The Feast of Roses by Indu SundaresanIt’s the second book in the trilogy. The first one was ‘The twentieth wife’ which focussed upon how Jahangir (aka Salim) became the emperor and Nurjahan(aka Mehrunissa) became his twentieth and last wife. Though it’s a trilogy, the way books are written they have their existence. It’s not a mandate to read ‘The Twentieth Wife’ before reading ‘Feast of Roses’. You won’t feel any disconnection or lost while reading ‘Feast of Roses’. Even I read ‘Feast of Roses’ two years later after reading ‘The Twentieth Wife’.
Being a lover of history, this book is no less than a gift as it has served the dish of history with the right quantity of fiction.
Feast of Roses is about Mehrunissa, how she ruled the heart of Jahangir and thus ruled the empire behind the veil for 16 years which no other Empress could do. She was envied not only by other wives and concubines in Jahangir’s harem but by the men of Jahangir’s court.
Mehrunissa was a woman of substance, strength, and pillar. She ruled behind the veil during the era when women were no more than a pricey possession. She was unlike other women of her era who were considered as one without a voice or one with a void of opinion.
Though history remembers Mumtaz through ‘Taj Mahal’ which was constructed by Shahjahan in the loving memory of Mumtaz, however, love between Jahangir and Mehrunissa was much above that. Jahangir's marriage to Mehrunissa was only for love and this was supported by the fact that this was his last marriage and the only marriage done for love, and not for a political or administrative reason. Jahangir was the only Emperor who did not care about any filthy insinuations upon his manhood in allowing a woman to run an empire. He was man enough not to care about it and acknowledged Mehrunissa as the Empress in true sense.
This book not only tells how Mehrunissa ruled the empire from behind the veil and how she stood strong and fierce amongst men of the empire but also tells the love story of Jahangir and Mehrunissa and how nothing could set them apart.
In parallel, the story also touched upon the fact how England started trading with India and what happened to Portuguese, how Jahangir and Mehrunissa handled Britishers tactfully.
Shout out to all the history lovers out there please read this historic tale which Indu has penned down in the most imaginative way possible. The book is enthralling and I assure you won’t regret reading it.
Plot of the Story
Jahangir instituted twelve rules of conduct for the empire. And imposed the ritual of ‘jhoraka’, which was a special balcony where Jahangir gave audience to the people three times a day: early morning, noon and evening, and Jahangir considered this as his most important responsibility as it was here commoners came to petition him and he listened to their appeals, important or not. And then one fine day, Mehrunnisa asked Jahangir to accompany to jharoka and stand in front of the nobles and commoners. This was her first step taken towards becoming the Empress who ruled behind the veil. Thereafter, Mehrunnisa never looked back and soon got the power equivalent to Emperor Jahangir. And during this, she raised many enemies for her and many men in Jahangir’s court turned against her.
Jahangir bestowed all power on Empress Nurjahan which was no less than the feast of roses in literal terms. But to make it real, Emperor Jahangir actually laid down entire imperial garden ‘Anguri Bagh’ with ‘Isaphans’(pink rose petals) and Mehrunissa walked over that when Mehrunnisa and Jahangir had a tiff. Mehrunnisa and Jahangir stood side by side letting the whole world see them together and this is to restore Menhrunnisa’s name and to let everyone know that there is and there would be no one as important to him as her.
There were three badges of sovereignty in Mughal India- the ability to sign on Farmans, imprinting of coins with a name or likeness, and the khutba. Mehrunnisa had the first two. She was a sovereign too. She sat at the jharoka; she had coins with her imprint upon them; she was the Emperor in all but name. The empire soon began to see Jahangir and she was one entity. Jahangir could trust no one but Mehrunnisa, and he let his couriers, commanders, and nobles know of this.
Other than Jahangir and Mehrunissa, mainstay characters in the story are:
Mahabat Khan and Mohd. Sharif who were two main players at court and were powerful, in both, position and influence over the Emperor. During Mehrunissa’s first visit to jharoka, Mahabat Khan’s cousin came as a petitioner and Mehrunnisa asked Emperor to look on other petitions first as they were more needy, and thus Mahabat Khan’s cousin was dismissed, which anguished Mahabat Khan’s and thereafter, every other instance increased Mahabat Khan’s enmity towards Mehrunnisa. And when Mehrunnisa was pregnant with Jahangir’s child, Mahabat had a role to play in getting that child died before birth.
Another important character Jagat Gosini, who gave birth to Khurram, was holding the title of Padshah Begum, but she envied Mehrunnisa for all the power she had and how Jahangir’s complete time was devoted to Mehrunissa. After marrying Mehrunissa, he never took another wife nor visited any of his other wives. Jagat Gosini had even tried to stop the marriage of Jahangir and Mehrunnisa by plotting a plan along with Mahabat Khan.
And then there is Mehrunissa’s niece Anjumand (aka Mumtaz) whose marriage to Khurram (aka Shahjahan) was possible only because of Mehrunnisa envied her. Shahjahan, who was also fond of Mehrunnisa turned against her and even plotted to get his father Emperor Jahangir killed once.
Last but not least there is Dowager Empress Ruqayya, who was Akbar’s favourite wife and played an important role in getting Jahangir and Mehrunnisa hitched.
There were other characters too: Mehrunissa’s personal eunuch Hoshiyar Khan, Mehrunnisa’s brother Abul Hasan and father Mirza Ghias Beg, Ladli (Mehrunnisa’s daughter from her earlier husband).
Now, to know about what happened to Mahabat as all these events unfolded to Mehrunnisa, what happened to Khurram and other sons of Jahangir, how Khurram became the Emperor and what happened to Mehrunnisa and Ladli after the death of Jahangir, I would strongly recommend reading the book.
Lines I liked the most:
- ‘When you command, do so with authority. Never think you will be ignored, and you will not be ignored.’
- ‘It is better to want than to have a desire fulfilled. Once it is…it has little importance.’
- ‘In knowledge lay true power.’
- ‘Envy lends courage to even the weakest enemy.’
- ‘Once an accusation has been made. However damning it may be, doubt begins to blot the hearer.’
- ‘Austerity is only for those who have been sated by sensual pleasures.’
- ‘No man can be moved against his will. It is his determination that dictates his decision.’
- ‘Bad news travels fast.’
- ‘Peace comes from a lack of want.’
- ‘Acting on every change is futile without pausing to reflect and analyse if it should take its course. Without wondering whether the change could be of one’s advantage.’
Rating: 3.5/5