The Mighty Moghals demystified!

History happened to be one of my favorite subjects in school. The full credit of which goes to my adorable History teacher, Mrs. Nair. Originally from God’s own country, her personality was a great influencing factor in my life. Tall persona with mother like softness in her words, she used to create magic in the classroom by making the history characters come alive from the text books. Be it Babur, Akbar or Shahjahan, each one of them became awe inspiring figures, the way she narrated their heroics in the battlefield. When I went to Class 10^th, she left my school and went back to Kerala. And I was too timid then, to inquire about her whereabouts…though till date, I associate History with her.

Now before you start wondering, about the cause behind the sudden remembrance of Mrs. Nair and History, let me tell you upront, that today’s blog is going to be an ode to a fantastic book that I browsed recently.

“Empire of the Moghul, the tainted throne” by Alex Rutherford.

Empire of the Moghul

From the first page to the last, the book is an experience to behold, to cherish and to reminisce. Alex has described beautifully Jahangir’s rise to power and pitiful demise, followed by Shahjahan’s rise again as the ultimate Mogul of Hindustan. The proxy ruling by Jahangir’s ruthless empress Mehrunissa (Noor jahan, light of the world) and the empathetic personality of Shahjahan’s wife, Arjumand.(Mumtaz-mahal)

Mehrunissa, the empress who ruled Hindustan behind the veil and jaali of Diwaan-e-aam of Agra Fort, after making Jahangir ever-dependent on opium laced wine. She was the brain behind Jahangir. An envy of his vazeer, courtiers and British noblemen ‘coz of her proximity to Jahangir, she survived great odds to safeguard her selfish lust for power. It was love at first sight for Jahangir, when he saw her dancing in Kabul during his punishment stay there. (After the Anaarkali debacle, when he lured his father’s favorite concubine, and thus was sent to Kabul to recover from his foolhardiness)

Author: Alex Rutherford

Subsequently, Mehrunissa got married to another nobleman and had a daughter from him, couple of years later, the nobleman was murdered brutally. It was Jahangir’s strategy again, to win back his long lost love, by hiring a Supaari killer (An English gentleman). So this is how, she became the proxy empress of Hindustan. Blessed with a brain that worked faster than Chacha Chaudhury, she became the chief advisor of Jahangir. Her influence grew to such an extent that, she was bestowed with the title of Noor jahan and a seal of her own, to issue farmaans n diktats (official rulings). She was considered an ace shooter, who went on shikaars and killed tigers with one single shots. (Unheard of, during that era). At a later point in the story, when Jahangir was captured by the enemy, she led the official army sitting on elephants with muskets and grenades to free him back, and succeeded too! Calculative and shrewd, she poisoned her husband’s mind against his favorite son (from another wife), Shahjahan, which led to his exile. The end of the story shows us how Shahjahan wins back the throne from Mehrunissa.

Now, why did I like the book so much? Great story telling on a topic that is very close to my heart. When I was a kid, I got many opportunities to visit Agra Fort, Red Fort, Itmad-ud-daulah (Tomb), Fatehpur Sikri. On each of my visits, I used tp pray, to be transported to that world and get a fleeting glimpse of the magnificence of Mughal era. The history books also gave a very brief and clinical description of events. Now here arrives a book, that tells me the minute and intricate details of the everyday lives of the Mughals, starting from the battles, court affairs, marriages, food, clothes, palaces, leisure activities etc. Most importantly, the softer aspects, how they thought, what they thought, how they felt, the strategies they devised to win wars, to win their love, to win the throne etc etc. I could actually imagine myself in that era, in their world for some moments of blissful magnificence. 90% of the book is fact and rest 10% is embroidered story to link events and characters.

The most winsome aspect of the book is the way Alex has breathed life into the card board Moghal characters and brought them alive and kicking in complete 3D avatar. You can actually visualize the blood and gore in the battlefield, the sword fighting and the riches of the Moghals. The shower of gold, diamonds and pearls when they used to return to Agra after winning battles, the glory of the peacock throne, the dazzling tiaras and the food! Murgs stuffed with gemstones along with dry fruits! J (That sure made me salivate :P)

The book has only one drawback though. No pictures L

After I finished it, I googled for the pictures of Mehrunissa and Peacock throne J And I was not disappointed at all!

Alex has written 3 more books on the same theme. And this one happens to be that last of the series. My goal now, is to get my hands on the other 3! J

My suggestion to you all, if you want a piece of heaven to drive away the monotony of your lives, this is the book to read. J

Cheers!

Cya next Saturday!