Recently I completed reading
‘India Discovered’ by John Keay. It was published in 1981. I will consider it a
well researched book. The author has covered many grounds and the references
drawn from various sources helps to establish the strength of the book.
The author has correctly stated
that ‘Now,
in place of the circus, we have the museum’. He rightly mentioned it as
outsiders considered India was a circus with snake charmers. Thanks, to the
various surveyor generals the perception got changed.
I agree with twinning who stated ‘….the
cave (i.e. India) was in darkness. How far back it went no one could tell’.
Even now India is one of the un-explored portions of earth.
Many a times in exploring history
of a country or the un-explored portions of earth, as Hodgson stated, more than
languages (here we are talking about early 19th / 20th
centuries), lack of patience was the culprit in exploring a country like India.
Peaceful India
The internal functioning of India
during Chandragupta II period, around 400
A.D., can be felt by the freedom Fa Hsien had in travelling from one part of
the country to other without any trouble i.e. without any ‘crime or
repression’. Author Keay states ‘compared with the state of the Roman Empire
at that time, it looked as if India under the Guptas was the most congenial
place in the world’.
Men of theory being blindly followed
Appropriate example of the
incorrect people writing about India and use it as reference was James Mill
(father of John Stuart). He published book ‘History
of British India’ without stepping into India. James Mill strongly
indicted Indian society and its culture. The book became the standard work of
reference on India for Britishers.
The incorrect position of James
Mill was heavily criticized by Amartya Sen in his article History and The
Enterprise of Knowledge appeared in newhumanist.org.uk on 31st May
2007. In the same article Sen has mentioned about another scholar Alberuni, who
was completely opposite of James Mill:
“It is, in fact, interesting to
compare Mill's History with another history of India, called Ta'rikh al-hind
(written in Arabic eight hundred years earlier, in the 11th century) by the
Iranian mathematician Alberuni. Alberuni, who was
born in Central Asia in 973 A.D., and mastered Sanskrit after coming to India,
studied Indian texts on mathematics, natural sciences, literature, philosophy,
and religion. Alberuni writes clearly on the invention of the decimal
system in India (as do other Arab authors) and also about Aryabhata's theories
on the earth's rotation, gravitation, and related subjects.”
Further, Mr Keay states
‘Understanding its qualities meant understanding its inspiration, its ideals,
its symbolism and its techniques’. Dr Ernest B Havell believed ‘ no European
can understand or appreciate Indian art who
does not divest himself of his western preconceptions , endeavor to
understand Indian thought, and place himself at the Indian point of view’.
Indian and European Artist
Describing the Indian art and its
separation from the western one following example nails it:
‘…leonardo might have dissected a dog before drawing it, the Indian artist was not especially interested in how a dog worked; he wanted to get at the essence of dog.’
‘…leonardo might have dissected a dog before drawing it, the Indian artist was not especially interested in how a dog worked; he wanted to get at the essence of dog.’
Unknown gems
The book introduced me to palaces
of Datia and Orchha. I never knew that these palaces were work of giants which
was praised by Sir Edwin Lutyens. The artistry of the palaces was such that ‘ it
is hard to tell where nature’s work ends and man’s begins’. Datia and
Orchha was build by Rajah Bir Singh Deo.
The tragedy of palaces like Datia
and Orchha was summed up correctly as ‘ Several thousand people a d ay visit the
Moghul palaces of Delhi and Agra; Scarcely a single soul disturbs the rats and
the bats at Datia and Orchha. Havell’s rhapsodies and Lutyens’ admiration have
changed nothing. It says much for the formative and lasting character of James
Fegusson’s work that they have yet to find their true place in the scheme of
India’s Monuments’. This statement by Keay is equally valid today i.e.
after 35 long years (post publishing of this book). Still many Indians have
never heard of Datia and Orchha.
Pain of Lost Work - Major Robert Gill, The unsung hero
An interesting section on
misfortune can be obtained from historical persons such as Major Robert Gill.
As is I will reproduce here that section:
“On Fergusson’s recommendation,
Major Robert Gill arrived at Ajanta in 1844 and commenced a painstaking record
of all the paintings. Twenty- seven years later he was still engaged on the
job. In the story of British attempts to record India’s past Gill’s dedication
is unrivalled; sadly, though, it was futile. His oil paintings of the Ajanta
murals went on display at the Crystal Palace, London, alongwith the first
Gandhara sculptures to reach England. In December 866 all were destroyed by
fire; the canvases had not even been photographed. With quite staggering
resilience, Gill returned to Ajanta to begin his life’s work; but he died, on
site, a year later”
Nature safeguards itself from its own fury
“His (Major Gill) place was
taken, 1872, by John Griffiths of the Bombay School of Art, and the work of
copying continued for a further thirteen years, Again the results were sent to
London. They went on display in the Victoria and Albert Museum and again they
were destroyed by fire. But this time photographs had been taken. In 1897,
nearly fifty years after their discovery, the Ajanta paintings were at last
published and the art world could being to form some opinion of them”
What standards are?
Currently, corporations, across
the world struggle to have a common accounting standard. The difficulty is felt
in reading the financial statements of the companies in Asia as they have
different accounting standard. This is despite corporatization was born in the
last few decades. Against this back drop the best example of maintaining a
common standard across 700 years was observed in Ajanta painting. Below is a
reproduction of Sir John Marshall who had written an introduction in the
Illustrated London News:
“…. Yet in spite of their
diversity of size and their varying age and excellence, there is remarkable
unit in their general effect, for all the artists of Ajanta followed the same
traditional methods in their drawing, and observed the same restraint and reticence
in their colouring and tones, …. In these paintings there was no affectation,
no striving after meretricious effects, Centuries of experience had taught the artist that in line
and silhouette lay the true secret of mural painting, and their drawing to a
pitch of excellence that has seldom been equaled.”
Let me be honest here I visited
Ajanta as a traveler two times and I could not notice the difference of 700
years. Today, I appreciate the standards that were maintained for seven
centuries (post King Ashoka Era).
With all the modern technology and
advanced knowledge at our feet, investors are struggling to have common
accounting standards.
Lovers of Indian History please read this book.
Lovers of Indian History please read this book.
References:
Images:
James Mill Image source http://www.utilitarian.net/jmill/
Major Rober Gill Image source: http://celebritynetworths.org/net-worth/robert-gill-net-worth/
No comments:
Post a Comment