Glimpses of history in the timeless art of Mewar

From Rajasthan

Udaipur, the ‘City of Lakes’, is a destination to lust after for art buffs. For those taken over by wanderlust and winging their way to the city, there’s more surprise in store. Images of the grand procession of Rajput kings, soldiers riding horses, a train of camels with ministers riding on it, and the Rajput king seated along with his queen in an embellished elephant are a common sight in the palaces of Udaipur. These pictures portray a slice of the royal lifestyle of Mewar belonging to the olden days. In other words, the miniature paintings depict the royal festivals of Mewar.

A visit to the renowned City Palace and Fateh Prakash Palace provides a perfect opportunity to have glimpses of the stunning art world of Mewar. There are a number of stunning miniature paintings of Rajasthan, best known as Mewar paintings, that made a big splash in the art world in the bygone times. Snippets of Maharana Pratap riding on Chetak (his horse) are most sought after, as they catch the imagination of tourists.

In current times, Mewar paintings mostly adorn the walls of the City Palace and the two luxury, heritage properties — Fateh Prakash Palace and Shiv Niwas Palace in Udaipur. These miniature paintings might be small in size but are intricate, colourful and elaborate pieces that illustrate the opulence of the royal culture of Rajasthan. History records that the extraordinary miniature paintings of Mewar began as early as the 16th century when painters wielded their brush to illustrate intricate patterns on canvas and gifted these paintings in royal courts.

Commissioned by Maharana Sajjan Singh and Fateh Singh of Udaipur, these exquisite paintings had profound Mughal influence, and craftsmen from far-flung Persia were roped in for the task.

Gone are the days when it took a plethora of effort and time to complete a single piece of these miniature paintings since the colours used were extracted from natural resources. The black colour was created from stones, yellow from the Palash flower, and red from the fruit of the Peepal tree. It took a few months to grind the colours required for paintings.

Today, natural colours are still used, but the extraction process has become faster and more efficient. The craftsmen use fine brushes, the strands of which are made of hairs from a squirrel’s tail. Nearly 200 craftsmen are engaged in wielding brushes in the city, and for some, the art has been in the family for generations. Thus, these are heritage pieces of art from the land of Mewar that serve as excellent mementoes and gift items.

Nowadays, these miniature paintings are used for interior decoration also as they add a touch of elegance in homes. These art pieces mostly come in paper or silk and make for ideal wall hangings. One can find such wall hangings on Jagdish Temple Road in Udaipur on the outskirts of the City Palace. The silk wall hangings are done in a black setting and are tagged at a reasonable price. These wall hangings are priced anywhere between Rs 1,000 and 5,000 and you can always strike a good bargain. Wall hangings with a pair of horses or Lord Krishna with Radha are the most common ones here.

Art lovers interested in owning these beautiful artworks can visit Rajasthali or any of the shops on Jagdish Temple Road, Udaipur.

The miniature paintings of Mewar are hot-selling items among global tourists since a steady stream of them visit the heritage monuments of Udaipur. Today, these paintings also have domestic buyers.