Wonder why???

2007-06-05T05:40:00.001-07:00

Come lets figure out at:

Satya Sai International Centre, Main Auditorium, Pragati Vihar, Lodhi Road, (adjacent to NBCC building), on 20th June,6.30 PM

And The World Remained Silent is a straight in your face kind of a documentary that highlights how Kashmiri Pandits were forced out of the valley which they belonged to and the valley which belonged to them.

visit our blog: http://kashmiris-in-exile.blogspot.com/

Unbearable Lightness of Being: Book Review

2007-05-09T22:45:00.000-07:00

My interest in Kundera’s works lies not only in his ability to trespass the conventional narrative mode but in his ingenuity to weave the story in an intelligible and extremely thought provoking manner। His move away from Realism, to formulate a more abstract and personal language recalls the visual artists of 20th C. who shunned all kinds of realism. His theoretical framework instantly reminds us of Kafka and other existential writers who have deeply problematized the role of human agency in their works...............

to read more......... ://www.artconcerns.net/2007May/html/bookReview_milanKundera.htm

Intoxication: Khyyam translated

2007-04-24T04:38:00.000-07:00

I feel drunk to the very core
fill my glass, I want some more
Why denounce present for the future to come
O! Come friend…you also have some

Ultimately under the ground will you lie
Without a friend, lover or any ally
Listen to the secret I tell you know
Only in presence of Wine need thou bow

Some stray thoughts

2007-04-24T04:35:00.000-07:00

Moments of revelation are so few
and so difficult to realize
Masked in ordinary they come
yet leave an imprint for life

Pondering on those sad lines
walking uphill in a trance
The moment froze……full of meaning
And unveiled the truth in a flash

Scissors, knives and blades
know only how to cut
Let me be a needle
to sew pieces torn and shred

Solitude vs Lonliness

2007-04-01T23:12:00.002-07:00

I cherish moments of solitude
the peace and quiet it brings to me
Letting me hear my inner voice
making me see what no one can see

But it is lonliness I deplore
this continuous longing for another soul
with whom I can truly share
Inner voice and my despair

‘Siddhartha’ by Hermann Hesse

2007-03-28T04:08:00.000-07:00

There are some books which leave an everlasting imprint on the mind as well as on the soul….some books which people live their lives by…and whose protagonist becomes the role model for them. Siddhartha is one such book which will if nothing make you think about the purpose of life bestowed on you.

Sometime back I met a friend who declared that she had found her Bible in the aforesaid book and for once understands herself better. Since I hadn’t read the book and hadn’t even heard about the author I didn’t know what to say..But the moment I caught the glimpse of the said book in a bookstore, there was no way I could resist picking it up and reading it right away.

Though I am terribly passionate about reading I hardly get influenced by the written word. To me the written word is always a suspect…a biased version….someone else’s way of looking at life which can be at the most appreciated. Nevertheless I was too curious and wanted to see for myself what had moved my dear friend to the extent that she could talk of nothing but the merits of the book.

Reading Siddhartha was easy…perhaps my knowledge of philosophy and religion made it simpler. To put in a nutshell the underlining argument in the book is focused on the need to get rid of ego and any other kind of dualistic ideas. It almost comes across as the antitheses of Ayn Rand’s Fountainhead.

Though completely fictional the Buddhist idea of constant time…time without present, past or future is used deftly by the author. The narration explores the extreme curiosity of a Brahmin boy, Siddhartha who wants to fathom the mysteries of existence and reach Nirvana but at the same time is convinced that it is impossible to reach his goal by following conventions. Disillusioned by conventional religious practices, extreme austerities and worldly pleasures he finally finds true peace only by nurturing love for all things big and small and completely shunning the narrow ‘I’, very similar to ‘I Consciousness’ discussed in Kashmir Saivism.

You might agree with the author or reject him on the pretext of being too melodramatic but you cannot ignore him. He has a definite point of view influenced greatly by all simplistic teachings in various schools of Indian philosophy. Overall it makes a quick, lucid and thoughtful reading and leaves you with a definite positive and optimistic aura.

Shattered Illusion

2007-03-20T00:54:00.000-07:00

It evades me, mocks me and
ultimately flies away
I wail, I weep but alas
am unable to hold it back

Like a bewitching enchanter
it lured me
got me addicted
And then when I was completely dependent
left me in a lurch to fend for myself

From far away………
it silently looks down upon me
I with upraised eyes, pray
pray for every second

It pitifully smiles at me
and grants me my wish
But not before
reducing me to dust.

What happened to sensitivity?

2007-02-01T22:10:00.000-08:00

As a part of one of our assignments during a seven day art writing workshop we were shown a video of the installation exhibition ‘Facilitating the Beast’ by a well known Baroda artist and we were supposed to write an opinionated piece filled with our honest feelings about a short performance which was a part of the work itself. Time allotted was ten minutes and hence there was no scope for editing.

Before sharing my ideas about the so called art work let me describe it a little. The installation work comprised of various elements of video works, a sound piece, mixed media prints and last but not the least…rows of charred bread loaves (alluding to the best bakery case), all this to remind us once again of the much hyped Gujarat riots.
So here is the piece I wrote:
As I sat focusing on the screen and digesting the images, there was a strong sense of ‘déjà vu’.Public memory is short but not so short as to forget the much discussed, debated and used ‘Best Bakery ‘case which was the main theme of the installation work

Rather than delving into what I thought or felt about the piece itself I would like to share my utter dismay and disdain at using horrible human tragedies for any purpose and more so for political ones. As we all know the above mentioned case was a really twisted and much mediated right from the very beginning. Moreover it is so well known that I feel there was no need to shove it again on the public face and that too in such a dramatic manner.

I often wonder at the lack of sensitivity that media and political personals show towards the tragedies faced by a common man, but it is really sad when artists join this bandwagon. I am not saying that an artist should not address political or social issues but what I want to problematize and question here is the use of incident which occurred few years back and since then has been all over in the papers, on practically every news channel and extensively on net.

The only reason I think is the element of familiarity and sensation linked with the issue that would lead someone to go digging for it. Unfortunately there is no dearth of tragedies in India and almost daily we hear of something or the other…..but the “Best Bakery Thing” sells. It has a smell of familiarity; people don’t really have to exert their brains too much to understand the problem..People outside India shed tears and sympathize with the victims….where is this taking us…???.I wonder whether Nithari killings will be the next sensation for the artists?

Since I don’t appreciate the concept itself I don’t see how I can comment on the performance per se which to me seems like the extension of something hollow and pointless…

Futility

2007-02-01T02:51:00.000-08:00

Omar Khayyam on the nature of existence

Futility: My understanding of Khayyam

Smoky past, fiery present and future in flames
Desire to burn, the only motivating force
Body turns to ash, soul’s existence questionable
SO WHAT REMAINS?
Just the footprints on the wet ground
Not even that
They also fade with time
Passing time feeds on our identity
How cruel?
But it will go on and on and on and on..
Like a scavenger feeding on dead bodies

Leaving no trace of existence

Hafez: Mundane to Divine love

2007-01-17T10:20:00.000-08:00

After keeping a vigil for 40 consecutive nights at the tomb of Baba Kuhi (an 11th C. AD Persian poet) the young man smitten by love was rewarded with a visit by angel Gabriel (some suggest the angel was Khizer).

Angel: So you are bestowed with immortality and poetic excellence as promised by Baba Kuhi, now for your third boon, what is your heart’s desire?

Stunned by the beauty of the angel the young man forgot the charms of his sweetheart whom he desired to possess and for winning whose heart he had kept the vigil. So enchanted was he by the grace and radiance of the former that He thought if Almighty’s angel is so intoxicatingly beautiful how beautiful would be the Lord himself. And in a fit of ecstasy these words escaped his mouth

Young man: I want God……..

The realization he was asking for was terribly difficult and required tremendous patience and true faith…he knew it…..it would have been so much simpler to have asked for his lady love…but then he would not have become Hafez, one of the most renowned and loved poets of Iran.

The moment he realized that the beauty of ‘Shakh-e-Nabat” (a lady whom he had seen in the elite part of the city and to whom he had lost his heart to) was merely a reflection of the beauty of the Almighty, he became restless and anxious to reach the all pervading Lord and to delve in mysteries of nature.Nothing else could quench his thirst for eternal knowledge

How can your face show such beauty
While here on Earth
You are the image of inconsistency and faithlessness

(From: “The Diwan of Hafez Shirazi” Ed. By Michael R Brown, Translated by Parham Noori Esfandiani and Alan Dean)

These lines clearly point out his disillusionment with the material world. He began yearning for divine love . Many a times Hafez’s poems are classified as love poems and their meaning taken literary. Though at the earlier stage he has written love poems solely dedicated to Shakh-e-Nabat but all his later poetry is dedicated to divine love.

Directed by the angel to go to Mohammad Attar and consider him as his Spiritual guru, Hafez spend forty years of his life serving his master secretly. The story of his vigil made him known throughout Shiraz and the poetry he now wrote in praise of his Lord were sung in lanes and bylanes of the city. These poems were written essentially as love poems sung in the praise of the beloved with deep spiritual meaning in them. One can understand the contents very well in Indian context as we have had many saint poets like Meera bai, Andal etc. who considered themselves as lovers of Lord.But in Persia of that time his works came under lot of criticism. He was openly called a ‘Kafir’ and his works were constantly scrutinized by religious leaders.
All the opposition did not deter him at all. He also saw the wisdom and mercy of God manifesting through his Master Attar, and he composed many poems praising his Master and begging Attar to fulfill the promise of Union of God. When Hafez went to visit Attar, Attar would ask Hafez to read his latest poem, then he would spiritually analyze it for the sake of Hafez and the other disciples, (this practice continued for forty years). Then the disciples would put tunes to the ghazals and the songs would soon be sung throughout Shiraz, with the fame of Hafez continuing to grow.
But by the end of forty years of serving Attar he became impatient to unravel the mysteries of unknown.That is when he decided to put himself to test again.

This time he entered a circle that he had drawn on the ground. He had made up his mind to enter self-imposed ‘Chehel Nashini’, in which the lover of God sits within a circle for forty days and it was believed that if the devotee was successful in this difficult deed, the lord would grant him his heart’s desire. Hafez managed to perform this difficult task too but by the end of the penance he realized he had no desire left. Thus he reached a stage of God realization where nothing mattered anymore and he wanted nothing. Feeling blissfully light and enlightened he came back to Atttar and during the last eight years of his life he just wrote about the ultimate union. He no longer was the seeker of the beloved but he was the beloved himself. In the poems written during this period one can often see traces of Advaita philosophy.

Only
That Illumined
One
Who keeps seducing the formless into form
Had the charm to win my heart

Only
A perfect one
Who is always
Laughing at the word ‘two’
Can make you know of love

(From ‘The Gift’ Translated by David Landinsky)

The lines…laughing at the word ‘two’ clearly points out his faith in monism as well as critiques the system where God is looked upon as someone or something to be feared. Hafez says he is in me, I am in him and this feeling underlines all his later poems.

In his final years Hafez gathered his disciples around him and began to teach them, using his poems to illustrate the various Spiritual points that he wanted them to understand. Because his fame had become so widespread and people were traveling from all parts of Persia and other countries to be in his presence, that he had to seclude himself to a degree to be able to continue to teach his chosen disciples, and to write his poems that were eagerly awaited by his many devotees, and his enemies who continued to plot against him.

At the age of sixty-nine due to a longtime sickness he left his earthly form to the chagrin of most of Shiraz.People from far and near came to pay their homage to the great poet. Hafez's body was carried towards the Muslim burial ground in the rose-bower of Musalla, on the banks of the Ruknabad, which he loved and praised in his poems, and to where he often walked and sat down to write many of his ghazals.
"The Ulama of Shiraz, with his fellow clergy, refused to allow for Hafez's body to be buried as a Muslim and claimed that his poetry was impious. The long knives that they had been trying to drive into his back were now fully on show, for he was no longer there to defend himself against them with his sharp wit and sense of irony.
"The followers of Hafez and the many citizens of Shiraz began to argue with those who followed the orthodox point of view, and in the heat of the argument, someone suggested that they should ask the poet himself for the solution. The clergy, by now afraid of the size and fervor of Hafez's supporters, reluctantly agreed to the suggestion of tearing up many of his poems into couplets and placing them into a large urn, and to call on a small boy in the crowd to select one couplet from it. The couplet that was selected was couplet no. 7 from ghazal 60:
""Don't you walk away from this graveside of Hafez, because, although buried in mistakes, he is traveling to Paradise."
"Even after death, Hafez had, with tongue in cheek, outwitted his bitter rivals, and this practice of consulting his Divan as an oracle has continued from this incident
To this day people ask the great philosopher poet:

Hafez to ro be Shakh I Nabat
Jawab e swalam ra bede

(Hafez, You are sworn by Shakh I nabat
Give answers to my queries

The deeper meaning in Idol worship

2007-01-10T10:07:00.000-08:00

In the last century, the century when reason reigned supreme ,all oriental religiosity and modes of worship were relegated to the realm of superstition and were criticized by Western scholars as being barbaric ,evil and grotesque.The apparent polytheism which is one of the first things which strikes any outsider coming to India became a point of ridicule.Western scholars saw our multitude of gods and demigods as demonic beings, devils and creation of a barbaric mind and wrote profusely of their horror of seeing such images being worshipped .

But whosoever has ventured to penetrate deeper than the superficial appearance of Indian deities has been rewarded with the knowledge of beautiful philosophy and eventually the concept of Advaitvada.which underlines all polytheistic rituals and attitudes. Most ancient of the Vedas and a storehouse of information on Indian mythology and philosophy ,There is a shloka in Rik Veda which translates as …..MAY THIS RELIC BE YOUR PERSONIFICATION….

The highest,most comprehensive truth set forth in the Upanisads is nondual.But Vedantic sages recognized that gradations of philosophical truth was inevitable because Brahman, the absolute , non dual reality is only partially revealed to the vast majority of us. The experience of Brahman is so utterly impersonal , so devoid of anything describable in human terms, as to be suited only to the greatest saints and to those also only in their most strenuous moments. Hence devotees throughout the world have created images of the deities and saints in whom they feel a holy presence.The devotees are very much aware that the image is not the deity itself but just serves as a reminder of the all pervading one and as an object to concentrate ones devotion on.An image or an idol allows one to have a one to one relationship with the deity and worship Almighty in form of mother, friend, lover ,father and thus personalize their worship.Here one needs to understand the difference between idolatry and idol worship. While idolatory can lead to completely blind faith and result in devotee fearing the deity, the idol worship does no such thing. The idol worshippers have tremendous faith but they are conscious of the presence of Almight beyond the image.Thus it’s the symbolic representation of the all pervading one.

Realizing the importance of symbolic representation the German thinker Hegel has compared the images of deities to a set of symbols intelligible only to people who have placed their faith in them in a way which restof the world cannot make sense of. He says “Symbol is a sensuous object which must not be taken in itself such as it is presents itself immediately to us., butin a more extended and more general sense….we must pass beyond the sensuous form in order to penetrate its more extended and profound meaning”

It is often heard that the people who have profound faith in a deity get to see him/her as well. They are blessed with a darshana of their favorite deity in whose bhakti they have completely lost themselves. The formless Brahman appears to the true devotee in whatever form he/she has visualized it, it could be in the form of Lord Krishna, Goddess Kali, Lord Shiva and so on.In no matter what form Almighty appears to a devotee the essence is unique and the phenomenon leads to stronger faith and devotion. Thus idol or image worship can work as an important medium to reach or atleast an attemp to reach the all encompassing one.

Swami Vivekananda while explaining the concept of idol worship says “This poor hindu sits before the idol and tries to think that he is That, and then says , O,lord I cannot conceive Thee as spirit,so let me conceive Thee in this form and then he opens his eyes and sees this form and prostrating he repeats his prayers.And when his prayer is ended he says, O, Lord forgive me for this imperfect worship of Thee”.

A glimpse in Abhinavagupta’s ideas on aesthetics

2007-01-03T02:21:00.001-08:00

Abhinavagupta a distinguished philosopher ,aesthete and saint was one of the most outstanding Acharyas of the Monistic Shaivism. His exact date of birth is not known but we learn from references about him in his works Tantraloka and Paratrimshika Vivarana that he lived in Kashmir about the end of the tenth and beginning of the eleventh century A.D. The earliest known ancestor of Abhinavagupta was a famous Brahmin Attrigupta a great Shaiva teacher and scholar of Kanauj, who had been invited to settle in Kashmir by King Lalitaditya.
Abhinava Gupta was thus born in a family which had a long tradition of scholarship and devoutness for Lord Siva. His father Narasimhagupta (Cukhulaka) and mother Vimalakala were great influence in his life and it is believed that they both underwent austerities to be bestowed with an extra ordinary son with spiritual powers.
Traditionally believed to have been a Yoginibhu (born of aYogini), he mastered subjects like metaphysics, poetry and aesthetics at a very young age. He possessed all the eight Yogic powers explained in Shastras. His biographers observed six great spiritual signs as explained in ‘Malinivijayotara Shastra’, in him. Kashmir Shaivism is classified by Abhinavagupta in four systems viz. Krama system, Spanda system, Kula system and Pratyabijnya system. ‘Krama’ deals with space and time, ‘Spanda’, with the movement, ‘Kula’ with the Science of Totality and ‘Pratyabijnya’ with the school of Recognition.(Ref G.T.Deshpande’s monogram on Abhinava Gupta for detailed explanation)
His two major works on Poetics , Dhavnyalokalocana and Abhinava Bharati point towards his quest into the nature of aesthetic experience. In both these works Abhinava Gupta suggests that Aesthetic experience is something beyond worldly experience and he has used the word ‘Alaukika’ to distinguish the former feeling from the mundane latter ones. He subscribed to the theory of Rasa Dhvani and thus entered the ongoing aesthetic debate on nature of Aesthetic pleasure.
Rasa--roughly translated: "as emotive aesthetics"--is one of the most important concept in classical Indian aesthetics, having pervasive influence in theories of painting, sculpture, dance, poetry, and drama. . Rasa theory argues that the presentation of emotions is the proper object and domain of poetic discourse. Bharata in Natyashastra his pioneering work on Indian dramatics mentions eight rasas and says Rasa is produced when ‘Vibhaava’, Anubhava and Vyabhichari bhava come together.
Vibhavanubhava-vyabhicari-samyogat Rasa nispattih (Rasa Sutra,Natyasastra)
Vibhava: A medium through which an emotion arises in an actor e.g. A child riding a stick and enjoying it as if he were actually riding a horse
Anubhava: All the physical changes arising due to the vibhavas e.g.changes in facial expression and body language
Vyahicari bhava:Transient emotions eg.weeping with joy
The language of feelings is not a private language; it is more a system of symbols, a language game that is understood by those who have learned its conventions and usages. Emotions treated in a poem are neither the projections of the reader's own mental states nor the private feelings of the poet; rather, they are the objective situations abiding in the poem as its cognitive content. Rasa is understood as residing in the situational factors presented in an appropriate language. A poet chooses a theme because he sees a certain promise for developing its emotional possibilities and exploits it by dramatizing its details.
The adherents of rasa theory believed rasa, to be the meaning of the poetic sentence but they had different ideas about the definition of art. Abhinavabharati a commentary on Bharata,s Natyasastra talks about these scholars and comments on their theories. Bhatta Lollata believed art to be an imitation of reality. His views were contested by Sri Sankuka who stated that art cannot be an imitation simply because it exists in a different place and time. Further he explained his point of view by giving the analogy of a pictorial horse (chitaraturaganyaya). He says when one sees a horse painted one doesn’t mistake it for the original horse but one sees it as the representation of the original horse and thus derives the aesthetic pleasure through this identification. Since art cannot imitate all the qualities of the original subject hence it is just an inference and not an imitation. BhattaTauta ,Abhinavagupta's teacher raised a valid question regarding the imitation of the mental state. According to him there is no way an actor can feel and react in exactly the same way as the original character. The actor presents his feelings i.e. How he would react if put in the original characters position. Hence art cannot be inferred but depends on the imagination of the spectator.
Abhinavagupta though agrees to many of the suggestions put forward by Rasa theory also points at its various limitations. According to him art is not just about evoking certain feelings but a real work of art in addition to possessing emotive charge needs to have a strong sense of suggestion and capacity to produce various meanings. This is where he refers to Dhvanivada . He says that for a work of art it is not enough to be having abhida(literal meaning) and laksana(metaphorical meaning ) but it should also possess Vyanjana the suggested meaning which has absolutely nothing to do with the other two levels of meaning. Thus an aesthetic experience cannot be experienced like any ordinary mundane experience. A true aesthetic object does not simply stimulate the senses but also stimulates the imagination of the spectator. Once the imagination is stimulated the spectator aesthete gets transported to a world of his own creation. This emotion deindividualises an individual by freeing him from those elements which constitute individuality such as place, time etc. and raises him to the level of universal. Thus art is otherworldly or Alaukika in its nature.

One of the major passage in which he dwells on alaukikatva is:
“When a man hears the words :’A son is born to you’ joy is produced (through the power of denotation-abhida).But the suggested sense (rasa and the like) is not produced the way joy is produced in the above case. Nor does it come about through the secondary usage (laksana,gunavrtti,bhakti).But it arises in a sensitive man (sahrdaya-a man who is sensitive to literature )through his knowledge of vibhavas and anubhava, because of his hrdaya-samvada (sympathetic response)and his tanmayibhava (identification). It is vilaksana (different)from ordinary awareness of happiness etc. and it is not an objective thing” Dhvaynalokalocana, p.79
In this passage he points out clearly that the vibhavas do not correspond to any karana(reason) in case of art like they do in everyday life. They make the relish of Rasa possible and hence exist at a different plane altogether.
Abhinavagupta turned his attention away from the linguistic and related abstractions which had preoccupied even Anandavardhana, focusing his attention instead on the human mind, specifically the mind of the reader or viewer of a literary work. The first step in Abhinavagupta's project involved the recognition that the theory of rasadhvani , could not be understood as a theory of abstract linguistic structure. Rather, it only made sense as a theory of the way people respond to literature. In other words, rasadhvani had to be conceived in psychological terms. According to this system the reader becomes the central focus of literary criticism. The aim of kavya is to give pleasure, but this pleasure must not bind the soul to the body.
Thus he attributed the state of divinity to arts and considered Shanta Rasa as the ultimate Rasa. According to him the pleasure one derives out of a real work of art is no less than divine pleasure. As one has to constantly struggle and detach oneself to reach the Almighty similarly a true connoisseur of arts has to learn to detach the work from its surroundings and happenings and view it independently e.g. the feeling that might bring pain in real life is capable of causing pleasure in an art form. The great success of Greek tragedies can be attributed to the pleasure it aroused in the spectators and brought about the emotional Catharsis (purging out)
In his Dhvanyaloka Anandavardhana observes: “In the province of poetry (creative literature) obviously standards of truth and falsity have no relevance. Any attempt to find out or discover whether a poem (or any literary composition) is true or false by employing means of valid cognition leads to ridicule alone” Abhinavagupta comments on it :”Such a person will be ridiculed as follows: He is not able or competent to appreciate aesthetic experience or his mind has become (truly) hard by indulging in dry logic.”
Thus he asserts that the “willful suspension of disbelief” is a prerequisite for enjoying any art form. The moment one starts questioning it or doubting it and looking at it objectively it loses its charm and status and becomes equivalent to any mundane object. One enjoys a play only when one can identify the character as the character from the drama and not as ones friend or associate. For the time that the drama goes on the character should take over the actor in a spectators mind i.e. The spectator should rise above the worldly connections and try to experience the supernatural aspect of art which has nothing to do with the worldly concerns.

Geetika Kaw Kher

Sri Sankuka’s interpretation of Rasa-Sutra

2007-01-03T02:21:00.000-08:00

The Indian aesthetic thought is ruled by stalwarts like Bharata, Anandvardhana and Abhhinavagupta. There has been considerable amount of research and critical examination in their works. The common thread binding all three of them is their thought provoking inputs on Rasa theory. Rasa--roughly translated: "as emotive aesthetics"--is one of the most important concepts in classical Indian aesthetics, having pervasive influence in theories of painting, sculpture, dance, poetry, and drama. . Rasa theory argues that the presentation of emotions is the proper object and domain of poetic discourse.
Bharata in Natyashastra his pioneering work on Indian dramatics mentions eight rasas and says Rasa is produced when ‘Vibhava’, Anubhava and Vyabhichari bhava come together.
Vibhavanubhava-vyabhicari-samyogad Rasa nispattih (Rasa Sutra,Natyasastra)
Vibhava: A medium through which an emotion arises in an actor e.g. A child riding a stick and enjoying it as if he were actually riding a horse
Anubhava: All the physical changes arising due to the vibhavas e.g.changes in facial expression and body language
Vyabhicari bhava:Transient emotions eg.weeping with joy[1]

However the whole discussion on Rasa and all the complex questions arising alongwith are incomplete without explaining the inputs from the other pre Abhinavagupta commentators on Rasa Sutra from Kashmir. Any scholar or student who tries to venture into the depth of their contribution right at the onset faces a major crisis due to the lack of documentation and records.Hence when one started looking for Sri Sankuka’s writing one realized that none of the original stuff exists and only information about the scholar and his ideas can be gleaned through Abhinavabharti and writings of Mammata and Hemchandra..In the former text the commentary on Rasa Sutra by Sankuka is explained in brief only to be refuted. Nonetheless this refutation cannot be taken as final and the scholar’s work considered less important.As R B Patankar observes “…these three critics must have taken Sankuka’s theory seriously: otherwise they would not given it the space they have in their writings: nor would have Bhatta Tauta thought it worth his while to attempt its detailed refutation…”[2]

One would like to plead for considering the theories of these commentators on Rasa Sutra not as important archaic steps leading towards the genius of Abhhinavagupta but as independent theories having their own merits.In this short write-up one has tried to look at Sri Sankuka’s theory on Rasa and his interpretation of Rasasutra clearly from a logician’s (nyayika’s) point of view and point out its far-reaching philosophical and metaphysical aspects.

Born in Kashmir and trained in the Nyaya philosophy Sri Sankuka used clear cut logic to explain his stand. He studied the Rasa Sutra not from the point of view of production of the aesthetic object on the stage , but from the considerations of the matter in which aesthetic experience arises from the aesthetic object He vehemently critiqued the theory of ‘Art as imitation’ proposed by Bhattalollata , his older contemporary. His ground for such refutation was simply the fact that the basic mental state (sthayi bhava) cannot be imitated i.e. if an actor is playing the part of a victim of a tragedy, the actor himself does not undergo the pain and suffering of the character hence there is a sense of detachment.. Here the actor is constantly trying to present a mental state and for all we know the basic mental state he himself is undergoing might be that of anxiety to do well on stage or anxiety about the success of the drama and what he could do with the money and the fame. Since the tragedy is neither the actor’s nor the spectator’s the feeling of enjoyment is possible. There is a sure ‘proscenium barrier’ which automatically puts the actors in a totally different plane…a place where for some time the audience can forget its existential dilemmas and enjoy someone else’s tragedy or story….someone who is just in the realm of imagination.

Hence the point, which Sankuka tries to stress on, is that art cannot be an ordinary imitation but it is a kind of an indirect Inference. Hence the sthayi bhava of the character, which is inferred by the actor, is called Rasa. Thus Sri Sankuka interprets the Rasa Sutra to mean that the basic mental state inferred from vibhavas and anubhavas is Rasa

AbhinavaBharti gives a detailed account of the theory of ‘Chitara-turaga nyaya’ ,which is the most interesting contribution of Sankuka to the vast repertoire of aesthetic theories.
The arrangement of scenes etc. on the stage together with successful acting by the actor gives rise to the consciousness of the identity of the actor with the hero whom he impersonates. This consciousness is not of the nature of illusion nor of doubt. It cannot be said to be true or false. It is similar to the consciousness that one has at the sight of a life like picture of a particular horse and is called ‘Analogy of a pictorial horse’ ‘Chitaraturaga nyaya’. The perception relevant in art is different form the four known varieties of perception enumerated by the Sanskrit scholars viz. veridical perception, false perception perception of resemblance and doubtful perception.

The most enigmatic and interesting question here is what kind of seeing is relevant for citra-turaga pratiti.To understand the concept let us assume that one is looking at a painting. Actually what one is seeing is a framed piece of canvas with pigments spread over it but one often says that one can see a particular object which the picture reminds us of. Once that is established one identifies the other related objects in the painting.
That all these things are spatially and temporarily inter-related in certain ways is clear; but they are so inter-related in the picture-space and picture-time, which are not continuous with our space and time. To make it simpler one can take the example of the mirror space. The objects reflected in the mirror are the reflections of the objects placed in the room yet they exist in a different space altogether. Similar is the case with the picture.

Our relation with the objects in the picture-world appears to be peculiar. It appears that there is a limited one-way causal relation between these objects and us. To quote an example,suppose one is looking at a picture of a person. Whatever one does will have absolutely no effect on the person himself.Often as children one must have drawn beard and moustache on the pictures in the newspaper or magazines.While on one hand our drawing makes no difference to the person who is represented in the picture on the other neither can that picture admonish us or hit us for doing the mischief. But let us assume the picture is of a holy saint or a divinity whom we revere then the image assumes an immense power. Then it gains the capacity to move the faithful onlooker though still it cannot move or come out of that picture frame.

One feels that this wonderful argument of Sri Sankuka very beautifully and logically explains the essence of idol worship where the devotee is sure that the idol is just a medium. Hence devotees throughout the world have created images of the deities and saints in whom they feel a holy presence.The devotees are very much aware that the image is not the deity itself but just serves as a reminder of the all pervading one and as an object to concentrate ones devotion on. An image or an idol allows one to have a one to one relationship with the deity and worship Almighty in form of mother, friend, lover ,father and thus personalize their worship[3].

Thus the beauty of his theory is not just limited to the Arts as it is understood in present day context. All the Indian aesthetes who have commented on the Rasa-Sutra of Bharata, essentially from Kashmir, have been great thinkers and philosophers in their own right. The fact that they could derive so much out of a simple appearing sutra and for generations comment on it talks of their excellent scholarship, power to articulate and condense the essence of the written word.
[1] Kaw Kher Geetika, ‘ A glimpse in Abhinavagupta’s ideas on aesthetics’ Sulekha.com
[2] Patankar R.B., ‘Sankuka-A Defense’ ed. By V.M Kulkarni
[3] Kaw Kher Geetika ‘Deeper meaning in idol worship’ Yogtantragama.com

References:

1. Mishra Hari Ram, ‘The theory of Rasa in Sanskrit drama’,1964
2. Raghavan V. and Nagendra, ‘An introduction to Indian Poetics’ 1970
3. Toshkhani S.S. ‘Kashmir’s Contribution to Indian Aesthetics-I’,Kashmir Sentine