Kangra Paintings-The Month of Chaitra

Krishna and Radha as eternal lovers were portrayed rejoicing the moments of love. The Kangra miniatures are also noted for portraying the famine charm with a natural grace.

The paintings based on Ragmalas (musical modes) also found patronage in Kangra. Some of the famous Kangra Ragmala Paintings include Ragini Gujari, Raga Lalit and Ragini Sorathi.

Kangra School in its later stage included scenes under star-studded skies and also portrayed storms with lightning running across the horizon. These features were conspicuously absent in the other schools of panting. Later, Kangra miniatures also depicted towns and cluster of houses in the distance but curiously mountains above the height of 13,000 ft were never made a part of the paintings.

Kangra miniatures were adopted as a model of pictorial expression at many places of Pahari paintings including Chamba.

The miniature artists faced hardships after they lost the patronage of the royalty, due to the changed political equations. Today, it is a dying art form as many of the artists have embraced other professions

The classic miniatures of the yore are preserved in museums. However, reproductions of these miniatures are also available that can be made a part of private collection.

The Kangra Miniatures of the Pahari School made a mark in the 18th century. Though influenced by the Mughals, the Kangra School retained its distinctiveness.

The paintings were naturalistic and employed cool, fresh colors. The colors were extracted from minerals, vegetables and possessed enamel-like luster. Verdant greenery of the landscape, brooks, springs were the recurrent images on the miniatures. Texts of the Gita Govinda, Bhiari's Satsai, and the Baramasa of Keshavdas provided endless themes to the painters.

Lovely creepers are in bloom, blossoming trees are young once more,
And streams and lakes are full of flowers.
Women,aglow with passion, dressed in their best,
Abandon themselves to sports of love.
The parrot, the maina and the koel are singing songs of love.
Why think of going away, why spoil this joy
in the month of chaitra, my love ?

In this painting, the lovers are seated on a terrace, and in the background are flowering shrubs and trees in which birds of many kinds are warbling in music. The lady is describing the charm of Chaitra (March-April), and exhorting her husband to remain at home. The painting illustrates the following poem of Keshavdas from the Kavipriya :