One of the most striking paintings in this series shows Narmada as a monumental, athletic figure springing into action to teach Johilla and Sonbhadra a lesson. She does not even wash off the haldi, a purificatory turmeric paste applied before marriage. To amplify her anger, her feet are shown to fly off the wedding drums or nagaras. The nagaras, taken as a pair, resemble an anxious face with its eyes out of alignment. Narmada’s wrath is a percussive performance that makes the birds nervous. And the wedding guests too, stationed on various trees, are all of a quiver. Durgabai tells me that the turmeric scabs falling off Narmada’s body while running (“Narmada ke ang se girah hain”) became the ochre mud, ramraj mitti, that is used to make the digna, the auspicious wall and floor patterns. That is the reason this mitti is found in the Amarkantak area, where the river begins its life journey. —N.Adajania