Basohli, a hilly area located near the plane land of Rajasthan, had a glorious tradition of painting. Emperor Akbar appointed Jain Khan to rule this area. Later, Krishnapal, the next ruler, founded Basohli as the capital city without the permission of Emperor Jahangir, which led to the prison of the ruler Krishnapal. Afterward, a pleasing relationship occurred between
the kings of Rajasthan and the Mughal Emperor, and Jahangir appointed many Rajasthani artists to his court for several purposes. As a result, there was a significant improvement in Mughal Persian painting. Mughal artists drew inspiration from the style of Rajasthani (Basohli) artists, which led to a reform in Mughal miniature art. Additionally, Rajasthani artists gained experience in Persian art. According to the scholar historian named N.C. Mehta, Gujrati painting was the primary motivation or the birthplace of Rajasthani Painting. Geographically, the border of Gujarat included several places in Rajasthan. A scholar named Kumaraswamy defined the borderland of Rajasthani painting as the Himalayan valley in the northern part, Bundelkhand in the eastern part, and some places in the southwestern parts of Gujrat. The tradition of missing the horizontal line in painting continued at the end of the 1500s century, which came from Gujrati art. But in Rajasthani paintings, we can see exceptions in attire, where innerwear was depicted for women, which was not allowed in Gujarati paintings.
Communicating with Kangra was difficult in earlier times because it was nearly impassable. Later, when scholars discovered the Kangra painting, they also discovered that it was somewhat impressed by Punjabi art. Nurpur and Gulher painting ( the segments of Kangra Painting) was motivated
by the Punjabi style since the places were located near the plain land of Punjab. Additionally, Kangra was a crucial center for the art practices of Tehri Gadwal and the hilly region of Rajasthan. The Kangra Kalam painting style also impacted the art practices of Chamba, Kullu, and eastern Gadwal. The influence can be seen in the female dresses depicted in Kangra paintings, such as dupatta, kameez, etc which are also worn in Punjabi attire. In the cultural segment, we can also find some Punjabi love stories illustrated in Kangra Kalam, which proves that Punjabi literature was popular in the Kangra region. The fact behind it was the appearance of Saint Gurunanak (The first spiritual leader out of ten in the Punjabi community [1477-1544] ), who significantly influenced Kangra art and culture. The second Guru of the Punjabi community was Guru Gobind Singh, a remarkable spiritual leader, warrior, and writer. He authored
Ramayana and Krishna Lila Madhuri in the Gurmukhi Language. He also was a scholar of Sanskrit, Persian, and Hindi languages. He somberly represented the story of Mahismardini while translating the Chandi from Sanskrit to Gurmukhi. The court artists of King Sansarchand illustrated so many paintings from those mentioned books and the divine life of ten Gurus in Kangra Kalam. At a later time in 1810, King Ranjit Singh occupied the Kangra Valley, which was retained at the end of 1830. Ranjit Singh admired the Kangra artists and with his kindness and great contribution artists were inspired by his service. With the deep impact, so many paintings have been composed where we can see warrior's helmets, and long beards just like Punjabi. It's different from the Mughal paintings.
The court artists of the Sultan and Mughal eras were not keen to paint portraits or animal figures until they were ordered by the emperors. But Rajasthani artists were independent and had the opportunity to work willingly. They picked up brushes for common individuals in addition to fulfilling the demands of the kings. A new art culture was born pursuing such practice, which we can recognize as mass art. In common determination, Rajasthani Art is what Kangra painting composed by pursuing the mass art. In Kumaraswamy's view, all Northern Indian paintings, including the paintings of the eastern valley of the river Sindhu, encompass the sort of Rajasthani painting. It makes Hindu Rajasthani painting wider by the inclusion of other styles of art. But if we think profoundly, then all native Indian styles were inspired by the ancient Ajanta painting and followed the same which makes Indian Hindu painting a unique identity.
Image attribution:-
Basholi painting of Lord Ganesh - Wikipedia, Public Domain
Krishna Lila Gulher / Kangra (Punjab Hills) painting - Wikipedia, Public Domain.
Guru Gobind Singh Sahib - Sikhiwiki
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