Remember the famous Lakshmi painting of Ravi Varma? The model’s name was Rajibai Mulgaonkar, a devadasi from Mumbai.” Another place Shivaswamy frequented for research was the Ravi Varma press.

His work broke through class barriers. Suddenly, a farmer in a village could have a piece of Ravi Varma in his home, worshipping Saraswati or Lakshmi as painted by the master,” Prem Kandwal ...