Night at the Hermitage

The artist of this narrative has included this mundane scene that finds no mention in the original story of Shakuntala by Kalidasa on which these illustrations are based. After the chores of the day are over and observance of the evening rites is complete, the residents of the hermitage retire for the day as darkness descends.

In the stillness of the night, the artist depicts Shakuntala and her friends Priyamvada, Anasuya and a young sage from the hermitage asleep on mats laid out on the porch around Shakuntala’s little hut. Anasuya and Priyamvada are shown sleeping in front of the cottage, while Shakuntala is half hidden behind a tree on the right. The young sage sleeps on a deer skin behind the cottage. The night passes in amiable silence with even the birds asleep perched upon the trees, their feathers puffed up and their heads curled.

Its blue hue almost gone until dawn, the sky turns silver and dull shades of soft greys shroud every familiar thing that during the daytime were brilliantly lit in myriad hues. As darkness falls, everything in the forest is hidden, and objects have now faded into a uniform grey, obliterating their distinct contours and variegated colours.

As the light drains away, the trees in the distance become dark silhouettes against a dark sky adorned with faintly twinkling stars. The sky crowns over the looming mountainous ranges in the distance. It is only the group of sleeping figures around the hut that conspicuously pop out in the painting, as the faint light of a hidden moon filters down revealing the sleeping figures, their drapes dulled by shades of grey, their fiery colours have settled into a mellow glow.

The artist skilfully balances the darkness of the night with little areas that are animated with the light of the moon. The cool hues of blues and greens are contrasted with the softly glowing yellows and oranges of the attires of the sleeping sage and the woman on the right as well as little spots of colour of the pots and vessels visible in the dark hut, and the ones that lay scattered around in the porch, these little spots of colour breaking the monotony of the dark hues.