TARA DEVI: According to iconographic texts, Tara Devi is described as a tantric deity popular in India, China, Tibet and Mongolia. The meaning of the word ‘Tara’ means one who ferries a across the ocean of suffering. Tara Devi is also the wife of Balli , the powerful warlord in the Ramayan.
In this print from the Ravi Varma Press derived from a painting by Raja Ravi Varma, it is uncertain if Raja Ravi Varma intended to depict the deity or the consort of Bali , ‘Tara’. However, this print depicts an aristocratic lady seated on a boat playing a sitar. She is shaded by an umbrella. Another lady is also seen seated on the boat appreciative of the music of the sitar.
