Saraswati in Concert

Saraswati has always been venerated as the goddess of learning and music. She is alternately portrayed either as Brahma's consort or his daughter. The prominent themes in her appearance are purity and transcendence.

Here, the artist deviates from the white attire to red. In essence, he departs not only from color but from symbolism as well - white represents limpidness whereas red stands for vigor and auspices. The artist does not confine himself to rigid iconography and portrays her in the regional look, to which, people can easily relate.

Seated in an ornamental boat, she holds the veena, strumming it gently. Instead of the multi layered traditional jewelry, she is adorned with an exquisite tiara, strands of pearl strings and a couple of bracelets. Her long overflowing hair is held together at the nape.

Seated at a lower level is her devotee, clad in an austere yellow sari, her hair coiled at the nape, ornamented with flowers.

The background has undulating hills and a temple built on a high-rise rock. The vast expanse of the sky is clear. The foreground does not really relate with the background, where we see a lotus pond and a swan, both associated with Saraswati.

This description by Renu Rana.