"Painting in the Kangra Valley" by Vijay Sharma - An Appreciation

This recently published book has a unique distinction of being authored by a professional artist, himself having painted more than a hundred miniature paintings.

The first chapter gives the general background of the subject, paying due tribute to the first art historians who brought it into the limelight, like Ananda K. Coomaraswamy, William George Arthur, M. S. Randhawa, Karl Khandalavala & others. 

The second chapter deals with the influences on Kangra Painting, like the natural beauty of the valley, Lord Krishna, Vaishnavism & the Bhakti Cult.

The third & fourth chapters differentiate between the Guler & Kangra schools, pointing out the individualities of the two.

The fifth chapter deals with the subject matter of these schools like Portraiture, Ragamala, the Hindu Epics, Baramasa & Devi Mahatmya.

The last chapter deals with the predominant rasa of the Kangra Painting, namely Sringara as depicted in classical Love Poetry.

An Appendix gives details of a few examples of the entries in the Bahi registers of the Pandas at Haridwar.

With 143 colour plates, this beautifully printed & produced volume makes a noteworthy addition to the existing literature on the subject.