Anand Krishna
Encyclopedia
Rai Anand Krishna is an art historian
and museologist, who has not only helped in restoration and chronicling of Indian art but also created a breed of professional art researchers. Scholars from India and abroad have eagerly sought his evaluation of their work. His association with Bharat Kala Bhavan at Banaras Hindu University
, Varanasi
has provided a modern outlook to the discipline of art-history in India.
that traced its lineage to Patani Mall whose forebears served as Diwans to Moghul courts and British East India Company
. Rai Patani Mall had been granted Mansab of 5000 and control of territories in Central and Western Bihar
.
While branches of the family settled at Allahabad
, Patna
, Rai Patani Mall chose Varanasi to settle down and set up his library there. The collection of jewels, precious objects and works of art from his library were magnanimously donated to Bharat Kala Bhavan at Banaras Hindu University
.
Padma Vibhushan
Rai Krishnadasa father of Anand Krishna inherited the aethetic sensibilities of his grandfather. He grew up surrounded by scholars of Persian, Sanskrit and English. His grandmother was the paternal aunt of Bharatendu Harishchandra
the great linguist and littérateur who standardized the national language of India, Hindi. His home was a resort to intellectuals, scholars and artistes.
, historian Dr. Altekar, artistes like Ustad Ram Prasad, Omkarnath Thakur
or Heerabai Badodekar present in the house on any given day, Anand's interest and involvement with art-forms intensified.
Rai Krishnadasa’s intimate knowledge and deep involvement in these areas. He grew up with the distinguished art collection of Bharat Kala Bhavan [the renowned Indian Art Museum in Banaras Hindu University
, Varanasi
, which was founded by Rai Krishnadasa ji] and under the shadow of top Hindi littérateurs, painters, musicians et al., a solid base which he later enriched with his own experience.
and museum
specialist; his creativity goes back to 1944: a long span of six decades.
Besides his own contribution in the fields of Indian painting
, sculpture
and decorative [‘minor’] arts, he has significantly contributed to the world of Indian music
. Based in Varanasi -- a seat of Indian classical music, msucians and scholars from Pt. Omkarnath Thakur
, Dr. B.R. Deodhar, Dr. Lalmani Misra
to artistes like Pt. Mahadeo Mishra, Ustad Bismillah Khan
, Anokhelal Mishra, Dr. N. Rajam
were personally known to him. His immense and deep knowledge of not only Indian art and heritage but also every facet of human culture together with his accessible and kind personality make him a standing humanist, dear to a whole generation of Indian art students who considered him his guru.
, Robert Skelton, Karl J. Khandalavala, Sivaramamurti, Moti Chandra, etc. places Anand Krishna at the center of the development of the study of the arts in India.
All contributors had gained insight or discussed their research with Dr. Anand Krishna. Their interaction with the scholar, Rai Anand Krishna also finds space in the volume.
Art history
Art history has historically been understood as the academic study of objects of art in their historical development and stylistic contexts, i.e. genre, design, format, and style...
and museologist, who has not only helped in restoration and chronicling of Indian art but also created a breed of professional art researchers. Scholars from India and abroad have eagerly sought his evaluation of their work. His association with Bharat Kala Bhavan at Banaras Hindu University
Banaras Hindu University
Banaras Hindu University is a public university located in Varanasi, India and is one of the Central Universities of India. It is the largest residential university in Asia, with over 24,000 students in its campus. BHU was founded in 1916 by Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya under the Parliamentary...
, Varanasi
Varanasi
-Etymology:The name Varanasi has its origin possibly from the names of the two rivers Varuna and Assi, for the old city lies in the north shores of the Ganga bounded by its two tributaries, the Varuna and the Asi, with the Ganges being to its south...
has provided a modern outlook to the discipline of art-history in India.
Birth
Anand Krishna was born on November 12, 1925 into a venerable family of VaranasiVaranasi
-Etymology:The name Varanasi has its origin possibly from the names of the two rivers Varuna and Assi, for the old city lies in the north shores of the Ganga bounded by its two tributaries, the Varuna and the Asi, with the Ganges being to its south...
that traced its lineage to Patani Mall whose forebears served as Diwans to Moghul courts and British East India Company
British East India Company
The East India Company was an early English joint-stock company that was formed initially for pursuing trade with the East Indies, but that ended up trading mainly with the Indian subcontinent and China...
. Rai Patani Mall had been granted Mansab of 5000 and control of territories in Central and Western Bihar
Bihar
Bihar is a state in eastern India. It is the 12th largest state in terms of geographical size at and 3rd largest by population. Almost 58% of Biharis are below the age of 25, which is the highest proportion in India....
.
While branches of the family settled at Allahabad
Allahabad
Allahabad , or Settled by God in Persian, is a major city of India and is one of the main holy cities of Hinduism. It was renamed by the Mughals from the ancient name of Prayaga , and is by some accounts the second-oldest city in India. It is located in the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh,...
, Patna
Patna
Paṭnā , is the capital of the Indian state of Bihar and the second largest city in Eastern India . Patna is one of the oldest continuously inhabited places in the world...
, Rai Patani Mall chose Varanasi to settle down and set up his library there. The collection of jewels, precious objects and works of art from his library were magnanimously donated to Bharat Kala Bhavan at Banaras Hindu University
Banaras Hindu University
Banaras Hindu University is a public university located in Varanasi, India and is one of the Central Universities of India. It is the largest residential university in Asia, with over 24,000 students in its campus. BHU was founded in 1916 by Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya under the Parliamentary...
.
Padma Vibhushan
Padma Vibhushan
The Padma Vibhushan is the second highest civilian award in the Republic of India. It consists of a medal and a citation and is awarded by the President of India. It was established on 2 January 1954. It ranks behind the Bharat Ratna and comes before the Padma Bhushan...
Rai Krishnadasa father of Anand Krishna inherited the aethetic sensibilities of his grandfather. He grew up surrounded by scholars of Persian, Sanskrit and English. His grandmother was the paternal aunt of Bharatendu Harishchandra
Bharatendu Harishchandra
Bharatendu Harishchandra is known as the father of modern Hindi literature as well as Hindi theatre. He is considered one of the greatest Hindi writers of modern India. A recognized poet, he was also a trend setter in Hindi prose-writing...
the great linguist and littérateur who standardized the national language of India, Hindi. His home was a resort to intellectuals, scholars and artistes.
Early influence
Growing up in the ancestral haveli, Shanti Kutir, was itself education for Anand. The red-turbanned attendants, paintings and statues adorning the long galleris of the mansion and evenings afire with banter of artistes, poets, historians and musicians were all gradually training him for his future role. Poetry-reading was a regular affair as were music session. With such personages as Hariaudh ji, Babu Shyam Sunder Das, Acharya Shukla, Keshav Prasad Misra, art historians like Dr. Moti Chandra and Dr. Birbal SahniBirbal Sahni
Birbal Sahni FRS was an Indian paleobotanist who studied the fossils of the Indian subcontinent, was also a geologist who took an interest in archaeology...
, historian Dr. Altekar, artistes like Ustad Ram Prasad, Omkarnath Thakur
Omkarnath Thakur
Omkarnath Thakur was an Indian educator, musicologist, and Hindustani classical singer. He is famously known as "Pranav Rang", his pen-name.Thakur was born 1897 in a village in the Princely State of Baroda into a poor military family...
or Heerabai Badodekar present in the house on any given day, Anand's interest and involvement with art-forms intensified.
Bolstering experience
His own experience has its solid foundation in his illustrious father Padma VibhushanPadma Vibhushan
The Padma Vibhushan is the second highest civilian award in the Republic of India. It consists of a medal and a citation and is awarded by the President of India. It was established on 2 January 1954. It ranks behind the Bharat Ratna and comes before the Padma Bhushan...
Rai Krishnadasa’s intimate knowledge and deep involvement in these areas. He grew up with the distinguished art collection of Bharat Kala Bhavan [the renowned Indian Art Museum in Banaras Hindu University
Banaras Hindu University
Banaras Hindu University is a public university located in Varanasi, India and is one of the Central Universities of India. It is the largest residential university in Asia, with over 24,000 students in its campus. BHU was founded in 1916 by Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya under the Parliamentary...
, Varanasi
Varanasi
-Etymology:The name Varanasi has its origin possibly from the names of the two rivers Varuna and Assi, for the old city lies in the north shores of the Ganga bounded by its two tributaries, the Varuna and the Asi, with the Ganges being to its south...
, which was founded by Rai Krishnadasa ji] and under the shadow of top Hindi littérateurs, painters, musicians et al., a solid base which he later enriched with his own experience.
Diversity in creativity
Professor Rai Anand Krishna [known to his intimates as Raja Bhaiya] is a well-known artArt
Art is the product or process of deliberately arranging items in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions, and intellect....
and museum
Museum
A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...
specialist; his creativity goes back to 1944: a long span of six decades.
Besides his own contribution in the fields of Indian painting
Indian painting
Indian painting has a very long history, although the seasonally humid Indian climate was difficult for the long-term preservation of paintings and there are far fewer survivals than of other forms of Indian art. The earliest Indian paintings were the rock paintings of pre-historic times, the...
, sculpture
Sculpture
Sculpture is three-dimensional artwork created by shaping or combining hard materials—typically stone such as marble—or metal, glass, or wood. Softer materials can also be used, such as clay, textiles, plastics, polymers and softer metals...
and decorative [‘minor’] arts, he has significantly contributed to the world of Indian music
Music of India
The music of India includes multiple varieties of folk, popular, pop, classical music and R&B. India's classical music tradition, including Carnatic and Hindustani music, has a history spanning millennia and developed over several eras. It remains fundamental to the lives of Indians today as...
. Based in Varanasi -- a seat of Indian classical music, msucians and scholars from Pt. Omkarnath Thakur
Omkarnath Thakur
Omkarnath Thakur was an Indian educator, musicologist, and Hindustani classical singer. He is famously known as "Pranav Rang", his pen-name.Thakur was born 1897 in a village in the Princely State of Baroda into a poor military family...
, Dr. B.R. Deodhar, Dr. Lalmani Misra
Lalmani Misra
Lalmani Misra , M.A., Ph.D., D. Mus. , M.Mus. , B.Mus. , Dean & Head, Faculty of Music and Fine Arts, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, was an eminent Indian classical musician known as much for his art as for his scholarship.-Initiation into music:Lalmani learnt Dhruvapada Dhamar in the...
to artistes like Pt. Mahadeo Mishra, Ustad Bismillah Khan
Bismillah Khan
Ustad Bismillah Khan was an Indian shehnai maestro. He was the third classical musician to be awarded the Bharat Ratna , the highest civilian honour in India and gained worldwide acclaim for playing the shehnai for more than eight decades....
, Anokhelal Mishra, Dr. N. Rajam
N. Rajam
-Early life:N. Rajam was born in Chennai in a musical family to Vidwan A. Narayana Iyer. Her brother is violinist T. N. Krishnan. Rajam started her initial training in carnatic music under her father...
were personally known to him. His immense and deep knowledge of not only Indian art and heritage but also every facet of human culture together with his accessible and kind personality make him a standing humanist, dear to a whole generation of Indian art students who considered him his guru.
Exploring fundamentals
Anand Krishna’s writings are basic to the study of Indian art history, and his teaching and lectures throughout India, Europe, and America have affected and influenced generations of students and scholars. His knowledge of art dealers, with many of whom his family has maintained close friendship, the contacts he has maintained since his youth with the greatest creative minds and talents in India, and his close relationships with such internationally important scholars as W.G. Archer [who was one of his doctoral thesis examiners], Grace MorleyGrace Morley
Dr. Grace Louise McCann Morley was a museologist of global influence. She was the founder of San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and its Director for 23 years starting in 1934. Time Magazine carried an with the museum, and then another...
, Robert Skelton, Karl J. Khandalavala, Sivaramamurti, Moti Chandra, etc. places Anand Krishna at the center of the development of the study of the arts in India.
Humour: Distincitve Trait
Nonetheless, these extraordinary professional achievements do not reveal the humour, even the mischievousness of Anand Krishna. He wears his scholarship, and his family history, lightly. Few scholars are as modest and self-effacing, as unpretentious in dress and bearing, as devout, and as spirited as Anand Krishna. His presence and friendship has greatly enhanced a multitude of lives.Felicitation
Recently a felicitation volume Ananda-vana of Indian Art on Dr. Anand Krishna was published. Though not lacking in biographical details, the volume carries peer-reviewed research articles in three sections. There are sixteen papers under section, BCE till 11th Century, twenty seven under section, 11th to 19th Century and thirteen in the final section of the book, 20th Century and Modern age.All contributors had gained insight or discussed their research with Dr. Anand Krishna. Their interaction with the scholar, Rai Anand Krishna also finds space in the volume.
Sources
- Beach, Milo C. Rai Anand Krishna: A Brief Biography in The Anand-Vana of Indian Art. Naval Krishna and Manu Krishna, Editors. Indica Books, 2004. ISBN 81-86569-48-0