Balwant Singh Shooting Bustard

Nainsukh (about 1710–78) was an extremely talented artist from the illustrious family of the Pahari master Pandit Seu of Guler. The work of Nainsukh marks a significant departure in the history of Indian art. Instead of just assuming the role of an artist serving the interest of the court, Nainsukh’s insight and even whimsical treatment of his patron, Balwant Singh, turned him into something of a muse. Balwant Singh, ruler of the Rajput court of Jasrota, was sometimes captured in intimate moments while shaving, at times costumed in imagined flights of fancy, sometimes lonely in the monsoon, elsewhere pensive and studious, and here, he is seen in an intense moment just before he stealthily creeps up for the kill. Rajput kings were often shown as arbiters of life and justice, and pictures of them hunting are common devices. None, however, has been seen in such heightened intensity as Nainsukh’s rendering of Balwant Singh in this picture. A bird, perhaps a bustard or duck, sits obliviously looking out of the picture to the left, unaware of the tension with which a bull conceals its minder and Balwant Singh who, with intent and fixed gaze, draws up his gun to shoot.