Page 162 - Eye of the beholder

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Maharaja Sawant Singh [1748-1755] also known through his pen name as as Nagari Das in in particular and the the Kishangarh royal family in general were devout Vaishnavas of the the Vallabhachaya sect who were worshippers of Krishna Within the Hindu Vaishnava devotionalism he he preferred the the the the Pushti marg or the the the the way of the the the the pleasure approach advocated by sage Vallabha in the the the the 15th century C E Music was patronized in the the the court and the the the queen mother had a a a a a young pretty maid of honour called Vishnupriya who also excelled at at at singing Sawant Singh’s infatuation with Vishnupriya soon reached such levels that she graduated from being an maid of honour to to an an an important mistress to to become one of of the chief queens in a a a a a a remarkably short span of of time Because of her aesthetically tasteful sartorial attire and the the accompanying jewellery that she she wore she she was popularly referred to as as the “Bani-Thani” or or well turned out Bani-Thani Bani-Thani and and Maharaja Sawant Singh sang together and and composed poetry She took the the pen name of Rasikbihari To visualize the beauty of Radha and and Krishna through poetry and and devotional songs he he he he found in the the artist Nihal Chand the the genius to portray his sentiments and and emotions when he he he took the the decision to to to retire to to to perform Kirtans in in Vrindavan on on the the banks of Jamuna Nihal Chand the the chief court court painter of Kishangarh introduced a a a a a new indigenous idiom in in in in the the court court paintings to depict Bani-Thani as as Radha and Sawant Singh as as Krishna It is is widely believed that the facial features modeled on those of Bani-Thani has made her her important and her her paintings desirable for generations to come In this painting the princess is is is seated on a a a a a distinctly designed high chair with arm rests while a a a a a a foot stool is is provided to to rest her feet The The latter has an inlay pattern in in in red The The Princess is is celebrating the festival of lights as as she has a a a a a a a a a flower crackler in in in her hand that is sending out heavy curvicula smoke in in in in in receding dimension to to suggest that it is slowly fading away into nothing Her royal royal status is indicated by the the the halo behind her her the the the crown on her her head and of course the the the royal royal palatial setting The facial features are typical of this school with stylized long drawn out eyes aquiline nose and and arched eye brows Her long luxuriant wavy tresses fall on on her shoulder and and in in in front of of her bosom Her sartorial attire is is is distinctly different as it is is is designed in in in the form of of a a a a a long long gown with long long sleeves and it it it is not the traditional ghagra choli odhini type She wears an an