Hindola Raga (painting, recto), from a Ragamala (Garland of Melodies) Series

The painting depicts a royal figure seated on a swing in a garden terrace, alongside three ladies on the right, and two attendant figures on the left holding fly-whisks. In Sanskrit, ‘hindola’ means swing, and music played in the Hindola Raga elicits the fever of young love in springtime. The royal figure holds a veena, most likely a ‘Rudra veena,’ which is a stringed instrument consisting of two large equal size resonators (tumba) below a stick zither. This instrument is played by laying it slanting with one gourd on a knee and the other above the shoulder. The mood of the moment is expressed by the pregnant skies, flashes of lightning striking through just before the downpour of heavy rain. A peacock stands atop the swing, heralding the rains. The royal figure resembles the many portraits of Raja Umed Singh of Bundi (r. 1749-ca . 1773 CE), where the folio was possibly made. This painting is a pictorial metaphor for a raga, a musical phrase that is used as the basis for improvisation, belonging to a Ragamala or “Garland of Melodies.” Rajput-Rajasthani Style, Bundi School.