Lokinder Bisht

  Shiva Mandi, Early 20 th C Size: 36”*24” Oil on canvas Private collection of Bisht Suresh Chander of Wazir family, Mandi Artist: Ghayia Narotam   As we look at this remarkable divine image, one can only imagine the dhyan stotra from the ancient scriptures which must have resonated in the mind of Narotam while putting colour on the canvas. The painting has that engaging iconography of Shiva which spreads the coolness of ambrosia from the crescent moon shining on the temple of the lord. The  dhatura flower bejewelled on the head adds to the beauty. Ganga flows down from the matted hair yogic bun of Shiva and there on the neck hangs the garland of the greatest serpent with its’ eyes shining like lustrous gems. The throat of the lord is dark with the halahal 1 held from the great amrit manthan 2 and which appears like several layers of clouds packed closely on the night of the new moon. Shiva wears a leopard skin with its’ exalted head hanging from h...

  Shiva and the Divine Family Mandi, Punjab Hills, India 1810-20 Size: 200 mm *150 mm   @Sotheby’s Artist: Sajnu   The painting celebrates the bliss of marriage of Shiva and Parvati who are in the company of the six-headed son Kartikey and the elephant-headed son Ganesh. The ancient scriptures do narrate quarrels between Shiva and Parvati as a modern-day couple but they are immediately drawn back to that attraction of enjoying the simple joys of family life. Sajnu here creates a whisper of love - that whisper where there are no words being spoken as the couple prepare the intoxicating bhang 1 and yet everything is being heard as one looks at the layers of this painting. The family has traveled down to the hills to meet their devotees from that majestic Mount Kailash. The mountain people were aware of their God’s responsibility to them and their artists painted the event of the God’s visit with ingenuity, conviction and familiarity. 2 The couple sits on a l...

  Raja Sidh Sen as a manifestation of Shiva Mandi, Punjab Hill State, India, Western Himalayas, c. 1725 Size: 271 * 182 mm Museum of Fine Arts, Boston Artist: Unknown Inscription: In Takari - Sri Maharaja Sidh Sen Saheb Bahadur, Vali-i Rayasat Mandi likhaa subh ji   “ I am the Brahman alone which, after being understood in its true aspect, entirely burns into bhasma (ash) the ignorance of considering this universe to be real and separate from one’s own Self, through the destructive fire that burns at the time of the dawning of the right knowledge ” This wisdom from Bhasmajabala Upnishad, the ancient Hindu scripture which describes the sacred Bhasma and Rudraksha beads as symbols for body art, manifests in the ash smeared portrait of that illustrious ruler Sidh Sen of Mandi shown with the iconography of Shiva. In this magnificent painting, the master artist from Mandi aims to present not the outward appearance of things but the inner significance and expressi...

 A Western Tragopan  or Jujurana Mandi 1810 c. ;  (Punjab Hills States, India, Himalayan Art) Size : 180* 205 mm Artist : Sajnu At Met Museum, New York Inscription : “ Shri samvat 1867 sastra 86 re jyestha 11 phulgar likhya Sajnu-e” ( On 11th of Jyestha (May) 1867 Samvat (1810), Sajnu wrote Phulgar )        As one looks at this marvelous image of Jujurana (juju means bird and rana means king) made by that great artist Sajnu about two centuries ago, one can but revere the beauty of the bird and the artistic skills of the master. The beauty is boundless and constant albeit the bird is called by different names like Pyara in Kinnaur, Jayazzi in Bushar, Phulgar in Chamba, Budal in Mandi and Kullu. Paintings of birds or animals were never common in the Pahari school unlike in the Mughal court where masters like Ustad Mansur, Nadir-al Asr , created extraordinary art work of flora and fauna for that great patron and connoisseur, Jahangir. The Mughal paintin...

Raja Shamsher Sen of Mandi with his lover Mandi, c 1760-70 Size: 165 * 139 mm Cleaveland Museum of Art Artist: Unknown Inscription in Takri ; Shamsher Sen Raja Shamsher Sen of Mandi gazes intensely at a young man, his lover, who is shown greeting him with respect. Centuries away the master painter remarkably uses a lakshana of ‘Gaydar’  to convey a character’s sexual orientation.  Gaydar which is portmanteau of gay and radar is that  intuitive ability of a gay person to assess and reinforce his perception of another person’s gay identity through clues like eye gaze. Shamsher Sen loved his queens and as well as men. His persona and portraits showing him surrounded by young men with a similar eye gaze leads one to believe his desire for young men. In gaydar concept, the male gaze is further accentuated by the presence of other forms of non verbal communication such as posture, gesture and smiles etc.. The painters of Mandi have used some of these lakshnas to c...

Shiva and Parvati Mandi, c1740-70 Size: 272 * 170 mm Victoria & Albert Museum, London Rothenstein Collection Artist: Unknown   The Master Painter has rendered a beautiful vision of the eternal couple with Shiva’s loving face glancing at Parvati, his consort, who prays with folded hands and submits to her lord. This image not only represents an ideal couple that any husband and wife might emulate, it is a symbol of the very nature of God, for they are the reflection from the synthesis of the masculine and feminine energies of the universe manifested in two forms separately. Yet, they are inseparable and are the root and womb of all creation. The image also confirms that God is not a lone isolated atman or spirit but a reflection into an adoring and a cheerful couple with physical love also being integral part of that Supreme Being. In the physical parlance, the union of Shiva and Parvati is a narration of a love marriage just like in a modern day context. Parvati as a maiden is...

Mother Ganga Mandi, c 1650-75 Size: Image 311*184 mm; Sheet 352*225 mm Artist : Unknown   Philadelphia Museum of Art   “ O Mother! Necklace adorning the world! Banner rising to heaven! I ask that I may leave of this body On your banks Drinking your water, rolling in your waves, Remembering your name, Bestowing my gaze upon you.”   These beautiful lines from  Ganga Stotra written by Adi Shankaracharya in the 8 th C.E. summarises the ultimate desire of a devout Hindu to breathe his last on the banks of River Ganga for salvation. As Ganga descended from heaven, she is a vehicle of ascent for these very people from earth to heaven. From time immemorial people of this land have travelled to the banks of Ganga to have a dip in the holy water and atone for their sins. They have immersed the ashes of their kith and remembered their ancestors by cupping the water in their hands, lifting it up and letting it fall back into the River with complete sub...