Begum Hazrat Mahal carried on her struggle against the British from various parts of the country for almost a year, even after the uprising had been crushed. Finally she took refuge in Nepal with her son, Birjis Qadir. There she lies in an unknown grave, quite forgotten. She was the only Indian leader who did not surrender and lived in exile for the rest of her life.
Most of the palaces and gardens in the book are real, as also are most of the historical events that take place. I have fiddled with the geography of Lucknow a bit, in that I have shown Marion Cantonment and Kaiserbagh to be much closer to each other than they actually are, for the sake of the story.
GLOSSARY
Abba/Abba Huzoor/Abbu father
abkhora an earthen vessel used for drinking water
angarkha a tunic worn by men
angrez the English
ayah maidservant
baba baby; also used for addressing a father, grandfather or an elderly man
balai clotted cream
barre big
basti a place inhabited by poor people
begum a Muslim woman of rank
beta son
Bhagwan God
bhang cannabis
bhai dooj a Hindu festival for brothers and sisters
bhai jaan brother
chachi aunt
chador cloak
chand moon
Chand Raat last day of Ramzan
charpoy bed made of wood and rush grass
chatai woven mat
chatri umbrella
chaupad (chaupar) board game
chillum hookah
daima wet nurse
darbar court
dastarkhwan food set out
dhobi washerman/woman
dhoti loin cloth
dhol drum
diwan seat
doli palanquin
domnis storytellers
dupatta long scarf
Eid Mubarak greeting
eidi loose change
firangi foreigner
ghunghroos anklets with bells, worn by dancing girls
gujia an Indian sweet
gulab rose
hakim doctor
hammam bath
Holi the Hindu festival of colours
howdah a seat on the back of an elephant
huzoor majesty
Inshah Allah God willing
ittar perfume
jaagte raho stay awake
jalebi an Indian sweet
janaza funeral pyre
jannat ki hoor an angel from Heaven
jelo-khana the courtyard of a palace
jogi a holy man
kafir infidel
kaka uncle
Kanhaiya Lord Krishna
karela a bitter vegetable
kathak a classical Indian dance
kavi samelan gathering of poets
keema minced meat
kesar saffron (a spice)
kheer rice pudding
khurd nau shoes
khus an Asian grass
khwabgah bedroom
kotha/kothi house
kotwal police officer
kurta collarless shirt
lehenga long Indian skirt
lakh a hundred thousand
lathi stick
lota water jug
lungi loin cloth
machan a hunters’ shooting platform built on trees
mahout the keeper of an elephant
matka earthenware pot
missy baba little miss
mogra a flower
mohur gold coin
moulvi a Muslim religious teacher
Muharram a Muslim festival
namaz a Muslim prayer
Navroz a Muslim festival
nautch girl courtesan
nikaah marriage
nikaahnama marriage vows
nukkedar pointed
paan betel leaf
paratha Indian bread
phupha uncle
phuphi aunt
pitara tin box
punkah fan
purdah veil
qaba cape
qatat four-lined verses hung on walls
raat night
rajnigandha tuberose
rakhi thread tied on the arm of a brother by his sister
rakshas giants
Raksha Bandhan a Hindu festival that celebrates the love between a brother and a sister
Ramzan a Muslim festival
risaldar Indian officer
ruh gulab ittar rose-scented perfume
sarod a musical instrument
sepoy soldier
sharara an Indian dress for women
shehnai a musical instrument
surahi earthenware pot
takhat a low wooden platform for sitting
talukdar landholder
tantric a person who practices black magic
taslim offering respect by bowing low and raising one’s right hand to one’s forehead
tatties mats
tawaif prostitute
zarda rice dish
zenana woman, often refers to women’s apartments
Acknowledgements
My heartfelt thanks to:
Nawab Jafar Mir Abdullah for giving me an insight into the lives and times of the nawabs as well as for the handwritten notes.
Shri Ram Advani, Mrs Asma Hussain and Prof. Salim Kidwai for giving me their precious time as well as some invaluable information.
Susie Dunlop and the rest of the team at Allison & Busby, especially Chiara, Lara, Lesley, Georgina and the copy editors for doing such a thorough job and for providing me with this wonderful opportunity.
Christina Griffiths for the exotic cover design.
Jane Conway-Gordon for believing in my book even more than I did. Thank you for your support and for being such a positive influence on my life.
Siobhan Curham, not just for the guidance and for plodding through the first draft, but also for pushing me – ‘Stop revising and send the damn thing off,’ she said.
My teachers, especially Miss Flynn, Ma’am Chakravarty and Ma’am David for instilling in me a love for literature and writing.
Simon, who is sadly no more, but whose words and encouraging smile will always be with me.
My fellow writers – Anna, Barbara, David, Gabriela, Indra, Jan, John, Kay, Maneesha, Mike, Oscar, Phil, Richard, Robin and Salil for their useful feedback and support, which has made all the difference.
Gaurav, for encouraging me to blog and for not letting me give up on my dream.
My extended family, my punching bags, my moral support – AnjaliB, AnjaliR, Anju, Bindi, Gouri, Madhu, Meena, Neelam, Neha, Nupur, Pooja, Prachi, Prerna, Pratichi, Rupali and Vimla – for always being there for me.
My family, my pillars – my parents, my in-laws, Tauji, Sameer, Monica, Nikeeta, Shilpi and Promit.
Karn and Diya, for not fighting and keeping the volume down when Mamma was working on a difficult scene.
My husband Bhaskar, my strength – for taking care of the kids as well as the cooking whenever I had a deadline, for making me what I am today and for showing me the way to a world beyond.
About the Author
SANGEETA BHARGAVA was born in a remote corner of the Maharashtra region of India and studied in Lucknow. Although she has an MBA in Finance, she soon realised that the business world was not for her and decided to go back to her first love: writing. She is the author of Letters to my Baby, a book on pregnancy and baby care. The World Beyond is her debut novel. She now lives in London with her husband, two children, 10,000 books and a temperamental laptop.
www.sangeetabhargava.com
Copyright
Allison & Busby Limited
13 Charlotte Mews
London W1T 4EJ
www.allisonandbusby.com
Copyright © 2011 by SANGEETA BH
ARGAVA
The moral right of the author has been asserted.
First published in Great Britain in 2011.
This ebook edition first published 2011.
All characters and events in this publication other than those clearly in the public domain are fictitious and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition being imposed on the subsequent buyer.
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
ISBN 978–0–7490–1089–8