Space , Colour and the Cabalistic Ciphers :
Jagdish Swaminathan

Pranamita Borgohain

Authentic spirituality is revolutionary. It does not legitimate the world, it breaks the world; it does not console the world, it shatters it. And it does not render the self content, it renders it undone.

– Ken Wilber

If we take the history of Oriental culture, we find that its characteristic feature is the organic synthesis of an artistic comprehension of the world with its philosophical and scientific perception. This blending of the philosophical and the artistic is inherent intensely in Jagdish Swaminathan’s work. His canvas reveals the philosophical nature of his work and the consistency of his aesthetics beliefs. These ineffable qualities are the source of his distinction, their intimacy, inwardly generated and not imposed. Born in 1928 in Shimla, Swaminathan started painting by late 50’s. A political activist, trade unionist and journalist, his education in art consisted of short spells at the Delhi Polytechnic under the guidance of Professor B.C Sanyal as the principal of the college and Sailoz Mukherjea as one of his teachers. Since he was working as a translator and an editor at the People’s Publishing House in the day time and attending evening art classes, he could not continue for long due to the strain after a day’s hard work. Later in 1957, he joined the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw, Poland.