Gulbadan:Portrait Of A Princess At The Mughal Court

An accomplished scholar and author of the Humayun-nama Gulbadan Begam was also Babur’s daughter Humayun’s sister and Akbar’s aunt. In this compact biography Rumer Godden draws upon the Humayun-nama and other records as well as her own soaring imagination to create a portrait of the begam and the Mughal Empire as detailed and exquisite as any miniature. While still a child Gulbadan travelled from Kabul to Agra where Babur had established his capital. She grew up in the cloistered world of the zenana an idyllic existence that was shattered when Babur exchanged his life for Humayun’s. Humayun’s reign was marked by hardship after he lost the Empire and his vast army was reduced to a ragtag band. The Empire was regained but soon after Humayun died in a freak accident. He was succeeded by Akbar and it was under him that the Mughal Empire reached its zenith in territory and in cultural and religious accomplishments. This rich broad sweep of history written from Gulbadan’s point of view is interspersed with colourful re-creations of goings-on within the zenana and the many diversions and internecine politics of the royal court. Combining a historian’s rigour with a novelist’s gift for invention Gulbadan is a timeless classic.