As the music played, the monkey, clad in a blue waistcoat, a tasseled fez on its head, jumped up and down. A man holding the leash of a pet monkey looked up when they called to him, 'Make it dance!' He bowed and set his music box on the ground. A few women veiled in thin muslins leaned over the wood-carved balconies of their houses above the shops. Shopkeepers called out to passing shoppers while sitting comfortably at the edge of jammed, cubical shops that lay flush with the brick-paved street. The crowds deftly maneuvered around a placid cow lounging in the center of the narrow street, her jaw moving rhythmically as she digested her morning meal of grass and hay.

Normally, the streets would be deserted at this time of day, but today the Moti bazaar was packed with a slowly moving throng of humanity. The midday sun whitened the city of Lahore to a bright haze. After my birth they gave me the name of Sultan Salim, but I never heard my father.call me Muhammad Salim or Sultan Salim, but always Shaikhu Baba. It was fascinating to know the details of succession of the throne, the schemes, politics and war due to the greed for power.When my mother came near the time of her delivery, he (Akbar) sent her to the Shaikh's house that I might be born there. How will they ever find husbands if they are too learned? The less they know, the less they will want of the outside world.” “Ghias, we must be careful not to teach the girls too much. My heart warmed knowing the family dynamics of Mehrunnisa and through them we also get to know how girls were treated back in the days- how it was ill-fate to have a girl child born in the family, how a girl shouldn’t be allowed to learn so much as she would get to know more about the world and form opinions and how ultimately, she wouldn’t make the “ideal” wife who is more like a slave to the husband. It describes the world of women in the royal harem – the many wives of the kings, his concubines and slaves always at the king’s beck and call. The epic romance between Emperor Jahangir and Nur Jahan is an integral part of the story but this book is so much more than that. I agree that the book is mostly based on historical facts, but the author’s writing is enchanting and the book is unputdownable!

But then, it was after twenty pages that I realized that I was captivated. I picked up the book, reading only the forst two pages to see if it’d interest me. Oh, this book is one of the best historical fictions I’ve read! “I wonder what it would be like to marry a prince,” Mehrunnisa said, her eyes glazing over dreamily, “and to be a princess…”

The Twentieth Wife by Indu Sundaresan