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| Sunday, 20 January 2002 |
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Glimpses of Bhutan's rich heritage by Upali Rupasinghe in New Delhi
Bhutan, the monarchic kingdom in the 'land of thunder dragon' with a rich art, tradition and heritage of the proud lies in the eastern Himalayas, bordered both by China on one side and all other sides by India. This predominantly Buddhist country, spread over an area of roughly 46,500 sq. kms has an approximate population of 6,50,000. As a part of its endeavour to provide the world with a glimpse of its cultural heritage, Bhutan recently organised a rare exhibition of arts, crafts and Buddhist religious traditions of its people at the National Museum. The exhibition named, 'The Living Religious and Cultural traditions of Bhutan' was with extraordinary craftsmanship and artistic talent of the Bhutanese. For the first time, Bhutan brought out paintings made of gold and pearl, dating back to the 17th century and also display items, which cover the period between 9th and 20th century was to showcase simple values of peace, harmony and compassion that Buddhism is synonymous with. The aim was to bring alive all the 13 forms of arts (Zorig Chosums) before the spectators as they are a part of the everyday life of the Bhutanese people.
The exhibition paid a befitting ode to the 13 kinds of Zorig Chosum around which life in the valley revolves. Bhutan is perhaps the only country which has not only preserved its old age traditions and culture but refuses to let go off its implements in daily life like knitting, weaving, pottery and oil paintings for modern technological gadgets. The Bhutanese are fiercely patriotic and have never been part of any foreign power. The exhibits include, rare ritual objects, ancient intricate stupas, vibrand thangha paintings, ancient stone vessels, sculptured statues, a typical Buddhist altar recreated in all its pristine purity and magnificent model of the ancient 17th century - Punakha Dzong (fortress). There were also bamboo and cane baskets, tea stainers, wooden bows arrows and daggers. The Bhutanese hierarchy is manifested by colours. Yellow is reserved for the kind and religious leaders, orange for ministers and white for district magistrates. Beyond the static display of artifacts, the exhibition attempted to take the viewers down to the actual life in Bhutan. There is a live demonstration of the traditional rituals, which offer a window to the Mahayana form of Buddhism. This continues to stir the sensibility of the Bhutanese people even today. Artists were seen engrossed in carving out wooden curios, brushing delicately at oil paintings,a girl engaged in traditional weaving and a bearded artist sculpting objects from slate through a wide array of knives. However, most mesmerising and amazing are the resplendent 19 thangkas, which have never ventured out of the Bhutanese kingdom. The best is the 18th century, 328 cm long scroll of Lama Jamgon Ngawang Gyaltshen (1647-1732). The latter is regarded by the Bhutanese as the reincarnation of Buddha Maitreya. The Bhutanese government wanted not only to promote its tourism but also bring the people of the region closer to make them understand its complex art, culture and religion. Extra care and meticulous planning was executed for transporting priceless thangka paintings and other souvenirs in trucks from Thimpu the Bhutanese capital to New Delhi. This exhibition's mission was to reach out to the masses with the message of love and friendship allowing every citizen to comprehend the life, culture, crafts and religion of the Bhutanese people. |
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