The Institute of Jainology (IoJ) and the V&A museum celebrated Mahavir Janma Kalyanak (MJK), the birth anniversary of Lord Mahavir, the 24th and last enlightened teacher of the Jain religion through the Jain Art Fund at the Sackler Gallery, V&A Museum on Saturday 27th April 2019.
Nick Barnard, Curator of the South Asian Collection at the V&A and Committee member of the Jain Art Fund welcomed the audience of 70, who had just completed a specially arranged guided tour of the V&A’s Nehru Gallery.
Mr Nemu Chandaria, Chairman of the IoJ, then welcomed the audience and reminded them that the IOJ and the V&A had been collaborating on Jain projects for almost 25 years, and this collaboration had led to many fruitful outcomes including the ‘Peaceful Liberators’ exhibition in 1995 at the V&A, Jainpedia and numerous events such as this.
There were a number of speakers at the event. Notable amongst them were;
- Mina Choksi from Los Angeles, who spoke eloquently on ‘Introducing art in the community to manifest Jain virtues’.
- Mahesh Gosrani, a Director of the IoJ, on the origins of the Jain Art Fund at the V&A, and how it has led to the acquisition of important Jain artefacts and facilitated Jain education.
- Mr Shanti Panchal, an eminent artist from London, on his motivations and art pieces. On show was his latest painting of Jain monks in Mumbai, which has been acquired by the V&A through the Jain Art Fund.
- Nick Bernard, Curator of the South Asian Collection at the V&A, spoke about his experiences on the Prakrit Course at SOAS, University of London, and how it has helped him to study Jain manuscripts in the collection.
- Dr Samani Pratibha Pragya, a Jain nun studying at SOAS, spoke of her journey and how completing her PhD has impacted on her life and learning.
- Mehool Sanghrajka, Managing Director of the IoJ, recapped the Jainpedia project and discussed how it would be updated and enlarged over the coming years.
The evening was brought to a close with a vote of thanks by the MC, Mrs Sonali Mehta.
Photos by Sheena Sabharwal
