Question

Bhanudutta’s Rasamanjari was painted in______ style?
A. Basohli
B. Kangra
C. Mewar
D. Bundi

Answer 1

Hint: Rasamanjari are small-sized drawings (as their very name suggests), commonly done on canvas or paper in watercolor. Palm leaves or wood were the oldest miniatures. Himachal Pradesh had developed a bold and intense style of Rasamanjari painting called Basohli by the end of the seventeenth century. Bhanudattas’s Rasamanjari was the most famous text to be painted here.

Complete answer:
 Basohli is a small town situated in the Jammu and Kashmir district of Kathua. It was established in around 1635 by Raja Bhupat Pal and is renowned for Pahari miniature paintings in a rare and vibrant style. The first school of Pahari paintings is considered Basohli Paintings. In the mid-eighteenth century, this style developed into the very prolific school of Kangra paintings. It is characterised by bold stokes and deep-set facial patterns in primary colours. Under Raja Kripal Pal's patronage, the style evolved and was genuinely unconventional, rich and extremely vigorous. It has elaborate geometric patterns, a monochrome backdrop, shiny finishes and dramatic compositions with imposing figures with decorative clothing, a particular emphasis on the eyes, the use of beetle wings to show diamonds in ornaments. Under the patronage of Kripal Pal, Devidasa, a descendant of the Tarkhan clan, executed miniatures of the poet Bhanu Datta's Rasamanjari poem. The miniatures are referred to as examples of Rasamanjari.

Hence, the correct answer is option (A).

Note:Many depictions of Hindu Gods, viz., have also given form to the marvellous paintings. Radha-Krishna; Madhava-Malti; and also Bhagavata Purana themes. The representations are an imaginative mix of Hindu myths, miniature forms of Mughal architecture and even the prevailing folk hills.