Shamsher_MDI
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
convey the message of homosexuality where Shamsher Sen is seen touching and gazing
at a young man or dressed as a woman or even fondling a young boy.
Shamsher Sen ruled Mandi for more than fifty years from 1727
A.D. and was a complete contrast to Sidh
Sen, his illustrious grandfather. History sees him as a man of weak intellect,
barely in control of himself and with a strange look as if under the influence
of opium. As he grew up to manhood he
fell more and more into the influence of men of lower position and took
decisions which were just contrary to the expectations of a noble king. However,
the miniature paintings from the Mandi court thrived during his reign but showed
a gradual slide in quality. The portraits of Shamsher Sen signalling his sexual
preference are not made in secret but appear to have been commissioned in full
public view with the rulers’ patronage. They
are in their own way, thus state portraits. What the painter does is to pick up on lakshanas to achieve his end of
presenting a likeness that throws into relief the essence of the man rather
than the accident of the appearance1. This reflects not only openness
in the Society but also the extraordinary skill of the artist to penetrate
into an uncommon subject in sexuality. The artist has been able to alert the
audience without the need to revert to stereotypes,
iconography or exaggeration. This male gaze in the painting comes out as a
valuable tool in normalising conveyance of homosexuality even to a heterosexual
audience.
Shamsher Sen and the young man both wear a pristine white jama secured at the waist with a bright
saffron sash and a stylish turban. The Dhatura flower on the turban of the King
with forehead smeared with ash and a
tripundra mark on his throat all lead to his immense faith in Lord Shiva just
like his grandfather. The tassel made of opaque silk handkerchief, the red
garland, the gold jewellery and saffron coloured shoes all give a touch of
delicacy and flamboyance to the King. The young man with his plaited long hair,
light gold jewellery, fair and smooth face with sharp features, a pointed nose
and thin eyebrows all bring in an air of freshness. The plain background with a
blue colour and yellow border keeps the entire focus on the love gaze of the
two men.
The ethos towards homosexuality in ancient India was to an extent liberal with art, sculpture and writings on the subject being open and full of confidence. It may not have been in the mainstream, but was definitely acknowledged. This only changed with the advent of the Victorian morality. After all the ancient Hindu philosophy does talk about tritiya prakriti” or “third nature”. Men loved men in private and the persecution or the prosecution for defying the general rule was bare minimum or near to none as detailed in the 2nd century BCE treatise on statecraft, Arthashastra. The Indian scripture on love life and sex - Kama Sutra written by Vatsyayana about 2300 years ago gives lessons even on “auparishtaka” (oral sex) between two men. In the ninth chapter of part two of that knowledgeable Book, Vatsyayana boldly defines eight steps for a man sucking another man’s erect penis starting from the nominal congress and moving to deep throating. The Chapter ends by Vatsyayana ‘casually’ saying “But after all, these things being done secretly.” There was no censorship!
While Shamsher Sen was enjoying his love life with male partners in a small hill state and getting
the act subtly portrayed in paintings, the Mughal Emperor Shah Alam was during the
same period enjoying sex with a handsome young man named Ghulam Qadir who
suffered from ubnah – an itch in his
arse with the Emperor being the ‘top’ and satisfying that itch.2
Whether Shamsher Sen was a “top” or a “bottom” with ubnah
- the master painter leaves no hint and we can only speculate!
Pahari Masters by B.N.Goswamy
and Eberhard Fischer, pp 191
The Anarchy by William
Dalrymple, pg 272
The style of the painting
belongs to the second phase of Mandi Hand paintings as discussed in my earlier
blog.
The Missing Link in Pahari Paintings - Lokinder Bisht
Interesting
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