Author: Harsha Dehejia
Publisher: Roli Books
Year: 2008
Language: English
Pages: 418
ISBN/UPC (if available): 9788174365125
Description
The book takes us on a journey of the loves of Krishna, his lilas, kridas, his madhurya and above all the raas lila. But Krishna is not only for the royalty and nobility, he belongs to the people, the potter and the puppeteer, the bride and the mother, for he is celebrated at every village fair and town.
Equally the modern artist does not remain untouched by the magic of Krishna and depicts him on his palette. And as the journey ends we are privy to some of the most glorious moments of five magnificent centuries of Krishna paintings.
Harsha V. Dehejia, takes us on a journey of the loves of Krishna, his lilas, kridas and his madhurya and above all the rasa lila. But Krishna is not only for the royalty and the nobility, he belongs to the people, the potter and the puppeteer, the bride and the mother for he is celebrated at village fairs and in chowks. Equally the modern artist does not remain untouched by the magic of Krishna and depicts him on his palette. This journey is a festival of heart throbbing love and pulsating romance, of tender moments of longing and belonging and ultimately of listening to the flute of Krishna within oneself for that is where the journey ends.
From the Jacket Cover:
To wait under the Kadamba tree is to invite Krishna into our lives, prepare for his arrival with anticipation and adornment, and then when we hear this flute, surrender ourselves completely to him so that we may be touched by his mellifluous lov3e, a love so divine that we forget our mortal world and enter the magical and charmed world of his love.
The Kadamba tree is Krishna's tree, of all the trees in Vrindavana it is here that he plays his flute and under its canopy gopis father , and when we wait there along with them, we do so with the bhava or feeling of a gopi, a bhava that seeks the sheer ecstasy of the heart and the joyous trembling of romance, and note ht splendors of the world and the thrills of material success, a spirit that is prepared to turn its back on prapancha or the world of duties and tasks, for here under the Kadamba tree we must put away the burdens and demands of the world and like the gopis leave our mundane chores behind even if they are unfinished, like the birds that gather in its shade we come asking for no worldly boons but merely to sing of the miracle of love, like the blossoms that carry no thorns but merely bring the perfumed wind then all al Krishna's fee to become his vanamala, under the kadamba tree our breath should carry no pious words or petitions but just the simple melody of love songs that we will offer to his lotus feet, under that tree of love we will be like the cows that are drawn to Krishna for after all he is Govind and will become like the bees that around him for he is also Madhusudana the stealer of honey, for under the Kadamba tree we will adore Kanha the dark one, of the color of the clouds pf ashadha and of the frolicking Yamuna, and let our hearts be stolen by him, for he is Mohana, the only who allures, and only then will we really find him and know his love, and in finding him we will discover ourselves.
To wait under the Kadamba tree is to invite Krishna into our lives, prepare for his arrival with anticipation and adornment, and then when we hear this flute, surrender ourselves completely to him so that we may be touched by his mellifluous lov3e, a love so divine that we forget our mortal world and enter the magical and charmed world of his love.
THE ATELIERS OF LOVE
A Journey of Poets, Painters and Patrons
In the film on DVD Ateleliers of Love Harsha V. Dehejia takes us on an enchanting journey of discovering the patrons and the palaces where Krishna paintings were made and where even today when the wind blows through the Kadamba tree we hear Krishna’s flute. We see the palaces of Mandu where we hear the foot falls of Baz Banadur and Rupa Mati, the forts of Kangra where Sansar Chand’s footprints are still seen and visit the enchanted environs of Kishangarh where we hear the hushed voices of Savant Singh and Bani Thani. And as the journey ends we are privy to some of the most glorious moments of five magnificent centuries of Krishna painting.
This journey is a voyage into the artistic creations of a people for whom romantic love an exalted state of living and being, of a civilization where to exult in the passions and the pathos of love was a cherished experience, it is a document of the story of the grand themes of love as enunciated in vaishnavism and above all of Krishna and his mellifluous love. In this journey we shall feast our eyes not only on the many beautiful miniature paintings created over five hundred years but also on the poets and the patrons, the palaces and the havelis, where Krishna love and lore was alive through music and dance, poets and priests.
Contents
Paintings of a Divine Tree
UNDER THE KADAMBA TREE
The Experience of Krishna
Harsha V Dahejia
THE JOURNEY FROM KAVYA TO KALAM
Harsha V Dahejia
PALLAVI - THE FIRST LEAVES OF DIVINE TREE
The Journey from Pothi to Chitravali
Harsha V Dahejia
UNDER THE CANOPY OF KINGS
The Patronage of Krishna Paintings
Daljeet and P C Jain
SHANGAR AND SHRINGAR
Adornment and Anticipation of Krishna's Love
Harsha V Dahejia
PRANAYA MANDAPAS
The Pavilions of Krishna's Love
Anne Marie Doyle
KRIDA - THE LOVE GAMES OF KRISHNA
Harsha V Dahejia
MADHURYA
Krishna's Melifluous Love
Harsha V Dahejia
FROM GOPI TO NAYIKA
Ritikal and the Courtly Krishna
Harsha V Dahejia
RASA LILA
The Cosmic Dimensions of Krishna's Love
Harsha V Dahejia
THE RAGAS OF KRISHNA
Anupa Pandey
IN CHOWKAS AND HAVELIS
Krishna of the People
Harsha V Dahejia
VIRAHA AND VIRAHINI
The Perfection of Krishna;s Love
Harsha V Dahejia
SOME CONUNDRUMS IN KRISHNA PAINTINGS
Milo Beach, Rose Mary Crill, Asok Das, Harsha V Dahejia,
Rahul Jain, Jagdish Mittal, Alka Pandey, Rita Sodha