Divine Pleasures:Met Museum New York
Kronos Collection 17th-19th Century Miniatures

Uma Nair

Divine Pleasures at the Met museum belongs to a curator who has gifted them to the Met museum-the sanctuary he worked at. This act of generosity speaks of great love, and this bouquet of miniatures is indeed an odyssey touched by the Divine. Krishna and Radha-the epitome of love, Krishna the dark lover, peacock feather in his hair, yellow silken odhini tied at his waist, the enchanting flute player, the grazer of cows. And Radha, as she pines and waits for him she says she will plant new groves, fragrant gardens and wants to serve the eternal one. In a quaint way these miniatures stress the power of bhakti, and the narratives of medieval North India. In addition, it interweaves some bhakti themes that are either particularly emphasized in poet’s songs or are associated with the bhakti milieu of Gujarat, Rajasthan, Kangra and Punjab.