Thor bu - Curiosia Indo-Tibetica

Textual and visual odds and ends from India, Tibet, and around.

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Location: Kolozsvár/Cluj, Budapest, Oxford, ibi ubi

Friday, January 02, 2009

gaṇā iti– mikimūṣādaya iti subodham

Panchugopal Sadhukhan is a relatively unknown artist. In fact, this is the first (and probably last) time I heard of him. I spotted his work today, in a small lane just off Bag Bazar Road in North Calcutta, on a building which was some kind of religious establishment.


The panel has the following: on the left a perfectly respectable Harihara (half-Viṣṇu, half-Śiva), on the right Kṛṣṇa minding his herd (not portrayed, you have seen this already). Below a band of gaṇas being merry, beating drums, the usual business. However, they are sporting the heads of the phirang deities (usually worshipped by children, but not exclusively): Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and what looks like Goofy. I guess this is what anthros call 'cultural translation'?

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4 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Thanks for this post, it made my day.

3:36 pm  
Blogger PDSz said...

Isn't it just lovely?

6:45 pm  
Blogger Dan said...

Daffy appears to be doubled. Ha ha ha ha ha ha HA!*

Or perhaps doubly daffy!

Or am I just seeing double?

Mickey too.

Yours,
Dan

*An ancient Jewish cosmogony. Note the significant number of repetitions of the bija-mantra of hilarity rasa.

10:36 am  
Blogger PDSz said...

Since you all liked it so much, I inserted a close-up of what seems to be a baul Donald Duck.

4:41 pm  

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