PERFECT VISIBILITY

The style of the Rajput paintings is an archaic, unsophisticated style.  The figures mostly appear according to the principle of “perfect visibility,” which is contrary to any attempt at giving the illusion of a third dimension:  the heads are shown in profile, but with the visible eye in full length, the chest is displayed in full expanse and the gestures are confined to the front plane.  The background is, comparatively, simple; buildings as well as landscape settings have often to serve a linear system of surface organization reminiscent, in a fashion, of the compartmental sectioning of the Gujurati miniatures.  But the figures with their striking gestures and expressive attitude convey a feeling of tremendous energy and the background is penetrated by their own emotional atmosphere.

Emmy Wellesz, Akbar’s Religious Thought Reflected In Mogul Painting, London, George Allen and Unwin Ltd, 1952.

 

Upper:  THE EXPECTANT HEROINE. Kangra school, early nineteenth century. Painting on paper. Lady Rothenstein collection.

Lower:  VAIKUNTHA, THE HEAVEN OF VISHNU.  Rajasthani school, about 1750.  Painting on Paper.  Lady Rothenstein collection.

Easter Everywhere: The Highest Battlefield On Earth

Himalayan avalanche buried scores of Pakistani troops, army says

By Richard Leiby, Washington Post, April 7, 2012

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan —

A huge avalanche buried more than 120 soldiers at a major Pakistani army base on a Himalayan glacier close to India on Saturday, military officials said. Prospects for finding survivors seemed slim, given the fiercely inhospitable climate and dangerous terrain.

    “We haven’t really been able to recover anyone dead or alive so far,” Major Gen. Athar Abbas, a military spokesman in Islamabad, said more than 12 hours after the avalanche, at the entry to the Siachen Glacier in the northern reaches of the disputed Kashmir region.

  At the time of the disaster, the troops were sleeping in a headquarters building now covered with 80 feet of snow, the army said. The military deployed tracking dogs, helicopters and snowmobiles in its search but to little effect, state television reported. A total of 135 people were confirmed missing — 124 troops and 11 civilians.

    The base at Gayari, where the avalanche hit, sits at about 15,000 feet, near a border where thousands of Pakistani and Indian troops stand guard across a no man’s land at elevations up to 22,000 feet. The Siachen Glacier often is called the highest battlefield on Earth.

    More Pakistani troops have died there because of harsh weather than in combat. Soldiers endure winter temperatures as low as 90 degrees Fahrenheit below zero.

India and Pakistan have fought intermittently at Siachen since 1984, but a cease-fire went into effect in 2003. Before that, more than 2,000 Pakistani and Indian troops died in the mountainous terrain, mostly because of avalanches, frostbite and other weather hazards.

   Together, the nuclear-armed nations have about 150 manned outposts along the glacier.

    A former Pakistani Army brigadier general, Muhammad Saad, said two Pakistani brigades of three battalions each are stationed in the region. Troop strengths have varied, but each brigade, with support staff, can number up to 3,000 troops.

 Previous causes of avalanches, Saad said, include glacial melt and the loud retorts caused by cross-border exchanges of gunfire.

    Officials estimate that the cost of maintaining the outposts is $200 million for Pakistan and $300 million for India. The nations have gone to war twice over Kashmir, a source of dispute since the 1947 partition of India.

Special correspondent Haq Nawaz Khan in Peshawar contributed to this report.

 

 

Saint Namdev, The Emperor And The Cow

  

     Namdev, a great 17th century Saint from Maharashtra, India, was a devotee of Lord Pandurang. The Lord helped Saint Namdev in a great many ways due to his intense devotion. Tales of these incidents reached far and wide. His fame finally reached the Mughal Emperor in Delhi. The Emperor decided to test Namdev.

          One day, Saint Namdev was teaching some people about God and chanting. The Emperor ordered his men to place a dead cow outside of the place where Namdev was teaching. When Namdev heard the commotion, He came outside. He immediately felt compassion towards the cow and said that it would come back to life in a few days. The Emperor watched with interest.

    Saint Namdev prayed to The Lord and chanted His Name; devoutly calling to God to bring the cow to back life in a few days. Sure enough, Lord Pandurang appeared in front of Namdev on the 4th day and revived the cow. Everyone was amazed to see the cow come back to life! The Emperor too, lost his pride and bowed in prayer to The Lord. "But," it was asked, "Why did The Lord wait 4 days before bringing the cow back to life?" Namdev explained, "God loves His devotee and does what the devotee prays for. Since we asked Him to bring the cow to life in a few days, He came to revive her in 4 days. If we had prayed to Him to bring the cow back to life at that moment, He would have done so."

Thomas Hewes Hinkley, Cow, 1869, Brandywine River Museum, Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania

Cooking For Madam 2 (Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Summer Recipes)

         

        Feeling a little parched and somewhat blue, I thought it would be a restorative and cheerful thing to supplement the recent entry concerning cuisine chez Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis with this recipe for Peches Cardinal.

        It is meant to serve 4 and to be paired with the Raspberry Sauce found in the earlier post  (which should, of course be re-viewed in its entirety and circulated to friends).  

        This is dedicated to Elizabeth Jeffords of Bangalore, India and Jane Roberts, currently of Denmark, Maine.

        Stay cool – it’s HOT here.

Peches Cardinal

8 ripe peaches

1 ½ cups sugar

Juice of ½ lemon

1 cinammon stick

2 tablespoons coarsely chopped pistachio nuts

        Choose a pot wide enough that all the  peaches can be in one layer and deep enough that they can be covered by liquid.  Using the pot as a pattern, cut out a circle of waxed paper the size of the inner circumference.

        Arrange the unpeeled peaches in the pot.  Add the sugar, lemon juice and cinnamon stick.  Pour in cold water to cover, then place the waxed paper disk over the top and bring to a boil.  Lower the heat, cover the pot, and simmer 15 to 20 minutes until the peaches are soft enough to be pierced easily with the point of a sharp knife.

        Let the peaches cool in the liquid.

        When they are cool, slip the skins off with the help of a small knife.

        To serve, pour some Raspberry Sauce (please click on link) into the bottom of a serving bowl or a platter with a high rim.  Arrange the peaches on the sauce and dribble more over  the tops, then sprinkle with the pistachios.

        Serve at room temperature with the rest of the Raspberry Sauce in a bowl passed at the table.

Notes:  

[1]  All Jacqueline Kennedy photos taken during her March, 1962 visit to India.  

[2]  Peche Cardinal recipe from:  Marta Sgubin, Cooking For Madam: Recipes and Reminiscences from the Home of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. (New York, Scribner, 1998)