In my previous article titled, “Shayari Pratapatra the Tribal Queen of Rajasthan”, I wrote about the life and times of Sharmila Devi, the original Queen of Rajasthan. She was the daughter of King Jai Singh and mother to Princess Satya and Prince Humayun. She was known for her long reign over the small state. She had been a loyal subject of the Singh dynasty for many years. She was born in Kota (now in Pakistan) and became the Governor of Rajasthan during the rule of the secondamarvelis. Click to read more.
At the time of her death she was counted as the most powerful woman of the state. She was also known to be the first woman to learn martial arts in India. She was known to have trained with a number of illustrious people like B.K.S. who taught boxing and archery. She was also said to have learned from a German called Carl Spaem, who was an expert shot maker.
As a woman she was said to have loved music, literature and philosophy. She was very much interested in art and even compiled a few of her own books. It is interesting that one of her favourite genres was printing. This was in keeping with a time when printing of newspapers was still a new thing in India.
It was after her death that she is remembered for her great contributions to the Indian community. She was instrumental in the formulation of the Indian Constitution. She was also an active participator in the freedom movement. It was a great contribution indeed. A number of books on her life and her works are still being published today.
It was in the twenty-first century that the ‘Abbasid’ dynasty rose to power. This was a period of great consolidation of power for the Rashids. One of her descendants, Mrs. Salim Ali bin Muhammad bin Abubaker, is the current President of Nigeria. It was on the back of this action that Pakistan was declared a independent nation. The fact that she played a major role in this decision makes her eligible for the highest honour in that country.
Today, there are many places where one can learn about shayari pratapatra. She is the most popular face of Indian cinema, but she had a tremendous influence over the younger generations as well. Her popularity is not just restricted to Bollywood, but also in the lesser known cinemas of Pakistan and India. All the leading actresses, musicians and writers are in some way or the other related with her.
Shakti Records is one of the largest retail stores of CDs and DVDs in the country. Its library is immense. You can find any artist or movie that you want there. They even have some of the older Shakti records in their library. Shakti pratapatra is also available on DVD in the form of a Shakti Play.
There are many other things about her which are still fresh in the mind and heart of people. If you want to relive your memories and emotions of that era, these are the movies that you should watch. It’s one of the few films from Pakistan that has the ability to evoke the feelings of the people of the past and the present at the same time.