Paris snubbed by Orissa's ancient Goddess

Paris snubbed by Orissa's ancient Goddess
KOTA NEELIMA and RAJESH KUMAR

NEW DELHI, MAY 16: A rare statue of the 10th Century Goddess, Chamunda, might keep Picasso from paying a visit to the country. India is to participate in a French art festival in Avignon beginning later this month titled In Pursuit of Beauty with a selection of some of its best art pieces, supposed to include a rare statue, known as Chamunda, the terrible.

But New Delhi has expressed its helplessness saying the government of Orissa has refused to part with Chamunda saying it's too special to be sent out of the country. This has upset the French organizers.

The Chamunda, an exquisite piece carved in black soapstone, represents the fierce form of the Goddess and is variously described as the female counterpart of Shiva in his kaal bhairav form or that of the Yama. The sculpture, one of the saptmatrikas or seven forms of shakti, is said to have been in use for worshipping for centuries and is of immense historical and archaeological importance. It's currently with the Government of Orissa and is on display at the Bhubaneshwar museum.

The French organisers are said to have asked for some paintings and two sculptures: Chamunda and the 6th century sculpture of Vyal from Konark temple in Orissa which is currently in the possession of the Archaeological Survey of India.

Art circles here are afraid the turning down of the French request may result in Paris not sending the Picasso originals as planned. The Indian Government has, however, accepted two other requests: one for a painting of Majnu, dated 1640 A.D., which is with the National Museum in Delhi and the Vyala from Konarak temples of Orissa.

Besides these, India will send seven more paintings and the statue of Abhisarika. Together, the 10 works of art would go under an insurance cover of Rs 3 crore, with the Government bearing 1 percent interest on it.

The Indian Government keeps sending statues to various countries on an exchange contract. This means that the borrowing country has to lend some of its own antiques to India for about the same period of time. There are two levels of clearance of antiques. One is that of a political committee headed by the Secretary, Department of Culture in the Union HRD Ministry. Another panel is made up of experts, called the National Screening and Evaluation Committee.

Says an antique expert on the panel: ``There are various categories of antiques. They are graded as AA, AB, BB, BC, etc. Those which are unique and invaluable, are graded as AA, like Chamunda. These antiques are very rarely sent out of the country. Even when they are sent out, they are usually exchanged for antiques of similar uniqueness from the borrowing nation.'' Incidentally, Chamunda has never travelled out of the country.

A senior official in the French embassy, however, confirmed the details saying the refusal was indeed a big disappointment but they had now stopped pursuing the matter as the decision -- of not sending Chamunda -- was that of the Orissa government. Silvia Fernandez, press attache at the embassy, said that the problem was only of a technical nature and there was no tussle on the issue.