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Notes on black and white reproductions
Pundarikji's Haveli:
Jaipur School of mural painting. C. mid-eighteenth century A.D.
1. CELEBRATION OF THE HOLI FESTIVAL:
The symmetrical arrangement of the grouping in the picture is interesting. It is a scene of play, merry-making and gay dalliance. The two figures in the foreground, filling their syringes with coloured water from a small tank breaks the monotony of the composition. The colourful constumes are symbolic of the gaiety of the festival annually celebrated with gusto and frivolity in the whole of Rajasthan. The festival is being celebrated with dance and music played on cymbals, sārangi, veenā and tablā or pakhāvāj. Stylistically it is a Rajasthani painting executed on the wall-surface near the ceiling.
2. DETAIL:
The central group composed of a king and a queen is the personification of Krishna and Rādhā. Krishna is depicted applying 'gulal on Rādha's cheeks. Rādha is taken aback in surprise and she is trying to play the same trick on Krishna as is seen by the action of her left hand. There is movement and rythmic flow in the gestures and the lover's eager eyes. The haloes around
the heads add extra charm to the grouping of the figures. 3. LADY AND THE CHILD PLAYING WITH 'CHAKRI':
A Moghul pastime. The stylisation, the execution and the composition are the same as in the figure 4. Only the face of the child is not child-like but manly.
4. THE SWING:
King and Queen swinging together on a swing-zula' in the month of shra-, vana. Mark the lady pushing the swing, back and forth, with natural grace and movement and the expression conveyed in her eyes. (The figure, dress, facial features and the posture are typically Gujarati). Perhaps she is envying the couple enjoying the swing. On the right side of the picture, diametrically arranged, is the group of ladies holding in their hands flowers and fans of different sizes and shapes and designs ready to fan the royal couple after their joyous ride on the swing. The lovely peacock in the top right hand corner of
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