ATTRIBUTED TO CHHAJJU AT CHAMBA, NORTH INDIA, 1800-1810

Here we see the Nayika agamapatika, the heroine whose husband has come. This is variant on the third nayika, vasakasajja nayika (‘She who waits for her lover at her door’), of the eight described in the Rasikapriya of Keshav Das. In the original text the heroine hides herself away, but in Pahari interpretations the crow – seen here perching on the zenana gate – caws to tell the nayika her husband is returning. Our heroine here is busy supervising the arrangements for her returning lover who we can already see in the background being welcomed back to court. A bed is being set up under the stars, his hookah prepared, a porter bringing in his luggage, and a figure delivering wine to the zenana. The scene seems to follow-on directly from another illustration of agamapatika nayika by Chajju in which the nayika and her attendants have clearly just noticed the squarking crow (J. Seyller and J. Mittal, Pahari Paintings in the Jagdish and Kamla Mittal Museum of Indian Art, Hyderabad, 2014, no.89.). That painting is of very similar style and placed within the same margins and borders suggesting this to also be the work of Chajju.

Chajju (c.1775-1850) was son of Nikka, himself son of Nainsukh. As such we find many features typical of Guler painting, such as the background of cypresses alternating with other trees. However, Chajju is known to have worked in Chamba where Nikka had moved to find patronage under Raja Raj Singh. The figures depicted in our painting exhibit the characteristic waving hemlines and focus on decorative pattern favoured by Chajju (Seyller and Mittal, op.cit., pp.256-57).