The day of a woman’s wedding is imbued with some of the most vibrant and humane emotions. It is the end of an era as well as the beginning of a new one for the bride, whose heart bursts with a multitude of sentiments, all of which provide a keen artist with a colorful pallet for their artworks. Borrowing tints from the heart of a woman, Ranjit Sarkar presents a delicate pre-wedding moment, in this stunning acrylic on canvas painting which is brimming with beauty, colors, and meanings.
The central subject of this acrylic painting is of course the blushing bride, who is draped in eye-catching colors. Sarkar has chosen a bright yellow for her choli (blouse) and a mixture of pink, yellow and blue for her lehenga. Embellished ornaments such as Maangatika (head ornament), jhumka (earrings), nath (nose ring), haar (necklace), and angoothi (ring) adorn the natural beauty of the Dulhan (Hindi term for a bride). The doe-eyed girl hides her jitters behind the most pleasing smile, a smile that instantaneously captures the heart with its naturalism. A woman standing behind the bride, probably her Sakhi (friend) dressed in ethnic attire helps her friend with a dushala (shawl) which is draped around the bride after she is dressed in her trousseau. A warming feeling appears to be radiating from her proximity to the bride. Below her hands that are placed on the shoulders of her dear friend, another pair of hands and a single hand is painted on the left half of the canvas. The singular hand holds the wrist of the bride, extending it toward another hand approaching the bride from the right side, which offers the bride a crisp 50 rupees note. Money gifted to someone on an auspicious occasion is known as “Neg” in Indian culture, and it is done in wedding ceremonies and rituals by the elders and members of both families.
With her gaze fixed on the ground, the bride’s mind appears to be somewhere else, while her hand is being moved by external forces (the hands) to participate in the rituals of the wedding. The outward stillness of the bride contrasted with the involvement shown by the hands to function on her behalf of her is a tender visual reminder of how an Indian woman experiences the rituals of a wedding. Her family fixes her marriage, the in-laws and husband-to-be decide the ceremonies and on the day of her wedding, the girl is surrounded by her family members, mingling and playfully joking with the girl. Amidst the laughter, lights, and crowds of people, the heart of the bride is unaccompanied, left alone in whirlpool thoughts and emotions. The depth of her heart is best expressed in the deepening of pink and blue in the backdrop of this acrylic painting, which creates a rather melancholic feel within the festive hues of the canvas.
Another pair of hands to the right affixes the wedding shawl on the shoulder of the bride. Oblivious to the gathering and eventfulness around her, the fluttering heart of the exquisite bride sails away from the moment, marked by the butterfly-like strokes on her left, taking her to a realm of imaginings where she has already lived her wedding day and is beside her husband. As the novel idea of being someone’s wife strikes her, the bride’s moon face gives way to a bashful smile.
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