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The book highlights the true iconographic import of numbers/ numerology in Hindu and Buddhist practices bringing out, in detail, the unique properties of each iconographically significant number: ranged between one (1) and one thousand and twenty four (1024).
In his effort to find an explanation for the unknown, the mysterious around him, the ancient man saw in numbers, among other things, a high significance. And frequently used them to explain the ineffable or even predict through numerology. Astrology became a parallel, interwoven science which, like numerology, was used to predict the future and also to determine propitious times for venturing upon an important activity: be it the naming of a child, marriage, or construction of a building. Numbers, in fact, have always held a strong fascination for all various cultures of Asia. Considered to inhere both mystic and iconic significance in the Hindu and Buddhist worlds, their importance was emphasized in celebrated architectural treatises, like the Manasara and the Mayamata and they, (together with other complex procedures), were invariably utilized by the priest-architect (the sthapati) in the planning, design and construction of temples and other buildings. Not only the numbers, but even the geometric forms (like the circle, square or rectangle) came to have numerological and, consequently, iconographic importance in these cultures. Yet another fascinating work from an internationally known scholar of Oriental Art, the book highlights the true iconograpic import of numbers/numerology in Hindu and Buddhist practices bringing out, in detail, the unique properties of each iconographically significant number: ranged between one (1) and one thousand twentyfour (1024). Professor Bunce here perceives numerology not as the arcane or occult science, but as an academic proposition concerned with the ethos of numbers and the genesis of their importance within the Hindu and Buddhist art, particularly architecture. A useful read for the scholars of iconography.
The book exhibits paintings which depict an ancient love story of India involving Krishnas grandson Aniruddha and Banasuras daughter Usha. Depiction of Garudas narration of the story to Krishna, Balarama and Pradyumna during their battle with Banasura, and the Pahari kalam of painter Ranjha create lyrical romantic scenes and gory battles with equal ease.
Among ancient love stories of India, that of Usha-Aniruddha has a pride of place. Being a part of various Puranas such as the Harivamsha, Bhagavata and Vishnu Puranas it acquires a sacrality and legitimacy. We are privy to the interaction of all the three gods, namely Vishnu, Shiva and Brahma. The highlight of the story is the romantic involvement of Krishsas grandson Aniruddha and Banasuras daughter Usha. Between scenes of a pitched battle between Banasura and Krishna, where a mighty demon and his army battle with Krishna, Balarama and Pradyumna and interspersed with long conversations with Garuda, the narrative takes us to tender scenes of romance as well as a birds-eye view of Shonitpur and Dvaraka. The Puranic narrative is brought alive by the graceful Pahari kalam of Ranjha, son of Nainsukh, who renders the story with finesse and precision and creates lyrical romantic scenes and gory battles with equal ease. The book brings together for the first time the entire series from the Bhuri Singh Museum of Chamba in Himachal Pradesh but also features folios from other museums and private collections as well as a critical look at the painter and the patron of this series. The book is a visual treat.
Matiram’s sonorous poetry embellished by Purkhu’s sensuous imagery, transport us into the rarefied realm of the Rasraj, where romance interwoven with poignancy, bring alive the emotion-laden shringara rasa. Both lyrics and imagery have been seemlessly sculpted into visual poetry.
No celebration of ritikavya can be complete until we have enjoyed the sonorous poetry of Matiram and the sensuous images of Purkhu.
With well sculpted words and lyrical rhythms Matiram takes us into the rarefied world of the nayak and the nayika, their amorous exchanges, the sensuality of loving glances, the charged moments of romantic feelings, the heart throb of belonging, the poignancy of longing and above all the fulfilment of desire.
Line by line and doha after doha, Matiram leads us into the emotionally charged world of shringararasa and for those of us who are chastened by harishringara we go from one level to another till we hear the flute of Krishna.
And when we find that these sonorous words of Matiram have been brought alive by none other than Purkhu and his school of painting under the patronage of Sansar Chand of Kangra our joy is doubled and Matiram’s words become visual poetry.
In the hands of Purkhu words become lines, emotions take on a colour and desire becomes palpable through the magic of his kalam.
This volume presents meticulous deliberations on the mural paintings of Bundelkhand. These murals — a living art, more democratic and decidely popular — were the artistic idiom of Bundelkhand. It reminds us a truth that the paintings of Bundelkhand are half remembered, half forgotten and many yet to be discoverd.
This volume, a visual journey, through its meticulous deliberations on the wall paintings and miniature paintings of Bundelkhand makes us reminisce the footfalls of valiant Bundella kings, ankle bells of elegant court-dancers, evocative poetry of mahakavi Kesvadas and the brilliant artistic skills of mural painters and many other historical events. These find their excellent expressions beyond the palaces of Orchha and Datia, and in many jagirs and thikanas such as Rehali, Madanpur, Chhatarpur, Narsinghgarh, Ajayagarh, Todi Fatehpur, Samthar, Jhansi and Rannod as well. A glimpse of Malwa painting is a value-add.
The murals, a living art, more democratic and decidedly popular, were the artistic idiom of Bundelkhand. It was art for the raja and the praja, depicting not only Puranic stories, but also the regal affairs and the day-to-day life of ordinary people.
Despite the fact that time, the vicissitudes of weather and vandalism have taken their toll on the murals, a cultivated aesthete can restore life in them. The book candidly reminds us a truth: The paintings of Bundelkhand are half remembered, half forgotten and many yet to be discovered.
Thus, this book should inspire art connoisseurs, art historians, art students, and laymen alike, paving the way for further researches and studies on the forgotten legacies of Bundelkhand.
The book offers an exclusive study of the Jaipur School of Miniature Painting, in all its different articulations with focus on its historical evolution, style, form, motifs, artists and its linkages with other forms of creative expression.
Over the centuries, Indian art tradition came to have its differentiative regional, even local, specificities. For instance, the Jaipur School of Painting. Isolating itself from other Rajasthani genres like Mewar, Bikaner or Bundi, the Jaipur school set out its independent, distinctive identity, sometime during the early years of the 18th century. Historically, it was the time when the once-glorious Mughal empire was beginning to disintegrate and many of its court painters discovered, in Jaipur, a conducive haven under the generous patronage of Sawai Jai Singh (ad 1699-1743). As the capital of Rajasthan, the erstwhile Rajputana, Jaipur evokes memories of Rajput chivalry, and legendary romance. And it unmistakably represents the beautiful in art and the magnificent in architecture leave alone its fabulous cultural traditions. The School of Painting that thrived has here for over 150 years since Jai Singhs time, covers a whole diversity of themes: both sacred and secular, evolving a veritable panorama of contemporary life and culture. And yet collectively, notwithstanding their exposure to the earliest character of Mughal art, Jaipur miniatures are steeped in tradition drawing inspiration from Indian mythology, epical/classical literature, and folklore. For the first time, Dr. Rita Pratap offers an exclusive study of the Jaipur School of Miniature Painting, in all its different articulations with focus, among other aspects, on its historical evolution; its style, forms and motifs; its artists and ateliers; and its linkages with other forms of creative expression: literature, music, sculpture, dance. For her meticulous analysis she has drawn on the miniatures from private collections and museums around the world. Besides including bibliographic references and a glossary of non-English words, the book is embellished with representative specimens of Jaipur miniature paintings, exquisite figures and photographic reproductions in colour.
Krishna Steals the Parijata (Parijataharana) tells the story of Krishna forcibly taking away Parijata from Indra to make Satyabhama happy, which finds expression in the paintings of different kalams Chamba, Palam, Early Kangra, Mature Kangra, Bundi, Bikaner and Nepal from different sources.
Krishna Steals the Parijata (Parijataharana) is a collection of a few accounts, edited by Harsha V. Dehejia, on Krishna forcibly taking away Parijata from Indra, which finds expression through the paintings of different kalams. Christopher R. Austin relates this event to the citations and narrations in Mahabharata and Harivamsha, wherein the focus is on Krishnas effort to appease his perturbed wife Satyabhama, by fulfilling her desire to have Parijata from Indras abode. Mahendra Kumar Mishra approaches this incident from Sarala Mahabharata angle. Here the narrative and episode are little different though the centre theme and characters remain the same.
The third narrative is in Hindi by Narmada Prasad Upadyaya. He approaches this story from a different viewpoint that by forcibly taking away the Parijata tree from Indraloka, Krishna broke Indras Himalayan pride. The main characters in the episode are same here too: Krishna, Indra and Satyabhama. In the final article, Harsha V. Dehejia provides a visual narrative account of the event. The story looks almost similar to that of Austin with little more narration and a few additional characters. The sequentially given paintings tell the story faster than the literature.
In a nutshell the book is an exemplar attempt to visually covey a well-known, well-rooted story where Krishna is the central character.
Living as a family is what all human beings even members of the animal kingdom like lion, tiger and elephant do and aspire for. A family togetherness depends upon the role each member plays. A pious couple the Kogatas have seen Lord Shiva’s family as the ideal and have beautified this book with pleasing illustrations of the divine parents and children in different moods followed by charming and delightful verses.
Vasudaiva Kutumbakam — the world is my family. Indian culture teacher us this motto, i.e. to treat all beings, animate and inanimate, in the world as our family members.
Our small family is run by a father and a mother. The father works and earns money, and with it the mother runds the houshold. Both look after the children in the best way possible.
In the Hindu pantheon there is a famous family or Parivaar — that of Lord Shiva comprising his consort Parvati and children Ganesh and Kartik. If we look at the vehicles or vahanas used by this family, we find each one is an enemy or prey of the other, but the composite picture shows a unified family without any sign of animosity. We should take Lord Shivas family as an example.
A family togetherness depends upon the role each member plays, and the members sacrifices, devotion to ideals and respect to family values form the ladder to success.
The Kogatas have also seen Lord Shivas family as the ideal, and have beautified this book with pleasing illustrations of the divine parents and children in different activities and moods, followed by charming and delightful verses.
From time immemorial a family Þ consisting of father, mother, son, his wife, and their childern Þ has been accepted as a sacred institution in all societies Þ urban, rural, tribal or uncivilized, or even among animals to a certain extent. In the family, besides love and affection, the main factors cementing the bond between members are some virtues and morals like obedience, faithfulness, honesty, and, above all, chastity, not only for women but also for the men. In Hindu thought Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati are considered the ideal parents as well as the ideal couple. In four books Þ Pita, Maa, Pati and Patni Þ pleasingly embellished with self-explaining paintings, Mr K.N. Kogata and Mrs Lalita Kogata have extolled the roles, activities, and moods of these important members of the first family with charming and delightful verses.
A man has many roles to play in life a son, brother, husband, householder and father. The most important of these roles is that of husband. Only after becoming a husband a man becomes a householder and father. Epics, Puranas and other literature extol the role of a husband and list a number of dos and don’ts so that he can lead a chaste life and earn virtues and good reputation for himself as well as for his family. It is said that a husband is the source of dream and destination, he sets the way and speed, his positive attitude results in creativity, inspiration and happiness in the family, and for any wife, the husband is the ultimate truth and shrine. This book is a small attempt to express the love, affection, respect and feelings of a wife for her husband with the objective to inspire all men to become caring husbands. In Hindu thought Lord Shiva is considered a perfect husband, and women observe vrats on Mondays and pray that they should get good husbands like Shiva. The Kogatas have beautified the book with pleasing illustrations depicting Shiva as the perfect husband and Uma or Parvati as the perfect wife.
From time immemorial a family Þ consisting of father, mother, son, his wife, and their childern Þ has been accepted as a sacred institution in all societies Þ urban, rural, tribal or uncivilized, or even among animals to a certain extent. In the family, besides love and affection, the main factors cementing the bond between members are some virtues and morals like obedience, faithfulness, honesty, and, above all, chastity, not only for women but also for the men. In Hindu thought Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati are considered the ideal parents as well as the ideal couple. In four books Þ Pita, Maa, Pati and Patni Þ pleasingly embellished with self-explaining paintings, Mr K.N. Kogata and Mrs Lalita Kogata have extolled the roles, activities, and moods of these important members of the first family with charming and delightful verses.
A woman has many roles to play in life a daughter, sister, wife and mother. The most important of these roles is that of wife. Only after becoming a wife a woman becomes a mother which brings fullness to her life. Epics, Puranas and other literature extol the imporance of wife to a husband. She is a friend, philosopher and guide to him. In times of plenty all relatives and friends flock to a man like bees and ants to a ripe fruit, but at times of adversity a man will find only his wife by his side to give support, solace and encouragement. Probably because of this characteristic of a wife is she called better half. This book is a small attempt to express the love, affection and feelings of a husband for his wife with the objective to inspire all women to become good and virtuous wives worthy of adoration by their husbands. In Hindu thought Parvati or Uma or Sati is considered an ideal wife, who together with her consort Shiva make a perfect couple or aadarsh dampati. Another made-for-each-other couple the Kogatas have beautified the book with pleasing illustrations of Parvati and Shiva as the ideal couple. The delightful verses add sweetness and charm to the book.
From time immemorial a family Þ consisting of father, mother, son, his wife, and their childern Þ has been accepted as a sacred institution in all societies Þ urban, rural, tribal or uncivilized, or even among animals to a certain extent. In the family, besides love and affection, the main factors cementing the bond between members are some virtues and morals like obedience, faithfulness, honesty, and, above all, chastity, not only for women but also for the men. In Hindu thought Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati are considered the ideal parents as well as the ideal couple. In four books Þ Pita, Maa, Pati and Patni Þ pleasingly embellished with self-explaining paintings, Mr K.N. Kogata and Mrs Lalita Kogata have extolled the roles, activities, and moods of these important members of the first family with charming and delightful verses.
Taittiriya Upanishad says, Pitru devo bhava consider your father as a god. We owe our existence to our father and mother, and in that sense they are our creators and therefore, gods. We cannot see God, the Creator of this universe, in person and offer our respects to Him. To make matters easy for us, God created father and mother and presented them before us in flesh and blood. By serving our father and mother we can pay back at least a little portion of the debt we owe to God for our existence and for the stage we have reached in life. Our epics, Puranas, Upanishads, etc. all extol the father as of utmost importance in society. Subhashita Manjari mentions five persons who are to be treated as father one who gives birth, one who initiates, one who teaches, one who feeds, and one who protects us from fear. Practically speaking, our biological father does all these five activities he is the cause of our birth, he initiates us as a brahmachaari by performing the Upanayanam ceremony, he teaches us how to live in the world with honour and dignity, he feeds us, and he protects us, his children, from all kinds of fear. As such, our efforts to serve and please our father should be fivefold. Aadi Shankaraachaarya sees, in Annapurnaashtakam, Lord Shiva and his consort Parvati as father and mother. In a similar way, the Kogatas have seen Shiva as the universal father and portrays him in the book along with mother Parvati in different activities and moods in pleasing illustrations which are further beautified by sweet and delightful verses.
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