JAINISM IN ANCIENT KASHMIR

                

                                    

JAINISM IN ANCIENT KASHMIR: A LIVED ŚRAMAṆA PRESENCE IN THE VALLEY

 The religious history of ancient Kashmir is often narrated through the dominant traditions of Buddhism and Kashmir Shaivism. This emphasis is understandable, for both traditions left behind an extraordinary intellectual, literary and architectural legacy. Yet the religious history of Kashmir was never confined to a single tradition. The Valley was a meeting ground of diverse religious and philosophical currents, including Vaishnavism, Shaivism, Shaktism, Buddhism, Jainism and other Śramaṇa traditions. Jainism, although it never became the dominant religion of Kashmir and never established a large territorial kingdom in the Valley, was nevertheless a real and lived presence. It was represented by ascetics, lay followers, merchants, scholars, shrines, religious debate and literary memory.

 The evidence for Jainism in ancient Kashmir is dispersed rather than monumental. Unlike Buddhism and Shaivism, Jainism did not leave behind a large surviving architectural landscape in the Valley. Much of its material heritage has disappeared, been destroyed, reused or remains unrecognised. Yet the literary record, archaeological clues, references in Sanskrit and Persian sources, the testimony of travellers and the presence of identifiable Jain individuals together establish an important historical fact. Jainism was present in Kashmir not merely as an abstract doctrine known from distant India. It was practised, discussed and represented by people who lived in the region.

 The archaeological evidence, although requiring careful interpretation, is particularly significant. Some art historians and scholars have drawn attention to the emaciated, crouching and almost naked ascetics depicted on terracotta tiles recovered from Harwan and from other archaeological sites such as Kutabal, Semthan, Ushkur and Hutmurrah in Jammu and Kashmir. These figures have traditionally been associated with Buddhist or Shaivite asceticism. However, their precise religious identity remains a matter of scholarly debate. The Ashmolean Museum describes comparable Harwan tiles as depicting ascetics who may have belonged to a sect other than Buddhism, possibly the Ajivikas. The Los Angeles County Museum of Art has catalogued one such object as a tile depicting Ajivaka ascetics. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, while accepting the Buddhist affiliation of the Harwan complex, has observed that the presence of emaciated nude ascetics is difficult to explain and has suggested that they may be more readily understood within a Shaivite context.

 This uncertainty is historically important. The figures cannot automatically be labelled Jain. Nevertheless, the possibility that some of these ascetics may reflect Jain or related Śramaṇa traditions deserves serious investigation. The Harwan material demonstrates that ascetic traditions of different kinds were present in the cultural environment of ancient Kashmir. The existence of Ajivika, Buddhist, Shaivite and possibly Jain ascetic ideals within the wider religious world of north-western India makes it dangerous to assign every ascetic image to a single religious tradition. The figures may represent different communities, or the artistic vocabulary of one religious tradition may have absorbed motifs associated with another.

 Ajivika was an important sect of ancient India. Its ascetics are traditionally described as practising severe austerities, living in organised groups and, in some cases, going without clothing. They were known for extreme asceticism and for a life of severe restraint. Some scholars regard Jainism, Buddhism and Ajivika as important branches of the wider Śramaṇa movement, which developed in opposition to the ritual dominance of the Vedic sacrificial order. According to Buddhist sources, Makkhali Gosala, the founder of the Ajivika sect, was a contemporary of Gautama Buddha and Mahavira. Some traditions even associate him with Mahavira before the two became doctrinal rivals.

 The three traditions, Buddhism, Jainism and Ajivika, thus belonged to the wider religious world of non-Vedic renunciation. They questioned the supremacy of ritual sacrifice and placed extraordinary emphasis upon ascetic discipline, karma, liberation and the transformation of the individual. The presence of such traditions in the north-western regions of the Indian subcontinent makes it historically plausible that Kashmir, which stood at the intersection of the Indian, Central Asian and Gandharan worlds, was exposed to them.

              (The author inside the MET Museum,  New York, near the Harwan tiles on display)

 The evidence from the Harwan tiles must therefore be approached with scholarly caution. It would be incorrect to claim that every nude or emaciated ascetic depicted there was a Jain monk. At the same time, it would be equally premature to exclude Jainism from the religious environment represented by such images. The identification of some tiles as Ajivaka, the association of others with Shaivite asceticism and the continuing scholarly debate itself reveal a religious landscape in which several traditions of renunciation existed in proximity.

                                                       

               (A Harwan terracotta tile inside MET Museum, New York  ...Photo by author)

 The wider historical movement of Jainism towards the north-west is well established. The noted American scholar and art historian Pratapaditya Pal observed that, unlike Hinduism and Buddhism, Jainism did not appear to have travelled overseas on a comparable scale to Sri Lanka or Southeast Asia. However, he argued that both material and literary evidence demonstrated that Jains travelled northwards by land as far as Kashmir and Afghanistan in pre-modern times. This observation is of particular importance because Kashmir was not isolated from the great intellectual and commercial routes of northern India. It was connected through Punjab, Gandhara, the north-western frontier and the Central Asian world.

 Professor Muhammad Hameed of the University of the Punjab (Pakistan) has also drawn attention to the evidence for flourishing Jain communities and Jain religious and secular heritage in Punjab and Sindh before the arrival of Islam. Jain historical sources refer to communities in Sindhusagara, Bhera, Taxila, parts of Chakwal and other regions of Punjab from a very early period. These notices are supported by Chinese travel accounts and by archaeological investigations associated with scholars such as Sir Aurel Stein and Sir John Marshall.

 The importance of this evidence lies in geography. Ancient Kashmir was not separated from these regions by an impermeable cultural boundary. The movement of merchants, monks, scholars, manuscripts and ideas between the Punjab, Gandhara and Kashmir was a continuous historical process. Jainism therefore reached Kashmir through the same networks that brought Buddhism, Brahmanical traditions, Central Asian influences and various forms of philosophical debate into the Valley.

 The Jain tradition itself preserves memories of an early presence in the north-west. The oldest extant reference to Jain political influence in northern India is associated with the Hathigumpha inscription of King Kharavela of Kalinga, which refers to his conquest of regions of the Uttarapatha in the second century BCE. Jain traditions also associate Mahavira with journeys through northern India. Some sources connect him with Shvetambika, identified by some scholars with the region of Sialkot. Although such traditions require careful historical evaluation, they demonstrate the geographical reach of early Jain memory.

 The archaeological discoveries at Taxila are especially significant in this context. Sir John Marshall's excavations brought to light remains associated by some scholars with Jain presence in the wider north-western region. Sir Aurel Stein also reported remains that have been interpreted in connection with Jain establishments in the region around the Jhelum. These discoveries form part of a larger pattern of Jain movement across northern India and the north-west.

 Kashmir's own textual traditions provide further evidence. Kalhana's Rajatarangini is indispensable for any study of the religious history of the Valley. It records the presence of different religious communities and reflects the extraordinary plurality of Kashmir's intellectual life. The Nilamata Purana also refers to worshippers of Vishnu, Shiva, Shakti, Surya, Ganapati, Buddha and Jina. These worshippers are identified respectively with Vaishnavas, Shaivas, Shaktas, Sauras, Ganapatyas, Bauddhas and Jainas. Such a list is important because it places the worshippers of Jina within the religious geography of Kashmir itself.

 The most direct evidence occurs in a celebrated verse of the Rajatarangini. Kalhana records that a Shravaka named Ratna caused a beautiful image of Jina, Lord Neminatha, to be made on Rajavataka hill:

 

तत्रैव राजवटके शैलेऽकारयच्छ्रावको रत्नः ।

मणिबिम्बं जिनेन्द्रस्य नेमिनाथस्य सुन्दरम् ॥

 

The verse may be translated as follows:

 (There, upon Rajavataka hill, the Shravaka Ratna caused to be made a beautiful jewelled image of Jina, Lord Neminatha.)

 This reference is of exceptional importance. It does not merely mention Jainism as an external doctrine. It names an individual, Ratna, identifies him as a Shravaka and records his patronage of a shrine or image dedicated to Neminatha, the twenty-second Tirthankara. The date associated with this event is the tenth century, around 932 CE. This is direct evidence of a Jain lay follower living in Kashmir and possessing sufficient resources and religious commitment to establish a shrine or image.

 The term Shravaka is itself significant. It means a listener or disciple and ordinarily refers to a lay follower of Jainism. In Kashmir's historical and literary records, the word provides an important clue to the nature of Jain presence. Jainism in Kashmir was not necessarily represented by a large territorial community or a powerful Jain dynasty. It was more often embodied in individual Shravakas, merchants, patrons, scholars and ascetics.

 Three terms are particularly important in understanding the references to Jainism in Kashmir. The first is Shravaka, meaning a listener or lay disciple. The second is Jaina, meaning a follower of the Jina and, by extension, of the Jain tradition. This term becomes more prominent in later sources, including Persian accounts such as the Ain i Akbari of Abul Fazl. The third is Nirgrantha, meaning one who is without bonds or knots. This is an ancient term used in Buddhist and Sanskrit literature for Jain ascetics and the Jain monastic tradition. Buddhist sources used the term in connection with Mahavira and his followers.

 These terms should not be treated as interchangeable in every context. Shravaka generally identifies the lay follower, Jaina identifies the religious affiliation, and Nirgrantha belongs particularly to the older vocabulary of ascetic renunciation. Their occurrence in historical and literary sources demonstrates that Jain communities and Jain ascetics were known within the intellectual world of Kashmir.

 The Jain presence was also connected with Kashmir's extraordinary culture of learning. Jain historical traditions record that the great twelfth-century Jain scholar Hemacandra sought grammatical material preserved in Kashmir in order to prepare his celebrated grammatical work, the Siddhahema. The Prabhavakacarita, a Jain historical text dating from the late thirteenth century, is associated with this tradition. Kashmir's Sharda tradition was renowned for the preservation of Sanskrit learning, and the movement of texts between Kashmir and other centres of scholarship demonstrates the Valley's position within the intellectual networks of medieval India.

 The presence of Jain scholars and texts in Kashmir must also be understood against the background of the Valley's multilingual and intellectually plural culture. Sanskrit was the language of high learning, while Prakrit and other linguistic traditions were used by Jain communities across India. Jainism made an enormous contribution to Indian literary culture by adopting Prakrit as a vehicle for religious teaching and canonical literature. The use of the language of ordinary people gave extraordinary impetus to the development of Jainism also made major contributions to Indian philosophy, education, art and architecture. Its central ethical principle is ahimsa, or non-violence towards all living beings. This principle is extended to the smallest forms of life. Jain discipline therefore developed an exceptionally rigorous ethic of restraint. Even honey is traditionally forbidden because its collection may involve violence towards bees.

 The Jain tradition is associated with twenty-four Tirthankaras. The last was Vardhamana Mahavira, while the first was Rishabhanatha or Rishabhadeva. Jain traditions connect Rishabhadeva and Arishtanemi with ancient Indian religious memory, and names associated with Rishabha and Arishtanemi have been discussed in relation to Vedic literature. The Vishnu Purana and Bhagavata Purana also describe Rishabhadeva as an incarnation of Narayana. The twenty-third Tirthankara, Parshvanatha, is traditionally associated with Varanasi and is generally placed many centuries before Mahavira.

 Jainism is a religion of self-discipline and liberation. The individual must achieve spiritual freedom through right belief, right knowledge and right conduct. These are traditionally known as the Three Jewels. The Jain path does not depend upon a creator deity who intervenes to rescue human beings from the consequences of their actions. Liberation is achieved through the purification of the soul and the destruction of karmic bondage.

 The two principal sects of Jainism are the Digambara, meaning sky-clad, and the Shvetambara, meaning white-clad. Both traditions possess their own histories, texts and philosophical developments. Jainism also places extraordinary emphasis upon reverence for spiritual teachers, from the ordinary mendicant to the perfected Jina.

 The religious diversity of Kashmir provided a natural setting for philosophical interaction among such traditions. The ninth-century Sanskrit play Agamadambara by Bhatta Jayanta is particularly valuable. The work satirises different religious traditions and reflects the complex religious and political environment of Kashmir during the reign of King Shankaravarman, who ruled from 883 to 902 CE. Digambara and Shvetambara Jain monks appear within the religious world represented by the play.

 The protagonist Sankarshana is a young and dynamic orthodox student of Vedic learning whose intellectual career begins with opposition to Buddhists, Jains and other heterodox traditions. The very presence of Jain monks within this literary debate demonstrates that Jainism was sufficiently visible in Kashmir to become part of the region's philosophical and political discourse.

 Bhatta Jayanta was also the author of the Nyayamanjari and Nyayakalika. His work belongs to the great intellectual culture of Kashmir, where philosophical debate was not confined to one religious tradition. References to his Nyayapallava appear in the Jain philosophical work Syadvadaratnakara of the Jain logician Vadideva. Such intellectual connections demonstrate that Kashmir's philosophical traditions were not isolated from Jain intellectual networks.

 Jain influence can also be traced in literary and devotional references. The Kashmiri Sanskrit poet Bilhana opens his play Karnasundari with a Mangala Charana, an auspicious invocation, in the form of a hymn to Jineshvara. This reference has been discussed in relation to the history of Jain manuscript culture and literary traditions.

                                                        

                                                (Relevant page of Panchastavi...Photo by author)

 The Panchastavi, an ancient Sanskrit religious text associated with Kashmir, has been recited in Kashmiri Pandit homes for centuries. The text was written in Kashmir and has remained part of the region's religious memory. Its Kashmiri translation and the reference in the Sakalajanani Stava to Jainendra or Mahavira being worshipped alongside other deities are significant. The presence of Jina within a religious vocabulary that also invokes Shiva and other divine figures reflects the pluralistic character of Kashmir's religious world.

 Lalleshwari, the great fourteenth-century Kashmiri mystic, is also associated with a verse in which the names Shiva, Keshava and Jainava appear together:

 Shiva, Keshava ha Jainava.

 Whether the precise interpretation of the term Jainava is debated or not, the occurrence of the term in the textual tradition associated with Lal Ded is important. It reveals that Jain identity and Jain terminology were not unknown in the religious vocabulary of Kashmir.

 The question of Ashoka and Jainism in Kashmir has also occupied historians. Edward Thomas, in his 1877 work Jainism or the Early Faith of Ashoka, discussed the tradition that Ashoka introduced Jainism into Kashmir before Buddhism became dominant. The Rajatarangini contains traditions concerning Ashoka and his relationship with the religious history of Kashmir. Later Persian historical traditions, including the Ain i Akbari, also preserve the belief that Ashoka was connected with the introduction of Jainism into the Valley.

 These traditions must be examined critically. The historical Ashoka is overwhelmingly associated with the patronage and spread of Buddhism, especially after the Kalinga war. Yet the Kashmir traditions concerning Ashoka and Jainism cannot simply be dismissed. They may preserve memories of competing religious traditions, local historical developments or later attempts to interpret Kashmir's religious past. What they demonstrate with certainty is that Jainism had become sufficiently embedded in the historical memory of Kashmir to be associated with the earliest phases of the Valley's religious history.

 The Jain presence in Kashmir also appears in traditions concerning Sharda Peeth. According to a Jain scholarly tradition, when Adi Shankara visited Sharda, he encountered Jain and Buddhist monks and engaged them in philosophical discussion. Whether every detail of this tradition can be historically verified, it reflects an important understanding of Sharda as a centre of intellectual encounter where different religious communities participated in debate.

 The religious history of Kashmir was therefore not a simple succession in which one faith replaced another. Buddhism, Shaivism, Vaishnavism, Shaktism, Jainism and other traditions coexisted, competed, influenced one another and participated in a shared intellectual culture. Jainism remained a minority tradition, but minority does not mean absent.

 The Jain contribution to Indian civilisation was far greater than its numerical presence in Kashmir. Jainism contributed to philosophy, ethics, literature, education, painting, architecture and manuscript culture. Its artistic achievements include the great Jain caves and sculptures of India, the Jain monuments of Mount Abu and Girnar, the Jain temples of Rajasthan and Gujarat, the Jain art of Khajuraho and the monumental statue of Bahubali at Shravanabelagola. Jain painting traditions, including manuscript illumination, represent one of the great achievements of Indian art.

 The Jain ethical principle of ahimsa also possesses a special resonance in the history of Kashmir. Kashmir developed its own traditions of philosophical refinement, spiritual discipline and non-violence. The Jain insistence that every living being possesses value and that liberation requires restraint, self-control and the renunciation of violence belongs to the wider moral universe of Indian civilisation.

 The later history of Jainism in Kashmir reveals a gradual decline in its demographic presence. Before 1990, more than forty-four Jain families were reportedly living in Kashmir. Today, only a very small number of Jain families remain in the Valley, largely concentrated in Srinagar and engaged traditionally in trade. The decline of the Jain community is part of the wider disappearance of several ancient religious communities from the Kashmiri landscape.

 The disappearance of a community does not mean that its historical presence never existed. Indeed, the disappearance of physical remains makes the textual record even more important. Much of the Buddhist archaeological heritage of Kashmir has vanished or been damaged. Jain archaeological evidence is even more limited. Yet the surviving literary material, scattered references, archaeological objects and memories preserve enough evidence to justify sustained research.

 The central conclusion is therefore clear. Jainism was not a foreign doctrine merely mentioned in the books of Kashmir. It was a lived Śramaṇa presence. Its adherents lived in the Valley, its monks participated in religious and intellectual debate, its lay followers patronised images and shrines, its scholars interacted with Kashmir's great centres of learning and its religious vocabulary entered the literary traditions of the region.

 The evidence is necessarily uneven. Some claims require further archaeological verification. Some traditions belong to later historical memory and must be distinguished from contemporary evidence. Some terracotta images remain difficult to identify with certainty. Scholarly integrity demands that these distinctions be maintained.

 Yet historical caution should not become historical erasure. The cumulative evidence is too substantial to ignore. The Shravaka Ratna of Rajavataka, the references to Jainas in the Nilamata Purana, the Jain and Buddhist communities described in Kashmir's literary world, the Digambara and Shvetambara monks represented in Agamadambara, the Jain intellectual connections with Kashmir's centres of learning, the memory of Jain presence in the Sharda tradition and the survival of Jain families into modern times together establish a continuous historical thread.

 Jainism may never have been the dominant faith of Kashmir. It did not create a great Jain empire in the Valley. It did not leave behind a landscape of monumental temples comparable to those of Rajasthan or Karnataka. But history must not measure presence only by political power or monumental architecture. A religion is also present when a person lives by its ethical principles, when a monk travels through a region, when a merchant supports a shrine, when a scholar seeks its manuscripts, when its doctrines are debated and when its name enters the literary memory of a civilisation.

 Jainism was present in Kashmir in precisely this manner. It was a small but enduring strand in the religious and intellectual fabric of the Valley. Its history remains insufficiently studied, and a systematic investigation of Jain textual references, archaeological remains, manuscript traditions, trade networks and oral memories may yet reveal much more.

The task before scholars is therefore not to manufacture a Jain past for Kashmir, but to recover the Jain past that the evidence already indicates. The Valley's history becomes richer, not diminished, when its religious plurality is acknowledged. Kashmir was a land where many paths of spiritual inquiry met. Buddhism, Shaivism, Vaishnavism, Shaktism and Jainism all formed part of this complex civilisational landscape. Jainism was one of those paths. It was not merely remembered in Kashmir. It was lived there.

 In addition to the sources already cited, the following works and institutions may be consulted for a more systematic study of Jainism and the wider Śramaṇa traditions in ancient Kashmir and the north-western Indian subcontinent:

 

(1)     Kalhana, Rajatarangini, especially the Sanskrit text and the translations and annotations of M. A. Stein.

(2)     The Nilamata Purana, particularly its references to the religious communities of ancient Kashmir.

(3)     Bhatta Jayanta, Agamadambara, for the representation of Jain and Buddhist communities in ninth century Kashmir.

(4)     Prabhavakacarita, for the traditions concerning Jain scholars and their connections with Kashmir.

(5)     Abul Fazl, Ain i Akbari, for Mughal period references to Jain traditions associated with Kashmir.

(6)     Sir Aurel Stein's archaeological and historical investigations in Kashmir and the north-western regions.

(7)     Sir John Marshall's archaeological work at Taxila and the wider Gandharan region.

(8)      The Archaeological Survey of India reports relating to Kashmir, Gandhara and the north-western regions.

(9)     The Annual Reports of the Archaeological Survey of India for excavated sites in Jammu and Kashmir.

(10) The Bulletin of the Asia Institute, including the study by Pratapaditya Pal on evidence for Jainism in Afghanistan and ancient Kashmir.

(11) The collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Ashmolean Museum and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, particularly their catalogues of Harwan terracotta tiles and ascetic figures.

(12) The writings of Paul Dundas on Jainism and Jain history.

(13)  Padmanabh S. Jaini, The Jaina Path of Purification.

(14) A. N. Upadhye and other scholars of Jain philosophy, history and textual traditions.

(15)  Studies of Jain manuscript painting and the western Indian manuscript tradition, including the work of Ratan Parimoo.

(16) Research on the history of Jainism in Gandhara, Taxila, Punjab, Sindh and Afghanistan, since these regions formed the geographical and cultural corridor connecting Jain communities with Kashmir.

(17)  Studies of the Śramaṇa traditions of ancient India, particularly the relationship between Jainism, Buddhism and Ajivika.

(18)  Research on the history of Sharda Peeth and Kashmir's Sanskrit intellectual tradition.

(19) Studies of Jain trade networks and merchant communities in northern India, Punjab and the north-west.

(20) Contemporary research by scholars of Jain history, Indology and Kashmir studies, including the work of Professor Muhammad Hameed and Professor Nalini Balbir.

 A comprehensive future study should bring these sources together with archaeological surveys of Kashmir. Such research may be especially valuable at sites where religious identities have traditionally been assigned too quickly. The Harwan terracotta tiles, for example, deserve renewed interdisciplinary study involving art history, archaeology, epigraphy and the comparative study of Jain, Buddhist, Ajivika and Shaivite ascetic iconography. The history of Jainism in Kashmir is therefore still unfinished. The evidence already available establishes a foundation. The next task is to deepen it.

 

( Avtar Mota )

 ( This essay is a registered copyright material published in Avtar Mota's book, 'Kashmir: The Crown Jewel of Indic Civilization '. available on Amazon  )

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A DESOLATE AND CRUMBLING HOUSE

                                             

THE  DESOLATE   AND  CRUMBLING  HOUSE 

This house at Batapora in Sopore town has many stories to tell. The residents  of this desolate house moved out in 1990 to save their lives and honour .In another country , in another set up, this house would have been preserved as a  monument. This house  produced stalwarts like writer Hriday Kaul Bharati, writer broadcaster Umesh Kaul, artist Bhushen Kaul, poet Vasudev Reh, poet Rugh Nath Kastoor, poet Veshnath Vishwas  and saintly personalities like Mansa Ram, Balak Nath , Sarwanand ,  Ganesh Das and many more. Some  saintly  residents of this house were  teachers or Hakeems engaged in treating sick free  and spreading  the light of knowledge and  education .I have been told by a reliable source that artists Som Nath Butt and G R Santosh were finally cured of their serious ailments by Pandit Sarwanand from this house.

 Today, this   house cries loud :-

Hum to jaise yahaan ke thay hi nahin

Be-amaan  thay amaan ke thay hi nahin

Hum ke hain teri dastaan yaksar

Hum teri dastaan ke thay hi nahin

Ho teri khaak e aastaan ko salaam, 

Hum teray astaan ke thay hi nahin 

( Avtar Mota)

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ARTIST BHUSHEN KAUL

                                  

                                           

Artist Bhushen Kaul 

Met noted artist Bhushen Kaul today at the  Institute of Music And Fine Arts,Poonch House Jammu. He  was kind enough to  gift me a book of his brother and noted writer  Hriday Kaul Bharati. The   book is  titled 'Tilism e Khanabadosh'. It is a collection of Bharati Ji's Kashmiri short stories . I am also indebted to him for giving me enough material for my proposed write-up on Vasudev Reh, noted Kashmiri poet. Bhushen Kaul remains as sharp as he used to be and does nothing except painting . He lives in Navi Mumbai at present. Alumini of Baroda University  , he enjoys love and respect of his numerous students in the state whom he taught and  trained . 

And my friend and noted poet Agnishekhar tells me this :-

"He was kind enough to draw  big potrait of Goddess Sharada on my request . I released it in the 2nd World Conference in 1998 in New Delhi at the hands of Mahesh Bhatt and Jyotishi Prem Nath shastri..Many memories in my bank. I had  many sittings with him regarding the concept and legend of Goddess  Sharada wearing Kashmiri Attire. His illustrious  brother Hriday Kaul Bharati used to be witness. Great Painter indeed."

( Avtar Mota )

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MAKHAN LaL SARAF(16-11-2024)

                                     

                                       

MAKHAN  LAL  SARAF( 16-11-2024)

The doyen of acting  was there inside Abhinav Theatre Jammu to recive HARMONY  INDIA ,LIFETIME  ACHIEVEMENT  AWARD today . Saraf Sahib is better now. He can walk, talk, agree  and  balk .I felt happy to see him smile. He was accompanied by two members of his family who never let him remain alone This is the conversation that I had with him:

"Do you recognise me ?"

"Why not .I was asking everyone  where is my friend . I thank  this group for remembering me . "

" What is my name ?"

" I remember. I love you . After my illness, I forget names . How can I forget you. Come tomorrow. Two documents I want to show to you. I can't ask everybody ."

" What is my name ?"

" How can I forget you . Somebody told me you had come to see me when I was sick. I don't know anything. "

I saw him trying to recollect . At the same time he wanted me to feel as if he already remembered it .

" Do you remember any Mota ?"

 He smiles, opens his arms ,hugs me and says :-

" Avtar Mota .  How can I forget you. Come tomorrow. I will show two documents .Give me your book . Bansi Parimu book. You had kept one at my residence but somebody took it .I don't remember. I was not well  .I am waiting. "

I was very happy to see him today. I have  seen him when he was  unwell and unable to recognise any person . May he stay healthy and active .

( Avtar Mota )

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PRASTHAAN PRACTICE IN KASHMIRI PANDIT FAMILIES

      

                                            

PRASTHAAN PRACTICE IN KASHMIRI PANDIT FAMILIES

In the olden days, long-distance travel was only done on auspicious days by Kashmiri Pandits. Some elderly people in the family were fully conversant with the system of directions and auspicious days of travel. The almanack or Jantri or Panchaang held in the family would also provide details of auspicious days of travel in different directions. Sometimes the family Purohit/ priest was consulted to look for the auspicious day of the journey. The auspicious day was called "Saath " in Kashmiri. It was based on astrological calculations primarily worked out with planetary movements, Tithi and Nakshatra etc.  Generally, Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday were suitable days provided other issues like Panchak, Yog, Vaar, Karna, etc. and planetary movements were not inauspicious? Vedic Astrology has determined good and bad days for travel based on the moon's transit in different zodiac signs, constellations, and days of the week. While looking for Saath ( Muhurat ), it was believed that the auspicious day of starting the journey would help the traveller in achieving his mission for which travel was conducted apart from ensuring a safe journey.

 PRASTHAAN

It could also happen and quite often it did that a person had to travel due to some emergency or some sudden exigency. In such cases, Prasthaan was the solution. Prasthaan meant performing token departure for the actual journey on an inauspicious day. There was no need to go to the family priest or Purohit consult some elderly person or look into the   Almanac /Jantri / Panchaang. Quite often Prasthaan was performed a day before the journey day.  Something like the socks or the trousers or shoes that were to be put on the day of the journey were removed from the house and kept in the custody of some neighbour or third party. This item was recollected on travel day and put to use on journey day. Many times people going to Jammu without proper Saath would keep the Prasthaan item with the Tongawalla. The Tongawalla would come early in the morning and hand over the Prasthaan and carry the travellers to TRC or Lal Chowk for onward Jammu journey. A full Tonga was booked well in advance. In our Mohalla, Sondhar Ded, the Muslim lady would also hold Prasthaan items of some Pandit neighbours. She had her bakery shop that opened at 4 am. Accordingly, this place was most suitable for travellers to Jammu who would leave Rainawari during the early morning hours. The Prasthan usually a pair of socks or shoes had to be put on the journey day. A pair of socks was a preferred Prasthaan item. Before the auto rickshaws arrived in Kashmir, Tonga was the most desirable mode of local transport. Going to Jammu meant leaving Rainawari at 5.30 am or 6.00 am. For this, a full Tonga was booked in advance. The Tonga would arrive at your house early in the morning and carry you and the luggage to Lal Chowk or TRC where buses for Jammu would leave early in the morning. Quite often, the Prasthaan item was handed over to the Tongawalla one day before actual travel.

I vividly remember Mohammad Sultan, the Tongawalla from Surateng, Rainawari. He was quite popular with Jammu-bound travellers. Once I also approached him and engaged him for an early morning journey to Tourist Reception Centre. I remember my conversation with him like this:-

“I have to go to Jammu tomorrow. Can you come to Jogilanker Chowk at 5.30 am? I need full Tonga."

“Where do you live?”

“Just across Jogilanker Bridge?”

“You mean near Dr Shambhu Nath Bagh who runs a dentist shop at Zainkadal.”

“Yes exactly. You can ask for the Mota family when you come. "

“You mean behind Sondheri's bakery shop. I get it. Have you seen Saath (Muhurat for travel)? Tomorrow is Saturday. People don't travel on Saturdays. Where is your Prasthaan?  This long-distance journey on Saturday without Prasthaan can be detrimental for all of us. I mean me, the animal, the Tonga and you. Go and get a pair of new nylon socks and keep them with me. Use them tomorrow.”

I got the Prasthaan from a nearby shop. Mohammad Sultan took the socks, removed the label and asked me to put the new socks on my feet. After that, he kept the socks with him and told me this:-

“Prasthaan is something that has already been used.  You have to use it on the day of the journey. It can't be a brand-new item. Now come without socks tomorrow as you have to use this pair on your journey. Go, I shall be at your place at 5.30 am.

"Beete huve lamhon ki khushbu hai mere ghar mein,

Book rack pe rakhe hain yaadon ke kayi album"

( Avtar 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\.

GURUDEV RABINDRANATH TAGORE, THE ARTIST

                                                                          

                                                                

                                                      ( Untitled abstraction by Gurudev)

                                                                            

  

                                                                                

                                                  ( Residence of Gurudev at Shantiniketan )

                                           
RABINDRANATH TAGORE, THE ARTIST

I have always been fascinated by the multidimensional personality of Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore. This fascination took me to the National Gallery of Modern Art (New Delhi) in January 2020 followed by a visit to Paris in 2023.

                                                

                                                                          ( Avtar Mota in Paris )

                                                                 ( Outside the Louvre )                  

                                                              ( Inside Pompidou Centre)

                                                        ( On the top of Pompidou Centre )

                                                    ( Avtar Mota outside Pompidou Centre )

                                                 ( Avtar Mota inside the Louvre Museum )           

                                                    ( Avtar Mota at  Bastille Square, Paris )

                                                 ( Avtar Mota outside the Pantheon, Paris)

                                                             ( At Cafe  De Flore, Paris)

     ( Avtar Mota at the Tomb of Jean-Paul Sartre )

Gurudev was a towering figure of the 20th-century world literature. He is known for introducing the short story genre to Bengali literature; moving Indian poetry towards Modernism, and founding the Vishwa Bharati University. He composed the national anthem of India as well as Bangladesh apart from contributing to the national anthem of Sri Lanka. Gurudev was a leading playwright of his era. In addition to his work in poetry, short stories and drama, Tagore also wrote a total of eight novels and four novellas in his lifetime. His best-known novels include Chokher Bali, Noukadubi, Gora, Chaturanga, Ghare Baire, Shesher Kobita, Jogajog and Char Odhyay. Several of these novels and novellas have been adapted as films, most prominently Chokher Bali and Ghare Baire. Apart from being a prolific writer, he was also an influential artist and a musician (Rabindra Sangeet ). His Gitanjali won him the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1913 making him the first Asian Nobel Laureate.

                                         

 INTEREST IN ART FROM CHILDHOOD

Gurudev Tagore’s early life was spent in an atmosphere of religion and arts, primarily literature, music and painting. From his childhood, he was attracted towards the sketches drawn by his elder brother Jyotirindranath Tagore. As such, he never had any formal art training. In a way, this lack of training opened new horizons as far as the use of line and colours are concerned. Tagore’s art as it developed from initial doodles on manuscripts into colour paintings. Though Tagore did not paint in his early life, the urges were manifest in the doodles in his manuscripts. By a certain stage, the manuscripts were full of doodles, and the poet entered into a painting phase. His paintings were initially not taken seriously. However, his inclusion in several exhibitions in Europe in 1930 marked the public acceptance and appreciation of his art, which also gave Tagore confidence.

 Towards the end of his career, Tagore aged 67, striving to create a universally accessible art, took up painting more consistently. Around 1928, the artist made thousands of sketches and drawings using brush, pencil and pen. The artist developed a style characterised by simple bold forms and a rhythmic quality. The subjects depicted often involved animals, figures and statuesque women. Over 1500 of them are conserved in Viswa-Bharati, Shantiniketan. Many are held by the National Gallery of Modern Art in New Delhi. Some are held in museums in Europe and the US. Tagore was a proficient painter who used his brush to convey his emotions and thoughts in vibrant and imaginative ways. Although he didn’t consider himself a professional artist, Tagore’s innate talent allowed him to express himself fluently through the medium of visual art, just as he did through his words.

 GURUDEV’S LINKS WITH EUROPEAN ARTISTS

During my visit to Paris in May 2023, more specifically to some art museums including the Louvre and the Pompidou Centre, I came to know that Gurudev was a great lover of French culture, art and language. He had many friends in France who were leading artists, writers and musicians. About his first Impressions of Paris, Gurudev has written this:- 

“We reached Paris in the morning. What a dazzling city! Looking at the overwhelming bevvy of skyscrapers, one would think that there were no poor people in Paris. We went to a hotel, and the arrangements were so lavish that it felt almost embarrassing and uneasy—just as one feels in oversized clothes. We were left dumbfounded by the abundance of its memorials, fountains, gardens, palaces, stone-paved streets, vehicles, horses, and teeming people. Overall, all that I recall is that we saw an infinite number of beautiful artwork in the Art Gallery, an equally infinite number of sculptures and statues at the Sculpture Gallery, and so on.”…. (  source …Memoirs and letters of Tagore in Translation )

 His famous world appearance as a painter in France in the year 1930 was a great event in the world of European art.. He had also carried more than 300 paintings and sketches with him which were seen by many art critics and literary friends of Gurudev in France. Many newspapers including Le Monde wrote about his presence in France apart from articles about his creative work. Some art critics who saw his paintings advised him to hold an exhibition in Paris. Accordingly, Gurudev held his first public and international exhibition of his paintings in Paris in May 1930, at the Gallerie Pigalle.  More than 100 of his paintings were shown in Paris, and at least half of them at the National Gallery of Art in Berlin before the exhibition proceeded to London. He also held exhibitions was in different countries in Europe in the same year. During his trips, Tagore would accept the invitation of banker and patron of the arts Albert Kahn, who had set up La Maison Autour du Monde. Tagore spent most of his time at Kahn’s place near Paris. I also learnt that Gurudev was in touch with Nobel Laureate Romain Rolland since 1926. They exchanged correspondence wherein Tagore had long discussions on his art with Romain Rolland. Tagore had discussions about art with another Nobel Laureate, French poet Saint-John Perse   Returning to India, Gurudev held his exhibition only in 1931. I was told that Gurudev knew French and translated four poems of the French romantic poet, Victor Hugo into Bengali. Andrée Karpeles, a painter, also spent a lot of time in Shantiniketan.

 After the conclusion of the Paris exhibition, exhibitions were held in England, Denmark, Sweden, Rome, Germany and Russia in Europe. Later exhibitions were also held in the USA and Canada. The exhibition of paintings drew an unprecedented overwhelming admiration in Germany. It was shown in Berlin, Munich, Hamburg, Dusseldorf, Stuttgart and other places in Germany. The then-German President and ministers and also Albert Einstein, the great scientist, attended Tagore’s exhibition.

 Tagore visited Germany thrice - in 1921, 1926 and 1930. He had gifted many paintings to some museums in Germany which were destroyed by the Nazis. Tagore’s paintings and sketches fascinated young German students to mass hysteria. Among them, a student of the Art Academy of Munich Oswald Malura, at the age of 20, received a Mond travel scholarship from the academy to study Indian art and philosophy. Malura stayed in India for three years (1929-1932) and visited Bombay, Agra, Delhi, Kashmir, Benaras, Himalayas, Shantiniketan and Calcutta and he met Annie Besant, Mahatma Gandhi and poet Tagore. In the 1930s, the US and  Europe had not yet warmed up to Modern Art. When Tagore was shown in Germany people compared his work to surrealists and expressionists.

 OPENING OF KALA BHAWAN

In protest against the ghastly massacre of hundreds of innocent Indians at the ‘Jallianwallah Bagh’ by General Dyer, Sir Rabindranath Tagore returned his title to the British and quietly opened the art wing of his university called ‘Kala Bhavan’. Opened in 1919, it was designed as a Centre of Nationalist Art as opposed to the colonial tastes that defined art in India. It was modelled after the Gurukul or Tapovan system of learning. He had invited like-minded painters like Nandalal Bose to run Kala Bhavan with a free hand thereby encouraging the evolution of an original vision, reflecting the intuition and expression of the students. This institute which gave shape to the culture-specific modernism initiated by Rabindranath Tagore and carried forward by the commitment and wisdom of Nandalal Bose, Benodebehari Mukhopadhyay, Ramkinkar Baij and their contemporaries, has richly contributed in giving a valid direction to individual art activity in contemporary social space.

 Let us discuss some facets of Gurudev’s art especially his self-portraits, symbolisms, landscapes, style, use of colours etc.

  SELF PORTRAITS

                                      Some self-portraits by Gurudev                                         

                                                                                        

 

His self-portraits are spot-on exemplifications of his style. According to the scholars his self-portraits mirror a subterranean psychological need - that of a creative person always in search of self. Tagore uses intense colours to enchant his viewers with portraits that convey a sense of mystery. Many of his self-portraits done in pencil and crayon depict the full face of the bearded artist. The unworked background and the enhanced contour push the figure out from the ground. The flatness of the figure is enhanced by the lack of colour and the use of rough pencil lines. About his self-portraits, Dr Pranabranjan Ray writes this:-

 “The gaze of Rabindranath in his self-portrait, which Rabindranath the artist visualizes is aimed at satirizing obtuseness even though

he is portrayed as someone anxious, doubtful and wary. In other words, his self-portrait is the manifestation of his introspection. The formation of the eyes, nose and lips portrays the manifestation of his being. The opening and closing of the eyelids, the position of the pupils, the light reflecting on the pupils, the direction of the gaze, the depth of vision, the expansion and contraction of the nostrils and lips, the parting and the pressing of lips, the point of observation and the mental state affected thereby – all these symbolize a manifestation which brings to the observer Rabindranath’s the then mental condition which can be apprehended through the senses.

Rabindranath would hardly be considered a Modernist artist should the eyes, nose and the formation of the lips along with their proportions, positions and postures have been the source or manifestation of his art. The facial expressions may have been influenced to a great extent, by the classical dance forms of India. Unless we have a fair idea of the postural bearing present in the structure of the painting, we would not have been able to comprehend the representation of modernity in Rabindranath as a painter.”

SYMBOLISM IN GURUDEV’S ART

 Gurudev’s canvas seems to come alive with vivid hues, each stroke telling a story of its own. In his paintings, he touches on themes such as the interplay between humanity and nature, the profoundness of human emotions, and the transcendence of cultural boundaries. A look at his work makes one believe in Gurudev’s interest in colours, seasons, human emotions and mysticism. Silence is the foremost refrain in his paintings. His paintings had a strange surrealism and bizarre emotions. Tagore’s fascination with nature is conspicuously displayed in the painting. Plush landscapes, blossoming flowers, and serene rivers arouse a sense of harmony between man and the environment. This veneration for nature was a frequent theme in his creative work, emphasizing his belief in the interconnectedness of all living beings.

ELEMENTS OF SADNESS IN GURUDEV’S ART

                                                                              

Tagore’s art in general is saturated with sorrow. His mother passed away when he was a boy, and his life was marked by continued personal tragedy. He was plagued with grief after the suicide of his childhood playmate, sister-in-law and literary companion, Kadambari Devi, and the years between 1902 and 1907, saw the deaths of his wife, daughter and youngest son. All these happenings major played role in shaping the course, content and style of his creativity. Add to that he was disappointed at what was happening in his country under colonial rule.

HUMAN FORM, MASKS AND FACES

The human face is a visible constant in Tagore’s work. Gurudev’s fascination with the human body is also evident in his work. He painted it as variously postured: sitting, standing, squatting, walking, dancing, in groups and in solitude, and in multidimensional moods. In all his artistic oeuvre, be it faces, full figures or landscapes, he is aware of the importance of the rhythm lines, even fascinated by cross-hatchings, curves, circles, cones, the harshness of sharp corners, the smoothness of gentle turns and twists. Tagore’s fascination with the unusual, the odd and conventionally un-beautiful is expressed in his depiction of diverse masks and faces and portraits. Most of his early illustrations of the human face belong to the category of masks, and the later ones to what may be called portraits and characters. Through his travels, Tagore was exposed to other cultures, the theatre, masked dances and ritualistic performances of Japan, Indonesia, and Bali. Tagore’s interest in human beings, and variations of character traits, led to his fascinating range of faces in portrait-like sketches and paintings. Faces that smile, grimace, express sorrow, fear, anger. Faces that inhabit a fantasy world of humour, wit and dreams. There were also pencil sketches done as illustrations to the texts that show his command over anatomy and technique.

                                                                                

 LANDSCAPES

                                                                                          

 Tagore’s landscapes are noted for their architectonic spatial solidity. They are marked by an almost geometrical flatness — a monotony that is sometimes broken by adventure into perspectival depth. Painted as they were with the simple media of coloured ink on paper, there was not much scope for experimenting with tonal modulation. But strangely enough, in some paintings, one can see attempts at mixing different hues. In most landscapes, nature exists in solitary grandeur, its primaeval infinity untampered by human mediation. But there are paintings in which it serves as a backdrop to humanity. Most of the landscapes he painted showed nature bathed in the evening light, skies and forms coagulating into ominous silhouettes. His landscapes invoke mystery and a sense of disquiet and silence.

 One finds that in the last phase of his life, Tagore, through the visual arts, was entering a new world of form, colour and line, discovering a new identity perhaps more universal in language than the literary realm of narrative and more specific cultural references.

 WOMEN IN TAGORE’S WORK

Tagore’s unconventional style and the free-thinking nature of his art are perhaps most marked in his paintings of women. The women of his canvas are of a wide variety: some pensive, some bold, some turn away from the world, some asexual, and others adore male company. They don’t represent youthfulness or beauty. Some look wrinkled and scorched.

                                                                      

Tagore’s women mark a U-turn from the theorized Mother India figure of India’s great nationalistic era; the concept of Bharat Mata or woman-as-nation, as visualized by Abanindranath. Tagore does not paint such Devis or goddesses. Nor does he paint apsaras or Nartakis. Tagore’s women are un-placed, un-mapped and of varied complexions. He moves them away from the pedestal of the mother goddess as he does not intend to treat women as something that has utility. He has his own concept about women that he brings to his art. They emerge as individuals demanding serious attention. Possibly they are gazers staring at the viewer. No more are these women objects of the male gaze. There is an undefined sorrow that peeps out in each painting depicting a woman. Never were these women painted to depict their helplessness. That is his quality, style and hallmark of his work.

.” Tagore was prolific in his paintings and sketches and produced over 2500 of these within a decade. It is evident that in his search for a newer form of expression in line and colour, he tried to express something different from what he did in his poetry and songs. Tagore’s legacy as a painter is often overshadowed by his more widely recognized accomplishments in literature and music. However, his artistry remains an essential part of his creative legacy. His art serves as a bridge between his diverse talents, showcasing his ability to convey his thoughts and emotions through various artistic mediums. Beyond the aesthetic appeal, his paintings hold immense cultural significance. Tagore’s role in India’s cultural and intellectual awakening during the late 19th and early 20th centuries remains unparalleled. As an artist, he was influential in challenging old-fashioned standards and nurturing a sense of pride in India’s heritage. His art played an unforgettable role in the new sense of nationalism, artistic renaissance, and a longing for self-expression.

 

( Avtar Mota )

 

 

Bibliographical Notes

 

(1) Rabindra Chitravali, Paintings by Rabindranath Tagore,  published by Paratikshan in association with Visva-Bharati & the Ministry of Culture, Government of India, 2011.

 (2 Rabindranath Tagore, ‘Woman’, Personality, Macmillan Pocket Edition, New Delhi, 1980, 174. 

(3) Dr Ratan Parimoo, The paintings of the three great Tagores: Abanindranath Tagore, Gaganendranath Tagore and Rabindranath Tagore. Chronology and Comparative Studies, 1973

(4) Drawings and Paintings of Rabindranath Tagore: Centenary 1861-1961, New Delhi, Lalit Kala Akademi, 1961

(5) Rabindranath Tagore: His World of Art..by Supriya Roy and Sushobhan Adhikary

 

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\.