Partha Mitter - Indian Art

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Indian Art
Partha Mitter
OXFORD
UNIVERSITY PRESS
To Ma, Babumama, Mamima, and remembering Baba, Sidhartha, and Raghubir
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Contents
Preface : I
PART | BUDDHIST
AND HINDU ART AND ARCHITECTURE
(c.300 BCE—1700 CE) 5
Map 6
Chapter 1 Introduction ) i!
Chapter 2 Buddhist Art and Architecture B3
Chapter 3 Hindu Art and Architecture 33
Chapter 4 Minority Traditions, Ideal Beauty, and Eroticism 71
PART II INDO-ISLAMIC ART AND ARCHITECTURE (c.7 12-1757 CE) 83
Chapter 5 The Turko-Afghan Sultanate of Delhi (1206-1526 CE) 85
Chapter 6 The Mughal Empire(1526-1757) it” “StF
Chapter 7 / Rajasthani and Pahari Kingdoms (c. 1700-1900) 143
Chapter 8 The Non-Canonical Arts of Tribal Peoples, Women, and Artisans —157
PART III COLONIAL ART AND ARCHITECTURE (1757-1947) 169
Chapter 9 The British Raj: Westernization and Nationalism 170.
Chapter 10 Modernism in India =” “7 189
PART IV POSTCOLONIAL ART AND ARCHITECTURE (1947-2000) 201
Chapter 11 Art After Independence | ; 203
Chapter 12 The Contemporary Scene . 221
Notes wake | : 240
Timeline se | 254
Further Reading | . | 268
Museums and Websites | 278 |
List of Illustrations - ia 989
Index 287
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Pretace
In 1977, I had argued in Much Maligned Monsters: History ofEuropean

Reactions to Indian Art that colonial readings of ancient Indian art were
in need of revising.’ The last two decades have seen scholars ques-
tioning the dominant western canon, which treats Indian art as an
adjunct of a universal art history. There is a need for a reassessment of
the way in which we look at, and talk about, Indian art. The interesting
question is not what Indian art shares with western art, but how it
differs from it. One of the hidden assumptions of Indian art and archi-
tectural history has been the belief in the universal validity of artistic
teleology, where all art is judged by whether or not it embodies notions
of progress. While this has been the cornerstone of European art since
Vasari, it is not the case for Indian art. This is not to say, however, that
the evolution of artistic styles is irrelevant to India.
An insight into the unique qualities of Indian art is best achieved
though a broad cultural history which places art production and
patronage in its social and cultural contexts. Unlike the narrow western
interpretation of fine art, the distinction between fine and decorative
arts was not pronounced in India, which evolved, for example, a great
tradition of decorated utensils. Any discussion of Indian art must
encompass a wide range of different media: architecture, sculpture,
illustrated manuscripts, painting, miniatures, textiles, and latterly
photography and installation work.
It is inappropriate to attempt a purely stylistic analysis that uses
categories and influences derived from the West as these do not take
into account the very particular cultural and political developments of
the Indian subcontinent. However, Indian art can be usefully separated
into specific periods each reflecting certain religious, political, and
cultural developments. These run as follows: Hinduism and Buddhism
of the ancient period (c.300 BCE 1700 CE); the period of Islamic ascen-
dancy (c.712-1757 cE); the colonial period (1757-1947); and finally
Independence and the postcolonial period (post-1947). This book
redresses the balance of previous discussions of Indian art by including
analysis of the colonial and later periods as well as the arts of women
and tribal peoples.
By remapping the chronology of ancient Indian art history we can
better appreciate the achievements of ancient Indian art. The current
dating of Buddhist, Hindu, and Jain art, largely based on James
Fergusson’s pioneering work, assumes that ancient Indian art, which
began with ‘simple’ and elegant early Buddhist sculptures and monu-
ments, attained perfection in the ‘classical’ Gupta period in the fifth
century cE.’ Then followed a period of continuous decay, represented
by many-armed Hindu deities and florid Hindu temples. Such a
judgement, grounded on the western classical ideal of simplicity as
perfection, and on decoration as a sign of decadence, fails to appreciate
the ornamentation of Hindu temples as an essential expression of
Indian taste. This perception has led not only to a serious imbalance in
tracing the evolution of Indian art but also to the systematic neglect of
great Hindu temples of the later period. When we accept that Indian
taste, which blends simplicity with richness, does not necessarily
conform to Winckelmann’s ideal of ‘noble simplicity and quiet
grandeur’, we begin to see these temples in a different light. Thus it
was not in the Gupta period in the fifth century, hitherto regarded as
the culmination of ancient Indian art, but much later in the tenth
century and beyond that temple builders and sculptors gained the
requisite experience to create the dazzling ornamented surfaces of
Khajuraho, Konarak, Tanjavur, and Madurai, to name a few of the
striking temple sites.
In short, we need to see the development of ancient Indian art not
in terms of a ‘classical age’, nor in terms of a linear development, but
rather as a series of paradigm shifts bringing to prominence different
aims and objectives in different periods and regions. Thus, for each
region, we should locate specific artistic and architectural objectives
and their fulfilment in advanced edifices. In North India, for instance,
only from the tenth century do these conditions attain fulfilment, but
significantly, great temple building activity continues until the thir-
teenth century. After that period, Islam ushers in a different form of
architecture in the region. In South India, a peak is reached in the Cola
period in c.1o00 cE, to be followed by different sets of objectives
between the thirteenth and eighteenth centuries at Madurai,
Srirangam, Rameswaram, and other late monuments. In the colonial
era we again meet with a different set of rules, based on European
architectural and artistic practices. While rejecting extraneous criteria
such as a ‘classical age’ to judge ancient Indian art, we should not, in a
fit of cultural relativism, renounce all notions of quality and of develop-
ment. Ancient Indians knew the difference between outstanding and
inferior examples of art. Thus in order to establish what was the
summit of Indian artistic tradition, we must try and retrieve the
aesthetic conditions that prevailed among Indian artists and patrons
themselves.
2 PREFACE
Unlike that of Buddhist, Hindu, and Jain art, the historiography of
Islamic and colonial/modern art is less contentious. This is partly
because Islamic art was relatively easily assimilated into European
aesthetics and did not raise the same issues of misrepresentation as
Hindu art did. Nonetheless, if one were to detect a new development
in Islamic art scholarship, this has been the move away from connois-
seurship and stylistic analysis towards a more contextual approach that
takes into account the political, social, and cultural implications of
artistic production. The most significant development in this sphere
has been the tracing of links between architecture and_ political
ideology, especially in the Mughal empire. There have also been
advances in another area of research that is of considerable signifi-
cance. Contrary to earlier writings, we now know that Islamic
architecture and painting were not simply imposed upon the indige-
nous population by the conquering powers. Indeed Islamic
architecture was introduced into India long before the establishment of
Muslim rule in the thirteenth century. Also, Gujarati painters,
working under Hindu and Jain rulers, steadily absorbed Persian and
Mamluk elements in the wake of trade partnership between the
Gujaratis and the Arabs. The focus in the Islamic section is on the
social and cultural implications of Mughal painting and architecture as
expressions of an urban milieu that was emerging in the Mughal
empire, addressing in particular the ideological underpinning that
culminated in the Mughal theory of kingship.
The final section covering colonial and contemporary art and archi-
tecture considers issues of globalization and modernization as they
make their gradual appearance on the subcontinent. I focus in partic-
ular on the impact of westernization on Indian artists and patrons
during the Raj and subsequent nationalist resistance to colonial acad-
emic art, a period documented in my work on colonial art and national
identity.* An important aspect of the period is the self-image of Indian
artists confronted with colonial rule. Moreover, during the nationalist
period from the end of the nineteenth century onwards, western orien-
talist ideas of a national art were ‘inverted’ by the Indian artists in
creating their own form of artistic resistance. International artistic
modernism overtook the subcontinent in the 1920s and grew in
strength in the postcolonial period. The works of Indian artists even
today naturally reflect the tension between global modernism and
national self-definition that goes back to the colonial era. A significant
development since the last decades of the twentieth century has been
the growing importance of contemporary women artists of South Asia,
who offer us an alternative vision of art.
Indian Art seeks to highlight exciting new research in the field,
while putting the material in a clear theoretical framework. This
framework, which probes the interaction between artistic production
PREFACE 3
and patronage, and between individual creativity and dominant
ideology, serves as a corrective to colonial art history. Perhaps more
than any other non-European artistic tradition, the study of Indian art
is soaked in western art historical concepts that reflect an obsession
with the influence of the West on Indian art, ideas that neglect the role
and function of art in the Indian society itself.
A key objective is to redress the imbalance that many general books
on Indian art seem to suffer in that they tend to give undue importance
to Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain artistic achievements to the detriment of
Islamic and colonial/modern arts. As far as possible, I have tried to give
equal importance to the three main periods of Indian history, bringing
out the distinct flavour of each period. Hindu art in particular has
suffered considerable misrepresentation in the West, a colonial legacy
to which contemporary Indian scholars were not necessarily immune.
Much Maligned Monsters belongs to an emerging intellectual revolu-
tion in the 1970s that questioned the claimed ‘objectivity’ of western
knowledge of non-western cultures. Indian Art hopes to make a contri-
bution to this continuing debate.
I would like to thank here friends and colleagues who read parts or
whole of the manuscript, shared their expertise, and offered sugges-
tions, advice and other forms of help: Jalaluddin Ahmed, Debashish
Banerjee, Robert L. Brown, Craig Clunas, Debra Diamond,
Madhuvanti Ghosh, Ebba Koch, Rachel McDermott, Vivek Nanda,
Divya Patel, Rashmi Poddar, Raghubir Singh, Robert Skelton, and
Deborah Swallow. My thanks go to Fiona Sewell for her help in the
publication process, to Katharine Reeve for reading the manuscript
with enthusiasm and offering valuable comments, and to Charlotte
Morris and Karl Sharrock for, respectively, their thorough picture
research and editing. As always, Swasti, Rana, and Pamina have been a
tower of support in this enterprise. Finally, the work owes a great deal
to Robert Skelton’s awesome library of Indian art texts and to the
encouragement and friendship of Simon Mason, the commissioning
editor.
4 PREFACE
Part I
Buddhist and
Hindu Artand ~
Architecture
(C.300 BCE-I700 CE)
AFGHANISTAN
KASHMIR
PAKISTAN
(GANDHARA)
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Ahmedabad
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’ Konara
Bhubaneswar. o/
ORISSA Puri
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Mumbai (Bombay)
Elephanta
Aravatl “
«~~ @Alampur
Arabian Sea { E Bay of Bengal
KARN AKAN)
Vijay ara
Fant -
ide _Kanchipuram &| Chennai (Madras)
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Bangatore ®Mamallapuram
@ Somnathpur Cidambaram
ee TAMILNADU
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Indian Ocean
Introduction
A cultural map of the Indian subcontinent
At the end of the British Raj in 1947, the Indian subcontinent was
partitioned into the Republic of India and the Islamic Republic of
Pakistan. In 1971 Pakistan’s eastern wing became the independent state
The Indian subcontinent may of Bangladesh. Though using Indian Artas the title of this book, I wish
be divided into four broad
swathes differentiated
to remind readers of the shared culture of the subcontinent in which
culturally and physically. The Islam has played a major role. This shared culture has a historical
border regions of east and west validity that transcends modern national boundaries. Thus no art
have affinities with landscapes
and societies beyond the
history of the subcontinent can afford to exclude the arts of Pakistan
subcontinent. For instance, if and Bangladesh. As the Pakistani art historian Akbar Naqvi writes
you fly into India from the with some passion, the ‘political destinies of Pakistan and India may be
Middle East, you see a wide
sweep of brown and dusty different, and the two may quarrel politically, but the cultural ties are
terrain extending from west too old and archetypal to be forgotten or severed for political
Asia, southern Iran, and
expediencies’.’ I have, however, excluded Sri Lanka and Nepal from
Afghanistan down to Sind and
the Punjab plains up to Delhi. this survey. While they have many features in common with India
This was the crossroads of proper, their histories are so removed from that of India that they
Indian civilization, as wave
cannot be meaningfully included.
after wave of invaders poured
through the great passes into India is a multicultural subcontinent resulting from a history of
the subcontinent. Then, migrations of diverse peoples and the establishment of new
imagine you are flying from
Bangkok to Calcutta during the
communities. They came from as far afield as Greece and Asia Minor
monsoon season; the green in the west and the borders of China in the east. The newcomers, often
paddy fields and rainforests arriving as invaders, carrying their cultural baggage with them, were
that begin in South-East Asia
and continue through gradually absorbed into Indian culture. These constant infusions
Bangladesh right into West enriched the culture, even as the settlers’ own values were powerfully
Bengal form the second
modified by India. Once assimilated, the heterogeneous strands
region. The third consists of
the alluvial Gangetic plains, the melded into what was unmistakably Indian. Regional differences have
Aryavarta of Sanskrit literature, led some authors to dismiss India as a modern invention. But there is
later called Hindustan, usually
no contradiction between the diversity of regions, religions, castes, and
described as the heartland of
ancient India. The fourth languages and the unity of shared experiences that at once separates
distinct area is the south India from the surrounding countries. One is forcefully reminded of
Indian peninsula including the
Deccan, the civilization of the
the passage in the Bible that admirably captures Indian pluralism: ‘In
Dravidian-speaking peoples. my Father’s house are many mansions’.’
Early art
Art generally means sculpture and painting, and often includes
architecture, but human artefacts may embrace a wider category of
material remains that includes the decorative and minor arts, such as
jewellery, pottery, metal and wooden utensils, and even toys. The
artefacts of the earliest inhabitants of India, the stone age societies, go
back many millennia: rock paintings of central India used different
pigments to depict humans and animals, neolithic pottery was
ornamented with natural and geometric patterns, while terracotta
figurines suggest the universal cult of the Great Mother. These arts,
which continue to this day, have traditionally been regarded as
elements of folk culture that have existed alongside ‘high’ art and
enriched it.3
Around 2500 BCE, the urban culture of Harappa sprang up in the
north-west of India along the Indus river, continuing down to the west
coast. At its cultural hub were the centrally planned cities of Mohenjo
Daro and Harappa, which boasted straight, wide roads and affluent
private residences with bathrooms served by a drainage system. The
poor, however, lived huddled in slums, the inevitable underclass in a
1
Dancing girl, bronze, Mohenjo
Daro, 2300-1750 sce.
There is something endearing
about this bronze nude, which
captures the artless pose of an
awkward adolescent. Other
Indus artefacts include
decorated pottery, small
human sculptures that evince
a sure knowledge of anatomy,
bulls and other animals,
ornaments, and toys.
8 INTRODUCTION
hierarchical system. Until the Indus script is deciphered, its people will
remain an enigma to us, though the different skull types are found to
be similar to those of present day Indians.* The Harappans traded with
the Mesopotamians but did not share their fondness for colossal
images [1]. Stone carvings of what appear to be genitalia at Indus
suggest the prevalence of sexual cults. The image of a male with erect
penis, apparently wearing a buffalo mask with horns, seated in a ‘yogic’
position, and surrounded by animals, recalls the later Hindu god Siva.
However, scholarly opinion is divided on this.’
From Vedic sacrifice to religions ofsalvation

The Indus cities declined and were possibly abandoned around 1800
BCE. The earlier view that they were destroyed by the invading Indo-
Aryans has lost favour, and ecological change has emerged as a strong
contender. Rather than invading, Indo-Aryans were migrating to
India in successive waves from around 2000 BCE.’ A pastoral people,
they lived on the banks of the five great rivers of the Punjab, requiring
neither temples nor images but simply a square altar for the fire
sacrifice (yajna) that invoked the gods of the elements. These
invocations were collected as the four Vedas, the most sacred Hindu
texts. The Vedas are the mainstay of our knowledge about the society,
for very little material evidence of the culture exists. Vedic society
revolved around the priest (yajaka), who performed yajna for the
patron (yajymana). Gradually, through interactions between the
indigenous population and the newcomers, the society evolved into
four great classes (varna)—Brahmin, Ksatriya, Vaisya, and Sudra—
said in one of the four texts, the Rg Veda, to emanate from the body of
the Creator. These rankings laid the foundations of the caste (ati)
system in India. Untouchables and those who led a life of renunciation
were not included.
Apart from pottery we have little evidence of art until the third
century BCE. Colonial art historians claimed to trace its origins in
western classical art. However, art appears not because it is imposed
from the outside but because of the internal needs of a society.
Architecture, for example, a ‘spatial’ art, creates domestic and public
spaces. Public architecture and sculpture in ancient India, as in many
other pre-modern civilizations, was created to satisfy religious needs.
Faith alone, without the material wherewithal, could not realize such
ambitious projects. There is a complex interaction hetween patronage
and social institutions, and between artistic tradition and individual
creativity, a phenomenon which Bourdieu aptly calls ‘the field of
cultural production’? One of the problems of studying ancient Indian
artists is their relative anonymity, commensurate with their artisan
status. Only exceptionally did artists publicly declare their authorship.
Such an exception was Narasobba, an eighth-century artist, who
EARLY ART 9
Religious background
Intellectual revolution followed the rapid urbanization of the second millennium
BCE, as the fire sacrifice of the Vedic (Indo-Aryan) culture was challenged by thinkers
who speculated on the nature of religion. In search of salvation, they confronted the
profound mystery of death, their quest predicated on two cardinal principles:
samsara, or reincarnation, and harman (karma), the individual’s position in samsara as
determined by his or her past actions. This ideology of moral force bearing the seeds
of future good or bad fortune became the cornerstone of the Indian caste system. The
Upanishadic texts (c.1000 BCE) proposed that our souls (atman) are part of the great
universal consciousness (6rahman). Delusion (maya) arising from worldly existence
makes us forget this unity. The notion of unity, advaita (non-dualism), has
dominated Indian thought, while the search for spiritual knowledge has involved
meditation (yoga), austerity (¢apas), and renunciation. Buddhism, the first world
religion, andJainism, which had a limited but enduring appeal, were the two major
developments of this intellectual revolution. The prince Gautama (c.563—483 BCE)
was named the Buddha (‘Enlightened One’) after attaining illumination. His
message was that sorrow was unavoidable because one craved for things that perished.
To Buddhists, only nirvana, the end of consciousness, could end the sorrow. Yet it
was not the forbidding nzrvana but the Middle Path—a life of good conduct and
compassion through balancing extreme indulgence and painful renunciation—that
became the Buddhist credo. Buddhism surged through India, as Brahmanical rituals
failed to keep pace with change. Many of its first converts were Vaisyas (merchants),
upwardly mobile, affluent urban groups, and women, both of whom wanted to
overcome their low ritual status, but even Brahmin youths flocked to the order.
claimed that he had no rival in temple and house building.’ Thus we

are reduced to inferring individual creativity mainly from the works of
art themselves. ‘The danger here lies in making judgements beyond our
own time and culture that can distort the original aims of those who
produced these works and their patrons.
I0 INTRODUCTION
Buddhist Art and
Architecture
F . Early Buddhist art

The earliest Indian religion to inspire major artistic monuments was
Buddhism, the first creed to enjoy the patronage of a thriving
community, express a clear ideology, and boast an efficient monastic
organization. Buddhist monuments were great human endeavours
inspired by faith and creative imagination. By the first millennium
BCE, Vedic society in the Punjab was breaking up, as the population
pushed east along the course of the Ganges, clearing forests and
settling on the fertile land. Cities emerged as centres of trade and
commerce, populated by prosperous merchants who were served by
artisan guilds living close to urban centres. Money, as a form of
exchange, and writing gradually made their appearance in this society.’
The political map of India was changing, pastoral communities giving
way to early states called mahajanapadas as tribal republics fell before
ambitious monarchs competing for control over North India. The
situation was aptly described in the epic Mahabharata as one ‘where big
fishes ate little fishes’. The state of Magadha in the north-east,
controlling the river trade, forests, and rich deposits of minerals,
ultimately emerged as the nucleus of the first Indian empire.’
Asoka and the empire ofcompassion

The emperor Asoka (c.269-232 BCE) was the first major patron of
Buddhist art. He succeeded his grandfather, Candragupta Maurya
(322-297 BCE), who had brought the whole of North India under his
control by overthrowing the unpopular Nanda dynasty. He created the
cosmopolitan Mauryan empire, which was run by an efficient
centralized bureaucracy. Asoka, who inherited the vast empire, made a
dramatic conversion to Buddhism which led to an experiment unique
in human history. Shocked at the carnage attending his conquest of
Kalinga (present-day Orissa), Asoka became a Buddhist and a pacifist,
admonishing his subjects to practise compassion and _ ethical
behaviour. The code of behaviour (dharma) propounded by him also
showed political astuteness in inculcating social responsibility in a
heterogeneous empire where tensions between urban merchants and
Detail of 6 Brahmin orthodoxy threatened stability.s Asoka, who inscribed his
13
Glossary of Buddhist artistic and architectural terms
anda—ovum or egg, the hemisphere of naga—mythical many-hooded king
the stupa Sue. cobra
ayaka—decorated five-pillared parinirvana (nirvana)—end of cycles of
projection at Amaravati suffering through the end of
Bodhisattva—the ‘Buddha to be’, consciousness, symbolising the
containing his essential characteristics Buddha's demise
caitya—apsidal prayer hall pipal—tree under which the Buddha
citra—picture or painting attained illumination
dana—giving unreservedly to others as a pradaksina—titual circumambulation of
form of religious merit a sacred structure or image ina
gavaksa—arched or horseshoe-shaped clockwise direction (also practised by
window ina caitya the Hindus)
hinayana—the ‘doctrine of the Lesser sangha—monastic order
Vehicle’, a term used by Mahayanists stupa—memorial to the Buddha, shaped —
for their opponents who venerate the like the mound of earth containing his
Buddha ashes
jataka—the stories of Buddha's previous tirtha—holy pilgrim site associated with
human and animal lives relics
mahayana—the ‘doctrine of the Greater torana—axrched gateway
Vehicle’, which holds the Bodhisattva triratna—the three Buddhist jewels: the
as greater than the Buddha Buddha, the Doctrine, and the Order
mudra—language of hand gestures in art vihara—a retreat for nuns and monks
and dance conveying meaning and yaksa/yaksi—male and female nature
mood (also Hindu) spirits with supernatural attributes in
folklore
message on rock faces and stone pillars in public places throughout his
empire, comes across as refreshingly human.
Mauryan artisan guilds, mentioned in literature, were engaged in
Asoka’s projects. The high polish of Asokan pillars, lotus bell capitals,
and stylized lions [2] had suggested to scholars, such as Vincent Smith
in 1930, that Iranian journeyman carvers came to Asoka’s cosmopolitan
empire in search of work after the fall of the Achaemenids. From this
evidence Smith confidently ascribed Perso-Hellenistic origins to
Indian art.* In 1973, John Irwin challenged this ‘colonial’ hypothesis.
He suggested firstly that not all ‘Asokan pillars’ belong to Asoka’s
reign: he might have simply adapted many of the existing pillars for his
own imperial ends. Secondly, while the four lions are influenced by
Persian art, bulls and elephants are treated with a lively observation
that is unmistakably Indian. Again, the honeysuckle and acanthus
motif, which at first sight seems adopted from Western classicism, was
no more Greek than Indian. It belonged to the ancient west Asian
artistic pool that nourished both ancient Greece and India. Finally,
Irwin maintained that in order to discover the true origins of these
pillars, it is more useful to look beyond their style to their function. In
short, rather than initiating monumental art in India, Asoka made
imaginative political use of a much older pillar cult symbolizing the
I4 BUDDHIST ART AND ARCHITECTURE

72
Asokan lion pillar, Sarnath,
third century BcE.
The emblem of the present
Indian Republic—its four
roaring lions, facing the four
cardinal directions, proclaim
the might of Buddhism. The
lions symbolize the Buddha as
cakravartin, the emperor of
the spirit. This is possibly the
earliest surviving example of
Indian sculpture, but the
prominent wheel of the
Buddhist Doctrine, which
originally surmounted the
lions, has disappeared. The
representation of animals
reminds us of the respect with
which Buddhism treated
them.
axis mundi (the pillar as the symbolic representation of the axis on

which the world spins).
Buddhist patronage and the monastic order

Asoka’s astute marriage of politics and religion, as expressed in art, was
an exception. In early Buddhism, which established close links
between monasteries and the laity, communal patronage vied with
royal patronage. In India, royal support of religious monuments is a
rather complex issue. One reason may be that royal or Ksatriya claims
to divinity were held in check by the competing claims of the
Brahmins. Art historians have tended to use royal dynasties as
convenient stylistic labels, since hard evidence for constructing a
reliable chronology for Indian art has been scarce. While dynastic
labelling rightly makes a virtue out of necessity, we should be careful
not to confuse a monument’s mention of a royal era with active
patronage by that dynasty. Often such mentions are no more than royal
EARLY BUDDHIST ART 15

recognition of all the faiths within the kingdom.° Indeed, as we shall
see, tensions arose where kings used royal temples as a form of political
legitimization when the temples themselves belonged to communities
rather than to monarchs. These tensions are reflected in the fact that
sometimes members of a royal family were very active patrons
although the ruler himself was not. Sacred buildings or images were
often endowed in India by individuals to gain religious merit, and these
included kings in their personal capacity as devotees.
Buddhism, the first Indian religion to require large communal
spaces, inspired three major types of architecture: the stupa, the vzhara,
and the caitya. Between the first century BCE and the first century CE,
major Buddhist projects were undertaken with subscriptions raised
from the whole community. Generous donations were made by
landowners, merchants, high officials, common artisans, and, above
all, monks and nuns, many of them belonging to emerging social
3 groups in search of an identity. It is remarkable that women from all
Vessantara Jataka (story of walks of life, including courtesans, were drawn to Buddha's teaching.
Prince Vessantara), bottom Did women and the lower varnas play a more active role in Buddhism
architrave, front and back,
north gate, the Great Stupa, because they were debarred from Brahmanic rituals?”
Sanchi, first century Bce/ce.
The prince, who is the Buddha The Great Stupa at Sanchi
in his previous life, gives away
all his material possessions, The early stupas, which preserved the Buddha’s relics, were the first
including the white elephant, monuments to symbolize the power and magnificence of the faith.
auspicious emblem ofthe
Originally the focus of a popular cult of the dead, the stupa celebrates
kingdom. Banished by his
enraged subjects to the forest, the Buddha's parinirvana, the central message of Buddhism, and also
he loses his family there. symbolizes his eternal ‘body’. Unlike the early stupa at Bharhut and
Eventually virtue is rewarded
and everything is restored to
Stupa Il at Sanchi, the Great Stupa at Sanchi has survived intact,
him. Its prominent offering us first-hand knowledge of the aims and achievements of early
representation at Sanchi Buddhist architecture. Situated on a major trade route near the city of
reminded the laity of the
importance of giving to the Vidisa (Madhya Pradesh), Sanchi came to be a great sacred site and
Order. was visited by Asoka, who is commemorated on the East Gate of the
16 BUDDHIST ART AND ARCHITECTURE

a? Lg
xs Wel ' ——f ny
Rye
i Tah ey WlMP yyae
Thornit‘ h Pe
: y 1 aa
SS
Great Stupa. By the first century CE, the Great Stupa had been
Reconstruction of Sanchi. In
enclosed in brick and stone slabs, plastered over, and possibly painted
the foreground is the Great
Stupa, first century Bce/ce. white and its ornamental gateways were completed.*
The Great Stupa is replete with Around a thousand small donors, including some 200 women
cosmological symbolism, as
(among them the nun Buddhapalita), funded this remarkable stupa, its
well as being the central
symbol of Buddha’s scale and artistic richness bearing witness to the organizational
parinirvana. The svastika- efficiency and considerable resources of the monastic order.’ However,
shaped ground plan, with four
the cost of the decoration of the gateways was borne by 1 major
gateways facing the cardinal
directions, is the spatial image donors. Generosity (dana) was raised to the level of a sacrament in
of the dharma cakra Buddhism, instilled through the popular story of Prince Vessantara
pravartana (Setting the wheel
of the Doctrine in motion), the
[3]..° Among the donors at Sanchi were the ivory workers from the
supreme principle of nearby town of Vidisa who carved the details of the gateways as an act
Buddhism. Visiting pilgrims of piety. But the overwhelming evidence is that in ancient India
performed circumambulation,
tracing clockwise the path of architects (called sutradhara, literally builder-carpenter), masons,
the sun, which reminded stoneworkers, and sculptors were professionals who undertook
them of the Buddha’s dazzling
religious projects regardless of their own religion, a phenomenon seen
spiritual power. The earth-
filled dome represents the throughout Indian history. If ancient Indian art and architecture were
seed of life, anda. The three expressions of profound faith, this was mainly the faith of the patron,
parasols shade the reliquary
not necessarily of the craftsman.
from the sun, the enclosing
railing further protecting its The stupa’s crowning glory is the set of four sandstone gateways,
sanctity. A shaft symbolizing their festive sculptures providing a dramatic foil to the unadorned
the world axis penetrates the
dome, fixing the stupa firmly
hemisphere [4]. The sculptures remind us of wood or ivory carving, as
on the ground. Other in the Indian ivory statuette found in the Roman town of Pompeii,
cosmological details include which was buried in lava in 79 CE. In each gateway of the stupa, three
the 120 uprights of the
monolithic balustrade
uprights and architraves, with coiled ends resembling the unfurling of
representing the 12 signs of scrolls, rest on thick rectangular pillars. Z7iratna motifs, the three
the zodiac. Buddhist jewels—Buddha, the Doctrine, and the Order—are placed

5
Yaksi (nature spirit), the Great
Stupa, Sanchi, first century
BCE/CE.
The nubile tree nymph, a
support for the architrave, is
often represented lovingly
wrapping her leg around a tree
to make it bloom. A Buddhist
folk deity, her deep-set navel,
rounded breasts, narrow
waist, and ‘full-moon’ face
anticipate the Indian canon of
beauty. The links between
women, fertility, and
auspiciousness are well
attested in literature.
at the pinnacle of the gateways (foranas). The most significant

decorations are the central narrative panels, surrounded with a host of
human, animal, geometric, and plant motifs, among them the earliest
female nudes—the schema embodying a hierarchy of meaning implicit
in Indian sacred decoration [5]. Especially sensitive are the renderings
of water buffaloes and elephants that mingle in a magic world with
human-headed lions and many-hooded king cobras (nagas),
reiterating the Buddhist belief in the unity of life. The Sanchi artists
revel in forest scenes and towns with buildings containing balconies,
vaulted roofs, and moats, offering us a wealth of information about
contemporary life not found before.”

6 Visual stores: the Sanchi reliefs
Buddha's victory over Mara’s
If the actual construction of the stupa was left to professionals, the
forces, his final tempters
before illumination, the Great narrative programme shows a unifying vision that was almost certainly
Stupa, Sanchi, first century provided by the monastic order, the guardians of the Buddhist canon.
BCE/CE.
The pilgrims were introduced to the basic tenets of their religion
The artists show off their
versatility in caricature here in represented on the front and the rear of the gateways, the sculptures
portraying the demons sent by providing spiritual lessons in an age of limited literacy. Around 60
Mara to frighten the Buddha.
major themes chosen from the Buddhist canon can be reduced to two
As opposed to the canon of
beauty seen in 5 and 52, these types: jatakas, the stories of the former animal and human lives of the
demons with bulging eyes, Buddha, paradigms of the Buddhist pilgrim’s progress towards an
snub noses, and protruding
enlightened state, and the life of the historical Gautama who attained
teeth epitomize the ‘ugly—
thus negatively reinforcing the Buddhahood [6].
aesthetic canon. It is curious that at Sanchi and other early monuments the historical
Buddha was never represented as a human being. As the French
orientalist Alfred Foucher argued in rgzt, early artists used a specific
symbol to suggest each ‘station’ in Buddha's spiritual journey, the pipa/
tree standing for his Enlightenment, the wheel for his First Sermon,
and the stupa for his final parinirvana. Yet Buddha images became a
commonplace by the second century CE. This change from the
‘aniconic’ to the ‘iconic’ phase in Buddhist art has been one ofthe most
contentious issues in Indian art history (see box). The late appearance
of the Buddha image has been variously explained on stylistic and
doctrinal grounds, firstly by Foucher. Recent research has discovered
early literary references to Buddha images, thus fuelling a new
controversy, led by Susan Huntington.”
The Sanchi reliefs offer us the first narrative devices employed in
ancient Indian art [3]. On the three central panels of each gateway an
EARLY BUDDHIST ART 19g

The Buddha image controversy
Susan Huntington rejects the French orientalist Alfred Foucher’s hypothesis of 1911
that the first Buddha images were ‘aniconic’, or not represented in human form, since
Buddha images are mentionedin the earliest Buddhist literature. Hence the stupa,
the wheel, and the pipa/tree in early stupas were not symbolic depictions of Buddha's
life but simply of relics worshipped at pilgrim sites. Vidya Dehejia, who disagrees,
holds that emblems such as the stupa are not mere relics. Because of their capacity for
multiple reference, they serve to remind the viewer of the stages in Buddha's life as
well as the sites where these events took place. While Huntington convinces us that a
number of instances of the pipa/ tree, the wheel, or the stupa at Sanchi represent relic
worship, the following scenes strongly suggest biographical episodes: the divine
impregnation of Maya, Gautama’s mother; Gautama’s departure from home
(depicted at Sanchi by ‘the riderless horse’, but the Great Stupa at Amaravati shows
both an early relief with the riderless horse and a later one with the Buddha on
horseback); and the Buddha walking on the waters of the river Nairanjana. It would
indeed be curious if early Buddhists worshipped the Buddha’s relics but not himself,
whose personal charisma had moved thousands. Nonetheless, the absence of the
Buddha image at Sanchi remains a baffling mystery.
essentially ‘pictorial’ technique was adopted, for instance the

suggestion of recession by placing distant figures above and behind the
foreground ones. These panels anticipate the preference of Indian
sculptors for relief carving, rather than making free-standing figures.
Even fully rounded figures, such as the yakszs at Sanchi, are meant to be
seen as ‘three-dimensional’ only from the front or from behind, but
appear flat if they are seen from the side. The relief form gave artists an
opportunity to create large narrative scenes full of movement and an
overarching rhythm, the sculptural groups forming part of the
monumental stonework. The sense of movement in Indian art, very
different from the static notion of perfection in classical Greek and
Roman art, is often lost in a museum, where Indian sculptures are
displayed as isolated fragments divorced from their contexts.
Any artistic representation must resolve the problem of time. The
well-known mode in art history, deriving from Greek sculpture, is the
representation of the significant moment, in which a dramatic action is
‘frozen’. At Sanchi, several narrative conventions were adopted. The
story could be told either in a sequence within a single frame or in a
continuous narrative. The famous Vessantara Jataka uses a continuous
narrative that flows from the front through to the back. Another
technique is a ‘repetitive’ device suggesting progression, seen in the
Battle for the Relics of The Buddha (south gate, back, middle architrave),
one of the most dramatic scenes at Sanchi. The central panel depicts
the impending battle with chariots, elephants, and foot soldiers in
readiness, the town serving as a backdrop. The tumult is captured by
subordinating the individual figures to an overall rhythm; next to it is
the scene of kings exchanging relics amicably among themselves. Vidya
Dehejia identifies the Monkey Jataka at Sanchi as a further, ‘synoptic’

mode: multiple episodes, presented within a frame, are held together by
a single central:representation of the main character in the plot.
Buddhist monasteries
One of the three jewels of Buddhism, the Buddhist monastic order,
which was organized on a large scale, required commensurate living
quarters. From the time of the Enlightened One, the order and the lay
followers developed a relationship of mutual dependence. Monks and
nuns, shunning worldly possessions, survived on the generosity of the
laity. They repaid this by offering religious lessons to the faithful, who
gained merit through materially supporting the order. Monasteries
were founded as centres of Buddhist learning near prosperous towns
and on sites hallowed by association with the Buddha. They grew into
vast establishments, as at Sirkap in Gandhara or at Nalanda in Bihar.
By 100 BCE, viharas and caityas, hewn out of the living rock, began
competing with constructed ones, partly on account of their durability.
Between 120 BCE and 400 CE, over a thousand viharas and caityas
were built in the Buddhist monastic complexes along ancient trade
routes in the Western Ghat mountains. These sites evolved from the
haphazard placing of buildings to their systematic planning.* The
vihara was a dwelling of one or two storeys, fronted by a pillared
veranda. The monks’ or nuns’ cells were arranged around a central
meeting hall, each cell containing a stone bed and pillow and a niche
for a lamp. In contrast to such austerity, caztyas, or halls for
congregational worship, were second in splendour only to stupas.
Merchants and members of the monastic order endowed the caityas
generously, though small donations soon dried up in favour of fewer,
larger endowments. The focus of veneration within the caitya was a
replica stupa, placed at the end of the prayer hall. Later, at Ajanta for
instance, a Buddha image embellished the front of the stupa.
Circumambulation, hitherto performed in the open air at stupas, was
incorporated into the U-shaped plan of the caitya: two rows of pillars
separated the narrow corridors on either side of the main hall, thus
creating a path which continued behind the replica stupa.
As with much ancient Indian art and architecture, most of the
caityas cannot be firmly dated and thus pose problems for the study of
their evolution. In an attempt at a solution, the pioneering historian
James Fergusson applied the concept of evolution from the simple to
the complex to these monuments. However, Fergusson’s own classical
taste led him also to conclude that the earlier and simpler the
architecture, the better it was. Fergusson’s chronology, which is still in
use, seriously distorts our understanding of Indian architecture. But if
we take early Buddhist architecture as technically, if not ‘aesthetically’,
simple, we can then trace evolution in terms of greater complexity and
sophistication, as builders became more experienced. (However, the

i
Caitya, Bhaja, c.100-70 Bce.
The open facade, which
allowsa full view ofthe interior,
is as yet without the distinctive
stone window (gavaksa). |n
the interior, the pillars are plain
octagons having neithera
base nora capital, all of which
indicate its rudimentary
character. The imitation of
wooden beams and other
elements in stone suggests the
human tendency to retain
forms that have lost their
function, a phenomenon best
described as ‘the persistence
of memory’
8
Interior of caitya, Karle,
c.50-70 cE.
A handsome s upa rises at the
curved end of a spacious hall.
Rows ofrobust pillars with
capitals that support couples
riding on animals on either
side separate the main hall
from the low ambulatory
corridor. The slight gap
between the pillars and the
46-foot-high curved ceiling
reinforces the impression of
he lofty vault of heaven.
However, the grandeur of the
interior is created less by size
or height than by the
proportions of the
architectural parts, a distinct
eature of Indian architecture.

persistence of wooden elements in rock-cut cai¢yas, which seem to hark
back to the past, creates its own difficulties.)
A comparison of an early example from Bhaja with one of the most
ambitious ones at Karle highlights the significant features of the fully
formed style [7, 8]. In successive sites new elements were added and
forms refined. The dimensions increased, while pillar capitals were
richly embellished with figures as the bases emulated auspicious water-
filled vases. Karle (c.50-70 CE), built with subscriptions from
Buddhists from different walks of life, and measuring 124 feet by 45
feet, was the summit of cai¢ya architecture, not because it was the latest
but because it was the most elegant. A massive four-lion pillar at the
entrance proclaims the majesty of the Doctrine. The crowning feature
of the facade, set in a recess carved out of the surrounding rocks, is an
elegant horseshoe-shaped gavaksa window derived from secular
wooden buildings, which bathes the interior in a mellow light. The
height of the ceiling is only 46 feet; the grandeur of the interior is
created less by size or height than by the careful proportions of the
architectural parts, a distinct feature of Indian architecture.”
Later Buddhist art
Buddhist tcons
The representation of the human form of the Buddha, one of the most
enigmatic developments in Buddhism, changed the course of narrative
art in India. When European archaeologists found the first classically
inspired Buddha images at Gandhara in north-western India in the
1830s, they associated them with the Indo-Greeks who ruled the
region in the first century BCE. The discovery led Foucher to conclude
that the Buddha image was invented by the Greeks, thus prompting an
artistic revolution in India. His conclusion followed from his argument
that at Sanchi and other early sites the Buddha was represented
symbolically. This assertion was challenged in 1926 by the nationalist
art historian Ananda Coomaraswamy, who cited a different set of
Buddha images produced in the same period at Mathura. As he
showed, these were inspired by the indigenous yaksa cult that owed
little to western classical art. However, modern research has overtaken
such purely stylistical explanations of the Buddha image, although the
date of its origin continues to be hotly debated.
To follow the implications of the latest research, we need to
examine the history of the period. After the break-up of Asoka’s
empire in the second century BCE, regional dynasties came to
prominence, while the different centres of Buddhism gained in
importance, notably Gandhara in the north-west. Since the time of
the Persian conquest Gandhara’s fortunes had been interlocked with
those of Bactria (the region between present-day Afghanistan and
LATER BUDDHIST ART 23

Tadzhikistan), a cosmopolitan area populated by Persians, Greeks,
Scythians, and Parthians. After the fall of the Mauryas, Alexander’s
successors ruled Gandhara for a while. The Indo-Greek king
Menander (140-110 BCE) was almost certainly a Buddhist, as suggested
by the famous Discourses of Menander.
Hellenistic art followed Alexander's footsteps from Asia Minor
through Iran to central Asia, reaching Gandhara under the Indo-
Greek rulers. Not only were classical orders deployed in the buildings
of Taxila, the capital of Gandhara, but examples of the minor arts of
the classical world—stone palettes, gold coins, jewellery, engraved
gems, glass goblets, and figurines—poured into the region in the wake
of Roman trade. The region imported Chinese lacquer and South
Indian ivory with equal enthusiasm. Furthermore, the ivory figure
from Pompeii shows that trade also flowed westwards.” The Roman
historian Pliny the Elder complained bitterly of Rome’s being drained
of gold because of an unfavourable balance of trade with India.
In the first century CE, the region came under the sway of the
Kushan empire. The far-flung territory of Kanishka (c.78-101 CE),
covering an area from Mathura in north-central India through
Gandhara-Bactria up to the borders of China, helped to disseminate
Buddhism. Kanishka, its greatest champion since Asoka, became
renowned as the patron of the Buddhist intellectual Asvaghosha.
Kanishka convened the fourth Buddhist Council at Kashmir and was
associated with one of the largest stupas in Afghanistan.’
Kanishka’s reputation as a Buddhist and his trade with Rome led
scholars to believe that Gandhara Buddhas originated in the Kushan
empire and were of Roman inspiration. Although some revisionist
scholars now believe that Hellenistic Gandhara Buddhas were the first
to be created, as early as the first century BCE, it was only in Kanishka’s
empire in the first century CE that one finds large numbers of Buddha
icons [9]. During Kanishka’s reign, an alternative Buddhist tradition
arose at Mathura, a great religious centre. One of the earliest Buddha
images found here was that dedicated by the monk Bala [10].
Gandhara and Mathura Buddhas, hitherto regarded as culturally
inimical to one another, appeared within the same empire.
If both Gandhara and Mathura Buddha images were created in the
Kushan empire, how then can we explain the shift from the aniconic to
the iconic phase? Some scholars see the appearance of the Buddha icon
in the doctrinal changes that followed the rise of Mahayana Buddhism
(the doctrine of the Greater Vehicle) during Kanishka’s reign. The
reverence for the Buddha as having shown the way to salvation was
rejected by the Mahayanists in favour of the Bodhisattva (Buddha-to-
be), who postponed his own nirvana for the sake of suffering humanity.
There are, however, objections to the hypothesis that this doctrine of
the saviour figure gave rise to the Buddha icon. The Buddha was

9
Bodhisattva Maitreya,
Gandhara, second century ce.
Bodhisattva (‘the Buddha to
be’) is represented with
elaborate coiffeur, moustache,
and personal jewellery, worthy
ofa prince. But his
attributes—usnisha (literally
turban, the topknot of an
ascetic’s hair), urna (the spot
on his forehead), and
elongated ears—show him to
be superhuman. The Greek
sun god Apollo provided the
model for Bodhisattva, who
appeared like the young sun
come down to earth,
accordingto the Buddhist
philosopher Asvaghosha. As a
great teacher, the Buddha also
dons the Greek philosopher's
palliatus (robe).
worshipped almost from his lifetime. Furthermore, Bala, mentioned

above, was a Hinayana monk, a sect hitherto believed to be hostile to
image worship. Even more interesting is the fact that the majority of
early monks and nuns were sponsors of images." However, the fact
remains that Buddha images became ubiquitous only during Kanishka’s
rule, when Mahayana had transformed the Buddha ideal. Also, the
spread of devotionalism (Bhakti) in around the first century CE, with its
emphasis on personal salvation, must have encouraged the use of icons.
Finally, the concept of divine kingship prevalent among the Kushans
may have encouraged the image of the Bodhisattva as a princely figure.”
The Kushan sculptors established clear iconographic conventions
for the Buddha and the Bodhisattva and for their mudras (language of
hand gestures), one of the central ones being the dharmacakra

10
Standing Buddha dedicated
by the monk Bala, Mathura,
c.100 ce.
The great teacher in Mathura
art is draped in a transparent
monk's attire with his right
shoulder bare, offering
reassurance with his right
hand (now missing), while the
left hand rests on his hip. The
energy of these heroic, over
life-size Buddhas derives from
the indigenous yaksa figures
such as the one discovered at
Parkham in Uttar Pradesh.
pravartana (the first sermon, symbolized by the turning of the wheel of

the Law). Gandhara also initiated a new narrative mode, employing
‘the frozen moment’ of western art that relied on anatomical accuracy,
spatial depth, and foreshortening. A rather striking use of western
anatomy is to be found in the representation of the skeletal Buddha,
whose emaciation was the outcome of his asceticism before his
illumination. One must remember, however, that Gandhara made only
selective use of western illusionism, melding Hellenistic, Roman,
Indian, and Parthian elements.» As opposed to Gandharan
illusionism, Mathura developed an alternative ‘shorthand’ narrative
mode for depicting Buddha’s life.

The Great Stupa at Amaravati
While Buddha ifnages were being fashioned in North India, the Great
Stupa at Amaravati, founded in the Asokan period, was reaching its
11 culminating phase. Amaravati was situated near the capital of the
The Great Stupa at Amaravati
kingdom of Satavahana (in present-day Andhra Pradesh), whose
(reconstruction), second
century CE. prosperity was based on overseas trade, especially with Rome. The
The face of the drum of the stupa owed its final splendour to the Mahayana monks, wealthy
monument and the projecting merchants, and a Satavahana queen.’ Rediscovered by British officials
ayaka platform on the west
side can be seen through the in the nineteenth century on the eve of its demolition, today it survives
cutaway section of railing. The only in fragments. A happy accident, however, enables us to marvel at
decoration of the upper dome
the stupa even now. The surviving panels show different versions of the
is speculative and is based
upon contemporary renditions monument, offering a glimpse of what the stupa may have looked like.
from the drum slabs. This ‘self-imaging’ process has always been an integral part of Indian
The solid hemisphere,
architecture (see chapter 3). Even though we can never gain a totally
estimated to have been 60 feet
in height, was raised ona accurate picture of the stupa, which evolved over a long period of time,
cylindrical platform 6 feet high we can at least form a clear impression of its basic design.
and 140 feet in diameter. The
Its most noticeable difference from the Great Stupa at Sanchi is in
stupa was protected by a
three-part outer railing, 192 the use of limestone sculptural reliefs to cover the entire dome, creating
feet in diameter, consisting of a shimmering, marble-like effect [11]. We can retrace the pilgrims’
136 lofty pillars and 348
robust crossbars that held up
path as they entered the stupa through one of the gateways, after
800 feet of coping stone gazing in admiration at the roundels of the outer railing decorated with
decorated with flowing lotus motifs. Once inside the gate, the pilgrims read the sacred tales of
garlands borne aloft by
humans and animals. Two Buddhism on the inner face of the railing as well as on the drum during
pairs of lions guarded a 26- their circumambulation [12] Amaravati contains both early narratives
foot-wide gateway at each
without the human Buddha and those with his human form in the final
cardinal point. The narrow
ambulatory was placed stages of the stupa, allowing us to observe clearly the transition to the
between the outer railing and new mode. The drum allowed the creation of long narrative friezes,
the drum, with profusely
such as that depicting the Great Departure, now showing the Buddha
decorated ayakas at the
cardinal points. as ahuman being.

12
Mandhata Jataka, inner face
of outer railing, the Great
Stupa, Amaravati, second
century CE.
The treatment of musicians
and dancers demonstrates a
new complexity in the
deploymentof figures and
composition. Amaravati reliefs
exude energy, their
composition held together by
a flowing narrative, realized
through softly modelled
figures. At Sanchi we only
glimpse the sense of
movement that is so
characteristic of Indian
sculpture, but that here Is
achieved with greater
virtuosity, as expressive
possibilities expanded.
The Gupta court

The period of the Gupta court (c.320-467 CE) is generally regarded as
the pinnacle of ancient Indian civilization. Founded by Candragupta I
in 320 CE in Bihar, the empire reached its zenith in the reign of
Samudragupta (¢.335-76). The so-called Allahabad inscription details
the emperor’s conquest of North India and his humiliation of the
southern rulers. Some of his gold coins, which portray him as a
musician, offer us a glimpse ofhis personal taste. The Chinese pilgrim
Faxian, who visited the empire in c.405 CE, was impressed by the Pax
Gupta: its stable regime, light taxes, and general sense of well-being.”
The Gupta court in the fifth century was adorned by the legendary
‘nine gems’, including the astronomer and mathematician Aryabhatta,
who was the first human known to have calculated the solar year
accurately, and Kalidasa, ancient India’s greatest poet and playwright.
Another contemporary, Vatsyayana, who composed the Kama Sutra
for the young man about town (agaraka), attests to the urbane way of
life in the Gupta empire. A treatise on sexual pleasure, the Kama Sutra
considers sex as only one aspect, though an essential aspect, of gracious
living. Vatsyayana advises that the well-appointed leisure chamber for
the cultivated should include not only musical instruments but also ‘a
painting board and box of colours’.” Even more interesting is
Yasodharman’s commentary on Vatsyayana, the Sadanga (Six Limbs of
Painting), dealing with proportion, expression, representation, colour,
and other aspects of the art. A contemporary reference to Gupta
images as being ‘made beautiful by the science of citra’ suggests the

existence of aesthetic manuals.** Drama and lyrical poetry, written in
courtly Sanskrit, reached unprecedented heights. Indian ideas of
beauty, especially of female beauty, received their canonical expression
in literature and subsequently influenced the visual arts. Ambitious
stupas, viharas, and caityas continued to be raised all over India and
beyond, as a complex network of Buddhist patronage stretched from
= we TIER ERO REEL ES,
13
Seated Buddha, fifth century
CE.
During the Gupta period the
Buddha icon became a
synthesis of Gandhara and
Mathura styles. It is easily
recognizable by its perfect oval
face, serene smile, dreamy
lotus eyes, elongated ears,
close-cropped ascetic’s hair,
slim body, clinging light robe,
and elegantly carved halo. The
sculptors paid close attention
to the fingers (important for
the language of gestures or
mudra), which were rendered
with great delicacy. Monks
and nuns were in the forefront
of those who commissioned
Buddha icons for the spiritual
benefit of their friends and
relations.

14 Asia Minor to China along the well-trodden Silk Route, nourished by
Cave |, Ajanta, interior, fifth a thriving international trade [13].
century CE.
The lavish square central hall
where monks probably The Ajanta cave paintings
socialized is dominated by the In the rock-cut monasteries at Ajanta in the Deccan, narrative
sculpture of ameditative
Buddha set in a shrine against painting had been developing over centuries, its most intense and final
the backwall. The other walls flowering occurring in the reign of Harisena of the Vakataka dynasty
are embellished with the
(c.460-77 CE). His officials and vassals and Buddhist monks
Buddhist narrative cycle,
including two paintings of the commissioned 20 of the finest Mahayana Buddhist caves. After the
princely Bodhisattva of collapse of the Vakataka kingdom following Harisena’s death, the
arresting nobility, their themes
of kingship suggesting links
caves were abandoned until they were rediscovered by the British in the
with the reign of Harisena. nineteenth century. Literary evidence on Indian painting exists from
the ancient period. In addition to the Sadanga, one notable work is the
sixth-century iconographic text Visnudharmottaram, which gives
details of landscape and other genres of painting. Fragmentary
paintings have also survived at many sites including Ellora, Bagh,
Badami, and later southern monuments. But only at Ajanta has
enough evidence survived to give us an idea of the scope of ancient
Indian painting.”? The walls of the viharas were utilized for large-scale
15 paintings that were harmonized with surrounding polychrome
Bodhisattva Padmapani, sculptures and ceiling decorations [14, 15].
Cave |, Ajanta, fifth century ce.
The artists at Ajanta revel in action, drama, and human emotions.
Ajanta painters used
chiaroscuro and The jatakas and the Buddha's life, hitherto realized only in sculpture, are
foreshortening, creating now invested with a new freshness and wealth of detail. One notices the
uniform natural light with tonal
browns and yellows. Light
evolution of narrative art from Sanchi to Ajanta, its growing complexity
yellow and white are used to and its deeper exploration of human emotions (as, for example, in the
highlight faces, figures, and moving story of Nanda’s renunciation in Cave Xv1), as well as its lively
architectural details and to
create ‘sheens’ on surfaces.
engagement with contemporary subjects and natural phenomena. Cave
These techniques, together XVII is one of the most spectacular. The artists paint a storm at sea and a
with Greek decorative borders,
shipwreck in their treatment of the romantic tale Simhala Avadana.
have led some scholars to
suggest links with western They also paint a panoramic battle scene, the only one known from
classical illusionism. ancient India.’° At Ajanta, even though whole walls are taken as the

painting surface, the painters prefer to develop a series of illusionistic
episodes within’ self-contained areas, each unit presenting a ‘frozen’
moment. Finally, in the light of such ambitious and carefully planned
frescoes, it would be interesting to learn more about artists’ workshops
and guilds at Ajanta. Varahamihira, for instance, the author of
Brhatsamhita, a compendium of various subjects including art and
architecture, tells us that in social rank artists were placed with lowly
musicians and dancing girls.” But apart from a general knowledge of
ancient Indian guilds we know disappointingly little.

Hindu Artand
Architecture
The rise of devotional Hinduism

While the Gupta period marked a high point in Buddhist art and
architecture, the most innovative ideas were connected with the rise of
the Hindu temple, a product of Bhakti or devotional Hinduism. Not
only Buddhism, but orthodox Brahmanism too faced a new challenge
from Bhakti, which swept across India in about the first century CE.
The new Bhakti deities, such as Krsna, an incarnation of Vishnu, made
their appearance in the two epics Ramayana and Mahabharata in
around the first century CE, even as their images were being fashioned.
The ascendancy of Vishnu, Siva, and Devi, the Great Goddess,
heralded the fall of the Vedic gods, who were now reduced to the level
of mythological figures. From now on, the three great deities of
Hinduism would be solely responsible for human redemption.
A striking feature of Hinduism is the aesthetic vision of the divine
as embodied by Siva, the first dancer who sets the universe in motion
by dancing [16].’ Indian classical dance, a form of offering to the gods
based on Bharata’s Natyasastra (second century BCE-second century
CE), the key treatise on dance, music, and drama, closely corresponds
to Siva’s iconography, from the graceful /a/ita dance to the ecstatic
catura, and ultimately to Siva’s dance of death (tandava). The temple
dancers (devadasi) enjoyed a central but ambivalent position in society.’
16
In contrast to the social subordination of women in ancient India, the
Siva Nataraja, bronze, Cola
period, tenth century ce. feminine principle embodied in Devi, the Great Goddess, has enjoyed
Siva’s upper right hand holds primacy in Hinduism [17]. The subversive undercurrent in the cult of
an hour-glass-shaped drum, Siva/Sakti will be discussed later.
the lower one offers
reassurance, the upper left The sheer numbers and names of Hindu deities are confusing,
hand displays a flame, the a reflection of the fact that this dense pantheon is the product of
lower left one points gracefully
a long evolution, accommodating an enormous variety of religions,
to his raised left foot, while the
right foot tramples the demon cults, and sects. Thus bloody animal sacrifices exist side by side
of ignorance. His elegant locks with extreme vegetarianism. The Hindu process of assimilation is a
of hair stream to his sides,
while a ring of fire surrounds
form of syncretism: whenever a local folk or popular deity was
him. In this image, Siva’s politically powerful enough to threaten Brahmanism, it was
cosmic play of creation, accommodated within the high pantheon. The syncretic process
preservation, and destruction
is visualized as an extended
named the particular deity as an aspect of Vishnu or of Siva/Sakti
metaphor of the dance. according to its character [18].
33
i7/
Devi as Kali, Bengal, late
nineteenth century.
Devi, the universal mother,
celebrates the feminine in its
most emotionally
overpowering. Alone among
the Hindu goddesses Devi's
images range from the
graceful beauty of Durga or
Parvati [see 33] to the
terrifying hideousness of Kali.
In images from Bengal she is
naked in her fierce form,
standing on the prostrate
figure of her consort, Siva.
The Hindu temple

The Hindu temple is a public institution like a Buddhist caitya, but the
different priorities of the new Hindu patrons—who did not form a
coherent body as did the Buddhists—demanded a different
18
Five-headed Ganesa with his organization of the sacred space, in keeping with the Hindu belief in
Sakti, Orissa, tenth century ce. mystical kinship with God. The temple is literally the beloved deity’s
The elephant-headed god
dwelling (devalaya), a resplendent palace (prasada) where his or her
presides over the success of
temporal and spiritual needs are faithfully catered to by temple priests. Hindus are not
projects. The process of obliged to attend temple services. Nonetheless, the temple is a holy site
incorporating local deities into
(tirtha), where they can perform circumambulation (pradaksina). They
the high pantheon was not
always smooth, as we know also perform the pious act of gazing at the deity (darsan) and offer
rom the myth of Siva in which prayers, flowers, and food (puja).* Even though the temple is never a
he cut off his baby son
Ganesa’s head in a fit of
meeting place for a congregation, in the south especially it came to be a
jealousy; later in remorse he focal point of the community, publicly maintained by land grants,
placed an elephant’s head on which were often furnished by the ruling powers.
him. The myth points to the
conflicts and ambiguities in The heart of the temple is the dark, mysterious garbha grha (literally
the syncretic process. ‘embryo chamber’), evoking the mother’s womb, where one is meant to
34 HINDU ART AND ARCHITECTURE

feel the ‘unmanifest’ presence ofthe deity. From this numinous source
flow streams of energy outwards in all directions, a dynamic concept
that is central to temple design, as we shall see. The further one moves
away from this centre, the less sacred does the space become. Thus
depictions of the deity on temple walls are his/her ‘manifest’ forms
THE HINDU TEMPLE

Glossary of Hindu artistic and architectural terms
alasa kanya— languid maiden’, a mukhamandapa—main hall of temple
decorative female figure Nagara—North Indian, as in Nagara
amalaka—fluted, disc-shaped capstone temple type
of a Nagara tower, shaped like the nandi mandapa—a pavilion containing a
Indian fruit amla or myrobalan sculpture of Siva’s bull (Nandi), usually
antarala—antechamber to sanctum fronting a Dravida temple
ardhamandapa—portico of a temple nasi—gavaksa motif in Dravida temples
bho—decorative motif in Orissan nata mandapa—dance hall in Orissan
~ temples with two dwarfs flanking temples
medallion with monster regurgitating nataraja—the ‘Lord of the Dance’, a
garlands as a front projection on towers Siva image
bhoga mandapa—hall reserved for the pada—square unit of the vastu-purusa-
preparation and distribution of mandala
consecrated food in Orissan temples pancayatana—five-shrined temple
candrasala—complex decoration based panjara—vaulted apsidal motifin
on the gavaksa motif Dravida temples
darsan—the auspicious act of viewing a pidha—toof tier of Orissan temples
deity or superior personage prakara—high wall enclosing a temple
devalaya—the deity’s dwelling, temple prasada—the deity’s palace, temple
dikpala—guardian deities of the cardinal puja—titual of worship with flowers,
directions fruits, and food
Dravida—South Indian, as in Dravida ratha—wall division or projection in the
temple type elevation of a Nagara temple
garbha grha (‘embryo chamber’)— rekha deul—sanctum
sanctum or shrine | sala—a Dravida architectural motif in
ghana dvara—blind symbolic door often the shape of a barrel-vaulted roof
containing niche-deity sikhara—tower of a Nagara temple (but
ghanta—bell-shaped finial name for the finial in Dravida temples)
gopura—high pyramidal gate towers of srikovil—Keralan form of main shrine
Dravida temples sukanasa (‘parrot’s beak’) —a front
jagamohana—the mandapa in Orissan projection of a tower comprising an
temples image within a medallion, it is a widely
kirttimukha (‘face of glory’)—lion’s head used decorative motif based on the
with missing lower jaw as a decorative gavaksa that provides aesthetic relief to
motif placed mainly over door jambs of the tower’s symmetry
temples or on the front part of the tower tala—storey, tier of the vimana
kuta—an architectural motif in a vastu-purusa-mandala—symbolic
Dravida temple in the form of a square, ground plan determining architectural
domed shrine proportions
linga—emblem, Siva’s sexual organ vastusastra—architectural text
mahamandapa—great pillared hall Vesara—mixed temple style combining
following the mandapa northern and southern elements
makara—decorative motif based ona vimana—tower and sanctum in Dravida
mythical sea monster temples
mandapa—closed or open pillared hall vyala—decorative lion monster
preceding the sanctum

Hindus are divided into two rival, but not necessarily hostile, sects. The followers of
Vishnu (the Vaishnava branch) consider him as a life-affirming, solar god. The
earliest expression of Bhakti is Vishnu’s epiphany in the Bhagavad Gita where Krsna,
Vishnu’s incarnation, assures his devotee, Arjuna, of the power of devotion in
attaining salvation without the need for Vedic rituals. Later, Krsna becomes
associated with the cult of Radha/Krsna and the love between Radha (human soul)
and Krsna (God). Vishnu’s icons show his consorts, Lakshmi and Bhudevi, ona
smaller scale in comparison with him, reflecting Vishnu’s origin in the Vedic
patriarchal pantheon. By contrast, the Saiva branch is centred on the Siva/Sakti
dualism of two equal partners represented by their sacred coitus. Unlike Vishnu, Siva
is almost totally faithful to his wife, Sakti, the Great Goddess. She is the active one,
sakti meaning energy. Siva, the god of paradoxes, is phallus incarnate, but also its
opposite, the fiery celibate, underlining the binary opposition between ‘indulgence’
and ‘renunciation’. Siva’s sexuality represents life’s energy but he is also the lord of
death (not lord of the dead, who is Yama, a lesser god). Siva and Sakti are often
represented by the /inga and yoni, symbolizing their respective sexual organs; the /inga
and yoni together represent their sacred coitus.
The relationship between these three supreme deities and the devotee is mystical.
Unlike the Judaeo-Christian God, who is the absolute ‘Other’ in relationship to
humans, these deities, even though transcendental, manifest themselves in human
(and animal) forms, a paradox that enables us to relate to them. As arbiters of
salvation, they are legitimized by the following formula in the Puranas (sacred texts):
the Vedic gods, Indra, Brahma, and others, are periodically threatened by their
wicked cousins, the demons (asuras). In desperation they seek the help of either
Vishnu, Siva, or Devi according to the particular Purana. The saviour deity restores
righteousness in the world by crushing that particular demon.
(human and animal), his/her cosmic play (//a), less potent than the
main icon in the garbha grha, and usually combined with other deities.
The concept of the ‘unmanifest’ complements the doctrine of the ‘non-
dual’ in Indian thought. As ‘unmanifest’ godhead, the central image is
invariably either abstract or ‘unbeautiful’, revealing the otherness of
divinity. The installation rituals of Hindu deities go back to the late
Gupta text the Brhatsamhita. The development of the Agamas, ritual
texts, and especially the Pancaratra (Tantric) system in the fifth
century CE, led to elaborate rituals with metaphysical interpretations,
which went hand in hand with the rise of Tantric esotericism, a major
movement that rivalled Bhakti (see chapter 4).5
Gradually, more functional buildings such as pillared halls
(mandapa) and porticos (ardhamandapa) were added to the garbha
grha, which was surmounted with a tower (sikhara). Hindu temples are
broadly classified into northern and southern types. The earlier racial
classification, Aryan for northern and Dravidian for southern, has now
been discarded in favour of indigenous labels, Nagara and Dravida
respectively.° The distinction rests on the main features: the tower
surmounting the sanctum, the ground plan, and the elevation or
external walls. The Nagara tower (sikhara) has a gently sloping curve,
THE HINDU TEMPLE 37

Vishnu Siva/Sakti
Standard Human frontal figure holding four Human form holds the trident (frisu/a) or occasionally a
image weapons or emblems (discus, lotus, battleaxe or bow and arrow
mace, and conch shell). (Later e, Ardhanarisvara (androgynous image)
Pancaratra texts elaborate icons such as e Kalyanasundara or anugraha murti (benign, graceful
four-headed (man, boar, lion, and horse) image)
Vishnu as Vaikuntha, and a horse- e Samhara murti (fierce forms such as Bhairava)
headed incarnation, Hayagriva.) Aniconic /inga (either a phallus with 1-5 faces carved on
Aniconic sa/igrama(pebble-like formless it or the sacred coitus of Siva/Sakti (/inga—yoni)
stone) as in the Siva temple at the holy city of Benares)
Emblematic | Garuda, avulture-like eagle Nandin, a bull

animal
As saviour Ten incarnations in ascending order: e Siva Andhakasuramurti/Gajasuramurti (destroyer of

god 1 Matsya (fish); 2 Kurma (tortoise); the demons Andhaka and Gaja)
3 Varaha (boar); 4 Narasimha e Siva Tripurantakamurti (destroyer of the Demon
(man-tion); 5 Vamana (dwarf); 6 of the Three Cities)
Parasurama (Rama of the Axe); 7 Rama ¢ Siva Ravananurgahamurti (Siva forgives Ravan)
(hero of the epic Ramyana); ¢ The Descent of the Goddess Gaga (Ganges)
8 Krsna (of the Bhagavad Gita, regarded e Lingodvaha (a southern form in which Siva emerges
as the only full incarnation or God on out of a massive /ingawhose extent cannot be
earth); 9 Buddha; 10 Kalkin (the future fathomed by Vishnu’s bear incarnation or Brahma in
equestrian incarnation before the world’s the form of a goose
dissolution)
Other forms As creator sleeps, shaded by the serpent Dancing forms

of time (sesa/Ananta = ‘end/endless’) on e Nataraja (King of the Dance) as creator dances to the
the waters of oblivion after the universal end of time as the world collapses in a conflagration
flood. Brahma, the first man, who springs before its renewal
from his navel, is actually
the creator e Dancerof Katisama and Lalita, measured dances
with Vishnu’s permission e Tandava dancer (violent dance)
Sakti, the Goddess, or Devi, Siva’s partner as saviour deity

e The Goddess as Durga Mahisasuramardini,
the destroyer of the Buffalo Demon, rides on a lion
e The Goddess as Parvati, the beautiful daughter
of Himalaya
e The Goddess as Kali, the fierce black one
e Devi has the hideous Seven Mothers as her
companions
Two wives: Laksmi (goddess of wealth) Siva and Parvati are a faithfully married couple; scenes
Family and Sarasvati (goddess of learning) or of their marriage and gambling are often depicted in art
sometimes Bhudevi (earth goddess). The
smaller human size of the wives in Siva and Devi’s children Laksmi (goddess of wealth),
relation to Vishnu indicates their lesser emblematic animal: owl
importance. The most famous legend is e Sarasvati (goddess of learning), emblematic animal:
the love between Vishnu’s incarnation white Himalayan goose
Krsna and Radha (human soul) e Karttikeya (general of the gods, called Subhramania
inthe south), emblematic animal: peacock
e Ganesa (the elephant-headed god), emblematic
animal: rat
19
Bhakti deities and their
genealogies

20 with a fluted disc (amalaka) at the pinnacle. The Dravida tower
Nagara or North Indian temple (vimana) follows a dome and cornice pattern like a pyramid with
ly pe. diminishing tiers (/a/a), crowned by a square, polygonal, or round
(a ) Evolution of the North
In dian ground plan of the dome. The Nagara elevation consists of a series of projections (ratha)
garbha grhatrom the simple and recesses, whereas the walls of Dravida temples are superficially
square with three projections
similar to European buildings in being broken up by images within
(tri-ratha) to seven projections
(sapta-ratha), ultimately entablatures at regular intervals [20, 21]. However, temples in a
fo rming star-pattern ground number of culturally distinct regions, such as Kashmir, Bengal, and
plans.
Kerala, evolved their own variations on the canonical form. The
(b) The highly developed and
complex Kandariya Mahadeva temple is oriented in eight cardinal directions, each direction presided
te mople at Khajuraho, based on over by a deity (dikpala), though this is not always depicted. It is
a sapta-ratha plan [see also 45]
separated from the mundane world by a high, often richly moulded
In Nagara temples, if we take
th e simplest elevation ofa plinth. In South India, the temple is enclosed by protective walls with
triptych of projections and gate towers (gopura) marking the entrances. The architectural texts
recesses (tr/-ratha), the locus
(vastusastra) from the fifth century onwards tend to use the metaphor
of the deity would be the niche
the middle projection. of the body for the temple, while the tower is imagined as the cosmic
D =avida elevations, on the mountain Meru or, in temples to Siva, as his mountain fastness,
ot her hand [21], consist of
nj Kailasa.
che deities framed by
entablatures that break the
wall surface at regular Architectural materials
in tervals. The ornamentation
essentially follows the
Among the appealing aspects of Indian architecture is the use of a wide
contours of the temple walls. variety of materials, such as wood, brick (many examples of both being
THE HINDU TEMPLE 39

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Sanctuary (garbha grha) r yet Tee

Ard hamandapa §)
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¢ , 6 a 4 § See J
Gopura
BE
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Wey
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21 now lost), terracotta, and a variety of stone, ranging from pale yellow to
Dravida or South Indian red sandstone to grey granite, black schist, soft green chlorite, and
temple type.
As the ground plan and
brilliant white marble. Also distinctive, and unique to India, was the
elevation of the great method of building by placing dressed stone horizontally. Since mortar
Brh adisvara temple at
was rarely used, the stonemason’s art of cutting stone slabs with
Tanjavur demonstrate, South
Ind ian temple walls do not precision assumed major importance, as it did also in the long tradition
pro ject outwards like North of rock-cut architecture. These methods are sometimes seen as
Ind ian ones but contain a
seri es of niches placed at
‘primitive’ because they do not conform to European criteria, but their
reg ular intervals along the achievements are evident in the vast range of magnificent edifices they
wal Is, cf. 20. have produced.

Principles ofarchitecture
Canons of Hindu architecture came to maturity around the tenth
century in the great temples of the north and the south. Western
norms are so deeply entrenched in art history that they are taken to be
universally applicable and any deviations from them are regarded as
aberrations. Hence we need to be clear about the actual principles
governing the design and construction of Hindu temples, so that we
can appreciate their aims and achievements based on their own
criteria, rather than on extraneous ones. The Indian outlook on
architecture was so different from the European that art historians
have found difficulty in categorizing its forms. When scholars
complain that Indian architecture is uninventive, they tend to confuse
the ‘language’ of Indian architecture with its application. In western
architecture, the language is often a given, as for instance, the Graeco-
Roman language of orders, which hardly changed over millennia. Yet
much rich architecture came out of this vocabulary in the West.
Similarly, within the conventions adopted by Indian architects, there
was a great deal of novelty and development even though a conscious
ideology of progress did not inform their work.
As the use of western art historical terms is inappropriate to Indian
architecture, scholars have begun using Indian terms derived from
indigenous texts.? However, some western terms remain in use in the
face of difficulties, partly because Indian terms differ according to the
region. Secondly, discrepancies between theory and practice in
indigenous texts may escape our notice. One architectural treatise
classifies the soil on which houses should be built: white soil for
Brahmins, red for Ksatriyas, yellow for Vaisyas, and black for Sudras.*
Such impractical advice was given not by architects but by
Brahmanical theoreticians, as part of social control.
In Hindu architecture, the beauty and complexity of geometric
design, whose underlying principle is harmony, comes into play.
Buddhists prefer the circle, but in Hindu temples the square is the
perfect shape for the ground plan. The Brhatsamhita mentions rare
cases of circular and octagonal temples [22]. This compendium, which
dates from the sixth century CE and is the earliest text on temples and
images, selects two ideal ground plans, based on the grid systems of 64
(8 x 8) and 81 (g x 9) squares.? However, the ultimate choice of auspicious
proportions for the Hindu temple depended upon further astrological
calculations that left a remainder of a fraction. Finally, the underlying
connection between sexual rites and fertility in Hindu architecture is
emphasized during the consecration of South Indian temples.
The role ofornament

The most striking feature of the Hindu temple is its external
ornamentation, which is mainly confined to towers and elevations. In
THE HINDU TEMPLE 4I

22
(a) The vastu-purusa-
mandala.
(b) Ground plan of aHindu
temple builton a square grid.
A myth explains the symbolic
diagram (mandala): the gods,
in seeking to impose order on
chaos, forced the primeval
man, Purusa, into aSquare
grid, the vastu-purusa-
mandala, whose basic unit is
the square pada. The concept
is similarto the theory of
proportion in Renaissance
architecture: the harmonic
proportion resulting from a
repetition of the essential parts
ofa building, of the same
geometric pattern.
muzaH)
designing a building, the architect has to face the problem of breaking

up the wall surface, usually with windows and decorations. In a Hindu
temple, the three walls other than on the entrance side are decorated as
part of an integral plan, the architect being guided by the Hindu texts,
which describe these three sides as blind doors (ghana dvara), symbolic
exits marking emanations of the deity. The ghana dvara is often
visualized as a niche shrine containing a deity.”®
Ornament plays a central role in Indian civilization. Classical
Sanskrit delighted in similes, metaphors, puns, ironies, alliterations,
and other literary effects. The Sanskrit verb a/amkar, to decorate,
literally means ‘to make enough’. Ornament was a sine qua non of
beauty in India, and things lacking in ornament were considered
imperfect or, more precisely, incomplete."
Temple ornamentation ranges from narrative reliefs to animal,
floral, foliate, and geometric designs, all forming a coherent part of the
relief stonework. And none is more germane to temple design than
repetitive motifs based on architectural details, particularly the myriad
patterns derived from the Buddhist caitya window (gavaksa). In the
north, the gavaksa was transmuted into intricate honeycomb patterns,
creating a rich lace-like surface texture. The south used variations on
the gavaksa known as kuta, nasi, and panjara as well as profiles of barrel-
vaulted caityas (sala). In the north, two further motifs, derived from the
sikhara and the amalaka capstone, were used to considerable effect.
These repetitive motifs, be they kutas and salas in the south or
stkharas and amalakas in the north, obey clear geometric rules. Western
classical architecture’s emphasis on the facade contrasts directly with
the Hindu temple, which is conceived three-dimensionally. It is a
curious paradox that temples such as the Kandariya Mahadeva at

Khajuraho [20b] can only be fully appreciated today by being viewed
from the air. Also, the Hindu decorative motifs are not merely surface
configurations, but are themselves conceived three-dimensionally, so
that they emerge out of the very core of the sanctum in a series of
cascading forms [23]. The symbolism behind the Hindu temple is
23
Visv. a Brahma temple,
Alampur, seventh century ce.
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24 explained by Stella Kramrisch, who argues that it is a manifestation of
The sikhara of Kandariya
the deity in which divine energy radiates in different directions from
Mahadeva (Siva) temple,
Khajuraho, eleventh century the garbha grha. The fragmentation and proliferation of motifs on the
CE. elevation may be characterized as the external expressions of this
The sikhara incorporates a
emanation, embodied in the niche shrine mentioned above.”
clustering group of 84 smaller
towers, embedded at the Hindu designers developed a system which can best be explained
bases of projections, providing by the concept of ‘self-imaging’ developed by modern chaos theory.
a summit for each of the wall
projections beneath. Sharp
To offer an analogy, if one slices a cauliflower into two, the cross-
projections and deep recesses section of the florets will resemble a series of miniature cauliflowers.
create a dazzling interplay of These so-called fractals are ‘self-same’ in that they will look the
lightand shadow under the
strong Indian sun. The
same on every scale. Many of the greatest Hindu architects develop
Kandariya represents the this geometric principle of nature with remarkable virtuosity [24].¥
apogee of architectural ‘self- Hindu temples were products of invention and experiment, of
imaging’ in an orderly interplay
of fractals. conscious choices, problem solving, and accumulated technical
experience. They were the collaborative work of many individuals, led
by chief architects and master sculptors who ran workshops and were
well versed in the different arts and in the vastusastras and silpasastras,
and under whom there were numerous non-literate assistants and
ordinary labourers.
Full-blown Hindu temples, incorporating the principles described
above, took many centuries to evolve. The process can be divided into
two conceptually self-contained periods: an experimental period from
the fifth to the eighth centuries CE, when there was an absence of
consensus about the canon, and when rock-cut temples vied with
structural ones, the former developing complex narrative sculptures,
and a period of consolidation from the eighth to the eighteenth
centuries, when the widely disseminated canon became the essential
template for builders and patrons. This was when narrative art
gave way to cult icons, as structural temples totally superseded
excavated ones. Within this broad framework, architecture developed
differently in different regions, each producing its own chronology of
temple development, each providing different bits of the great
chronological jigsaw.
The age of experimentation (fifth to eighth centuries ce)
The Gupta beginnings

The Gupta period (320-467 CE) stood at the intersection of two
traditions: the maturity of Buddhist art and the genesis of the Hindu
temple. Professional builders, assigned the new task of creating Hindu
edifices, turned their knowledge of Buddhist architecture to
advantage. Not only the cai¢ya window motif (gavaksa) but the rock-
cut shrines themselves inspired some of the finest Hindu excavated
temples and narrative art as late as the eighth century, even though
structural temples were assuming increasing importance. The first
THE AGE OF EXPERIMENTATION 45

Hindu monument was discovered at Besnagar, a pillar dedicated to
Vishnu by the Greek Heliodorus in c.120 BCE, while the phallic Siva at
Gudimallam in South India was carved in c.80 BCE. By the second
century CE, flourishing workshops at the Kushan religious centre of
Mathura were fashioning Hindu images. However, the most striking
account ofa sculpture of a Hindu god comes from a foreigner, the fifth-
century Christian author Bardesanes:
They [Indian ambassadors] told me further that there was a large natural cave
in a very high mountain ... where there is a statue 10 to 12 cubits high ... the
right half of its face was that of a man and the left that of a woman ... in short
the whole right side was male and the left female ... the two dissimilar sides
coalesced in an indissoluble union ... though not wood it most resembled
wood, quite free from rot.
The description leaves no room for doubt that the great androgynous
deity is Siva, while the natural cave described here confirms the
existence of rock-cut temples (see below).
The germ of the Hindu temple is taken to be the rudimentary flat-
roofed temple No. 17 at Sanchi consisting of only a shrine, ascribed to
the Gupta period. Yet another Gupta edifice, the Bhitargaon temple,
shows great advances: it had a high northern tower, the three-part
projections on its walls contain niches with images, while its terracotta
makara and candrasala decorations faithfully follow the Brhatsamhita,
the late Gupta text.’ The identification of these two temples
displaying extremes of technical knowledge as being in the Gupta style
has raised the question of how meaningful this label is. Although the
dynastic label is useful in the absence of dated temples, the frequent
equation of the Gupta ‘golden age’ with artistic perfection is
problematic as we know very little about direct royal patronage. Few
25
Vishnu’s boar incarnation,
Udaigiri, fifth century CE.
This monumental vis ono
Vishnu’s boar incarnation, one
of 10 incarnations, was
inspired bythe sacred text the
Matsya Purana, which
describes him as full of lustre
like the sun, lightning, and
fire, raising up the earth
goddess on h is tusk from the
nether region s underneath the
ocean. The artist captures
with great ski |this cosmic
drama ofVish nu saving the
earth, as witnessed by
spellbound sages, his devotee
Sesha the serpent, and other
mythical crea tures.

26
Vishnu Anantasayana panel,
south side, Dasavatara
temple, Deogarh, sixth
century cE.
Sleeping Vishnu floats on the
waters ofoblivion, cradled by
the serpent Sesha/Ananta
(literally ‘end/endless’), the
paradox being emblematic of
time. Brahma, who sits ona
lotus sprouting from Vishnu’'s
navel, creates the universe on
his behalf. Vishnu’s wife
Lakshmi massages his right
foot, flanked on her left by
Vishnu’s emblematic animal,
Garuda. Personifications of
Vishnu’s weapons give battle
to the demons Madhu and
Kaitabha below, while his
monuments, if any, bear any dedication by the emperors. Nor do
other wife, Bhudevi, stands on
the far right. This cosmic ‘Gupta temples’ coincide with the lifespan of the dynasty. The label
spectacle is watched by other ‘Gupta style’ is thus less helpful in tracing the evolution of temple
gods.
architecture than other clues, such as the development of architectural
parts, notably doorways, pillars, and bases. The transmission of styles
from the second-century workshops in the Kushan centres of
Gandhara and Mathura to regional workshops has been proposed as a
more fruitful tool in tracing the evolution of the Hindu temple as a
continuous process.”
One of the most impressive Hindu shrines of the Gupta period, to
Vishnu’s boar incarnation, was carved out of the rock face at Udaigiri
in Malwa [25]. Vishnu as the cosmic boar saving the earth from the
ocean was possibly a political allegory of the conquest by the Gupta
emperor Candragupta II (376-415 CE) of the Scythian kingdom of
Malwa on the west coast. Not only did the conquest complete Gupta
control of northern India but it also gave them access to the lucrative
Mediterranean trade.”
The elegant, though damaged, sixth-century Dasavatara temple at
Deogarh, built at the end of the imperium, illustrates the achievements
of Gupta art and architecture. A west-facing, five-shrined
(pancayatana) temple, its main shrine is placed on a sculptured plinth,
reached by a flight of steps on each of its four sides. The recognizable
Gupta feature is the “T-shaped doorway’, which provided inspiration
for later Hindu temples. An unusual aspect of Deogarh is the set of
three framed niches, one on each of three sides, each containing a relief
of Vishnu as a saviour god. These niches were used to narrate Puranic
stories for the pilgrim’s benefit. The south niche, which depicts Vishnu
dreaming a new acon into existence after its cyclical dissolution, is the
most striking, its importance emphasized by the Ganesa on its left side
[26]. The image of Ganesa, whose blessing 1s essential for success in all

temporal and spiritual undertakings, marks the commencement of
the pilgrim’s ritual circumambulation in a Hindu temple. In this
unconventional west-facing temple, however, Ganesa is on the south
side, which suggests that pilgrims would circumambulate in an
anticlockwise direction.”
Regional art after the Guptas (sixth to eighth centuries)

The Gupta empire, which had offered temporary political cohesion to
North India, rapidly disintegrated in the wake of inroads made into
the subcontinent by the Hunas from Central Asia, although Harsha
(606-47 CE), the last North Indian emperor, maintained some
semblance of unity during his lifetime. The political fortunes of North
and South India diverged, bringing to the fore the regions and their
art. While Buddhism was shrinking elsewhere, it remained important
in Bihar and Bengal, where enormous monasteries thrived until the
thirteenth century.
The next stage in the evolution of the Hindu temple took place in
what was the south of the Gupta empire, namely the Deccan plateau,
where four rival dynasties competed for hegemony in the seventh
century, but none could maintain a permanent hold over the region.
The Kalacuri dynasty dominated the coast around Maharastra, the
‘Early Western’ Calukyas of Vatapi controlled Karnataka and the
Deccan, while the Pallavas from Tamilnadu in the south-east
periodically threatened their more northerly neighbours, the
Calukyas. Finally, in the eighth century, the Rashtrakuta kings enjoyed
a brief supremacy over the region.
During this period, monuments to Vishnu gave way to Saiva ones
(dedicated to Siva) in large parts of India, partly because of the
influence of the saint Lakulisa, founder of the Pasupata sect. Born in
Gujarat in around the first century CE, Lakulisa soon emerged as the
most important Saiva saint."? Pasupata iconography drew upon stories
of Siva as the saviour god in the Linga Purana, a major Saiva text.
Craftsmen who had worked at Ajanta during the Vakataka ascendancy
emigrated southwards as the demand for Hindu art and architecture
expanded there. Rock-cut monuments continued to hold their own
alongside structural temples.
Ambitious temples built in these different kingdoms in the Deccan
and ‘Tamilnadu have many common features as well as differences,
which raises questions of transmission of styles. The prevalent
explanation is that the rulers adopted each other’s styles, sometimes in
admiration, but often the appropriation of a style symbolized victory
over an adversary. However, the diffusion of styles through
interactions between rulers has been challenged as being simplistic.
The suggested alternative is the spread of styles via craftsmen who
moved from one regional workshop to another in search of work.?°

The Early Western Calukyas of Vatapi
The first temples in the Deccan were built in the four capitals of the
27 Early Western Calukya dynasty, founded in 543 CE. Aiholi, Vatapi
Durga temple, Aiholi, eighth (modern Badami, in Karnataka), Pattadakal, and Alampur were all
century CE.
embellished with sacred buildings and bathing tanks made of locally
Commissioned by a private
individual named
quarried sandstone. The setting of the Badami temples on an artificial
Komarasengama, its apsidal lake and with a massive bare boulder as a backdrop is particularly
form was identified as
arresting. The very earliest temples were the excavated royal shrines at
Buddhist by earlier historians,
though the form is now known Aiholi and Badami, which can be linked to earlier rock-cut
also to have been used by monuments in the Deccan. In the seventh century, a large group of
Jains and Hindus. The garbha
Calukya structural temples were built with a wide variety of tentative
grhais surrounded by two
ambulatory passages, ground plans, revealing the designers’ uncertainty as to where to place
including an outer colonnaded the garbha grha. At Aiholi, the first capital, for instance, the
one. The temple rests on a
high moulded plinth. The
experimental Lad Khan temple (c. seventh century) is a square pavilion
damaged three-projection resembling a thatched village hall, with the sanctum added as an
Nagara tower, previously afterthought. Although attractively decorated, it conveys the overall
interpreted as an afterthought,
iS now accepted as part of the
impression of heaviness, its massive walls carrying the weight of the
original structure. stone roof [27].”

The final Calukya capital, Pattadakal, exhibits the maturity of this
style. Despite seven temples out of a hundred being lavishly endowed
by members of the royal family, no ruling monarch directly
commissioned a temple. The Calukya kings seem to have been
reluctant to declare such public institutions as their personal property.
Two major temples, Sangamesvara and Virupaksha, express
architectural self-confidence, by now clearly enunciating the main
features of a Hindu temple, namely the sanctum and the front hall
preceded by a portico. They were commissioned as thanksgivings by
the queens of Vikramaditya 11, the two Kalacuri princesses, on the
occasion of the king’s victory over the Pallavas. The grandest,
Virupaksha, was dedicated by Queen Lokamahadevi in ¢.740 CE in
celebration of Vikramaditya’s third conquest of the Pallavas. Not only
do we know the name of the architect, but even the sculptor signs his
work, a rare expression of artistic individualism in ancient India [28].”
Virupaksha’s portal shows how temple entrances had undergone
further elaboration since the Gupta period, giving a new prominence
to the door guardians. The crowning beauty of its southern, tiered
tower is a sukanasa with a dancing Siva, which serves as a crest in front
of the tower and provides aesthetic relief to the symmetry of the tower.
The exterior walls of the temple contain 35 niches with sculptures
based on myths of Siva. It is finally enclosed by a high wall in the
southern fashion, with 30 sub-shrines and an incipient gopura. The
nandi mandapa, an elegant pillared pavilion which shelters a sculpture
of Siva’s bull, Nandi, was yet another southern invention.”
The Pasupata rock sanctuaries at Ellora and Elephanta

By far the greatest Hindu narrative sculptures of the experimental
period were completed in the rock sanctuaries of Ellora and Elephanta
28
Virupaksha (Siva) temple,
Pattadakal, eighth century ce.
Of red sandstone, it is served
by an internal ambulatory. The
16-pillared front hall
(mandapa) is noticeably wider
than the sanctum (vimana),
this being emphasized by
pillared porches projecting
from the hall. Because of the
temple’s importance to the
community, its inscriptions set
out the rights and obligations
of the individuals involved in
maintaining it. Inscriptions on
durable material such as stone
or metal served as legal
documents in India.

in Maharastra. A major pilgrim site since the early Buddhist period,
Ellora shared the same artistic tradition as Ajanta, as is suggested by its
pillar capitals and figure sculptures.** From the seventh century
onwards, the same artisans were employed by Hindu patrons at Ellora.
Although some outstanding Vaishnava art exists at Ellora, the greatest
narrative projects were inspired by the Pasupata worshippers of Siva
from the surrounding regions. Stories of Siva the redeemer, chiefly
based on the Linga Purana, gave rise to a highly dramatic form of
sculpture.
An outline of the evolving themes in Kalacuri, Calukya, and Pallava
monuments might help us grasp the underlying structure of early
Hindu narrative art as well as throw light on Pasupata patronage.
These were, first, Siva’s four saviour personae, as seen in his destruction
of the demons Andhaka and Gaja and the demon of the Three Cities;
his granting of grace to the demon Ravana; and his assisting the
descent of Ganga (the river Ganges). Secondly, there were scenes from
Siva and Parvati’s domestic life, namely their marriage and the game of
dice. Thirdly, there were Siva’s dancing forms, which are the most
ubiquitous in India, and can be found in Caves, 14, 15, 16, and 21 at
Ellora. The myth that tested the artist’s skill and imagination to the
utmost was Siva’s destruction of Andhaka. In Cave 15, the power and
frenzy of the eight-armed Siva, who impales the demon on his trident,
is evident even in its damaged state.
In 540-55 CE, on the island off the coast of Mumbai (Bombay)
named Elephanta by the Portuguese in the sixteenth century, a Siva
temple, displaying a remarkable unity of artistic conception and
execution, was completed. The Kalacuris, the reigning dynasty, were
Pasupatas but there is no direct evidence of their involvement in
Elephanta. This ancient site may have originally contained images of
perishable material but because of its great sanctity this ambitious and
durable temple complex was eventually built.** The temple adapts the
Buddhist vihara of the Ajanta type, with a central hall and a shrine
placed against the rear wall. Unlike Ellora, where the sculptural panels
are treated individually in the caves, here at Elephanta the temple and
its iconographic programme form part of a coherent whole [29, 30, 31].
There is a strong suggestion that the plan was provided by a Pasupata
patron.”
If Elephanta offered a compelling vision of Saiva mythology, the
Kailasanatha temple (known as Cave 16) at Ellora was an edifice of
great power and nobility, an architectural wonder. The designers
fashioned an entire temple out of the living rock, in emulation of Siva’s
mountain fortress, Kailasa. To sustain the Kailasa illusion, they even
carved under the temple the scene of Ravana being trapped by Siva
under his mountain seat.
A project that necessitated the organization of resources on such a

it
Ue
Key to the sculptures at Main. hall West wing shrine Main hall shrine
Elephanta 1 Ravana 6 Marriage 10__Lord of Yogis 12 Linga
2 Gambling Scene 7 Andhaka 11 Siva Dancing
3 Androgyne 8 Siva Dancing
4 Eternal Siva 9 Lord of Yogis
5 Ganges
grand scale was intended by the short-lived Rashtrakuta dynasty to be

a political statement, as an inscription on the temple makes clear. In
753-4 CE, Dantidurga made Ellora his capital soon after asserting his
supremacy over the Calukyas. His successor, Krsna, who humiliated
the other great power, the Pallavas, celebrated his triumph by
commissioning this Siva temple, an undertaking that took 15 years and
was completed just before his death. Craftsmen from neighbouring
Calukya and Pallava regions enriched Kailasa with their expertise.”
The interplay of the temple’s massive yet simple forms and delicate
reliefs is remarkably effective [32]. The architects carved the temple
out of a huge boulder, first separating it from the surrounding rocks
and then possibly working from the top downwards, thus avoiding
the need for enormous scaffolding. Its unusual design was prompted
by the desire to create a powerful visual effect within a confined space.
In order to prevent the temple from being perceived all at once, a
lofty and solid front screen conceals it from view, forcing one to enter
§2 HINDU ART AND ARCHITECTURE

29 through its modest central opening. Once inside, pilgrims found
Plan of Siva temple at
themselves in an excavated area shut in by sheer rock faces and cave
Elephanta, sixth century ce.
The unique plan of this temple
temples. To enhance the effect of grandeur, the whole temple is placed
shows close links between on a 27-foot-high base with the actual temple laid out on the upper
architectural design and
level. The king personally engaged a sculptor named Baladeva to
iconographic programme. The
temple’s east-west path leads contribute to the project, though his work cannot be isolated from that
to the non-manifest /inga in of other sculptors. Among the wealth of sculptures, one in particular
the sanctum, while the
engages our attention: the myth of the goddess Durga destroying
north-south route ends in the
great Eternal Siva image on the Buffalo Demon is one of the most animated treatments of the
the rear wall [30]. Nine theme [33].
prominent narrative panels on
key themes, based on the
Linga Purana, are placed
along the ambulatory path to
remind the pilgrim of Siva’s
play (/i/a) in his human forms.
His dual nature—
male/female, tranquil/fierce,
dancing/reposeful,
creator/destroyer—is
expressed in contrasting pairs
of images: the north wall
displays Siva’s dancing and
ascetic forms; the west and
east walls have his saviour
figures, granting grace to
Ravana and slaying Andhaka
[31]. The domestic themes of
Siva and Parvati's marriage
and the gambling scene also
face each other. Finally, Siva
androgyne and the descent of
Ganga (Ganges) are placed on
either side of the great three-
faced Siva image.
30
The Mahesamurti, Elephanta,
sixth century Ce.
The Eternal Siva’s central
impassive face is a sculpture
of great nobility and expressive
power. It is complemented by
the feminine (vama) on the left
and the fierce (aghora) on the
right. The image has been
known in the West since the
sixteenth century as the
‘Indian Trinity’.

31
Siva, slayer of the demon
Andhaka, Elephanta, sixth
century CE.
This sculptural group is
arresting in its restrained
ferocity. In the myth, the
demon Andhaka was virtually
invincible, for thousands of
Andhakas sprang up the
momenta drop of his blood fell
on the ground. Siva destroyed
him by lifting him up and
placing abowl under him to
collect the blood from his
wounds before it fell to the
ground. In this cosmic act,
Siva was aided bythe
frightening Seven Mothers.
The iconography alludes to an
additional myth: the slain
elephant demon’s skin acting
as Siva’s veil behind him. The Pallava temples of Tamilnadu
The earliest temples in Tamilnadu in South India were built by
the Pallava kings, who originated in Andhradesa. They sent
expeditions to Sri Lanka and traded with China and South-East
Asia. Their capital, Kanchipuram, a major cultural centre, was
visited by the Chinese pilgrim Xuanzang in the seventh century.”
Royal patronage in Tamilnadu was systematic and ideologically
oriented. Pallava monarchs sought to legitimize their rule by naming
specific royal temples after themselves and declared their allegiance to
Siva by adopting the Somaskanda iconographic type (showing Siva
with his wife Sakti and son Karttikeya) as their dynastic emblem.”
Gradually, a complex relationship grew up between temple, king,
and community.
The first Pallava temples were cave shrines near the seaport of
Mamallapuram, which had been a centre of trade since Roman
times. Among them, the “Durga and the Buffalo Demon’ cave is one
of the most accomplished. The first structural temple, known as
the Shore Temple, was built by Narasimhavarman 11 Rajasimha in
c.700 CE [34].
In contrast to this tentative building, in his capital at Kanchipuram
Rajasimha built the majestic Rajasimhesvara temple, popularly known
as Kailasanatha. The royal temple was not only named after him in
accordance with a growing practice, but the legitimizing process can be
discerned in temple inscriptions that made public pronouncements on
the ruler’s interests and personality. The most ambitious temple of its
time, it so charmed the monarch’s Calukya enemy that he spared it and
may even have introduced its advanced style into his own capital [35].
The temple’s base is granite, but the superstructure is of sandstone and
brick covered in plaster. It is difficult to imagine today what the temple

32 looked like originally, when it was richly painted and contained a
Kailasanatha (Siva) temple, wealth of frescoes. The arrangement of the subsidiary deities and the
Ellora, eighth century ce.
A pancayatana (five-shrined)
guardians of the directions shows the spread in the south by this time
temple in Karnata-Dravida of architectural treatises and iconographic texts, their importance
style, bearing marked endorsed in this royal edifice.*°
similarities to the Virupaksha at
Pattadakal [28] and the
Kailasanatha at Kanchipuram The canonical period (eighth to eighteenth centuries ce)
[see 35]. The sanctum,
The final phase in the development of the Hindu temple, that of
crowned by a receding four-tier
Dravida tower, is surrounded structural temples, occurred between the eighth and eighteenth
by an open-air ambulatory. The centuries in North and South India, with the tenth century providing
hall (mandapa) is held up by
the defining moment. Now a perfect balance was struck between scale
16 pillars in groups of four
forming across, with three and aesthetics at three of the greatest temple sites, Tanjavur in the
porticoed projections in front south, Bhubaneswar in the east, and Khajuraho in central India. In
and at the sides.
temple decoration, icons incorporated within an overall conception of
THE CANONICAL PERIOD 55

33
Durga, slayer of Mahisa,
Kailasanatha temple, Ellora,
eighth century ce.
The youthful goddess rides into
battle on her mount, the lion,
bearing the weapons given to
her by the gods who had
created her. Artists interpreted
the myth in two different ways:
the common one shows the
vanquished Buffalo Demon
lying prostrate at Durga’s feet.
The more dramatic approach
presents the actual battle
scene when the outcome is as
yet uncertain. No relief
matches the dramatic intensity
of this scene with bodies
strewn about in the battlefield
while the young goddess
confronts her proud adversary.
34
The Shore Temple,
Mamallapuram, c.700 ce.
The shrine, containinga /inga,
faces east in the direction of
the Indian ocean. The
unusually elongated tower and
the visibility of the /inga from
the ocean suggest that it was
seen from the ships that sailed
to South-East Asia. Facing
west are two additional
shrines, one to Siva and
another to Vishnu. The model
for the temple was probably
the Dharmaraja Ratha, one of
the ‘experimental’ monoliths
adjacentto it, because its
proportions conformed to the
vastu-purusa-mandala.

35
Rajasimhesvara/Kailasanatha
(Siva) temple, Kanchipuram,
eighth century ce.
Built on a developed Dravida
plan, the rectangular walled
enclosure contains other
typical southern features: a
water tank, nandi mandapa,
early gate towers (gopura),
and numerous sub-shrines
along the enclosing walls. The
tower of the sanctum is made
up of closely layered tiers
(talas). It shelters a basalt
linga, behind which are
sculptural reliefs, marking the
birth of asouthern tradition.
The southern elevation is
elaborated here with
pilastered entablatures
containing monumental
sculptures, including over life-
size graceful and ferocious
Siva figures and rampant
lions.
the sacred space replaced the narrative mode of the experimental

period. This may reflect the greater use of ritual texts, such as the
Agamas, and possibly the decline of outdoor ambulatories. In the early
period, pilgrims read the sculptures as they circumambulated outside,
rather than inside, the temple. Finally, the Agama texts themselves are
proof of the widespread influence of esoteric Tantric cults from
Kashmir in the north to Tamilnadu in the south.
Southern temples (eighth to eighteenth centuries)

‘THE IMPERIAL COLAS AND THEIR SUCCESSORS
Few Indian rulers matched the Cola kings in their political use of art.
Not only did they ritually desecrate their rivals’ temples but they used
their own temples to make unequivocal statements about political
hegemony. The greatest imperial power in South India, by the tenth
century the Colas had reached the borders of the Rashtrakuta kingdom
in the north, replacing brick temples with grander stone ones as they
went. Rows of temples were built on both banks of the Kaveri river to
mark their growing power.” Crowned in 985 CE, Rajaraja 1 (“King of
Kings’) was the only Indian monarch to carve out an overseas empire,
establishing his second capital at Pollonaruva in Sri Lanka. Cola art
and architecture in South India was the product of a prosperous,

36 highly efficient empire during the period of its greatest territorial
Rajarajesvara/Brhadisvara expansion.
(Siva) temple, Tanjavur,
eleventh century CE. Rajaraja I built the royal Rajarajesvara temple, known today as the
This 216-foot-high Pasupata Brhadisvara temple, in his capital at Tanjavur. Its many inscriptions
temple towers above the Cola
make clear the triumphalist nature of the edifice [21, 36, 37]. It was
capital. One of thetallest
temples, its every part was recently identified as a royal funerary monument but the weight of
designed for maximum effect. evidence seems to go against this hypothesis.» The temple took 15 years
The conspicuous tower
consists of 15 closely stacked,
to build (995-1010 CE) though Rajaraja did not live to see its
diminish ing tiers ending witha completion. Its construction was partly funded by war booty and
massive capstone of a single tributes from Sri Lanka. It also received gifts from the emperor, his
block of granite above a gilded
base. T e kutaand sala
queen, and officials. The numbers of architects, accountants, guards,
ornaments are on a grand and functionaries and the names of numerous temple dancers, as well
scale, wi th elaborate fan as details of the land revenue allocated towards its maintenance, were
shapes |n the middle portion
(all three decorative motifs engraved meticulously on the temple walls and formed a public record
playing on the gavaksa form), of the affairs of this institution central to the Cola capital. As in
and are accompanied by
Pallava architecture, the richly moulded granite base of the vimana
forbidding kirttimukhas.
holds up brick upper storeys to reduce the overall weight. The
elevations of the handsome two-storeyed, corniced sanctum contain
six deep niches flanked by pilasters, within which are heroic Siva
figures. The interior is equally imposing. The two-storeyed sanctum,

37 lit up by central openings, shelters a massive /inga, surrounded by a
Rajarajesvara temple,
profusion of sculptures and murals—the earliest depictions of classical
Tanjavur, isometric drawing
showing section. dance poses (aranas)3+
The temple, laid out as a By common consent, the finest Cola masterpieces are the bronze
Dravida padmagarbha-
images of Siva Nataraja (Lord of the Dance), admired by the French
mandala of 16 x 16 squares,
contains all the southern sculptor Auguste Rodin, among others, as epitomizing Hindu
elements—sanctum civilization.* ‘They were carried in procession during festivals as
(vimana), great hall
surrogates for the fixed image in the sanctum, reflecting the
(mahamandapa), front hall
(mukhamandapa), and importance of festivals in South India from as early as the second
antechamber century BCE, the ‘golden age’ of the Sangam period [38, see also 16].3°
(ardhamandapa)—inside a
fortified and moated
After the Colas three tendencies dominated South Indian temple
rectangle. The sanctum is building until the modern period. First, temples increasingly turned
approached by a majestic into sacred cities, demonstrating the growing importance of the
staircase. The temple contains
multiple shrines and a nand/
temple as the pivot of the Tamil rural community. These vast precincts
mandapa atthe temple are worth studying as much for their spatial organization as for their
entrance while over life-size social and economic roles in society. The temple-cities had a powerful
door guardians in inner
gopuras anticipate later Nayak impact on rural hinterlands, with money and land being donated to
versions. priests, who as large landholders invested in village irrigation works
centring on tanks.3”7 Secondly, dance assumed an even greater
importance in temple sculpture, underlining the importance of temple
dancers. Finally, gopuras overtook actual temples in size and
importance. The sacred city of Cidambaram, a complex of multiple

38
Parvati, bronze, Cola period,
c. eleventh century ce.
Dravida culture created a
recognizable ideal of beauty,
which consisted of slender
bodies and narrow elegant
faces, as exemplified by Siva’s
consort Parvati. Although this
ideal appeared in stone
sculptures early on, itreached
perfection in the free-standing
Cola bronzes. These portable
metal icons, cast bythe ‘lost
wax process’ in conformity
with art manuals and ritual
texts, belonged to temples.

39
Plan of four inner enclosures,
Vaisnavite temple city,
Srirangam, thirteenth to
seventeenth centuries.
Srirangam is one of the more
developed temple cities in the
South of India.
shrines and halls, sanctified by the legend that Siva danced there,
attained its present form in the thirteenth century. The temple
compound expanded greatly to become a 55-acre rectangle enclosing
four precincts, their streets oriented towards the temple as the
symbolic heart of the universe. The reliefs at Cidambaram offer an
encyclopedia of dance poses accompanied by literary quotations.*
Although Siva seems to have inspired the finest art and architecture in
South India, the Ranganatha at Srirangam—the largest temple complex
in the south, which was completed in the seventeenth century—aptly
reminds us of the importance of Vishnu worship in ‘Tamilnadu. The
sacred city, built on a north-south axis and occupying three times the area
of Cidambaram, was designed in seven concentric rectangles as
prescribed in the texts. It is dotted with 21 gopuras, including the four
incomplete ones, which would have been the largest [39].°

Tue Nayak PERIOD
40
Gopura, Minaksi-
The last major temple-building activity took place during the rule of
Sundaresvara (Siva-Sakti) the Nayaks, who enjoyed primacy in the south after the fall of
temple, Madurai, seventeenth Vijayanagara in 1565. (Vijayanagara is discussed later, in chapter 5,
century CE.
These gaily painted, multi-
because although late Hindu its architecture cannot be fully
storeyed brick and stucco gate appreciated without taking note of Islamic forms.) Temple complexes
towers, crowned by barrel on an ever grander scale were built under Tirumalai Nayak (1623-59),
roofs, rise to great heights,
dwarfing the main shrine. familiar to us from his life-like portrait sculptures. The most elaborate
Emerging as shrines within Nayak temple was the twin-temple complex at Madurai; the better-
Dravidian temples, the
known one, dedicated to Minaksi, the Great Goddess, is known for its
gopuras originally had
ambulatories as in garbha gopuras [40].4°
grhas. This temple enclosure The outcome of advanced technical skill, these majestic towers are
also boasts a large, stepped
‘tank of the golden lilies’,
the considerable achievements of a civilization whose artistic taste is so
multi-pillared pavilions, and different from the European that colonial historians, led by James
long, covered corridors in Fergusson, have felt impelled to condemn them as products of cultural
addition to the cluster of 11
gopuras, the four outer ones decadence.*' The unanswered question is, why do gopuras increase in
being the tallest. size the further they are from the sanctum, completely dwarfing it?

A tentative explanation, based on the notion of purity versus pollution
that is central to the Brahmanical religion, may be offered here. In a
temple, the cult image in the garbha grha is surrounded by a hierarchy
of deities, with minor ones at the outer periphery, all arranged
according to a scale of purity. The aim is to protect the sanctum from
worldly pollution. If these gateways, which are accompanied by high
walls, are to serve as symbolic barriers to pollution, the higher they are,
the greater the chance they have of being effective. The other
characteristic Nayak structure was the gallery of ‘a thousand pillars’,
first introduced in Vijayanagara, whose most opulent instance is the
seventeenth-century corridor at Rameswaram at the southern tip of
the subcontinent, decorated with royal donors in poses of supplication.
Northern temples (eighth to thirteenth centuries)

OrIssa
From the eighth century CE, Nagara styles in the north began evolving
in parallel to the Dravida styles in the south. Orissa on the east coast
and an area covering Gujarat/Rajasthan and central India represent
two related but distinct styles. We know virtually nothing about
Orissa until the seventh century CE, except for Asoka’s conquest of
the area, followed by the exploits of the legendary king Kharavela.
Gupta temple art arrived there in the wake of a dynastic marriage
between Orissan and Western Calukya rulers in the eighth century.
The Pasupata sect, which had inspired Karnata-Dravida monuments,
had spread to Orissa by this time, inspiring major temples.** Unlike
those of much of the north, Orissan temples have largely survived,
so that their evolution can be clearly mapped, especially in terms of
the progressive richness of architectural divisions, mouldings, and
sculptures.
While working with northern elements, Orissan architecture
developed its own typical features: gavaksa nets, languid female figures
(alasa kanyas), love-making couples, vya/as (decorative ‘lion-monsters’
trampling elephants), and, above all, the 40. Two unique additions to
the Orissan temple design, dating from around the tenth century, were
dictated by social needs: the hall for dispensing consecrated food
(bhoga mandapa), and the hall for temple dancers (ata mandapa), the
latter becoming an integral part of temple ritual and sacred sexuality.
Even today, Orissan temple dancers at the Jagannatha temple in Puri,
who are called ‘slaves of god’ (devadasis), are ritually married to the
deity and to his living incarnation, the god-king of Puri.*° This social
practice, which made devadasis sexually available to kings and priests,
came under the disapproval of the British Raj, which sought to save
them from their ‘depraved’ lives.
Bhubaneswar was the major site of the Pasupata temples. ‘The
eighth-century Parasuramesvara temple introduces typical Orissan

41
Rajarani temple,
Bhubaneswar, eleventh
century ce.
The contrast between the
elaborate sanctum (rekha
deul) and the plain front hall
(jagamohana) with a
pyramidal roof of diminishing
horizontal bands is dramatic.
The rekha deus finial is an
‘Orissan’ fluted amalaka
capstone but its multiple
projections are closerto the
Gujarat-Rajasthan style [see
24]. The temple is enriched
with two bands of elegant
figure sculptures, including
erotic ones, and a complete
set of guardians ofthe eight
quarters, a rare feature. The
sanctum and its central image
niches are now empty. features: the elaborately decorated sanctum contrasts with a plain front
hall; horizontal bands (pidha) decorate the roofs; and amalakas and
gavaksa segments at the corners of the stkAara do not disturb its plain
sloping contours. Orissan temples attain self-confidence in around the
eleventh century CE. An intimate style informs the gem-like, red
sandstone Rajarani temple (1000 CE) [41]. With the twelfth-century
Lingaraja temple the Orissan style acquires a solemn grandeur. The
use of grey stone, rather than the more common red sandstone,
emphasizes the austerity of the Pasupata shrine [42]. Unlike other
major temples, the surprisingly sparse embellishments of the sanctum’s
outer walls make the tower all the more imposing. The roof of the front
hall (jagamohana) has now evolved into two levels of pidha tiers with a
recess in the middle, while its fluted, bell-shaped finial (ghanza) has
42 acquired considerable elegance. The temple, originally containing only
Detail of tower, Lingaraja (Siva) the sanctum and the pillared hall, gradually incorporated two more
temple, Bhubaneswar, twelfth
structures, the hall for consecrated food and the dancing hall,
century CE.
Despite the generous use of indicating the growing complexity of temple rituals. The Lingaraja’s
horizontal bands, replica importance is reflected in the numerous shrines within a walled
towers, and corner amalakas
enclosure, in the southern fashion.”
on the sikhara in a self-
imaging process, the designer Although Orissan style reached its pinnacle in the twelfth-century
forces us to pay attention to Lingaraja temple, our study of the style cannot be complete without
the sheer verticality of its plain,
slightly curving profile. The
considering the thirteenth-century temple to the sun at Konarak,
bhoornamental medallions on situated near the coast, the late, stunning achievement of the Nagara
the tower act as a light relief to style. Young Nrsimhadeva I (1238-64 CE), who undertook the project
its stern demeanour. They are
an ornate gavaksa design with
at his mother’s behest, decided to surpass all previous achievements.
a kirttimukha regurgitating According to the Mughal historian Abul Fazl, many thousands of
garlands flanked by a pairof
workers were engaged on the construction of the temple, which took 12
dwarfs, an Orissan invention
with some affinities with the years. Although Surya is not one of the great saviour gods, the
sukanasa. continuing strength of his cult since Vedic times is demonstrated by

Sata
\i
>>

the spectacular temples built in his honour. It is intriguing that he is
the only god to wear boots, high ones made of leather, a polluting
substance in the eyes of Hindus (southern versions are barefooted).
Perhaps his cult hada Parthian or Kushan connection?
One may infer Konarak’s political importance in the extensive
portrayals of Nrsimhadeva in the temple, including that of his spiritual
initiation, which hints at the legitimizing function of such a temple.
The increased use of the dance hall for spiritual discussions, as well as
the growing importance of the temple dancers themselves, was turning
Orissan temples into the focal point of communal life.” However,
tensions between royal ambitions and the temple’s role in society were
often just below the surface. It is significant that the king never speaks
of his great project at Konarak; we know it only from his descendants.°°
As with other examples of Indian architecture we have encountered
so far, the temple’s actual scale is less important than the monumental
conception realized by means of proportions. In fact, from a distance,
the five-projection jagamohana looks rather squat. But as one gets
closer, the building slowly unfolds itself at each stage until we reach the
entrance doorway [43]. Above the austere portal is a panel representing
the nine planets. The three diminishing tiers of the roof pyramid
consist of separate and elaborately developed horizontal bands
(pidhas). It is significant that the recesses between them have now been
enlarged into wide terraces, where over life-size, free-standing
sculptures of women musicians and dancers have been placed at regular
intervals. ‘These, some of the most powerful in Indian art, celebrate the
temple dancers. Three Surya icons are housed in the central niches of
the damaged sanctum, enabling us to guess what the bronze deity in
the garbha grha looked like. The profusion and variety of sex acts on the
‘Black Pagoda’ shocked Victorian sensibility.
KHAJURAHO
Some 25 temples in the remote village of Khajuraho, known to tourists
for their erotic sculptures, constitute the crowning achievement of the
western and central Indian style. After the emperor Harsha’s demise in
647 CE, North India splintered into numerous small kingdoms, as the
three great powers, the Rashtrakutas of the Deccan, the Palas of
Bengal (c.760-1142), and the Gurjara-Pratiharas (710-1027) of north-
central India, began to cast a covetous eye towards his capital at
Kanauj. The Gurjara-Pratiharas, whose dominance was brought to an
end in the eleventh century by the Turko-Afghan invader Mahmud of
Ghazni, are known for their open pavilion temples. However, the
greatest development of the Gurjara-Pratihara style took place not in
their territory, but at Khajuraho, the capital of the small Candella
kingdom of Bundelkhand. Khajuraho was a flourishing cultural centre
where poets, grammarians, and playwrights rubbed shoulders with

43
Temple to the Sun (Surya),
Konarak, thirteenth century ce.
This was imagined asthe
chariot of the god drawn by
seven horses across the
horizon. Today only the
Jagamohana remains fairly
intact, its heightat 100 feet
greater than the garbha grhas
of earlier temples. Its 12 pairs
of giant wheels, representing
the 12 months, are set in bold
relief with decorations ordered
hierarchically. Even the
spokes of the wheels include
images of love play, and the
bottom of the plinth carries a
narrow frieze of marching
elephants.
affluent Jain merchants and court officials. Extensive monastic

establishments exercised considerable social power, encouraging lavish
spending on temples.”
Between goo and 1150 CE, some of the finest Nagara temples were
constructed in Khajuraho. The first major royal edifice, the Laksmana
temple (954 CE), was built by Yasovarman to celebrate Candella’s
independence from its Gurjara-Pratihara overlords [44]. The image
installed by him in the garbha grha, and consecrated by his son Dhanga
Deva, was a metal four-faced Vishnu (Vaikuntha) image brought from
Kashmir, which was later replaced by a stone one. Khajuraho was a
centre of various Tantric sects, and the icon in Laksmana suggests the
spread of the Pancaratra Tantric rites, which influenced the placement

44
Laksmana (Vishnu) temple,
Khajuraho, tenth century ce.
The five-shrined
(pancayatana) temple,
designed bythe architect
Chhichchha, contains the
main features of the style:
entrance porch
(ardhamandapa), hall
(mandapa), great hall
(mahamandapa),
‘* yqdaaagaaaaae
antechamber (antarala) and
towered sanctum. Khajuraho
temples stand ona high
terrace, their height enhanced
by a steep decorated plinth.
The roof over each building
goes up in stages, enhancing
asense of cascading
verticality. An ambulatory in
the Gujarat-Rajasthan style,
with open balconies,
of images in the temple. The deities that occur both in the interior and
surrounds the temple. An the exterior of the temples were interpreted, we know, as emanations of
inscription imagines that the
the main icon. Khajuraho developed a symmetrical iconographic
temple rivals the Himalayan
peaks. programme that arranged the emanating deities in different
hierarchical orders as well as in complementary pairs in conformity
with ritual texts. The temple testifies to the primacy of the new
iconographic imperative over monumental narrative throughout India
by this period. The Agamas, which endorse Tantric rituals, give a new
gloss to the sectarian Puranas. In this system, Vishnu and Siva/Sakti
clusters of deities often coexist in pairs. But at the same time, in a
Vishnu temple such as this, although there is a plethora of Saiva
deities, they would ultimately be subordinate to Vishnu, the final
arbiter of redemption here. Siva in his turn will be supreme in a temple
dedicated to him. The temple interior is sumptuously sculptured and
the doorway attains a great richness here. The two main registers
between the tower and the base contain the main figure sculptures,
among them scenes of everyday life, ‘languid women’ disrobing or
admiring themselves in the mirror and, finally, erotic scenes.
The Kandariya Mahadeva temple, built nearly a century after
Laksmana in the reign of Vidyadhara (1017-29 CE), has many similar
but more developed features [24, 45]. Where this Siva temple differs is
in its tower, which rises above a seven-projection (sapta-ratha) shrine.
The interior contains over 200 figures, their iconography conforming
to the Sarva Siddhanta, the more orthodox Tantric sect, as compared
with the Kaula Kapalika cult (see chapter 4). In contrast to the
unmanifest /inga in the sanctum, the ‘manifest’ forms of Siva and other
gods are arranged hierarchically on its three interior walls along the
ambulatory. The most enigmatic of the images is a phallic form of Siva
with six heads and four legs. Outside, the sculptures in the middle

45 registers are of women in various poses and scenes ranging from love-
Kandariya Mahadeva (Siva) making couples to group sex and bestiality. Scholars disagree over the
temple, Khajuraho, eleventh
century ce. significance of the erotic scenes, since many of them cannot be
This seven-projection temple identified as Tantric.
is the culmination ofthe style.
Here verticality is even more
striking than in Laksmana and
each part more elegantly
realized and details of
sculptures and other
decorations more refined,
expressing a sense of
grandeur and nobility. [See 24
for its remarkable tower. ]

Minority Iraditions,
Ideal Beauty, and
Eroticism
The three artistic traditions outlined in the first part of this chapter
illustrate how the dominant canon was radically modified in response
to religion, culture, and environment. Their peripheral position may
have contributed to their relative neglect among scholars. The
chronology in each case is specific to that region since each follows its
own historical trajectory.
The Hoysalas ofthe Deccan (eleventh to fourteenth centuries CE)

The mixed (Vesara) temple styles of the Deccan were a reflection of
their exposure to northern ideas. Among them, the Hoysala temples
are arresting in their exquisitely carved grey-green steatite exteriors,
their towers of modest height, and their star-patterned ground plans.
During the ascendancy of the Hoysala empire in the twelfth to
fourteenth centuries, kings, queens, the court, merchants, lower
officials, and the affluent Vaishnava community were all active patrons.
Vishnuvardhana (c.1108-42), who was converted to Vaishnavism by the
saint Ramanuja, built a fine Vishnu temple after defeating the Colas.
However, out of over a thousand temples, royal involvement has been
identified in only 35.
Partly because of its late period, Hoysala art offers us information
about the social position and aspirations of Indian artists not available
anywhere else. Although Hoysala sculptors worked collectively as
members of guilds, the profusion of signed sculptures in Hoysala
temples raises important questions about artistic individualism. The
topos of artistic rivalry, a reflection of higher social aspirations, is
suggested by inscriptions in which artists boast about their work and
about surpassing other artists.’ The work of Mallitamma, a leading
sculptor, is so well documented that we have a clear idea of the style
and quality of his output within the constraints of local guild
conventions. His was a curious case, for he was not the most talented
sculptor, but he was celebrated for having participated in all the major
projects of the time, identifying every single work produced by himself
over 60 years in all the regions.’
Why did Hoysala artists sign their works? First, the name,
Detail of 50 Mallitamma for instance, was probably that of the workshop master
71
: “ aati ar OY eae a rae 2
ro ’ 3 : 3
5
ire
ae WB
ie ate Se
Pore
peeks Gee
Pe =a
alli,
Sends
a= iS iss ae:
oh aeaia af ? Sih
ey,
46
Kesava (Vishnu) temple, uniformity of the Hoysala style was the result of a long training that
Somnathpur, thirteenth
century CE.
included learning by heart basic designs drawn on stone. The artist’s
This finest example of the status was predictably low, but some of them who lived in well-known
Hoysala style was built for a centres managed to acquire social respect and status, moving around
king's general in the greatest
period of the empire. The the empire to work on the public projects that were in high demand. K.
Hoysala dual shrine expands Colleyer suggests that by designating themselves acaryas, a term
here toa triple-shrine
usually associated with Brahmanical teachers, the lower-caste
structure, each shrine with an
antechamber, but all sharing workshop masters were seeking to improve their status in what is
one spacious front hall. The known as the process of ‘Sanskritization’. In accordance with
star-pattern ground plan (a
development of the northern
Brahmanical values, education was a criterion of higher status. The
elevation) is repeated from the apprentice spent time in the master artist’s household much like the
base right through to the low Vedic student under a Brahmanical guru. However, the status of the
towers of the sanctum.
Mimicking this pattern the sculptor was subsumed within the hierarchical system consisting of the
monumental figures are temple, the king, and the priest [46].
arranged like folding screens
with six bands offriezes
depicting humans and Kashmir (eighth to fourteenth centuries CE)
animals at the bottom. The vale of Kashmir, sheltered by the Himalayas, belonged to the
cosmopolitan milieu that stretched as far as Gandhara and Bactria.
72 MINORITY TRADITIONS, IDEAL BEAUTY, AND EROTICISM

47
Temple to the Sun, Martand,
Kashmir, eighth century ce.
This temple was conceived on
avast scale, with 81 small
shrines emanating from the
central image in the sanctum.
Its entrance, which rests ona
high plinth, is through a
towering double gateway. The
sanctum is preceded by a
pillared hall, flanked in turn by
double shrines on either side.
The pitched roof tradition in
Kashmir was dictated by
climatic conditions, while the
Roman-style fluted columns
and pilasters continued the
Gandharan-Bactrian heritage. Even though Hinduism gained prominence by the eighth century,
Kashmir, the site of the fourth Buddhist council, continued to be a
centre of Buddhism until its conversion to Islam in 1339 CE. Politically
and culturally its finest period was the eighth-century reign of
Lalitaditya Muktapida. His lavish patronage, funded by military
expeditions into northern India, was recounted by the great twelfth-
century historian Kalhana. Lalitaditya not only built impressive
monuments such as the massive cai¢ya at Parihasapura, but, according
to Kalhana, he erected the ‘wonderful shrine of Martanda, with its
massive walls of stone within a lofty enclosure’ [47].4
By Lalitaditya’s time Kashmir had become a stronghold of Tantric
practices. Tantric Buddhism produced angry deities, such as
Vajrapani, representing the mysterious powers of transcendent
knowledge. Hindu Tantric systems, the Saiva Siddhanta, and the
Vaisnava Pancaratra cults also flourished here. The Pancaratra
tradition produced the four-faced Vishnu Vaikuntha image
characteristic of Kashmir [48].’ Both the Buddhists and the Hindus of
Kashmir commissioned bronzes, including colossal ones, during
48 Lalitaditya’s reign.°
Vishnu’s Vaikuntha image,
Kashmir, eighth century CE.
Kerala (sixteenth to eighteenth centuries CE)
The Pancaratra tradition
produced the four-faced Kerala, on the south-west coast of India, was renowned for its overseas
Vishnu Vaikuntha image. This trade with East and South-East Asia and with the West. The heavy
is based on the four
emanations (vyuhas): the
pitched roofs of Keralan temples can give the impression of Chinese
frontal human form, architecture. This, along with the fact that Keralans had trade contacts
Vasudeva, is flanked on the with China, has led scholars to suggest a Chinese influence on its art
left by the boar, Pradyumna,
and on the right bythe lion,
and architecture, but this is doubtful. It can be argued that the roofs
Sankarsana, while the rear had a protective function in a region known for its torrential rains.
represents the demon What is clear is that Keralan art shows contacts with Tamilnadu and
Aniruddha.
Karnataka.’ The temples usually consist of several buildings within a
walled enclosure. The main shrine, the srzkovi/, can be square,
rectangular, apsidal, or circular. While the base is often of stone in the
MINORITY TRADITIONS, IDEAL BEAUTY, AND EROTICISM 73

southern tradition, the superstructure is of wood or brick, covered with
a tiled roof. Temples are sometimes double-roofed, as is the case at
Vettikkavalla. The Dravida tradition is evident in the walls of the Siva
temple at Ponmeri with its rows of pilastered niches for elevations. A
particularly distinctive type in Kerala is the circular temple. The
Vatakkunnathan temple to the syncretic Hari-Hara (Vishnu-Siva) at
Trichur, although founded in the eleventh century, was rebuilt many
times [49].°
In Kerala wooden sculpture is preferred to stone. The paintings on
the outside and inside walls of the srzkovils are full of vitality and power,
notably in the Padmanabhanswami temple at Padmanabhapura and
later ones in the Mattancheri Palace in Cochin. The Vishnu from the
palace shows the Keralan style at its most vivid [50].°
Jain art and architecture (third to thirteenth centuries CE)

The patronage of Jain merchants rivalled that of royalty. These
powerful urban merchants often acted as bankers to monarchs. Like
the Buddhists, they embraced an anti-Brahmanical faith. Jainism was
founded by the Ksatriya Mahavira (c.599-27 BCE), the last of the 24 Jain
saints, who were named jima (conqueror) for having broken the chain
of karma. Once an important force in the subcontinent, today Jains are
mainly confined to Gujarat, Rajasthan, and Karnataka. The sect
steadfastly maintains its belief in the sanctity of life through
vegetarianism, while its strict moral code includes the denial of sensual
pleasures. Paradoxically, this very austere religion was embraced by a
community renowned for its affluence.”
49
Vatakk nnathan temple to
Hari-Hara (Vishnu-Siva),
Trichur, eleventh century ce.
The tem ple consists of three
srikovils , two circular and one
square, with square interiors,
acommon Keralan feature.
The two sets of overhanging,
‘hat-sha ped’ plain-pitched
roofs ac as a protection
against he rain.

50
Vishnu, wall painting,
Mattancheri Palace, Cochin,
sixteenth/seventeenth
century cE.
The three-quarter and frontal
faces are painted with wide
open eyes; bright reds,
emerald greens, and oranges
are the dominant colours.
Light shading of the outlines
lends solidityto thefigures.
Dressed in the attire of the
Keralan Kathakali dance
drama, the figures are pressed
together within confined
spaces, their elaborate
ornaments filling the gaps.
The paintings are reminiscent
of the kalamkari fabrics from
the neighbouring Kalahasti
region.
Unlike Buddhists, Jains adopted the Hindu temple form but put it
to different usage. Rather than being the dwelling of a deity, it was the
temporal representation of the heavenly hall where the 24 Jain
‘conquerors’ assembled. Although the Jains erected sumptuous
temples at Khajuraho, their most striking temples are of white marble
and belong to the Solanki period in Gujarat- Rajasthan (950-1304 CE),
when they became kingmakers." The finest examples are from the Jain
temple city on Mount Abu in Rajasthan, sanctified by its association
with the Jain teacher, Mahavira. Exquisite carvings in these near-
translucent white marble temples appear inside, their plain exterior a
protection against Turko-Afghan attacks [51]. Apart from temples,
other striking structures unique to the area are the complexes of step-
wells elaborately decorated with sacred sculptures.”
Images of Jain saints resemble the Buddha, except that they are
totally naked, the only completely nude male figures in Indian art, as
for instance the colossal image of Bahubali at Sravana Belgola in
Karnataka. The Jains adopted several Hindu gods, more as aids to
meditation than as objects of worship: Sarasvati, the goddess of
learning, and Ambika, the Tantric deity, are the most popular. In the
later period, Jains specialized in sacred topographical paintings (see
below forJain painting)."
MINORITY TRADITIONS, IDEAL BEAUTY, AND EROTICISM 75

51 Notions of beauty
Luna Vasahi temple, Mount There are two central issues to be addressed here: the canon of beauty
Abu, c. thirteenth century ce.
Dedicated to one of the 24
and the role of the erotic in ancient Indian art. Few aspects of non-
Jain saints, it was built by European art have posed greater problems for the western art
Tejahpala, a wealthy minister historian, raised on the universalist canon. Confronting very different
to the Bhagela dynasty in
Gujarat. Particularly standards of beauty in Indian art, the art historical response has often
remarkable are the delicate been to claim that Indian religious art is not concerned with ‘carnal’
decorations, especially those
beauty as such but with ‘higher’ spirituality. In fact, this is belied by
representing the 16 slender
goddesses of knowledge, on numerous religious hymns which graphically describe the physical
the domed ceilings. beauty of the goddesses. Apart from the fact that the western canon,
which purports to be universal, is culturally determined, the
interesting question is not what Indian art shares with western art, but
in what ways it is a unique tradition with its own cultural rules. The
aesthetics that art historians take to be ancient Indian is actually that of
a male high culture that influenced art and literature and streamlined
diversity by ignoring marginal traditions. Likewise, it has been the
classical canon that has been dominant in the West and that has had
such a profound influence on art criticism.

Ideals ofbeauty
Classical and Indian aesthetics share certain ideas, which, for instance,
Far Eastern art does not. In ancient India, as in Greece, the idealized
human body was the measure of all things, inspiring, above all,
architectural proportions.’* Both societies imagined gods to be the
bearers of sexuality, beauty, grace, and power. But whereas the Greek
gods were utterly human, the many-armed Siva Nataraja inhabited a
very different world of thought, at once human and transcendental (see
chapter 3). So what were their respective ideals? The Greeks extolled
athleticism, the young Kouros embodying the divine ideal. Even the
nude goddess Aphrodite, a latecomer to the scene, turned to the male
figure for inspiration.’ However, if Greece was more homoerotic in its
ideal, it was female sexuality that was obsessively celebrated in Indian
literature and art. Part of the reason may lie in the different religious
outlooks of these two essentially male-dominated societies. But
neither in Greece nor in India did women have a decisive say in
aesthetic matters, as they were largely confined to the home. One of
the interesting aspects of Indian culture is that women are represented
both as an object of the gaze and as part of the sacred—so are feminist
critiques applicable here, since women are central to sacred art as the
focus of sexuality and auspiciousness?” It is interesting that the opulent
Venus Naturalis was a threatening form of sexuality in the West.
Ancient Indian poets such as Kalidasa delighted in describing such
52
Vriksaka (tree goddess),
Gyaraspur, twelfth century ce.
In India, the nude originated in
nature deities, the yaksis,
bearers offertility magic. The
literary trope of trees needing
the touch of anubile girl to
blossom connects sexuality
with auspiciousness.
However, sculpture went far
beyond fertility, creatinga
feminine ideal that mediated
between literature and art,
though both probably
reflected Indian norms.
NOTIONS OF BEAUTY 77
53
Siva Ardhanarisvara,
Vikrampur, c. twelfth
century ce.
In this androgynous image of
Siva, the male-female
difference is emphasized by
partitioning the figure into two
halves, with the
characteristics of each sex
carefully highlighted,
including the gender
differences in personal
ornaments.
nubile beauties: ‘Slim, youthful, with the eyes of a frightened doe, fine
teeth and red lips like the dzméa fruit, slim waisted, deep-navelled,
slowed down by the weight of the hips and bent by her full breasts, she
is the best of her gender created by god’ [52].'” This voluptuous ideal
underwent substantial modification, however, in different parts of
India, especially in the south.
The contrast between the western classical and the Indian ideal is
perhaps best demonstrated in their notions of bisexuality. In the

classical hermaphrodite, the sexual differences were blended in a
‘unisex’ image.” In the Siva Ardhanarisvara image, on the other hand,
the male/female difference was in fact emphasized by partitioning the
figure into two halves, with the characteristics of each gender
meticulously highlighted [53].
Erotic art
In the case of the erotic sculptures in Hindu temples, art historical
interpretations reveal a basis in Christian thinking on sexuality. Faced
with public displays of private acts, including oral sex, group sex, and
bestiality, above all in a temple, scholars felt obliged to search for their
‘hidden’ meaning. This is because such images could not be reconciled
with an essentially modern, western outlook. But this search for
meaning stems from our assumption that sex is a ‘natural’ act, whereas
no human activity could be more culturally conditioned.” To answer
libertarians, for instance, who admire Hindu erotic art as an expression
of a ‘natural’ society, ancient Indians were no more liberated than we
are. It is simply that their notions of ‘decency’ differed from ours. So
instead of starting with our views of what is ‘sexually’ acceptable, we
need to rediscover the specific normative boundaries of ancient Indian
civilization, and the boundaries between the sacred and the profane.
For, even phallic cults such as that of the Siva /inga were never taken
entirely literally by Indians, who responded to them on multiple levels
of meaning.’°
The obsessively erotic art of Khajuraho and Konarak gave these
sites their notoriety in colonial and modern times. Yet, what is
forgotten is that loving couples first appeared as early as the first
century BCE in Buddhist monuments at Bhaja and Bedsa. Couples
routinely adorned temple doorways from the Gupta period onwards
[54]. However, sexual scenes began to proliferate only from the tenth
century, as Hindu art and architecture reached their peak.” Earlier
interpretations, that erotic sculptures were allegories of higher spiritual
ideas, were simply transposing Christian interpretations onto
Hinduism. It is not that a cult like that of Radha-Krsna did not
represent love allegorically; it is simply that sacred coitus on temple
walls cannot be explained allegorically. The view that it was a product
of social decadence simply endorsed colonial prejudice against
Hinduism.” Some of these sculptures had a clear protective function.
Links between fertility, sexuality, and the auspicious are strong in
Hindu society.* A study of the dancers at the temple of Jagannatha at
Puri, one of the most sacred sites of Hinduism, shows convincingly
their ‘auspicious’ sexual role within the religious context.** According
to a recent work, erotic figures in Khajuraho are placed at meeting
points of buildings as a protective device, playing on a visual pun
between juncture and copulation. Another work claims that they
EROTIC ART 79
54
The Kiss, Kailasa temple,
Ellora, eighth century ce.
This delicate erotic image
forms part of the decoration,
possibly as an auspicious sign,
though until the tenth century
erotic figures did not
proliferate in temples.

celebrate the marriage of Siva and Parvati. This hypothesis cannot,
however, apply to the majority of these sculptures.”
A serious contender in this respect is the esoteric Tantric creed,
which rivalled Bhakti in its powerful hold on Indian society,
irrespective of whether one was a Buddhist or a Hindu, or even aJain.
Tantrics sought to gain spiritual fulfilment by acquiring power through
social transgressions, including ritual sex. However, apart from some
clearly identified Tantric images—symbolic images such as the yantra
and sri cakra—many of the erotic sculptures in temples are too general
to be representations of precise Tantric rituals. Perhaps one should
abandon the search for a grand theory and interpret these erotic scenes
in the contexts in which they occur.
There are, however, interesting connections between Tantra and
sacred eroticism. Brahmanism faced two major challenges from within
the Hindu religion: Bhakti and Tantra. Bhakti offered direct access to
God without the intervention of Vedic rituals. The rival to Bhakti was
Tantra, which developed a set of esoteric rituals including sexual
practices, which were at once a parody of and a challenge to
Brahmanical rites. Tantrics broke social taboos though panca ma-kara
(the use of five prohibited substances and acts), in which the
participants ritually denied caste distinctions.*° Tantric beliefs were
widespread in India from Kashmir down to Tamilnadu, though they
were ignored in the colonial period, especially by European
orientalists, who preferred the more intellectual Upanishadic
philosophy, the exception being Sir John Woodroff.””
It is no accident that women played a dominant role in the Tantric
Kaula Kapalika cults. Yoginis or female ascetic-sorceresses were feared
because of their association with Tantric practices. Yogini temples
became widespread in north India from the tenth century CE. They
had a distinct circular structure open to the sky, possibly suggesting a
spatial translation of the yogini cakra (ritual circle) or the female vulva.
The temples to 64 yoginis in Orissa contained mostly animal-faced
yogini figures, arranged in a circle in niches and facing a Siva shrine in
the centre. The exceptions were the royal temple of 81 yoginis
belonging to the Kalacuri dynasty in Bheraghat and Khajuraho’s
rectangular 64-yogini temple.”
The mother cult

Prehistoric north-west India was part of a large swathe extending from
the Indus valley to Asia Minor where a matriarchal religion of sexual
cults and sacred prostitution was practised. The Great Mother, the
pregnant goddess of fertility, was worshipped throughout the world in
her sheltering, protecting, and nourishing character.” This cult was
suppressed by the Aryans, who brought their own male-centred
pantheon to India in 1800 BCE. Even though recent research has shown
EROTICART 81
that Vedic rituals contained sexual allusions, the general Vedic dislike
of sexual cults is revealed in their contempt for the phallic gods of the
non-Aryans.°°
The mother cult continued at folk level in the worship of small
terracotta figurines. However, her influence can be seen on the margins
of temple art, in the decorative ‘monsters’, makara, kirttimukha, and
vyala (the last a rampant leonine monster), described as different
masks of the pre-Aryan goddess. The feminine principle re-emerged
with explosive force early in the first millennium in connection with
the rise of the Siva-Sakti cult, which might have been prefigured in the
Indus civilization. It is quite remarkable that while women had an
inferior status in Hindu society, on the level of belief they played a
dominant role. The supremacy of the Goddess is expounded in
different myths. In the myth of Durga, the gods, when they felt
powerless against the Buffalo Demon, relinquished their weapons to
her in a symbolic castration. The Great Goddess is paradoxically a
virgin mother. Her companions are the horrific seven mothers
(saptamatrika), central to Tantric thought.*
Neumann describes the mother as the ‘Freudian’ unconscious, but
there could be a more subversive role for the Goddess: challenging
Aryan, male rationality. The Goddess is the mother who nourishes,
but is terrifying if her anger is aroused. Nothing expresses the
antithesis of the male construct of rationality better than the elemental
figure of Kali, the dread goddess. When she goes on the rampage, she
literally lets her hair down, her ‘unbound’ hair signifying cosmic chaos,
as she becomes unstoppable in her pure nakedness.33 Married women
in India are admonished to tie their hair, for loose hair is a sign of
inauspiciousness, in other words a threat to the social order. Finally, in
the symbolic opposition between the right and the left in the collective
thinking of many cultures, the right hand represents maleness, speech,
intellect, and, above all, the sacred. Conversely, the left (simis¢ra in
Latin) stands for the sinister, night, death, the chthonic, the profane,
and threatening aspects of sexuality. In Sanskrit too vama not only
means left but also a woman, and finally the Goddess. It makes perfect
sense that the Kaula Kapalika Tantric practice is described as left-
handed in relation to established rituals.3+ In short, it is in these
subversive aspects of Indian thought that we may seek to uncover the
‘enigma’ of Hindu erotic art.

Part II
Indo-Islamic Art
and Architecture
(¢.712—-1757 CE)
=~
ED
x Wet 4
An ae
The’lurko-Afghan
Sultanate of Delhi
(1206-1526 CE)
The arrival of Islam forced a crisis of conscience in Hindu and

Buddhist civilizations, bringing to an end the first chapter of Indian
history. The rise of the Arabs under Islam in the seventh century
profoundly altered power relations in the vast land mass stretching
from Spain in the West to the borders of China in the East. The Arabs,
and the Turks and the Mongols after them, founded cosmopolitan
empires, virtually cutting off Europe trom world trade along the
lucrative Silk Route and the Mediterranean. The monotheistic Islamic
civilization, essentially extraterritorial and a blend of diverse pre-
Islamic elements—Greek philosophy, Roman architecture, Hindu
mathematics, and the Persian concept of empire—deeply affected the
societies it came to rule. The Arabs had arrived in Sind (in modern-day
Pakistan) by 712 CE but little remains of their brief occupation. The
common assumption that Islamic mosques were built in India only
after the Turkish conquest in the twelfth century has been challenged
by recent research. Not only were mosques built in the eighth century
by the Arabs in Sind, but pre-conquest mosques existed in the wealthy
Gujarati port of Bhadreswar—the local Jain rulers, trade partners of
the Arabs, had allowed the resident Ismaili merchants to build
mosques in the area.’
From the tenth century, the northern plains of India were convulsed
by the raids of the neighbouring Turks and Afghans, who were lured
by the legendary wealth of the temples and won control in 1206 CE.
The regions that stood in the path of the Islamic war machine
suffered most. Buddhist and Hindu monuments disappeared almost
overnight, the first mosques being built with their debris. The Turks
and Afghans were the latest in the waves of invaders that had been
entering India since antiquity. However, the crucial difference was the
new phenomenon, Islamic monotheism, which brought an egalitarian
ideology that struck at the very roots of the Hindu caste hierarchy. The
Detail of 67 oppressed lower castes flocked to the crescent banner, which promised
85
Glossary of Islamic and Rajasthani architectural and artistic terms
bangala—curved roof derived from hkundan—technique of setting precious
Bengali huts stones
caravanserai—enclosed courtyard madrasa—centre of learning
functioning as an inn | masid—mosque
chahar bagh—symmetrical four-square | _mibrab—prayer niche in the gib/a wall
Persian garden divided up by water minbar—pulpit from where the Friday
channels that meet at the centre ' sermon is delivered
chhatri—kiosk dome resting on pillars mugbara—mausoleum
citrera—Rajput or Pahari artist muragga—decorated albums of
diwan i-khass—private audience hall miniature paintings
diwan i-amm khass—public audience pat—painted scroll depicting a narrative
hall patua—painter of a pat
hammam—public bath with hot, cold, picchwai—painted cloth hanging as
and warm chambers decoration behind an icon (Rajasthan)
haveli—Rajput and north Indian pishtaq—high, usually central portal
residential buildings set around a gibla—the side of a building that points
courtyard towards Mecca
iwan—vaulted hall, crowned byadome | ragamala—aset of paintings inspired by
and fronted by an imposing portal musical modes—ragas and raginis
Jharoka—ceremonial balcony where | takhti—wooden board for practising
Mughal emperors appeared before their | drawing
subjects tarkhan—carpenter
karkhana—artisan workshop, including | zanana—women’s quarters
that of painters
them personal dignity and social equality. Essentially pragmatic, the

young Sultanate of Delhi soon forged a working relationship with the
indigenous population. In general, the country enjoyed stability under
the Sultanate. The pilgrim tax and poll tax (jazzya), imposed on
Hindus and Jains, were the only reminders of their subordinate status.
A new architecture
The sultans were prolific builders. Islam introduced the mosque
(masjid), the mausoleum (mugbara), the centre of learning (madrasa),
and the covered inn (caravanserat) to India. Secular architecture, in
the form of palaces, fortresses, and gardens, underwent considerable
modification in accordance with Sultanate requirements. These
changes radically altered the skyline in northern India, where mosques
of elegantly spare design, relieved by abstract ornaments, replaced
temples. The Tamil south (which remains almost entirely Hindu even
today) continued to build temples decorated with figure sculptures.
These temples, often of soaring height, were built essentially by the
‘horizontal method’ ofplacing successive layers of stone one above the
other. Even the ‘arches’ were based on the trabeate method of posts and
lintels. A different form, the pointed arch, which spanned wide spaces
with elegance and created lofty vaults, was the contribution made by
Islam to Indian architecture.‘ Islamic architecture effortlessly blended
86 THE TURKO-AFGHAN SULTANATE OF DELHI (206-1526 CE)

P
wit
1 Original symmetrical plan (1200) 5 Qutb Minar (after 1200)

_ ; 2 First enlargement (1210-1229) 6 Unfinished minaret (after 1310)
0 3 Second enlargement (1295-1315) 7 \ltutmish’stomb (1236)
ad ue ie gooitest 4 'Alai Darwaza (1305)
55 universal elements, such as the dome and the arch, with the local
Quwwat ul-lslam mosque,
genius of Arabia, Iran, North Africa, Spain, Central Asia, and South
Delhi, ground plan, from
1206. and South-East Asia. The early Indian masjids looked to such famous
At its most basic, the mosque models as the Great Mosque in Damascus and the Seljuk madrasas of
isa n open quadrangle that
Iran. Yet it is their South Asian features that gave them their unique
accommodates the faithful
during prayer, and is flavour. As imported labour was costly, Indian craftsmen were hired
surrounded on three sides by whose use of Hindu temple mouldings in mosques reflects the
pillared cloisters, inspired by
‘empathic’ response of local craftsmen to Islamic requirements.‘
the Prophet's house. The
sermon Is delivered from the The mosque is the anchor of the faith, its origins remarkably
pu pit, called the minbar. The simple. The only requirement for a Muslim is to turn towards Mecca
qibla, the side pointing
towards Mecca, contains the
while praying (to the west in the case of the subcontinent) [55]. In 1206
wa led recess known asthe CE, the founding Sultan, Qutb ud-Din Aybak, embarked on the first
mihrab. Later, the mihrabwas congregational or Friday mosque (jami masjid), the Quwwat ul-Islam
rea ched through the wan, a
vaulted hall fronted by an
(“Might of Islam’) in Delhi, which had been chosen as the seat of the
imposing portal. Sultanate. Not only was it imperative to accommodate the sizeable
Muslim congregation swollen by recent converts, but the young
Sultanate was expected to impress non-Muslims in India and to rival
Muslim powers abroad. ‘The mosque’s large courtyard was marked on
the west side by an arcade whose ‘unkempt’ appearance was the result
of the use of disparate columns from 27 demolished Hindu temples. It
was the lofty Qutb Minar, attached to the Quwwat, that emerged as
the spectacular monument of the Sultanate. Its immediate inspiration
ANEW ARCHITECTURE 87
56
Sultanate buildings, Delhi,
thirteenth century.
(a) (left, background) Qutb
Minar, thirteenth century,
height 219.9 feet.
The four diminishing storeys of
the minaret are broken by
projecting balconies, each
differently designed with
combinations of engaged
columns, flutings, and star
patterns. The red stone acts as
a foil to the ornamental bands
with elegant carvings of
foliage, scrolls, and, above all,
Arabic inscriptions extolling
slam’s triumph over
unbelievers. Interestingly,
ater Indian craftsmen
inscribed details of their work
in Devanagari (Sanskritic
script) on the pi lar.
(b) right, foreground) Alai
Darwaza, fourteenth century.
The vaulted hal inside is
crowned with a ow dome,
while its arched portals on four
sides are echoed in the
smaller mock arches with
perforated stone screens. The
combination of red sandstone
and marble panels anticipates
later Mughal work, while
Timurid decoration is
substantially modified by the
Indian lotus.
was the minarets of Afghanistan, admired by Aybak, but its obvious

Indian feature is its deep red sandstone surface. In Islam, minarets are
ostensibly for the muezzin to call the faithful to prayer. But from
Seville to Samarqand, in lands where non-Muslims predominated,
these high towers became symbols of the might of Islam [56a].°
It may seem strange that such assured works could be produced
within 50 years of the founding of Muslim rule. But regardless of their
own religious persuasion, Indian builders were professionals whose
flexible skills had already served Buddhist, Hindu, and Jain patrons.
Admittedly, in the case of Islamic architecture, they had to learn an
entirely new vocabulary, but they were able to adjust their skills in the
light of new requirements. Indeed, the reputation of Indian builders in
the Islamic world led to their conscription by sultans for work in their
main cities, most famously in Samarqand.”? However, the continued
use of the post and lintel system in Indian Muslim buildings even as
late as the Mughal period, the preference for dressed stone rather than

brick, and the richness of the decoration (albeit abstract now) betray
the unmistakable hand of the Indian craftsman.
In the next centuries the only additions to the Quwwat were exten-
sions of its large courtyard, while architectural energies were expended
elsewhere. Sultan Ala ud-Din Khalji (1296-1316), who saw himself as a
second Alexander, planned a minaret that would dwarf the Qutb. All
that is left of this grandiose project is the harmonious 18-metre-high
victory gateway. In keeping with the sultan’s mentality, the inscriptions
sing his praises rather than the customary encomium to Allah [56b].*
Urban planning
Between 1320 and 1388, Muslim architecture became considerably
indigenized, as the Tughlaq sultans standardized building practices by
setting up a department of architecture and initiating bold experiments
in urban planning. In Delhi, Sultan Muhammad bin Tughlaq (1325-51)
not only expanded the citadel of Tughlaqabad and built the urban
complex of Jahanpanah, he was also the first Delhi sultan to try to
control the Deccan by raising an impregnable fortress capital at
Daulatabad. The huge administrative citadels within cities, notably
Tughlaqabad, were protected by crenellated walls of rubble masonry
faced with painted stucco. The north African explorer Ibn-e-Batuta
marvelled at the beautiful paintings and mosaics in Muhammad’s
‘Palace of A Thousand Pillars’.» An open-minded intellectual,
Muhammad sought to consolidate his empire with Hindu support,
taking part in Hindu festivities and lifting the ban on the construction
of temples.
Muhammad's nephew, Firuz Shah (1351-88), was more ambivalent
about his relationship with the Hindus since his mother was most
probably a Hindu. He raised the city of Firuzabad and undertook the
construction of public buildings as a pious duty, accepting the conser-
vation and restoration of buildings and the upkeep of workshops
(karkhanas), gardens, and irrigation canals as a royal responsibility. The
emergence of Delhias the intellectual capital of Sunni Muslims can be
attributed to Firuz, for he built the largest madrasa of the period. Why
the pious sultan commissioned a curious three-tiered pyramidal build-
ing, surmounted with an Asokan pillar, is not entirely clear. Brought to
Delhi from a great distance by boat, this ‘symbol of idolatry’ was
prominently displayed in the capital.’°
Mausoleum architecture
The most original Indian contribution to Islamic architecture was the
royal mausoleum, a visible emblem of royal authority. And yet, by
incorporating the mihraé in its design, the mausoleum never failed to
remind the faithful of the ruler’s piety even in death. The tomb was
an image of Koranic earthly paradise, a garden watered by the four
ANEW ARCHITECTURE 89
57
Ghiyas ud-Din Tughlaq’s
mausoleum, Delhi, fourteenth
century.
The red sandstone and
marble mausoleum is placed
inside a pentagon-shaped
fortification, in the midst of a
lake, reached by a causeway
resting on arched piers.
Flanked by four lofty doorways
on its four sides, the tomb’s
rubble and masonry structure
is faced with marble and red
sandstone, the marble dome
making its first appearance in
India.
celestial rivers. This promise of what lay beyond was made clear in an
inscription in the early sultan Iltutmish’s tomb. First appearing in
Islamic Egypt, the design of a sepulchre set in a lake or a garden was
to be taken to supreme heights in the Taj Mahal." The Sultanate
mausoleums, originating in the Turko-Iranian domed square tombs,
but developing into an octagon decorated with Indian motifs, were
soon emulated by those of court officials, provincial governors, and
sundry pretenders. The first landmark in tomb architecture was Ghiyas
ud-Din Tughlaq’s elegant mausoleum [57]. By contrast, the pious
Firuz’s tomb was a square pile of rubble and masonry crowned with a
shallow dome. Somewhat forbidding, though graceful, it reflected
Firuz’s suspicion of ostentation.
After Firuz, building activities suffered a setback following the
devastation of Delhi by Timurlang, except for the rise of open pavilion
tombs—slender square or octagonal structures, resting on plinths and
supporting kiosk domes (chhatris), set in the midst of lush parks. The
mausoleum that took the octagonal tomb to its pinnacle came,
fittingly, at the close of the Delhi Sultanate. This was the stately
grave of Sher Shah, a brilliant soldier of fortune, who ruled briefly in
Delhi after driving the Mughal emperor Humayun out of India. The
sepulchre, designed by Aliwal Khan, was meant to exalt this ruler of
humble origin [58].”
Provincial sultanates (fifteenth and sixteenth centuries)

During the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, as the centre lost its grip
after Firuz Tughlaq’s death, the provincial viceroys began asserting
their independence, establishing themselves in Multan and Gujarat in
the west, the Deccan in the south, Jaunpur in the north, and Bengal in
the east. They initiated ambitious architectural programmes, their
gO THE TURKO-AFGHAN SULTANATE OF DELHI (1206-1526 CE)

58 immediate inspiration being metropolitan Tughlag architecture, out
Sher Shah's pavilion tomb,
of which a remarkable variety of styles emerged in response to local
Sasaram, Bihar, 1530-40.
This, the largest tomb of its conditions. At Jaunpur, for instance, a great cultural centre, the
time (145 feet high and 229 triumphal portal of the zwan (domed hall) in the Atala Masjid (c.1394)
feet wide), ison an island in an
attained the scale of the monumental pylons of Egypt. On the other
artificial lake reached by a
causeway, the lake reminding hand, the mosques of the Ahmad Shahi dynasty (1408-1578 CE) in
believers to quench their thirst Gujarat made full use of rich temple decorations as well as indigenous
before entering paradise. The
building methods, such as corbel domes resting on pillars. A Gujarati
eight-sided pyramid, rising in
three diminishing stages, rests speciality was the perforated stone screen, nowhere seen in greater
ona high plinth flanked by brilliance than in the decorative tree motif of the Sidi Sayyid Mosque
corner pavilions. Its varied
shape and use of materials
at Ahmedabad (1516). Deccan sultans, for example the Bahamani
such as sandstone and glazed Sultanate (in present-day Karnataka), were unusual in drawing directly
tiles and its imposing shallow upon Iranian, Seljuk, and Timurid forms, as a way of proclaiming their
dome, echoed by many
smaller cupolas, make it an independence from Delhi [59].
arresting sight.
Secular architecture
Among secular buildings, fortresses, as key elements in defence
strategy, are of major importance. There remain impressive fortifica-
tions in many parts of India. Protected by moated battlements, they
usually perch on top of a ridge (frequently with a township or settle-
ment at the bottom) that provides them with a commanding view of
the surrounding terrain. Among these, the Mughal forts of the later
period are well preserved, while for sheer picturesque quality few can
compete with Rajasthani forts. However, the latter have gone through
PROVINCIAL SULTANATES (FIFTEENTH AND SIXTEENTH CENTURIES) 9QI

ee) so many stages that we cannot be confident as to their original forms
Jami masjid (Friday mosque),
(see chapter 7): With constant threats from hostile Hindu and rival
Gulbarga, 1367: (a) view over
roof of the mosque looking Muslim powers, defence was a high priority for the sultans, as illus-
west towards Mecca; (b) plan trated in the Deccan [60]."4
and axonometric view.
Literary evidence endorses the variety and importance of secular
Built in the Bahamani capital
during the reign of Mahmud | buildings. However, most early palaces have either perished or have
by the architect Rafi, a native been rebuilt so extensively that their original form can no longer be
of Qazwin in Iran. The roofing
ascertained. A description of the arrangement of royal domestic spaces
over of the entire rectangular
courtyard, with numerous in India, which were probably grander versions of affluent households
cupolas resting on arches, prevailing all over the East, could be found in the writings of the
offered a novel alternative to
the open courtyard mosques.
ancient Mauryan author Kautilya [61].*
To emphasize the importance
of the prayer hall at the The Vijayanagara empire (1336-1564)
western end, an imposing
dome was placed over it. The There are two significant Hindu architectural achievements which
multipartite structure is also a were a synthesis of Hindu and Muslim concepts. One occurred in the
reminder of Jain and Hindu
cosmopolitan empire of Vijayanagara, founded in the fourteenth
temples.
century by a Hindu dynasty and a remarkable example of the complex
interface of Islamic and Hindu cultures. This South Indian state was
the political rival of the Bahamani Sultanate, its rulers styling
themselves ‘sultans among Hindu kings’. The pioneering historian
R. Sewell encouraged the idea that the Vijayanagara rulers were lead-
ers of the Hindu resistance to Muslim advance in the south. Recent
historians, who question this view, contend that the Vijayanagara
monarchs displayed a flexible approach, adopting Islamic customs for
international affairs, while preserving Brahmanic rituals for local
matters. The lucrative seaborne trade covering a considerable area
from the Mediterranean to the China Seas that touched the South
Indian port of Bhatkal was largely in Arab hands. In an astute move to
stake a claim in it, the Vijayanagara emperor Krsnadevaraya (1509-30)
60
oes
Fortress at Gulbarga,
fourteenth/fifteenth century.
Its design and layout soughtto
redress the lack of natural
defences. A wide moat
encloses a two-part defence,
the inner wall rising above the
48-foot-thick outer wall.
Massive bastions are fitted
with revolving platforms for
cannons, while walls have
holes for musketry. A
meandering projection with
four gates and guarded courts
deflects enemy attack by
providing cover, bastions, and
battlements. The doors,
between a formidable pair of
outer bastions, are fitted with
anti-elephant spikes for added
protection.
THE VIJAYANAGARA EMPIRE (1336-1564) 93

61 adopted Islamic customs, even appearing in public in Muslim dress.”
Man Singh's palace fortress, He introduced firearms, imported horses, improved fortifications, and
Gwalior, sixteenth century.
This, at the summit
of a high
instituted efficient revenue collection. At the same time he was an
plateau, is an ambitious effort active patron of Hindu religious foundations.” While Vijayanagara
bya Hindu monarch to temples followed the Dravidian tradition, especially as interpreted by
combine indigenous and
Islamic elements. Its interior the Colas, it is significant that secular buildings were modelled on
design, which influenced the Bahamani architecture, a bonding agent for this heterogeneous empire.
Mughals, consists of a series
of courtyards enclosed by
apartments with screened Secular and sacred architecture
galleries. The circular Hampi, the capital of the empire, was a cosmopolitan commercial
buttresses of the fortress are
surmounted by high domed
centre inhabited by a mixed population that included Portuguese
kiosks (chhatris), bands of gunners and Muslim cavalry who served in the Vijayanagara army.
blue and yellow glazed tiles Muslims were allowed to build mosques within the citadel. The
relieving the light red
sandstone walls.
Portuguese traveller Domingo Paes described Hampi in the period
1520 to 1522: “The king has made within it a very strong city, fortified
with walls and towers. Inside are broad and beautiful streets with rows
of fine houses where live many merchants.’ Hampi was ringed with
concentric walls and gate towers, marking two spatial zones where the
sacred and the secular met, namely the temple area and the urban
settlement. Within the latter was the royal precinct, which held ‘the
pulse of the empire’.
The secular masonry buildings, expressing imperial ideology and
cosmopolitan values, employed Bahamani-type arches, domes, and

62
Multi-storeyed platform with
bathing tank in front,
Vijayanagara, sixteenth
century.
The hundred-pillared hall with
its multi-storeyed platform is
situated between the king's
palace and the royal
Ramacandra temple. This
lavishly decorated platform
played a crucial part in
legitimizing royal authority
during the annual
Mahanavami festival,
associated with the goddess in
the epic Ramayana. On that
day, the emperor assumed the
persona ofthe ideal king,
Rama, while the chiefs who
assembled in the capital took
part in a state ceremonial
reaffirming his omnipotence. vaults and were based on square, rectangular, or octagonal plans.
In their use of particular masonry techniques and fine plaster the
buildings could well be mistaken for mosques at Gulbarga, the
Bahamani capital. Their decoration was geometric and foliate, while
the moulded bases, overhanging eaves, and pyramidal towers synthe-
sized Dravida and Islamic forms. The multi-lobed arches, a
Vijayanagara feature, were adopted as niches for Hindu deities. The
most imposing structure at Hampi was the elephant stable, as befitted
this royal animal. It is a long building with a row of 11 square chambers
entered through arched doorways. Above them is a series of domes of
different shapes arranged symmetrically.”
In the sacred part of Hampi, temples dedicated to the local goddess
Pampa and her consort Virabhadra represented a triangular patronage
network comprising the emperor, the temple, and the chiefs. However,
the fifteenth-century Ramacandra temple in Dravida style, situated
in the royal centre, was mainly associated with the monarch, as
suggested by friezes on its outer walls portraying royal processions. In
the next century, temples acquired the more familiar Vijayanagara
style, sporting prominent gate towers (gopuras). Another Dravida
feature inherited from the Cola period was the growing importance of
the dance. Domingo Paes remarked that the dance poses (Aaranas) on
temple walls were used as aides-memoires by court dancers, a practice
in line with the South Indian tradition [62].’°
Bengali temples (sixteenth to nineteenth centuries)

The second example of Hindu-Muslim synthesis, namely Bengal,
evolved its own cultural tradition from the eighth century onwards.
Bengal and Bihar, known as the eastern lands from the Gupta times,
were a major centre of Buddhism. Its final flowering in India took place
BENGALI TEMPLES (SIXTEENTH TO NINETEENTH CENTURIES) 95

Glossary of Bengali architectural terms
bangla—temple architectural form based | dalan—rectangular temple building
on bamboo and mud hut: | with a colonnaded veranda
chala—temple roof based on sloping | jor-bangla—twin-hut temple form
thatched roof (do-chala=twin-roofed) | ratna—pinnacle style of temple
in the great university monasteries of Nalanda (Bihar) and Paharpur

(Bangladesh) during the Pala period (c.760-1142). This was when
Buddhists lost their separate identity as they increasingly shared
Tantric rituals and cults with the Hindus. Characteristic of Bengal
were the unadorned early brick temples, which have not survived,
but a plethora of Buddhist and Hindu cult icons, from the Eastern
workshops, in grey-black chlorite or metal, have.”
The Turko-Afghans who conquered Bengal in the thirteenth
century built impressive mosques in a provincial style that blended
Muslim and indigenous elements. The synthetic culture of Sultanate
Bengal witnessed the rise of an anti-caste Bhakti movement led by
the Vaisnava saint Sri Chaitanya (1486-1533), which gave a new
impetus to temple building. Bengali brick temples, built between the
sixteenth and nineteenth centuries, do not fit the general canon,
though elements such as Orissan sikharas were incorporated into
Bengali temples. The basic rectangular shape of a Bengali temple
was taken from the domestic bamboo and mud hut (4ang/a) with
sloping thatched roofs that coped with the heavy rainfall of the
region. The first temples were of the jor-bangla type, with one hut
serving as the shrine while the second formed the front porch,
jor-bangla being the most distinctive Bengali contribution to Indian
architecture. The Bengali temples are also classified according to their
curved roofs with curved cornices (cha/a), the simplest being those
with two-roofs (do-chala) and the most elaborate the eight-roofed
temples. With the experience gained from Islamic buildings, the
builders used arches, domes, and vaults for the superstructures of
these brick temples. The second development was the ratna style,
whose lower part consisted of a rectangular ‘hut’ structure with curved
cornices, but which was crowned by multiple pinnacles, sometimes as
many as 25. In a developed example the central domed chamber was
enriched with multiple-domed side chambers and pinnacles, and with
pillared and triple-arched entrances. Later another temple form
emerged, the da/an, with a colonnaded veranda. Finally, Neoclassical
temples in the shape of a rotunda made their entry during the colonial
period.”
A characteristic feature of Bengali temples is the rich sculptural
frieze worked in terracotta at the base or above the entrances of
temples [63]. In addition to popular religious themes, from the
eighteenth century the reliefs demonstrated a keen interest in secular

63
Krishna Chandra temple,
Kalna, c.1751.
This is an elaborate example
of amany-pinnacled Bengali
temple decorated extensively
with terracotta reliefs.
subjects—battle scenes, boating parties, entertainments, processions,

Europeans involved in various activities, and even European galleys.
In the Shyamaraya temple in Bishnupur, men are depicted riding on
elephants or sitting in chairs with pet dogs, while women travel in
palanquins or are seated on couches reading books or looking out of
windows. These temples received the lavish support of the landed
aristocracy (zamindars), such as the Mallas of Bishnupur, who by the
seventeenth century were only nominally under the rule of the Mughal
emperor. With the expansion of overseas trade in the eighteenth
century, prosperous Bengali merchants became involved in temple
building. The names of the architects, some of whom were considered
to be masters of their craft, are mentioned in the temple inscriptions, as
well as the patrons’ power and wealth.”
Painting during the Sultanate period

The Indo-Islamic era brought changes in the practice, scale, format,
organization, and genres of painting in India. Monumental sculpture
as an art form declined, while wall painting was eclipsed, though not
entirely replaced, by small-scale paintings illustrating texts.
I/uminated manuscripts
Around the tenth century, a new phenomenon, the illustrated book,
made its appearance around the globe from Chartres through Isfahan
PAINTING DURING THE SULTANATE PERIOD 97

64
Detail from palm leaf
manuscript of the
Pancaraksa, Bengal, c.1057
CE.
This text on Buddhist Tantric
goddesses from the Pala
period was commissioned in
the fourteenth year of King
Nayapala’s reign by Queen
Uddaka. These royal
manuscripts were elegantly
written, sumptuously
illustrated, and preserved
between elegant wooden
covers.
to Beijing. Paintings became a portable commodity, private collections

were formed, and illustrated books came to denote wealth and
prestige. No expense was spared on materials and craftsmanship.
Opulently produced manuscripts, bought and sold, presented, cere-
monially exchanged, or acquired as war booty, were precious objects
which only persons of royal or noble birth could afford. Unlike the
communal art of the temple, calligraphers and painters were employed
by the scriptoria belonging to patrons of substantial means whose taste
became paramount. In particular, Muslim calligraphers who tran-
scribed the word of Allah enjoyed a high reputation in a society that
prized the art of the book.
Even though writing had been known in India since Asokan times,
it had been confined to secular subjects, or to stone and metal inscrip-
tions that served as public documents. Sacred texts such as the Vedas
were orally transmitted because of the importance of enunciating each
word perfectly. In India, the earliest illustrated texts were the tenth-
century Tantric Buddhist treatises, which came out of monasteries at
Nalanda in Bihar and Paharpur in Bengal [64]. However, in less than
two centuries a flourishing painting tradition grew up on the west coast
under the patronage of Jain merchants, who set up great libraries and
commissioned artists to illustrate two major texts, Kalpasutra and
Kalakacarya Katha.
The Sultanate art of the book introduced paper and effected other
changes in Indian painting. The long-held belief that Delhi sultans
followed the Sacred Tradition (Hadith) in forbidding the painting of
living forms has now been thoroughly disproved. The sultans bought
g8 THE TURKO-AFGHAN SULTANATE OF DELHI (1206-1526 CE)

Arabic, Turkish, and Persian texts for their libraries and commissioned
new ones. In search of work, scholars and scribes from Baghdad,
Bukhara, Samarqand, and other Islamic seats of learning came to
Delhi, which acquired renown as an international centre for trade in
manuscripts.» Although actual paintings from the Delhi Sultanate
have not been identified with certainty, we know from contemporary
accounts that the sultans had picture galleries where they took their
leisure, though the pious Firuz Tughlaq replaced human figures with
floral paintings in his own chambers. However, other Tughlaq sultans
even tolerated Hindu themes.”°
The only Sultanate paintings known to have survived are from the
provinces. They demonstrate the process of the fusion of Persian/Near
Eastern and Indian painting conventions. The most famous, those
illustrating the Nimat Nama (Book of Delicacies), were produced for
Ghiyas ud-Din Khalji, sultan of Malwa (1469-1500), who, disillu-
sioned with war, withdrew from the cares of state [65]. A sixteenth-
century historian writes about this grand eccentric with his Epicurean
approach to food and sex. An absolute ruler, he was able to fulfil his
fantasies on an unprecedented scale, collecting 16,000 slave girls,
dressing some of them in male attire, and teaching them different
professions so that only women might serve him.” The style of the
Nimat Nama illustrators seems at first glance to be a provincial variant
of Persian painting. A closer look at the treatment of faces and
65
A page from the Ni’mat Nama,
Mandu, fifteenth/sixteenth
century.
The Indian artist, trained by a
Persian master, uses a Persian
manner for the foreign female
slaves dressed in Persian male
costume but reserves Indian
conventions (especially the
profile view) for the Indian
female slaves. This selective
use of Persian or Indian style
to signal the cultural origins of
the particular figure [see also
67] is difficult to explain.

66 costumes reveals Indian authorship. The hands of two Indian artists,
A page from the Kalakacarya trained by a Persian master, have been identified. The more accom-
Katha, 1414.
Paintings illustratingthe
plished one interprets Persian elements deftly and imaginatively in the
Kalpasutra and Kalakacarya light of his own experience. (Paradoxically, the less skilled one copies
Katha are known for the Persian models more slavishly.) These works are important in that they
projecting further eye of the
faces in three-quarter view, demonstrate the process by which styles are transferred and assimilated
the use of primary blues and by artists. Here the Indian artist’s own conventions act as essential
reds, highlighted with gold,
schemata which are modified in the light of the new style.”
and the lively depictions of
textiles for which Gujarat was The two Indian artists identified as the illustrators of the Nzmat
famous the world over. Nama seem to have been part of a painting tradition that prevailed in
north and north-west India during the Sultanate period, particularly
between the fourteenth and sixteenth centuries, about which we only
have sporadic information. Among these artists, the Gujarati ones
mentioned earlier are best known among scholars as ‘Jain painters’
because of the large quantity of Jain subjects painted by them. Paper
introduced from Iran and Syria allowed these artists to experiment
with formats and dimensions which had not been possible in narrow,
palm leaf manuscripts [66]. Jain merchants and bankers were
particularly enthusiastic about commissioning illustrated manuscripts
celebrating Jain saints. Many of these were produced with cheap
material, their calligraphy and painting bereft of elegance. Their
existence strongly suggests that patronage was no longer confined to
the wealthy or to royalty but included lesser merchants and people of
more modest means.”
I00 THE TURKO-AFGHAN SULTANATE OF DELHI (1206-1526 CE)

The so-called Jain painters have lately been reappraised in the light
of the complex relationship between Islamic and Indian art and
between Hindu/Jain and Muslim patronage. The Jain Kalakacarya
Katha tells the story of how the abduction of the saint Kalaka’s sister by
the king of Ujjain was avenged by an ancient Sahi or Saka (Scythian)
king. In ancient India, Sakas and Yavanas were the most prominent
foreigners, and Yavana was the term later applied to Arabs and Turks.
It is interesting that in some Jain manuscripts the painters represent
the ancient Saka king in contemporary Arab costume or with the
Mamluk (Islamic Egyptian) painting convention of three-quarter
faces and sidelong glances. Conversely, a recently discovered illustrated
Indian copy of the Persian epic Shah Nama could be mistaken for a
Kalakacarya Katha [67].3° There is evidence that ‘hybrid’ painting
styles such as these, and that of the Ni mat Nama, arose out of the inter-
mixture of cultures; the artists, trained in Gujarati workshops, were
possibly provided with samples of Persian and Mamluk painting by
their Muslim patrons. In the late fifteenth century, the Mediterranean
trade was dominated by the Mamluks of Egypt who, in partnership
with Gujarati merchants, were the major suppliers of cotton, opium,
lac, and other Indian produce to the West." Painting on cotton as a
major export from Gujarat to Egypt has been amply attested by the
discovery of Gujarati textiles in graves in Fostat near Cairo.” The
recent identification of Mamluk elements in Jain paintings offers
further visual evidence of this trading connection.
67
Siyavash with his bride
Farangish, Shah Nama,
fifteenth century.
In this Indian copy of the
Persian epic Shah Nama, the
artist uses Indian and Iranian
painting conventions
interchangeably as the
situation demands. For
instance, Indian female
characters are represented
full-bosomed in the Indian
tradition, while the Persian
women are depicted as flat-
chested in accordance with
Persian painting.
PAINTING DURING THE SULTANATE PERIOD IOI

Secular painting
Illustrated texts, many of them secular, and of a quite different genre,
were commissioned by the Muslim and Hindu aristocracy of the six-
teenth century: ‘Even now, / I remember her eyes / trembling, closed
after love, / her slender body limp, / fine clothes and heavy hair loose /a
wild goose / in a thicket of lotuses of passion’. Thus rhapsodized the
eighth-century Kashmiri poet Bilhana about his beloved Campavati in
the Caurapancasika (Fifty Verses of a Love Thief). The gentle eroticism
of Bilhana’s Caurapancasika marks a turning point in Indian culture, as
the formal elegance of high Sanskrit yields to the intimate atmosphere
of vernacular literature in Hindi, Bengali, and other provincial
languages. Works such as the Rasika Priya of Kesav Das (1555-1617)
elaborate a complex typology of ideal lovers and their mental states in
which two emotions predominate: the heroine’s intense longing for the
absent lover and the joy of consummation. A new canon of feminine
beauty permeates literature and art, according to which women are
celebrated as passionate lovers, braving stormy nights and untold
hazards to keep their rendezvous. These romantic lyrics offer a new
outlet for Bhakti or devotional religion, in which the intensity of love
outside marriage becomes a metaphor for the desire of the soul
(Radha) for God (Krsna).
The Caurapancasika inspired a major series of paintings that
became the benchmark for pre-Mughal art, not least because this set
was the first to be discovered by modern scholars. Over the years many
more have come to light that give us an ever clearer idea about painting
in North India on the eve of Mughal conquest. A ‘transparent’ narra-
tive device in the Caurapancastka, which tells the story by placing the
aristocratic hero and heroine in an everyday architectural interior,
becomes a long-lasting convention. These paintings essentially belong
to the romantic world of Rajasthan that was foreign to Jain piety. Since
most Hindu kingdoms were on the defensive in the sixteenth century,
it is likely that they were produced in the independent Rajput kingdom
of Mewar [68].%5
This painting tradition turned for inspiration to the Bhakti poems
of Jayadeva and other poets. Ostensibly religious, the paintings capture
the leisurely life at the courts of the Rajput kingdoms of north-west
India, especially from the seventeenth century onwards. A related
genre is the Ragamala (‘garland of musical modes’) painting, perhaps
the most perfect marriage of literature, music, and painting. The
modes of classical Indian music are conventionally divided into six
male ragas, each having six wives, the 36 raginis. Each personification
of these modes evokes a particular mood related to the time of the day
or the season, a number of which found expression in painting.*®
Literature and painting such as this might have remained parochial
without the growing rapprochement of Hindu and Muslim cultures

68 in the fourteenth century. Initially the conquerors had kept aloof
Campavati standing next toa
from Hindu culture; Hindus on their part considered anybody outside
lotus pond, Caurapancasika,
Mewar, c.1500. the caste system as beyond the pale. The first signs of synthesis are
The heroine's triangular torso, evident in the work of the Indo-Turkish poet Amir Khusraw
dilated pupils (the Sanskrit
(1253-1325). Muslim Sufis and Hindu Bhakti saints began building
poetic metaphor of fish-
shaped eyes as a mark of bridges between the two communities. Syncretic movements such
beauty), grey-blue patterned as the Satya Narayana cult (a blend of the Muslim saint Satya Pir
skirt, and chequered
and the Hindu god Vishnu) appealed to Hindu and Muslim
bedspread follow Jain
conventions but the new villagers alike, as the sayings of the Muslim mystic Kabir came to be
element is the division of the universally quoted in India. In the fourteenth century the Sufi
picture into several planes by
the use of Sultanate
Maulana Daud’s text Candayana uses the story of the adulterous
architecture: an open roof-top love of Laurak and Canda to inculcate the synthesis of Bhakti and Sufi
pavilion, projecting eaves with doctrines [69].°7
brackets, and crenellations in
profile, the pavilion itself
The conventions of Jain sacred painting, modified in the secular
surrounded by flowering trees. Caurapancasika paintings as well as in illustrations to Muslim texts, are
now known to have affected a much larger area of northern and central
India than had hitherto been assumed. The style can also be seen in
wall paintings at Man Singh’s palace in Gwalior. In short, it is not
correct to hold, as some do, that Jain painters influenced the paintings
of Muslim Malwa and Hindu Rajasthan. These painters, perhaps the
majority from western India, were professionals who adjusted their

69
Canda ina garden by the river,
Candayana, probably
Jaunpur, sixteenth century.
The illustration to this
immensely popular text Shows
Canda seated in an open
pavilion in a garden by the
river in springtime, dreaming
of Laurak.
style according to the particular needs of their clients, whether Jain,

Hindu, or Muslim.** The experience of these painters, who were to
join the Mughal emperor Akbar’s workshop, proved to be valuable in
the formation of Mughal painting.

‘The Mughal
Empire (1526-1757)
The Mughal court and state

The Mughal empire was one of the three great emptres of the sixteenth
century, along with those of Charles v of Spain and the Chinese Son of
Heaven. The Mughals brought about qualitative changes in Indian
society that were global in scope, anticipating a secular, pluralistic out-
look that we tend to associate with our age. The landed classes had
been in decline in a number of societies, giving rise to the rule of
absolute monarchs, whose power base was an efficient, loyal bureau-
cracy. The impersonal state, whose urbanism, individualism, and
‘objective’ approach to nature laid the foundations of ‘modernity’, is
more commonly associated with Renaissance Florence (c.1400-1600),
but the same phenomena could be discerned during the Edo period in
Japan (c.1600-1868) and in Mughal India (1526-1757). Yet it is not easy
to understand why this burgeoning ‘modernity’ in Mughal India failed
to take firm roots. Mughal ‘urban’ culture remained the personal
achievement of the monarchs and the court. Lacking the social infra-
structure that a large professional class, for instance, would have pro-
vided, these developments could not be sustained. Noble households
dominated the urban economy in a patron—client relationship between
the sovereign and the aristocracy, especially in the later period. The
artisans attached to workshops essentially served these dominant
groups.’ Other impediments to ‘modernity’ included the Hindu caste
system, which discouraged social mobility, and the Mughal law of
inheritance, whereby an official’s personal property reverted back to
the emperor after his death. Although this was a disincentive to wealth
accumulation and encouraged conspicuous consumption, the ‘urban’
outlook itself had a powerful impact on Mughal patronage.’
Contemporary literature bears witness to a new curiosity about
everyday life that was a product of heightened individualism. Mughal
autobiographies and diaries, written not only by monarchs but also by
the ladies of the harem, were comparable in their lively detail and
immediacy to Lady Murasaki’s Tales ofGenji and Bocaccio’s Decameron.
Babur (emperor 1526-30), the founder of the Mughal dynasty, reveals
Detail from Squirrels ina
Chenar Tree his enthusiasms, admits his mistakes with disarming candour, and
[See 78.] offers penetrating observations about life around him. For much of
107
present-day India, the refined urbanity and elegant lifestyle of the
Mughal court, its standards of haute cuisine and its codification of
Indian classical music remain the essential benchmark. Mughal blood
sports were taken up by the British Raj, as was the game of polo. Mughal
emperors took their sartorial elegance as seriously as their collections
of curiosa, jewellery, and precious objects of jade and hardstone.’
Mughal curiosity about science and technology was a sixteenth-
century phenomenon. Mughal artillery proved decisive in battles, even
though firearms had been introduced in the Deccan a century earlier
through contacts with Iran and Syria. The age witnessed a rapid devel-
opment in global communication, in part the result of European
expansion. European travellers, some of them Jesuits, made their way
to the Chinese and Mughal empires, which resulted in the exchange of
objects and modes of thinking between the cultures. In India, however,
curiosity about western things and ideas was confined to the Mughal
emperor and his courtiers and did not filter down to other groups.
During the Mughal period the incipient ‘urbanism’ affected the
subject matter of art, hitherto the preserve of the three great religions,
Buddhism, Hinduism, and Islam. Mughal painting expressed a lively
engagement with the external world, which may be loosely termed
‘realism’. Renaissance mimesis is universally familiar as the cornerstone
of western art history, yet a similar concern was expressed in Mughal
history painting and portraiture. The art of the book had transformed
patronage during the Sultanate, a process that reached a climax during
the Mughal era. Art became an autonomous activity, fostering a close
relationship between the patron and the artist; it ceased to be a
communal concern. The Mughal emperors were fervent patrons of the
arts, their multifaceted personalities informing their patronage—
Akbar, the brilliant creator of a vast efficient empire; Jahangir, the en-
dearing hedonist; and Shah Jahan, the royal architect and avid
collector of precious objects—each was unique in his personal style of
patronage. Yet, in at least one instance, patronage was not confined to
royalty but included a grandee of the realm (see below).
The reign of Akbar

Two cultural streams flowed in the veins of Akbar’s grandfather, Babur,
the founder of the Mughal empire: the Turko-Mongol tradition of his
ancestors, Chinghis Khan and Timurlang, Marlowe’s ‘scourge of
God’, and the Persian culture which had deeply impressed the
Mongols. A ruthless soldier, Timurlang had a weakness for beautiful
things, collecting artisans from all over Asia in order to turn his capital,
Samarqand, into a cultural wonder. Babur’s temperament, as is evident
from his remarkable autobiography, is an expression of this mixed
heritage of violence and refinement, a characteristic shared in varying
degrees by all three early emperors.‘
108 THE MUGHAL EMPIRE (1526-1757)

Akbar’s empire
Akbar, the greatest Mughal emperor (1556-1603), was abrilliant intellectual with a
prodigious memory. Formally unlettered, he compensated this drawback by having
courtiers read to him regularly. His doctrine of religious tolerance (su/h-i kul) wrought
a political revolution by removing discrimination against the Hindus and basing his
rule on the ‘twin pillars’ of Indian society, Hindus and Muslims. He created a
centralized bureaucracy by organizing officials into military ranks (mansabdar),
promoted on merit and owing loyalty solely to the emperor, which largely replaced
the quasi-feudal land-holding system (Jagirdari) of the Delhi Sultanate. Akbar made
the land tax more efficient and improved communications by expanding the arterial
Grand Trunk Road, founded by Sher Shah. The pilgrim route from Agra to Ajmer
was lined with stations for imperial use and miniature towers for milestones. Munim
Khan’s bridge in Jaunpur (1569) was an engineering feat. Akbar weakened the Islamic
view of the ruler as God’s deputy on earth, in favour of a doctrine of divine kingship.
This enabled him to dispense impersonal justice to all by decree, thereby stripping
Islamic judges of their traditional authority.
Early Mughal architecture

Mughal architecture made clear political statements through a com-
plex, syncretic imagery of varied pedigree. The different, and at first
sight conflicting, influences from Timurid Central Asia, Iran, India,
and the West were moulded into an organic unity through a powerful
theory of kingship. Mughal architecture, disseminated throughout the
empire by the viceroys, came to stand for imperial authority. Being de-
scended from the nomads, the Mughals always retained a soft spot for
tents, which they furnished with colourful carpets and costly fabrics.
However, it has been argued that Mughal experiments in urban design
were inspired by the symmetrical, four-square gardens (chahar bagh),
whose spaces were divided into modules—the particular Persian inter-
pretation of the Koranic paradise garden.° The empire’s founder,
Babur, barely had time to lay out gardens for planting the Iranian fruits
he missed in India. His son Humayun, destined to spend the best part
of his life in exile, only realized a few of his architectural ideas. It was
left to Akbar to commission the first major building from two
architects from Bukhara in order to fulfil his filial duty by building a
mausoleum to his father, Humayun. This centrally planned sepulchre
in the centre of a four-square garden with running pools, streams, and
open pavilions is the first of the Mughal paradise gardens [70a, b].7
Urban planning
A brilliant general, whose empire rivalled Asoka’s, Akbar built a
network of fortress palaces between 1565 and 1571 aimed at imposing
iron control over his considerable territory.’ The first to be completed
was the fort at Agra, which superseded Delhi as the main capital. With
its fine masonry work and its elegant Delhi Gate made of sandstone
inlaid with white marble, the fort came to serve a ceremonial rather
THE REIGN OF AKBAR_ 109

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than a strategic purpose. The zanana (women’s quarters), misleadingly
called the Jahangiri Mahall, impresses us with its red sandstone and
marble work and deeply carved surfaces. It was the first of Akbar’s
buildings inspired by the Man Mandir at Gwalior, in the use of details
suchas its peacock-shaped brackets.’ Then followed the Ajmer Fort
for overseeing Rajasthan; the Lahore Fort for securing the most
vulnerable north-west frontier; a fort on the picturesque Dal lake in

70 Kashmir; and finally the Allahabad Fort, which guarded the eastern
Humayun’s mausoleum,
flank of the empire.
Delhi, 1565: (a) view; (b) plan.
An almost identical pattern is Akbar’s most ambitious project was the citadel at Fatehpur Sikri,
used for all the four elevations his new capital, where he introduced Indian concepts of royalty to
of this red sandstone and
assert his independence of the Islamic clergy. It was founded around
marble building to reinforce
the simple geometry of a the shrine of Salim Chishti at Sikri as a thanksgiving to the saint, and
symmetrical edifice. Its lotus in 1579 Akbar read the khutba here—ostensibly a legitimizing act on
dome of white marble is
relieved by smaller chhatris
the part of an Islamic sovereign, the kAutba actually consolidated
(kiosks). The high portal of the Akbar’s own authority. Akbar assumed personal control of the shrine,
south-facing main entrance is encouraging Salim Chishti’s descendants to join the imperial service.
shaped like a scooped-out,
arched niche, echoed by the
Different aspects of the city give architectural expression to the twin
two smaller ones on either elements in Akbar’s ideology: his personal rule and the Indianization
side. The Timurid nine-fold of the empire.”°
plan of the grave chamber
inside, recalling the Islamic Fatehpur Sikri, which in its heyday held about a quarter of a million
paradise, came to be used in people, is irregularly laid out on an east-west axis, its over eight miles
residential architecture.
of walls broken only by a natural lake. However, what is not evident
today is that the citadel was once surrounded below by a large settle-
ment built of less permanent material. The layout of Sikri and many of
its features reflect the Gujarat-Rajasthan building tradition, not least
the influence of Man Singh’s palace at Gwalior on Akbar’s living
quarters [71]. The precise function of many of the Sikri buildings
remains conjectural, though some can be clearly identified as fulfilling
the needs of a Muslim state: a Friday mosque, an administrative centre,
residential palaces, baths, caravanserais, gardens, centres of learning,
bazaars, and workshops. Some of the buildings may have been inspired
by the Mughal tent culture, but above all the buildings and the spacious
terraces and courtyards that separate them constitute the geometrical
realization of a theory of kingship. Indeed, this was acknowledged by
the historian Abu’ Fazl.”
Sikri’s Friday mosque, the largest of the period and the focal point
of the citadel, stood at the summit of a windswept ridge. Its open
courtyard harked back to Sultanate architecture, the prayer hall
consisting of an iwan (domed hall) whose fagade was dominated by a
central pishtag (portal) which, though large and high, was lightened by
a series of chhatri kiosks. It is interesting that the zwan, designed as a
detached building, has been compared to a Hindu temple sanctum.*
Fatehpur Sikri was a city of contrasts. The counterpoint to the stark
Buland Darwaza (triumphal gateway) [72|—whose scale and position
overwhelm us—is provided by the open pavilion palaces. The delicate
white marble tomb of Salim Chishti, decorated with perforated
stonework, also offers a contrast to the sombre red Sikri sandstone. (Of
course, we should remember that the dark red sandstone interiors were
transformed by rich carpets and silk fabrics.)
The brackets deriving from Gujarati architecture in the zanana
(commonly identified as the Rajput princess Jodha Bai’s palace but this
THE REIGN OF AKBAR III

300 feet
|
Description of the buildings

a Stables for camels and horses Garden
b House of Raja Birbal Emperor's private apartments
Cc Jodh Bai palace Emperor's sleeping quarters
d Miriam's garden House of the Turkish Sultana
e Miriam's house Administration and archives
f Hospital and garden Diwan i-amm khass, the public audience hall
8 Panch Mahal Court of Public Audiences
h Emperor's study Entrance
| Diwan i-khass, the private audience hall Entrance reserved for imperial family
J ‘Pachisi’ court
II2 THE MUGHAL EMPIRE (1526-1757)

71 is now challenged) are seen as an expression of Akbar’s respect for
Plan of Akbar’s palace
the faith of his Hindu consorts.’ One of the unusual structures is
enclosure, Fatehpur Sikri,
1569-74. the Panch Mahall, its five superimposed pavilions topped by a large
The layoutof the palace single kiosk. This pleasure palace, which allows cool breezes to flow
buildings offers some
through its rooms in the summer, suggests an imaginative method of
interesting insights: the city
entrance led to the public ventilating buildings in a dry, hot desert climate.
audience hall (diwan i-amm The Buddhist idea of the universal ruler (cakravartin) and Akbatr’s
khass) and to the secretariat,
then came the more exclusive
interest in solar symbolism probably influenced the beehive-shaped
hall for the reception of high ‘Gujarati’ capital resting on a slender Hindu pillar in the midst of the
courtiers (diwan i-khass). This diwan 1-khass. This giant ‘mushroom’ is strongly suggestive of the
wasfollowed by the emperor's
private quarters in the heart of
ancient concept of axis mundi. The circular platform on its capital is
the complex. The women’s reached by walkways at each corner. Sitting on this central platform,
quarters (zanana) and the Akbar gave audience, his courtiers humbly approaching him from all
houses of Akbar’s intimates
backed onto the lake, which
four directions, while his attendants stood below." Finally, built as a
gave the residences protection striking evidence of his intellectual openness was the House of
against sudden attack. This
Worship, where leaders of the major faiths met to hold free and
arrangement also provided
Akbar with easy access to all vigorous debates. Whether Akbar’s syncretic Din i-Ilahi (Divine
the important parts of the Faith) was a new religion, as claimed by some, or not, it helped to
complex.
strengthen the emperor’s personal rule at the expense of the Muslim
divines. Akbar’s urban experiment came to an end when Fatehpur
Sikri was abandoned after 15 years; he was obliged to move to Lahore to
secure the border threatened by the Safavid empire in Iran.
72
Buland Darwaza, Fatehpur
Sikri, sixteenth century. Diss
Te
&
yO
Following Akbar’s victory in
the Deccan, Sikri was
renamed Fatehpur Sikri, ‘City
}
of Victory’, and
commemorated with a
triumphal gateway on the
south side of the Friday
mosque. Not only does the red
sandstone edifice tower above
the city, but its dramatic scale
becomes obvious as the visitor
begins the slow climb up the
steep flight of steps to the
entrance. It was probably
deeply satisfyingtothe young
emperor that the portal
surpassed even Timurlang’s
grandiose ones in Samargand.
THE REIGN OF AKBAR II3

The Mughal painting workshop
Akbar laid the foundations of Mughal painting, a unique confluence of
Persian, Indian, and European art. The emperor rejected the orthodox
view that artists transgressed by seeking to rival God’s creation and
insisted that they felt all the more humble before God’s omnipotence
because they could not infuse painted figures with life. The Mughal
emperors, who received instruction in painting as part of their educa-
tion, cultivated the art of the book with a rare passion. Their exquisite
volumes were placed on stands, each individual page scrutinized for its
elegant lines and delicate brushwork, which needed to be enlarged to
be fully appreciated (the glass lens was already in use at this time).
During his flight from Agra, the emperor Humayun never lost sight of
his book collection; his first thoughts on returning to Agra were of his
library, and it was from its steps that he fell to his death.
We owe much valuable information on the production and con-
sumption of art in India to the Mughal period. While in exile in Iran
and Afghanistan, Humayun invited the Persian artists Abd us-Samad
and Mir Sayyid Ali to set up a royal workshop (arkhana) in Agra.
Abu’! Fazl gives us details of this workshop, which was inherited by
Akbar and turned by him into one of the largest artistic establishments
of the time. Muslim karkhanas were collaborative enterprises compris-
ing paper makers, calligraphers, illuminators, gilders, illustrators, and
binders, all supervised by a master [73]. However, Akbar’s karkhana
was more hierarchical than the Persian ones, the master being in charge
of the composition, while the execution was left to junior artists.”
Paper, initially imported from Iran, began to be manufactured in
the Punjab from the sixteenth century. Paints were made from animal,
vegetable, and mineral substances, brushes from animal hair. The
production of artist’s materials was controlled for quality during
Akbar’s reign."* Many layers of paper were glued on top of one another
to form a ‘hardboard’ painting surface. This was primed, burnished
with agate, and then a freehand drawing was made or a stencil traced
onto it. The preliminary brush drawing was done in red or black paint,
the burnishing repeated after each stage of painting, giving a dazzling
finish. Safavid painting, introduced by the two Persian masters,
continued to be the model, while regularly imported stencils indicated
the colours to be used. The work was divided among different artists
specializing in foundation drawing, background, figure work, and
portraiture, only master painters being allowed to do the outline
drawing.”
Painters at Akbar’s court

From the attention lavished on miniature paintings in the Mughal
period one might imagine that wall paintings had gone out of favour.
This is, however, disproved by ample literary evidence, their depiction

73 Daulat
Self-portrait with Abd al-
Rahim the scribe, Mughal,
c.1610.
The painter and the scribe, the
two chief elements in
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THE REIGN OF AKBAR _ II5

in miniatures, and from surviving fragments on walls. But undoubt-
edly the ablest artists and most ambitious works were connected with
the art of the book. The artist continued to be a craftsman who had no
independent status. As late as the time of Shah Jahan, painters born in
the imperial household were called khanazad (second-generation
servants).°° Artists, their children, and their apprentices were part of
the imperial household, which met all their needs. The Mughal
painters Abu’l Hasan, son of Aqa Riza, and Manohar, son of Basawan,
were born in the imperial household during Akbar’s reign. Given
training from an early age, they graduated from pattern books to the
human figure, and practice in the drawing of flowers was meant to
arouse their aesthetic feeling.
The highly competitive atmosphere at the court spurred artists to
surpass themselves. The emperors conducted weekly inspections of
paintings attended by courtiers, who offered criticisms. Out of over a
hundred painters, including the woman artist Nadira Banu, about a
dozen rose to prominence as masters with distinctive skills and person-
alities. They were rewarded with high positions and honours. Abul
Fazl’s Ain 1-Akbari ranks artists in order of merit.** However, before the
reign of Akbar’s son Jahangir it is less common to find individual artists
signing specific paintings. This raises the question: in these collabora-
tive works, to what extent can we ascribe an artistic style to the patron’s
taste or to artistic personality?
The frenzied movement, feverish activity, clashing colours, and high
drama which characterize the paintings of Akbar’s early period have
been attributed to his taste, much as Jahangir’s introverted personality is
seen to be mirrored in the intimate works of his reign. But it is equally
interesting that the two leading artists at Akbar’s court, Daswanth and
Basawan, seem to have left a clear stamp of their temperaments on their
art. The brief, tragic life of Daswanth is the stuff of romance, reflecting
the topos of genius better known in the West than in India. Considered
by Abu’l Fazl to be the finest Mughal painter, a view fully shared by
Akbar, Daswanth became a legendary figure in his lifetime. The son of
a humble palanquin bearer, his compulsive habit of drawing on walls
brought him to Akbar’s notice, who arranged for Abd us-Samad to
train him. Daswanth “became matchless in his time ... but the darkness
of insanity enshrouded the brilliance of his mind, and he died a suicide’,
writes Abu’l Fazl.” It is interesting to note that this is the only recorded
case of self-conscious artistic neurosis in pre-modern India.
Daswanth has been identified with particularly dramatic, expres-
sionist works, and it is significant that after his death in 1584 Mughal
painting moved away from a Dionysian frenzy towards an Apollonian
lyricism associated with the other master, Basawan. According to
Abu’l Fazl, our invaluable guide in these matters, in ‘designing, painting
faces, colouring, portrait painting, and other aspects of this art,

Basawan has come to be uniquely excellent. Many perspicacious
connoisseurs give him preference over Daswantha’.* Basawan focused
on pictorial composition, subtle tones, foreshortening, and the complex
arrangement of figures in a landscape, evidence of his exposure to
European art.
Akbar’s workshop under Mir Sayyid Ali and Abd us-Samad
recruited Indian painters in large numbers, whose formative works are
preserved in the Tuti Nama (The Tales ofa Parrot, a popular Indian folk
tale, completed in the mid-sixteenth century). Even though Safavid
and Timurid artists continued to serve in Akbar’s workshop, it was the
immediacy of feeling in western Indian art that enabled Mughal paint-
ing to cut its Persian umbilical cord, namely the Safavid subordination
of detail to an overall formal arrangement. The Tuti Nama is valuable
also for showing us how young Gujarat artists such as Daswanth and
Basawan were in the process of absorbing Persian art.’* Work began on
the first landmark in Mughal art, Hamza Nama, in around 1562, its
overall unity imposed by the workshop. The mythical adventures of
the Prophet’s uncle, Amir Hamza, interspersed with moral lessons,
were illustrated with paintings on a larger format than the average
Safavid works (14 x 10 inches) and painted on cotton rather than paper
[74]. Rediscovered in the nineteenth century, some 200 out of 1,400
works have survived (mainly in the Osterreiches Museum fiir
Angewandte Kunst, Vienna and the Victoria and Albert Museum,
London). While the visual impact of objects, such as brightly coloured
polychrome tiles and richly patterned carpets, together with the
luminous colours of Safavid painting liberated Indian artists from
their hitherto limited palette, they themselves brought a freshness to
details such as the leaves of trees or women drawing water from a well.
But, above all, the dramatic and violent movement depicted in the
Hamza Nama is alien to the remote, ordered sensibility of the
Safavid artist.
As part of his objective of gaining Hindu confidence, Akbar turned
to the Sanskrit epics Mahabharata and Ramayana soon after the arrival
of learned Brahmins at the House of Worship in Sikri in 1580. These
were translated, and provincial governors were instructed to make
copies of them in an effort to disseminate Hindu classics throughout
the empire. The second major painting series, for the Razm Nama, the
Persian translation of the Mahabharata, was commenced in 1582 under
the supervision of Daswanth, the emperor's favourite [75.25
History painting
The powerful drawing style developed in these two early projects with
their depiction of psychologically related figures laid the foundations
of Akbar’s history painting. A revolutionary development in Indian
art, Akbar’s historical narratives perfectly express his theory of
THE REIGN OF AKBAR I1I7

74
Khurshidshehr frees Hamid,
Hamza Nama, Mughal,
ELo70;
In this episode, the princess
chops off the giant’s head to
set free her prince. The gory
scene is offset by lush tiles,
carpets, and other details. The
immediacy of the scene Is
heightened by the ‘cropping’
of the foreground. Some 100
craftsmen, including 50
painters, worked on the epic.
The combination ofaeria
perspective for distance and
eye-level perspective for the
foreground suited the
inclusive panoramic treatment
of the subject matter.
wwf
Secsree
ess
kingship: in every painting the sovereign assumes his role as the chief
actor in the historical spectacle taking place before us. An archival
office headed by Abu’l Fazl and manned by 14 clerks made faithful
records of daily events, while court officials were encouraged to write
their memoirs. Although this obsession with detail earned the dynasty
the sobriquet ‘paper government’, it is thanks to Abul Fazl’s Akbar
Nama (History ofAkbar) and Ain i-Akbari (Laws ofAkbar) that we get
an unrivalled insight into the age and into the mind of the great em-
peror. And if Abu’l Fazl was too close to the throne to be objective, the
corrective was supplied by Badauni, the orthodox historian who
disapproved of Akbar’s liberalism.”
Akbar was in need of a narrative style that could do justice to his
eventful reign, which revolved round the court, the hunt, and the
battlefield. The earliest example of an illustrated text used as an

75 Daswanth
Anight assaulton the
Pandava camp, Razm Nama,
Mughal, 1582-6.
Thirty ofthe early illustrations
from this imperial album are
full of frenzied action,
dynamic movement, and
violent colour, qualities
associated with Daswanth’s
genius. This nightmarish
vision of the frenzy of war,
verging on the macabre,
designed by Daswanth but
executed by Sarwan,
highlights Daswanth’s brilliant
imagination.
exercise in political legitimization, Timur Nama (History ofTimurlang)

traces Akbar’s genealogy back to the illustrious Monge! warrior. It is
significant that the paintings in this text constantly juxtapose Akbar
with Timurlang. For instance, scenes of Akbar hunting are modelled
on those of Timurlang. The central text of Akbar’s reign, however, was
the Akbar Nama, the illustration of which was entrusted to Basawan,
who rose to prominence after Daswanth’s suicide [76].”
Akbar’s search for a convincing pictorial ‘reporting’ style was aided
THE REIGN OF AKBAR IIg

SSE RSIPRS ARLES IGa ENS EES
76 Basawan and Chatar by his discovery of European art, traces of which can be discerned in
Akbar brings the elephant
Hawai under control as
works as early as the Hamza Nama. However, his meeting with the
courtiers anxiously watch him, Portuguese came at a significant moment. In 1572, on his visit to
Akbar Nama, Mughal, c.1590. Cambay, on the Gujarat coast, the emperor gave an audience to the
The painting is a symbolic
Portuguese officials who were keen to extend their economic hold in
confirmation of the sovereign’s
virility. Basawan favours the India. Six years later, the Jesuits arrived at Fatehpur Sikri to participate
consistent chiaroscuro of in religious debates, bearing gifts that included an illustrated Royal
Europrean art, especially in
Polyglot Bible, published in Antwerp by Christopher Plantin in
the treatment of elephants, at
the expense of Safavid pure 1568-73. Akbar, his courtiers, and his artists must have pored eagerly
colours, clarity of design, and over these ‘wonderful works of the European painters who have
attention to detail. Akbar
Nama’s other famous scenes
attained worldwide fame’.**
include the siege ofChitor, Akbar built up a collection of European religious paintings (his
whose reduction was crucial favourite subject), as well as secular ones, together with engravings,
to Akbar’s securing of
hegemony, the building of tapestries, and a musical organ. The actual absorption of European
Fatehpur Sikri, and subjects conventions by Mughal artists cannot be dated precisely, although it is
related to his personal life.
known that European prints began flooding the empire in the late
sixteenth century. The first stage of wonder and experimentation
probably gave way to selective appropriation. Among early responses,
there exists a precocious copy of St John from Diirer’s Crucifixion
by the 13-year-old Abu’l Hasan. At the end of Akbar’s reign, the
impact of Mannerism begins to be palpable, as for instance in the night
scene from Jami’s Baharistan, painted by Miskina, who uses subtle
atmospheric light and deep dramatic colours.3° Although history
painting dominates Akbar’s period, there was no shortage of intimate
works like these, which were meant for private delight.
The reign of Jahangir

Akbar’s eldest son, Salim, by his Rajput queen, Jodha Bai, succeeded
him, assuming the name Jahangir (‘Seizer of the World’). Having
lived in the shadow of his father, Jahangir’s response was to withdraw
into a private world of pleasure. A man of refined sensibility, his
overindulgence in the good things of life ultimately led to alcoholism
and physical decline but he took Mughal painting to great heights,
creating a symbiotic relationship between the patron and the artist.
Jahangir’s sharply observed journal, Tuzuk 1-Jahangiri, offers us a
mirror as much to his personality as to the age itself.”
As heir apparent, he had caused the ageing emperor a great deal of
sadness by his rebellion and the murder of Akbar’s close companion,
Abul Fazl. However, Jahangir made his architectural debut with the
pious act of building his father’s mausoleum at Sikandra, renamed
Paradise Town in honour of the great emperor. As had become the
practice, the sepulchre was set in the midst of a four-square garden of
paradise, with lofty minarets at four corners of the entrance gateway,
the first of the multiple-minaret designs that became a common
feature of the later Mughal style. Its square ground plan, which
THE REIGN OF JAHANGIR 121

consists of progressively diminishing layers, reminds us of Buddhist
stupas. This is an early example of a Jahangiri building whose rich
surface texture is created with red sandstone, white marble, stone
intarsia (inlay), tile work, and painted stucco.”
Nur Jahan and female patronage

A more opulent tomb, built much later, was dedicated to the father of
the charismatic Nur Jahan (‘Light of the World’), the pivot of
Jahangir’s life. Although legends tell of young Jahangir’s love for
Nur Jahan, he probably met her after becoming emperor. Once she
was married to the emperor, a junta centring on her family
assumed enormous power, taking advantage of Jahangir’s progressive
alcoholism. Nur Jahan was accorded the rare honour of having coins
struck in her name. One of the major women patrons in India, she may
have inspired more Persianate ornaments and popularized the use of
more realistic figures, hitherto discouraged as an un-Islamic, Hindu
predilection. But her greatest contribution lay in architecture and
gardens. Nur Jahan’s informed taste in architecture is demonstrated in
her most important commission, Itimad ud-Daula, the tomb for her
father, a two-storeyed white marble sepulchre with decorative inlays
set in the midst of the prescribed four-square garden. A rich texture is
provided by delicate pietra dura work (marble inlaid with precious and
semi-precious stones). The decorative motifs include representations
of wine decanters and fruits of Safavid inspiration that promise the
delights of paradise.*
Royal gardens
Jahangir emulated his Timurid ancestors in building hunting lodges
whose shooting towers were dotted with animal heads as trophies, but
clearly gardens were a particular favourite of his, and his enthusiasm in
this area was shared by Nur Jahan. The garden increasingly rivalled the
citadel as an emblem of royal power and as the site where the divine
king received his adoration. Seventeenth-century Mughal gardens,
which fused Rajput, Iranian, and Timurid traditions and put a new
gloss on the Islamic paradise garden, were integrated into the layout of
cities. In his autobiography, the emperor enthuses about the gardens of
Agra with their water reservoirs, channels, and plants. Their designer,
Khwaja Jahan, was rewarded with the high rank of a Mansabdar.
Jahangir waxes eloquent about the clear waters and flowering trees of
Kashmir, where he made his summer residence. The harnessing of
nature by connecting waterfalls, canals, and terraces to the natural
streams and springs of Kashmir equally reflects the taste of his milieu,
in which women of the zanana were active patrons. In fact, it is only
now that scholars recognize Nur Jahan’s share in the gardens of
Jahangir’s period.%

Jahangir andpainting
By all accounts, Jahangir’s patronage of painting remains the outstand-
ing achievement of his reign. A man of discriminating taste, Jahangir’s
collection included European, Persian, and Deccani paintings as well.
In his time, illustrated manuscripts gave way to self-contained, deco-
rated albums (muraqqas) of miniature paintings. In these muraqqas,
two calligraphic pages facing each other are often followed by two
related paintings, thus giving the albums a greater unity.” When
Jahangir set up his rebel court at Allahabad, one of his first acts was to
give the émigré Iranian painter Aqa Riza charge of his painting work-
shop. Jahangir took particular pleasure in the company of artists,
whom he honoured in different ways, conferring a very high title on
Abu’l Hasan and sending Bishndas as part of a diplomatic delegation
to the Safavid court of Iran. Jahangir was particularly proud of his
discerning eye:
My liking for painting and ... judging it have arrived at such a point that when
any work is brought before me ... I say on the spur of the moment that it is
the work of such and such a man. And if there be a picture containing many
portraits and each be the face of a different master, I can discover which face is
the work of each of them.**
The weekly inspection of an artist’s work in progress, initiated by

Akbar, was taken even more seriously by Jahangir. The prestige
acquired by painters at the Mughal court led to a growing demand for
masterpieces, which makes the task of telling an original from a copy
rather difficult.
The development ofnaturalism

Seventeenth-century Mughal painting is dominated by two tenden-
cies: the formal Persian arrangement of lines and colours and the new
requirements of naturalism. Jahangir’s attachment to mimesis was
noted by the British envoy, Sir Thomas Roe, who, on giving an English
miniature to the emperor, was immediately presented with a plethora
of copies by court artists.” When asked by Jahangir to identify the
original, Roe was momentarily at a loss, which pleased Jahangir no
end. The origins of the Jahangiri style lie in the series produced in 1601
at Allahabad in Aqa Riza’s Persian idiom. Yet the growing importance
of naturalism is tellingly illustrated by the fact that Aga Riza’s own son,
Abu Hasan, became its leading exponent [77].
From these early exercises, Jahangir’s workshop went on to develop
naturalistic colour compositions, as lyrical understatement with a
concern for tonal values became fashionable in the paintings of his
reign. Naturalism, in part inspired by European prints, enabled
painters to invest faces and figures with solidity, to set up psychological

77
Deposition from the Cross,
Mughal, 1598.
This was commissioned by
Jahangir in Lahore after a
Flemish print of a lost
Raphael, or possibly of Vasari.
The figure rising from the
grave in the lower left-hand
corner reappears in other
painters’ works. To the Mughal
artist, such a ‘playful’
juxtaposition of Deposition
from the Cross and Last
Judgement (the waters and
the land giving uptheir dead,
and angels sounding the
trumpets of eternity) posed no
doctrinal problems, as it would
toa Christian.
Se
relationships, and generally to tell a story more convincingly. Single

figures were now placed against plain backgrounds or distant land-
scapes, which often quoted details of European pictures. Above all, the
Renaissance concept of ‘consistent lighting’ was explored, creating
tensions between naturalism and the formal arrangement of lines and
colours.
Alongside such stylistic changes, artistic individualism under
Jahangir became more pronounced. The younger generation in the
royal workshop—including Basawan’s son Manohar and Aqa Riza’s
son Abul Hasan, as well as Balchand, Daulat, Govardhan, Bishndas,
Mansur, Bichitr, and Padarath—all signed their individual works.
Daulat sketched four of his colleagues and himself, and Abu’'l Hasan

78 Abu’l Hasan
Detail from Squirrels ina
Chenar Tree, Mughal, c.1610.
The artist's adolescent copy of
Durer had expressed the
excitement of discovering
European chiaroscuro, While
Mansur wasJahangir's
favourite animal painter, Abu’l
Hasan has left us this animal
study, matchless in its warmth
of understanding of the
minutiae of nature. Much is
revealed in this detail, which is
onlyaminute part of the
miniature landscape. It shows
the great skill of Mughal
painters with fine details such
asthe fur on the small squirrel
or its expression. [See facing
p. 107.]
depicted himself presenting his work to Jahangir. These self-represen-

tations were clear indications of the artists’ assertion of their worth.
Among these versatile masters, let us consider two very different per-
sonalities, Abu’l Hasan and Govardhan. Each of them had a personal
style that gave expression to naturalism in remarkably different ways.
Abu’l Hasan, a colourist by preference, was given the title Nadir
uz-Zaman (‘Light of the Age’) by the sovereign, who considered his
work to be perfect [78]. His portraits, with their soft outlines and
subtle shading, deftly capture individual faces, as in the painting that
celebrates the occasion when Jahangir conferred the title Shah Jahan
(‘King of the World’) on the 25-year-old prince, Khurram [79].*°
Very little is known about Govardhan, whose career also spanned
Shah Jahan’s reign. Although he was one of the most accomplished
portraitists of the time, he was fascinated by the nude as depicted in
western art, modelling individual figures softly and observing the
details of bony fingers and toes with sensitivity. The naked yogis he was
so fond of painting, with their erotic overtones, gave him scope to
display his virtuosity with light and shade [80].

79 Abu’l Hasan
Prince Khurram (Shah
Jahan), Mughal, c.1618.
The prince confirms in the
inscription ont e painting the
convincing likeness. The artist
plays on the contrast between
Khurram’s bright amber robe
and patterned scarf and sash
and the dark emerald
background, sprayed with tiny
jewel-like flowers. The
bejewelled gold aigrette of
European origin, held up by
the prince, is the artist’s way of
telling us that the prince is a
man of refinement.
Portraiture
As artistic personalities flourished, so too did a wide range ofstyles and
genres which developed during Jahangir’s reign: portraits, dynastic
subjects, and animal, flower, and literary paintings replaced the epic
narratives of Akbar’s reign. Although Akbar had compiled a large
album ofportraits of his courtiers and himself, not until Jahangir’s time
do we encounter psychological portraits of variety and depth. The
formal court scenes, with ensembles of courtiers, based on workshop
stencils of their likenesses, depicted individuals accurately enough to
be recognizable, thus serving as official records, a practice begun by
Akbar [81].”
Portraits served also as instruments of diplomacy. Bishndas was
sent to the court of Shah Abbas of Iran; Manohar’s likeness of Jahangir

80 Govardhan
Arustic concert, Mughal,
c.1625.
Govardhan was unique among
Mughal painters in choosing
to represent life outside the
court, an interest that finally
took Mughal art away from the
magic world of Safavid art.
Genre scenes such as this,
which were less concerned
with finish, are in many ways
more rewarding for the wealth
of observation they contain.
was presented to Sir Thomas Roe, James 1’s envoy to the Great
Mughal. The latter survives only as a print in the seventeenth-century
English travel compendium Purchas His Pilgrimes.* A rare portrait,
purported to be that of Nur Jahan, epitomizes the empress’s unconven-
tionality, for royal ladies, who seldom appeared before artists, were
usually portrayed in stereotypical forms. The hunting gun she holds
suggests that she was a good shot, a prowess admired by the monarch
himself.#4 Royal women, including the daughters of Jahangir, Shah
Jahan, and his successor Aurangzeb, were patrons as well as amateur
painters. On the other side of the coin, women artists were attached to
Jahangir’s zanana. Among them, we know of Nadira Banu, a pupil of
Aga Riza, and a princess, Sahifa Banu [82]. Few portraits are more
intriguing than the late allegorical ones of Jahangir. Their complex
iconography, partially revealed in poems inscribed on the paintings,

81
The courtier Abd ur-Rahim,
Khan i-Khanan, a detail of
Jahangir Receiving Prince
Parviz, Mughal, 1610.
This study of an experienced
and wary courtier is one of the
most penetrating in Mughal
art. Abd ur-Rahim,
commander-in-chief of the
Mughal army, employed 20
artists in his karkhana who
illustrated the Ramayana and
the Mahabharata as well as
ragamala paintings. His life
gives us a rare glimpse of
patronage by aMughal high
official.
often conceals political messages. Jahangir’s imaginary encounter with

contemporary monarchs underlines the political message of a “Pax
Mongolica’ reinforced by motifs such as the nimbus (halo), a solar
symbol, the world map, and the juxtaposition of the lion and the lamb
[83].*
Mughal animal paintings reflect Jahangir’s curiosity about the
natural world [84].” At Jahangir’s insistence, numerous paintings of
animals, birds, flowers, and plants served as objective records of the
flora and fauna of the realm. Jahangir’s curiosity had a morbid side
as well, which inspired The Dying Inayat Khan, a drawing of tragic
intensity [85]. It is also rare that a drawing should survive from the
period, since drawings were not collected but only used by artists as the
basis for paintings.*
One cannot leave Jahangir’s reign without mentioning the magnifi-
cent display of wealth at the court. One typical ceremony held on
special days was the weighing of the sovereign and the princes against
gold, silver, and other precious materials. These were later distributed
among the poor, a practice that had roots in ancient India. The
emperor's collection of objets d’art included Chinese figures and vases,
gem-studded weapons, articles of personal attire such as jewelled
turban pins, and objects of domestic use, such as jade wine cups,
enamelled hookah bases, magnificent carpets, and precious stones.

82 Sahifa Banu [pO
} |
Shah Tamasp, Mughal, early [
seventeenth century. }
The princess was one of the '
painters who belonged to |
Jahangir’s zanana but little 1
else is known about her.
However, this is one of the rare
paintings that can be clearly
identified as the work of a
female artist. Her portrait of
the Persian emperor was
based on stencils available in
the Mughal workshop.
The reign of Shah Jahan

In 1628 Jahangir’s third son, Khurram, better known as Shah Jahan
(‘King of the World’) (1628-58), seized the throne by putting his rivals
to death. Mughal treasures acquired a legendary reputation in his time,
but the pomp and circumstance of Shah Jahan’s reign had an underly-
ing political message. A heterogeneous ruling class created by Akbar
had supplanted the hereditary aristocracy, but it had become entirely
THE REIGN OF SHAH JAHAN 129

83 Bichitr
Jahangir Prefers a Sufi to
Kings, Mughal, 1615-18.
The ageing emperor sits ona
throne inspired by a European
hour glass, symbolizing time.
Winged cherubs turn away in
despair, as Jahangir spurns
worldly monarchs, the
Ottoman sultan (based ona
European print) and King
James | (based on the English
painter John de Critz), for the
company of the Sufi mystic.
An interesting comment on
the artist’s high profile in this
period is the inclusion of
himselfatthe bottom.
dependent on the sovereign’s personal charisma, which was sustained

by the imperial myth. Shah Jahan codified Mughal personal rule
through court rituals, architecture, and painting, formalizing the
existing social pyramid with the emperor at its apex. His art and his
treasures lent a grandeur to his reign that impressed his subjects no
less than it did foreign visitors. The monarch spent part of each day
examining gems and inspecting the work of painters, carvers,
engravers, goldsmiths, enamellers, and architects [86].
Yet all was not well in the state of the Grand Mughal. A long reign

84 Mansur of peace and the glittering life at court camouflaged the inner decay
Chameleon, Mughal,
of the realm, a decline hastened by Shah Jahan’s inordinate love of
seventeenth century.
A striking work by Jahangir’s
precious objects. Life at court had become artificial, governed by strict
favourite animal painter, it rules of etiquette that glorified the increasingly intolerant emperor at
forms part of a systematic the expense of the nobles. Shah Jahan’s policy of territorial expansion
documentation of natural
history undertaken by the was a costly failure, while the oppression of peasants reached an
emperor. Mansur was a intolerable level.
master of studied elegance
and possessor of a clinical
eye. Jahangir writes about the Later Mughal architecture
purpose of these paintings: Shah Jahan’s first love was architecture, which was a synthesis of his
‘As these animals appeared to
be very strange, | described
aesthetic and political ideas. It was a love shared by the courtiers and
them in my memoir and had even by the ladies of the royal family, who continued to play their part
them painted by artists, so that in commissioning buildings. Literary sources inform us that a critical
the amazement that arose
from hearing of them might be
appreciation of architecture was taken for granted at the court, the
increased.’ emperor providing aesthetic leadership through his department of
architecture. The leading architects enjoyed a high reputation, notably
Abd al-Karim and Makramat Khan, who were associated with the
building of the Taj Mahal.”
Abandoning Akbar’s architectural ideology, which sought to recon-
cile Hindus and Muslims, Shah Jahan consciously returned to the

85 Hashim(?)
Dying Inayat Khan,
preparatory drawing, Mughal,
1618-19.
On hearing of his courtier’s
imminent death from opium
and alcohol abuse, the
emperor ordered him to be
brought before him. ‘Though
painters have striven much in
drawing an emaciated face,
yet | have never seen anything
like this ... As itwas a very
extraordinary case |directed
painters to take his portrait.
Next day he travelled the road
of non-existence.’
Sultanate roots. The most singular aspect of his architectural style was
its formal harmony, which was enhanced by the magical quality of the
soft white marble he used. Buildings were governed by hierarchical
stresses, seeking bilateral symmetry through the emphasis on both
wings of the central axis, in contrast to previous centrally planned
structures. Architectural uniformity was achieved by the repetition
of a few significant forms and motifs embodying a complex symbolic
message that reinforced the doctrine of divine kingship. The motifs
themselves had a mixed Iranian, Hindu/Buddhist, and European
86
Shah Jahan’s nephrite wine
cup, dated thethirty-first year
of his reign (1657).
No less outstanding than the
larger works produced during
his reign, this exquisite wine
cup in the shape of the head of
an ibex was among emperor
Shah Jahan’s personal
p ossessions, probably used
©) n special occasions.
132, THE MUGHAL EMPIRE (1526-1757)

87
pedigree: columns with multifaceted capitals (mugarnas); cusp-arch
Taj Mahal, Agra, seventeenth
century. bases; deeply carved naturalistic acanthus plants with cypress bodies;
The symmetry and lucidity of baluster columns; semicircular arches; cornucopia motifs (purna
its design is complemented by
ghata); finally, so-called bangala curved roofs and cornices. ‘The most
the delicate Makrana marble
which changes colour in prominent decoration, however, was the pietra dura work that had been
response to natural light, from a feature of Mughal architecture since the time of Jahangir.°°
the rosy Indian dawn to the
Although Shah Jahan’s first architectural commission was his
shimmering moonlight. Its
Timurid chamfered octagon, father’s tomb at Lahore, the lack of warmth for this virtually manda-
with a central portal and two- tory enterprise is noticeable. The tomb’s unusual layout was dictated by
level niches, is dominated by a
lotus dome with four cupolas
Jahangir’s wish to be buried under an open sky. The impressive quality
at its four corners. The red of this first major example of pietra dura work stems from the four lofty
sandstone forecourt is entered minarets at its four corners.
through a deep arched
entrance crowned with small
Royal tomb design attained perfection in the building that com-
domed chhatris. memorates Shah Jahan’s beloved queen, Mumtaz Mahall (1593-1631).

The emperor, grief-stricken by her death in childbirth, chose leading
architects to design a flawless memorial to her [87]. Yet, as we shall see,
the Taj Mahal was also the first monument to translate Shah Jahan’s
concept of absolute authority into architecture. Situated by the river
Yamna, the Taj Mahal was the ultimate Islamic paradise garden, as
confirmed by the inscription at its entrance. The sepulchre, set at the
end of a four-square garden, is divided by four wide waterways, which
are further subdivided into four narrow ones, which flow into a central
marble pool. The central axis of the tomb, which rests on a raised plat-
form, is balanced by symmetrical structures on either side, a simple yet
effective design marked by four slender minarets. The Taj also contains
a mosque, an assembly hall, and dwellings of tomb attendants, as well
as bazaars and caravanserais whose income supported the tomb. ‘The
inclusion of domestic buildings is a reminder that the Taj is the earthly
replica of a heavenly mansion and an example of the interchangeability
of Mughal secular and funerary architecture. The most celebrated
decorations of the building consist of flowers in pietra dura—rose,
narcissus, and tulip—beloved of the Mughals. Compared with the
rich texture of Itimad ud-Daula, the decoration here is remarkably
restrained. In the interior, an inlaid marble cenotaph received the
favourite queen’s remains and, later, those of Shah Jahan.
From the very outset a powerful myth grew up around the Taj
Mahal, which has been termed a ‘love poem in stone’. However, its
dimensions suggest Shah Jahan’s desire to create concrete symbols of
his absolute power. The tomb is 250 feet high, the enclosure is 1000
x 1860 feet, and the whole complex covers 42 acres. It is evident that
its allegorical significance goes far beyond its immediate function. As
has been argued, in addition to the symbolism of the mausoleum as a
paradise garden, the apocalyptic imagery and the passages inscribed on
its surface allude to it as the throne of God on the day of resurrection,
an idea that is associated with the Islamic concept of the heavenly
mansion.”
Urban planning
In 1639, Shah Jahan embarked on an ambitious urban project, the new
capital north of Mughal Delhi, which he named Shahjahanabad. His
aim was to restore the former glory of the Sultanate capital, which had
been superseded by Agra. The city, originally planned by the masters
Hamid and Ahmad, was completed in 1648 by other architects, but the
controlling hand remained that of the emperor. Shahjahanabad has
been studied as an example of a pre-modern city taking the form of an
‘imperial mansion’, this being essentially an extended royal house-
hold.* Known today as the Red Fort, this irregular rectangle, two anda
quarter miles in circumference, was once surrounded by residences be-
longing to Shah Jahan’s nobles. The Red Fort symbolizes the political

heart of modern independent India, even though the locus of adminis-
tration remains the New Delhi of Edwin Lutyens and Herbert Baker
(see chapter 11).
The Red Fort is served by imposing gateways, the Delhi and
Lahore Gates in particular. The Lahore Gate led through a covered
arcade to the public audience hall (diwan i-amm khass), the secular hub
of the empire, as the Friday mosque was its spiritual centre. Although
Shah Jahan deployed a variety of architectural symbols to underscore
his divinity, none is as insistent as this red sandstone audience hall.
This was where he was to elaborate further the political ideas he first
realized in the Taj Mahal. The architectural sources of the diwan
t-amm khass were mixed: the building itself drew upon the Iranian
Chihil Sutun (Hall of Forty Pillars), even as the jharoka, the ceremonial
balcony where the emperor appeared before his subjects, offered a fresh
gloss on the age-old Indian custom of darsan, the viewing of deities or
great personages by the common people.
The architecture was the setting for a choreographed imperial
spectacle that reinforced the aura of divine kingship. Here the emperor
made his daily appearance in a public renewal of his indivisible author-
ity. The nobles and their retinue were arranged in the hall in a strict
hierarchical order, the highest nobles being placed closest to the cere-
monial balcony. When everyone had assembled, standing to attention
and waiting with bated breath, the emperor made his solemn entrance
onto the resplendent balcony. This ceremonial balcony, which
emerged as the supreme symbol of Mughal kingship, reaffirming
ideas of hierarchy and subordination, was situated in the central bay at
the eastern end of the hall. In contrast to the plainness of the hall itself,
the marble enclosure was studded with rubies, emeralds, and other
precious stones and richly embellished with pietra dura work. The
88
Throne jharoka in the diwan I-
amm khass, Red Fort, Delhi,
completed 1648.
This was situated in the
central bay at the eastern end
of the hall. Itwas studded with
precious stones and richly
embellished with pietra dura
work, the chief one showing
Orpheus playing his lute
surrounded by wild animals.
The ‘princely’ Orpheus here
represents Solomon, who in
turn represents Shah Jahan.

TTT
89 sovereign, seated here on a marble throne, gave audience and con-

Jami masjid (Friday mosque), ducted public business from an exalted height.
Delhi, seventeenth century.
The mosque is placed ona
At each corner of the platform in the jharoka, a baluster column
substantial plinth, above a held up a deeply curved 4angala roof or baldachin, widely used by Shah
high ridge, in orderto be Jahan as a sign of authority. The baluster column, associated in western
visible from afar. The extensive
courtyard above the lower iconography with religious and royal personages, was adapted from
level is enclosed by western prints by Shah Jahan as a symbol of his divine status. In
colonnaded cloisters,
addition, Mughal emperors used Greek and Roman and Judaeo-
approached by an impressive
flight of steps at the entrance. Christian myths to construct their doctrine of royal authority, the most
Its four corners contain popular being that of the wise king Solomon. Orpheus of Greek
cupolas recalling Sultanate
pavilion tombs. The western
mythology, the pacifier of animals, was used to further reinforce the
end is marked by a Solomonic myth. The European motifs were not mere exotica
colonnaded portal but formed an indispensable part of Mughal ideology. In this world
surmounted by a large lotus
dome in the centre, which is of shifting imagery, meaning had no fixed status. However, the under-
flanked by two smaller ones. lying symbolism had a clear purpose—the legitimization of Mughal
Two slender minarets rise on
rule [88].5°
either side of the portal.
The more intimate private audience hall (diwan i-khass) was meant
for the close associates of the monarch. The simple marble piers on its
outside belied its richly ornamented interior in which a silver ceiling
was held up by jewel-encrusted marble walls. The focus of this
chamber was the fabled Peacock Throne studded with rubies and
emeralds. A famous inscription in here assures us that ‘if there be
paradise on earth, it is this, it is this’.*”
For Shah Jahan, who was more religious than his forebears,

mosques had a special sanctity. His favourite was the exquisite Moti
Masjid of white marble in the Agra Fort, crowned with three lotus
domes and chhatris. But unquestionably it was the massive sami masjid
(Friday mosque) in Delhi that served as the symbol of the faith. This,
the largest Friday mosque in India, remarkable for its clarity of design,
brought mosque architecture in India to an impressive climax, marking
the restoration of Delhi as a capital [89].*
Shah Jahan and painting

Shah Jahan’s public support of the Islamic injunction against images
earned him the reputation of being indifferent to painting. But this
90 Govardhan
Shah Jahan and Dara Sikoh
on Horseback, Mughal,
E1632.
The favourite son is granted
here the privilege of holding
the parasol, the foremost
symbol of royalty in India. This
delicate gem-like painting,
which shows the Mughal
mastery of line and a subtle
range of shimmering tones,
offers us a glimpse of the
tragic Dara, the foremost
intellectual of his time anda
great patron of Hindu
philosophy, laterto be
murdered by his brother,
Aurangzeb.

was not the case. As in other spheres, the emperor exercised strict
control over painting projects so that they underlined his theory of
kingship, but within these constraints his artists produced works of
great richness, finish, and‘refinement, even when dealing with gory
subjects such as the beheading of rebels.°° Striking innovations during
his reign included the use of form to express hierarchy and a new genre
of panoramic landscapes with deeper perspectives and vivid treatments
of fortresses and woods. A fashion for equestrian portraits was taken
up rapidly by the provincial governors, especially the Rajput princes
[90]. Rembrandt had one such portrait. His pen and ink sketches
after Mughal paintings, which retain his mastery of line and tone
without destroying the essential character of Mughal art, add an
unusual chapter to the history of cultural borrowings.”°
Eiistorical narrative
History painting, in abeyance since the reign of Akbar, appeared with
renewed vigour as a prime vehicle for sustaining the Mughal theory of
kingship, much as architecture had been exploited for its own symbolic
language. Military campaigns, which once again became necessary as
rebellions broke out in various parts of the empire, continued to be
painted as in Akbar’s times, with the difference now that the emperor's
agents, rather than himself, were shown engaged in maintaining law
and order. Some of the finest examples of history painting are in the
official chronicle of Shah Jahan, the Padshah Nama [91]. A number of
illustrations to this royal text by Balchand, Bichitr, Bishndas, Daulat,
Payag, and other major artists include formal court scenes. A favoured
pictorial device here was to place the haloed emperor in the ceremonial
balcony, while the courtiers were depicted in profile below him,
arranged symmetrically rather than interacting with one another. It is
interesting to note that the lower echelons were portrayed in livelier
poses.
These court scenes give us useful information about the interiors of
buildings, not least about wall paintings, which can be seen in the
background, attesting to their continued importance.” However, more
intimate works of the period have their own appeal. Their major
exponent, Payag, was fascinated with chiaroscuro and used it to give
the Mughal art of storytelling a new intensity. The clever use of a
single, centrally placed light source enabled him to delineate the
different figures vividly and yet invest them with a sense of mystery.”
Deccani painting
Before we leave the subject of Mughal painting, it is worth considering
a parallel tradition that offered an artistic counterpoint to Mughal art.
While both Mughal and Deccani painting owed a great deal to the
Safavids, they represent two very different historical processes. The

91
The Capture of Port Hoogly,
Padshah Nama, Mughal,
c.1634.
The Portuguese had fortified :
the port city, threatening
indigenous commerce and
forcibly converting the local
Muslim population. On 24
September 1632, the Mughal
forces stormed Hoogly,
undermining its defences. The
unknown painter captures the
drama ofthe siege. The
precious album was given by
the Nawab of Avadh to Lord
Teignmouth in c.1798, who
then presented it to George III.
lvwas seen bythe public for
the first time in 1997-8 in
Delhi, London, and
Washington, DC.
Deccan boasted a painting tradition that remained outside the orbit of

Mughal painting until the Deccan sultans lost their independence to
the Mughals. Following the demise of the southern Vijayanagara
empire in 1564, the rival Bahamani dynasty in the Deccan splintered
into the Sultanates of Ahmadnagar, Bijapur, Bidar, Berar, and
Golconda. These successor states, which had close links with Safavid
Iran through trade and marriage, fell prey to the Mughals on account
of their lucrative foreign trade and diamond mines, which until the
eighteenth century were the major source of this precious stone.
Golconda was renowned internationally for its dyed textiles, and later
for the export of chintz, while in the eighteenth century Bidar acquired
DECCANI PAINTING 139

92 Farrukh Husain (Farrukh a high reputation for its refined inlaid metalwork, the so-called
Beg)
Bidriware.®
Ibrahim Ail Shah Il as a Young
Man Hawking, Deccan, The most familiar Deccani paintings are those associated with
c.1590-1600. Ibrahim Adil Shah 1 (1586-1627) of Bijapur, an enlightened patron of
The magical landscape and
poetry, music, and painting. They are portraits with fully rounded
gem-like colours augmented
with gold are quite Persian. figures, seen through flowing, transparent skirts. Ibrahim also had
The artist, a favourite of portraits painted of himself, attired in coloured silk garments and
Ibrahim Adil Shah, was
adorned with jewellery, in standing or seated poses against a low-key
recently identified from his
inscription on the painting as background. Ibrahim, whose ancestors were Ottoman ‘Turks, repre-
none other than the Mughal sented a synthesis of Hindu and Muslim cultures. His mother tongue
painter Farrukh Beg.
was Marathi but he was well-versed in Persian. Hindus, notably his
adviser Antu Pandit, enjoyed positions of power within his kingdom.
A skilled painter and calligrapher himself, Ibrahim inspired innova-
tions in painting.“
However, it is the intriguing case of Ibrahim Adil Shah’s favourite
court painter, Farrukh Husain, that has continued to attract scholarly
attention [92]. He has been identified as Farrukh Beg, who was born
around 1547 and received his training in Khorasan in Persia. He joined
Akbar’s karkhana at its initial stages but mysteriously disappeared
between the years 1590 and 1605. It is almost certain that during this
period this talented painter was working for Ibrahim. Subsequently, he
rejoined the Mughal court and was honoured byJahangir with the title
Nadir al-Asr (‘Wonder of the Age’).*’ Around 1627, as the Deccani
kingdoms increasingly succumbed to the Mughals, so Deccani paint-
ing failed to resist the influx of Mughal art.
DECCANI PAINTING I4I

Rajasthani and
Pahari Kingdoms
(c.1700-1900)
Rajasthan, regarded as the homeland of the Ksatriyas (warrior and

ruling castes), lies in the western and central regions of North India
[see map, p.6]. Rajput courtly culture reflected a complex set of social
relations dominated by ‘feudal’ clans linked by blood. The ruler was the
chief among equals, the whole structure held together by traditional
notions of chivalry. Unlike the urban, bureaucratic Mughal empire, the
Rajput states were dominated by the ‘rustic nobility’ whose roots
were in the soil. Thus folk elements constantly surface in Rajasthani
architecture and painting.
The Rajputs, who had resisted Muslim advances for centuries, were
finally pacified by the Mughals with matrimonial alliances and high
positions within the imperial system. The process was accompanied by
the transformation of Rajput taste in art and architecture. Lying north
of Rajasthan in the foothills of the Himalayas, the Hill States of
Basohli, Guler, Kangra, and Jammu, ruled by Rajputs, came into being
during the eighteenth century as the Mughal state went into decline.
The palaces and cities of Rajasthan

The Rajput strongholds, the great desert fortresses of Rajasthan,
though much rebuilt over centuries, bear witness to the turbulent
history of the area. One of the earliest surviving structures in Rajasthan
is an impressive tower of victory built by Rana Kumbha in 1458 to
celebrate Rajput recovery from the dominance of the Delhi Sultanate.
The tower gives the impression of a series of Hindu temple halls
stacked one above the other. The Rajput palaces are among the major
examples of secular architecture from pre-colonial India." As Rajput
princes joined Mughal imperial service in the sixteenth century, their
palaces back in Rajasthan began displaying Mughal taste in both the
interior and exterior of buildings. And yet in important ways they dif-
fered from Mughal palaces. The exteriors of Rajput palaces, such as
those at Udaipur and Jaipur, were in many respects like those of
Detail of 99 Mughal ones, though lacking the symmetry of the latter [93]. Yet in
143
93 essence Rajput structures were fortified palaces rather than Mughal
City Palace, east front, ‘palaces within fortresses’. The former also made extensive use of inner
Udaipur, eighteenth century.
This shows how Rajput
courtyards for social and ceremonial purposes. The antecedent here
palace-fortresses, often was Man Singh’s palace at Gwalior.’
strategically located at the
summit of aridge, made full
use of the surrounding Interior design
landscape. Its east face Rajput interiors, following the Mughal pattern, comprised three parts:
overlooking Lake Pichola
public and private audience halls and the private quarters of the ruler,
consists of many planes, but
none dominant, thus which introduced the strictly segregated women’s area (zanana). But,
reinforcing a sense of as with facades, so with ground plans: Mughal order and symmetry
asymmetry so different from
the facades of Mughal forts.
were purposely altered in favour of ‘picturesque irregularity’. It is
sometimes difficult to trace a clear architectural plan in the interior,
and this cannot be wholly explained by the fact that many of these
evolved gradually over a long period. It is clear from details of the
buildings that architects understood the principles of formal symmetry
but that they playfully subverted them.
Palace interiors were enlivened by wall hangings, screens, velvets,
embroideries, and carpets, whose lavish use may have originated in the
Sultanate period. The Rajput palaces also adopted Mughal shish
mahals—rooms decorated with mirror fragments. In the case of Rajput
versions, the mirror discs on the walls were no different from those
used in rural women’s skirts in Rajasthan, an indication of the relation-
ship between high and folk art.3 Likewise, palace wall paintings were
more refined versions of those to be found inside and outside of havelis,
which were a distinct feature of Rajasthan. These houses of noblemen
and affluent merchants were built around a shared central courtyard.
Several havelis formed a mohalla belonging to a particular profession,
for instance the stone cutters, dyers, and producers of printed cloths,
thus ensuring privacy and caste segregation in a town.*
144 RAJASTHANI AND PAHARI KINGDOMS (¢.1700-I900)

Jaipur
Sawai Jaisingh 1, the eighteenth-century ruler of Jaipur and a Mughal
official, was responsible for striking examples of Rajput architecture:
some of the earliest observatories in the world and the centrally
planned city of Jaipur, founded in 1727. In both types of architecture,
the perfect blend of function and aesthetics makes them unique
creations. Jaisingh had studied Greek, Arabic, and Sanskrit astronom-
ical works. He kept himself abreast of the latest research in Europe
and was a collector of western scientific instruments. Because of his
knowledge of astronomy, the Mughal emperor assigned to him the
task of devising an accurate calendar for official purposes. When
Jaisingh was planning his observatory, he was convinced that the
94
instruments available were too small to achieve the degree of accuracy
Samrat Yantra, Jaipur,
Rajasthan, eighteenth that he sought. So, instead of placing astronomical instruments within
century. his observatories, he designed the structures themselves as instru-
The smallerofthe two
ments. Elegant architectural forms were created by combining
sundials in Jaipur, this
structure can tell the correct geometrical shapes—hemispheres, arcs, cylinders, cubes, and isosceles
time within 20 seconds. The triangles [94].°
Maharaja ofJaipur built over
30 of these monumental
In building Jaipur, which took its name from its ruler, Jaisingh’s
instruments in many parts of search for perfect symmetry might have stemmed from his scholarly
northern India with the aim of interest in astronomy and mathematics. The city is also a rare example
constructing an accurate
calendar for administrative
of urban planning based on the Hindu symbolic ground plan, the
purposes. vastu-purusa-mandala, whose application had until now been confined
THE PALACES AND CITIES OF RAJASTHAN 145

95
Plan of the city of Jaipur,
eighteenth century.
The straight, stone-paved
streets were laid out ona
rectangular grid plan,
although this had to be
somewhat modified to take
into account peculiarities of
the terrain, such as the hillon
each side. The palace of the
ruler and the observatory were
placed in the centre,
according to the concept of
the sacred middle
(brahmasthana), while the fea, ®
residential quarters of the JOIC os ee :
ls alk a= ING] Taal =e
different castes, shaped in
squares and rectangles, ie
Or aie
Ce ee oe Si] ‘ PSe.
feel fs [ee S en =]
conformed to sacred al ee BE BR (I)
geometry.
to temples [95].° A playful relief to the formal symmetry of Jaipur is

provided by the pink sandstone Hawa Mahal (Palace of Breezes). Built
in 1799, its beehive fagade acts as a giant screen whose many windows
provide seclusion for the aristocratic women of the zanana; from these
windows they enjoyed the cool summer’s breeze or watched public
events below without being seen.’
Rajasthani painting
Rajasthani and Pahari artists started absorbing Mughal innovations
from the seventeenth century but their art was very different in
temperament and outlook. Part of this difference lay in the more lyrical
approach of the Rajasthani artists and the pleasure they derived from
pure lines and colours. Unlike Mughal artists, Rajput artists (citrera)
were anonymous and did not enjoy the high status of their Mughal
counterparts. The art historian was thus obliged to fall back on dynas-
tic or geographical categories in order to explain the evolution of styles,
a development that has now been challenged.* The shift of emphasis in
the history of Rajput art from the ruler’s taste to artistic personality
undoubtedly marks an advance in the study of this tradition, but styles
could well be products of particular workshops rather than hallmarks
of individual masters.
We have previously examined the art of the Rajput kingdom of
Mewar on the eve of Mughal conquest, the best-known example being
the Caurapancastka series. This tradition was continued at Mewar by
the influential Muslim painter Sahibdin, who illustrated the epic
Ramayana and other Hindu classics. Sahibdin continued the tradi-
tional Gujarati figure style, while adopting the rocks and ridges from
Mughal art. The employment of Sahibdin and other Muslim artists by
this state reminds us that the Mewar—Mughal conflict was political
146 RAJASTHANI AND PAHARI KINGDOMS (¢.1700-1900)

rather than religious and that the Indian artist was prepared to serve
any patron regardless of personal belief.° The Mughal style was first
introduced in the region through the works brought back by Rajput
rulers, later augmented by the arrival of Mughal artists at Rajput courts
when the empire was in decline in the eighteenth century.
Portraiture
The paintings of Rajput and the Hill States demonstrate the genres
favoured in these regions as well as the nature of the patronage that
gave rise to them. Portraiture was the most popular genre introduced
96
Maharana Jawan Singh of
Mewar, Udaipur, c.1835.
This paint ing captures striking
details of the heat of the
chase. Th e ruler, on
horseback and adorned with a
halo, pursues a wild boar. The
gory detai ls. of the hunt are set
against th e cool green shrubs
of the Aravalli hills, ina skilful
combination of social
comment and aesthetic
statement.
RAJASTHANI PAINTING 147

97
Raja Ajmat Dev, Mankot,
1730.
The artist uses four dominant
colours: dark grey-green for
costume, bright red for bolster
and picture border, turmeric
yellow for the background,
and chaste white for the floor.
Delicate and yet incisive
drawings of details such as the
Raja’s profile and the hookah
add a human touch. The artist
heightens our interest by
‘cropping’ part of the hookah
as itand the sword cross over
onto the red border itself.
98
Brijnathji and Duran Sal Sight
a Pride of Lions, Kotah,
eighteenth century.
The forests next to the Kotah
fort and along the wild
Chambal river are captured from the Mughal court. However, subtle changes occurred in the art of
with a conviction that springs
portraiture on its journey from Agra to Mewar. Monarchs were no
from the artist’s personal
knowledge of the landscape. longer depicted as formal individuals but as real human beings holding
The animals are vivid, court, celebrating festivals, or enjoying their favourite blood sport, the
impartinga surreal
atmosphere to the scene. The
hunt [96]. The mood of Rajasthani court paintings differed from the
work has recently been austere elegance of Shah Jahani paintings in their boisterous scenes of
attributed to an anonymous merrymaking during festivals such as that of spring (4o/). The
eighteenth-century master,
assisted by the known artist
Rajasthani and Pahari artists imposed their own experience and sensi-
Shaikh Taju, whose works on bility on Mughal naturalism even as they recorded real events.
Hindu themes show the
Compared with Mughal portraits, the profile of the sitter became
influence of Deccani painting.
However, this attribution is not increasingly idealized. Perhaps the perfect specimen of this type of
universally accepted. portraiture is to be found not in Rajasthan but in the Hill State of
148 RAJASTHANI AND PAHARI KINGDOMS (C.1700-1900)

Mankot. The artist who painted Raja Ajmat Dev in the early
eighteenth century achieves a brilliant resolution of the underlying
tension between representation and formal symmetry. His colour
scheme is radically simple, the forms sparing [97]."°
As in Mughal painting, monarchs are portrayed by Rajasthani
artists engaged in various activities. Among these, few can rival the
hunting scenes commissioned by the eighteenth-century rulers of the
Rajasthani state of Kotah, a genre developed to satisfy the rulers’ tastes.
The artists recorded these scenes of forests and wild beasts with an
RAJASTHANI PAINTING 149

immediacy that reminds us of Blake’s lines, “Tyger! Tyger! burning
bright / In the forests of the night’ [98]."
The variety and importance of Hindu deities as the subject matter
of Rajput painting marked another departure from Mughal art.
Furthermore, if Mughal art brings to mind history painting and
portraiture, Rajasthani and Pahari artists are remembered today for
lyrical paintings extolling romantic love and the perennial Indian
concern with feminine beauty. It is interesting that when Mughal art
was at its zenith, neither the nude nor the beauty of women fired the
artist’s imagination.
At Kishangarh, set in the midst of idyllic mountains and lakes, a
new vision of the romance of Radha and Krsna came into being
during the brief reign of Raja Sawant Singh (1748-57). The Mughal
artist Bhavanidas, who founded the Kishangarh school, was invited
to the state by its first ruler, a Rajput official in the Mughal empire.
99 Nihal Chand But Kishangarh’s fame rests on the artist Nihal Chand and his
Radha and Krsna Recline ina patron Sawant Singh, poet, painter, and a devotee of Krsna. Early art
Lotus, Kishangarh, c.1745.
Nihal Chand created a new,
historians, who were moved by the romantic story of the love between
mannered type of slender the king and a professional singer, Bani Thani, identified her with the
beauty with curved almond- heroine of Nihal Chand’s paintings, but as a recent work suggests, the
shaped eyes, arched
eyebrows, sharp aquiline inspiration for the canon might have been more prosaic. There are, for
nose, and pointed chin. instance, similarities between the eyes of the Nihal Chand heroine and
I50 RAJASTHANI AND PAHARI KINGDOMS (C.I7OO-1900)

those of the conventionally painted cult image of Srinathji—in fact,
the convention pervades all Gujarat-Rajasthan painting [99].”
In the eighteenth century, as political turmoil followed the
dismemberment of the Mughal empire, the Hill States, nestling deep
in the Himalayan valleys, developed into a cloistered fairy-tale world,
where men were imagined as perpetually elegant and women eternally
enchanting, poised, and aristocratically aloof. As suggested by the
conventions used in an illustrated Devi Mahatmya text from Kangra
(1552), the Caurapancasika style had arrived in the hills by the sixteenth
century. From this evolved the recognizable Pahari style in Basohli
during the reign of Kirpal Pal (1678-95). Bhanudatta’s Rasamanjari, a
fifteenth-century treatise on the typology of lovers, is illustrated in the
Caurapancastka tradition of depicting open pavilions and figures with
‘staring eyes’, but now the range of colours has become richer and
‘hotter’ [100].
Pahari painting
Pahari painting is particularly interesting because it throws light on
the nature of patronage in these regions. In the absence of signed
works, the art historian Ananda Coomaraswamy and others after him
identified each Pahari style with a regional kingdom such as Basohli,
Guler, Jammu, or Kangra. More recently, scholars have sought to
establish the authorship of works by examining the relationship
between artist and patron, ascribing a greater degree of individualism
to the artist than was previously assumed. The family of artists became
the basis of different styles in the Pahari kingdoms, thus loosening the
hold of geographic and dynastic categories.®
Pandit Seu (c.1680-1740), a Brahmin from Kashmir, settled in Guler
as a court artist (citrera). As a painter, his status was equal to that of a
lowly carpenter (¢arkhan). It was the custom for the son to take up the
father’s profession and to learn to draw by practising on a wooden
100 board (¢akhti) covered in clay. The talented ones progressed from
‘Disguising her real intent; the
gupta parakiya heroine’,
community work such as painting temple murals to court patronage.
Rasamanjari, c.1660—/0. Some of the myths relating to the artists suggest that they often
This (following pages) resented being dependent on royal patronage.”
comments on the nature of
illicit love, which involves
With Nainsukh (c.1710/24-78), the most talented son of Pandit Seu,
subterfuge and deception. Pahari painting reached a major turning point. Nainsukh is associated
The love bites of the previous with the introduction of Mughal naturalism into the Hill States,
night are explained away by
the heroine as caused by her although the process may have already begun with his father.
being accidentally scratched Nainsukh’s portraits—the arrangement of his figures, his use of colour,
by a cat that was chasing a
and his naturalistic drawing—all point to a sure grasp of the late
mouse. The artist uses a deep
red horizon as well as open- Mughal art produced at the court of Muhammad Shah (1719-48).
petalled lotuses in a lily pond Nainsukh, who entered the service of Balwant Singh of Jasrota in the
and chirping birds in leafy
trees to evoke the break of
17408, captured his reign with great fidelity. Although his court scenes
dawn. are impressive, Nainsukh’s finest works are his intimate portraits of the
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101 Nainsukh ruler, a token of the special relationship he enjoyed with him. Balwant
A Leisurely Ride: Mian Singh’s death in 1763 ended this special relationship. Nainsukh was
Mukund Dev with
Companions, Jasrota(?),
then forced to seek employment at the court of Amrit Pal of Basohli
c.1740. (1757-76), presumably at the suggestion of his brother Manaku, who
Nainsukh’s style is was an artist at the court. With Nainsukh’s arrival, the burning colours
recognizable by the subdued
colour field he uses, with a few
of Basohli gave way to a graceful, lyrical naturalism [101 ].”7
highlights picked out sparingly Pahari art produced in Kangra under Sansar Chand (1775-1823) is
in somewhat brighter colours.
identified with the last vision of feminine beauty before the colonial era
His finished paintings, or
sketches in preparation for [102]. Although Kangra paintings have suffered from overexposure
painting, especially portraits through reproduction, in their original state these lyrical paintings
(and his own portrait), show
his ability to capture the
represent a delicate balance between the stylized and the real. Sansar
features of his subjects with Chand’s active patronage of art and his substantial painting collection
unusual sensitivity. are known from the accounts of visiting Europeans. With his fall
from power in the middle of the nineteenth century, this flourishing
tradition came to an end. As colonial rule tightened its grip on the sub-
continent, and western taste overtook the indigenous courts, the artists
faced competition from oil painting, mechanically reproduced prints,
and ultimately photography. The only court that doggedly refused to
give way to the new taste was that of Mewar, a state that re-emerged
during the nationalist period as a symbol of Indian resistance.”
154 RAJASTHANI AND PAHARI KINGDOMS (.1700-I1900)

102
Radha Goes at Night to
Krsna’s House, Kangra,
c.1790.
This Kangra feminine ideal
was the common legacy of
Pahari artists, including those
who worked for Sansar Chand,
whose roots must lie in the
delicate drawings of
Nainsukh. They created a
striking canon of beauty:
remote, aristocratic, and
serene. In their lyrical
treatment of Bhakti poetry,
complemented by cool colour
combinations, the Radha and
Krsna theme becomes a
vehicle for portraying courtly
life in this idyllic Himalayan
valley.
ti
PAHARI PAINTING 155

‘Lhe Non-
Canonical Arts of
‘Iribal Peoples,
Women, and
Artisans
Before we enter the colonial and modern periods, it would be useful

to explore the rich mine of tribal art (the hunting-gathering communi-
ties), women’s art, and the arts of everyday use. There is a curious
silence in Indian art history about these groups ‘hidden from history’
Their arts, as part of social rituals, have an ephemeral character and are
therefore considered to be merely functional and appropriately the
preserve of anthropologists. The view of the applied arts as being
inferior to the fine arts has been an implicit assumption of Indian art
history grounded in the Renaissance hierarchy of the arts. However,
such an evaluation is also prevalent in Indian society, which itself is a
reflection of the social position of these groups. Yet they have produced
an enormous variety of arts, and in order to appreciate these so-called
minor arts, which do not conform to the canon, we need to turn to
the artists, their intentions, and the aims of those for whom their art
was created.
The fine arts of sculpture and painting are primarily concerned with
image-making, dominated by a clear narrative content. On the other
103 hand, the decorative arts are primarily engaged in creating abstract
Votive image, goddess on symmetrical patterns. As E. H. Gombrich points out, there is an es-
winged bull, Karnataka,
nineteenth century.
sential difference between the perception of meaning that governs the
The goddess is treated here in visual arts and the sense of balance, order, and symmetry that is para-
a rough but highly effective mount in decoration.’ Rhythm and structure, animation, and styliza-
fashion. She rides a celestial
tion are the elements that rule decoration, the individual motifs
bull with the look ofagentle
goat with delicate wings—a forming an integral part of an overall order. In short, the decorative arts
folk interpretation of the Great are ruled by the tension between an innate sense of order and creative
Mother that is far removed
from the canonical
ingenuity. Our own appreciation of Indian decorative arts can be an-
interpretations of the goddess. chored on this insight.
157
Tribal art
Neolithic hunter-gatherers have existed in India since prehistoric
times. Although they had faced pressure to conform from the
dominant Hindu society over millennia, until the colonial period many
of these groups were able to preserve their own artistic traditions.
Their lifestyle began to be threatened from the nineteenth century, in
part because land was increasingly exploited for economic ends and
hunter-gatherers were categorized as ‘tribes’ as part of an overall Raj
strategy of political control.3 In the 1940s, the anthropologist Verrier
Elwin drew our attention to the rich but disappearing art of tribal
India. He regretted the loss of their artistic tradition under the impact
of the modern age. A special feature of the art of the Uraons, Gonds,
Murias, and Saoras of Bihar is the use of their body as a ‘site’ for
decoration. They dress their hair with beads, they adorn themselves
with bangles, armlets, and bracelets. Gond women in particular show
off their heavy silver headdresses, while cowrie shell ornaments enjoy
universal popularity among tribal women. Wooden ceremonial masks
are an indispensable element in dance dramas, such as the Chho masks
of Purulia on the Bihar-Bengal border. The Santhal tribes of Bengal
and Bihar show artistic skill in their marriage litters of wood, ornately
carved with social scenes, while the Saoras of Chotanagpur commem-
orate the dead with pictures painted with rice paste.*
Tribal peoples practise wall paintings, a custom they share with
Hindu village communities. Among the Warli tribe of Maharastra, the
women paint the inner, darkest walls of the wedding chamber with
bright pigments of red ochre and white rice paste. These nuptial
paintings follow a complex process, accompanied by symbolic rites.
Their main subject is Palaghata, the Warli goddess of fertility. The
humiliation of the black naked goddess at the hands of the Vedic god
Indra is a constant theme among the Warlis, a mythical expression of
their defeat by Brahmanical religion. Imagined as a stocky, square
diagrammatic figure without human features, she is ritually unveiled
during the wedding.» Warli men and women also produce secular
paintings, such as the caukat, a pictogram centring on the square,
which stands for the four corners of the earth. The square is enclosed
by geometric shapes and natural scenery rendered in the neolithic rock
art style.
A striking genre of sculpture mediates between tribal and village
cultures, namely the wooden effigies of spirits (24uza) in the coastal re-
gions of Karnataka in South India. Ina ‘carnivalesque’ ritual conducted
by low-ranking Brahmin priests, caste distinctions are temporarily
obliterated and the Hindu pantheon subverted. The J/utas are
totemic, semi-divine creatures, and occasionally even the god Siva is
imagined as a S4uza. As with the nature spirits the yaksas, whose origins
are non-Vedic, the 4hutas need to be propitiated in order to deflect their
158 THE NON-CANONICAL ARTS OF TRIBAL PEOPLES, WOMEN, AND ARTISANS

demonic wrath. Hereditary artists carve the bhuta sculptures with an
array of tools on untreated jack-wood [103].°
Women’s art
In ancient India, cultivated women, including princesses and
courtesans, were expected to be accomplished in drawing and painting,
and professional women painters are occasionally encountered in
literature. However, since the names of even male painters are seldom
recorded, it is difficult to recover any useful information about women
artists. On a lower social level, women’s contribution was tacitly
acknowledged. The cloth paintings (picchwais) that hang behind
images in temples at Nathadwara in Rajasthan are taken to be
produced by men, although their production depends upon women’s
participation as cheap family labour. However, not only did a few
Rajasthani women rise to be masters of their craft, but some probably
worked outside on murals because of their proven skills.’
Domestic painting and women artists

The domestic art of floor painting, with variant forms in different
regions, such as a/pana in West Bengal, rango/i in Maharastra, and
kolam in South India, is associated with ceremonies marking rites of
passage, such as birth, puberty, marriage, and death. Female rituals
involving art have played a more significant role in Hindu social life
than the ministrations of Brahmin priests, but the images have usually
been seen as the preserve of anthropologists rather than art historians.
It is also no accident that the Great Goddess is the central figure in this
ritual matriarchy, for this is an activity, albeit temporary, that releases
women from their subordinate status in society.’ Women teach a/pana
to girls to enable them to perform wish-fulfilment rituals (47ata), such
as obtaining suitable husbands. Part of the ceremony consists of draw-
ing with fingers on the floor, with colours made of rice powder and
other natural substances, while rites relating to life cycles or harvests
are enacted. There is an emphasis on balance and symmetry as well as
on abstractions based on natural forms such as leaves and flowers.
Although governed by conventions, a/pana demands imagination and
skill, thus giving scope for individual talent.’
Other forms of art were also used to celebrate key social occasions.
Ritual decorations with elaborate scenes from Hindu epics and myths
on the mud walls of rural huts are more ambitious than floor painting.
The best known among them are Madhubani paintings, named after
the agrarian town of Madhubani in the Mithila region of Bihar, a
region of considerable antiquity. Since these paintings use cheap and
perishable materials that need periodic repainting, mothers need to
teach their daughters the techniques of painting in order to ensure
continuity [104]."°
WOMEN’S ART 159

104
A kohbar painted on the mud
wall of ahut, Madhubani
region.
The walls of the nuptial
chamber are painted with
abstract and figurative
designs, which contrast
dramatically with the simply
decorated rooms in Mithila
villages. A young maiden
makes a proposal of marriage
by symbolically offering the
prospective groom a kohbar
painted by her. Ithas been
suggested that the painting
obliquely suggests sexual
intercourse by its image of the
sacred coitus of lingaand
yoni.
Embroidery
Embroidery, needlework, and other forms of women’s art have recently
been brought to our notice by feminist art historians. Among domestic
art, a term that belies its quality and brilliance, kanthas or embroidered
and patchwork quilts, bedspreads, and other furnishings made by
105 Manadasundari Dasi women of East Bengal (now Bangladesh) are especially interesting.
Sujni kantha (inscribed by the
artist), Khulna, early twentieth
Kanthas, the product of thrift in a poor household, are produced from
century. discarded saris, while the embroidery on them is done with threads
Regarded as one of the most removed from the saris. These colourful works of great ingenuity and
talented artists, she
embroidered for her father a
beauty are based on patchwork and a few simple threads—red, yellow,
sujni kanthawith a remarkably blue-black, and green. The embroidery reinforces the thin material in
complex narrative content. order to make it more durable.
The many-petalled lotus forms
the centre with symmetrically The kantha artists developed the convention of a many-petalled
arranged flowering trees at the lotus medallion in the centre, surrounded by floral borders and kalka
four corners. A wealth of
motifs in four corners—the alka, possibly of Mughal origin, inspired
closely observed detail—
elephants, fishes, birds, the Scottish paisley design. The kantha is an extension of the Bengali
carriages, a residential alpana in its use of the lotus derived from the symbolic mandala
building, Indians in various
activities, marching
diagram. Its presence in domestic art suggests a residual folk memory
Europeans—is subjected to of the widespread Tantric cults of Bengal [105].
an overall formal rhythm. Itis a
Many of the women who produced kanthas were Muslim. They
matter of pride for these artists
not to copy a design from made elaborately decorated kanthas that were presented on formal
another kantha. occasions to mosques and were used for covering saints’ tombs. Some

ornare tarei
¥ Saytern ban mae Rete
ve
WOMEN
5)
S ART
161
of the kantha motifs stemmed from local Bengali imagery. A whole
series of conventions grew up in connection with the making of
hanthas. While there were some differences in the motifs used by
Hindu and Muslim women, the basic lotus manda/a in the centre and
a few other features were shared by them. There were also Mughal
motifs blending Sufi and Buddhist-Hindu ideas, such as the tree
of life. Indeed, anthas are emblematic of the synthesis of Hindu
and Muslim rituals and beliefs. The use of discarded garments for
producing kanthas came to be associated with renunciation among
Muslim and Hindu mystics.”
The everyday arts

Performance art and the patua
Since antiquity India has enjoyed a tradition of performance art that
combines visual arts and drama. The citra katha, a type of rolled-up
scroll painting, forms the narrative thread in performances of wander-
ing minstrels, a tradition that spread from T’ang dynasty China
(618-906 CE) to medieval Europe. Today, the paintings unfolded at
bardic recitals in India are associated in Rajasthan, for instance, with
the Pabuji cult, in Gujarat with the Garodas, in Andhra with the
Nakkashi, and in Bengal with the village scroll painters, the patuas.
The Rajasthani scroll paintings known as pat are produced by a
specialist painter caste for the minstrels, who are often a husband-and-
wife team. They belong to a patronage system involving painters,
reciters, and wealthy sponsors of this devotional art.
In Bengal, however, the patua is both artist and reciter. The
patuas of Bengal are low-caste landless labourers who often profess
a dual Hindu-Muslim identity. One of their favourite themes is
the cult of Satya Pir and the Hindu god Vishnu, yet another example
of Hindu-Muslim synthesis. During the colonial period, patuas
modified their craft to include secular topics. More recently, the
communist movement in West Bengal enlisted the services of scroll
painters for disseminating revolutionary messages. Controversially the
Indian government has sought to educate the non-literate masses in
family planning and other socially useful topics through the medium of
pats.* An important variant of the pat or pata tradition is the so-called
jadupat (magic painting) of the Santhal tribes of Bengal (it is a
misnomer and not confined to them) | 106]."5
Eastern design and western industry

If the initial theme of the Great Exhibition of 1851 at the Crystal Palace
in London was the triumph of European science, the exhibition turned
into an object lesson in traditional decoration practised by the non-
industrial societies of the East.© Indian decorative arts drew the
particular attention of critics of western industrial arts, notably Owen

106 Jones, William Morris, and Sir George Birdwood. In India, Birdwood
Caksudana pata, a jadupat
declared, ‘everything is hand wrought, and everything down to the
(‘magic painting’), Santhal
Parganas, Bihar, c. twentieth cheapest toy or earthen vessel, is therefore more or less a work ofart ...
century. embodying a system of decoration founded on perfect principles,
Part of the Santhal ‘post-
which they have learned through centuries of practice to apply with
mortem’ custom consists in
these itinerant artist- unerring truth.” Birdwood’s romantic anti-industrial utopia was
magicians having a supply of predicated on the so-called village republics of India. Village crafts-
partially completed paintings,
men, living in a harmonious community, produced goods that had
with just the iris in the eye of
the figure missing. On the not been contaminated by the Industrial Revolution. Later, in the
death of someone in the 1920s, partly under the impact of Mahatma Gandhi, the Indian elite
community, the artist arrives at
the deceased’s dwelling.
‘rediscovered’ the simple, rustic village folk. The nationalist pioneer
According to the Santhals, the in this was Gurusaday Dutt, a Bengali official in the imperial
‘blind’ soul of the departed bureaucracy, whose campaigns created an intense interest in the village
cannot find its way in the
afterworld until its sight is
arts among the urban elite. These included the kantha and other
restored. Therefore, on domestic arts produced by women.”
payment of a fee by the family
of the deceased, the
jadupatua adds the iris to the Metalwork and jewellery
painted figure. The figures in Metalwork, not only of gold and silver but also of less precious
these caksudana (eye-
metals, and metal casting go back to the Indus civilization. One of the
bestowing) paintings are
painted againsta pale grey- fascinating examples of early technology is the Meherauli pillar in
green background. Delhi associated with the Gupta emperor Candragupta 1 (fifth
century CE). Made of pure iron, it has not shown any signs of rust in all
these centuries.” Bronze sculptures from the Cola period and inlaid
Bidriware from the eighteenth century are justly renowned. Brass,
THE EVERYDAY ARTS 163

107
Mango necklace, gold, pearls,
rubies, and semi-precious
stones, Tamilnadu,
c. nineteenth century.
This 24-carat gold necklace
encrusted with precious and
semi-precious stones Is a
typical example of temple
jewellery from Tamilnadu. Its
lower part is made up of
mango motifs, the sacred fruit
of fertility; a personal
ornament for deities and
temple dancers, it is also worn
by wealthy women.
copper, and tin were commonly used for household utensils in India.
Glass making was introduced in India as early as the eighteenth
century but its use was confined to glass painting. Only in the
twentieth century did glass and porcelain replace metal utensils.
Jewellery in India served not only as an adornment but also as
talismans. Personal jewellery was associated with each stage of an
individual’s life, signifying, as we have seen, the importance of
ornament in all aspects of ancient Indian culture. Hindu property law,
which did not allow women to own property, sought to protect a
married woman by allowing her to keep her personal jewellery, to
which her husband could lay no claim. Gold and silversmiths in
India use a wide variety of techniques, such as punching, engraving,
enamelling, inlaying, and silver filigree techniques to create an
enormous range of personal ornaments in all the regions of India.
Some of the earliest recorded cases of women’s personal jewellery are
seen in the bronze girl from Mohenjo Daro or the yaksi at Sanchi [1, 5].
The Mughals brought to India the advanced kundan technique of
setting precious stones in gold. Some of the most spectacular inlaid
jewellery comes from Tamilnadu [107].’°

Textiles
India was the largest exporter of textiles before the industrial age.
Especially between 1600 and 1800, its textiles became renowned from
Europe to China. In India there is an astonishing variety of spun,
woven, and embroidered fabrics and costumes in response to the social
and ritual demands of each tribe, caste, or community. Among the
range of cotton textiles, muslins from Bengal and printed cottons from
western and southern India are justly famous. However, equally varied
are silk fabrics, whose cultivation was introduced from China. Woollen
garments, a type known as cashmere in the West, were the speciality of
temperate areas such as Kashmir.
Muslin, a gauze-like, diaphanous fabric, named ‘woven air’ because
of its delicate quality, is produced in East Bengal (present Bangladesh)
and was mentioned as an export commodity as early as the first century
CE. In 1576, when Bengal was incorporated into the Mughal empire,
the emperor and his court came to prize muslins. The fine jamdani
variety of muslin, enhanced with hand-embroidered work (chikan),
began to be produced in Mughal workshops in Bengal by Muslim
weavers. Jamdantz is easily recognisable by its blue-black patterns and
silver designs on a fine field of cotton, further reinforced with sprays of
paisley (Aa/ka) flowers." Muslin is produced from a particular variety of
fine, soft cotton, which is grown around Dhaka, making it the major
product of the region. Dhaka emerged as a prosperous town in the
Mughal period thanks to its lucrative cotton trade with South-East
Asia. When the East India Company founded its settlement in Bengal
in the late seventeenth century, it began exporting muslin to Europe.
During the British Raj, with the advent of cheap textiles mass-
produced by Lancashire mills, handloom weavers gradually lost their
livelihood.”
Gujarati and Rajasthani printed fabrics, which sport brilliant colour
combinations, were eventually superseded with the invention of
synthetic dyes in the nineteenth century. Until then, India had led the
market in dyed, block-printed, and painted fabrics. We have seen, for
instance, that inexpensive Gujarati textiles were found in graves in
Fostat in Egypt. India’s pre-eminence in this field can be explained by
its invention of an efficient dyeing process, the so-called mordant or
‘resist’? dyeing. While this technique is popular in Gujarat and
Rajasthan, pa/ampores—printed bedspreads decorated with the ‘tree of
life’ motif—were produced on the Coromandel coast by stencilling
and hand-painting processes.*
Indian printed textiles, known in the West as ‘chintz’ or ‘calico’,
played a crucial part in colonial trade, gradually overtaking the export
of spices, which had initially been the motive behind European
expansion. The English East India Company, founded in 1600, set up
factories in India to export Indian textiles to Europe, of both coarse

108
Chintz hanging, painted and
dyed cotton made for the
European market,
Coromandel coast, mid-
eighteenth century.
The rustic scene here is based
on European engravings and
ceramic sources. Even though
modified to suit European
taste, chintz retained an
Indian sensibility. The hybrid
motif, such as the flowering
tree in palampores
(bedspreads) and wall
hangings, provides a
fascinating glimpse into the
cross-fertilization of cultures.
and fine quality, based on designs sent from Britain to be copied by

Indian weavers [108].** As colonial trade expanded, the production of
chintz shifted from Gujarat on the west coast to Coromandel on the
east. The variety, irregularity, and free-flowing naturalism of Indian
printed fabrics, imported in ever larger quantities from the seventeenth
century as furnishings and wall hangings, helped liberate European
taste from the abstract regularity of classical design. Much admired for
their brilliant, washable colours and their lightness, by the eighteenth
century even the middle classes could afford them. Samuel Pepys
presented a chintz to his wife when she was decorating her study.’
Such was its popularity among those who could afford it that English
weavers staged riots, eventually forcing its import to be banned.
However, it continued to be smuggled into Britain.

Meanwhile, folk and popular art continue to flourish in the
subcontinent‘in other forms, taking into account modern develop-
ments, a striking example of which is the modern rickshaw art of
Bangladesh [109].*°
109
Rickshaw art, Bangladesh.
The entire surface of the
rickshaws, introduced in
Dhaka in the 1950s, was
painted but it was the rear, the
most noticeable part, that had
the most ambitious pictures.
These paintings by artists
belongingto specialist shops
were inspired by natural
motifs, landscapes, film stars,
and scenes from the liberation
struggle.

i ABST eH at ;
of Mol |)hl ee
Part III
Colonial Artand
Architecture
(1757-1947)
ONES REN e
‘The British Raj:
Westernization and
Nationalism
Profound changes took place in art and architecture during the

colonial era. The introduction of European academic naturalism
transformed all aspects of Indian art from working practices to the
relationship between artists and their patrons. Despite the fascination
Mughal and Rajput courts felt for European naturalism, its systematic
introduction would not have been possible without an ambitious
policy of dissemination devised by the Raj.
In 1757, a minor incident in Bengal was to change the course a: wortd
rie
history. The Honourable East India Company gained control of the
province after defeating the reigning Mughal viceroy. In less than a cen-
tury, the modest English colony was transformed into a world empire.
Unprecedented material prosperity emanating from the Industrial
Revolution, scientific achievements, and the ideology of progress all
contributed to a sense of cultural superiority that became the hallmark of
the British empire. A traditional society such as India was no match for
such an explosion of power and overflow of resources. However, as the
nineteenth century progressed, the language of nationhood, a legacy of
European Enlightenment, was internalized by the Indian intelligentsia
to fashion their own weapon of resistance. The period is characterized by
a dialectic between colonialism and nationalism and the construction of
cultural difference in a rapid globalization of culture.
One of the most powerful impacts of the British Raj was on artistic
taste. Victorian illusionistic art and the notion of artistic progress took
firm roots in India, giving rise to new genres such as oil portraits,
naturalistic landscapes, and academic nudes. Artistic individualism
began to be prized by artists and patrons as art schools, art societies,
and exhibitions provided the network for promoting academic art.
At the turn of the nineteenth century, however, as the nationalist
movement gathered force, it led artists to reassess the relationship
between the western canon, hitherto taken to be universally valid, and
pre-colonial taste that was being eroded with the rise of illusionistic
Detail of 118 art. In the 1920s, the advent of international modernism in India
171
The East India Company
In the fifteenth century the Portuguese set up fortified settlements in the East Indies
in order to control the spice trade, followed by the Dutch, the French, and finally the
English, who founded their East India Company in London in 1600. The decline of
the Mughal empire, political instability, and victory in Bengal in 1757 gave the
Company control over the north-eastern region of India, thus laying the foundations
of the British Raj. By this time spices had been replaced by Indian textiles as the chief
export. Gradually the British gained control over the subcontinent, introducing
English education, law and order, and justice. The Industrial Revolution in Britain,
which provided great resources, transformed the small trading outpost into a vast
empire, eventually covering a large portion of the globe. In India modernization was
facilitated by the introduction of print technology, the telegraph, and the railways.
However, the Rebellion of 1857 convinced the British Parliament that the empire was
too large for the Company to maintain effective control, leading to the assumption of
power by the state and the declaration of Victoria as Queen Empress of India.
confused these issues further as primitivism and indigenism came to be

closely identified in the new nationalist ideology of art.
Indian art of the Raj

The first sign of change was the loss of courtly patronage in India with
the fall of the Indian powers in the late eighteenth century. This forced
artists to compromise their work with inferior material and craftsman-
ship. However, not all such art was of low quality. Artists in Patna in
Bihar and Murshidabad in West Bengal developed a clean, linear style
that formed a bridge between earlier courtly art and later East India
Company paintings.’
The East India Company employed artists for its wide-ranging
economic surveys and documentation of natural history. British
residents commissioned paintings of Indian flora and fauna from
Indian artists who were trained in western techniques such as
perspective, chiaroscuro, and the picturesque idiom popularized by the
landscape artists Thomas and William Daniell [110].* The new rulers
also engaged artists to produce ethnographic subjects, especially castes
and professions, which enjoyed popularity during the Enlightenment.
Among Company artists, Shaikh Mohammad Amir of Karraya was in
demand for his elegant renderings of residences, carriages, domestic
servants, pets, and other aspects of British life in Calcutta.
The rise of Calcutta as a rapidly expanding urban centre drew
village scroll painters (patuas) to the city. Although their ‘pen-and-
wash’ paintings, sold at the pilgrim centre of Kalighat, did not interest
the British or the Bengali elite, they were the first truly popular urban
art in India. Sensing the growing demand, Kalighat patuas organized
their production on a large scale with the assistance of female labour.‘
A more revolutionary development was the introduction of the
techniques of mechanical reproduction. The woodblock and metal
printmakers appropriated Kalighat imagery and plied their trade in
172 THE BRITISH RAJ: WESTERNIZATION AND NATIONALISM

110 Sheikh Zayn al-Din
Stork, 1782.
Painted for Lady Impey, wife of
the chief justice of Calcutta,
Elijah Impey. Though indebted
to European watercolours, the
meticulous rendering of
details by this Indian natural
history painter reminds us
more of the Mughal master
Mansur.
close proximity to the vernacular printing presses that were springing

up in Calcutta at the time, which by the end of the nineteenth century
had become a staple of popular consumption, the most famous being
the Calcutta Art Studio [111].°
As traditional art declined, the Indian rulers as well as the leading
Indian elite turned to collecting western art and sitting for portraits by
European artists. The Marble Palace in Calcutta, for instance, boasts a
fascinating mélange of Victorian art. By the middle of the nineteenth
century, the taste of the elite, and to some extent of the underclass, had
become thoroughly Victorian. Yet a formal control of art education
was not envisaged by the Raj until the 1850s. In 1854, the East India
Company embarked on a project of improving Indian taste as part of
its moral amelioration. Art schools and art societies, two key Victorian
institutions, became the instrument for disseminating academic art,
while the westernization project was overseen by the Director of Public
Instruction. Initially art schools were set up in the three main colonial
cities, Calcutta, Mumbai (Bombay), and Madras, to train artisans.
Vigorous campaigns by Henry Cole, William Morris, George
Birdwood, and other influential figures to save the Indian decorative
arts had compelled the Raj to address their plight. Accepting that the
Indian artisan had little to learn from the West in matters of taste, the
INDIAN ART OF THE RAJ 173

111
Courtesan Playinga Violin,
colour lithograph based on
Kalighat painting, nineteenth
century.
Its radical simplification owes
something to European prints.
Kalighat artists cast a sardonic
gaze on the contemporary
social scene, their favourite
subject being courtesans
entertaining city fops or
engaged in other activities.
The printmakers found it
convenientto appropriate the
iconography of Kalighat,
which prompted some of the
Kalighat artists to take up
printmaking.
government argued that he needed instruction in naturalist drawing

to compete in the modern world. A uniform syllabus, based on that of
the School of Industrial Arts at South Kensington, London, was
devised for all the art schools. Unfortunately, artisans could not afford
to attend school, nor did they take to academic art. The schools were
subsequently flooded with boys from the English-literate social strata,
as they inexorably turned into fine art institutions. Portrait painting
was the most subscribed course, given that portraits had become a
vogue among the Indian gentry.°
The profession of.the artist

The advent of academic art was accompanied by a social revolution in
India. In contrast to the earlier humble position of court artists, the

112 J. P. Gangooly
Evening, exhibited at the
Bombay Art Society, 1910.
For his atmospheric
landscapes of mountains,
lakes, and different moods
evoked by the river Ganges,
the Bengali painter Jamini
Prokash Gangooly
(1870-1953) regularly won
prizes at exhibitions
throughout India. His highest
accolade was to be decorated
in the 1930s by King Victor
Emmanuel II! of Italy.
colonial artists enjoyed the elevated status of independent gentlemen,

in part because they now hailed from the elite. The growth of art
exhibitions, art journalism, and the rise of an art-conscious public
changed the public’s perception of art and the artist. However, while
gaining freedom, they faced an uncertain economic future. Art
societies, originally founded by British residents, became with the
admission of Indians an instrument of Raj patronage. As an official put
it, ‘if a zeal and a genuine love of art were widely diffused among our
wealthier Indian fellow subjects, a hugely favourable, lucrative and
useful career would be opened to hundreds and hundreds of aspiring
young men’.’
When Indian artists began showing at exhibitions organised by
art societies, they were at first placed in the category of ‘native
artists’. But this segregation broke down under the influx of Indian
participants. By the end of the century, a number of Indian women also
took part in exhibitions. The careers of early salon artists such as
Pestonji Bomanji, Manchershaw Pithawalla, and Annada Bagchi
were launched at these shows. Among the subjects exhibited, land-
scapes were a novelty for Indian artists. Even though landscapes were
mentioned in ancient literature, and Mughal paintings contained
background landscapes, the objective study of natural scenery was a
colonial phenomenon initially influenced by the English Picturesque
movement [112].
Gentleman artists
The most celebrated academic artist was Raja Ravi Varma (1848-1906),
the first of the gentleman artists nourished by the Romantic image of

the artist as an uncompromising individualist. A member of the royal
family of Travancore, Varma learned by watching European painters at
work at the court. He entered the ‘low’ profession of painting against
his family’s objections, rising to be a fashionable portrait painter,
prized as much by the Raj as by the Indian aristocracy. He exhibited
widely and organised his studio with business-like efficiency, engaging
agents for securing commissions and travelling the length and breadth
of the country fulfilling them.
However, Varma’s lasting fame rests on his history paintings, adapt-
ing Victorian salon art to bring to life ancient Indian epics and literary
classics. The new canon of beauty—a mixture of Kerala and
Guercino—created by him was greeted by the Indian nationalists as
113 Raja Ravi Varma Awe
Sita Vanavasa, c.1890s.
This leading academic painter SI
ff
turned his history paintings
into mass-produced
oleographs, thereby appealing
to all Indians, from the most
exalted to the humblest. Even
today, one comes across his
voluptuous women
reincarnated in cheap
calendars and ‘Bollywood’
films (Bombay film studios
gained this epithet for their
popularity in the Third World).

endorsing their own literary ‘inventions’ of the past. Though Varma
scrutinized black and white reproductions of Victorian art for inspira-
tion, in the final analysis his paintings conjure up the atmosphere of
Indian princely courts familiar to the artist [113].°
The Bengal School

Ravi Varma died a national celebrity in 1906. However, in a curious
twist of fate, almost immediately after his death Varma’s works were
denounced as hybrid, undignified, and above all ‘unspiritual’. Such a
change of opinion resulted from the upsurge in nationalist sentiment
in the second half of the nineteenth century, which fed on the potent
myth of India’s spirituality. The circle of cultural nationalists in Bengal
led by the poet Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941) (better known simply
as Tagore) reasserted their faith in Indian civilization, dismissed by
colonial westernizers at the opening of the century. They discovered
the Theosophists and other European enemies of Victorian material-
ism to be soulmates. This alliance between Indian and European
critics of progress spearheaded debates on Indian identity—debates
that closely mirrored developments in nationalist politics."°
To this set belonged the English art teacher Ernest Binfield Havell,
an influential figure in the creation of nationalist art in India. In 1896,
Havell came to head the art school in Calcutta, determined to direct
the Indian youth towards their own heritage. A trenchant critic of
Renaissance naturalism, Havell proclaimed that India’s spirituality was
reflected in its art, because India had repudiated such a materialist
conception of art. The emerging indigenous (swadeshi) ideology of art
demanded the creation of a style that would be in accord with Indian
national aspirations.” Varma’s imagining of the past was spurned by
Havell and the nationalists precisely because it was ‘tainted’ with
academic naturalism. Havell’s first step in countering academic
training at the art school was to acquire a fine collection of Mughal
paintings for the benefit of the students, but when he introduced an
Indian mode of teaching, his students went on strike. The nationalist
press accused Havell of trying to deprive Bengalis of western art
education, so deeply had western taste penetrated the province.”
In the midst of general hostility, Havell found an ally in the
young artist Abanindranath Tagore (1871-1951), a nephew of the poet.
The Tagores had been in the forefront of a cultural renaissance in
Calcutta. Abanindranath had a liberal education at home, with
freedom to develop his creative potential. Although he received
instruction in academic art from an English art teacher, he found it
to be incompatible with his own temperament. His search for an
‘indigenous’ style eventually led to his paintings on the divine lovers,
Radha and Krsna, which introduced to the Bengali audience an
alternative, emaciated ideal of feminine beauty. Used to the buxom

women of Ravi Varma, they were quite startled and vaguely
dissatisfied. Although Abanindranath was already alienated from
western art when he:met Havell, it was Havell who introduced him
to the delicate skills of the Mughal masters. The Last Moments of
Shah Jahan, Abanindranath’s first major work painted in a consciously
Mughal manner, was an exercise in nationalist historicism. Yet
ironically it was saturated with the melancholy spirit of Victorian art,
its sombre mood coloured by the loss of the artist’s little daughter.®
This tentative exercise in the Mughal idiom failed to satisfy him, for he
felt that the work lacked feeling (d4ava), the quality he wanted to
capture in art.
Abanindranath’s search for a more appropriate style coincided
with his meeting with Kakuzo Okakura Tenshin around 1900. The
Japanese art critic had arrived in Calcutta to forge a pan-Asian alliance
with the intellectual circle led by Tagore. In the late nineteenth
century, the ‘open door’ policy had imposed westernization on a
prostrate Japan. European academic art, which arrived in Japan as part
of the westernization process, ousted indigenous art from popular
esteem. The challenge to western values came at the turn of the
century, from the cultural movement led by Okakura. The Japanese
thinker, who recognized India as the ultimate source of the ancient
Buddhist art of Japan, shared with Tagore an unswerving faith in the
common destiny of Asia. One of the tenets of pan-Asianism was the
contrast between Asian spirituality and European materialism, a
romantic worldview in search of the roots of indigenous traditions and
a form of cultural resistance to European colonialism. Western stereo-
types such as ‘the Oriental mind’ were appropriated by pan-Asianists
as a powerful focus for Asian resistance."
Okakura’s traditional (mzhonga) art movement was realized in art by
his pupils, Yokoyama Taikan and Hishida Shunso. He arranged for
them to work in Calcutta with Abanindranath, where they studied
Indian art. Under Taikan’s influence Abanindranath discarded the
strong colours and hard outlines of Mughal painting in favour of the
light brush strokes and delicate lines of Japanese art. With his wash
technique Abanindranath produced atmospheric works in the spirit of
Far Eastern art, some of which appeared in the art journal The Studio in
1905 and in Okakura’s influential periodical, Kokka, in 1908."
A few months prior to the nationalist unrest of 1905, Havell had
brought Abanindranath to the Calcutta Art School to ‘Indianize’ art
teaching with a select group of students who would rediscover ‘the lost
language of Indian art’ [114]. Abanindranath, who led the Bengal
School, the first art movement in India, aimed to create an ‘oriental art’
by assimilating different Asian cultures. The target of the Bengal
School was academic art, which was branded as a colonial hybrid lack-
ing ‘authenticity’, the prime example being Ravi Varma’s work. Some

114 Abanindranath Tagore
Bharat Mata, c.1905.
The first major nationalist
unrest broke out in October
1905, following the forced
partition of Bengal by the Raj.
This was spearheaded by two
key demands, self-
government (swaraj/) and
indigenous self-sufficiency
(swadeshi). Abanindranath’s
political act was to paint the
portrait of Mother India
(Bharat Mata), personified as
a Bengali lady holding four
symbolic objects in the fashion
of Hindu deities. However, the
objects themselves were not
conventional but emblems of
nationalist aspiration: food,
clothing, secular knowledge,
and spiritual knowledge.
influential figures in Bengal and academic artists refused, however, to

dismiss all academic art out of hand as being inimical to Indian cultural
aspirations. An acrimonious battle of styles raged for years, throwing
up writing of great vivacity.

Muslim nationalism in art
By 1914, not only were the orientalists able to shake off opposition at
home, they also won recognition abroad, with exhibitions in Paris and
London in rgr4, in Berlin in 1923, and again in London in 1924. At the
last London exhibition, an English critic extolled the ‘Indian artists’
mission to the world’. The Germans, whose romantic attachment to
India and their defeat in the First World War made them more
sympathetic to the movement, described it as a powerful cultural
struggle for redemption. An important aspect of the Bengal School
115 Abdur Rehman Chughtai
The Resting Place, c.1927. was the merging of individual differences of style within a common
Chughtai, who chose the vocabulary. But apart from the blend of Mughal and Far Eastern art,
Rubayyatof Omar Khayyam what held the movement together was the nationalist subject matter.
and other Muslim classics to
construct his own historicist Stories relating the past glories of the nation, themes exuding noble
vision of the past, represents a sentiments, and deep pathos were preferred. The vehicles for such
cross-fertilization of cultures:
as Beardsley and the
noble themes were stooping emaciated figures, dripping with an aura
Decadents drew upon eastern of acute spirituality. An oppressive sense of loss was conveyed in these
art, so Chughtai sought historicist works, a lamentation for the nation degenerating under a
inspiration in the eastern
elements of Art Nouveau.
foreign yoke.
Chughtai’s remarkable The swadeshi ideology of art, a reflection of militant Hindu nation-
draughtsmanship was quickly alism, tended to privilege Hindu culture as the kernel of the Indian
recognized by the orientalists,
who hailed him as one of their nation, thereby disinheriting other communities. Such developments
kind. created a feeling of unease among the Muslims. Abdur Rehman
>
&
E
p

Chughtai (1897-1975), an outstanding Muslim painter from Lahore,
represents the awakening of Muslim political and cultural identity in
India partly in response to Hindu cultural nationalism [115].”
By the 1920s, academic art was in retreat in India. A new generation
of artists in Calcutta tried to regroup under Hemen Mazumder, a
painter of academic nudes, and Atul Bose, a fine draughtsman, while a
group of landscape painters in Bombay continued to offer a challenge
to the orientalists. However, both the westernizers and the orientalists
were overtaken by events. Pan-Asianism was on the wane, as the
differences among Asian intellectuals became irreconcilable. In 1921,
Mahatma Gandhi launched his mass non-cooperation movement
against the British empire, when political activism made any artistic
contribution to nationalism rather problematic. But most of all the
Bengal School was dealt a crushing blow by Cubism and other
European avant-garde movements, which began to infiltrate Indian
culture through books andjournals.
Colonial architecture in India

Colonial architecture profoundly altered the topography of urban
India, though less so in rural India. The first signs of colonial
transformation of Indian architecture are seen in the European
architecture of successive Portuguese, Dutch, Danish, French, and
British settlements.
Religious architecture
The earliest Christian churches were built not by the colonizers but by
Indian Christians in South India in the first few centuries after Christ
(a little later the Jews built synagogues in India). Today, very little
remains of these early endeavours. In the seventeenth century, the
Portuguese invited the dreaded Inquisition and the Jesuits to Goa for
the consolidation of Christianity in the subcontinent. They also
erected spectacular churches in the Mannerist and Baroque styles
prevalent in the Iberian peninsula. The churches in Goa were a blend
of vastusastra and Vignola, a tradition that is yet to be studied properly.
The sixteenth-century Italian architect Jacopo Vignola’s modular
building system, imported by the Portuguese to India, was easily
comprehended by the Indians, used to their own modular, the vastu-
purusa-mandala [see 22]. Furthermore, Indian designers must have felt
at home with the rich drama of the Baroque church, its decorative
impulse akin to the spirit of the Hindu temple [116].”
Secular architecture
Fortified settlements based on Renaissance central planning were
some of the major secular structures introduced by the Portuguese
in India. The English fortifications of the East India Company
COLONIAL ARCHITECTURE IN INDIA _I8I

116 introduced the advanced plans of the French engineer Vauban, who
Church of the Holy Spirit, nave turned city walls into artillery platforms and angled them mathemati-
and high altar, Goa,
seventeenth century.
cally to cover all lines of fire. Despite queries raised by architectural
Among the major churches in historians, Calcutta, Bombay, and Madras were not centrally planned
Goa, the most striking ones cities.» Unlike the Royal Ordinance of 1573 issued to the Spanish
are the Cathedral of St
Catherine, the Church of Our
colonies, the British trading company was suspicious of any central
Lady Divine, and this church. planning that involved unnecessary expense. The streets were fairly
Its grand, airy conception—it
regularly laid out. Modest churches and hospitals catered respectively
has a central hall but no side
aisles—focuses our attention to the spiritual and bodily needs of the European population. The
on the high altar framed by a paramount consideration was defence, while the governor’s residence
great round arch. The
inspiration was Vignola’s II
served as a symbol of authority. The building style used the Tuscan
Gesu in Rome. order, as prevailed in contemporary Britain. The port cities employed a
sizeable Indian artisan population, which meant that the Indian and
European communities were segregated in Black and White Towns.
While the Company was suspicious of ostentation, private residents
felt free to indulge their taste for opulence.’°
With the victory over the Mughal governor Siraj-ud-Daula at
Plassey in 1757 the British were able to venture out of the fortified port
cities into the Indian countryside for the first time and gradually
imposed their control over it. Interactions between Indian and western
cultures produced architecture of great variety, ingenuity, and occa-
sionally elegance, especially domestic architecture. Judged against the
dominant western canon, Indo-British buildings were viewed as the

‘unhappy bastards’ of the colonial encounter. However, if one can
renounce metropolitan standards and view them as products of a
different context and experience, they repay careful study. Many of the
imposing public buildings were constructed by East India Company
engineers with the help of Indian builders. The inspiration was often
European architectural texts, and there was always a time lag of around
20 years between the rise of a style in Britain and its introduction into
India.”
After 1757, Fort William in Calcutta was redesigned as a massive
fortification with the latest devices, but it lost its strategic importance
as threats from rival colonial powers and Indian rulers in the subconti-
nent faded, leaving the British in almost total control. A renewed sense
of insecurity, which surfaced during the Uprising of 1857, encouraged
yet another conception of defence. Exclusive settlements inhabited
by European civil and military officials, the cantonments, came into
existence outside Indian towns. Within the cantonment, the army
barracks were placed behind the open parade ground that could be
used to train cannons at the enemy. These precautions were taken
against a sudden insurrection by the native population.
Indian Neoclassical architecture

The first public building of symbolic importance, the Neoclassical
Government House in Calcutta, was modelled on the British stately
home Kedleston Hall in Derbyshire.” The architecture of the colonial
cities was motivated by the need to project an awe-inspiring image of
the Raj. These buildings were also wish-fulfilments of colonial
‘nabobs’, who sought to recreate English stately homes in India. ‘The
Neoclassical style of these lavish residences was modified by the
exigencies of climate and landscape, most notably in the use of shutters
for windows. The sparkling white mansions (the chunam or quicklime
white gave them the sheen) on the waterfronts of Calcutta and Madras
were much admired by visiting Europeans: ‘Viewed from the Hooghly,
Calcutta has the appearance of a city of palaces. A row of large superb
buildings ... produce a remarkable striking effect’. The Indian
‘merchant princes’ of Calcutta, trading partners of the Company,
followed suit with their impressive residences. What does not feature
in books on colonial architecture is the fashion for Neoclassical
architecture among urban Indians. The imposing Palladian mansion
in Calcutta, the Marble Palace, is one example of the syncretic
imagination lavished on this type of ‘hybrid’ domestic building. Many
of these are being demolished to make room for high-rise buildings in
response to the population explosion in Calcutta. But perhaps the most
original contribution to colonial culture was the domestic bungalow,
derived from the rustic Bengali hut, a cool, low-slung, single-storeyed,
high-ceilinged residence perfectly adapted to the tropical climate.
COLONIAL ARCHITECTURE IN INDIA 183

117 R. Chisholm and C. Mant
Laxmi Vilas Palace, Baroda,
nineteenth century.
An example of a fascinating
pastiche of European and
Indian styles celebrating
hybridity and exuberance is
the Laxmi Vilas Palace at
Baroda designed by the army
engineer Major C. Mant.
The first Indian ruler to commission a Neoclassical building was

Mir Jaffar, the puppet ruler of Bengal, who was placed on the throne
by the English after Plassey. He engaged the East India Company
engineer Duncan Macleod in 1825 to build the substantial palace in
Murshidabad, inspired by Government House in Calcutta. European
architecture was also adopted by the nawabs (rulers) of Lucknow. But
they were ‘blackmailed ... into creating European buildings, often to
the direct advantage of the Company, who subsequently used them for
their own purposes’.*» And even their alliance with the East India
Company did not spare the nawabs from destruction.
In the early nineteenth century, classical architecture was used to
celebrate an empire held to be as enduring as that of Rome. This
confidence was shaken by the Uprising of 1857, after which, abandon-
ing aggressive anglicization, the Indian Raj turned to the notion of ‘a
118
The Victoria Terminus,
timeless India’, to be sheltered from the onslaught of western progress.
Mumbai (Bombay), Instead of reform and change, tradition and order became the
nineteenth century. dominant motto. Refashioning itself as the heir to the Mughal empire,
This vast station in Mumbai,
linking the west coast with
the Raj opted for the Indo-Sarasenic style of architecture, especially
north-east and central India, for the palaces of the Indian nobility [117].*° Ironically, as more and
was in an early Gothic style more Indian rulers were brought within the imperial fold after 1857,
with an Oriental feeling, an
opulent Indian version of St they increasingly succumbed to a western lifestyle, collecting
Pancras Station in London. European art objects and sitting for academic portraits. Hindu and

Muslim forms were combined in many of the palaces of the Indian
nobility, in which ‘the two races remained distinct with the Hindu
firmly subordinated’.” This was to underline the fact that only Raj
paternalism was able to keep the peace in a land that ‘lacked’ cultural or
national cohesion. During the Victorian era, revolutionary amenities
such as the railways placed the Raj on a new footing in India, as
exemplified by the sumptuous railway station in Mumbai [118].”*

119 IMPERIAL DELHI
LAYOUT PLAN FROM GOVERNMENT HOUSE
TO PURANA FILA
Plan of New Delhi.
As the administrative and
ceremonial capital of the Raj, O BY PRIVATE
SECRETARY
New Delhi soughtto learn
from other western capitals
around the world. Its
symmetrical geometry is
dominated by the wide central
axis used for grand
processions, which starts from
the viceroy’s residence and
then makes its way past the
secretariat buildings and the
circular council chamber. The
planners wished to attain an
axial symmetry that revealed a
series of views as one moved
LeGis!
around the city. BU
MS
re
rae EDWARD
ROAD
ply
(AMEDICAm»
‘RESEARCH
OoNGHY ROAD
yj), @ s\
Y NX
HYDERABAD
faa \
\
\
B |ARODA
= EA \\ Zn i
\\.
'YSORE
ian AY, LS ey
DELH!_MUTTRA ROAD____
DURANA
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O 3000 feet
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120 Edwin Lutyens
Viceroy’s residence, New
Delhi, c.1933.
Lutyens decided to employ
‘Indic forms, rigorously
controlled and subordinated
within a European classical
idiom, to express the imperial
ideal’, for this residence of the
highest dignitary of the Raj.
The triumphalist ideology of the empire was expressed in official

architecture such as the Victoria Memorial Hall in Calcutta, conceived
by the viceroy, Lord Curzon, as a fitting memorial to the queen. It is a
classical edifice of white marble, with some Indian details.2? The swan-
song of imperial architecture was the new capital in Delhi, announced
in 1g1r to coincide with Edward vis visit to India [119]. The removal
of the Indian government from the colonial capital of Calcutta to
Delhi, considered the heart of the indigenous empire, was a symbolic
appeasement of the nationalists. It also enabled the Raj to extricate
itself from the hotbed of seditious politics. To the pro-Indian officials,
the choice of Indian, possibly Mughal, architecture would have
narrowed the gulf between the Raj and its Indian subjects. But this was
not to be. The appointment of Edwin Lutyens as the chief architect
made the choice of a Neoclassical style for Delhi inevitable [120].
However, the imagination of his collaborator, Herbert Baker, was fired
by the romance of empire as a partnership between the ruler and the
ruled. He considerably diluted Lutyens’ classicism in the Secretariat
buildings designed by him. It was also largely because of Baker that
nationalist artists were commissioned to decorate his buildings with
murals celebrating Indian culture, first in New Delhi and later in India
House in London. It was ironic that, from the inception of New Delhi
in 1911 to its actual completion in 1932, the political situation in India
had reached such a crisis point that the capital remained the hollow
seat of an empire in its final decades.

Modernism in India
December 1922 is a convenient starting point for a discussion about the

modernist art movement in India. At the end of 1922, through
Rabindranath Tagore’s intervention, an exhibition of the works of Paul
Klee, Wassily Kandinsky, Johannes Itten, and other Bauhaus artists was
held in Calcutta.' This momentous event brought modernism right to
the doorsteps of Bengal, though its impact was not immediately obvious.
International modernism added an extra dimension to the earlier dialec-
tic between colonial and indigenous art. The problematic relationship
between global modernity and national identity was the dominant
theme of Indian art through the twentieth century as indeed of arts of
the Third World in general. Modernity, associated with western capital-
ism and colonial expansion, has involved international communication
on an unprecedented scale, giving artists unlimited access to art from all
ages and lands. ‘The Industrial Revolution, which ushered in the modern
age in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, uprooted communities
and undermined social cohesion. Fragmentation of life and art made
intellectuals outsiders in their own society, causing alienation and angst,
forcing a crisis of identity. These have become the cornerstones of
modern art, formally expressed in radical distortion and fragmentation.
In the 19208, India was still an essentially non-industrial country in
which social cohesion had not yet broken down. While colonial rule
gave rise to a crisis in cultural identity, this did not necessarily lead to
the western sense of alienation of the self. Indeed nationalism—and
nationalist art as represented by the Bengal School—was built on the
real or imagined unity of all Indians, which could hardly encourage
social alienation of the artist. As Indian artists were increasingly
exposed to the European avant-garde from the 1920s, each artist
responded to the above issues of modernism in their own way. But one
problem they could not resolve was the contradiction between a
modern sense of alienation and the cultural cohesion expected of a
nation engaged in an anti-colonial struggle.
Indian artists and Cubism

Art from the 1920s until 1947, the year of Indian independence, was
Detailof 121 dominated by three powerful personalities, the poet Tagore, Amrita
189
Sher-Gil, and Jamini Roy, all of whom responded to modernism
in their own unique ways. However, the first Indian response to
modernism was a fascination with Cubism, which had become the
most widely emulated artistic style in the world. The pioneering figure
in this context was Abanindranath Tagore’s brother, Gaganendranath
(1867-1938), who came to prominence in 1917 with a series of cartoon
lithographs. Since the 1870s in Bengal, caricature had been a prime
device in art and literature for exposing pretension and mocking
contemporary manners. The satirical tradition continued into the
twentieth century, but few matched the unsentimental eye of
Gaganendranath [121].
In the 1920s, Gaganendranath’s discovery of Cubism released an
unprecedented creative energy in the artist [122].3 In order to grasp the
nature of Gaganendranath’s appropriation, we need to compare it with
the reception of Cubism in European countries other than France. But
first let us remind ourselves of Cubism’s contribution to modern art.
European painters since Giotto had related different objects within a
picture by means of consistent, directional lighting. The unique
importance of Analytical Cubism (the Braque-Picasso experiment
of 1909-10) rests on the fact that it finally destroyed the pictorial
illusionism created by ‘directional lighting’. This was achieved by
setting up conflicting relationships of light and shadow ‘within’ a
picture frame, thereby dissolving the solidity of an object.‘
121 Gaganendranath Tagore
Dhanyeswari, lithograph,
Le coe a
. 7 - :
Enonsy ee
fs
His ferocious social cartoons

is
E 40oy
pilloried double standards,
cant, and hypocrisy. The
Brahmin pays lip service to
religious duties, while
indulging in prohibited food,
alcohol, and whores. The bold
lines and large, flat colour
areas in his cartoon
lithographs are reminiscent of
the cartoonists in the German
satirical magazine
Simplicissimus.
I90 MODERNISM IN INDIA

122 Gaganendranath Tagore
Poet Rabindranath on the
Island of Birds, 1920s.
This work, inspired by
Cubism, conjures upa fairy-
tale world and demonstrates
howa particular idiom from
another tradition can be
transformed by a modern
artist in the light of his own
cultural experience. The fairy
tale makes a playful reference
to his uncle Rabindranath
Tagore.
Significantly, these revolutionary implications of Cubism did not

affect German expressionists such as Georg Grosz, for instance, as
much as Cubism’s decorative possibilities, namely that objects could be
distorted and fragmented at will to create dazzling patterns. To
Gaganendranath, who was remote from the European scene, the
decorative possibilities of Cubism, with its broken surfaces and the
play of light and shadow, proved to be the most gripping. These later
works, including Gaganendranath’s flights of poetic fancy, may be
termed ‘post-Cubist’, both to indicate the source and its transforma-
tions. Indeed, a German critic at an exhibition of modern Indian art in
Berlin in 1923 quite perceptively spotted this affinity between the
Indian artist and the Expressionists. The complex patterns developed
by Gaganendranath in his later painting derived also from his use of a
kaleidoscope, a contraption that fascinated him.°
Primitivism and Indian art

The second development in Indian modernism needs to take into
account another global phenomenon with its roots in the history of
western thought: primitivism.’ In the late nineteenth century, the
nationalist art fairs in Bengal gave the decorative arts the recognition
they deserved. But it was Mahatma Gandhi's Satyagraha movement
that for the first time brought the vast rural population of India into the
orbit of the anti-colonial struggle (Gandhi, however, did not directly
address the tribal peoples in India). The Gandhian movement gave a
new voice to the peasant and forced the urban elite to accept that
PRIMITIVISM AND INDIAN ART Igr

Primitivism has existed in the West since antiquity as the romantic longing ofa
complex society for the simplicity of pre-modern existence, the innocence of the
‘noble savage’. The crisis of the industrial age, blamed on the Enlightenment
ideology of progress, made the idea of primitivism attractive to many thinkers.
Freud’s Civilisation and Its Discontents is a classic primitivist document of the
twentieth century. His notion of the unconscious accorded a special status to the
subliminal level in the human psyche that lies submerged beneath our rational self.
The idea of the ‘internal savage’ was complemented by that of the ‘pre-rational’,
primitive mentality, put forward by Lévy-Bruhl and other anthropologists. This
vestigial Darwinism characterized primitive society as the childhood of mankind on
the scale of progress, contrasting the rational (western) man with the ‘Other’:
primitives, women, children, and the mentally ill. The myth of the naiveté of
primitive art, although it belied the fact that strict rules governed such works,
liberated European artists from the constraints of the classical canon. Primitivism
assumed a global status as modernism spread around the world.
Indian society was predominantly rural.” In the first phase, artistic

nationalism had identified the nation with the past; from the 1920s,
it began equating the nation with the soil. This was the time when
educated Bengalis discovered Kalighat painting and the village scroll
painting (pa?).
The creation ofthe ‘noble savage’

However, from the 1920s it was the Santhals, hunter-gatherers of
eastern India, who emerged as the ideal ‘noble savage’ in Bengali
consciousness. This stereotyped image of ‘primitive’ groups in India
had already been created by colonial anthropology.* Santhal women
were romanticized by the Bengal School, but in the university founded
by Tagore at Santiniketan, Santhals or adibasis (original inhabitants of
India) came to stand for the timeless purity of the primitive, set against
the corruption of civilization.? This paved the way for the admiration
of tribal art by the elite, who discovered its affinities with European
modernist works.
The quest for rural (and tribal) art as an expression of indigenous
resistance to colonialism became a significant aspect of modern art
in India. However, in the interactions between elite and folk/
popular/tribal artists, despite the undoubtedly idealistic objective, an
asymmetrical relationship between them was inevitable. For instance,
the elite artist could with all sincerity participate in folk lives in order to
gain an insight into folk art, but the reverse was virtually impossible.
This underlying tension of our modern age has never been resolved.
Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941)

The first major modern painter in India, who made primitivism a
vehicle for his artistic expression, the great poet Rabindranath Tagore
was also the first Indian to make an effective use of bold ‘expressionist’
192 MODERNISM IN INDIA

distortions in his painting. Tagore took up painting somewhat play-
fully at 67, when his international reputation as a poet was at its zenith.
The first exhibition of Tagore’s paintings took place in May 1930 at the
Galerie Pigalle in Paris. Henri Bidou, the champion of the Surrealists,
drew clear analogies between Tagore’s ‘automatic painting’ and the
work of the Surrealists. Similarly, in Germany, where Tagore was a
legendary figure, a reviewer commented on his work, ‘How necessary it
was for the revival of imagination to descend to the depth from where
life comes, so as to be rid of the awful routine of illusionism. They are
interesting because they show that ... between these Indian abstrac-
tions and the modern European ones there is an association of ideas.”°
Tagore’s paintings made a considerable stir in European intellectual
circles, which can be partly attributed to his legendary reputation. But
importantly, Europeans, already attuned to the poetic licence of Paul
Klee and Max Ernst, did not fail to respond to the sheer power of his
radical imagination.
Tagore’s affinity with the European avant-garde was not a form of
emulation but simply a parallel approach to artistic primitivism. There
are several crucial aspects to Tagore’s paintings that display his unmis-
takably personal style. Tagore’s paintings originated in his game of
creating shapes out of crossed-out texts, his ‘erasures’. On the drafts of
his writings, he often experimented with the Bengali script and the
visual effects of different page designs. Tagore, along with the Bengali
intelligentsia, was fascinated with the innovative combinations of text
and image developed by Art Nouveau and Jugendstil illustrators, espe-
cially by Adolf Hélzel. Secondly, his ‘erasures’, produced with pen and
ink and wash within a limited range of colours, began to take on human
and animal shapes. They demonstrated his interest in the totemic art of
the North American west coast Haida people and of Oceania [123]."
123 Rabindranath Tagore
Bi GnenlO 30!
Tagore’s most striking
creations were mask-like
faces, some in profile, some
frontally treated, hieratically
simple, expressionless, like
primitive masks. Tagore’s
faces concentrate on the
‘unbeautiful, and on raw
emotions’, ina rejection of
naturalism. The other striking
subjects are birds and a
variety of antediluvian
monsters, sometimes
reptilian, other times canine,
that seem to lurk in the depths
of the primal forest.
RABINDRANATH TAGORE (1861-1941) 193

Among Tagore’s primitivist imagery gathered from around the
world, there is, interestingly enough, none from India, even though he
was drawn to the simple lives of the Santhals in Bengal. What we must
remember is that tribal art was not yet widely known in India. Freud,
who had offered a new insight into automatic drawing, children’s art,
and naive art, gave European Expressionists and Surrealists a weapon
to combat the academic canon. As with the European avant-garde,
Tagore’s primitivism sprang from an inner psychological need. This is
where Tagore’s painting differed from the bulk of his literature, in
which his style was Olympian and formal, seldom plumbing the
unconscious. In his late years, he sought escape from the formal con-
ventions of literature into a personal, erotic, and enigmatic language of
art.” Tagore found the Bengal School unacceptably parochial and
sought refuge in what he regarded as the universal in art.% His direct
and untutored approach made him the most radical painter in India
and an inspiration to the younger generation.
Amrita Sher-Gil (1913-41)

The second major figure in Indian modernism was the legendary
Amrita Sher-Gil, the first professional woman artist in India, who
died tragically young. Sher-Gil was born in Budapest in 1913 to a Sikh
nobleman and a cultivated Hungarian-Jewish musician. In 1934,
Amrita returned to India after training in Paris, declaring with youth-
ful impetuosity that she wished to see the art of India break away and
produce something vital connected with the soil, yet essentially Indian.
Sher-Gil’s primitivist longings were first kindled by Gauguin’s
Tahitian paintings. She declared her artistic mission to be the inter-
pretation of the lives of poor, mute, unsung Indians, ‘the silent images
of infinite submission ... angular brown bodies strangely beautiful in
their ugliness’.* Apart from her well-known Gauguinesque paintings,
she also produced a thick ‘textural’ style related to the Neue
Sachlichkeit movement, which had influenced Hungarian artists. She
came to adopt the style on her visits to Hungary, where she met a
number of artists. Sher-Gil had commenced yet another style with
124 Amrita Sher-Gil
dramatic colours and flat shapes but this was cut short by her sudden
The Child Bride, 1936. death. In her works, what comes across is her instinctive sympathy for
As early as 1925, Sher-Gil had women, as in The Child Bride |124).
entered in he diary: ‘Poor little
bride, she did ook forlorn as
Paradoxically, it was not her painting style, which was less radical
she sat in a lonely corner than Tagore’s, but her vital personality that marked her out as the
[surrounded by ladies in quintessential modern artist as an alienated outsider. With her mixed
gorgeous robes ... there was
an expression of weariness in parentage, she embodied the contradictions and ambiguities inherent
the [bride’s] liquid eyes. She in the modern concepts of ethnicity, nationalism, and cultural ‘purity’.
seemed to guess the cruel fate
Unconventional and brash yet vulnerable, she shared with many gifted
[awaiting her . In 1936 she
appears to ha ve realized this people a voracious sexual appetite that outraged her contemporaries.
incidentin thi Ss moving study. She had a series of bisexual affairs and her feelings for men were

=ew
a
2wate
FS
ra
ambivalent. One of her lovers, the English journalist Malcolm
Muggeridge, described her as a ‘mixture of rose water and methylated
spirit’. In the final analysis, she represents the emancipated woman
whose work takes precedence over everything else, a professional
woman in a world of men.*
Jamini Roy (1887-1974)

The third leading modernist before 1947 was Jamini Roy, whose
primitivism made a consistent ideological statement. Whereas works
produced in Santiniketan and by Sher-Gil idealized the ‘children of
the soil’, Roy took these ideas to their logical conclusion. A member of
the landed gentry, Roy received his training at the Calcutta Art School.
In his early career, Roy searched for an ‘authentic’ national expression
in art, flirting with an array of styles from both East and West, ranging
from academic naturalism and Impressionism to orientalism and
Chinese wash painting. The process by which he eventually discovered
the style that fulfilled his spiritual and intellectual needs was slow. It
was attended with a spiritual crisis at one point, when he questioned
the very need for painting. After seeking inspiration in the art of
Kalighat, Roy turned to rural India, to the Santhals, who were already
being romanticized by the Bengali nationalists, and finally to the scroll
paintings of his own village in the Bankura district of West Bengal.
By the end of an exciting voyage of discovery he was creating bold
and simple works that were marked by a fresh vision of traditional
Bengal [125].
Roy’s achievements as a nationalist artist must be set against his
own definition of indigenous art. Firstly, he was convinced that
genuine indigenous art could not be produced with foreign commer-
cial pigments. With this in mind, he gave up oil painting, turning
to indigenous earth colours and organic pigments. Secondly, Roy
ultimately rejected Kalighat in favour of village scroll painting because
he found the former to be too closely associated with the urban and
colonial milieu of Calcutta. His indigenism sprang from a social
commitment to art. Renouncing artistic individualism, a sine qua
non of colonial art, he sought to make his workshop anonymous,
deliberately subverting the ‘aura’ of authenticity of an elitist painting by
producing collaborative works and refusing to sign them.”
Developments in art on the eve of Independence

The strong undercurrent of romantic primitivism was not confined to
the three leading figures. From the 1930s, it radicalized art with its
stress on rural art at Tagore’s ‘holistic’ Visva Bharati University in
Santiniketan. Nandalal Bose, an influential teacher at Santiniketan
and a leading member of the Bengal School, gave up historicism in
favour of traditional village art, encouraging students to commune

125 Jamini Roy
A Woman, 1940s.
Roy brings to perfection his
quest fora style that combines
the bold lines of modernism
with the folk scroll paintings
(pat) of Bengal. Roy’s great
reputation as a painter rests
on his process of
simplification, the ruthless
paring down of unnecessary
details to get at the essential
form, culminating in a few
bold lines and colours.
f J |
as ete tei
: 2
Peer! pra Bae
directly with nature. However, he was eclectic in drawing upon both

western and eastern art. But above all, for Nandalal, only the primitive
Santhals had retained the sense of humanity that had been lost with
colonial rule. Nandalal’s innovative teaching was given a radical twist
by his pupil Binode Bihari Mukherjee: ‘In his mural based on the lives
DEVELOPMENTS IN ART ON THE EVE OF INDEPENDENCE 197

126 Ramkinkar Baij
Santhal Family, 1938.
One of the famous sculptural
groups that idealizes the
‘primitive’ Santhals, shown
here as heroic figures in this
radical departure from
academic sculptural tradition.
of saints (who were significantly peasants and artisans) Mukherjee

works out a rhythmic structure to comprehend the dynamic of Indian
life ... between community and dissent. A radical consciousness of
traditional India is visualised’."* Ramkinkar Baij, the leading sculptor
at Santiniketan, created a heroic image of the Santhals, injecting a
new robustness to outdoor sculptures with the use of unconventional
materials such as rubble, cement, and concrete [126]. This was a
significant departure, because the major sculptor before him,
Debiprosad Raychaudhury, had produced monumental sculptures on
patriotic themes, but these were confined to bronze and other more
conventional materials.
The second development on the eve of Independence was the
widening of the social horizon of artists, a number of whom, including
two leading Bombay artists, M. F. Husain and K. H. Ara, came
from a humble background. Although this widening brought in new
sensibilities, these artists, despite their non-elite origins, did not
produce artisanal works. They joined the colonial-modernist artistic
milieu, governed by the rules of the market and an urban artist—patron
relationship. Above all, their individualistic outlook was quite different
from that of the village potter, for instance. The desire of many of the
artists of this period, from both elite and non-elite backgrounds, to
return to rural roots did not make their art less genuine; it is simply that
their works were different from the art of the traditional village

|
craftsman or -woman. These contradictory and at times irreconcilable

tensions—cosmopolitan versus nationalist, urban versus rural—gave a
certain urgency to the works of modern artists in India.
During the closing decade of the colonial era, art and literature
moved towards greater social commitment, in sympathy with the
burgeoning socialist movements in the country. This was reflected in
the ‘progressive art’ groups that sprang up in various parts of India that
strongly rejected artistic nationalism in favour of social justice and
equality. Progressive artists were self-confessed modernists pitted
against the ‘dead wood’ of tradition, their idols Jamini Roy, Amrita
Sher-Gil, and Tagore and their target the ‘historicist’ Bengal School.
They established close links with Marxist intellectuals, especially the
Indian People’s Theatre Association (IPTA) and the Progressive
Writers groups. The earliest Progressive Artists Group was formed in
Calcutta in 1945, in the shadow of the Bengal famine of 1943. Its
members included the sculptor Pradosh Das Gupta and the painters
Paritosh Sen, Gopal Ghose, Nirode Mazumder, Subho Tagore, and
Zainul Abedin. Among them, Abedin became renowned for some of
the most haunting sketches of the great famine. The first artists’
commune in India was established in the village of Cholamandalam
near Madras. Of these various initiatives, the Bombay Progressive
Artists Group has been the most influential. The impact of these new
ideas was to be felt in the decades following Independence.
DEVELOPMENTS IN ART ON THE EVE OF INDEPENDENCE 199

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Part IV
Postcolonial Art and

Architecture
(1947-2000)
Art After
Independence
The subcontinent’s independence was achieved in 1947 at the cost of

partitioning the country into two separate states, India and Pakistan.
Yet again, in 1971, Bangladesh was created out of East Pakistan. There
are certain broad trends in art and architecture in the postcolonial
period. International modernism, which had made only a hesitant
entry into India before Independence, gathered speed after 1947. In the
1950s, artists enthusiastically joined the global ‘race’ for abstraction,
and yet, in keeping with the Indian tradition, few artists fully
renounced the human figure or the narrative. The first challenge to
semi-abstract art came in the 1970s and continues today.
Representational art was reinstated in the 1970s, but it was now tinged
with irony or political overtones. This was a reflection of greater
politicization of art and the influence of postcolonial writings and the
women’s movement on art. This was also the period when global
modernism came under attack as subcontinental artists began to
reassert their cultural identity. Many of the artists of this generation
discovered their roots in the soil and the common people, seeking to
obliterate the distinction between high, elite and low, ‘subaltern’ art.
India
Architecture
The first prime minister of independent India, Jawaharlal Nehru,
dreamed of creating a secular state, based on economic and social
justice, which would offer moral leadership to the Third World. A
modernist who favoured state intervention in all spheres, symbolized
by the Five Year Plans, Nehru played a proactive part in a national art
policy headed by the Lalit Kala Akademi (an officially sponsored
artists’ forum) and the National Gallery of Modern Art in the capital.
Nehru gave a boost to artists by suggesting that one per cent of the cost
of a public building should go towards its decoration with murals and
sculptures.
Modern architecture had arrived in India before Independence but
it was to be found not in official buildings but in commercial ones. Art
Deco cinema halls, office buildings, and apartment blocks in Mumbai
Detail of 132 and Calcutta, built from the 1930s, were its most imaginative examples.
203
International modernism in public architecture was, however,
consciously inaugurated by Nehru in a bid to look to the future
rather than the past, recently sullied with blood and strife. In 1951, he
invited the French architect Le Corbusier to design the capital at
Chandigarh for the new truncated state of Punjab (most of Punjab
was now in Pakistan). Le Corbusier’s uncompromising functionalism
consciously broke with the past ‘historicism’ of imperial architecture.
This was followed by the avant-garde architecture, with a ‘whisper’ of
the Mughal, of Louis Kahn in Ahmedabad (and Dhaka in
Bangladesh). The era saw the debut of leading Indian modernist
architects, among whom Balakrishna V. Doshi (b. 1927), for instance,
worked with Le Corbusier. As with modern painting and sculpture,
the international style gave rise to the problem of accommodating
the national within the global. Modernist architecture abhors super-
fluous surface decoration, an attitude reinforced by the use of modern
materials such as concrete, glass, and steel. There were tensions
between the modernist canon and the Indian visual language, which
has historically rested on decoration.’ What caused anxiety among
post-Independence architects was this: how could they avoid
pastiche, namely the attachment of Indian motifs to essentially
modernist architecture? Apart from the fact that elaborately decorated
nineteenth-century buildings have faced disgrace in the twentieth,
‘historicist’ Raj edifices were perceived as flaunting a meretricious
orientalist imagery.”
Misgivings among Indian architects gathered force in the 1970s and
1980s as part of a wider questioning of modernism as being exclusively
western. Charles Correa (b. 1930), an internationally acclaimed Indian
architect, articulated the problem facing architects in India as ‘the
necessity to simultaneously both rediscover India’s past and invent its
future’.3 Correa found the solution in the revival of earlier practices, ex-
ploring the functions of Indian buildings, rather than their decoration,
in his search for authenticity [127]. A pioneer in low-cost housing in
the Third World, he developed two concepts inspired by Indian
climate and ideas: ‘open-to-the-sky’ space and tube houses that con-
serve energy in a hot, dry climate. He has also used open courtyards
and clusters of huts for the Gandhi Ashram in emulation of Gandhian
values and explores the indigenous planning of space in the vastu-
purusa-mandala. Balakrishna Doshi, on the other hand, borrows
Mughal structural features, and Uttam Jain (b. 1934) is another
architect who has introduced indigenous modes of building in his
work. The architectural historian G. H. R. Tillotson pleads for a
revival and not reproduction of Indian craftsmanship in building,
which he feels is lacking in modern buildings in India.* Yet, in the final
analysis, what matters is how effectively modern and local elements are
synthesized in an architecture that works.
204 ART AFTER INDEPENDENCE

127 Charles Correa
Dome and inlaid floor, Inter-
University Centre for
Astronomy and Astrophysics,
Pune University.
This scientific institution was
one of two complementary
projects (the other at Jaipur)
expressing architecture as a
model of the cosmos. Correa,
who believes that modern
scientific and Hindu notions
have remarkable similarities,
explores the relationship
between the modern
discipline of astronomy, our
twentieth-century
understanding of the
expanding universe, and
Hindu notions of the cosmos.
The small openings in the
dome accurately represent the
stars of the night sky, while the
floor pattern is of ancient
Ayurvedic origin, and links
the seasons with the
constellations.
Semi-figurative art
The reception of modern art in India is encapsulated in the comments
of the German art historian Hermann Goetz. Indian art, he argues,
had faced a crisis during colonial rule, which ended with the rise of
modernism, when ‘the best artists started again on their quest for true
art, not from a superficial imitation of the past, but from an under-
standing of the basic principles underlying all genuine creations’.
The 1950s to ’7os were dominated by non-figurative art, a global
phenomenon. The backdrop to it was the politics of the Cold War; the
‘free world’ artists identified with formalism and abstraction, while
INDIA 205
The Bombay Progressives
M. F. Husain, K. H. Ara, F. N. Souza, and S. H. Raza, the founding members,
became the most successful artists in the decades following Independence. They were
inducted into modernism by three refugees from the Nazis: the Expressionist painter
Walter Langhammer, who joined the Times ofIndia in 1938 as art director, became
their mentor; Emmanuel Schlesinger, who set up a pharmaceutical concern in
Bombay, became their main collector; and Rudy von Leyden, who joined the Times of
India as art critic, championed their cause. The three émigrés joined forces with the
radical novelist Mulk Raj Anand and Kekoo Gandhy, owner of the influential
Chemould Gallery. Its other members were S. K. Bakre and H. K. Gade, later joined _
by Krishen Khanna and V. S. Gaitonde. Souza, the most articulate one, enunciated
their formalist credo: ‘elemental and eternal laws of aesthetic order, plastic co-
ordination and colour composition’. Progressive artists had kindred spirits, many of
whom trained under André Lhote, including Akbar Padamsee (b. 1928) and Jehangir
Sabavala (b. 1922) from Bombay, Ram Kumar (b. 1924) from North India, Nirode
Mazumder (1916-82) and Paritosh Sen (b. 1918) from Calcutta, and Zubeida Agha
(1922-97) from Lahore in Pakistan.
narrative art was dismissed as being comparable to the Socialist

Realism of the USSR. The critic Geeta Kapur writes, “We developed a
quiet, almost quiescent, aesthetic. The ... figure was withdrawn from
the work of some of the major Indian artists, leaving behind the merest
signs of the human presence in nature’.° However, if we are to look
for a common thread here, it is the insistent return of the figure, the
perennial subject of India, set against the background of abstraction.
Paradoxically, de-colonization made Indian artists more, rather than
less, conscious of their Indian identity as they confronted global
modernity. Indeed, the tensions generated by the conflicting demands
of global modernity and national specificity became a major preoccu-
pation of Third World artists.
In 1947, the year of Indian Independence, the Bombay Progressive
Artists Group was launched, which made a big impact with a much
publicized exhibition the following year. However, without a clear
ideology that they could share, the Progressives soon fell apart, two
of them heading for Europe. With the notable exception of M. F.
Husain, Europe became the training ground of all the leading Indian
artists. London had traditionally been the destination of Indian artists
reared on English academic art. Sher-Gil in the 1920s was the first
artist to break with tradition in choosing Paris, the Mecca of mod-
ernism. In the 1940s, the Bengali sculptor Chintamoni Kar was the
second Indian to spend some years in Paris. His sculpture was judged
the best at an international competition held in Sweden. After
Independence, many of the Indian and Pakistani artists in Europe
joined the Académie Montparnasse of André Lhote (1885-1962). A
minor painter who used Cubist mannerisms to create his rhythmic
semi-geometrical shapes, Lhote had emerged as an influential teacher
in the 1950s.”

Apart from S. H. Raza, Indian artists with European experience
returned to India to mould the post-Independence artistic milieu. By
the 1950s, the centre of gravity in modern art had shifted from Paris to
New York and London. And yet what these artists brought back with
them were semi-figurative styles based on post-war French develop-
ments in abstraction. They introduced the pleasure of colour and
texture in a country where until then narrative and meaning had been
paramount in painting. Ram Kumar, who had been associated with
radical political groups in France, chose on his return themes of social
injustice and alienation, treated with a dark palette and with snatches
of Cubism. He soon moved on to abstraction in his vision of Benares as
a configuration of shades and textures, the colourful city reduced to
stretches of clay, sand, and sky.* Jehangir Sabavala, a craftsman and
perfectionist, became engrossed with the possibilities offered by
Cubism after his return to Bombay, developing over the years a lyrical
form of semi-figurative work.’
Krishen Khanna (1925— ), who gained prominence in the late 1960s,
was born in West Punjab, which is now in Pakistan. After studying in
England, he moved to India where he worked for a commercial bank
for a while. In 1961 he became a full-time painter. A politically com-
mitted artist, he has been an active member of the Artists’ Protest
Movement. The American-British painter R. B. Kitaj’s powerful
political statements made a deep impression on him. Khanna began in
a semi-figurative style but, partly because of his belief in the political
role of art, the image never disappeared from his work [128]. An excep-
tion to the general non-figurative trend was Satish Gujral who was also
born in West Punjab and went to the Mayo College of Arts in Lahore.
He left Pakistan in 1952 for Mexico where he worked with the Marxist
muralist Siqueiros, before settling in India. Gujral’s paintings in the
1960s had a strong Mexican social realist flavour with brooding sculp-
turesque figures."
Magbool Fida Husain (6.1915)

During the first three decades after Independence, the most successful
artists were the one-time Bombay Progressives, Husain, Souza, and
Raza; the last two were also the first Indian diaspora artists. From a poor
Maharastran family, Husain rose from being a humble painter of hoard-
ings advertising Hindi movies to the undisputed leader in modern
Indian art ‘in the range of his themes [and] the quality of excellence
which he has maintained over three decades’. Flamboyant, courting
controversy, displaying a generosity of spirit, Husain epitomizes the
optimistic Nehruvian era itself. The high point of his career was the Sao
Paulo Biennale of 1971, where he exhibited alongside Picasso [129].”
With his prodigious output and endless experimentation, he
remains an enigma to the critics: “They have barely been able to
INDIA 207
128 Krishen Khanna categorize one phase of his when he has stormed his way into
Emmaus, 1979.
another’. Geéta Kapur, on the other hand, feels that:
In this modern retelling of the
theme of Christ at Emmaus, [one] can only ask of him what his own work had promised; authentic under-
Khanna uses a limited range
standing of the traditional—the ‘typical’ Indian. Having recognized it [with]
of colours to create an
atmosphere of subdued something of a brilliant intuition, having embodied [it] in a series of lucid and
drama. memorable images, he let go of it, too soon and too easily.
Francis Newton Souza (b. 1924)

A Catholic from Goa, Souza joined the Bombay art school in the last
days of the Raj, only to be expelled for taking part in student unrest.
The ‘angry young man’ of Indian art, Souza drew the attention of the
Bombay police by exhibiting a full frontal nude of himself. The most
articulate among the Bombay Progressives, Souza declared: “Today we
129 Magbool Fida Husain
Mother Teresa ||, 1980s.
Husain uses ‘collages’ of bold
colours bounded by nervous
outlines and random
associations offragmentary
images in ordertomake
political and cultural
statements. He often paints a
series of works to develop his
monumental themes,
recycling forms by ransacking
eastern and western cultures,
distilling essences, and
deconstructing icons.
INDIA 209
130 Francis Newton Souza
Half-nude Girl in a Chair,
1960.
Souza’s is a personal vision
based on Hindu erotic
sculpture, Christian
iconography, and a facility with
the nude. His nudes could be
grim though d isplayingan
nnocent sexuality. In an
interview pub ished in The
Studio (1964 he explained
that he painted in artificial
ight, with the help of an
overhead proj ector to ‘blow
up’ photographs and ‘pin-ups’
from ‘girlie magazines’. The
method enab ed himto keep
his inspiration fresh and
spontaneous.
paint with absolute freedom [with regard to] contents and techniques,
almost anarchic, save that we are governed by one or two sound
elemental laws of aesthetic order ... We have no pretensions of
making vapid revivals of any school’.* Souza chose London, rather
than Paris, as his destination in 1949, and received critical acclaim in
the 1960s [130]."°
Sayed Haider Raza (b. 1922)

Childhood memories of mysterious Indian forests drew Raza to land-
scapes, a rare subject among post-Independence artists. Another prod-
uct of the Bombay art school, Raza discovered German Expressionism
through Langhammer and Rudy von Leyden. His cityscapes pro-
gressed from an architectonic view of Bombay to an appreciation of its

Tantra and modern art
The esoteric system of Tantra makes use of elegant diagrams (yantra), based on
geometrical and abstract forms, as aids to meditation (see chapter 3). Tantra and its
idea of the vital force operating in all living beings had attracted the pioneering
abstract painters, particularly the circle of Kasimir Malevich. But it was in the 1960s,
when the Indian art historian Ajit Mukherjee brought a historic exhibition of Tantra
art to the West, that it gained wide publicity: its elegant designs appealed to a modern
sensibility nourished on abstraction, while the prevailing sexual revolution eagerly
embraced Tantric religious sexuality. Nirode Mazumder, a product of Lhote’s studio
who specialized in the rhythmic treatment of geometrical semi-figurative shapes, was
an early neo-T'antric painter. Others such as G. R. Santosh, Biren De and K. C. S.
Pannikar were also discovering for themselves the artistic possibilities of Tantra.
moods, seasons, and colours. In 1956, some years after moving to Paris,
he became the first Asian artist to win the Prix de la Critique. The
French critic Jacques Lassaigne marvelled at his timeless landscapes
and uninhabited cities suspended in the air beneath a dark sun.” From
the ‘transfigured nature’ of his early years, Raza moved on in the 1990s
to paintings inspired by ancient Indian Upanishadic philosophy and
the Tantric cult [131].* Tantric art gained popularity in the 1960s in
India and the West. In 1971 a pioneering Tantric artist, Nirode
Mazumder (1916-82) offered a penetrating analysis of the connection
between his artistic aims and Tantric philosophy [132].
K. G. Ramanujam (1941-73)
An individualist whose work cannot be easily categorized,
Ramanujam was part of the Cholamandalam village, the artists’
commune founded near Madras by K. C. S. Pannikar. Congenitally
deformed, Ramanujam considered himself to be too ugly to find a
woman to share his life, deciding to end his life at the age of 32. His
works were never shown in his lifetime. Cholamandalam influence can
be discerned in Ramanujam’s use of folk elements, such as his oversized
male and female figures which resemble the papier maché puppets
carried in religious processions in Tamilnadu. Ramanujam frequently
reincarnates himself in his fantastic paintings: a slightly grotesque
figure flanked by his wish-fulfilment women [133].*°
Modern art in Pakistan

The massive population transfers in the aftermath of the Partition in
1947 included Muslim artists, who moved from India to the newly
formed East and West Pakistan. In the formative years the destinies of
artists belonging to the two wings of Pakistan were interlinked. West
Pakistan had inherited the key colonial institution, Mayo School of
Arts in Lahore (renamed National College of Arts). Two leading
Muslim artists, the orientalist Abdur Rehman Chughtai (1897-1975)
and the academic painter Allah Bukhsh (1895-1978), who enjoyed
MODERN ART IN PAKISTAN 211

131 Sayed Haider Raza
Jala Bindu, 1990.
In this Tantric work, a series of
colours is orchestrated around
the bindu, the focal point of
meditation, considered the
ultimate source of reality in
Indian philosophy. Raza
conjures up a world of
Rajasthani colours—blazing
vermilions, mustard yellows,
Prussian blues, and pitch
blacks—in his painting.
=
— ee tame
et,
rem an OR tN Pee
132 Nirode Mazumder
Chandani Holding Gurudas's
Feathers, c.1968.
‘For the last 20 years | have
tried to find solutions,
maintaining asfar as possible
the symbolism of colours
accordingto the gunas
[loosely translated as spiritual
essences], time etc. in my
paintings, conceiving my
works by series, each of the
pictures in a series being a
temporal image related to the
point marking the centre, from
which the whole picture
generates and to which the
figures developing first in the
form of a lotus [a Tantric
symbol] will ultimately return’.
ex shai
pre-eminence as a painter of landscapes and Hindu mythology,

became venerable figures in Pakistan. The Pakistani artists showed a
particular aptitude for calligraphy and colours and probably felt more
at home with abstract design, but the figure continued to be a domi-
nant subject with them.
Because subcontinental artists, irrespective of their religious
affiliations, had partaken of the same artistic ideas and movements and
had faced very similar problems of responding to the international
avant-garde, we can trace very similar developments in the three
parts of the subcontinent. As with the younger Indian generation's
impatience with the Bengal School, a non-figurative generation was
emerging in Pakistan that challenged the earlier artistic concerns.
Speaking on the role of international modernism in Pakistan, the art
historian Akbar Naqvi remarked that he wished to explore closely ‘how
much Pakistani artists took from Europe and what did they leave out’.”
In 1949, the modern movement in Pakistan was launched with an eye

133 K. G. Ramanujam to developments in American art but with scarcely any knowledge of
Untitled, 1972. the neighbouring Bombay Progressives, for instance. And yet inter-
He creates an imaginary
‘bricolage’ universe made up
actions did take place. The moving spirit behind the Karachi Fine Art
of heterogeneous elements— Society was an Indian diplomat.”
architectural constructions, In the 1940s, the Bengali artist B. C. Sanyal’s Lahore School of Fine
Tamil gods, sacred animals,
children’s books, snatches
Art had introduced a modicum of modernism in the Punjab. In the
from the French initial years of Pakistan, Anna Molka (1917-95), an energetic East
Impressionists, and Venetian
European married to a Pakistani artist, joined the department of
scenes. A Venetian cavernous
arch, for instance, allows us fine arts at Punjab University. An Expressionist painter herself, she
an entry into a garish carnival encouraged modern art.% The first major modernist painter was
such as one sees in South
Indian films. His fantasy
Zubeida Agha, who is discussed in the next chapter in the section on
figures ride composite beasts female artists.
with elongated lambs’ heads In the 1950s a group of artists formed the independent Lahore Art
and serpents’ tails in an
imaginary space.
Circle. In 1952, Cubism was introduced by Shakir Ali (1916-75) at the
National College of Art. A mystical painter and an inspiring teacher,
Ali gave a lead to the younger generation through his Group of Five.
After his training at the Bombay art school, Ali had worked at André
Lhote’s studio in Paris.** He then spent a period in Czechoslovakia
learning textile design. His development from traditional art through
Cubism to colouristic canvases was cut short by his early death.
Among successful painters, the portraitist Ismail Guljee (b. 1926) from
Sind province enjoyed lavish state sponsorship. Impressed by the
visiting American painter Elaine Hamilton, Guljee enthusiastically
plunged into action painting, creating dazzling surfaces enhanced with

gold and silver leaf and calligraphy. However, he did not relinquish his
lucrative portrait commissions.” It is often forgotten in tracing the
trajectory of modernism that there have been serious and talented
naturalistic artists, as evident in the landscapes of Khaled Iqbal
(b. 1929), Zulqarnain Haider (b. 1939), Shahid Jalal (b. 1948), and Tjazul
Hassan (b. 1940), to name the best-known ones.”°
Sadequain Naqvi (1930-87)

It is against this background of nascent modernism that Sadequain,
the celebrated Pakistani artist and a prizewinner at the Paris Biennale
of 1961, made his debut. Sadequain’s versatility ranged from fine
calligraphic miniatures to monumental paintings, though it is in public
murals that he created a permanent niche for himself. In the words of
the poet Faiz Ahmed Faiz, Sadequain was a visionary whose phantas-
magoric creations expressed the emotional and social unity of all
material things caught up in an upward struggle.’”
Descended from a family of calligraphers in North India,
Sadequain joined the Progressive Writers and Artists Movement in
the 1940s. He then spent a period in Paris augmenting his skills. A
short spell in the barren, cacti-ridden desert terrain by the sea at
Gadani, near Karachi, became Sadequain’s epiphany. In the ensuing
allegorical works on the labouring man’s spiritual struggle, the spiky
cactus came to be a metaphor for the human condition; when it was
accompanied by Kufic (a decorative form of Arabic script) calligraphy,
it represented the fall of man [134].”
Between 1966 and 1970, the political situation in Pakistan
worsened. In 1976, Sadequain’s exhibition in Lahore was greeted with
violent protests by conservative elements. Under threat in his final
years, Sadequain’s defiance died down. He turned to more neutral
calligraphy, especially tughra (word pictures), combining abstraction
with meaning, one of the first modern artists to use it to explore
painterly texture.*? Sadequain’s use of Islamic calligraphy was part of a
growing trend in Pakistan, culminating in the calligraphic competition
at the Islamic Summit in Lahore in 1974, followed two years later by a
German-Pakistan conference on the subject.3%? This phase of
Sadequain’s work, however, is seen by some as a retreat from his earlier
social commitment.’ Disillusioned, before his death the artist visited
India, where he was received with enthusiasm.
Ahmed Parvez (1926-79)

The prolific and controversial Ahmed Parvez is considered to be one of
the four ‘touchstones’ of Pakistani art. Parvez was born in Rawalpindi
on the North West Frontier. His parents’ separation caused deep
problems in his personal relationships but it also fuelled his precocious
creativity. Parvez was discovered by Shakir Ali and the modernist

134 Sadequain (Naqvi)
Composition from Ghalib,
1968.
Sadequain incorporates the
Hindu and Buddhist concept
of maya (illusion) to reinforce
the imagery of struggle. He
treats the nude in an original
manner, and his work is
imbued with an undercurrent
of sexual symbolism and
fantasy, as in the
sadomasochistic tropes of
Urdu and Persian ghazals
(lyric poems).
Group ofFive. But it was in London, he claimed, that he at last found

himself. Not only did Parvez create art out of waste products and
rejected pieces, but he used his own bodily waste in his art.3* However,
his wide range of media included the sensuous use of pastels during his
‘abstract-lyrical’ outbursts. His praise of nature in a fachiste vein is
recorded in the painting Untitled (Orchard) of 1970. In 1976, Parvez
pictured his own body in the form of a cross, a man with an orange-like
head with the molten fire of the sun behind him, in a mystical-erotic
riot of jewel-like colours. Similarities with the English painter Alan
Davie, who also uses glittering, gem-like colours, have been noted by
critics and also acknowledged by the painter himself. Parvez died
tragically in poverty without fulfilling his promise.

Shahid Sapjad (b. 1936)
Of the sculptors in Pakistan—a rare breed—the mystical Shahid
Sajjad is by far the most outstanding. He has been described as a
primitivist, at odds with civilization and its discontents. Ever restless,
he started his career in a printing firm, only to abandon it soon after.
He spent some years with a sculptor in Japan, learning bronze casting
through a painful process of trial and error. At the end of his training
he came to develop a respect for the tools and materials as traditional
artists did. To Sajjad, spontaneous experience and the intimate rela-
tionship of craft with life were the vital elements in an artist’s armoury.
Sajjad returned to the wood produced in northern Pakistan, a material
hitherto considered unsuitable for carving [135]. He applied automo-
tive paints and the blowtorch to this material in order to leave deep
scorch marks and patterns on its surface and to expose the inner grains.
Sajjad’s early sculptures give the impression of totemic figures, his
work progressing to heroic reliefs. One of his most important works
expresses a political allegory: a thick garment with deep folds, but
without the body inside, hangs from the gallows, a poignant comment
on the Pakistani leader Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto’s execution.
Modern art in Bangladesh

The Partition of India led Zainul Abedin (1918-76) to emigrate to East
Pakistan (renamed Bangladesh after the War of Liberation in 1971).
135 Shahid Sajjad
Hostage |, 1992-4.
One of the most distinguished artists of Pakistan and claimed by some
Inspired by Gauguin S critics to be its first modernist, Abedin had trained in Calcutta and was
sculptures, he found his first part of the Progressive Artists Group in the 1940s [136]. In 1948, he was
‘primitives’ in the Ch ittagong
hills where he began wood
appointed by the government of East Pakistan to head the newly
carving. Sajjad learn ed from founded art school in Dhaka, which became the focus of the modernist
the tribal people about their movement in the 1950s. The Government Art Institute followed
use ofthe local trees for
sculpture. He experi ments presently, and in 1954 the first All Pakistan Arts Exhibition was held in
with different crafts over long Dhaka, in which West and East Pakistani artists took part.
periods not only to master
Not only Abedin but S. M. Sultan (1923-94) and other contempo-
them but to seek an intimate
relationship with the mM. raries of Abedin had trained in the art schools of Calcutta. Of these,
Abedin and Sultan continued with the Calcutta schools’ concern with
rural life, and Abedin’s ‘naturalist’ style was later regarded by some
critics as conservative. Other artists in the r950s wedded folk forms
with bold simplification. The drawings of Quamrul Hasan (b. 1921),
who had been involved in the village regeneration movement in
pre-Partition Bengal, combined rural motifs with geometrical forms,
seeking inspiration in the simplicity of village clay pots and dolls.
Safiuddin Ahmed (b. 1922), a versatile graphic artist, whose rural
themes included Santhal women, took up abstraction after moving to
Dhaka. Anwar ul-Hag (b. 1918) specialised in landscapes. Murtaza
Bashir (b. 1933) progressed from socially committed imagery to
abstraction.*° This shift towards non-figurative art was spearheaded by
MODERN ART IN BANGLADESH 217

136 Zainul Abedin
Famine, 1943.
In 1943 Abedin won
recognition with his harrowing
images ofthe victims of the
great famine of Bengal,
created with deft expressionist
sketches of considerable
intensity.
the younger generation, who admired the works of Zubeida Agha,

Shakir Ali, and Sadequain. Among this generation, Mohammad
Kibria has been a particularly sensitive artist in exploring subtle
textures in his mixed media works.
The watershed for the artists of East Pakistan was the War of
Liberation in 1971 that created Bangladesh. While it was a period of
great suffering, it also offered a new national identity and a new
optimism, which had a profound effect on art and artists. The private
language of abstraction was felt to be inadequate for expressing the
political struggle as it demanded readily intelligible and affecting
images. Later, the leading artists of Bangladesh, including Abedin,
were to produce works based on their own experiences of genocide and
resistance ranging from the abstract to the figurative.3”
In the general atmosphere of optimism that followed the founding
of Bangladesh, the young state stepped forward as a patron, establish-
ing academies and art galleries. hese were to support artists through
exhibitions and publicize their works with monographs and other
publications. Among these, the most important is the Bangladesh
Shilpakala Academy, the official sponsor of Bangladeshi art. Every
year since 1974, the Academy has organized a national art exhibition
and an exhibition devoted entirely to young artists.**
The most significant development since the 1980s, as also seen in
other parts of the subcontinent, has been the marketing of art and the
expansion of art galleries, subsidized by private concerns. In the 1960s

137 Shahabuddin
Freedom Fighter, 1997.
The freedom fighter is
represented here as a Sprinter
charging across the
battlefield, routing the forces
of tyranny with sheer energy
and exuberance.
there were only the Arts Ensemble Galleries in Dhaka. After 1971
galleries proliferated in the capital. Since the 1990s, as poverty,
political instability, and forces of conservatism have overwhelmed
Bangladesh, there is a feeling that the optimism of 1971 has gone sour.
Some critics complain that once again artists are returning to a
personal language of abstraction, abandoning social commitment as
earlier feelings of unity begin to fade.
The War of Liberation produced a remarkable artist in Bangladesh.
Shahabuddin (b. 1950), who showed promise in his student years,
joined the armed struggle for independence, an experience that deeply
coloured his mature work. He left for Paris in 1974, where he received
further training, and has lived there since. From 1979, Shahabuddin
began exploring the expressive potentials of the human form, as
recalled from his war experiences. His most striking works are his male
figures in motion, which he uses to great effect in capturing the drama
of the struggle and eventual victory [137].*
MODERN ART IN BANGLADESH 219

‘Lhe Contemporary
Scene
From the 1970s, the art scene in India started undergoing considerable
changes, and in the ‘free market’ era of the 1980s artists became more
conscious of market forces, as galleries willing to sell works of art
mushroomed in the main cities. Narrative art with recognisable subject
matter returned with renewed vigour, but it made very different state-
ments. The human figure continued to be treated not in naturalistic
detail, which is a characteristic of European art even today, but in a
typical Indian fashion entirely as an expressive medium. Artists dis-
tilled elements from personal experience to create Platonic types that
made universal statements. Another important feature is that, with
some notable exceptions, artists preferred ambiguous, floating poetic
spaces like those of Chagall to European single-point perspective.
Such perspective was closer to the use of space in Indian miniatures.
Artists of considerable originality, for instance the self-taught
artists Sudhir Patwardhan (b. 1949) and Gieve Patel (b. 1940) in
Mumbai, made their debut in this period. Among a number of major
figures, I have focused on several with individual visions that exemplify
the variety and richness of this pictorial trend. The following four are
characterized by their poetic, super-realist rendering of reality. Ganesh
Pyne (b. 1937) started as a watercolourist in the Bengal School mode.
His discovery of the pictorial world of Klee enabled him to inject a
modern sense of fragmentation and ambiguity into his own work. In
addition, The Outsider by the English existentialist writer Colin
Wilson struck a chord in his own temperament, which has always been
marked by an acute sense of alienation.’ Pyne’s work demonstrates a
craftsmanship perfected through years of concentrated study of a few
self-imposed themes [138].
The hyper-realism of the Calcutta artist Bikash Bhattacharjee
(b. 1940), with strong light and deep shadows like an art photograph,
swims against the tide of fashion in India.* There is an undercurrent of
violence in his work, as in his sinister Victorian dolls treated in the
manner of Surrealist sculptor and painter Hans Bellmer, though their
styles are quite dissimilar. Bhattacharjee’s portraits of Bengali lower
middle-class women are deceptively academic. On closer inspection,
Detail of 147 they reveal themselves to be the stuff of bad dreams. These scary aliens
221
138 Ganesh Pyne
The Sage, 1979.
Pyne describes his picture
settings as a twilight zone, the
meeting point of day and
night, of life and death, of love
and agony—where everything
is seen ina different light. His
persistent motifs are
anthropomorphic masks with
gleaming eyes, Jurassic
animals, bleached skeletons,
and stunted humans,
surrounded by dark pools of
water. These subtly textured
paintings with exquisite detail
conjure up a mysterious world
that exists outside the normal
commerce of life.
that inhabit the twilight world seem to emanate from the slums of
Calcutta. Another poetic realist, Jogen Chowdhury (b. 1939), who
spent some years in Paris, delights in combining the erotic with the
grotesque in sagging, wrinkled flesh, the excrescences on the epidermis
erupting like pustules and tumours [139].* The lyricism of Manjit
Bawa (b. 1941) springs from his training in silk-screening. Bawa’s
boneless, amoebic humans and beasts float in fluorescent candy-
coloured space: pink, violet, emerald green, sky blue, tangerine. Bawa,
Postcolonial art criticism

The developments in Baroda must be set against the rise of postcolonial art criticism,
which treats art as a form of cultural discourse rather than as the embodiment of self-
evident truth. As the sacrosanct western canon and its claims to universality began to
be questioned, women’s art and non-western art, until now judged condescendingly
against classical taste, won a new recognition. This challenge to the dominant canon
was radically different from the earlier modernist assaults on it, which never really
questioned the western colonial, capitalist hegemony or the unilinear trajectory of
western art history. The concept of colonial discourse laid bare the culturally
constructed nature of many of the artistic ‘truths’. This important development in the
academic field coincided with the emergence of new art critics, notably Geeta Kapur.
She challenged Europe’s leading question: ‘How can Indians appropriate western
modernism without misunderstanding and reducing it?’ These theoretical
developments gave Indian artists an increasing self-assurance about their work. They
also felt confident enough to mount protests against the international art market
controlled by western art critics, gallery owners, and art dealers.
222 THE CONTEMPORARY SCENE

139 Jogen Chowdhury who is inspired by the eighteenth-century Hill State painters of his
Man and Woman, 1987.
home state of Punjab, seeks the iconic simplicity of Indian mythology.
In this work, Chowdhury
makes his monochromatic
Since the themes are universally familiar, ‘you can concentrate instead
grotesques stand out against on the form, the colour, the space’, he explains.5
the dark void behind them.
The metaphor of over-ripeness
is applied to humans and The new pictorialism
inanimate objects, which take The fine arts department of the Maharaja Sayajirao University of
on the qualities ofan ageing
Baroda (Madhya Pradesh) was a major force in the re-emergence of
organism, decaying and
corrupt. An ordinary pillow ina pictorialism ofthe 1970s, the paper Vrischik (scorpion), published from
Bengali bedroom with the Baroda, becoming a powerful ideological weapon in the dissemination
word ‘love’ embroidered on it,
slightly stained and crumpled
of radical ideas. In the 1960s, Baroda had established close links with
with use, floats in a bare the Royal College of Art in London, a link that has led to significant
space. Another series, cross-fertilizations, in part because of a shared interest in figurative art.
Reminiscences of a Dream,
brings out his eccentric vision
The English painter Howard Hodgkin has had close associations with
of the lotus, a cultural icon, Baroda artists, notably Bhupen Khakhar. Another British artist,
alongside dead fish and stale
Timothy Hyman, a passionate advocate of expressionist realism in
vegetables.
painting, made a controversial visit to Baroda in 1980-4, contributing
to the ongoing debate at the university. Geeta Kapur, writing for
Vrischik, laanched a frontal assault on post-Independence non-figura-
tive art as being part of a conformist international formalism that
claimed primacy of style over meaning.° These ideas came to a head at
the ‘Place for People’ exhibition held in Bombay and Delhi in 1980-1,
where the new pictorialists, Sudhir Patwardhan, Bhupen Khakhar,
Vivan Sundaram, and others, consciously repudiated non-figurative
THE NEW PICTORIALISM 223

modernism as playing hostage to western capitalism. They also sought
in a postmodernist vein to end the distinction between fine and
popular/folk arts.
The fine arts department of the University of Baroda was founded
in 1949 on the novel idea ofoffering art as a vocation; art students took
courses in art history and the humanities as part of their all-round
training. This intellectual background provided the basis for a
140 Gulammohammed consciously thought-out artistic programme, which received a boost
Sheikh
City for Sale, 1981-4.
with the appointment ofthe artist and pedagogue K. G. Subramanyan.
Sheikh discovered the wealth Subramanyan vigorously implemented the teaching principles of his
of Indian miniatures at the mentors, Nandalal Bose and Binode Bihari Mukherjee, introducing
Victoria and Albert Museum in
London: ‘itwas in the
the Santiniketan mural tradition in collaboration with a traditional
landscape that | invested my painter from Rajasthan. Together they undertook public mural
new-found understanding and projects inspired by Bengali terracotta reliefs. Subramanyan himself
excitement, sensation and
experiences’. Sheikh feels that acquired a first-hand knowledge of the traditional arts by working for
Mughal aerial perspective, the state-owned Handloom Board.’
which opens up layers of
Subramanyan’s objective was to obliterate the gulf between the
shifting viewpoints, better
expresses Indian landscapes artisan and the modern artist, incorporating the ‘living traditions’ of
than European single-point rural and tribal art into the Baroda curriculum. Subramanyan, whose
perspective. He applies the
idea offluid space in his
romantic primitivism equated the formalist universe of non-illusionist
paintings in conjunction with a art with tribal art, ‘found the structural mechanism of Cubism
‘spinning structure’, like the answering certain questions about the two-dimensionality of Indian
ancient Indian literary device
of containing a story within a folk art and vice versa’.* This formalism, he claimed, had fallen into
story. disfavour during the post-Independence regime of semi-figurative art.
fe
Wah
eo
riers
'
t

Subramanyan threw down his gauntlet at the ‘modernists’, reasserting
the pioneering’ importance of the Bengal School, which had been dis-
missed by artists from Sher-Gil onwards. He sought to ‘contextualize’
creativity and reintegrate art with cultural, social, and environmental
issues. Finding postcolonial theory congenial to his own enterprise,
Subramanyan put forward ‘language’, by which he possibly meant
artistic conventions, as the transformative element in art. The role of
the artist, he asserted, needed to be merged with the function of the
work of art.
Two of the most original talents to emerge from Baroda are
Gulammohammed Sheikh and Bhupen Khakhar, both of whom use
narrative art to express multiple levels of meaning. Sheikh (b. 1937),
also a noted poet, was the first artist from Baroda to receive training at
the Royal College of Art in London.° His ‘polysemic’ cityscapes are
conceived as vast panoramas in the manner of the Shah Jahan Padshah
Nama [140]. They express his personal and social concerns, and are
made up of complex layers consisting of sexual symbolism, Koranic
imagery, memories of childhood, and episodes from everyday life.
Sheikh often uses the courtyard as an emblem of the frontier between
the home and the world in an Indian household. He writes:
Living in India signifies living simultaneously in several times and cultures ...
The past is a living entity which exists in parallel with the present, each
illuminating and sustaining the other ... With the convergence of periods and
cultures, the citadels of purism explode. Tradition and modernity, private and
public, interior and exterior incessantly separate and reunite."
Bhupen Khakhar (b. 1934), born in an artisan community, was trained

as a chartered accountant, which still provides his main income. He
came to Baroda to study art criticism but found painting more attrac-
tive. Khakhar collects ‘kitschy’ imagery to construct an elaborate nar-
rative genre, employing playful irony in his portrayal of the banal lives
of inconsequential people as they lead their daily lives, adroitly captur-
ing their awkward gestures in stiff, frontally posed studio portrait-like
figures." He revels in mock chandeliers and leather furnishings and
makes careful inventories of the objects in an interior. From miniature
colours, Khakhar moved on to garish enamel and calendar paints,
including the actual paint used for decorating the interiors of small
establishments such as a barber’s saloon or a watch repairer’s shop.”
His meticulous constructions are full of care and humility, his iconic
figures are surrounded with all the attributes of their daily activity.
Khakhar’s ‘Pop’ art is more ‘naive’ than satirical, since the high-low
distinction in art is less obvious in India. However, we would fail to
appreciate the sense of alienation, irony, and personal vulnerability in
Khakhar’s work unless we take into account his homosexuality in a
society which is yet to come to terms with it. His cityscapes often offer
THE NEW PICTORIALISM 225

141 Bhupen Khakhar us a protagonist, his alter ego, a voyeur who gazes on the distant
Celebration of Guru Jayanti, scene with ironic detachment, tinged with a touch of melancholy
1980.
One of his most ambitious
[141]. Khakhar’s symbolic ‘outing’ is expressed in his panoramic work
works, it depicts a number of You Cannot Please Everybody, purchased by London's Tate Gallery
mini-worlds, each selfin 1998."
contained and deeply
immersed in its own activities,
The most articulate, politically committed of Subramanyan’s
as they float in the deep blue students is Vivan Sundaram, who works with a global perspective,
field of colour.
seeking artistic equivalents of the Marxist ideological struggle.
Although he has produced elegant paintings, it was logical that
Sundaram would eventually turn to the political art of installations. In
1991, Sundaram chose to comment on the Gulf War, viewed by many
in the Third World as a ruthless form of western colonialism. His
installation is visualized as modern warfare in an ancient land, a war
game that belies the grim reality. The game is about war, destruction,
and death. As he points out, ‘Operation Desert Storm, the battle
between Iraq and the Allied Forces early this year, was projected in the
mass media as bloodless high-tech warfare’.
Women artists of the subcontinent

India.
The most significant development in the subcontinent since the 1970s
has been the rise of female artists as a self-conscious group. The aims

and issues of women’s art, especially in the wake of the women’s move-
ment of the 1970s, are quite distinct from those of men and transcend
the political frontiers that separate the three nations of India, Pakistan,
and Bangladesh. Does gender override other considerations, even
though some of these woman artists do not perceive themselves as
feminists? It is problematic whether women’s art can be defined by
something inherently ‘feminine’, but women’s experience in a male-
dominated world is palpably different to men’s. Woman artists of the
subcontinent constitute a group in which certain concerns, anxieties,
and aspirations are shared, given that they have not yet achieved
anything like equality with men in social and cultural spheres." It is no
coincidence that many of the artists included here have been active
from the 1970s, the period when feminism made its mark. Some of
them, as part of that movement, seek to subvert with irony the
common perception of woman's role as either nourishing or destructive
and to engage in an examination of sexuality.”
Women’s consciousness sharpened at the turn of the century under
the impact of colonial education and nationalist concerns. The earliest
evidence of woman artists in colonial India is the art exhibition held in
Calcutta in 1879, in which 25 amateur woman artists took part. In the
early twentieth century Tagore’s niece Sunayani Debi, a housewife,
won celebrity status as a naive artist, while Amrita Sher-Gil was the
first professional woman artist in India. In the first decades after
Independence, a few woman artists, namely Shanu Lahiri, sister of
Nirode Mazumder, Kamala Roy Chowdhury, Kamala Das Gupta,
wife of the sculptor Pradosh Das Gupta, and Amina Ahmad, wife
of the sculptor Chintamoni Kar, were seeking to establish their
professional credentials. In the Nehruvian era, it is argued, women
groped for individual expression within the dominant artistic frame-
work, caught in the dialectic between the representation of women in
art and their self-representation as women.”
MeerA MUKHERJEE (1923-98)

Meera Mukherjee, the most outstanding Indian sculptor to emerge in
the post-Independence period, produced works of considerable power.
A heroic individualist, she denied any feminist content in her work,
considering herself to be a professional first and a woman second.”
Mukherjee had her first lessons in sculpture from a traditional sculptor,
gaining further technical training later in Munich. On returning to
India, she renounced her western training in favour of traditional art,
turning to the bronze-casting techniques of the Bastar tribe. She lived
with the Bastars in order to gain an insight into their life and work, a
participatory experience that included an anthropological study of the
Bastar crafts: “Io my mind, every artist must also be an artisan, who
brings to his work a devotiow [142].*°
WOMEN ARTISTS OF THE SUBCONTINENT 227

142 Meera Mukherjee
Sitting Woman, bronze,
c.1990.
In contrast to Bastar bronzes,
Mukherjee’s explore irregular
shapes and accidental
growths. Her figures were
often so massive that they had
to be cast in pieces and
welded together, but the
actual weld was visible to
reveal the transparency of the
process. This is seen in
Ashoka at Kalinga, one of her
major works, a pacifist protest
against political violence in
contemporary India.

But she also came to the conclusion that, unlike the circumscribed
world of the traditional artisan, the modern individualist artist was
engaged in solving new problems and exploring new experiences. It is a
token of her intellectual honesty that she was acutely aware of the fact
that while the modern artist could profit from traditional art, the
asymmetrical relationship between the underclass and the elite was a
dilemma that could not be easily resolved. Despite sincere efforts, the
tribal must remain the Other. Meera Mukherjee was impressive in her
austerity, enjoying her isolation and self-imposed poverty, living solely
for her work. She viewed her own life as a romantic struggle, lent
intensity by the strength required for her monumental projects.”
NasreEN Mouamepi (1937-89)

Nasreen was rare among Indian artists in pursuing pure, minimalist
lines, colours, shades, and textures. While at St Martin’s School of Art
in London in the 1960s, she wrote cryptically, ‘It is a most important
time in my life. The new image for pure rationalism. Pure intellect
which had to be separated from emotion—which I first begin to see
now. A state beyond pain and pleasure. Again a difficult state begins.”
From her early colourful abstract expressionist landscapes and organic
forms, she went on to minimalist black and white ink and pencil
drawings. Whole sheets were filled with landscapes of light grey wash
punctuated with calligraphic marks as in Arabic script. Occasionally,
she used black ink to add tone and texture. Gradually nature yielded to
the grid and the geometry of straight lines, aided with precision instru-
ments. Her black and white photographs of Arab lands reveal the same
formalist play of pure geometric and architectural shapes.” In her final
years of illness, Mohamedi wrote wistfully of Kandinsky as she faced a
crisis of confidence: ‘Again I am reassured by Kandinsky—the need to
take from outer environment and bring it an inner necessity.”
AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL PAINTING
Feminism made women reassess their lives and aspirations. Women
artists spoke with a different and concerted voice on modernity
and social commitment, interweaving personal histories with
collective memories. The following three artists confronted the new
consciousness in an autobiographical mode. Anjolie Ela Menon
(b. 1940) found her personal expression after her meeting with the
Mexican painter Francesco Toledo in Paris, who introduced her to
layered surfaces and textures on hardboard. She aims at distancing her
subjects to add a touch of mystery, as in her window series, in which the
subjects are confined within actual window frames. She also uses
accidental factors like wiping the paint off a figure to lend a nonfinito
quality to her work [143].*
Nalini Malani (b. 1946), who was an art student in the West during

143 Anjolie Ela Menon
Midday, 1987.
Her nostalgic madonnas and
nudes are images of women—
maternal, sexual, virginal—
frozen in time and yearning for
the unattai nable, recalling
Russian icons. Their erotic
melancho y mirrors her own
temperament. ‘In the
hinterland of this
pandemonium [her busy, full
family life | live alone, finding
secret space from which to
touch the sources of
creativity.’
the late 1960s, was politicized by the student revolts of the time. Her
early narratives focus on women’s role in the family in a consciously
subversive juxtaposition of the mundane and the unexpected. They al-
lude to urban life, the human figures in them recalled from memory
(she does not draw from life) [144]. “For me,’ she says in celebration of
hybridity, ‘a single subject cannot possibly be contained in one frame,
so I have to repeat the idea by cloning and recycling images.” Her
‘political’ art almost inevitably led her to installations which make
reference to global issues of postcolonialism and Third World poverty.
Nearer home, in order to draw public attention to the decaying

144 Nalini Malani
Balancing Act, 1983-4.
Her busy compositions seem
like unrelated film stills floating
in an ambiguous space. Her
sources and media are
heterogeneous: oils,
watercolours, photocopies,
and monoprints jostle with
borrowings across time and
space: Goya, Delacroix, Ravi
Varma, Degas, Binode Bihari
Mukherjee, Sher-Gil, Frida
Kahlo, and Persian
miniatures.
traditional murals of Nathadvara in Rajasthan, she organized a session

of performance art. The paintings she did at the Chemould Gallery in
Bombay covered entire walls. At the end of the show, to insist on their
contingent and non-commercial purpose, she had them whitewashed
over to be ready for the next show.”
Arpana Caur (b. 1954) challenges the male-dominated art world
from a feminist perspective, as the universal merges with the autobio-
graphical in her paintings. A child of divorced parents, Caur was
influenced by her mother’s prize-winning novel Homeless, based on
their experience. She dwells on the claustrophobia of living in cramped
lodgings, their trials and tribulations. She uses a range of female types
in her work, from the young child to the mother, the widow, and the
emblematic Mother Earth. She also reinterprets the heroines of
eighteenth-century Basohli painting in a feminist light. As women in
her paintings grow to heroic proportions, men consequently diminish
in stature. The image of women sewing in quiet domesticity serves in
her work as a surrogate for women’s productivity in general, the em-
broidered cloth becoming a signifier on different levels of meaning.”*
Caur has taken up Madhubani paintings done by women, transferring
the motifs directly onto the canvas, preferring tensions and contradic-
tions instead of harmonies, describing them as existing ‘between

dualities’. In 1995, she was invited to commemorate the anniversary of
Hiroshima’s destruction by the city’s memorial museum. Her painting,
Where Are All the Flowers Gone?, alludes to the violence perpetrated on
the city’s inhabitants.
In the 1980s, a new group of woman artists was coming to the fore at
Baroda, notably Nilima Sheikh (b. 1945), Madhavi Parekh (b. 1942),
whose naive paintings drew upon village art, and Rekha Rodwittiya
(b. 1958), who trained at Baroda and the Royal College of Art,
London. Rodwittiya was briefly part of the younger group that
145 Rekha Rodwittiya

Within Ivory Towers, 1984.
Rodwittiya, a striking colourist,
packs her figures into
crowded spaces, making
feminist statements through a
combination of paintings and
autobiographical writings.

146 Nilima Sheikh included the sculptors Ravindra Reddy and Rimzon.” She was invited
When Champa Grew Up (7),
to participate in the exhibition celebrating the declaration of human
1991.
By means ofthis understated rights by the United Nations in Geneva in 1988 [145].
pictorial device inspired by Nilima Sheikh discovered the radical imagination of Binode Bihari
Indian miniatures, Sheikh
Mukherjee and Ramkinkar Baij through her teacher, Subramanyan.
expresses the horror of the
scene. She was also exposed to Gulam Sheikh’s multilayered landscapes
inspired by Indian miniatures. Of the different media she has
experimented with, tempera, the medium of Indian miniatures, has
become her favourite. She has also revived the Mughal technique of
making hardboard out of layers of fine paper and combines Mughal
compositions with the spirit of Japanese Ukiyo-e to narrate everyday
events. Nilima considers her mother’s influence in her life and art to be
decisive. A recurrent figure in her work is a crouching woman washing
clothes or dishes, a common sight in India.3°
Nilima Sheikh’s memorable work is the series When Champa Grew
Up, an indictment of the ‘bride burning’ phenomenon in India. Her
personal acquaintance with the young victim represented, who died
from third degree burns, gives it an unusual intensity. The choice of a
quiet lyrical style brings home all the more forcefully the horror of the
incident, its evocative power resting on the mythic contrast between
the innocent young bride, Champa, and the evil mother-in-law. The
pictorial language makes use of incidental details, such as the kitchen
where she cooks and the sinister objects lurking behind innocuous
utensils which would bring about her destruction [146].
A brilliant sculptor of the post-1980s generation, Mrinalini
Mukherjee (b. 1949) is the daughter of Binode Bihari Mukherjee and a

147 Mrinalini Mukherjee student of Subramanyan at Baroda. She offers a subtle but complex
Woman on Peacock, 1991.
feminist message through the medium of an unconventional material,
Her mysterious primeval
figures, often marked with
a species of vegetable fibre resembling hemp. Mrinalini fully exploits
hollows and crags, have a the dynamics of the material, its capacity to fold, twist, drape, and
ceremonial grandeur about
stretch. She begins by dying the material in deep colours, such as
them, ‘constantly crossing
boundaries between the purple or carmine, and then knots and weaves it. She then slowly builds
domestically improvised and up her totemic figures, some of them menacing, many of them sexually
the ambitiously monumental,
ambiguous, occasionally a flower symbolizing the genitals [147].”
between cheap simple fabrics
for the home and the rhetoric
of sculpture fora public Pakistan
gallery’.
Political issues have a particular urgency in Pakistan, which has
produced woman artists of originality and commitment. Since the
Mughal period, there has been a tradition of Muslim women being
accomplished in the arts, a tradition that continues today in Pakistan.
Women have played an active role in Pakistani art, as professional
artists and in pioneering art education. Anna Molka, an influential
figure, opened art classes for women at the Punjab University in
Lahore at a time when the first art institutions in the new capital at
Karachi were also set up by women.
Acknowledged by many as the first modern artist in Pakistan,
Zubeida Agha was introduced to Futurism by an Italian prisoner of
war she met in the 1940s. Her first act of defiance was to paint a nude
and a self-portrait, both subjects considered inappropriate for a woman
artist in Pakistan.» Zubeida Agha’s show in 1949, the very first modern
148 Zubeida Agha
New York, 1970.
Her early work is sombre,
seekingto capture the
essential forms or emotions,
but lightened considerably
after her visittothe West. She
is Known for her carefully
designed, flat, diagrammatic
cityscapes painted in primary
colours evocative of stained
glass, sometimes bounded by
thick black outlines.

art exhibition held in Pakistan, unleashed a fierce controversy.
However, Agha was defended by those who argued that a different
kind of art was required for the times [148].5+
As artists’ work in Pakistan was often dictated by the demands of
state patronage, women received few public commissions. To survive,
they had to create an alternative scene that presented their work
and struggle. The resulting works were characterized by irony and
defiance, calling into question social and political injustices as much
as women’s marginalization. An exhibition held in rgg5 in Britain in
the city of Bradford brought together 25 woman artists, who were
remarkable for revealing a new sensibility. Most of them were from
the National College of Arts in Lahore and their works challenged
the male-dominated tradition. However, the artists shown were
widely varying in their approach and interests. There is, nonetheless,
an understated quality and a concern with texture and subtle
chromaticism that unite a few of them.
Salima Hashmi, daughter of the leading Pakistani poet Faiz
Ahmed Faiz, uses an intimate scale and the ‘off-centre’ compositions
of illuminated manuscripts in order to convey her political message.
Her Poem for Zainab, on the abused wife of an imam, purposely uses
delicate hyacinth paper for the tragic subject in order to underline the
mixture of vulnerability and resilience in women’s existence.» Another
artist, Sabah Husain, learnt the art of paper and printmaking in Japan.
This demanding traditional skill has brought her an inner richness.
Husain enjoys the tactile pleasure of paper making and is trying to
introduce its use among artists in Pakistan. She has applied her
knowledge of Indian classical music, and the Ragamala genre, to evoke
abstract images of different sounds in her work [149].*°
Naazish Ata Ullah, an influential art teacher and printmaker,
addresses gender issues in her politically charged Chaddar and
Shrouded Image series, produced during a period of political oppression
in Pakistan. For others, notably Nilofar Akmat and Sylvat Aziz, the
trauma of Partition and displacement provides a potent creative source.
Among the younger generation, Sumaya Durani has chosen the
medium of conceptual art to scrutinize the institution of marriage.
Finally, Durriya Kazi is a rare artist in Pakistan since there are few
sculptors in the country, let alone woman sculptors. She makes
syncretic use of South Asian traditions: Tantra, Sufism, Islamic
decorations, and Hindu temple forms.”
Bangladesh
After 1947, Muslim women of Bangladesh began taking up art as a
profession. The first major woman artist was the figurative sculptor
Novera Ahmed (b. 1930), who now lives in Paris. She established
herself with her relief mural for the Dhaka University library in 1957

149 Sabah Husain
Zard Paton Ka Ban (Forestof
Yellowing Leaves), 1993.
Smudges, splodges, lines, and
marks made with Japanese
sumi in k on semi-transparent
handm ade paper highlight the
translucence and the layered
texture s in her work.
Comm itted to the women’s
struggle, she creates work that
is fullo unexpected delights
and op timism.

150 Rokeya Sultana
Mother and Child (Madonna
series), c.1995.
The artist brings out the
poignancy ofthe relationship
through subtle, understated,
and delicate use of
watercolour tones and
simplified, ‘childlike’ drawing
of the figures.
and the first open-air sculpture there in 1959, inspired by village dolls.
Ahmed has preferred to use unconventional materials such as cement
for her sculptures. She was followed by the sculptor Shamim Sikder
and the painter Farida Zaman, whose subtle, intricately textured series
Fishermen’s Net won wide recognition in the 1970s.
The 1980s and 1990s, which witnessed many changes in the
Bangladeshi art scene, affected the careers of woman artists, who
are now more visible and active. Nasreen Begum’s unconventional
experiments with watercolours and mixed media, Nazli Mansur’s
works combining satire and nostalgia that challenge patriarchy, and
Naima Haq’s illustrations for children’s books have all won wide

acclaim. Some of the most moving images from Bangladesh are
Rokeya Sultana’s Madonna series, which include recurrent, haunting
images of mother and daughter. The memory of her mother fleeing
with her during the genocide attending the War of Liberation in 1971
becomes in her work a metaphor for women’s struggle [150].**
The future of art in the subcontinent

Moving into the new millennium, the artistic scene in the South Asian
subcontinent is changing rapidly as a new generation of artists begins
to take over. Questions of national identity in the face of increasing
globalization of art hold a special place in their minds. Partly because
of the communication revolution (including easy and inexpensive
travel and the internet), the legacy of colonialism, and the growing
generation of children born of Indian parents spread across the world,
the definition of an outsider or insider in India is becoming harder to
sustain. In a global celebration of cultural hybridity, the concept of
nationhood becomes problematic—are British artists born of South
Asian parents British or Asian? To the younger generation this
question seems meaningless, and an artist such as Anish Kapoor
simply refuses to make a choice. The western canon has dominated the
world for the last 100 years. The consequence of this has been to
evaluate artists from the colonial world by western standards. Thus in
the art markets of the ‘international art capitals’, London and New
York, the western avant-garde has occupied a privileged position. In
the 1990s, South Asian artists began to challenge this dominance. For
their part, market forces as represented by western art galleries and
notable auction houses, Sotheby’s, Christie’s, and Bonhams, have
turned eastwards, setting up branches in Indian cities and holding
auctions there. A number of recent sales in London and New York
have centred on modern art in India and Pakistan. In South Asia art
galleries are mushrooming as more and more young artists are taken up
by them. But in all this, the most visible and critical presence has been
that of woman artists and art critics, and perhaps in them lies the future
development of Indian art.
THE FUTURE OF ART IN THE SUBCONTINENT 239

Notes
Preface own approach and theoretical questions raised

1. P. Mitter, Much Maligned Monsters: History by Pierre Bourdieu. See the introduction to his
ofEuropean Reactions to Indian Art (Oxford, The Field ofCultural Production (Cambridge,
1977 and Chicago, 1992); E. W. Said, 1993)-
Orientalism (London, 1978). See also S. 8. K. Colleyer, The Hoysala Artists: Their
Edwards, Art and Its Histories: AReader (New Identity and Styles (Mysore, 1990); S. Settar,
Haven, 1999), which places my ideas in this The Hoysala Temples, vol. 1 (Bangalore, 1992),
book in an art historical context. 83; R. C. Sharma, Buddhist Art ofMathura
2.J. Fergusson, The History ofIndian and (Delhi, 1984), 180.
Eastern Architecture (London, 1876).
3. E. H. Gombrich, ‘Norm and Form: The Chapter 2. Buddhist Art and Architecture
Stylistic Categories of Art History and Their 1. R. Thapar (ed.), Recent Perspectives in Early
Origins in Renaissance Ideals’, in Norm and Indian History (Mumbai, 1995), for recent
Form: Studies in the Art of the Renaissance revisions of ancient Indian history. On the
(London, 1966), 81-98. evolution of Indian religions see A. L.
4. P. Mitter, Art and Nationalism in Colonial Basham, The Wonder That Was India (London,
India 1850-1922: Occidental Orientations 1961); H. Bechert and R. F. Gombrich, The
(Cambridge, 1994). World ofBuddhism (London, 1984); and R. F.
Gombrich, Theravada Buddhism (London,
Chapter 1. Introduction 1988).
1. A. Naqvi, Image andIdentity: Fifty Years of 2. D. D. Kosambi, An Introduction to the Study
Painting andSculpture in Pakistan (Karachi, ofIndian History (Bombay, 1956), 136-75.
1998), XXxii. 3. R. Thapar, Asoka and the Decline ofthe
2. John 14: 2. 1am grateful to Peter Dronke for Mauryas (London, 1961).
the reference. 4. V. Smith, A History of Fine Art in India and
3. K. K. Chakravarty and R. G. Bednarik, Ceylon (Oxford, 1930).
Indian Rock Art and its Global Context (Delhi, 5.J. Irwin, Burlington Magazine, 115 (Nov.
1997); C. Maury, Folk Origins ofIndian
Art 1973), 706-20; 116 (Dec. 1974), 712-27; 117 (Oct.
(New York, 1969); E. Neumann, The Great 1975), 631-43; 118 (Nov. 1976), 734-53-
Mother (Princeton, 1963). 6. F. Asher, Art ofEastern India 300-800
4. B.andR. Allchin, The Rise ofCivilisation in (Minneapolis, 1980);J.G. Williams, The Art of
India and Pakistan (Cambridge, 1982). Gupta India (Princeton, 1982), 3-7.
5. D. Srinivasan argues against its 7.J. D. Willis, ‘Female Patronage in Indian
identification as the proto-Siva figure. Buddhism’, in B.S. Miller (ed.), Powers ofArt:
However, her identification ofthe penis as part Patronage in Indian Culture (Delhi, 1992),
ofthe drapery is visually unconvincing: “The 46-53; G. Schopen, “What's ina Name: The
So-Called Proto-Siva Seal from Mahenjo- Religious Function of the Early Donative
Daro: An Iconological Assessment’, Archives Inscriptions’, in V. Dehejia (ed.), Unseen
of Asian Art, 29 (1975-6), 47-58. Presence (Mumbai, 1996), 58-73.
6. For an ecological explanation, see B. B. Lal, 8. D. Snellgrove, The Image ofthe Buddha
The Earliest Civilization of South Asia (Delhi, (Paris, 1978).
1997). On the indigenous origins of the Vedic g. V. Dehejia, ‘Collective and Popular Bases of
society see S. R. Rao, Dawn and Devolution of Early Buddhist Patronage: Sacred
the Indus Civilization (New Delhi, 1991). Monuments, 100 BC-AD 250’, in Miller,
7.1 found interesting parallels between my Powers ofArt, 36.
240 NOTES
10. M. Coneand R. F. Gombrich, The Perfect Skelton, ‘Landscape in Indian Painting’, in W.
Generosity ofPrince Vessantara (Oxford, 1977). Watson (ed.), Landscape Style in Asia (London,
11. A. Volwahsen, Living Architecture: Indian 1980), 50-71.
(London, 1969), 90-4. 30. D. Schlinglof, ‘A Battle Scene in Ajanta’, in
12. S. L. Huntington, ‘Early Buddhist Art and H. Hartel and V. Moeller (eds), Indologen-
the Theory of Aniconism’, Art Journal, 49 Tagung, 1971 (Wiesbaden, 1973), 196-203. See
(Winter 1990), 401-7; V. Dehejia, ‘Aniconism also his Studies in Ajanta Paintings (New
and the Multivalence of Emblems’, 47s Delhi, 1988), 408-12, for detailed discussion
Orientalis, 21 (1991), 63; S. L. Huntington, and identification of many ofthe puzzling
‘Aniconism and the Multivalence of Emblems: episodes. V. Dehejia, ‘Modes of Narration’,
Another Look’, Ars Orientalis, 22 (1992), 14; G. Art Bulletin, 72 (1990), 374-92, suggests the
Schopen, ‘On Monks, Nuns, and “Vulgar” notion of narrative networks at Ajanta.
Practices: The Introduction of the Image Cult 31. P. V. Sastri and V. M. Ramakrishna Bhat,
into Indian Buddhism’, Artibus Asiae, 49, 1/2 Varahamthira’s Brhatsamhita (Bangalore, 1947),
(1989), 153-68. 67.
13. V. Dehejia, ‘On Modes of Narfation in
Early Buddhist Art’, Art Bulletin, 72 (Sep. Chapter 3. Hindu Art and Architecture
1990), 374-92, identifies seven narrative 1.J.C. Harle, The Art and Architecture ofthe
modes. Indian Subcontinent (New Haven, 1994),
14. S. L. Huntington, The Art of Ancient India: 308-10 on Siva’s dance.
Buddhist, Hindu, Jain (New York, 1993), 74-85. 2. A.M. Gaston, Siva in Dance, Myth and
15. R. Thapar, ‘Patronage and Community’, in Iconography (Delhi, 1982).
Miller, Powers ofArt, 23, 26; V. Dehejia, ‘Early 3. S. Bhattacharya, The Indian Theogony
Buddhist Patronage’, in Miller, Powers ofArt, (Cambridge, 1970); W. D. O'Flaherty, The
36, 40-2; V. Dehejia, Early Buddhist Rock Hindu Myths (Harmondsworth, 1975). The
Temples: AChronological Study (London, 1972). complex relation between local and canonical
16.J.Fergusson, The History ofIndian and deities is discussed by C. Maury, Fo/k Origins
Eastern Architecture (London, 1876). ofIndian Art (New York, 1969).
17. Volwahsen, Living Architecture: Indian, 4. D. L. Eck, Darsan: Seeing the Divine Image
IOI-3. in India (Chambersburg, PA, 1981).
18. A. Foucher, ‘Les Débuts de |’Art 5. LS. Maxwell, The Gods ofAsia: Image, Text
Bouddhique’, Journal Astatique, 10e série, 17 and Meaning (Delhi, 1997), for discussion of
(Jan-Feb. 1912), 55-79; A. K. Coomaraswamy, Hindu theology. ;
‘The Origin of the Buddha Image’, Journal of 6. Fergusson, The History ofIndian and Eastern
American Oriental Society, 46 (1926), 165-70. Architecture (London, 1876).
19.J.Boardman, Diffusion ofClassical Art in 7. The most ambitious in this respect is the
Antiquity (London, 1994), 109-45. multi-volume Encyclopaedia ofIndian Temple
20. J.M. Rosenfield, The Dynastic Arts ofthe Architecture (eds M. W. Meister and M. A.
Kushans (Berkeley and Los Angeles, 1993), 67. Dhaky), the first volume of which was on
21. Schopen, ‘On Monks, Nuns, and “Vulgar” South India, (Philadelphia, 1983).
Practices’. 8. A. Volwahsen, Living Architecture: Indian
22. Huntington,
Art of Ancient India, 126-30. (London, 1969), 47.
23. L. Nehru, Origins of theGandharan Style g. S. Kramrisch, The Hindu Temple, vol.1
(Delhi, 1990). (Calcutta, 1946), 46. See R. Wittkower,
24.J. Raducha, Iconography ofBuddhist Art Architectural Principles in the Age ofHumanism
(Ann Arbor, 1983). (London, 1973), 163, for a discussion of the
25. R. Knox, Amaravati: Buddhist Sculpture similar Renaissance concept ofproportions.
from the Great Stupa (London, 1992). 10. Kramrisch, Hindu Temple, 1, 318-31.
26. R.C. Majumdar, The Classical Age 1. Dr Madhav Mitra ofJadavpur University
(Bombay, 1968). has provided the following information: the
27. W. T. de Bary, Sources ofthe Indian philosopher Carvaka compares an
Tradition, 1 (New York), 255. ‘unornamented’ literary sentence to the naked
28. Huntington, Art of Ancient India, 191. body without ornament, both being imperfect
29. Among a number ofkey articles by W. or ‘unbeautiful’. [am grateful to Dr Daud Ali
Spink, see ‘Ajanta’s Chronology: Politics and for the reference to Vamana’s
Patronage’, inJ. G. Williams (ed.), Kavyalamkarasutra, t.2, which mentions
Kaladarsana (New Delhi, 1981), to9-26. On beauty in ornamentation
landscape art in ancient India, see R. W. (saundaryamalamkaram).
NOTES 241
12. Kramrisch, Hindu Temple, 1, A. Hardy, in 28. Huntington,
Art of Ancient India, 294-6.
his exciting work Indian Temple Architecture: 29. R. Nagaswamy, ‘New Light on
Form and Transformation, the Karnata- Mamallapuram’, The Archaeological Society of
Dravida Tradition (New Delhi, 1995), suggests South India Silver Jubilee Volume: Transactions
that as energy moves away from the sanctum, for the Period 1960-62 (Madras, 1962), 37-
it splinters and fragments in an ordered 30. R. Nagaswamy, ‘Innovative Emperor and
manner, governed by four types of movement: his Personal Chapel’, in Dehejia, Royal
emanation, fragmentation, proliferation, and Patrons, 37-60.
disintegration; M. Meister, “The Language 31. Dehejia, Royal Patrons, 4.
and Process of Early Indian Architecture’, in 32. B. Stein, Peasant State and Society in
his ed. Ananda K. Coomaraswamy: Essays in Medieval South India (Delhi, 1980), 337-8. See
Early Indian Architecture (New Delhi, 1992), also R. Nagaswamy, ‘Iconography and
XXI-XXIX. Significance of the Brhadisvara Temple,
13. Chaos: Making Sense ofDisorder, brochure Tanjavur’, in Meister, Discourses on Siva,
for an exhibition at the Science Museum 170-81, who disputes that it was a funerary
(London, 3 November 1995 to 14 April 1996). monument.
Those who are numerate should consult B. 33. S. R. Balasubrahmanyam, Middle Chola
Mandelbrot, The Essence ofChaos (London, Temples (Faridabad, 1975), 14-86. See also V.
1983). Dehejia, Art ofthe Imperial Cholas (New York,
14. P. Mitter, Much Maligned Monsters: History 1990).
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University Press, 1992), 304 (note 129). Architectural Study (New Delhi, 1995).
15. J. G. Williams, The Art ofGupta India 35. A. K. Coomaraswamy, E. B. Havell, and A.
(Princeton, 1982), 37-9. Rodin, Sculptures ¢ivaites (Paris, 1921), 9. See
16. Williams, Art ofGupta India, 3-7 and also P. Kaimal, ‘Shiva Nataraja: Shifting
passim; see also Asher, Art ofEastern India, Meanings of an Icon’, Art Bulletin, 81, 3 (1999),
and G. M. Tartakov and V. Dehejia, ‘Sharing, 390-419, for a recent reappraisal.
Intrusion and Influence: The 36. R. Nagaswamy, Masterpieces ofEarly South
Mahisasuramardini Imagery of the Calukyas Indian Bronzes (New Delhi, 1983), 8-11.
and the Pallavas’, Artibus Asiae, 45, 4 (1984), 37. B. Stein, The New Cambridge History of
287-345. India, part, vol. 2: Vijayanagara (Cambridge,
17. Williams, Art ofGupta India, 45. 1989); B. Stein (ed.), South Indian Temples:An
18. Huntington, Art of Ancient India, 208-10. Analytical Reconstruction (New Delhi, 1978).
19. U. P. Shah, ‘Lakulisa: Saivite Saint’, in M. 38. B. Natarajan, The City ofthe Cosmic Dance
W. Meister (ed.), Discourses on Siva: (Delhi, 1974).
Proceedings ofa Symposium on the Nature of 39. Harle, Art and Architecture ofthe Indian
Religious Imagery (Philadelphia, 1984), 92-101. Subcontinent, 337.
20. Tartakov and Dehejia, ‘Sharing, Intrusion 40. K. Thiagarajan, Meenakshi Temple,
and Influence’, 287-345. Madurai (Madurai, 1965); G. Michell (ed.),
ar. G. Michell, The Hindu Temple (London, Temple Towns of Tamil Nadu (Bombay, 1993).
1977), 103. See also G. Michell,An 41.J.C. Harle, The Temple Gateways ofSouth
Architectural Description and Analysis ofthe India (Oxford, 1963).
Early Western Chalukyan Temples, 2 vols 42. P. Mitter, “Western Bias in the Study of
(London, 1975), and G. M. Tartakov, Durga South Indian Aesthetics’, South Asian Review,
Temple at Athole:AFiistoriographic Study 6 (Jan. 1973), 125-36.
(Delhi, 1997), for a critical appraisal of the 43. V. Dehejia, Early Stone Temples ofOrissa
historiography of the temple. (Delhi, 1979). See W. Smith, The Muktesvara
22. C. R. Bolon, “Two Chalukya Queens and Temple in Bhubaneswar (Delhi, 1994), fora
Their Commemorative Temples’, in V. review of the literature on early temples.
Dehejia (ed.), Royal Patrons and Great Temple 44. D. Mitra, ‘Lakulisa and Early Saiva
Art (Bombay, 1988), 61-5. Temples in Orissa’, in Meister, Discourses on
23. Ibid., 65-74. Siva, 103-18.
24. C. Berkson, Ellora (Delhi, 1992), 204. 45. [. E. Donaldson, Hindu Temple
Art of
25. C. Berkson et al., Elephanta, the Cave of Orissa, 3 vols (Leiden, 1985-7).
Shiva (Princeton, 1983). 46. F. A. Marglin, Wives ofthe God-King: The
26. Ibid., 3-17. Rituals ofthe Devadasis ofPuri (Delhi, 1985).
27. D.C. Chatham, Stylistic Sources ofthe 47. D. Mitra, Bhuvaneswar (New Delhi, 1966).
Kailasa Temple at Ellora (Ann Arbor, 1984). 48. A. Boner etal., New Light on the Sun
242 NOTES
Temple at Konarka (Varanasi, 1972); K. S. 16. V. Dehejia (ed.), Representing the Body
Behera, Konarak: The Heritage ofMankind (New Delhi, 1997). See L. Nead, The Female
(New Delhi, 1996); T. E. Donaldson, ‘Ganga Nude: Art, Obscenity, and Sexuality (London,
Monarch and a Monumental Sun Temple’, in 1992), for a feminist critique of Clark.
Dehejia, Royal Patrons, 125-43. For interesting 17.J.Brough (trans.), Se/ections from Classical
conjectures on the reasons for its collapse, see Sanskrit Literature (London, 1951), 83.
S. Digby andJ.C. Harle, ‘When Did the Sun 18. Plato, Symposium, trans. M.Joyce
Temple Fall Down?’, South Asian Studies, 1 (London, 1935), on the myth of the
(1985), 1-7. hermaphrodite.
49. H. Eschmann, H. Kulke, and G. C. 19. J.J.Winkler, Constraints ofDesire:
Tripathi, The Cult of
Jagannatha and the Anthropology ofSex and Gender (New York,
Regional Tradition of Orissa (Delhi, 1978). 1990).
50. Donaldson, ‘Ganga Monarch’, 126, r4r. 20. E. H. Gombrich, Symbolic Images
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(Delhi, 1990); E. Zannas, Khajuraho (The Maligned Monsters: History of European
Hague, 1960). Reactions to Indian Art (Chicago University
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53- Deva, Temples ofKhajuraho, 149-54. cultural Study (Delhi, 1975), is by far the most
54. Desai, Religious Imagery, 153. systematic and objective study of the subject.
22. See M.-P. Fouchet, The Erotic Sculpture of
Chapter 4. Minority Traditions, Ideal India (London, 1959), for an allegorical
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Identity and Styles (Mysore, 1990). 37, 1/2 (1975), 75-100.
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Art’, Royal Patrons and Temple Art, 23-32. Rituals of the Devadasis ofPuri (Delhi, 1985).
5. On Vishnu’s Vaikuntha image, seeJ.N. 25. M. Meister, ‘Juncture and Conjunction;
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7.G. Michell, The Hindu Temple (London, 26. See S. Gupta, D. J. Hoens, and T.
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9. Huntington, Art of Ancient India, 614. Circular Shrine of the Yoginis’, Royal Patrons,
ro P. Pal (ed.), The Peaceful Liberators: Jain Art 77-84, and Yogini Cult and Temples (New
from India (Los Angeles, 1994). Delhi, 1986), 115~7.
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M. H. Morgan (trans.), Vitruvius: The Ten York, 1969).
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33. Neumann, Great Mother. Fritz, G. Michell, et al., The City of Victory
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Sculpture (Leiden, 1984); S. L. Huntington,
Chapter 5. The Turko-Afghan Sultanate The Art of Ancient India: Buddhist, Hindu, Jain
of Deihi (1206-1526 ce) (New York, 1993), 226; F. Asher, Art ofEastern
rt. R. Thapar, 4 History ofIndia, vol. 1 India 300-800 (Minneapolis, 1980).
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expansion in India. of Bengal (Calcutta, 1972).
2. M. Shokoohy, Bhadresvar: The Oldest Islamic 23. G. Michell (ed.), Brick Temples ofBengal,
Monuments in India (Leiden, 1988). From the Archive ofDavid McCutchion
3. P. Jackson, The Delhi Sultanate:APolitical (Princeton, 1983).
and Military History (Cambridge, 1999). 24. SeeJ. P. Losty, The Art of the Book in India
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BIR, Documents ofIndian Painting (Bombay, 1969),
5. M. W. Meister, ‘Style and Idiom in the Art He
of Uparamala’, Mugarnas, 10 (Leiden, 1993), 26. S. Digby, “The Literary Evidence for
344. Painting in the Delhi Sultanate’, Bulletin ofthe
6.J. Bloom, Minarets: Symbols ofIslam American Academy ofBenares, 1 (Varanasi,
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7. A. Volwahsen, Islamic India (Lausanne, 27. Quoted in M. C. Beach, The New
n.d.), 40. Cambridge History of India, part t, vol. 3:
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India, patt 1, vol. 4: Architecture of Mughal India 1992), Il.
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9. K.S. Lal, History ofthe Khaljis (London, Landmark in Malwa Painting’, Marg, 12
1967), 334- (1958), 44-50.
10. A. Welch, ‘Architectural Patronage and the 29. M. Chandra and U. P. Shah, New
Past: The Tughlug Sultans of India’, Documents ofJaina Painting:AReappraisal
Mugarnas, 10 (Leiden, 1993), 311-22; A. Welch (Bombay, 1975); Losty, Art ofthe Book, 43-7.
and H. Crane, “The Tughlugs: Master Robert Skelton has suggested that modest
Builders of the Delhi Sultanate’, Mugarnas, 1 patrons commissioned cheaper paintings.
(New Haven, 1983), 123-66. 30. B. N. Goswamy, A Jainesque Sultanate:
1. Asher, Architecture of Mughal India, 5, 14;J. Shah Nama and the Context ofPre-Mughal
Dickie, “The Mughal Garden: Gateway to Painting ofIndia (Zurich, 1988).
Paradise’, Mugarnas, 3 (Leiden, 1985), 128-37. 31. J..M. Rogers, Circa 1492 (New Haven and
12. C. B. Asher, “The Mausoleum of Sher Shah London, 1991), 70-1.
Suri’, Artibus Asiae, 34, 3/4 (1977), 273-99. 32. M. Gittinger, Master Dyers to the World
133. C. Tadgell, The History of Architecture in (Washington, Dc, 1982), 31-57.
India (London, 1990), 183-6; Volwahsen, 33. B.S. Miller, The Hermit and the Love-Thief
Islamic India, 43-5. (New York, 1978), 5.
14. Tadgell, History ofArchitecture in India, 34. On the paintings see D. Barrett and B.
142-7, 192-7. Gray, Indian Painting (London, 1978); on the
15. M. B. Garde, A Handbook ofGwalior cult of Krsna see A. L. Dallapiccola (ed.),
(Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, 1936). Krishna the Divine Lover (Lausanne, 1982).
16. P. B. Wagoner, “Sultan Among Hindu 35. Losty, Art ofthe Book, 48-54, on this debate;
Kings”: Dress, Titles and the Islamicization of M. Chandra, Mewar Painting (Delhi, 1971).
Hindu Culture at Vijayanagara’, Journal of 36. K. Ebeling, Ragamala Painting (Basle,
Asian Studies, 55, 4 (Nov. 1996), 851-80. 1973).
17. B. Stein, Vijayanagara (Cambridge, 1989). 37. Losty, Art ofthe Book, 52-4, 69.
18. D. Paes and F. Nuniz, 4 Forgotten Empire, 38. S. Doshi, Masterpieces ofJain Painting
trans. R. Sewell (London, 1900). (Bombay, 1985).
19. J.M. Fritzet al., Where Kings and Gods
Meet: The Royal Centre at Vijayanagara, India
(Tucson, 1984), 122-45.
244 NOTES
Chapter 6. The Mughal Empire 22. [bid., 108.
(1526-1757) 23. Ibid.
1.5. P. Blake, Shajahanabad: The Sovereign City 24. P. Chandra, The Tuti-nama ofThe
in Mughal India, 1639-1739 (Cambridge, 1991), Cleveland Museum of Art and the Origins of
xiii. Mughal Painting (Graz, 1976).
2. On the Mughal economy see I. Habib, The 25. Beach, Mughal and Rajput Painting, 39.
Agrarian System ofMughal India: 1556-1707 26. Abu’'l Fazl, din 1-Akbari and Akbarnama;
(London, 1963), and T. Raychadhuri, Mughal Badauni, Muntakhab al-Tawarikh, G.S. A.
Empire Under Akbar and Jahangir (Calcutta, Ranking (trans.) et al. (Calcutta, 1884-1925).
1953). 27. Beach, Mughal and Rajput Painting, 62-7.
3. For an informative and lively account see B. 28. Abu’'l Fazl, 4’in 1-Akbari, 1, 96; see E.
Gascoigne, The Great Moghuls (London, 1971). Maclagan, The Jesuits and the Grand Mogul
4. Baburnama, trans. A. Beveridge, 2 vols (London, 1932), for the interactions between
(London, 1921). Jesuits and Akbar’s court.
5. M. Brand and G. L. Lowry (eds.), Fatehpur- 29. Beach, Mughal
and Rajput Painting, 76-7.
Sikri (Bombay, 1987), preface, 2. 30. D. Barrett and B. Gray, Indian Painting
6. A. Petrucelli, “The Geometry of Power: The (London, 1978), 87-8.
City’s Planning’, in Brand and Lowry, 31.Jahangir, Tuzuk-i-Jahangiri, trans. A.
Fatehpur-Stkri, 50. Rogers and ed. H. Beveridge, 2 vols (London,
7. See E. Koch, Mughal Architecture: An 1909-14).
Outline oftts History and Development 32. Koch, Mughal Architecture, 70.
(1526-1858) (Munich, 1991), 44-6, where he 33. E. B. Findly, Nur Jahan, Empress ofMughal
quotes Simon Digby on the architects;J. India (New York, 1993), ch. 9.
Dickie, ‘Mughal Garden: Gateway to 34. Asher, Architecture ofMughal India, 130-2.
Paradise’, Mugarnas, 3 (Leiden, 1985), 128-37. 35. See M. Hussain et al. (eds), The Mughal
8. Koch, Mughal Architecture, 66-8. On Akbar Garden (Rawalpindi, 1996), especially chs 3, 4,
see Abu’! Fazl Allami, Akbarnama, trans. H. and s.
Beveridge, 3 vols (Calcutta, 1907-39). On 36. Koch, Mughal Architecture, 86.
Akbar’s ideology see C. B. Asher, Architecture 37. E. Kithnel and H. Goetz, Indian Book
of Mughal India (Cambridge, 1992), 40. Painting (London, 1926).
9. Koch, Mughal Architecture, 54. 38. Jahangir, Tuzuk, (1, 20-1.
to. Asher, Architecture of Mughal India, 55-6. 39. On Thomas Roe see W. Foster, Ear/y
11. 1. Habib, “The Social and Economic Travels in India (London, 1921).
Setting’, in Brand and Lowry, Fatehpur-Sikri, 40. R. W. Skelton et al., The Indian Heritage,
80. Court Life and Art Under Mughal Rule
12. Petrucelli, ‘Geometry of Power’, 50-64. (London, 1982), 37.
13. A. Volwahsen, Islamic India (Lausanne, 41. Beach, Mughal and Rajput Painting, 83; S.
n.d.), 54-5. C. Welch, Imperial Mughal Painting (New
14. Ibid., 131-6. York, 1978), 95-
15. R. Nath, Medieval Indian History and 42. SeeJ.Seyller, ‘A Sub-imperial Manuscript:
Architecture (New Delhi, 1995), 41; R. Nath, The Ramayana of Abd ur-Rahim
Some Aspects of Mughal Architecture (New Khankhanan’, in V. Dehejia (ed.), The Legend
Delhi, 1976), 7. ofRama, Artistic Visions (Bombay, 1994),
16. Nath, Aspects of Mughal Architecture, 16; 85-100, and M. Haq, “The Khan i-Khanan
Koch, Mughal Architecture, 60. and his Painters, I!luminators and
17.M. C. Beach, The New Cambridge History of Calligraphists’, [s/amic Culture (1931), 621-30,
India, part, vol. 3: Mughal and Rajput on patronage ofartists by this high official.
Painting (Cambridge, 1992), 39. 43. Findly, Nur Jahan, 117-18.
18. Abu’l Fazl Allami, Aim i-Akbari, vol. 1, 44. Beach, Mughal and Rajput Painting, 96.
trans. H. Blochmann (Calcutta, 1875-1948), 45. 9. P. Verma, Mughal Painters and their
107. Work.ABibliographical Survey and
19. D. P. Agrawal, Conservation ofManuscripts Comprehensive Catalogue (Delhi, 1994), 309,
andPaintings ofSoutheast Asia(London, 1984). 3393 C. Stanley Clarke, Mughal Art and
20. E. Koch, “The Hierarchical Principles in Achitecture (Delhi, 1988, reprint), plate 18.
Shah-Jahani Painting’, in M. C. Beach and E. 46. R. Ettinghausen, Paintings ofthe Sultans
Koch, King ofthe World, the Padshahnama and Emperors ofIndia (Delhi, 1961); R. W.
(London, 1997), 132. Skelton, ‘Imperial Symbolism in Mughal
ar. Abu’l Fazl,
4in i-Akbari, 1, 107-8. Painting’, in P. P. Soucek (ed.), Content and
NOTES 245
Context of Visual Arts in the Islamic World Chapter 7. Rajasthani and Pahari
(London, 1988), 177-87. Kingdoms (c.1700-1900)
47. Jahangir, Tuzuk, 215-16. 1. See G. H.R. Tillotson, The Rajput
48. Beach, Mughal and Rajput Painting, 109. Palaces: The Development ofan Architectural
49. Koch, Mughal Architecture, 93-6: Style, 1450-1750 (New Haven, 1987).
50. E. Koch, Shah Jahan and Orpheus (Graz, 2.G. H.R. Tillotson, “The Rajput Aesthetic:
1988), 13-15. Ebba Koch has traced the Italian Ideals in Rajput Palace Design, 1450-1750’,
origins of the Mughal pietra dura technique, South Asian Archaeology (1987), 1166-8.
though she allows that Indian stonecutters had 3. Tillotson, Rajput Aesthetic, 1173-5.
mastered it so well that the Iranian historian 4. Personal communication of Raghubir
Qazwini took it to be entirely indigenous. Singh. See also K.Jain, ‘Spatial Organisation
Other scholars, however, disagree with her and Aesthetic Expression in the Traditional
and argue for its indigenous origins. Architecture of Rajasthan’, inG. H.R.
51. Koch, Mughal Architecture, 98-101; Asher, Tillotson (ed.), Paradigms ofIndian
Architecture of Mughal India, 214-5. Architecture: Space and Time in Representation
52. W. E. Begley, “The Myth of the Taj Mahal and Design (London, 1998), 159-75.
anda New Theory ofIts Symbolic Meaning’, s. P. Engel, ‘Stairways to Heaven’, Natural
Art Bulletin, 61, t (1979), 7-37. Begley’s concept History, 102, 6 (June 1993), 48-56. See also A.
of the Throne of God is questioned by Koch, Garrett, The Jaipur Observatory and its Builder
Mughal Architecture, 99, who interprets it as a (Allahabad, 1902).
heavenly mansion. 6. D.N. Shukla, Vastu-sastra (Lucknow, 1960);
53- Blake, Shahjahanabad, xi. A. Volwahsen, Living Architecture: Indian
54. Koch, Shah Jahan and Orpheus, 12-16. (London, 1969), 48-9. For a European
55. Ibid., 14-15. viewpoint see S. Nilsson, Evropean Architecture
56. Koch, “The Baluster Column’, Journal of the in India, 1750-1850 (London, 1968), 193-5.
Warburg and Courtauld Institutes, 45 (1982), 7. Tillotson, Rajput Palaces, 182-4.
Doo mO2: 8. A. K. Coomaraswamy, in Rajput Painting
57. Asher, Architecture ofMughal India, 196-7. (London, 1916), pioneered the study of Rajput
58. Volwahsen, Is/amic India, 47. art. His courtly and geographical categories
59. Beach and Koch, King of the World, 132-3. were followed by leading art historians,
60. O. Benesch, The Drawings ofRembrandt, including W. G. Archer and K. Kandalavala.
vol. v (London, 1957), 335. This scheme was challenged by B. N.
61. Beach and Koch, King of the World, plates Goswamy and E. Fischer in Pahari Masters
17, 39. (Zurich, 1992).
62. For instance, the painting Officers and Wise g. A. Topsfield, ‘Sahibdin’s Gita-Govinda
Menat the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Illustrations’, Chhavi, 2 (Varanasi, 1981), 231-8;
Institute, Williamstown, Pennsylvania. D. Barrett and B. Gray, Indian Painting
63.J.Guy and D. Swallow (eds), Arts ofIndia: (London, 1978), 138-9.
1500-1900 (Victoria and Albert Museum to. Goswamy and Fischer, Pahari Masters,
exhib. cat., London, 1990), ro4 (fig. 84), 118 go-125;J.Guy and D. Swallow (eds), Arts of
(figs 97, 98), 119, 123. India: 1500-1900 (Victoria and Albert
64. M. Zebrowski, Deccani Painting (Berkeley Museum exhib. cat., London, 1990), 137, 143.
and London, 1983), 92-9. ir. See S. C. Welch, Kotah (New York, 1997),
65. Personal communication of Robert 25.
Skelton. He made this identification, the 12. N. N. Haidar, who places the style in its
complicated story of which is to be found in historical and cultural contexts, has revised
the following publications: R. W. Skelton, some of the popular misconceptions regarding
“The Mughal Artist Farrokh Beg’, Ars Kishangarh. See The Kishangarh School of
Orientalis, 2 (1957), 393-411; O. F. Akimuskin, Painting: c.1650—-1850 [Ph.D. thesis] (Oxford,
Il Muraka di San Pietroburgo, Album Minature 1995).
Indiane e Persiane del XVI-XVIII Secolo e di 133. B. N. Goswamy et al., “A Caurapancasika”
Essemplari di Cahigrafia dt Mir Imadal-Hasani Style Manuscript from the Pahari Area’, La/it
(Lugano, 1994). See also A. Soudavar, Kala, 25 (1985), 9-21.
‘Between the Safavids and the Mughals: Art 14. Goswamy and Fischer, Pahari Masters, 56.
and Artists in Transition’, Iran, 37 (1999), 15. The change first came about in 1968, when
49-66. B. N. Goswamy established the existence ofa
family of artists who moved between different
Hill States on the basis of genealogical
246 NOTES
information preserved at the pilgrim centre in Handicrafts and Handlooms Museum, New
Haridwar in North India. He supplemented Delhi (Ahmedabad, 1989), 103, 115, for a
this data with British settlement records which consideration of amodern Madhubani artist.
traced the lands granted to artists by local tr. G.S. Dutt, Folk Arts and Crafts ofBengal:
rulers. B. N. Goswamy, ‘Panda Records as a The Collected Papers (Calcutta, 1990), section
Basis of
Style’, Marg, 21, 4 (Sep. 1968), 17-62. IV, ch. 4.
See also W. G. Archer, Indian Paintings from 12. S. Rahman, ‘Symbols and Rituals in the Art
the Punjab Hills (London and New York, 1973), of the Nakshi Kantha’, Woven Air: The Muslin
whose view was subsequently challenged by and Kantha Tradition ofBangladesh (exhib.
Goswamy. cat., London, 1988), 29-31.
16. On Pandit Seu of Guler, see Goswamy and 13. V.N. Mair, Painting and Performance
Fischer, Pahari Masters, 211-37. (Honolulu, 1988), 101;J.D. Smith, The Epic of
17. B. N. Goswamy, Nainsukh ofGuler: AGreat Pabuji, A Study, Transcription and Translation
Indian Painter from a Small Hill State (Zurich, (Cambridge, 1991). Originating in Buddhist
1997). Scholars are divided over the actual storytelling accompanied with pictures, the
identity of Balwant Singh and whether he was genre of picture recitation spread to China
from Jasrota. where it was transformed into pien—-wen
18. On the generation after Nainsukh and (transformation texts) during the T’ang period
Manaku of Guler that was influenced by (618-906 CE). The medieval German Moritat,
Nainsukh see Goswamy and Fischer, Pahari brilliantly used in the twentieth century by
Masters, 307-64. Bertolt Brecht in his Threepenny Opera, also
19. A. Topsfield, The City Palace Museum originated in the Indian picture recitation.
Udaipur: Paintings ofMewar Court Life 14. K. Singh, ‘Changing the Tune, Bengali
(Ahmedabad, 1990). Pata Painting’s Encounter with the Modern’,
India International Centre Quarterly (Summer
Chapter 8. The Non-Canonical Arts of 1996), 61-78.
Tribal Peoples, Women, and Artisans 15. Jain and Aggarwala, National Handicrafts
1. The phrase is borrowed from S. and Handlooms Museum, 26.
Rowbotham, Hidden from History (London, 16. P. Mitter, Much Maligned Monsters: History
1973). ofEuropean Reactions to Indian Art (Chicago
2. E. H. Gombrich,4 Sense ofOrder (London, University Press, 1992), ch. 5.
1979), 12. 17. G. C. Birdwood, The Industrial Arts of India
3. A. Appadurai, Modernity at Large: Cultural (London, 1880), 131-s.
Dimensions ofGlobalisation (Minneapolis, 18. Dutt, Folk Arts and Crafts ofBengal.
1996). 19. A. L. Basham, The Wonder That Was India
4. V. Elwin, The Tribal Art of Middle India (London, 1961), 219-20.
(Oxford, 1951). 20. Jainand Aggarwala, National Handicrafts
5. Y. Dalmia, The Painted World ofthe Warls and Handlooms Museum, 62-3.
(New Delhi, 1988), which also contains ar. E. Haque, “The Textile Tradition of
excellent translations of the songs relating to Bangladesh’, Woven Air, 9-11. Periplus ofthe
the images. Erythrean Sea, a first-century CE Greek
6. N. Poobaya-Smith, ‘Bhuta Figures of South mariner’s guide, mentions muslin.
Kanara’, in G. Michell (ed.), Living Wood: 22. B. Stockley, ‘An Introduction’, Woven Air,
Sculptural Traditions ofSouthern India iP).
(London, 1992), 113-28. 23. Jain and Aggarwala, National Handicrafts
7. T. Lyons, ‘Women Artists of the and Handlooms Museum, 137-9.
Nathadwara School’, in V. Dehejia, 24.J.Irwin and K. Brett, Origins ofChintz
Representing the Body (New Delhi, 1997), (London, 1970).
102-23. 25. V. Murphy, ‘Europeans and the Textile
8. P. Jayakar, The Earthen Drum (Delhi, 1980), Trade’, inJ.Guy and D. Swallow (eds), Arts of
227-65, on the importance of the earth goddess India: 1500-1900 (Victoria and Albert
throughout Indian history. Museum exhib. cat., London, 1990), 158.
g. Publication Division of the Ministry of 26. B. Osman, “Transport Painting: The
Information and Broadcasting, Government Decorated Rickshaws of Dhaka’, Arts and the
of India, A/pana (Delhi, 1976). Islamic World, special volume: Contemporary
10. Y. Vequaud, The Art ofMithila, Ceremonial Art in Bangladesh, 34 (Summer 1999), 71-2.
Paintings from an Ancient Kingdom (London,
1977). See
J.Jain and A. Aggarwala, National
NOTES 247
Chapter 9. The British Raj: 15.J.M. Rosenfield, “Western Style Painting
Westernization and Nationalism in the Early Meiji Period and its Critics’,
1. M. and W. G. Archer, Indian Painting
for the in D. Shively (ed.), Tradition and
British 1770-1880 (Oxford, 1955), is the Modernization in Japanese Culture (New Jersey,
pioneering survey. 1971), 181-200; M. Kawakita, Modern Currents
2. T. Falk, ‘The Indian Artist as Assimilator of in Japanese Art(New York, 1974).
Western Styles’, inJ. Bautze (ed.), Interaction 16. Mitter,
Art and Nationalism, chs 8 and 9.
ofCultures: Indian and Western Painting 17. Chughtai’s memoirs are used by kind
1780-1910 (Alexandra, Virginia, 1998), 29; M. permision of Chughtai’s son, Arif Rehman
Archer, Natural History Drawings in the India Chughtai. See also Chughtai’ Paintings
Office Library (London, 1972). (Lahore, n.d.). 1am grateful to M. Nesom for
3. S. C. Welch, Room for Wonder (New York, allowing me to consult her Ph.D. thesis, Addur
1978), 67-72. Rehman Chughtai: AModern South Asian Artist
4. W.G. Archer, Kalighat Paintings (London, (Ann Arbor, 1984), the most scholarly and
1971); J.Jain, Kalighat Painting: Images from a thorough account of Chughtai’s life and art to
Changing World (Ahmedabad, 1999). date. For Chughtai’s construction of Muslim
5. A. Paul (ed.), Woodcut Prints ofNineteenth identity, see my Art and Nationalism, 332-9.
Century Calcutta (Calcutta, 1983). For the 18. A. Hutt, Goa:A Traveller’s Historical and
background to the rise of new art forms, see P. Architectural Guide (Buckingham Hill, Essex,
Mitter, Art and Nationalism in Colonial Indta 1988), 91.
1850-1922: Occidental Orientations 19. S. Nilsson, European Architecture in India,
(Cambridge, 1994), 14-21, and T. Guha- 1750-1850 (London, 1968), 39-47.
Thakurta, The Making ofa New Indian Art: 20. P. Mitter, “The Early British Port Cities of
Artists, Aesthetics and Nationalism in Bengal India: Their Planning and Architecture, Circa
1850-1920 (Cambridge, 1992). 1640-1757 ,Journal ofthe Society ofArchitectural
6. P. Mitter, Much Maligned Monsters: History Historians, 45 (2June 1986), 95-114.
ofEuropean Reactions to Indian Art (Chicago ar. P. Davies, Splendours of the Raj
University Press, 1992). This work also (Harmondsworth, 1985).
discusses the impact of Indian decorative arts 22. Nilsson, European Architecture in India,
at the Great Exhibition of 1851 in London. On 101-7; more anecdotal but vivid is M. Bence-
art schools, see Papers Relating to the Jones, Palaces of the Raj (London, 1973), 41-67.
Maintenance ofSchools ofArt in India as State 23. Nilsson, European Architecture in India, 26.
Institutions, 1893-6 (Calcutta, 1898); Mitter, 24. A history of European-style architecture
Art and Nationalism, chs 2 and 3. for Indian patrons has not yet been
7.E.J. Buck, Simla Past and Present (Bombay, undertaken. On the bungalow see A. D. King,
1925), 136. The Bungalow (London, 1984).
8. On landscape see R. W. Skelton, 25. R. Llewellyn-Jones, A Fatal Friendship
‘Landscape in Indian Painting’, in W. Watson (Delhi, 1985), vii.
(ed.), Landscape Style in Asia (London, 1980), 26. H. R. Tillotson, ‘Orientalising the Raj:
150-71; Mitter, Art and Nationalism, 86-90, Indo-Sarasenic Fantasies’, C. W. London
110-13. (ed.), Architecture in Victorian and Edwardian
9. B. Choudhury, Lipir Shilpi Abanindranath India (Bombay, 1994), 16-34.
(Calcutta, 1973), 81; Mitter, Art and 27. TR. Metcalf, Imperial Vision: Indian
Nationalism, ch. 5, on Varma. Architecture and Britain’s Raj (London, 1989),
10. Mitter, Art and Nationalism, ch. 7; see also 39-
Guha-Thakurta, Making ofa New Indian Art. 28. J. Morris, Stones ofEmpire: The Buildings of
11. P. Mitter, “The Doctrine of Swadeshi Art: the Raj (Oxford, 1983), 133-4.
Artand Nationalism in Bengal’, The Visva- 29. On this edifice see P. Vaughan (ed.), The
Bharati Quarterly, 49, 1-4 (May 1983—Apr. Victoria Memorial Hall, Calcutta: Conception,
1984), 82-95; Mitter, Art and Nationalism. Collections, Conservation (Mumbai, 1997).
12. J.C. Bagal, Centenary of the Government 30. R.G. Irving, Indian Summer: Lutyens,
College ofArt and Craft Calcutta (Calcutta, Baker andImperial
Delhi (London and New
1964); E. B. Havell, ‘New School of Indian Haven, r98r).
Painting’, The Studio, 44 (1908), 115 ff.
13. A. Tagore, Jorasankor Dhare (Calcutta, Chapter 10. Modernism in India
1971). 1. See Catalogue ofthe Indian Society ofOriental
14. S. Hay, Asian Ideals of East and West Art (Calcutta, 1922-3) with comments by the
(Cambridge, Mass., 1970). art historian Stella Kramrisch.
248 NOTES
2. See Gaganendranath’s albums, Birup Bajra 15. 1am preparing a chapter on Sher-Gil for
(Play ofOpposites) and Adbhut Lok (Realm ofthe my forthcoming work on Indian art between
Absurd) (Calcutta, 1917), and P. Mitter, Art and 1922 and 1947.
Nationalism in Colonial India 1850-1922: 16. B. Dey andJ.Irwin, Jamini Roy (Calcutta,
Occidental Orientations (Cambridge, 1994), 1944); Archer, India and Modern Art, 100-15.
170-5. See also R. Parimoo, The Paintings ofthe 17. The only information on this that is readily
Three Tagores (Baroda, 1973). available is in The Art ofJamini Roy, a
3- K. Roy, Gaganendranath Tagore (Delhi, Centenary Volume, Calcutta, 1987. Ihave
1964). summarized the chapter in my forthcoming
4.J. Golding, Cubism: A History and an book (see note 15 above).
Analysis 1907-1914 (London, 1968). 18. G. Kapur, Contemporary Indian Art (Royal
5. The German critic Max Osborn, quoted in Academy exhib. cat., London, 1982), 5.
Rupam, vols XV—XV1 (1923), 74; E. H.
Gombrich, A Sense ofOrder (London, 1979),
149. Chapter 11. Art After Independence
6. On primitivism see P. Mitter, ‘Primitivism’, 1. W.J. R. Curtis, Modernism and the Search
in D. Levinson and M. Ember (eds), for Indian Identity’, Architectural Review, 182
Encyclopedia ofCultural Anthropology, vol. 1 (Aug. 1987), 32-8.
(New York, 1996), 1029-32; C. Rhodes, 2.G. H.R. Tillotson, ‘Architecture and
Primitivism and Modern Art (London, 1994); Anxiety: The Problem of Pastiche in Recent
S. Hiller (ed.), The Myth ofPrimitivism: Indian Design’, South Asia Research, 15, 1
Perspectives on Art (London, 1991); and the (Spring 1995), 30-47.
pioneering work, R. Goldwater, Primitivism 3.G. H.R. Tillotson, The Tradition ofIndian
in Modern Painting (1938). Architecture (New Haven, 1989), 136. On
7.J. Brown, Gandhi’ Rise to Power: Indian Correa’s architectural ideas, see his portfolio, 5
Politics 1915-22 (Cambridge, 1972). Projects, Correa (n.d.), with essays by Kenneth
8. A. Appadurai, Modernity at Large: Cultural Frampton, John Russell, Jyotindra Jain, and
Dimensions ofGlobalisation (Minneapolis, Gautam Bhatia.
1996). 4. Tillotson, Tradition of Indian Architecture,
g. D.J. Rycroft, ‘Santhalism and Modern 127-47.
Indian Art: Reinterpreting Visual 5. H. Goetz, “The Great Crisis from
Representations of Adivasis in Pre- Traditional to Modern Art’, Lalit Kala
independent India, ¢c.1907~47’ (work in Contemporary, (Jun. 1962), 14.
progress). 6. G. Kapur, Contemporary
Indian Art (Royal
10. Vassische Zeitung of 16 July 1930. Fora Academy exhib. cat., London, 1982), 6.
scholarly study of Tagore’s painting see A. 7. Cintamont Kar:ARetrospective Exhibition
Robinson, The Art ofRabindranath Tagore 7930-85 (Indian Museum exhib. cat., Calcutta,
(London, 1989). See also Parimoo, Paintings of 1985).
the Three Tagores. 8. G. Gill (ed.), Ram Kumar:
AJourney Within
11. P. Mitter, ‘Rabindranath Tagore as Artist: (New Delhi, 1996).
A Legend in His Own Time’, in M. Lago and 9. R. Hoskote, Pilgrim, Exile, Sorcerer: The
R. Warwick (eds), Rabindranath Tagore: Painterly Evolution ofJehangir Sabavala
Perspectives in Time (London, 1989), 103-21. (Mumbai, 1998).
12. Mitter, ‘Rabindranath Tagore’; W. G. 10. On Khanna and Gujral see Kapur,
Archer, India and Modern Art (London, 1959), Contemporary Indian Art, 6 and 30.
49779. See also a new work in Bengali which u. E. Alkazi, M. FE Husain, the Modern Artist
argues that Tagore’s colour blindness and Tradition (New Delhi, 1978).
contributed to his vision: K. K. Dyson and S. 12. D. Herwitz, Husain (Bombay, 1988).
Adhikari, Ranger Robindronath (Calcutta, 13. Alkazi, M. F Husain.
1997). 14. R. Bartholomew and G. Kapur, Husain
13. R. Tagore, Rabindranath Tagore on Art and (New York, 1971). See aiso Herwitz, Husain.
Aesthetics (New Delhi, 1961), 58-64. 15. Mentioned in G. Sen, Bindu Space and
14. V. Sundaram et al., Amrita Sher-Gul Time in Raza’ Vision (Delhi, 1997), 47.
(Bombay, n.d.), 42. The pionering work on 16. M. Levy, ‘F. N. Souza: The Human and the
Sher-Gil is by her friend K. Khandalavala, Divine’, The Studio (Apr. 1964), 134-9.
Amrita Sher-Gil (Bombay, 1944). See also I. 17.J.Lassaigne, Raza (Paris, 1966),
Singh, Amrita Sher-Gil:ABiography (Delhi, unpaginated.
1984). 18. Sen, Bindu Space and Time.
NOTES 249
19. N. Mazumder, ‘On Tantra Art’, Lalit Kala (Ahmedabad, 1996), 124, 146; E. Datta, Ganesh
Contemporary, 12/13, (Aug.—Sep. 1971), 33-4; C. Pyne: His Life and Times (Calcutta, 1998).
Douglas, ‘Beyond Reason: Malevich, 2. B. Bhattacharjee, Recent Works (exhib. cat.,
Matiushin, and Their Circles’, in M.Tuchman Calcutta, 1993).
(ed.), The Spiritual in Art: Absract Painting 3. U. Bickelmann and N. Ezekiel (eds), Artists
1890-1985 (Los Angeles, 1987), 192, discusses Today (Bombay, 1987), 21-4.
the importance of Tantra for early 4. Sen, Image and Imagination, 44-71.
abstractionists. 5. Ibid., 74.
20. The Phillips Collection, Indian Art Today, 6. T. Hyman, Bhupen Khakhar (Mumbai,
Four Artists from the Chester and Davida 1998), 17; G. Sheikh (ed.), Contemporary Artin
Herwitz Family Collection (Washington, DC, Baroda (New Delhi, 1997), 217-24.
22 Feb.—6 Apr. 1986), 26-7. 7.K.G. Subramanyan, The Moving Focus:
a1. A. Naqvi, Image and Identity: Fifty Years of Essays on Indian Art (Delhi, 1978), and The
Painting and Sculpture in Pakistan (Karachi, Living Tradition (Calcutta, 1987).
1998), Xxx. 8. N. Sheikh, ‘A Post-Independence Initiative
22. A. Naqvi, “Transfers of Power and in Art’, in Sheikh, Contemporary
Art 1n Baroda,
Perception: Four Pakistani Artists’, in Arts and 119.
the Islamic World, special volume: 50 Years ofArt g. Bickelmann and Ezekiel, Artists Today, 96.
in Pakistan, 32 (1997), 9-15. 10. G. M. Sheikh, ‘Le Tableau unique de
23. M.N. Sirhandi, Contemporary Painting in Sheikh’, in Returning Home (Centre Georges
Pakistan (Lahore, 1992), 49-50. Pompidou exhib. cat., Paris, 1985), 17.
24. Naqvi, “Transfers of Power and Perception’, 1. Sheikh, Contemporary Art inBaroda,
iii 166-70; G. Kapur, ‘View from the Teashop’, in
25. Sirhandi, Contemporary Painting in her Contemporary Indian Artists (New Delhi,
Pakistan, 55-7. 1978).
26. See Naqvi, Image and Identity, ch 7. 12. Bickelmann and Ezekiel, Artists
27. F. A. Faiz, Sadequain (Karachi, 1966). Today, 115-7.
28. Naqvi, “Transfers of Power and Perception’, 13. Hyman, Bhupen Khakhar, 42.
14. 14. Hyman, Art International (1990). Hyman’s
29.1. Hassan, Painting in Pakistan (Lahore, publication, Bhupen Khakhar, marked the
1991), 81-s. purchase of his work by the Tate Gallery,
30. N. Sirhandi, in 50 Years ofArtin Pakistan, London.
21. 15. Vivan Sundaram (Little Theatre Art
31. S. Hashmi, ‘Framing the Present’,50 Years Gallery exhib. cat., New Delhi, 1991), 5.
ofArt in Pakistan, 54. 16. G. Sinha (ed.), Expressions and Evocations:
32. Naqvi, Image andIdentity, 312. Contemporary Women Artists ofIndia
33. A. Naqvi, ‘My Primitives’ Wood Carvings (Mumbai, 1996).
1992-4 Shahid Sajjad (Karachi, 1994). 17. G. Sinha, The Selfand
the World, an
34. B. K. Jahangir, Chitrashilpa: Bangladesher Exhibition ofIndian Women Artists (Delhi,
(Dhaka, 1974). 1997), I-11.
35.J. Ahmed, Artin Pakistan, Early Years 18. V. Dehejia, in Representing the Body (New
(Karachi, 1954). Delhi, 1997), raises the issue ofwomen’s
36. F. Azim, Charukalar Bhumika (Dhaka, representation and self-representation.
1992) 19. Sen, Image and Imagination, 38.
37. S. M. Islam, Muktijuddher Chitramala 20. Sinha, Se/fand the World, 27.
(Drawings and Paintings ofthe Liberation War) a1. Sen, Image and Imagination, 12.
(Dhaka, n.d.). 22. Sinha, Se/fand the World, 31.
38. M. Khaled, Twelfth Young Artists’ Art 23. Sheikh, Contemporary Art in Baroda, 170-3.
Exhibition 1998 (Dhaka, 1998); A. Mansur, 24. G. Kapur, ‘Nasreen Mohamed)’, in Sinha,
Twelfth National
ArtExhibition 1996 (Dhaka, Expressions, 62.
1996). 25. R. Chawla, ‘Anjolie Ela Menon’, in Sinha,
39. S. Ahmad, AGrand Group Art Exhibition of Expressions, 82-93.
Reputed Bangladeshi Artists (Dhaka, 1991). 26. Sinha, Se/fand the World, 39.
40. Mansur, Twelfth National
Art Exhibition. 27. G. Kapur, ‘Nalini Malani’, in Sinha,
41. B. K. Jahangir, Shahabuddin (Dhaka, 1997). Expressions, 136-41.
28. G. Sinha, ‘Arpana Caur’, in Sinha,
Chapter 12. The Contemporary Scene Expressions, 163-8.
1. G. Sen, Image and Imagination 29. Sheikh, Contemporary Art in Baroda, 260.
250 NOTES
30. Ibid., 192; Sinha, Se/fand the World, 51. 36. P. Mitter, “The Art of Sabah Husain,
31. Sheikh, Contemporary Art in Baroda, Pakistan Music Village (exhib. cat., London,
189-96; M. Marwah, ‘Nilima Sheikh’, in 1995), 19; Hashmi and Poobaya-Smith,
Sinha, Expressions, 117-22. Intelligent Rebelhion.
32. T. Wilcox, Exhibition Review, Crafts 37- Hashmi and Poobaya-Smith, Intelligent
Magazine, quoted in Royal Festival Hall Rebellion. N. Farrukh, Pioneering Perspectives
Galleries exhib. cat., ro Dec.—22 Jan., 1995. (Lahore, 1998), discusses three major women
33 A. Naqvi, Image andIdentity: Fifty Years of artists, a printmaker, a painter and a potter.
Painting and Sculpture in Pakistan (Karachi, I received the work too late to include them
1998), 9-11. here.
34. 1. Hassan, Painting in Pakistan (Lahore, 38. N. Khan Majlis, ‘Women Artists of
1991), 52-4. Bangladesh’, in Arts and the Islamic World,
35. S. Hashmiand N. Poobaya-Smith,An special volume: Contemporary Art in
Intelligent Rebellion: Women Artists ofPakistan Bangladesh, 34 (Summer 1999), 45-8.
(Bradford, 1994).
NOTES 251
ee
‘Timeline
Further Reading
Museums and Websites
List of Illustrations
Index
‘Timeline
10000 sce c.10000 c.10000 c.10000

Stone Age society Hunting, gathering, Sculpture and rock
: stone tools painting
c. 7000 Neolithic society c.7000 Hunting-gathering c. 7000 Painted pottery;
society with beginnings terracotta figurines
of settled society,
agriculture, specialized
crafts, Mother Goddess
cult (?)
c. 2500 c. 2500 c. 2500
Indus Valley civilization Advanced urban culture: Proto-Siva; seals
grid-plan cities, depicting bulls and
drainage, bathrooms, tigers, bronze female
social stratification, figure, and male figures
use of bronze, dry dock
for ships, trade with
Mesopotamia, writing
on seals (still undeciph-
ered)
¢.1800 Indo-Aryan speaking c.1800 Pastoral society: rulers,
people’s settlements in priests, and common
riverine Punjab coincide men, composition of the
with decline of Indus Vedas, sacrifice (integral
urban culture part of Vedic religion),
use of horse chariots
c.1000 End of tribal clans and c.1000 Mining of iron and
chieftains and rise of spread of Aryan
republics and settlements along river
monarchies known as Ganges up to Bihar;
Mahajanapadas evolution of four great
varnas or classes, core of
caste system; growth of
Brahmanical religion;
rise of cities, merchant
classes, trade and
artisanal guilds,
coinage; philosophical
speculations based on
concepts of samsara and
karma, consolidated in
Upanisads; beginning of
composition of epic
Mahabharata
c.600_ Internecine rivalries in
northern India leading to
rise of Magadha; Indus
region occupied by
Iranian emperor Cyrus,
519
c.599-527
Mahavira, founder of
Jain religion
c.563-483
Gautama the Buddha
486 Buddhism, first great
world religion,
supported by monastic
order, centred on Bihar
and Gengetic Valley; first
Buddhist Council held at
Magadha; growth of
Dhammapada, Jatakas,
and other Buddhist texts
254 TIMELINE
‘Timeline
468 BcE c. 468 Jain religion preaches

non-killing of all forms of
life and a strict moral
code of conduct
c.500 Development of six
major philosophical
systems, grammar, and
lawbooks; composition
of epic Ramayana
362-321
Nanda dynasty of
Magadha, during whose
reign Alexander of
Macedon invades
Iranian province of
Indus, 327-325 sce
327 First contact between
Indians and Greeks,
giving rise to legend of
Alexander meeting
Indian ascetics and
exchanging
philosophical ideas
321 Candragupta founds c.321 Mauryan empire creates
centralized Mauryan efficient bureaucracy,
empire, which extends maintaining law and
to south, where emperor order by means of
fasts to death as a Jain extensive intelligence
system; first major
political treatise,
Arthasastra, by Kautilya,
inspired by
cosmopolitan empire;
Greek ambassador
Megasthenes, who
spends many years at
Mauryan court, leaves
lively account of Indian
society
268-231 c. 268 Asoka seeks to inculcate c.268 Asokan stone pillars;
Asoka renounces war moral lessons in his Buddhist stupa, caitya
after Kalinga battle and subjects through edicts (prayer-hall), and vihara
converts to Buddhism, inscribed on rock faces (monastery)
inaugurating unique and pillars; calls third
empire based on Buddhist Council and
pacifism converts Sri Lanka;
social reforms include
animal hospital
c. 200 Rise of Gandhara-
Bactria as major centre
of Buddhism; growth of
land trade along Silk
Route connecting China
and West via India and
Central Asia; sea trade
between Hellenistic Asia
Minor, India, and China
185 Sunga dynasty replaces
Mauryas at Magadha as
Maurya empire
disintegrates
TIMELINE 255
‘Timeline
Culture BcE
180 BcE 180-130

Successors of
Alexander's generals
occupy Bactria-
Gandhara; Indo-Greek
kings rule Gandhara
(north-west India) from
capital at Taxila
155-130 155-130
Indo-Greek king King Menander
Menander associated with
Buddhist text Milinda
Panha (Questions of
Menander)
128 Rise of Satavahana
dynasty in South India
c¢.120 Inception of rock-cut
monasteries, notably
Buddhist, which
continues until fifth
century CE
120 Bhagavata (follower of
Vishnu?) pillar of
Heliodorus, Besnagar
Culture ce
50 ce c.50 Completion of
decoration of Great
Stupa, Sanchi
50-70 Caijtyaat Karle
78 Kanishka, Kushan 78 Kanishka convenes c.78 First Buddha images in
emperor, ruling from fourth Buddhist Council, Gandhara and Mathura;
Mathura in eastern India which establishes riseof Jaina and Hindu
through Gandhara in supremacy of Mahayana images
north-west up to parts of sect; Buddhist
Central Asia philosopher Asvaghosa’s
Buddhacarita written at
his court; cultural
revolution associated
with rise of Bhakti or
devotional Hinduism,
centring on great deities
Vishnu Siva and the
Goddess; completion of
Mahabharata, which
now includes key Bhakti
text Bhagvad Gita;
inception of Puranas;
composition of Bharata’s
treatise on drama and
dance (Natyasastra) and
of moral-legal text Laws
of Manu; saint Lakulisa
influences religion of
Siva
c.100 Anthropomorphic /inga
from Gudimallam,
earliest dated image of
linga
150 Rudradaman, of Saka 150 Saka king Rudradaman’s
(Scythian) origin, rules inscription at Junagarh
western India shows first use of
classical Sanskrit
256 TIMELINE
‘Timeline
200ceE 200 Great Stupa at

Amaravati completed
319-20
Gupta empire founded
by Candragupta |
335 Samudragupta brings
under his sway the whole
of north India and
extends hegemony in
south
375-415
Candragupta ||
completes hegemony by
conquering Saka
kingdom on west coast
c.400-500 c.400 Creation of Gupta icons
Golden Age of ancient of Buddha; completion
India, centring on Gupta of Buddhist narrative
empire; multi-talented paintings at Ajanta and
Samudragupta Bagh; first Hindu
combines military temples, structural and
prowess with intellectual excavated, emerge
and cultural
accomplishments;
Chinese Budddhist
pilgrim Faxian visits
Gupta empire, praises
peace and prosperity;
great poet and dramatist
Kalidasa at Candragupta
II’s court; playwright
Visakhadatta flourishes;
Vatsyayana’s Kamasutra;
pillar of pure iron (now in
Meherauli, Delhi),
technical feat
associated with
Candragupta (?); birth of
astronomers, Aryabhatta
and Varahamihira—
latter goes on to write
first treatise on Hindu
temple architecture and
sculpture; great
Buddhist monastic
university founded at
Nalanda in Bihar
c.415 Varaha image of Vishnu

at Udaigiri
c.500 Huna (Hun) conquest of c.500 Templeto Vishnu at
north-west India and Deogarh
decine of Gupta empire c.500-760
Ellora and Elephanta
produce finest examples
of narrative sculpture to
e.600 Tantric cults infiltrate Siva
600-30 Mahendravarman |, major religions c.600 Emergence of rock-cut
Pallava ruler of South shrine in south India
India c. 600-740
Calukya temples at
Aiholi, Badami, and
Pattadakal
606-47 Harsha, king of Kanau},
last imperial power
TIMELINE 257
‘Timeline
Culture ce
608 cE 608-42 Founding of Early

Western Calukya dynasty
in Deccan under
Pulakesin II
c.620 Defeat of Harsha by
Pulakesin II 630-44 Chinese Buddhist
pilgrim Xuanzang In
India, describes society
and culture; poet
Bilhana composes
Caurapancasika
642 Defeat of Pulakesin I| by

Pallavas
c.650 Rise of regional c.650-700
hegemonies following Dravida temples
break-up of Harsha’s developed,
territory Mamallapuram and
c. 700-900 Kanchipuram
Buddhism spreads to
Nepal and Tibet; Tamil
saint Manikkavacakar
and Sankara, great south
Indian philosopher;
Abhinavagupta
composes aesthetic
treatise in Kashmir;
aestheticians
Anandavardhana and
Vamana; dramatist
Bhavabhuti
710-1027
Gurjara-Pratihara
dynasty in north-central
India
712 Arab occupation of Sind
740 Calukyas defeat Paliavas
c.750 Suryatemple, Martand

c.757 Rastrakutas defeat
Calukyas
760 Kailasanatha temple,
Ellora
c. 760-1142
Buddhist Pala dynasty in
Bengal
c.800 Candela kingdom of
Bundelkhand founded
c.900— Rise of vernacular
literature in India; Saiva
lyrics in Kannada by
Dasimayya, Basavanna,
Allama, and
Mahadeviyakka
c.907 Parantaka | founderof
Cola dynasty in south
India
954 Laksmana temple,
Khajuraho
985-1014
Rajaraja | establishes
Cola empire reaching up
to Sri Lanka 995-1010
Rajarajesvara (present
Brhadisvara) temple,
Tanjavur
258 TIMELINE
‘Timeline
997 cE 997-1030
Mahmud of Ghazni raids
north-west India
c.1000 Rajarani temple,
Bhuvaneswar;
Vatakunnathan temple,
Trichur, Kerala
1017-29
Kandariya Mahadeva
temple, Khajuraho
1030 Arab encyclopedist
Albiruni leaves account
of India
ce. 1050 Ramanuja, mystic c.1050 Surya temple, Modhera
philosopher of south
India
1077 Embassy of Cola
merchants to China
c.1100 Kalhana writes historical c.1100 Lingaraja temple,
classic Rajatarangini in Bhuvaneswar
Kashmir; Jayadeva
writes poem on divine
love, Gita Govinda, in
Bengal
1117 ~Hoysala Cenna Kesava
temple, Belur
c.1150 Vimala Vasahi Jain
temple, Dilwara, Mount
Abu
1192 Muhammad Ghuri
defeats Prithviraja
Chauhan at Tarain
c. 1200 Siva Nataraja temple,
Cidambaram
1206 Delhi Sultanate founded 1206 Quwwat ul-lslam
by Qutb ud-din Aybak mosque and Qutb Minar,
Delhi
1211-27
Sultan Iltutmish of Delhi
c.1238 Surya temple, Konarak
c.1250 Sarangadeva writes text
on music,
Sangitaratnakara
1253-1325
Amir Khusraw, Indo-
Turkish poet
1293 Marco Polo visits south
India
1296-1316
Sultan Ala ud-Din Khalji
of Delhi
c.1300 Maulana Daud’s c.1300 Victory Gateway (Alai
Candayana Darwaza), Delhi;
decorations of
Mallitamma, Hoysala
sculptor
1325-51 €.1325 City of Tughlaqabad;
Sultan Muhammad bin tomb of Ghiyas ud-
Tughlaq of Delhi Din Tughlaq
c.1330 Barni, historian and
political theorist; !bn
Batuta’s visitto India
1336 Vijayanagara Empire
founded in south
1345 Bahamani Sultanate
founded in south
TIMELINE 259
‘Timeline
1350 cE
c.1350 Lalla, female poet of
Kashmir
1357 = Sultan Firuz shah of
Delhi
c.1360 Firuz Tughlaq’s three-
tiered pyramid
surmounted with Asokan
pillar and his tomb
1367 Jami Masjid, Gulbarga
¢.1394 Atala Masjid, Jaunpur
1414-1526
Sayyid and Lodi sultans
of Delhi
1440-1518
Kabir preaches anti-
caste synthesis of Bhakti
and Sufi ideas
1459-1539
Nanak, Bhakti saint and
founder of Sikh religion
c.1480-1564
Purandaradasa, poet
saint of Karnataka
1486-1533
Sri Chaitanya, Vaisnava
Bhakti saint of Bengal
1498 Vasco daGamain south

India
c.1500 Blind Surdas writes his c.1500 Man Singh palace
poems fortress, Gwalior; royal
multi-storey platform,
Vijayanagara; Jain texts,
Nima’t Nama,
Caurapancasika, Laur
Chanda illustrated
1509 Rana Sanga of Mewar,
Rajasthan
1509-30
Krsnadevaraya, greatest
ruler of Vijayanaragara
1510 Goa, capital of
Portuguese colony
1516 Sid Sayyid Mosque,
Ahmedabad
1526 Babur’s defeat of Delhi
sultan at battle of
Panipat; founding of
Mughal empire
1530-56 Humayun 1530-40
Sher Shah's
mausoleum, Sasaram
c.1532-1623
Tulasidas composes
Ramacaritamanasa,
Hindi version of
Ramayana
1540-55 Sher Shah defeats
Humayun and becomes
sultan of Delhi
c.1550 Mirabai, female mystic
poet of Rajasthan
260 TIMELINE
‘Timeline
1555 ce 1555-1617
Kesav Das's Ras/kapriya
1556-1605 c.1556-1605 c.1556 Mughal painting
Akbar the Great At Akbar's court: Abu’l workshop founded;
Fazl and Badauni, emergence of masters
leading historians; Daswanth (d. 1584) and
Tansen, composer and Basawan, leading artists
founder of north Indian of Akbar’s reign
classical music; Raja
Birbal, humorist
c.1560 Tomb for Humayun,
Akbar’s first architecture
€.1562 Hamza Nama painting
project commenced
1565-71
Red fort and Akbar’s
other fortresses built
c.1570 Buildingof Fatehpur-
Sikri
1578 Meeting of Akbar and

Jesuits
1580 ‘First Jesuit mission to c.1580 Razm Nama painting
Akbar’s court project commenced
1582 Dini-llahi, Akbar’s
syncretic religion,
promulgated
c.1584 Akbar Nama history
painting records Akbar’s
1586-1627 reign
Ibrahim Adil Il shah of
Bijapur
c.1590-1605
Artist Farrukh Husain
(Beg), Persian painter at
Ibrahim Adil Shah's
court in Bijapur
1600 East India Company c.1600 Tukaram, Maharastran c.1600 Sahibdin, painter of
granted charter mystic poet Mewar, produces major
versions of Hindu epics;
Catholic churches, Goa
c.1601 Aga Riza, Persian
painter working for
Jahangir
1605-27 c.1605 Akbar’s tomb, Sikandra;
Jahangir tomb of Itimad ud-
Daulah, which uses
pietra dura decoration;
creation of gardens,
culminatingin Kashmir;
Abu’l Hasan, Mansur,
Manohar, Daulat,
Padarath, Bishn Das,
Govardhan, Balchand,
Bichitr, Bishndas,
Payag, Nadira, and
Sahifa Banu, prominent
painters at Jahangir’s
court
1623-59
Minaksi-Sundaresvara
temple, Madurai
TIMELINE 261
‘Timeline
1627 cE c.1627 Abd al-Karim, Makramat

Khan, Hamid Mastar
Ahmad, leading
architects of Shah
Jahan; Moti Masjid,
Agra, and addition to
forts
1628-58
Shah Jahan
c.1631 Taj Mahal built as
memorial to Shah
Jahan’s wife
1648 Shahjahanabad (Red
Fort), Delhi, completed;
Friday Mosque, Delhi
c.1650 Ranganatha temple,
Srirangam; corridor of
temple, Rameswaram
1650 Sahibdin of Mewar
1658-1707 Aurangzeb
1678-95
Kirpal Pal of Basohli Hill
State
1680-1740
Pandit Seu, painter and
founder of family of
painters
c.1700 Sawai Jaisingh || of
Jaipur
c.1710-78
Nainsukh, son of Seu
and most important
c.1718-75 Pahari painter
Ramprasad, mystic poet
of Bengal
1727. =Symmetrically planned

1748-57 city of Jaipur
Sawant Singh of
Kishangarh, Rajasthan
c.1750 Nihal Chand, painter
c.1751 Krishna Chandra
Temple, Kalna, Bengal
1757 _~— Battle
of Plassey and c. 1757-1850
founding of British East Company School of
India Company Raj in painting
Bengal c.1760-1847
Tyagaraja, composer of
south India
1772-1833
Rammohun Roy, first
Indian modernist
thinker, inspires Latin
American nationalists
and becomes friend of
Jeremy Bentham
1775-1823
Sansar Chand of Kangra
Hill State
1784 = Asiatick Society of
Bengal, first Orientalist
institution, founded in
Calcutta
1799-1803 1799-1802
Abu Taleb leaves lively Building of Government
account of visit to West House, Calcutta
262 TIMELINE
‘Timeline
Culture ce
1809 ce 1809-31
H.L. V. Derozio,
university teacher,
inspirer of radical Young
Bengal movement
1820-91
Iswar Chandra
Bidyasagar, great
educator and social
reformer of Bengal
1825-1907
Pioneer nationalist,
Dadabhai Naoroji, MP
1828 Founding of Brahmo
Samaj by Rammohun
Roy
1835 Raj introduces English
system of education,
which replaces
traditional learning
1836-86
Saint Sri Ramakrishna,
influential in revival of
Hinduism
1840-70
Kali Prasanna Sinha,
satirist, essayist, and
editor/ co-translator of
Mahabharata into
Bengali
1842-1901
M. G. Ranade, pioneer
Maharastran reformer
c.1851 Foundation of art
schools in Madras,
Bombay, and Calcutta
1857 Uprising led by Sepoys 1857 Novelist Bankin Chandra
brings down East India Chatterjee (1838-
Company 1892) writes song on
motherland, Bande
Mataram, which
becomes national
anthem
1859 Michael Madhusudan
Datta (1824-73) writes
Bengali epic poem,
Meghnadbadhkavya
1860 Dinabandhu Mitra
(1830-73) writes
controversial play N//
Darpan, highlighting
white indigo planters’
oppression of Bengali
peasants
c.1870 Academic art flourishes,
ted by Ravi Varma
(1846-1906)
1873-1938
Muhammad Iqbal,
India’s greatest Muslim
poet-philosopher and
inspirerof idea of
Pakistan
TIMELINE 263
Timeline
1875 ce 1875 Leading Muslim

nationalist Syed Ahmad
Khan (1817-98) founds
Mohammadan Anglo-
Oriental College, which
combines western
knowledge with Islamic
education; Hindu
nationalist Dayananda
Saraswati (1824-1883)
founds Arya Samaj
1877 Queen Victoria declared
Empress of India
1878-87
Victoria Terminus
railway station, Bombay
c.1880 Harish Chandra (1850-
85), Hindi poet,
dramatist, and Hindu
nationalist
1885 Indian National
Congress founded
1885-1905
Early Congress
dominated by moderate
G. K. Gokhale
(1866-1915) and
extremist B. G. Tilak
‘Father of Indian Unrest’
(1856-1920)
1893 Ramakrishna’s disciple
Swami Vivekananda
(1863-1902), founder
of Ramakrishna
Mission, triumphs at
World Congress of
Religions in Chicago
1899 Indian film industry
founded
1900 Jagadish Chandra Bose
(1859-1937), scientist,
Fellow of Royal Society,
and member of Austrian
Academy of Sciences,
Vienna, presents paper
at International
Congress of Physicists,
Paris
1905 Partition of Bengal and c.1905 Subramania Bharati c.1905 Nationalist Bengal
Swadeshi agitation; first (1882-1921), Tamil School of painting, led
nationalist movement poet and nationalist, by Abanindranath
active Tagore (1871-1951)
1906 Muslim League founded 1906 Aurobindo Ghose
(1872-1950),
influential Hindu
nationalist, edits
revolutionary periodical
Bande Mataram from
Calcutta
1909 Muslims granted
separate electorate by
Raj
1911 Transferofcapital from c.1911-32
Calcuttato Delhi BuildingofNew Delhi
264 TIMELINE
‘Timeline
1912 ce 1912 Sarat Chandra

Chatterjee
(1876-1938), Bengali
novelist and social critic,
publishes first stories
1913 Rabindranath Tagore
(1861-1941), India's
greatest poet, awarded
Nobel prize for book of
poems Gitan/ali, first
non-European to receive
it—a world figure during
his lifetime; Dadasaheb
Phalke (1870-1944)
releases first major
Indian feature film,
Harishchandra
1914-18
World War |; use of
Indian troops in Middle
East
1919 Massacre of unarmed
gathering at Amritsar by
government troops
1920-4
Khilafat movement
seeks to unite Indian
Muslims in Pan-Islamic
agitation 1921 Victoria Memorial,
1921 Mahatma Gandhi's Calcutta, completed
nationwide Non- 1922 Exhibition of Bauhaus
Cooperation movement artists in Calcutta;
1922 Kazi Nazrul Islam Cubist experiments of
(1898-1976), great Gaganendranath Tagore
Bengali revolutionary (1868-1938)
poet and composer,
publishes journal,
Dhumketu (comet)
c. 1930
Faiz Ahmad Faiz 1930 Europe-wide exhibition
(1912-?), Urdu poet of expressionist works of
1930 Gandhi’s nationwide 1930 C. V. Raman (1888—- poet Rabindranath
Civil Disobedience 1970) wins Nobel prize Tagore (1861-1941);
movement and Salt for physics Amrita Sher-Gil
March (1913-1941) returnsto
India from Paris,
creating a sensation with
her life and work
1934 T.S. Pillai (1914—),
Malayalam novelist and
short-story writer,
publishes first story
1935 Congress ministries 1935 R. K. Narayan (1906-)
formed in provinces publishes first novel in
English
1936 Prem Chand (1880-
1936), Hindi novelist
and short-story writer,
sees publication of best-
known novel, Godan,
1939 World War I1; Raj enters shortly before his death
India in conflict without
consulting Congress,
whose leaders resign en
masse
TIMELINE 265
‘Timeline
1940 cE 1940 Mohammad Ali Jinnah c.1940 Jamini Roy

demands sovereign state (1887-1974)
of Pakistan acclaimed as foremost
1941 Subhash Chandra Bose primitivist
(1897-1945),
nationalist revolutionary,
joins Japan with his
Indian National Army,
aimingto liberate India
from outside
1942 Quit India movement
launched by Gandhi
1943 Great ‘man-made’
famine of Bengal
1945-7 Progressive breakdown
of law and order and
mutiny of armed
services, as Labour
government prepares to
grant India
independence;
communal riots,
partition of India, and
creation of modern
states of India and
Pakistan
1947. Jawaharlal Nehru first 1947 S.H. Manto (1912-
prime ministerof India; 55), Urdu short-story
Liaquat Ali Khan first writer
prime minister of
Pakistan
1948 Gandhi assassinated; 1948 = Exhibition of Bombay
Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Progressives led by M. F.
founder of Pakistan, dies Husain (1915-)
1950 India becomes republic c.1950 Zainul Abedin
within Commonwealth (1918-76), leading
artist of East Pakistan
(later Bangladesh), lays
foundations of art in that
country
1951 Congress wins elections; c. 1951 Le Corbusier builds
Nehru inaugurates Five Chandigarh
Year Plans
1953 Do Bigha Zamin by

Bimal Roy (1912-66)
honoured at Cannes
Film Festival
1955 =Pather Panchali, by
great film director
Satyajit Ray (1921-
92), released
1956 Pakistan becomes
Islamic republic
1961 Sadequain (1930-87)
prize-winner at Paris
Biennale
1962 India’s disastrous war
with China
1966-77
Indira Gandhi's first
period as prime minister
¢.1967 Maoist Naxalite
movement emerges in
eastern India
266 TIMELINE
‘Timeline
1970 ce c.1970 New pictorialism of

Baroda
1972 East Pakistan declares
independence and
renames itself
Bangladesh
1980 End of Congress c.1980 Meera Mukherjee
dominance in India (1923-98) increasingly
recognized as major
sculptor, giving aboost
to women's contribution
to modern art
TIMELINE 267
Further Reading
General works (Chicago University Press, 1992). S. Edwards

This critical bibliography supplements the (ed.), Art and Its Histories (Newhaven, 1999),
endnotes with a survey of major publications. places my work within the wider context of art
There is no general work that covers all the history. For a critique of Buddhist art, see D.
periods satisfactorily. The best surveys, mainly S. Lopez, Curators ofthe Buddha (Chicago,
of the Buddhist, Hindu, and Jain periods, are 1995), and on patronage, B. S. Miller (ed.),
J.C. Harle’s elegant The Art and Architecture of Powers ofArt: Patronage in Indian Culture
the Indian Subcontinent (New Haven, 1994) (Delhi, 1992). Other new researches are: G. H.
and S. L. Huntington’s classic synthesis, The R. Tillotson (ed.), Paradigms ofIndian
Art ofAncient
India: Buddhist, Hindu, Jain Architecture: Space and Time in Representation
(New York, 1993). See also K. Fischer, M. and Design (London, 1998); R. H. Davis’s The
Jansen, andJ.Pieper, Architektur des Indischen Life ofIndian Images (Princeton, 1997), which
Subkontinents (Darmstadt, 1987). With the traces the history of responses to Indian sacred
exception of B. Gascoigne’s vivid portrait of images; and, for feminist interpretations of
Mughal culture, The Great Moghuls (London, women’s roles in Indian art, V. Dehejia (ed.),
1971), Indo-Islamic art scholarship tends to be Representing the Body (New Delhi, 1997).
specialist works on connoisseurship. (This is
now being redressed by The New Cambridge PART |. BUDDHIST AND HINDU ART
History ofIndia series.) However, for this AND ARCHITECTURE (c.300 sBce-
period the most important publications are 1700 ce)
exhibition catalogues.
For colonial arts, there are few general Chapter 1. Introduction
books apart from my Art and Nationalism in P. Brown’s standard survey, Indian
Colontal India 1850-1922: Occidental Architecture: Buddhist and Hindu Periods
Orientations (Cambridge, 1994), and The (Bombay, 1971), is complemented by A.
Making ofa New Indian Art: Artists, Aesthetics Volwahsen’s short, conceptually exciting
and Nationalism in Bengal 1850-1920 Living Architecture: Indian (London, 1969). K.
(Cambridge, 1992) by T. Guha-Thakurta. K. Chakravarty and R. G. Bednarik’s Indian
(Iam preparing a sequel to my earlier volume Rock Art and its Global Context (Delhi, 1997)
for the period 1922-1947.) See also The Ray: places Indian prehistoric art in a global
India and the British 1600-1947, C. A. Bayly context. R.and B. Allchin’s The Rise of
(ed.) (London, 1990). N. Tuli’s The Flamed Civilisation in India and Pakistan (Cambridge,
Mosaic: Indian Contemporary Painting 1982) provides a comprehensive account of
(Ahmedabad, 1997), A. Naqvi’s Image and prehistoric India; the older hypothesis of the
Identity: Fifty Years ofPainting and Sculpture in Aryan destruction ofthe Indus cities
Pakistan (Karachi, 1998) and Contemporary
Art supported by them has now been discredited.
in Bangladesh, a special volume ofArts and the N.S. Rajaram and D. Frawley, Vedic Aryans
Islamic World (1999), document the arts of the and the Origins ofCivilization (London, 1950),
postcolonial period. G. Sinha (ed.), argues for the indigenous origins of Indo-
Expressions ansd Evocations: Contemporary Aryans.
Women Artists ofIndia (Mumbai, 1996),
surveys modern Indian women artists. On Chapter 2. Buddhist Art and Architecture
Indian art history as a form ofcolonial For the controversy on the origins of Indian
discourse, see my Much Maligned Monsters: sculpture, seeJ.Irwin’s articles in Burlington
Fiistory of European Reactions to Indian Art Magazine, 115 (Nov. 1973), 706-20; 116 (Dec.
268 FURTHER READING

1974), 712-273 117 (Oct. 1975), 631-43; and 118 the Madras museum. The unquestioned
(Nov. 1976), 734-53. On Buddhist patronage, authority on Ajanta is W. Spink. See for
in addition to B.S. Miller (ed.), Powers ofArt: instance his ‘Ajanta: A Brief History’, in P. Pal
Patronage in Indian Culture (Delhi, 1992), see (ed.), Aspects of Asian Art (Leiden, 1972), 49-58;
G. Schopen, ‘On Monks, Nuns and “ Vulgar” ‘Ajanta’s Chronology: The Crucial Cave’, Ars
Practices: The Introduction of the Image Cult Orientalis, 10 (1975), 143-70; and ‘Ajanta’s
Into Indian Buddhism’, Artibus Asiae, 49, 1/2 Chronology: Politics and Patronage’, inJ. G.
(1989), 153-68; on endowment of images by Williams (ed.), Ka/adarsana (New Delhi,
monks and nuns and the general study of the 1981), 109-26. A. Ghosh (ed.), Ajanta Murals
Buddhist order, $. Dutt, Buddhist Monks and (New Delhi, 1967), is useful, as is the
Monasteries ofIndia (London, 1962). pioneering Ajanta, 3 vols (Oxford, 1931-46), by
J. Marshalland A. Foucher, The Monuments G.Yazdani etal. On Ajanta iconography see
ofSancht, 3 vols (Oxford, n.d), is the most D. Schlingloff, Studies inAjanta Paintings:
important work on the Great Stupa. See Identifications and Interpretations (Delhi, 1987).
M. Coneand R. F. Gombrich, The Perfect
Generosity ofPrince Vessantara (Oxford, 1977), Chapter 3. Hindu Art and Architecture
on the continuing importance of the R. Blurton’s Hindu Art (London, 1992)
Vessantara Jataka. On the symbolism of the provides an attractive introduction to the
stupa: A. L. Dallapiccolaand S. Z. religion through its art. T. R. Gopinatha
Lallement (eds), The Stupa, its Religious, Rao’s magisterial The Principles ofHindu
Fiistortwcal and Architectural Significance Iconography, 4 vols (Madras, 1916), andJ.N.
(Wiesbaden, 1980);J.Irwin, “The Stupa and Banerjea’s more analytical The Developmentof
the Cosmic Axis’, in Acarya Vandana (D.R. Hindu Iconography (Delhi, 1974) are the
Bhandarkar birth centenary vol., Calcutta, standard texts. H. Zimmer's The Art of Indian
1981), 249-69; andJ.Duran, “The Stupa in Asia (1955) and Myths and Symbols in Indian Art
Indian Art’, British Journal ofAesthetics, 36, 1 and Civilization (Princeton, 1946) render
(Jan. 1996), 66-73. On early caityas and Hindu art and myths in a beautifully poetic
viharas, V. Dehejia, Early Buddhist Rock language. For South India, G. Jouveau-
Temples:AChronological Study (London, 1972). Dubreuil’s [conography ofSouth India, trans.
Also relevant on the origins of Indian A.C. Martin (Paris, 1937), remains essential.
architecture is M. Meister (ed.), Ananda K. C. Maury’s Folk Origins ofIndian Art(New
Coomaraswamy. Essays in Early Indian York, 1969) offers a new perspective on the
Architecture (New Delhi, 1992). In addition to relationship between folk and high art. The
Susan Huntington’s innovative work and importance of Siva’s dance in Hinduism is
Vidya Dehejia’s critique on the Buddha image studied by A. M. Gaston, Siva in Dance, Myth
controversy, seeJ.E. van Lohuizen-de andIconography (Delhi, 1982), and C.
Leeuw, ‘New Evidence With Regard to the Sivaramamurti, Natarajain Dance, Art and
Origin of the Buddha Image’, South Asian Literature (Delhi, 1974). On Siva’s paradoxical
Archaeology (1979), 377-99; R. L. Brown, persona, see W. D. O’F laherty’s classic
‘Narrative as Icon: Jataka Stories in Ancient Asceticism and Eroticism in the Mythology of
Indian and Southeast Asian Architecture’, in J. Siva (Oxford, 1973). M. W. Meister (ed.),
Schober (ed.), Sacred Biography in the Buddhist Discourses on Siva: Proceedings of a Sympostum
Traditions ofSouth and Southeast Asta on the Nature ofReligious Imagery
(Honolulu, 1997), 64-109; L. Nehru, Origins of (Philadelphia, 1984), contains recent research.
the Gandhara Style (Delhi, 1990); and J.M. On Ganesa, P. Martin-Dubost, Ganesa
Rosenfield, The Dynastic Arts ofthe Kushans (Mumbai, 1997). On Vishnu, K. Desai, The
(Berkeley and Los Angeles, 1993). On Iconography ofVisnu (Delhi, 1973), H. D.
Buddhist iconography, D. Snellgrove, The Smith, Vaisnava Iconography (Madras, 1969),
Image ofthe Buddha (Paris, 1978), and on late and T. S. Maxwell, Visvarupa (Delhi, 1988).
Tantric Buddhism, B. Bhattacharyya, The M.S. Dhaky’s The Vyala Figures (Varanasi,
Indian Buddhist Iconography (Calcutta, 1958). 1965) and O. Viennot’s Les Divinités Fluviales
On the latest research on the Great Stupa Ganga et Yamuna aux portes des sanctuaires de
at Amaravati based on the British Museum /'Inde (Paris, 1964) study key sculptural motifs.
collection, see R. Knox, Amaravati: Buddhist (On the Great Goddess see chapter 4 of the
Sculpture from the Great Stupa (London, 1992). present book.)
C. Sivaramamurti, Amaravati Sculptures in the An indispensable source for Hindu
Madras Government Museum (Madras, 1956), architecture is the multi-volume Encyclopaedia
describes the Amaravati pieces inherited by ofIndian Temple Architecture, edited by M. W.
FURTHER READING 269

Meister and M. A. Dhaky and published by New Cambridge History of India (Cambridge,
various academic presses. S. Kramrisch’s 1995). B. Natarajan’s The City ofthe Cosmic
classic, The Hindu Temple, 2 vols (Calcutta, Dance (Delhi, 1974) is a study of the sacred city
1946), is complex but can be best understood of Cidambaram. For social and economic
by first reading Volwahsen, Living © aspects of South Indian temples,J.Heitzman,
Architecture: Indian. Conceptually exciting is ‘Temple Urbanism in Medieval South India’,
A. Hardy's Indian Temple Architecture: Form Journal ofAsian Studies, 46, 4 (Nov. 1987),
and Transformation, the Karnata-Dravida 791-826, B. Stein (ed.), South Indian Temples:
Tradition (New Delhi, 1995). On patronage, as An Analytical Reconstruction (New Delhi,
wellas Miller, Powers ofArt, V. Dehejia (ed.), 1978), and D. Dennis Hudson, ‘Madurai: The
Royal Patrons and Great Temple Art (Bombay, City as Goddess’, in H. Spodek and D. M.
1988), is indispensable. Srinivasan (eds), Urban Form and Meaning in
On the Gupta period see:J.G. Williams, South Asia: The Shaping ofCittes from
The Art ofGupta India (Princeton, 1982); J.C. Prehistoric to Precolonial Times (Hanover,
Harle, Gupta Sculpture: Indian Sculpture ofthe 1993), 125-44. On ancient Indian portraiture,
Fourth to Sixth Centuries AD (Oxford, 1974); P. P. Kaimal, ‘Passionate Bodies: Constructions
Pal, The Ideal Image: The Gupta Sculptural of the Selfin South Indian Portraits’, Archives
Tradition and its Influence (New York, 1978); of Asian Art, 47 (1995), 6-16.
and F. Asher, Art ofEastern India 300-800 On Orissan temples, K. C. Panigrahi,
(Minneapolis, 1980). On the Deccan, Hardy, Archaeological Remains at Bhubaneswar
Indian Temple Architecture. On the Calukyas, (Calcutta, 1961), and T. E. Donaldson, Hindu
G. Michell, An Architectural Description and Temple Art ofOrissa, 3 vols (Leiden, 1985-7),
Analysis ofthe Early Western Chalukyan Temples offer the most authoritative accounts. Orissan
(London, 1975); G. M. Tartakov, Durga temples up to 1000 CE are covered by V.
Temple at Athole:AHistoriographic Study Dehejia, Early Stone Temples ofOrissa (New
(Delhi, 1997), which sheds new light on the Delhi, 1979), W. Smith, The Muktesvara
temple; and C. R. Bolon, “The Mahakuta Temple in Bhubaneswar (Delhi, 1994), and V.
Pillar and Its Temples’, Artibus Asiae, 41, 2/3 Filiozat, The Temple at Muktesvara (Delhi,
(1979), 253-68. 1995). D. Mitra’s Bhuvaneswar (New Delhi,
On excavated monuments, C. Berkson 1966) and Konarak (New Delhi, 1976) remain
(ed.), Elephanta: The Cave ofShiva (Princeton, masterly analyses of the sites. Konarak: The
1983), should be supplemented with S. Heritage of Mankind (New Delhi, 1996) by K.
Kramrisch, The Presence ofSiva (Philadelphia, S. Behera contains a useful survey of
1984); C. Berkson, Ellora: Concept and Style published material. New Light on the Sun
(Delhi, 1992); and D. C. Chatham, Stylistic Temple at Konarka (Varanasi, 1972) by A.
Sources ofthe Kailasa Temple at Ellora(Ann Boneretal. is valuable for the Indian text but
Arbor, 1984, dissertation facsimile), which is somewhat unreliable. On Khajuraho and
analyses a major temple. On Pallava related styles, see M. A. Dhaky, “The Genesis
monuments, see the leading authority, K. R. and Development of Maru-Gurjara Temple
Srinivasan’s Cave Temples ofthe Pallavas Architecture’, in P. Chandra (ed.), Studies in
(Delhi, 1964), and R. Nagaswamy’s ‘New Indian Temple Architecture (New Delhi, 1975),
Light on Mamallapuram’, Transactions ofthe and O. Viennot, Temples del’Inde centrale et
Archaeological Society of South India—Silver occidentale, 2 vols (Paris, 1976). S. Punja,
Jubilee Volume (Madras, 1962), 1-50. Divine Ecstasy: The Story ofKhajuraho (Delhi,
On the southern temples of Cola and later 1992), offers an intriguing theory on its erotic
periods, S. R. Balasubrahmanyam’s Ear/y sculptures, which is refuted by D. Desai, The
Chola Temples (Bombay, 1971), Middle Chola Religious Imagery ofKhajuraho (Mumbai,
Temples (Faridabad, 1975), and Late Chola 1996).
Temples (Madras, 1979) are standard works. V.
Dehejia, Art ofthe Imperial Cholas (New York, Chapter 4. Minority Traditions, Ideal
1990), and P. Prichard, Tanjavur Brhdisvara: Beauty, and Eroticism
AnArchitectural Study (New Delhi and Information about Indian artists, workshops,
Pondicherry, 1995), offer more recent material. and patrons in the Hoysala region is rare: R.J.
J.C. Harle, The Temple Gateways ofSouth Del Bonta, The Hoysala Style (Ann Arbor,
India (Oxford, 1963), is the best scholarly 1983); K. Colleyer, The Hoysala Artists: Their
monograph on the gopuras. For late South Identity and Style (Mysore, 1990); S. Settar,
Indian architecture,J.Michell, Architecture The Hoysala Temples, 2 vols (Bangalore, 1992).
and Art ofSouthern India, part, vol. 6 of The On Kashmir, the standard work is R. C. Kak,
270 FURTHER READING

Ancient Monuments ofKashmir (London, 1933), (Calcutta, 1971); J.S. Hawley and D. M.
but the best cultural background is in the Wulff (eds), Devi: Goddesses of India (Berkeley
twelfth-century historian Kalhana: Ka/han’s and Los Angeles, 1996); V. Dehejia, Yogini
Rajatarangini, trans. R.S. Pandit (New Cult and Temples (New Delhi, 1986) and her
Delhi, 1958). P. Pal, Bronzes ofKashmir (New exhibition catalogue Devi, The Great Goddess
Delhi, 1988), offers a cross-section ofthis art. (Ahmedabad and Munich, r999). On the
R.M. Bernier, Temple Arts ofKerala:ASouth seven mothers, compare S. K. Panikkar’s
Indian Tradition (New Delhi, 1982), S. challenging Saptamatrikas (Delhi, 1996) with
Kramrisch et al., The Arts and Crafts ofKerala K. A. Harper's insightful Seven Hindu
(Cochin, 1970), and W. A. Noble, ‘The Goddesses ofSpiritual Transformation: The
Architecture and Organization of Kerala Style Iconography ofthe Saptamatrikas (Lewiston,
Hindu Temple’, Anthropos, 76 (1981), 1-23, 1989).
should all be consulted for Kerala. The
exhibition catalogue P. Pal (ed.), The Peaceful PART II. INDO-ISLAMIC ART AND
Liberators: Jain Art from India (Los Angeles, ARCHITECTURE (c.712-1757 ce)
1994), is an excellent overview ofJain religious Among general surveys, P. Brown’s Indian
art. Also, see A. Ghosh (ed.), Jaina Art and Architecture, Islamic Period, 5th ed. (rev.)
Architecture, 3 vols (New Delhi, 1974-5); U. P. (Bombay, 1958) and A. Volwahsen’s short
Shahand M.A. Dhaky, Aspects of Jaina Art volume Is/amic India (Lausanne, n.d.) are the
andArchitecture (Ahmedabad, 1975); and E. most useful. Among Islamicists who stress the
Fischer and
J.Jain, Art and Rituals: 2500 years Islamic Middle Eastern aspects of Indo-
ofJainism in India (New Delhi, 1977). One Islamic architecture, see R. Hillenbrand,
aspect of Gujarati architecture shared byJains, Islamic Architecture: Form, Function and
Hindus, and, later, Muslims not explored in Meaning (Edinburgh, 1994), and O. Grabar,
the present book is the art of stepped wells:J. The Formation ofIslamic Art(New Haven,
Jain-Neubauer, The Stepwells ofGujarat (New 1973), on the nature of Islamic art. On
Delhi, 1981). miniature painting as a synthesis of indigenous
No single work develops the main and Islamic art, D. Barrett and B. Gray,
arguments of the section on beauty and the Indian Painting (London, 1978), provides the
erotic but the following are useful. On ideal background whileJ.P. Losty’s The Art ofthe
human form in the West, K. Clark’s The Nude Book in India (London, 1982) is the best
(Harmondsworth, 1956) is the standard work. reference work.
See its feminist critique in L. Nead, The
Female Nude: Art, Obscenity and Sexuality Chapter 5: The Turko-Afghan Sultanate
(London, 1992). The seminal essay on the of Delhi (1206-1526 ce)
Vasarian origins of western taste is E. H. On pre-conquest Islamic buildings, M.
Gombrich’s essay ‘Norm and Form’, in Norm Shokoohy, Bhadresvar, The Oldest Islamic
and Form: Studies in the Art ofthe Renatssance Monuments in India (Leiden, 1988). On Delhi
(London, 1966). E. B. Havell and A. K. Sultanate architecture, C. Stephen’s
Coomaraswamy were the first critics of Archaeology and Monumental Remains ofDetht
colonial art history: E. B. Havell, Ideals of (Allahabad, 1967) is indispensable. On
Indian Art (Delhi, 1972 ed.); A. K. Tughlag architectural patronage, A. M.
Coomaraswamy, The Dance ofShiva (Delhi, Husain’s standard work, Tughlag Dynasty
1971 ed.) and Transformation ofNature in Art (New Delhi, 1976), should be supplemented
(New York, 1956). In Much Maligned Monsters with A. Welch, ‘Architectural Patronage and
(ch. 2) Ichart the history of western the Past: The Tughlug Sultans of India’,
representations of Hindu erotic art. D. Desai’s Mugarnas, 10 (1993), 3117-22. On Sher Shah’s
Erotic Sculptures ofInaia;A Socio-Cultural mausoelum, C. B. Asher, ‘Legacy and
Study (Delhi, 1975) is the only major scholarly Legitimacy: Sher Shah's Patronage of
study on the subject. See also P. Chandra, Imperial Mausolea’, in K. P. Ewing (ed.),
‘The Kaula-kapalika Cults at Khajuraho’, Shari'at and Ambiguity in South Asian Islam
Lalit Kala, 1/2 (1955-6), 98-107, and T. E. (Berkeley, 1988).
Donaldson, ‘Propitious-Apotropaic OnJaunpur architecture, A. Fiihrer, The
Eroticism in the Art of Orissa’, Artibus Asiae, Sharqi Architecture ofJaunpur, Archaeological
37, 1/2 (1975), 75-100. On Tantra, A. Survey of India, New Imperial Series, vol. x1
Mukherjee, Zantra Art (Delhi, 1966). Among (Calcutta, 1889), and on Gujarat,J.Burgess,
studies of the Great Goddess: N. N. The Muhammadan Architecture ofAhmadabad,
Bhattacharyya, The Indian Mother Goddess 2 parts, Archaeological Survey of India, New
FURTHER READING 271

Imperial Series, vols XXIV and XxxIl (London, Shah Nama and the Context ofPre-Mughal
1900-5). On the Deccan, E. S. Merklinger’s Painting ofIndia (Zurich, 1988).J.M. Rogers,
pioneering Indian Islamic Architecture: The Circa 1492 (New Haven and London, 1991),
Deccan 1347-1686 (Warminster, 1981) should be 70-1, traces the trade between Gujaratis and
combined with G. Michell and M. the Islamic world, while M. Gittinger, Master
Zebrowski’s Architecture and Art ofthe Deccan Dyers to the World (Washington, DC, 1982),
Sultanates (Cambridge, 1999), part 1, vol. 7, of 31-57, documents the worldwide Gujarati
The New Cambridge History ofIndia. M.B. textile trade. On art at the Rajput court, see
Garde, A Handbook ofGwalior (Gwalior, M. Chandra, Mewar Painting (Delhi, 1971).
1936), is useful for the region. Recent K. Ebeling, Ragamala Painting (Basle, 1973),
publications on Vijayanagara are part of an is the only study on that subject.
ambitious archaeological project:J.M. Fritz
etal., Where Kings and Gods Meet: The Royal Chapter 6. The Mughal Empire
Centre at Vijayanagara (Tucson, 1984), 122-45; (1526-1757)
A.L. Dallapiccolaetal., Te Ramachandra E. Koch, Mughal Architecture: An Outline ofits
Temple at Vijayanagara (New Delhi, 1992);J. History and Development (1526-1858) (Munich,
Fritz, G. Michell, etal., The City of Victory 1991), and C. B. Asher, Architecture ofMughal
Vijayanagara (New York, 1991), 30-3. B. India (Cambridge, 1992), part I, vol. 4, of The
Stein’s Vijayanagara (Cambridge, 1989) offers New Cambridge History ofIndia, are two
a socio-cultural analysis of the empire, while P. important general works. B. Gascoigne, The
B. Wagoner’s “Sultan Among Hindu Kings”: Great Moghuls (London, 1971), provides a good
Dress, Titles and the Islamicization of Hindu introduction to Mughal courtly culture. On
Culture at Vijayanagara’, Journal ofAsian Mughal cities see S. P. Blake, Shajahanabad:
Studies, 55, 4 (Nov. 1996), 851-80, corrects The Sovereign City in Mughal India, 1639-1739
Hindu nationalist views of the empire. On (Cambridge, 1991); on Mughal economy and
architecture and sculpture of post-Gupta polity, I. Habib, The Agrarian System of
Bengal, F. Asher, Art ofEastern India 300-800 Mughal India: 1556-1707 (London, 1963);
(Minneapolis, 1980), and S. L. Huntington, T. Raychadhuri, Mughal Empire Under Akbar
The ‘Pala-Sena’ Schools ofSculpture, inJ. E.van and.Jahangir; Introductory Study in Social
Lohuizen-de Leeuw (ed.), Studies in South History (Calcutta, 1953). See also O. Reuther,
Asian Culture, vol. 10 (Leiden, 1984). For Indische Palaste und Wohnhaiiser (Berlin, 1925),
Islamic architecture, see C. B. Asher, [s/amic for Mughal buildings. On Mughal gardens,
Monuments ofEastern India and Bangladesh E.B. Moynihan, Paradise as a Garden in
(Leiden, 1991). The Bengali temples were Persian and Mughal India (London, 1980), and
documented by David McCutchion (George “The Lotus Garden Palace of Zahir al-Din
Michell (ed.), Brick Temples ofBengal, From the Muhammad Babur’, Mugarnas, 5 (1988). Also
Archive ofDavid McCutchion (Princeton, S. Crowe and S. Haywood, The Gardens of
1983)). Mughal India (Delhi, 1973);J.Dickie, “The
S. Digby, “The Literary Evidence for Mughal Garden: Gateway to Paradise’,
Painting in the Delhi Sultanate’, Bulletin ofthe Mugarnas, 3 (Leiden, 1985), 128-37; and M.
American Academy ofBenares, 1 (Varanasi, Hussain etal. (eds), The Mughal Garden
1967), 47-58, on Delhi Sultanate painting, and (Rawalpindi, 1996).
K. Khandalavalaand M. Chandra, New The works of Abu’1 Fazl Allami, 4 in i-
Documents of Indian Painting—A Reappraisal Akbari, trans. H. Blochmann and H. Jarrett, 3
(New Delhi, 1969), on provincial Sultanate vols (Calcutta, 1875-1948), and Akbarnama,
paintings are the authoritative works. A trans. H. Beveridge, 3 vols (Calcutta, 1907-39),
landmark in the study of pre-Mughal painting are indispensable for Akbar’s reign. His
is R. W. Skelton’s “The Ni’mat Nama: A religious ideas are discussed in E. Wellesz,
Landmark in Malwa Paintings’, Marg, 12, 3 Akbar’s Religious Thought Reflected in Mughal
(1958), 44-50. OnJain painting: M. Chandra, Painting (London, 1952), and S.
A. A. Rizvi,
Jain Miniature Paintings from Western India Religious and Intellectual History ofthe Muslims
(Ahmedabad, 1949); S. Doshi, Masterpieces of in Akbar’ Reign (Delhi, 1975). On imperial
Jain Painting (Bombay, 1985); and M. ideology,J.F. Richards, “The Formulation of
Chandra and U. P. Shah, ‘New Documents of Imperial Authority under Akbar and
Jaina Paintings’, Sri Mahavira Jaina Jahangir’, inJ. F. Richards (ed.), Kingship and
Vidyalaya—Golden Jubilee Volume (Bombay, Authority in South Asia (Madison, 1978), and
1968). On Gujarati artists and Muslim patrons R. W. Skelton, ‘Imperial Symbolism in
see B. N. Goswamy, 4 Jainesque Sultanate: Mughal Painting’, in P. P. Soucek (ed.),
272 FURTHER READING

Content and Context of Visual Arts in the Islamic J. Deppert (ed.), India and the West (New
World (London, 1988). Jesuit influence on Delhi, 1983).
imperial imagery is discussed by E. Koch, Jahangir’s autobiography, Tuzuk-1-
“The Influence ofthe Jesuit Mission on Jahangiri, trans. A. Rogers and ed. H.
Symbolic Representations of the Mughal Beveridge, 2 vols (London, tg09-14), is a
Emperors’, in C. W. Troll (ed.), Is/am in India, major source for his ideas on gardens and other
Studies and Commentaries, vol. 1(New Delhi, aspects ofhis reign. E. B. Findly, Nur Jahan,
1982). G. D. Lowry, ‘Humayun’s Tomb: Form ’ Empress of Mughal India (New York, 1993), and
Function and Meaning in Early Mughal E. Koch, ‘Notes on the Painted and Sculpted
Architecture’, Mugarnas, 4 (1987), analyses Decoration of Nur Jahan’s Pavilions in the
Akbar’s first major building. M. Brand and G. Ram Bagh (Bagh-i Nur Afshan) at Agra’, in
D. Lowry (eds), Fatehpur-Sikri (Bombay, R.W. Skelton et al. (eds), Facets ofIndian Art
1987), contains recent research on this city by (London, 1986), on the patronage ofone ofthe
various authorities. most powerful Mughal women. M. C. Beach,
On the structure of the Mughal manuscript The Grand Mogul—Impertal Painting in India
workshop and working methods: S. P. Verma, 1600-1660 (Williamstown, MA, 1978), studies
Mughal Painters and their Work:A painting from the end of Akbar’s reign to that
Bibliographical Survey and Comprehensive of Shah Jahan. See also A. K. Das, Mughal
Catalogue (Delhi, 1994); P. Brown, Indian Painting During Jahangir’ Time (Calcutta,
Painting Under the Mughals (Oxford, 1924); 1978).
M. Chandra, The Technique ofMughal On Shah Jahan’s architecture and its
Painting (Lucknow, 1949);J.Seyler, ‘Model symbolism the major work is by E. Koch,
and the Copy: The Illustration of Three especially “he Baluster Column—A
Razmnama Manuscripts’, Archives ofAsian European Motifin Mughal Architecture and
Art, 38 (1985), 37-66; D. P. Agrawal, its Meaning’, Journal ofthe Warburg and
Conservation ofManuscripts and Paintings of Courtauld Institutes, 45 (1982), 253-62, Shah
Southeast Asia (London, 1984); and A. Aziz, Jahan and Orpheus (Graz, 1988), and “The
The Imperial Library ofthe Mughals (Delhi, Hierarchical Principles in Shah-Jahani
1974). P. Chandra, The Tuti-Nama ofThe Painting’, in M. C. Beach and E. Koch, King
Cleveland Museum ofArt and the Origins of of the World, the Padshahnama (London, 1997),
Mughal Painting (Graz, 1976), traces the 132. See also S. Moosi, ‘Expenditure of
contribution of Gujarati painters to the Buildings under Shah Jahan—A Chapter of
Mughal style. A counter-argument is offered Imperial Financial History’, Proceedings ofthe
by A. Krishna, ‘A Reassessment of the Tuti- Indian History Congress, 46th Session
nama IIlustrations in the Cleveland Museum (Amritsar, 1986), and S. P. Blake, ‘Cityscape of
of Art (and Related Problems on Early an Imperial Capital: Shahjahanabad in 1739’,
Mughal Paintings and Painters)’, Artibus in R. E. Frykenberg (ed.), Delhi Through the
Asiae, 35, 3 (1973), 241-68. R. Ettinghausen, Ages (Delhi, 1986). R. Nath, Te Immortal Taj
‘Abdu’s-Samad’, Encyclopedia of World Art, vol. Mahal (Bombay, 1972), considers the evolution
1 (New York, 1960), 15-20, on one of the two of the mausoleum. W. E. Begley and Z. A.
Persian founding artists of the Mughal Desai, Taj Mahal: The I/uminated Tomb
workshop. M. C. Beach, The Imperial (Cambridge and Seattle, 1989), is a collection
Image—Paintings for the Mughal Court of contemporary documents on the
(Washington, DC, 1981), is especially monument. See also W. E. Begley, “The Myth
informative on Mughal artists. On the of the Taj Mahal and a New Theory of its
reception of western art at the Mughal court: Symbolic Meaning’, ArtBulletin, 61, 1 (1979),
E. Maclagan, The Jesuits and the Grand Mogul 7-37, and P. Pal,J.Leoshko,J.M. Dye 111, and
(London, 1932); E. Kithnel and H. Goetz, S. Markel, Romance of the Taj Mahal (Los
Indian Book Painting from Jahangir’s Album in Angeles, 1989), 88-127. M. C. Beachand E.
the State Library, Berlin (London, 1926); M.C. Koch, King ofthe World, the Padshahnama
Beach: ‘A European Source for Early Mughal (London, 1997), an exhibition catalogue,
Painting’, Oriental Art, 22, 2 (Summer 1976), contains much information on the arts of Shah
180-8, and “The Mughal Painter Abu’l Hasan Jahan. On the Deccan sultanates, M.
and Some English Sources for His Style’, Zebrowski’s Deccani Painting (Berkeley and
Journal ofthe Walters Art Gallery, 38 (1980), London, 1983) is the standard work. See R. W.
7-33; E. Koch, ‘Jahangir and the Angels: Skelton, “The Mughal Artist Farrokh Beg’,
Recently Discovered Wall Paintings under Ars Orientalis, 2 (1957), 393-411, on this
European Influence in the Fort of Lahore’, in controversial artist.
FURTHER READING 273

Chapter 7. Rajasthani and Pahari The Tribal Art of Middle India (Oxford, 1951)
Kingdoms (c.1700-1900) and Folk Paintings ofIndia (New Delhi, 1967).
J. Tod, Annals and Antiquities ofRajasthan, 2 S. Kramrisch, Unknown India: Ritual Artin
vols (London, 1829-32), is the essential source Tribe and Village (Philadelphia, 1968), brought
book for the region. G.H. R. Tillotson, The tribal and village art within art history. P.
Rajput Palaces: The Development ofan Jayakar, The Earthen Drum:An Introduction to
Architectural Style, 1450-1750 (New Haven, the Ritual Arts ofRural India (Delhi, 1980),
1987), is a good introduction to Rajput discusses the earth goddess in both ‘low’ and
architecture. A. K. Coomaraswamy’s classic ‘high’ cultures. On tribal artists: Y. Dalmia,
Rajput Painting (London, 1916) is now dated. The Painted World ofthe Warlis (New Delhi,
His identification of regions and courts as the 1988); S. Mahapatra, ‘Art and Ritual: A Study
foundation of style was followed by W. G. of Saora Pictograms’, in L. Chandra and
J.Jain
Archer in Indian Paintings from the Punjab (eds), Dimensions ofIndian Art, 2 vols (Delhi,
Hills (London, 1973). On artists as the basis of 1986); andj. Jain, Painted Myths ofCreation—
style: B. N. Goswamy, ‘Pahari Painting: The Art and Ritual ofan Indian Tribe (New Delhi,
Family as the Basis of Style’, Marg, 21, 4 (Sep. 1984). On women's ritual art of Madhubani: Y.
1968), 17-62. See also B. N. Goswamy and E. Vequaud, The Art ofMithila, Ceremonial
Fischer, Pahari Masters (Zurich, 1992), and Paintings from an Ancient Kingdom (London,
Goswamy’s biography of the leading Pahari 1977); U. Thakur, Madhubani Painting
artist, Nainsukh ofGuler:A Great Indian (Atlantic Highlands, NJ, 1982); and M.R.
Painter from a Small Hill State (Zurich, 1997). Anand, Madhubani Painting (Delhi, 1984).
M.C. Beach, ‘The Context of Rajput Bengali £anthas or patchwork quilts were first
Painting’, Ars Orientalis, to (1982), 11-18, studied by G. S. Dutt (see next paragraph).
discusses problems peculiar to this school. A. See also the catalogue Woven Air: The Muslin
Topsfield, ‘Sahibdin’s Gita-Govinda and Kantha Tradition ofBangladesh (exhib.
Illustrations’, Chhavi, 2 (Varanasi, 1981), 231-8, cat., London, 1988).
studies a major early Mewar artist. Recently, J. George Birdwood’s pioneering work, The
Bautze has made the most substantial Industrial
Arts ofIndia (London, 1880), should
contribution to these styles: ‘A Contemporary be supplemented with K. Chattopadhyay,
and Inscribed Equestrian Portrait of Jagat Handicrafts ofIndia (Delhi, 1975), R.J. Mehta,
Singh of Kota’, in Deyadharma—Studies in Handicrafts and Industrial Arts ofIndia
Memory of Dr D. C. Sircar (Delhi, 1986), 47-64; (Bombay, 1960), H. Mode and S. Chandra,
“Mughal and Deccani Influence on Early 17th- Indian Folk Art (Bombay, 1985), and M. W.
Century Murals of Bundi’, in R. W. Skelton Meister (ed.), Making Things in South Asia
(ed.), Facets ofIndian Art (London, 1986), (Philadelphia, 1988). H. Glassie, Art and Life
168-175; ‘Drei “Bundi’-Ragamalas,, Ein Beitrag in Bangladesh (Bloomington, 1997), is an
zur Geschichte der Rajputishen Wandmaleret excellent study of the crafts in Bangladesh. In
(Stuttgart, 1987); ‘Portraitmalerei unter the 1930s, G. S. Dutt was the first scholar to
Maharao Ram Singh von Kota’, Artibus Asiae, research scroll painters and other folk artists of
59, 3/4 (1999), 316-50. See also R. W. Skelton, Bengal; see his Folk Arts and Crafts ofBengal:
“Shaykh Phul and the Origins of Bundi The Collected Papers (Calcutta, 1990). On
Painting’, Chhavi, 2 (Varanasi, 1981), 123-9, popular painting see M. Archer, Indian
and B. Singh, The Kingdom that was Kota Popular Painting in the India Office (London,
(New Delhi, 1985). The latest is S.C. Welch, 1977). Among other forms of folk painting: F.
Kotah (New York, 1997). On Kishangarh art E. Wacziarg and A. Nath, Rajasthan: The
Dickinson and K. Khandalavala, Kishangarh Painted Walls ofSekhavati (New Delhi, 1982);
Painting (New Delhi, 1959), is the pioneering R.W. Skelton, Rajput Temple Paintings ofthe
work but see N. N. Haidar, The Kishangarh Krishna Cult (New York, 1976); A. Ambalal,
School ofPainting: c.1650—-1850 (Ph.D. thesis, Krishna as Srinathji—Rayasthani Paintings
Oxford, 1995) for a critique of their work. M. from Nathadvara (Ahmedabad, 1987); and the
S. Randhawa, Kangra Ragamala Painting sociological study by R. Maduro, Artistic
(New Delhi, 1971). Mewar artists’ status, Creativity in a Brahmin Painter Community
genealogies, and other data are in S. Andhare, (Los Angeles, 1976). V. N. Mair, Painting and
Chronology ofMewar Paintings (Delhi, 1987). Performance (Honolulu, 1988), discusses the
tradition of reciting with painted scrolls. On
Chapter 8. The Non-Canonical Arts of the decorative arts, see J.Jainand A.
Tribal Peoples, Women, and Artisans Aggarwala, National Handicrafts and
V. Elwin’s pioneering works on tribal arts are Handlooms Museum, New Delhi( Ahmedabad,
274 FURTHER READING

1989), and Aditi (Festival of India exhib. cat., State of Indian Art’, Modern Review, 2, 2
London, 1982). On commercial printed (Aug. 1907), 108, and E. B. Havell, ‘The New
fabrics: A. Buhler et al., Indian Tie-dyed Indian School of Painting’, The Studio, 64
Fabrics (Ahmedabad, 1980);J.Irwin and K. (Jun.-Sep. 1908), 107-17. On pan-Asian ideas,
Brett, Origins ofChintz (London, 1970); and K. Okakura, The Ideals ofthe East (London,
V. Murphy, ‘Europeans and the Textile 1903), and S. Hay, Asian Ideals ofEast and West
Trade’, in J. Guy and D. Swallow, Arts of India (Cambridge, Mass., 1970). R. Parimoo,
(London, 1990). On urban popular art, B. Painting ofthe Three Tagores (Baroda, 1973),
Osman, “Transport Painting: The Decorated surveys the art of three early leaders of Indian
Rickshaws of Dhaka’, Arts and the Islamic cultural nationalism. On Abdur Rahman
World, special volume: Contemporary Artin Chughtai, the most detailed and scholarly
Bangladesh, 34 (Summer 1999), 71-2. work is the doctorate dissertation by M.
Nesom Sirhandi, Adur Rehman Chughtai:A
PART III. COLONIAL ART AND Modern South Asian Artist (dissertation
ARCHITECTURE (1757-1947) facsimile, Ann Arbor, 1984).
On pre-Raj colonial structures, see A.
Chapter 9. The British Raj: Hutt, Goa:A Traveller's Historical and
Westernization and Nationalism Architectural Guide (Buckingham Hill, Essex,
On painting under the impact of the East 1988); D. K. Basu (ed.), The Rise and Growth of
India Company, see M. Archer, Natural the Colonial Port City in Asia (Berkeley, 1979);
History Drawings in the India Office Library and P. Mitter, “The Early British Port Cities
(London, 1972), Company Drawings in the of India: Their Planning and Architecture
India Office Library (London, 1972), and Patna Circa 1640-1757’, Journal ofthe Society of
Painting (London, 1948); M. and W. G. Architectural Historians, 45 (Jun. 1986), 95-114.
Archer, Indian Painting for the British, A.D. King, The Bungalow (London, 1984),
1770-1880 (Oxford, 1955); and S. C. Welch, studies a colonial innovation. P. Davies,
Room for Wonder—Indian Painting During the Splendours ofthe Raj (Harmondsworth, 1985),
British Period 1760-1880 (New York, 1978). R. andJ. Morris, Stones ofEmpire: The Buildings
W. Skelton, ‘Murshidabad Painting’, Marg, of the Raj (Oxford, 1983), are popular books
10, 1 (1956), 10-22, for the art of that place. See that offer varying flavours of colonial
J. Appasami, ‘Early Oil Paintings in Bengal’, architecture. The major work on early
Lalit Kala Contemporary, 32 (Apr. 1985), 5-9, architecture is Sten Nilsson’s European
on Bengali artists who adapted western oils to Architecture in India, 1750-1850 (London, 1968).
their needs. On Kalighat painting, W. G. R. Llewelyn-Jones,4Fatal Friendship: The
Archer, Bazaar Paintings ofCalcutta (London, Nawab, the British and the City ofLucknow
1953), and H. Knizkova’s social and cultural (Delhi, 1985), considers the connection
study, The Drawings ofthe Kalighat Style between western architecture and colonial
(Prague, 1975).J.Jain, Kalighat Painting: encroachment ona princely state. For the Raj
Images from a Changing World (Ahmedabad, meridian, T. Metcalfs An Imperial Vision:
1999), an exhibition catalogue, contains much Indian Architecture and Britain’s Raj (London,
new material, including some Muslim 1989) explores Indo-Sarasenic style as an
subjects. expression of hegemony. R. G. Irving's Indian
On English art schools:J.C. Bagal, Summer: Lutyens, Baker and Imperial Delhi
Centenary ofthe Government College ofArt and (London and New Haven, 1981) traces the
Craft Calcutta (Calcutta, 1964), Story ofSirJ. J. politics behind the building of the imperial
School ofArt 1857-1957 (Bombay, 1957), and capital.
Papers Relating to the Maintenance ofSchools of
Art in India as State Institutions, 1893-6 Chapter 10. Modernism in India
(Calcutta, 1898). On Ravi Varma, R.C. W. G. Archer's pioneering India and Modern
Sharma (ed.), Raja Ravi Varma: New Art (London, 1959) is now dated in terms of
Perspective (New Delhi, 1993); P. Mitter, Ar¢ ideas. R. Tagore, Rabindranath Tagore on Art
and Nationalism in Colontal India 1850-1922: andAesthetics (New Delhi, 1961), is
Occidental Orientations (1994), ch. 4; G. indispensable for appreciating his painting.
Kapur, ‘Ravi Varma: Representational See also P. Mitter, ‘Rabindranath Tagore as
Dilemmas of a Nineteenth Century Painter’, Artist: A Legend in His Own Time?’ in M.
Journal ofArts and Ideas, 17/18 (Jul. 1989), Lago and R. Warwick (eds), Rabindranath
59-80. Articles of two major critics of colonial Tagore: Perspectives in Time (London, 1989),
art are A. K. Coomaraswamy, ‘The Present and A. Robinson, The Art ofRabindranath
FURTHER READING 275

Tagore (London, 1989). The pioneering work general: U. Bickelmannand N. Ezekiel (eds),
on Sher-Gil is K. Khandalavala, Amrita Sher- Artists Today: East-West Arts Visual Encounter
Gil(Bombay, 1944), which should be (Bombay, 1987); U. Beier, ‘Contemporary Art
supplemented with V. Sundaram etal., in India’, AspectJournal, Indian Issue (Jan.
Amrita Sher-Gil (Bombay, n.d.). OnJamini 1982), 4-16; M. Fukuoka (ed.), Contemporary
Roy, B. DeyandJ. Irwin, Jamini Roy (Indian Indian Art: Glenbarra
ArtMuseum Collection
Society of Oriental Art publication, Calcutta, (Hemeji, 1993); E. Alkazi (ed.) India: Myth
1944), and The Art of Jamini Roy, Centenary and Reality: Aspects ofModern Indian Art
Volume (Calcutta, 1987). On art teaching at (Oxford, 1982); and Indian Art Today, Four
Santiniketan:J.Chakravartietal., The Artists from the Chester and Davida Herwitz
Santineketan Murals (Calcutta, 1995); S. Family Collection (The Phillips Collection,
Kumaretal., The Santiniketan Murals Washington, DC, 1986). On the Progressive
(Calcutta, 1995); Nandalal Bose, Centenary Artists Group in Calcutta, see P. Dasgupta,
Exhibition (National Gallery of Modern Art ‘The Calcutta Group: Its Aims and
exhib. cat., New Delhi, 1983). On Benode Achievements’, Lalit Kala Contemporary, 31
Bihari Mukherjee, see the Art Heritage Journal (Apr. 1981). The Bombay Progressive Artists
(1978-9), 76-7. On the major Santiniketan Group is best studied in essays on individual
sculptor Ram Kinkar, seeJ.Appasami, artists: M. Levy, ‘F. N. Souza: The Human
‘Ramkinkar’s Contribution to Contemporary and the Divine’, The Studio (Apr. 1964), 134-9;
Art’, Art Heritage Journal, 22 (Sep. 1976), 25-7, R. von Leyden, ‘Studies in the Development
and Ramkinkar (Delhi, 1961). For other major of Ara’, Marg, 6, 2 (1951), 52-5; F. Nissen, ‘V. S.
sculptors, see P. R. Rao (ed.), D. P Roy Gaitonde—Contemporary Indian Artists 8’,
Chowdhury (Bombay, 1943), and Cintamont Design, 2, 2 (Feb. 1958), 16-27; R. L.
Kar:ARetrospective Exhibition 1930-85 (Indian Bartholomew and G. Kapur, Husain (New
Museum exhib. cat., Calcutta, 1985). York, 1971); D. Herwitz, Husain (Bombay,
Outstanding artists in Bengal who made their 1988); and G. Sen, Bindu Space and Time in
debut on the eve of independence are Raza’ Vision (Delhi, 1997). On modernism
Somnath Hore (Tebhaga: An Artist's Diary and Tantra: Tantra (Hayward Gallery exhib.
and Sketchbook, trans. S. Zutshi, Calcutta, cat., London, 1971), and M. Khanna, “The
1990) and Paritosh Sen (‘Reflections’, La/it Digitized Cosmos: Symbol and Meaning of
Kala Contemporary (Sep. 1968), 32-3). For Ritual Mandalas’,
ArtHeritage Journal, 9
other Mumbai (Bombay) artists not discussed (1989-90), 88-93.
in the book, see V.R. Amberkar, Hebbar:An For individualists, R. Bartholomew,
Artist's Quest (New Delhi, 1974); R. ‘Satish Gujral—Contemporary Indian Artists
Chatterjee, Bendre: The Painter and the Person 10’, Design, 2, 4 (Apr. 1958), 14-16; ‘Ram
(Bombay, 1990); and for a Chennai (Madras) Kumar: The Early Years’, Art Heritage Journal,
artist see J.James, ‘K. C. S. Paniker’, Lalit 4 (1984-5), 84-9, areprint of The Hindustan
Kala Contemporary, 22 (Sep. 1976), 10-15. Times Weekly, Sunday 23 Oct. 1955; G. Gill
(ed.), Ram Kumar: A Journey Within (New
PART IV. POSTCOLONIAL ART AND Delhi, 1996); Krishen Khanna is discussed in
ARCHITECTURE (1947-2000) R. Bartholomew, ‘Attitudes to the Social
Condition: Notes on Ram Kumar, Satish
Chapter 11. Art After Independence Gujral, Krishen Khanna and Ramachandran’,
On post-independence modernist Lalit Kala Contemporary, 24-5 (Sep. 1977—Apr.
architecture in India under Le Corbusier, see 1978), 31-9; R. Hoskote, Pilgrim, Exile,
N. Evenson, Chandigarh (Berkeley and Los Sorcerer: The Painterly Evolution ofJehangir
Angeles, 1966). Scholarly monographs on Sabavala (Mumbai, 1998); andJ.Swaminathan
leading architects such as Charles Correa or B. (Gallery Chemould exhib. cat., Bombay,
V. Doshi do not yet exist. On more general 1965), which includes ‘Poem to my friend,
developments: A. D. King, Colonial Urban Swaminathan, the Painter’ by Octavio Paz.
Development (London, 1976), and G. H.R. For Pakistan, A. Naqvi, Image and
Tillotson, ‘Architecture and Anxiety: The Identity: Fifty Years ofPainting and Sculpture in
Problem ofPastiche in Recent Indian Design’, Pakistan (Karachi, 1998), is the most
South Asia Research, 15, (Spring 1995), 30-473 comprehensive but see also I. Hassan,
also P. Pethe, ‘Indian Architecture—Quest for Painting in Pakistan (Lahore, 1991), and M.N.
Identity’, Architect Trade Journal, 17, 5/6 (1987), Sirhandi, Contemporary Painting in Pakistan
17-20. (Lahore, 1992). On Sadequain, F. A. Faiz,
On modernist painting and sculpture in Sadequain (Karachi, 1966).
276 FURTHER READING

J. Ahmed, Artin Pakistan, Early Years Series (Gallery Chemould exhib. cat., Bombay,
(Karachi, 1954), provides useful information 1975). On individualists: E. Datta, Ganesh
on art in East Pakistan (later Bangladesh); see Pyne: His Life and Times (Calcutta, 1998); M.
also S. Ahmad,A Grand Group Art Exhibition Jakimowicz-Karle, Bikash Bhattacharjee
ofReputed Bangladeshi Artists (Dhaka, 1991), (Bangalore, rgg1); R. Chawla, Ramachandran:
and §.M. Islam, Muktijuddher Chitramala Art of the Muralist (Bangalore, 1994); G. Sen,
(Drawings and Paintings ofthe Liberation War) Image and Imagination (Ahmedabad, 1996), on
(Dhaka, n.d.). Arts and the Islamic World, Jogen Chowdhury; K. B. Goel, Manjit Bawa
special volume: Contemporary
Art in (Centre for Contemporary Art exhib. cat.,
Bangladesh, 34 (Summer 1999), is a major 1990-1). On South Indian sculptors:J. James,
addition to knowledge about art of the region. Contemporary Indian Sculpture: The Madras
Metaphor (New Delhi, 1993), and V. Lynn,
Chapter 12. The Contemporary Scene “Between the Pot and the Sword”: The Art of
On Indian ‘postmodernism’, two leading N.N. Rimzon’, Art Asia Pacific, 3, 2 (Apr.
theoreticians are K.G. Subramanyan, The 1996).
Moving Focus: Essays on Indian Art (Delhi, On women artists of the subcontinent, see
1978) and The Living Tradition (Calcutta, G. Sinha (ed.), Expressions and Evocations:
1987), and Geeta Kapur, Contemporary Indian Contemporary Women Artists ofIndia
Artists (New Delhi, 1978) and ‘A Stake in (Mumbai, 1996), and A. Farooqi, Indian
Modernity: Brief History of Contemporary Women Artists Exhibition (exhib. cat., Delhi,
Indian Art’, in C. Turner (ed.), Tradition and 1986). On women artists in Pakistan,
Change: Contemporary
Art ofAsta and the Pacific S. Hashmiand N. Poobaya- Smith, 4
(Brisbane, 1993), 27-44. On the Baroda school, Intelligent Rebellion: Women Artists ofPakistan
see G. Sheikh (ed.), Contemporary Artin (Bradford, 1994); N. Farrukh, Pioneering
Baroda (New Delhi, 1997). On Gulam Perspectives (Lahore, 1998); G. Kapur, ‘Nalini
Sheikh’s painting, ‘Le Tableau unique de Malani’,
Art Heritage Journal, 2 (1982-3), 72-6.
Sheikh’, in Returning Home (Centre Georges Also on individual artists see Altaf
Pompidou exhib. cat., Paris, 1985); T. Hyman Mohammedi (ed.), Nasreen in Retrospect
on Bhupen Khakhar (Mumbai, 1998); and for (Mumbai, 1995); P. de Francia, ‘Rekha
an article on an important artist not discussed Rodwittiya’, Art Heritage Journal, 4 (1984-5),
in the book see H. Winterberg, ‘Interview 70-4; L. Murti, Anjolie Ela Menon (New
with Laxma Gaud’, Lalit Kala Contemporary, Delhi, 1995); and P. Mitter, “The Art of Sabah
15 (Apr. 1973). On associates of Baroda, A. Husain’, Pakistan Music Village (exhib. cat.,
Rajadhayaksha, ‘Sudhir Patwardhan: The London, 1995), 19. For Bangladesh see
Redemption of the Physical’,ArtHeritage N. Khan Majlis, “Women Artists of
Journal, 9 (1989-90), 4-9; Vivan Sundaram, Bangladesh’, in Arts and the Islamic World,
(Little Theatre Art Gallery exhib. cat., New special volume: Contemporary Art in
Delhi, 1991); Gieve Patel, Rai/way Station Bangladesh.
FURTHER READING 277

As expected, the range and variety of collections of Indian art in the

subcontinent is wide and only a selection can be made. There are
also a number of major private collections in India but they are
usually not on public display. | have also included European art
collections in the former princely states as they form an important
part of the culture of colonial India.
India: Calcutta Delhi

Metropolitan Cities Indian Museum National Museum
Founded by the Raj, this is one of the greatest Fine and comprehensive collection of Buddhist,
museums in India. Its most famous object is the Hindu, and Jain sculptures and Mughal,
Bharhut stupa railing. Rajput, Pahari, and Deccani miniature
paintings, textiles, and decorative art.
Asutosh Museum
Mainly ancient art and folk art. National Gallery
of Modern Art
The most important collection of contemporary
Rabindra Bharati Society art.
The finest examples of the Bengal School.
National Handicrafts and Handlooms Museum
Academy of Fine Arts Resource centre for the applied arts to aid their
Major collections of nationalist and modern art. revival and development.
Gurusaday Museum Mumbai (formerly Bombay)

Unique folk art collection. Prince of Wales Museum of Western India
Represents all periods and includes a fine
Marble Palace collection of Mughal and Rajput miniatures,
Fascinating collection of mostly Victorian Hindu sculptures, and decorative art.
paintings, sculptures, and art objects.
Jahangir Art Gallery
Victoria Memorial Hall Major venue for temporary modern art
Mughal painting and works of British artists exhibitions and a popular cultural centre.
in India, especiallythe Daniells.
National Gallery of Modern Art,
Chennai (formerly Madras) Sir Cowasji Jahangir Hall
Government Museum Set up in 1996 as a showcase for contemporary
Remarkable Amaravati sculptures that art.
complement the British Museum collection,
South Indian bronzes, and Calukya stone Bhau Daji Lad Museum
sculptures. Important collection of applied arts, including
those produced by the Bombay School.
India: Ahmedabad (Gujarat) Baroda (Gujarat)

Provincial Centres Calico Museum City Museum
Unique collection of textiles. Organized by the German scholar Hermann
Goetz as a major art historical museum;
L. D. Institute and Museum contains some European masterpieces in
Miniatures, especially Jain works. addition to Hindu and Buddhist sculptures and
miniatures.
Aundh (Maharastra)
Sri Bhavani Museum Fatesingh Museum
Designed by an Italian architect in 1938 asa Includes some of the finest oils of Ravi Varma.
light and spacious villa with a glass ceiling;
European art objects and contemporary art and Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh)
Kangra painting. State Museum
Wide and varied, including folk art.
Bangalore (Karnataka)
Venkatappa Museum Gwalior (Madhya Pradesh)
Well-displayed and -documented works of a Central Archaeological Museum
major nationalist painter of the Bengal School. Some fine specimens of ancient sculpture.
278 MUSEUMS AND WEBSITES

India: Hyderabad (Andhra Pradesh) Santiniketan (West Bengal)

Provincial Centres State Museum Visva Bharati University
(cont’d) Includes some fine specimens of Colaand other Collection of several thousands of Rabindranath
South Indian sculptures and Mughal Tagore’s own paintings.
miniatures.
Sarnath (Uttar Pradesh)
Salar Jung Museum Archaeological Museum
Fascinating assembly of Victorian and Finest examples of early Buddhist art at the site
Edwardian art objects and bric-a-brac made by of the Buddha's preaching.
a high official of the Nizam (the prince of
Hyderabad). Tanjavur (Tamilnadu)
Tanjavur Art Gallery
Jaipur (Rajasthan) Finest collection of Cola bronzes.
Maharaja Sawai Man Singh II City Palace Museum
Mughal and Rajput miniatures and carpets. Trivandrum (Kerala)
Sri Chitra Art Gallery
Mathura (Uttar Pradesh) Contemporary paintings, including works of
Government Museum Ravi Varma and other leading academic and
Early Buddhist, Hindu, and Jain art. nationalist painters, in addition to Buddhist and
Hindu sculptures.
Mysore (Karnataka)
Sri Jayachamarajendra Art Gallery Udaipur (Rajasthan)
Historically important collection of early City Palace Museum
colonial and nationalist art, especially oils by Comprises two parts, sculptures and Rajasthani
Indians, notably Ravi Varma. miniature paintings depicting the history and
culture of Mewar.
Patna (Bihar)
Patna Museum Varanasi (Benares)
Sculpture collection includes the Mauryan yaksi Bharat Kala Bhavan
from Didarganj. Major collections of Indian miniatures and
sculptures.
Islamabad Lahore
Pakistan Folk Heritage Museum Lahore Museum
Folk arts and crafts. Major collection of Buddhist and Hindu
sculptures, especially Gandharan; archaeology,
Karachi history, fine arts, applied arts, ethnology.
National Museum of Pakistan
Archaeology, history, and ethnology. Chughtai Museum
Works of the nationalist artist at what was his
Archaeological Museum, Karachi University residence.
Archaeology.
Peshawar
Peshawar Museum
Archaeology, fine arts, ethnology.
Bangladesh Dhaka (Dacca) Mymensingh

National Museum Zainul Abedin Sangrahashala
Contains Buddhist and Hindu art of the Pala and Started by the artist.
Sena periods and contemporary art, especially
the Zainul Abedin Gallery on that artist's work.
There are also 17 active galleries of modern art

in Dhaka.
MUSEUMS AND WEBSITES 279

United Kingdom London Royal Asiatic Society Library

The seat of the former empire.holds some of the www. royalasiaticsociety.co.uk
finest collections of Indian art outside India. Small collection of Indian miniatures.
British Museum Oxford

www. thebritishmuseum.ac. uk Ashmolean Museum
Buddhist and Hindu art, including the www.ashmol.ox.ac.uk
Amaravati sculptures, the Stuart-Bridge Some fine specimens of ancient stone and
collection of Pala sculptures and Mughal, bronze sculptures, Mughal, Deccani, Rajput,
Rajput, and Pahari miniatures. and Company paintings and decorative arts,
especially cotton textiles exported from India.
Victoria and Albert Museum
www.vam.ac.Uk/ Bodleian Library
Mughal, Rajput, and Pahari paintings and www. bodley.ox.ac.uk
Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain sculptures. Major miniature collection, including the
Originally set up to train artisans, it is also an earliest examples to arrive in the West.
important source for the Indian decorative arts.
India Office Library section of the British Library

www. bI.uk/collections/oriental/records/
Mughal, Rajput, Pahari, and East India
Company art.
Other European sites Amsterdam Bibliothéque Nationale, Prints Department

Rijksmuseum www. bnt.fr/site_bnf_eng/index. html
www.rijksmuseum.ni/asp/start.asp?language=uk Late eighteenth-century Indian miniatures.
Sculpture collection includes the Cola Nataraja
[16] and Nicolaas Witsen’s (1641-1717) album St Petersburg
of Golconda miniatures. The Hermitage
Mughal miniatures and other objects go back to
Berlin the late nineteenth century but the actual Indian
Museum fiir Indische Kunst art collection has been built up since World War
Major comprehensive collection of stone, Il.
terracotta, and bronze sculptures, Rajput
miniatures and decorative arts. Department for the Peoples of Asia, Academy of
Sciences
Copenhagen orient. thesa.ru/welcome.cgi
National Museum, Ethnographical Department Mughal miniatures.
Millennium.arts.kuleuven.ac. be/lhpc/
collections_folder/copenh_nat_mus.html Vienna
South Indian bronzes from colonial Tranquebar Osterreiches Museum fiirAngewande Kunst
and sculptures collected by the missionary Includes Hamza Nama paintings in its rich
E. Lgventhal, and decorative art. collection.
Dublin Schloss Schénbrunn

Chester Beatty Library So-called millionenzimmer room wallpaper
www.cbl.ie/home.htm consists of Indian miniatures, many from
Major holdings of Mughal and Rajput Rembrandt's collection.
miniatures.
Zurich
Paris Rietberg Museum
Musée Guimet Eduard von der Heydt collection of Indian
ambafrance.org/MUSEES/english/16e.htm sculptures and collections of Mughal, Rajput,
Important collections of Hindu, Buddhist, and and Pahari miniatures.
Jain sculptures and miniature paintings of all
styles.
280 MUSEUMS AND WEBSITES

United States Private collectors in the US created formidable Los Angeles

collections in the twentieth century within a Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA)
short space of time. Among these, John D. www. lacma.org
Rockefeller’s and Samuel Eilenberg’s ancient Nasli Heeramaneck collection of Mughal
art collections, Paul F. Walter's miniatures and miniatures is among its treasures.
Company paintings, and Chester and Davida
Herwitz’'s modern Indian art (including the Norton Simon Museum, Pasadena
largest collection of works of M. F. Husain) are www. nortonsimon.org/
remarkable. Fine and representative collection of Indian
sculptures.
Baltimore
Walters Art Gallery New York
www/thewalters. org Metropolitan Museum
Fine Mughal miniatures. www. metmuseum.org/
Comprehensive collection comprising all
Boston periods, particularly rich in Mughal art.
Museum of Fine Arts
www. mfa.org/home.htm Philadelphia
Collection formed by the great critic Ananda Philadelphia Art Museum
Coomaraswamy. Boston's well-known www. philamuseum.org/
masterpieces include a yaksi from Sanchi [5], Fine selection, especially ancient sculptures.
29 Kangra drawings on the theme of Nala and
Damayanti, and ragamal/a paintings from San Francisco
Rajasthan. Asian Art Museum
www. asianart.org/
Cambridge, MA (Harvard University)
Fogg Art Museum San Diego
www.artmuseums./harvard. edu/fogg San Diego Museum ofArt
Major Mughal paintings. www.sdmart.com/
Houses Edwin Binney III's remarkable
Chicago collection of Indian miniatures.
Art Institute
www. artic.edu/aic/ Washington, DC
Collection includes Mughal and Rajasthani Freer Gallery of Art
miniatures. www.asia.si.edu
Indian sculpture and Mughal painting.
Cleveland
Cleveland Museum ofArt A. M. Sackler Gallery, Smithsonian Institute
www.clemusart.com/ www.asia.si.edu
Includes Alsdorf collection of sculptures and Of recent origin, it contains a wealth of
the Mughal Tut; Nama manuscript. sculptures and paintings.
Japan Himeji-City
Art Museum of the Glenbarra food processing
factory
Over 2,000 contemporary Indian paintings have
been collected from 1991 onwards under the
guidance of its curator, Masanori Fukuyoka;
intended as a showcase of Indian culture.
MUSEUMS AND WEBSITES 281

List of Illustrations
The publisher would like to thank the Reproduced from R. Knox, The Amaravati
following individuals and institutions who Sculptures at the British Museum.
have kindly given permission to reproduce the 12. Mandhata Jataka, inner face of outer
illustrations listed below. railing, the Great Stupa, Amaravati, second
century cE. © Copyright The British
1. Dancing girl, Mohenjo Daro, 2300-1750 Museum.
BCE Bronze. Courtesy National Museum, 13. Seated Buddha, fifth century ce.
New Delhi. Archaeological Museum, Sarnath. Photo:
2. Asokan lion pillar, Sarnath, third century Joan Pollock/Global Scenes.
Bc. Archaeological Museum, Sarnath. 14. Cave I, Ajanta, interior, fifth century CE.
Photo: Anil A. Dave/ppa/Images of India Photo: Singh Madanjit.
Picture Agency. 15. Bodhisattva Padmapani, Cave I, Ajanta,
3. Vessantara Jataka, bottom architrave, front fifth century ce. Photo: Douglas Dickins,
and back, north gate, the Great Stupa, Sanchi, FRPS.
first century BCE/cE Courtesy of American 16. Siva Natajara, Cola period, tenth century
Council for Southern Asian Art Color Slide ce. Bronze. Courtesy of Rijksmuseum,
Project © Robert del Bonta. Amsterdam. (AK-MAK-187)
4. Reconstruction of Sanchi. Reproduced 17. Devias Kali, Bengal, late nineteenth
from A. Volwahsen, Living Architecture: century. © Copyright The British Museum.
Indian. 18. Five-Headed Ganesa with his Sakti,
5. Yaksi, from a gateway of the Great Stupa, Orissa. Bridge Collection, British Museum.
Sanchi, first century BcE/cE Sandstone. © Copyright The British Museum.
Height 72.1cm. Denman Waldo Ross 20. Nagara or North Indian temple type.
Collection, Museum ofFine Arts, Boston. Reproduced from A. Volwahsen, Living
(29.999) Architecture: Indian.
6. Buddha's victory over Mara’s forces, his 21. Dravida or South Indian temple type.
final tempters before illumination, the Great Reproduced from A. Volwahsen, Living
Stupa, Sanchi, first century BcE/cE. Courtesy Architecture: Indtan.
of American Council for Southern Asian Art 22. The vastu-purusa-mandala and temple.
Color Slide Project. Reproduced from A. Volwahsen, Living
7. Caitya, Bhaja, c.100-70 BCE. Courtesy of Architecture: Indian.
Ancient Art and Architecture Picture agency. 23. Visva Brahma temple, Alampur, seventh
8. Caitya, interior, Karle, c.50-7o ce. Courtesy century CE. Reproduced from Anada K.
of Ancient Art and Architecture Picture Coomaraswamy, Essays in Early Indian
agency. Architecture, by permission of Indira Gandhi
9. Bodhisattva Maitreya, Gandhara, c. second National Centre for the Arts, New Delhi.
century cE. Musée des arts asiatiques- 24. The sikhara of Kandariya Mahadeva (Siva)
Guimet, Paris. © Photo rMNn/Richard temple, Khajuraho, eleventh century ce.
Lambert. Photo: Joan Pollock/Global Scenes.
10. Standing Buddha dedicated by Friar Bala, 25. Vishnu’s Boar incarnation, Udaigiri, fifth
Mathura, c.100 cE. Spotted red sandstone. century cE. Photo: Robert Skelton.
Archaeological Museum, Sarnath. 26. Vishnu Anantasayana panel, south side,
Reproduced fromJ.Harle, The Art and Dasavatara temple, Deogarh, sixth century cr.
Architecture ofthe Indian Sub-continent, by Photo: Robert Skelton.
permission of Yale University Press. 27. Durga temple, Aiholi, eighth century ce.
u. The Great Stupa at Amaravati Photo: Douglas Dickins, rrps.
(reconstruction), second century CE. 28. Virupaksha (Siva) temple, Pattadakal,
282 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

eighth century ce. Courtesy of American 46. Kesava (Vishnu) temple, Somnathpur,
Council for Southern Asian Art Color Slide thirteenth century ce. Courtesy of J. Alan
Project © Stephen Markel. Cash Picture Library.
29. Plan of Siva temple at Elephanta, sixth 47. Temple to the Sun, Martand, Kashmir,
century ce. Courtesy Georg Michell. eighth century ce. Courtesy of American
Reproduced by permission from Princeton Institute of Indian Studies.
University Press. 48. Vishnu’s Vaikuntha image, Kashmir,
30. The Mahesamurti, Elephanta, sixth eighth century ce. Photo from the 1960
century cE. Courtesy of Ann and Bury exhibition, Trésors d’Art de ’Inde, at the Petit
Peerless Picture Library. Palais, Paris, and published by Publications
31. Siva, slayer of the demon Andhaka, filmées d’art et d’histoire en accord avec la
Elephanta, sixth century ce. Courtesy of Commission Frangaise pour l’UNESCo.
Annand Bury Peerless Picture Library. 49. Vatakkunnathan temple to Hari-Hara
32. Kailasanatha (Siva) temple, Ellora, eighth (Vishnu-Siva), Trichur, eleventh century cE.
century cE. Photo: Douglas Dickins, rrps. Photo: William A. Noble, reproduced fromJ.
33- Durga, slayer of Mahisa, Kailasanatha and S. Huntington, The Ancient Art ofIndia.
temple, Ellora, eighth century ce. American so. Vishnu, wall painting, Mattancheri
Council for Southern Asian Art Color Slide Palace, Cochin, sixteenth/seventeenth century
Project. Photo: Ann Arbor. ce. Photo: Douglas Dickins, FrPs.
34. The Shore Temple, Mamallapuram, c.700 sr. Luna Vasahi temple, Mount Abu, c.
ce. Courtesy of Ann and Bury Peerless thirteenth century ce. © The Board of the
Picture Library. Trustees of the Victoria and Albert Museum,
35. Rajasimhesvara/Kailasanatha (Siva) London.
temple, Kanchipuram, eighth century ce. 52. Vriksaka (tree goddess), sandstone,
Photo: Douglas Dickins, Fres. Gyaraspur, twelfth century ce. Central Arch
36. Rajarajesvara/Brhadisvara (Siva) temple, Museum, Gwalior. Photo from the 1960
Tanjavur, eleventh century ce. Photo: exhibition, Trésors d’Art de l’Inde, at the Petit
Douglas Dickins, Frps. Palais, Paris, and published by Publications
37. Rajarajesvara temple, Tanjavur, isometric filmées d’art et d’histoire en accord avec la
drawing showing section. Reproduced by Commission Frangaise pour l’UNEsco.
permission of Indira Gandhi National Centre 53. Siva Ardhanarisvara, Vikrampur, ¢. twelfth
for the Arts, New Delhi. century cE. Asutosh Museum, Calcutta.
38. Parvati, bronze, Cola period, c. eleventh 54. The Kiss, Kailasa temple, Ellora, eighth
century CE. Courtesy of the Freer Gallery of century cE. Reproduced from H. Zimmer,
Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, The Art of Indian Asta.
De. (F1929.84) 55. Quwwat ul-Islam mosque, Delhi,
39. Plan of Srirangam, thirteenth to ground plan from 1206. Reproduced from
seventeenth centuries. Reproduced fromJ. A. Volwahsen, Islamic India.
and S. Huntington, Art of Ancient India. 56. Sultanate buildings, Delhi, thirteenth
40. Gopura, Minaksi-Sundaresvara (Siva- century. Reproduced from A. Volwahsen,
Sakti) temple, Madurai, seventeenth century Islamic India.
cE. Photo: Douglas Dickins, Frps. 57. Ghiyas ud-Din Tughlaq’s mausoleum,
4r. Rajarani Temple, Bhubaneswar, eleventh Delhi, fourteenth century. Courtesy of
century cE. Photo: Anil A. Dave/ppa/Images Ancient Art and Architecture Picture Agency.
of India Picture Library. 58. Sher Shah’s pavilion tomb, Sasaram, Bihar,
42. Detail of tower, Lingaraja (Siva) temple, 1530-40. Courtesy of Ann and Bury Peerless
Bhubaneswar, twelfth century cE. Picture Library.
Reproduced from N. Wu, Chinese and Indian 59a. Jami masjid, roof of the mosque looking
Architecture, Cassell Plc. west towards Mecca, Gulbarga, 1367.
43. Temple to the Sun (Surya), Konarak, Reproduced from A. Volwahsen, Islamic India.
thirteenth century cE. 59b. Jami masjid, plan and axonometric view,
44. Laksmana (Vishnu) temple, Khajuraho, Gulbarga, 1367. Reproduced from
tenth century ce. Courtesy of Asian Art A. Volwahsen, Islamic India.
Archives, University of Michigan. Photo: Ann 60. Fortress at Gulbarga, fourteenth/fifteenth
Arbor. century. Courtesy of Ann and Bury Peerless
45. Kandariya Mahadeva (Siva) temple, Picture Library.
Khajuraho, eleventh century cE. Photo: 61. Man Singh’s palace fortress, Gwalior,
Douglas Dickins, Frps. sixteenth century. Courtesy of Ann and Bury
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 283

Peerless Picture Library. elephant Hawai under control as courtiers
62. Multi-storeyed platform with bathing anxiously watch him, Akbar Nama, Mughal,
tankin front, Vijayanagara, sixteenth century. c.1590. Opaque paint on paper. © The Board
Photo: Georg Michell. of the Trustees of the Victoria and Albert
63. Krishna Chandra temple, Kalna, ¢.1751. Museum, London. (58994)
Photo: Georg Michell. 77. Deposition from the Cross, Mughal, 1598.
64. Detail from palm leaf ms, Pancaraksa, Opaque paint on paper. Clive Album,
Bengal, c.1057. University Library, Victoria and Albert Museum, London.
Cambridge. (Add. 1688 f.127r.) (cT 52707)
65. A page from Ni mat Nama, Mandu, 78. Abu’l Hasan, detail from Squirrels ina
fifteenth/sixteenth century. Opaque paint on Chenar Tree, Mughal, c.r6r0. Opaque paint on
paper. India and Oriental Office, The British paper. Oriental and India Office, The British
Library. (10 Islamic 149, Ethe 2775) Library, London. (J.1.30)
66. A page from Kalakacarya Katha, opaque 79. Abu’l Hasan, Prince Khurram (Shah
paint on paper, 1414. P. C. Jain Collection. Jahan), Mughal, c.1618. Opaque paint on
Photo: Robert Skelton. paper. © The Board of
the Trustees of the
67. Siyavash with his bride Farangish, Shah Victoria and Albert Museum, London.
Nama, opaque paint on paper, fifteenth 80. Govardhan, A rustic concert, opaque paint
century. Museum Rietberg, Zurich. Photo: on paper, Mughal, c.1625. Reproduced by kind
Wettstein & Kauf. permission ofthe Trustees of the Chester
68. Campavati standing next to a lotus pond, Beatty Library and Gallery of Oriental Art,
Caurapancasika, opaque paint on paper, Dublin.
Mewar, c.1500. No. 76. N. C. Mehta 81. Abd ur-Rahim, Khan i-Khanan, detail
Collection, Ahmedabad. from Jahangir Receiving Prince Parviz,
69. Canda ina garden by the river, Candayana, Mughal, 1610. Opaque paint on paper. © The
opaque paint on paper, probably Jaunpur, Board of the Trustees of the Victoria and
sixteenth century. Courtesy of Prince of Wales Albert Museum, London. (8.1279)
Museum, Mumbai. 82. Sahifa Banu, Shah Tamasp, Mughal, early
7oa. Humayun’s mausoleum, Delhi, 1565. seventeenth century. Opaque paint on paper.
Photo: Ancient Art and Architecture Picture © The Board of the Trustees of the Victoria
Library. and Albert Museum, London. (5737)
7ob. Plan of Humayan’s mausoleum, Delhi, 83. Bichitr, Jahangir PreferringaSufi Shaikh to
1565. Reproduced from A. Volwahsen, Is/amic Kings, page from the St Petersburg album
India. c.1660-7o. Mughal. Opaque watercolour,
71. Plan of Akbar’s palace enclosure, Fatehpur gold and ink on paper. 25.3x18.1cm. Courtesy
Sikri, 1569-74. Reproduced from of the Freer Gallery of Art, Smithsonian
A. Volwahsen, Islamic India. Institution, Washington, pc. (F42.15)
72. Buland Darwaza, Fatehpur Sikri, 84. Mansur, Chameleon, Mughal, seventeenth
sixteenth century. Photo: Douglas Dickins, century. Drawing, ink and light colours on
FRPS. paper. 9.5x13.3cm. Courtesy of Her Majesty
73. Daulat, Self-portrait with Abd al-Rahim Queen Elizabeth II. Not to be reproduced
the scribe, Mughal, c.1610. Opaque paint on without permission of Royal Collection
paper. Oriental and India Office, The British Enterprises Ltd.
Library, London. ((OR12208 f.325v) 85. Hashim(?), Dying Inayat Khan,
74. Khurshidshehr frees Hamid, Hamza preparatory drawing, Mughal, c.1618—-19.
Nama, Mughal, c.1562-77. Opaque Francis Bartlett Donation of 1912 and Picture
watercolour and gold on fabric. 67.5x 51cm. Fund, courtesy Museum of Fine Arts, Boston,
Courtesy of the Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Mass. ©1998, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
Harvard University Art Museums. © Allrights reserved.
President and Fellows of Harvard College, 86. Shah Jahan’s nephrite wine cup, dated in
Harvard University. (0608.1983) the thirty-first year of his reign (1657). © The
75. Daswanth, A night assault on the Pandava Board of the Trustees of the Victoria and
camp, Razm Nama, Mughal, c.1582—-6. Albert Museum, London. (ff938)
Opaque paint on paper. Maharaja Sawai Man 87. Taj Mahal, Agra, seventeenth century.
Singh II City Palace Museum, Jaipur (after Photo: Douglas Dickins, rrps.
T. Holbein Hendley, Memoirs of Jeypore 88. Throne sharoka in the diwan-i-amm-khass,
Exhibition 1883, Jaipur, 1884, vol. 4, pl. Ixix). Red Fort, Delhi, completed 1648. Photo: Dr
76. Basawan and Chatar, Akbar brings the Ebba Koch.

89. Jami masjid, Delhi, seventeenth century. paint on paper. 29.2x 23.8 cm. Edwin Binney
Photo: Roderick Johnson/Images of India IT collection, San Diego Museum, California.
Agency. 103. Votive image, goddess on winged bull,
90.Govardhan, Shah Jahan and Dara Sikoh on Karnataka, nineteenth century. Folklore
Horseback, Mughal, c.1632. Opaque paint on Museum, Institute of Kannada Studies,
paper. © The Board of the Trustees of the Mysore University.
Victoria and Albert Museum, London. 104. A kohbar painted on the mud wall of ahut,
(GE2620) Madhubani region. Reproduced from Y.
gi. The capture of Port Hoogly, Padshah Vequaud, The Art ofMithila, Ceremonial
Nama, Mughal, c.1634. Opaque paint on Paintings from an Ancient Kingdom.
paper. Courtesy of Her Majesty Queen 105. Manadasundari Dasi, sujni kantha,
Elizabeth II. Not to be reproduced without inscribed by the artist, Khulna, early twentieth
permission of Royal Collection Enterprises century. Reproduced by permission of Seagull
Ltd. books,Calcutta.
g2. Farrukh Husain (Farrukh Beg), Idrahim 106. Caksudana pata, a jadupat, Santhal
Ail Shah Ias a Young Man Hawking, Deccan, Parganas, Bihar, c. twentieth century. Natural
c.1590-1600. Opaque paint on paper. pigments on paper. Collection of the author.
Academy ofSciences, Institute of the Peoples 107. Mango necklace, Tamilnadu, c.
of Asia, Leningrad. Photo: Robert Skelton. nineteenth century. Pearls, rubies, gold, and
93- City Palace, east front, Udaipur, Mewar, semi-precious stones. Courtesy of National
eighteenth century. Photo: American Council Handcrafts and Handlooms Museum, New
for Southern Asian Art Color Slide Project © Delhi, Ahmedabad. Collection and Photo
Stephen Markel. Crafts Museum, New Delhi.
94. Samrat Yantra, Jaipur, Rajasthan, 108. Chintz hanging, painted and dyed cotton
eighteenth century. Reproduced from A. made for the European market, Coromandel
Volwahsen, Islamic India. coast, mid-eighteenth century. Courtesy of
g5- Plan of Jaipur, eighteenth century. Royal Ontario Museum © ro, gift of Mrs
Reproduced from A. Volwahsen, Living Harry Wearne. (934.4.10)
Architecture: Indian. 109. Rickshaw art, Bangladesh, twentieth
96. Maharana Jawan Singh ofMewar, opaque century. Courtesy of Museum of Mankind,
paint on paper, Udaipur, ¢.1835. © The Board London.
of the Trustees of the Victoria and Albert 110. Sheikh Zayn al-Din, Storf, 1782.
Museum, London. (Fp213) Watercolour on paper. Collection of William
97. Raja Ajmat Dev, Mankot, 1730. Opaque Ehrenfeld.
paint on paper. © The Board of the Trustees ri. Courtesan Playinga Violin, colour
of the Victoria and Albert Museum, London. lithograph based on Kalighat painting,
(CT 17889) nineteenth century. © The Board of the
98. Brijnathji and Durjan Sal Sight a Pride of Trustees of the Victoria and Albert Museum,
Lions, Kotah, eighteenth century. Opaque London. (cj 4161)
paint on paper. Collection of H. H. Brjraj 112.J.P. Gangooly, Evening, exhibited at the
Singh of Kishangarh. Bombay Art Society, 1910. Courtesy of
99. Nihal Chand, Radha and Krsna in a Jungle Department of Archaeology and Museums,
Lotus Bower, Kishangarh, c.1745. Opaque Maharastra State and Bombay Art Society.
watercolour and gold on paper. 23.7 cm x 32.8 113. Raja Ravi Varma, Sita Vanavasa, c.1890s.
em. Edwin Binney III collection, San Diego Oleograph. Collection of the Trustees of the
Museum. (1990:756) Wellcome Trust, London.
100. ‘Disguising her real intent; the gupta 114. Abanindranath Tagore, Bharat Mata,
parakiya heroine’, Rasamanyari, c.1660~70. c.1905. Courtesy of Rabindra Bharati Society,
Basohli. Opaque paint on paper. © The Calcutta.
Board of the Trustees of the Victoria and 115. Abdur Rehman Chughtai, The Resting
Albert Museum, London. (IS 20-1958) Place, c.1927. Watercolour and bodycolour,
ror. Nainsukh, A Leisurely Ride: Mian Mukund heightened with gold, laid down on card. 39 x
Dev with Companions, Jasrota (?), ¢.1740. 55-5 cm. Reproduced courtesy of Bonhams,
Opaque paint and gold on paper. © The London.
Board of the Trustees of the Victoria and 116. Church ofthe Holy Spirit, Goa,
Albert Museum, London. seventeenth century. Photo: Christopher
102. Radha Goes at Night to Krsna’ House, Tadgell.
Purkhu, Panjab Hills, Kangra, c.r7g0. Opaque 117. R. Chisholm and C. Mant, Laxmi Vilas
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 285

Palace, Baroda, nineteenth century. Photo: 136. Zainul Abedin, Famine, 1943. Blackink
Dinodia/Images of India Picture Agency. on paper. Reproduced from Ijaz ul Hassan,
118. The Victoria Terminus, Mumbai Painting in Pakistan.
(Bombay), nineteenth century. Photo:J.Alan 1337. Shahabuddin, Freedom Fighter, 1997.
Cash Picture Agency. , Reproduced by permission of the artist.
119. Plan of New Delhi. Reproduced from C. 138. Ganesh Pyne, The Sage, 1979. Tempera on
Tadgell, The History ofArchitecture in India. canvas. Collection:Jane and Kito de Boer.
120. Edwin Lutyens, Viceroy’s residence, New Reproduced by permission of the artist. Photo
Delhi, ¢.1933. Photo: Douglas Dickins, rrps. courtesy Neville Tuli.
121. Gaganendranath Tagore, Dhanyeswart, 139. Jogen Chowdhury, Man and Woman, 1987.
c.1918. Lithograph. Private collection. Black ink and watercolour, heightened with
122. Gaganendranath Tagore, Poet bodycolour on paper. Private collection, New
Rabindranath on the Island of Birds, 1920s. York.
Wash and tempera on paper. National Gallery 140. Gulammohammed Sheikh, City for Sale,
of Modern Art, New Delhi. 1981-4. Oilon canvas. © The Board ofthe
123. Rabindranath Tagore, Bird, c.1930. Trustees of the Victoria and Albert Museum,
Reproduced by permission of Indar Pasricha London, and the artist.
Fine Arts Ltd. 141. Bhupen Khakhar, Celebration ofGuru
124. Amrita Sher-Gil, The Child Bride, 1936. Jayanti, 1980. Oilon canvas. Collection of the
Oils. Private collection. artist.
125. Jamini Roy, 4 Woman. Tempera on paper. 142. Meera Mukherjee, Sitting Woman, c.1990.
National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi. Bronze. Collection of Dr Georg Lechner.
126. Ramkinkar Bay, Santhal Family, 1938. Reproduced courtesy of Marg.
Pebble cast sculpture. Visva Bharati 143. Anjolie Ela Menon, Midday, 1987. Oil on
University, Santiniketan. masonite. 120x70 cm. Reproduced courtesy of
127. Charles Correa, dome and inlaid floor, the artist.
Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and 144. Nalini Malani, Balancing
Act, 1983-4.
Astrophysics, Pune University. Courtesy of Reproduced from Helene Barbier, Coups de
the architect. Photo: Mahendra Sinh. Coeur.
128. Krishen Khanna, Emmaus, 1979. Acrylic 145. Rekha Rodwittiya, Within Ivory Towers,
on canvas. Courtesy of the artist. London, 1984. Watercolour on paper.
129. Maqbool Fida Husain, Mother Teresa I, Courtesy of the artist.
1980s. Oilon canvas. Tata Iron and Steel Co 146. Nilima Sheikh, When Champa Grew Up
Ltd, Mumbai. No. 7, Tensions in the Household and Prosecution
130. Francis Newton Souza, Half-nude Girlin of the New Bride, 1991. Gum tempura paint on
a Chair, 1960. Oilon board. Collection: handmade paper. Courtesy of Leicester Art
Harold Kovner. Galleries and Museum, ux. © Leicester City
131. Sayed Haider Raza, Jala Bindu, 1990. Museums Service.
Acrylic on canvas Painting missing in 147. Mrinalini Mukherjee, Woman on Peacock,
transport. Photograph permission of the 1991. Hemp. 214x130x75 cm. Collection of
artist. the artist.
132. Nirode Mazumder, Chandani Holding 148. Zubeida Agha, New York, 1970. Oilon
Gurudas’ feathers, c.1968. Jahangir Nicholson board. Reproduced from Naqvi, Image and
Museum, ncpa, Mumbai. Photo courtesy Identity, by permission of Oxford University
Neville Tuli. Press, Karachi.
133. K. G. Ramanujam, Untitled, 1972. 149. Sabah Husain, Forest of Yellowing Leaves,
Reproduced from catalogue, The Phillips 1993. Mixed media on handmade paper.
Collection, Indian Art Today, Four Artists from Courtesy of Bradford Art Galleries and
the Chester and Davida Herwitz Family Museums, uK.
Collection. 150. Rokeya Sultana, Mother and Child
134. Sadequain (Naqvi), Composition from (Madonna series), c.1995. Collection: Amiya
Ghalib, 1968. Oilon canvas. Reproduced from and Aloka Gooptu. Reproduced by
Naqvi, Image andIdentity, by permission of permission of the artist.
Oxford University Press, Karachi.
135. Shahid Sajjad, Hostage I, 1992-4. The publisher and author apologize for any
Reproduced from Naqvi, Image and Identity, errors or omissions in the above list. If
by permission of Oxford University Press, contacted they will be pleased to rectify these
Karachi. at the earliest opportunity.

Index
Note: References to illustrations and captions colonial 1817

are in italic. There may also be textual references Hindu 39-45
on the same page. Hindu terms, glossary of 36
Indian Neoclassical 183-7
Abd al-Karim 131 Indo-Sarasenic 184
Abd ur-Rahim 728 Islamic 86-7
Abd us-Samad 114, 116, 117 Islamic terms, glossary of 86
Abedin, Zainul 199, 217, 278 mausoleums 89-90
Abul Fazl 64, 111, 114, 116-17, rar Mughal 109, 131-4
Ain 1-Akbari (Laws ofAkbar) 116, 118 post-Independence 203-4
Akbar Nama (History ofAkbar) 118, 119, 120 Rajasthani terms, glossary of 86
Abu’l Hasan 116, 121, 123, 124, 125, 126 secular 86, 91, 93, 94-5, 181-3
academic art 174, 178-9 ardharmandapas (porticos) 36, 37, 59, 68
Agamas (ritual texts) 37, 55, 57, 68 art
Agha, Zubeida 206, 214, 218, 235 Bengali terms, glossary of 96
Ahmad, Amina 227 Buddhist 13-31
Ahmad Shahi dynasty 91 Buddhist terms, glossary of 14
Ahmed, Novera 236, 238 Hindu terms, glossary of 36
Ahmed, Safiuddin 217 Islamic terms, glossary of 86
Ain 1-Akbari (Laws ofAkbar) 116, 118 Jains and 74-5, 98, 100-1, 103-4
Ajanta 30-1 and Mughal empire 108
Akbar 108, 129 Muslim nationalism in 180-1
empire 109 Rajasthani terms, glossary of 86
mausoleum of 121-2 semi-figurative 205-7
and painting 114, 116-21 art criticism, post-colonial 222
and portraiture 126 Art Deco 203
Akbar Nama (History ofAkbar) 118, 119, 120, 121 Art Nouveau 780, 193
Akmat, Nilofar 236 art schools 173-4
Alaud-Din Khalji, Sultan 89 Calcutta 177, 178, 196
Alai Darwaza, Delhi 88 art societies 173, 175, 214
alasa kanyas 36, 63 artisan guilds 13, 14
Ali, Shakir 214, 215, 218 artists
Aliwal Khan 90 anonymity of 146
alpanas 159, 160 gentleman 175-7
amalakas 36, 39, 42, 04 Jains and 74-5, 100-1
Ambika 75 professional 174-5
Amir Khusraw 103 progressive 199
Anand, Mulk Raj 206 status of 31, 72, 116, 151
andas 14,17 women 116, 127, 159, 175, 194-6, 214
Anwar ul-Hagq 217 Artists’ Protest Movement 207
Aga Riza 116, 123, 127 Aryabhatta, astronomer and mathematician 28
Ara, K. H. 198, 206 Ashoka at Kalinga (M. Mukherjee) 228
architecture 9, 94, 95 Asoka, emperor 13-15, 16-17, 63
Bengali terms, glossary of 96 astronomy 28, 145, 205
Buddhist terms, glossary of 14 asuras (demons) 37, 51
INDEX 287
Atala Masjid 91 Bodhisattvas 14, 24
ayakas 14, 27 Bodhisattva Maitreya 25
Aybak, Qutb ud-Din, Sultan 87, 88 Bodhisattva Padmapant 31
Aziz, Sylvat 236 Bomanji, Pestonji 175
Bombay Progressive Artists Group 199, 206
Babur, emperor 107, 108, 109 books 98, 108, 114
Bactria 23-4 Bose, Atul 181
Badauni 118 Bose, Nandalal 196-7, 224
Bagchi, Annada 175 Bourdieu, Pierre 9
Bahamani sultanate 91, 93, 139 Brahma 37, 47
Baharistan 121 Brhadisvara/Rajarajesvara temple 40, 58, 59
Baij, Ramkinkar 798, 233 Brhatsambita 31, 37, 41, 46
Baker, Herbert 187 Brijnathyi and Durjan Sal Sight a Pride ofLions
Bakre, S. K. 206 148, 149
Bala, monk 24, 25,26 British Raj 63, 108, 165, 171, 172
Balancing Act(N. Malani) 237 Indian art of 172-4
Balchand 124, 138 bronzes 163, 164, 198
Balwant Singh 151, 154 Ashoka at Kalinga (Meera Mukherjee) 228
bangalas 86, 133, 136 Dancing girl 8
Bangladesh Parvati 60
modern art in 217-19 Sitting Woman (Meera Mukherjee) 228
monasteries 96, 98 Siva Nataraja 32, 33,59
women artists 236-9 Buddha images 24, 26, 29
Bardesanes 46 controversy 19, 20, 23
Basawan 116-17, 119, 720, 127 Buddhism 10, 73
Bashir, Murtaza 217 art and architectural terms 14
Battle for the Relics ofthe Buddha 20 early art 13-23
Bawa, Manjit 222-3 final flowering 95-6
beauty, ideals of 76-9 icons 23-6,29
Begum, Nasreen 238 late art 23-31
Bellmer, Hans 221 Mahayana 14, 24
Bengal School 177-9, 180, 181, 189, 192, 194, 196, monasteries 21-3
225 Buffalo Demon 53, 54, 82
Bengal Bukhsh, Allah 211, 213
art and architectural terms, glossary of 96 Buland Darwaza 11, 173
temples 95-7
Bhagavad Gita 37 cattyas (prayer halls) 14, 16, 21-3, 29-30, 42, 73
Bhakti 25, 33, 81, 96, 102 Caksudana pata 163
Bhanudatta 151, 752-3 calligraphy 98, 100, 114, 141, 213, 214, 215
Bharat Mata (A. Tagore) 779 Calukyas 48, 49-50, 63
Bharata 33 Candayana (Maulana Dau’d) 103, ro4
Bhattacharjee, Bikash 221 CandraguptaI 28
Bhavanidas 150 Candragupta II 47, 163
bhoga mandapas 36, 63 Candragupta Maurya 13
bhos 36, 63, 64 candrasalas 36, 46
Bhubaneswar 55, 63-4, 65 Capture ofPort Hoogly (Pashad Nama) 139
Bhudevi 37, 47 caravanserais (courtyards) 86, 134
bhutas (spirits) 158-9 caste system 9, 41, 107, 143, 158
Bichitr 124, 138 Caur, Arpana 231-2
Bidar 139, 141 Caurapancasika (Fifty Verses ofaLove Thief) 102,
Bidou, Henri 193 IQ3, 146, 151
Bidriware 141, 163 cave paintings, Ajanta 30-1
Bilhana 102 Celebration of Guru Jayanti (Khakhar) 226
Bird(R. Tagore) 793 Chaddar and Shrouded Image (Ullah) 236
Birdwood, Sir George 162-3, 173 chahar bagh (four-square gardens) 86, 109, 121
bisexuality 46, 78-9 Chameleon (Mansur) 131
Bishndas 123, 124, 126, 138 Chandani Holding Guruda’s Feathers (N.
Bocaccio 107 Mazumder) 273
288 INDEX
Chemould Gallery, Bombay 206, 231 diwan t-amm khass 86, 113, 135
chhatris 86, 90, 94, IL, 133, 137 diwan 1-khass 86, 113, 136
Chihil Sutun 135 Doshi, Balakrishna V. 204
Child Bride, The (A. Sher-Gil) 194, r95 Dravida style 36,55,95
chintz 139, 165, 766 temples 37, 39, 40
Chisholm, R. 7&4 Durani, Sumaya 236
Chowdhury, Jogen 222, 223 Diirer: Crucifixion 121
Chowdhury, Kamala Roy 227 Durga 34, 53) 54)56, 82
Christians in India 181, 782 temple, Aiholi 49
Chughtai, Abdur Rehman 780, 181, 211, 213 Dutt, Gurusaday 163
Church of the Holy Spirit, Goa 782 Dying Inayat Khan, The 128, 132
Cidambaram 59, 61
citras 14, 28 East India Company 165-6, 171, 172, 173, 181-2,
citreras 86, 146, 151 183, 184
City forSale(G. Sheikh) 224 Elephanta rock sanctuary 50-1, 52, 53, 54
City Palace, Udaipur r44 Ellora, The Kiss 80
cityscapes 225-6, 235 Kailasanatha 51-3, 55,56
Cola period 33, 57-9, 163 rock sanctuary 50-1
legacyof 95 Elwin, Verrier 158
Cole, Henry 173 embroidery 160-2
Colleyer, K. 72 Emmaus (K. Khanna) 208, 209
colonialism 171, 181-7 erotic art 9, 66, 68-9, 79-82
Composition from Ghalib (N. Sadequain) 276 Evening (J. Gangooly) 275
Coomaraswamy, Ananda 23, 151
Correa, Charles 204, 205 Faiz, Faiz Ahmed 215, 236
cotton 165, 166 Farrukh Husain (Farrukh Beg) z40
Courtesan Playing aViolin 174 Fatehpur Sikri 11, 772, 773, 127
Cubism 181, 190-1, 207 feminism 229-35, 236-7
in Pakistan 214 Fergusson, James 21, 62
fertility goddesses 81, 158
dana 14,17 figurative art 221
dance 28, 31, 33, 59, 61, 63, 66 semi-figurative 205-7
importance of 95 figurines 8, 24, 82
Keralan 75 Firuz Shah 89, 90
sexual role 79 Firuz Tughlaq 99
and tribal art 158 Fisherman’ Net (F.Zaman) 238
Daniell, Thomas and William 172 floor painting 159
Dantidurga 52 folk culture 8, 117, 143, 160
darsan 34, 36, 135 Forest ofYellowing Leaves (S. Husain) 237
Daswanth 116, 117, 178 fortifications 91, 93, 94
Daulat 124, 138, 775 Gulbarga 93
Davie, Alan 216 Gwalior 94, 103, 111, 144
De, Biren 211 Mughal tog-1m
Debi, Sunayani 227 Rajasthani 143, 744
Decameron (Bocaccio) 107 Foucher, Alfred ig, 23
Deccani painting 138-41 Freedom Fighter (Shahabuddin ) 279
Dehejia, Vidya 20-1 Freud, Sigmund 192, 194
Delhi 187
Jami masjid 135, 136 Gade, H. K. 206
and manuscripts 98-9 Gaitonde, V.S. 206
Sultanate 85-90, 99, 109 Gandhara 21, 23-4, 26,47
Deposition from the Cross 124 Gandhi, Mahatma 163, 181, 191
Devi (Great Goddess) 33, 34, 37 Gandhy, Kekoo 206
Devi Mahatmya 151 Ganesa 35, 47-8
devotionalism see Bhakti Gangooly, Jamini Prokash 175
Dhanyeswari(G. Tagore) 190 garbha
grhas (shrines) 34-5, 36, 375.39) 45, 49, 63,
dikpalas (deities) 36, 39 66, 67
Din i-Iahi 113 gardens 86, 109, 121, 122, 134
INDEX 289
Gautama (later Buddha) 19, 20 Humayun 99, 109, 114
gavaksas 14, 22, 23, 36, 42, 58, 63, 64 mausoleum 770, 1zz
German Expressionism 210 Huntington, Susan 19, 20
ghana dvaras (blind doors) 36, 42 » » Husain, Magqbool Fida 198, 206, 207, 209
ghantas 36, 64 Husain, Sabah 236, 237
Ghiyas ud-Din Khalji 99 Hyman, Timothy 223
Ghiyas ud-Din Tughlaq 9o
Ghose, Gopal 199 Ibrahim Adil Shah I as a Young Man Hawking
glassware 24, 164 140, 141
Goa 181, 782, 209 icons 23-6, 29, 37, 45) 55) 57, 66, 67, 68
Goetz, Hermann 205 Indra 37, 158
gold coins 24, 28 Industrial Revolution 172, 189
Gombrich, E. H. 157 installation art 226
gopuras (gate towers) 36, 39, 50,59, 61, 62-3, 95 international modernism 171-2
Govardhan 124, 125, 127, 137 Iqbal, Khaled 215
Great Exhibition (1851) 162 Irwin, John 14
Great Goddess 33, 34, 37, 82 Islam 85, 103
Great Mother 8, 81, 756, 757 architecture 86-9
Great Stupa, Amaravati 20, 27, 28 art and architecture, glossary of terms 86
Great Stupa, Sanchi 16-18, 19-21 ivories 17, 24
Group ofFive 214, 215-16 twans 86, 87, 91, UI
Gujral, Satish 207
Gulbarga (Bahmani capital) 95 Jadupat 162, 163
Jami masjid 92, 93 jagamohanas 36, 64, 66, 67
Guljee, Ismail 214-15 Jahangir (Salim) 108, zz5, 141
Gupta period 2, 28-30, 45-8 and painting 116, 121, 123
Gupta, Kamala Das 227 and portraiture 126-9
Gupta, Pradosh Das 199, 227 Jahangir Prefers a Sufi to Kings 130
Gurjara-Pratiharas 66 Jahangir Receiving Prince Parviz 128
Jain art 74-5, 98, 100-1, 103-4
Haider, Zulgarnain 215 Jain, Uttam 204
Half-nude Girlina Chair (F.N. Souza) 210 Jainism 10, 74
Hampi 94-5 Jaipur 145-6
Hamza Nama 117, 118, 121 Jaisingh II, Sawai 145-6
Haq, Naima 238 Jala Bindu (S. H. Raza) 272
Harappa 8-9 Jalal, Shahid 215
Harisena 30 JamesI 127, 30
Harsha 48, 66 Jami masjids (Friday mosques) 87, 111
Hasan, Quamrul 217 Delhi 135, 736
Hashmi, Salima 236 Gulbarga 92, 93
Hassan, Tjazul 215 Jatakas 14,19, 30
havelis 86,144 Mandhata Jataka, Amaravati 28
Havell, Ernest Binfield 177, 178 Monkey Jataka, Sanchi 20-1
Hawa Mahal (Palace of Breezes) 146 Vessantara Jataka 16, 20
Heliodorus 46 Jesuits in India 108, 121, 181
Hill States 143, 147, 151 jewellery (and engraved gems) 24, 158, 164
Mankot 148-9 Jharokas 86, 135, 136
hinayana t4, 25 Jones, Owen 162-3
Hinduism 37, 73 Jugendstil 193
art and architecture, glossary of terms 36
devotional (Bhakti) 25, 33, 81, 96, 102 Kahn, Louis 204
temples 34-45, 46 Kalacuri dynasty (Maharastra) 48, 51
history painting, Mughal 117-21, 138 Kalakacarya Katha 98, 100, 101
Hodgkin, Howard 223 Kali 34, 82
Hélzel, Adolf 193 Kalidasa 28, 77-8
Hostage I(S. Sajjad) 277 Kalighat 172, 196
House of Worship, Sikri 113, 117 Kalpasutra 98, 100
Hoysala temples 71-2 Kama Sutra 28
290 INDEX
Kandariya Mahadeva temple, Khajuraho 39, Macleod, Duncan 184
42-3, 44, 45, 68, 69 Madhubani paintings 159, 760, 231
Kangra, Pahari art in 151, 154, 255 madrasas 86, 87, 89
Kanishka 24 magic painting 162, 763
kanthas 161, 162, 163 Mahabharata 13, 33, 117, 128
Kapur, Geeta 206, 209, 222, 223 mahamandapas 36, 59, 68
Kar, Chintamoni 206, 227 Maharaja Sayajirao University, Baroda 223, 224,
karanas (dance poses) 59, 95 232
karkhanas (workshops) 86, 89, 114, 728, 141 Maharana Jawan Singh ofMewar 147
Karnataka 75, 91, 256, 757, 158 Mahavira 74, 75
Kashmiri art 72-3 mahayana 14, 24
Kaula Kapalika sect 68, 81, 82 Mahesamurti, Elephanta 53
Kazi, Durriya 236 Mahmud of Ghazni 66
Kerala 73-4, 75 makaras 36, 46, 82
Kesav Das 102 Makramat Khan 131
Kesava (Vishnu) temple, Somnathpur 72 Malani, Nalini 229-31
Khajuraho 39, 42-3, 44, 45, 55, 66-9 Mallitamma 71
Khakhar, Bhupen 223-4, 225-6 Man and Woman (J. Chowdhury) 223
Khanna, Krishen 206, 207, 208, 209 Man Singh's palace fortress, Gwalior 94, 103,
Khurram see Shah Jahan TIL, 144
Kibria, Mohammad 218 Manadasundari Dasi 260, r6r
Kirpal Pal r51 mandalas 160, 162
kirttimukhas 36, 58, 64, 82 mandapas 36, 37, 50,55, 68
Kishangargh school 150 Mandhata Jataka, Great Stupa, Amaravati 28
Kiss, The 80 Mannerism 121, 181
Kitaj, R. B. 207 Manohar 116, 124, 126-7
Klee, Paul 193, 221 Mansur 124, 125
Kokka (periodical) 178 Mansur, Nazli 238
Kramrisch, Stella 43, 45 Mant, C. 784
Krsna (God, incarnation of Vishnu) 33, 37, 52 manuscripts 97-101, 118-19
Krsnadevaraya 93-4 maspids see mosques
Kumar, Ram 206, 207 Mathura 24, 26, 46, 47
kundan 86, 164 Matsya Purana 46
kutas 36, 42,58 Mattancheri palace, Cochin 74, 75
Maulana Dau‘ 103, rog
Lahiri, Shanu 227 mausoleums
Lakshmi 37, 47 of Akbar 121-2
Laksmana temple, Khajuraho 67, 68 architecture 89-90
Lakulisa 48 of Ghiyas ud-Din Tughlaq, Delhi 90
Lalit Kala Akademi 203 of Humayun zzo, 17
Lalitaditya Muktapida 73 Taj Mahal, Agra 90, 733, 134
landscapes 175, 213, 215, 217, 224, 229, 233 Mayo College of Arts, Lahore 207
Langhammer, Walter 206, 210 Mayo School of Arts, Lahore (later National
Lassaigne, Jacques 211 College of Arts) 211
Last Moments ofShah Jahan, The (A. Tagore) 178 Mazumder, Hemen 18r
Laxmi Vilas Palace, Baroda 784 Mazumder, Nirode 199, 206, 211, 273, 227
Le Corbusier 204 Menander, King 24
Leisurely Ride: Mian Mukund Dev with Menon, Anjolie Ela 229, 230
Companions, A (Nainsukh) 154 metalwork 163-4
Leyden, Rudy von 206, 210 Midday (A. Menon) 230
Lhote, André 206, 214 mibrabs 86, 87, 89
lila 37,53 mimesis 108, 123
linga 36, 37; 535 59> 68, 160 Minaksi-Sundaresvara temple, Madurai 62
Linga Purana 48, 51,53 minbars 86, 87
Lingaraja temple, Bhubaneswar 64, 65 miniatures 114, 123, 221, 224, 233
literature 29, 102, 107 Mir Jaffa 184
Luna Vashi temple, Mount Abu 76 Mir Sayyid Ali 114, 117
Lutyens, Edwin 287 Miskina rar
INDEX 291
modern art School of Arts, Lahore) 211, 214, 236
in Bangladesh 217-19 National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi
in Pakistan 211-17 203
modernism 189, 199 ’ nationalism 171, 177, 189
international 203, 204 Muslim, in art 180-1
in Pakistan 214, 215-16 naturalism 123-5, 171, 177
post-Independence 203 Natyasastra 33
Mohamedi, Nasreen 229 Nayak period 62-3
Molka, Anna 214 Nehru, Jawaharlal 203, 204
monasteries New Delhi 203
Ajanta 30-1 plan of 786
Buddhist 21-3 viceroy’s residence 187
Nalanda (Bihar) 21, 96, 98 New York (Z. Agha) 235
Paharpur (Bangladesh) 96, 98 Nimat Nama (Book ofDelicacies) 99, 100, tox
Monkey Jataka, Sanchi 20-1 Nihal Chand z50, 151
Morris, William 162-3, 173 NITVANGA 14, 24,74
mosques (masjids) 85, 86, 91, 136-7 noble savage 192
Friday (Jami masjids) 87, 92, 93, 111, 135, 136 Nrsimhadeval 64, 66
Quwwatul-Islam 87, 89 Nur Jahan 122, 127
‘Taj Mahal 134
Mother and Child (R. Sultana) 238 observatories 145, 146
mother cult 81-2 Okakura Tenshin, Kakuzo 178
Mother Teresa I (M. F. Husain) 209 Orissa 34, 63-6
mudras 14, 25, 29
Mughal empire Padamsee, Akbar 206
architecture 109, 131-4 Padarath 124
court 107-8 padas 36, 42
fortifications 109-11 Padshah Nama (Shah Jahan) 138, 739, 225
history painting 117—21, 138 Paes, Domingo 94, 95
Rajasthani art, influence on 143-4 Pahari art 146, 150, 151-5
urban planning 109-13 painting
Muhammad bin Tughlaq, Sultan 89 at Ajanta 30-1
Muhammad Shah 151 Akbar and 114, 16-21
mukhamandapas 36,59 autobiographical 229-35
Mukherjee, Ajit 211 contemporray 221-39
Mukherjee, Binode Bihari 197-8, 224, 233 Deccani 138-41
Mukherjee, Meera 227-9 domestic 159
Mukherjee, Mrinalini 233-5 history 117-21, 138
Mumtaz Mahall 133-4 Jahangir and 116, 121, 123
muraggas 86, 123 Jain 103-4
Murasaki, Lady 107 Madhubani ts9, z60, 231
music 28, 31, 33, 102, 236 materials 114
rustic concert (Govardhan) 727 miniatures 114, 123
muslin 165 Mughal 1114, 1177-21, 123, 137-8
Pahari 151-5
Nadira Banu 116, 127 portraiture 126-9, 147-51, 174, 176, 214
Nagara 36, 37-8,39 Rajasthani 146-7
nagas 14,18 secular 102-4 SS
Nainsukh 151, z54, 755 Shah Jahan and 137-8
Nalanda, Bihar 21, 96, 98 Pakistan
nandt mandapas 36, 50,59 modern art 211-17
Naqvi, Akbar 7, 213 sculpture 217, 236
Naqvi, S. see Sadequain Naqvi women artists 235-6
Narasobba 9-10 Pala period 66, 96, 98
narrative art 68, 221 Pallavas (Tamilnadu) 48, 52
nasis 36, 42 temples 54-5
nata mandapas 36, 63 Pancaraksa, palm leaf manuscript 98
National College of Arts (formerly Mayo Pancarartra Tantric rites/tradition 37, 67-8, 73
292 INDEX
pancayatanas 36, 47,55, 68 Rajasthan
Pandit Seu 151 art and architecture, glossary of terms 86
panjaras 36, 42 fortresses 143, 144
Pannikar, K.C.S. 21 interior design 144
Paradise Town, Sikandra 121-2 Mughal influence on 143-4
Parasuramesvara temple 63-4 painting 146-7
Parekh, Madhavi 232 portraiture 147-51
parinirvana 14, 16, 17,19 Rajput states 143-4
Parvati 34, 60 Ramanujam, K. G. 211, 274
Parvez, Ahmed 215-16 Ramayana 33, 117, 128, 146
Pasupata sect 48, 63 Rasamanjari 151, 152-3
rock sanctuaries 50-3 Rashtrakuta dynasty 48, 51-2, 66
Patel, Gieve 221 Rasika Priya 102
patronage 9, 13, 15-16, 98, 108, 122 rathas 36, 39
pats (scrolls) 86, 162 Raychaudhury, Debiprosad 198
patuas (scroll painters) 86, 162, 172 Raza, Sayed Haider 206, 207, 210-11, 272
Patwardhan, Sudhir 221, 223-4 Razm Nama 117, 118
Payag 138 Red Fort 134-6
Peacock Throne 136 Reddy, Ravindra 233
performance art 162 rekha deul 36, 64
pictorialism 223-6 reliefs
pidhas 36, 64, 66 Bengali temples 96-7
pietra dura 122, 133, 134, 135 Great Stupa, Amaravati 28
pipal tree 14, 19, 20 Great Stupa, Sanchi 19-21
pishtags 86, 111 religion 17: see a/so Buddhism; Hinduism;
Pithawalla, Manchershaw 175 Jainism
Pliny the Elder 24 background 10
Poem for Zainah (Hashmi) 236 Rembrandt 138
Poet Rabindranath on the Island
of Birds (G. Reminiscences ofa Dream (Chowdhury) 223
Tagore) ror Resting Place, The (A. R. Chughtai) 780
portraiture 174,176, 214 rickshaw art 767
Jahangir and 126-8 Rimzon 233
Rajasthani 147-51 rock sanctuaries 50-6
Portuguese in India 121, 739, 172, 181 Rodwittiya, Rekha 232-3
pradaksina (circumambulation) 14, 27, 34, 48 Roe, Sir Thomas 123, 126-7
prasadas 34, 36 Roy, Jamini 189-90, 196, 197
primitivism 172, 191-2 Royal College of Art, London 223, 225, 232
Prince Khurram (Abul Hasan) 726 Royal Polyglot Bible 121
printing 172-3, 774
Progressive Artists Group 199, 217 Sabavala, Jehangir 206, 207
Progressive Writers and Artists Movement 215 Sadanga (Six Limbs ofPainting) 28
puja 34,36 Sadequain Naqvi 215, 276, 218
Purchas Fis Pilgrimes 127 Sage, The (G. Pyne) 222
Pyne, Ganesh 221, 222 Sahibdin 146
Sahifa Banu 129
gibla 86, 87 Saiva mythology 48, 51, 68
Qutb Minar, Delhi 87, 88, 89 Saiva Siddhanta 68,73
Quwwat ul-Islam mosque 87, 89 Sajjad, Shahid 277
Sakti (Great Goddess) 33, 37, 62, 68, 82
Radha (human soul) 37, 102 salas 36, 42,58
Radha and Krsna Recline in a Lotus (Nihal Salim see Jahangir
Chand) z50, 151 Samrat Yantra, Jaipur 745
Radha Goes at Night to Krsna’s House 155 Samudragupta 28
ragamalas 86, 102, 128 Sansar Chand 154, 755
Raja Ajmat Dev 148, 149 Santhal Family (Baij) 198
Rajarajal 57 Santhals 763, 196, 197, 217
Rajarani temple, Bhubaneswar 64 Santiniketan 196, 224
Rajasimha, Narasimhavarman II 54 Santosh, G. R. 211
INDEX 293
Sanyal, B.C. 214 Srirangam (temple city) 67
sapta-ratha 39, 68 St Martin’s School of Art, London 229
Sarasvati 75 Stork (Sheikh Zayn al-Din) 273
Satya Narayana cult 103 Studio, The (art journal) 178, 270
Satyagraha movement 191-2 stupas 14, 16, 29-30, 122
Sawant Singh, Raja 150 Great Stupa, Amaravati 20, 27, 28
Schlesinger, Emmanuel 206 Great Stupa, Sanchi 16-21
School of Industrial Arts, South Kensington Subramanyam, K. G. 224, 233
174 Sujni kantha (Manadasundari Dasi) 760, 167
scroll paintings 162, 172, 196 sukanasas 36,50, 64
sculpture 9, 15, 18, 76, 77, 97, 198, 227-9 Sultan, S.M. 217
in Bangladesh 236, 238 Sultana, Rokeya 238, 239
erotic 66, 68-9, 79-81 sultanates
modernist 199 Bahamani 91, 93, 139
in Pakistan 217 Bengal 96
reliefs 19-21 Delhi 85-90, 99, 109
tribal art 158 provincial 90-3
Sen, Paritosh 199, 206 Sundaram, Vivan 223-4, 226
Sewell, R. 93 sundials r45
Shah Jahan (Khurram) 108, 125, 225 Surya 64, 66
and architecture 131-4 swadeshi (self-sufficiency) 179, 180
and painting 137-8
reign of 129-38 Tagore, Abanindranath 177-8, 779
urban planning 134-7 Tagore, Gaganendranath 90, rr
wine cup 732 Tagore, Rabindranath 177, 189-90, 192-4
Shah Jahan and Dara Sikoh on Horseback Tagore, Subho 199
(Govardhan) 737 Taj Mahal, Agra 90, 733, 134
Shah Nama ror talas 36, 39
Shah Tamasp (Sahifa Banu) 229 Tales ofGenji (Lady Murasaki) 107
Shahabuddin 279 Tamilnadu 48
Shaikh Mohammad Amir 172 jewellery 164
Shaikh Taju 748 Pallava temples 54-5, 56
Sheikh, Nilima 232, 233 Tanjavur 5, 58,59
Sheikh Zayn al-Din 773 Tantra 67, 68, 73, 75, 81, 82, 211
Sheikh, Gulammohammed 224, 225, 233 tarkhans 86, 151
Sher Shah go, 97, 109 Temple to the Sun, Konarak 64, 66, 67
Sher-Gil, Amrita 189-90, 194-6, 206, 227 Temple to the Sun, Martand 73
Shilpakala Academy, Bangladesh 218 temple-cities 59, 61
Shore Temple, Mamallapuram 54, 56 temples 72, 74, 80
Sidi Sayyid mosque, Ahmedabad 91x Bengali 95-7
Sikder, Shamim 238 Bhubaneswar 64, 65
stkharas 36, 37, 39 42, 445 45, 64, 96 Dravida 37, 39, 40
Simhala Avadana 30 Gupta period 45-8
Sita Vanavasa (Varma) 176 Hindu 34-45
Sitting Woman (Meera Mukherjee) 228 Hoysala 71-2
Siva 9, 333437) 46 Kailasanatha (Cave 16), Ellora 51-3, 55
as bhuta 158 Kailasanatha, Kanchipuram 54-5, 57
at Elephanta 51, 52, 53, 54 Kandariya Mahadeva, Khajuraho 39, 42-3,
at Ellora 51 445 45, 68, 69
Saiva monuments 48 Konarak 64, 66, 67
at Virupaksha 50 Nagara 36,37,39
Siva Ardhanarisvara, Vikrampur 78, 79 Pallava 54-5, 56
Siva Nataraja 32, 33, 59,77 Parasuramesvara 63-4
Siva/Sakti dualism 33, 37, 62, 68, 82 Pasupata rock sanctuaries 50-3
Souza, Francis Newton 206, 207, 209-10 rock-cut 45, 48, 49
Squirrels in a Chenar Tree (Abu’l Hasan) 106, 125 structural 55-69
Sri Chaitanya 96 Temples to the Sun 64, 66, 67, 73
srikovtls 36, 73,74 textiles 101, 165-6, 172
294 INDEX
Tillotson, G. H.R. 204 Vishnu 33, 37, 48, 52, 68, 75, 162
Timur Nama (History ofTimurlang) 119 boar incarnation 46, 47
Timurlang go, 108, 119 temples 47, 72
tirthas 14, 34 Vaikuntha image 67, 73
Tirumalai Nayak 62 Vishnuvardhana 71
tombs 133: see a/so mausoleums Visnudharmottaram 30
Mumtaz Mahall 133-4 Visva Brahma temple, Alampur 43
pavilion 97, 136 Vriksaka (tree goddess), Gyaraspur 77
Taj Mahal, Agra 733, 134 Vrischik (paper) 223
toranas (gateways) 14, 17-18 vyalas 36, 63, 82
tribal art 158-9, 160
triratna 14, 17-18 wall paintings 97, 114
Tughlaq dynasty 89, 90, 99 at Ajanta 30-1
Tuti Nama (The Tales ofa Parrot) 117 Rajasthani 144
Tuzuk 1-Jahangiri 121 in tribal art 158, 760
Vishnu, Mattancheri palace 75
Ullah, Naazish Ata 236 War ofLiberation (1971) 218, 219, 239
Untitled (Orchard) (A. Parvez) 216 Wasted Lives, Assam (Rodwittiya) 232
Untitled (K.G. Ramanujam) 274 When Champa Grew Up (N. Sheikh) 233
Upanishadic philosophy 81, 211 Where
Are Allthe Flowers Gone? (A. Caur) 232
Uprising (1857) 172, 183, 184 Wilson, Colin: Outsider, The 221
urban planning wine cup 732
under Jaisingh 145-6 Woman on a Peacock (M. Mukherjee) 234, 235
Mughal 109-13 women artists 116, 127, 159, 175, 194-6, 214
under Shah Jahan 134-7 in Bangladesh 236-9
urbanism 107, 108 in India 226-35
in Pakistan 235-6
Vaishnavism 71, 96 women’s art 159-62
vama 53,82 Woodroff, SirJohn 81
Varahamihira 31 writing 13, 98
Varma, Raja Ravi 175-7, 178
vastu-purusa-mandalas 36, 42, 56, 145-6, 181, 204 yaksas (male spirits) 14, 23, 26, 158
vastusastras (architectural texts) 36, 39, 45, 181 yaksis (female spirits) 14, 77
Vatakkunnathan temple to Hari-Hara Great Stupa, Sanchi 78, 164
(Vishnu-Siva), Trichur 74 yantra 81, 211
Vatsyayana, author of Kama Sutra 28 Yasodharman, author of Sadanga 28
Vedas 9 Yasovarman 67
Vessantara, Prince 16, 17 yoginis 81
Vessantara Jataka 16,20 yoni 37,160
Victoria Terminus, Mumbai (Bombay) 784, 185 You Cannot Please Everybody (B. Khakhar) 226
Vidyadhara 68
Vignola, Jacopo 181, 782 Zaman, Farida 238
viharas 14, 16, 21, 29-30 zanana (women’s quarters) 86, 110, III, 773, 122,
Vijayanagara empire 93-5 127, 129, 144, 146
vimana 36, 39; 50, 58,59
Virupaksha (Siva) temple 50
INDEX 295
Ve
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Oxford ‘
Introductions to art history for the twenty- firstcep G2386R
Hooves?
Robert Rosenblum ;
This internationally acclaimed series an beautiful

illustrations with fascinating new perspectives on world art
and architecture.
Indian Art
Partha Mitter
‘A very readable and This concise, yet lively, new survey guides the reader through over
intelligent survey of Indian
art in all its many forms. A
2000 years of Indian art and:architecture. A rich artistic tradition is
new way of understanding fully explored through the Hindu, Buddhist, Islamic, colonial, and
the unique story of Indian
contemporary periods, incorporating discussion of modern
art is presented where art
production and patronage Bangladesh and Pakistan, traditional women artists, tribal artists,
are clearly placed in their and the decorative arts.
social context. This is the
first book to fully cover the
colonial and contemporary Combining a clear overview with much fascinating detail, Mitter
periods, and the history of
succeeds in bringing to life the true diversity of Indian culture. He
western reactions to
Indian art.’ discusses a wide range of examples from the influence of Islam on the
Deborah Swallow, Victoria Mughal court, resulting in the world-famous Taj Mahal and exquisite
& Albert Museum
miniature paintings, to the nationalist and global concerns of more
recent art including the rise of female artists, the stunning
architecture of Charles Correa, and the vibrant contemporary art
scene.
The very particular character of Indian art is set within its cultural
and religious milieu, raising important issues about the profound
differences between Western and Indian ideas of beauty and
eroticism in art.
@ 136 illustrations with 62 in full colour
@ Invaluable guides to museums, galleries, and websites
ISBN 0-19-284221-8
Cover illustration: detail of OXFORD

Maharana Jawan Singh of UNIVERSITY PRESS
Mewar, Udaipur, c.1835.
© The Board of the 9 "780192 842213
Trustees of the Victoria &
Albert Museum, London. www.oup.com £11.99RRP $17.95 usa

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WESTERN ART European Architecture Melanesian Art REFERENCE BOOKS

O-19-284221-8 i anne a aaa eee

Library of Congress Cataloguing in Publication Data

are e — - conch 19 0) Yay AOD

In 1977, I had argued in Much Maligned Monsters: History ofEuropean

A cultural map of the Indian subcontinent

From Vedic sacrifice to religions ofsalvation

claimed that he had no rival in temple and house building.’ Thus we

F . Early Buddhist art

Asoka and the empire ofcompassion

I4 BUDDHIST ART AND ARCHITECTURE

axis mundi (the pillar as the symbolic representation of the axis on

Buddhist patronage and the monastic order

EARLY BUDDHIST ART 15

16 BUDDHIST ART AND ARCHITECTURE

EARLY BUDDHIST ART 17

at the pinnacle of the gateways (foranas). The most significant

18 BUDDHIST ART AND ARCHITECTURE

EARLY BUDDHIST ART 19g

essentially ‘pictorial’ technique was adopted, for instance the

20 BUDDHIST ART AND ARCHITECTURE

EARLY BUDDHIST ART 21

22 BUDDHIST ART AND ARCHITECTURE

Later Buddhist art

LATER BUDDHIST ART 23

24 BUDDHIST ART AND ARCHITECTURE

worshipped almost from his lifetime. Furthermore, Bala, mentioned

LATER BUDDHIST ART 25

pravartana (the first sermon, symbolized by the turning of the wheel of

26 BUDDHIST ART AND ARCHITECTURE

LATER BUDDHIST ART 27

The Gupta court

28 BUDDHIST ART AND ARCHITECTURE

LATER BUDDHIST ART 29

30 BUDDHIST ART AND ARCHITECTURE

LATER BUDDHIST ART 31

The rise of devotional Hinduism

The Hindu temple

34 HINDU ART AND ARCHITECTURE

THE HINDU TEMPLE

36 HINDU ART AND ARCHITECTURE

THE HINDU TEMPLE 37

Emblematic | Garuda, avulture-like eagle Nandin, a bull

As saviour Ten incarnations in ascending order: e Siva Andhakasuramurti/Gajasuramurti (destroyer of

Other forms As creator sleeps, shaded by the serpent Dancing forms

Sakti, the Goddess, or Devi, Siva’s partner as saviour deity

38 HINDU ART AND ARCHITECTURE

THE HINDU TEMPLE 39

Sanctuary (garbha grha) r yet Tee

40 HINDU ART AND ARCHITECTURE

The role ofornament

THE HINDU TEMPLE 4I

designing a building, the architect has to face the problem of breaking

42 HINDU ART AND ARCHITECTURE

The age of experimentation (fifth to eighth centuries ce)

The Gupta beginnings

THE AGE OF EXPERIMENTATION 45