A watercolour of nautch girls preparing to dance, with musicians playing. The scene records a festival given by Maun Singh in March 1859. Lundgren shows himself seated to the right, drawing, with Sir William Mansfield beside him.

Lundgren's watercolours were painted on his journey to and from India and during his time there between 1858 and 1859. He travelled with the British Army to Awadh, and made around 500 drawings and watercolours. He represented scenes of unrest and conflict during the Indian Rebellion against British rule, but perhaps several of the watercolours were intended to assure his patron, Queen Victoria, that her Indian subjects were still peaceable and content to be ruled from overseas.

'Nautch' is an anglicised version of the Hindi word, nãc, meaning 'dance' or 'dancing'. Nautches began as entertainments in the courts of the later Mughal empire, performed by professional girls and women. The tradition spread beyond the imperial courts and palaces of the maharajs, becoming popular with high-ranking officials of the British empire in India.