- Title
- Megha Mallar Raga, Folio from a Ragamala (Garland of Melodies)
- Date Made
- circa 1740
- Medium
- Opaque watercolor, gold, and ink on paper
- Dimensions
- Sheet: 10 5/8 x 7 5/8 in. (26.99 x 19.37 cm); Image: 7 1/2 x 5 1/2 in. (19.05 x 13.97 cm)
- Accession Number
- M.71.1.24
- Collecting Area
- South and Southeast Asian Art
- Curatorial Notes
Megha Mallar Raga is the fifth raga in the predominant ragamala (garland of melodies) classification system generally known as the Rajasthani system. The inscription in the header alternately identifies Megha Mallar as a ragini rather than a raga, but the visual iconography of a prince or Krishna dancing in the rain is constant. It is a joyful melody associated with the nighttime and the monsoon rains in July–August.
In this painting, a bejeweled prince in a yellow coat (jama) holding a vina dances joyously in the forest. He is accompanied by two dancing female musicians, one playing a pair of hand cymbals and the other a mridangam drum. The sky is full of thunder clouds with a serpentine lightning bolt, cascading rain, and three storks. In the foreground, two waterfowl in a lotus pond enjoy the performance. See its series mate M.81.8.10 and also M.86.345.1.
Additional folios from this dispersed series are in many museums and private collections, including the National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa (23589 and 23590).
- Selected Bibliography
- Rosenfield, John. The Arts of India and Nepal: The Nasli and Alice Heeramaneck Collection. Boston: Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 1966.
- Dohanian, D.K. The Art of India. Rochester, NY: Memorial Art Gallery of the University of Rochester, University Publications, 1961.
