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She lacks neither beauty nor wealth. A powerful woman, not quite past her prime, sits with her legs crossed on a seat of red velvet and brocade cushions. She directs her gaze straight ahead of her, with all the confidence of the eldest bahuraani (daughter-in-law) in the absence of her mother-in-law. She is probably blessed with the love of more than one son in addition to her husband’s. In this oil painting she is depicted in her leisure, smoking on a hookah upon a quiet afternoon at home.
In keeping with her social status, she is dressed in a lehenga of green and ivory silk with ample proportion of brocade on it. Her shringar is flawless - maangtika and headband, nosering and jhumke (chunky Indian danglers), necklaces and amulets and anklets, and a world of rings on her fingers and toes. From the fashionable cut of her choli to the jewels studded on her gold ornaments, she is clearly a woman of domestic clout.
Zoom in on that unusual face, the flattering lines having emerged from the fulness of youth and maternity. Her eyes are large, of a deep brown colour. An intelligent brow set against a seductive mouth. The hookah in her hand is a symbol of her power and place within the socio-domestic realm, and it is in that bhoga that such a gorgeous woman whiles away her days.
