Brother Balabhadra leads the way.
In the middle comes,
the sister with a pretty moon-face,
mingling with the noisy crowd
The ‘Dark One’ follows behind.
Says Salabega, I am a Yavana
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Writes Salabega, a Muslim poet who devoted his poetry to Lord Jagannath. Vaishnavite Bhakti traditions in Puri have manifested diverse literature and art practices devoted to the cult.
The Jagannath Temple was built approximately 1000 years ago. A fine specimen of Kalinga architecture, it is one of the most important Vaishnavite Bhakti shrines, each year a huge number of devotees take part in Jagannath Rath Yatra to seek their God’s blessings. Three humongous chariots housing the idols of Lord Jagannath, Balabhadra and Goddess Subhadra, started their journey yesterday in Puri.
Siddhartha Das, of Oriya and Gujarati descent, has been working tirelessly in creating Jagannath Interpretation Centre-cum-museum with the Dept. of Tourism, Govt. of Odisha. His studio has been curating diverse media based on the ancient Vedic texts, recreating the sacred architecture of the temples in collaboration with more than 100 traditional master artists and craftspeople of Puri. The diverse media includes miniature stone replicas, wooden models, engravings, paintings and documentaries. The Interpretation Centre-cum-Museum will be looking at curation, designing and execution of the content. Siddhartha wants to educate the people at large about the iconography, details of the architecture and the living tradition of Jagannath temple, while also creating livelihood for the local artists and craftspeople. In 2019, Siddhartha Das Studio inaugurated the exhibition ‘Interpreting Temples: Lingaraj and Puri Temples’ at India International Centre, New Delhi.
Siddhartha Das is a designer, architect, curator who has collaborated with spaces such as the @museumrietberg, Zurich and VA Museum, London in over 200 cultural and heritage projects. He has been the visiting faculty at NID, Central Saint Martins and Willem De Kooning Academie. He has also contributed to the Arts Illustrated Magazine and Marg Magazine.
