Reviews

Ananda Coomaraswamy–The Bridge Builder–A Study of a Scholar Colossus: (31 monographs at different wavelengths. Basically chronological. A centennial Biography). By Durai Raja Singam, Petaling Jaya, Malaysia. Price: $ 56 (Malaysian)

Durai Raja Singam is indeed a wonderful man. Anyone who has watched him at his performance in bringing out volume after volume on Ananda Coomaraswamy, containing valuable information of many unknown facts about the great savant, cannot but be feeling humble to realise how small in contrast to others, claiming to have studied Coomaraswamy’s works, have been able to do. It, was only in 1974, we had from Durai Raja Singam a sumptuous volume entitled Ananda Coomaraswamy: Remembering and Remembering Again and Again and before the ink is dry there is an­other with a lot of material which any researcher on Ananda Coomaraswamy would welcome and try to profit by. If Rajaji, once in a letter (4-10-1958), described Durai Raja Singam as a wonderful person, a most lovable friend” every epithet of his can be justified as discerningly uttered.

From the introduction and the postscript to it included here, we are made to understand how for nearly thirty years the author has toiled in collecting material for this precentennial publication. He says: “This volume, printed on art paper in an edition limited to 300copies, is a centennial study of Dr Ananda Coomaraswamy. The whole work will take the form of some forty or more (nearly fifty) monographs under various titles, of which the first thirty-one (632 pages), forming this volume, have so far appeared......”

Indeed none can surpass Durai Raja Singam in his one-pointed devotion to Ananda Coomaraswamy. We find in this multi-purposed collection of material, the several aspects of the amazing ­genius of the great savant. The wide reach and unapproachable accuracy with which Ananda Coomaraswamy had made his exegetical survey of many of our arts and handicrafts apart from his critical comments and observations, there are many hitherto, unpublished notes on many subjects and his own English translations of poems of Tagore and of other Tamil, Gujarati and Bengali writers which find a place here.

The volume has a melancholy interest too to readers owing to the dedication to a recently departed son of the author who bore the same name as that of the subject of this volume and whose death under tragic circumstances through a car accident in London, adds poignancy to the whole inscription. Despite the consuming sorrow in which Durai Raja Singam was fated to work, the spirit of Tapas should have held him up for the execution of this momentous work, completed within the scheduled time.

A book of this kind becomes engrossing study to everyone interested in knowing more about Ananada Coomaraswamy, who unusually resisted all attempts of his admirers in drawing him out to provide them with details of his life and work. His reply deserves to be remembered by everyone today with a claim for some public work done and distinction won in his or her field of activity trying to blaze forth the triumphs won with ample autobiographical details. As the reviewer in the Hindustan Times of 17th July, 1977, observed: “For him (Coomaraswamy) portraiture of human beings is but asvargya. He would have been content to remain nameless like the ancient artists. This was not modesty in the human sense, but a rare kind of transcendental egolessness with spiritual overtones.”

So, even the indefatigable Durai Raja Singam could not persuade the scholar Colossus to relent to his importunities for details of his life. But what has been so far collected, without any little slackness, is enough to amaze anybody on the search for more information of the man and his work. Coomaraswamy’s contacts with other important persons of the world such as Tagore, Mahatma Gandhi, Sister Nivedita, Romain Rolland, Okakura, and his correspondence with many art-critics and writers of the West, are filling the pages here, and contributing to the zeal of the reader in his curiosity for ampler information.

The photo-blocks of the scholar in many of his poses as well as the pictures relating to some of the domestic scenes of his life add considerably to a publication so well-planned and executed with enviable finish.

The publication has cost the author a great deal. As a labour of unusual love this unique volume has been brought out and every­one having a chance to get it and dwell upon its contents cannot but long reflect upon a remarkable scholar and the none-the-less remarkable disciple of his, in an age of short memories and un-­steady loyalties. Possessed though of the ardour of a youth in his worship of his idol, nowhere has Durai Raja Singam overstated anything. The entire world of scholars are placed in irredeemable debt to him for this single volume itself.
–K. CHANDRASEKHARAN

A University Course in Indian Art: By Kala Yogi Dr Ananda K. Coomaraswamy. Edited by Durai Raja Singam, Petaling Jaya, Malaysia. ­
In this slim volume of 33 pages of demy quarto, the reader would find enormous wealth of information of every phase of Indian art. This was a lecture delivered by Dr Ananda K. Coomaraswamy at the Metropolitan Museum, New York, in 1933. S. Durai Raja Singam has acquired the notes of this lecture from Dr Marguerite Beck Block and brought out this precious volume. Durai Raja Singam’s zeal knows no bounds in writing or editing anything on Dr Coomaraswamy.

In this volume under review Dr Coomaraswamy has expound­ed the Indian art in a nutshell in a condensed form; this is an entire history and description of Indian art in a miniature form. Dr Coomaraswamy discussed in these pages all the aspects of aesthetics as well as the mysteries of Indian sculpture. Art creation, art appreciation, art experience, connoisseurship, the relationship between form and content, form and shape, the diverse aspects of beauty, etc., have found their critical-cum-creative elucidation in a masterly way. Moreover, a meticulous chronology also is provided in the end of the book; this chronology is full of the details of Indian history relating to art epochs. This lecture of Dr Ananda K. Coomaraswamy is a most comprehensive exposition of Indian art.

This is a treatise which deals not only with formal arts but also with Indian languages, literatures, ethnology and anthropology. In short, this slim volume deals with entire Indian culture. About culture Dr Coomaraswamy writes, “Culture is consciousness; primarily, an unprejudiced comprehension of one’s own civilization. This is only possible when we have some idea of its relation to other cultures–likeness and differences. A capacity for making subtle distinctions must be cultivated actually current ideas about the Orient or still excessively crude, that is either romantic, or intolerent; this is a provincial rather than a cultured condition. To make fine distinctions the student must adopt an entirely disinterested attitude, laying aside notions of ‘this is higher’ or ‘best’.” Indeed a fine attitude towards culture!

The classification of Indian images is one of the interesting parts of this book. The differences among the various types, various postures, various gestures and various expressions are well delineated in these pages.

All that a student of Indian art requires has been dealt with meticulously in this volume. In fact, this is a mini-miniature encyclopaedia. Dr Ananda Coomaraswamy was discontent of art­-knowledge possessed by the Indians and thus this lecture, though intended for the Americans, would in every way be of immense utility to the Indians too.

But eventually one should not forget that this precious treatise would not have seen the light, had S. Durai Raja Singam not been alert enough to undertake the pleasant trouble of bringing it out.
–SANJIVA DEV

The Life and Writings of Sir Mutu Coomaraswamy: By S. Durai RajaSingam, Petaling Jaya, Malaysia.

The world-renowned late Dr Ananda Kentish Coomaraswamy had been able to establish a place of honour and erudition in the world of art criticism and Indological studies. In the shadow of his reputation the name of his much-talented father Sir Mutu Coomaraswamy has diminished.

The author of the book under review, S. Durai Raja Singam, a Malaysian Ceylonese, who has the reputation of being a specialist on Dr. Ananda K. Coomaraswamy, has brought out, in this book many less-known as well as unknown aspects of Sir Mutu Coomara­swamy’s life and works.

The Tamil Mudaliars of Ceylon (present Sri Lanka), especially the residents of Jaffna, were instrumental in imparting the new light of Western civilization and culture to Ceylon through the process of modernization without entirely eliminating the tints of their own rich religious traditions. Sir Mutu Coomaraswamy’s father, Arumugampillai Coomaraswamy had paved the way of modern education in Ceylon. Arumugam Coomaraswamy had established his home at Colombo and thus he was able to create an urban atmosphere in his family. He married a lady, by name Visalakshi, in 1833. These were the parents of Sir Mutu Coomaraswamy.

The author, S. Durai Raja Singam, is a talented author who has written enormously on Dr Ananda K. Coomaraswamy and popularised the latter’s name both in the Orient and the Occident. The present volume is divided into four parts and each part contains some sections. The first part consists of the details of his life; the second one contains his multifarious work; the third one displays his legislature activities and the forth part is of miscellaneous information.

The author is wise enough to render this volume illustrated with interesting pictorial details. It seems he has left no trouble in making the volume consummate in every way possible. He is able to derive meticulous information from many an obscure source. He has deftly portrayed Sir Mutu Coomaraswamy and his times in glowing colours. Durai Raja Singam’s English style, which is neither too complicated nor too facile, is in every way apt to narrate in vivid delineation whatever he wanted to narrate.

Sir Mutu Coomaraswamy was not destined to grow famous by the fame of his more famous son. Dr Ananda Kenlish Coomaraswamy nor the latter was world renowned due to his talented father. Each was independent and each was great in his own special sphere. In the later half of the last century Sir Mutu Coomaraswamy was the pioneer Tamil of Ceylon in the new and reformed outlook which he evinced by marrying an English woman, by name Elizabeth Clay Beeby. Sir Mutu Coomaraswamy was a living paradox consisting of opposing traits and tendencies. He was a Barrister-at-law and married an English woman and yet was orthodox in his religious views. He was an ardent student of Saiva Siddhanta and at the same time a pro­found scholar of Pali language and Buddhist literature. He studied English, Tamil, Sinhalese, Pali, Latin and Greek. He was a master exponent of both traditional and modern ideology. He lived and thought in modern ideology and yet adhered to traditional religions!

Sir Mutu Coomaraswamy served in many a post in the Government of Ceylon and later he became a legislator too. Sir Mutu was a great orator and a logical debater on every subject under the sun. When he was in England he made many friends among the English elite. His English wife Lady Elizabeth Mutu Coomaraswamy hailed from a respectable British family who were interested in the Hindus. She was the mother of the illustrious Dr Ananda Kentish Coomaraswamy the world-reputed art-critic and savant.

Sir Mutu made a number of translations of the Tamil classics into English; he also did some English renderings from the original Pali. All these details of Sir Mutu’s literary achievements are given in this volume by Durai Raja Singam, the author. This volume contains numerous precious extracts from the lectures, writings and conversations of Sir Mutu Coomaraswamy.

Among his literary creations his translation of the Tamil drama “Aricchandra” into English was a masterpiece and it is said he staged the drama in the presence of Queen Victoria in England and returned to India with a knighthood! An extract from the English rendering by Sir Mutu is quoted in the volume and a fraction of the same is given below.

“Observe, over the limpid water of this magnificent lake, float the white, the red, and the blue lotus. On the velvet leaves of the tender Lily the water-drops glisten like so many brilliants. Their slender stems rise above the water level, bearing aloft many a peacked bud and full-blown blossom; while hovering over them wild bees, drunk with honey or drowned in love, chase their mates in ceaseless revolutions. Nor is the bank less gorgeous. The majestic bamboo, with its fluted stem, yellow as bathed in saffron water, and rich in feathery foliage, leans over the lake.”

What a delicate, sensitive and poetic prose! Sir Mutu Coomaraswamy was a literary craftsman par excellence!

The hero of this volume is Sir Mutu Coomaraswamy who was a luminous celebrity. But in order to write about geniuses the author too should happen to be a very talented person and we see that talented person in the author of the present volume, S. Durai Raja Singam.
–SANJIVA DEV

The Presidential Predicament: By Bhimanesh Chatterjee. Affiliated East-West Press Private Ltd., 9 Nizamuddin East, New Delhi-13. Price: Rs. 25.

The author of this highly engaging book was a Military Secretary of Dr Rajendra Prasad during his presidentship from 26th Jan., 1950, up to almost the end of his term in office. It is obvious that as one in his office very near the President, a high dignitary, he had occasions to know many details of both the personality of the man and the domestic events of his household, Rashtrapati Bhavan. However close he might have been and tempted to make amusing comments of events and persons, there is a healthy restraint in his accounts of the dealings and activities of the President, especially when as an incumbent to the position unoccupied by anyone previously, the President felt many things proving unsuited to his spirit. The narration gains in interest because of the subdued humour underlying the many inconvenient situations for the President, when he had to adjust himself to the demands of an experience, the like of which he had no idea at all in his career till then. Further, there are occasions when Dr Rajendra Prasad got irritated by the conditioned, official formalities and observances of rules of etiquette of the office, which made him have differences (as to the procedure) with the Prime Minister, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, whose anxiety remained ever to keep up a high tradition in every matter pertaining to the new office of a President without impairing the image of India in the eyes of the world.

Indeed the book provides enough material also as to how Indians not accustomed to the strict codes of the protocol become often ungainly in their accusations against such restrictions as have to be undergone in expecting from a President of a Republic informalities of behaviour.

The author makes the reader alive to the many failings of our people in meeting situations which are hardly congenial for them to accept. Anyhow the picture presented here of Dr Rajendra Prasad, is an endearing one as he was ever a simple, unsophisticated individual, possessing all the charms of a Gandhian follower.
–K. CHANDRASEKHARAN

The Fifth Wheel: By M. L. Malhotra. Sunanda Publications, Ajmer. Price: Rs. 20.

The book is an appetising Olla podrida and is eminently readable. The subjects covered range from gastronomy and the youth to literature, book reviews and vision of India in 2000 A. D.

The perversity and cantankerousness of the present-day youth, blind conformity to tradition and unrestrained individualism, lack of teaching norms and values, crowded curriculum, inefficient Rip Van Winkles in academic bodies as professors and their failure to ensure educational standards, come under the author’s excoriat­ing critical gaze.

But his general observation that litterateurs make poor husbands is far-fetched and sounds illogical, though there may be a minority of cases answering to his charge.

“Sex” in literature, though denounced, is assigned limits. Excess of either puritanism or porno, whether hard-core or soft-­core, is held undesirable.

It may be opined, in this context, that even a milder depiction of luridcrous will not be conducive to creating an atmosphere. Because, art is not value-free. It cannot be de-ethicised or de­spiritualised.

Referring to ‘Indo-Anglian Fiction’ the author is of the view that it has a promising future because of thematic mobility in new directions. But here is present the kink. Nayantara’s “Day in Shadow” and Bhabani’s “Music for Mohini” lack that deeper and wider perception to locate for mankind the still points in this sea of ceaseless change and impermanence.

The story of 2000 A. D. is utopian. So long as aggressive ego and demoralising self are the motivating basics of existentialism, life happens to be a crinkum-crankum affair.

And the establishment of a heaven on earth, with irritating angularities of human nature, appears a fond hope at best.

By any reckoning, this “award-winner”, supremely interests and provides light and delight.         
–K. SUBBA RAO

The Ethnology, Languages, Literature and Religions of India: By Herbert H. Risley, George A. Grierson and William Crooke. Published by The Academic Press, Gurgaon, Delhi. Price: Rs. 40-00.

This is a reprint of four chapters from the Indian Empire volumes of the Imperial Gazetteer of India (1907-1909). These have a historical interest and evidence the thoroughness with which the oriental scholars of those days dealt with the subject of their choice.

Risley discusses the various theories of caste advanced by men like Sir Denzil Ibbetson, Mr. Nesfield and Mr. Senart and concludes that the origin of caste is from the nature of the ease an insoluble problem and dismisses the Indian theory of caste, “though universally accepted in India” as having “no foundation in fact.”

The chapter on languages by Grierson makes the usual distinc­tion of the Aryan and the Dravidian stock and is quite informative. Crooke’s article on religions is quite comprehensive and objective while Grierson’s article on Vernacular literature provides a fund of detail.

Much water has flown under the bridge since 1909 when these articles appeared in the Gazetteer. In the light of subsequent findings, many ideas expressed require revision, but this should not detract us from appreciating the importance of the pioneering efforts.
–S. SHANKARANARAYANAN

Meaning and Message of the Traditions (Vol. I): By Mohammad Manzoor Nomani. Translated from the Urdu by Mohammad Asif Kidwai. Academy of Islamic Research and Publications, Tagore Marg, Nadwatul Ulama, Lucknow. Price: Rs. 32.

A part from Quoran which is the Revealed Word of God in Islam, there are a number of records of the sayings and dialogues of the Prophet which serve as living commentaries on the Quoran. The author has so far written six volumes on this subject in Urdu, and the present publication is an English rendering of the first and part of the second volume.

The range of the topics is wide: Faith, Predestination, Judgment of the Lord, Name of God, Hell and Paradise, Sin, Death, etc. To cite an instance of the writing:

“It is narrated by the Mu’awiya that once he wrote a letter to Ayesha requesting her to give him some good counsel, but it should be brief and comprehensive and nottoo long. Upon it, Ayesha Siddiqua sent to him the following reply:

‘Peace be with you. I have heard the Apostle of God say: Whoever will seek to please God by displeasing men, God will make him independent of the help and favour of men and He Himself will become sufficient unto him, and whoever will seek to please men by displeasing God, God will give him in the charge of men. And peace’.”   
–M. P. PANDIT

Gandhi in Indian Politics–A Critical Review: By Ashutosh Lahiri.      Publishers: Firma KLM Pvt. Ltd, Calcutta. Price: Rs. 30.

Mr Ashutosh Lahiri, a freedom-fighter of long-standing, had the stint of kala pani for a decade, a revolutionary associate of Savarkar and disciple of the visionary M. N. Roy, a Hindu­mahasabhaite for 40 years, an editor of repute, debunks Gandhi and his ism at the ripe age of 82. A posthumous publication, the book is a plea to throw away the baby with bath water.

Mr Lahiri believes that the Hindu-Muslim unity of Gandhian style is a myth and that India would have got Independence, much earlier, without the necessity of division. Gandhi’s life had been a total failure, with his ill-assimilated hotch-potch ideas, a sterile negation, more feared than respected–according to Lahiri. That Gandhi “was primarily an economic man with an instinct of minute calculation and profitability.” Mr Lahiri cites Gandhi charging Rs. 5 for his autograph.

Arrogance, presumed infallibility, intolerance and incapacity for other’s point of view in a rational spirit, lack of magnanimity and democratic standards of life, retaining all “yes” men and unceremoniously weeding out all “no’s, are other deficiencies of Gandhi and Mr Lahiri quotes Sri Aurobindo, “India will be free to the extent it succeeds in shaking off the spell of Gandhism.”

Mr Lahiri’s solution is to “re-enthrone pure Aryan culture ... to rediscover the lost avenues of its heritage and to bring to life a new generation of men and leaders freed from the greed and lust for power.”

The author has not dealt at length on “Aryan culture” or at least as much as he devoted to dismiss Gandhi. Has not Gandhiji devoted his whole life to train leaders sans “greed and lust for power?”

Gandhism is a continuous process. Ideals, though we never reach them, are our guides. At any rate, the Gandhian ideals, like prohibition, cottage industries, rural uplift, casteless society, etc., seem to have come to the fore with the advent of the Janata Party of which the descendents of Lahiri are the constituents.

Excellently readable, the book sheds some of the miasma around Gandhiji.
–A. G. K. MURTY

SANSKRIT

Dayaa Sahasram: By Sri Nigamanta Maha Desika. Editor and Publisher: Bala Dhanvi Jaggu Sudarsanachar, Chamarajendra Sanskrit College, Bangalore. Price: Rs. 18-00.

This is a soul-stirring devotional lyric of one thousand verses in varied metres divided into ten cantos in praise of Dayaa or compassion personified as the consort of the Lord residing in His heart and going in search of sinners to redeem them unlike the Goddess Laxmi who dwells on His bosom and favours the righteous only. It is at the instance of Dayadevi, that the Lord incarnated as a man on this earth several times and suffered a lot, but protect­ed and blessed innumerable righteous persons. Just as a land though ploughed and manured yields no fruits if there are no rains, all sorts of worships and righteous acts prove futile in the absence of HisDayaa. Even the Lord cannot transgress her will and hence she is the only saviour of the sinners. Thus the theory of complete self-surrender is seen here at work throughout this work. Madhura Sringara for Bhakti wherein the devotee pines for the Lord like a love-lorn lady is the dominant sentiment especially in the 4th and 5th cantos. Here the suppliant imagines himself to be a lady in love with him, sends a message through a cloud to the Lord Venkateswara, imitating Yaksha in        Kalidasa’s Meghaduta. This part of the poem is a piece of poetry appealing to our heart and aesthetic sense. The author, true to his faith feels that “Dayaa” is far from those that describe this world as an illusion, the Brahman as “Nirguna” and resort to “Knowledge” as the sole means of salvation. Srikrishna’s pranks, and the merciful and valorous deeds of Srirama and Srikrishna as found in the great epics are recounted and the poet at every step requests the Lord to shower the nector of compassion on the sinners. Similies, metaphors and Utprekshas that we come across here and there are meaningful. The editor’s introduction in Sanskrit enlightens us as to the theory of the self-surrender and the main import and merits of this poem. Sri Venkateswara Suprabhatam in Tamil written by Sri Desika is added at the end. Delicious food of devotion is served herein and it is for the ardent devotees to make it their own.
–B. KUTUMBA RAO

TELUGU

Natyakalaprapurna Ballary Raghava: By Janamaddi Hanumach­chastri. For copies: Janamaddi Vijaya Bhaskar, 1/508 Gandhi­nagar, Cuddapah. Price: Rs. 5.

To readers of Triveni Sri T. Raghavachari (popularly known as Ballary Raghavachari or Raghava) needs no introduction. The first volume of Thveni carried an article on his histrionic talents by Mr. P. V. Rajamannar. In the later numbers Mr Raghavachari himself contributed learned articles on the theatre.

Gifted with a beautiful figure, large, expressive eyes and stentorian voice, Raghavachari was one of the top actors of South India. He had the distinction of acting not only in Telugu dramas, but also of Kannada, Tamil, Hindi and English. Not only that, he had the privilege of visiting England in 1928 and enacting in the presence of Bernard Shaw and other distinguished persons. He was honoured there and high encomiums were paid to him.

Mr Hanumachchastri, the author, who is a close associate of Raghavachari, has presented in the book under review all the important aspects of Raghava’s life – as a leading advocate, play­wright, patron of arts, philanthropist, great actor and social reformer. He has also given many anecdotes illustrating Raghava­chari’s gifts of conversation, resourcefulness on the stage and as a large-hearted gentleman.      
–BHAVARAJU