08-24-2005, 03:04 AM
Recalling Aurobindo's vision for India
Deepa H Ramakrishnan
Yogi's statue installed in Kolkata, his birthplace "Perhaps it was destiny that granted India her Independence on Sri Aurobindo's birthday, 15th of August. The two of them shared a unique relationship"
IMPOSING BRONZE: A model of the statue of Sri Aurobindo installed in Kolkata. â Photo: T. Singaravelou
PONDICHERRY: "India does not rise as other countries do, for self or when she is strong, to trample on the weak. She is rising to shed the eternal light entrusted to her over the world. India has always existed for humanity and not for herself and it is for humanity and not for herself that she must be great." - revolutionary leader, yogi, philosopher and poet Sri Aurobindo's vision for India.
"Perhaps it was destiny that granted India her Independence on Sri Aurobindo Ghosh's birthday, the 15th of August. The two of them shared a unique relationship and he actively participated in the freedom struggle. And it was sheer coincidence that his statue was installed in Kolkata, his birthplace, on August 15," says Lalith Varma, CEO of Aurodhan Art Gallery in Pondicherry, which made the bronze statue.
The Governor of West Bengal, Gopalkrishna Gandhi, unveiled the statue, which has been installed at Sri Aurobindo Bhavan, the house where he was born on August 15 1872.
The statue is the first of four bronze figures made by Aurodhan Art Gallery to be installed in the four corners of the country. "One will be installed in an important location in New Delhi, another in the south and the location for the fourth statue is yet to be decided," says Mr. Lalith Varma.
What is unique in this statue is that it is in the standing posture. "There are not many photographs of Sri Aurobindo in a standing pose but we wanted it that way and when the model was made, we showed it to people, who had seen him and lived with him, including Nirodhparan dha and they said it was very much like him," explains Mr. Lalith.
Two sculptors â A.C. Das and M. Pathak â made the statues from West Bengal and they took almost a year-and-half to make all the four statues. "We wanted the statue to have a soft smile and a gaze that looks through you, into the unknown," they said.
Sri Aurobindo was born on August 15 1872, in Calcutta. As a 7-year-old boy, he was sent to St Paul's in London and then to King's College in Cambridge. On his return to the country, at the age of 21, he plunged whole-heartedly into the study of Indian culture.
He spent 13 years in Baroda in the administrative and educational services of that State. under the Gaekwad of Baroda. He came to Pondicherry in 1910 where he practised tapas yoga.
Deepa H Ramakrishnan
Yogi's statue installed in Kolkata, his birthplace "Perhaps it was destiny that granted India her Independence on Sri Aurobindo's birthday, 15th of August. The two of them shared a unique relationship"
IMPOSING BRONZE: A model of the statue of Sri Aurobindo installed in Kolkata. â Photo: T. Singaravelou
PONDICHERRY: "India does not rise as other countries do, for self or when she is strong, to trample on the weak. She is rising to shed the eternal light entrusted to her over the world. India has always existed for humanity and not for herself and it is for humanity and not for herself that she must be great." - revolutionary leader, yogi, philosopher and poet Sri Aurobindo's vision for India.
"Perhaps it was destiny that granted India her Independence on Sri Aurobindo Ghosh's birthday, the 15th of August. The two of them shared a unique relationship and he actively participated in the freedom struggle. And it was sheer coincidence that his statue was installed in Kolkata, his birthplace, on August 15," says Lalith Varma, CEO of Aurodhan Art Gallery in Pondicherry, which made the bronze statue.
The Governor of West Bengal, Gopalkrishna Gandhi, unveiled the statue, which has been installed at Sri Aurobindo Bhavan, the house where he was born on August 15 1872.
The statue is the first of four bronze figures made by Aurodhan Art Gallery to be installed in the four corners of the country. "One will be installed in an important location in New Delhi, another in the south and the location for the fourth statue is yet to be decided," says Mr. Lalith Varma.
What is unique in this statue is that it is in the standing posture. "There are not many photographs of Sri Aurobindo in a standing pose but we wanted it that way and when the model was made, we showed it to people, who had seen him and lived with him, including Nirodhparan dha and they said it was very much like him," explains Mr. Lalith.
Two sculptors â A.C. Das and M. Pathak â made the statues from West Bengal and they took almost a year-and-half to make all the four statues. "We wanted the statue to have a soft smile and a gaze that looks through you, into the unknown," they said.
Sri Aurobindo was born on August 15 1872, in Calcutta. As a 7-year-old boy, he was sent to St Paul's in London and then to King's College in Cambridge. On his return to the country, at the age of 21, he plunged whole-heartedly into the study of Indian culture.
He spent 13 years in Baroda in the administrative and educational services of that State. under the Gaekwad of Baroda. He came to Pondicherry in 1910 where he practised tapas yoga.