Aesthetics of impermanence

THE fragrance of the blossoms was thick in the air and the calls of ecstatic birds filled our ears. Sujata Chatterji and I had a wonderful 32 days in Japan. Here are a few photographs of sakura (cherry blossoms) that we took in Kyoto. There is rain much of the time in spring, and we had to wait some days for clear afternoons on which to take the photographs. It was all the more difficult because the peak time of sakura lasts only for a few days.

Japan is famous for the beauty of its cherry blossoms in spring. For the Japanese, sakura are much more than just very pretty flowers. A tree that you see looking almost unbelievably beautiful with sakura is some days later bare, without a single flower. It reminds one so clearly that all the beauty of the world, all the things of the world, are impermanent. One is all aware of the transience of the world around one, but the flowering and fading of sakura makes quite an impact upon the viewer. The beauty is so much and it goes away so soon. It is well known that the appreciation of sakura is a national culture in Japan. All Japanese are fully sensitive to the beauty of cherry blossoms and spend much time enjoying them. Along with a consciousness that all in this world is only maya , which will not last, one is encouraged to appreciate the beauty while it is there. A sense of aesthetics permeates the quality of Japanese life.

Benoy K. Behl is a film-maker, art historian and photographer known for his prolific output of work over the past 36 years. He has taken over 46,000 photographs of Asian monuments and art heritage, made 132 documentaries on art and cultural history, and held exhibitions in 40 countries. He has been invited to lecture by most of the important universities and museums around the world that have departments of Asian art. His landmark book The Ajanta Caves is published by Thames & Hudson, London and Harry N. Abrams, New York, and is in its fifth print run. Behl is at present conducting a project of documentation of the Hindu deities and Indian cultural influences in Japan. Sujata Chatterji is Behl’s partner and assistant director on this project .