s with Radha. Appearing as if by accident
Krishna is lolling on his cowherd's stick while Radha, encouraged by a
friend, has come to meet him. As she stands, there ensues that idyllic
'meeting of eyes' which Indian sentiment regarded as one of the most
electrifying experiences in romance. In the picture, a tree pushes its
flowering branches across open rolling slopes, suggesting by its fresh
upsurgence the exquisite emotions stirring in Radha's and Krishna's
hearts.

The picture is most probably by the Kangra artist, Kushala, to whom Plate
21 may also be assigned.

[Illustration]

PLATE 37

_Radha's Longing_

Guler, Punjab Hills, c. 1810
Bharat Kala Bhawan, Banaras

In Indian painting and poetry, it was women driven to distraction by
unappeased longing rather than men hungry with desire who formed the chief
subject of romantic art. Pictures focussed on woman in all her varied
moods and flattered the male mind by portraying her wilting with sadness
when deprived of husband or lover.

The present picture shows Radha frenziedly contemplating her lonely state.
Ornaments grown too hot for wearing--from the passion burning in her
heart--are strewn about the bed, while hands tightly clasped suggest her
wild unhappy torment. The vast and barren hills, empty angular buildings,
tiny guttering candles and lonely flowering tree provide a sympathetic
setting.

With its sinuous line and innocent delight in feminine form, the picture
is typical of Guler painting at the start of the nineteenth century.

[Illustration]

PLATE 38

_Radha and Krishna returning in the Rain_

Nahan, Punjab Hills, c. 1820
State Museum, Lahore.

A scene from Radha and Krishna's idyllic life together. Caught by a gale
of wind and rain, the lovers are hurrying to shelter, Krishna carrying a
leaf umbrella while cows and cowherds bend before the storm. In the
distance, small figures wearing hooded cloaks hasten towards the village.
Although keenly evocative of actual landscapes in the Punjab Hills--where
palaces were usually set on rocky hill-tops with nearby villages
clustering at their feet--the picture's main concern is to illustrate and
interpret the lovers' feelings. The black clouds lit by eerie lightning
and the trees tossing and swaying in the wind symbolize the passion raging
in their hearts and suggest its ultimate outcome.

The picture represents a style of painting which is thought to have grown
up at Nahan, the capital of Sir