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The PahariSchools oPai nti g 75 Raja Sansar Chand established supremacy of Kangra over all surrounding hill states. Tira Sujanpur emerged as the most prolific centre of painting under his patronage. An earlier phase of Kangra kalam paintings is witnessed in Alampur and the most matured paintings were painted at Nadaun, where Sansar Chand shifted later in his life. All these centres were on the banks of river Beas. Alampur along with river Beas can be recognised in some paintings. Less number of paintings was done in Kangra as it remained under the Mughals till 1786, and later, the Sikhs. Sansar Chand’s son Aniruddha Chand (1823–1831), too, was a generous patron and is often seen painted with his courtiers. The Kangra style is by far the most poetic and lyrical of Indian styles marked with serene beauty and delicacy of execution. Characteristic features of the Kangra style are delicacy of line, brilliance of colour and minuteness of decorative details. Distinctive is the delineation of the female face, with straight nose in line with the forehead, which came in vogue around the 1790s is the most distinctive feature of this style. Most popular themes that were painted were the Krishna playing Holi with gopis, Kangra, 1800, National Bhagvata Purana, Gita Govinda, Nala Damayanti, Bihari Museum, New Delhi, India Satsai, Ragamala and Baramasa. Many other paintings comprise a pictorial record of Sansar Chand and his court. He is shown sitting by the riverside, listening to music, watching dancers, presiding over festivals, practising tent pegging and archery, drilling troops, and so on and forth. Fattu, Purkhu and Khushala are important painters of the Kangra style. During Sansar Chand’s reign, the production of Kangra School was far greater than any other hill state. He exercised wide political power and was able to support a large studio with artists from Guler and other areas. The Kangra style soon spread from Tira Sujanpur to Garhwal in the east and Kashmir in the west. Painting activity was severely affected around 1805 when the Gurkhas besieged the Kangra fort and Sansar Chand had to flee to his hill palace at Tira Sujanpur. In 1809, with Reprint 2026-27