Parasol-carrying Ganesha

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Rarely resorting to act Lord Ganesha accomplishes all by his mere presence for it is more often in his form, its twists, curves, angles and profiles, rather than in any of his acts that the real drama reveals. As attests the entire body of Ganesha-related myths – cult or doctrine, he hardly ever acted against demons or evil powers or ever wielded his authority with tough hands over his ‘ganas’. It is by his mere presence : auspicious, obstacle-removing, benign and all-accomplishing or with the mischief in his eyes meditating on how to grab ‘laddus’ lying around, not by an act, that he effected release of his devotees – his primary objective. Child Krishna played the ‘grown-up’, as when making love with ‘gopis’, by transforming his appearance from a child to a grown up; Lord Ganesha played both, the child and the grown-up, in the same body-frame. Here in this statue the child-like queerly looking Ganesha is the same Ekadanta, carrying goad, noose and ‘kamandala’ and wearing a towering crown, as when supporting Riddhi and Siddhi on his thighs, or in any other age-frame.

In the statue it is primarily in the parasol that Lord Ganesha is carrying that the real magic reveals. The beautifully conceived and carved parasol adds exotic beauty to his image. Not merely that parasol is a new element in the iconography of Ganesha, which, it might be argued, has been borrowed from the Vaishnava iconography of Vamana, Vishnu’s fifth incarnation, in whose iconography parasol begins appearing from around eighth century itself, in this statue of Lord Ganesha parasol has visibly altered his entire form. Under a parasol, which with its peripheral expanse horizontally stretches the viewing eye, the bearer’s figure appears to have shorter height than it actually has. It seems that Lord Vishnu might have carried a parasol for giving to his figure as Vamana a more dwarfish look and thereby delude Mahabali, the demon king. In the iconographic tradition the figure of Lord Ganesha has not been conceived as tall but his height in this statue is shorter than usual. His entire figure, legs and belly in particular, seems to have been squeezed. Neck and waist have almost disappeared. Interestingly, the pot-belly, usually quite large, is somewhat subdued, at least around the upper part and is collected over the waist.

Besides his usual attributes, the goad and noose, the elephant god is carrying in his normal right hand a beautifully designed tiny parasol, and in the left, a ‘kamandala’ – water-pot with spout, an attribute more often associated with Brahma, and sometimes, Agni – the fire god. Besides, he holds a ‘laddu’ in the coil of his trunk. The parasol has been carried over a massive rod and has an elegantly carved finial like apex. His beautifully conceived towering crown and gorgeous halo, both with their circular dimensions, delightfully align with the parasol. The figure of Ganesha has been elegantly adorned with routine ornaments used in his iconography, though girdle on his waist and belly-band are of greater interest. The image has been conceived with a forward thrust.

This description by Prof. P.C. Jain and Dr. Daljeet. Prof. Jain specializes on the aesthetics of literature and is the author of numerous books on Indian art and culture. Dr. Daljeet is the curator of the Miniature Painting Gallery, National Museum, New Delhi. They have both collaborated together on a number of books.

Sculpting Serenity: Unveiling the Art of Crafting Wood Statues

Wood has been a preferred material for sculptures and statues since ancient times. It is easy to work with than most metals and stones and therefore requires less effort to shape it into any desired shape or form. The texture of the wood gives an element of realism to the sculpture. The selection of an appropriate wood type is necessary for carving. Woods that are too resinous or coniferous are not considered good for carving as their fiber is very soft and thus lacks strength. On the other hand, wood such as Mahogany, Oakwood, Walnut wood, Weet cherry wood, etc., are preferred by sculptors because their fiber is harder. A wood sculptor uses various tools such as a pointed chisel in one hand and a mallet in another to bring the wood to the desired measurement and to make intricate details on it. A carving knife is used to cut and smooth the wood. Other tools such as the gouge, V-tool, and coping saw also serve as important tools in wood carving. Although the wood carving technique is not as complex and tough as stone carving or metal sculpting, nonetheless, a wood carver requires a high level of skills and expertise to create a stunning sculpture.

1. Selecting the right wood

The process of wood carving begins with selecting a chunk of wood that is required according to the type and shape of the statue to be created by the sculptor. Both hardwoods and softwoods are used for making artistic pieces, however, hardwoods are preferred more than softer woods because of their durability and longevity. But if heavy detailing is to be done on the statue, wood with fine grain would be needed as it would be difficult to work with hardwood.

2. Shaping the wood

Once the wood type is selected, the wood carver begins the general shaping process using gouges of various sizes. A gouge is a tool having a curved cutting edge which is useful in removing large unwanted portions of wood easily without splitting the wood. The sculptor always carves the wood across the grain of the wood and not against it.

3. Adding detailing

When a refined shape of the statue is obtained, it is time for making details on the statue using different tools. This is achieved by using tools such as a veiner to make and a V-tool to create decorative and sharp cuts.

4. Surface finishing

Once finer details have been added, the sculptor is ready to smoothen the surface and give it a perfect finish. Tools such as rasps and rifflers are used to get a smooth surface. The finer polishing is obtained by rubbing the surface with sandpaper. If a textured surface is required, this step is skipped. Finally, to protect the statue from excessive dirt accumulation, the sculptor applies natural oils such as walnut or linseed oil all over it. This also brings a natural sheen to the statue.