The poem expresses the sentiments which a lover, denied early access, might fittingly address to his mistress.

’Longing to behold your path, my inmost heart—­like a lotus-leaf when a new rain-cloud has appeared—­mounts to your neck.  My eye, too, takes wing, soaring in the guise of a lotus-bird, to regard the moon of your face.’[131]

[Footnote 131:  Translation R.H.B.  Williams.]

In the picture, the lotus imagery is retained but is given a subtle twist—­the lotus-leaves themselves, rather than the lover’s inmost heart, being shown as mounting to the lady’s neck.

[Illustration]

PLATE 31

Radha extinguishing the Lamp

Basohli, Punjab Hills, c. 1690
Bharat Kala Bhawan, Benares

Although no inscription has so far been published, it is likely that this picture is an illustration to the Rasamanjari of Bhanu Datta.  The lover is once again Krishna and the girl most probably Radha.  Krishna is inviting her to extinguish the lamp so that they may better enjoy the excitements of darkness.

With its air of violent frenzy, the picture is typical of Basohli painting at the end of the seventeenth century—­the girl’s wide-flung legs and rushing movements symbolizing the frantic nature of passionate desire.

[Illustration]

PLATE 32

The Month of Asarh (June-July)

Illustration to a Barahmasa (or Cycle of the Months)
Bundi, Rajasthan, c. 1750
Prince of Wales Museum, Bombay

In Hindi poetry, lovers were sometimes described against a background of the twelve months—­each month suggesting a different kind of mood or behaviour.  Such poems known as Barahmasa (barah, twelve; masa, month) were sometimes illustrated—­a princely lover and his lady being shown seated on a terrace with the sights and scenes appropriate to the month going on around.  When this lover was identified with Krishna, any aspect of love was regarded as, in some degree, expressive of his character.

The present picture portrays the beginning of the Rains.  The sky is black with clouds.  On a lake lovers dally in a tiny pavilion, while in the background two princes consult a hermit before leaving on their travels.  The rainy season was associated in poetry with love in separation and for this reason a lonely girl is shown walking in a wood.  In a garden pavilion Krishna dallies with Radha, the approaching rain augmenting their desire.

[Illustration]

PLATE 33

Radha and Krishna swinging

Illustration to the musical mode. Hindola Raga
(’the swinging music’)
Malwa, Middle India, c. 1750
Victoria and Albert Museum, London