AFTERWORD
For those curious how much of the foregoing tale is "true," perhaps it may be helpful to unmask the original inspiration for several of the characters. The Great Moghul Akman, his son Arangbar, and Arangbar's primary consort, Queen Janahara, had real-life counterparts in the Great Moghul Akbar, his successor Jahangir, and Jahangir's resourceful Persian queen, Nur Jahan. Nadir Sharif, for all his duplicity, had nothing on Jahangir's devious prime minister, Asaf Khan, the brother of Queen Nur Jahan. Similarly, Prince Jadar was no more ingenious, and no less wronged, than Asaf Khan's son-in-law, the subsequent Moghul and builder of the Taj Mahal, Shah Jahan. Prince Jadar's strategies and intrigues, first with and then against Queen Janahara, resemble in many ways those of Shah Jahan as he struggled to thwart the ambitions of Nur Jahan. The Shahbandar and the opium-sotted governor of Surat also had counterparts in real individuals, as did Jadar's beloved Mumtaz, his younger brother Prince Allaudin, Princess Layla, Malik Ambar, and Inayat Latif. The Sufi mystic Samad was re-created from the real-life poet Sarmad, who was admired by Shah Jahan and who was executed by a later Moghul for precisely the reasons given in the story. Of the Portuguese, Father Alvarez Sarmento was drawn in some part from the learned Father Jerome Xavier. It should be noted that the unofficial actions of the early Jesuits in India are remembered today primarily through the perceptions of English travelers, all of whom were all staunchly anti-Catholic. The role of Portuguese Jesuits in the preceding story was faithful in spirit to the English reports, although today these may seem mildly paranoid in their fear and suspicion.
Of the English characters, only Huyghen and Roger Symmes are beholden to single, recognizable individuals: being Jan van Linschoten and Ralph Fitch, respectively. Brian Hawksworth is largely a fictional composite, whose experiences recall in part those of William Hawkins (in India from 1608 to 1613) and in part those of other seventeenth-century European adventurers. His defeat of the four Portuguese galleons was only a slight dramatization of historic victories by severely outnumbered English frigates off Surat in 1612 and 1614 commanded by English captains Thomas Best and Nicholas Downton, both sailing for the early East India Company. Hawksworth's mercurial relationship with the Moghul and his experiences at the Moghul’s court were re-created in part from the letters and diaries of William Hawkins and those of his successor, Sir Thomas Roe. As did Brian Hawksworth, William Hawkins adopted the Indian style of life in dress and diet, much to the astonishment of his European contemporaries. Brian Hawksworth's love affair with Shirin was suggested by William Hawkins' marriage to an Indian women of noble descent, possibly a member of the Moghul’s court, on the encouragement of Jahangir, who suspected the Jesuits of attempting to poison him and wanted his food monitored. Hawkins' wife later journeyed to London, where she caused the East India Company considerable disruption over their responsibilities toward her, and eventually she returned to India.
Although most of the early Englishmen in India resembled our George Elkington far more than they did Brian Hawksworth, there was one early traveler, Thomas Coryat, whose cultural and human sensibilities would not have clashed greatly with those of Brian Hawksworth at the end of his story.
The sudden appearance of the bubonic plague in India was taken from the court history of the Moghul Jahangir. Similarly, the capture of the Moghul’s trading vessel by the Portuguese, intended to intimidate him and forestall an English trade agreement, and his retaliatory closure of Jesuit missions happened essentially as described. The Jesuits were allowed to reopen their missions a few years later, but the damage was done. There seems evidence that the Portuguese did conspire to assist the forces opposing the succession of Shah Jahan, whom they justifiably feared. The rebellion of Shah Jahan extended over several years, and did include at one point a stay on the Udaipur island of Jagmandir, where some historians now believe he first saw inlay work of the type that later became a distinguishing feature of his crowning creation, the Taj Mahal.
For those who may wish to gain more familiarity with Moghul India, various sources can be recommended. Lively historical works on the Moghul period include Waldemar Hansen's classic panorama The Peacock Throne and the even more recent Cities of Mughul India by Gavin Hambly, to mention two of my favorites. For those still more curious, and adventurous, there are the original writings from the seventeenth century, which will require more digging but are decidedly worth the effort. Readers with access to a major library may be able to find reprinted editions of the diaries of several seventeenth-century English and European travelers in India. These are the works, with their trenchant firsthand accounts, that all students of the era find indispensable. Perhaps the most easily obtainable is a collection entitled Early Travels in India, William Foster, ed., which contains edited versions of the diaries of William Hawkins and several others. Following this, the most thorough account of England's early diplomacy in India is contained in the diary entitled The Embassy of Sir Thomas Roe (1615-1619), written by England's first real ambassador to India. Many subsequent diaries and letters of seventeenth-century European travelers have been reprinted by the Hakluyt Society, whose publications comprise a virtual bibliography of the era.
The most relevant Indian writings, also obtainable in English translation from a fine library, are the memoirs of the Great Moghul Jahangir, entitled the Tuzuk-i-Jahangiri, and an encyclopedic description of court life in late sixteenth-century India entitled the Ain-i-Akbari, set down by Akbar's chief adviser and close friend, Abul Fazl.
In fashioning a story such as this, a writer must necessarily be indebted far beyond his ability to acknowledge adequately. The scholar who provided the greatest assistance was Professor John Richards of the Duke University Department of History, a widely respected authority on Moghul (he might prefer it be spelled Mughal) India, who graciously consented to review the manuscript in draft and offered many corrections of fact and interpretation. He is, of course, in no way accountable for any liberties that may have remained. Thanks are similarly due Professor Gerald Berreman of the University of California at Berkeley, a knowledgeable authority on Indian caste practices, who agreed to review the relevant portions of the manuscript. I am also indebted to Waldemar Hansen, who generously provided me with the voluminous notes accumulated for his own history, The Peacock Throne. Historians in India who gave warmly of their time and advice include Dr. Romila Thapar, Professor P. M. Joshi, and Father John Correia-Alfonso, the preeminent Jesuit authority on the early Moghul era and a scholar whose characteristic integrity and generosity roundly revise the period depiction of his order in the story.
Thanks also are due Mrs. Devila Mitra, Director-General of the Archaeological Survey of India, for special permission to study the now-restricted zenana quarters beneath the Red Fort in Agra; to Nawab Mir Sultan Alam Khan of Surat, for assistance in locating obscure historical sites in that city; to Indrani Rehman, the grande dame of Indian classical dance, for information on the now-abolished devadasi caste; to Ustad Vilayat Khan, one of Indian's great sitar masters, for discussions concerning his art; and to my many Indian friends in New York, New Delhi, and Bombay.
I am also obliged to Miss Betty Tyres of the Indian Department of the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, who kindly provided access to the museum's extensive archives of Indian miniature paintings, and to the National Maritime Museum in Greenwich for information on early English sailing vessels.
Finally, I am most indebted to a number of tireless readers who reviewed the manuscript in its various drafts and supplied many insightful suggestions: including my editor, Lisa Drew, my agent, Virginia Barber, and my patient friends Joyce Hawley, Susan Fainstein, Norman Fainstein, Ronald Miller, and Gary Prideaux. Most of all I thank Julie Hoover, for many years of assistance, encouragement, and enthusiasm.
GLOSSARY
affion—opium
aga—concentrated rose oil
akas-diya—central camp light
alap—opening section of a raga
ankus—hook u
sed for guiding an elephant
arak—Indian liquor
areca—betel nut used in making pan
art ha—practical, worldly "duty" in Hinduism
Asvina—Lunar month of September-October
azan—Muslim call to prayer
bhang—drink made from hemp (marijuana)
biryani—rice cooked with meat and spices
bols—specific hand strokes on the Indian drum
cartaz—Portuguese trading license
charts—cattle sheds
chapattis—unleavened fried wheat cakes
chapp—seal or stamp
charkhi—fireworks used to discipline elephants in combat chaturanga—chess
chaudol—traveling conveyance similar to palanquin
chaugan—Indian "polo"
chauki—weekly guard duty at the Red Fort
chaupar—Indian dice game
chelas—mercenary troops beholden to single commander
chillum—clay tobacco bowl on a hookah
chitah—Indian leopard
dai—midwife nurse
dal—lentils
darshan—ceremonial dawn appearance of Moghul
devadasi—temple dancer, a special caste
dey—Turkish ruler
dharma—purpose or duty in life of Hindus
dhoti—loincloth
diwali—Indian New Year
Diwan-i-Am—Hall of Public Audience
Diwan-i-Khas—Hall of Private Audience
durbar—public audience
feringhi—foreigner
fil-kash—elephant-drawn cannon
firman—royal decree
frigalla—Portuguese frigate
gau-kash—ox-drawn cannon
ghee—clarified butter
ghola—blend of opium and spice
gopi—milkmaid
gulal bar—royal compound in camp
gur—unrefined cane sugar
guru—teacher
gurz—three-headed club
hal—goalposts for chaugan
harkara—confidential court reporters
hookah—water pipe for smoking tobacco
howdah—seat carried on back of elephant
jagir—taxable lands granted to a nobleman
kama—love, sensual pleasure
karwa—Indian seaman
katar—knife designed for thrusting
khabardar—"take heed"
khaftan—quilted vest worn under armor
kos—approximately two miles
kamar-band—ceremonial waist sash
lakh—a hundred thousand
lapsi—preparation of gur, ghee, and wheat
lila—play or sport
lor langar—chain attached to elephant's leg
lungi—long waist wrap worn by men
mahal—palace
mahout—elephant driver
maidan—public square
mansab—rank given a nobleman
mansabdar—nobleman granted estates to tax
mardum-kash—small cannon
masala—blend of spices, "curry powder"
mihaffa—wooden turret suspended between two animals
mina bazaar—mock bazaar held on Persian New Year
mirdanga—South Indian drum
mohur—gold coin
mudra—hand signs in the Indian classical dance
musallim—navigator on Indian ship
mutasaddi—chief port official
nakuda—owner-captain of Indian trading vessel
naqqara-khana—entry to royal compound
nashudani—"good-for-nothing"
nautch—suggestive dance
nezah—lance
nilgai—Indian deer
nim—plant whose root is used for cleaning teeth
nimaste—Hindi greeting, "Hello"
pahar—three hours
pakhar—steel plate elephant armor
palas—wood used for chaugan stick
pan—betel leaf rolled around betel nut and spices and chewed
panch—wine punch
pandit—Hindu scholar
pice—Indian "penny"
postibangh—mixture of opium and hemp extract
prahna—spirit, life force
Puranas—Hindu scriptures
qamargha—hunt using beaters to assemble game
qarawals—beaters for hunt
qazi—judge
qur—hunting enclosure containing game
rasa—aesthetic mood
rasida—"arrived"; a piece that reaches center in chaupar board game
sachaq—marriage present
sandali—type of eunuch
sarachah—royal platform
sarangi—Indian musical instrument, resembling violin
sari—woman's wrap
sati—immolation of Hindu wife with body of her husband
sehra—bridegroom's crown
sharbat—lemon and sugar drink
shikar—the hunt
sitkrita—intake of breath signifying female orgasm
strappado—Portuguese torture device
sum—climax of rhythmic cycle in Indian music
sutra—Hindu scripture
suwar—"horse rank" granted noblemen
swanih-nigar—special spy
tari—species of palm
tavaif— Muslim courtesan
teslim—prostrate bow to Moghul
tithi—day in the lunar calendar
todah—mound of earth for bow and arrow target practice
topiwallah—"man who wears a hat," i.e., a foreigner
tundhi—drink made from seeds and juices
vama—Aryan scriptures
wakianavis—public court reporters
wallah—man
wazir—counselor
yogi— Hindu contemplative
zat—personal rank given a nobleman
zenana—harem
zihgir—thumb ring for shooting bow
BOOKS BY THOMAS HOOVER
Nonfiction
Zen Culture
The Zen Experience
Fiction
The Moghul
Caribbee
The Samurai Strategy
Project Daedalus
Project Cyclops
Life Blood
Syndrome
The Touchdown Gene
Also see www.thomashoover.info
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