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Mind over matter

The noble aim for the artist of the Gupta period was to create a human form that rose above itself.

TEXT AND PICTURES: BENOY K. BEHL

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Heritage hall

The UNESCOs Asia-Pacific Heritage unit gave an Award of Distinction for the restoration of the convocation hall at the University of Mumbai.

Striking a chord

Professor Bertram Da Silva is back on stage after two decades and his music has taken Kolkata by storm again.

SUHRID SANKAR CHATTOPADHYAY

Of divine forms

During the rule of the Kushanas, there was a new focus in art: the depiction of personalities.

TEXT & PHOTOGRAPHS BY BENOY K. BEHL

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Master strokes

Chak De India is the story of the new Indian woman not glamorous, not long-suffering, not vigilante, just fighting for her dreams.

UMA MAHADEVAN-DASGUPTA

Jinxed legacy

Ritwik Ghataks films, among the best in cinema history, need a saviour to reclaim them so as to preserve their enduring value.

PARTHA CHATTERJEE

Harmony set in stone

The reliefs of the Sanchi stupa form the most important visual record of life and architecture in the Sunga period.

TEXT & PHOTOGRAPHS BY BENOY K. BEHL

More stories from Arts & Culture

The Dhamek Stupa, Sarnath. This marks the spot where the Buddha gave his first sermon, setting in motion the 'Wheel of Dharma'.-

Birth of classic form

Stupas, both of the Buddhist and Jaina traditions, are amongst the earliest monuments to survive.

TEXT & PHOTOGRAPHS BY BENOY K. BEHL

Bodhisattva, Tabo Monastery, 11th century A.D. The serene face of the Bodhisattva displays the sublime quality of the classic art of India. This is one of the clay sculptures on the walls of the Tabo Monastery, which constitutes a Vajradhatu Mandala. In the late 10th and early 11th centuries A.D., King Yeshe Od of Guge is believed to have initiated the building of 108 monasteries across his kingdom (parts of Ladakh, Lahaul-Spiti, Kinnur and western Tibet). This was known as the Second Diffusion of Buddhism in the Trans-Himalayas.-

Eternal India

Joyous surrender to the natural order, rather than assertion and control over the forces around us, marks the vision of Indian art.

TEXT & PHOTOGRAPHS BY BENOY K. BEHL

Freedom at stake

The Mumbai Police stops the screening of Sanjay Kaks film on Kashmir on the pretext that it could be provocative or inflammatory.

DIONNE BUNSHA in Mumbai

Knight in need of armour

The latest row over Salman Rushdie makes even less sense than the one before, set off by `The Satanic Verses' and the fatwa.

Rushdie's children

Salman Rushdie has come down in popular imagination as a novelist, first and last, but he should be better known for his essays.