Guest guest Posted February 27, 2004 Report Share Posted February 27, 2004 Hi Kochu: That's great news. The Vaaraahi you commissioned is simply amazing. It will be an honor to see Her featured here! Thanks for the update. DB , sankara menon <kochu1tz> wrote: > > Maybe we will soon have a non-bollywood vaaraahi. I sent my friend home with a professional photographer to take the pic of the painting and hopefully within a week I will get a jpeg e-copy, which I hope would be posted here. > Kochu > Devi Bhakta <devi_bhakta> wrote: > I spoke to the elusive blueblackeyes (Chumki) via IM earlier today, > and -- with her permission, of course (and minus emoticons, if we > sound a little flat) -- I'd like to share some of her rather astute > comments: > > devi_bhakta: hi chumki, hope i didn't feel like i was harassing you > by pressing you to elaborate on your bollywood comment? > > blueblackeyes: not at all, you would never do that > > devi_bhakta i was just interested to hear your opinion > > blueblackeyes: well, as i was telling my daughter, when we used to > visit the different puja "pandals" we would almost always overhear > someone say that the goddess's facial features were of a certain > actress! > > devi_bhakta: i understand, i think -- maybe the central face of the > Tridevi looks a little too much like Madhuri Dixit? *lol* > > blueblackeyes: yes! i am glad u understand what i was trying to say > > devi_bhakta: so you would say the Bollywood thing is just kind of > a "lowbrow" way of approaching the portrayal of Devi? > > blueblackeyes: it's my personal feelings, that's all > > devi_bhakta: yes, i understood that. it's just interesting to hear > an opinion from a serious person like yourself > > blueblackeyes: you are right about tightly clad sarees and garish > colours etc in your last post, that's what i was trying to > say! "bhakti" goes out the window when one sees that. people are > busy comparing Hema Malini to Durga! > > devi_bhakta: *lol* and the male gods too -- starting to look like a > lot like Schwartzenegger lately! > > blueblackeyes: *lol* well, others may enjoy the tight-fitting > clothes, but i do not > > devi_bhakta: and you think this tridevi group picture falls pretty > hard into that category, huh? > > blueblackeyes: yes i do. the face is totally wrong, and the outfit. > just having four hands doesn't do anything. > > devi_bhakta: what don't you like about the face? > > blueblackeyes: it is a movie star face. in the Shakti sadhana > homepage you can see the classical face and that's what i like. > especially one of them in the bengali style > > devi_bhakta: but it can be hard to define that line , don't you > think? between a classical face and a movie-star face? > > blueblackeyes: yes, it's all a personal thing. > > devi_bhakta: which is to say, you know it when you see it? > > blueblackeyes: yes, but my generation is old school > > devi_bhakta: old school is not a bad thing > > blueblackeyes: it may not be bad, no. but it may not be acceptable > to some people. > > devi_bhakta: everything is changing very quickly today – so it's all > the more important to ensure that we don't lose what's of value in > the old way in rushing to adopt something new. that's why i pursued > this thread. > > blueblackeyes: true, but that is not so easy. saying something and > doing it is totally different. > > devi_bhakta: yes, that is true. > > (FINIS) > > , "Devi Bhakta" > <devi_bhakta> wrote: > > Namaste Chumki, Satish, and Kalipadma: > > > > Satish asked: *** What does "bollywood treatment" mean? Can you > > elaborate or give some examples? *** > > > > This is not my original idea or anything. Studies of popular Hindu > > art commonly mention the influence of popular cinema upon the > > imagination of popular devotional artists. I just checked > > Blurton's "Hindu Art" survey last night, and he identifies -- in > the > > case of goddess portrayals -- clinging, tightly fitted saris (as > > seen in Bollywood films), as opposed to the more natural and > modest > > draping usually seen in real life; garish colors and ornamentation > > detail (as opposed to the more subdued and austere classical > > portrayals); fairer complexions and less "ethnic" facial features > > (as is common in Bollywood actors and actresses. The same applies > to > > male deities, who are nowadays gifted with increasingly "pumped- > up" > > action-hero physiques. > > > > Chumki wrote, *** What I am trying to say is that what I grew up > > with is what you referred to as clasical sculptures.These deities > > evoked emotions that today's movie star inspired images do not, at > > least for me. *** > > > > I think that pretty much sums up the issue. > > > > Len notes, *** I recall Devi Bhakta wrote about when Hindu > > devotional posters started portraying most of the deities with > > European complexions. There was an English-language book published > > on the topic in India -- what was the title and author? *** > > > > Yes, I'd posted a detailed book review from the Times of India, I > > think, but I can't find it in the archives. If anyone recalls, and > > can find it, I'd appreciate it. I did find a more recent posting > > along the same lines, though, called "The Aesthetic of Indian > > Calendar Art": > > > > /message/8177 > > > > *** is there some way we Westerners can purchase the book? *** > > > > India Club (http://www.indiaclub.com) -- based in New Jersey, USA - > - > > can generally find just about any Indian book you can imagine, if > > you just ask, then give them a few weeks to search. This is a > fairly > > recent book, so perhaps it's even in stock. > > > > DB > > > > > Links > > > / > > > > > Terms of Service. > > > > > > Get better spam protection with Mail > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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