Above the peaks of the Himalaya, Garuda, the divine eagle of the god Vishnu, sees the Lord of Death hastening toward an exquisitely beautiful little bird. He decides to save it and hides it away—but can death be cheated?

This haunting parable of love and destiny is illustrated in the delicate and ornamental Patachitra tradition of Orissa, eastern India.

Radhashyam Raut is a young painter, trained in the traditional art of Patachitra mural paintings of Orissa, where he lives and works.