Battle I
15 x 21", acrylic on paper 

  Battle II
15.5 x 22", acrylic on paper 

"As a student of Indian History I have always been fascinated by history of warfare. The story of Porus and his men on elephants and horseback fighting Alexander's army on the Indus river amid the pouring rain and thunder would fill me with such excitement.  I would then try to imagine the scenes of the bloody battle fought on the river and draw sketches in my history class while the teacher lectured.

I painted these pictures soon after the Kargill war last year."

In the spring of 326 B.C. Alexander the Great crossed the Indus river to conquer the territory of Porus, a most feared, warlike king.  Although Porus and his troops were defeated, their courage and proud bearing made a great impression on Alexander.  Retaining Porus as vassal to take charge of the Punjab, the Greek forces moved on to continue their Indian conquests.  It is quite likely that Alexander intended to keep control of his new territories, however, his sudden death in 323 B.C. made the Macedonian position in India untenable.