Padmini Nayika

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The artist Gopal Kumawat known for his wondrous synthesis of ancient art norms and traditions and modern taste and technique has blended with the ancient model of padmini nayika the medieval Bani Thani womanhood, the Kishangarh art style and the contemporary bold symbolism. Artist's adherence to tradition is strong and manifest. He has preferred the damsel of his creation to wear on the fingers of her feet the rings, on her feet the mahawara and on her palms the hina, all the auspicious symbols of a faithful and devoted consort which a padmini nayika was required to be. The heat of passion in her is strong and is seen bursting from her eyes but her bed-chamber is her geographical limit and a cool decent composure her demeanour, though for depicting the state of her mind and the urge within the artist has taken recourse to a symbolic representation. In her replica painted in the frame on the terrace above she is seen coiling with the parching heat of passion against a massive male-like bolster and in the process she has partially unclad herself. In the replica the colour of her saree is more yellowish for yellow represents the god of love Kamadeva and Vasanta, the month when the earth emits out of it heaps of flowers inciting sexual urge in all born ones. Compartmentalisation of canvas for serialising a theme was quite common in Indian medieval art but when used for depicting an attitude of mind involving particularly a question of female grace and social norms, it becomes by and large a modern technique most widely used in Indian cinema as well.

The young lady is endowed with celestial beauty and highly proportionate figure. Cast against an opaque background she has a tall figure with well defined breasts, thin slender waist, well shaped hips, tall arms with fine long fingers and comely palms, raised neck, deep dreamy eyes, curly hair and sharp features. The use of light colours in still lighter tints remarkably suits the serenity of the theme and sublimates an otherwise worldly phenomenon. The presence of lotuses, buds and full blooming flowers and leaves around, is noticeable. It is not only the base ponds which the lotuses populate but they also create the prime decorative element and the significant architectural forms from ground to terrace levels. The lady is seen fanning herself with a lotus leaf and cooling her parching head with another rendering it difficult to pronounce whether the lotuses make her padmini or being padmini she has transformed everything around from her breasts, eye-lids to architecture and entire atmosphere into lotuses.

This description by Prof. P.C. Jain and Dr. Daljeet. Prof. Jain specializes on the aesthetics of literature and is the author of numerous books on Indian art and culture. Dr. Daljeet is the curator of the Miniature Painting Gallery, National Museum, New Delhi. They have both collaborated together on a number of books.

Click Here to view a closer scan of the artwork.