Todi Ragini, Second Wife of Hindola Raga
| Support Type: | Paper |
| Paint Type: | Watercolor |
| Current Location: | Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), Los Angeles, California, USA |
| Location History: | Place of creation: India, Uttar Pradesh, Awadh, Lucknow |
Todi Ragini, the second wife of Hindola Raga, is a fine illustration of the late Mughal painting style linked with Awadh and Lucknow. In this painting, Todi Ragini is given a human form as part of the Ragamala tradition, which involves musical modes. As LACMA states, in the Rajasthani system of classifying the Ragamala, Todi is considered to be the second wife of Hindola Raga. Ragamala paintings turned musical modes into visual stories, typically showing them through idealised male or female figures together with their respective surroundings. In Fateh Chand's piece, Todi is depicted as a graceful woman who is playing a rudra vina—a stringed instrument with a long stick-shaped body and two resonating gourds—within a green landscape, while a number of deer or gazelles surround her and seem to be enchanted by the music. There is also a small group of houses in the distance. The connection between the woman and the deer is at the heart of the image; as LACMA states, Todi Ragini was traditionally linked to a melody thought to have a mesmerising effect on deer, and the musical mode was also seen as a gentle melody of early morning associated with winter. The painting shows Fateh Chand's careful drafting and a modest application of colour; his signature, which is in Urdu, is located below the garlanded gazelle and thus gives strong support to the assignment of the work to him. The gold-painted cartouche at the top was most likely meant to hold the name of the Ragini.