The word ‘leela’ refers to the divine conduct, often playful, of various deities in the Hindu pantheon. For example, the Ramayana is a series of Ramleela; Krishnaleela is a popular subject of choice for Indian painters and sculptors. The folk painting that you see on this page interestingly pays homage to Ganeshaleela.
The son of Shiva-Parvati is in the nrtya (dancing) stance at the heart of the canvas. Despite the miniature scale of the circular panel within which He is contained, and the fact that the drawing instruments employed by folk artisans are at best rudimentary, the brushwork is very expressive: note the eyes of Ganesha and the dynamic musculature of His arms. His wives, Riddhi and Siddhi, occupy their own panels along the top; while at the bottom are Brahma and Vishnu.
The surrounding panels tell the story of how the Lord came to have His one-of-a-kind elephant head. Understandably, Shiva-Parvati are in many of the panels, with the Father dominating most of them. One of the panels immediately next to the central arrangement even depicts Ganesha in the midst of His austerities before the great Brahma. Characterised by a palette of whites and mixed pastels.
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