QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER Apr-Jun ’16 · the Imperial Chalukyas of Kalyana (997 – 1200 C.E). A unified Deccan governed during the ‘Golden Era’ of Chalulyan rule did not survive

QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER Apr-Jun ’16

Martin Parr speaks during ‘e history of the photobook, a personal crusade’

JPM Quarterly Newsletter Apr-Jun 2016 1

Quarterly NewsletterIn July 2007 when our doors opened to a neutral and stimulating space, sensitively restored in a

heritage building, we aimed to provide for a global exchange of creative Indian thought. There wasno fanfare, just a quiet motivation and conviction that by nurturing critical thinking and intellectual rigour,we could contribute to sensitizing individuals from all walks of life. In these 9 years, our academiccourses, conferences, discussions, readings and presentations have expanded to include worldgeographies, histories and philosophies. The three broad categories of Aesthetics, Criticism & Theoryand Community Engagement have several sub-categories under which disciplines of archaeology,architecture, anthropology, art history, aesthetics, art criticism, cinema, cultural studies, literature,philosophy, enmesh seamlessly. We approach a decade next year knowing we have made a differenceand continue to strive towards our mission with renewed vigour. Several new courses are thus beingadded and the present ones freshened through contemporary research and methodologies. Our nearly290 public programmes till date, some a week long, are being archived to facilitate future research andwe have begun to harness technology to make our outreach more significant. We are not only onFacebook, Twitter and Instagram but also on YouTube where our presentations under Creative &Curatorial Processes are viewed.

The past academic year beginning July 2015 and ending April 2016 (which is now coming to a close)has seen the successful completion of all our courses. To the year-long Indian Aesthetics course andthe year-long Art, Criticism & Theory course, we added a seminar on Islamic Aesthetics as well as 2courses on Postcolonial Theory and Structuralism & Poststructuralism. The upcoming academic yearof 2016-2017 will have, in addition, the second iteration of Yoga & Tantra, the third of The Art &Architecture of Southeast Asia and the first of Theoretical Foundations.

This newsletter carries the announcements at the end. We look forward to having you with us.

Rashmi Poddar PhD.Director

In Conversation with Globalisation (January 17, 2016) by Andre Baptista

A multilateral hybrid joint course conducted byUniversity of St. Louis Missouri, USA; TheUniversity of Stuttgart, Germany; StellenboschUniversity, South Africa; St. PetersburgPolytechnic University, Russia; and St. Xavier’sCollege (Autonomous) Mumbai, India.

Integrated into the multinational educationalproject – ‘In Conversation with Globalisation’ wasthe India Chapter of a course that sought toaddress its theme of ‘Identity’. To bolster under-standing of globalization and identity, a field visitwas planned to the ‘Island of Bassein’ (Vasai andits environs) to encourage critical insights intointeractions between the West Coast of India and

Outside the Box

Andre Baptista speaks during ‘In Conversation with Globalisation’

JPM Quarterly Newsletter Apr-Jun 20162

the Western World that would have resulted inquasi-globalised micro-regions.

Incorporating cultural approaches to studyinghistorical geographies has given rise to anintegrated discipline that seeks to facilitate ourunderstanding of present day space-specific‘identities’. The site-talk therefore assumed ahistorical undertone that highlighted the evolutionof a socio-cultural space through the examinationof time-specific power relations embedded in thespatial framework of Bassein. The formation ofsuch identities is rendered dynamic largely due tothe interaction between indigenous andexogenous forces either through evolutionary orcataclysmic change. The planned inception ofcultural traits of the dominant power group in theindigenous social structure leads to processes ofinteraction and confrontation that finally producesa socio-cultural space of that place. Suchinteractions and confrontations between culturallyheterogeneous groups over a period of timecontribute to altering cultural identity manifestedin innumerable social practices and habits.

The talk began at the ancient Stupa (3rd cent.B.C.E.) at Nalla Sopara where the symbioticrelationship of early trading centers, ports, andBuddhist monasteries was brought to the fore.This was perhaps some of the earliestdocumented forms of exposure the west coast ofIndia had with the Greco-Roman world ofClassical times. Literary and archaeologicalevidence suggests that commodities of tradewould have undoubtedly influenced the localcultural fabric. A similar case for cultural changewas presented at the next stop - the

Chakreshwar Temple, where sculptures (5th cent.C.E) proved a worthy setting to explain theBrahmanical revival.

Subsequent to an Islamic occupation, thePortuguese who held sway over the region forover 200 years (1532 – 1739 C.E), carried outtheir quest for crown, cross, and commerce andachieved these objectives through the process ofevangelization, thus (re)introducing Christianityinto the region. The talk thus naturally ended atthe Fort of Bassein, where a struggle fordomination of the Northern Capital of thePortuguese came to fruition with a three monthsiege that ended in favor of the Marathas.

Discussions throughout the course of the daydrew attention to the social and economic fabricof present day society with special reference tooccupational groups such as the Kolis, Kunbis,Agris, etc. Lastly, the importance of ‘modern’Bassein as a rural satellite site imperative toMumbai’s urban subsistence economy was alsoemphasized.

Postcolonial Theory and ContemporaryDance (February 24 - 26, 2016) by Rohit GoelP.A.R.T.S./Adishakti Exchange

Jnanapravaha’s Academic Director Rohit Goeltraveled to Adishakti Laboratory for Theatre ArtResearch (Auroville) – one of India’s leadingdance, music, and theatre companies – to teachtwenty-four contemporary dancers-in-residence‘Postcolonial Theory and Contemporary Dance’.Sponsored by P.A.R.T.S., the Belgiancontemporary dance school established in 1985


by Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker, Professor Goeladdressed twelve students studying in therenowned Brussels dance academy and twelveup-and-coming contemporary dancers from Indiawho were selected for the exchange program.

In the first of his three lectures, Professor Goelintroduced the dancers to the colonial history ofIndia and explained why postcolonial theoryemerged to account for the history ofcolonization, a supposed blind spot in existingcritical approaches to domination: structuralMarxism and poststructuralist theory. If structuralMarxism obscures the historical wound ofcolonialism by reducing all domination to classexploitation, poststructuralism’s undifferentiatedview of the capillary proliferation of power doesthe same.

In his second lecture, Professor Goelexplained Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak’s seminalessay, “Can the Subaltern Speak?” Spivak’scritique of the emerging Subaltern Studiescollective challenged the presumption that elitescholars can capture the authentic voice of the“subaltern” in history. She suggests that the bodyrather than speech is a more adequate archive ofthe subaltern. For instance, in her translation ofMahasveta Devi’s “Draupadi,” Spivak points uphow the Naxal “Draupdi” presents her wounded,raped, nude body to the police as a mirror, anarchive of their colonial state violence. Inspiredby Spivak’s perspective, one dancerchoreographed his final piece according to areinterpretation of “Draupadi.”

Professor Goel concluded his lecture series byscreening and discussing Dancing Girl, a solo

performance by the contemporary dancer andP.A.R.T.S./Adishakti exchange director SujataGoel. In the piece, which premiered in Brussels in2012, Sujata critically interrogates expectationsof Western audiences for her to be an exoticdancer, as well as of Eastern audiences for her tobe an authentic dancer. In Spivakian fashion,she uses the dance form – the body – tochallenge the regnant assumptions of how weought to identify in the postcolonial world.

Adishakti Theatre Campus, PondicherryImage sourse: www.adishaktitheatrearts.com


JPM Quarterly Newsletter Oct-Dec 2014

Indian AestheticsThis quarter of the Indian Aesthetics course

saw a series of lectures on the manypainting traditions within the Indian subcontinent.The course explored how Ajanta Cave murals areintegrally tied to the architectural scheme of thecampus and see the spatial shaping of aphilosophical thought. Exploring aspects of theRasa theory through Rasikapriya and theBarahmasa, the sessions explored Bhakti Poetry,as well as the Gita Govinda. Exploring howKrishna became a key subject to artisticexplorations through painting, poetry andarchitecture, the sessions focused on NarsinhMehta and Chaitanya, as well as Nathdvara,

Pandharpur, and Puri. Another set of sessionsfocused on the development of the Mughal andRajput miniature painting traditions anddiscussed how style and migration of ideas werean aspect of Indian history. A special seminarexplored the painting formats in Rajasthan andCentral India, through their folios on theBhagwata Purana and the Ramayana. The arrivalof European trading companies and the rise ofcolonialism added another set of dimensions tothe already complex field of art and aesthetics inthe Indian subcontinent. We looked at changingforms of viewing as newer ideas and techniqueswere making their way from Europe. As the world



moved closer to the twentieth century, manyforms of representation and visual knowledgeunderwent drastic changes - these werediscussed through Kalighat Paintings, thetradition of prints and collages, the Havelis ofShekhawati, and finally the manifestation ofvisual form as a structure of politics in IndianRepublic Day parades. We close this quarter withintense discussions and arguments on howOrientalism, Colonial forms of knowledgeproduction (print technology, archaeology, andphotography), as well as the politics ofNationalism shaped the aesthetic andphilosophical debates as well as culturalproductions of the early twentieth century inIndia. – K.M.

Cities of Victory, Afterlife of ChalukyanArchitecture at Vijayanagara and Bijapur(January 15, 2016) by Phillip B. WagonerThe Mirella Petteni Haggiag Deccan HeritageFoundation LectureIn collaboration with the Deccan HeritageFoundation

Scholarship over the last two centuries hasbeen successful in pointing out a distinctive styleof temple architecture that was associated withthe Imperial Chalukyas of Kalyana (997 – 1200C.E). A unified Deccan governed during the‘Golden Era’ of Chalulyan rule did not survive thedecline of the dynasty. The disestablishment ofthe empire plunged the Deccan into a state offragmentation and intrastate squabbles amongstsubordinates who rose to independence. Delhi’ssubsequent expedition to the Deccan under the

Sultanate brought promise of unifying the regionunder an Imperial umbrella again. However,distance proved too much and the region onceagain split. The Krishna River served as aboundary separating the Bahmani Sultans, aPersianate culture to the north, and a Hinducounter-polity governed by Sanskritic traditionsrepresented by the Vijayanagara Empire to thesouth. Despite cultural differences and militaryconfrontations between the two political entities,they seem to have had a positive and activereception to building styles and designs of the

Phillip Wagoner speaks during ‘Cities of Victory, Afterlife of ChalukyanArchitecture at Vijayanagara and Bijapur’



Chalukyas, often incorporating elements andeven entire structures in their architecturalprojects. What prompted this particulararchitectural ‘revival’ in the 16th century C.E.,nearly two hundred years after the collapse of theChalukya State? Can such engagement withvestiges of a bygone era surpass aestheticappreciation and enter the realm of historicalsensibilities?

Touching upon several major themes from hisrecent book Power, Memory, Architecture:Contested sites on India’s Deccan Plateau (1300-1600), co-authored with Richard M. Eaton, Prof.Wagoner presented three examples that point tomodified uses of Chalukyan architecturalcomponents represented at two ‘cities of victory’– Bijapur and Vijayanagara. The lecture alsoendeavoured to explain identity politics and self-image as the raison d'être of the various patternsof this reuse.

The first of the examples employed the reuseof 24 columns (though only 14 stand today) toadorn the inner gate of the southern wall of themain citadel at Bijapur. Epigraphic and stylisticevidence points to Chalukyan authorship whilethe game-board patterns incised on the sides ofthe columns indicate that they would have falleninto disuse before being salvaged. Built in 1538by Ibrahim Adilshahi I, this is one of the earliestinstances of reuse of Chalukyan architecturalelements.

The second example came in the form of anelaborate step tank on the opposite bank of theKrishna, at Hampi, the capital of the VijayanagaraEmpire. Believed to have been dismantled from

its original location and transported to the sitewhere it is seen standing today, the step tank’sblue-green schist, as opposed to the preferredgranite, is the first indication of the structure’sintrusive quality. The tank, built in 1562, is notconsistent with building styles typical of theVijayanagara Empire. Moreover, the inscriptionson each stone of the step tank that serve as anassembly manual of sorts are in the Telugulanguage as opposed to the regionally preferredKannada. This however could beg the question ofwhether this was an existing monumenttransported to the capital, or just a pre-fabricatedstructure employing rarer building materials.

The crux of the argument for identity politicsand self-image lay in the third example cited byProf. Wagoner and comes from the epicentre,Kalyana, the former capital of the Chalukyas. Theentire edifice of an insitu Chalukyan temple at thetop of the fort at Kalyana was the nucleus for apalace later built by the local Bahmani governor

Step tank, Royal Enclosure, Hampi (1562 C.E)Image source: www.commons.wikipedia.org



of the fort in 1592. The downfall of the imperial Chalukyas of

Kalyana threw the once unified Deccan into astate of political turmoil subject to militaryconquest. After the split, Kalyana would havemoved into obscurity as it was heavilyovershadowed by the subsequent capitals of theBahmanis at Bijapur, Gulbarga, and then at Bidar.However, geopolitical play between theAdilshahis, Nizamshahis, and Baridshahisensured the restoration of Kalyana, not only forits political and strategic importance but also forits associated art and architecture. In summation,the revival surpassed aesthetic appreciation andessentially stemmed from the need to establishimperial connections to the Chalukyas as the lastgreat dynasty to have ruled the entirety of theDeccan. - A.B.

Adorning the Goddess: Reading Alankara inTamil Srivaishnava Tradition(January 18, 2016) by Archana Venkatesan

In the Tamil Srivaishnava tradition, Alankaragoes beyond the pan-Indian tradition andunderstanding of ornamentation or decoration.Here, Alankara is a specific moment known astirukolam (the sacred form or decoration) orsatrupadi (the way in which you make the formappear) and can be understood both throughnarratives and poetry. Using the story of theAndal, one of the 12 Alvars or Tamil poet saints,and her ritual worship at the Srivilliputthur Templein Tamil Nadu, Dr. Archana Venkatesan,Associate Professor of Comparative Literatureand Religious Studies at the University of

California, Davis, demonstrated how Alankaracreated meaning and experience for the devotee.

Andal’s story offers an ideal entry point tounderstand the Srivaishnava tradition as she isnot just a divinely inspired poet for her devotees,but a divine being in human form. Kothai, asAndal was initially known, is a historical figurefrom the 9th century CE, whose story becamepopular in the 10th century CE. Her story hasbeen embellished to such an extent that it isimpossible to separate history from the legendsthat surround Andal, who came to be consideredas an Alvar in the 12th century CE and alsoworshipped as a goddess.

For the Srivaishnavas, Anubhava (enjoymentor relish) is central to the emotional relationshipbetween a devotee and God. It is this Anubhavathat enables devotees to have an ecstaticexperience of the divine. Anubhava is directed toVishnu, His consorts, and the 12 Alvars, Hisspecial devotees. Anubhava is activated at threelevels – poetic, narrative and ritual — and eachone enables the devotee to have an ecstaticexperience of the divine.

The verses by the poet saints take variousforms – from impassioned love for Vishnu tometaphysical, abstract musings. In theThiruppavai (The Sacred Vow) and the NacchiyarThirumozhi (The Lady’s Words), Andal, the poet,imagines herself to be the beloved of Vishnu,rejoicing at their union and despondent at theirseparation. Andal’s compositions are poignantand physical, and the Anubhava, especially forthe poet, is real and tangible, not metaphorical.Dr. Venkatesan explained: ‘For devotees, these



words describe a specific moment in the quest forVishnu – a moment of Anubhava frozen in timeand fixed in words.’

Andal’s poems also represent her life storyand for a devotee who is removed by space andtime, it presents an opportunity to enter Andal’sworld, and in doing so enjoy her Anubhava ofsavouring the divine Vishnu.

For the 12th century philosopher saintRamanuja, who systematised Srivaishnavatheology and rituals and composed treatises andprose poems, Andal was special. Ramanujaconsidered the Thiruppavai and Nacchiyar

Thirumozhi as Andal’s Anubhava of Vishnu,mediated through images of metal and stone inwhich God is embodied and accessible todevotees. These stone and metal icons ofVishnu, His consorts, and the Alvars areenshrined in temples and receive elaboraterituals and acts of devotion.

When the Tamil Srivaishnava devotee sees orappreciates the divine form or image in all itsdetail, it is known as Archa. The tradition ofworship in which this ‘seeing’ of God is a majorelement is known as Sevai or service, whereseeing is an act of loving worship in which the

Archana Venkatesan speaks during ‘Adorning the Goddess: Reading Alankara in Tamil Srivaishnava Tradition’



devotees engage their senses in observing andenjoying the body of God.

Every August in the Tamil month of Aadi, agrand 10-day festival is organised inSrivilliputthur to mark Andal’s manifestation onearth. During the festival days, the image ofAndal is dressed up in specific styles orimaginative Alankaras known as tirukolams.Devotees arrive from all over for a rapturoussavouring of the richly adorned form of Andal,which stresses the Anubhava of the divine bodyrealised through this icon. On the festival’s 7thnight, Andal and Vishnu are in a specific Alankaraknown as Shayana Tirukolam (divine repose).Andal is in a posture of royal ease and Vishnu islying on her lap and this depicts the inseparabilityof Vishnu and Andal. Through the Alankara,devotees see both exemplary wifehood andexemplary devotion in Andal. Here, seeing therichly adorned divine image or the Archa revealsthe inconceivable beauty of God.

The Archa is not just a symbol of God, but onethat embodies divinity. Archa is considered to beimbued with a super substance, known asShuddha Sattva, that comprises the abstract formof the deity. Thus, the Archa in material form isalso understood to be transcendental andsupreme. In this form, the formless God isaccessible to his/her devotees. Thecontemplation of the Alankara, through lushfabrics and ornaments, become the visuallanguage for the devotee to understand theunfathomable nature of God, thereby invoking anecstatic feeling of Anubhava.

This Anubhava locates Andal’s unique position

in the Tamil Srivaishnava tradition. The tirukolamshows that while Andal won Vishnu’s grace forher unswerving devotion towards him, she is alsothe source of Vishnu’s grace for her devotees.But the path of Andal’s single-minded devotion isnot open to or recommended for devotees.Therefore, Dr. Venkatsen argued, “…in savouringher Anubhava through the Alankara in theShayana Tirukolam and the vicarious pleasurederived from seeing this intimate world andsurrendering to her ability of mediate, thedevotee can experience the divine”.

The devotee is supremely affected by thevision, which results in a spontaneous outpouringof feeling, ranging from exaltation of the beautyor poetry to the enjoyment of the divine form,leading to an Archa in words, a verbal icon - S.G.



The Poetics of Painting(March 3 & 4, 2016) by Neeraja Poddar

The processes by which miniature paintings inIndia are produced and should be received – asportable objects possessing complex non-physical properties – have been documented andtheorized with specificity and subtlety. That said,what was the nature of the relationship betweenpainter and patron? Was the artist working in aroyal atelier headed by an ustad or did he receiveinstructions from his father at the familyhomestead? How was a work to be dated and theplace of its commission and execution to beascertained? Was a specific work the outcome ofcollaboration between several artists? If so, whatwas the nature of that partnership and was itintended to be known by the ‘reader’ of thatwork? Among others, this host of questions hasoccupied scholars of Indian painting for decades.

According to the art historian B. N. Goswamy,an often invisible but important collaborationoccurred between painters and men of letterswho drew attention to subtle and tertiarymeanings of Sanskrit words and expressionscomprising a poetic work whose visual renditionhad been commissioned. One such text is theRasamanjiri or ‘Bouquet of Rasa’, muchcelebrated under the patronage of Rajput kingsand chiefs. Though Rajput painting – the topic ofdiscussion in the first session of the seminar ‘ThePoetics of Painting’ conducted by Dr. NeerajaPoddar – was, for scholars such as A. K.Coomaraswamy, perceived as ‘“the counterpartof the vernacular literature of Hindustan’” and theillustrious folios from the Rasikapriya series

commissioned and executed at Mewar between1625–1655 C.E. bear testimony to this. This textconcerns the classification of lovers and thesymptoms and situations of love. Here, the role ofthe sakhi, eternal mediator between Krishna andhis beloved and constant source ofcompanionship and advice, bears a differentsignificance from Jayadeva’s masterful opus, GitaGovinda, where Krishna and Radha are depictedin various states and positions of union.

The term ‘Rajput painting’, coined in the firstquarter of the twentieth century byCoomaraswamy, refers to artistic activity thatflourished in two distinct regions of Western andCentral India – Rajasthan and the ‘Pahari’ region,

Neeraja Poddar speaks during ‘e Poetics of Painting’



the latter comprised of certain principalities oneither side of the river Ravi in the hills of what isnow known as pre-independence Punjab. Jammuand Kangra were the premier states of the Pahariregion, while Rajasthan ‘was dotted with manykingdoms, some remarkably large and othersrelatively smaller but equally proud – Mewar,Marwar, Bikaner, Bundi, Kota…’ . Goswamycontinues, ‘Following the norms of good kingshipas laid down in authoritative texts, each ruler wasa patron and supporter of the arts. The regionwas rich therefore in painting activity, each stateor thikana having families or groups of paintersworking for the royal house or members of thehigh nobility’.

One of the largest and most ambitiousmanuscripts commissioned in the history ofRajput painting is the Ramayana series ofMewar, dated to the mid-seventeenth centuryC.E. The series consists of four hundred

paintings. In this case the seven sets of folios,each set representing a book that collectivelycomprises the extant text of the epic, wererendered by three painters – the chief artist beinga Muslim – and a single scribe who recorded thecomplementary text on the verso of each folio.Here, the artists have established certain spatialconventions that dramatize the ‘realities’ of thetextual narrative and endow its visual counterpartwith internal rhythm and synchronicity. Forinstance, in all the relevant folios of the sevensets, the kingdom of Ayodhya is depicted on thefar right of the composition. In the folio titledLeave taking in Ayodhya, Rama and Sita areshown seated on King Dashrath’s lap; themarked differentiation in size does not indicatevariation in hierarchy but rather emphasizes thegenerational difference between father and son.Further, Kumbhakaran’s physiological enormity inthe folio “Waking up Kumbhakaran” is broughthome by the fact that elephants have beenheaped uneasily one upon another in order toappease the sleeping giant with refreshments inthe event that he awakens. A single colophonpage of this manuscript series is available forexamination. The date/period during which it wascommissioned, the name of the patron, and ofthe scribe assigned to this project are highlightedin red pigment, while the remainder of the textappears in black ink. The grapheme on theextreme left of the page, and even on individualleaves, denotes the text that has been visuallyrendered. In this case, there would have beenseven colophon pages in all, each correspondingto a particular folio.

Image courtesy: Kavita and Brijendra Poddar Collection



A number of manuscripts can be attributed tothe early Rajput style, dated between 1450 and1550 C.E., specifically a series calledChaurapanchasika. These include the earliestextant portfolio of the Bhagavata Purana which,as Goswamy states, ‘may have been painted c.1525 if, as is being conjectured, it was madeeither for Vallabhacharya, the great Vaishnavateacher who founded the Vallabha sampradaya,or his son, Vitthalnath, both of whom werelocated in the Mathura region and were

passionate devotees of Krishna’. The series hasbeen composed by ten painters to whom specificchapters of the work would have been assignedfor rendition. As a text, the Bhagavata consists oftwelve cantos. However, it is either the former –extending till chapter forty nine – or latter half ofthe tenth canto which narrates the life of Vishnu’seighth incarnation, Krishna, that have beenvisually rendered by artists over the centuries. Itis to these images that the term ‘BhagavataPurana’ is loosely applied.

Rama’s departure from Ayodhya; Illustration - the Ayodhyakanda of Ramayana (Udaipur 1680 - 90)



‘Flat coloured backgrounds dominate…thepainter often using the logic of changing coloursto hint at changed spaces. There is very littleinterest in depth, and things stay as close to thesurface as possible; the conventionally treatedhorizon always remains high…things and figuresare often placed in compartments that take theform of horizontal registers or vertical columns…the air is almost always dramatic, one suggestionbeing that the style draws freely upon folktheatre. There is no attempt at creating anyslickness of surface, or any ‘effects’…theseworks possess boldness but also a ‘nobleartificiality’. The sharp observation – faces,stances, gestures, characters, objects and thelike – is always subordinated to a great, soaringsense of design’. Goswamy’s extensivedescription of the Chaurapanchasika may as wellbe applied to a rendition of the latter half of thetenth canto of the Bhagavata Purana in theMalwa region, 1688 C.E. This series comprisedthe major topic of discussion during the secondsession of Dr. Poddar’s seminar.

Each folio of the manuscript includes a textinscribed in braj-bhasa on the verso. Theeconomy of painterly style – characterized by therepeated use of block, deep red and night blue inthe background and the assignation of stripedlehengas to many of the human figures – isechoed in the text. The action is depicted with theaid of minimal description and philosophicalruminations or passages expressing devotion donot serve as adjuncts to the narrative. Thecolophon page of the series has been destroyed.However, the folios comprise one of only four

dated and extant manuscripts attributable to thesorely understudied style of the Malwa region. Incomparison to the sprawling, horizontal spread ofbattle scenes such as those depicted in theimage Krishna fights Paundraka, the narratives ofKrishna’s domestic life are presented in a gentle,compact succession of vertical registers, as seenin Narada observes Krishna’s daily life. Thisparticular manuscript series engendered twocopy sets, an unusual occurrence in the history ofIndian miniature painting. As stated above,Rajput kings and chiefs sought distinction as

Ragini Kedara, An illustration from a Ragamala seriesMalwa (1675)



collective patrons of the visual arts within thewider context of the ‘Rajasthan’ region, and theproliferation of sets of manuscripts based on acommon text served their purpose. Thus, as Dr.Poddar’s research has demonstrated, the artistsof the copy sets had a sufficient amount of poeticlicense though it is likely that ‘variations in thetheme’ of the Malwa Bhagavata Purana mayhave stemmed from creative or accidental‘misinterpretations’ of the painted folios ratherthan the canonical text itself.

A truly unique relationship between ‘text’ and‘image’ was established in the genre of‘portraiture’ as it developed under the patronageof the Rajputs. Portraits of rulers comprisedindividual leaves and therefore did not subscribeto the manuscript format common to poetic andreligious works. In Rajput miniature painting, aruler is depicted according to the establishedlakshanas appropriate to a man of ‘rank, power,strength and sharpness of mind’. However, thescenes in which he is represented are notallegorical but documentary in nature. This is trueof works that depict fairly quotidian occurrencessuch as Procession with Ram Singh II of Kota (r.1827–1866 C.E.), c. 1850 C.E., as well asseeming impossibilities such as an attempt by theaforementioned sovereign to ride a horse on hispalace roof. Several works depict the ruleragainst the background of carefully observedrenditions of the landscapes he governed.Women, however, even when presented asconsorts to the ruler, were portrayed strictly withreference to the typologies of nayikas and theiridentities were never revealed on the verso of a

work. Portraits, as emblems of politicalsovereignty, were exchanged among a coterie ofrulers and chiefs, and therefore had to capture aclever, restrained balance between the idealizedand the particular.

Conceptually, this coterie – the proudreceivers of a work of art – boasted among itranks who were sufficiently competent andcultured to allow an art object to ‘unfold andexpand’ their hearts. As sahridayas, they brought‘utsaha’ to the act of handling a folio and viewingit; put differently, they possessed ‘innateknowledge of ideal beauty’. Thus, per the normsof poetic reality, a tenth generation artist mayhold his head up as a ‘sunflower’. Whether themost affluent patrons attracted the finest artistictalent and whether painters could make choiceswith regard to patronage is a matter that meritshistorical investigation. However, circling back toreflect on the techniques through which a workwas created, it is safe to say that a painter whocommenced his career as a trainee and wasobliged to draw a set of folded hands onehundred times at a sitting, ‘first as seen from left,and then as seen from right’, before the task of‘real’ painting began, could proffer the followingprayer with confidence: ‘Protect me, Lord…fromoil, from water, from fire and from poor binding.And save me from falling into the hands of a fool!’- S.H.

* * *



ISLAMIC AESTHETICS

Deccan Islamic Architecture: 400 years ofbuilding and patronage in peninsula India(January 5 - 7, 2016) by George Michell andHelen Philon

The Deccan has been on Jnanapravaha’sradar for some time. The institute commenced its2016 programming with a deeper commitment tothe region, as Drs. Helen Philon and GeorgeMichell spent three evenings exploring theIslamic architecture of the Deccan. The serieswas structured chronologically: Dr. Philon openedwith the arrival of the Delhi sultanate and thefoundation and flourishing of the Bahmani empireand Dr. Michell spent the next two daysdiscussing the Baridis of Bidar, the Adil Shahis ofBijapur, the Nizam Shahis of Ahmednagar, theQutb Shahis of Golkonda, concluding with theadvent of the Mughals and their engagement withthe architectural landscape of the Deccan. Thelectures were illustrated with breathtaking photosby Clare Arni and Antonio Martenelli.

The history of the Deccan is one of literary,cultural, and artistic exchange with Central Asiaand its influence on the architecture of the region.Bah

mani Deccan is an amalgamation of CentralAsian and Vijayanagara idioms, leading to aunique style of architecture. Dr. Philon took theaudience through secular and religiousarchitecture, examining the masterpieces ofBahmani architecture and discussing the purposethese monuments served. Pointing out salientfeatures like protruding niches, the use of

imported tile work, local reproductions, muqarnasand kite-like pendentives, supporting domebuilding techniques, façades, and the use ofintertwined arches, Dr. Philon created a sense offamiliarity with Bahmani iconography.

Dr. Philon drew links between politics andspirituality by focusing on the profusely paintedtomb of Ahmad Shah Wali and the Chaukhanditomb of his master. Against the common positionthat the Bahmani tombs receive barkat orblessings from the Nimatullah Sufi master, Dr.Philon suggested Ahmad Shah Wali’s tombblessed the later tombs since he too was a Walior friend of god. The linear arrangement of the

Helen Philon speaks during ‘Deccan Islamic Architecture: 400 years ofbuilding and patronage in peninsula India’



tomb supports this reading.Dr. Philon then discussed alams and practices

of worship, the role of Sufism, and the reasonsfor moving the Bahmani capital from Daulatabadto Gulbarga to Bidar, in addition to mapping thedevelopment of architectural practice and theinfluence of the Affaqis (foreigners) in the region,such as the Madrasa constructed by MuhhamadGawan.

Landscaping and gardens play an importantrole in Islamic architecture, both in India andCentral Asia. Bahmani Deccan, however,visualised and cultivated gardens differently fromthe formal Mughal chahar-bagh. Dr. Philondescribed Deccan gardens as wild and free, with

trees and plants growing more naturally,supported by the use of an extensive network ofconstructed waterworks.

On Day 2, George Michell proceeded from Dr.Philon’s lectures, from the Bidar fort, anddiscussed the exquisite Rangin Mahal, itsmother-of-pearl inlay and changes the Baridirulers brought to Bidar, including distinctive tombstructures. Moving to Ahmednagar, he discussedthe tomb of Malik Amber, a slave who rosethrough the ranks to become governor.Architectural patterns became more refined withthe Nizam Shahis, as they integrated stoneornamentation with plaster with more finesse: forexample, mosque buttresses shaped into

George Michell speaks during ‘Deccan Islamic Architecture: 400 years of building and patronage in peninsula India’



decorative minarets with profuse ornamentationon upper registers.

While the Central Asian influence on theDeccan is a consistent observation, the 16thcentury Farahbagh shows how Persian idealswere being executed in the Deccan, not wherethey were conceived!

With Bijapur and the Adil Shahis, the lecturelooked at the monumental Gol Gumbaz, theheavily ornamented Ibrahim Rauza and thestrange and intriguing Jal Mandir. Analysing themonuments of Bijapur provided an opportunity toconsider the influence of timber construction andtemple architecture on the evolving aesthetics ofthe Deccan.

The third (and final) session began byexploring the highly stylised and beautiful QutbShahi tombs. Dr. Michell conclusively squashedthe popular notion that the Hamam in the tombcomplex is a mortuary, proving it to be a regularhamam set in the garden of mausoleums, a shortdistance from the Golkonda fort. He discussedthe evolution of the Qutb Shahi Tombs, bringingout their details and architecturalaccomplishments, and examined mosquecomplexes in Hyderabad before segueing intoiconic architecture such as the Charminar and itsfunction as a ceremonial and religiousmonument. He also discussed the gates thatflank the Charminar, marking the four directionsthat the city spreads in, similar to those atWarangal.

Concluding with the Mughals, Dr. Michellexplained why the Deccan Plateau was such acoveted region: the revenue from the Deccan

alone matched that of the rest of the country!With the advent of the Mughals, Bangala roofsand typically Mughal elements such as formalgardens found their way to the plateau. Withcitadels, serais, and fortifications, Dr. Michellhighlighted the influence of the Mughals on thearchitectural landscape of the Deccan, focusingon the patronage of Abdur Rahim Khan-i-Khana(Akbar’s prime minister) and Emperor Aurangzeb.Aurangzeb's palace, now in deplorable condition,is documented in an archival photograph andaids our visualisation of the structure.Aurangzeb’s own minimal tomb and the exquisiteBibi ka Maqbara, built for his wife in Aurangabad,are examples of changing idioms in architectureand styles. Dismissing the comparisons with theTaj Mahal, as often happens to this whitemausoleum, Dr. Michell highlighted qualities ofarchitecture and fine techniques unique to themonument, such as the absence of a cenotaphand the distinct placement of the tomb vis-à-visthe Taj. Moving into lesser known monuments, heintroduced many to the stunning twelve-lobedtomb of Bilkis Begum in Burhanpur and linked thepainted columns to the textile traditions of thecity.

In addition to exploring buildings andmonuments, textiles and material culture allowedDr. Philon and Dr. Michell to emphasise theintertextuality of the arts of the Deccan — drivinghome the point that art, architecture, and theproduction of objects inform each other, and helpus access and understand history moreintimately.

Dr. Philon and Dr. Michell brought many



complexities of the Deccan to the fore andhighlighted the need for attention to itsarchitectural and cultural history. Architecture ofthe Deccan, while rich with varied influences, hasa distinctive architectural identity. Depending onpatronage, the monuments of Bidar, Gulbarga,and Bijapur presented a wide visual repertoire,covering about 400 years of artistic engagement.The audience, whether familiar with the Deccanor not, finished this three-day series with adeeper engagement with the region and ayearning to (re)visit, after this passionate,analytical, critical, and occasionally humorousexploration. - A.A.

.Staging Multiculturalism : Norman Sicily andthe Arts of the Medieval Mediterranean(January 12-15, 2016) by Finbarr Barry Flood

Jnanpravaha Mumbai’s engagement withIslamic aesthetics travelled to Sicily in Januarywith Dr. Finbarr Barry Flood (New YorkUniversity) giving three seminars on ‘StagingMulticulturalism? Norman Sicily and the Arts ofthe Medieval Mediterranean’. Dr. Flood is wellknown for his engagement with the transactionsof culture, iconoclasm, and the exchange ofvisual and material traditions. Continuing theconversation on shared cultures from his lectureseries last year, with new material and insight, Dr.Flood’s seminar was a nuanced study ofarchitectural and art historical traditions inNorman Sicily.

Exploring multiculturalism of any regionrequires familiarity with its political, cultural,artistic, and literary antecedents. In the Norman

context, we began by discussing the influence(and brief history) of the Fatimids, the Abbasids,and Byzantium, as well as the history of Islamicrule in Norman Sicily, which went back to 878 CEunder the Arabs. The Kalbid dynasty reigned from948 to 1053 CE, with the blessings of the FatimidEmpire, and Sicily was seen as an extension ofNorth Africa, a natural intersection of the IslamicMediterranean and North African cultural worlds.Geographically situated in the middle of theMediterranean, Sicily was flanked by the Islamickingdoms on one end and the Byzantiumdominions on the other. The Byzantine empirewas undergoing immense political turmoil, withthe invasions of Seljuk Turks from Central Asia,

Finbarr Barry Flood speaks during ‘Staging Multiculturalism: NormanSicily and the Arts of the Medieval Mediterranean’



but Constantinople remained very important andflourished as a cultural capital in the EasternMediterranean. As Kalbid power waned,Normans arrived from Northern France to aid anailing Byzantine empire. Of Viking lineage, theNormans were notorious mercenaries whoestablished their rule first in Southern Italy andthen in Sicily. Developments in art, architecture,

and political structures in Sicily occurred underthe reign of Roger II (1130-1154 CE), whodeclared the kingdom of Sicily, his son, William I,as well as William II, who ruled till 1194 CE.

From 1150 to 1230 CE, non-Muslim eliteskeenly adopted Islamic traditions, as they livedon the fringe of the Muslim world. They created ahighpoint in the culture of borrowing,



hybridization, and exchange. The Normans ofSicily, while Christian, also borrowed liberallyfrom the Muslim empires. Over three days, Dr.Flood offered the audience many examples: rareQur’ans, manuscripts, travelogues, tombstones,ceramics, objects of daily use, robes, curios,paintings, and images of buildings, illustrating thetransactions of culture, material or intangible.

Using the construction of mosques andgateways to illustrate the complex politics of theregion, Dr. Flood spoke of the dominance andbreakdown of the Abbasid Caliphate and thedevelopment and expansion of the Fatimidempire. The Fatimids already had strong ties toSicily, where the Kalbids ruled as vassals. For theNormans, the Fatimids were allies in trade acrossthe sea and significant role models for theperformance of kingship and administration.Normans absorbed the court culture of theFatimids: the concept of mediated viewing of theCaliph as a divinely ordained leader (where theCaliph’s gaze alone was sufficient as a blessingor a barkaa), the implementation of imagery oflight, nomenclature, and even the Fatimid systemof chancery. An extensive network of trade andthe influence of palace and mosque architectureplayed significant roles in the development ofadministration, protocol, dressing, architecture,as well as the visual and material cultures ofNorman Sicily. In a set of portraits, Roger II isdepicted as a Norman warrior hero, a Byzantineemperor, and as a (perhaps generic) Islamicruler. Dr. Flood analyzed the manner in whichRoger II brought visual tropes of kingshiptogether. The Normons employed a multilingual

administrative system, where public notices andinscriptions were in Arabic, Latin, and Greek. Amanuscript painting shows the heterogeneity ofthe Norman court, which consisted of Greek,Northern European, and Arab people, identifiedby their distinctive dresses.

We visited the Norman capital of Palermothrough many sources, including the accounts ofIbn Jubayr, a poet-geographer from IslamicSpain. He describes the splendours ofarchitecture and the lives of Muslim people andtheir practices. Interestingly, he also talks aboutthe dress of Muslim and Christian women inPalermo. Discussing more accounts, Dr. Floodillustrated the hybridity of the citizens and themerging of practices, examining tombstones andprivate churches and reading multilingualinscriptions as clues to understandingmulticulturalism in the kingdom.

While examining the architecture andornamentation of Palermo, mosaics demandclose attention: the mosaics that adorn thepalace were locally made and some probablytransported from Constantinople. The mosaicsillustrated the themes of Garden of Paradise,reflecting the landscaping of the city of Palermo,as well as images of hunting. The imagery issimilar to the themes seen on the robes of RogerII, and many of these themes are shared acrossdocuments and in textiles and monuments.

Palaces such as the Cuba and the Cubala (thelittle Cuba) have plain exteriors but elaboratelydecorated interiors with carvings, stucco, andmosaics. Set in landscaped gardens, waterbasins and the tropes common to palace



architecture in the Islamic world were put inpractice here. A curious element of decorationwas the use of first-person voice inscriptions onbuilding façades. Written in Arabic, the epigraphyallowed buildings to speak and proclaim theirpurpose! This tradition has antecedents inAbbasid architecture, and objects likehandkerchiefs are known to ‘speak’, but this tropecould have come to Norman Sicily from AlAndalus, where the palace of Alhambra in Spain,for instance, actually speaks to the visitor!

The apogee of the lecture series was exploringthe Cappella Palatina or the Palatine Chapel. TheCappella was originally a three-aisled basilicanaudience hall and a domed sanctuary, but waschanged by the 12th century. This opulentconstruction has gold based mosaics and the

walls and floor were made with porphyry andmarble inlay. The colour choices are dominatedby blue and purple, signifying the royal nature ofthe building. The sarcophagus of Roger II ismade in porphyry, underlining the royal obsessionwith this rare material and the skill of craftsmencapable of working with hard stone. The fact thatByzantium emperors also had porphyrysarcophagi is not surprising given the Normanfluency with various courtly choices.

The famous muqarna ceiling of the Cappella isunique (and celebrated) not only for its visualbrilliance but also because it is the largestpreserved example of wooden muqarna ceilings.Set about thirty-three feet high in the centralrectangular bay of the chapel, this honeycombstructure is made from thousands of wooden

Ceiling of the Cappella Palatina, PalermoImage sourse: www.pinterest.com



pieces, suspended from the ceiling, with eachpiece being painted. Praised in many accounts, itinvokes wonder or ajaib, imitating lush starryheavens, with illustrations of many themes:courtly scenes, leisure, musicians, veiled women,dancers, ethnic diversity, among others.Examined closely, themes can be discerned tohave a subtle programme that carry symbolicmeaning, insinuating the palace as a secondJerusalem.

Who made the ceiling and designed theprogramme of the palaces and churches?Minsters of privilege who travelled and forgedextensive networks across the Mediterraneanand the Palace Saracens played a significantrole. The Saracens implemented courtly traditionsand were employed as a buffer between Royaltyand the public when circumstances evoked angerand conflict. The Saracens were capturedMuslims, frequently castrated and forciblyconverted to Christianity. Many of the Saracenspracticed Islam in secret, as Ibn Jubayr points outin his writings. Close to the King, the Saracensare responsible for designing much of Normancourt and visual culture. With their intimateknowledge of the Qur'an and Arabic, theyfacilitated the visual program of the court,whether in the decoration of robes or in theinscriptions in public spaces. In their choice ofArabic phrases to inscribe, they picked those thattranslated to high praise of the Norman Christianking, but if you were familiar with the overarchingcontexts and following verses of the Qur’an, youknew that the next lines reprimanded theNormans and in a particular example, predicted

the fall of the empire for forcing religiousconversions. This “deeper reading” isn’t possiblewith superficial knowledge, and makes for a silentprotest and dissent. One can see that the subtextof multiculturalism is not as simple as it seemedin the beginning.

Pointing out details such as the inscriptions onthe top pendentives of buildings, readingcalligraphy to demonstrate influence andchanging power dynamics, Dr. Flood madeobservations of both monumental narratives andsmaller indulgences of the rulers and theirlifestyle. Reservoirs of royal imagery are eclectic,not limited to only the Fatimid influence. Of theroyal palace, some fragments of calligraphyremain, instructing the visitor to kiss the corner,invoking the ritual around the Kaaba in Mecca.The palace is sacralised like the Holy Kaaba andsimilar to the sacred nature of the FatimidPalace. While we do not know if the practice ofkissing the corner was actually followed, it makesus aware of the extent to which the Normanswere borrowing from Islam.

The journey of three evenings spanned notonly Sicily, but Cairo, Constantinople and manystops in between, occasionally extending to India,moving through geographic, social, political, andartistic aspects of these interconnected regions.Through the lecture series, as he shared hissources of knowledge and information, Dr. Floodcited Dr. Jeremy Johns’s scholarship on theregion. With his own pictures, juicy stories, andpersuasively crafted arguments, Dr. Floodconducted an insightful, contemplative, andinformative exploration of Norman Sicily. - A.A.


Forthcoming Programmes:

Key to Bijapur’s Golden Age : The Kitab-iNauras of Sultan Ibrahim Adil Shah II (1580-1626)(April 2, 2016, at 6.30) by Navina Najat Haidar

The Kitab-i Nauras, a book of songs, attributedto Sultan Ibrahim Adil Shah of Bijapur, containsfascinating information about his court, hiswomen, his love for his musical instrument which

he named Moti Khan, and his favorite elephant.Dedicated to the Sufi saint Gesu Daraz and tothe Goddess Saraswati, it also demonstratesIbrahim’s hybrid religiosity and the mixed cultureof his times. The lecture will explore the role ofthis important text through the works of thegreatest artists and calligraphers of the Bijapurcourt, most notably the master painter FarrukhHusain.

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SOUTHEAST ASIAN AESTHETICSForthcoming Programmes:

Visualizing a Buddhist Mandala: architecturallinkages between Kesariya, Borobudur andTabo(April 15, 2016, at 6.30 pm) by Swati Chemburkar

The earlier diffusionist, mono-directional modelfor the spread of Buddhism had assumedseparate trajectories at different times looking at

India as the nucleus. Current efforts focus onlinking land and sea routes to form a ‘Great Circleof Buddhism’. The understated, interactive natureof a propagation network is emerging in recentscholarship that shows influences moving inmultiple directions. This lecture will probe theinterlinked network through a comparative studyof Kesariya, Borobudur, and Tabo and present abody of evidence in support of inter-Asianconnections.



Criticism & TheoryThe students participating in the Art,

Criticism, and Theory course engagedactively with philosophical frameworks andstructures of viewing during the third quarter. Thestudents had sessions on various thinkers andpractices of criticism such as the Sanskritictradition within India that discussedAnandavardhana and Abhinavagupta, and movedon to Buddhist debates on epistemology, and thespecific contribution of Nagarjuna. Looking atWestern Traditions of knowledge production, a

series of lectures explaining arguments on artand criticism from Plato to Kant and Hegelculminated in a detailed discussion on Adorno,Marcuse, and Feminist critiques. A session onWalter Benjamin brought together many of thedebates on experience and form. The quarterended with looking at issues of Gender Studiesand Subaltern Studies.

The students had also engaged with questionsof viewing as well as curating. They have hadsessions within exhibition spaces that either

Installation view from the exhibition Hyphenated Lives by Reena Saini KallatImage Courtesy Chemould Prescott Road, Bombay



focused on the work of a particular artist, or onethat was a biographical survey written withspecific ideas and themes in chapters spreadacross space, and another that was a broadtimeline of architecture over the last 70 years.How works are accessed within contemporary aswell as retrospective frameworks, and how acuratorial and editorial hand produces specificreadings or histories were some of the questionsdiscussed. A formal session on curating as ahistory of spaces and practices was alsoconducted. We look forward to the last quarterthat directly engages with practices of exhibitionmaking and the practice of criticism. - K.M.


Towards a historicity of the contemporary: ASoviet perspective (August 23, 24, 25 & 26, 2016, from 6.30 - 8.30pm) by Angela Harutyunyan

The lecture series is dedicated to developing atheoretical and historical understanding ofcontemporaneity and contemporary art from acritical perspective. A theoretical and conceptualinterrogation of these notions as both periodizingconcepts as well as the infrastructure of globalcapitalism lead us to a historiography of theSoviet experience. This destination is necessaryif we are to develop a nuanced historiography ofcontemporaneity and contemporary art giventhat, in recent debates, the intensification of thecontemporary has been located at theconjunction of the collapse of the Soviet Unionand the globalization of capital in the early 1990s.

Investigating the historical temporality of Sovietand post-Soviet art points to a conception of thecontemporary as a dialectic of rupture andcontinuity, wherein the advent of thecontemporary owes to the disintegration of theSoviet project, originating with Stalinism. In short,what the contemporary represses is the undeaduniversalism of the Soviet project.

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THEORETICAL FOUNDATIONS

Foundations II: Structuralism andPoststructuralism(March, 2016) 10 sessions by Rohit Goel

In March 2016, Jnanapravaha’s AcademicDirector Rohit Goel taught a ten-session seminaron Structuralism and Poststructuralism in JPM’snew Theoretical Foundations program. Thecourse attracted over forty students from JPM’sdiploma and certificate programs as well as fromMumbai’s public.

Structuralism and Poststructuralism beganwith a close reading of Saussure’s Course onGeneral Linguistics, examining how sound-imagesignifiers fuse with conceptual signifieds toproduce a structure of linguistic signs, which forSaussure is “language” in all times and places.Moving to Mythologies, Professor Goel explainedhow Roland Barthes’s semiotics historicallyspecifies Saussure’s transhistoricalunderstanding of the structure of language, howBarthes’s method builds on Saussure’s to explainthe production of mythical language unique to



bourgeois capitalist society. Students read anddiscussed Barthes’s analyses of phenomenaranging from “fake” wrestling, which mythologizescapitalist notions of justice, punishment, andsuffering, to soap-detergent advertising, acapitalist mode of alienating people from eachother peacefully rather than violently.

The course then turned to Lévi-Strauss’sstructural anthropology, with a close reading ofThe Savage Mind, pointing up the universalhuman capacity to classify objects in the world,from “savage” societies to modern ones. Lévi-Strauss does forcibly argue that “savage” societycultivated bricoleurs who worked with existingmaterials to create myths, symmetrical societies,and knowledge systems, while modern societyhouses engineers interested in new discoveries,in creating new materials that render the worldasymmetrical. If Lévi-Strauss did not account forthe historical shift from bricolage to engineering,Marshall Sahlins attempts to explain the eventfultransformation of structures over time. In Islandsof History, the celebrated anthropologist offers aunique interpretive account of Captain Cook’sarrival in and untimely return to Hawaii in the late18th century, arguing that the event at oncereproduced and transformed the mythical andmaterial structure of Polynesian society.

The course used Sahlins as a pivot topoststructuralist approaches, specifically the laterFoucault’s genealogy of the relation betweenpower and knowledge in The History of Sexualityand Discipline and Punish and Derrida’s methodof deconstruction unpacked in “Signature, Event,Context.” Foucault takes a radical stance against

structure, contending that power does not comefrom a center but exists in the everyday thoughts,speech, and actions of human beings in scientificand disciplinary societies. Derrida also militatesagainst structuralism, arguing that the written textin particular offers a window onto how difference,alterity, and dissemination rather than stable

Rohit Goel speaks during ‘Foundations II: Structuralism andPoststructuralism’



meanings, social conventions, and contexts,undergird all human thought and language.

The course concluded with readings of textsfrom the new generation of the “SlovenianSchool” of psychoanalytic philosophy, whichtranscends the divide between structuralism andpoststructuralism. Considering Samo Tomšič’srecently translated The Capitalist Unconscious,we analyzed the relation between Saussure’sstructural linguistics, Marx’s critique of politicaleconomy, and the later Lacan’s claim that the“unconscious is politics.” Putting Lacan inconversation with Deleuze, Aaron Schuster’sfreshly released The Trouble with Pleasurecompelled the class to think of desire as astructural lack, absence, and loss, a creativeconsideration of the relation between structureand agency that eschews the rigid dichotomy ofstructuralism or poststructuralism.


After Evil: Aesthetics, Ethics and Politics(July 1, 5, 6, 7, 12, 13, 14, 18, 21 & 22, 2016,from 6.30 - 8.30 pm) by Rohit Goel

This course will analyze understandings ofjustice in 'post-conflict' societies. We will criticallyexamine the theoretical literature on 'transitionaljustice' to investigate how, after the fall of theSoviet Union in 1989, scholars and citizens alikehave relegated evil to the past, permanentlydeferred justice to the future, and framed thepresent as a time between wrong and right. Theclass will investigate the political effects—onnationalism, sovereignty, and citizenship—of the

dominant, post-Cold War discourse of humanrights through a variety of cases, including post-war America, Germany, India, South Africa,Yugoslavia, and Lebanon. The course will bestructured by a detailed reading of RobertMeister’s recent work, After Evil: A Politics ofHuman Rights (2010), which spans thedisciplines of political theory, history, philosophy,jurisprudence, and theology. This course willenable students to think critically about theuniquely post-Cold War temporality of evil andjustice, when evil’s end, far from precipitatingjustice, postpones it indefinitely.

COURSE MATERIAL

Students are encouraged to purchase their owncopy of: Robert Meister, After Evil: A Politics ofHuman Rights (New York: Columbia UniversityPress, 2010). If unable to do so, an electroniccopy of the text will be provided upon registration.



Community EngagementThe history of the photobook, a personalcrusade(January 8, 2016) by Martin ParrRespondent Philippe CaliaIn collaboration with the BIND Collective

BIND, a nascent, experimental, Mumbai-based photography collective was started by

Philippe Calia, Andrea Fernandes, AsmitaParelkar, Nishant Shukla, and Sunil Thakkar. In2015, the collective conducted several publiclectures and readings on the theme of thephotobook. BIND installed a single photobook atthe Delhi Film Festival and members of thecollective shared a select collection of limited

Martin Parr and Philippe Calia converse during ‘e history of the photobook, a personal crusade’



edition books at Photo Kathmandu, Nepal.The endeavour has been in conversation and

collaborating with the eminent contemporaryphotographer Martin Parr. Through the joint effortof BIND and Jnanapravaha, Parr delivered alecture titled The History of the Photobook: APersonal Crusade at Jnanapravaha during hislast visit to Mumbai.

Parr is a British documentary photographer,photojournalist and, significantly, a practitionerwho has delved deep into his unrivalled collectionof up to twelve thousand photobooks to co-author– with his peer Gerry Badger – three definitivevolumes on the history of this genre. Together,these texts constitute the first of their kind withinthe discipline of the history of photography.

The artist has undertaken a ‘personal crusade’to ensure that the photobook, as both a versionor revision of photography’s polyphonic historiesand an aesthetic object in its own right, garnersengagement within the context of world arthistory. An important facet of the photobook isthat it is authored and designed byphotographers; it empowers practitioners with aworldview of their discipline that is not mediatedthrough the distant gaze of the art historian orcurator.

In order to demonstrate the versatility andbreadth of this seminal genre, Parr related thevariegated processes and the manifold contextswithin which the photobook has become a livingexpression of personal and political histories andgeographies since the early decades of thetwentieth century. Much of the work sharedduring the lecture was derived from Parr’s

seminal historical volumes on the photobook.In 1934, constructivist photographer Aleksandr

Rodchenko was commissioned by the StatePublishing House OGIZ to author ‘Ten years ofUzbekistan’, a celebration of Soviet rule in the

Image: © Martin Parr Collection / Magnum Photos



state. The edition was exquisitely crafted withfold-outs, statistics, and mug shots of membersof the social committee of Uzbekistan. However,by 1937, several of them had a fall out with Stalinand were ‘made obsolete’: removed from office,murdered or kidnapped. The government orderedthe defacement of their photographs in allexisting editions of Rodchenko’s book. Art as amedium of statecraft was a lie that held life atstake – at once epic and burlesque macabre.

By contrast, ‘Provoke Photography’, a series ofsmall, short-lived but significant publications byJapanese photographers in the 1960s and 1970sconveys the angst of a generation whose post-war national identity was crippled by thetumultuous ‘bomb years’. Moreover, thiscollective undermined the American conceptionof Japan as an economically dynamic post-warsociety: a worldview sustained by a proliferationof images that depicted marketing campaigns bycorporate honchos such as Sony, Olympus andDatsun. To appreciate the difference between the‘Soviet’ and ‘Japanese’ photobooks is tounderstand that seminal photography may becommercially commissioned or self-initiated/published.

Japanese photography evolved in a milieu thatwas alien to Western societies – during the 1960sand 70s, Japan had no culture of fine-printphotography. In a country that favouredcollections of woodblock prints, the book as adesign object seemed a natural outlet for creativeactivity. Each photo of the collective wasproduced and viewed in the context of a serieswith multiple authors. The impetus for a single,

‘haunting’ image was deemed unnecessary.Curiously, one of Parr’s inspirations as aphotographer is a project titled ‘Evidence’,undertaken in the 1970s by the artist duo LarrySultan and Mike Mandel. The photographersselected a group of diverse images fromindustrial, commercial, and institutional sourceshitherto unavailable to the public. The result wasa comic, perplexing montage that demonstrateswhat is to be gained by looking at images outsideof their contexts. At the same time, Parr argues, itis a testimony to the fact that a broad range ofanonymous, ‘vernacular’ photography may be asaesthetically accomplished as any other genrethat finds place in the photobook.

In his texts, Parr has attempted to revisit thehistories of various places, including LatinAmerica, early twentieth century Maoist andcontemporary China, revolutionary Iran, fascistItaly, 1960s London and even India during theCivil Disobedience Movement. Moreover, sinceParr and Badger’s first two volumes on thephotobook, a number of books about photobookshave appeared: specific works on Holland,Germany, Switzerland, Finland, Denmark…

As British journalist Colin Pantall states, “…In[Parr’s] collection there’s communism, fascism,surrealism, feminism, consumerism – every ismyou care to mention.” The history of thephotobook has nerve endings that abut, aver,antagonize but can never avoid those oftwentieth and twenty-first century world history.The photobook as a genre scales much of thathistory – in the ways of cartographers andmountaineers. - S.H.



The Prophet And The Poet(January 10, 2016) A play reading by AkeelBilgrami and Anmol VellaniIn collaboration with Columbia Global Centers –South Asia

Jnanapravaha Mumbai and Columbia GlobalCenters, South Asia were pleased to co-presentThe Prophet and the Poet to a packed house atthe NCPA’s “Little Theater” on January 10, 2016.A remarkable theatrical adaptation by VijayPadaki of the long correspondence betweenGandhi and Tagore, the play was directed byAnmol Vellani, one of India’s foremost theatrical

figures. Vellani also performed the role of Tagorealongside Akeel Bilgrami, who played Gandhi andis a member of JPM’s International AdvisoryCounsel as well as Sidney MorgenbesserProfessor of Philosophy at Columbia University.The role was particularly fitting as ProfessorBilgrami has written extensively on Gandhi inrecent years. Trishla Patel played the role ofnarrator.

Vellani/Tagore and Bilgrami/Gandhi readexcerpts of the many letters that these two giantsof Indian history and culture exchanged between1915 and 1941. Anticipating an independent

Akeel Bilgrami and Anmol Vellani during their performance in ‘e Prophet and the Poet’



India, the two debated, often vigorously but withutmost respect, the most fundamental issuesabout what it means to be free, educated, andjust in an anti-colonial world. Vellani and Bilgramisucceeded in performing the love Tagore andGandhi clearly had for one another, but withoutsacrificing their severe philosophical and politicaldifferences. The two sometimes agreed. But theyoften disagreed and when they did, the actorsperformed their stark clash of visions and idealsexpressed with respect, a searing force ofconviction, and rhetoric to match.

For instance, in an epistolary exchange on the1932 Poona Pact, Vellani/Tagore criticizedBilgrami/Gandhi for striking from Yerwada Jail toprevent Dr. Ambedkar and the Dalits fromreceiving a separate electorate. Gandhi

appeared to have no answer to Tagore’s critiqueand, indeed, in the question and answer sessionthat followed the performance, the renownedactivist filmmaker Anand Patwardhan questionedwhether Padaki might have done more toaccentuate the heated nature of that particulardisagreement, particularly with regards to theirrespective perspectives on Ambedkar’s growingmovement. Professor Bilgrami responded bysaying that in fact, there is not much onAmbedkar in the available correspondencebetween Gandhi and Tagore.

Professor Rajmohan Gandhi offered a keynoteaddress following the performance. Heemphasized how the subjects of theGandhi/Tagore debates are of universal concerntoday as well, stressing that we should use theopportunity of the performance to resuscitatehard hitting but respectful conversations onquestions of freedom and economic justice notonly in India, but also in Palestine and otherafflicted parts of the world. - R.G.

Anxiety after the Arab Spring(February 19, 2016) by Rohit Goel

Rohit Goel described his reflection on the 2011Arabic Spring as an experimental talk. Goelbegan with the December 2010 riots in Tunisia,sparked by the self-immolation of a fruit vendorprotesting a police officer’s stealing of his cartand resulting in the ouster of the Tunisian tyrantZain El Abidine Ben Ali which came as a shock tothe democratic, capitalistic world, here termed“the West”. The shock was apparent in the waythat social scientists, the international community

Rajmohan Gandhi delivers the keynote address after a reading of ‘eProphet and the Poet’



and media reacted by labelling the Tunisianuprising an exception. It was impossible, theyclaimed, that such an event could occur in Egypt,where the dictator Hosni Mubarak exercised a“managed authoritarianism” (tolerant of limitedquantities of popular dissent and freedom), or inSyria, where the Assad family’s tight controlwould not permit it. Goel sees the West’sresponse to these revolts and that in Libya ascounter-revolutionary: some experts retroactivelyclaimed having predicted the events; othersstated that the Arab spring did not surprise themand the Obama regime blamed “intelligencefailure” for not having known that the eventswould happen.

To the speaker, the epistemological anxiety feltby the West for not knowing about the events inadvance endows the Arab Spring with an“eventfulness” of the type that was last perceivedwith the fall of the Berlin wall. No one couldopenly speak in support of Ben Ali after theTunisian uprising, even though the West had

bolstered his power. The official position resultedin the West “feeling bad about feeling good”, Goelsaid – it had to distance itself from authoritariandictators whom it had earlier supported andovertly rejoice in their fall, suppressing itsdiscomfiture.

To the speaker, “feeling bad about feelinggood” also inverts the humanitariansentimentalism of the international community,which, according to Robert Meister, has prevailedat least since the end of the Cold War. Thisinversion makes the Arab uprisings radically new.Humanitarian sentimentalism has been the globalhegemonic human rights discourse since 1989,endorsing “feeling good about feeling bad” abouthuman suffering, its effort to prevent evil ratherthan do good. The international community hasclaimed as its foremost task a compassionatewitnessing of suffering as well as rescuing bodiesfrom pain. According to Francis Fukuyama’sfamous declaration, history was to have endedwith the end of Communism in 1989. Nothingnew was to happen. 20th century evil was in thepast, and the world entered a “transitional time”which requires patience and a hyper-vigilanceagainst the return of that evil. Rejecting JohnRawls’s liberalism of hope because it would lookforward, not backward at 20th century evil, hisstudent, Judith Shklar advocated a liberalism offear, an inherently nihilist philosophy which madedeath the worst fate that can befall the humansubject. Such events as the Arab Spring weresupposedly impossible because the only tenableglobal subjectivity in the post-Cold War world, acombination of market capitalism and



parliamentary democracy, was individual humantolerance and sentimentality.

According to the French philosopher AlainBadiou, an event is one that cannot be predictedin advance because it is a radically new way ofthinking and feeling. It is by this retrospectiveyardstick that Goel calls the Arab Spring anevent. However, Western anxiety after the Arabspring did not last long, as the internationalcommunity recalibrated it in its own image,domesticating the cause of the uprisings byattributing them to the universal desire for freeelections, free speech, human rights and freemarkets. In Goel’s argument, this is not faithful tothe historical nature of the uprisings, whichremoved hated dictators from power or wereactively against neo-liberalisation. The denial alsoseeped into the heroic Arab actors of thestruggle; for example, transitional regimes -Tunisia’s Rashid al-Ghannushi and Egypt’s Morsi- that followed the uprisings allayed Westernanxiety by denying the radical nature of theupheavals. The international communityintervened directly in Libya and indirectly in Syria,pending active intervention, where the revolt,ironically, had occurred against the country’swesternisation by Bashar-al-Assad.

The West’s narcissistic discourse emptied theuprisings of what Badiou calls their ‘negativepower’, and resignified them with thetranscendent global goal of avoiding humansuffering, as well as a desire for the West. Criticsof the West had forewarned that it would movequickly to successfully avert damage to itsmaterial interest, resulting in its inclusion despite

the popular nature of the revolts. Even though heseems sympathetic to the Arab uprisings, JosephMassad cynically affirmed the absolute,atemporal nature of Western power, saying thatthe upheavals were assured of defeat becausethe ineluctable outcome of continued revolt wouldbe a US-imposed, pliant regime and notdemocracy. He too, like other critics, argued thatnothing new had really happened. Asaf Beyatlabelled the upheavals “refolutions”, withenormous social power but lacking inadministrative authority.

Each of the above – social scientists, theinternational community and transitional regimes,as well as critics who have stolen the eventfulenergy of the Arab Spring by denying it – mimicBadiou’s “obscure subject”. Such a subject haslinks to the past, which cause a hatred of “everyliving thought, every transparent language inevery uncertain becoming”, in contrast to “thefaithful subject” of an event, who refuses toobscure it. For Goel, such a response wouldexclude the West until it could be treated, until itsanxiety could be overcome rather than allayed,and give rise to a new “international”. – J.K.

* * *

CINEMA

Louis Malle's "Jana Gana Mana" in ThreeEpisodes from Phantom India (1968-1969)(January 11, 2016) by Darius Cooper

Dr. Darius Cooper, Professor of CriticalThinking, Humanities and Film Making at the San



Diego Mesa College and the author of BetweenModernity and Tradition: The Cinema of SatyajitRay, presented an analysis of Louis Mallesapproach to what was a deeply personalassignment. Unfortunately, owing to copyrightissues he was unable to show clips from theepisodes he described.

Malle was contracted by the BBC to shoot 10-12 episodes for a documentary about India.Eventually only 7 were completed and aired, tomuch critical acclaim, at least in the west. Hehad no idea how he was going to make this film,but was very conscious about not showing itthrough the lens of a typical European. Hearrived with a cameraman and sound specialist

and without a mise en scène. His plan was towalk the streets, observe what’s happening, andlet an “epiphany” determine a “privilegedmoment” to create the film. Malle wanted to keepthe scenes as authentic as possible and decidedthat as long as the subject is not “performing” orself-conscious he would continue filming andretain it in the final version. Cooper says thatMalle remains “humble”, keeps talking into thecamera, always questioning whether he is doingthe right thing, and you can see that he is“struggling” to “empty himself of his westernsensibility”.

The “Impossible Phantom”, the first episode,has a scene in which a woman being filmed turns

Darius Cooper speaks during ‘Louis Malle's "Jana Gana Mana" in ree Episodes from Phantom India (1968-1969)’



away and wants any image of her removed fromthe film. Soon after he films some shepherd boyswho far from objecting to being filmed are defiantand mock him as he goes about his task. Malleconsiders this a privileged moment because theactors are being themselves. This is a “reversalof the gaze” and “breaks the binary in which the‘seen’ (object)” is allowed to dominate the “seer”(subject, the film maker). In this way he uses“self reflexivity” as a tool to explore thedocumentary making process, always asking theviewer if what he has done is right or not.

India is described as a “phantom” because ofthe endless possibilities, the layers of meaning inthe “palimpsest” it is. In this episode he lets thecamera rest, for a long time, on the carcass of adead buffalo being eaten by vultures and wilddogs, whilst people carry on nonchalantly abouttheir daily tasks. This scene probably resulted inthe documentary being banned by the IndiraGandhi government. Malle did not think that hewas showing poverty and indifference, but sawthis scene as a sort of “savage beauty”, incontrast to the Indian acceptance and equanimitytowards life and death.

In the second episode, “Things Seen inMadras”, Cooper vividly described a chariotfestival scene in Madras, in which a large groupof young men pushing the cart forward whilstbeing cheered on by a large crowd of women,children, and the old. The camera angle is keptvery low, perilously close to the wheels of thechariot, with water and perspiration pouring onthe lens. The scene is a powerful example of“direct cinema” which “sucks” the viewer into the

tumultuous scene displaying the bhakti and faithof the fervent.

He also describes a scene at Kalakshetra,where young girls are learning a difficult BharatNatyam dance routine from their teacher. Thegirls are so absorbed in their practice that theycompletely ignore the exotic foreign film crew andare performing only “for their God …who is theirsole inspirer”. At that moment they appear to bein spiritual union with God, completely ignoringthe camera crew, which leaves Malle speechless.

In the third episode, “The Indian and TheSacred”, Malle follows the “daily enactment ofpoojas” in Madurai, the rituals and drinking of(dirty) water, which the faithful do not even notice.In the final scene Malle tracks an elderly manwho walks wearily towards the temple. However,as soon as he crosses the threshold of thetemple, his movement is transformed to one ofenergy and a “stunning grace”. It is a spirit whichonly the faithful can call upon, across a threshold“where the street with its secular life ends, andthe temple with its sacred life begins”. He filmsthe same grace in an 87 year old woman whoclimbs 100 steps to a temple every day and a100 year old sadhu, who walks past the cameraoblivious of a clumsy foreigner.

The talk raises interesting questions about thesuccess of Malle’s method. Can the filmmaker’sgaze be truly neutral or reversed? We are furthertold that Malle thought that large city dwellerswere not genuinely Indian and chose to shoot80% of his film in Hindu southern India. Thereader must see the documentary and decide!- A.S.


Vikalp@JnanapravahaDuring the last quarter, we had three screeningsas part of the initiative Vikalp@Jnanapravaha.

1. Two films on grandfathers, memories,migration & more… (January 22, 2016)Nehtarby Ardra Swaroop | Documentary | 40 minutes&These Old Framesby Tahireh Lal | Experimental | 15 min

2. ARCHIVE TWITCH(February 22, 2016)

A screening of contemporary experimentalfilms and film-essaysCurated by: Doplgenger (Isidora Ilić & BoškoProstran) Introduced by: Isidora Ilić

3. Ye Jawaani Hai Deewani!(March 18, 2016) A series of short films on being youngMy Doodled Diaryby Sonali Gulati | 12 mins ICUby Anoop Sathyan | 30 minsPOP!by Pooja Hegde | 17 minsKanyakaby Christo Tomy | 11 mins Open the doorby Shubham Solanki | 3.5 mins

Forthcoming Programmes

New American Cinema(July 25, 26, 27 & 28, 2016 from 5.00 to 8.30 pm)by Pravina Cooper

This four day seminar explores independent‘American cinema from the 1970s to the present.Beginning with Coppola's Godfather andScorcese's Taxi Driver, the course examines thebirth of blockbusters like Spielberg's Jaws, therise of indie films like Soderbergh's ground SexLies and Videotape, and Tarantino's Pulp Fiction.We'll cover today's spectacle pictures like HurtLocker and finish with Nolan's mind-bendingmagnum opus: Memento. Join us on thisadventure as we uncover American cinema'sgeniuses and masterpieces.

39JPM Quarterly Newsletter Apr-Jun 2016

CURATORIAL PROCESSES

Polyphonic Modernisms and the Art of V. S.Gaitonde(February 4, 2016) by Sandhini Poddar

In 2006, the Solomon R. GuggenheimMuseum became the first modern andcontemporary art museum in the West to hire asenior curator for Asian Art. In the years since,the museum has mounted a series of exhibitions

under the rubric of the Asian Art Initiative,including The Third Mind: American ArtistsContemplate Asia, 1860–1989 (2009), Lee Ufan:Marking Infinity (2011) and Gutai: SplendidPlayground (2013). The Initiative disseminatesscholarship on Asian Art at internationalsymposia, through essays in exhibitioncatalogues and the research generated duringthe course of curatorial fellowship programs.Further, the Asian Art Council, comprised of some

Sandhini Poddar speaks during ‘Polyphonic Modernisms and the Art of V.S. Gaitonde’


twenty art critics, theorists, historians, curatorsand artists, was established in 2007. The Councilinforms the Initiative’s intellectual output as wellas its long-term acquisition strategy. Theinternational scope and vision of the Initiative haspermanently altered the museum’s exhibition andinstitutional history not only in relation to itself,but also within the wider context of the dynamicmuseological practices being adopted by otherleading Western institutions of modern andcontemporary art during the 21st century.

V. S. Gaitonde: Painting as Process, Paintingas Life, at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum,New York (2014-15) and at the PeggyGuggenheim Collection, Venice (2015-16),distinguishes itself as the first comprehensivesolo exhibition of an Indian modern artist’s oeuvreat a leading Western museum of modern art.

The historical significance of this curatorialenterprise derives from Ms. Poddar’s success indistilling the form and content of the aesthetics

and philosophy that inspired the artist’sworldview. Fluent in the traditions of Western andCentral Indian manuscript painting, East Asianink painting, theological precepts of 20th centurypreachers such as Sri Ramana Maharishi andKrishnamurti, and the koans of Zen Buddhism,Gaitonde’s early works till the 1960s evince apredilection towards the practice of early 20thcentury European Modernism. Moreover, even inthe 1960s and 1970s, he continued to familiarizehimself with the morphing patterns of post-war,mid-twentieth century abstraction, whichcharacterized trans-Atlantic artistic output and theNew York School in particular.

As such, a study of Gaitonde’s oeuvreprovides an opportunity to delineate thetrajectories pursued by modernist art circles inMumbai and New Delhi, situating them in across-fertilization of cultural thought and practicebetween the histories and geographies of the20th century. An understanding of South Asianartistic practice vis-à-vis influential, oftencontemporaneous cultural innovationsspearheaded by the West is in keeping with theAsian Art Initiative’s vision to transform theGuggenheim Museum into a globally resonantinstitution for world art. However, for the purposeof the exhibition in focus, Ms. Poddar hasredefined the babel of cultural practices emergingfrom intense, often traumatic periods of twentiethcentury history – the World Wars, the Cold War,decolonization and the postcolonial condition,among others – as ‘polymorphic modernisms’. Byso doing, the exhibition eschews any easyconfidence in the polarities of East and West,

Installation view: Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, 2014. Photo: DavidM. Heald


tradition and contemporaneity, center andperiphery, and origin and influence.

Indian cultural practitioners themselvesacknowledge that Gaitonde’s opus remainssorely understudied within the genealogies oftwentieth-century world art; the impulse towardsart criticism in the decades followingindependence, they argue, lagged behind artisticoutput. As such, Indian art criticism sinceindependence and until the1990s favoredrepresentational art forms that revealed theartists’ beliefs (or disbeliefs) in specific notions ofnational identity upheld by a nascent, idealistrepublic. Pitted against the ‘vanguard’, whopainted with vigor a vision of postcolonial India,Gaitonde’s artistic impression was oftendismissed by critics as purveying an unmoored,romantic sensibility. Indeed, the decades sinceindependence have witnessed only onemonograph on the artist’s output.

Gaitonde revealed little of his creative processto his peers. However, he did emphasize thatcreativity was a continual, organic process thatcould only be sporadically contained by a finishedcanvas. Gaitonde would spend months cogitatingover a new work, confronting a blank canvasbefore the formal properties of a work crystallizedin his mind. In order to paint, he believed, onehad to have a still yet inquiring mind, one thatcould continually sediment and sift throughintellectual activity – layering it here, masking itthere. Nonetheless, Gaitonde, inspired by andreverent of the value of satori afforded the Zenpractitioner, stressed the importance of themoment while painting, a moment whose impact

would imbue his canvases with the status of‘happenings’.

In light of the revelation that Gaitonde wasnever a prolific painter – completing only five orsix canvases a year – the collection of thirtypaintings on canvas and ten to fifteen works onpaper acquired for the exhibition from leadinginstitutions such as the Tata Institute ofFundamental Research, Mumbai, the JehangirNicholson Art Foundation, Mumbai, the Taj MahalPalace and Hotel, Mumbai, the National Galleryof Modern Art, New Delhi, the Kiran NadarMuseum of Art, New Delhi and the Museum ofModern Art (MoMA), New York, among others,provides a remarkable sample of the artist’sversatile yet restrained aesthetic sensibility.

Gaitonde’s opus deserves sensitiverespondents who can engage with a single workor a series of them, both analytically –understanding his specific contribution within thewider context of twentieth-century world art – andintuitively – immersion in his non-representationallandscapes, the profound rock gardens of hismind, the place of Zen. – S.H.



POST GRADUATE DIPLOMA IN INDIANAESTHETICS(Starts Saturday, July 23, 2016)

JPM’s year-long, postgraduate diploma inIndian Aesthetics examines the development ofvisual forms in historical and discursive context.Crossing the disciplines of art history,archaeology, architecture, anthropology,literature, and philosophy, the course treatsroughly 5000 years of Indian visual art andaesthetics, encompassing premodern, modern,and contemporary forms as well as popular andfolk traditions.

Understanding regnant philosophical andreligious tenets is crucial to studying Indianaesthetics; as such, Vedic, Buddhist, Jaina,Hindu-Agamic, Tantric, and Islamic doctrines areanalyzed for their influence on architecture,sculpture, and painting over time. The course

also examines how aesthetic theories and textsas well as shastric concepts and preceptscontribute to an understanding of Indian art.Interdisciplinary in nature, Indian Aestheticsplaces illustrated manuscript paintings in theirliterary context, concluding with the study of thevisual paradigms of colonialism, nationalism,modernism, and postmodernism.

The Indian Aesthetics faculty comprisesinternationally renowned scholars who ensurethat the visual material presented is broad-basedgeographically, historically, culturally, andmaterially.

JPM is pleased to offer students of IndianAesthetics, Art, Criticism, and Theory, andTheoretical Foundations the opportunity toparticipate in a month-long Writing Program withJP Academic Director Rohit Goel uponcompleting their courses in April. Professor Goelwill host a series of writing seminars withinterested students, helping them to shape theirdiploma and certificate thesis topics, write clearlyfor an academic audience, and producepublishable work. Diploma and certificate thesesare due June 1.

Fee: INR 30,000 (participation and writing), INR35,000 (participation and writing in the JPMWriting Program)ADMISSIONS OPEN!

Announcements



POST-GRADUATE DIPLOMA IN ART,CRITICISM AND THEORY(Starts August 2, 2016)

JPM’s year-long, postgraduate diploma in Art,Criticism, and Theory (ACT) aims to nurture aninterdisciplinary approach to the arts. The courseengages with art theory, art criticism, and culturaltheory, and addresses the ‘contemporary’ in thefields of art and visual culture. ACT preparesstudents to engage in various practices, includingresearch and writing, in the broad and rapidlychanging arena of the visual arts. Students learnto build connections between theory, practice,and research. ACT’s primary objective is topromote independent and creative thinking.

The course comprises four sections: (1)Foundations, including debates anddevelopments in modern Western and Indian art,art criticism, art history, as well as the art worldand its institutions, (2) Concepts, such as

debates on the image, man, animal, and nature,memory and the archive, forensic evidence,language and meaning, as well as temporality,spatiality, and technology, (3) Thinkers, includingAnandavardhana and Abhinavagupta,Coomaraswamy, Havell, Ruskin, and Loos,Adorno, Benjamin, Jameson, Foucault, Freud,Lacan, as well as Geeta Kapur, RichardBartholomew, Arjun Appadurai, W.J.T. Mitchell,and Homi Bhabha, and (4) Practice, such asperformance art and the body, video art, soundart, the digital realm and augmented reality,curatorial practices, and postmodernism.

ACT students are introduced to ideas andthoughts that will allow them to develop andevolve their own academic research, writing, andprofessional interests in the visual arts worldimaginatively and critically.

JPM is pleased to offer students of IndianAesthetics, Art, Criticism, and Theory, andTheoretical Foundations the opportunity toparticipate in a month-long Writing Program withJP Academic Director Rohit Goel uponcompleting their courses in April. Professor Goelwill host a series of writing seminars withinterested students, helping them to shape theirdiploma and certificate thesis topics, write clearlyfor an academic audience, and producepublishable work. Diploma and certificate thesesare due June 1.

Fee: INR 25,000 (participation and writing), INR30,000 (participation and writing in the JPMWriting Program)ADMISSIONS OPEN!



POST-GRADUATE DIPLOMA INTHEORETICAL FOUNDATIONS(Starts July 1, 2016)

JPM’s new postgraduate diploma inTheoretical Foundations provides students arigorous study of critical social, political,anthropological, psychoanalytic, and aesthetictheory. Over two years, JPM’s Academic DirectorRohit Goel will offer six, ten-session moduleseach July, November, and March. The modulesfor 2016-2018 are as follows: (1) After Evil:Aesthetics, Ethics, and Politics (July 2016), (2)Psychoanalysis: Freud and Lacan (November2016), (3) Reading Marx, Writing Against theGrain (March 2017), (4) Interpretive Methods(July 2017), (5) Postcolonial Theory (November2017), and (6) Structuralism andPoststructuralism (March 2018).

Students can choose to do one or moremodules; those who participate in and completethe writing assignments for at least three of themodules offered between 2016 and 2018 areawarded a diploma in Theoretical Foundations

from JPM. Students are expected to read and beprepared to discuss assigned texts for eachsession and indicate whether they intend to writefor the course upon registration, when theyreceive their course packets.

Fee: INR 7,500 per module (participation), INR10,000 per module (participation and writing)ADMISSIONS OPEN!

AFTER EVIL: AESTHETICS, ETHICS ANDPOLITICS (July 2016) (refer pg 29 for dates)

This course analyzes understandings of justicein 'post-conflict' societies. We critically examinethe theoretical literature on 'transitional justice' toinvestigate how, after the fall of the Soviet Unionin 1989, scholars and citizens alike haverelegated evil to the past, permanently deferredjustice to the future, and framed the present as atime between wrong and right. The classinvestigates the political effects—on nationalism,sovereignty, and citizenship—of the dominant,post-Cold War discourse of human rights througha variety of cases, including post-war America,Germany, India, South Africa, Yugoslavia, andLebanon. The course is structured by a detailedreading of Robert Meister’s recent work, AfterEvil: A Politics of Human Rights (2010), whichspans the disciplines of political theory, history,philosophy, jurisprudence, and theology. Thiscourse enables students to think critically aboutthe uniquely post-Cold War temporality of eviland justice, when evil’s end, far from precipitatingjustice, postpones it indefinitely.



PSYCHOANALYSIS : MARX, FREUD, LACAN,AND THE SLOVENIAN SCHOOL (November 2016)

In this course, students closely read seminalpsychoanalytic accounts of the self’s relation tocapitalist society: Marx, Freud, Lacan, HerbertMarcuse, Slavoj Žižek, Mladen Dolar, AlenkaZupančič, Lorenzo Chiesa, Samo Tomšič, andAaron Schuster. We closely read and discussMarx’s ‘Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of1844’ and Capital; Freud’s Introductory Lectureson Psychoanalysis and Civilization and itsDiscontents; selections of Lacan’s Seminars andEcrits; Marcuse’s Eros and Civilization; Žižek’sThe Sublime Object of Ideology; as well as morerecent texts by the so-called “Slovenian School”of psychoanalytic philosophers.

READING MARX, WRITING AGAINST THEGRAIN (March 2017)

This seminar series offers a rigorous accountof Marx’s oeuvre, connecting his early work onalienation, ideology, and historical epochs to hismature social theory of capital. We will read anddiscuss selections of Marx’s “Economic andPhilosophical Manuscripts of 1844,” “Theses onFeuerbach,” and “Communist Manifesto,” movethrough his method of political economy in the“Grundrisse,” and arrive at his critical analysis ofCapital. In the final seminar, we will situate ouranalysis of time, labor, and social domination inthe context of subaltern approaches to studyingEuropean colonial expansion in South Asia.Focusing on Ranajit Guha’s seminal text, “TheProse of Counter-Insurgency,” participants willlearn to read official or “canonical” texts andimages contrapuntally—against the grain—ameans to writing subaltern voices of resistance tocapital and colonialism.



INTERPRETIVE METHODS (July 2017)

This course will provide students with anintroduction to interpretive methods in thehumanities and social sciences. Students willlearn to "read" texts and images while alsobecoming familiar with contemporary thinkingabout interpretation, narrative, ethnography, andsocial construction. Among the methods we shallexplore are: semiotics, hermeneutics, ordinarylanguage philosophy, discourse analysis,psychoanalysis, subaltern studies, and Marxiananalysis.

POSTCOLONIAL THEORY (November 2017)

This seminar offers a comprehensive accountof postcolonial theory and its critics. From itsinception as a Euro-American academicdiscipline in the 1980s, postcolonial theory hasattempted to reconcile Marxist concerns with“subaltern” justice with postmodern criticisms ofstructural analysis. As such, the theoretical

moment of “the postcolonial” has been at oncecreative and controversial. The course beginswith an analysis of the “Subaltern Studies”school, an effort to grasp the aims of postcolonialresearch as well as its audience, consideringGayatri Spivak’s provocative claim that thesubaltern subject cannot speak. Second, we turnto Dipesh Chakrabarty’s ambitious effort to“provincialize Europe,” putting Marx andHeidegger into conversation to show howpractices such as democracy, nationalism, andexchange have operated in alternative ways inpostcolonial India. We analyze Chakrabarty’s“alternative modernities” thesis alongside theMarxist critic Fredric Jameson’s contention thatmodernity is “singular.” Third, the course movesto postcolonial understandings of the “nationform” of political community, considering ParthaChatterjee’s celebrated critique of BenedictAnderson in his work on Gandhi, Nehru, Bengaliculture and the making of modern India, as wellas Manu Goswami’s neo-Marxist challenge toChatterjee’s thesis. Fourth, we take up EdwardSaid’s influential concept of “Orientalism” throughthe lens of his postcolonial critics, specificallyAijaz Ahmad. The course concludes with areading of Vivek Chibber’s recently celebratedattack on postcolonial theory, Postcolonial Theoryand the Specter of Capital, a defense of theradical Enlightenment tradition that postcolonialtheory ostensibly aims to deconstruct. Armedwith a thorough understanding of the postcolonialtradition of analysis, the class will criticallyevaluate Chibber’s argument to consider the fateof the postcolonial today.


STRUCTURALISM ANDPOSTSTRUCTURALISM (March 2018)

The first half of the course begins with thestructural linguistics of Saussure and Jakobson,moves to Barthes’s semiotics, and finishes withthe structural anthropology of Levi-Strauss,Sahlins, and the early Foucault. Situating the shiftto poststructuralism in the historical context of the

1960’s and 1970’s, the second half of the coursebegins with the later Foucault’s History ofSexuality and Discipline and Punish, moves toDerrida’s notion of différance and Deleuze’sconception of desire, and finishes by putting Marxinto conversation with the later Lacan. Studentswill gain a foundational understanding of theepistemological contours and stakes ofstructuralism and poststructuralism.


CERTIFICATE COURSE IN YOGA & TANTRA(Starts August 10, 2016)

Jnanapravaha Mumbai’s quarter-long course,Yoga and Tantra (Y&T), has three overarchingfocus areas: (1) a chronological survey of thephilosophical concepts, meta-theologies, andcosmologies of Yoga and Tantra traditions, (2) anexploration of the aesthetics of the visualrepresentations of those ideas, theirmanifestations in temple art, sculpture, painting,as well as their reflections in the lived practices ofnationalists and saints, and (3) situating Yogaand Tantra traditions in the larger context ofIndian art and life.

The course is sensitive to the increasing

popularity of yoga today, its globalised andmodernized practices, but will situate recenttrends in historical context, from the premodernto the modern. Students will also explore a widerange of Agamic/Tantric traditions from Buddhist,Jain, and Hindu worldviews to popular syncretictraditions of the medieval Nath yogis, Sufis, andbhakti cults.

Interdisciplinary in nature, Y&T presents viewsfrom Sanskrit studies and philology, philosophy,literature, aesthetics, art history and archaeology,and anthropology.

This certificate course consists of 28 sessions,two hours each.Duration: August 2016 – October 2016; classesmainly on Wednesdays and Thursdays from 4:00– 6.00 pmFees: Rs. 18,000/-ADMISSIONS OPEN!

For more information visit www.jp-india.org oremail us at [email protected] [email protected]

Contributors:AA – Aparna AndhareAB – Andre BaptistaAS – Arvind SethiJK – Jaya KanoriaKM – Kaiwan MehtaRG – Rohit GoelRP – Rashmi PoddarSG – Sudha GanapatiSH – Sarvesh Harivallabhdas


Queens Mansion, 3rd Floor, G. Talwatkar Marg,Fort, Mumbai - 400001. India.www.jp-india.comwww.facebook.com/JnanapravahaAtMumbaiFollow us on Twitter @Jnanapravaha_MInstagram: Jnanapravaha_Mumbai

We know we have made a difference. Our endeavour to encourage and facilitate creative expressionmeaningfully, continues with the firm belief that the arts are indispensable to the well-being of the community

From Left to Right: Phillip Wagoner, Helen Philon, Finbarr Barry Flood, Mirella Petteni Haggiag and Stephane Bloch Saloz


Documents

QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER Apr-Jun ’16 · the Imperial Chalukyas of Kalyana (997 – 1200 C.E). A unified Deccan governed during the ‘Golden Era’ of Chalulyan rule did not survive