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A Great moment to rejoice at....
Shri Vasudeo Smart was a highly accomplished artist, a dedicated teacher and a great connoisseur of art who brought to light some of the rarest works of art that lay undiscovered in the Jain temples of South Gujarat. In fact, he was a great 'Kala-guru' of Gujarat in the truest sense of the term. It is a moment of great joy and satisfaction for me that his valuable work on the Jain temples of South Gujarat sees the light of the day today.
Religion is the supreme way of life for me and art is what I cherish most in life. In its own way, this art book strives to bring about a synthesis of the two things I value most in my life, viz religion and art. That I have been instrumental in getting it published is perhaps no less than a divine accident.
The thrill one experiences on occasions like this is, in most cases, a live record of one's own sensibility. So without saying a word more, I quote below an excerpt from a letter Shri Vasudeo Smart wrote to me more than two years ago.
"I always feel highly elated and blessed whenever I happen to receive your sweet letter charged with love. It seems to me that our relationship stretch back to our past lives. I long to meet you in person, if and when god wills it so.
'We have planned to get published my work on the Jain temples of South Gujarat. But I would like to add a few details and be sure about certain other details, before it gets published. I keep constantly musing over certain things in my mind. I have already made a few additions and now I would like to make up my mind to work harder on this project.
Jain Kashthapat Chitra : 3
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