Jean Philippe Vogel
A Dutchman who went Indian
On April 14th the Kern Institute celebrated its 75th anniversary. This festive occasion inspired the author to reflect on the founder of the Institute: Prof. Jean Philippe Vogel (1872-1958), Sanskritist and archaeologist. Between 1899 and 1914 Vogel travelled throughout India, where he held an appointment as the superintendent of the so-called Northern Circle of the Archaeological Survey of India. To read his 156 personal letters covering this period was an enthralling experience. They reflect the travel and work experiences of a Dutchman in India, almost a century ago. There can be no shadow of doubt that this period lay at the root of the foundation of the Kern Institute.
By GERDA THEUNS-DE BOER
On October 8th 1899 Vogel took a passage on a cargo-boat leaving from Brindisi, Italy. He was disappointed in the Dutch government who praised him for his Dutch translation of Sudraka's Sanskrit play Mrcchakatika, but was unwilling to invest in a study-tour to India. He was also dissatisfied because his appointment to the University of Amsterdam as a private lecturer of Sanskrit could hardly be felt to be a challenge. Vogel arrived at Bombay on October 20. In that time it was still possible to count on the help of your own government at the moment of your arrival and Vogel availed himself of this service: the Dutch consul helped him out with practical matters and arranged a good servant, named Govind Ragoe, for him. Master and man got along very well and communicated in Hindi. Vogel even recorded all 'wise Govind Ragoe Hindi sayings'.Why did Vogel go to India? There are three reasons: Vogel wanted to experience India; to practise his Sanskrit, especially the spoken Sanskrit; and he was desperately looking for a job, for which he saw several possibilities. Archiving the material of the East India Company, whether in Bombay or Colombo, was most likely to be his best chance. Teaching Sanskrit at an establishment such as the Tata College in Bombay was certainly worth considering. But, in the course of the year, Vogel feared that there would be little chance of an appointment as the British government was anti-Dutch because the Second Boer War had just broken out in South Africa.
Undeterred Vogel equipped himself with mattress, pillow, and bedding all nicely packed up so that they were waterproof, left Bombay and took to the road with Govind. The route for his one-year study-tour was excluding side trips : Broach, Surat, Baroda, Ahmedabad, Alwar, Mount Abu, Ajmer, Udaipur, Jaipur, Delhi, Varanasi, Lahore, Srinagar, Calcutta, and, his final destination, Colombo. Vogel travelled mostly by train, lodging at railway stations. He must have travelled around with a very open mind as in none of the 156 letters addressed to his father is there ever any indication of physical or mental tiredness or of an inability to adjust to his new life. Indeed the reverse was true. Vogel loved India, its culture, its monuments, its bright skies, and sympathetic people. He spent three-and-a-half months in Varanasi settling down in the Clark Hotel. His daily Pandit meetings were very fruitful: Vogel's spoken Sanskrit improved by leaps and bounds. Varanasi at that time was as well-liked as it is now. Hundreds of daily sightseers devoured the scenery along the banks of the River Ganges with their eyes. Vogel felt fortunate that he was able to observe all the ritual behaviour without being pressed for time. On his way to Lahore, actually at Amballa station, he met Aurel Stein with whom he had already corresponded while still in Holland. Stein's name was rising in the archaeological world of that time as he had led some very 'daring expeditions' into Central Asia. At Lahore and later in Srinagar, Vogel chose for a more primitive way of living: he camped! He was running out of money and for 50 rupees he bought a second-hand army tent from a Sikh colonel from Multan. A cook was hired as well. Vogel was not very explicit about Lahore. He spent the summer in Kashmir, but felt disappointed. The weather was fairly rainy, especially at the time he went trekking, and Pandit Sahajabhatta was not as good as his Varanasi colleague. Besides he had run out of dry-plate glass negatives so the beauty of the Himalayas could not be captured in photographic prints. But good fortune had not deserted him! On August 4th, because of a reorganization of the Survey, Vogel was invited to become the Archaeological Surveyor for the Punjab, Baluchistan, and Ajmer Circle, posted at Lahore. Vogel suspected Stein's influence! He was expected to start immediately but asked for a postponement. On September 13th Vogel left Colombo and returned to Holland on November 1st. Precisely 6 weeks were left to organize his migration to India, for Christmas 1900 was spent with the Dutch consul at Bombay and celebrated with a trip to the Karli caves.
'Graeco-Buddhist Art'
At Lahore Vogel, again accompanied by his servant Govind Ragoe, resided at the Charing Cross Hotel, as the Survey office would only be available at the end of the year. He began to make an inventory of all that needed doing in his Circle. Although his Circle was constantly 'on the move' both geographically and in content, Vogel felt extremely happy. The wages were low 240 rupees a month and certainly not enough for a married man, but who cared? Vogel was left fairly free in the planning of his activities and was pleased with the excellent possibilities to publish the Survey offered. These were very good in comparison with these available in the Netherlands East Indies. In 1902 John Marshall was appointed the new director-general of Archaeology. He would retain this function up to 1928. A surprising choice but certainly not one which was regretted! Marshall was a young, energetic man, and a good planner. Changes were implemented at full speed. Vogel and Marshall made a good couple, and developed a deep friendship. Excavations should be carried out with great care -mess was henceforth taboo- and all archaeological investigations should be published. This resulted in the series Annual Reports which have been printed ever since the year 1902. Vogel was to publish 27 articles in this series.
Meanwhile Marshall relieved Vogel of his responsibility for the Islamic buildings and asked him to focus on the Hindu antiquities. Later he was asked to look after the 'Graeco-Buddhist' art along the Afghan border. In 1903 Vogel led the Charsadda excavation. By the end of 1903 Vogel was in the Netherlands on a few weeks' leave. On his way back to Brindisi he visited Alfred Foucher, specialist on the 'Graeco-Buddhist Art' of Gandhara. He foresaw great interest in the art of Gandhara. Thus the announcement that Aurel Stein was to be the new Surveyor of the North-West Frontier Province and should proceed in Charsadda, came as a hard blow. Stein had no time to undertake the task and the government of the Panjab and was unwilling to 'lend' Vogel. Instead Kasia, the old Kusinagara, the place of Buddha's death was to be excavated by Vogel over the next few cold seasons (1904-1906). The Saheth-Maheth site (Jetavana Park nearby the city of Sravasti) was the last site explored by Vogel (1908). From April 1910 to December 1911, Vogel temporarily replaced director-general Marshall.
What else did Vogel do? Vogel developed a sort of annual cycle: he wrote his reports, continued his supervision, visited the headquarters of the Survey in Simla, catalogued museum collections (Mathura, Lucknow, Calcutta, Chamba), and fought for museum extensions or new museums. Besides Vogel was a mountaineer! Every summer, when the heat of the plains around Lahore became unbearable, Vogel was to be found somewhere in the Himalayas exploring the more isolated areas: Mandi, Kulu, Kangra, and above all Chamba State. There he studied material in situ and collected pieces of art and inscriptions. And when the Antiquities of Chamba State, Parts I and II, was published in 1911, Vogel had reason to feel proud. Finally he could demonstrate his knowledge of both the epigraphical Sanskrit and the Indian iconography. The Chamba approach came close to Vogel's ideal: involve the local people (villagers and raja) in the excavation. It is their history and cultural heritage! The response was overwhelming. Every summer when Vogel arrived the locals had spotted new treasures for him and Raja Bhuri Singh spontaneously decided to build a museum in order to safeguard the heritage (1908). Vogel's name is still alive in Chamba! Just recently, almost a hundred years later, I was asked to send a photo of Prof. Vogel to the Bhuri Singh Museum. They had reserved a place of honour for him in the hall, just opposite the portrait of Raja Bhuri Singh...
And what about Vogel? At the end of 1912 he arrived back in the Netherlands for his so-called long furlough. He was too much in love to return to India. Besides, Leiden offered him the chair of Sanskrit. *
Drs Gerda Theuns-de Boer is an art historian and Project Manager, Photographic Database on Asian Art and Archaeology, Kern Institute, Leiden University,
E-mail: theuns@let.leidenuniv.nl