A pictorial depiction of the Hindustani musical mode Sri.

In Hindustani classical music, there are no set compositions but modes or frameworks, called ragas, on which musicians build each performance. These ragas are associated with particular scales and distinct melodic structures, to be performed in different seasons and at different times of day. Traditionally there are six ‘male’ ragas each of which have five ‘female’ raginis, giving a typical ragamala (garland of ragas) 36 individual melodies. Each elicits a different rasa (‘essence’ or ‘mood’). This rasa is also expressed in the poetic lyrics which accompany the music and was captured by painters in ragamala paintings.

Sri Raga is an early evening melody associated with Winter intended to evoke a serious, contemplative and devotional mood.

This illustration of Sri Raga is set on a riverside terrace just after sunset and depicts the deities Vishnu and Lakshmi listening to a kinara (a celestial musician with a horse's head) playing the tempura and a celestial singer playing the cymbals. Two female attendants carry morchals (fly whisks).