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The Gita

The Gita : Mewari Miniature Painting (1680-1698) by Allah Baksh Book

The Gita : Mewari Miniature Painting (1680-1698) by Allah Baksh

By Alok Bhalla

Category: Art books
MRP: 1495

The miniature paintings of the Gita by Allah Baksh, published in this volume for the first time, are from the late seventeenth century Mewar. Commissioned by Udaipurโ€™s Maharana Jai Singh, these paintings of the Gita are part of an illustrated Mahabharata folio of more than 4000 works.

Allah Bakshโ€™s luminous work on the Gita has no precedent in Indiaโ€™s art tradition. He has illustrated Krishnaโ€™s ecstatic song, verse by abstract verse. His images, meditative and unostentatious, are free from both heroic posturing and spiritual pride. Their colours are clear and luminous; their lines are restrained and precise. The folio reveals an artist for whom the Gita is a magnificent conversation between man and god about the pity and the sorrow of war. Allah Bakshโ€™s art of visionary thoughtfulness deserves an honoured place in the great library of Indian scriptures and their interpretations.

Alok Bhallaโ€™s commentary on the relationship between the paintings and the verses of the Gita is richly nuanced and imaginative. He challenges us to think about how artists have interpreted Indiaโ€™s sacred texts in radically new ways. Bhalla argues that these miniature paintings are not mere illustrations of Krishnaโ€™s divine discourse and that Allah Bakshโ€™s work is a morally significant visual guide to the Gita, as each painting is a unique moment of revelation.

Chandra Prakash Devalโ€™s fine translation of the Gita from Mewari into Hindi is a valuable addition to our understanding of the history of cultural exchange between the different regions and languages of India.

Format: Hardback with dust jacket
Size: 242mm x 178mm; 484pp
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