This volume comprises the fascinating story of an Indian artist’s experiences in the Ajanta and Bagh caves which house the most wonderful fresco paintings of ancient India, some of them dating back to pre-Christian era. The wall paintings of Ajanta have been the subject of elaborate and sumptuous works like those of Griffith and Yazdani. These voluminous publications are for scholars and specialists but far beyond the reach of general readers. The present volume serves, to a great, extent, the purpose of the latter group. The author, Sri Mukul Chandra Dey, one of those artist who sought to revive the art of India in Indian spirit, went to Ajanta and Bagh in the spirit of a pilgrim. The present work embodies his experiences during these pilgrimages and his appreciation of those master pieces of Indian art, unsurpassed toll today. The illustrations in this book are partly from the copies the author prepared during his stay near the caves and partly from photographs taken arlier by others. The author have selected the illustrations with great aesthetic sense. In a chapter on the life of Gautama Buddha, the author has provided his readers with the interpretations of a number of Buddist paintings in Ajanta. The vivid description of the site and of the carvings of the caves in a wonderful lucid language literally overwhelms the reader and make him feel as if he is in the surroundings. The work is a good piece of literature, a fascinating travelogue and a well-written wok on Indian art by an artist.
There are no reviews yet.