PAHARI HILLS, INDIA, EARLY 19TH CENTURY

This charming and vibrant painting depicts a scene from the Baramasa of the month of Chaitra (March-April). This month heralds the coming of Spring and the trees and shrubs behind the amorous couple are in full bloom. The lady here is describing the charm of Chaitra to her husband and encouraging him to remain home. In the distance, an active rural scene unfolds with the inhabitants of a faraway village making use of the season busy collecting water, harvesting their crops and even boating.
This painting is similar to another depiction of the same subject which belongs to a known Baramasa from Kangra circa 1790 originally in the collection of Maharaja Sansar Chand at Kangra and illustrated in M.S. Randhawa, Kangra Paintings on love, New Delhi, 1962, pp.188-89, pl.XXI. In our version the format is rectangular, not oval, and the colouring here emphasises the fresh yellows and light greens appropriate for this time of the year even further.