_Radha and Krishna returning in the Rain_
Nahan, Punjab Hills, c. 1820
State Museum, Lahore.
A scene from Radha and Krishna's idyllic life together. Caught by a gale
of wind and rain, the lovers are hurrying to shelter, Krishna carrying a
leaf umbrella while cows and cowherds bend before the storm. In the
distance, small figures wearing hooded cloaks hasten towards the village.
Although keenly evocative of actual landscapes in the Punjab Hills--where
palaces were usually set on rocky hill-tops with nearby villages
clustering at their feet--the picture's main concern is to illustrate and
interpret the lovers' feelings. The black clouds lit by eerie lightning
and the trees tossing and swaying in the wind symbolize the passion raging
in their hearts and suggest its ultimate outcome.
The picture represents a style of painting which is thought to have grown
up at Nahan, the capital of Sirmur, after its neighbour, Garhwal, had been
overrun by Gurkhas in 1804. Garhwal artists probably sought asylum at the
Sirmur court and there developed a distinctive offshoot of the Garhwal
manner.
[Illustration]