Philosopher’s Wasps

Material: Gold, Wasps, cyanotypes, wooden pillars

Location: TIFA Working Studios, Artel Residency, Pune, India

In 1947, a mysterious man named Narad checked into room number 34 in Hotel Wellsley for a month. He was an elusive Indian explorer, photographer and alchemist who travelled across India in search of the elixir of life. Narad had heard stories about Hindu mythology of human beings who lived forever. He wanted to be immortal and see the time pass through ages and eons in mankind's history on earth. During his time at Hotel Wellsley, Narad was pre-occupied with his research about the golden age of India, and he was determined to travel back in time to experience it for himself. He read works of philosophers, scientists, alchemists from both East and West who were invested in search of the philosopher’s stone.

One fine evening when he was sitting in his room, he noticed a peculiar behaviour in a wasps nest. Few wasps were expelling gold from their stinger into a stone, turning it into gold. Narad knew he had stumbled upon the greatest discovery in history of human existence. Exhilarated by this sudden epiphany, he wished to turn the whole world into gold. He directed the wasps to turn structures, objects, buildings, monuments into gold and make it immortal for the time to come. He began with the wall in room 34. Amidst the clamour of Independence, Narad’s discovery never came to public eye. He was forever wiped out from History.

Legend says he turned himself into gold at 12 am on 15th August and became an immortal traversing between different ages on earth. Disappointed at the world he turned to mountains and spends his time traveling between different stages of human history.