James Fraser went to Calcutta in 1813 and in May 1815 he travelled north with his brother into the Garhwal hills towards the source of the River Ganges. He first started making sketches of the Indian landscape when, in July of that year, his brother had to go to work in Srinagar in Kashmir, and he was left to travel on his own. On his return in 1816 to Calcutta, where he took lessons from the English artist George Chinnery, he worked up his sketches ready for engraving.

This picturesque view of the River Hoogly shows fishermen working on their boats underneath the shade of palm trees. In India the coconut palm was known as ‘kalpa vriksha’, which translates as ’tree that gives all that is necessary for living’. It is grown across the coastal parts of the country and everything from the coconut to the husk and roots are made use of for everyday needs. The hairy husks on the outside of the coconut, for example, are used to make coir, an extremely hardy rope that is resistant to salt water and that would have been used on the boats in this picture.