Book Title: Wall Paintings of Rajasthan
Author(s): Dalsukh Malvania, Nagin J Shah
Publisher: L D Indology Ahmedabad

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Page 23
________________ 39. A WINE BEARER: . It is a close-up of a lady bearing a wine cup in a platter of flowers to her lady queen. The drawing is superb. It is the portrait of a Rajasthani lady of the buxom ethnic type, bejewelled top to bottom in all the fineness of silky transparent apparels. The tightly worn 'coli' is significant of the sensuous charm and opulent and rich court life of the times. The details of 'bājubandh', earings, 'nath', pearl necklace and 'kangans' and the flower motifs on the velvety skirt--are all executed with fine taste and refinement. 40. LADY ON A SWING: A lady on a swing, against the back-ground of mango trees. 41. A WINE BEARER IN GARDEN: Nagaur frescoes of such single figures of women with a cup and a flask of wine is symptomatic of the life lived by the women of the palaces and harems. Wine and women, it seems, has been the sine-qua-non of the painters of these frescoes. Is it the pictorial translation of the ideal of the Moghul princes who believed in the heaven on this earth and transformed their earthly abodes in heavenly paradise inhabited by ever young damsels, "hurries" ? The strongly built figure balanced by the two flowering plants nearby suggest the blooming youth of the lady. The combination of line and tone in the picture is forceful and telling. 42. A LADY IN A GRACEFUL POSE: A linear delineation, heightened by a few dark touches of her long hair, here and there, this charming, pliant and supple form of a lady, perhaps in a dancing attitude of the Kathak School of dance form. It is a master-piece of pure brush-drawing of great sensitivity and feeling with a tinge of colour in the bodice and the skirt, reminiscent of Chinese drawings of the Ming Dynasty. 43. ABHISĀRIKA: Whether she is a Shukla, Shyamā or Divā Abhisārikā, it is difficult to judge. As the back-ground is of white intonaco, it may be presumed that she is a Divā Abhisārikā. Her pose depicts the slow gait and gesture of the right hand holding the fringe of the 'cundri' which is covering her head and shielding her from the gaze of the passers-by. She is neatly attired in garments and ornaments worn 18 1 Jain Education International For Private & Personal Use Only www.jainelibrary.org

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