CHENNAI : The Indian theory of aesthetics is unique! The purpose of art is complete only when a rasika, a connoisseur, experiences the essence of beauty in a form. Art was thus not meant for the artiste; rather, its purpose and construct was to engage with all segments of the society. Another aspect of Indic art is how beauty was dealt with what is unseen.
The artistes used their artistry to push the boundaries of expressions, to engage the art enthusiasts and aficionados to elevate their sensibilities. For this reason alone, the ancient and early medieaval society of India makes a marvellous study. Many types of art forms, craft and games created in that period have become so timeless.
Post-independence, some have been elevated to a status as classical. Although “classical” is a very Western thought, referring to some standards of an era, the native classification of art was merely whether one followed the desi or margi tradition. For a better understanding, if Ganesha is an idea, then Vatapi Ganapathy and Siddhi Vinayaka are original presentations of an idea, and therefore belong to margi tradition; while desi tradition would be how Ganesha is celebrated in each region. Margi or desi, both the traditions had a common goal — to evoke a sentiment that would kindle the intellect.
Among the sentiments, bhakti earned a special place in Indic art, Unlike today, bhakti in the past kept the society culturally tuned, intellectually skilled and collectively harmonious. It enriched the emotional quotient and was the reason for India’s expansive, ingenious, intangible heritage in the form of wisdom texts, classical literature, temple art and forms.
Prof VS Ramachandran, the neuroscientist, while explaining the artful brain recounts, “During a three-month visit to Chennai (then Madras), I found myself with extra time on my hands. This gave me ample opportunity for leisurely walks through the Shiva temple in my neighbourhood in Mylapore.”
“A strange thought occurred to me as I looked at the stone and bronze sculptures in the temple. In the West, these are now found mostly in museums and galleries and are referred to as Indian art. Yet, I grew up praying to these as a child and never thought of them as art.”
He throws light on how art is so well integrated into the fabric of life in India in the form of the daily rituals, music and dance that, it is very difficult to know where art ends and where ordinary life begins. True to his observation, art in India was never separated as a thing of beauty that was an exclusive privilege of the classes; as it is in the West. Also, Indic art had a universal purpose as how meaning exists within a word. Therefore, culture was the ‘art of living life’ (purusartha-s) and science was the ‘art of knowing reality’ (darsana-s).
The aesthetic sensibilities of our ancestors are ingrained in all of us. Although seasonal to cite as an example, aesthetics can be witnessed even today during festivities, in the form of kolams in the doorways and passageways of homes and apartments. No school teaches how to draw intricate patterns using dots and lines; yet, the dots are precise, and the lines are seamless, continuous and flowing, revealing neither the beginning nor the end. They are attractive to catch the eye of a visitor; so much so that he/she hesitates to walk over it. This gesture of not stepping over a thing of beauty is also as a result of inherent intuitiveness to acknowledge a human effort. Even though these gestures may not be life altering, they are nevertheless signs of individuals and communities in a society showing politeness and perceptiveness.
Aesthetics is thus the sensitivity with which one responds to an environment. This sensitivity is not a mark of weakness; it is rather a mark of cultural outlook that is akin to awareness. Even though awareness is inherent in all, the aesthetic sensitivity alone comes spontaneously only to some when the perception of ‘taste’ is already inherent or nurtured as a result of culture. Therefore, aesthetics is related to intuition, sophistication and refinement. This acquired flavour cannot be imposed or forced. It is personal and intimate, and it emerges from a sacred place within.
The ancient Tamizh acknowledged this sacred space as akam (‘aham’ in Sanskrit). Akam is the encapsulation of one’s own inner landscape. The akam poetries of Sangam literature are hence intimate monologues and dialogues of love (Sanskrit: srrigaram, Tamizh: kadal), longings (Sanskrit: iccha, Tamizh: asai) and conflicts within one’s self (Sanskrit: kama, Tamizh: kamam). They are outpourings of rich emotional life experiences that can engage any being, making them spontaneously dance like the dervish.
The monumental temple structures that were built in Tamilakam were in fact an invitation for an individual to unearth their inner ‘self’. The form(s) of God residing in the temple, invariably revealed each time on how to silence the empty noises of the social (puram) and sacred (akam). The temples thus were not only meant to unite people of various professions and communities, but intended to rest all in the resonance of a profoundness of Truth. Hence, Indic religions were an ‘art of experiencing Divine’ (darsanam).
Picasso, the Spanish painter, has thus said, “Art is a lie that makes us realise the truth”. The same has been observed differently by Sri Aurobindo, a contemporary Indian aesthetician, “Art can express eternal truths, it is not limited to the expressions of form and appearances.” He continues, “So wonderfully God made the world that a man using a simple combination of lines, an unpretentious harmony of colours, can raise an apparently insignificant medium to suggest absolute and profound truths with a perfection which language labours with difficulty to reach. What Nature is, what God is, what man is can be triumphantly revealed in stone or on canvas.”
On that note, visiting an ancient legend Brahma, one of the Hindu pantheons, had orchestrated Nature and created the phenomenal Cosmic world, yet was caught in deep distress. When Sarasvati questioned him on his disposition, he replies, “I have created this Universe full of wonder, with a lot of love; however, I find mankind, the pinnacle of my creations, still engaged in fighting either to survive, or to establish supremacy.” On hearing this, Sarasvati reassures Brahma saying that she will shower the gift of knowledge ‘to appreciate’, so that mankind can live life to the fullest.
So, the questions to be asked is: What is worthy that deserves appreciation? How should one shower praise? Are we contemplative enough in using our intellect to its potential for knowing what is ‘goodness’: a subjective aspect of what makes something as divine and another thing as demonic? Have you ever sensed a Beauty’s glance?
This series on Indic art, classical texts, poetries, culture and heritage are brought to put back some context to the value of Indian art and literature, for knowing Indian history through a cultural lens.
What She Said
Before I laughed with him nightly,
the slow waves beating
on his wide shores
and the palmyra
bringing forth heron-like flowers
near the waters,
my eyes were like the lotus
my arms had the grace of the bamboo
my forehead was mistaken for the moon.
But now
~ Maturai Eruttālan Centampūtan Translation of AK Ramanujam