The features of the sixteenth-century Deccani Ragamala paintings are traced to different sources. Which of the following features is the odd one out?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → Women’s hair rolled up in a bun on the nape of the neck
Option (1) The horizon disappears from the painting — Has traces of north India or Persia. The horizon that disappears is one of the features traced to north India or Persia.
Option (2) Neutral coloured ground patterned with small stylised plants — Has traces of north India or Persia. This neutral coloured ground takes the place of the horizon. It is one of the same northern or Persian features.
Option (3) Women’s hair rolled up in a bun on the nape of the neck — Correct. The hairstyle is the one feature left out of the northern or Persian group. It is similar to the Lepakshi murals.
Option (4) Symmetrical architectural domes over the arcades — Has traces of north India or Persia. These domes may also fill the place of the horizon. They too have northern or Persian traces.
NCERT (2026-27): “Ahmadnagar School of Painting …We may see the debt of all Deccani kingdoms, which they owe to Persia for their landscape idiom. These feminine dress, present in a series of Ragamala paintings, are the most striking and moving examples of the sixteenth century Deccan Schools of Painting. The women’s hair is rolled up in a bun on the nape of the neck, similar to the Lepakshi murals. The horizon, in the painting, disappears and is replaced by a neutral coloured ground patterned all over with small stylised plants, or occupied by symmetrical architectural domes over the archades. All these features, except the hairstyle, have traces of north India or Persia.” |