![Illustration of an Indian woman holding a flower](https://cmsadmin.rct.uk/sites/default/files/manuscripts-1600-148-half%20height.jpg)
INDIAN SCHOOL, DELHI STYLE, 19TH CENTURY
ਗੁਰੂ ਨਾਨਕ Guru Nanak (the first Sikh Guru)
circa 1800circa 1840RCIN 925202
This is from a series of paintings depicting each of the ten successive Sikh spiritual teachers known as Gurus. Guru Nanak gestures towards his companion, Mardana, playing the rabab. Mardana’s instrument was a gift from the Guru who encouraged him to play and sing ‘kirtan’ (devotional hymns) wherever they travelled.