"LONELY SHARIKA " A PAINTING BY MASOOD HUSSAIN WELL KNOWN KASHMIRI ARTIST

                                                                                          

LONELY SHARIKA ...BY MASOOD HUSSAIN..

Masood Hussain is a well known Artist from kashmir who also paints Ethnicity , Culture and Traditions of his Native Land. He could not help remaining a witness to a period that saw only pain and suffering.A period that saw the painful slicing of kashmir’s soul and the collective Psyche of kashmiris being subjected to unbearable trauma. A trauma that tore age old bonds and ripped apart the fabric of composite culture .

People who lived in peace for centuries were left with no alternative but to move out to save their lives. Those who stayed back saw only darkness , death and destruction.

And in this rurmoil, Shrines of highly revered saints and places of social get together turned desolate.

A visit to Sharika Temple ( Also known as Sri Chakreshwari shrine that lies on the western flank of Hari Parbat hillock in srinagar city) was painful for the Artist.. He had been to this place earlier also. He had also seen well known painter late G R Santosh visiting this shrine. Over here only , he had heard Devotees Chanting SHLOKAS from Sacred PANCHASTAVI or Hymns in praise of Mother Goddess .

" Hee Deevi Tchaanie Darshanuk Me Abhilaash 

Praa’th Vizi Netran Manz me Roozeitunn

Tchaa’en Go’nn Boznuk Tamanaa Me Aaestunn 

Praa’th Vizi Roozitunn Myaanein kanan…."

( A shloka from Panchastavi in Praise of Mother Goddess Sharika …. Translated by Pandit Jia lal Saraf to kashmiri from sanskrit. I have done simple English rendering of the shloka as under )

(O Gracious Goddess !

let My eyes be always curious and 

longing to see your divine face alone .

Let my ears be ever impatient 

For listening your unending praise only.)

Why should the presiding deity and protector of kashmir be lonely? Why has once lively shrine turned lonely ?

He poured out this painful feeling in his painting titled “lonely Sharika.”

In this painting , You can see “ Sharika Shila “ painted in orange red ( The orginal shila is painted with Sindhur or  Red Lead ) against the back drop of limitless or infinite  deep Blue sky with a big white patch representing hope for peace. An image of a Mynah ( Haaer In Kashmiri . From Haaer comes Hari Parbat. In some Hindu texts , Mynah is  mentioned as  a symbol of peace and love ) engraved on the shila held inside the sacred Shat-kona ( Hexagram made from Two Equilateral Triangles is a Shaivite symbol that Represents Prakarti and Purusha or a union of Shiva and Shakti ) , A soldier’s helmet ,some burning incense or Agarbatti and loneliness.

And Masood Hussain adds :

"Kashmiris are searching their lost culture" 

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( Autar Mota )

CHINAR SHADE by Autarmota is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 India License.
Based on a work at http:\\autarmota.blogspot.com\.