Captured by : ram rahman
There is a world of history in any temple town. Even more so when you visit and witness the grandeur of temples and towns that form the bedrock of the spiritual ethos of the land they inhabit. Such is the importance of two cities - Varanasi in India and Anuradhapura in Sri Lanka. To capture spiritualism and the chaos of the modern world, six artists from each country have contributed their art and ideology in the form of photos and complementary text.
Depicted at the Adil Shah Palace at the Serendipity Art Festival 2016 and titled ‘A Tale of Two Cities’ this cross-cultural exchange is a travelogue. “The cultures across the globe are fast changing and so are our lifestyles,” says Ram Rahman, a noted contemporary Indian photographer who is a part of this project. Known for his resistance to communal and sectarian forces in India through public cultural action, Ram Rahman has tried to capture photographic visuals of the fast fading façade that ancient history had erected in Anuradhapura, a sacred city in Sri Lanka where the Sarnath Stupa - a symbol of Isipatana (Panchavargiya) - stands there even today, where once upon a time Buddha imparted his knowledge and taught morality to his five disciples.
“It was my sheer luck that when I visited the Sarnath Stupa I found five Buddhist monks meditating there as if waiting for me to capture that iconic image through my camera,” recalls Rahman. Elaborating that according to the ancient texts, Buddha’s daughter Sanghamitta (Sanghamitra in India) had travelled carrying a Bodhi tree from India to Sri Lanka. Pointing out to the modern political Buddhism that has erupted and captivated the minds of the once peace-loving people in Sri Lanka, Rahman says, “Sadly, it’s the decay of Buddhism in Sri Lanka. Turmoil has torn apart the social fabric of the country. A LTTE attack killed 146 people in the massacre that followed in the vicinity of the same Bodhi tree that once symbolised peace and love. My photograph of the place after the bloodshed sheds light on this dark aspect of life.”
Blending the modern text and the ancient scriptures, Rahman tries to capture images that speak the blatant truth. In one of his photos you’ll see the lotus-footed Buddha. The lotus which is the symbol of Buddha turns into symbol of death in another image. Rahman’s images of Rohit Vemula before his suicide coincide with the theme. In another photo, Vemula’s mother and brother after Vemula’s death are seen with the lotus in the background.
A curator himself, Ram Rahman is one of the founding members of the Safdar Hashmi Memorial Trust (SAHMAT) in New Delhi. Having a degree in Physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, he also has a degree in Graphic Design from the Yale University School of Art. One of the leading photographers in Project 365, a public photo art project that creates and preserves photographic visuals of the fast changing ancient culture and the lifestyle of the tri-sangam territory of ancient Tamilakam, Rahman has won the prestigious Forbes India Art Award in 2014 for best exhibition of Indian art curated on an international stage.
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There is so much common between India and Sri Lanka that have witnessed their journeys from peace to war and non-violence (Ahimsa) to violence. The political Buddhism is spinning both the countries. The unfinished book of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar - ‘Revolution and Counter Revolution in Ancient India’ has much to offer on this aspect. Sri Lanka too has lost its peace to war - Ram Rahman
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Photo Credit: Narayan Pissurlenkar
