Detail: Opening in celebration of South Asian Heritage Month, this exhibition features new acquisitions as well as artifacts from the ROM’s vaults. Exploring themes associated with Ragamala painting, a genre of South Asian miniature painting that flourished during the 16th to 19th centuries, 30 objects are on display in the special exhibit space in the Ondaatje Gallery. Originating in western India, Ragamala painting came out of artistic workshops of the Rajasthani kingdoms from where they spread southward to the Deccan and later northward to the Pahari region (now in the state of Punjab).
Ragamala painting is a confluence of three artistic forms: music, poetry, and painting. They are illustrations of poetic verses composed to go along with codified modes of classical Indian music (ragas). Love and its myriad forms is the dominant theme in the paintings that illustrate various scenes of romantic encounter, anticipation of that encounter, and longing for the beloved. More than half the objects on display are paintings, many of which have been newly acquired as part of the Charles Green Collection and on display for the first time.
Complimenting the paintings is a display of musical instruments from the ROM vaults that would have made up a North Indian music ensemble, many of which can be seen being played in the paintings. Also featured is a large painted textile depicting the Hindu epic The Ramayana, a story of the triumph of good over evil, which would have been used as part of a performance that included music, singing, and possibly dance. In this way, the exhibit is about a larger theme: the fluid boundary between artistic forms that is an inherent characteristic of South Asian culture.