Krishna Khanna: A discourse on Love and betrayal

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In my previous article Krishna Khanna and Modernitys consciousness I tried to figure
out few themes and their gravity to expand it further and to take you inside of the
interiority of his works. What I wrote in my previous post has nothing to do with politics
as such however eternal truth is that everything that is social is political. Anatomy of
being is formed in the social and political. Another point is that man cant be otherwise,
man is a social being sustained with a law whether it is divine law for the human that
Hindus called Rit or the human law that came into existence in Hobbes with social
contract. In absence of law whatever it is divine or human, life would be an utter chaos.
Even the son of God would encounter his being or discovers himself only when he
already situates himself in a law and order in relation the Other-the oppressed. Artists
case is not different from this point of view if we consider artist as a person possessed
with the divine fire of creativity. Artist is like Vedic seer Kavi-kratu or kavikrita i.e. he
who sees That that no one seesa poet who is critical as well as a politician of the
humanity. Kavi-kratuor krita is a divine dice thrower, who throws after having counted
the petals of the world of Leelaleela-kamal patrani. Kratu is the word
used for the dice and to throw a dice is critical and a divine act. To be more precise,
divine act of dice throw is not like Spivaks little secret embrace from Above rather it is
thrown out of an eternal love for the suffering humanityETERNAL LOVE FOR AN
ENCHANTING FACE, SAYS MUKTIBODH. In the emancipation of the suffering
humanity he finds self satisfaction. Foucault has remarkably conceived thinking as a dice
throw which was later taken forward by Deleuze in a new way to develop his theology of
eternal return. Idea of another Eternal return is that of a neuter; having thrown a unique
throw of dice it returns without returning. When God throws dice he wins for he knows
the principle underlying intermezzo of two valid throws and returns his eternal divine law
which is not a lawhe proclaims the end of history in which men is a liberated man- as
in communism.
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Mahabharata begins with a dice throw in which the priests threw a unique throw to
establish the priestly law of the despot. In his painting The game dice is being thrown,
web of dark conspiracy is being weaved against humanity. The game invites various
readings. To be precise, the game is an event that is going to decide the new strategy of
the despot producing new effect on the social. Effects fall upon us like battle and in each
wound brought upon our flesh we cry the cry. You are either flesh or sword in the eternal
game of power; haunting is historical. Haunting shouldnt be read as evil for gods and
creative beings too haunt, hunt like the hunter; Hegels owl of Minerva flies at dusk to
hunt the evil. Khannas the GAME, the dice throw, and the despots conspiracy, battle,
revolution, life and death all form a series of events. One little mistake and kingdom of
hell is at hand-Auschwitz is not very distant. That is why Krishna Khannas paintings are
an urgent call on suffering humanity. Like a despot, a poet-artist too throws a counter
throw of his dice of creativity to return the law that could emancipate humanity for it is
the condition of his own emancipation. Krishna Khannas love begins from this very
ontology and here we can diagnose his illness why he despite a lover of Sufism didnt
become passive spiritualist. Khanna has painted Sufi saints and mad Arabian poets of
wine and book but he is not much concerned with their way of life. He knew perhaps that
Sufi mysticism has never been a solution to mens liberation; for a poetical ecstasy in dim
lit colorful candle light it is fine but it cant be a path to emancipation. In fact mysticism
subtracts everything from poverty, reducing it to misery. By defining human substance,
and desire in relation to the divinity in spiritual terms, priests had had always one
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intention-to neutralize it. Role of spiritualism or anything that produces such effect on
human soul in bourgeoisie is absolutely about this criminality none other. Krishna
Khanna knows that to situate oneself in the social means simply to individuate through
love, it is only divine force and the power that can develop the commonality, as sense of
communion and power is produced for universal emancipation.
The Great Betrayal
Krishna Khanna The great Betrayal can be situated in the middle of his oeuvre for
around it some profound revolves. Betrayal is a double betrayal-the bastard betrays the
God the Despot and the voice of the God the priest, leader at the same time. Or from
another point of view it is double turning- man turns his face from God, who also turns
his face away from man-absolute deterritorialization. Betryal is a secular turn one has to
turn his face towards old conception of life and death to discover new meaning of life.
Krishna khannas the great betrayal is entirely spiritual and secular image perhaps God is
affirmed in a new way if you like you can say it. Painting goes straight to the heart of the
matter, that is, of the HEART. It does not make it an object of belief in religious sense
rather it arouses a new faith; it implants humanism within it, so to speak. This faith is
what forms a new possibility of
communitarian politics, makes a new
world possible beyond religious
communalism; this is what
humanitarian-political of arts is.
Krishna Khannas affirmative voice is
If light dictates our life let This light
dictates us he has chosen it
deliberately and if we talk religion it is
fair to say in Upanishadic words that
H @1 7
. . Such faith and knowledge
never gets corrupted, never gets
deceased. It is only this faith that
cant be doubted and remarkably
Khanna painted it in his painting
doubting Thomas Thomas touches
his doubt, it not only tells us his deep
understanding of religion but also his
artistic messianism if I can use this
heavy term for him. Well, it is not
copy righted by westerns we too are
able to produce such people.
Doubting Thomas Thomas touches
his doubt if coupled with the great
betrayal it may lead us to a heavy
discourse of political-theology. In his
biography it is mentioned that
Christians didnt like his Christ theme
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because they didnt expect any distortion of their god so one critic Anthony Lousada says
The difficulty is that if you take a traditional subject, it is difficult to forget the early
masters who depicted it. Gayatri however reacted on him that he was prejudiced about
his Lord Jesus and rightly remarks that Krishnas Christ series is not religious painting
but social critique located within the political context of India of in70s. She could have
written much in such heavy project of book writing but she passes by lightly without
entering into his oeuvre. How can you spend three years for two hundred pages and yet
you find yourself unable to bring some deeper truths and light on his art! Respected
critics like Gita Kappor too are is blind to the blindness and too much narrow minded
political concerning modernitys consciousness. Krishna Khanna in his Christian themes
is thoroughly profound seeking Man
by crying out after God. The history
of being begins necessarily begins
in this search of historicity. Man is
to be discovered. I am in no mood
here to proceed in that zone
political-theology for blog is not a
right place. Once it is remarked we
can do it later.

Such humanitarian affirmative
culture in art is absolutely needed;
for only an affirmative discourse on
life can bring us peace, happiness
and progress. Hitherto whatever
religious discourses on life and
death exists are through and through
nihilist-all are enemy of desire and
passion. Generally it is believed that
religion is anti-rational, anti-
intellectual but fact is that religion
is another form of rationality
operates through irrationality. We
as artists must turn from this form
of rationality and invent an other
or essential night or day
whatsoever depends on ones
economy and temperament of the soul. We can pursue multiple lines of flights, varied
discourses of madness of truth or madness into truth. If western philosophy, art and
literature took a new turn after Kant, Hegel, Marx , Freud and Nietzsche it is because all
proclaimed the death of the God of the JudaeoChristian tradition together with the death
of all those ideals, norms, principles, rules, ends and values that were despots order
above human beings. Since then, when we trace western cultural history we find that it
remains atheism or in a new post structuralism term onto-theological; it allowed the
arrogance of thinking for in it one manifests his passion, his true self. Priests and
managers are sitting everywhere today in culture organizations and when question of
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culture and creativity comes, when someone takes a flight they start talking about the
tolerance which in fact is a repressive tolerance. Priests are everywhere for priests are
parasites they live on, they survived in every age but we have to recognize them as
parasite and must not allow them to lead our life and art. An ancient Indian poet reminds
us to tread the path of freedom:
B| =c c7 In
past poets of free speech have attained kirti therefore writers and poets shouldnt abandon
this moral strategy.
Whenever man begins his flight in freedom and life priest comes united, whenever man
aspired to touch the eternity they came saying what is this shit- creativity? ..We do
know from history that how many great Indian Advaita philosophers, great poets and
logicians suffered from their propaganda and conspiracies. New lines of flight, new
thoughts were never allowed to prevail under Hindu priestly repression. Any new say
and there is a great social threat, priests in all color and form would come united against
this threat threat against our great dying soul. In Art priests never allowed criticism as
soon as you criticize you are fucked, fucked so much so that you will have no place
anywhere, why? Because spirit of it it out is threatened.
Husain was idolized and converted into a biggest priest of Indian art; under his repression
many great artists did not find any space. Art market revolved on his face of creativity
and brevity about which I have written few lines in my previous post. Who cares when
only his idols could fetch sufficient money! Art market wont have been suffered if this
spectacle would not have existed, art market wont have been suffered if there would
have been criticism, art wouldnt have been suffered when there would have been a valid
art discourse, and it wont have been suffered if parasite were ignored. Parasites are
unproductive and because of that they are organized everywhere, they are bunch of
grouses to borrow Terry Eagletons word and more so more, many of them are
whisperers. They would sit in gallery owners office and keep on whispering making
them almost absent minded and blind to the reality. Parasites would whisper and take
away a grant for a book and produce garbage. Even there are many others whisperers in
this class like the sage Bhardwajas who are regular visitors of this or that gallery and with
the falling of dusk they would surrender to any gallery owner or artist chosen for murder
demanding a bottle and food-De, de profindis? ! Writers will finish books in ten to twenty
pages and nothing would be embraced, often artist and art would be fucked in false
speculative writing! What is more to explain about whisperers!. Well, I agree with Aijaz
Ahmehs remark on Indian writing here. I have no intention to turn anyone on personal
level, I humbly request you to read it rationally not as an abuse. I am not a scholar and
writer but I read and I know a bit what is art writing and criticism. I write like journalists
in my own traversalistic style firmly established within theory and yet outside it so in my
articles you wont find aura of polemic. When you choose traversalistic style you would
be behaving like sorcerers motivated with the pleasures and the excitement beyond fogs
and miasmas which obscure our vision. Outside myrthic environment subjectivity
breaths a new breath and reconfigures itself and this is our cultural requirement; you may
not agree but this is what I have concluded till today. I have a new yoga now that I would
love to call phal-yoga, criticism can be deconstructive; it is eschatological but it brings
fruit. We should proceed in this phal-yoga adventure and I hope nothing will fall apart
rather art will have a new speed and life. Art may copyright this yoga even, I have no
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problem. Let me close the article once again with the great Mukti-Bodh :
.Under the poisonous clouds
of smoke always
a hundred revelations
in a luminous moment
false dreams disintegrate
rays of awareness run in the blood
the world soul has found its image
A fire here!
a fire there

Second part of Krishan Khannas Modernitys consciousness

It was first published on my blog : http://rajcritic.wordpress.com/2012/03/27/krishna-
khanna-a-discourse-on-love-and-betrayal/

By Rajesh Shukla (critic, author and journalist)
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