.jpg "The Surprised Maiden - Guler")
According
to the situation of lovers, love is of two kinds: love in separation (Viyoga),
and love in union (Samyoga). Viyoga is of three varieties: purva raga, the
beginning of love, mana, the separation of lovers out of false pride and
obstinacy, and pravasa, the separation of lovers caused by the departure of the
lover for foreign lands.
In
Kangra painting, love awakens at first sight. The meeting at the village well
is an occasion for falling in love. The tired and thirsty prince who is out on
shikar comes to the village well and asks the pretty girl for a draught of
water. As he drinks the water with cupped hands he lifts his eyes for a moment
look at the face of the girl. Their eyes meet and the inevitable happens.
A
closely related theme is that of the lover looking at his beloved who is
unaware of his presence. Thus, Krishna is shown watching Radha who is cooking
in the kitchen or is having her hair combed by a maid in the courtyard of her
home. A delightful painting from Guler show Radha bathing, while Krishna
watches from a balcony overlooking the bathing platform. Radha is on a chauki;
one of her attendants curtains her off with a green sheet, while another, with
her out-stretched veil. Her flowing jet-black hair is in charming contrast with
the golden complexion of her body.
Vidyapati
describes her charms thus:
Ah, Madhava! I saw the fair one freely;
I suddenly beheld her as she bathed.
Her jet black hair poured over her
breast,
As though a shaggy yak concealed a golden
Manda.
.JPG "The Offended Lady - Kangra")
Mana
means coldness, obstinacy and pride; manini nayika is the "unwilling"
lady who pays no attention to her lover, in spite of his prayers, entreaties,
and messages of love.
She
is shown in a Kanga painting as a girl who has escaped from her husband's arms,
leaving him alone. Disappointed, he watches her from a balcony, while dark
monsoon clouds sail in the sky. A pair of sarus cranes soar heavenward. The
husband has sent a duenna to pacify the young lady who leans against a pillow with
her back towards him. She is cajoling her with promises but the young lady does
not relent.
The
third phase of Viyoga is called pravasa. The desire for union springs from
seeing the beloved one and hearing him. When the desire to meet him is not
fulfilled, ten conditions result there from, namely longing (abhilasa), anxiety
(chinta), reminiscence (smrti), the recalling of the qualities of the beloved
one (guna-kathana), agitation (udvega), delirium (pratapa), sickness (vyadhi),
stupor (jadata), derangement (unmada), and death (marana).
Paintings
of lonely ladies, gazing at clouds and birds like the chakora, hansa or peacock
and fanning themselves, are usually of women parted from their lovers. They
have a special appeal to men accustomed to travel, for they remind them of
their wives when they are away from home.
.jpg "The Crew's Message - Guler")
f
my desire be fulfilled, on hearing the news you bring,
I
shall make your beak to be plated with silver, I shall give you to eat a ladle
of excellent churl mixed with sugar and ghi,
Let
me behold Tula Ram while yet I live, but bring him not only for a single hour!
If
you have seen my Lord a-coming home, then fly away from the cornice, thou crow!
The
black buck, the peacock, the hansa, the chakora, and the snake are the symbols
of the lover, and he is often represented by these in Kangra paintings.
Love-sick heroines who seek relief from the pangs of separation are shown
playing with these birds and animals. There is a charming painting of a
virahini nayika in which a lady playing a small tambura under a willow tree is
shown with a black buck. The sad music is reflected in her flowing drapery, the
graceful curves of her body, and in the weeping branches of the willow tree.
The picture is a fine example of Kangra art as practised at Guler, and is an
excellent illustration of the longings of love (abhilasa). This popular Kangra
motif is also to be seen in the murals which decorate the walls of the asrama
at Damthal.
.jpg "Lady in Husband's Clothes- Guler")
That
the painting is a representation of virahini nayika is proved by a similar
Guler painting on the back of which is an inscription which reads: "The
young lady wearing a garland of flowers, admiring the blossoms, and playing the
tara is longing to meet her lover."
In
another painting from Guler (not reproduced here), the feeling of anxiety
(chinta) in a woman separated from her husband is portrayed most vividly. A
young lady with deep anxiety on her face is shown walking along the edge of a
lotus-filled tank. The mango trees are laden with luscious fruit. It is a warm
day, and the lady is fanning herself. Scattered among the cup-like leaves of
the lotus plants are pale pink lotus buds of unearthly beauty. The agitation in
the woman's heart is echoed by the leaves of the lotus which are all in utter
confusion and disorder.
Love-sick
ladies whose husbands are away are often shown in men's clothes, for this
reminds them (simarana) of the joys of love in union. This state is shown in a
very fine painting from Guler. The Raja is away on his travels and the Rani
dresses herself for amusement in her husband's clothes which include a turban
decorated with a peacock's feather. One of her companions shows her the mirror
while another holds a thali containing vermilion. The Rani examines the
vermilion mark which has been painted on her forehead by her companion. The
empty bed in a pavilion suggests the absent lover. It is a warm summer night
and the moonlight is depicted with great charm. Two maidservants enjoy the
breeze from a fan. Such features as the pavilion, the minaret, the column-like
cypresses alternating with mango-trees with rounded crowns, the fountain in the
foreground, and the nose-rings with two pearls worn by the women all taken
together suggest that it is the work of Gursahaya, a Guler artist.
.jpg "Bathing in Summer - Guler")
In
the palaces of the Rajput chiefs of Kangra, there were two types of gardens,
the daylight gardens and the moonlit gardens. The centre of the former was
occupied by a bathing tank with a fountain and at its side was a marble water
pavilion. In the hot summer months of May and June, the daylight garden was the
favourite resort of the Ranis and their maids, its cool waters providing relief
from the burning heat of the day. Such a garden is shown in a Guler picture. The
lady is sitting on the edge of the tank and her right foot is being washed by a
maidservant. Her jet-black tresses fall over her shoulders and accentuate the
soft curves of her body. The mood of the painting suggests the
longing of love.
In a similar scene, probably by the same artist,
a semi-draped Rani is shown seated on chauki. She cools her left hand in the
spraying fountain. In the
foreground are two women; one of them is playing happily on the tambura, and
the other on a dholaka. A maid prepares the bed in the pavilion and covers it
with flowers. In the background are the cypresses which are a marked
characteristic of Guler paintings. The spout of the ewer, like the columns of
cypress, suggests erotic feelings and the picture pulsates with the passionate
longings of a woman awaiting her lover.
.jpg "The Summer Pavilion - Guler")
Depicts
the love-lorn virahini during the rainy month of sawan, when married women
eagerly await the return of their husbands. The dark clouds in the sky are lit
up by flashes of lightning; and the snow-white sarus cranes contrast vividly
with their sombre colour. The heroine watches the flight of the birds from a
pavilion. In the background is a mountain lake with rushes growing on its banks
among which slate blue sarus cranes, intensely devoted to each other, move
about in pairs. A flock of cattle is grazing peacefully on a meadow close to
the hamlet. The maidservants play on the tambura and the dholaka. The intense
heat that precedes a thunder shower is skillfully suggested. A maidservant
pours some cold drink into a cup while another makes some sandal paste. Another
maidservant fans the nayika but her body, burning with the fever of love, knows
no coolness. The modesty and love of a young Indian woman are gracefully
portrayed in this painting.
The
last stage of viyoga, vyadhi, is illustrated in a painting from Tira Sujanpur.
Unable to bear the pangs of separation, the lady has fainted. A maidservant
applies sandal paste on her bosom, while another fans her. In the adjoining
balconies pairs of anxious women express concern over the lady's condition. In
the background is a pastoral scene, where villagers warm their limbs in front
of log-fires in the severe winter. The cold weather outside is in contrast with
the hot fever of love that j racks the body of the lady separated from her
lover.
Writer Name:- M.S. Randhawa
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