Dawn, Images, May 1, 2005. According to one contemporary account, Anarkali was in her forties or older when she was suspected of having an affair with the heir apparent, Prince Salim, who was in the thirtieth year of his life and father to at least three sons from numerous wives. Salim’s father, the otherwise enlightened […]
Dawn, The Review, sometime in 2001 She lies buried under Taj Mahal. Her name was Arjumand (later Mumtaz Mahal), she was the immortal beloved of Prince Khurram (later Shahjahan), and a daughter of Abul Hasan (later Asaf Khan), a Persian at Jahangir’s court. Historians don’t tell us much about her beyond this. Let’s make an
Mumtaz Mahal: the Lady of the Taj Mahal Read More »
This article was originally published in Dawn, The Review, March 15-21, 2001. Since then, I have reconsidered my opinion about how the personality of Emperor Jahangir might have influenced his two grandsons, Dara Shikoh and Aurangzeb. I hope to offer my revised opinion in a separate post in future. I have not changed the text,
Dara Shikoh: a daydream Read More »
This article was originally pubished in Dawn, The Review, sometime in December 2000. Today, I cannot present it without a postcript, which has been added at the end, to highlight a few important points that need to be revised in my opinion. No changes (except spelling and typos) have been made in the text itself.
Dawn, The Review, sometime in September 2000 If ever there was a man who lived by the dictates of mind completely ignoring the voice of his heart, it was the Mughal emperor Shahjahan. Ironically, he is best remembered as the lover who built the famous Taj Mahal for his sweetheart. Shahjahan’s life is an interesting
Shahjahan: the rigid ruler Read More »
Dawn, The Review, sometime in September 2000 Sharing a husband with seventeen other wives and several hundreds of slave girls is far from the romantic picture of an all-encompassing love that frames the portrait of Nurjahan in popular stories. However, the fact remains that she was indeed loved by her royal husband in ways unusual
Dawn, The Review, sometime in 2000 He was raised like an orphan. Not that his parents were dead, but his father was in exile and the little infant was in the custody of its uncle. A merciless uncle he was, for he had wrung the infant, barely a few months old, from the hands of
Dawn, The Review, July 20-26, 2000. Prince Salim, the would-be emperor Jahangir, is being taken to the gallows for rebelling against his father, the emperor Akbar. He turns around to face a crowd that has gathered, not to see the bloodsport, but out of devotion to the noble prince. “Remember this as my dying wish,”
Unveiling Jahangir Read More »