The Brindjarries

War correspondent, illustrator and artist William Simpson first came to India in 1859 to create visual document of the country post-Mutiny of 1857. The project was aborted as his sponsor—a London publisher—went bankrupt but yielded enough visual material for Simpson to make exquisite paintings. This work, through whose title the artist is perhaps referring to the Banjaras or gypsies, the artist impresses with the realistic rendition of a common day in the life of the Banjaras—their colourful attire, elaborate jewellery, their pots and pans, cattle, and their life belongings rolled up and lined on the side of the picture plane.