CONTENTS
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11.
INTRODUCTION FRAMING THE QUESTIONS START POINT THE FIRST ROADBLOCK INTERACTIVE CHALLENGES FIRE & PURITY FIRE & MATERIALITY FIRE & SPACE THE UNANSWERED QUESTION REFLECTION BIBLIOGRAPHY
INTRODUCTION Fire is an element that we use in our everyday life, but I personally started noticing the role of fire very differently since Diwali of 2021. As I was wandering through the streets in the evening on Diwali, I started noticing that fire was being used as a source of light, sound and entertainment. By the time I got back home, the role of fire had changed! It was a quieter scenario, with all artificial lights being turned off and the darkness of the hall being completely lit with candles and home-made lamps. When I reached my flat, the first thing I did was light up some candles of my own, not because it was a ritual I follow, but mostly due to this elevated feeling I felt, of being surrounded by this warm light. It was then that I realized, fire has the tendency of affecting our psychology and I was immediately intrigued to find out how ritualistic practices with fire in Hinduism affected our life. My research therefore deals with intimacy with fire and this line of conversation has led me to three major areas of interest, Purity, Materiality and Space.
FRAMING THE QUESTIONS Why is fire so important in a Hindu ritual practice?
Are there any specific reasons why fire is used to such a daily extent? Can these rituals with fire carry any scientific reason?
Does fire connote a negative or positive side to the human psyche? If so, does this affect on how the ritual is practiced? How important are the materials that are used to ignite and sacrifice into the fire? Does these materials need to be something specific that adds to the ritual? What is the value / properties of the material before, during and after it is sacrificed into the fire? Does the state of the material play any major role in the ritual practice?
START POINT Before I could delve into fieldwork and interviews, I wanted to find some specific areas of the role of Fire. Gaston Bachelard’s book, The Psychoanalysis of Fire was a major factor towards how I started to shape out my outlook towards Fire itself. It is through his book I was introduced to the notion of intimacy and purity and how fire plays a major role towards the psychology of humans when they interact with Fire.
THE FIRST ROADBLOCK After formulating the questions, and attaining some background from Bachelard’s book, I decided to go out to the Ayyappan Temple in Kempapura, to get a first hand experience of how fire was interacting within the space.
Ayyappan Temple (Kempapura), Srijit Gupta, 2021
Unfortunately, before I could start taking images inside the temple, I was informed by the priest that cellphone were not allowed in the premises and taking pictures were against the rule as well, since it is a private space…
INTERACTIVE CHALLENGES Observation was a key process to figure out how fire was interacting with the space and the people around it, but it was a vital step for me to find someone to talk to who engages with fire in a daily basis to perform ritual practices. My go-to source was my father, since he is an avid practitioner of Hindu rituals and pujas, he could give me his personal outlook towards the role of fire in this context, however, talking to priests in the temple was a challenge! There was the obvious language barrier and most of them were unwilling to explain their practice methods and reasons, not to mention the fact that they were completely against video interviews due to privacy concerns.
However, after pleading and negotiating with the priests for two days, Pandit Srini and Pandit Sridhar agreed for audio and written recording of the interviews.
FIRE & PURITY
THE PSYCHOANALYSIS OF FIRE
The notion of purity comes more naturally for humans due to the constant dealing with fire as an element of the ‘terrestrial’ plane. (Bachelard, 1938, pg. 102)
THE PSYCHOANALYSIS OF FIRE
One of the major attributes of fire that lends itself to the purity concept is due to its role of ‘deodorizing’. Fire is all purifying because it suppresses nauseous odors. (Bachelard, 1938, pg. 102)
THE PSYCHOANALYSIS OF FIRE
Fire separates substances and destroys material impurities.
(Bachelard, 1938, pg. 102)
THE PSYCHOANALYSIS OF FIRE
The notion of purification is not just limited to the action of the fire. It also depends on human perception and psychology. If we view fire’s purity to an extreme limit we can state that the point of flame where color gives way to an almost invisible vibration and then it is dematerialized; it loses its reality; it becomes complete spirit. (Bachelard, 1938, pg. 104)
THE PSYCHOANALYSIS OF FIRE
The ashes are the only material that can be felt and touched and therefore it is considered as the true excretion and therefore the purest tangible form of fire. (Bachelard, 1938, pg. 105)
THE PSYCHOANALYSIS OF FIRE
The true form of purity is the relationship of fire and light. Because light is not just a symbol but it is an agent of purity. (Bachelard, 1938, pg. 107)
NATARAJA INDIA’S CYCLE OF FIRE
The ash was considered to be a vital source of fertilizer and the desire to acquire more ash led the tribes to start performing rituals to their Gods. (Pyne, 1994, pg 4)
NATARAJA INDIA’S CYCLE OF FIRE
The puja, the central ritual of Hindu life, revolves around a fire that stands for the gods, carries sacrifice to them, and purifies the supplicant. Fire begins the day, as it does the world. It ends life in the form of cremation. (Pyne, 1994, pg 6)
“The light from the lamps act as a security towards the people visiting the temple. It acts as a guide for the people, a signal that helps them move forward in the darkness. This temple was designed to illuminate this factor that light is a source of purity and power that will protect the people and their loved ones because it is derived directly from God’s aura.”
- Pandit Sridhar, 2021
- Interview with Prosenjit Gupta, 2021
- Fire & Purity, Watercolor & Fine Liner, Srijit Gupta, 2021
- Interview with Prosenjit Gupta, 2021
FIRE & MATERIALITY
THE CONNECTION & IMPORTANCE What exactly leads to fire becoming intimate with us humans? Yes, the rituals leads us to see fire in a form where its pure but through observations in both the Ayyappan temple as well as my father’s private rituals, I realized the materials surrounding and interacting with fire plays quite a major role with intimacy. However, it was really hard for me to connect the dots, as none of these materials carried any major significance in our day to day lives, so why is it that when these materials interacted with fire, there was automatically a unique connective aura around the people in the space? Understanding the role of materiality, its form before, while and after interacting with fire became really interesting to my line of inquiry.
- Fire & Materiality 1, Digital Painting, Srijit Gupta, 2021
- Interview with Prosenjit Gupta, 2021
FOOD FOR THE GODS IN SOUTH INDIA: AN EXPOSITION OF DATA
During homa the foods offered into the fire may be thought to be consumed by the Vedic god Agni but foods are also burnt in the name of other gods and planets. (Ferro-Luzzi, 1978, pg- 86)
- Interview with Prosenjit Gupta, 2021
- Sacrifice, Fine Liner & White Ink, Black & Cartridge Paper, Srijit Gupta, 2021
Concept: During Homa, a list of materials are sacrificed to show devotion towards a God. These materials are added to the fire to help it burn and through this ritual, it is Believed that Agni Dev (God of Fire) carries these materials and delivers them to The God we are praying to. The burnt edges signifies the imminent fate of the surrounding materials. The materials portrayed here are all ingredients that are required to start, burn And extinguish the fire.
- Interview with Pandit Srini, 2021
“Fire cannot burn alone, in order for fire to burn it needs to interact with certain elements. The materials sacrificed in fire are not random, these are the materials that helps a fire to ignite, burn and then fade out. The external materials such as the bell and the incense helps the people interact with fire in a more energetic manner. Fire therefore becomes a vital member in a group that helps us send our love and devotion to the God.” - Pandit Sridhar, 2021
- Interview with Prosenjit Gupta, 2021
- Fire & Materiality 3, Ash, Graphite, Fine Liner, Srijit Gupta, 2021
FIRE & SPACE
THE PORTABLE HOME: THE DOMESTICATION OF PUBLIC SPACE in more recent times, there has been a further development, in that the private life of the home has been carried into the public sphere-what we call "the domestication of public space." This has led to a further attenuation of public life, especially as regards sociability. (Kumar and Makarova, 2008, pg 324)
- Interview with Prosenjit Gupta, 2021
From my observations, I realized that the act of lighting diyas and candles is not just letting the people express their devotion, but in a manner, the fire was becoming a source that was bringing the people closer to each other, as a community. I never expected that a temple could offer this notion of bonding and I was genuinely and pleasantly surprised by it.
- Fire & Community, Digital Painting, Srijit Gupta, 2021
PUBLIC & PRIVATE SPACE The situation I faced during my first trip to the Ayyappan temple really didn’t want to leave from my mind. At first I was confused, why is it that a temple which is situated in the middle of a bustling town and could be easily considered as a public space, as people were coming in and leaving the temple openly and freely, was so private about me taking pictures or asking a few questions? After consulting with the pandits, I was told that the people coming into the temple were attending to express a private concept between them and the God. This again was a very confusing statement for me to understand. If the matter was so private, why not just conduct it at their homes?
I realized that while my father prayed inside the private compound of his house, a external friend or relative could easily barge in and observe my dad’s rituals. And this made me question… What exactly is a private space and a public space? And how does fire play into this concept?
- Space Holds The Value, White Ink, Fine Liner & Copic Marker, Brown Paper, Srijit Gupta, 2021
- Space Holds The Value, White Ink, Fine Liner & Copic Marker, Brown & CartridgePaper, Srijit Gupta, 2021
Concept: The Fire in the temple can be suggested as a part of the public space, yet when you try to interact with it in a different manner than other people around you, you are told not to. The narration depicts the position of fire in a public and private space. Does the context of the fire change depending on where and how you view it? Does the intimate nature of the fire still exist, regardless of the context of space?
- Interview with Prosenjit Gupta, 2021
- Disposition & Elevation, Copic Marker & Color Pencils, Srijit Gupta, 2021
- Disposition & Elevation, Copic Marker & Color Pencils, Srijit Gupta, 2021
Concept: When a priest performs Anjaali in a temple, how does he feel? When he goes to someone’s house to perform this same Anjaali in a confined space, how does he feel? Does the fire affect his sense of intimacy? Does the fire provide him with the same source of joy of performing the ritual regardless of the space?
THE UNANSWERED QUESTION I have seen ritualistic practices with fire, such as Homa being performed in both a private and a public space, however, politicians using this ritual to “show off” their empathy towards their community has been done in countless occasions. So my question / interest is, is it right to use the purity nature of fire to get a false sense on intimate with a particular user? Although my father addressed this inquiry, I felt like he did not want to delve deeper into this notion of politics dealing with the sacredness of the ritual. And he wasn’t the only one. None of the priests had an answer to this particular question and here I feel like I failed to create a cleverer version of my research design. I feel like this particular area can become a stigma for us, as we value the purity and intimacy of the fire and its ritualistic purpose, however, if possible I would love to carry forward to discover more information regarding this particular inquiry.
REFLECTIONS The wide nature of the theme of fire was both a blessing and a curse. I was able to engage with people and articles talking about the nature of fire itself, but containing it to one particular area was definitely a challenge. I do feel that the intimate nature of Fire in Ritualistic Practice was a theme that allowed me to deal with three major areas I was concerned about, but I have simply dipped my toes into the water at this stage and I really look forward on picking up a much more concentrated / focal area of this current research in the near future. Finally, perhaps the biggest challenge I faced was getting personal viewpoints of my interviewees regarding fire and their practice. No matter how I framed the question, they were all very hesitant to talk about their personal / private reasons and feelings towards the use of fire. Ultimately the information I gathered became a mishmash of personal and traditional views, which matched the reasoning in certain situations but often would contradict with each other. This sense of back and forth between personal experience and society’s depiction of fire became a really fascinating journey towards my journey and understanding the value and role of this particular element.
BIBLIOGRAPHY Bachelard, Gaston. 1968. The Psychoanalysis Of Fire. Boston: Beacon Press. Ferro-Luzzi, G. Eichinger. 1978. "Food For The Gods In South India: An Exposition Of Data". Dietrich Reimer Verlag Gmbh. Kumar, Krishan, and Ekaterina Makarova. 2008. "The Portable Home: The Domestication Of Public Space". Sociological Theory 26 (4): 324-343. doi:10.1111/j.14679558.2008.00332.x. Pyne, Stephen J. 1994. "Nataraja: India's Cycle Of Fire". Environmental History Review 18 (3): 1-20. doi:10.2307/3984707.