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A
Reawakening
Bhaskar HandePIMAA
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Paintingscreated on the spot
ByBhaskar Hande
Copyright April 2001
PIMAAThe Hague Holland and Pune India
Jejuri
AjantaVerulSinmhgad
Karla
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A ReawakeningI graduated from high school in 1974, with
arthistory as one of my subjects in the final gradeAlong with
several other students I had chosen arthistory instead of
mathematics Before that time, arthistory was probably not part of
the curriculumThis suggestion by my art teachers turned out tobe
the most important one in my lifeMy primary schooling and my
vocational training in
art were in India I then did my degree course in artin Holland
Ive been a student of art history fornearly thirty years, and a
practising artist fortwenty-five And occasionally, Ive put things
intowords
I recall this today because I saw on television howthe Taliban
in Afghanistan had destroyed a statueof the Buddha, sculpted in the
Gandhara styleGenerally speaking, the cultural assets of
manycountries are in the embrace of just such adestructive mindset
Instead of preserving these
valuable artifacts for posterity, these reactionaryrulers and
religious fanatics carry out insensitiveacts of destruction Do
these people commit suchacts because they dont fully understand
whattheyre doing?
When you walk through museums in countriesaround the world, you
realize at once how
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important this cultural legacy is for the cominggenerations
These dated places and artifacts keepshedding light on the details
that make up the lifeof those periods A single mans life amounts
toseveral decades at most That life, caught up in itsown
development, seems so limited whencompared to a cultural legacyWhen
thinking has a limited horizon, it can betransformed into a cruel
and destructive force the
Buddha statue incident makes that clear A culturaland
intellectual vacuum forms in the wake ofevents like these. The
impetus for further suchactions and reactions remains alive.What
creative human energy must have gone into
making this statue. That effort has been giving joyto
enthusiasts for centuries. Doesnt this unfeelingact against an
ancient culture prove how degradedin the name of religion-man has
become?The Ajanta, Ellora, Karla and Elephanta caves inwestern
India were carved - with the Gandhara
style as a background - under the influence ofBuddhist, Hindu
and Jain religious traditions. In thelast two months Ive come to
realize how inspiringthese ancient sculptures can be.I was
depressed after seeing that barbaric act in
Afghanistan this year. Id never seen the caves andsculptures
near my birthplace. It has been a long
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journey since I left India some twenty years ago togain
recognition in the art world. But, as I set out totake an overview,
I fell witness to the wantondestruction of centuries old works of
art; I wassaddened. And so the thoughts that were crowdingmy mind
during the past four months moved me togo and see the Ajanta-Ellora
caves with my nowmature eyes.Large sculptures of the Buddha,
Siva-Parvati,
Vishnu-Laxmi, and huge statues of elephants andlions, tales of
the chatak (a bird), colorful paintingsof courtesans-all these gave
lustre to my ideasabout the ancient. A saddened mind washeartened,
strengthened once again.
My inspirations are many. But it seems as thoughmy work today is
slowly emerging from a fog andtaking shape, fashioned from an
inchoate mindand inspired by these artifacts. I became moreaware of
this while seeing the Ajanta-Ellora caves.Its hard to fathom what
is hidden at the root of
consciousness, which makes one draw, paint andcreate sculpture.
As one makes ones way throughthe reaches of time, one keeps looking
for outlineshidden from our view for centuries. One sees thebanks
of rivers, exposing what countless floods
have left behind. In a poem one can give voice tothe clamor of
emotions. A painting is made with
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lifes experiences. A sculpture can bringtranscendence into
being.Ellora and Karla caves are highly expressive. Themind of an
artist was the same in ancient times. Itwas the same throughout
mans history. And it isthe same even in modern times. Only his
methodis different. The flow of knowledge and experiencethrough
works of art awakens an artists impulse,and gives rise to new
creations. The flow starts
once again. This process keeps recurring. Onebecomes a vehicle
for culture, mans nature, histhoughts and ideas.IBhaskar Hande
(Trans-creation from the Marathi by Jayant Deshpande)
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Karla
size 76x56cm
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Karla
size 76x56cm
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Karla
size 76x56cm
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Karla
size 76x56cm
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Karla
size 76x56cm
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size 76x56cm
Jejuri
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size 76x56cm
Jejuri
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size 76x56cm
Jejuri
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size 76x56cm
Jejuri
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size 76x56cm
Jejuri
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Jejuri
size 76x56cm
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Verul_Sinmhgad
size 76x56cm
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Ajanta
size 76x56cm
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Karla
size 76x56cm
Karla
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Ajanta
Verul
size 76x56cm
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Verul_Sinmhgad
size 76x56cm
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The exhibition of these works was held on 28th June
till 3rd july 2001in Balgandharva Rangmandir Kaladalan
Pune India
Copyright April 2001
PIMAA
The Hague Holland and Pune India
