Illustration to a Ragamala Series: Bangal Ragini (Primary Title)
Unknown (Artist)
The Megha cycle’s story ends with the lovers again separated and a return to the mood of longing that characterized several of its earlier passages. The quiet, contemplative air of Bangal Ragini is personified as a lady practicing the austerities of an ascetic. Smeared with ash and sandalwood paste, she sits alone in the courtyard of a palatial structure, reciting mantras from the leaves of a book. An attendant watches from inside the palace door, ready to assist but careful not to disturb her mistress’s meditations. A relatively subtle example of Central Indian painting, this work employs a somewhat softened primary color palette, while animating features such as the lotus pond, homing pigeons, and diagonal awning enliven the otherwise relatively flat, static pictorial space.
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