A tribute to artist James Prinsep

Artist-engineer-architect and visionary James Prinsep founded Varanasi.

New Delhi: The story of Varanasi or Benares is synonymous with the life of artist-engineer-architect and visionary James Prinsep, who laid the foundation of modern Varanasi in just 10 years before he died in the city prematurely at 39.

"He is one of the greatest geniuses ever born, a Briton who not only documented the history of Benares in his drawings and diaries, but also deciphered two of India`s ancient scripts, Brahmi and Kharoshthi. He laid the underground drainage of Benares and built the bridge over the Karmanasa river. How much can a man achieve in 10 years?" said A.P.J Abdul Kalam, former president of India, paying tribute to one of British India`s best creative minds. Kalam Tuesday released a book "Benares Illustrated: James Prinsep and Benares" by former information commissioner O.P. Kejariwal. The book is a reprint of the old "Benares Illustrated", a series of company-style drawings by Prinsep. The volume was first published in 1831 with 17 drawings followed by a sequel in 1833 which had nine illustrations. The book documents the ancient ghats (river banks), temples, heritage family homes, mosques, minarets, bazaars, nautch girls, musicians and life along the bank of the Ganges, the life-line of the holy city, through detailed pencil and ink drawings. Every illustration is accompanied by a story. "The more I read the book I realise that nothing can stop a man from performing if he is inspired" Kalam said. The highlights of the volume, published by Pilgrims Publishing, are two essays -- one by James Prinsep introducing readers to the city where he was posted the Assay Master on Nov 26, 1820; and another by Kejariwal, who profiles Prinsep as a workaholic, genius and artist. Varanasi or Benares derives its name from two streams, Baruna and Ussee which bound the city in the northeast and the southwest respectively. Its ancient name was Kashee, says Prinsep, introducing Benares to readers in his opening essay. He then goes on to describe its geography, population, culture and historical landmarks -- punctuating the documentary with his own observations about the city. Prinsep dwells at length about the mystical and historical significance of Kashee or Kashi, the hub of ancient Benares, and on the first Benares Census in 1800. The lengthy introduction is followed by meticulous drawings of the cultural landmarks which include its numerous ghats. The sketches stand out for their details and precision measurements. "Prinsep had no interest other than his work. He was always busy mapping," writer and India chronicler William Dalrymple told IANS at the launch. Dalrymple said: "I descend from the family of James Prinsep`s brother Henry Thoby Prinsep, who was a member of the Supreme Council for India under the East India Company in 1840. James had no children." Recalling the making of the book, writer Kejariwal told IANS, "I was fortunate to get some rare family papers from the descendants of James Prinsep in the UK. I was the first person to see the original letters, diaries and catalogues which listed his contribution to India. He lived in India for 18 years. Not only Benares, Prinsep contributed to the unravelling of most of what was read about the ancient history of India. He was one man who did everything for the people." "As a man, he was so involved in his work that his first love affair did not work out. He married someone else five years later. Probably, had he lived and worked somewhere else other than Varanasi, he would have been famous during his lifetime. He died of a disease called the softening of the brain," Kejariwal, a resident of Varanasi, said. According to Kejariwal, "during the 10 years that Prinsep stayed in Varanasi, he identified himself with the city so much that he was known as Benares Prinsep." James Prinsep was born Aug 20, 1799 in Chelsea, England, one of seven children of John Prinsep, who landed in India in 1771 and became an indigo planter. As a child James was shy, but his creative brilliance as an engineer, artist and architect shone in his youth. He was also an accomplished flute player. IANS