The Prince Coming Forward for Receiving His Bride

A large size cloth-painting from Jaipur in Rajasthan by some artist from Kishangarh, a great seat of medieval Rajasthani miniatures, seeking to blend elements of both art-styles, Jaipur and Kishangarh, illustrates a custom of a Hindu marriage still prevalent in some form or other in some sections of society. The painting has been rendered on a large size sheet of cloth manufactured with fine mercerized cotton and silk yarns using a wide range of colours, both in unmixed and mixed shades. Similarly, besides representing a particular theme, it assimilates various elements of the man-made world and nature, architecture – the marble pavilions of the prince and princess and the distant palaces, plants and trees to include Sapta-parnis laden with balloon-like orange flowers and fruits, plantains and cypresses, birds: peacocks, peahens, parrots, and others, and the time: the hour of the setting sun.

Both, the foreground and the background, though more especially the background with a dense tree-line, a magnificent white palace in the middle and a green pasture in the front, alone relieving it, are closer to Jaipur art idiom. The architecture, the distant palace and the marble-pavilions of both, the prince and his bride, are common to both art-styles, but while the distant palace pursues the style of buildings seen in Jaipur miniatures, the massive dimensions and the perspective of the two pavilions are like those seen in Kishangarh paintings. The style of costumes, their colours, prints and printed motifs, that the princess and the other women folk are wearing are almost common to Jaipur and Kishangarh or rather entire Rajasthan, but the iconographic features, especially the form of the fish-like long eyes, a little heavy chin, pointed noses with subdued upper part around the eye-junction, cute small lips and glowing faces are essentially the characteristics of Kishangarh art.

However, it is in portraying the figure of the prince that the artist has completely subjected himself to the iconographic model of Kishangarh. He does not adorn him like Lord Krishna but has rather transformed him into his image. Like Krishna, he has opted blue for his body-colour, a characteristically modeled crown with a peacock feather identical to that with which the idol of Lord Krishna is adorned at the Nathadwara shrine, a Vaijayanti of fresh white Parijat flowers – typical of Vishnu and his incarnations, and lastly, the flute in one of his hands. Not imaginary, this transformation has historical reasons. The Kishangarh family was a staunch follower of Vallabh’s Pustimarga and hence Krishna was not merely its deity but also its essential ideal for modeling their lives. Hence, Kishangarh rulers from Sawant Singh onwards, that is, from around the middle of the eighteenth century, began holding the reins as Krishna and adopted for them Krishna’s model and lifestyle, the same costumes, crown and everything.

The painting seems to illustrate an almost extinct marriage-related custom which prevailed in some regions and sections of society, the nobility of the erstwhile Rajasthan in special. It is one of the many sportive occasions that a traditional Indian marriage comprises. Still prevailing in locally changed forms, it is a custom taking place after the major marriage-related rituals have been accomplished and before the bride’s send off. The bride was still at her parents’ house and would go to her in-laws only when her groom himself came to take her. As provided, on one hand the bride’s ‘sakhis’ would take her out to the bridegroom, and on the other, with his retinue the groom too shall come forward for receiving her. Normally the two are expected to meet midway. However, the mischievous young ladies on both sides, the bride’s ‘sakhis’ and the groom’s sisters etc., would use the occasion for making fun of the other. The bride’s ‘sakhis’ would guide her for moving slow so that the groom came farther than the centre and they found occasion to ridicule him for his impatience to meet their ‘sakhi’, the bride, who herself is little eager to go to him.

This description by Prof. P.C. Jain and Dr. Daljeet. Prof. Jain specializes on the aesthetics of literature and is the author of numerous books on Indian art and culture. Dr. Daljeet is the curator of the Miniature Painting Gallery, National Museum, New Delhi. They have both collaborated together on a number of books.

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