‘Triveni’
is devoted to Art, Literature, and History. Its main function is to interpret
the Indian Renaissance in its manifold aspects.
‘Triveni’
seeks to draw together cultured men and women in all lands and establish a
fellowship of the spirit. All movements that make for Idealism in India as well
as elsewhere, receive particular attention in these columns. We count upon the
willing and joyous co-operation of all lovers of the Beautiful and the True.
May
this votive offering prove acceptable to Him who is the source of the
‘Triveni’–the Triple Stream of Love, Wisdom and Power!
…………he
that laboureth right for love of Me
shall
finally attain! But, if in this
Thy
faint heart fails, bring Me thy failure!
–THE
SONG CELESTIAL
SEVENTY-FIVE
This
day, India rejoices that her great leader, Gandhiji, has completed his seventy
fifth year. And friends of India everywhere are joining in the
celebrations. Of the tributes paid to him on this occasion, the noblest comes
from the philosopher-scientist, Einstein, who feels that
generations to come “will scarce believe that such a one as this ever in flesh
and blood walked upon this earth.” Devout, peace loving men and women in all
lands instinctively recognise their kinship with Gandhiji, and look up
to him as the loving symbol of all that they hold dear. To the oppressed and
downtrodden, he brings the message of hope, of redemption through suffering and
self-effort. While Truth and Non-violence–the fundamental bases of his
philosophy of life–are of universal validity, their application to
actual modern conditions has been attempted by Gandhiji through the Indian
settlers in South Africa in the first instance, and then, on a wider scale, in
the course of the struggle for Indian freedom.
The
success of any great endeavour is conditioned by the available human material,
but a leader with vision transforms common men into heroes. Judged by any
standard, the Indian experiment of Gandhiji is a huge success. He has awakened
an ancient people to a sense of their rights, and led them from strength
to strength. But the winning of India’s freedom is just an incident, albeit a
great one, in the triumphant march of the Spirit of Truth and Non-violence. A
war weary world must re-shape itself and settle down to a healthy, purposive
existence, by following the “Kindly Light” which Gandhiji sheds. That Light
spreads its purity and beneficence now from “the
low-roofed cottages of Sevagram” for which Kasturba, the mother of a nation,
pined while in prison,–the same dear spot
where that nation’s homage is being rendered to Gandhiji, and, through him, to
his life’s partner–yea, a partner through
many lives.
A MODIFIED PAKISTAN?
Gandhiji
and Mr. Jinnah have met, and parted. We are assured that they parted as
friends, and would like to meet again. But no meeting is possible, or likely to
be fruitful, unless Gandhiji is clothed with representative capacity. That
again must wait on the release of the members of the Congress Working Committee
and the All-India Congress Committee, for nothing short of a regular vote of
the latter body will satisfy Mr. Jinnah. And even that will not be enough.
Pakistan should not rest on the lips of Gandhiji; it must penetrate his heart.
What is wanted is his genuine conversion to the cult of Pakistan, not merely as
expressed in the text of the Lahore resolution, but with all the glosses and
commentaries which Mr. Jinnah has improvised. Before the meeting at Malabar
Hill, and right through the weeks of prolonged talks, an expectant India looked
forward to the hammering out of an agreed formula which could be the
starting-point of discussions with other parties and interests, eager for the
establishment of a provisional Government to replace the present irresponsible administration.
But a reading of the letters between the two leaders reveals
that, even from the start, there was not the slightest chance of an agreement
being reached. Mr. Jinnah lost himself in a maze of technicalities, refused to
look at the Rajaji formula or the one that Gandhiji offered
as an alternative, and declined to submit to outside guidance or arbitration.
He swore all the time by the Lahore resolution and the two-nation theory, and
insisted on an unconditional surrender. Gandhiji, as tile custodian of wider
national interests, declined to go a step beyond his formula of the 24th of
September, which, according to him, conceded the substance of the Lahore
demand, consistent with the safeguarding of the rights of all the parties to a
nationwide settlement. Gandhiji offered, in effect, a modified Pakistan, some
sort of confederation between Hindu and Muslim India–a half-way house between
full Provincial Autonomy and independent Sovereignty.
The
storm of opposition which the Rajaji formula raised in many quarters notably
among the Sikhs, the Hindu Mahasabhites, and the leaders of the Liberal
party–indicate the Indian Nationalist’s inborn dislike of any scheme of
partition. If, in spite of this widespread opposition, Gandhiji approved of the
formula and sought to convince Mr. Jinnah of its reasonableness,
it was because he was actuated by the sole desire to effect a communal
settlement and clear the biggest hurdle in the path to Swaraj. He would concede
territorial self-determination, not communal, and from this it followed that
the self-determination must be expressed by a vote of all the inhabitants of
the area. There is thus no common ground between Gandhiji and Mr. Jinnah, and
no further negotiations need be carried on between them, unless meanwhile the
leaders of the Muslim League and the Muslims of India in general convince
themselves and Mr. Jinnah that the latest Gandhian formula is the most generous
offer that ever was or could be, made to them. There is perhaps little chance
of this happening.
Not
even Congressmen and followers of Gandhiji love his latest formula. Vivisection
is anathema to most of them. And, yet, they are prepared to compromise their
ideal of a united India and go more than half-way to satisfy the League’s
demand for self-determination in predominantly Muslim areas, in the hope that
thereby the day of Indian Independence–even at the cost of unity–may be
hastened. It is difficult to enthuse over Gandhiji’s formula; the utmost one
can do is to accept it as an inevitable evil. Full Provincial Autonomy with the
residuary powers left to the Provinces, was visualised by the Congress in 1942.
Even today that offers the sanest solution of the vexed problem. The modified
Pakistan of Gandhiji’s formula can be accepted by nationalist India as but a
poor second best.
THE SCULPTURES OF
NAGARJUNAKONDA
In
a beautiful valley in the Palnad Taluk, (Guntur District) surrounded by high
hills with the river Krishna skirting it, the ancient sage, Nagarjuna Acharya,
performed his austerities and disciplined a large community of Buddhist monks
and nuns, and such lay brothers as came to him in search of wisdom. That was
two thousand years ago. The Ikshvakus, who ruled over this part of the Andhra
country after the Satavahanas, maintained the city in splendour; they made
liberal grants to the monastic establishments, bestowing special favour on the
great centres of learning that grew up in and around Nagarjunakonda. Buddhist
pilgrims from far-off China and Ceylon visited this shrine and admired the great
stupa with its railings and gateways, its halls of worship and prayer. But all
this sculptured glory that was Nagarjunakonda was lost to view for many
centuries. It was given to a devoted Andhra scholar and archaeologist, Sri
Rangaswami Saraswati of Nellore, to discover this spot. About thirty years ago
he made a shrewd guess that the huge mound must contain a Buddhist stupa.
Following this clue the Archaeological Department of India carried on
excavations on an extensive scale, excavations which even now are not quite
finished. A museum was subsequently built on the spot, and an admiring public
gazed on the work of the ancient Andhra sculptors who pled their
chisel with such skill on the banks of the Krishna, here at Nagarjunakonga and
at Amaravati and jaggayyapeta. Like Sanchi or Barhut, Nagarjunakonda has become
a place of pilgrimage for art-lovers.
But
the comparative remoteness of Nagarjunakonda from the highways of modern
traffic seems to have induced certain high officials of the Archaeological
Department in New Delhi to suggest the closing down of the local museum and the
removal of the marbles to the Indian Museum at Calcutta. If this information is
correct, everyone interested in Indian art and architecture ought to protest.
The value of a great work of art lies not merely in itself; it derives its
subtle charm from the surroundings in which it is set. After all, these
monuments of ancient art must be scattered in all corners of India, so that we
might visit them and realise the essential oneness of our cultural heritage.
Some of the Amaravati marbles are in the Madras Museum, but the very best of
them including the famous lions are in the British Museum in London. At
Amaravati itself, where the magnificent stupa once stood, not a slab remains.
The wrong done to Amaravati ought not to be repeated in the case of
Nagarjunakonda. Now that there is an awakened interest in Indian art, there is
even less justification for such a move.
Nagarjunakonda
is fourteen miles away from Macherla, the nearest railway station. The District
Board of Guntur has laid a road all the way to the spot at considerable
expense. The Government of India, if it so wishes, might take over the road and
keep it in excellent condition. Even a guest house may be built for the
convenience of visitors. A competent curator and staff of assistants will
enhance the value of Nagarjunakonda, from the cultural point of view. And, at
the earliest opportunity, the Andhra University must resolve to establish a
school of sculpture and painting in the Nagarjunakonda valley, where students
might gather and learn to carve and chisel and ply the brush drawing
inspiration from these examples of an art, the glory of which can never fade.
As the member of the Madras Legislative Assembly representing the constituency
in which Nagarjunakonda is situated, the Editor of Triveni has a special
interest in the sculptures of Nagarjunakonda. For the moment the legislator has
voice, but the Editor can plead. Sir Vijaya, Maharajkumar of Viziagaram, as
President of the Andhra Mahasabha is taking up this question with the
Government of India. A conference of scholars interested in historical research
passed a resolution last week at Chirala, protesting against the proposal to
remove the sculptures. Public opinion must assert itself before it is too late
and preserve these art-treasures for the soil on which they were fashioned.