Art has the ability to haunt, to stick in the memory and nourish the spirit.The ability of the artist to transmute paints into forms, shapes and feelings is a source of wonder. Equally fascinating is the interplay between art-forms – the way poetry, sculpture, music and painting relate to each other. The relationship between painting and poetry is a particularly close one. Both stem from a yearning to transform the familiar into something anew, to encapsulate an experience in a vibrant, concentrated form. They share a harmony, structure, color, and rhythm; within the compositional balance of a painting, one might almost say that one color “rhymes” with another.

An exhibition titled Ragamala – Pictures for All Senses took place at the Museum Rietberg in Zurich, dedicated to Ragamala, a jewel of Indian miniature painting where music, poetry, and art impeccably blend. The exhibition is the culmination of the Ragamala Project established in 2021 at Museum Rietberg as part of the GBF Research Programme for Indian Art and Artists. The exhibition’s curator Sonika Soni surveyed hundreds of Ragamala pictures in the Museum Rietberg collection. With this exhibition, she presented her latest research findings to the public for the first time.¹ How does one feel when listening to music? What does the daybreak or sunset sound like? What represents a reverberation full of desire? A ragmala depicts the visualised forms of ragas or melodies of Indian classical music. The term itself means garland of ragas referring to both the musical and pictorial aspects of ragas.²

In Indian music, a raga is a specific way to form melodies, depicting various Indian musical modes and in doing so evokes a specific emotional state or mood. Ragamala is a unique form of Indian miniature painting developed by combining a variety of sources including musical codes and accompanying poetry to indicate the time of day, or season, in which the melody should be performed. Experiencing a ragamala painting is akin to a multimedia journey for the senses. Each piece narrates a story, brought to life through the harmonious blend of music, poetry, and visual art. The noble benefactors, seated in their opulent chambers alongside esteemed visitors, would immerse themselves in the artwork amid an ambiance rich with fine food, fragrant scents, and melodious tunes, their ears and eyes united in a celebration of beauty and culture.

The exhibition invites the audience to delve into the world of ragamala through various art forms, revealing new facets of these paintings with each exploration. If one walks through, they can listen to music, watch documentaries, smell perfumes, or play a game. It is as if a viewer would understand a collaboration involving many professionals in their fields— art educators, designers, researchers, and musicians— particularly from India and Pakistan. The audience can also listen to and grasp what these experts think of the exhibition, how they contributed, and how their insights make the show as unique and innovative as it is.

Ragamala Today emphasizes the significance of ragamala within the broader context of world art history, celebrating its rich literary heritage, its deep connections with music, and its diverse regional styles. The exhibition offers a nuanced interpretation of its symbolism, rendering it accessible to a modern audience. Visitors are invited to explore the many layers of this artistic tradition, experiencing its beauty firsthand for the first time. Highlighting around fifty ragamala paintings from the museum’s collection, spanning from the 17th to 19th centuries, the show also features two contemporary works by Manish Soni and Murad Khan Mumtaz. Through video interviews, these artists share insights into their creative process and how they re-enacted two ragas, each translating one into their unique visual language.

Visitors are encouraged not only to examine the intricate details of these images but also to listen to music and breathe in the scents embedded within them. Featuring newly composed arrangements, perfumes, and films, the exhibition invites viewers to fully immerse themselves in the sensual realm of Ragamala painting. In collaboration with musician Tara Kini, thirty Ragas have been reinterpreted and rerecorded, complemented by insights from researcher Bharti.

Dr. Murad Khan Mumtaz, a Pakistani-American painter and scholar, explores different facets of spring in his triptych Ascent, Descent, Melting Mountains, capturing themes of joy and longing. Much like the arrival of spring, the presence of Krishna infuses the world with happiness and delight. The flames depicted across the three panels symbolize human aspirations and desires. These images poetically narrate their stories and craft an evocative scene, inviting viewers into a rich tapestry of emotion and symbolism.

The film Musavvrari:Colours of Tradition directed by Jawad Sharif also explores ragamala through a series of paintings created by Mumtaz, inspired by Raga Basant. It beautifully intertwines the worlds of visual art and classical music, featuring Chand Khan and Zohaib Hassan. The documentary has been produced by Johannes Beltz, senior curator of South and Southeast Asian Art, head of collections, head of art education, Vice Director, Museum Rietberg with Sonika Soni the exhibition curator.

Gambhira Raga and Kishan,Todi Ragini are illustrative pieces showcasing rich storytelling and emotional intensity seen in ragamala paintings while offering an insight into the world of spirituality and poetry. In the case of Gambhira Raga, the viewers are privileged to witness a striking scene where a newlywed couple is traversing a dangerously beautiful river in a boat which may be symbolizing their literal and metaphorical fame and hopeful journey towards the future. The vigorous young boatman, to embody the requisite spirit of the waters, has his arms outstretched pulling at the oar. The vigor of the river, vividly symbolizes peril and promise while the entire composition manifests on the gamut of the feeling and emotion. The painting captures the contemplating gaze of the viewer, providing an opportunity to comprehend the commanding and unending conflict of union alongside the sobering effect of hardship. Compared to this, Kishan, Todi Ragini is a peaceful but captivating scenario— a beautifully dressed woman holding the vina, her music captivating an encircling gathering of beasts. The elaborate clothing and the radiant vermillion boat joining the majestic palaces with the green landscape catches the instant of celestial inspiration and serenity. The unknown artist’s emphasis on the interaction between music, nature, and architecture highlights the raga’s emotional content—devotion, love, and longing.

Both pieces, in the Museum Rietberg’s collection emphasize the long-standing dominance of visual narrative in Indian miniature painting. They exist as visual poetry, encouraging critical exploration in themes of travel, devotion, and emotional complexity, and representing the cultural and spiritual mores inherent in the Ragamala tradition. This is not the first show on the subject of ragamala and yet it is special in its curatorial strategy. There has been a grand reconsideration outside the boundaries of what has become familiar. In Ragamala- Pictures for all Senses one hears paintings, sees music and inhales the fragrance of a painted flower.

The exhibition Ragamala- Pictures for All Senses opened on September 19, 2024 and remained on display till January 19, 2025 at the Museum Rietberg in Zurich.

Title Image: Concluding section titled ‘Ragamala Huete’ of the exhibition ‘Ragamala- Pictures for All Senses, featuring works of two contemporary miniaturists from India and Pakistan. In the centre is a video documentation of their creative process. Photographer: Patrik Fuchs, Museum Rietberg

References:

Dallapiccola, A. Glynn, C. Skelton,R. Ragamala:Paintings from India, Paperback. 2011.
Ghosh, S. Ragamala Paintings- Varied Images from the Deccan, International Journal of Engineering, Management and Humanities Vol. 2, issue 2. 2021.