Benares, the word conjures up esoteric evocations.We think of pages from the past cruising through the modern millennium and we gather exotic stories of British and Scottish gentlemen who fell in love with Indian locales and turned into historians and printmakers and artists extraordinaire.

DAG’s Benares is one such medley of memories and montages that enchant us beyond our dreams. Benares also known as Kashi used to be on the  lips of my grandmothers in Kerala.

“A native proverb sums up the attractions of Kashi in the three words: Ranr, Sanr, aur Seerhee.” (Bells,Bulls and Broad Stairs)

View of the Ganges, from the Phatuk or Gate at the top of Punchgunga Ghat

In this show James Prinsep’s works stand apart for their genesis of time and tide.View of the Ganges from the gate at the top of the Panchaganga Ghat is a timeless view.

Prinsep architect turned archaeologist and linguist

James Prinsep (1799-1840),  trained architect, archaeologist, numismatist, and epigraphist was known for his path breaking contribution towards Indian history by deciphering the Brahmi and Kharosthi scripts in 1837. Born on 20 August 1799 in Chelsea, he arrived in India in 1819 at the age of 21 on 26 November 1820 as an assistant Assay Master at Banners under the able supervision of Professor H. H. Wilson. His View of the Ganges, from the P,hatuk or Gate at the top of Punchgunga Ghat , a Lithograph tinted with watercolour on paper pasted on paper, c. 1831-32,  drawn on Stone by William Walton, from a Sketch by  James Prinsep Esqr. Is a veritable masterpiece that stands like a relic in pages past.

 

 

Rajrajeswuree Ghat, Benares

This lithograph tinted with watercolour on paper reflects the truth that Prinsep  considered Banaras as a repository of both Hindu learning as well as steeped in superstition.  He engaged in massive engineering works such as the draining of the pools and swamps, building a bazaar, a stone bridge over the River Karamnasa and repairing the Alamgir mosque. Prinsep was a proficient artist and illustrator, his “Views of Benares” comprises a detailed visual map of the city along with census information, embodying the colonial historiographical tradition.

 

Preacher and Poorans

Prinseps monochromatic medley of lithographs are balm to the soul. He brings alive TS Eliot’s time past and time present in his epic work ’A Preacher Expounding The Poorans in The Temple of Unn Poorna, Benares’ .

In this vertical  lithograph Prinsep creates a transient setting of the central porch of temple using light and shadows to symbolise the serenity of the sacred realm .We see a Brahmin priest recognisable with his shikhara choti,

Vaishnava tika, janeu, ubhyansik white shawl and white dhoti, seated in padmasana and teaching from the ancient texts, identified with the palm leafed patrikas, to a group of devotees. The jali of the garbhagriha along with the sinhasana of the priest are perpendicular to each other proving with a three dimensional effect.

In the foreground a small step has been shown leading to the verandah of the porch marking a spiritual escalation to the place of worship. On the relatively darker side of the composition we see seven female figures with varied age groups, most of them clad in sarees with their head covered. Prinsep has rendered each face emoting a different feeling and expression united by their cumulative gaze on the palm leafed patrikas. In the group of devotees, Prinsep shows an elderly woman with wrinkled face and drooping cheeks, a woman in ardha vilochana with her head turned towards the priest while holding a vessel in her hand. A woman with her back towards the viewer walks ahead of her. The anatomy of figures and their expression are rendered realistically. The different age groups of the women are noticeably distinguished with features and stances. The setting emotes a feeling of devotion, reverence and gratitude eloquently.

The Mân Mundil, or a Hindoo Observatory

The Man Mundil is an iconic setting with nimbus clouds and people and boats and the fervour of the spirit, We see that  Prinsep’s representations embodied  the colonial historiographical tradition that used architecture to render this story without critical investigation. His work drew upon selective indigenous interpretations, but was coloured by a colonial insistence on authenticity and timelessness. Prinsep  meticulously documented the various ghats of Banaras along with their architectural edifices. The intricate detailing with the features and components of buildings, forts and along with ghats and temples paint a picturesque view reflecting harmony and sanctity of the sacred city. He focussed on anatomy and expression while briefing on individual movements and postures which help bring out the true essence of what he wants to emote in his representation.

The Man Mundil lithograph  brings alive Prinsep’s words  “The music and bells of a hundred temples strike the ear with magic melody from the distance, amidst the buzz of human voices; and every now and then the flapping of pilgrims’ wings is heard as they rise from their crates on the housetops, or whirls in close phalanx round the minarets, or alight with prisoners from a neighbour’s flock… Then, as night steals on, the scene changes, and the twinkling of lamps along the water’s edge, and the funeral fires and white curling smoke, and the stone buildings lit up by the moon, present features of variety and blended images of animation, which it is out of the artist’s power to embody.”

 

IMAGES: DAG
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Views expressed above are the author's own.

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