Hillock near Bordahi, Betul, C. P.

The most fascinating thing about Indian landscapes—from the earliest dating to the eighteenth century to as late as early twentieth century—is that they introduce a long-gone India to Indians through vistas that seem incredible now. The earliest Indian landscapists, like their English predecessors, were intrepid travellers, enduring difficult journeys for the sake of recording the land and its myriad hues, of which this watercolour by Ramendranath Chakravorty is an example. This landscape is from then Central Provinces, or present-day Madhya Pradesh, that continues to be densely forested and untouched compared to the rest of mainland India.