Mistress of the Throne (The Mughal intrigues) by Gupta Ruchir Page B

the fields and gave more than a third of their income in taxes and bribes to corrupt officials. A poor harvest wouldn’t preclude the peasant from paying such taxes, and often he’d have to mortgage his farm during such seasons. Continued poor harvests would cause the peasant to default on his mortgage payments and lose his land and livelihood. Such was the sad, ugly truth behind the opulence of the Mughal Empire. For all the wealth that existed in the royal household, the average citizen’s lot was far from comfortable. Ami understood this and upon Aba’s coronation, she began spending vast sums of money to feed the poor, and she even gave regular audiences to women whose husbands had died and who now needed to feed their families.
    I was tormented by my mother’s anguish and felt compelled to help her somehow. Was Aurangzeb’s intolerance his own creation, or was an evil hand misguiding him? I began pondering the possibilities. I asked my eunuch, Bahadur, to find out who had been in contact with Aurangzeb after we returned from Kashmir. I was certain someone was pulling the strings, and my little brotherhadn’t concocted the plan on his own. Bahadur was a gentle soul who never engaged in zenana gossip for her own amusement. After being assigned to me, she became almost an older sibling, protecting me from the dangers that lurked in unthinkable places in the palace. The other women of the harem feared her, and their treatment of me changed once I was placed in her charge. I now commanded respect; my suggestions were no longer met with taunts and sarcasm, and the women would go out of their way to include me on trips and hunts.
    She now told me, “Begum Sahiba, both your brother and your sister, Raushanara, have been paying regular visits to the former Empress, Nur Jahan.”
    I froze in horror. I’d heard of Nur Jahan’s vindictiveness, but I couldn’t believe her tentacles could run so deep into the fabric of my family. “Bahadur, are you sure? I can’t act on a rumour…”
    “I assure you, Begum Sahiba, this is no rumour. Several of my sources, including Nur Jahan’s own eunuch, Hoshiyar Khan, have attested to this.”
    I resolved not to make either parent of mine privy to this information; I opted instead to take matters into my own hands. With Bahadur by my side, I took a detour on my way to visit the mud huts of Agra and personally confront the former empress.
    A small haveli began to come into focus as our palanquin made its way towards Nur Jahan’s home. There was an uncomfortable feeling in my stomach as we approached, as if Nur Jahan had placed a curse on the air around her haveli.
    Yet, I was determined to not be intimidated by this woman. She had caused so much grief in my life that I opted to do what was right for my family and confront her. By this age, I’d developed my mother’s sense of confidence and sophistication in dealing with difficult matters.
    Bahadur approached the haveli first and made contact with Hoshiyar Khan. After the two eunuchs discussed the purpose of the visit, Bahadur escorted me to the main room where Nur Jahan would receive me.
    Though we exchanged the customary salutations, I didn’t waste any time on casual conversation, instead forthrightly saying: “Aunt Nur Jahan, I’m here to tell you plainly: leave Aurangzeb alone!”
    Nur Jahan smiled slimly. “What makes you think I’ve said anything to Aurangzeb?”
    “He told me!” I lied. “I know everything. I know how you manipulated him to poison Manu and told him it was God’s will for her to die. Why won’t you leave him alone? Why do you wish to turn him into a fanatic?”
    If Nur Jahan was surprised at my boldness, she didn’t let on. Instead, while I was speaking, she began walking around her room, rearranging figurines on her table as if she were preoccupied. She replied calmly, “I’m not saying anything his own heart’s not telling him.”
    “He’s a child!” I nearly screamed. “You’re