Lady Alone at Holi Festival

This painting shows a standing female figure during the celebration of Holi. She takes a moment away from the festivities to play the tanpura (a string instrument) at the center of a formal garden. Her white dress and veil are stained with orange, pink, and yellow dyes. Meanwhile, her companions continue celebrating boisterously in the background, throwing and spraying colors at each other. The axial garden in which she stands is known as chahar bagh, literally “four gardens.” Traditionally, the four quadrants are separated by water channels or paths. Here, intersecting paths create a central square bracketed by four flowerbeds. Originally an ancient Persian concept, the chahar bagh was widely adopted during the Islamic era, including in Central Asia. The founder of the Mughal Empire, Babur (r. 1536–30), who hailed from present-day Uzbekistan, introduced the design to India.