2018-04-04 Wed

Miniature Paintings are the best to summarise the beauty and the intricacy of Indian painting styles. Starting from merely being the illustrations for religious texts, Miniature Paintings have stolen many hearts with its varied topics of depiction. India Post in 1973 has commemorated a few on stamps. Let’s have a look at two out of these set of four beauties.

Musical ‘Maru Ragini’: Famous for their varied themes ranging from religious depiction to capturing various moods of nature and humans, “Raga Mala” style of Indian miniatures are the most famous! Colourfully personifying each “Raga” or a musical mode, these miniatures are a perfect fusion of art and classical music. This Re. 1 stamp depicts the famous musical folklore of ‘Dhola-Maru’ meeting after a long time by the grace of their faithful camel. Set against bold primary colours this painting is painted by artist Nasir-Ud-Din of Rajasthan’s Mewar style of Miniatures.

Majestic animal Tamed: Being a true admirer of art, Jahangir’s reign saw an impetus in Mughal miniature painting styles. Finer brushstrokes, pastel colours, portraitures and detailing of nature and animals characterised the miniatures of this period. Depicted on this Rs. 2 commemorative stamp is a beautiful painting of artist Zain-Al-Abidin. It features a chained ceremonial elephant with a red-saddle cloth and a mahut (rider) or King holding an ankush (goad). The in-depth featuring of birds and tree leaves are a proof of the Jahangir period of Mughal Miniatures.

Such beauty these stamps are! Do you have them in your collection?

Image courtesy: Mintage World