Vardhaman Book on Jainism

Author(s): Jayshree Menon
Publisher: Bennete Coleman & Co Ltd

Page 88

finished with Honours. Before long I was being glass underfoot, but when finally unfurled she courted by professors to join their history of art found herself riveted by the most magnificent 40 department! Those fabulous years taught me three x 33 feet fully painted scroll dating to circa 1680essential values I needed to possess-an inquir- 1700. "Thank God I waited for that cup of tea," ing mind hungry for stimulation, meticulousness she chuckles, adding, "The lesson I learnt here of detail and the spirit of independent research. was that it was as important for me to have inAnn Arbor opened up everything for me."
spired the priests' trust as to have aroused my Small wonder, then, that getting back to India own curiosity." The photographer had to improproved temporarily disillusioning. In Mumbai she vise a makeshift backdrop-the delicate cloth was combed bookstores for art books and struggled carefully stretched onto the four corners of a to explore what she could do with her learning. charpoy to have sections of it shot! She was encouraged by Dr. Moti Chandra ("my From studying Mughal painting at the Univerguru in the total sense of the word-his wide-rang- sity of Chicago to teaching Indian miniature painting connoisseur's interests bequeathed me the ing at Ann Arbor to lecture tours taking her to gift of eclecticism") and his son Pramod who was Berkeley, she has done it all. With her young son assistant curator at The Prince of Wales Museum. Maitreya enjoying the rare privilege of observing When her husband was posted
such a full life at close quarto the company factory town
ters. "Mittu travelled often with in Satara, Doshi continued
IN A FLASH
me, and back home grew used studying, carting volumes on
IT CAME TO
to having good friends like Indian art by the bagful there.
Girish Karnad, Satyadev "Dr. Moti Chandra spurred
ME THAT
Dubey, Vijay Tendulkar, Shyam and honed my intellectual de
RELIGIOUS
Benegal and Sai Paranjpye velopment, unlocking the origi
dropping in regularly and stay
ECSTASY CAN nal thinking in me that he in
ing over impromptu. It must sisted every art historian must
NEVER BE
have been a stimulating envipossess," she acknowledges.
COMPUTED IN
ronment for a child. And I canIt was a letter from a Jain
not stress this enough- I could scholar urging the Chandras to
STRICTLY
never have achieved even a write on relatively unexplored
PRACTICAL
tenth of what I have, were it not Digambar Jain manuscripts
for the support of the family, (existing research focussed TERMS, THERE IS A especially my wonderful in-laws largely on the Shvetambar Jain CERTAIN PLACE IN
- Walchand Hirachand and tradition) in temple libraries,
Lalitabai." that got her involved in the pio
SPECIFIC
The summer of 1976 saw her neering venture. This was what
RITUALS
join Marg, India's premier shaped into her celebrated
magazine of the arts, as associPh.D. subject.
ТОО
ate editor with the veteran Mulk "Researching it made for a
Raj Anand at the helm. "Regardhumbling, maturing, enriching
less of the fact that we didn't experience," she says. Combing the country to see eye to eye on practically everything, I'm gratelook for evidence substantiating the work, Doshi ful to Mulk for opening my eyes to a sound reality: remembers "going off on several wild goose the demystification of art, that it should be covchases, but research cannot pass up any ered for laymen, not just scholars." Teaching chances". One of the more exciting moments courses in the US and writing filled the next ten along this journey of learning took place on an years, until Roshan Sabavala of Marg invited her afternoon in the late '60s (she completed her to take over as its editor- a post Doshi held from thesis in 1971) at Karanja near Nagpur. Expect- 1981 to 1986 and for which she is widely respected ing to simply explore a couple of manuscripts and till date. She set up systems for the magazine, wrote superb bronzes at a temple that was undergoing for it and guest edited four hugely successful extensive repair, she was asked by the priests to books: Homage to Shravana Belgola, Masterstay on for tea. Though aware that her family was pieces of Jain Painting, Tribal India and India waiting for her to join them later in the evening in and Egypt: Influences and Interactions. Nagpur, she did not want to offend the priests While born a Shvetambar Jain herself and marand accepted. Which is how she stumbled upon ried into a Digambar sect family, Doshi reveals an incredible find.
she came to respect the ritualistic aspect of the Rolled up unobtrusively at the far end of an latter cult after a particular incident. Present for inner room lay a tired looking scroll she sensed the mahamastakabhisheka (lustration) of the needed closer examining. Getting to it was like Bahubali statue at Shravana Belgola, Karnataka, clearing an obstacle course, what with wood and she sensed "indifference change to rapture" at
VARDHAMAN. 88 on International