Paintings of Bharat Mata images analysed; seen through a comparative lens
The first image titled “Bharat
Mata/Mother India” by M. F. Hussain contains a woman whose frontal
nudity is shown. It is an oil on canvass medium. The woman is painted
completely in red color.
Her bodily outlines are
drawn in such a manner that it creates a suggestive perspective of
the geography of the Indian subcontinent. Indian subcontinent can be
seen to have been exhibited in a personified form.
Bharat Mata/Mother India
M. F. Hussain
Painted in the year 2006
Oil on Canvass
On
the lower right corner, the shadow of a man in a meditative posture
is drawn. From my point of view, it can be a reference point to the
age-old tradition of Yoga and Meditation that have been nurtured by
the Indian sages from ancient times.
Her
left hand stretches to the north-eastern part of the country. Below
her left arm a white colored round wheel is drawn. The round wheel
with spokes inside symbolizes progress and eternal movement when it
is a part of the Indian flag.
A
boat is drawn in the lower left corner and this boat contains a mast
colored in black, red and fading yellow. The boat in my opinion is
the representative that India has had with
other nations through water ways for the last hundreds of years.
The
central part of the nude lady also becomes a symbolic representation
of the modern India and the ever evolving norms and value systems
that are needed. A visually beautiful view of the rising sun is
depicted in the upper right corner. The warmth that the beautiful
morning sun-rays will cast is an embodiment of the comfort that the
Indian subcontinent needs.
Summing
up the essence of the image, it feels that the artist wanted to
portray the ever-changing Indian subcontinent along with an inclusion
of the cultural and age-old themes of life. The nude woman may take a
turn and that turn will be the changes that the subcontinent has to
live through.
Another
image titled “Bharat Mata” was painted by Abanindranath Tagore in
the year 1905. The medium in which it was painted is watercolor. The
image contains a lady who has four hands. All the hands carry some
object which signify the symbolic representation of culture and
religion. She is holding beads, white cloth, a book (maybe Veda) and
some grass in each of the four hands. She is in saffron and red
colored sari. It can be seen as a portrayal of the traditional and
cultural dress that was very much preferred by the Indian community
in the earlier time.
Bharat Mata/Mother India
Abanindranath Tagore
Painted in the year 1905
Watercolor
The
four things that she has in her hands suggest the presence of the
below mentioned themes inside the Indian subcontinent. The beads
symbolize the religious element. We see many people with a rosary
beads in their hands. They keep on counting them one by one. The
white apron in her hand shows the presence of the eternally
cultivated peace inside the country. The book (Veda) in her hand
refers to the age-old knowledge and philosophy that had always been
with the people of the land. It also tells us about the presence of
the tradition of discussion and argument as a central activity for
seeking truth and wisdom. The grass in her fourth hand is symbolic of
the rich diversity of flora and fauna inside the territory.
Her
Gaze is very confident of the object that she is looking at and this
becomes much intense with the addition of the enlightening aura
around her head. White colored lotus flowers are below her feet. It
tells us of the presence of water all around her feet. It is because
of the reason that this territory is the southern part of India and
the Indian ocean is around her. The fully blossomed flowers tell us
of the Indian prosperity in the aquatic regions as well.
The
next image is titled “Bharat Mata” and was painted by D. Banerjee
around the year 1930-40. It is in the medium of popular print media.
This image has a woman -in fully ornamented costume and crown- as the
central figure. She has four hands and each hand is holding
something. The hand on the right side in the back is holding a book.
The two hands in the frontal part are tied together. The fourth hand
on the left is holding a “Trishul” which is used as a weapon and
many mythological stories have the motif of Trishul for exhibiting
the power of the persona. The hand has the tricolor flag which is
getting hoisted from it.
Bharat Mata/Mother India
D. Banerjee
1930-40
Popular print media
The
ornamented and crowned woman is the only protagonist here. Her
portrait occupies the geographical outlines of the present day Indian
subcontinent along with some parts of present day Pakistan in the
west and Bangladesh in the east. The painter certainly has covered
the geography in the time frame of pre-independent India and becomes
symbolic of the colonial territory of India. Pakistan and Bangladesh
were parts of India then.
The
upper section has four figures who were an integral part among the
visionaries and freedom fighters who struggled and fought for the
independence of India. They are Madan Mohan Malviya (Who had
establishe B.H.U. in the year 1916) Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Maulana Azad
and Pt. Chitranjan Das.
The
time and year in which the painting was drawn suggests various
meaningful stories behind the painting. The freedom fighters are
placed there above the image of “Bharat Mata” to tell the viewers
that they will set her free from the colonial power. She is draped
/ornamented in dress that is in the tricolor (saffron, green and
white). This representation refers to the unity and integrity that
was needed from the parts of the sub-continent so that they could
fight against the colonial rulers.
Her
aura is glowing in a raving intensity and energy. One interesting
thing to be observed is that the flag is not the present day tricolor
with “Ashok chakra” in the center. The “Ashoka Chakra” with
its 24 spokes represent the 24 hours of a day and its incessant
movement and progress. The reason being that present day tricolor was
not designed by the time the image had been painted by the artist.
Chandan......
I think charkha may be used here to represent the tradition of India where people were using it to make clothes which indicates our ancestors were rich in a masterpiece....
ReplyDeleteActually it is a part of the visual and symbolic culture to represent a very carefully devised values and meanings in a certain time frame. The symbol may have a very organised composition. If you have this very opinion and which I can only say that there is a possibility as well that it may be interpreted as what you are saying.
DeleteCan you please tell me the full name of artist D banerjee?
ReplyDelete