Ladies playing ‘Phugari’

In a midnight landscape two women stand with hands entwined, playing a game. The gold of their garments is like the flash of lightning in the distant sky. They are playing a game of phugari, in which participants hold hands and spin each other around, perhaps while singing songs. As the spinning speeds up, one or the other will grow dizzy and have to give up.

The artist has taken the opportunity to display his skills in picturing the women’s bodies from different angles.

A similar painting that has been published bears an inscription on the reverse, stating ‘sarkar najibunnisa begum; tasvir phugari, gujrani dais.’ (See Jagdish Mittal, Marg, Vol. XVI, no. 2, 1963, p. 20).