Part 1 -- The Beginning

--- title: Part 1 -- The Beginning date: 2021-04-09 tags: book, hydlit layout: page geometry: - top=2cm - bottom=2cm - left=2cm - right=2cm linkcolor: blue --- # Part 1: The Beginning ## Hyderabad: A Biography -- Narendra Luther ### Antenatal Scenario - **Content**: Describes the kingdoms that ruled until the rise of Abu Muzaffar (Mohammad Quli). He meets a young girl, Bhagmati, and woos her. Bhagmati is taken into the palace, and planning is done to remodel her village into a city which is heaven on earth. - Sravani - Page 6: Is that really a good thing? - Starts off pretty poetically - Starts at 1262 AD (kakatiya dynasty) - Narration is done as if the author was there himself. Where he get so many details? ("From her lowered eyes she could see the stirrups and the cloth-of-gold shoes worn by the rider") - page 7: "Whether he merely wanted to repeat that he was hungry, or disclose his identity wasnt clear" - "He tapped the mane of his horse with each beat of Bhagmati's footstep" - "The ding dong of the temple gong" - Tee hee - Page 8: "She put her finger between her teeth" - Excuse me? - Page 9: Heavily romanticized? No way she be thinking that of a man she just met. "Took her into his embrace.. gentle kiss... She felt no urge to resist. She felt she had known him for years, for ages" - Women being sent beyond walls to harem thingamajig - Shelly - Lots of rural imagery/descriptions - Setting up of the setting of the story of Hyderabad (ante-natal == pre-birth) - starting page 6: extremely romanticised account of the encounter between Bhagmati and Abu Muzaffar, likely the actual events were not neary so peaceful or consensual. - Similar are the descriptions of the blossoming "love" - pp 16-18 describes how the town was designed based on the image of heaven on earth, replacing the village of Chichlam ### Birth of Bhagnagar - **Content**: Constructing the city, birth of Hayat - Sravani - Bhagmati keeps saying "I am nothing..." even after being wed to the "ruler of the whole world" page 24 - Could consider how offended readers were by how bold their relationship was depicted (both book and his sources?) - Bhagmati wasnt seen outside after 4th month of pregnancy. Was this forced on/expected of her? - "Quli had let it be known that the celebrations were to be on a scale observed for a prince." Page 29 - Last para (page 30) can quote - Shelly - Very florid descriptions - "cheered him lustily" : page 20 - Each major landmark in the making of the city is noted and elaborated upon - Quite an orientalist perspective on femininity and womanhood -- affects the descriptions of Bhagmati before and after she meets Quli - The love continues to be glorified and exaggerated - Objectification of women -- discarded women sent to the harem - was acceptable for men to have flashes of fancy and act on them, but not the women -- harem attended to by eunuchs to avoid this - cultural importance/reliance on horoscopes is also shown - at the end, in contrast to conventional opinions on women/girls, Quli demands equal celebration for his new born girl, and also vows to continue with this for her future - Sultan's mother favored Indian medicine over the Unani group(Greco-Arabic)? Page 39 - Is this true? A statement of loyality towards Indians or something that they recorded to blame Indians with. Who knows ### Ma Saheba - **Content**: Follows Hayat's reign, birth of her son and horoscopes - Sravani - Inclusion of poems throughout the novel: shers from Quli's poetry - Women's looks was given importance, page 32: "Quli's remark was inteded to restore Bhagmati's pride in her looks" - "The thought of the prince in the next palace was caressing her mind" page 33 - "I have published his diwan because it is a manual for lovers." page 37 - Weird horoscope -> weird curse -> somehow there's unfinished mosque and he cant see him for years and then he gets fever and dies. Major coincidence or rewriting events? - Shelly - Bhagmati has linked her self worth to Quli and the public opinion on her - Bhagnagar becomes Hyderabad - Quli is described talking in the royal We -- "We shall not send...apple of our eye", pg 33 - Great focus on erotic romance -- very specific flavour of romance and romantic descriptions - quite a mystical and ostentatious overtone/undertone to the text - emphasis and importance given to various form of the arts -- dance, music, poetry - poetry and eroticism go hand in hand - there is a mirroring between the romance of bhagmati/quli and hayat/mirza (sultan mohammad) - Hayat bakshi proved her horoscope, having become queen mother before the age of 30 - abdullah was like quli - the style of writing follows all tangents until the end before returning to the central narrative -- not wholly chronological/linear timeline. Applies to the arrangement of chapters as well - suspension of disbelief (general observation) ### In Praise of Bhagnagar - **Content**: Various accounts of praise regarding Bhagnagar, from travellers and foreigners - Sravani - entire chapter is basically as the title says, from a buncha foreigners perspective as well - Shelly - Goes into the intricacies of the name Bhagnagar (and other monikers for the place), pg 46 - The accounts included are all in mostly-flattering tones : French travellers of "ardent admirers" - lots of comments about the fresh air and wide spaces like roads and canals, some about the diversity of people/trade - colonial european morals/views are plain in the accounts -- lot of commentary on 'public women' and the liberty given to women in the french accounts ### Abdullah's Humiliation - **Content**: Adbdullah continually humiliates himself and his kingdom in front of the Mughal sultanate. He show himself to be cowardly and irresolute. However he does expand to the South, over the English and Dutch factories. - Sravani - Abdullah was big on partying and expended a lot of wealth (that had originally been used to distribute to learned and holy "men") into these 12 day long celebrations - Mir Jumla wanted to go over abdullah's head to the Mughals and bribed them over to his side using the Koh-i-Noor - "We, in our opulence and glory, are pleased", said Shah Jahan with the accostumed condescension of of an Emperor... - Abdullah was painted as a simpering(to the point of annoying people) coward who avoided conflict and hid from Mughals, promising to heed their every wish. - Banjara Gate, Gandikota : lots of familiar places mentioned that havent changed name in present day - Page 58: Contrast between Aurangazeb and Hayat Bakshi was very detailed. "His eyes shown with power; hers, drowsy with medication". Very novel-like approach to description, but are the details truly accurate or added for the sake of dramatization. - "Aurangazeb didnt like to be addressed as just a prince... He also took care to drive home the status of the supplicant before him.": Page 59, Power dynamics - To me, it seems like the author tries to reduce the importance of Mughals by describing them as pompous/overbearingly imperious. He places more loyalty to the others and their royalty rather than everyone who opposes them and enables their downfall - "The Sultan relapsed into his unabashed indulgences as if nothing had happened." People were ashamed of him now - Page 61 whole last chapter about Hayat wtf - Shelly - again, the ritualistic nature of the moharram is spotlighted, and the method of merry making is very "typical" - Abdullah was himself not a very inspiring personality -- taken to celebration, semmingly no seriousness, no resolve, cowardly, obsequious (to the point of irritating) - author seems to be biased towards abdullah -- "Mir Jumla's pride was perhaps natural but the arrogance of the members of his family was quite unwarranted", pg 56 - bestowal of names seems to be a common custom, and an esteemed one - royal we from Shah Jahan is called "the accustomed condescension" (pg 57) here, unlike when it was ignored for the rulers of hyderabad earlier in the text - comparison between hayat and the man with her is emphasised - hayat made to supplicate, shown as inferior -- relative position of kingdoms or due to gender? both use the royal we - Misogynistic attitude of author once again is seen in his justification of Hayat Bakshi's worth (unclear if parroting the discourse/perspective of the time, or these are true internal biases) - role is called dominant, major influence on the rule and the reason for the state's sustenance, but there has been no real proof of such so far - duration of her status as a royal personage is sufficient to have influence - right after claiming she was dominant, she is identified as "the daughter, wife, and mother respectively of three successive sultans" making this the most important aspect of her identity to her worth ### Mendicant to Sultan - **Content**: Introduces Shah Raju (the mendicant) and Abul Hasan/Tana Shah (the new king/Sultan) - Sravani - Starts off with just who Abdullah's daughters were married to like they were their major achievements - Deference is a word that is used a lot and plays a major part in influencing political leaders and their ruling. (62-63) - Page 63: Abul hasan was a "distant relation to the Sultan", he was a "champion drunkard and one day misbehaved with no less a person than the Queen." How distant is this relation for him to be thrown out at 14 after a life time of leeching(he was called a "parasite") from the royal household. - Shah Raju portrayed as vv holy, "imbibe something from his presence", "if they were lucky a question would trigger a discourse". - What brings him to call abul a child saint when he clearly not a saint. And then they start talking about girls? hekn. Shah Raju tells him that they'll find him a "good rich girl". As a saint shouldnt he be unaffected by money? Abul gives importance given to "blue blood"/royalty (page 64) - Tana Shah(hermit) is diff from Abul wtf is happening? (page 65) - - Shelly - Abdullah is not a figure of authority/inspiration even within his family - general: lots of tangents, makes it difficult to formulate/maintain a timeline - terrible writing ("long locks"), at this point no clue if the style is imitating some model, ironical, or genuinely the author's style. also unclear if some of the narrator comments are in the style of the characters or sarcastic from the author - author has a tendency to demean anyone not of the royal family of what came to be hyderabad -- calls Abul Hasan a champion drunkard and a parasite, where Quli and Abdullah was just called rulers who enjoyed (or similar). While technically true, it is quite unflattering, and a great contrast. Later, once he is accepted back into the royal family, it is called "love of good things" - mysticism of saint Shah Raju (just remembered -- wrt to horoscopes, only "successful" predictions have been given as examples, like hayat bakshi and sultan and abdullah etc -- seems like cherry picking/survivor bias) - general side note: need to create a timeline of rulers and succession and family relations, difficult with the tangents and various names ### Kuchipudi, Ramadas, and Madanna - **Content**: Decribe the importance and role of the dance Kuchipudi, and new PM Madanna, and Gopanna the devotee of Rama - Sravani - (general) reads like a novel - Tana Shah appointed major roles to Hindus (to the resentment of his nobles and the joy of the public) after his original advisors committed treason - goes into great detail of stories told through dances like kuchipudi, poets like Ramadas etc. The purpose pf this was maybe to highlight the Sultan's appreciation of Hindu art? - Shelly - courtly politics among the officers and nobles - Madanna was the first local resident (and Hindu) to become prime minister in 300 years -- "Surya Prakash Rao", pg 72 - revamped the entire administrative/revenue/civil/military system, created the first hereditary landlordship (pg 72) - resented by the traditionalists and mughals (who wanted to annex the state) - explanation of the kuchipudi dance (bhamakalapam) is once again steeped in ideas of seductress women, pg 75 - Gopanna, nephew of Madanna, called himself Ramadas after his family deity Rama -- later, Goppana was taken over by his devotion - author descriptions of religious devotion of Ramadas for Ram have a supplicatory attitude ### Madanna's Fall - **Content**: Several circumstances led to suspicion against Madanna and he is killed - Sravani - Continuing from the last chapter's random introduction of Shivaji and the beginning of Sultan's distrust in Madanna - - Shelly - After evidence of Tana Shah's distrust, Aurangzeb attacked Bhagnagar and succeeded due to his negligence - The palace was looted - Facts were manipulated to draw suspicion on Madanna, but despite insistence from all sides his belief in Madanna and Akanna was undisturbed - the brothers' enemies, nobles, and the queen who did not see their value plotted and succeeded in killing them, pleasing Aurangzeb - scene describing Aurangzeb's satisfaction is again typically oriental -- savagery, courtly presence, elephant, slave ### The Long Siege - **Content**: Describes the extensive efforts made by Aurangzeb to annex Bhagnagar, and the siege that took place. - Sravani - "Golconda seemed impregnable." Is this fact or is it just cas Hyd is the focus of this book? - "Tana Shah showed rare courage and dignity in his last hours on the throne of Golconda". He literally just consoled "wailing ladies of the harem" and prayed, sat on the throne for some reason (even though there was nothing left to do), and ate breakfast. - Shelly - Aurangzeb wants total victory over Tana Shah, outs Golconda under siege - most top generals defected to mughal army - restless after 3 months, attempt a sneak attack but as discovered due to a barking dog; dog is honoured - again, the element of fate/will of the gods is seen, as an unwanted, begging dog becomes the reason the mughal attempt failed - tried to justify the attack on golconda uing religion but was denied by the qazi -- made to resign and perform Haj (search this), replaced by a qazi who gave the same advice and was sent to the rear guard of the army - problem of food for cattle and people (esp with drought) and maratha guerillas aiding tana shah and also disease - monsoon came and caused more issues while the natives of bhagnagar were unbothered by the conditions. they attacked and captured many mughal officers who were mocked and sent back, punished by aurangzeb - abul hasan's proposal of submission in exchange for pardon was rejected -- but the proposal lost him the war psychologically - use of mines by mughal army was turned against them, chief of mines is blamed - pp 91-92: chronogram ghogha, chronogram hashrgah -- oblique descriptions through chronogram instead of directly - aurangzeb shows what is either a surprising nobility/honour or desperation and insists on being at the site of the last mine -- the results make him realise his folly - aurangzeb feels slighted by tana shah, cannot understand him - use of 'pagan' for non-muslim -- look into this more - descriptions of the battle (esp lari) are typical glorification of bloodshed/savagery and fantastical physical states of the soldiers - surprisingly calm/composed and anticlimactic end