Important Notice

Gaja Gamini describes a concept originating in ancient Indian cannons of beauty that links the ideal woman with the self-assurance, majesty and quiet grace of an elephant. M.F. Husain borrowed this term for the title of his 2000 magnum opus, a ‘cinematic essay’ inspired by the history of Indian womanhood. Having won international critical acclaim for his earlier film, Through the Eyes of a Painter, the artist explained the origins of this... Gaja Gamini describes a concept originating in ancient Indian cannons of beauty that links the ideal woman with the self-assurance, majesty and quiet grace of an elephant. M.F. Husain borrowed this term for the title of his 2000 magnum opus, a ‘cinematic essay’ inspired by the history of Indian womanhood. Having won international critical acclaim for his earlier film, Through the Eyes of a Painter, the artist explained the origins of this celebratory project saying, “My concern in film, as in paintings, is to relate to a specific Indianess…I have attempted to convey through sound and spectacle, the majesty and magnificence of my country and its people” (M.F. Husain, Director’s Notes, The Genesis of Gaja Gamini, H2A Graphic International, Ahmedabad, 2000).

This piece, a large-format watercolour, represents the artist’s long-time muse Madhuri Dixit, who played several avatars of the leading lady in Husain’s film. Here, she is portrayed as the timeless and faceless ideal of womanhood – flawlessly combining grace and success, nurturing and power, creation and destruction as she dances.

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