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A ‘ragamala’ or ‘garland of ragas’ is a set of miniature paintings depicting various modes, or ‘ragas’, of Indian music. These exquisite paintings were intended as tactile objects for private consumption, rather than pictures to hang on the wall. They were gathered together in albums of thirty or forty loose pages, sometimes bound or left as a set. On special occasions, they would be brought out and passed around fellow connoisseurs. It was one of the most prolific genres of Indian painting, which flourished for 500 years, and which spans the entire Indian subcontinent, from the foothills of the Himalayas to the plains of Rajasthan and beyond.
The word ‘raga’ comes from the Sanskrit, and has two meanings: to colour or tinge, usually in red, and the passion of feelings elicited by music. A musical ‘raga’ is usually constructed from five or more notes on which a melody is played, and it should ‘colour the mind’. Thus music and emotion are closely linked in each picture, and the gentleness with which these refined miniature paintings were treated has allowed their jewel-like colours to be preserved to this day.
Dulwich Picture Gallery has brought together 24 ragamalas from the Claudio Moscatelli Collection in a small yet perfectly-formed exhibition, which occupies three rooms alongside the main galleries. Sensitively displayed on walls painted in muted mauves and earthy reds, the paintings vibrate and glow. These pocket paintings, created by itinerant painters and scribes, illustrate narrative scenes as well as depict divine icons, such as the god Shiva, or devotional activities. Many are drawn in the same way: sky above (at the top edge of the picture), earth below, with the figures occupying the central section. All are beautifully crafted, with delicately drawn landscapes, plants, flowers, animals and people costumed in exotically patterned silks and colourful turbans. Their luminescent colours result from the natural minerals, plants, insects and flowers which are used to create the pigments: for example, ‘Indian yellow’ pigment was made from the urine of cows fed on mango leaves and water, and the pigment fluoresces under ultra-violet light. Some have intricate gilded borders enclosing graceful landscapes and elegant architectural features redolent of western illuminated manuscripts, which play an important symbolic role in defining the space where the action takes place.
Each painting is accompanied by a brief caption or poem that describes the mood of the raga, while a symbol such as the sun, suggests when the raga should be sung. The most frequently depicted subject is love in its many aspects, such as longing, fulfilment, the agonies of separation, and consuming passion. In the final room of the exhibition, are rare ragamalas from Nepal. Presented horizontally, they are devoted to sacred themes which encourage the viewer to perform religious observances.
This charming exhibition is well worth the trip out to Dulwich to see, and is as good a reason as any to visit Dulwich Picture Gallery.
