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The
story behind the inspiration for the Ramayana is recorded by Valmiki
and today acknowledged as the first ever expression of aesthetic emotion
in Indian literature. When Valmiki saw an amorous pair of krauncha
birds separated by a hunter's arrow, a deep sense of sorrow overcame
him. Under the influence of this grief (soka), he burst forth
with a verse (sloka) in anushtubh meter. Later, he composed
the Rama saga in the same meter.
Rama, the hero of the Ramayana, was the eldest son of King Dasharatha
of Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh He is the epitome of integrity, righteousness,
bravery, humility, love, compassion, obedience, commitment and beauty,
possessed of superhuman abilities. His karmabhumi, the setting
for his exploits, stretches as far south of India as Sri Lanka, which
he traversed on foot.
The main events of the Rama story are as follows: Sage Vishvamitra
seeks King Dasharatha's permission for Rama to help rid his ashram
of a demoness, Taraka. This Rama achieves with his brother Lakshmana
accompanying him. Traveling through Mithila, the sage takes the brothers
to see King Janaka. Rama wins his daughter Sita's hand by lifting
and breaking the great bow of Shiva. Back in Ayodhya, the king decides
to crown Rama. However, through the schemes of his second wife, Kaikeyi,
he is forced to send Ram into a forest exile for fourteen years, and
the separation drives him to his deathbed. In the forest, Rama earns
the enmity of the demoness Surpankha, who calls upon her brother Ravana,
king of Lanka, to avenge herinsult. Ravana abducts Sita. Searching
far and wide for Sita, Rama and Lakshamana encounter a tribe of monkeys
Lakshmana. Rama helped Sugriva regain his throne and in gratitude,
the monkeys continue to search for Sita. Hanumana, their general locates
her in Lanka and Rama musters the monkey army against Ravana. The
outcome of the battle is never in doubt, but when Sita is freed, she
undergoes an ordeal of fire to prove her chastity. The couple returns
in triumph to Ayodhya, but when doubt is again cast on Sita's fidelity,
Rama banishes her. Sita takes refuge with Valmiki, in whose ashram
her twin sons are born. Years later, Rama is reunited with Sita and
his sons, but she, unable to bear further humiliation, returns to
Mother Earth.
Bharat Kala Bhavan has in its collection a huge number of paintings
on Ramayana. The collection has an all India character. The paintings
displayed in this exhibition represent a number of Rajasthani schools
such as Mewar Bundi, Kota, Bikaner and Jaipur. There are also paintings
"from the school of Malwa (Mandu). A few popular Mughal paintings
are also included in this exhibition. The centres like Kangra, Nalgarh,
Kulu Sangri, Bilaspur of Pahari School participated in this. The urbanized
folk paintings of Kalighat School, Calcutta and a few paintings of
modern painters such as Jamini Roy and Vasudeva Smart enriched this
exhibition to a great extent. Spanning between 17th and 20th centuries,
the paintings on display also laid bare the distinctive features of
regional centres and on a few occasions such features appear quite
conspicuous specially when artists of different schools worked on
a common theme. The format, the composition and the colour scheme
of these Ramayana paintings betray a fascinating scenario of Indian
miniature and the popularity of the theme all over India. The traditional
painters of India with reference to this exhibition appear to have
followed the texts either from Valmiki's Ramayana or from Ramayana
by Tulsidasa. |
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