Monuments of Dharma

Monuments of Dharma Unseen Presence, ism in his classic The Buddha and his the Buddha and Sanchi Edited by �- Dhamma, many Ambedkarite Vidya Oehejia groups (with the conspicuous Marg Publications, 7 996, Rs 7 550 exception of the TBMSG) have yet to escape a kind of 'political Amaravati: Buddhist Sculpture from Buddhism' still tainted by the the Great Stupa internecine caste politics which By Robert Knox Ambedkar aimed to eschew. With British Museum Press, London, £40 this in mind, however, the essay gives a clue as to how future Borobudur: Prayer in Stone Navayana Buddhists may view Edited by Peter Schoppert Sanchi. Thames & Hudson, London, £40 For those new to Sanchi these essays are leavened with a detailed Reviewed by Pratap Rughani tour through the celebrated toranas (gateways) of Stupa No. 1 from he Buddhist monuments of Marg's contribution, Unseen Vidya Dehejia and by Debala Mitra's Sanchi, Borobudur and Presence, the Buddha and Sanchi, summary of the discovery and TAmaravati are among the edited by Vidya Dehejia with pho restoration of the monuments. most significant flowerings of devo tographs by K.B. Agrawala, is an Mitra, formerly Director General of tional art of any age, culture or innovative collection of short essays the Archaeological Survey of India, country anywhere. Recorded in the presented in a handsome volume has been closely connected with World Heritage list of monuments of that brings a contemporary feel to Sanchi for five decades. Mitra's outstanding artistic and and archi what has been traditionally an acad excellent brief guide, Sanchi, first tectural value, the Sanchi and emic preserve. Its eight essays pick published forty years ago, is in its Borobudur complexes are once up themes at the contemporary end sixth impression. It costs Rs 12 and again principal centres of Buddhism of art history and archaeology. The remains one of the most effective spanning two millennia of Buddhism collection includes glances at Sanchi distillations of archaeological schol in Asia through its Hinayana, from perspectives informed by post arship for the lay reader. Mahayana and Vajrayana avatars. modernism, as with Laura Scanlon's For those who do not make the Today, since their rediscovery and essay "Moving through Time: journey to Sanchi, Marg's book gives restoration, Sanchi and Borobudur Layering Stories at Sanchi," through a catholic introduction and offers a are alive once more as pilgrimage to contemporary history in Gary range of ways to engage with the centres for Buddhists, tourists and Tartakov's discussion of the New monument. art lovers. With the completion of Buddhists or Navayana approaches It's a creative collection that the British Museum's gallery housing to Buddhism at Sanchi. Tartakov achieves moments of fresh perspec the bulk of its collection from draws out some of the devotional tive by embracing an interdiscipli Amaravati there has never been a implications of the great 'untouch nary approach. "It is not what we see better time to see and compare the able' hero Dr Ambedkar's interpreta but the way we see that is empower Buddhist traditions that gave rise to tion of the middle way. It's a fasci ing," Scanlon writes. "We can expe these epic monuments. nating choice, since the rebirth of rience the sights at this site and with Three recent publications on Indian Buddhism is headed by in these panels as multiple, intercon three different Buddhist stupas mark Ambedkar's followers, but Tartakov's nected, simultaneously linked in the growing international interest in reading of Buddhist practice in these and layered over time, just as the Buddhist art and architecture from communities is an idealised view. text upon these pages links and lay its genesis in north and central India Rather than a keen awareness of ers a present model of causality from the third century B.C. Amedkar's interpretation of Buddh- with a past one to construct this 7 0 THE INOIA MAGAZINE OF HER PEOPLE AND CULTURE + FEBRUARY 1997 AMARAVATI Buddhist Sculpture from the Great Stfipa contingent reading of metaphor." about all that we have access to; The essays themselves are of an much of the original sculpture was intermediate length - not long either raided by European bounty enough for a detailed investigation hunters or burned for lime or build nor so lightweight as to be ignored ing materials used by Indians in the by Buddhist historians, critics and construction of the Amaresvara tem artists. In this sense the book is a ple. Of the pieces sent to London kind of bridge to a wider audience. (where they lay unclaimed in the It may not persuade some purists Three recent docks for a year) two of the finest but the overall project is laudable were then mounted on the outside and Marg deserves success in aim publications on three walls of the India Museum in ing to bring the glories of Sanchi to Whitehall, where Victorian smog a wider audience while seeking live different Buddhist damaged the stone structure. ly perspectives on these timeless Others were set in concrete so that themes. stupas mark the only one side of their sculpted sur If there is a way to improve the faces was on view and by the end of book then for me it would be to cor growing international the 1950s parts of the railing on dis rect the variable quality of the pho play in the Front Hall were also tographic reproduction on the curi interest in Buddhist art found to be damaged by exposure ously shiny paper. Though there are to varying humidity and air pollu several striking images, colour and architecture from tion. Worried by the decaying pati appears to be washed out, at times na, the museum authorities disman producing some overly flat images its genesis in north and tled the display and for the next thir which are blown up to a size that ty years the sculpture lay largely for their resolution cannot sustain. central India from the gotten back in the British Museum Unfortunately, these are concentrat basement. ed in the first chapter, making it dif third century B.C. Knox's aim with the new display ficult to forget this impression is a "reconstruction rather than an entirely despite stronger work as the board. Though hidden, at least here interpretation," creating the condi book progresses. they were safe and no one has felt tions for a response that could par Introducing the book, Dehejia more keenly the wanton neglect of allel the way people may have origi recalls how the Begum of Bhopal the collection than Knox, who has nally \liewed the stupa. His research actually contemplated presenting now helped secure a gracious home es were helped by the discovery of one of the toranas to the British for them. Elliot's 1845 sketches of Amaravati Museum in London (with another to Amaravati, Buddhist Sculpture that give some further clues to the be presented to Emperor Napoleon from the Great Stupa was published arrangements of the stupa's railing. Ill in 1868 to be erected in Paris) but to coincide with the opening of the "This is more than 'Art for Art's was persuaded to have casts of the new Amaravati display in a de sake'. I see arl history as only one toranas taken instead. humidified and air-filtered gallery at element in uriderstanding its politi The British Museum, meanwhile, the British Museum financed by the cal and social statement," Knox says. was already growing fat on the trea Japanese newspaper company Asahi The book's primary function is as sures of other parts of the Indian Shimbun. It's a scholarly work aimed a careful museum catalogue of the subcontinent and a welcome record at those with an informed interest collection but Knox does venture a of the surviving fragments of the and marks the latest turn in a com useful discussion of the principles of Amaravati Stupa 'marbles' is now plicated journey that had seen the stupa architecture and includes a available in a museum publication stupa fragments spirited from their history of the sometimes spctacular by Robert Knox, Keeper of Oriental home for two millennia in Amara story of Amaravati - by turns one of Antiquities and a key figure in vati, near present-day Vijayawada in criminal neglect, greed and inspira achieving the current display of the Andhra Pradesh, to the cold heart of tion. He includes the attempts of the collection now on public show after the Empire. acquisitive curator Sir Augustus thirty years in the BM's broom cup- What was taken by curators is Wollaston Franks to snaffle "a load FEBRUARY 1997 • THE INDIA MAGAZINE OF HER PEOPLE AND CULTURE 71 of the new marbles" out of India for business: Rene Burri, Bruno Barbey, the British Museum despite impend Louis Frederic, Hiroshi Suga, Raghu ing legislation to outlaw the whole Rai, Michelangelo Durazzo, Paul sale removal of large parts of the Chesley, Rio Helmi, Bernard great monuments from India. Hermann, Ping Amranand and Luca The story of desecration, preser lnvernizzi Tettoni. This is a truly vation and celebration does not impressive book that excels even divide neatly on national lines. Thames and Hudson's very high Indian and British protagonists both standards. It may cost more than the secured the destruction of the coffee table, but as books go it's Amaravati Stupa and have enabled hard to imagine one that will give the remaining collection to be more pleasure. enjoyed today. In time, Knox antici Professor Soekmono is pates, the sculpture of Amaravati Indonesia's most widely respected will be seen to be comparable to archaeologist.

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