HYDERABAD: Hindu religion worships a number of Gods and deities, but none is as beloved as the dusky, playful, butter-loving Lord Krishna. While India has always been obsessed with him and sung paeans to him, his popularity – if we may call it that – has pulled in a number of devotees from across the world. The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) or the Hare Krishna Movement, formed in 1966, is mostly responsible for this widespread love for all the Krishna love. But how exactly did it all start? How did it change over the centuries? Where can we find pictorial depictions of this God who has Hinduism in a tizzy?
Pradip Zaveri, in his coffee table book, ‘The Legend of Krishna in Wall Paintings of Gujarat and Rajasthan’ tells us of two places where we can lay eyes on and appreciate the absolute pull of Lord Krishna.
Here’s how the dusky God is described in this book: “There is hardly any living being, historical or mythological, who has so completely imbued the cultural life of people in India.”‘The Legend of Krishna’ not only gives us the history of Krishna-related wall paintings in Gujarat and Rajasthan, but also talks of all the folktales that he is part of. With passing years, the image saints and poets projected of him and how the common public became so entranced by him is a treat to read, even for a non-religious, non-spiritual person like me. The number of people who dedicated their lives to spreading the Krishna word, even in this age, is heartening as well as mind-boggling.
Filled with pictures of vibrant wall paintings from across Gujarat and Rajasthan that feature Lord Krishna, this book is a treat to connoisseurs of art. The fairly incisive descriptions of all the paintings in here are the added attraction to this easy, breezy, informative book. Even those who are not into art will be able to appreciate certain, if not all, nuances of many of the paintings depicted in here.
However, the paintings are not the only attraction of this book. Excerpts from the works of many saints and poets from centuries past are reproduced in their original form and translations have been made, even if those translations aren’t really appealing. Surdasa, Premanand, Narsinh Mehta, and Namdev, all past poets of the Bhakti movement, make their appearances in here. But inarguably, the most famous poet to be mentioned, is Mirabai.
More than anything, the author, Pradip Zaveri, needs to be appreciated for the extent of effort that went into collating various paintings from nooks and crannies of such large states as Gujarat and Rajasthan. Given, whatever narrative is in there, gets a little repetitive at times, but it’s nothing compared to the pulling vastness of the book as a whole. The author succeeded in finding balance and made sure that his message was well-put to the world at large.
If you’re looking for a coffee table book that will bring you some history that you didn’t know along with the stories about Krishna that you have definitely heard of as a child, this is one vibrant book that will satisfy your myth-loving, artistic taste.
Publisher: Niyogi Books
Price: ` 3,000