Mistress of the Throne (The Mughal intrigues) Read Online Free PDF

paradise possible here on earth. Nowhere was this truer than in Kashmir. Nestled in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, the Kashmir valley was south of the inhabitable Himalayan terrain, but north of the plains of Agra. It therefore had perfect summer weather, with cold damp winds and clear breezes. My grandfather, Jahangir, often went there when his asthma attacks would start to worsen. It was believed the climate of Kashmir was better for the breathing of an asthmatic.
    India was now akin to a patient recovering from a deadly illness. The unchecked virulence of Nur Jahan and her politics had wreaked havoc on the kingdom, with six years of political posturing and intense infighting. The entire royal family had been torn apart, and it seemed at times no one – save Nur Jahan – had been happy with her actions.
    New Empress Ami stood in complete contrast to her predecessor. Aba consulted her on all private and public matters of state. She was not just his favourite wife, but also his closest adviser, confidante, and on certain matters, even co-regent. I now shared my elephant, its canopy decorated in gold and azure, with Dara; Raushanara rode with Murad and Shuja. Aurangzeb insisted on having an elephant all to himself.
    Aurangzeb still seemed like an enigma to me, an entangled coil I somehow needed to unravel within the confines of my own quiet private world. I wasn’t sure how I would do that.
    At times I felt all of Agra had left with us. The centre of the empire was the King, so wherever he went would be the centre. Thus, the centre was moving north and with him, all of the luxuries and responsibilities of the kingdom would go also. A total of at least 80 camels, 30 elephants and 20 carts were devoted just to carrying the royal records. An additional 100 camels carried over 200 cases of Aba’s clothes alone; 50 elephants carried jewels to be distributed to those individuals who had pleased the King with their words and deeds; 100 camels carried cases loaded with silver and gold rupees; another 100 carried water for drinking and bathing; several large carts carried the
hammam
that Aba and his wives would use for bathing.
    At a distance of one
kos
in front of us was a horseman with the finest white linens, whose job it was to cover the carcass of any animal lying on the ground, to prevent the Emperor from viewing such a dastardly sight.
    Two ‘metropolis’ cities travelled as part of the entourage, one always set up in advance of the other so the emperor wouldn’t have to wait if he wanted to relax. Anticipating the Emperor, the Grand Master of the royal household always picked a scenic location atwhich to set up his city. These temporary cities featured red imperial two-storied tents lined with gold, silk and velvet each complete with its own Diwan-i-am and Diwan-i-khas as well as zenana apartments in the rear. A guard of nobles surrounded the area; a separate tent was filled with sweetmeats, fruits, water for drinking and betel leaves. Added were separate tents for the kitchen, the officers, the eunuchs and the animals.
    I found myself alone often with Dara during our journey in my new makeshift tent chambers. We enjoyed each other’s company so much, no one objected to him entering the zenana, and many of the zenana ladies even flirted with him, which I think he enjoyed.
    On this night, I decided to prod Dara to tell me what had happened during their exile to make Aurangzeb so different. Though reluctant at first, he did tell me the whole story:
    “When Aurangzeb and I first arrived at Agra from Nizamshahi, we were incredibly homesick, and the separation from Ami and Aba was especially difficult for Aurangzeb, who was very young at the time.”
    “How so? Did he weep often?” I inquired.
    “Yes, he wept all the time. He began acting infantile; he started wetting his bed and falling ill. Nur Jahan was ruthless to him, teasing him all the time and calling him a girl and a begum.”
    “Oh, my God!” I