Najmi Sura –
Remembrance of Things Past

Edward Lucie-Smith

In her new series of paintings, Najmi Sura evokes the court life of the Indian subcontinent that was ruled by the Mughal emperors. ‘Ruled by’ is, of course an inexact description. In the days of Mughal sway the Indian subcontinent was divided into a multitude of territories, some ruled directly, others presided over by semiindependent princes, each with his own court. Some of these subordinate rulers were Muslims, others were Hindus. We know about this complex network of states not only through written descriptions – as the British acquired more and more influence in India, some of the texts we now have are reminiscences penned by British ‘residents’, appointed to keep an eye on potentially unruly princely behavior – but we can also experience this culture more directly, through a wealth of Indian miniature paintings, made to be held in the hand, or looked at in albums. There is a rich store of these in the collections of the Victoria & Albert Museum. Full-scale mural paintings survive, but they are necessarily much less accessible.