Photo Essay

THE DEATH OF TIPU SULTAN

DYUTIMAN MUKHOPADHYAY PHOTOGRAPHY

'The British lion had subdued the Mysore tiger and added another member to its pride.'

—Prof. Simon Schama; Art Historian (Source: https://www.bbc.co.uk/).

‘The light—is falling. The Sultan—is wounded. Losing blood. Loyals lift him up. Rest him. In his palanquin. At the Hoally Gateway—of Srirangapatna. His—Srirangapatna. His horse has fallen. His soldiers—outstripped, slaughtered. Dead. Killed by Red Coats. Killed by neighbours. Killed by Ministers. His own—Ministers. His own. The light is falling. The Sultan bleeds. Facing a firing squad. Surrounded. He waits. He waits with his sword. Someone grabs his sword-belt. He wounds him—above the knee. A shot—is fired. From behind. On his head. Night—brings to the senses. Stricken by wails—seeking corpses. Here on the soil—he lies. Stripped of his jewels. The Tiger—of Mysore’.

—Dyutiman Mukhopadhyay [adapted from the text description of the painting exhibit and from ‘Nair, Janaki (2006). Tipu Sultan, history painting and the battle for ‘perspective.’ Studies in History, 22(1), 97–143.]’.

‘It is better to live like a lion for a day than to live like a jackal for hundred years.’

—Tipu Sultan

(Sultan Fateh Ali Sahab Tipu; 1751 – 1799)

Commonly referred to as the ‘Tiger of Mysore’.

Painted by Henry Singleton,

Engraved by Niccolò Schiavonetti,

London, Aug 15 1802.

Photographed from the Summer Palace Museum exhibit of Tipu Sultan;

Srirangapatna, Karnataka, India.

March 5, 2023.

Camera—Xiaomi Redmi Note 8 Pro.