The Moghul Hedonist

by Farzana Moon

  "More than my heart and tongue can contain, Your Majesty." Abdur Rahim raised his head, sitting there crouched on the Persian rug.

  "Let these sadness' wait, Abdur Rahim, until the emperor has rested." Nur Jahan commanded, her heart thundering.

  "Padishah Begum." Abdur Rahim muttered, as if in great misery.

  "No, my Nur, no." Jahangir waved her request away with one impatient gesture. "The emperor needs not postpone the burden of sadness'"

  "All pain and suffering, Your Majesty, all laden with ill import, if you wish to wait till tomorrow?" Abdur Rahim implored.

  "Right this moment, Abdur Rahim, if you wish to escape the gallows of the emperor's wrath." Jahangir commanded.

  "Your obedient servant, Your Majesty." Abdur Rahim bowed his head. "Prince Shah Jahan didn't stay idle in Golconda, the news must have reached you. But his own troubles multiplied along with his intrigues to conquer and subdue, wherever he could lay his hands on. Even the sovereign of Golconda didn't offer him much assistance. Only sending him paltry amounts of cash or goods whenever the Prince requested. Mirza Muhammed of Bijapur, who, along with his family, had followed Prince Shah Jahan to Golconda, also absconded without any reason. Prince Shah Jahan was furious. He sent Jafar Beg with a body of troops to arrest Mirza Muhammed. The battle was fought in a dense jungle across from the big canal. Prince Shah Jahan's own men were caught in a swamp, and Sayyid Jafar was wounded. Khan Quli and several of the Prince's men were slain. Mirza Muhammed fought bravely, but was overcome by wounds and died. His head was cut off and sent to Prince Shah Jahan. After this terrible skirmish, more desertions followed in the camp of Prince Shah Jahan, but he decided to move on to the town of Masulipatan. Half of the town was emptied for the fear of sacking, even before Prince Shah Jahan reached there. He then turned his attention to north-east, and crossing Chhatar Diwar Pass, entered the Moghul territory of Orissa. Ahmed Beg, the governor of Orissa, and Ibrahim Khan, the governor of Bengal were taken unawares by Prince Shah Jahan's sudden intention of conquering their territories. Prince Shah Jahan quickly appointed Abdullah Khan to lay the siege, and Orissa capitulated. The victorious Prince then marched boldly to Ahmadnagar to fight Ibrahim Khan. The governor fought valiantly, but was killed. His severed head was presented to Prince Shah Jahan as a trophy of victory. Unfortunately, Prince Perwiz and Mahabat Khan, at this time, were in Burhanpur, settling the affairs in Deccan. Prince Shah Jahan, after the conquest of Orissa and Bengal, rewarded his generals with riches and homes. Raja Bahim, Darya Khan, Abdullah Khan and Shujaat Khan were the most favored ones, getting the largest of the shares from the loot. And my own son Darab Khan too, if he only knew the worth of the material wealth and if God had guided him to the right path? Back to Prince Shah Jahan, he marched to Bihar, and the strong fort of the Rhotas was submitted to him. Then he continued his march to Allahabad, now pursued by Prince Perwiz and Mahabat Khan who had left Burhanpur far behind in their haste to capture the Prince. By this time Prince Shah Jahan had taken full possession of Jaunpur and had encamped in the forests of Kampat, laying siege to the fort of Allahabad. Despite the monsoon rains, Prince Perwiz and Mahabat Khan had managed to reach Allahabad. Even before the fighting had begun, quite a few of Prince Shah Jahan's generals had deserted the Prince and had joined Mahabat Khan. Though the forces of Prince Shah Jahan had fought to the last, till their general Raja Bahim was killed. Prince Perwiz and Mahabat Khan had won the battle. Prince Shah Jahan's horse was wounded, but he had succeeded in escaping once again. He had retreated to the fort of the Rhotas, where his wife gave birth to another son—" He paused. But before he could continue, one anguished inquiry trembled on Jahangir's lips.

  "And what did he name his unfortunate son, do you know?" Jahangir asked, his eyes shining with pain and delirium.

  "Prince Murad Bakhsh, the newborn prince, Your Majesty." Was Abdur Rahim's befuddled response.

  "And Baidaulat, where is he now? Still a rebel? Still a fugitive?" Jahangir’s thoughts were foundering inside the ocean of love-hate.

  "No more, Your Majesty, no more. Let another day share the burden of tragedies?" Nur Jahan pleaded, alarmed by the emperor's feverish gaze.

  "Go on, Abdur Rahim." Jahangir commanded again. "Time is swift in its flight, neither sharing the burden of tragedies, nor gathering fortunes in its empty bosom."

  "Prince Shah Jahan escaped to Golconda once again, Your Majesty." Was Abdur Rahim's laconic response, woe written all over his face.

  "Leave no account of the hideous misfortunes concealed, Abdur Rahim." Jahangir’s eyes were flashing rage.

  "Prince Shah Jahan stayed in the fort of the Rhotas only three days, Your Majesty. Before leaving toward Ghuree, the Prince commanded Darab Khan to follow him. But Darab Khan, my unfortunate son, was getting tired of Prince Shah Jahan's fighting and fleeing escapades, and didn't want to follow the fugitive Prince. He and his son were taken hostage by Prince Shah Jahan's orders, but the Prince advised Abdullah Khan not to harm them. After Prince Shah Jahan left, Abdullah Khan put my grandson to death. Darab Khan, my son, was seized by Mahabat Khan, and executed. My son and grandson, both gone—" He could not speak, overwhelmed with grief and despair.

  "All your jagirs would be reinstated, Abdur Rahim. And you would reclaim the title of Khan Khanan, though no such rewards bring any consolation to the victim of loss and grief?" Jahangir eased himself up slowly and thoughtfully.

  "By the help of God, the kingdoms of emperor Jahangir

  Have twice given me life and twice the Khan Khani."

  An impromptu couplet broke forth on Abdur Rahim's grieving lips.

  "Ill and tormented, the emperor must leave this valley of peace, and fly to the dale of fire and unrest." Jahangir didn’t acknowledge Abdur Rahim’s couplet of a response, his gaze unseeing. "To Lahore, to Lahore! Come, Padishah Begum, let us take one last stroll in our garden, before we are expelled from this paradise." He murmured absently.

  "Your Majesty." Nur Jahan was forcing back her tears with all the will of her passionate heart. "We would always return to this paradise—" She could not continue, numbed by shock as the emperor collapsed on the floor in one silken heap.

  The grand room in the palace at Lahore was lit by a myriad of candles in the gold candelabrum. Jahangir was seated in his jeweled chair, attended by his physician, Muqqarab Khan. From where he sat, he could view the trellised courtyard and the gardens dipping closer to the palace gates beyond. This room was all gilt and ivory, and furnished with the murals of court scenes from wall-to-wall. The ceiling too was all gilt, and painted with the Zodiac signs. Nur Jahan was lounging by the marble hearth in her own chair of carved rosewood. She was reading the works of Rumi with intensity akin to oblivion and surrender. The porcelain vases over the mantel behind were brimming with fresh tuberoses, wafting forth the scent of peace and serenity. Nur Jahan herself had arranged some of these floral arrangements, but now as she sat there reading, she seemed oblivious to all but to her own intensity in self-surrender.

  Jahangir was donned in pale silks, the large emerald in his turban sparkling. Though ill and suffering, he had gained a considerable amount of weight, his paunch and a double chin quite prominent. His face was full and bloated, his eyes heavy and swollen. He had begun to drink heavily and religiously. Even now as he sat listening to his physician's advice, he was drinking from his gold cup quite contentedly and heedlessly. Concerning his health, the emperor had thrown all caution to the winds, as long as his mental and physical sufferings could be appeased inside the pools of oblivion and drunkenness. He could not endure even the thought of his beloved son turned an inveterate rebel, defying the emperor's love, and disobeying his commands.

  The emperor was accepting no solace from Nur Jahan's own rivers of love and entreaties. The long journey from Kashmir to Lahore was a turbulent one, since he was once again the victim of asthma and violent headaches. His condition had not much improved after returning to Lahore, but despite his infirmities, his presence alone had brought peace
in the neighboring cities of his empire. Prince Shah Jahan was self-exiled in Golconda. Prince Perwiz and Mahabat Khan were gaining new alliances in anticipation of capturing the rebel Prince if he dared emerge from his safe lair with the intention of seizing the Moghul territories. Muqqarab Khan had worked wonders in improving the health of Prince Shahryar, though Indian fever had quite a damaging affect on his eyesight. After Muqqarab Khan's ministrations, the Prince was now able to read for a couple of hours at one stretch without experiencing any fatigue or headache. Ladli Begum was happy to have her husband's health restored, and gathering more happiness by the presence of her mother in Lahore.

  Nur Jahan too was happy in a sense that she was finding solace and delight in the company of her granddaughter. Princess Arzani was almost two year old, and endowed with the disposition of love and laughter inherited from her grandmother. Another sanctuary of solace or distraction for Nur Jahan was her brother Asaf Khan, whom she had begun to respect and suspect concurrently. Respecting him for his wisdom and suspecting him for his duplicity in keeping both the emperor and the Prince happy, where no deceit could be suspected on either side. Only Jahangir was dissatisfied to stay in Lahore, yearning to be back into the pine-valleys of Kashmir. Besides, he was dreading the onslaught of heat which was sure to visit Lahore in a couple of months, if not before. Wine and heat were the worst of his enemies, but he could not banish either by the virtue of his needs and circumstances. The former one, he was compelled to keep in order to drown his sufferings. And the latter one, he was trying to abandon in the hope of feeling refreshed. He had begun to plan another trip to Kashmir, regardless of the fact that urgent matters needed his attention at Lahore. He was convincing himself that his illness were the result of caprice in seasons than of his own addiction to wine.

  "It's not even summer, and the emperor feels stifled in this gilded tomb of a palace." Jahangir interrupted the litany of Muqqarab Khan's advice after drinking deep from his gold cup. "The only remedy to the emperor's suffering is to inhale the scent of spring in the pine-valleys of Kashmir."

  "The wine of beauty in nature's cup, for sure, Your Majesty, is beneficial to your health, not the wine in your cup. If I may propose, Your Majesty, that you cut down on your consumption of wine?" Muqqarab Khan entreated.

  "The wine soothes my senses, my besotted physician." Jahangir commented, stealing a glance at Nur Jahan. "And the wine I drink from the beautiful eyes of my empress heals my soul. And yet, I thirst for the wine of beauty from nature's cup too, my good physician, as you suggest? Rather thirst for it from the very goblets of Kashmir, in Kashmir." He sighed wistfully.

  "Kashmir with all its charm and beauty cannot heal you, Your Majesty, if you do not curb your passion for drinking." Nur Jahan commented softly.

  "It heals me in a way, my Empress, that it makes me forget about all the bloody intrigues of my own kindred. Prince Khusrau, first! Now Prince Shah Jahan, Baidaulat! In the guise of Cain, first murdering his brother, now usurping the kingdoms of his father?" Was Jahangir's giddy comment.

  "You have become so skilled in avoiding the subject of drinking, Your Majesty, that no one can approach the door to your excesses." One crescent of a smile was arrested on Nur Jahan’s lips. "How can an emperor, who is ailing, rule this vast empire, Your Majesty? The welfare of your subjects depends upon your health."

  "You should worry more about Prince Shahryar’s health, my Empress, than the emperor's. The emperor suffers no impairment of vision or hearing." Jahangir proposed congenially. "Ask Muqqarab Khan, how the Prince's sight fails as well as his memory?”

  "Prince Shahryar is strong and healthy, Your Majesty, if you only knew." Nur Jahan's gaze was shifting from the emperor to the physician. "Tell the emperor, Muqqarab Khan, how well the Prince fares?"

  "Prince Shahryar is enjoying good health, Your Majesty. His eyesight too is restored, completely."

  "Yes, his eyes." Jahangir contemplated aloud. "They will no doubt continue quite well, if they be not deprived of light by his brothers. The Moghul Cain, I mean! Leave us, Muqqarab Khan. The emperor might need your services in Kashmir? Though, he would be busy hunting and exploring his own gardens." He waved dismissal.

  "Your humble servant, Your Majesty." Muqqarab Khan turned to his heels.

  Before Muqarab Khan could reach the gilded portals, Asaf Khan sailed in with the ease of a royal relative, much favored by the emperor. Nur Jahan flashed him a searching look, but he rewarded her mute curiosity with only a smile. Approaching closer to the emperor, he bowed slightly, his expression one of devotion and urgency. The emperor was replenishing his cup from the gold flagon beside him and turned to Asaf Khan beamishly, now that his cup was brimming with wine.

  "Your Majesty, Mahabat Khan is craving your audience." Asaf Khan announced.

  "Let him wait, Asaf. Share a cup of wine with the emperor." Jahangir indicated the gold flagon, where more jeweled goblets were waiting to be claimed.

  "Share from the emperor's own cup, Asaf, if you wish to drink to His Majesty's health? He needs not drain this poison all by himself." Nur Jahan suggested sweetly.

  "The empress commands, Asaf, and the emperor heeds not, as my Nur would tell you." Jahangir sipped his wine. "Yes, he stays disobedient to her royal wishes. Just like Baidaulat!" His gaze was reaching out to Nur Jahan again.

  "May I sit, Your Majesty?" Asaf Khan murmured. His enthusiasm depleting by the half drunk, half mocking gaze of the emperor.

  "Not for long, Asaf, not for long. The emperor wishes to commune with the spirits of Kashmir, with his own empress." Jahangir intoned evasively.

  "You should admit Mahabat Khan, Your Majesty. He might have some dire news to confound our sense of peace?" Nur Jahan implored, rather suggested.

  "What does Mahabat have to say which appears to be of utmost urgency, Asaf?" Jahangir commanded suddenly.

  "He mentioned Ambar Malik, Your Majesty, and something about his march toward Kandahar." Asaf Khan professed reluctantly.

  "Then, you may summon the evil messenger, Asaf. And you may stay to witness the inquisition." Jahangir issued another command.

  Asaf Khan retraced his steps obediently in order to summon Mahabat Khan to the emperor's presence. After he was gone, Jahangir and Nur Jahan's eyes met, and were arrested to each other briefly, communing in silence. Nur Jahan's eyes were shining with a mute plea, which he knew so well and condoned. His own eyes were returning to the abandoned cup on the table with the inlay of mother-of-pearl. An overwhelming sense of weariness was alighting in his eyes as well as into his soul, as he got to his feet. His gaze was turning to Mahabat Khan, whose presence was announced by Asaf Khan.

  "Your Majesty. Padishah Begum." Mahabat Khan fell into two consecutive curtsies, and then stood waiting to be addressed.

  "Be concise in what you have to say, Mahabat. The name of Ambar Malik itself saps my strength and patience?" Jahangir commanded.

  "Ambar Malik, Your Majesty, has left Khirki." Mahabat Khan began with the ease of a born diplomat. "He has sent his family to the fortress of Daulatabad, and is marching toward Kandahar on the borders of Golconda. This is a friendly visit, he says, but he is pretending. Actually, he is hoping to conclude an offensive and defensive alliance with Qutbulmulk."

  "And why didn't you accept Qutbulmulk's alliance yourself, Mahabat, when he was offering it to you with all the humility of a slave?" Jahangir inquired, as he began to pace absently, rather thoughtfully.

  "He was seeking alliances from us both at the same time, Your Majesty. From Prince Shah Jahan and from the imperialists." Mahabat Khan's gaze was fixed to Asaf Khan, not following the emperor in his pacing.

  "Didn't Qutbulmulk send Sher Ali to you as his ambassador, Mahabat Khan?" Nur Jahan interposed quickly. "At least, that was how I understood? He was personally willing to wait on you at Dewalgaon to enlist his eldest son in the imperial service, and to profess his fidelity to the emperor?" She exchanged a quick glance with Asaf Khan before returning her gaze to Mahabat Khan.

>   "Padishah Begum." Mahabat Khan's attempt in explaining was silenced by Jahangir's abrupt exclamation, though he kept pacing.

  "Oh, that black-hearted slave! Ambar Malik, my own Abyssinian slave. Striving to win kingdoms for himself, and thwarting the will of the emperor?" Jahangir's slow, deliberate pacing had nothing in common with his aimless thoughts.

  "Padishah Begum—" Mahabat Khan attempted again. "That was when Adil Shah of Bijapur was seeking our alliance too. We had to choose between the two."

  "Asaf, you didn't inform me about that alliance." Nur Jahan's eyes were flashing accusations at her brother, as if he was an accomplice to some devious plot.

  "I did, Padishah Begum." Asaf Khan began doubtfully. "By express letter, informing you that Adil Shah is offering homage. And that he is promising a contingent of five thousand cavalry under the command of Mulla Lari for a permanent imperial service as a price for Moghul support."

  "You forget, Asaf. That sealed missive was handed to me." Jahangir drifted toward his seat thoughtfully. "Another missive informing me that you sent Lashkar Khan as an emissary to Adil Khan, who was received by king with the profoundest of respects, well—" He made a wearied gesture, his gaze resting on Mahabat Khan. "So, my prudent Vizier, you have left Prince Perwiz in Burhanpur, exposed to the claws of Baidaulat, which he is wont to bare whenever a chance affords him."

  "Prince Perwiz is surrounded by able viziers and valorous soldiers, Your Majesty." Mahabat Khan intoned confidently. "Besides, Your Majesty, I promised Mulla Muhammad to meet him at Shahpur. He is bringing a heavy contingent of horse and cavalry. Then both of us would wait upon Prince Perwiz, who is camping at Lal Bagh close to Burhanpur."

  "Baidaulat is not going to swoop over Burhanpur, Mahabat, but will move toward Bengal and Allahabad first, the emperor can read his mind." Jahangir's gaze was profound. Some sort of prophecy smoldering in his eyes.