Cleveland Museum of Art

The heroine who waits anxiously for her absent lover (Utka Nayika)

Date: c. 1800
Medium: Gum tempera on paper
Culture: Northern India, Pahari kingdoms
Department: Indian and Southeast Asian Art
Institution: Cleveland Museum of Art

Inspired by devotional poetry that likens the waiting for divine favor to that of a woman alone in the forest waiting for her lover, Pahari painters mastered portrayals of this subject. Darkness has fallen, but the moon and stars and jasmine flowers brighten the night. However, monsoon clouds approach in the distance, suggesting impending danger and misery. Her gesture and expression suggest a mixture of hope and heightened uncertainty about how much longer she should continue to wait. Utka Nayika is often shown standing or resting on a bed of leaves.

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