February 17, 2012
Can’t buy me love . . .
The story of Krishna is as ancient as any in the world. It’s told in the ancient Indian epic, the Mahabharata. Krishna grows up among the 137 sacred forests on the banks of the Yamuna River. It is there he learns to dance, to share food and play with friends – simple activities known as leelas – and it is there he falls in love with common people, and common people fall in love with him. Ultimately, he becomes the most approachable of Gods, showering his followers with all forms of gifts, known as pushti, for their devotion. The moral of the story appears to be you can’t get love by giving gifts, but you can get gifts by giving love.
This week’s new arrival is a type of painting dealing with Krishna called a pichvai. Of all pichvai, this is the rarest type. It comes from the Deccan Plateau in Southern India and is simply called a “rainy day,” or Decanni pichvai. In this pichvai, Krishna is not even depicted as a person, but instead, as a kadamba tree, its branches keeping the monsoon clouds at bay as a group of adoring milkmaids, representing the people, are showered with blossoms underneath. This isn’t just decorative art. It’s art meant to remind us that giving love is the aperture to receiving everything else - including love itself.
Deccani “Rainy Day” Pichvai
Pigment and gold on hand spun indigo cloth
Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India; 19th C.
77” Wide X 65” High
P.O.R.
Part of a much larger collection of pichvai in a broad range of prices
