London – A stunning, colourful, and important painting by the Pakistani artist Bashir Mirza (1941-2000) is one of the leading works in Bonhams 60-lot Modern and Contemporary South Asian Art sale in London on Monday 25 October. Painted in 1971, Lonely Girl is estimated at £30,000 - 50,000.

Bonhams Modern and Contemporary South Asian Art specialist, Priya Singh, said: "This wonderful work is one of a series of Lonely Girl paintings executed by Mirza on his return from Berlin, where he lived and worked from 1969-1970. The artist modified his images to appeal to audiences in Pakistan, but this figure retains an air of sensuality as well as capturing a distinct 1970s hippy-like vibe."

Among other highlights are:

• A small selection of works to be sold without reserve including Untitled (Bombay Street Scene by the Indian painter Syed Haider Raza (1922-2016). The view is from the northern end of Colaba Causeway looking over S. P. Mukharji Chowk (formerly Wellington Circle) to the Prince of Wales Museum and up the start of the southern end of Mahatma Gandhi Marg. In the painting, the streets are clean and traffic-free but alive with the mix of different peoples and trades all captured by Raza with character and affection. The work is to be included in the forthcoming catalogue raisonné of the artist's work. Estimate: £6,000-10,000.

• Crucifix by the Pakistani artist Sadequain (1930-1987). The work dates from the 1960s when Sadequain was exploring a new artistic language through the depiction of cacti. The cactus paintings were born in 1958 when the artist retreated to the seashore of Gadani to convalescence after a bout of ill health. It was here, in the solitude of his surroundings that the artist conceived of the cacti as symbols of man's struggle against hardship and nature's inevitable victory over adversity. Estimate: £30,000-50,000.

• Untitled by the Indian artist Shanti Dave (b. 1931). This unusually large work with its use of unconventional materials, such as encaustic, is a perfect example of the murals for which Dave is renowned. It blends western expressionism and Indian metaphysics and incorporates tantric elements and earthy obscurity. Estimate: £16,000-24,000.

• Untitled by the Indian painter Mohan Samant (1924-2004). Samant derived inspiration from a wide variety of sources – including the cave paintings of Lascaux and Pre-Columbian ceramics – and boldly experimented with mixed media, incorporating acrylic, oil, wire and sand on his canvases. As the painter himself said of his work: "I fuse the symbols of Hindu mythology and ancient Egyptian wall paintings with the modern-day art world of New York City." Estimate: £30,000-50,000.