The exhibition Garden and Cosmos presents recently discovered paintings of classic Hindu stories and visions of the cosmic universe. In the classroom create your own miniature diorama that combines elements from these unique paintings and your vivid imagination.

Enjoy a classroom slide show of the palace gardens at Nagaur in India, and the use an activity book to explore the exhibition Garden and Cosmos. Discover how artists interpreted these gardens in their paintings, and then create your own miniature Nagaur palace garden to take home.

Exhibition curator Debra Diamond discusses the historical, political, and religious contexts surrounding recently rediscovered monumental manuscripts in Jodhpur. She explores the influence of hatha yoga metaphysics and bhakti devotionalism on imagery, scale, and aesthetics, and describes how these exceptional paintings were viewed at the royal court.

Experience the magical world of the Ramayana epic with performances from the Devi Dance Theater. Young dancers recreate the lively battles between Hanuman's monkey army and the demon-king Ravana, as well as stories of the birth of Sita. Chat with the dancers to learn how these performances relate to the manuscript paintings featured in Garden and Cosmos.

Join Dr. Vijay (William) Pinch, professor of history at Wesleyan University, on an excursion through Garden and Cosmos to examine the historical practice of hatha yoga and the influence of Nath yogis on political power in nineteenth-century India.

Dr. Philip Lutgendorf, professor of Hindi and modern Indian studies at the University of Iowa, discusses relationships among visual, textual, and performed versions of Indian stories, including episodes from the Hindi Ramayana of Tulsidas. He is the author of The Life of a Text: Performing the Ramcharitmanas of Tulsidas (1991) and Hanuman’s Tale: The Messages of a Divine Monkey (2007).

The Blossoms Rained, and There Was Light
Saturday, November 15, 2008, 3:00 pm, Meyer Auditorium
Join Devi Dance Theater for retellings of classical stories about the Hindu deities Rama, Krishna, and Shiva. Hear poems from the Hindi Ramayana of Tulsidas and see how the culture of sixteenth-century India still influences contemporary choreography.