Gandhi and Bharat Mata

It is extremely rare to find Tanjore paintings of political subjects, as Tanjores typically depict Hindu deities. This striking and rare painting shows Mahatma Gandhi standing with a conch, while Bharat Mata is seated with the ‘charkha’ (spinning wheel) in her hand. Another gilded spinning wheel is seen above her. Around Bharat Mata are the figures of Bal Gangadhar Tilak (or Gopal Krishna Gokhale), a renowned teacher and activist on the upper left, and Barathiya, a Tamil poet on the bottom left. Towards the right is industrialist Jamshedji Tata on the top, and an unidentified figure on the bottom. There is some time related loss of carving and discolouration on the frame, towards the bottom.
Mohandas Gandhi (1869–1948) was a lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist, and political ethicist, who employed nonviolent resistance to lead the successful campaign for India's independence from British rule, and in turn inspired movements for civil rights and freedom across the world. Bharat Mata (Mother India), is the national personification of India as a mother goddess. The image of Bharat Mata formed with the Indian independence movement of the late 19th century.