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Take his word, seriously

An exhibition of India's manuscript tradition makes an interesting book

FUN MATH In this 19th Century folio a monkey is asked to calculate the amount of time it would take the peacock to catch the snake

When the word is sacred the book reads like a prayer. "The Word is Sacred, Sacred is the Word", by B.N. Goswamy is a catalogue of an exhibition when India was Guest of Honour at the Frankfurt Book Fair, 2006. The exhibition was organised by the National Mission for Manuscripts, New Delhi, and the Museum of Applied Arts, Frankfurt.

Written in English and translated into German, it showcases and explains as many as 80 manuscripts. Art historian, Professor Emeritus of Art History at the Panjab University and Padma Shri recipient Goswamy states, "India's USP is a certain respect we have for the written word. (Through the exhibition and book) People should notice that manuscripts occupy a different space, to this date, in India."

India is estimated to have five million handwritten texts. The mission, Goswamy explains, was how to convey the range and essence of this lineage. Organised just across seven months, manuscripts were traced and collected from Delhi to Tirupati, from Guwahati to Ahmedabad. The selection and transportation posed intellectual and logistical challenges. As private lenders wished to travel with their manuscripts and certain museums refused the exit of theirs, Goswamy says these are not the finest manuscripts on display.

Variety on display

But spanning two millennia, this glimpse of India's manuscript tradition makes the reader proud. The perfection of style, the ingenuity in theme and the depth of philosophy, are striking. Various in theme and material, they cover different religions and regions. Buddhist, Jain, Zorastarian and Islamic faiths are represented.

Birch-bark, cloth, palm leaf, aloe-bark, stone and copper plate are few of the surfaces. One of the oldest manuscript exhibited was a 12th Century scripture of Mahayana Buddhism. Written on palm leaf, the "Ashtasahasrika Prajnaparamita" is a dialogue between Buddha and two disciples.

Originating from Orissa, verses from the Gita Govinda are written on tiny leaves and pressed between rudraksha beads. Jayadeva's sacred verses thus become a garland for the neck.

While some manuscripts stun with their creativity, others impress through their beautiful lettering. In an 18th Century Arabic paper scroll, the beginning of the sultan's decree is written in the form of a peacock. "It is the revealed word of God; when you write you are in the presence of God, " says Goswamy of calligraphy in the Islamic tradition. "The singing quality," of calligraphy is possible with Arabic and Persian as the script is flexible. Size and shape can be played with. The word becomes an image. The image is a word.

Familiar with Gurmukhi, Punjabi, Persian, Arabic and the inscrutable Takri, Goswamy marvels at the thematic variety of manuscripts. Religious and philosophic themes provide the backbone, but scientific and erotic writing also feature prominently. Texts like Svapnaphala or Svapnadarshana (18th Century) are interpretations of dreams. The Shalihotra Shastra, from Rajastan (19th Century) is a treatise about horses, complete with animated illustrations. The Ganitarprahelika (literally arithmetic puzzles) makes stories of mathematic problems. This Rajasthani folio from the 19th Century is vividly illustrated and wittily creative.

Charmingly disparaging, Goswamy asserts, "I'm most aware of the short-comings of the book, but whatever it is, it is worth looking at."

This book is certainly worth looking at to marvel at the significance of the word.

NANDINI NAIR

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