Ira Mukhoty, ‘Daughters of the Sun: Empresses, Queens and
Begums of the Mughal Empire’, 2018:
“....It is a glittering spring day in Shahjahanabad in 1654
and the usually raucous crowds at the stalls lining the Chandni Chowk have
fallen silent, beguiled by the magnificence of the procession moving down the
wide, tree-lined street. In front of the slow-moving elephants, liveried men
sprinkle water on the street so that no dust rises off the ground. Cavalry and
infantry follow, the horses tripping and impatient, the soldiers fierce and
sombre. Eunuchs walk behind the soldiers, surrounding the imperial elephant on
all sides. ‘Hoshiyaar!’ they shout, and make a great show of keeping back the
crowds. They raise their silver sticks, ‘shouting out, pushing and assaulting
everyone without the least respect of persons’. The Abyssinian eunuchs are
particularly fearsome, their muscles rippling beneath their dark skin like a
promise. The traders at the shops stand back respectfully and there are
Armenians, Persians, Italians, Turks, Portuguese and French adventurers who
will spread the stories of Mughal grandeur throughout the world. While the
procession passes by, the merchants forget to haggle over the Chinese eye
glasses, the jewellery, the perfumes, the gemstones, the slaves, the eunuchs
and the caged cheetahs. The elegant white-robed men at the coffee houses
drinking the dark brew made from imported beans from Persia set down their
tumblers and stand to watch the commotion. Servants walk next to the imperial
elephant, driving away flies with peacock feathers stuck into handles of
enamelled gold. Others hold perfumes and incense as they walk next to the elephant,
so that no offensive smell reaches the exalted passenger. A woman-servant walks
in front of the elephant, swinging an incense holder in her hands and shouting
out at each step: ‘Bismillah! Here comes her highness, Shahzaadi Jahanara
Begum! Bismillah!’...”
'The Queen of Sheba', 1911
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