Illustration from a 1539-43 Khamsa by Nizami

Maijnun and an Old Woman Approach the Tent of Laila.

A larger image of The Old Woman complaining to Sultan Sanjar. Illustration from a 1539-43 Khamsa by Nizami.

The story of Laila and Maijnun is one of the tales in the Khamsa of Nizami. Qais has fallen in love with Laila at school, in consequence of which he was called Maijnun, 'madman', by his schoolmates. Laila was withdrawn from school. Here Maijnun, who has teamed up with an old woman, is approaching the tent of Laila in her family encampment.
This painting by Mir Saiyid Ali offers a host of information and incident; women wash clothes and cook meals, the tents of Laila's family are differentiated from those of the servants, boys throw stones at the pair as they approach Laila's ten and a dog with hennaed legs barks.
British Library, Or. 2265, f.157b. From p189 The Mughal Emperors and the Islamic Dynasties of India, Iran and Central Asia by Francis Robinson.