The Voice of India’s 18th-Century Mona Lisa: Songs by Rasik Bihari of Kishangarh

FAIN: FEL-267968-20

Heidi R. Pauwels
University of Washington (Seattle, WA 98195-1016)

Research and writing leading to a book on the poetry of an 18th-century woman known as Bani-thani or Rasik Bihari, who was a court performer and favorite of the Indian ruler Savant Singh (1699-1764) of Kishangarh.

India’s Mona Lisa, the model for the 18th-century portrayals of the Hindu goddess Radha in the Rajasthani kingdom of Kishangarh, was Bani-thani. A court performer, she became concubine of the crown-prince Savant Singh, who commissioned paintings that illustrated his own Hindi poetry and portrayed Radha after her features. Yet, Bani-thani too was an author in her own right. Her pen name, Rasik Bihari, or “Playful Connoisseur,” shows that she saw herself as more than object of the connoisseur’s gaze. This project recovers her voice by editing and translating her songs for the first time on the basis of newly discovered manuscripts. The book analyzes the songs in their performance context through the lens of the study of emotion. Their intertextuality with those by her lover shows the synergy of these early modern partner-authors. Historical contextualization reveals the tensions and power-dynamics at work in such relationships in Rajput households on the eve of empire.