Page 213 - Eye of the beholder

PRINCESS VISITING A DERVISH, LUCKNOW, LATE MUGHAL SCHOOL
It is a charmingly beautiful painting that has the representation of a princess, who along with her retinue is visiting a dervish. It is night time evidenced by a melon ridge moon in the sky and the thick foliage of the surrounding trees, picked out delicately in light and shade wherever the light captures it. Night scenes are uncommon and its representation is indicative of the patron’s interest and the artist’s willingness to create a challenge for such a task. The hermitage of the dervish apparently is set in the middle of the forest. He is shown seated within a pavilion, constructed out of marble and with elegant inlaid designs that are equally detailed and intricate. The design constitutes multi foliated niches that contains floral blossom. The pavilion is circular in shape and the plinth on which it rests has been realistically rendered by the artist, wherein the suggestion of the concave manifests visually through subtle shading. In the foreground appears to be a little stream running by, thus making the entire setting filled with quietitude and meditative silence.
The dervish is rendered in ash grey skin tone, his young face characterized by chubbiness, half closed meditative eyes, a short pug nose and full lips. In his ears is a pearl ear ring. His physical appearance is heavy and paunchy. He wears an orange mendicant gown fashioned like a peshwaj and brown rudraksha mala around his neck and holds a similar one in his right hand. Over his body is draped a golden yellow shawl. A brown coloured turban covers his head, which is either draped with pearls or has the design of criss crossing white border. The half closed meditative eyes are observing the offerings that the princess has brought. The marble platform on which he sits has a similar character and texture of the pavilion’s marble pillars. Two candles are seen burning, one next to him and the other resting down in front. A variety of objects are dispersed in front one is a flask with a spout, next to it is placed a leaf containing perhaps flowers and behind these two objects is placed a long tray that holds what appears to be the pomegranates. A pillar in front partially conceals the dervish and placed next to it are water pots of two different shapes. To the left of the dervish on the floor of the pavilion two diyas or lamps are burning, with sprinkling of white flowers next to it and in front of it a bowl designed as leaves has similar flowers within it.
The princess is seen kneeling in front of the dervish within the pavilion with her offering, and the attendant next to her is standing outside and offering a bowl filled with some unidentifiable objects, from which the princess is seen taking something from it. She is represented in profile, with her eyes respectfully lowered and the artist has delineated her as a beautiful young woman with long almond shaped eyes, an aquiline nose, thin lips and a confident chin. Her sartorial attire constitutes of the floral printed yellow ghagra and green transparent odhini with a pink flowing garment attached in the centre, noticeable in all the women in the painting. She wears only pearl jewellery and a wisp of curly hair strands partially covers her ear. The attendant next to her also wears a yellow ghagra with a thick cotton odhini and has pearl strands around her neck and pearl earrings. Behind her is another woman whose sartorial attire and jewellery resonates with that of the princess and next to her is an elderly matron, short in height, wearing a headgear common in Mughal miniatures of the representations of matriarch mother queens, is represented similarly with a head gear that rests on the odhini covering her head. She appears regal and is bejeweled; with her diaphanous clothes akin to fine muslin. All the women have dyed their hands with henna, enhancing their beauty.
The innovative content of this miniature is the nocturnal scene, taking place in the forest that is thickly wooded, with a stream flowing by. The face of the dervish is delicately modeled with subtle shading imparting roundness, which is in consonance with his podgy body.
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