A pictorial journey
RANA SIDDIQUI
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Virender Prabhakar, a veteran photojournalist speaks about his book of pictures on Gomatesh Bahubali.
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READY FOR THE HOLY BATH: 1008 kalashas to be used for Lord Bahubali's Mahamastakabhisheka. A picture from Prabhakar's book
How many of us know where the pilgrim centre of Shravanabelgola is? How many of us know what this centre in the Hasan district of Karnataka is famous for? And how many of us have seen the world's tallest monolithic statue (57 feet, eight inches) of lord Bahubali erected here, the Mahamastakabhiskheka of which is a grand affair which reoccurs only once every 12 years?
For those of us who have not seen this temple town of Shravanabelgola that nestles between the twin hillocks of Vindyagiri and Chandragiri, veteran photojournalist Virender Prabhakar's book is a quick and authentic source of information.
The huge coffee table book is the result of Prabhakar's several visits to Shravanabelgola and research in the area.
It has huge pictures of the statue being given a holy bath with milk, sandal paste, chooran, turmeric, ashtgandhak, ikshuras, kalka, etc., and 1008 kalashas which are used for the Mahamastakabhisheka according to the scriptures.
Besides, there are devotees trying to reach the statue snaking through the rocky area behind the statue, a 1000-year-old rock which looks like a work of art, several acharayas, pictures of the giant statue from close quarters, and others.
"I took these pictures finally in 1993 when the then President Shankar Dayal Sharma inaugurated the Mahamastakabhisheka of Bahubali. I didn't take pictures from the religious point of view but from the artistic viewpoint. My aim in taking them was to encourage our younger generation to go there and see this historical treasure. I was amazed to see that only people above 50 go to see the Mastakabhishek, while our younger generation doesn't even know that this figure is India's proud possession. I don't mean to say that they should go there from a religious point of view. But they should go to see it because it is an amazing work of art carved from a single rock. Those 1000-year-old rocks look like beautiful pieces of art,' says Prabhakar who has worked with major national newspapers as a photojournalist.
Earlier based in Mussoorie, Prabhakar was brought to Delhi by Mahatma Gandhi's youngest son Devdas Gandhi in 1952. He was very fond of Prabhakar's work. His artistic touch to even news photography catapulted him to fame. For his contribution to the world of photojournalism, he was awarded the Padma Shri in 1982. "After I was conferred the award, people said to me, now you don't need to anything. Your work is recognised. I said, `My work has begun now'," recounts Prabhakar who considers his coverage of the Asian Conference in 1947 at the Old Fort as his most important assignment.
"Nehru, Rajendra Prasad were so photogenic. They had a glow in their faces. Today's leaders don't have that. They don't conduct themselves with dignity. I miss my golden days of photography of great national leaders," he laments. But that has not wilted his spirits. He is ready with his next venture, a book of 400 pictures on 65 well-known painters, writers, musicians, cartoonists and so on, arguably the first of its kind to be printed in India. "I have named it `Sangam'," chuckles the veteran.
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