Ajanta: The Colour and Monochrome Reproductions of the Ajanta Frescoes Based on Photography v2.c8.s18.13

v2.c8.s18.13

Below the group of ladies are four girls, evidently playing some game, as shown by the positions of their hands. The girl on the extreme left has raised her right hand as if giving directions regarding the laws of the game. The girl next to her, in compliance with the instructions, has taken up a special pose, having doubled up her legs and joined them together while sitting on the ground, and joined her hands together, interlocking the fingers. The third girl, in front of the latter, has assumed the same pose, except that her hands are apart. The fourth girl is seated cross-legged like the first, but her hands are apart from one another. The features of the third and fourth girl of the group are rather coarse, and the nose and lip of the fourth are of the ‘Dravidian’ type. The elaborate coiffures of all four confirm the surmise that they represent young girls of the Deccan of the period, who were not much different from the girls of the present day.