Painting

Kalighat Painting

• 19th century
  Watercolour on paper

Karttikeya Riding a Peacock. The image of Karttikeya in the minds of Bengal has always been that of a dandy. In the latter part of the nineteenth century Karttikeya began to learn the manners of modern times, adopting chic dhotis, the Prince Albert hairstyle, and buckled European shoes.

Karttikeya is the eldest son of Shiva and Parvati. He is the principal god of war of the Hindus and is also known as Skanda. In his role as defender of the Gods Karttikeya is more single-minded than any of his predecessors. Hindu myths profess that he is interested in nothing but battles and warlike adventures. He is reputed to be not even interested in women, being somewhat of a misogynist. This is almost singular, as all other Hindu gods are associated with one or more women, be they goddesses or otherwise. Karttikeya is popularly conceived of as riding a peacock and he always carries with him his bow and arrows.

For another example:
Fig 9, Kalighat Paintings, Images from a changing world.