Browsing the Barahmasa

The Indian subcontinent has been creatively engaging with the idea of calendars, and art on calendars, for a few centuries. Barahmasa (‘Twelve Months’) was a literary tradition that developed in North and Western India, as well as in Bengal, traversing language groups (Sanskrit, Brajbhasa, local dialects and more) with compositions based on the cycles of months and seasons, which were later illustrated as sets and within other narratives. By the 18th century, along with the Ragamalas, Barahmasa paintings were also a popular theme of illustrations in ateliers across the subcontinent.

Join us on an exploration of seasons and the 12 months of the year, unpacking iconography, narratives, and styles of Barahmasa paintings with art historian and curator, Aparna Andhare.