India a Story Through 100 Objects

contents

Priming flask Eighteenth century The Museum of Islamic Art, Doha

What's in a Name

12

Into History

20

Idealized Body, Human and Divine

30

Urge to Adorn

44

Inter-Cultural Encounters

54

Written Word

64

Scientific Insights

72

Rise of Temple Culture

80

Kingship and Courtly Culture

94

Indian Ocean Networks

110

Art of the Illustrated Book

124

Art of Contest

144

Connoisseurship, Luxury and Brilliance

154

Mobility and Cosmopolitanism

168

Sensorium

184

Mapping Place and Space

198

India through British Eyes

210

Deshi Expressions, Deep Traditions

222

Ideals of Womanhood

232

Early Twentieth Century

242

Into the Present

254

Further Reading

274

contents

Priming flask Eighteenth century The Museum of Islamic Art, Doha

What's in a Name

12

Into History

20

Idealized Body, Human and Divine

30

Urge to Adorn

44

Inter-Cultural Encounters

54

Written Word

64

Scientific Insights

72

Rise of Temple Culture

80

Kingship and Courtly Culture

94

Indian Ocean Networks

110

Art of the Illustrated Book

124

Art of Contest

144

Connoisseurship, Luxury and Brilliance

154

Mobility and Cosmopolitanism

168

Sensorium

184

Mapping Place and Space

198

India through British Eyes

210

Deshi Expressions, Deep Traditions

222

Ideals of Womanhood

232

Early Twentieth Century

242

Into the Present

254

Further Reading

274

Below, right: Indian passport and currency notes

I What’s in a Name?

f you look at Indian currency notes, you will notice that the term ‘India’ is used in the English legend that tells us it was issued by ‘Reserve Bank of India’, while the term ‘Bharat’ is used in the Hindi version of the same legend. Similarly, the cover of the Indian passport carries the words ‘Republic of India’ in English, and ‘Bharatiya Ganarajya’ in Hindi. The name India became attached to the land mass of the Indian subcontinent during the centuries BCE when the Sindhu river, today’s Indus, was the landmark for invading armies of the Greeks who referred to the territory itself as Indu, a corruption of the name Sindhu, and to its people as Indu/Hindu. The terms Hindustan and Al-Hind were applied to this landmass from at least the ninth century, and became so well established that the first Mughal emperor Babur titled himself Badshah-i-Hindustan. Hindustan referred to the entire geographical subcontinent – it meant neither a Persianate India nor the land of the Hindu religion – and it retained that connotation into the twentieth century. Poet Iqbal’s famous 1904 poem, ‘Sare jahan se achcha Hindustan hamara’, praised as the best in the world, the land that included the river Ganges and the Himalayan mountain peaks. While the phrase Hindustan was set aside by the British, and also by a newly independent nation seeking a name, the term Hind has survived to this day in the popular rallying cry of Jai Hind or Victory to India.

What about the equally important name of Bharat? Strange as it may seem, we do not know the exact identity of Bharat who is possibly a character from the Mahabharata epic: Is he a son of Dushyanta?

Or the son of Rishabha? Why did he disappear early from the narrative? The term Bharata-varsha is found in an inscription of king Kharavela, who ruled Odisha during the first century BCE. His renowned

inscription at the Hathigumpa or Elephant-cave just outside Odisha’s current capital of Bhubaneshvar, mentions Bharat when speaking of a major war fought during the king’s tenth regnal year, but it is clear that Kharavela used the term to refer to territory that encompassed only northern India.

Puranic literature that began to be composed in the early centuries CE speak of a land known as Bharat that is situated on Jambudvipa, the island of jambu or jamun, the Indian blackberry. An inscription of the first century of this era, cut into the stone walls of a Buddhist chaitya hall at Karle, excavated 120 feet into the mountainside of the Western Ghats, tells us that a donor created the finest ‘mansion’ in all of Jambudvipa. The jambu, a fruit with known healing qualities, had considerable significance in ancient times. Rama, considered to be an avatar of god Vishnu, is said to have subsisted on this fruit during his 14 years in exile; it was under the jambu tree that prince Siddhartha, the Buddha What’s In A Name? 13

Below, right: Indian passport and currency notes

I What’s in a Name?

f you look at Indian currency notes, you will notice that the term ‘India’ is used in the English legend that tells us it was issued by ‘Reserve Bank of India’, while the term ‘Bharat’ is used in the Hindi version of the same legend. Similarly, the cover of the Indian passport carries the words ‘Republic of India’ in English, and ‘Bharatiya Ganarajya’ in Hindi. The name India became attached to the land mass of the Indian subcontinent during the centuries BCE when the Sindhu river, today’s Indus, was the landmark for invading armies of the Greeks who referred to the territory itself as Indu, a corruption of the name Sindhu, and to its people as Indu/Hindu. The terms Hindustan and Al-Hind were applied to this landmass from at least the ninth century, and became so well established that the first Mughal emperor Babur titled himself Badshah-i-Hindustan. Hindustan referred to the entire geographical subcontinent – it meant neither a Persianate India nor the land of the Hindu religion – and it retained that connotation into the twentieth century. Poet Iqbal’s famous 1904 poem, ‘Sare jahan se achcha Hindustan hamara’, praised as the best in the world, the land that included the river Ganges and the Himalayan mountain peaks. While the phrase Hindustan was set aside by the British, and also by a newly independent nation seeking a name, the term Hind has survived to this day in the popular rallying cry of Jai Hind or Victory to India.

What about the equally important name of Bharat? Strange as it may seem, we do not know the exact identity of Bharat who is possibly a character from the Mahabharata epic: Is he a son of Dushyanta?

Or the son of Rishabha? Why did he disappear early from the narrative? The term Bharata-varsha is found in an inscription of king Kharavela, who ruled Odisha during the first century BCE. His renowned

inscription at the Hathigumpa or Elephant-cave just outside Odisha’s current capital of Bhubaneshvar, mentions Bharat when speaking of a major war fought during the king’s tenth regnal year, but it is clear that Kharavela used the term to refer to territory that encompassed only northern India.

Puranic literature that began to be composed in the early centuries CE speak of a land known as Bharat that is situated on Jambudvipa, the island of jambu or jamun, the Indian blackberry. An inscription of the first century of this era, cut into the stone walls of a Buddhist chaitya hall at Karle, excavated 120 feet into the mountainside of the Western Ghats, tells us that a donor created the finest ‘mansion’ in all of Jambudvipa. The jambu, a fruit with known healing qualities, had considerable significance in ancient times. Rama, considered to be an avatar of god Vishnu, is said to have subsisted on this fruit during his 14 years in exile; it was under the jambu tree that prince Siddhartha, the Buddha What’s In A Name? 13

Railing Pillar

A

15

n unusual array of themes that testify to a complex series of inter-cultural encounters, is sculpted on this pillar that was part of a stone railing around a Buddhist stupa that enshrined relics of the Buddha after his cremation. Both faces of pillar, cut from the typical pink sandstone of Mathura, carry carvings of women who are clearly not Indian and stand, for example, in sharp contrast to the chowribearer and the pirouetting dancer of object #5. One woman wears a Greek peplos over a long skirt, while the other three wear a chiton that is draped quite differently from a sari; their body type, their lack of ornament, and their casual, somewhat dishevelled appearance, set them further apart from typical Indian imagery. At the feet of the women on one side is a tall stemmed, double-handled amphora used for storing wine, while on the other side is a kantharos, a shallow, double-handled, stemmed vessel from which wine was served. Large bunches of grapes hang from the vines seen above the women; these too, are not part of the Indian artistic repertoire and suggest an association with Dionysius, the Greco-Roman god of wine. Four musicians play a set of largely non-Indian instruments, including a harp, a lyre, and castanets. How and why are these figures depicted on a railing round a Buddhist stupa at Mathura?

The answer requires us to travel back in time to the aftermath of Alexander the Great’s plans to conquer India, where he arrived in 326 BCE, and his sudden death that resulted in the eastern parts of his empire being handed over to his general, Seleucus Nikator. The Asian Greek kingdoms of Bactria and Parthia soon declared their independence, but they continued to subscribe to a Greek or Hellenistic mode of living that included Greek inscriptions, Greek columns and buildings, and Greek sculpture. Soon after the turn of the Current era, these kingdoms were taken over by the Kushan rulers, originally a nomadic Central Asian people, who then moved east to capture Afghanistan and much of northern India all the way to Mathura. The Kushans did not have an artistic tradition of their own, but admired and supported the Greco-Roman culture they encountered, encouraging sculptors to continue working in that mode. In India, the Kushans encountered the Buddhist faith and encouraged Buddhism; in fact, its most famous ruler Kanishka, who ruled in the second century CE, built one of the tallest Buddhist stupas near Peshawar in Pakistan. Both sides of the lowest section of this extraordinary pillar carry sculpted images that refer to the Buddhist jatakas or stories of the previous lives of the Buddha.

Carved in Mathura by a sculptor who had imbibed elements of the Greek tradition, this pillar presents us with an eclectic combination of themes and styles.

It suggests that northwest India between the fourth century BCE and the fourth/fifth century CE had a multi-cultural mindset that was at ease with a range of belief systems and artistic ideals. ■

Railing pillar Second century CE Red sandstone Height: 80 cm Mathura (in the style of Gandhara) Cleveland Museum of Art, Ohio

Inter-Cultural Encounters 59

Railing Pillar

A

15

n unusual array of themes that testify to a complex series of inter-cultural encounters, is sculpted on this pillar that was part of a stone railing around a Buddhist stupa that enshrined relics of the Buddha after his cremation. Both faces of pillar, cut from the typical pink sandstone of Mathura, carry carvings of women who are clearly not Indian and stand, for example, in sharp contrast to the chowribearer and the pirouetting dancer of object #5. One woman wears a Greek peplos over a long skirt, while the other three wear a chiton that is draped quite differently from a sari; their body type, their lack of ornament, and their casual, somewhat dishevelled appearance, set them further apart from typical Indian imagery. At the feet of the women on one side is a tall stemmed, double-handled amphora used for storing wine, while on the other side is a kantharos, a shallow, double-handled, stemmed vessel from which wine was served. Large bunches of grapes hang from the vines seen above the women; these too, are not part of the Indian artistic repertoire and suggest an association with Dionysius, the Greco-Roman god of wine. Four musicians play a set of largely non-Indian instruments, including a harp, a lyre, and castanets. How and why are these figures depicted on a railing round a Buddhist stupa at Mathura?

The answer requires us to travel back in time to the aftermath of Alexander the Great’s plans to conquer India, where he arrived in 326 BCE, and his sudden death that resulted in the eastern parts of his empire being handed over to his general, Seleucus Nikator. The Asian Greek kingdoms of Bactria and Parthia soon declared their independence, but they continued to subscribe to a Greek or Hellenistic mode of living that included Greek inscriptions, Greek columns and buildings, and Greek sculpture. Soon after the turn of the Current era, these kingdoms were taken over by the Kushan rulers, originally a nomadic Central Asian people, who then moved east to capture Afghanistan and much of northern India all the way to Mathura. The Kushans did not have an artistic tradition of their own, but admired and supported the Greco-Roman culture they encountered, encouraging sculptors to continue working in that mode. In India, the Kushans encountered the Buddhist faith and encouraged Buddhism; in fact, its most famous ruler Kanishka, who ruled in the second century CE, built one of the tallest Buddhist stupas near Peshawar in Pakistan. Both sides of the lowest section of this extraordinary pillar carry sculpted images that refer to the Buddhist jatakas or stories of the previous lives of the Buddha.

Carved in Mathura by a sculptor who had imbibed elements of the Greek tradition, this pillar presents us with an eclectic combination of themes and styles.

It suggests that northwest India between the fourth century BCE and the fourth/fifth century CE had a multi-cultural mindset that was at ease with a range of belief systems and artistic ideals. ■

Railing pillar Second century CE Red sandstone Height: 80 cm Mathura (in the style of Gandhara) Cleveland Museum of Art, Ohio

Inter-Cultural Encounters 59

Emperor Samudragupta

S

on of the founder of the Gupta dynasty, Samudragupta was a great warrior who conquered much of northern India from Bengal to Lahore, and from Nepal down to the Vindhya mountains that form the northern boundary of the Deccan plateau. His military exploits are celebrated in two important inscriptions which state that Samudragupta was the epitome of an upright victorious monarch who allowed his defeated rivals to continue ruling their territories as long as they acknowledged Gupta authority. He issued a large number of gold coins and their imagery presents a sharp contrast to the Kushan ideal of royal portraiture, and hence to ideals of royal comportment and behaviour. Ruling a large new empire, Samudragupta is portrayed on his coins as sinuous, tall and slender, swaying gently as he stands. He exemplified an absolute Indian ideal of kingship in which valour in battle, piety, and righteousness is invariably accompanied by physical beauty, and a mastery of the erotic arts. On one coin, wearing a long tunic over a short dhoti, Samudragupta stands holding a doublecurved Indian bow in his left hand. On another, he is the beautiful king battling a lion with bow in hand; the broad-chested, narrow-waisted monarch stands with one foot on the ground and the other planted on a rock as he faces the lion and reaches with his left hand to pull an arrow from the quiver on his back. A third coin portrays him as a master of music, playing a lyre while seated on a couch with one foot bent beneath him and the other resting on the ground. And on a fourth coin, we see him as an elegant monarch, accompanied by his lovely queen who wears translucent drapery that reveals her high breasts, narrow waist, and flowing limbs. The king gently raises the queen’s chin to face him in a gesture of marital love, just as we saw in the image of Shiva with Parvati (#7). It should not surprise us to see sensuous imagery on coin portraits since the famed poet Kalidasa, who wrote at a Gupta court, laid great emphasis on the beauty of the monarch.

What was involved in being a perfect king in India during the Gupta period apart from valour, courage, and the ability to command? A study of the rich literature produced during this period indicates that first and foremost it meant having a well formed, smooth, and healthy body; this was to be accompanied by dignity of bearing, a graceful gait, and the adoption of elegant seated postures. A vital component was alamkara, or ornamentation, with gold and gems that illuminated and enhanced beauty, a light that was also indicative of wisdom and strength. An important component was refinement of speech, and the ability to converse deftly and correctly as was appropriate to different situations. Accompanying all this was the art of love, seen as an elaborate game that cultured individuals should master while retaining total control of themselves. All this was required of a monarch and is reflected in the coin portraits of Samudragupta. ■

100 Kingship and Courtly Culture

32 Emperor Samudragupta’s coins ca. 355–376 CE Gold Diameter: 1.9 to 2.2 cm Findspot unknown Los Angeles County Museum of Art

Emperor Samudragupta

S

on of the founder of the Gupta dynasty, Samudragupta was a great warrior who conquered much of northern India from Bengal to Lahore, and from Nepal down to the Vindhya mountains that form the northern boundary of the Deccan plateau. His military exploits are celebrated in two important inscriptions which state that Samudragupta was the epitome of an upright victorious monarch who allowed his defeated rivals to continue ruling their territories as long as they acknowledged Gupta authority. He issued a large number of gold coins and their imagery presents a sharp contrast to the Kushan ideal of royal portraiture, and hence to ideals of royal comportment and behaviour. Ruling a large new empire, Samudragupta is portrayed on his coins as sinuous, tall and slender, swaying gently as he stands. He exemplified an absolute Indian ideal of kingship in which valour in battle, piety, and righteousness is invariably accompanied by physical beauty, and a mastery of the erotic arts. On one coin, wearing a long tunic over a short dhoti, Samudragupta stands holding a doublecurved Indian bow in his left hand. On another, he is the beautiful king battling a lion with bow in hand; the broad-chested, narrow-waisted monarch stands with one foot on the ground and the other planted on a rock as he faces the lion and reaches with his left hand to pull an arrow from the quiver on his back. A third coin portrays him as a master of music, playing a lyre while seated on a couch with one foot bent beneath him and the other resting on the ground. And on a fourth coin, we see him as an elegant monarch, accompanied by his lovely queen who wears translucent drapery that reveals her high breasts, narrow waist, and flowing limbs. The king gently raises the queen’s chin to face him in a gesture of marital love, just as we saw in the image of Shiva with Parvati (#7). It should not surprise us to see sensuous imagery on coin portraits since the famed poet Kalidasa, who wrote at a Gupta court, laid great emphasis on the beauty of the monarch.

What was involved in being a perfect king in India during the Gupta period apart from valour, courage, and the ability to command? A study of the rich literature produced during this period indicates that first and foremost it meant having a well formed, smooth, and healthy body; this was to be accompanied by dignity of bearing, a graceful gait, and the adoption of elegant seated postures. A vital component was alamkara, or ornamentation, with gold and gems that illuminated and enhanced beauty, a light that was also indicative of wisdom and strength. An important component was refinement of speech, and the ability to converse deftly and correctly as was appropriate to different situations. Accompanying all this was the art of love, seen as an elaborate game that cultured individuals should master while retaining total control of themselves. All this was required of a monarch and is reflected in the coin portraits of Samudragupta. ■

100 Kingship and Courtly Culture

32 Emperor Samudragupta’s coins ca. 355–376 CE Gold Diameter: 1.9 to 2.2 cm Findspot unknown Los Angeles County Museum of Art

Ganga King Narasimhadeva

I

n the mid-thirteenth century, king Narasimhadeva of the Ganga dynasty of Odisha built a monumental temple at Konarak along the edge of the Bay of Bengal to honour the sun god Surya. The shrine and its mandapa are together shaped as a chariot on gigantic wheels, drawn by seven horses (the seven days of the week), and the sanctum once enshrined an immense standing image of Surya, lost today. It stood upon a sixfoot high pedestal, and Narasimhadeva decided that it was appropriate to adorn this pedestal with a set of sculpted panels that portrayed him fulfilling a series of kingly activities. The king is carved as an elegant moustached figure, wearing a tiara to hold back his long hair that is pulled into an elaborate chignon to the right side of his face.

His rounded face features strongly arched eyebrows, elongated eyes, a sharp nose, and pert chin. He has broad shoulders, full chest, narrow waist, and sturdy calves. He wears a short dhoti held in place with a jewelled belt, with the ends of the dhoti arranged fan-shape in front, while his upper cloth is seen behind him as a scarf-like throw. He is richly adorned as appropriate with earrings, rows of necklaces, sacred thread, rich armlets, anklets, and rings.

The panel here shows the beautiful king, seated on a swing in the lalitasana posture of ease with one leg folded on the swing seat and the other resting downwards.

Narasimhadeva is enjoying moments of leisure, most likely within the women’s area of the palace where he is surrounded by women, except for two males in the background who may be eunuchs employed to guard the women’s quarters. A second panel focuses on Narasimhadeva’s valour and portrays him as an archer, standing poised for action, with feet set widely apart; today both the bow and arrow are broken away. Attendants stand behind him, while to his side and in front are a series of admiring onlookers who watch him with their palms joined in the anjali gesture of adoration. A third panel stresses the king’s pious nature by depicting him worshipping at a shrine to goddess Durga in her form as killer of the buffalo-demon, and also to god Jagannatha of the famous nearby shrine of Puri. In front of the king is the smaller figure of the priest who holds a jewelled garland in his hands. A fourth panel, somewhat damaged, depicts the king seated with one leg crossed upon the other and holding a manuscript in his hand.

He appears to be conversing with five priests or architects who face him, one of whom holds a manuscript, while behind the king are two chowri-bearing female attendants.

These panels depict the king, at the feet of Surya, as the perfect embodiment of all things royal. He is beautiful with elegant deportment whether sitting or standing; he enjoys leisure activities like a swing; he is a devout and righteous ruler; and is a learned monarch who consults a manuscript. Narasimhadeva had himself portrayed as the perfect king. ■

102 Kingship and Courtly Culture

33 Ganga king Narasimhadeva ca. 1238–1264

Schist Height: 88.5 cm Konarak, Odisha National Museum, New Delhi

Ganga King Narasimhadeva

I

n the mid-thirteenth century, king Narasimhadeva of the Ganga dynasty of Odisha built a monumental temple at Konarak along the edge of the Bay of Bengal to honour the sun god Surya. The shrine and its mandapa are together shaped as a chariot on gigantic wheels, drawn by seven horses (the seven days of the week), and the sanctum once enshrined an immense standing image of Surya, lost today. It stood upon a sixfoot high pedestal, and Narasimhadeva decided that it was appropriate to adorn this pedestal with a set of sculpted panels that portrayed him fulfilling a series of kingly activities. The king is carved as an elegant moustached figure, wearing a tiara to hold back his long hair that is pulled into an elaborate chignon to the right side of his face.

His rounded face features strongly arched eyebrows, elongated eyes, a sharp nose, and pert chin. He has broad shoulders, full chest, narrow waist, and sturdy calves. He wears a short dhoti held in place with a jewelled belt, with the ends of the dhoti arranged fan-shape in front, while his upper cloth is seen behind him as a scarf-like throw. He is richly adorned as appropriate with earrings, rows of necklaces, sacred thread, rich armlets, anklets, and rings.

The panel here shows the beautiful king, seated on a swing in the lalitasana posture of ease with one leg folded on the swing seat and the other resting downwards.

Narasimhadeva is enjoying moments of leisure, most likely within the women’s area of the palace where he is surrounded by women, except for two males in the background who may be eunuchs employed to guard the women’s quarters. A second panel focuses on Narasimhadeva’s valour and portrays him as an archer, standing poised for action, with feet set widely apart; today both the bow and arrow are broken away. Attendants stand behind him, while to his side and in front are a series of admiring onlookers who watch him with their palms joined in the anjali gesture of adoration. A third panel stresses the king’s pious nature by depicting him worshipping at a shrine to goddess Durga in her form as killer of the buffalo-demon, and also to god Jagannatha of the famous nearby shrine of Puri. In front of the king is the smaller figure of the priest who holds a jewelled garland in his hands. A fourth panel, somewhat damaged, depicts the king seated with one leg crossed upon the other and holding a manuscript in his hand.

He appears to be conversing with five priests or architects who face him, one of whom holds a manuscript, while behind the king are two chowri-bearing female attendants.

These panels depict the king, at the feet of Surya, as the perfect embodiment of all things royal. He is beautiful with elegant deportment whether sitting or standing; he enjoys leisure activities like a swing; he is a devout and righteous ruler; and is a learned monarch who consults a manuscript. Narasimhadeva had himself portrayed as the perfect king. ■

102 Kingship and Courtly Culture

33 Ganga king Narasimhadeva ca. 1238–1264

Schist Height: 88.5 cm Konarak, Odisha National Museum, New Delhi

‘Spill’ and ‘Very Hungry God’

W

hat could be more quintessentially Indian and refer more directly to everyday India than stainless steel utensils used across the country for cooking and dining? And what an outrageously innovative idea to make use of these routine and commonplace items from India to create art for international audiences!

Born well after India’s independence, Subodh Gupta was free of the compulsion felt by earlier artists, like members of the Bombay Progressives group founded at Independence, to enter an international arena with subject matter that was Indian but with a mode of expression that was universal, meaning Western. Criticisms of India’s ‘modern’ artists of that era as derivative continued to be voiced by critics, but by and large it seems to have been irrelevant to Gupta. It is ironic, though, that Western critics used purely Western comparisons when assessing Gupta’s early work. In hailing him as ‘the Damien Hirst of Delhi,’ they compared his work to that of a much-esteemed Western artist best-known perhaps for his tiger shark preserved in formaldehyde, or a diamondstudded human skull. The critics may have felt they were doing Gupta a favour, but for many,

99 ‘Spill’ Artist: Subodh Gupta 2007 Stainless steel with stainless steel utensils Height: 170 cm Saatchi Gallery, London

it was yet another sign that the world was unable to assess India’s contemporary artists in their own context, and needed a comparison that worked by Western standards.

So let’s turn to ‘Spill’ and ‘Very Hungry God’ or any of the many other works that Gupta produced in this particular genre using stainless steel kitchen and table items. In an early press interview, he spoke of buying these items from regular shops selling stainless steel in the bazaars of any small town, and getting them at a wholesale rate because the shopkeepers assumed he was setting up a shop of his own. And why not? he countered.

Looking at these works of art, some of which were created to hang down from the lofty ceilings of museum atriums, we should note that Western viewers appreciated the shiny surfaces but were initially puzzled by the forms that were massed together. This was never a problem for Indian viewers who immediately knew what the items were. When ‘Very Hungry God’ was first placed on view in a church in Paris, it created a stir; in the following year it was displayed at the Venice Biennale, and it has had other venues since, finally finding a home with a Paris collector. Using a similar modus operandi is ‘UFO’, in which Gupta created a large ‘flying saucer’, utilizing in repetitive fashion a set of identical brass vessels as against the varied shapes and forms of his stainless-steel creations. Displayed in a room with a low ceiling, the work had a striking impact.

While I have chosen to focus here on his reuse of steel and brass vessels, Subodh Gupta refuses to be restricted by these ‘readymades’, and has created a variety of new and varied installations that are thought-provoking and exciting to engage with. India’s artists are ready to be is assessed in their own context without constant comparison with the West, a strategy that dominated the twentieth century. ■

‘Very Hungry God’ Artist: Subodh Gupta 2006 Stainless steel with stainless steel utensils Size: 390 x 320 x 400 cm Subodh Gupta, Monnaie de Paris

Into the Present 269

‘Spill’ and ‘Very Hungry God’

W

hat could be more quintessentially Indian and refer more directly to everyday India than stainless steel utensils used across the country for cooking and dining? And what an outrageously innovative idea to make use of these routine and commonplace items from India to create art for international audiences!

Born well after India’s independence, Subodh Gupta was free of the compulsion felt by earlier artists, like members of the Bombay Progressives group founded at Independence, to enter an international arena with subject matter that was Indian but with a mode of expression that was universal, meaning Western. Criticisms of India’s ‘modern’ artists of that era as derivative continued to be voiced by critics, but by and large it seems to have been irrelevant to Gupta. It is ironic, though, that Western critics used purely Western comparisons when assessing Gupta’s early work. In hailing him as ‘the Damien Hirst of Delhi,’ they compared his work to that of a much-esteemed Western artist best-known perhaps for his tiger shark preserved in formaldehyde, or a diamondstudded human skull. The critics may have felt they were doing Gupta a favour, but for many,

99 ‘Spill’ Artist: Subodh Gupta 2007 Stainless steel with stainless steel utensils Height: 170 cm Saatchi Gallery, London

it was yet another sign that the world was unable to assess India’s contemporary artists in their own context, and needed a comparison that worked by Western standards.

So let’s turn to ‘Spill’ and ‘Very Hungry God’ or any of the many other works that Gupta produced in this particular genre using stainless steel kitchen and table items. In an early press interview, he spoke of buying these items from regular shops selling stainless steel in the bazaars of any small town, and getting them at a wholesale rate because the shopkeepers assumed he was setting up a shop of his own. And why not? he countered.

Looking at these works of art, some of which were created to hang down from the lofty ceilings of museum atriums, we should note that Western viewers appreciated the shiny surfaces but were initially puzzled by the forms that were massed together. This was never a problem for Indian viewers who immediately knew what the items were. When ‘Very Hungry God’ was first placed on view in a church in Paris, it created a stir; in the following year it was displayed at the Venice Biennale, and it has had other venues since, finally finding a home with a Paris collector. Using a similar modus operandi is ‘UFO’, in which Gupta created a large ‘flying saucer’, utilizing in repetitive fashion a set of identical brass vessels as against the varied shapes and forms of his stainless-steel creations. Displayed in a room with a low ceiling, the work had a striking impact.

While I have chosen to focus here on his reuse of steel and brass vessels, Subodh Gupta refuses to be restricted by these ‘readymades’, and has created a variety of new and varied installations that are thought-provoking and exciting to engage with. India’s artists are ready to be is assessed in their own context without constant comparison with the West, a strategy that dominated the twentieth century. ■

‘Very Hungry God’ Artist: Subodh Gupta 2006 Stainless steel with stainless steel utensils Size: 390 x 320 x 400 cm Subodh Gupta, Monnaie de Paris

Into the Present 269

Photo Credits Apart from photographs already credited to various museums and institutions Alamy: pages 27; 67; 76; 86; 87; 102; 120-121; 170 (both); 246 (both); 259; 270 Getty Images: pages 230 (both); 267; 269

All rights are reserved. No part of this publication may be transmitted or reproduced in any form or by any means without prior permission from the author. © Roli Books, 2021 © Text: Vidya Dehejia, 2021 First published by Roli Books M-75, Greater Kailash II Market New Delhi-110 048, India Phone: ++91-11-4068 2000 E-mail: info@rolibooks.com Website: www.rolibooks.com ISBN: 978-81-949691-7-4 Editor: Neelam Narula Design: Sneha Pamneja Pre-press: Jyoti Dey Production: Lavinia Rao Printed at Samrat Offset Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi, India