sidharth’s journey along the river and within bhagirathi ganga to angotri, g rudraprayag,...

Sidharth in Studio

GANGAbysidhArth Write-ups contributed bySidharthuma nairdr Seema Bawaand Sajal dang

January 2015

Published by (c) Bargad Art and Culture32 a, Corner MarketMalviya nagarnew delhi -110017tel: +91 9871768000, 9810368000E-mail [email protected]

designed & Printed at archana, new delhi

all right are reserved under international copyright conventions. no part of this publication may be reproduced or utilised in form or by any means, electronic and mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without prior permission from the publisher.

iSBn no: 978-81-930852-02

Sidharth’S JournEy along thE rivEr and within

i travelled along Ganga, covering 2600 km from Gaumukh to Gangasagar by trekking, by waters and by river side roads from Gaumukh, Bhoj basa, Chir basa, Gangotri, Uttarkashi, tehri, rudraprayag, devprayaga, rishikesh, haridwar, Garh Ganga, Kanpur, Bithur, Allahabad, Banaras, Bhagalpur, Patna and then Kolkata

did many drawings, photographs and wrote a travelogue during the journey and decided to paint 260 feets long canvas of my visual experience.

art, the tree has been an enduring symbol of devotion and fertility; from the earliest shrines, the vrikksha caityas, with a railing around

built it, or shalabhanjikas, the beautiful, young maidens entwining with it.

the Bargad foundation will take the artistic and philosophic associations of the tree forward, providing a space for art and artists to grow and take root in tradition. it will also allow artists to grow upwards seeking light from the sun, from contemporary knowledge and artistic trends, taking a holistic approach to art by supporting artists, exhibitions, residencies and creating public platforms.

Exhibitions: the foundation will support shows by established and emerging artists, who will be associated with it on a long term basis, nurturing and profiting from this symbiotic bond.

there will be multi-site exhibition platforms: some permanent and also temporary shows at fairs and special sites.

residencies: the aim of residencies is to nurture young and emerging artists who will benefit from sustained support of studio facilities and technologies as also mentoring by senior artists, critics, etc.

it will also help in creating an artistic corpus and allow for a creative involvement in the careers of emerging talent.

screenings, symposia and seminar: the Foundation seeks to be multidimensional in its approach to the arts, involving film makers, musicians and dancers in providing a holistic environment for creative growth.

in this direction, there will be film screening, not only about art and artists but also give a space to newer directions in film making.

it also wants to be an active player in knowledge creation, and to this end will be conducting seminars and conferences on art and cul-tural issues of significance at regular intervals.

Publication: to begin with the foundation will strive towards a bi monthly newsletter or broadsheet to carry important news and views related to art written by acclaimed authorities

Books and Catalogues of artists associated with Bargad arts and Culture.

dr seema Bawa

O you shaggy-headed banyan tree standing on the bank of the pond, have you forgotten the little child, like the birds that have nested in your branches and left you? Do you not remember how he sat at the window and wondered at the tangle of your roots that plunged underground?...

The Banyan Tree by Rabindranath Tagore

Bargad Art and Culture as an institution seeks to simulate the life and actions of the vat, Bargad or Banyan tree which is considered one

of the most holy trees in india. it is not only one of the oldest tree depicted in art and culture that has a long textual and visual history,

but gives shelter to all and has often been likened to god sheltering the devotees. it is the tree of immortality, its aerial roots growing

down into the soil forming additional trunks; no wonder it is also known as Bahupada, the tree with multiple feet. it makes for a lofty

and imposing edifice with deep green and leafy foliage.

in iconography, Shiva is envisaged as dakshinamurti, he who faces the south, that being the direction of death (yama) and Kaala or

time. he sits under the Banyan, the botanical embodiment of the universal soul who sits under the Banyan tree, with hair matted in a

jatamukuta like the aerial toots of the Bargad tree.

this tree is also sacred to the Buddhists. after attaining enlightenment, lord Buddha is believed to have sat under a Banyan tree near the

niranjara river for seven days, absorbed in enlightened thought. Even today the descendant of this tree is worshipped at Bodh gaya.

Even Bhakti Sufi tradition takes on elements of the banyan tree, Kabir is reported to have spat out a twig from which a giant banyan tree

grew.

the bargad tree is continues to be a site of many social and political gatherings, panchayats, leisure outings and rituals in South asia. in

For many years Sidharth has been working on the ganga Project. as a matter of chance we visited his studio. to our enthusiasm, we got interested to know more details of this project.

then, Sidharth as a storyteller narrated his journey along the holy ganga - beginning from Badri-vishal to goumukh- the source of Bhagirathi ganga to gangotri, rudraprayag, devprayag, rishikesh, haridwar garh-ganga, Kanpur, Bithoor, allahabad, ‘Benaras, Bhagalpur, Patna, Kolkatta and concludes the journey where ganga merges into the great sea ganga Sagar.

he explained the spiritual essence of ganga, it’s sacred flow and how ganga is a day to day part of living life, the spiritual behavior and psychosis of human being changing from time to time on the banks of the river. he also mentioned how the holy ganga is polluted by the industry, severage, tanneries and cities living around it, thus destroying the whole ecology of waters.

Sidharth told us that he wanted to make a short film on this journey and to travel once again from the source to end which is around 2600 kms by road, water and some part by trek, and he wanted to make a series of artworks on about 260 ft long canvas in 14 parts covering the 2600 kms journey of ganga.

this was a great idea to make a classic piece of artwork.

we showed our willingness to be a part of the project in any way we could and offered to support this project morally, physically and monetarily.

now, here we are presenting the first work of the Ganga series at the indian art Fair chapter 2015.

Amit dangteam Bargad12th January, 2015

hey lokai, it lives within you, it flows within youits purification, is your beatification (is ka shudh hone, tera shubh hona).So one day i too reached haridwartook a Bath, even did aarti accompanied with lots of Bell ringingthe ice cold waters cannot be pollutedthe tirthas keep coming up along its bank.the mahima singing mendicants never tie of praising itgod almighty himself lives along with itthis, daughter of the himalayas remover of Sorrow (dukh- harani), Bliss bestowerComes from gaumukh afarhere there is the abode of the white Mountains. it is said that only if there is a keen desire then there will be an intense calling and that impels one to go.

i prayed to Badri Kedaraand prostrated before neelkanthaand then started the toli/group/we reached Manas villagevyasji’s hut that resembles a bookthe river flows nearbySinging in Pa teevrare-telling fables myths and stories, the riverPassing Bheem goda, we started towards vasu dharavasudhara comes from such height that the pinnacles of the mountains, one can’t see its showers drenching us for a mile before we reach it

Ganga

i had heard this tale inside the village gurudwarathat to haridwar did Baba nanak go.and early one morn had bathed at har ki Pauri, others around immersed, anointed the rising Sun, Baba turned his back, and started to offer waterthe Pandits asked, what are you up to?replied Baba, i am watering my fields.if Surya accepts, then it will reach my fields too for sure.the Baba then laughed and said, hey lokai (oh, People) this body is body of water, and water is the body of lifeit is alive like waters, alive water, the First lifePaani pehla jeeo hai, Jit harya sab koi.if your waters are pure within and that which flows withoutthen it is auspicious/shubhalife thinks like water, life behaves like water and life’s journey is like the waters.it yearns to meet the great ocean, and then again wants to ride on the wings of the winds to return to the pristine mountains.hey lokai, let waters be consecrated to the waters themselvesit should consecrate light, awakening of Self, the body of watersganga is auspicious, ganga is Pure it has come from fara waterfall that flows downwards, making way through the mountains, going to meet the great ocean therelife giving, moksha providing/facilitating

nandanvana nestles below Shivlinga, Meru, and Bhagirathi peaks Jadi, bootein/herbs and medicines spread out across the plainhidden in the caves.revealing themselves only to the Seerlife giving Sanjivanisthis is the forest of great Seersthis realm is not for the mere mortalsin the caves lie the mediating, hidden Seers, discovering and recovering ideas and thoughts. there below one can see the land called tapovanaand the white gaumukh glacier, the pure himanadiFrom here one can see Bhagirathi flowing downthe waters of Shivlinga, Bhagirathi, vasuki taal, nandanvana and tapovana flow in Bhagirathi river,in gangotri the waters can only be called Shiv gange

the porter who treads this path every day, Breathes as if with the rhythm of the waters purethe only visible elements Blue Mountain, white glaciers, and the flowing playful BhagirathiBreaking the mountains, shoving pebbles, kicking them along like a small child, the playful Bhagirathithe gradually increasing noise, so nothing else is audible, not even ashout from close by.and the desire to speak shed along the way from tapovana to gaumukhgreat Silence, deep Mediation, walking along in thought, as if all was silent within oneself. Speaking in such silence, like the silence within a Mother’s womb

and chasing us with its showers for a mile after crossing it. Passing the white Snow laden mountains, the Satpati vasuki tal starts emerging below.Pure, auspicious blue waters, like the sky has descended to nestle within the mountains.the small floating cloudlets, like ball of cottonthe eyes blinding with the glare off the snowthe mountains play hide and seek with the cloudsSometimes it seems we are walking within the clouds as if the devatas and apsaras will fly to meet us anytime Sometimes it appears as if the our walking companions seem to be bhoot-preta and danavaSometimes the gods seem to laugh together, the mountains ringing with their laughterSometimes there is a deep silence, a detachment flowing outside, magnifying into expanding space. yellow beaked Kaak Bhasundi flies overhead with its kaw kawday after day we walk within the vast spaces of naturelike toys, we will break, melting into the mountain sands, experiencing this feelingMrityubodh, Presence of timelessness, So immanentthat each moment was a mahaprasaad/ an abundant BenedictionEach drop of water, great aliveness, great tastelike the music of life, a great dialogue {with timelessness}

walk looking at your own feet is the guru’s wisdom the destination will seem closer, the destination will come closer by itself.

what beautiful rivers, what a desh Mahaan (great Country)om Shantih Shantih Shantih Sarvagam shantih, om Kranti Karnti Kranti Sarvagam Krantiidam gangaye namah; idam Bharatbhumiye namah

(translation into the English by dr. Seema Bawa)

Even the noise became inaudible, as if the body was not therewho was there, i was not there.who heard that naad, who experienced this avalokana/ Seeingwhat was this Karmayoga, what was that Bhaav/essenceit wasn’t me, near that unfathomable nature

a playful small child, who did not know anything, without thoughtPainted what was visible, neither directed by own thought nor words

i too went along with Mother ganga from gaumukh to gangasagargaumukh, Bhoj basa, Chir basa, gangotri, uttarkashi, tehri, rudraprayag, devprayaga, rishikesh, haridwar, garh ganga, Kanpur, allahabad, Banaras, Bhagalpur, Patna and then Kolkata saw many thingsBhoot, preta, pisacha, devata, saints, cut throats, pick pockets, temples, pandits, towns, cities, fields and granaries, boats, cars, smoke spewing truck, trains and planes, fishes, factories, dirty drains, sewage, acid, flowing blood, leather tannins, flowing plastic, singing saints and wailing humans, a madman laughing, a child swimming.what is this realm/maya, what kind of worlds, samsara, what kind of Creation,

descent of Ganga: the origins in blue ice

Sidharth’s painting of the origin of ganga, elicited a visceral response from me leading me to re-experience my own journey to the source of the mighty river; the origin from the small opening at the mouth of the gaumukh glacier. i crossed this stream of Bhagirathi, just after it emerges from its snout shaped like a roaring lion, seven times, as part of mountaineering training. at every point of resistance to entering the bone freezing waters, we were reminded that with every plunge we were washing away the sins of one birth cycle, one yoni. at least, it was one cold step towards gaining moksha, the final release from the cycle of life and death.

Further salvation lay in the trek up from gaumukh to tapoban, where each step seeming to weigh a thousand ton, each breath a gasp, toiling up the inexorable scraggy, rocky, slope unrelenting in its steep gradient. a single thought motivating one to take one step after the other, that the trek up shall eventually end and there we could rest. all day, trudging with increasing tiredness and the seemingly heavier rucksack, finally one reached the base of the mountains, tapoban.

the name itself, tapoban, the forest of meditation and austerities, is evocative of the ages. From the rig vedic time onwards, we hear of rsis who ascend to the himalayan heights to do tapas, gain knowledge and ultimate truth. the Seers, who comprehended the illusions and the realities of the Created world and after realizing the truth and Essence of sristhti, set out to discover the truths beyond the Created. to seek out the origin and cause of Creation, discover the Creator, to delve into the un-create. and in this snowy expanse they stayed, immersed in constant austerities, prayers and discovery. Becoming part of nature itself; some turned into pillars

of earth, others were covered with moss, and yet others turned into powdery snow.

this land of rsis lay spread before us, above the tree line at 14000 feet, the vana or forest of tapoban is devoid of trees. it is the notional aranya-vana, populated with concepts and realization of the ultimate truth that are revealed to the Seers only in the himalayas. the abode of Snow, where all gods, heroes and rsis, from Parsurama to arjuna, from Shiva to indra, from durvasa to vishvamitra meditated and performed austerities to gain divyaastras and Moksha, power and knowledge.

it was a green expanse of level land, drained by numerous thin capillary streams carrying the icy melt of the tall mountains around, the only permanent residents some hardy birds and snow leopards. and a sadhu living in a hut, vowed to silence so as not to disturb the meditations of gods who also dwelt in the mountains. this sadhu lived on some contributions of provisions by trekkers and mountaineers and on the scarce roots and shrubs. devoid of modern amenities, the sadhu lived in harmony with the spirit/geist/soul of the mountains, fortified by his tapas.

this idyllic ground is surrounded by high peaks, each evocative of a myth, a deity, a philosophic tradition. the mastiff of Satopanth; Meru, the axis mundi of the Brahmanical and Buddhist world; the domical stupa like Kedara dome; Kirtistambh the vertical link between Earth and heavens; Bharatkunta and many more.

the most illustrious is the looming, eternal presence of Shivalinga, in shape of a linga, worthy of being worshipped as the gigantic emblem of the one god who can be said to truly belong to the himalayas. Shiva, who lives and plays with mortal and divine destinies from the lofty heights of Kailasha, is perpetually consorting in eternal union G a u m u k h

with the daughter of the himalaya’s, Parvati who is also evoked as himavati. indeed the very gangas as Bhagirathi drips from his matted locks, revealing itself at the mouth of gangotri glacier.

the painting of the source of ganga by Sidharth with its rhythmic blue conical mountains, set in ranges, each rising above the other, invokes a notional landscape. it speaks of icy height, pristine and divine in their solitude, where nothing exists except pure spiritual bliss.

the landscape does not have any human presence, to disturb the silence of the hills and the music of the river with idle chatter. all that one sees are the soaring himalayan ravens, black as coal, shining in clear, bright light being reflected off the snows. the raven in indian tradition is not a clever, thieving bird; rather it is the epitome of grace and intelligence, like Kak Bhusundi who in the ramayana is a sage reborn as a crow. he is represented as the supreme bhakta, a devotee who has a direct connection with his personal godhead. Perhaps as a raven he espied the devotions of the great rsis and emulated them and thus gained darshana of his beloved lord rama. the tibetan Buddhist Mahakala, is a protector figure, is iconographicaly represented as raven faced.

high in the crags of the hills, under the snow-clad peaks, a pair of bharals can be seen balancing precariously amongst the rocks. Bharals are blue sheep found high in the himalayan, who can negotiate the most treacherous slopes. the blue sheen to their coats allows them to “melt” against the dark blue rocks of the mountains, remaining immobile for ages so they can be hard to spot. generally very shy, sighting the bharal is considered auspicious during a mountainous journey. the bharal is the favourite prey of the fast depleting population of the snow leopard, whose sighting is also

very rare, and is indicated in the painting in the singular.

Sitting apart from the mountains, and yet part of it is a Kashmiri gray langur. interestingly the gray langur with a black face is also known as the hanuman langur and is revered in most of india. it is believed that the langurs helped lord hanuman in the battle against ravana in lanka. here hanuman, the monkey god got trapped in the fire. this scorching resulted in the black face of the langurs, since they got burnt while helping the lord.

within the narrow floor of the valley, one can see the origin of the mighty river from the tiny stream emanating from the snout of the glacier winding its way torturously down the valley. it goes around giant boulders and through narrow openings, bubbling white with the effort of passing on its mighty journey towards the sea. the painting is also a pictographic map of the descent of ganga up to the shaft of gangotri, plotting the two major pilgrimage centers of gaumukh and gangotri. the two halts on the way between them, Bhojbasa or the habitat of birch trees and Chirbasa lower down where pine trees start alongside the pilgrimage route are visible in the landscape. the downward journey of the river and the trek up wards of the pilgrim to reach the origin are thus simultaneously indicated in the work.

the story of ganga is narrated in this work only up to the first major pilgrimage, tirtha or ford/ passage in the life of a yatri or traveller and of the river itself. this painting is the first in a set of 14 paintings by Sidharth, each 18 feet long. the entire series being a quest, a discovery of the sociology, the physiology and the ecology of the most sacred of all rivers, the ganga, or gangaji as it is more reverently addressed in most of north india.

dr. seema BawaC h i r b a s a

the story of Ganga is narrated in this work only up to the first major pilgrimage, tirtha or ford/ passage in the life of a yatri or traveller and of the river itself. this painting is the first in a set of 14 paintings by sidharth, each 18 feet long. the entire series being a quest, a discovery of the sociology, the physiology and the ecology of the most sacred of all rivers, the Ganga, or Gangaji as it is more reverently addressed in most of North india.

he started the drawing on canvas with charcoal stick from left corner to the right. later put silver leaf with lacquer mixed in indigo pigment. Filled the painting in three layers of vegetable dyes and finally finished with mineral pigments.

S i d h a r t h | G a n g a | S i l v e r L e a f , V e g e t a b l e d y e s a n d m i n e r a l p i g m e n t s o n c a n v a s | S i z e : 2 1 6 ” x 6 6 “

GANGA –sACrEd sOJOUrN-i

surrealism and Vocabulary

in a world of races within races-how does an artist stand apart for his own inventiveness and sensibility? artists have to study, observe and reflect on the world around them to embark on a journal of enlightenment. within that journal of enlightenment is the grammar of vocabulary techniques and ingredients. Sidharth is known as the man of metaphors-his repertoire doesn’t merely look at compositional clarity-he marries the world of traditions and the range of periods to create monumental canvasses that define the elegance of an epoch.

tempera and silver leaf are merely two names in his iota of vocabulary-surrealism and quasi realism are a pair of periods-but what is uncanny is his ability to translate the spiritual synergy of a journey of 2 decades into a canvas that unravels like the modern day narrative of miniscule legends within the crevices and valleys and mountains of the journey of india’s most sacred river the ganga.

indian contemporary characteristics leap off this ultramarine blue bordered landscape that is a re-interpretation of a millennium old narrative of the journey of the river that begins in the mountains. Full of energy and creativity, this painting witnesses the development of the artist’s monastic and meditative meanderings in the moorings of observation and experiential diktats. this work exposes in detail how the artistic insight and intellectual fermentation within Sidharth’s mendicant murmurs reveal a narrative and a deepened charismatic leaning that

is relevant to modernity, multiculturalism, and the advent of technology in an artist’s realm of creation. represented are the mountainous terrain, the flora and fauna which vary from a small tree to a crow to a pair of rams to rivulets with lace like waves that will testify the versatility of a once-considered conservative medium-the tempera. while a century ago tempera painting was often considered an object of appreciation in an intimate setting, it has now taken a much more active role in inviting a public audience to participate in its artistic experience. Scrutiny suggests that it more than just dramatic-it has a density of depth that can fool the eye- for it has a lustre that attracts the crucibles of crystalline cohesion.

Within and without

“ My work is about the journey from without and within,” says Sidharth. My journey is about the destination as well as the many metaphorical moments and moods and memories that are attached with the river that enfolds both the living and the dead,’ he affirms. ”Ganga is more than a holy river. It is a collection of contradictions and commentaries-it is the divination of great histories and legends and the music of civilizations that lived and died on its banks. For me the psyche of the Ganga lives in the people I met, in the birds I watched, in the animals I observed. For me every living thing had its own poetry-it shared the lyrical flow of the river. It shared the same linguistic and imagetic preoccupations of

the lives led along its journey. I stood and watched the rams eating the dolomite from the cliffs and wondered at the power of nature and how small we are in comparison.”

in many ways Sidharth’s handling of the little crevices and narrowed valleys amidst mountainous peaks of the himalayas , brings us closer to the dilemma of dichotomies in our existence. he has a simultaneous allegiance to two distinct modes of perceptions. the native and the primary which is ineffaceable-and the modern which is imperative and unavoidable. he sustains his trail of thought further and states: “ When I stood at places of great isolation I could hear the pulse of the river in my breath. When I saw the red faced monkey I felt I was looking at a surreal image of Hanuman.He looked like a monk to me-magnificent was his soft expression and silent eyes. I travelled along its length to know that the philosophical implications are the same-the thematic references of life and death mirror one another. I realized what T.S.Eliot meant when he wrote his poem The Wasteland. The Indian tradition is my very being. When I paint I use organic minerals to create my earthy tones-when I paint I am mixing many pigments in the hope of creating a soil that has the Indian signature of its own textures and culture. This journey made me bend back and bring my childhood forward. It created a resonance within me-of my days at the Tibetan Monastery my hunger to learn about the Thangkas.”

horizontal scroll

the painting must be read from left to right like a horizontal scroll. the first section of the painting makes an explicit comparison between the origin of the river and the journey that defines its being as models for the unknowable. the river, while it may figure

prominently in human mythologies, is something that can be crossed and conquered, while its journey represents an endless reserve of depths and mysteries: Man can live with the river but he will never master it. the second section of the painting seems to signify a reconciliation with the human lot-the temple-the sage in the mountains and the snow leopard that the artist sometimes glimpses. the flow of the river will never be either a measured slate or an easily circumscribed path; “there is no end of it,” and man must always keep searching in good faith.

time destroys but it also preserves, and just as there is no mastery there is also no escape. the third section of the work ruminates on words attributed to lord Krishna and his conversation with arjuna , advising humanity not to “fare well” but to “fare forward.” this is an exhortation about human aspirations—to stop seeking to do “well”—and to be satisfied with mere existence. again Sidharth uses the rams and the flying crow to represent a level of awareness unattainable for the series of travellers he describes here. he also personifies the power of silence and death -in the skeletons- as he presents his audience with a range of small miniature images that are both spiritually stirring but evocatively elegant with a beautiful karmic echo. death, sorrow and sadness are central concerns in Sidharth’s art and yet so are transcendence of form, sublimation of self and universal love for nature. when Sidharth deploys the seductively masterful technique of small molecular particles in tempera he is totally in service of psychologically awakening or even spiritually stilling imagery, our experience approaches the sublime—a realization of the subhuman that is both

R e d F a c e d M o n k e y

metaphysical and transcendent.

in his pursuit of both the sublime and the engaged, Sidharth’s artistic practice is perhaps unique in the history of contemporary indian art because he rejects western traditional norms and embraces the role of his own lingua franca of indigenous indian sensibilities and commentaries.

defining the landscape

it is intriguing to note that sidharth is a poet and a film maker and a writer. And poetry has shaped his own idiom.then there is the blend of ironic attitudes as well as the emotion of the poetic self that comes into his weavings and moorings. Lyrical cadences are clear and pulsating when you see his white tendril like lacings in the waves that flow in undulating elegance. But sidharth’s landscape is the result of the pressing predicaments he faces. this work then is also the arena in which he relates himself to history through tradition so that he can confront the reality and spontaneity of inter connectedness to the

contemporary milieu. the symbols, the forms, the images define the

many questions that arise as he watches the journey and mingles with cinematic moments.

in the landscape Sidharth has combined the

intense mineral pigments and brushwork of, Buddhist mural paintings with the fine line brush technique associated with paintings of birds and flowers.

Sidharth is equally talented when working in expressive brushwork. in this mode of painting he cites the freehand style of painting literally meaning ‘writing of ideas’) traditionally associated with a literary or poetic treatment of morally positive subject matter. For this epic yet evocative creation he has created a depiction of poignant vignettes, iconic images of the pathways and passages.

ganga-Spiritual Sojourn –i incorporates an unending quest for Sidharth. a quest that thirsts for roots within indian traditions and a quest that seeks to ascend to a higher self. on one hand is the artist poet who is seeking his own definition-his web of memories develop a framework that signifies. the artist however is the modernist who tries to explore existential theories for time and what it does to the artist’s crucible of creation. there is then the role of time as the unifying force that cements individual and tradition, emotion and intellect and what is past and what is present.it is this image that gets embedded within us with a sense of cleansing and a sense of affirmation in a secular modern society.

Poetic sensibility and translative Creativity

the fourth section is a translative capacity of admiration for the vegetation of the cold regions. the final section of the painting offers something akin to hope as the little trees punctuate the ice clad mountains. and of course we recall Eliot’s last part of the Four Quartets in which he transcends all reality and states that “ while man will always strive in vain to “apprehend / the point

B h u j b a s a & H i m a l a y a n R a v e n

of intersection of the timeless / with time,” everyday existence nevertheless contains moments of only half-noticed grace—moments at which “you are the music / while the music lasts.”

the brown pathway is a human intervention that is meant to illuminate the vastness both of the journey and the idea of mere existence and to point out the futility of trying to master it with anything as ineffectual as man’s greatness in god’s universe. like prayer, the passage of the river and the pathway of man intersecting represents an attempt to appeal to a higher power, to admit one’s own mortal limits. the pathway directly refutes poetic endeavor, too: human-made, a pathway is an attempt to communicate without words, an admission that words have failed. Stand and look at the work in silence-it invites the aura of the sages.

dazzled by the multiple rhetorical forces , we tend to attribute greater meaning to the imagery that is really there, while we want to try and understand what is actually being said. “ i wanted to draw attention to the river ganga. we extoll human virtues, why don’t we extol virtues of the holy ganga? in the ultimate commentary ,if we look at the ganga today the river becomes a conduit for refuse and unpleasant memories, the ganga in its flow along the cities and capitals becomes a shallow channel rather than a “ sacred river.” Just as we can neither escape nor romanticize the river, nor can we ignore the reality of how much we are destroying its purity.

the final echo of this regal work that embraces a panoramic purity combines a resigned pessimism with a suggestion of hope. Couched in the beauty of the journey is a dark meaning:

“our temporal reversion” is death, which is beneficial only if we can become “significant soil” that might nourish a tree. Sidharth compels us to join his reflection and think of the ecological impact of the sacred ganga. he may not be able to master time and experience but he is master of the world that he paints into being. the futility of man does not diminish the beauty of india’s holiest river. in his Spiritual Sojourn, Sidharth shares not just his kinship with nature, but his credo and spirit that is his own when the river runs through the mind and heart and soul of the artist.

the holy ganga then is more than a mere stimulation-it wants us to reaffirm the intellectual value of the classical role of the holy river in response to the modern crisis of spirituality in a world of materialism. ganga is a blend of what is contemporary and what is classical. it is awe-inspiring, and it is continually present, it is an endless verdict on the history of civilizations in india. the extreme vitality of the ganga is what is called eternity. the beauty of this canvas is that regardless of time and space this work can be called a ‘contemporary classic.’

UMA NAirCurator and CritiCnEw dElhi

B h a r a l s

Born 1956 Punjab, india

Education | Fresco painting techniques from local artisans in Punjab | tibetan thangka painting, from the tibetan Monks in dharamshala | diploma in painting from College of art, Chandigarh | glass blowing, oreforsh, Sweden | techniques of Madhubani paintings and Kashmir paper Mache crafts from master crafts persons.

1985-2012 | 24 one man shows of drawing, paintings | Paper- Mache sculptures and installations, in delhi, Mumbai, telford (uK), washington, london, durban, Sweden and trondheim Kunst Museum, norway.

1976-2013 | Participations in 140 national and international group shows in india and abroad | international and national art fairs. Epicenter, gurgaon, india – 2009 -2010 -2011 | Bangaluru art fair, Banglore, india -2011 | Mumbai art fair, Mumbai – 2009, 2010 | india art fair -2008, 2010, 2011, 2012 | Sanfrancisco art Fair (uSa)-2011 | Shanghai international art Fair China - 2011 | Mumbai art fair november, 2011 | art Fair, hong Kong, May 2012. Bangaluru art Fair, oct 2012 | Mumbai india art Festival, nov, 2012 | india art Fair Solo Show with gallery art Konsult, new delhi 2013 | india art Fair participation with gallery ganesha, new delhi 2014 | | india art Fair participation with Bargad art and Culture in collaboration with gallery art Konsult, new delhi 2014.

Awards | residencies in u.K. Bharat Bhawan, Bhopal, Punjab lalit Kala akademi three times and himachal, Shimla annual exhibition of art | February 2012 – honorary d-lit awarded by Punjabi university, Patiala.

Collections | govt. Museum, Chandigarh | ngMa, delhi | Punjab lalit Kala akademi, Chandigarh | British Council, delhi | British, Mexican and Swedish ambassador residence | dusseldorf museum | heda, Sweden | dabur india | air tel | Bakshi group | india with art and many industrial groups in india, uSa, uK and Sweden.

Art workshops | india, Malaysia, uK, uSa | Sweden, australia and turkey, italy, Japan, russia, Cambodia, Bhutan.

Other activities | wrote a book ‘neti-neti’ | 15 documentaries on indian temple art and architecture | designed houses, composed music and translated oriental poetry into Saraiki language | detailed studies on mineral and vegetable pigments and their use in contemporary painting | Studies on south asian and oriental techniques of paintings | Made a short film on cow entitled ‘the decorated Cow’ | a documentary film made by a well known director Mr. K. Bikram Singh entitled a painter Sidharth ‘in search of colours’ sponsored by PSBt india.

S i d h a r t h

uma nair has over 3 decades of work as an art critic and became a curator in 2005 with a ceramic show titled terra natura. after that she curated darpan a show that looked at how indian artists treated the concept of the mirror in life and art.

after this she has curated a number of solo shows and a few group shows. at the art india Fair last year she curated womb to tomb that had photographs and sculptures and paintings.her last show was Shridhar iyer’s show at art Bull in 2014.

She wrote as art critic for times of india, asian age and Economic times over the past 3 decades. She lives in delhi and is working on a monograph on Sudip roy.

M S . u M a n a i r

Prof. Seema Bawa is Professor of history department of history, delhi university, specializing in the history of art and culture. She has lectured extensively in india and abroad on indian art, architecture and iconography including institute of archaeology, the national Museum, india habitat Centre, Seminar für orientalische Kunstgeschichte. She has written extensively on contemporary india art in various newspapers and journals. She was the recipient of daad Fellowship to read at the university of Bonn. She has published two books Religion and Art of the Chamba and Gods, Men and Women: Gender and Sexuality in Early Indian Art. her research papers on early indian sculptures and architecture have been published in many journals. She writes on contemporary indian art and culture for national newspapers, specialized journals and magazines, has edited ARTimes and curated shows including the Decorated Cow: Sidharth and Shatadru: Feminine Sensibilities in Indian art for lalit Kala akademi.

d r . S E E M a B a w a

sidharth’s journey along the river and within bhagirathi ganga to angotri, g rudraprayag,...

Documents