The 'Virahini' or the Maid Whose Love is Away From Her

$575
Item Code: HA58
Specifications:
Kishangarh School Stone Color on Paper - Late Gopal Kumavat, National Award Winner
Dimensions 8.0" X 13.5"
Handmade
Handmade
Free delivery
Free delivery
Fully insured
Fully insured
100% Made in India
100% Made in India
Fair trade
Fair trade
The painting depicts a 'virahini nayika', or a maiden whose lover is away from her. 'Viraha' or separation is one of the most popular themes of Indian poetry and miniature paintings. The 'viraha' theme in Indian poetry and even paintings has attained further dimensions in Barahamasa serialisations, which depict the cyclic changes of emotions a maiden in separation undergoes with every new month. Such depiction is based on conviction that every month comes with its own pangs for her whose love is away. Both poets and artists have devoted a lot of pages and canvas in representing the emotional state of separated love undergoing changes with changing seasons.

A 'virahini' is simply one whose love is away either on a temporary sojourn or for ever. Alike she may be a legally wedded wife or an unmarried love. In miniature paintings a 'virahini' is usually a young maid with timid down-cast eyes buried deep into their sockets reflecting the inner state of her being. She is painted with a feeling of desertion and dejection on face, lean and thin figure lacking in aptitude, enthusiasm and vitality, costumes worn casually and hair carelessly dressed lying scattered on face, neck and shoulders. A solitary song on lips, a lyre in hand and a 'maina' or any other isolated bird in cage have been commonly used to define a 'virahini nayika'. Dull colours, simple melancholic background, usually an isolated chamber with simple architectural forms, a distant view of nature, or just a few plants blooming in full, a township, palaces, castles or buildings suggesting that it is where her love has gone are elements commonly constituting the back-drop of a 'viraha' theme.

The artist Gopal Kumawat, a masterly hand dedicated to revive India's ancient aesthetic traditions and medieval art forms, while rendering his 'virahini nayika' has adhered to most of the established norms. He has used the Kishangarh face and form of his figure but has added to it further elegance and cuteness, an element of his own. He has used 'maina' in cage, distant blossoming plants and architectural forms, a simple grey opaque background and a lyre in conventional form for depicting the state of his figure's mind but has added to it an element of symbolism by introducing flames of fire around her face suggesting the agony she is parching with. The artist has not dressed his figure with rings on the fingers of her feet, an auspicious essentiality for a married woman in Hindu tradition widely followed in Rajasthan. Hence it is likely that the artist had in mind either an unmarried love or someone deserted for ever, though other ornaments, particularly the 'benda' on her forehead, usually wore by a married woman, are suggestive of her married 'suhagina' status.

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.

Tall and fragile figure of Meerabai stands engulfed in flames. These are the flames of her longing for Krishna- to whom her heart and soul belonged. To stress on the intensity, the flames are pictorially depicted. The facial and the physical features belong to the Kishangarh style. What with the high brows, long nose and a stylistic variation of the fish-eyed facial features of Jaipur kalam. The style is more an inspired idealization than realistic.

Meera looks graceful and exquisite in both dress and adornment. Her movement has the fluidity of softly cascading waters. How disarmingly the half-closed eye lends an enigmatic quality which the corner of the amorously curled mouth, as about to break into a smile, accentuates. She is adorned in traditional Rajput jewelry- the protruding head ornament, the nose ring partially covering the lips and the earrings concealing the ears and necklaces at various lengths. This female form in pristine glory has a well-endowed upper body complemented by a narrow waist which again takes a curvaceous turn outwards. The twin bodiced choli fits tightly, revealing the magnificent curvaceousness of her ample bosom. The odhni conceals the striped ghagra to twirl around her head.

Slender hands and feet are adorned with henna. Thin, long arms join the hands through a large number of bangles. The sleek hands hold a musical instrument, which again is a delicate accomplishment. The strings are separated by hair's breadth and the upper part of the instrument ends in a fragile peacock. The lower end rests on Meera's waist. The outward curve thus formed is countered by the inward curve of her waist. The artist has decreased the effect of a very thin waist with the help of her serpentine braid hanging down to her hips. Nowhere has such bewitching loveliness been limned with such lyrical beauty.

In the lower half of the picture, the semi-circular lines are more prominent. Not only are the edges of the ghagra and odhni curvilinear, the ground and the wall patterns have their opposite points touching, thus completing the circular rhythm. To countervail the curves, the artist draws sharp linear architectural projections horizontally, balanced again by the vertical lines of the cage, which has an imprisoned myna, who nevertheless, seems sympathetic towards Meera's plight. The view through the window shows a lotus pond and a dome like structure in the distance. On the walls, either side of the arch, there is a conch sheel and a lotus each. The conch is one of the eight auspicious symbols representing temporal power and the lotus represents the spiritual power, being the seat of many a gods and goddesses. Thus, there is a sense of balance, not only compositionally, but in symbolic terms also. It seeks to reconcile the sensuous and the divine.

Never has the dual appeal of line and color been so arrestingly handled as in this incredible being, the secret of whose personality holds a fascination beyond belief, through the dark fringed lid of the half-closed tilted eye.

This description by Renu Rana.

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