Anuradhapura-Amaravati cultural interface

• In conversation with Dr. Choodamani Nandagopal 

Dr. Choodamani Nandagopal has written extensively about art. She is a wonderful raconteur who possesses a wealth of knowledge on great works of art that span across thousands of years. So bonded is her attachment to what she loves, that it seems just as accurate to call her a multidisciplinary genius. Her pre-eminence as an art historian and academician has been recognised by many across the globe. Currently, she is a recipient of the prestigious ‘Tagore National Fellowship’ awarded by Ministry of Culture Government of India at National Museum Delhi.  She was in Sri Lanka last month to conduct a research on a subject that has been intriguing her for a few years. During her stay, she also delivered a special lecture at the Postgraduate Institute of Archaeology, Colombo. These are fragments of a conversation that took place over the course of two hours. Dr. Choodamani responded to my questions with unflagging enthusiasm and grace. Following are excerpts:

By Aysha Maryam Cassim

Q: How has Buddhism influenced the cultural affinity between Sri Lanka and India?

A: Buddhism is the medium through which India and Sri Lanka entered into a harmonious relationship and shared the development of Buddhism as a way of life two millennia ago. Under the patronage of Emperor Asoka, Buddhism flourished in ancient Sri Lanka. Ever since, the two countries have been sharing a common heritage, connected by Buddhist roots till today. Continuity of that heritage is best examined through sites like Amaravati, Sarnath, Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa, they are the symbols of quietude. 

Q: What brings you to Sri Lanka this time? Can we talk about the project that you have been working on lately?

A: I am working on a project under Sri Lanka and India Foundation in Delhi that finances projects aimed at fostering India-Sri Lanka relations through cultural cooperation. I proposed to study early Buddhism and the cultural interface between Anuradhapura and Amaravati. 

Amaravati under Shatavahanas up to 2nd Century CE was a great Buddhist Centre had direct trade as well as religious contact with Anuradhapura. Monks from Sri Lanka and Amaravati had cultural interaction and migration during the Theravada phase of Buddhism and shared sculptural and architectural heritage. Its manifestations in art and faiths still remain intact in Anuradhapura. I have come here to study the early Buddhist development in Anuradhapura and to explore how it is related to Amaravati in terms of style, sculptures and architecture.

Q: What led you to explore the connection between Sri Lankan and Indian art?

A: I was travelling between Sarnath in India and Polonnaruwa in Sri Lanka several times, not knowing the reason, though I was invited to conduct a workshop on Evolution and Development of Temple Architecture. I felt these two sites were haunting my mind and I would study and connect them through my research. I wrote a paper for the International Conference on the shared religious and artistic heritage of Asia and on cultural interface of India with Sri Lanka. Then I found the answer to my frequent travels between these two historical and culturally-rich heritage sites.

Q: Among your works is one describing the early Buddhist influence on Sanchi. Would you like to share some of your findings on it?

A: Sanchi represents the monastic life of Buddhism. The carving and sculptural reliefs are the best specimens of Indian art. It is the major source for visual culture of India, attributed to the development during the times of Ashoka, and then Shunga and Shatavahana periods. Original concepts in art and language of art best represented in Sanchi Toranas, the architraves. My research at present tries to connect all these developments seen from the perspectives of a cultural interface.

[Occasionally during the interview, Dr. Choodamani let her sonorous voice sync with the ambient music – Indian classics from the ’50s that were being played at the restaurant where we met. You could say that she was a woman of many talents. Choodamani is also a dancer trained in the Kolar tradition.]

I am academically connected to the fields of dance, music, archaeology, visual arts and history, and had to walk an extra mile to be the person who I am today. I wasn’t particularly ambitious or thinking about it as a career. More than a performer, I like to see myself as a researcher. That way, I would be kindling many intuitive minds. That’s how I met my former student and disciple Soumya.

[Dr. Soumya Chavan works as the Culture specialist at SAARC Cultural Centre in Colombo. She is an artist and a researcher who also happens to be a student of Dr. Choodamani who describes her as a mentor with a panoramic view of different disciplines.]

Q: You delivered a special lecture on the manifestation of stone in art and architecture at the Postgraduate Institute of Archaeology today. How was the session?

A: We spoke about how stone becomes such an important material functionally as well as aesthetically for its monumental quality. Some interesting questions were raised from the panel. Tilak Samarawickrema – an architect from Sri Lanka with a multi-faceted design background – wanted to know whether the Gal Vihara Reclining Buddha was influenced by Indian or Sri Lankan tradition of the time. I believe that it is a great sculpture that is unparalleled and uninfluenced. 

Q: Which sculpture in Sri Lanka has fascinated you the most?

A: The most artistic manifestation of Polonnaruwa is the rock shrine or Gal-vihara, the cave of the spirit of knowledge attributed to Parakramabahu. The sculptors brought nature with the Buddha sculptures in perfect harmony. 

On one side of the cave, the rock is cut to depict the figure of a seated Buddha with a serene expression in the meditating posture which is reminiscent of the Sarnath seated Buddha figure as far as the intuitive expression is concerned. 

On the other side of the cave is an image of a reclining Buddha, about 43 feet long, with his head resting on a pillow, offering himself to the open sky. It was in this posture he attained Parinirvana. Between these two seated and reclined Buddha figures an ardent disciple Ananda stands with crossed hands gazing the distant horizon. 

If we observe these imposing figures, philosophical thoughts run through our mind, like they represent three timespans on which the world whirls around centuries after centuries. The reclining Parinivana Buddha signifies the past, the present emerges in the Samadhi posture of Buddha symbolising the present state, and Ananda’s long gaze represents the future. All three sculptures bear memorable expressions of peace and repose.

Q: How is understanding Buddhism in Sri Lanka important for learning about Indian artistic development?

A: Understanding Buddhism is important for Indian artistic development, especially for academicians. As an Indian, I have great respect for Sangamitta Therini who travelled all the way from Buddha Gaya to Dambakola Patuna carrying a Bo sapling from the Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi. She lived and died here and is being revered by locals. Yet, I feel that this is not known to Indians very clearly. 

It is also important to note that a series of excavations in a Buddhist site in Sannati, Karnataka have led to the discovery of Dhamma-chakras, stupas and vihara complexes that resemble the historical remnants of the ancient city of Anuradhapura. We need to make these findings known as it could greatly increase people’s consciousness of the legacy of Buddhism in India.

My project may unearth some of the gems allowing Sri Lankan and Indian scholars, historians and the culturally curious to see Amaravati and Anuradhapura as enigmatic sites that holds a significance as symbols of glory in the early Buddhist visual culture of India and Sri Lanka.

[Dr. Choodamani’s dedication to her art infiltrates her conversations as much as writings. She has produced a number of well-researched books, papers and presentations on dance, sculpture, art, architecture, historical treatises and texts, winning accolades across the world. Since this interview was published, Dr. Choodamani has completed her work at Amaravati and has continued to work on her research with her recent revelations.]