Rewriting Mastani: A Gender Perspective

Peshwa Bajirao I was an early 18th century general of the Maratha Empire of India. Bajirao I is remembered today as an invincible general. However, he is remembered more prominently for his romance with his second wife Mastani, a figure whose identity in history remains largely unrecorded. Over the past few decades, the love story of Bajirao and Mastani has been the subject of several textual and visual mediums but this study will focus a 2012 novel by Kusum Choppra and will look at Mastani to see how the female who remained mysteriously buried in history finds her space in 21st century exotic historical writing. From being a footnote in most histories, described as the mistress, or the court-dancer, to being the protagonist of Choppra's novel Mastani, depicted as a fierce princess trained in politics, martial arts and intellectual diplomacy and a true companion to the peshwa, Mastani has come a long way. The paper will try to see, in light of feminism and the self-other dichotomy, how such authorial strategies of recording and recreating the historical female help the narrative thrive in the modern Indian marketplace.