मला अतिशय भारावून टाकलेल एक छोट लोकगीत श्रीनिवास विनायक कुलकर्णी यांच्या १९६५च्या एका लेखात आले होते:
"तुम्ही
अवतरले गोकुळी आम्ही गोपाळांच्या
मेळी
तुम्ही होते रामराजा
आम्ही वानरांच्या फौजा"
त्याची आठवण मला खालील चित्र आणि त्यावरील टिप्पणी वाचून झाली...
An Allegory (Fàbula) 1580-85
Artist: El Greco
courtesy: Wikipedia
Jonathan Jones, The Guardian, July 2018:
"Three faces are lit by a silvery flame. As they gather
around its pale yet intense glow, all are held equally transfixed. A boy and
man are fascinated by the light. So is a monkey, whose features are portrayed
with great empathy. How does its mind compare with those of its human
companions? More to the point for El Greco, perhaps, has it got a soul? For it
is the light of divine revelation that fills them with awe. El Greco, born
Doménikos Theotokópoulos in Crete in 1541, trained as an icon painter before
travelling west and learning Renaissance techniques in Italy, settling
eventually in Spain. This painting blazes with the mysticism of his Byzantine
beginnings."