This unprecedented volume celebrates the survival of the wall-paintings at Bundi by presenting a stunning photographic survey of these long-hidden treasures, most published for the first time, and including both abundant details and many scenes that cannot be seen by the naked eye. The royal fort at Bundi, an isolated town in the Indian state of Rajasthan, is home to elaborately decorated palaces that are among Indias most beautiful buildings. That several of the palaces have been completely closed to visitors until very recently has kept their painted walls hidden from public view, but it has also helped their preservation. The paintings depict daily life at the Bundi court from the early seventeenth to the late nineteenth centuries, as well as scenes from traditional literary and religious texts. The illustrations together reveal the rich cultural interrelationships that gave these paintings their unique power and importance.

Website: www.mlbd.co.in Email: [email protected] This work relates to the (erstwhile) Central and the Western Rajput States of India. It embodies the results of scholarly investigation into the ethnology of Rajputs, their religious and social practices, their festivals and rites, their legal and political institutions and the merits and demerits of their characters. Herein we get a real portrait of the different aspects of Rajput life: their loyalty, devotion, gallantry, chivalry as also the instability of their character, their outbreaks of passion, fears, occasional faithlessness of their chiefs and allies and, above all, their addiction to drugs. The work is divided into three volumes: each volume being sub-divided into books and chapters. Vol I deals mostly with the Geography of Rajasthan, the History of the Rajput tribes and the feudal system of their states. Vol II contains the Annals of Marwar, Bikaner, Jaisalmer and other cities of Rajasthan. Vol III comprises the annals of Amber, Haravati, Bundi and describes Shaikhawat Federation, and contains personal narratives from Udaipur to Kheroda. It has an appendix divided into seven sections and an exhaustive general index. Interspersed with several illustrations, this book is remarkable for its enlightening introduction and exegetical notes.

The royal fort at Bundi, an isolated town in the Indian state of Rajasthan, is home to elaborately decorated palaces that are among India's most beautiful buildings. That several of the palaces have been closed to visitors until recently has kept their painted walls hidden from public view, but it has also helped their preservation. This unprecedented volume celebrates the survival of the wall-paintings at Bundi by presenting a stunning photographic survey of these long-hidden treasures, most published here for the first time, and including both abundant details and many small-scale scenes that are not visible without magnification. The paintings depict daily life at the Bundi court from the early 17th to the late 19th centuries, as well as scenes from traditional literary and religious texts. The illustrations together reveal the rich cultural inter-relationships that gave these paintings their unique power and importance. The only substantial publication devoted specifically to wall-paintings in the Bundi royal palaces, this richly illustrated book pays long-overdue tribute to some of India's greatest painted rooms. Distributed for Mercatorfonds