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H: 18 Inch · Leather
Estimated Delivery in 2 weeks
Takes approximately 1 week to handcraft
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This finely detailed Tholu Bommalata artwork by Sindhe Siva depicts Maricha in his most famous guise: the golden deer, or Maya Mriga, whose enchanted form sets in motion the central tragedy of the Ramayana, the abduction of Sita. Rendered through the traditional shadow puppetry of Andhra Pradesh, the piece captures a rare instance in the epic's visual repertoire of a fully animal, rather than humanoid, antagonist.
Tholu Bommalata, meaning "the dance of leather puppets" is the age-old shadow theatre tradition of the Telugu-speaking Deccan, its origins traced to around the third century BCE and its performances built substantially around the episodes of the Ramayana, including the forest exile of Rama, Sita and Lakshmana that forms the backdrop to Maricha's deception. Puppets are cut from treated, translucent animal hide, hand-painted in natural pigments, and finely perforated so that light from behind the screen renders each figure as a glowing, coloured shadow.
In this artwork, Maricha appears entirely in his animal disguise, with no human features included in the composition. He is rendered as a slender, long-legged deer, his coat painted in a rich golden-orange and covered densely with small ringed, eye-like spots picked out in cream and black, evoking the shimmering, unnatural beauty that is said to have first caught Sita's attention. His four slim legs end in dark, cloven hooves, a short upright tail rises at the rear, and his neck curves gracefully forward to a delicately featured face with a raised ear and a large, expressive eye, the entire figure composed with the fine, flowing line work that distinguishes the tradition's animal puppets from its more angular human and demon figures.
In the Ramayana, Maricha is a rakshasa who, at Ravana's command, transforms himself into this dazzling golden deer and lures Rama deep into the forest, away from the hermitage where Sita and Lakshmana remain. When Rama's arrow finally strikes him, Maricha cries out in a perfect imitation of Rama's own voice, calling for Lakshmana's help, a ruse that draws Lakshmana away from Sita despite his oath to protect her, leaving her vulnerable to Ravana's abduction. Maricha's episode is thus the hinge on which the entire epic turns: a moment of exquisite beauty weaponised as deception, illustrating how appearances in the Ramayana are repeatedly shown to conceal greater danger.
Through its delicate linework and shimmering, spotted coat, this artwork captures the seductive beauty that made Maricha's disguise so effective, without ever revealing the menace beneath. Sindhe Siva's Maricha stands as a reminder that Tholu Bommalata's storytelling power lies not only in its gods and demons but in the smaller, cunning details, like a single golden deer, that carry an entire epic's plot forward.
Each of our artworks are hand painted by master artists across India. We provide a digital authentication certificate with this artwork signed by the artist which will be sent over email after 3-4 days of delivery of the artwork.
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All MeMeraki artworks are hand-painted. In rare occasions, artist may face delays due to weather, health, prior commitments or force majeure. Our team will reach out to you with revised timelines in case of such delays. We appreciate your understanding and patience in such situations.
All artworks on the website are hand painted from scratch by our master artists. This makes every artwork absolutely unique and the actual colour and overall artwork may vary slightly from the artwork image posted here.
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