Riding on the Clouds with my Beloved
47.6 x 65 cm
Watercolor and Gouache on Wasli Paper
2024
This work narrates the story of a heroine, a tree and a horse who are running away with each other to a world of interspecies love.
The image of women embracing a tree while riding a horse is borrowed from a folio representing a popular Indian subject, the love between Sultan Baz Bahadur and his courtesan Rupmati. Baz Bahadur (r. 1555-61) was the last king of Malwa before its absorption into the Mughal Empire who fell for the beautiful musician, dancer and poetess Rupmati after encountering her on a hunting trip. Rupmati was made Queen of Malwa, but the fantastic love story came to a tragic end in 1561, when the Mughal Emperor Akbar and his forces took the kingdom. Baz Bahadur fled without his beloved Rupmati, who then decided to commit suicide rather than submit to their conqueror.
To counter-narrate this story, this time Rupmati chooses to love a tree and a horse in search for a true companionship, therefore replacing the figure of man with a tree. Isolating the subjects from their background helps to create a new narrative. These works propose a post-queer way of thinking, fostering notions of care and love by extending it to other species.