Rajputana Collective - February 2019

This February, Rajputana Collective completed two years since its inception and is rolling out its fifth issue with the same dedication and zest that produced the first. Only this time, the advantage of experience and hindsight is made more apparent through an increasingly perceptive collection of articles.
In its special feature titled Bikaner: The Desert Solitaire, issue five extends a special tribute to the 500 year-old legacy of Rao Bikaji and bears the privilege of showcasing exclusive features on Baijilal Rajyashree and Baijilal Siddhi Kumari of Bikaner. Bound with this theme is an article on Narendra Bhawan the Royal Escapades section, which also happens to be the authorial debut of Diviya Kumari of Jubbal. Neha Kirpal features as the second guest author of the issue by sharing a mystical piece on musical dedications made to the rain by the Manganiyars of Rajasthan.

Alongside a renewed focus on the Rajput community’s youth talent, issue five also features Manvendra Sinh Gohil in an exclusive opinion section. Keeping in mind the recent Supreme Court judgement that defanged section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, the timing of Gohil’s gender intensive piece is as deliberate as it is pertinent.