Sita offering fruits to Rama in Dandaka forest

Paintings from Raghogarh enact the visual drama often planting the figures against a plain monochromatic background and portraying the characters just essential to the narrative, often without any superficial imagery or detailed background.

The painting depicts a scene from the epic Ramayana during the period of exile of the prince of Ayodhya, Rama. Here amidst the woodlands of Dandaka, a forest infested with a host of demons, Rama and Sita sit oblivious to their wild surroundings.

On top of a hillock, in solemn stillness, Rama and Sita sit facing each other; Sita holds up a tray bearing fruit for Rama. Everything is forgotten however, as their gazes are intertwined in rapturous adoration. Against a plain mustard-olive hue, the colour of their skin is almost luminescent. The beautiful purple-blue of Rama’s face is contrasted with the light skin tone of Sita’s skin. The vibrant yellow lower garments that they wear however erases the differences - Rama's blue hue is echoed in the skirt that Sita wears.

The gossamer-thin ordini reveals Sita’s bare torso, and the intricate jewellery of pearl and gold that she wears. The delicacy of the ornaments that the figures wear sharply contrasts with the bold broad colours of the wilderness around.

The couple’s charged interaction is echoed in the elements. The artist conjures up a visionary forest - nature is reconstructed in a colored dream. Swaying rocks painted in mauves rise against a mustard-olive meadow. Colourful patches of patterns jostle playfully; the pungent mauves are thrown with dark seaweed green. Joyful sprigs of flowers burst forth in happy abandon. Each tree, mound or hillock fits into the composition like a coloured puzzle piece enlivening the entire landscape.