Ajanta Exhibition

Visit: Art Gallery  

Art is the reshaping of reality by man to present it understandably. As the artist recreates the world around him, it is shaped by how he sees it and what he believes in. The Indian artist did not attempt to depict only the material reality around him. He wishes to share the complete experience of the moment, not just the photographic presentation of the shapes around him.

 The Exhibition of Ajanta Caves was opened to the public at Khodidas Art Gallery Sardar Nagar on 25th and 26th September 2021. In this art exhibition, they represented the murals from the Ajanta Caves. The opening ceremony was held at the beginning of the exhibition. The peculiarity of this was that to make people see the paintings in the same way as they do in the caves of Ajanta, a unique inauguration ceremony was held in this art gallery by showing the pictures to the guests with a candle in hand. The guests present and the art lovers were made to feel as if they were in the cave of Ajanta.

Padmapani

The caves of Ajanta are very famous all over India for their paintings. To see those pictures, art lovers come from all over the country. The paintings are just as fresh today, and the subject matter is captivating. A replica of those paintings has been painted on his canvas by 38 accomplished painters, including Khodidasbhai Parmar of Bhavnagar, who has made about 51 paintings. This painting here is a replica of the painting Bodhisattva Padmapani, located in cave 1 at Ajanta monastery.

  Location of the Ajanta Caves:

The Ajanta Caves are located in the city of Aurangabad in the Indian state of Maharashtra. The caves are precisely situated at a distance of 107 kilometres from the city. Ajanta Caves are nestled in a panoramic gorge, very similar to the form of a gigantic horseshoe.

History of the Ajanta Caves:

The Buddhist Caves in Ajanta are approximately 30 rock-cut Buddhist cave monuments dating from the 2nd century BCE to about 480 CE in the Aurangabad district of Maharashtra state in India. The caves include paintings and rock-cut sculptures described as among the finest surviving examples of ancient Indian art, particularly expressive paintings that present emotions through gesture, pose and form.

They are universally regarded as masterpieces of Buddhist religious art. The caves were built in two phases, the first starting around the 2nd century BCE and the second occurring from 400 to 650 CE, according to older accounts, or in a brief period of 460–480 CE according to later scholarship. The site is a protected monument in the care of the Archaeological Survey of India, and since 1983, the Ajanta Caves have been a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

UNESCO World Heritage Site,
The Ajanta Caves

The Ajanta Caves constitute ancient monasteries and worship halls of different Buddhist traditions carved into a 75-metre (246 ft.) wall of rock. The caves also present paintings depicting the past lives and rebirths of the Buddha, pictorial tales from Aryasura's Jatakamala, and rock-cut sculptures of Buddhist deities. Textual records suggest that these caves served as a monsoon retreat for monks, as well as a resting site for merchants and pilgrims in ancient India. While vivid colours and mural wall-painting were abundant in Indian history as evidenced by historical records, Caves 16, 17, 1 and 2 of Ajanta form the largest corpus of surviving ancient Indian wall-painting.

The Ajanta Caves are mentioned in the memoirs of several medieval era Chinese Buddhist travellers to India and by a Mughal-era official of the Akbar era in the early 17th century. They were covered by jungle until accidentally "discovered" and brought to Western attention in 1819 by a colonial British officer Captain John Smith on a tiger-hunting party. The caves are in the rocky northern wall of the U-shaped gorge of the river Waghur, in the Deccan plateau. Within the gorge are several waterfalls, audible from outside the caves when the river is high.

 Caves of the Hinayana Period:

Cave 9, Chaitya worship hall
with Stupa but
no idols

The Hinayana Buddhists did not believe in making any figures of Buddha, instead, they worshipped symbols of him like the Stupa.

The painting and sculptures in the caves are of Buddhist origin; Gautama Buddha was against painting and Sculpture. He forbade an image of himself. Also, he was against the use of colourful clothes such as may excite desire he did not admit women to the order of nuns. He felt that all life was pain. The best way to attain salvation (Nirvana) was to suppress all for happiness.

Caves of Mahayana Period:

Buddhist monks praying 
in front of the 
Dagoba of Chaitya
Cave 26

The second phase is attributed to the theistic Mahayana or Greater Vehicle tradition of Buddhism. Caves of the second period are 1–8, 11, 14–29, some possible extensions of earlier caves. Caves 19, 26, and 29 are chaitya-grihas, the rest viharas. The most elaborate caves were produced in this period, which included some refurbishing and repainting of the early caves.

The second phase of construction at the Ajanta Caves site began in the 5th century. For a long time, it was thought that the later caves were made over an extended period from the 4th to the 7th centuries CE.

The Mahayana Buddhists started making and worshipping paintings and sculptures of Buddha. 

To sum up the difference between the Hinayana and the Mahayana phases of Buddhism, we may say:

Hinayana Buddhism asked the people to rely on themselves and practise the eightfold path of right behaviour. The Buddha was not like Hindu God, Whom the worshipper could ask for help.

The Mahayana made the Buddha almost into gods perhaps under the influence of Hinduism, by the time this more liberal faith emerged, Buddhism accepted women in the Sangha, or the order of monks and nuns, and promised to help people to attain Nirvana by practising certain rites. By the time the Ajanta caves were carved, the Buddhists had evolved imagery almost parallel to the Hindus.

Paintings:

The paintings in the Ajanta caves predominantly narrate the Jataka tales. These are Buddhist legends describing the previous births of the Buddha. These fables embed ancient morals and cultural lores that are also found in the fables and legends of Hindu and Jain texts. The Jataka tales are exemplified through the life example and sacrifices that the Buddha made in hundreds of his past incarnations, where he is depicted as having been reborn as an animal or human.

The paintings are in "dry fresco", painted on top of a dry plaster surface rather than into wet plaster. All the paintings appear to be the work of painters supported by discriminating connoisseurship and sophisticated patrons from an urban atmosphere. We know from literary sources that painting was widely practised and appreciated in the Gupta period. Unlike much Indian mural painting, compositions are not laid out in horizontal bands like a frieze but show large scenes spreading in all directions from a single figure or group at the centre. The ceilings are also painted with sophisticated and elaborate decorative motifs, many derived from the sculpture. The paintings in cave 1 concentrate on those Jataka tales which show the previous lives of the Buddha as a king, rather than as a deer or elephant or another Jataka animal. The scenes depict the Buddha as about to renounce the royal life. 

Cave 17 
Buddha as the golden
goose in his previous
 life

In general, the later caves seem to have been painted on finished areas as excavating work continued elsewhere in the cave, as shown in caves 2 and 16 in particular. According to Spink's account of the chronology of the caves, the abandonment of work in 478 after a brief busy period accounts for the absence of painting in places including cave 4 and the shrine of cave 17, the latter being plastered in preparation for paintings that were never done.

This painting can be found to the left of the main shrine. It depicts one of the most beloved bodhisattvas, Avalokitesvara. The term “bodhisattva” refers to a person that has been awakened by the Buddhist spirit. According to Mahayana doctrine, Alavokitesvara postponed his ascension into Buddhahood until he assisted every being in achieving Nirvana. Avalokitesvara takes the largest number of forms across Asia. Originally, a masculine form, Avalokitesvara is also known as the feminine Guanyin in China and Kuan Yin in Japan.

In the painting, his tan body, darkened only by the locks of curly hair, is delicate and elegant. He is adorned with pearls, amethyst, and other attributes of traditional Indian jewellery. On his head sits a magnificent crown, which at some point was most likely coloured in extreme detail, but over time has faded. His eyes are lowered in a meditative state. His calm, spiritual face sets the tone and mood of the room. In his right hand, he holds a lotus blossom, which may represent his spiritual awakening.

If you look up from the beautiful wall paintings you see the geometric designs and motifs that adorn the ceiling. There are also images of peacocks, subtly decorated in blue paint made from lapis lazuli. One of the panels shows a decorative vegetable motif that looks similar to our modern-day green bell pepper. In addition to this, there is a creature with a bull’s head whose body transforms into swirling curvaceous lines that blend into the floral decoration of the next panel.

Ajanta Stamp, 1949

The ceiling paintings are so beautiful that one of the panels, which depicts a running elephant surrounded by flowers, was chosen as the official logo of India’s Department of Tourism. The elephant is shown playfully galloping, as his trunk swirls close to his body.

One of the many doorway paintings in Ajanta caves, this one depicts scenes of kings and communities enjoying each other's company eating and drinking wine in merriment. And as we can see from this image of the painting these murals and sculptures are started getting in worse condition with the passes.

Decayed Doorway Painting

[Word Count:1681]

Geoffrey Chaucer

Who Was Geoffrey Chaucer?

In 1357, Geoffrey Chaucer became a public servant to Countess Elizabeth of Ulster and continued in that capacity with the British court throughout his lifetime. The Canterbury Tales became his best known and most acclaimed work. He died October 25, 1400, in London, England, and was the first to be buried in Westminster Abbey’s Poet’s Corner.

David Wallace studied at York and Cambridge. Currently a professor at the University of Pennsylvania. He has served as president of the New Chaucer Society. He is the author of Geoffrey Chaucer A New Introduction.

Early Life:

Poet Geoffrey Chaucer was born around 1340, most likely at his parents’ house on Thames Street in London, England. Chaucer’s family was of the middle class, descended from an affluent family who made their money in the London wine trade. According to some sources, Chaucer’s father, John, carried on the family wine business.

Geoffrey Chaucer is believed to have attended the St. Paul’s Cathedral School, where he probably first became acquainted with the influential writing of Virgil and Ovid.

In 1357, Chaucer became a public servant to Countess Elizabeth of Ulster, the Duke of Clarence’s wife, for which he was paid a small stipend—enough to pay for his food and clothing. In 1359, the teenage Chaucer went off to fight in the Hundred Years’ War in France, and at Rethel he was captured for ransom. Thanks to Chaucer’s royal connections, King Edward III helped pay his ransom. After Chaucer’s release, he joined the Royal Service, travelling throughout France, Spain and Italy on diplomatic missions throughout the early to mid-1360s. For his services, King Edward granted Chaucer a pension of 20 marks.

In 1366, Chaucer married Philippa Roet, the daughter of Sir Payne Roet, and the marriage conveniently helped further Chaucer’s career in the English court.

Public Service:

By 1368, King Edward III had made Chaucer one of his esquires. When the queen died in 1369, it served to strengthen Philippa’s position and subsequently Chaucer’s as well.  From 1370 to 1373, he went abroad again and fulfilled diplomatic missions in Florence and Genoa, helping establish an English port in Genoa. He also spent time familiarizing himself with the work of Italian poets Dante and Petrarch along the way. By the time he returned, he and Philippa were prospering, and he was rewarded for his diplomatic activities with an appointment as Comptroller of Customs, a lucrative position. Meanwhile, Philippa and Chaucer were also granted generous pensions by John of Gaunt, the first duke of Lancaster.

In 1377 and 1388, Chaucer engaged in yet more diplomatic missions, with the objectives of finding a French wife for Richard II and securing military aid in Italy. Busy with his duties, Chaucer had little time to devote to writing poetry, his true passion. In 1385 he petitioned for temporary leave. For the next four years, he lived in Kent but worked as a justice of the peace and later a Parliament member, rather than focusing on his writing.

When Philippa passed away in 1387, Chaucer stopped sharing in her royal annuities and suffered financial hardship. He needed to keep working in public service to earn a living and pay off his growing accumulation of debt.

 Later Life:

From 1389 to 1391, after Richard II had ascended to the throne, Chaucer held a draining and dangerous position as Clerk of the Works. He was robbed by highwaymen twice while on the job, which only served to further compound his financial worries. To make matters even worse, Chaucer had stopped receiving his pension. Chaucer eventually resigned the position for a lower but less stressful appointment as sub-forester, or gardener, at the King’s park in Somersetshire.

When Richard II was deposed in 1399, his cousin and successor, Henry IV, took pity on Chaucer and reinstated Chaucer’s former pension. With the money, Chaucer was able to lease an apartment in the garden of St. Mary’s Chapel in Westminster, where he lived modestly for the rest of his days.

Death:

The legendary 14th-century English poet Geoffrey Chaucer died October 25, 1400, in London, England. He died of unknown causes and was 60 years old at the time. Chaucer was buried in Westminster Abbey. His gravestone became the centre of what was to be called Poet’s Corner, a spot where such famous British writers as Robert Browning and Charles Dickens were later honoured and interred.

 

Major Works of Chaucer:

 

Romaunt of the Rose:

This manuscript is extremely important in being the only extant copy of Chaucer's allegorical poem on the art of love. One of the most popular secular poems of the Middle Ages, Le Roman de la Rose was originally composed in French in the Thirteenth Century by Guillaume de Lorris and Jean de Meun. Less than a third of Chaucer's Middle English translation of the poem has survived.  Roman de la Rose is the most popular poem of the middle ages. Perhaps the best poem of this period is the Dethe of the Blanch the Duchesse, also known as the Boke of the Duchesse, a poem of considerable dramatic and emotional power, written after the death of Blanche, wife of Chaucer's patron, John of Gaunt.

Book of the Duchess:

 Dethe of Blache the Duchesse, better known as the Book of the Duchess. Is a poem of considerable dramatic and emotional power, written after the death of Blanche, wife of Chaucer’s patron, John of Gaunt. At the beginning of the poem, the sleepless poet, who has suffered from an unexplained sickness for eight years (line 37), lies in his bed, reading a book. A collection of old stories, the book tells the story of Ceyx and Alcyone. The story tells of how Ceyx lost his life at sea, and how Alcyone, his wife, mourned his absence. Unsure of his fate, she prays to the goddess Juno to send her a dream vision. Juno sends a messenger to Morpheus to bring the body of Ceyx with a message to Alcyone.

The House of Fame:

This is one the Chaucer's unfinished poems, having the rare combination of lofty thought and simple homely language showing the influence of the great Italian master. In the poem, the poet is carried away in a dream by a great eagle from the brittle temple of Venus, in a sad wilderness, up to the hall of fame. To this house come all rumours of earth, as the sparks fly upward. The house stands on a rock of ice. 

 

Parlement of Foules:

The Parlement of Foules, also called the Parlement of Briddes (Parliament of Birds) or the Assemble of Foules (Assembly of Fowls), is a poem by Geoffrey Chaucer (1343? –1400) made up of approximately 700 lines. The poem is in the form of a dream vision in rhyme royal stanza and contains one of the earliest references to the idea that St. Valentine's Day is a special day for lovers

 

Troilus and Criseyde:

Troilus and Criseyde is a poem of eight thousand lines. The original story was a favourite of many authors during The Middle Ages, and Shakespeare makes use of it in his Troilus and Cressida. The immediate source of Chaucer's poem is Boccaccio's II Filostrato," the love-smitten one";  but he uses his material very freely to reflect the ideals of his own age and society and so gives the whole story a dramatic force and beauty which it had never known before.

 

The Canterbury Tales:

This is a fifteenth-century manuscript of Chaucer’s magnum opus, in which a diverse group set off on a pilgrimage to Canterbury. In having the characters tell stories to while away the time en route, Chaucer provides the perfect framework for a series of narratives, told in a wide variety of styles and genres that together mirror all human life. It has been universally celebrated for its dramatic qualities and inimitable humour. Over eighty complete and fragmentary manuscript copies of the poem survive today. 

The Canterbury Tales, written in 1387-1400. This is the story of the collection is about a pilgrimage to the shrine of Thomas Becket in Canterbury, Kent. The 30 pilgrims who undertake the journey gather at the Tabard Inn in Southwark, across the Thames from London. They agree to engage in a storytelling contest as they travel, and Harry Bailly, the host of the Tabard, serves as master of ceremonies for the contest. Most of the pilgrims are introduced by vivid brief sketches in the “General Prologue.” Interspersed between the 24 tales are short dramatic scenes (called links) presenting lively exchanges, usually involving the host and one or more of the pilgrims. Chaucer did not complete the full plan for his book: the return journey from Canterbury is not included, and some of the pilgrims do not tell stories.

The Canterbury Tales consists of the General Prologue, The Knight’s Tale, The Miller’s Tale, The Reeve’s Tale, The Cook’s Tale, The Man of Law’s Tale, The Wife of Bath’s Tale, The Friar’s Tale, The Summoner’s Tale, The Clerk’s Tale, The Merchant’s Tale, The Squire’s Tale, The Franklin’s Tale, The Second Nun’s Tale, The Canon’s Yeoman’s Tale, The Physician’s Tale, The Pardoner’s Tale, The Shipman’s Tale, The Prioress’s Tale, The Tale of Sir Thopas, The Tale of Melibeus (in prose), The Monk’s Tale, The Nun’s Priest’s Tale, The

Manciple’s Tale, and The Parson’s Tale (in prose), and ends with “Chaucer’s Retraction.” Not all the tales are complete; several contain their own prologues or epilogues.

[Word count:1567]