Ragini Maru of Sri Raga
| Support Type: | Paper |
| Paint Type: | Watercolor |
| Current Location: | National Museum, Delhi |
| Location History: | The painting was originally commissioned by the Rajput rulers of the Mewar Kingdom. For generations, this painting—along with the rest of the Ragamala set—was preserved inside the private royal repository, palace libraries, or treasury of the Maharanas of Mewar. The painting officially changed hands from a private domain to public custody in the mid-20th century. The National Museum acquired the piece through the Art Purchase Committee, set up by the Indian Government. |
Shibdin's Ragini Maru of Sri Raga turns the art of painting into a visual prayer for love, love yearned-for, love experienced and the love between life and nature. Part of the Indian tradition of paintings – called a 'ragamala' – to tell poetic stories and evoke emotions through melodic themes, this work of the renowned Mewar school of Rajasthani painting is inspired by the modes of Indian classical music, signified by the painting of the female figure set within a detailed landscape scene. Within this tranquil tableau, the female figure appears to personify the sadness that comes with romantic separation, but instead of loss, one can read longing or desire that arises in the spaces between flowers, trees, and the body of water. It seems that her silence makes her more expressive and that nature is listening intently to her muted song. To me, the image of longing in this work is not a state of pain alone but of heightened awareness, and through the delicate palette, knowing winked between colour and shape, sound and silence, love became more vivid.