This is a deviation from the usual fare that this blog serves:)
The Beautiful Queen Padmini of Chittor and the wife of the Rajput King Ratansen, was driven to perform Jauhar (self-immolation) to save her honor from Alauddin Khilji, the creep who invaded Mewar, in the beginning of the 13th century. The folklore says that Raghav Chetan, the musician who practiced black magic, set Khilji up to it. He sang the songs of Padmini’s beauty, and told him that if he hadn’t seen Padmini, he didn’t know what beauty was. After his repeated requests, Padmini allowed Khilji to see her only as a reflection in a mirror – but that reflection made Khilji lose his sanity – and he attacked Chittor – to win Padmini for himself…what he found upon his victory, however, were her ashes!
A Portrait from the Mists of Time - Queen Padmini of Chittor (Size: 18" x 22", Medium: Graphite Relief Work, Copyright 2004, All Rights Reserved.)
As the regular visitors would’ve observed, this post deviates from the established theme of this blog. This deviation is temporary. There’s no conscious reason behind this deviation. Probably the best I can do is lay the blame on some degree of nostalgia…and the fact that for me the exercise of moving the house always ends with this ride into the past.
(Note: This image falls outside the general permissions of reproducing the images that appear on this blog. )
Shafali's Caricatures, Portraits, and Cartoons 