Indian Painting B.A. II Dr. O. P. Parameswaran, Assistant Professor, Department of Fine Arts, Post Graduate Govt. College for Girls, Sector-11, Chandigarh.

Unit-1: History of Indian Painting (BA-3) 2.Pahari Painting (17th to 19th Century A.D.) 2.1Ramayana from Basholi

Introduction: The art of miniature painting that found patronage in the Rajput princedoms of the Punjab (now Himachal Pradesh) and Garhwal hills came to be known as the Pahari School. It developed during the late 17th centuries and flourished down to the 19th century. Basholi is one of the important centers in the Pahari Painting.

 Basholi a small state in the Jammu territory of the present Jammu and Kashmir state, is now generally accepted as the cradle of Pahari style painting, a unique form of miniature painting which emerged in the late 17th century and spread to other states.

Origin of the style: The Basholi style resulted from the fusion of a deeply religious art rooted in folk tradition with basic elements of the Mughal technique. The origin of the School provides an even greater problem. At Basholi at least it may be assumed that painting began fairly soon after Kirpal Pal’s accession in According to Karl Khandalawala, Basholi style in one form or another was the common property of at least Jammu region and perhaps of the Punjab hills generally, covering from its early phase to middle of 18th century.

Theme of the Painting: The Basholi provides excellent paintings related to the Ramayana. Important incidents have very beautifully been visualized without deviating from the basic style of this region. In addition to the Ramayana, the themes of other paintings done at Basholi were based on Mahabharata, Bhagwat, Geet Govinda, Rashikapriya, Barah Masa and Raag Mala paintings etc.

The stylistic features of the paintings: A characteristic facial type distinguishes the Basholi School: the high prominent nose often runs in a straight line with the receding forehead, and the lotus-shaped eyes almost pop out in the intensity of their gaze. Except for isolated trees and architectural pavilion the background is flat the figures being set against a vivid expanse of red, yellow, blue, orange, and other bright colours of uniform tonality.

The horizon is placed high. A narrow blue strip flacked with clouds indicates the sky. The architectural resembles that of the Akbar period and the early Rajasthani style: arched niches and inlay panels. There is no furniture other than cots and stools; very often, the people sit on rich carpets provided with long pillows. The landscape is stark and conventionalized. Though highly stylized, the various kinds of trees can easily be identified by botanists. The trees like weeping willo, mango, horsechestnut, cypress and purely imaginative trees were also used in Basholi paintings.

The cattle are of a nondescript breed-thin, with wide- open eyes and large ears. The profusion of jewellary worn by the Basholi figures enhances the rich ornamental texture of the paintings. Pearls occur in abundance, depicted as raised blobs of opaque white paint. To represent emeralds, Basholi painters resorted to the unique method of using the green, wing cases of beetles, which give a flashing brilliance and have endured to present day.

The use of gold and silver colour is another specialty, which has been utilized for decoration of saris and ornaments. As far as the borders of the Basholi paintings are concerned, mostly colour red was used on borders. Some places yellow border is also visible. In some pieces, the border in yellow colour has been filled between black lines but after that, a red border is also there which is broader than the yellow one.

Paintings based on Ramayana were also done in Kullu and Mandi. The stylistic characteristics of these paintings look very much like the Basholi style. These 18th century painting shows the influence of Basholi style on other regions.