THE STARS ARE HIS BONES
by Debiprasad Mukherjee and Gabriel Rosenstock
THE STARS ARE HIS BONES is a hybrid East-West Project which juxtaposes a wide variety of black and white images of people and places in India with 'found haiku', extrapolated from an early translation of the Upanishads, considered widely to be one of the world's great fountains of wisdom.
Bilingual poet and haiku master Gabriel Rosenstock, author of Haiku Enlightenment and co-editor of The Awakened One: Buddha-themed Haiku from Around the World, both volumes published by Poetry Chaikhana, says, 'Haiku became popular in the West as a literary and spiritual phenomenon during the heyday of the Beat Generation and in particular the haiku of Jack Kerouac, J W Hackett, Richard Wright and Allen Ginsberg, many of whom Rosenstock has translated into Irish.' Not all modern haikuists derive their inspiration from the Beats. Today, haiku is a world phenomenon; not only is it still hugely popular in Japan, it has found deep roots all over the world, including India and Ireland.
THE STARS ARE HIS BONES offers itself to audiences as a unique experience in which image and text can be contemplated separately and together. In a world that is still troubled by political and religious tensions, this work suggests an alternative transcendental vision of the shared Self, beyond borders, beyond class and all ethnic, political and religious differences. Far from being fuzzy or ethereal, the images and 'found haiku' in THE STARS ARE HIS BONES yield their flesh-and-blood reality, their here and now clarity, to those who linger in their aura.
The Stars Are His Bones is the result of their creative, spontaneous and joyous collaboration, carefully honed and polished over a three-year period. Not a coffee-table book to dip into for visual and poetic delight, but a new 'edition' of an ancient text which, miraculously, allows us to dip into the Self.
Gabriel says: "Annie Besant, a legendary supporter of both Irish and Indian self-rule, had an insight into this ancient wisdom: 'According to the Vedantic view the Self is one, omnipresent, all-permeating, the one reality . . . The Self is everywhere conscious, the Self is everywhere existent, the Self is everywhere blissful . . .' " (An Introduction to Yoga, 1908).
The Stars Are His Bones is not a proselytising project, either as a book, concept or exhibition. Nevertheless, both photographer and author recognise that their work is inspired by the One inexhaustible Self – the core teachings of the Upanishads – and that their combined creative energies have produced something that surprised themselves, initially, and continues to surprise them. For this is a story – like the Self – which has no beginning, no end.
"THE STARS ARE HIS BONES" - an atmospheric photo-haiku monograph infused with the wisdom of Upanishadic extracts, configured as 'found haiku'. Text conceived and arranged by Gabriel Rosenstock, Ireland, in Irish and English, complemented by photography by Debiprasad Mukherjee, Kolkata, India.
Book Published By: Cross-Cultural Communications. NY.USA.
ISBN: 978-0-89304-708-5
Debiprasad Mukherjee is an independent documentary photographer based out of Kolkata, India. He strongly believes that as a documentary photographer, it is his responsibility to showcase the social changes and its impact on human race and he is committed to leverage photography as the most powerful tool to capture the social changes & behaviors across the globe over the years. He was the first Convener of Kolkata International Photography Festival 2019 & played role of Global Carbon Ambassador at World Climate Summit Spain 2019. Debiprasad has visited 15+ countries for photo documentary & photojournalism, published his works on 30+ magazines/articles, exhibited photographic works at 35+ exhibitions, got awarded from 40+ countries.
Website: www.debiprasadmukherjee.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/debiprasad.mukherjee/
Email: debiprasad.mukherjee@gmail.com
Gabriel Rosenstock was born in postcolonial Ireland. He is a bilingual poet, tankaist, haikuist, translator, short story writer, novelist, playwright, essayist and, to borrow a phrase from Hugh MacDiarmid, 'a champion of forlorn causes'. Previous collaborative work with Debiprasad Mukherjee has appeared in The Irish Times, The Culturium and Margutte. Rosenstock is a member of Aosdána (The Irish academy of Arts & Letters), a Lineage Holder of Celtic Buddhism and a recipient of the Tamgha-i-Khidmat medal for services to literature. He has edited and contributed to books of haiku in Irish, English, Scots and Japanese. He is a prolific translator into Irish of international poetry, plays & songs.