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Size: 3 X 4 Ft

A Maharani in bridal jewellery and finery sits beneath a sky inspired by Van Gogh’s The Starry Night, Diet Coke in hand.

The work began with a simple pre-wedding reality: you can spend hours getting ready for the pheras, but you’re not supposed to drink before them. So, the Diet Coke became the obvious compromise.

The portrait draws from the visual language of Indian miniature painting and Pichwai, with its ornate jewellery, decorative flowers, birds and intricate framing. The parrot, the bridal finery and the swirling night sky add to the sense of grandeur, while the Diet Coke quietly breaks it.

It is a Maharani portrait with a very contemporary detail – because even royalty sometimes needs a Diet Coke before the pheras.