Mandu, 1611
Jehangir
set his matchlock and took a shot at the antelope, whose horns moved in the
bushes. With the ear-deafening shot, a few birds flew away from the nearby
trees. Nur Mahal had just targeted a wild rabbit with her bow and arrow, which
also sprang away, making her give a disappointing stare at her husband. He
smiled sheepishly. It was the third week into the vacation, and every dawn they
had set out to hunt, in search of the tiger they competed over.
But
in vain, all they found were a few antelopes, wild boars and rabbits. Jahangir
kept persuading Nur Mahal to use the matchlock he carried; she insisted she
could hunt better without the ear-deafening noise. Today, they were headed for a
tree house in the forest. The locals guaranteed tiger sightings there.
Nur
Mahal was atop an elephant, while Jahangir wrote another. Some of these days
she had to ride horses around the forest too but in vain in search of tigers. In their
leisure time, they savoured the different types of wines, whose taste,
processing and texture the Padshah intriguingly described to his Begum, she
overlooked the preparation of her favourite recipes for him, recited poetry and at
other times, in the quiet darkness of the night, they poured their heart and
soul out to each other, entangled, in the union. What Nur Mahal liked the most was
the absence of court politics in this life and in their discussions except
for the occasional messengers that kept arriving from Agra to take his
signatures. Nur Mahal had written letters to Ladli and sent them via these
messengers. She hadn’t gotten a reply from any of them. She was worried when
Arjumand dismissed her worry with a letter that Ladli was with her.
It
never struck Nur Mahal that something could be amiss in the situation. She was
happy after so long. Contended with Jahangir by her side and blended into the
life that she knew she always was destined for. Did she sound vain to herself
when she admitted that? Perhaps. But if a woman didn’t know her own worth,
neither would the world, right?
Ladli
Begum stared at the letters, in perfume-sprinkled papers, with envelopes,
bearing the royal seal and sign of a queen. She never opened them. As she lay
on the grass looking at a bird feeding its chicks up on the nest, it was
Arjumand who read the letters of Nur Mahal sitting under the same tree. She was
fascinated by life at Mandu, the adventures of hunting her aunt wrote about
and the leisure activities. Ladli Begum listened inattentively, not at all
eager to know about her mother’s time with the emperor. She was unaware that
Arjumand wrote to her mother as well. To her, Aapa was still the only one she
could trust. Only one? Ladli sighed.
That would be a lie.
Almost
in the late afternoon, the barking deer had alerted the hunting troops. Nur
Mahal straightened her back and shared a glance with her husband. Jahangir
nodded. The barking deer in its dog-like call alerted the jungle every time a
tiger was out hunting; near where the elephants hid, was a clearing where the
royal hunting party had tied up a goat, to lure the tiger in. All eyes were on
it now. The Mahaut almost stopped breathing, and the elephants stood still. The
soldiers on horses were alert.
Suddenly
there was a sound, almost like a growl. It was coming from the jungle on the
left. Jahangir aimed his matchlock, Nur Mahal her bow and arrow. She smirked at
him. She was winning this! Jahangir shook his head. He was not going down to
his lady love so easily. Not without a fight.
Suddenly,
an antelope jumped out of the bushes and straight at the clearing, startling
them. Jahangir lowered his matchlock a little in disappointment. A false alarm.
Nur Mahal held her position. He narrowed his eyes at her and stared in the
direction she was looking. Something moved in the bushes. He was not sure what
it was. He aimed the matching lock again.
Suddenly
they could see the tiger, about to pounce on the tired and unaware antelope,
grazing beside the goat, still alert. Jahangir took his aim. Nur Mahal raised
her hand at him. As if to say “Wait for
it.” He didn’t take a shot. Instead, he aimed his matchlock at the deer.
The tiger pounced on it and managed to get hold of its back. The matchlock was
shot, and an arrow flashed through the air.
Nur
Mahal stood smiling at her prize; for the arrow had hit the tiger, while the
matchlock hit the back of the deer. Jahangir stood impressed, declaring her a
better hunter than himself.
“I
thought waiting will make the tiger alert and we will miss it.” He said.
“Well, we now have two hunts, in one arrow!” She smiled.
“You
amaze me,” Jahangir whispered into her ears making her giggle softly tilting
her head back.
“Time
for a feast tonight then?” She asked as he nodded.
“Salaam,
Nur Mahal Begum.” Hoshiyar Khan bowed. “Mirza Asaf Khan is here to see you.”
Jahangir
and Nur Mahal exchanged a concerned look, as Nur Mahal immediately took the
reigns of one of the soldiers’ horses and sat on it. “I hope Ladli is fine.”
She murmured. Jahangir took another horse and followed alongside Hoshiyar Khan,
back to the forest hunt palace.
“Padshah
Salamat.” Mirza Asaf Khan bowed as Nur Mahal approached him before the Padshah.
“Is
Ladli all right?” Her question made Asaf Khan look a little taken aback. “I am
sorry but I come not from Agra but from Barhanpur, Begum. Is something wrong?”
Nur Mahal shook her head.
“I
just came to pay a visit to the Padshah and you...” He explained.
“Very
well Asaf Khan!” Jahangir smiled “You have come on the right day! Begum Nur
Mahal has just hunted a tiger we were after for days!” Asaf Khan looked amazed
at his sister and back at the emperor. “You are welcome to dine with us
tonight!”
“You
are kind, Jahan Panah” He bowed and left. His last stare was something Nur
Mahal knew very well. She was aware that the reason for his visit has to be
something else and not only to see them.
Asaf
Khan had just taken off his turban and dagger when Hoshiyar Khan announced her
arrival. Asaf looked at his sister in a Persian-style hat, approach him and he
bowed.
“You
should have called me over, Begum.” He said.
“Can
I not visit my brother’s chambers?” Nur Mahal asked.
“You
can, the empress cannot...” Asaf Khan reminded him “It's not even been a month,
the last thing I will do if I were you was to upset the emperor.” Nur Mahal
frowned slightly at his words.
“And
how exactly will I do that?” She asked with a hint of amusement. “By visiting
my brother?”
“You
killed a tiger. It was supposed to be the emperor’s hunt.” He shrugged.
Nur
Mahal let out a small laugh of amusement “It is the hunt of whoever can be the
hunter.”
“Have
you ever seen or heard a woman ...” Nur Mahal raised her hand and made her
brother stop.
“I
am not here to talk of me or the Padshah.” She said disapprovingly “I will not
allow anyone to dictate my personal relationships. He is your Padshah, he is my
husband first.”
“I
apologize.” Asaf Khan said with a sigh.
“Now
tell me why you are here?” Nur Mahal sat down on the cushion.
Asaf
Khan stared at his sister with a frown. “I told you...”
“You
told the Padshah. I know you are here for something and it's probably got to do
with me. So tell me.”
Asaf
Khan sat beside his sister and shrugged. “I fear your intelligence at times.”
He said as her eyes sparkled proudly “Man’s greatest enemy is his mind.”
“Oh
really?” She asked amused “Then what about women? Who is our greatest enemy?
The mind of men?” Asaf Khan smiled shaking his head as Nur Mahal laughed.
“I
am here for Arjumand.” He said when Nur Mahal had stopped.
“Arjumand?”
Nur Mahal asked, “I received her letter a few days back and...”
“Ever
since Qandahari Begum has given birth to the girl child, letters from Shehzaade
Khurram are not that frequent. I am afraid he is taking a liking to his Begum.”
Asaf Khan spoke carefully lowering his voice. Nur Mahal shook her head.
“You
are not afraid about his liking for his Begum, you are scared he doesn’t like
Arjumand anymore.” She said.
“Isn’t
it the same thing?” Asaf Khan frowned. Nur Mahal shook her head.
“No.”
She said adjusting her bangles “It is not.” Asaf Khan waited for her to speak.
“The
Padshah likes Jagat Gossain Begum more than a lot of others. He cares for Sahila
Begum or the late Shah Begum perhaps more than he ever cared even for his
children. But...” Nur Mahal looked at her brother “He loves me.”
Asaf
Khan’s jaws tightened. Whether this newfound confidence of Nur Mahal was
simply because she was married to the Padshah or from something else it was
hard for him to decipher.
“You
sound overconfident.” He said quickly “The mind of men is very fleeting...”
“Is
it?” She said, “But what if I tell you Shehzaade Khurram can care for his Begums
and children all he wants and in the end he will always love Arju will it not
be enough?” She was met with Asaf Khan’s silence.
“Fine.”
She shrugged “I will ask the emperor about the wedding at dinner.” Asaf Khan
smiled hopefully at her words. “But...” she was quick to add “if he delays it I
can’t nag.” He agreed.
Jahangir
smiled when Nur Mahal suggested that she desired to supervise the royal wedding
of Shehzaade Khurram with Arjumand when they would get back.
“After
asking Sultana Begum of course.” Nur Mahal sipped at her wine cup as she spoke
“But I will like to host the feasts and...take care of all the preparations.”
“I
will make sure the wedding is arranged soon. I will write to Shehzaade Khurram
asking him about the status of his expeditions.” Jahangir’s words made Nur
Mahal share a glance with her brother. Asaf Khan had a sign of relief across
his face.
Nur Mahal’s hunting is mentioned by
Jahangir himself when she shot two lions with a single shot in 1617. She has
also been mentioned as killing a tiger. This incident is fiction, inspired by her
hunting skills which he admired because I imagine there were many more hunting
expeditions she excelled than the ones mentioned.
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