Anna Dallapiccola, Honorary Professor of Indian Art, University Edinburgh, spoke on the 'music-inspired' Ragamala paintings on display in the Georgian Gallery. This event gave an insight into these highly symbolic visual interpretations of Indian music that depict romantic and devotional situations.

1. Consuming passions Ragamala Painting A.L. Dallapiccola

2. Map of India showing the major centres of painting

3. Vasanta ragini, Ahmadnagar, (Maharashtra), c.1595

4. Two leaves from a ragamala, Wanparthy, Andhra Pradesh, c. 1750

5. Basohli (Panjab Hills), Raga Bhairava, c. 1690

6. Sri raga V Vasanta raga Panchama raga Megha raga Bhairava raga Ragas as margin decoration Kalpasutra ms. C. 1475

7. Kalpasutra, birth of Mahavira, Western India c. 1475

8. The painters’ system Each raga has five or six wives, the raginis. Ragamala albums consist of 36 or 42 paintings. The six ragas, the season, and the time when they should be performed: Bhairava raga - autumn - before dawn Malkosh raga - winter- midnight Hindola raga - spring - morning Dipaka raga - summer - after sunset Megha raga - rainy season - at night Shri raga - early winter- late afternoon

9. Bhairavi ragini, Delhi-Agra region?, c. 1550 From sacred icon to narrative scene The development of ragamala iconography

10. Main literary sources informing the visual language of a ragamala: The Amarushataka by Amaruka (7th cent. ) The Gitagovinda by Jayadeva (12th cent.) The Rasamanjari by Bhanu Datta (15 cent.) The Vasanta Vilasa (1471) The Rasikapriya by Keshavadasa (c. 1570) The Kavipriya by Keshavadasa (c. 1570) Nayaka-nayika-bheda Barahmasas Vernacular religious poetry

11. Bhairava raga c. 1475 Hyderabad ragamala, c. 1770s , Bhairava raga

12. Hyderabad ragamala, c. 1770s Hindola raga Jaipur ragamala, 1842

13. Kotah, (Rajasthan), Dipaka raga, c. 1720 Hyderabad ragamala, c. 1770s, Dipaka raga

14. Bundi (Rajasthan), Megha raga, c.1700 Megha raga, c. 1475

15. Hyderabad ragamala, c. 1770s, Sri raga Sri raga, c. 1475

16. V Vasanta raga, c. 1475 Jaipur ragamala, 1842

17. Hyderabad ragamala, c. 1770s, Devagandhari ragini Jaipur ragamala 1842

18. Hyderabad ragamala, c. 1770s, Asavari ragini Jaipur ragamala, 1842

19. Hyderabad ragamala, c. 1770s, Todi ragini Jaipur ragamala, 1842

20. Wanparthy (Andhra Pradesh) ragamala, c. 1750, Nata ragini Jaipur ragamala, 1842

21. Chawand (Udaipur), 1605, Goudi ragini Jaipur ragamala, 1842

22. Kotah (Rajasthan), c. 1770, Kedara ragini Jaipur ragamala, 1842

23. Hyderabad ragamala, c. 1770s, Kanhara ragini Jaipur ragamala, 1842

24. The offended mistress. Page from a Rasikapriya series, Basohli (Panjab Hills), c. 1675-1700 Hyderabad ragamala, c. 1770s, Ramakali ragini

25. Hyderabad ragamala, c. 1770s, Malkos raga Malwa (Central India) c. 1650, Malkos raga

26. Hyderabad ragamala, c. 1770s, Kanhyavati ragini Bundi (Rajasthan), c. 1670, Khambhavati ragini

27. Ragamalas of the Deccan What happens when ragas migrate without their texts? Hyderabad ragamala, c.1770s , Bisakhra ragini

28. Sirohi (Rajasthan), c. 1700 Kakubha ragini Hyderabad ragamala, c. 1770s, Kakubha ragini

29. Malwa (Central India), c. 1650, Patamanjari ragini Hyderabad ragamala, c. 1770s, Madhumadhavi ragini, inscr., Patamanjari

30. Jaipur ragamala, 1842 Hyderabad ragamala, c.1770s, Dhanasri ragini, inscr. ‘Desakhya’

31. Bhairava raga, inscribed ‘Malkos’ Malkos raga, inscribed ‘Bhairava’

32. The paintings shown in this presentation are in the following public and private collections: Bharat Kala Bhavan, Varanasi Claudio Moscatelli Dogra Art Gallery, Jammu The National Museum, New Delhi The G.K. Kanoria collection, Patna The Victoria and Albert Museum, London University of Edinburgh, Special Collections