Sunday, December 01, 2013

Squirrels on a Chinar Tree



At an IGNCA exhibition of Mughal miniature paintings this was one of my favorites. 

Painted about 500 years ago by an artist named Abu'l Hassan and titled "Squirrels on a Plane Tree", it shows a hunter attempting to climb up a lovely, lone Chinar, sending a dozen furry tails scampering into the autumn foliage.

One question remained though - are the squirrels in the upper Himalaya's different from the common striped ones you see on the plains? 

The squirrels in this painting certainly look a lot more like the ones in the Ushiku Daibutsu zoo in Japan, than any types I've seen in India so far..

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