There exists in poetry a tradition of nomads, exiles and rebels of song. Throughout history poets in this lineage emerge to articulate brave opposition to unjust social orders. Mirabai, a princess in 1498 in the region of Rajasthan, India, is of this line. Today she is the most renowned poet in India.

As a poet she strikes us as fearless, defiant, passionate and clear-eyed. She lived at a time when life was especially difficult for women in India — yet she accepted none of the bonds that society threw her way. The sole focus of the Princess Mirabai’s life was her love for Krishna. It is a love which saturates her poetry.