This masterful painting by the great Indian painter Raja Ravi Varma employs Renaissance-like light & colour, while focusing on a tiny moment from the Mahabharata, a cornerstone of Hindu Mythology. Damayanti, daughter of Bhima and Nala, son of Virasena fell in love with each other through swans who carried praises and messages of adoration back and forth. Here we see Damayanti awake at night, bathed in moonlight, longing for Nala as she is fanned and comforted by her maid. Currently in a private collection, this is one of the rare paintings by Varma that was sold in public — it went for a whopping $1.7 Million in 2017 at a Sotheby’s auction in New York City.