________________
by the rhythmic arrangement of her arms and the 'katimekhala', silver girdle, dangling from one side of her decorative skirt. Does she hail from Gujarat?
THE LEOPARD WITH THE GUARD:
Composed in a painted arched shape, the group, arranged vertically and horizontally is extraordinarily quaint. The arrangement of the sprightly animal above the ground plane, cutting across the figure of the man with typical turban and moustach is intentionally done to emphasise the springiness and cunningness of the animal. The chain tied to the neck of the animal and thrown over the man's shoulder is a good device to link the figures together. A LADY MUSICIAN: She is perhaps a nautch-girl playing on a sarangi. The coquattishness and her glance and attitude and her fully dressed and adorned figure with moon breasts shown prominently through thin muslin bodice are the characteristics of the lady musicians and singers of the courts and darbars of the Royal families and the feudal lords. These ladies danced and sang to please their royal patrons. LADY FONDLING HER CHILD: An every-day scene of Indian life in the villages. The affection with which the mother is swinging the child up-and-down in the air and the suspense and fear on the child's face are noteworthy. A 'CHOWRY-BEARER':
The note-worthy features of this mural are the arched-shape space in which the figure is painted and the cone form of the lady with her head as the apex. Much of the portion of the flowing skirt is damaged, but its form and shape are well preserved to give weight and rest to the whole mass of the form.
Nagaur Frescoes
HOLI KHELAN:
Holi is celebrated in the month of Fälgun. It is Rajasthan's chief festival of joy and dalliance. In this mural Krishna is playing Holi with his chief love Radha in the company of other gopis. They are throwing ‘gulal' at each other while Krishna has held Rādhā in one of his arms and at the same time is shown retaliating the other revellers. The gopi-mandal is surrounded by the group of plan241
Jain Education International
For Private & Personal Use Only
www.jainelibrary.org
