Manu Parekh - Banaras: Eternity Watches Time

Banaras is the religious capital of India. Situated on the Ganges, it is a pilgrimage site for the Hindu faithful to bathe in the sacred river. Banaras contains more than 1,500 temples and mosques. Almost all of the city's five kilometres of river banks have been converted into ghats. Banaras has over a hundred bathing and burning ghats, of which Manikarnika ghat is the most sacred. This is the main burning ghat and one of the most auspicious places. Day and night, the fires burn at Manikarnika ghat and the remains of the dead are scattered upon the river. To die in Banaras is to die blessed; many move here to live out their final days.

Manu Parekh has executed a series of paintings inspired by the city. In turn, this book is a collection of the essays by seven writers who have been inspired by his work in this series. Thematic issues are treated by several of the essayists including a comparison with icon painting. These essays offer a thorough assessment of the themes and motivations in the series. Manu Parekh made a conscious decision to concentrate on landscape in the series to give himself the opportunity to play out the dynamic of faith and fear that he identifies as uniquely Indian. The Banaras series is a symbolic rendering of this relationship. Painted in the Indian Expressionist style these works have a significant role in  the development of modern Indian painting.