Ragamala Series (Sawan Raga)

PROPERTY FROM THE COLLECTION OF PINAKIN PATEL

Oil on board
67 1/2 × 67 5/8 in. (171.5 × 171.7 cm.)

Signed ‘Husain’ and further signed in Devanagari and Urdu upper centre

PROVENANCE:
Pundole Art Gallery, Mumbai.

Throughout his career, Indian classical music, dance and sculpture remained a critically significant source of inspiration for M.F. Husain. Specifically, the absorption of the Ragamala tradition into Husain’s own visual repertoire is well documented. In this classical tradition, Indian musical modes are transformed into individual emotions, each raga evoking a specific mood. Historically, the most evocative interpretation of music into lyrical images is seen in the Indian miniature painting tradition. Husain relies heavily on the pictorial vocabulary of Punjab and Rajasthan miniatures, and his protagonists capture a mood that acknowledges the art of the past, but in a relevant contemporary context.

Traditionally, the depiction of a Nayika (one of eight forms of a romantic heroine in miniature painting) on a swing alludes to a young maiden awaiting the return of her lover. This scene is usually depicted with gathering storm clouds, predicting the imminent start of the monsoon. This iconography also represents the festival Teej, usually celebrated at the start of Shravan mahina, which falls at the start of the rainy season. During the celebrations, swings are hung in courtyards or from trees throughout villages, and young women swing and sing songs uninhibitedly, in the hope of attracting good rains and praying for their husbands’ wellbeing. In medieval romantic poetry, the start of the monsoon was usually the time warriors returned to their lovers from war, as battles were not fought in the heavy rain, adding further to the symbolism.

The Ragamala paintings or ‘Garland of Ragas’ imitate the moods of musical modes in classical Indian Music, so there is an artistic synergy between Nayikas, Ragamala paintings and music, as these heroines become the personification of the raga. Husain learned about both the musical and artistic aspects, studying each in great depth, and he would often listen to the corresponding raga while creating a particular work to further his understanding of rasa or feelings and emotional states that music awakens in the listener.

Depending on the raga he was interpreting, there would be a very particular choice of colour, composition, and form. In the current work, Husain has recreated sawan or shravan raga (as explained above), depicting a young girl enjoying herself on a swing, a second swinging figure visible in the background. Both figures exhibit a relaxed, carefree abandon as highlighted by their long hair that billows out behind them. Interestingly and perhaps unknowingly, he has followed a practice seen in the work of academic artist Raja Ravi Varma, who according to Varma expert Rupika Chawla, would often depict some of his heroines with their thick locks open and flowing, perhaps as a metaphor for being liberated and free of societal constraints that were so prevalent in 19th century noble circles. (For an example of a Ravi Varma painting of a woman on a swing, see lot 7 in the current sale.)

In keeping with his highly evolved understanding of space, Husain has altered the narrative by using a traditionally square canvas in the shape of a diamond. This immediately infuses the canvas with a sense of dynamism that is reflected in the maiden’s swinging action as well as in the shaded blue bottom she wears; the thick individual brushstrokes fanning out like a multi-panelled lehenga. Furthermore, his cross-section of the background into four proportional divisions resembles the colour blocking used on a paper kite, adding to the overall feeling of lightness and movement. His palette choices, as said earlier, are extremely specific. Above her head the ominous monsoon clouds are echoed in the grey quarter, leading eventually to green, yellow and orange, possibly representing lushness, happiness, and contentment that follows the onset of the monsoon and being reunited with a lover.

‘However global his vision may be, Husain’s works remain largely Indian in subject and sentiment, and he repeatedly pays tribute to the rich artistic tradition of the country, by preserving the classical aspects of Indian art as seen through his contemporary interpretation of the past as well as his unique vision of the present. Husain’s aim is to return to his roots, to “...make Indian traditions speak again in the light of modern artistic influences and modern Indian life.”’ (Richard Bartholomew, Husain, New York, 1971, p. 21)
Condition: The colours of the original are slightly lighter and brighter, especially in the green and grey quadrants. The painting has been recently cleaned and re-varnished. When examined under UV light, small scattered spots of re-touching visible in the background tones of the upper three quadrants and one spot in the lower quadrant. One further small area visible on the upper portion of the central figure’s lehenga and in the extreme right corner. Two small spots of re-touching visible on the smaller swinging figure. Overall good condition.