A decorative ink-pot from 18th century Gujarat
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Jain calligraphic art flourished in 14th century India as scholars started transferring their knowledge into writing
A few weeks ago, I chanced upon a fascinating book called
Calligraphy and Art of Writing in Jain Manuscripts, written by Dr. Shridhar Andhare and edited by Ratan Parimoo. Full of coloured plates on Jain calligraphic and painted scrolls, the book was a revelation. The photography and design by Subrata Bhowmick, a leading graphic designer, and his associate, Payal Nanavati, add value to the book.
Dipping into the exquisite scrolls presented here is like embarking on a journey in an ancient caravan that moves through time. There are numerous halts where you can pause like a latter-day Aurel Stein, the great European Indologist, and search for seals and parchments left behind by merchants of the Silk Route. Travelling down the great highway connecting the East with the West, these
European Union leaders no longer meet around a common oval summit table to broker their famed compromises. Instead, each of the 27 watches the other heads of state or government with suspicion via a video screen that shows a mosaic of faraway capitals. This is what COVID-19 has wrought. Lofty hopes that the crisis would encourage a new and tighter bloc to face a common challenge have given way to the reality of division: The pandemic has set member nation against member nation, and many capitals against the EU itself, as symbolised by the disjointed, virtual meetings the leaders now hold.
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