Gaja Gamini as Monalisa, Monica, Shakuntala & Sangeeta by MF Husain

In this artwork, Husain brings together four women who stand as symbols of beauty, grace, and cultural memory. At the left, the framed Monalisa represents the Western canon of art, her enigmatic presence carried into Husain’s visual dialogue. Beside her, Monica sits with books, pen, and thought, representing intellect, creativity, and the modern woman’s voice.

At the center rises the sculptural figure of Shakuntala, timeless in gesture and myth, carrying with her the narrative weight of Indian classical tradition. To the right, Sangeeta plays the harmonium, grounding the scene with rhythm and melody, bringing sound into the silence of painted form.

The composition itself is striking, with patches of brown and blue balanced against the glow of a yellow ochre setting. An elephant emerges in continuity with the brown, subtly supporting Gaja Gamini and reinforcing Husain’s vision of womanhood as strength, rhythm, and endurance.

Husain creates a chorus of women where each figure personifies a facet of history, art, and imagination. Together, Monalisa, Monica, Shakuntala, and Sangeeta do not stand apart but flow into each other, creating a continuum where East and West, myth and modernity, silence and song meet on the same stage.