Graphic artist and comic historian Bharath Murthy explores the pitiful state of Buddhism
The Vanished Path by Bharath Murthy
Hyderabad: When a book is branded as an “account of a religious pilgrimage”, most of us would expect it to be a ponderous and sermonising tome. But for graphic artist and comic historian Bharath Murthy, such “brands” and perceptions hardly carry any importance. And so, when Bharath wanted to chronicle his own pilgrimage wherein he toured places of importance in Buddhist religion along with his wife, he took the route he was most comfortable with — graphic art.
Capturing his journey across India and Nepal in the form of a full-length black and white graphic “travelogue”, Bharath’s latest work, The Vanished Path explores the pitiful state that one of the world’s most followed religions suffers in its own birthplace. Bharath, who upon discovering the merits of Buddhist philosophy fell in love with it so much that he took a pilgrimage across the country and beyond. “I gradually read the Pali suttas and some translated Sanskrit works. I was deeply impressed by the Buddha’s teachings and philosophy and grew a strong interest in the religion. For me, visiting important places for Buddhism in the country seemed like the most natural step ahead in the process,” he says.
Inspired by the Japanese Manga-style of storytelling, Bharath says what set his work apart from generic travelogues is its simplicity and the attention to details such as the sound of trains or birds chirping. He says, “For sounds, I wanted to try and use typical Indian ways of referring to them, like khat-khat for knocking on doors. With visuals, my challenge was to be able to depict the actual places without getting bogged down by too much detail.”
In the book, not only does he aim to capture the beauty of these places, but he also brings to light the state of neglect of the monuments and the religion itself in India. “It was no surprise when I found out that some people had made out Buddhism as though it was a caste. For me, it was an indication that one needs to do more to ensure that Buddhist teachings are known and properly understood in India,” he says.
Taking a strong critical tone against casteism, Bharath’s book also attempts to break the perception that graphic art cannot portray serious concepts. While his latest book has been received well by readers, the step ahead, says Bharath, is to focus on his other projects for now. “I am illustrating a re-interpretation of short stories by Tagore. It is written by Malini Roy and I am the illustrator for the project. I am also working on a script for an animated feature film that I want to direct, since direction is also something that interests me,” he concludes.
( Source : deccan chronicle )
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