The Picture Ramayana
by Hootoksi Tyabji, April 2026
The Picture Ramaya was a book that was gifted to my grandfather, the famous portrait painter Mr. Jehangir A Lalkaka, by the Rajah of Aundh, Bhawanrao Shriniwasrao Pant Pratinidhi, affectionately known as Balasahib.
Balasahib and grandpa were good friends and the Rajah, who was very fond of painting, often visited him in his studio to watch him paint while also getting advice on his own works.
Balasahib was interested in the Bengal school of Art and painted mostly in water colours. He produced all the illustrations for “The Picture Ramayana” (see a sampling below) and when the book was completed in 1916, he presented a copy to Grandpa.
Robert and I inherited the book and after enjoying it for many years we decided it was time to donate it to a museum. We were considering options when coincidentally my cousin Aban and her friend Susan visited a small museum in Aundh, an hour’s drive from Pune. To her utter amazement she discovered four portraits painted by my grandfather, and when she told me this, there was no question in my mind anymore about where to donate the book!
I contacted the Museum and explained that the book needed to be restored as the pages were falling apart but the illustrations were still in perfect condition. The museum was happy to accept it and so on a recent visit to India, Aban and I drove from Mumbai to Aundh and handed the book over to Mr. Shreyas Jagtap. He would ensure that it is restored and added to the museum’s extensive library of rare books and manuscripts.
The Bhawani Museum in Aundh was the result of one man’s passion for Art, and it is a gem of a place. Rajah Balasaheb himself was a prolific artist and he collected paintings, pottery, statuary, weapons, hand-written holy texts, manuscripts, and many other artefacts.
The Rajah wanted to share his treasures with his people, so he studied museum design, considering natural light, ventilation, and protection for the art works on display. With the help of foreign architects he constructed the building in 1938. The Museum houses 500 miniature paintings between the 15th and 19th century, paintings by Raja Ravi Varma, many other famous Indian revivalist artists of the period, as well as Western artists, including a self-portrait by Rembrandt. The Museum has over 8000 artworks, 16,000 texts and 3,500 hand-written religious texts. I even discoveresd that Balasahib's original paintings for the book were on display in the Museum.
In the portrait gallery were four of grandpa’s paintings (below), one of which took my breath away! It was a self-portrait of grandpa painting my mother! I had seen a copy of this painting but had no idea where the original was, and now here we were, standing right in front of it!
To recap, one of the few remaining copies of the English version of the Picture Ramayana was returned to its original home in Aundh on the 18th of February 2026, one hundred and ten years after it was first printed by the Rajah of Aundh, Balasahib, and lovingly presented to his good friend Mr JehangrA Lalkaka!