By MWB Desk
Bindu by Shanti Banaras pays tribute to SH Raza’s body of work
The oldest Indian scholars studied the Earth’s centrifugal force, a Bindu, and correlated it to the lifeforce within us; a pinpoint that is both the start and reason for life.
The late artist Sayed Haider (SH) Raza, recipient the Padma Shri (1981), Padma Bhushan (2007), and the Padma Vibhushan (2013) awards, had experienced a sort of spiritual awakening in the 1980s after touring caves all over India, and abandoned the expressionistic landscape for a geometric abstraction and the “Bindu” became the epicenter of the artist’s universe.
This season, Shanti Banaras draws inspiration from SH Raza’s study of the Bindu, to showcase a collection of lehengas that reimagines Raza’s iconic body of work. In an exploration of circles, triangles, and lines, there lies a contemplation of the source of energy and creation. In Raza’s art, this is interpreted as order and proportion, and in Shanti Banaras’s expression in handwoven Rangkat organza, it is interpreted as one moment in a life of many living moments.
In this collection, the Bindu is embraced as the epicenter of a maze of geometric patterns and abstract landscapes. In Raza’s own words, the patterns are, “visible form containing all the essential requisites of line, tone, color, texture and space.” The world’s greatest thinkers Pythagoras, Plato, and Plotinus engaged in creativity through these same eternal symbols, each confluence reflecting on life and death. Interpreted in whole they form the very essence of life – Earth and Sky.
“The beauty of The Bindu is its simplification of that forever question of what sustains life. In the celebrations that lehengas are worn to, this symbolism is a powerful prayer towards a new beginning. This collection provides a modern look and feel to the lehenga while adding a traditional viewpoint to SH Raza’s motifs”
Khushi Shah
Creative Director, Shanti Banaras
Our oldest wisdom refers to the Bindu and its sacred geometry as the blueprint of all creation, while at the same time explaining the energy patterns that unify all things. It is said that every natural pattern of growth or movement comes back to one or more geometric shapes. The molecules of our DNA, the cornea of our eye, snowflakes, flower petals, crystals, a shell, the stars, the galaxy we spiral within, the air we breathe, and all life forms are created out of geometric codes.
Displayed within custom-made installations, “Bindu” by Shanti Banaras is accessible in its flagship stores. The collection uses rich zari work in dramatic Rangkat – bright oranges, yellows, and lime greens.
Photos: Shanti Banaras
