UNFINISHED PRE-IMPERIAL RASHTRAKUTA |

Curator: Sarang Sharma
Group: Tarushikha Shakhtawat and Madhubanti Chanda

Topic: Pre-Imperial Rashtrakuta Art*; Architecture done during the feudatories and small rulers; Not looking as a dynasty but as identity.

Idea: The focus was on the historical background of the Rashtrakuta period; pre imperialism; Enquiring the linear tradition of art history; Experimentation in rock-cut architecture on places like Vijaywada caves, Kharusa, Bhokardan and Vasavi, movement of the guild.

Process:

They first began with a discussion of the dissertation topic which is the pivotal point of their resultant project. They attempt to trace the artistic activity in pre-imperial (Rashtrakuta) zones before their full-fledged dominance at Ellora, where they built their capital.

Taking this as a fundamental starting point, they then ventured into more thematic questions, most importantly on that of “identity”, rather the changing question of “identities” and the socio-political construct that it is, while applying it on the “Rashtrakuta” question and exploring the dimensions of the same.

The another major theme they also focused on is, on the whole dismantling of dominant history while attempting to bring out the multiplicity of it. This they planned to bring out by focusing on the Pre-Imperial Rashtrakuta architectural sites of Vasavi, and tracing how the same could have in fact have influenced the Ellora Kailashnatha temple, touted in mainstream Art History as the pinnacle of Imperial Rashtrakuta architecture. The idea was to challenge and at once dismantle the notions of “Imperial”, “pinnacle”, etc.

They also studied on the notion of identit(ies) as a socio-political construct where we tried to explore how the dynastic title of “Rashtrakuta” could have been an honorific term that aspiring groups of rulers could have subsequently ascribed to, in order to create their hegemonic position- through a created identity.

Thereafter, as they kept working on the socio-political theme of “identity”, they learnt of varied concepts like “strategic essentialism”. They also ventured into the concept of “structuralism”.

The next step was to frame a mind map, where they were required to put their concepts within a frame. They thereafter sketched out a mind map, 

Some of the rough sketches of the mind map are:

Final Mind Map

Setting the enquiry into the dominant discourse of art history and attempting to dismantle the established, canonical language as the research methodological question. They planned to establish the same by taking upon the concepts of “Selective Amnesia”, propounded by Romila Thapar, and the concept of “Multiple Histories”, both of which deny the unassailable centrality of a certain history, seeing it only as of the dominant and better-perpetuated version.
Next, they decided to take up the images of the Ellora Kailashnatha temple and the temple at Vasavi, while resizing the images of the same so that the grandeur of the Ellora architecture, propounded in dominant discourses as the “pinnacle” is overturned for a grander image of the Vasavi structure, usually ignored by the dominant discourses.
they thereafter planned to push forward the project by producing texts, on the Ellora temple, mentioning also certain tropes like the use of legends like Dantidurga’s victory, in honour of which it was built, to heighten its grandiosity.
Thereafter, they would look at the Reiglian concept of “spirit of the age”, whereby the linear notion of historical and architectural progress is broken down and the artistic activities are studied through the availability of four Modes of Production –labour, capital, availability and the degree of technological advancement and geographical factors (land). Most importantly, they make an inquiry into the “Uttpattipidugu” guild, through inscriptional pieces of evidence, which would also help them displace the architectural agency from the royal, dynastic-sponsored paradigm.
Through these premises, they delve into the study of the architectural style. They take in our case study certain sites where the Uttpattipidugu could have travelled and produced works of architecture.
They also used geographical maps to trace and identify the artistic journey of the Uttpattipidugu guild** which is as follows:

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Acknowledgements - Due to the nature of posting (each group was interviewed by a student and the summary of the interview was posted, important acknowledgements and footnotes were missing. The later updates are made with due apologies. 

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*'Pre Imperial Rashtrakuta' is a term/concept proposed by Prof Deepak Kannal while decoding stylistic developments at Cave number 14 at Ellora. It has since been researched and elaborated upon through various seminar papers, student projects, dissertations at the Department of Art History, Faculty of Fine Arts, MS University of Baroda.  

**'Utpatti Pidugu guild' is a proposition by Prof Deepak Kannal, further developed by him and Prof Jayaram Poduwal, notably in the special issue on Uttapattipedegu of Nirukta, the journal of Art History and Aesthetics published by  Department of Art History, Faculty of Fine Arts and M S University Press.