The Quadrangle

Issue date: 9/6/06 Section: Arts & Entertainment

Throughout the world, the Taj Mahal is known for its stunning beauty and magnificent architecture. However, many are oblivious to the history of the great monument. The fifth Mughal Emperor of India, Shah Jahan in the memory of his beloved wife, Mumtaz Mahal, built the Taj Mahal. Unbeknownst to most people, the truth that leads to the building of this greatest piece of architecture is lost somewhere in the historical pages and amidst centuries of legends and myths.
Indu Sundaresan, the author of The Twentieth Wife and its sequel The Feast of Roses, explores the history of the monument, and one of the greatest women in Indian history, Mumtaz Mahal's aunt, Mehrunnisa, also known as the Empress Nur Jahan.
Sundaresan says, "Although the world knows of Shah Jahan's devotion to Mumtaz because of the Taj Mahal, there is no doubt that Jahangir's devotion to Mehrunnisa equaled, if not surpassed, his son's to Mumtaz Mahal."
Interestingly, through these two novels, Sundaresan "…claims that had it not been for Nur Jahan, the marriage between her niece and step son, Shah Jahan may not have taken place. Then perhaps, just perhaps, the Taj Mahal may not have stood today.
Sundaresan examines the life story of the most powerful woman in India who reined the country behind "her veil" for almost two decades in the seventeenth century.
The Twentieth Wife is the quest of a girl named Mehrunnisa, born to Persian nomads into poverty while they were fleeing to India. Growing up around the Mughal court as the daughter of nobleman, Mehrunnisa develops almost a ferocious desire to marry Prince Salim, whom she sees for the first time at the age of eight, at his first wedding. Prince Salim is later known to the world as Emperor Jahangir.
Twenty-six years later, she becomes the most "prized-possession" for the Emperor when she marries him. Throughout part two of the novel, The Feast of Roses, Sundaresan delves into the relationship of Jahangir and Mehrunnisa and the crucial role she played as an empress of India as well as the conflict that rose between father (Jahangir) and son (Shah Jahan).
The Twentieth wife is a novel where Sundaresan weaves in the accurate historical facts of the India in the seventeenth century. All the descriptive details in the book make the story truly believable and very entertaining. One feels the heartaches that Mehrunnisa goes through when her marriage is arranged to Ali Quli, the honorable soldier of the Indian army.

Continued...

Page 1 of 2 next >

Article Tools