Hands that carve stone
Mirza Ghalib
now show it to foreigners for tourism dollars, sell artwork
based on old motifs, for more dollars. Too bad Islam has very
little creative product to show, what with its strict ban on
sculpture, painting, music and dancing.
Unfortunately, even Paki scholars are not free from anti-Hindu
prejudice. Not once in the article its Hindu origins are mentioned.
Matter of fact, Takshila was a well-established university since much
before the Buddhism took roots. Even Chanakya and Chandragupta
studied there.
A Thank you to the Brits for saving what was left of this monument.
Otherwise a Paki version of Mullah Omar would have blown it to
even finer bits than what the Brits found.
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HANDS THAT CARVE STONE
By Azra Mahmud, Dawn Magazine, Mar 10
The valley of Taxila, once known as "Takshasila" lies about
thirty-two kilometres north-west of Islamabad. It is located in
the vicinity of Margalla spur and is about forty minutes drive
from the capital city.
In ancient times, this land remained victim of foreign invaders.
New civilizations emerged over the debris of old one. Though
several signs of ancient civilizations have been swept away by
the sands of time, the ancient remains at Sirkap, Sirsukh and
Bhirmound still stand their testimony.
Alexander the Great invaded this land in 326 BC and with them
came Greek Culture in this land. It is here that the Gandhara
School of Buddhist Art flourished and reached its zenith.
Gandhara is the geographical name for the region that, once,
extended from Taxila to Jalalabad and included Peshawar, Bannu,
and modern districts of Rawalpindi, Jehlum and Mianwali. And
the art that developed here came to be known as Gandhara Art.
In the 2nd century BC, Buddhism was adopted as the state religion
which lasted for one thousand years. As the Gandhara Art developed
during this period, the statue of Buddha became the central
figure of this art.
According to Professor Ahmed Hassan Dani, Director of Taxila
Institute of Asian Civilization, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad,
"The art died in the seventh and eighth century AD. However,
it was in the 18th and 19th centuries that with the advent of
British in the subcontinent, this art was revived when they
exhibited their interest in this art."
The Gandhara School of Buddhist Art that produced sculptors in
ancient times, still constitute as an invaluable asset of this land.
The work is done in two mediums stone and clay. And it is easy to
work in the latter than the former. The zenith of this art is the
"Fasting Buddha" which was first copied by a local sculptor, Zardad
Khan in the 1960's, using stone.
Now-a-days the master artisans of Taxila make different art
pieces using stone from the hills of Taxila and make exquisite
carving on them. The individual and inborn talent of these local
sculptors exhibits vitality of expression in their work.
Unfortunately, few individuals are keeping this art alive
despite various impediments. They create artistic work with bare
hands which is indeed a very difficult task. They have made a
variety of stone products ranging from ashtrays, jewellry boxes
and tables. This work is done without any kind of support from the
concerned authorities.
It is also worth mentioning the names of those few artisans who
are keeping this art alive. They include: Ustad Latif, Zardad Khan,
Ustad Akram, Ustad Babu Khurshid, Yousuf, Mustafa and Waheed.
Ustad Latif, a seventy-year old master artisan of this work says,
"I started this work in 1961. My teacher was Ustad Fazal Ahmed,
I went to Lahore with him to do the repair work on Yadgaar-e-Pakistan
and used to get Rs 8/- per day at that time."
He is a person with rich imagination and creativity. He says,
"When I carve a piece of stone and make an engraving on it, I
just think for a a few moments. The whole design comes to my mind.
And I start my work without making any sketch of it."
So a simple and valueless piece of stone become invaluable
piece of art and adores houses of many art lovers.
Ustad Latif is willing to transfer this art to others but says
that students quit this work because "mali lehaz sey tassali
buksh nehein hai."
Shakeel, among his children learned this art, while the youngest
one, Bakhtawar, is now doing his Masters in English Literature.
The whole family supports him financially. He is reluctant to
learn this art as he says, there is no "surparasti" of this art.
If one visits the Taxila Museum, one can see these artisans
sitting in a row under the shade of trees along the Khanpur Road,
Taxila, commonly called Dhibian.
Mostly they make mortars and work on theka under the local
thekedars which costs them financially. Moreover, they become
bound to work with them and can not work with their own free
will and choice. They make three or four mortars in a day and
earn about Rs 2,500/- per month. While the thekedars take away
the profit. These mortars are being sold throughout Pakistan.
When morning comes to the town, they leave their homes to the
place of their work. The seasons meet and depart but they toil
under the shade of the trees indifferent to these seasonal
changes. This is another lamentable aspect of these creative
artisans.
Taxila that once had been the meeting place of ancient trading
routes and according to Sir John Marshall in his 'A Guide to
Taxila' says, "In earliest Buddhist literature.... Taxila is
frequently mentioned as a university centre where students come
and get instructions in almost any subject, religious or secular,
from veda to mathematics and medicine, even to astrology and a
rchery".A few years earlier, as a result of unremitting efforts of
a renowned personality, there was a plan to revive Jaulian
University. But, later on, it was shelved. Had the plan been
translated into action, it would certainly have gone a long way
towards revival of city's forgotten ostentation.
It could also have brought bright social and economic prospects
for the people of Pakistan in general and Taxila and its artisans
particular.