Pahari painting (literally meaning a painting from the mountainous regions: ''pahar'' means a mountain in

Hindi Hindi ( Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been ...

) is an umbrella term used for a form of

Indian painting Indian painting has a very long tradition and history in Indian art, though because of the climatic conditions very few early examples survive.Blurton, 193 The earliest Indian paintings were the rock paintings of prehistoric times, such as the ...

, done mostly in miniature forms, originating from Himalayan hill kingdoms of North India, during 17th-19th century, notably

Basohli Basohli (formerly Vishwasthali) is a town near Kathua in Kathua district in the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir, India. It is situated on the right bank of River Ravi at an altitude of 1876 ft. It was founded by Raja Bhupat Pal som ...

, Mankot, Nurpur,

Chamba Chamba may refer to: People * Gilberto Chamba (born 1961), Ecuadorian serial killer * Jessica Chamba (born 1981), European activist Places Ghana * Chamba, a town in the Northern Region India * Chamba (Vidhan Sabha constituency), Himachal Pradesh ...

, Kangra, Guler, Mandi and Garhwal.

Nainsukh Nainsukh (literally "Joy of the Eyes"; c. 1710 – 1778) was an Indian painter. He was the younger son of the painter Pandit Seu and, like his older brother Manaku of Guler, was an important practitioner of Pahari painting, and has been c ...

was a famous master of the mid-18th century, followed by his family workshop for another two generations. The central theme of Pahari painting is depiction of eternal love of Hindu deities Radha and

Krishna Krishna (; sa, कृष्ण ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme god in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is one ...

Origin and area

Sudama bows at the glimpse of Krishna's golden palace in Dwarka

The Pahari school developed and flourished during 17th-19th centuries stretching from

Jammu Jammu is the winter capital of the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. It is the headquarters and the largest city in Jammu district of the union territory. Lying on the banks of the river Tawi, the city of Jammu, with an area of ...

to Garhwal, in the sub- Himalayan

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

, through

Himachal Pradesh Himachal Pradesh (; ; "Snow-laden Mountain Province") is a state in the northern part of India. Situated in the Western Himalayas, it is one of the thirteen mountain states and is characterized by an extreme landscape featuring several peaks ...

. Each created stark variations within the genre, ranging from bold intense Basohli Painting, originating from

in Jammu and Kashmir, to the delicate and lyrical

Kangra paintings Kangra painting (Hindi: कांगड़ा चित्रकारी) is the pictorial art of Kangra, named after the Kangra State, a former princely state of Himachal Pradesh, which patronized the art. It became prevalent with the fadin ...

, which became synonymous to the style before other schools of paintings developed, and finally to the poetic and cinematic representations in

Garhwali Garhwali may refer to: * Garhwali people, an ethno-linguistic group who live in northern India * Garhwali language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by Garhwali people * anything from or related to: **Garhwal division, a region in state of Uttarakhan ...

Paintings Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...

Mola Ram Mola Ram or Maula Ram ( deva, मौला राम) (1743–1833), p.119 was an Indian painter, who originated the Garhwal branch of the Kangra school of painting., pp.75–76 He was also a poet, historian and diplomat., p.25 Much researc ...

. The Kangra style reached its pinnacle with paintings of

Radha and Krishna Radha-Krishna (IAST , sa, राधा कृष्ण) are collectively known within Hinduism as the combined forms of feminine as well as the masculine realities of God. Krishna and Radha are the primeval forms of God and his pleasure potenc ...

, inspired by

Jayadeva Jayadeva (; born ), also spelt Jaideva, was a Sanskrit poet during the 12th century. He is most known for his epic poem '' Gita Govinda'' which concentrates on Krishna's love with the '' gopi'', Radha, in a rite of spring. This poem, which pres ...

Gita Govinda The ''Gita Govinda'' ( sa, गीत गोविन्दम्; ) is a work composed by the 12th-century Hindu poet, Jayadeva. It describes the relationship between Krishna, Radha and ''gopis'' (female cow herders) of Vrindavan. The ''Gita ...

. Pahari painting grew out of the

Mughal painting Mughal painting is a style of painting on paper confined to miniatures either as book illustrations or as single works to be kept in albums ( muraqqa), from the territory of the Mughal Empire in South Asia. It emerged from Persian miniature pai ...

, though this was patronized mostly by the Rajput kings who ruled many parts of the region, and gave birth to a new idiom in Indian painting. Some local antecedents have also been suggested, as a vivid Kashmiri tradition of mural paintings flourished between the 9th and 17th centuries, as seen in the murals of Alchi Monastery or

Tsaparang Tsaparang was the capital of the ancient kingdom of Guge in the Garuda Valley, through which the upper Sutlej River flows, in Ngari Prefecture (Western Tibet) near the border of Ladakh. It is 278 km south-southwest of Shiquanhe, Senggezangbo ...

Schools of Pahari painting

* Guler School * Kangra School * Chamba SchoolPahari paintings
/ref> * Garhwal School *

Bilaspur, Himachal Pradesh Bilaspur is a town and a municipal council in Bilaspur district in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. History Bilaspur was the capital of a state of the same name founded in the 7th century, also known as Kahlur. The ruling dynasty wer ...

Famous examples

* Krishna and Radha in a Pavilion

References

External links