Mirror of Beauty

Rahman Faruqi Shamsur

Description

It is the sunset of the Mughal Empire. The splendour of imperial Delhi flares one last time. The young daughter of a craftsman in the city elopes with an officer of the East India Company. And so we are drawn into the story of Wazir Khanam: a dazzlingly beautiful and fiercely independent woman who takes a series of lovers, including a Navab and a Mughal prince and whom history remembers as the mother of the famous poet Dagh. But it is not just one life that this novel sets out to capture: it paints in rapturous detail an entire civilization. Beginning with the story of an enigmatic and gifted painter in a village near Kishangarh, The Mirror of Beauty embarks on an epic journey that sweeps through the death-giving deserts of Rajputana, the verdant valley of Kashmir and the glorious cosmopolis of Delhi, the craft of miniature painting and the art of carpet designing, scintillating musical performances and recurring paintings of mysterious, alluring women. Its scope breathtaking, its language beguiling, and its style sumptuous, this is a work of profound beauty, depth and power.

Sujets

• Historical fiction

Informations

• Publié par: Penguin Books Ltd
• Date de parution: 21 mars 2014
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9788184759938
• Langue: English

Extrait

Shamsur Rahman Faruqi

THE MIRROR OF BEAUTY
Being the tale of an extraordinary woman in nineteenth-century India who struggled all her life to choose for herself against all odds; narrated as a politico-historical romance
Contents
About the Author
Dedication
Praise for The Mirror of Beauty
Family Trees
Cast of Characters
Prelude
Captain Edward Marston Blake, the Company sahib, rescues some travellers on the road to Delhi while returning from the Auspicious Fair at the Noble Village of Mehrauli
BOOK 1
1. The lives and destinies of Sophia s descendants, Salim Jafar and Shamim Jafar
2. Dr Farooqui, retired ophthalmologist and amateur genealogist, meets Wasim Jafar in London and learns of his extraordinary discovery
3. A mysterious book appears, and also an unnamed spirit, enchanting Wasim Jafar
BOOK 2
4. Mian Makhsusullah s portrait causes a furore
5. The master of Hindal Purwah is enraged by the threat to his honour
6. Mian Makhsusullah flees to the cold north of Hindustan
7. Mian Makhsusullah, the Portrait Painter, learns the mysterious art of talim
8. A much-awaited birth is followed by an unexpected and inexplicable death
9. Mian Makhsusullah s son and grandsons prosper and flourish
Interlude
Sindhia achieves the unachievable elevation and issues orders for celebratory fairs to be held throughout the realm
10. Yahya witnesses a lamentation of extraordinary power and beauty, and meets painters and singers from Rajputana
11. Yahya is captivated by the portrait of a beautiful woman
12. Yahya reaffirms his love for the Garden that is Kashmir. He also sees, for the very first time, his sons perform
13. Daud and Yaqub take stock of their inheritance and make a life-changing decision
14. Yaqub and Daud travel through the harsh desert of Rajputana on their way to Kishangarh
15. Yaqub and Daud lose their hearts to two houris of the desert
16. Yaqub and Daud learn new trades, and a son is born to the former
17. The Firangee fights the Maratha in a terrible battle that leaves Muhammad Yusuf orphaned
18. Muhammad Yusuf and Asghari have three beautiful daughters of differing temperaments
BOOK 3
19. Chhoti Begam sets aside questions of love and learns to be a bibi in the house of a sahib
20. Marston Blake asks an unexpected question of Wazir Khanam, now the mother of his two children
21. Marston Blake faces danger as intrigue smoulders in the Jaipur Palace
22. Wazir Khanam negotiates a deal with the Tyndales
BOOK 4
23. Wazir Khanam makes herself at home in the glorious city of Delhi
24. Wazir Khanam is invited to Fraser sahib s stately and sumptuous mansion on the Hill
25. Fanny Parkes provides an animated account of life in Allahabad
26. The greatest poet of the age, Mirza Asadullah Khan Ghalib, recites a poem at the august gathering
27. Navab Shamsuddin Ahmad Khan pays a visit to Wazir Khanam
28. Wazir Khanam has a consultation with Navab Yusuf Ali Khan
29. Wazir Khanam consults Pundit Nand Kishor, and the Divan of Khvajah Hafiz is read to resolve a troubling dilemma
30. Poetry facilitates an exchange of love letters between Wazir Khanam and Shamsuddin Ahmad Khan
31. An exquisitely attired Wazir Khanam pays a visit to Navab Shamsuddin Ahmad Khan s imposing and splendid residence in Daryaganj
32. Wazir Khanam and Shamsuddin Ahmad debate who among them is the alms-giver and who the beggar; Chhoti Begam is displeased with the Navab s proposition
33. Wazir Khanam tries to reconcile herself with her disappointment even as the Navab suggests that she stay the night
34. Habib-un Nisa helps Wazir Khanam prepare for the night, and Navab Shamsuddin Ahmad Khan teaches all possible lessons of pride and restraint to his body and his soul
35. Wazir Khanam receives a loving message and a gift worthy of a princess
36. Hakim Ahsanullah Khan meets William Fraser with reluctance and subsequently warns Navab Shamsuddin Ahmad Khan of Fraser s unsavoury intentions
37. William Fraser pays a visit to Wazir Khanam at Sirki Walan stirring up anxieties and fears
38. Wazir Khanam moves to a house in the colourful and pleasant locality of Chandni Chowk; a dark, beautiful boy is born to her and Navab Shamsuddin Ahmad Khan
39. A couple of blissful years pass by, a wedding is celebrated in Navab Shamsuddin Ahmad s family, but storm clouds gather on the horizon
40. Resident Sahib William Fraser visits humiliation upon Navab Shamsuddin Ahmad Khan in public
41. A misadventure at William Fraser s mansion: Shamsuddin Khan suffers another humiliation
42. They desire joy, but sorrow awaits: Wazir Khanam is caught in the dread grip of fear and the Navab makes a vow
BOOK 5
43. At Firozepur Jhirka, Navab Shamsuddin Ahmad Khan accepts a proposal from Akbarabad for the hand of his sister Jahangirah Begam; but he receives shocking news on another front
44. Karim Khan, the Chief of the Hunt, meets his Lord Benefactor Navab Shamsuddin Ahmad Khan
45. The rumour mills of Delhi shift to high speed and Navab Shamsuddin Ahmad Khan comes under suspicion
46. The news of William Fraser s assassination reaches Navab Shamsuddin Ahmad Khan
47. Night descends on Firozepur Jhirka as the Navab meets the ladies of the haram sara and bids them farewell
48. An arrest and a trial: the Navab is caught in a web of betrayal and conspiracy
BOOK 6
49. Disquieting rumours make Wazir Khanam fear for the life of Navab Mirza; like a flood, from all sides, communications of Fate pour in
50. A pen name is found for Navab Mirza, the budding poet, from the Divan of Khvajah Mir Dard sahib
51. Navab Mirza is consulted; a proposal is made: springtime arrives once again in Wazir Khanam s courtyard
52. Agha Turab Ali sets out for the great annual cattle fair in Sonepur on the banks of the mighty Gandak
53. Agha Turab Ali s journey back home is riddled with sinister perils and diabolical betrayals
54. Agha Turab Ali s party is persuaded to stop and help a group of travellers
Interlude
Mahakali s devotees and the John Company s role and motives in eradicating them
55. Expert trackers retrace the steps of Agha Turab Ali s party; the mourning caravan finally reaches Rampur
56. Wazir Khanam and Navab Mirza debate the beliefs of men; the ill-bred malice of her in-laws compels Wazir to make a decision
BOOK 7
57. A luminant new star rises on the firmament of poets and poetry in the Heavenly City of Delhi: Dagh makes an impression
58. Navab Mirza chances upon the greatest poet of the time, Mirza Ghalib, and has an unexpected encounter with his father s stepbrother
59. Ziauddin Ahmad Khan pays a visit to the house at Khanam ka Bazaar; Dagh experiences the turbulence of love
60. Scholar and creator of riddles, Maulavi Imam Bakhsh Sahbai attempts to solve the Prince s dilemma
61. The King Emperor summons Mirza Fakhru to the Royal Hammam
62. Anwari Khanam and Maulavi Muhammad Nazir receive a marriage proposal for Chhoti Begam
63. Chhoti Begam hears from Anwari Khanam, and consults Bai Ji sahib for a solution to her dilemma
64. Wazir Khanam becomes Shaukat Mahal
65. Lust circles that silvery one s body like a tiger
66. Life and times at the Auspicious Fort under the shade of the Mentor and Guide, Abu Zafar Bahadur Shah II
67. Death in Delhi: Like a decayed tooth in the mouth of Time, extracted at the flimsiest excuse
68. The Queen of the Age commands Wazir Khanam to her Court
Footnotes
14. Yaqub and Daud travel through the harsh desert of Rajputana on their way to Kishangarh
63. Chhoti Begam hears from Anwari Khanam, and consults Bai Ji sahib for a solution to her dilemma
64. Wazir Khanam becomes Shaukat Mahal
A Note on the Type
Acknowledgements
Follow Penguin
Copyright Page
PENGUIN BOOKS
THE MIRROR OF BEAUTY
Acclaimed writer Shamsur Rahman Faruqi is also modern Urdu’s most celebrated critic. He was editor and publisher of the highly regarded literary journal Shabkhoon , and is the author of a landmark four-volume study of the poet Mir Taqi Mir, and another four-volume work on Urdu’s immense oral romance, Dastan-e Amir Hamza . He received the prestigious Saraswati Samman in 1996 for his contribution to Urdu literature. The Mirror of Beauty , originally published in Urdu to huge acclaim, is his first novel.
Dedicated to
29 C, Hastings Road, Allahabad, its Lady of the House, and the two girls who are the radiant roses of this garden and who may perhaps be its keepers and gardeners in the future
Recorded at Allahabad, December 2005
Two years after
She, who for a long time-more than half a century in fact, Made me happy with all her heart and body- I must have done some wrong, for suddenly, she Left our home and went to live where nothing lives.
You were my friend, my lover, safe home for my heart, You breathed a fragrance, familiar, friendly, welcome; During the day I may sometimes stray into a smile, To fall asleep without weeping, such nights are rare now.
19 October 2007
Praise for The Mirror of Beauty
A true epic, The Mirror of Beauty is the Koh-i-Noor of Indian novels: majestic, glittering, mysterious. It will bring you a joy no book ever has.
-Mohammed Hanif
In every language there is a defining work of literature which absorbs all of its beauty, majesty, and powers of storytelling to create something in whose comparison future works will be judged. In The Mirror of Beauty Faruqi has created such a novel. His immaculate English translation takes that work further, and puts both Urdu language and world literature in his debt.
-Musharraf Ali Farooqi
A lovely and magical book. Shamsur Rahman Faruqi weaves history and illusion into one beautiful pattern. He clothes us richly in our past.
-Nadeem Aslam
An erudite, amazing historical novel, elegiac in tone and written with heartfelt attention to the details and the rituals of a lost culture.
-Orhan Pamuk
Poetry in slow motion.
- Financial Express
…a price