Empresses of change
A great deal of films and other literature has been dedicated to the mighty Maharajas of pre-independence India.
A great deal of films and other literature has been dedicated to the mighty Maharajas of pre-independence India. But think about their female counterparts, and most of us will doubtless draw a blank, with the exception, perhaps, of Rani Gayatri Devi or Rani Jhansi. Aiming to shine the spotlight on the forgotten Maharanis of the subcontinent, Tasveer Arts celebrates its 10th anniversary with a specially curated coffee table book, Maharanis: Women of Royal India, which contains black and white photographs spanning a century, from 1850 to 1950.
“Even the little information we can find on them is mostly related to fashion or lifestyle. We rarely get to read about their contributions to society. While working on the book, which is published in collaboration with Mapin, we came across a lot of surprising findings. Did you know that Chimnabai of Baroda, who was the granddaughter of Rani Gayatri Devi, co-authored a book and spoke out against the purdah system? Or that the Begums of Bhopal were reformists who were actively involved in architecture and healthcare and spoke for female education?,” asks Shilpa Vijayakrishnan of Tasveer.
Chronicling history, the pictures, Vijayakrishnan says, are windows into the socio-cultural climate of their time and let us in on the kind of relationship shared by the princely states and the British empire. “The pictures also showcase how the royal women experimented with poses and looks, which is quite interesting,” she explains. Apart from photographs, which add up to over a 100, the book also contains four essays, with topics including the history of photography in royal India, fashion as symbolic of deeper truths, an anecdotal account of a few princesses and one that goes beyond their beauty to look at their lives and influence on society. The book was launched at a special exhibition, which is on until March 21 at Cinnamon.