Prayers and Recitations at the Muharram Festival

Sewak Ram

In this richly detailed watercolour titled Prayers and Recitations at the Muharram Festival (c. 1820–30), the artist Sewak Ram offers a vivid portrayal of Muharram in early nineteenth-century Patna. At the turn of the century, Sewak Ram (c. 1770-c. 1830), who had come from Murshidabad, had a flourishing practice in Patna which specialised in paintings of costumes and trades as well as larger and more ambitious portrayals of festivals, processions and weddings. Among other Patna painters such as Hulas Lal (c. 1785-1875) and Jairam Das (c. 1815-1840) who flourished during this period, Sewak Ram gained a reputation for his large-scale depictions of both Hindu and Muslim festivals, many of which focused on various aspects of Muharram. A number of his paintings became a part of the collection of the first Earl of Minto, Governor-General of India (1807-13).