Kerala Mural Paintings
Ganapati — WITH VEENA IN HAND
Ganapati in mid-step, veena in hand, against a scrolling green ground
Story
Ganapati is seated on a peedam with veena in hand . The elephant head turns in three-quarter view, the single tusk holding a bunch of fruits, the small eye alert and amused.
Across his torso lies the veena, its gourd resonator stippled in deep gold and brown strung with beaded ornament, one hand at the neck and another at the strings.
A serpent winds at his waist as a belt, a lotus rests in one palm, and the platform beneath is drawn as a fluted temple base.
Symbolism
- Veena
- Harmony — the ordered sound behind creation
- Serpent belt
- Cosmic energy held in balance at the waist
- Green scrollwork
- The living world turning around the divine
Artistic Technique
- Preparatory drawing built on classical proportion before any colour
- Warm ochre range for the figure, green kept exclusively for the ground
- Dense stippling to model the gourd, limbs and drapery
- White dot ornament laid over dried gold outlines
