Alain Daniélou (4 October 1907 – 27 January 1994) was a French

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the stu ...

Indologist Indology, also known as South Asian studies, is the academic study of the history and cultures, languages, and literature of the Indian subcontinent, and as such is a subset of Asian studies. The term ''Indology'' (in German, ''Indologie'') is of ...

intellectual An intellectual is a person who engages in critical thinking, research, and reflection about the reality of society, and who proposes solutions for the normative problems of society. Coming from the world of culture, either as a creator or ...

, musicologist,

translator Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English language draws a terminological distinction (which does not exist in every language) between ''transla ...

writer A writer is a person who uses written words in different writing styles and techniques to communicate ideas. Writers produce different forms of literary art and creative writing such as novels, short stories, books, poetry, travelogues, play ...

, and notable Western convert to and expert on the

Shaivite Shaivism (; sa, शैवसम्प्रदायः, Śaivasampradāyaḥ) is one of the major Hindu traditions, which worships Shiva as the Supreme Being. One of the largest Hindu denominations, it incorporates many sub-traditions rangin ...

sect of Hinduism. In 1991 he was awarded the

Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship The Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship, also known as Akademi Ratna Sadasyata, is an Indian honour for the performing arts presented by Sangeet Natak Academy. It is "the most prestigious and rare honour" conferred by the Academy and is "restricte ...

, the highest honour conferred by

Sangeet Natak Akademi Sangeet Natak Akademi (The National Academy of Music, Dance and Drama in English) is the national level academy for performing arts set up by the Government of India. History It was set up by the Indian education ministry on 31 May 1952 and b ...

, India's National Academy for Music, Dance and Drama.

Early life and education

His mother, Madeleine Clamorgan, was from an old family of the

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

nobility Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. The characteris ...

; a fervent Roman Catholic, she founded schools and a religious order, the Order of Sainte-Marie, for women teachers in civilian costume under the patronage of St. François-Xavier. His father, Charles Daniélou, was an

anti-clerical Anti-clericalism is opposition to religious authority, typically in social or political matters. Historical anti-clericalism has mainly been opposed to the influence of Roman Catholicism. Anti-clericalism is related to secularism, which seeks to ...

Breton politician who held numerous national ministerial posts in the Third Republic. One of his brothers was the Roman Catholic

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Christian clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which means 'carry before', 'be set above or over' or 'pref ...

and

Académie Française An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, ...

member,

Jean Daniélou Jean-Guenolé-Marie Daniélou (; 14 May 1905 – 20 May 1974) was a French Jesuit and cardinal, an internationally well known patrologist, theologian and historian and a member of the Académie Française. Biography Early life and studies Jea ...

. He received his education at the Institution Notre-Dame de Sainte-Croix,

Neuilly-sur-Seine Neuilly-sur-Seine (; literally 'Neuilly on Seine'), also known simply as Neuilly, is a commune in the department of Hauts-de-Seine in France, just west of Paris. Immediately adjacent to the city, the area is composed of mostly select residential ...

, and at St. John's College, Annapolis. The young Daniélou studied

singing Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music ( arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...

under the famous Charles Panzéra, as well as classical dancing with

Nicholas Legat Nikolai Gustavovich Legat (russian: Никола́й Густа́вович Лега́т) (30 December 1869, Moscow – 24 January 1937, London) was a premier dancer with the Russian Imperial Ballet from 1888 to 1914, and also with the Mariin ...

(teacher of

Vaslav Nijinsky Vaslav (or Vatslav) Nijinsky (; rus, Вацлав Фомич Нижинский, Vatslav Fomich Nizhinsky, p=ˈvatsləf fɐˈmʲitɕ nʲɪˈʐɨnskʲɪj; pl, Wacław Niżyński, ; 12 March 1889/18908 April 1950) was a ballet dancer and choreog ...

), and composition with

Max d'Ollone Maximilien-Paul-Marie-Félix d'Ollone (13 June 1875 – 15 May 1959) was a 20th-century French composer. Life and career Born in Besançon, d'Ollone started composing very early, entering the Paris Conservatoire at 6, winning many prizes, rece ...

. Subsequently, he performed professionally on stage with dancers such as Floria Capsali and Marjorie Daw. Growing up, he rebelled against his mother's deep devotion to her faith, but his father remained a positive influence, which helped in developing his musical talent and in coping with his

homosexuality Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to peop ...

. He studied

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

and singing, learning the songs of Duparc and Chausson and the '' liederkreis'' of Schumann and Schubert. He started writing poems, as acquired proficiency in English and other

European languages Most languages of Europe belong to the Indo-European language family. Out of a total European population of 744 million as of 2018, some 94% are native speakers of an Indo-European language. Within Indo-European, the three largest phyla are Rom ...

Career

India: 1932–1960

He and his partner, the Swiss photographer Raymond Burnier, first went to India as part of an adventure trip, and they were fascinated with the

art Art is a diverse range of human activity, and resulting product, that involves creative or imaginative talent expressive of technical proficiency, beauty, emotional power, or conceptual ideas. There is no generally agreed definition of wha ...

and culture of the nation. Daniélou and Burnier were among the first Westerners to visit India's famed erotic Hindu temples in the village of

Khajuraho Khajuraho () is a city, near Chhatarpur in Chhatarpur district of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. One of the most popular tourist destinations in India, Khajuraho has the country's largest group of medieval Hindu and Jain temples, famous ...

and Burnier's stunning photographs of the ancient temple complex launched the site internationally. The photographs were featured in an exhibition at the New York's Metropolitan Museum. In 1932, during his first trip to India, he met one of the great influences poet

Rabindranath Tagore Rabindranath Tagore (; bn, রবীন্দ্রনাথ ঠাকুর; 7 May 1861 – 7 August 1941) was a Bengali polymath who worked as a poet, writer, playwright, composer, philosopher, social reformer and painter. He resh ...

. His close association with Tagore lead him to become the director of Tagore's school of music at

Shantiniketan Santiniketan is a neighbourhood of Bolpur town in the Bolpur subdivision of Birbhum district in West Bengal, India, approximately 152 km north of Kolkata. It was established by Maharshi Devendranath Tagore, and later expanded by his son ...

(Visva-Bharati University). Subsequently, in 1935, he joined the

Banaras Hindu University Banaras Hindu University (BHU) IAST: kāśī hindū viśvavidyālaya International Phonetic Alphabet, IPA: /kaːʃiː hɪnd̪uː ʋɪʃwəʋid̪jaːləj/), is a Collegiate university, collegiate, Central university (India), central, and Re ...

, where he studied

Hindu music Hindu music is music created for or influenced by Hinduism. It includes Indian classical music, Kirtan, Bhajan and other musical genres. Raagas are a common form of Hindu music in classical India. The most common Hindu bhajan in North India is ...

Sanskrit language Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the lat ...

and

literature Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...

Hindu philosophy Hindu philosophy encompasses the philosophies, world views and teachings of Hinduism that emerged in Ancient India which include six systems ('' shad-darśana'') – Samkhya, Yoga, Nyaya, Vaisheshika, Mimamsa and Vedanta.Andrew Nicholson (2 ...

, and

Hindu religion Hinduism () is an Indian religion or ''dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global pop ...

for the next 15 years of his life. In 1949, he was appointed as a research professor at the University, a post he held until 1953; he also remained the director of the College of Indian Music. In Bénarès (now

Varanasi Varanasi (; ; also Banaras or Benares (; ), and Kashi.) is a city on the Ganges river in northern India that has a central place in the traditions of pilgrimage, death, and mourning in the Hindu world. * * * * The city has a syncretic tr ...

), he lived in a mansion on the banks of the

Ganges The Ganges ( ) (in India: Ganga ( ); in Bangladesh: Padma ( )). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international river to which India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China are the riparian states." is ...

, named ''Rewa Kothi''. During these years, he studied

Indian classical music Indian classical music is the classical music of the Indian subcontinent. It has two major traditions: the North Indian classical music known as '' Hindustani'' and the South Indian expression known as '' Carnatic''. These traditions were not ...

in Bénarès with Shivendranath Basu and played the

veena The ''veena'', also spelled ''vina'' ( sa, वीणा IAST: vīṇā), comprises various chordophone instruments from the Indian subcontinent. Ancient musical instruments evolved into many variations, such as lutes, zithers and arched harps ...

, a classical Indian instrument which he started playing professionally. He also studied

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been d ...

and

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the la ...

languages, as well as

Indian philosophy Indian philosophy refers to philosophical traditions of the Indian subcontinent. A traditional Hindu classification divides āstika and nāstika schools of philosophy, depending on one of three alternate criteria: whether it believes the Vedas ...

. His interest in the symbolism of

Hindu architecture Hindu architecture is the traditional system of Indian architecture for structures such as temples, monasteries, statues, homes, market places, gardens and town planning as described in Hindu texts. The architectural guidelines survive in Sansk ...

and sculpture lead him to long trips with Burnier to

Bhubaneswar Bhubaneswar (; ) is the capital and largest city of the States and territories of India, Indian state of Odisha. The region, especially the old town, was historically often depicted as ''Ekamra Kshetra'' (area (''kshetra'') adorned with mango tr ...

, and Konarak, sites located in

central India Central India is a loosely defined geographical region of India. There is no clear official definition and various ones may be used. One common definition consists of the states of Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh, which are included in almos ...

and

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern si ...

. He also translated some works of

Swami Karpatri Dharm samrat swami Hariharanand Saraswati (1907–1980) popularly known as Swami Karpatri (so called because he would eat only what would come in his palm 'kara', as the bowl 'pātra'), was born as Hari Narayan Ojha into a Saryupareen Brahmin fa ...

, the '' samnyasin'' by whom he was initiated into Shaivism under the Hindu name ''Shiva Sharan'' ("Protected by Shiva"). In 1942, he published his translation of the

Tirukkural The ''Tirukkuṟaḷ'' ( ta, திருக்குறள், lit=sacred verses), or shortly the ''Kural'' ( ta, குறள்), is a classic Tamil language text consisting of 1,330 short couplets, or kurals, of seven words each. The text ...

, a Tamil moral literature. In 1953, he joined the Adyar Library and Research Centre at the

Theosophical Society Adyar The Theosophy Society was founded by Helena Petrovna Blavatsky and others in 1875. The designation 'Adyar' is sometimes added to the name to make it clear that this is the Theosophical Society headquartered there, after the American section ...

near Madras (now

Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Tamil Nadu, the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and territories of India, Indian state. The largest city ...

), where he was the director of a centre of research into

Sanskrit literature Sanskrit literature broadly comprises all literature in the Sanskrit language. This includes texts composed in the earliest attested descendant of the Proto-Indo-Aryan language known as Vedic Sanskrit, texts in Classical Sanskrit as well as som ...

until 1956. In 1959, he became a member of

French Institute of Pondicherry The French Institute of Pondicherry (french: Institut français de Pondichéry) UMIFRE 21 is a French research centre in Puducherry, India, under the joint supervision of the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the French National Centre ...

, which works in the field of

Indology Indology, also known as South Asian studies, is the academic study of the history and cultures, languages, and literature of the Indian subcontinent, and as such is a subset of Asian studies. The term ''Indology'' (in German, ''Indologie'') is of ...

Europe: 1960 onwards

Upon his return to Europe in 1960, he was appointed an advisor to the

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

International Music Council The International Music Council (IMC) was created in 1949 as UNESCO's advisory body on matters of music. It is based at UNESCO's headquarters in Paris, France, where it functions as an independent international non-governmental organization. Its p ...

, which led to a number of recordings of traditional music such as '' Unesco Collection: A Musical Anthology of the Orient'', '' Musical Atlas'', ''

Musical Sources ''Musical Sources'' is a series of recordings of traditional music that was made for the International Music Council by the International Institute for Comparative Music Studies and Documentation (Berlin/Venice) and released on the Philips label. M ...

'', and '' Anthology of Indian Classical Music - A Tribute to Alain Daniélou''. In 1963, he became the founder and director of the International Institute for Comparative Music Studies and Documentation (IICMSD) in

West Berlin West Berlin (german: Berlin (West) or , ) was a political enclave which comprised the western part of Berlin during the years of the Cold War. Although West Berlin was de jure not part of West Germany, lacked any sovereignty, and was under ...

, where he remained till 1977; he was also the director of the Istituto Internazionale di Musica Comparata (IISMC) in

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. The isla ...

from 1969 to 1979. He worked on

. But his more important contribution to

is his writings on the ancient wisdom of the

Vedas upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the '' Atharvaveda''. The Vedas (, , ) are a large body of religious texts originating in ancient India. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute the ...

, and Shaivism. He is the author of over thirty books on Indian music and culture. He received several awards for his work on music. He was also a photographer and artist.

Awards and recognition

He was an Officer of the

Légion d'Honneur The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

, an Officer of the

Ordre National du Mérite The Ordre national du Mérite (; en, National Order of Merit) is a French order of merit with membership awarded by the President of the French Republic, founded on 3 December 1963 by President Charles de Gaulle. The reason for the order's esta ...

, and Commander of Arts and Letters. He was the director of the

UNESCO Collection UNESCO Collection is a world music record label, under the aegis of UNESCO. The full title of the series was ''UNESCO Collection of Traditional Music of the World''. Starting in 1961, the label, created in collaboration with Alain Daniélou, has r ...

series, a series of recordings of traditional world music. In 1981, he received the UNESCO/CIM prize for music, and, in 1987 the Kathmandu Medal from

Legacy

In 2004, to mark his tenth death anniversary a photo exhibition, "India through the eyes of Alain Danielou (1935-1955)" was hosted at the

Alliance Française An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

, Hyderabad.

Works

*
While the Gods play, Shaiva Oracles and Predictions on the Cycles of History and Destiny of Mankind
' (french: La Fantaisie des Dieux et L'Aventure Humaine, 1985) *
Gods of Love and Ecstasy, The Tradition of Shiva & Dionysus, Omnipresent Gods of Transcendence
' *
The Hindu Temple; Deification of Eroticism
' *

' *
A Brief History of India
'published by

Inner Traditions Interior may refer to: Arts and media * ''Interior'' (Degas) (also known as ''The Rape''), painting by Edgar Degas * ''Interior'' (play), 1895 play by Belgian playwright Maurice Maeterlinck * ''The Interior'' (novel), by Lisa See * Interior de ...

*
The complete Kâma Sûtra
' The first unabridged translation. *
Virtue, success, pleasure & liberation: the four aims of life in the tradition of ancient India
' * ''Ragas of North Indian Classical Music'' *
The Way to the Labyrinth: An Autobiography
' published by New Directions. *
The Myths and Gods of India, Hindu Polytheism
' *
Yoga: the Method of Reintegration
' *
Yoga, Mastering the Secrets of Matter and the Universe
' *
Fools of God
' * ''Song-poems - Rabindranath Tagore, Texts in English, French and Bengali & Melodies'' * ''The Congress of the World With miniatures of tantric cosmology'' *
Sacred Music, its Origins, Powers and Future, Traditional Music in Today's World
' *
The Situation Of Music And Musicians In The Countries Of The Orient
' *
Introduction to The Study of Musical Scales
' * ''Northern Indian Music: Vol. One, Theory, History and Technique'' * ''Northern Indian Music: Vol. Two, The Main Ragas'' *
The Phallus, Sacred Symbol of Male Creative Power
' *
India, a civilization of differences: the ancient tradition of universal tolerance
' *
Shiva And The Primordial Tradition: From the Tantras to the Science of Dreams
' *
Manimekhalaï, The Dancer With The Magic Bowl
' Translation by Alain Daniélou * ''Shilappadikâram, The Ankle Bracelet'' *
Sacred Music, Its Origins, Powers And Future
' * ''A Descriptive Catalogue Of Sanskrit Manuscripts in Alain Daniélou’s Collection at the Giorgio Cini Foundation''

Discography

* '' Unesco Collection: A Musical Anthology of the Orient'' * '' Anthology of Indian Classical Music - A Tribute to Alain Daniélou'' * ''Musiciens et Danseurs de la caste des Ahirs'' (1951) * ''Religious Music of India (1952)'' * '' Musical Atlas'' * ''

(Philips, Holland)'' * ''Anthology of North Indian Classical Music - (Bärenreiter-Musicaphon, Kassel)''

Filmography

* 2017: ''Alain Daniélou - The Way to the Labyrinth'', a documentary by Riccardo Biadene, KAMA Productions.

References

External links

*
The Way to the Labyrinth: An Autobiography by Alain Danielou
'
Official web site of Alain Danielou (English)

Article on Daniélou
* Exhibition catalogue of Khajuraho photographs, Metropolitan Museaum of Ar

{{DEFAULTSORT:Danielou, Alain 1907 births 1994 deaths 20th-century French historians 20th-century French male writers 20th-century French musicologists 20th-century French philosophers 20th-century French translators 20th-century Hindu philosophers and theologians Banaras Hindu University faculty Breton musicians Commandeurs of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres Converts to Hinduism from Christianity Former Roman Catholics French expatriates in India French expatriates in Switzerland French former Christians French gay writers French Hindus French historians of philosophy French historians of religion French Indologists Hindu studies scholars Historians of India Historians of South Asia Indian musicologists LGBT Hindus Matriarchy People from Neuilly-sur-Seine Recipients of the Legion of Honour Recipients of the Ordre national du Mérite Recipients of the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship Sanskrit–English translators Shaivites Tamil–French translators Tirukkural translators Translators of the Tirukkural into French Visva-Bharati University faculty Winners of the Prix Broquette-Gonin (literature)