Consider the following statements on the Mewar and Kishangarh Schools of Painting.
(A) The 1605 Chawand Ragamala is close to the pre-seventeenth century style, with simpler compositions and vibrant colours.
(B) Sawant Singh composed devotional poetry on Krishna and Radha in Brajbhasha under the pen name Nagari Das.
(C) The Ragamala set painted at Chawand in 1605 is the work of the artist Sahibdin.
(D) Sawant Singh wrote about Bani Thani in the poem Bihari Satsai, which became the basis for Nihal Chand’s painting.
How many of the statements given above are correct?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → Two
(A) The 1605 Chawand Ragamala is close to the pre-seventeenth century style, with simpler compositions and vibrant colours. — Correct. The set has a close affinity with the older style in its simpler compositions and vibrant colours.
(B) Sawant Singh composed devotional poetry on Krishna and Radha in Brajbhasha under the pen name Nagari Das. — Correct. Nagari Das was the pen name of Sawant Singh of Kishangarh.
(C) The Ragamala set painted at Chawand in 1605 is the work of the artist Sahibdin. — Incorrect. Its colophon page names the artist Nisardin. Sahibdin worked later, in the reign of Jagat Singh I.
(D) Sawant Singh wrote about Bani Thani in the poem Bihari Satsai, which became the basis for Nihal Chand’s painting. — Incorrect. The poem is Bihari Jas Chandrika. The Bihari Satsai is a text painted at Mewar by Jagannath.
NCERT (2026-27): “Mewar School of Painting …However, long wars with the Mughals have wiped out most early examples. Therefore, the emergence of the Mewar School is widely associated with an early dated set of Ragamala paintings painted at Chawand in 1605 by an artist named Nisardin. The set has a colophon page that reveals the above vital information. This set shares its visual aesthetics and has close affinity with the pre-seventeenth century painting style in its direct approach, simpler compositions, sporadic decorative details and vibrant colours.” “Bani Thani Sawant Singh composed devotional poetry on Krishna and Radha in Brajbhasha under the pen name Nagari Das. He is said to have been passionately in love with a young singer, who was accorded the title ‘Bani Thani’, the bewitching lady of fashion, because of her unparalleled beauty and elegance. …He writes about her in a poem Bihari Jas Chandrika, which became the basis for Nihal chand’s painting of Bani Thani, thus, representing a blending of poetry and painting.” |