Princess Vaishnavi Kumari And Her Tryst To Promote Kishangarh's Miniature Arts

Previously dubbed as the Mademoiselle of Miniatures, Princess Vaishnavi Kumari is guided by the vow of keeping Kishangarh within the grid of art and culture. To this end, she has rampantly preserved and promoted the legacy of Kishangarh paintings, recently opening up the Studio Kishangarh that serves to inculcate the traditional appeal of miniature paintings with modern aesthetics, alongside bringing more artisans into the art workforce.

Recently, an exhibition at Bikaner House, Delhi, was put up by the collaborative efforts of Vaishnavi Kumari and Monica Jain, Founder-Director of Art Centrix Space, where she spoke to Outlook Traveller. The exhibition, "Ishq Chaman," or The Garden of Love, pays tribute to the artistic legacy of Kishangarh. The school of art, known for its ethereal Bani Thani portraits, delicate floral motifs, and intricate detailing, was originally popularised under the patronage of Raja Savant Singh and the master artist Nihal Chand. In our conversation, the Princess spoke about her inspirations, her ideas and the roadmap for the time to come, which has been reproduced here.

I feel the difference between miniatures today and miniatures of medieval times—say, during the Mughal period or the Rajput period—is that, in those days, there was a lot of patronage. It was the influence of the patron and the economic benefits that the artists received that allowed the art to flourish.

That was the main idea behind starting the studio—to take it forward in contemporary times. Because I think we can’t just copy what was there. The antiquities and old miniatures are beautiful; they are museum quality and out of this world. But I feel we need to form our own aesthetic so that, in 100 or 200 years, people can look back at this time period and say that there was an art movement, and [there was] meaningful work happening in this field.

We aim to make art that is meaningful. We have a range of work—we do a lot of devotional art inspired by Pushtimarg and the bhakti of Krishna, which is deeply embedded in the poetry, music, and history of Kishangarh. But we also have a more contemporary range, which you can see in "Ishq Chaman," where we want to make audiences aware that miniature paintings can be modern, fresh, and interesting for the contemporary spaces we imagine today.

We took this aspect from the poems and explored the imagery of the garden—the bounty of nature and how it sprouts and spreads everywhere. It is that essence that translates into our love for the divine.

You still see them today in Kishangarh. There’s a very famous painting called "The Boat of Love," which is actually on view at the National Museum. It is inspired by one of the poems of Nagridas-ji (Raja Sawant Singh). When you observe the imagery, Radha and Krishna are on top of a hill, then they descend to the banks of the Yamuna, and then they ascend into a secluded grove. The visual is just like Phool Mahal, the fortifications, and the landscape you see around the lake.

This three-part narrative is often repeated in the paintings. Kishangarh miniatures have this unique quality where the first view you get of the painting is never the whole story—there are layers within layers. And that’s what makes them special. Every time you view these paintings, it’s like unfurling a new mystery, and your experience of them is always unique.

For instance, when you see someone wearing a beautifully printed kurta with block prints and little Mughal bootis—the Mughal floral motifs—those designs have been interpolated from miniatures of the Jahangir period. Similarly, so many elements of design we use today, consciously or unconsciously, have origins in miniature painting.

I feel we are so used to seeing these things that we don’t stop to consider where they came from. With Studio Kishangarh, we’ve built a platform where we can have this conversation—about supporting artisans, artisanal communities, and bringing new patronage, ideas, and mediums into contemporary art.

And I feel, especially with people like Monica Jain from Art Centrix, we get a platform to talk about how heritage is not just about the past—we are still living this heritage. And we can work together as a community to support its evolution.