To India,with love

Nearly 40 years ago,Berkson came to India for the first time and was immediately captivated. She went to Ajanta,Ellora,Elephanta and Mahabalipuram and was fascinated by the cave sculptures. Soon after,she gave up her career as a sculptor in the US and took up travelling around India,photographing various sites. In 1977,the artist decided to move to India to be able to keenly study what the country had to offer.

Talking about her move to India,Berkson says,“I’m so old that when I was studying art history in America,I rarely came across anything from India. So,it was when I came here that I decided to stay.”

But Berkson’s fascination with India and more widely Asia was not restricted to admiring the great sculptures in the country or merely photographing them. Her sculptures,too,reflect the knowledge she has garnered from her stay in the country.

For instance,among her works are three depictions in bronze of Gajendra moksha,a legend from Bhagavata Purana,an ancient Hindu text. Also in bronze are four sculptures that depict Garuda — an ancient,mythical bird-like creature that features in both Hindu and Buddhist mythology — battling a snake,titled Garuda battles serpent (Naga). A third is a bronze sculpture of Yajnavaraha,a priest doctor and a royal physician at the court of king Rajendravarman in Angkor,Cambodia.