Asavari Ragini

The painting comes from a Ragamala or 'garland of ragas', a series of pictorial depictions of the various musical modes. An inscription in Takri, a script used in the Punjab Hills, identifies the mode illustrated here as Asavari Ragini, 'wife' of Megha Raga. In this series, the six major ragas are each ascribed five 'wives' - raginis - and eight 'sons', known as ragas or ragaputras. The paintings belonging to each major raga are united by common colours for their backgrounds and margins, and those associated with Megha Raga have yellow borders and chocolate or plum backgrounds. 32 paintings of this boldly-painted series are preserved in the Victoria and Albert Museum.