Learning history from arts

Engaging with history and art

Title: Magnificent Murals: Buddhist Art of Ajanta

Author: Ashwin Prabhu

Photographs: Srinivasan Krishnan Rajagopalan

Publishers: Tulika

First published: 2025

ISBN: 978-93-49993-79-2

Pages: 86

Price: 385/-

Age: 10+

Up at Teacher Plus. 

Thanking Teacher Plus and Ashwin.  

“A trip to Ajanta is a journey through both space and time”, Ashwin Prabhu tells us as we begin our journey with him in his latest book Magnificent Murals: Buddhist Art of Ajanta.. He is on familiar terrain - his previous book, also with Tulika, was Sculpted Stones: Mysteries of Mamallapuram. I however confess, at the beginning, that for all my love for wandering and interest in history I am yet to visit either of these wonders. 

The author uses the question and answer format to tell us about the accidental rediscovery, why the caves were built and when they were built. He then talks about the art - paintings and the sculptures - in the caves and how these have been put to use to depict stories of the Buddha’s life and the Jataka Tales. These stories take up roughly half the pages. And, towards the end he tells us more about the caves like how they came into being and the efforts taken to preserve them since. Anirudh Kanisetti has succinctly captured the book in the blurb, “Ashwin Prabhu’s Magnificent Murals opens a window to this world - packed with scholarly insight, an artist’s eye for detail and a teacher’s wisdom.”

During a session at the recent edition of the History Literature Festival (HLF) a speaker had elucidated on the need to learn how to read and understand the paintings and sculptures to understand our history better. This is a book which helps do that. It zooms in to some paintings and sculptures, clarifies a few others using line drawings and for some it takes help of digitally-restored images. The book brings out the stories behind these works of art; my favourite is the “ten children in a classroom”. I  was also reminded of another conversation from HLF while reading this book - art need not always be deep and serious, it can be fun too; “Sometimes, the Ajanta painters didn’t even need the pretext of a story to let their playful side slip through”. 

The book respects our intelligence. It tells us, for example, that a lot in history evolves, be it painting styles or religion. The Buddha initially was represented by symbols like footprints and a bodhi tree and it was only later that statues came in. The book also tells us that even today there are many questions about these caves, and other such places, that remain unanswered. It lays forth the mixed results of the restoration attempts - and reminds us that restoration is a complex business!

The book neither overburdens us with information nor is it a textbook on Buddhism. The image quality and page size work well. However, the repeated shifts in text - size, colour, and font - do not. Also the chapters before and after the stories could have been placed together. 

A few questions that came up as I read, re-read, the book: 

• What were the author’s experiences at the site? Do the locals have any myths, stories, or legends around the caves?

• How easy or difficult is it to access the caves today? Are there ongoing efforts to protect the caves? 

• Do these caves have natural light? Do art lovers and students visit the caves to learn from the paintings and sculptures? 

• Each of the 3 Jataka stories has a Banaras connect. Is this as it was one of the bigger towns then? 

A few pointers for teachers:

• Engaging with students over the book will surely help you and your students plan an educational trip to Ajanta. 

• The book can help create a platform to discuss and clarify terms and concepts like Jataka stories and Buddhism which many students would have heard of, but may not be clear about. 

• A message that the book conveys in a subtle manner can be highlighted - that patience and detailing help us understand the arts better. 

• John Smith was looking for tigers when he stumbled upon Ajanta. We never know what surprises life has in store for us and how we may impact history!

At a time when school going children’s interest in history is on the wane and there are attempts at redrawing history as we know it, a book like this is surely a welcome addition to a school’s library.