The Owl and the Pig (Tibetan Mask Dance)

Devayani Krishna’s fascination for Tibetan and Buddhist rituals and dances formed among the earliest such painterly references in Indian art. The time she lived in Sikkim with her artist husband, Kanwal Krishna, gave her the opportunity to participate as audience in the celebration of festivals, and she found herself drawn to the colourful masks worn by performers as they enacted local legends and folklore in monastery courtyards.

The dancers use masks to depict different characters inspired from the life of the ninth century teacher Padmasambhava and intended as moral instructions for the laity. Here, the masks represent an owl and a pig, painted in vibrant colours. Krishna painted a series of such masks alongside portraits of the residents of this Himalayan region, introducing them to viewers in New Delhi where the couple would settle following their extensive travels.