Kishangarh

Bani Thani paintings characterize the Kishangarh school of paintings. It is believed that Bani Thani was a housemaid or slave girl of Raja Sawant Singh’s (1748-1764) stepmother Bankawatji. She remained in close proximity of Bankawatji and got the opportunity to study literature. She had a natural flair for poetry and composed beautiful songs on Krishna.

Though Bankawatji and Raja Sawant Singh did not have cordial relations, love blossomed between him and Bani Thani. She was an enchanting beauty, tall, slim, with queenly smile and red lips. There is a painting, which describes Sawant Singh sitting in the premises of the temple and a beautiful maiden in a yellow sari walks steadily in a soft, shy manner holding the sari, in the right hand and making a veil. She carries a garland of white flowers in her left hand to be put on the deity and all attention of Sawant Singh is on this elegant girl. And the girl is none other than Bani Than

Kishangarh is a city and a municipality in Ajmer district in the Indian state of Rajasthan. It lies 18 miles north-west of Ajmer. It is well connected via Indian Railways and National Highway 8. It is the birth place of the Kishangarh style of painting, which is known for the beautiful depiction of a courtesan known as Bani Thani. In recent years, Kishangarh has come to be known as the marble city of India. It is purported to be the only place in the world with a temple of nine planets