Hanuman rescuing Rama and Lakshmana

Images such as this are known as Kalighat paintings, after the famous Kalighat temple in Kolkata (Calcutta) dedicated to Kali, the fearsome goddess of time and death. From around 1830, distinctive, quickly painted souvenirs were produced in large numbers for visitors who flocked to the temple. The images were intended to aid domestic worship and typically illustrate Hindu deities. Later, mass-produced prints replaced Kalighat paintings.

This is a scene from the Ramayana, the epic poem recounting the adventures of Prince Rama. It depicts Hanuman, the monkey general, carrying the prince and his brother Lakshmana. Hanuman holds a club in each hand ready to battle with the demon god Ravana, who abducted Rama’s wife Sita and took her to his palace on the island of Langka. Sometimes we find the brothers resting on Hanuman’s strong shoulders, while in others they are bound in his tail. While sometimes found painted black, blue or white, he is always red in his form as Mahavir (the heroic). As the story goes, Hanuman was so impressed by the promise of longevity embodied in sindur, the vermilion pigment that Sita applied to her forehead, he smeared it all over his body.