The Narmada maiya paintings, prefaced with the bountiful Barasingha, form the beating heart of this show. Additionally, I have selected a few of Durgabai’s paintings, which deal with other myths and stories that address complex interrelationships between humans and animals. The Baseen Kanya legend begins in cannibalistic greed, with a group of six brothers eager to eat their sister’s flesh. But the seventh and youngest brother protects his sister by performing impossible tasks set by their toxic siblings. In this, he is helped by animals and birds who selflessly offer their services. The frogs plug the holes in a pitcher with their own bodies. The pitcher secured, the brother passes the test of filling water in a leaky container. An egret and a tortoise help with the other tests. This ethic of dynamic cooperation also informs the delightful painting of the fireflies who help an old woman and her calf find its mother. Durgabai has also illustrated and retold this story in Mai and Her Friends, published by Katha in 2010. ‘Sher aur Kekda’ is a tale about keeping one’s place in the established pecking order. When the crab bites the nose of the tiger, the big cat is seen to disadvantage by a village woman. Although he bribes her to remain silent, she cannot help telling the denizens of the forest what she saw. Hierarchies have to be maintained in the animal kingdom. Loss of face equals loss of authority. The woman’s non-cooperation in this matter injures the tiger’s ego. —N.Adajania