The Feast of Roses

411 Pages·2004·2.55 MB·English

by  Indu Sundaresan

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For my husband Uday,
For, quite simply, everything.
The mask is off—the charm is wrought—
And Selim to his heart has caught,
His Nourmahal, his Haram’s Light!
And well do vanish’d frowns enhance
The charm of every brighten’d glance;
And dearer seems each dawning smile
For having lost its light awhile:
And, happier now, for all her sighs,
As on his arm her head reposes,
She whispers him, with laughing eyes,
“Remember, love, the Feast of Roses.”
—THOMAS MOORE, Lalla Rookh
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Thanks go, again and always, to the members of my critique groups, and
especially to those who so kindly put aside their own work and speed-read
through the manuscript: Louise Christensen Zak, Laura Hartman, Joyce
O’Keefe, Julie Jindal, and Janet Lee Carey.
I believe everyone should have a literary agent in his or her life, and quite
preferably someone like mine, Sandra Dijkstra. She is a joy to work with, and
very engaged in all aspects of my writing, from early reading of drafts to
marketing and championing the book through all of its stages. I am also grateful
for the effort Sandy’s entire agency puts into my work.
The Feast of Roses is thrice blessed at Atria Books. My publisher, Judith
Curr, continues to be enormously supportive and friendly, and still willing to put
her faith in me. Then there are my two editors: Rosemary Ahern, who worked
through the early drafts of the novel and whose vision shaped the final story; and
Malaika Adero, who willingly adopted this child of mine and lavishes her care
upon it. I am deeply thankful to all three of them.
A disclaimer: I do not play chess. If the chess scene in The Feast of Roses is
authentic at all, it is due to these people: Santosh Zachariah, who “found” the
game for me, given strict restrictions on number of moves and ease of
comprehension; David Hendricks of the Microsoft Chess Club, who, one
afternoon, laid out a chess board on a table in the cafeteria and painstakingly
took me through the moves and explained the motivations of the players; and my
brilliant nephews Gautam and Karthik, who whisked through the game and had
to be begged to slow down to a pace more understandable by their doddering old
aunt. If, despite all their efforts, there are still mistakes in the game, I readily
claim them as mine.
I could not do without the three women who constantly give me love and
strength and form my family: Amma, Anu, and Jaya.
And finally, I must acknowledge the libraries of the King County Library
System and the University of Washington Suzzallo and Allen Libraries for their
treasure trove of literature on Mughal India—letters, documents, memoirs,
books, and maps, which have allowed me to travel through time and distance
without leaving home.

PRINCIPAL CHARACTERS
(In Alphabetical Order)
Abdur Rahim The Khan-i-khanan, Commander-in-chief of the
imperial army
Abul Hasan Mehrunnisa’s brother
Arjumand Banu Mehrunnisa’s niece and Abul's daughter, later
Empress Mumtaz Mahal
Akbar Third Emperor of Mughal India
Ali Quli Khan Istajlu Mehrunnisa’s first husband
Ghias Beg Mehrunnisa’s father
Hoshiyar Khan Chief eunuch of Jahangir’s harem
Jagat Gosini Jahangir’s second wife
Jahangir Akbar’s son and fourth emperor of Mughal
India
Khurram Jahangir’s third son, born of Jagat Gosini
Khusrau Jahangir’s first son, born of Man Bai
Ladli Mehrunnisa’s daughter by Ali Quli
Mahabat Khan Jahangir’s childhood cohort and minister
Mehrunnisa Ghias’s daughter, later titled Nur Jahan
Muhammad Sharif Jahangir’s childhood cohort, now Grand Vizier
of the Empire
Nur Jahan Mehrunnisa’s title upon become Empress
Parviz Jahangir’s second son
Ruqayya Sultan Begam Akbar’s chief queen, or Padshah Begam, now a
Dowager Empress