SLA-VI (Introduction to Aesthetic)

Assignment 2
By Manoj Kumar Meena

Theres a lady standing under a tree and the standing postion and the way her eyes looking forward, it
seems like she is waiting for someone. He might be his lover or his friends. For making herself
comfortable while standing she has stand on a beds of leaves. In this painting, the lady is dressed in
Ghaghara choli and odhani. It is a miniature painting. She is in close association with nature what with
green, dense trees, the undulating mounds, the dark sky. In this state, nature seems her only solace. Her
yellow Ghaghara beautify her and the red odhini rest delicately on her head. Her lotus shaped eyes and
a pursed mouth convey a sadness, which shall soon turn into joy as soon as she sights her lover. Using
dull and dark colors the artist has achieved unusual results and this is depicting the sadness of the lady.
It so appears that Indian artists have portrayed their compositions with various elements of nature;
including flora and fauna, colours and symbols, even the celestial beings which they visualised by their
own understanding of philosophy and age-old literature. While depicting complex figures they utilised
their aptitude by surrounding various elements of nature. Aesthetically they added emotions i.e., bhava
and rasa to make them animate. With this painting one can understand that in Indian paintings the
perspective is different from that of the Western realistic paintings, which with the help of light and
shadows (highlights, mid-tones, shadows) are painted in a more dimensional form; whereas, in Indian
paintings the dimension (here contrast) is achieved with the help of colour gradation, zones etc. which
in turn create a sense of multiple depths to the paintings. If we talk about the colour palatte Bright
yellow green in lady and nearby leaves is used as an element of contrast as well as to show the curiosity
of the scene. The gradation of purple/blue is used to depict devotion, mystery. The mass of green and its
shades creates the element of innocence and strikes a balance in the composition, whereas the
gradation of pink in the leaves around the Nayika depicts subdued, quiet and reserved emotions.
Elements of green is used to symbolize calmness and create depth to the surrounding. The gradation of
the sky towards dark blue/purple signifies that the wait for the lady is endless whereas the evident
green patch around the lady suggests nature/wisdom.