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| Thursday, 15 July 2004 |
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Savouring 'The Creative Touches of the Chisel' by a correspondent June 17, 2004 marked Yogendra Duraiswamy's fifth death anniversary and the Hindu Women's Society commemorated the event by launching the book, "The Creative Touches of the Chisel," written by Sivanandini Duraiswamy dedicating it to his memory.
The programme commenced with the singing of the devotional songs by the members of the society. These were beautifully and soulfully rendered. The traditional oil lamp was lit and the benedictory address was given by Swami Rajeswaranandaji of the Ramakrishna Mission. Reciting slokas, the Swami blessed the whole programme, the author, the society and all those gathered and finally prayed for the Atman of Yogendra and his onward march to salvation. The chief guest, former High Commissioner of India in Sri Lanka, Nirupam Sen in remembering his friend said, "Yogendra had a great heart, a kind mind and was a good friend. He led an active life in terms of the welfare of his people which is far more important and which ultimately is the true test of diplomacy. His vision for the United Nations thirty five years ago itself was clear namely that the Special Committee and its working groups should be the formation of a scheme of agreed guidelines with the consent of the local government and the international community for UN peace keeping operations.
This would effectively help in the preservation of peace and secondly the importance of Human Rights not only for peace among nations but also for peace within nations. He also looked forward to a Human Rights Charter for the SAARC region itself. And today SAARC through the Social Charter is approximating to that vision of Yogendra. These are some of the instances that I wish to share with you as we remember him and see how far reaching was his vision in a purely professional diplomatic capacity - this ultimately is the mark of the man. Speaking about the book, he said that reading the book showed the extraordinary scholarship of the author. "Beginning with the words of Shelly, the author aptly speaks of life that stains the radiance of eternity and thereby gives eternity a local habitation and a name. And one of the ways this is done is through art and architecture especially temple architecture - the main theme of the book. It is not a mere analysis of styles, sculptures and temples but she brings to bear a personal touch on her writing - she looks at these as a person who touched them and who saw them in different places. She was able do so because as the wife of a diplomat she had the opportunity to travel widely and to compare, to reflect and to think which she has done beautifully. The second great value of the book is the comparative vision she introduces in her writing. Through her writing she tells us that temple are a living tradition arising from the spiritual soil of our civilisation and of our land for the people who worship a living God. She brings out these and more salient features with great clarity through her style of writing that one does not feel that one is reading a work of dry scholarship where things are only systematised. It is something implicit - she brings out the different styles of architecture that she comes across personally and through her reading, through her scholarship - the unity of its civilisations its colossal syncretic strength which not only gives a great past but a living presence and its great future. Professor Bastiampillai spoke of the rarity for one to overcome the mundane and move into the realm of fine art which the Duraiswamys were able to do. The sharp intellect and the serene tastes of beauty inherent in both of them helped them in their interest in art, architecture and aesthetics. In this book, the author recalls the grandeur of the mighty Cholas and recollects Parantaka and then more vividly Raja Raja the great and Rajendra. She speaks of the mighty temples and the rich sculptural scrolls created by these monarchs. In her writing she portrays the Chola legacy in Polonnaruwa and tells us that the religious zeal of the Cholas drove them to turn their minds even in the midst of war from the unreal to the real. They wanted the eternal verities of Hinduism to be turned into permanence in architecture, sculpture and art which the author has eloquently rendered. Sri Lanka has benefited by the richness of both the Pallava and Chola civilisations. Therefore I commend this book and that one should study the profound scholarly work brought out through the efforts, learning and interest of late Yogendra and his wife. It is indeed a splendid contribution that the author bestows for lovers of art in her "Creative Touches of the Chisel," and fittingly on the death anniversary of her husband. Professor Pathmanathan spoke of the illuminating commentary given by the chief guest on the book. He added that Nagapattinam was an aesthetic node which had developed into a cosmopolitan emporium with traders and artisans gathering together from North India and from SE Asia. In this multicultural setting, the Buddhist element became popular. The entry of Buddhism was rather late in Tamil Nadu when compared to the entry of Buddhism into Sri Lanka. The Buddhist art pieces of the area are indeed very valuable. The author has clearly defined that the artist who portrayed the images of the Buddha were able to do so beautifully because they portrayed the meditative mood of the Buddha and unlike the Gandhara artist who tended to portray the Buddha as the Greek God! Dr. Susantha Goonatilleke said that Sivanandini's writing is clearly a work of joy. Her rapture of things seen, an attempt to compare and contrast with fresh eyes clearly shines through the pages of the book. "I am not an art critic or art historian although I have used art criticism and art history in my own narrow field of global cross-cultural transactions. So it is as a commentator on the global traffic of ideas that I speak of Sivanandini's work. "Hers is in the same spirit of western explorers who came to our shores compared, contrasted, took a large canvas and made broad generalisations. The Westerners made the furniture of our mental world, moulded how even now we look at ourselves. We today think second hand their thoughts. Full of imperfections and prejudices, yet they tried to make sense from their perspective of what they saw. They also reminded especially us in Sri Lanka and the South India about the global cultural traffic we had engaged in as we spread Indic culture across Asia especially to SE Asia. Vijitha Yapa spoke of the publication and that the Vijitha Yapa publications is pleased to be associated with the launching of the book. He quoted two captions from the Prologue of the book - "Questions arose in our minds whether the pyramids with hollowed vaults and the ziggurats evolved into the later Stupas with chambered sanctums of the Buddhist era and whether the columns of Egypt passed through Babylon, Assyria and Persipolis to finally create the Asokan pillars." As she wondered through these ancient sites, she made these comparisons for us. |
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