Madhumadhavi is intriguing to me. Typically, though not always, her arm is bent and reaching upwards - sometimes feeding peacocks, sometimes in a defensive mode against the sky. The position of her body reminds me of a specific dance-posture, though I don't know which one. She's looking upwards and often running into the building - but sometimes, she is being pulled into the building by one or more of the other women, as if she is mesmerized by the sky and cannot work out that she must get out of the approaching storm.
In one description I read, it was noted that she was feeding the peacocks in error. The description said that peacocks cry out in a certain way with thunder and lightning, and that Madhumadhavi mistakes that cry for begging for food. Which accounts for the incongruity in her feeding them sweetly as a menace approaches.
Then, across all the descriptions, there is the assertion that, no matter what the action is - from musicianship to horticulture to puja-performance - that all the women are always in a longing state for their man. Their actions are described almost apologetically, and all endeavors are seen as mere distractions from throbbing vulvae.
In some of the ragini-paintings, that desire is undeniable, true - but in others, I don't see it. I don't see it in Madhumadhavi.
