Voice of the Indian Mona Lisa - Gender and Culture in Eighteenth-Century Rajasthan

Through literary and art-historical analysis, Pauwels brings to life the vibrant cultural production center of Kishangarh in the eighteenth century. Reconstructing how Bani-?hani came to be acclaimed as 'India's Mona Lisa,' she conveys new insights in the history of Hindi literature, devotion, palace women, and social mobility of the enslaved.

List of contents

Introduction; 1. The making of the 'Indian Mona Lisa'; 2. The queen and the slave girl; 3. Becoming the prince's concubine; 4. Synergy of the literary couple; 5. Legacy: Self-fashioning and its limits; Conclusions.

About the author

Heidi Pauwels is Professor at the University of Washington, Seattle.

Product details

• Authors: Heidi Rika Maria (University of Washingto Pauwels, Pauwels Heidi Rika Maria
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press ELT
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 30.04.2025
• EAN: 9781009201681
• ISBN: 978-1-0-0920168-1
• No. of pages: 294
• Subjects: Humanities, art, music > History > Regional and national histories; Non-fiction book > History > Miscellaneous; Asian History, Indian sub-continent, South Asia (Indian sub-continent), HISTORY / Asia / South / General