At a
time the whole world is talking incessantly about inclusion and diversity that
includes equal employment for women, equal pay for women, Ruby Lal has come up
with this great biography of Mihr-un-Nisa. Ah, my fault! We won't recognize her
unless I use the name 'Nur Jahan' here. Never would most of us have thought
that it requires a whole book to describe "The Astonishing Reign of Nur
Jahan". Yes, I am using the same phrase that Ruby has used, because that
is the most apt term and I or most of us will not be able to think anything
better (I certainly could not think of anything better than this).
It
would have become little difficult for the readers if the author directly went
on to explain the unparalleled rule of Nur Jahan; the author being experienced
in history realized this completely, and so has crafted the those introduction
chapters beautifully well, so the readers will have the complete picture of her
birth and her rise to the throne. For many readers, it might be overwhelming
when the authors go in depth into who ruled Persia, who ruled India, the route
that Nur’s parents took to reach India or who led that caravan. But, these are
all the major things – the attention to minute details like this that separates
a book and this book from everything else.
Ruby
has quoted extensively from various sources to give a complete picture of Nur
Jahan’s life. Whether it is the political shrewdness, her hunting skills, or
her conquering various battles. No one should miss the chapter ‘Ascent’ and
that one, probably by a cognizant decision occupies the middle pages and
strengthens the book by connecting the earlier and the following chapters. The
political alliances, how she helped various people and how ‘Light of the
palace’ became ‘Light of the world’ are elucidated well in these pages. The
chapter ‘The Rescue’ gives a detailed account of Nur’s abilities to plan
meticulously to rescue Jahangir from the opponents.
As
you proceed and read towards the end of the book, you feel the inevitable – a
strong respect for the great empress that India had seen during the Mughal
reign and possibly the only great empress the world has seen as well (I have
heard about Cleopatra, but have not read about her in detail yet).
Few
salient points about the book itself: The first thing that captures your mind
in this book are the carefully selected magnificent images from various
sources. As I have mentioned in my
previous reviews, the success of the book can be easily measured by how far the
author succeeds in bring the images and visuals live in the eyes of the reader
when he/she reads the book. Not every author succeeds in that. It is very
evident to see Ruby’s hard work, research and the time she spent for bring out
this marvel, because you can sit and see those events in front of your eyes
when you are reading the book. The language used is very rich yet simple enough
for everyone to understand and enjoy the exhaustive account of Nur Jahan’s
life. The only thing that you must be aware is that this is a biography of the
women who influenced and ruled the empire alongside her husband, which means
that there are multiple other actors and happenings expounded to a great extent
and some people might find it overwhelming. I will give more than a five stars
for this marvel.
