Woman resting near a seated camel

Chughtai produced several paintings with variations on the subject matter of a woman accompanied by a camel. It is clear that he intended some of these scenes to be read as illustrations of a Persian romance involving the lovers Layla and Majnun. Their tragic story, derived from an Arab folktale, was one of the most popular romances in the Islamic world. This painting may represent Layla taking a rest during her search for Majnun who—crazed by his forced separation from her—had fled into the wilderness. Alternatively, the painting may illustrate a somewhat similar episode from the story of Sassi and Punnu, a romance well known in Chughtai's homeland of the Punjab (a region now divided between Pakistan and India). In the Punjabi romance the prince Punnu is forcibly taken into the desert by Sassi's brothers, who disapprove of Sassi and Punnu's love for one another. Sassi attempts to pursue them but dies in the scorching heat of the desert sun.