The Begum and the Dastan

by Tarana Husain Khan

Genres: Historical Fiction

Synopsis

Lined with grandeur, tragedy and fantasy, Tarana Husain Khan's odyssey maps the social, political and religious contours of 1897 Sherpur with the fascinating and strong-willed Feroza Begum at the centre of the storm.

On an evening not too many evenings ago, the blue-eyed Feroza, flouting her family's orders, attended Nawab Shams Ali Khan's sawani celebrations at the Benazir Palace. Tragedy coloured the night when she found herself kidnapped and withheld in the Nawab's harem - bustling, tantalizing and rife with sinister power play. As tyranny and repression tightened their hold inside the royal walls, at the Bazaar Chowk, dastangoi Kallan Mirza enchanted his listeners with the legend of sorcerer Tareek Jaan and his chimeric city, the Tilism-e-Azam, where women were confined in underground basements.

Misfortune and subjugation link eras when Ameera, Feroza's great-granddaughter, is restricted to her house and finds solace in her Dadi's retelling of Feroza's tragedy. When Ameera's circumstances begin mirroring the strife and indignities pervasive in 1897 Sherpur, she must reflect if society has shifted enough for women and their choices.

Written with careful flamboyance and striking evocativeness, The Begum and the Dastan is a world imbued with love, splendour and heartbreak, only saved by the women who refuse to play by the rule book.

Release date: February 20, 2023

Publisher: Hachette India

Print pages: 312

Sample

The Begum and the Dastan

Tarana Husain Khan is a writer and cultural historian. Her writings on the oral history, culture and the famed cuisine of the erstwhile princely state of Rampur have appeared in prominent publications such as Scroll, Eaten magazine, The Wire, Al Jazeera and in the anthologies Desi Delicacies (Pan Macmillan, India) and Dastarkhwan: Food Writing from South Asia and Diaspora (Beacon Books, UK). She hosts and curates a website on Rampur culture and oral history. She lives between Rampur and Nainital with her husband.

PRAISE FOR THE BOOK

Winner of KLF Fiction Book of the Year Award (2020–2021)

Shortlisted for SheThePeople Women Writer’s Prize, 2021

‘Straddling themes of gender and sectarianism, of royal autocracy and republican apathy, The Begum and the Dastan resurrects the lives of women behind the purdah, telling a moving, even tragic tale of pride, loss, courage and determination, as well as that unyielding human capacity to subvert tyranny through art and the power of stories.’

Manu Pillai, author of The Ivory Throne and Rebel Sultans

‘Tarana Khan weaves a tale full of Razm, ishq, ayyari aur tilism, war, love, trickery and magic – and takes us on a fascinating journey into the life of a nineteenth-century Begum. The author’s familiarity with the male-centric, feudal milieu and her meticulous research of the period brings to life a story of a woman and her story of love, loss and betrayal. The dastan with its use of two timelines keeps the reader in its grip throughout as it brings out the lives of a young girl in present times hearing the story of her ancestress.’

Rana Safvi, author of Tears of the Begums and In Search of the Divine

‘A captivating novel that shows Tarana Khan’s masterful insight into the human heart, complexities of love and tragedy. Framed through published and oral histories and dastans, the novel introduces Feroza Begum, a highly memorable heroine, through whose life we are pulled into the richly regimented life of the nineteenth-century Nawabi culture.’

Musharraf Ali Farooqi, author of The Story of a Widow and Between Clay and Dust

‘Evocative writing that summons the soul of the feudal past, rich with history and romance and heartbreak.’

Namita Gokhale, author and Sahitya Akademi awardee, 2021

‘A moving and affectionate account of a late 19th-century heroine, both shackled and emboldened by life in a North Indian court. The novel skillfully shows how the modern, in this colonial era, could take the form of a violent conservatism, especially in relation to women. The shattering and often cunning refashioning of women’s lives is Tarana Husain Khan’s fascinating subject.’

Anjum Hasan, author of A Day in the Life

‘The story prompts the question: How can one write history without condoning it? In The Begum and the Dastan, history is an inspiration, a tool and an anchor, but it is not a justification.’

Scroll

‘[Khan] has done an incredible job of combining fiction and history with a delicate hand of imagination. The story lives with you long after you have read it.’

The Daily Guardian

‘Her novel sought to present historical fiction not from the perspective of the man as most dominant narratives do, but strived to represent the tale from the voice of female characters and their version of history. Khan ardently elaborated on the prejudices faced by women in the 19th century, the ones that women are still victims to today and the need for the rise of consciousness in these turbulent times.’

The Telegraph

‘A magical realism journey into the old feudal nawabi culture weaving two eras… The magic of the novel will surely survive for long.’

Salman Khurshid, The Wire

‘This is an immersive novel, remarkable for the thoroughly Muslim world it creates.’

Anil Menon, The Hindu

‘With Feroza Begum, Khan seeks to examine how women thrust into this life of purdah, filled as much with glamour as with subversion, found the will to love and rebel, and sharply questions how far we have stepped out of similar oppressive structures in the present context.’

Firstpost

‘…Khan accomplishes much: A flavour of Nawabi daily life, Rohilla military culture, the Sunni-Shia tensions mixed in with colonial influence, and, ultimately, the women representing each of these categories.’

Deccan Chronicle

‘…rhythmic, mellifluous and near hypnotic quality of prose. Khan’s smooth grafting of the flamboyance of Urdu Dastan to the Anglophone narrative lends Feroza Begum’s tale a compelling power. It is an exquisitely rendered, splendid story which you can read at leisure. The book, indeed, is an unputdownable page-turner.’

The Book Review

‘The Begum and the Dastan by Tarana Husain Khan has the ability to create enchantment with her words… Characters sparkle with such brilliance.’

Frontlist

‘Document[s] the stories of women history forgot, who lived in Rampur and shaped the history of the town.’

SheThePeople

‘…a haunting tale of a grand city and its women unfolding in three main narrative strands from the 19th century until the present.’

Desi Books

‘This is a novel of parallels… Despite the glitz and the glamour, Khan’s take on history remains unflinching.’

For Reading Addicts, UK

‘Tarana Husain Khan is a master of imagery; her writing is imbued with elaborate descriptions of resplendent soirees, gloomy dungeons and busy bazaars that sweep you into the glamour and delusion of court life. Just as quickly, she will steer you through time and bring you face-to-face with the subversion of women’s empowerment in present times… [Tarana] leaves her readers in a literary stupor, dizzy and yearning for more.’

The Daily Star

‘[Tarana Husain Khan] herself had to go through archives, diaries, historical writings and, of course, oral history in order to tell the tale. In the book, the Begum’s granddaughter tells the story to her granddaughter, making it through five generations.’

Moneycontrol

‘This one’s a gem for historical fiction readers with a passion for detail and atmosphere.’

GQ India

Cast of Characters

In Sherpur

1. Nawab Shams Ali Khan: Nawab of Sherpur. Sherpur was a north Indian princely state under the British colonial rule.

2. Feroza Begum: The second wife of Nawab Shams Ali Khan. She was given the title of Sarkar Aliya.

Feroza Begum’s family:

1. Miya Jaan Khan: Feroza Begum’s father.

2. Phul Begum: Feroza’s mother.

3. Gauhar: Feroza’s sister.

4. Zubeida Begum: Miya Jaan’s second wife and Feroza’s stepmother.

5. Ruqayya: Feroza’s stepsister.

6. Nausha: Feroza’s stepbrother.

7. Murtaza Ali Khan: Feroza’s husband.

8. Azmat Khan: Feroza’s father-in-law.

9. Tabu (Tabassum): Feroza’s milk-sister and friend.

10. Bua (Akbari Bua): Tabu’s mother and Feroza’s wet nurse.

11. Asiya: Feroza’s first cousin.

12. Amina Khala: Feroza’s aunt and Asiya’s mother.

13. Nanhi Begum: Feroza’s daughter.

14. Mehdi Raza Khan: Nanhi’s husband.

15. Husain Raza and Sumayya Begum: Mehdi’s parents.

16. Mohsin: Mehdi’s brother.

17. Farhat: Mohsin’s wife and Nanhi’s sister-in-law.

18. Dadi: Feroza’s granddaughter.

19. Ameera: Feroza’s great-granddaughter.

20. Jugnu: Ameera’s brother and Feroza’s great-grandson.

21. Meel and Chanda Bua: House servants at Ameera’s house.

At the Palace:

1. Sultanat Ara Begum: Nawab Shams’s first wife. Also called Basodeywali Begum.

2. Huzur Aliya: Nawab Shams Ali Khan’s great-grandmother-in-law.

3. Babbo Jaan AKA Shahana Dulhan: Nawab Shams Ali Khan’s third wife.

4. Daroghan Chhamman: In charge of the harems of the Nawab.

5. Diwani Begum: A mutah wife of Nawab Shams Ali Khan.

6. Azeezan and Mahabat Khan: Servants at the harem.

7. Sara Small: Wife of Colonel Small, who was posted at Sherpur.

8. Hasan Ali Khan: The Crown prince of Sherpur.

9. Achhi Begum: Hasan’s mother.

10. Rafi Ali Khan and Zafar Ali Khan: Sons of Shams Ali Khan.

Characters in Dastan

1. Ameeruddin Haya AKA Mirza Kallan: A dastango and Tabu’s husband.

2. Mirza Waliuddin: Kallan Mirza’s brother.

3. Saad bin Ameer Hamza: Son of Ameer Hamza and a great warrior.

4. Princess Lalarukh: Saad’s wife.

5. Amar ayyar: A trickster and friend of Ameer Hamza.

6. King Sheez: Lalarukh’s father and ruler of Koh Kaaf.

7. Asman Pari: Ex-wife of Ameer Hamza and Lalarukh’s paternal aunt.

8. Tareek Jaan: A powerful sorcerer and son of Afrasiyab, the creator of Tilism-e-Hoshruba and opponent of Ameer Hamza.

9. Afreet, Aaseb and Tez Chashm: Djinns under the command of Tareek Jaan.

10. Chalak bin Amar: Amar ayyar’s son.

11. Sarsar: Wife of Amar ayyar.

12. Huzur Afat Char Chashm: The four-eyed great-grandmother of Tareek Jaan.

13. Malika Husnara Jadu: Chief queen of Tareek Jaan.

14. Begum Mahpara: Second wife of Tareek Jaan.

15. Princess Sadaf: Husnara’s cousin and a sorceress.

16. Gulistan Jadu: A powerful sorceress.

17. Rohu Mahipusht: A fish man living in the River of Silver Hues.

18. Zaroon and Rafey: Powerful magicians imprisoned in the Zulmat Dungeons by Tareek Jaan.

19. Goshtkhor: A powerful sorcerer sequestered in a hujra for forty years.

20. Prince Bemisal: Tareek Jaan’s crown prince.

1

Feroza Begum

Sherpur, 1896

The Nawab was not happy with Feroza Begum for she was the cause of his ill-repute. It was because of her that he got the reputation of preying on newly married women and forcing them into his harem.

Darbar-e-Sherpur (An unpublished memoir),

Bilquis Begum1

Ameera buried her face into the attar-scented embroidered cushion on Dadi’s bed. Right at that moment, she wanted to dissolve into another, less complicated world. Dadi’s room had the most comforting and tranquil smells – the earthiness of the molasses-dipped tobacco scent of her hookah, the cardamom smell of her paan and the musk fragrance of attar. Dadi’s face floated above the puffs of white smoke from her hookah, smiling down at her. The windowless room was enveloped in a cool darkness, the walls slightly moist to the touch, a single ventilator window near the roof bringing in a slice of the blue-heated afternoon sky. Ameera unfolded herself and drew in the stillness.

Dadi’s huge four-poster bed dominated the room with the intricately carved royal monogram and hand-painted inlay of peacocks that Ameera loved to trace her fingers over; a gauzy mosquito net draped over the carved framework was tied back for the day. The room itself seemed to exist in an alternate dimension with its antique dressing table, the original Belgian glass showing age spots, a line of coloured glass bottles of attar perfumes that Dadi insisted on using and a silver surmadani with the famous Bareilly kohl that kept her beautiful eyes free of glasses. China figurines from pastoral Britain sat on the wooden mantel of a defunct fireplace alongside the books of Urdu and Persian poetry Dadi enjoyed reading and quoting from. There was a lumpy sofa set upholstered with faded red brocade that had seen more glorious days, low stools for the servants and a table with her silver pandan and khasdan to prepare and serve her betel leaf concoction. Most days, Dadi would listen to her old gramophone records – ghazals and thumris in voices from far beyond captured on ancient black discs moving slowly on a hand-wound gramophone. Ameera laughed when the singer announced, ‘I’m Gauhar Jaan’ or ‘I’m Babbo Jaan.’

‘Ah, there are such stories in these voices. I remember listening to the great Gauhar Jaan as a child. You know, this Babbo Jaan became Her Highness Shahana Begum, Queen of Sherpur, and ruled over us,’ Dadi would cackle, her eyes closing with mirth and the wrinkles deepening over her cheeks.

‘Dadi, tell me a story,’ Ameera murmured into the pillow.

‘Aap beeti ki jag beeti, my story or a story of the world?’ This was the choice she always gave her. Ameera knew the answer.

‘Aap beeti, tell me about the night great-grandma was kidnapped by the Nawab.’ This was always her demand. Ameera cupped her cheek and curled up before Dadi’s ancient armchair.

‘Hush, that’s the end of the story. So let me begin with the sawani that changed the course of our destinies.’

‘What’s a “sawani”?’ She knew the answer, but that was her cue.

‘Beti, sawani celebrates the coming of the monsoon, the first rains of the month of Sawan. There are swings in orchards, fried puris and pakodis,’ Dadi’s voice echoed, whispering in the cool darkness. Ameera sighed, closing her eyes, letting the cadence of the familiar story lull her mind.

‘So, this is the story of Feroza Begum, my grandmother and your great-grandmother. May Allah forgive my tongue for any transgressions. The year was 1896 or 1897, the reign of Nawab Shams Ali Khan had just begun, and Feroza Begum desperately wanted to attend the sawani hosted by the Nawab at Benazir Palace to commemorate his twenty-first birthday. Now, Feroza was a very wilful and headstrong girl, indulged by her father, Miya Jaan Khan, who loved and despaired at her familial stubborn streak and her temper, so very like his own. She was his firstborn and the only one with his blue eyes. He had named her ‘Feroza’ for her blue Feroza gemstone eyes. So, if Feroza wanted something, there could be no peace until she got her way. Miya Jaan Khan had hoped that her marriage two years ago to Murtaza Raza Khan, the son of his dearest friend and kinsman, would calm her down; but the sweet-tempered Murtaza, wonderstruck by her beauty, was completely dominated by her.

Now I must tell you, just to make things clear, that Feroza and Gauhar were Miya Jaan Khan’s daughters by his first marriage to his cousin, the formidable Phul Begum.

At that time, in every household and in Miya Jaan Khan’s haveli, two parallel lives existed in tandem – the mardana and the zenana, the male and female sections, connected by a single door. Only the master of the house, his sons and very close male relatives could access the zenana.

As she was about a year older than her husband, Phul Begum found it fit to call him by his formal name – a practice unheard of at that time. ‘Altaf Khan!’ she would bellow from the zenana and he had become a figure of ridicule among friends and elders sitting in the mardana baithak, the ‘males only’ sitting room. ‘Go, your bulawa has come,’ they would snigger. He had to abandon the conversation, hookah and chess to attend to her or she would go on calling. Despite many warnings, she, with the same obstinacy, continued to take his name. Miya Jaan Khan divorced her in a fit of rage and forbade the daughters to ever meet their mother.

I don’t know what happened to Phul Begum after that, but the girls, about six and five at that time, were completely cut off from their mother. Feroza and Gauhar sat on the takht, their arms touching each other, watching the inglorious departure of their mother in petrified silence. Miya Jaan Khan then married a biddable, down-to-earth woman, Zubeida Begum, who produced two sons, Nausha and Pyarey, and a daughter, Ruqayya, in quick succession. Zubeida Begum walked the edges of Miya Jaan Khan’s mercurial temper, soothing his rages and trying to ensure a peaceful household. Nausha’s antics also contributed to her constant stress.

Nausha was a precocious thirteen-year-old who loved to dabble in medicines and alchemy and found a mentor in his maternal grandfather, a hakim. Nausha would often make concoctions to play pranks on hapless servants and even experiment on himself, with disastrous results. Feroza loved him for his ability to make everything fun and laughable. He would pander to her cravings for street food, running off to the bazaar to get her chaat and sweets. She in turn would shield him from parental wrath and help him out of scrapes. Only Nausha dared to smuggle out Miya Jaan’s treasured books of romantic poetry from the mardana for her and she would sit reading the ghazals and setting them to simple tunes.

The dai had recently diagnosed Feroza’s pregnancy after two years of Unani medicines and rustic cures. It was a cause of great happiness but Zubeida Begum was worried that some calamity might befall the unborn child during Feroza’s Sawan visit.

‘If I had known that she was with child, I would never have called her,’ Zubeida Begum sighed. The girl was quite a handful and never took heed of the warnings constantly thrown at her throughout the day by Zubeida Begum and Akbari Bua, Feroza’s wet nurse.

Even today in Sherpur there is a tradition of married daughters spending the month of Sawan at their parents’ place. So Zubeida had invited both her stepdaughters home. If she didn’t, there would be much criticism from relatives. Gauhar, married to a rich nobleman, was to arrive a few days later and the girls would celebrate the monsoon in their paternal home. Zubeida, whose existence revolved around pre-empting and dodging unprovoked, fault-finding remarks by her in-laws, had sent Nausha to fetch Feroza in the new buggy, laden with fruits, sweets, pattey,2 puris, and a light green monsoon ensemble for Feroza.

‘Begum, you don’t worry. I have prayed at Baghdadi Sahib’s dargah. All will be well for Feroza,’ said Akbari Bua adding extra tobacco to Zubeida’s paan to soothe her nerves. Zubeida handled the troubles at home – the bitter edge of tongues and frayed tempers – with an extra pinch of tobacco.

It was customary for girls to take their personal servants with them when they got married and shifted into their husband’s home. So, when Feroza got married, Akbari Bua and her daughter Tabassum, ‘Tabu’ for short, had settled down with Feroza at her in-laws’ place. Bua took charge of everything relating to Feroza. Bua and Tabu, Feroza’s milk-sister and confidante, were the two pillars of her domestic life.

‘When will this girl show some maturity? Since yesterday she has been arguing with her father to send her to the Nawab’s sawani,’ said Zubeida Begum, ruminating her paan. It was Nausha’s fault. He had attended the sawani with his father a year ago and spoken endlessly about the singers, poets and dancers who came to perform from Lucknow and Delhi, the mind-boggling dishes served and the fun ladies had had on the swings.

Feroza was fanatic about music and poetry. She enjoyed attending ladies singing events and writing ghazals. Her voice, though untrained, was sweet and tuneful and she often led the chorus. She particularly loved singing Dagh Dehlvi’s passionate love compositions though they were considered a bit bold for a woman singer.

‘Ooi Begum, doesn’t Feroza Bibi know that Pathan women from good families don’t go to the Nawab’s palace? He gets after all kinds of women and our Feroza’s beauty is such that all the royal Begums will fall at her feet!’ Akbari Bua carefully covered the paan leaves with a wet rag to keep them fresh.

Zubeida Begum sighed again, fanning herself rapidly, anxiety and extra tobacco inducing a tide of sweat to drip down her back. She couldn’t imagine how Feroza could challenge her father’s towering rage.

‘You are as stubborn as your mother and… and shameless. How dare you throw your marriage at my face!’ Miya Jaan had roared.

‘But Abba, Murtaza doesn’t have any problem with my going there. Women from his family are allowed to attend the zenana durbar,’ Feroza had retorted.

‘Ya Allah, don’t take the name of your husband. It will reduce his life!’ Zubeida Begum had warned, touching her cheeks alternately, begging forgiveness from the all-listening God ready to shower misfortune because of a single unthoughtful utterance.

‘Beti, your Abba is right. Pathan women don’t go there because of the Nawab’s misdemeanours. It is for our own safety…’

Feroza ignored her and continued, ‘Abba, you never let us go to the durbar. What would the Nawab do to a married woman?’

‘Go when you are old and toothless! This Nawab is already showing his true colours. He is a debauch drunk on power. He takes away women from their homes!’

‘I promise I shall keep away. He won’t see me.’

‘How will you stop him from coming into the zenana? I’m from the family of Nawab Nasrullah Khan and I won’t parade my women at the court!’3

He stormed out of the zenana to his peaceful male quarters, sending for his friends to rant about Feroza’s latest tantrum.

Miya Jaan had not attended the grand taajposhi, the crowning ceremony of Nawab Shams Ali Khan, in 1895 when the British had granted him full rights over the state, ending a rather controversial regency period. Miya Jaan and several Pathans secretly blamed the young Nawab and his great grandmother, Huzur Aliya, for engineering the dastardly murder of the regent, General Ameerullah Khan. Miya Jaan was distantly related to the young General and had been fond of him even though he hadn’t approved of his attempts to modernise and anglicise the state. However, on the advice of Feroza’s father-in-law, Miya Jaan had attended the sawani at Benazir Palace and offered nazar (tribute) to the Nawab last year to stay on the right side of the powers. The grudging acceptance veiled a deep mistrust.

Feroza cried in petulant anger, refused to eat and threatened to return to her in-laws where everyone loved her.

‘Send her back!’ Miya Jaan Khan said when he was told of her threats. He refused to enter the zenana and had all his meals in the mardana. Miya Jaan Khan’s mardana baithak was well-equipped with large takhts and two bedrooms to rest in during the day and to accommodate male guests. The male section was completely inaccessible to the women folk and a refuge for men in times of domestic crises.

Miya Jaan Khan would stand at the connecting door between the zenana and mardana and say to a quivering Zubeida, ‘Tell your daughter…’ he would begin and proceed to rain insults. Zubeida Begum was in a quandary. She couldn’t send Feroza back till her husband came to fetch her – it would be a breach of protocol. Besides, Zubeida’s in-laws and extended family might accuse her of making Feroza feel unwelcome in her own house.

Caught between father and daughter for two days, Zubeida sent for Gauhar to broker peace. Gauhar was supposed to come after a week for her sawan stay. Zubeida Begum sent Akbari Bua with gifts to have a quiet word with Gauhar about the current crisis and ask her to come earlier. Gauhar was younger but the more sensible of the two and marriage had further matured her into a self-possessed young lady. However, things didn’t turn out the way she had hoped. Gauhar was Feroza’s soulmate so Feroza bullied and cajoled Gauhar into supporting her case. Gauhar acquiesced much against her better judgement. After several more angry scenes and threats to cut off all ties, Gauhar was able to persuade her father to let Feroza go to the sawani for the day, escorted by Zubeida Begum and Akbari Bua.

Miya Jaan’s pleasure at Feroza’s visit was marred by the discord and his lingering anxiety. Still furious, he told Zubeida, ‘You women always do what you want. Just bring her back safely and send her back to her sasural.’

Notes

1. Bilquis Begum’s aunt, Daroghan Chhamman, was a female guard in the harems of Nawab Shams Ali Khan. The unpublished memoir based on oral history is the only written account of the royal harems.

2. A colocasia leaf (arbi ke pattey) preparation made during Sawan.

3. Nawab Nasrullah Khan was a famous Rohilla chieftain and one of the founders of the Rohilkhand empire of north India in the eighteenth century. The Rohillas were Pathan tribes from the Roh highlands in Afghanistan.

2

Jashn-e-Benazir

Sherpur, 1896

Nauroz Holi kijiye is jashn par nisaar,

Saqqey bharey hain, rangon ki mashqey kai hazaar.

(Nauroz and Holi pale before the celebrations at the Benazir,

Thousands of water-skins are filled with colours for the play.)1

Musaddas-e-Tahniyat-e-Jashn-e-Benazir,

Meer Yar Ali Jaan Sahib Rekhtigo

On the day of the sawani, Feroza took a long, luxurious bath and dressed up in a green brocade churidar pyjamas, a red velvet half-sleeved blouse with a sequinned neckline wh. . .