An illustration to a Ragamala series: Lalita Ragini, Provincial Mughal, mid-18th century

Sotheby’s London, 14th October 1980, lot 227.

With Indar Pasricha, London, in the 1980s.

A prince holding white flower garlands (mala) in each hand, quietly departing his lover in the morning. He looks back at her as he leaves - the morning sky is a bright blue. She is still sleeping - with eyes closed on her bed on an open-air marble terrace. A small pavilion with a brilliant orange awning.

In our present iteration of Lalit Ragini, the nayika (heroine) is depicted lying face up with eyes shut seemingly asleep. In other examples she lies on her side pretending annoyance at her nayika (prince) for leaving so early in the morning.

One description of Lalit Ragini reads:

“Wearing many ornaments and garments, splendid,

the fair mistress lies exhausted upon her bed at dawn”.

From the Metropolitan Museum of Art New York (Object Number: 1975.409.1)

Another earlier version of the ragini, a Sub-Imperial Mughal painting perhaps from Marwar, which was once in the collection of Ralph and Catherine Benkaim and now in the National Museum of Asian Art at the Smithsonian in Washington D.C. (accession number: S2018.1.48) has an inscription on the recto in devanagari - which the museum has transcribed as:

"Praful sapt chad malya dhari … yuva ch gauro salochan sri. vinihi sratra vasre grahat pragyati. vilasivesho lalit pradishtah".

This may be translated as:

"The hero holds a garland of seven blooming flowers (saptchad). He is young and fair with beautiful eyes. He leaves the house early morning in a self-indulgent mood and looks extremely beautiful. Lalit Ragini". See: https://asia-archive.si.edu/object/S2018.1.48/