DURGA PUJA @ BARISHA CLUB, 2013 : BY SANATAN DINDA

BLESSINGS FROM THE HEAVENLY !

  Momentum.... momentum ! 

And ... blessings from the celestial, much like  temple art of India.

 It was my good luck that  Ruby and I   were invited by a Group to spend a day with them during pre-Puja days to visit nine pandals-in-the-making and  help them in short-listing the better ones. Barisha Club was one of the pandals we visited. I am a keen follower of Sanatan's work - on Panchami's clear night, we ventured a visit . It was mid-night - quite a big gathering there. We could have hardly an opportunity to take photographs without  people's heads interfering or entering the frame/s. Besides, unlike last year, this year, we had  lesser space for moving around and no VIP area for photography. Therefore, I am much unhappy with the result we brought back in our cameras.

 Conch @ Entrance (LH) , Siva-Sati @ Exit (RH) .

 

The welcoming conch.

'Brikshadevi' - warning us about our abuse of nature.

No matter how much celestial blessing is there, 

NATURE need be protected.  

Offerings  at the feet of 'Brikshadevi'.

At the entrance, Sanatan installed a huge conch and a 'Brikshadevi'. A huge scroll rests on the ground wjich could not be photographed.On both the flanks, there were religious motifs, lotuses,  crawling vegetation ending ina human body lying prostrate at Devi's feet.

  Sanatan's Durga carries all  the attributes mentioned in  scripture.

Vanquished demons  pray for her forgiveness, may be salvation too !

 Photograph taken from an opening on the  path to 'Exit'. 
Better view was not possible because of a reluctant Security person.

 Devi in momentum, Mahishasura, Chanda-Munda begging for her blessing in a corner - in a typical Sanatan-style -  very small depictions of Lakshmi-Saraswati-Ganesh-Kartik.

 Totems (?)  on a mythological platter ?

Siva holds Sati (?) in a wonderful wall-relief like set-up in the exit that has been clicked thousands of times and posted in the internet by numerous photographers.

  Siva holds Sati - viewers are left to decide 

if this scene depicts Siva's sorrow on  Sati's demise !

On the left, a hollow lotus  with the idol in line of view.

We have in our HDD  more photos - to be shared - of Lakshmi-Saraswati-Ganesh-Kartik, of the demons and the ones we took when we went  during the pre-Puja visit.  In fact, several photos which we took during that visit could not be re-shot this time because of crowd. For example, the scroll lying in front of the idol.

 The scroll  must have been overlooked by many.

Wish the space management was as good as in 2012 !!

  Is  this a scene of submission of the Evil ?

I end with a photo at the bottom of the layout where lies a person with horns, painted in angry red colour, coming  from the extended  roots of the 'Brihshadevi' standing at the entrance - both the figures' hands outstretched !

FIERCE MANIFESTATIONS OF SIVA & SHAKTI FROM HOYSALESWAEA TEMPLE, HALEBID

 HAVE YOU MISSED THESE WALL-RELIEFS

 IN YOUR 'parikrama' ?

 Siva's fierce manifestation . He has three eyes, fangs out,

carries a severed head in his lower left arm. 

Noticeable : his earrings are identical, 

Ganas are normal people - no skeletal figure here.

Sculptor could not manage the shape of Siva's right leg !

We  would have missed them if we did not decide to look for interesting wall-reliefs on the Nandi Pavilions. The circumbulatory path of this sprawling temple with two 'garbhagrihas' and its  interior offer  such an oeuvre of photographer's delight !  Only on 2nd thought, we decided to venture this side. As such , I was bogged down with a weak battery and my enthusiasm level was low. Ruby covered  more than I could with my sleepy camera.

 A close of the severed head, being carried by Siva Bhairava.

 Hoysaleswara temple - those who have  visited this temple physically know this well - had several problems of  the curator function.  Wall-reliefs of same nature were  'created' by several top sculptors and all had be be accommodated on the temple's walls , leaving no recess inbetween. If at all a relief was to be provided, wall-reliefs of musicians were inserted . The wall-reliefs with apparent defects were banished to Nandi Pavilions.

MahisasuraMardini. A perfect study of attributes.

She  is about to pierce a demon mounted on the lion's shoulder - strange & uncommon  imagery.

Sculptor could not manage buffalo's shape & size.

I have picked up two wall reliefs of fierce manifestations of  Siva and Shakti   as proof of my 'theory'. Let me see  if comments come forth !

NOTE - Ruby Chatterji has suggested that the demon/lion  corner is not at all clear ! Here is an exploded view :

MY MOST VIEWED PHOTO

This evening, I  was  glancing through my photo album in flickr.com  after a long time.  Till 2010, I was a regular visitor there. I used to upload photos regularly. Afterwards, I became irregular .

To-day,when I discovered  a photo  of a dilapidated building I took in my late grandfather's village Shimulia way back in January,2007 is the 'most-viewed' photo of my photostream in flickr.com, I was pleasantly surprised. looking back ....

I purchased a HP digital camera in 2002 when I visited USA in connection with a meeting on Green Belt training. That was a much simpler camera compared to what we use loades with present day's technology. ir used to work fine with Eveready's red pencil batteries. Low resolution photos it took - however, my brush with digital photography was through  that camera of HP.  I captured many moments of personal and professional moments with aid of that simple camera.Later, the camera's battery cover's hinge developed a problem , causing loose connection at critical moments.

When my elder son brought a Canon A520 in December,2006 from the USA for me, I was relieved. It was just at the time of my retirement from professional life  - soon after signing off from DCIPS in Calcutta, I went to Shimulia - to pay my obeisance to Charchika Kali and to have a few days of holidays in a  rural setting.

Little did I know that I shall have problem with supply of batteries. My Eveready 'red' batteries gave up during the very 1st day of my arrival. It was at 12.26 pm when last of the batteries died and .....
this was my last shot :

Viewed 4261 times in flickr.com

as on 12/03/2013.

No supply was available in that village . I  however managed to take lots of photos with a borrowed contraption for charging batteries from one of my cousin's neighbour. The shots of an old ruin of a palace was quite liked  my friends - but, that is another story.

IMAGES OF 'PURUSHA AND PRAKRITI'

 FROM TEMPLES TO CANVAS  TO  
STREETS OF CALCUTTA

Those who are worshipers of  Siva the super-ascetic may please stay away from this blog.

Idea of  writing this blog occurred to me when I could get a decent copy of  'Purusha/Prakriti' painting by  Bikash Bhattacharya during an internet search for my desktop background.  This painting - interpreted and discussed by many - is an unforgettable work of BB. Immediately , my thought turned to Sanatan Dinda's 'Durga' of Barisha Club, Puja-2012.

Famous painting by late Bikash Bhattacharya on the theme of 

'Purusha' and 'Prakriti',

marked for its social connotation.

Source - internet.

Lots of words , explaining background/origin of a concept and its evolution  through centuries and various mediums of expression,  are required to tackle the subject of this title. But, I have no big 'funda' on this subject. Therefore, whatever I write here is my very humble personal exposure to the big philosophy of 'Purusha and Prakriti' practiced by various religious groups across the sub-continent and neighbouring countries.

Variation of this concept  has been noted by philosophers studying religions and their practices  in various continents through ages.RamPrasad Sen has used this concept in many of his songs offering obeisance to Kali.  Dan Brown invoked this  concept in his famous book 'Da Vinci Code'.  I wonder if well-known Bengali writer late Probodh Kumar Sanyal used  the concept - somewhat superficially - in a few of his novels.  More visible are the creations of sculptors and painters - a selection from my collection will be presented here.

'Sankhya' is the  book to get at the root of this dualist concept. 'Purusha' is Consciousness , unchanging. "Prakrkiti' is the primordial force and ' material cause of the world'. It is through  intimate interaction of 'Purusha' and Prakriti' , life is created/sustained.The Dualism  can be identified in Yin and Yang of the Chinese, in Avalokiteswara and Tara in Vajrayana or Tantrik Buddhism and ....... in Siva and Shakti of Hindu Saivites.

 

Siva ( ithyphallic)  & Parvati @ 

Parashurameswara temple ,Bhuvaneswara.

Siva linga on square Gauripatta - 

anionic interpretation of Siva and Shakti.

from a small temple @ SriMukhalingam, A.P.

 
Iconic and anionic interpretations  of Siva and Shakti abound in Hindu temples.  Siva is super-ascetic - he is  the 'consciousness' of   'Purusha' too. In context with another Blog I wrote years ago, I found this interpretation of Siva's imagery is difficult for some modern day Saivites to accept. Nevertheless, interpretations of philosopher's and artist's  of the duo can be subject of a very interesting study. Let us examine a few more here :

Above is a Tantrik interpretation of  'Purusha' and Shakti. Here we find 'Kali' as  Shakti on top of passive 'Purusha'  - as if 'passed out' after a session of opium -  in one of the terra cotta temples of Baronagar.

Notable here is the similarity and difference from the 17th century interpretation of  Shakti vis-a-vis 'Purusha'.  Devi is on top of 'Purusha' in both the depictions. But,Sanatan has portrayed 'Purusha' not as inert or passive. He has gone deeper into  Tantra  in planning this imagery where there several layers. I have stopped at the stated interpretation of this unconventional imagery - more on this at appropriate juncture.

 

Present day interpretation of  Siva and Shakti. 

Devi has transformed the 'evil self ' of Mahishasura . What we find here is consciousness of 'Purusha' supporting Shakti !  

Sanatan Dinda's creation @ Barisha Club, Calcutta. Puja - 2012.

 One very interesting point of this 'work' of Sanatan is the cluster where faces of lion,'Mahisha' and Siva co-exist. In Sankhya, it is 'Prakriti' which has manifestation of 'Sattwa', 'Rajah' and 'Tamo gunas' . Here,  the artist has created a reverse imagery - the 'Purusha' manifests the three 'Gunas' !

Three Indian painters have become famous for their interpretation of  Tantra  and interplay of 'Purusha and Prakriti' .  The oldest among them is late Nirode Majumdar who also  contributed to a book on RamPrasad Sen's songs on Kali ('Song for Kali:A Cycle of Images and Songs'- published by Seagull). SH Raza and Ghulam Rasool Santosh have created  niche for their work based on Tantra among connoisseurs. A painting of GR Santosh titled 'Siva-Shakti' is copied here from the internet :

'Siva-Shakti' by Ghulam Rasool Santosh.

Source - Internet.

During last ten years, Sanatan Dinda has used Tantra-inspired motif of 'Yantra'  several times. I follow his current work in Durga's pavilions as he brings out complex interpretation of 'Purusha and Prakriti' there. Revelers of Calcutta Pujas may miss out  some of his imageries and/or their inner meaning - more on this subject in a separate blog.

Nandalal Basu painted 'Annapurna' where Siva is shown as an emaciated 'Nataraja'. Here the 'Purusha' is suffering - not the 'consciousness' unaffected by external factors. Debatable subject - let us have a look :

 AnnaPurna by Nandalal Basu.

 Is this a portrayal of Avalokiteswara and Tara ?

Buddhist Monastery, Bylakuppe, Karnataka.

The last photo of this blog is from Tibetan Buddhist Monastery of Bylakuppe, Karnataka.Their interpretation of Vajrayana Buddhism has a lot of imageries of a  'Purusha' - with specific traits and power - and his consort in deep embrace.More erudite person can compare the inner meaning/s of the imageries,  passive-vs-active 'Purusha' and explain the complexity.  Present blog's scope ends with recording the visuals from my computer's HDD.

WHEN ALL 'TASKS' @ HAND GET COMPLETED...

Title page of my Dissertation

Now that the course on 'Appreciation of Indian Art' at RMIC,Golpark is over, dissertations of Ruby and mine has been submitted , a photo-feature on Dancers of Chennkesava Temple, Belur and Surya Temple, Konark for 'AISHEE' is written and pushed out to Banani's comp., my hands are free and  I can spend some time on this Blog.

Title Page of Ruby's Dissertation

Well, last blog was written on 22/02/13 which means  I am back to this section after about 14 weeks. During this period, my hips and legs were at war-path with me. Long sitting posture = more acute pain. A good part of  dissertation writing/editing was done on my laptop with me in a reclining posture on a divan.

 One of the photo-combo from my article for 'AISHEE'

Dissertation writing and editing was an exposure to MS Publisher software, which is quite indequate for preparing two 7000-words-30to40-photos ensembles. Anyway, managed the task, with 'n' nos of revisions of the two dissertations .Last month, I discovered a set-up for digital printing @ Hazra Road crossing. Colour was not very good for  photos of Belur/Halebid. Just about OK for the purpose we went to them.But, very co-operative people they were. And... I did not have to run to Surya Sen Street what I thought at one stage unavoidable.

Time to start work on photos taken during 2012 Puja . The note on Sanatan Dinda  and Shib Shankar Das is lying on my desk unattended ! Soon, the Powerpoint presentations will start taking shape.

'YANTRA' @ Barisha Club, creation - Sanatan Dinda. Puja- 2012

SANATAN DINDA'S 'DEVI PUJA' @ JODHPUR PARK , 2012

AN EXERCISE IN DE-CONSTRUCTION AND ... 

A QUEST FOR HER BLESSING !

An overview of the inner sanctum. 

Devi's depiction unfurled from a 'scroll'.

She has no weapons but her trident as the demons have been vanquished. Trident raised upwards in right arm transfer the thrust diagonally through her left leg  touching 

one of the two demons in subjugation.

A view of the entrance to the  main pavilion. 

Black-on-white illuminated paintings of  Devi's emergence and battles adorn the pathway.

During 2012 , I had an opportunity to pursue the build-up of Sanatan's work at Jodhpur Park while the pavillion was getting ready - thanks to a  friend of mine, associated  with Press and the organisers of the Puja committee. I had two face-to-face meets with Sanatan during this phase and I appreciate his sharing with me bits of  his thought process which went into his iconography of Devi in 2012.  Sanatan creates an ambiance for the iconography within the pavilion and the path leading to it - viewer's mind and eyes get 'conditioned' . The best time to appreciate and photograph such work of 'art' is to visit Sanatan's pavilions at an hour  when only serious pandal-hoppers are there and not a jostling crowd.  For us, the convenient time was the dawn of Saptami.

Arms raised in conferring divine blessing ....... 

as well as seeking the same.

At JP pavilion, Sanatan  has  repeated a motif of extended arms and palms . Of Devi, granting solace and blessing (barabhaya). Of gods and goddesses accompanying her. In the characters of his decoration - trying to reach out , seeking the divine blessing. There is only one character in the whole show whose hands are not extended - the lower cog of a scroll on which Devi is depicted.

 In typical Sanatan's signature style, this man stares  at Devi with soulful look.  There are other 'souls' too in this frame who extend their hands upwards. All these characters are in the right-hand side of the 'scroll' in which Devi has been pictured  in state of non-equilibrium. She has her eight hands on her left side in an arc, arms extended and palms stretched in posture of granting blessings, vanquished demons - looking very human - pressed under her left feet and the lower roll of the 'scroll' - all on the left hand side of the frame we face. A great effort towards de-construction of Durga's iconography.

 Very small sized Lakshmi and Saraswati, painted on the unfurled 'scroll'.

 Triangles and small circles, signature mark of Sanatan Dinda.

 A few 'tantric' motifs , plenty of lotus - on Devi's being and among adornment of the pavilion,  and  illuminated black-on-white paintings on   Shakti's emergence - done in Hussain's style appeal to the discerning viewers. For last couple of years, I am following Sanatan's  installations with interest and I am very happy with the photos Ruby and I have on my HDD. Anyone who needs more of JP Puja's photos of 2012 may please get in touch with me.

PAINTERS' MEET AT ACADEMY of FINE ARTS', CALCUTTA

A GATHERING CALLED 'MOMMARTE' IN CALCUTTA

 

Paintings  completed during 1st session of 'Mommarte' on 15/10/2013.

 Notice posted during the 1st day of 'Mommarte'.

Since October,12, the Executive Committee of AoFA,Calcutta has organised an event titled 'Mommarte' every Saturday in one of its front  lawns. The event starts at 2.30 pm, ends by
5.30/6.00 pm. There are several tables  and good nos of chairs are provided  for artists and observers to assemble . Artists come with paper and paint and complete paintings which they offer for sale across the table.

 Senior and famous artist Prakash Karmakar among the office-bearers of AoFA

during inauguration of 1st day of 'Mommarte'. 

 Well-known veteran sculptor Uma Siddhant among her admirers 

- 'Mommarte' dated 29/12/2012.

My wife Ruby is naturally attracted to this event. She gets a chance to mingle with other artists . I get a chance to click photos of artwork - though light remains a problem. We get a chance to listen to songs and recitations of members present during these afternoon sessions. A few of the renderings are really good. I feel a little surprised that these sessions do not get any Press coverage.

 

Ruby with her painting of Durga on 15/10/2013.

 We made friends with a sculptor from Kalna. His name is Bimal Poddar. He procured huge roots   from areas around his workshop - the left-out of trees chopped off after the trunks are cut and taken away.Besides, he buys blocks of 'neem' wood for his work. Samples of his work are here.

  Bimal Poddar is working on a root - one of his 'old man' series.

 'Durga'

Quite powerful work ! Invite artists, art-lovers and photographers  at these meets - surely you will enjoy !