Raga Rama

A Raga in the Indian Classical musical system is a melodic mode, a framework for improvisation. Each raga is a range of melodic structures and musical motifs, and is believed to have the ability to affect the mood and emotions of the audience.

Ragamalas are pictorial renditions of individual ragas, premised on belief that the contemplation of a raga has a visual imagery as well as a sound form that can be accordingly picturised in the form of a person as well as associated with a sound unique to it - the sound of the specific animal or the sound of some human or natural activity. Kshemakarna’s system of picturising the ragas is ubiquitously used in all the Pahari ragamalas, created in the various Pahari styles but is rarely used elsewhere in other schools of Indian miniature painting.

In the Kshemakarna’s system of Ragamala, Rama Raga belongs to the family of Dipak Raga and is the third son or raagputra of Dipak. According to the Kshemakarna system, he is described as radiant, having lotus–like eyes, carrying a bow and arrow, and beautiful, pleasing and charming by disposition.
According to the Kshemakarna Ragamala system, the representation of Rama Raga should depict a gentleman standing in the garden feeding crows, or a warrior armed with a bow, arrow and sword leaving the house, or a seated couple, with the gentleman carrying a sword.

The artist depicts the Rama Raga as blue skinned like the god Rama, leaving the house, with his consort waving a fly whisk behind him. Departing from using a flat monochromatic background traditionally used, the artist places the figures against a tiled and patterned façade of the building, its rich patterning contrasted and balanced by the stark white of the rest of the building. Beyond the walls are partially visible trees, suggesting vistas beyond.

There is a delicate grace pervading all aspects of the painting - its figures, with the faces rendered with almost porcelain delicacy, rounded and soft but not fleshy, the features sharp with expressive eyes, eyebrows gently curving and small mouths. The bodies of the figures are well proportioned, with graceful arms and delicate hands and feet. The hair is swept back, its strands carefully and finely delineated, with an odd loose strand clinging to the side of the face. The sheer brilliance of the work can be seen in the crisp yet lyrical drawing, and in restraint and elegance in the use of colour. Expressions and emotions are depicted with extreme subtlety through the use of gestures and poses and the turn of the bodies.