The Shyama-varna Vagdevi popularly known as Saraswati

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'Parama jyotirupa' or 'jyotiswarupa' Saraswati has been conceived in Hindu scriptures as possessed of timeless youth and lusture of crores of moons, fragrance, tenderness and glow of sandal, lilies and lotuses and snow's soothing softness. She has been conceived hence in most of the Puranas as possessed of pure milky white complexion. However contrarily, a number of Puranas consider her as possessed of 'shyama-varna' or black complexioned, and the entire South or more particularly the Andhrite devotees of Saraswati, adhere to this other Puranic vision of the Vagdevi. They prefer her images in deep black, wood, stone or even bronze. As 'Prakriti', the female creative energy, Saraswati to them has black complexion, which arrived at by a blend of Sattva's white, Rajas' red and Tamas' black, is essentially the colour of cosmos. It is the same with her iconography. They have a preference for her youthful figure pulsating with vigour and beauty. Instead of her scriptural four arms she has a maiden's normal two hands and features prescribed for a nayika under Indian classical aesthetic tradition.

This magnificent image of the goddess carved from ebony wood has in its finish the touch of ivory, crystal's glow and marble's transparency. Artist's adherence to the parameters prescribed by Mandana in his Shilpashashtra and by other texts seems to be most perfect. As prescribed the figure of the goddess is possessed of a height twentyfour times of the length of her face. Her elongated eyes, prominent eye-lashes, sharp nose, small cute lips, receding chin, heavy neck, temptingly protruding breasts surmounted with finial-like nipples, long arms, well defined fingers, bottle-neck like narrow waist, deep navel and heavy hips all are reminiscent of the golden era of India's sculptural art. It is not merely the action of her fingers on her vina that the music seems to emit but also a unique kind of emotionality that the image of the goddess seems to vibrate with life.

This description by Prof. P.C. Jain and Dr Daljeet. Prof. Jain specializes on the aesthetics of ancient Indian literature. Dr Daljeet is the chief curator of the Visual Arts Gallery at the National Museum of India, New Delhi. They have both collaborated on numerous books on Indian art and culture..

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.