The Feast of Roses

I picked up a copy of 'The Twentieth Wife by Indu Sundaresan' while travelling around U.S.A. in September 2008. What first attracted me to the book were the title and the cover photograph. Plus the description given at the back of the book (I always read that!!) said that it was a Mughal love story. How fascinating, I thought. It was a wonderful surprise that the story was even better coz books with fancy titles and pictures often turn out to be boring! Once I had started reading, I couldn't put the book down. The protagonist is Mehrunnisa, who would later become Empress Nur Jahan and rule the Empire like no woman ever had, or ever would. 

When I had finished reading, I couldn't wait to start reading the sequel, 'The Feast of Roses' and it was a fitting sequel, as magical and captivating as the first novel. The first novel ends with Mehrunnisa getting married to Emperor Jahangir, and the second talks of her journey thereon, how powerful her love for Jahangir was and how it gave her everything she wanted. 

The Feast of Roses tells the magnificent tale of how a woman managed to succeed in a man's world, not being content staying quiet and hidden behind the veil, making enemies for this reason, losing the love of many, but always managing to maintain the love and trust of her husband, Emperor Jahangir. She was beautiful, ambitious, intelligent and courageous, and the only person the Emperor trusted blindly. She had the power to make the most important decisions, command armies, and run the Empire from behind the veil.

Brilliantly detailed, many a times I found myself lost in the book and felt as if I had been transported to that era....the absolutely fascinating and splendid Mughal Era. The characters were human yet fabulous. I could picture the jewels, the palaces, the wars, the punishments, the feasts, feel the grandeur and the lavishness of their lives! The book gives an insight into the lives of the royals in the 17th century, the court proceedings at that time, the rituals, the harems, the romance. I felt as if the story unfolded in front of my eyes and I remember some of the details vividly. 

The only not-so-interesting parts of the novel (not boring, just not very engaging or alluring) were the ones about the Portugese and the English trying to make connections with the Emperor, and the trade treaties, but all a part of history I guess. The author suggested mid-way that Mehrunnisa's actions would eventually lead to her downfall, how she would be erased from the pages of history, and how the only Mughal woman who would be remembered by posterity would be her niece, Mumtaz Mahal (because Shah Jahan would build the Taj Mahal for her) and not Mehrunnisa. (I don't agree. Nur Jahan is one of the best known women of her time.) This sort of giving-away-a-bit-of-the-story was quite interesting and made me want to read on to find out what exactly happens and how. 

In all, beautiful and brilliant storytelling!! Undoubtedly, these are two of my favourite books! 


(Penguin Books India, 497 pages, Cover price: Rs. 499)