Tanjore and Mysore Paintings at the CSMVS Mumbai

The year was 1290 . A crowd had gathered around a clearing, where broken down pillars marked the presence of an ancient temple, now long gone. A young boy, just 14 years old, leaned against one of those pillars, deep in thought. Then, he began speaking, and the crowd fell silent, listening to his every word. He spoke without any notes, translating the Bhagavat Gita, from Sanskrit, which only the pundits knew, to the language everyone in the village knew and spoke – a variety of Prakrit which developed into the Marathi language. Even as he spoke, one of the men in the audience realized how momentous this event was, and how important this composition would be. He began writing down the words the young boy spoke, and this composition was named by its author and composer, the Bhavartha Deepika – the enlightening meaning (of the Bhagavat Gita). Now, the ancient, holy text, was no longer restricted to the pundits, but accessible to all, understood easily by them, composed as it was, in their...

Tanjore and Mysore Paintings at the CSMVS Mumbai

A chubby, naked, fair Krishna, holding a butter ball, covered in golden ornaments, Yashoda by his side, an indulgent smile on her face, even as her finger is raised in admonition. Rama and Sita seated on the throne, Lakshmana on one side, Bharata and Shatrughna on the other, surrounded by sages and kings; Rama a distinctive green in colour. These are both popular themes in Tanjore Art. I first saw both these in temples, the Navaneetha Krishna in many homes as well, if not original, at least a recent replica or just a copy. The Ramar Pattabhishekam I have better memories of, having seen it often at the Matunga Bhajan Samaj in Mumbai, as well as at my mother-in-law’s ancestral house in Thanjavur. The latter especially is close to our family’s heart, and it’s an exquisite piece of work, the expressions on Rama and Sita’s faces as intricately done as the gold work that surrounds them.

Navaneetha Krishna

Beautiful as they are, to me, they are associated with divinity more than just works of art. Maybe it has something to do with me seeing them at temples (and the family shrine), but I rarely think of them as Tanjore paintings. Which is why I relished the opportunity to feast my eyes on Tanjore paintings at the CSMVS.

Ramar Pattabhishekam

Three Dimensions Of Divinity: Thanjavur Art Revealed, is a special exhibition at the museum, to showcase their new collection of Tanjore and Mysore Paintings. This collection is part of a set of 350 paintings bequeathed to the museum by the late Kuldip Singh, an ardent collector. The museum has showcased about 50 of the paintings as part of this exhibition.

Hayagriva

The paintings cover a variety of topics – from deities, such the Navaneetha Krishna and Ramar Pattabhishekam , Hayagriva, Vitthala, Muruga, Ayyanar and Madurai Veeran.

Vitthala

Karthikeya

Narratives such as the marriage of Krishna to Satyabhama, the naming ceremony of Rama and his brothers, the story of Markandeya

Wedding of Satyabhama

Detail of Satyabhama (left) and Krishna from Wedding of Satyabhama

Story of Markandeya (detail)

Temples, such as the Srirangam temple. I was especially fascinated by the fact that this painting of a Vaishnava temple included the figure of a Shaiva sanyasi. It turns out that the painting was probably commissioned by the mutt or the sanyasiat the opening of a new choultry (dharmshala or place for pilgrims to stay) at one of the Shaiva mutts at Srirangam.

Srirangam Temple
showing the entire temple complex including the smaller shrines

Detail of Srirangam Temple - Ranganatha in the sanctum

Detail of Srirangam temple - The Shaiva Sanyasi

The 108 Divya Desams

Saints such as Nammalvar, and the 63 Nayanmars

Detail from painting of Nammalvar

The 63 Nayanmars

There are also non-Hindu themes, such as these Jain paintings, as well as a portrait of Guru Nanak.

The gallery also has a series of paintings depicting the process of creation of these paintings, as well as an AV presentation.

The exhibition is on till the end of June, so if you haven’t already been to see it, don’t miss it.

Gokarna Part II – The Five Lingams

We continued our Gokarna trip by visiting four other Shiva temples in the vicinity, all connected to the same story of Gokarna. The story of Gokarna mentions the Mahabaleshwara Lingam as the one brought from Kailas by Ravana, and kept at this place on the ground by Ganesha. (See my earlier post- Gokarna – Pilgrimage and Pleasure). However, the story does not end here. It is believed that, in his anger, Ravana flung aside the materials which covered the lingam- the casket, its lid, the string around the lingam, and the cloth covering it. All these items became lingams as soon as they touched the ground. These four lingams, along with the main Mahabaleshwara lingam are collectively called the ‘ Panchalingams’ . These are: Mahabaleshwara – the main lingam Sajjeshwar – the casket carrying the lingam. This temple is about 35 Kms from Karwar, and is a 2 hour drive from Gokarna. Dhareshwar – the string covering the lingam. This temple is on NH17, about 45 Kms south of Gokarna. Gunavanteshw...

Review of Executive Lounges at New Delhi Railway Station (NDLS)

During my recent trip to Uttarakhand , I was faced with a problem I had never encountered before. We were passing through Delhi, but we had hardly any time in the city. On earlier visits when I have had to change trains/flights at Delhi, I have always arrived in the morning and left again at night, visiting relatives in between. This time, I was arriving in the city at night, and leaving again early in the morning. There was hardly any time to visit people. I would only have a couple of hours with them before I’d have to leave again. For the first time, we considered booking a hotel, but there again, we were hesitant about the actual hotels, the costs involved, and the logistics of getting from the airport to the railway station and then back again from the station to the airport. That’s when we remembered reading something about a corporate-managed lounge at Delhi station. We soon figured out that we could book online and pay by the hour. Besides, we also learnt that there wasn’...

Rama Temple, Gokarna

To my right , the waves rush to the shore, eager to merge with the sand. To my left, the same waves crash against the rocks, their spray diverting my reverie as I ponder over the beauty of nature, and wonder what first brought people here. Was it this beauty that encouraged them to build a temple here, or was it the fresh, sweet spring water flowing from the hill here that made this place special? No matter what the reason, I am glad my auto driver brought me here. We are at the Rama temple in Gokarna, just a few minutes away from the Mahabaleshwara Temple, yet offering so different a perspective.

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