by Fanny Parkes
Mr Gardner gave me a room within the four walls of the zenāna, which afforded me an excellent opportunity of seeing native life. At first the strong scent of atr of roses was quite overpowering, absolutely disagreeable, until I became reconciled to it by habit.
The Mohammedan, both male and female, are extremely fond of perfumes of every sort and description; and the quantity of atr of roses, atr of jasmine, atr of khas-khas, etc. that the ladies in a zenāna put upon their garments is quite overpowering.
The prophet approved of scents: ‘Next to women he liked horses, and next to horses perfumes.’ Ja’bir-bin-Samurah said, ‘I performed noonday prayer with his majesty; after that, he came out of the masjid; and some children came before him and he rubbed their cheeks in a most kind manner with his blessed hand, one after another. Then his majesty touched my cheek and I smelt so sweet a smell from it, that you might say he had just taken it out of a pot of perfumes.’
Mulka Begum, and all the females in attendance on her, stained their hands and feet with mehndi. Ayesha said, ‘Verily, a woman said, “O prophet of God! receive my obedience.” He said, “I will not receive your profession until you alter the palms of your hands; that is, colour them with hinà; for without it one might say they were the hands of tearing animals.”’ Aa’yeshah said, ‘A woman from behind a curtain made a sign of having a letter; and his highness drew away his hand and said, “I do not know whether this is the hand of a man or a woman.” The woman said, “It is a woman’s.” His Highness said, “Were you a woman, verily you would change the colour of your nails with hinà.”’
To the slave girls I was myself an object of curiosity. They are never allowed to go beyond the four walls and the arrival of an English lady was a novelty. I could never dress myself but half a dozen were slily peeping in from every corner of the screens (pardas), and their astonishment at the number and shape of the garments worn by a European was unbounded!
Ladies of rank are accustomed to be put to sleep by a slave who relates some fairy tale. To be able to invent and relate some romantic or hobgoblin adventure in an agreeable manner is a valuable accomplishment. I have often heard the monotonous tone with which women of this description lulled the begum to sleep. To invent and relate stories and fables is the only employment of these persons. The male slaves put their masters to sleep in the same fashion.
Native beds (chārpāī) are about one foot high from the ground; people of rank have the feet of these couches covered with thick plates of gold or silver, which is handsomely embossed with flowers. A less expensive, but still a very pretty sort, are of Bareilly work, in coloured flowers; some are merely painted red, green, or yellow; and those used by the poor are of plain mango wood. From the highest to the lowest the shape is all the same, the difference is in the material and the workmanship. No posts, no curtains. The seat of the bed is formed of broad cotton tape (newār), skilfully interlaced, drawn up tight as a drum head, but perfectly elastic. It is the most luxurious couch imaginable, and a person accustomed to the chārpāī of India will spend many a restless night ere he can sleep with comfort on an English bed.
A Musulmān lady will marry an English gentleman, but she will not permit him to be present during the time of meals. Mr Gardner and Mulka have three children, two boys and a girl; they are remarkably handsome, intelligent children, and appeared as gay and happy as possible. They always wore rich native dresses – a most becoming style of attire. The name of the eldest is Sulīman, the second is William Linnaeus, and the little girl is called Noshaba Begum.
When I retired to my charpaī, my dreams were haunted by visions of the splendour of the Timoorians in former days; the palace at Agra, and the beautiful begum with whom I had spent the evening.
February 23rd – Mr Gardner proposed a chītā or cheetah hunt: he had a fine hunting leopard; we went out to look for antelopes; the day was very hot, we had no success and returned very much fagged; Mrs B— was laid up in consequence with an ague. There was a fine elephant at Kutchowra, a great number of horses and a few dogs.
The next morning I spent an hour with the begum, and took leave of her; it is difficult to find her awake, she sleeps so much from opium. If you call on a native lady and she does not wish to receive a visitor the attendants always say, ‘The lady is asleep –’ equivalent to ‘not at home’. Sometimes she employs herself in needlework and her attendants sit around, and net kurtīs for her on a sort of embroidery frame.
It may be as well to remark, that the opium given by the begum to her children was remarkably fine and pure; grown in her own garden and collected daily from incisions made in the pod of the deep red poppy.
On my departure, the begum presented me with a beautifully embroidered a small bag (batū’ā) full of spices; it was highly ornamented, and embroidered in gold and silver, interwoven with coloured beads.
She wished me to put on churis, which are bracelets made of sealing-wax ornamented with beads; they are extremely pretty, but of little value. I consented and the churis were put on in this manner: a churi, having been cut open with a hot knife, it was heated over a charcoal fire, opened a little – just enough to allow it to pass over the arm; it was then closed, and the two ends were united by being touched with a hot knife. I wore these churis until they broke and dropped off; in memory of my first visit to the zenāna.
CHAPTER XXXIII
LIFE IN THE ZENĀNA AND CHĪTA HUNTING
TEN DURWESH MAY SLEEP UNDER THE SAME BLANKET, BUT TWO KINGS CANNOT EXIST IN ONE KINGDOM
A CONTEMPORARY WIFE, THOUGH A HOORI, IS WORSE THAN A SHE-DEVIL
FEBRUARY 1835 – When a woman of rank marries, two female slaves are given with her, who are also the wives of her husband: this is so completely a custom it is never omitted: nevertheless, ‘The very voice of a rival wife is intolerable’.
A number of women are considered to add to a man’s dignity: they add to his misery most decidedly. This custom being more honoured in the breach than the observance, was not put in force at the marriage of Mr Gardner with Mulka Begum. ‘The malice of a fellow-wife is notorious.’ It would only be surprising if such were not the case. ‘A contemporary wife is intolerable, even in effigy.’ In native life the greatest misery is produced from a plurality of wives; they, very naturally, hate each other most cordially and quarrel all day. The children, also, from their cradles are taught to hate the children of the other wives; nevertheless, the following extract proves that she is considered a wife worthy of praise who loves the offspring of her husband and another woman:
‘A woman may be married by four qualifications; one, on account of her money; another, on account of the nobility of her pedigree; another, on account of her beauty; the fourth on account of her faith: therefore, look out for a religious woman; but if you do it from any other consideration, may your hands be rubbed in dirt.’ – ‘The world and all things in it are valuable; but the most valuable thing in the world is a virtuous woman.’ – ‘The best women, that ride on camels, I mean the women of Arabia, are the virtuous of the Koreish; they are the most affectionate to infants, whether they be their own or their husband’s by other women; and they are the most careful of their husband’s property.’ The proverb is at variance with the opinion of the prophet, since the former asserts, ‘A contemporary wife may be good, but her child is bad.’ As the means of power over their husbands, native women value their children very much and are miserable if they have none.
A zenāna is a place of intrigue, and those who live within four walls cannot pursue a straight path: how can it be otherwise, where so many conflicting passions are called forth? If a man make a present to one wife, he must make a similar offering to all the rest to preserve peace and quietness. The wives must have separate houses or apartments; were it not so, they would agree as well as caged tigers. The Qur’an permits a Musulmān to have four wives; the proverb says, ‘The man is happy who has no she-goat,’ Atàa records that the prophet had nine wives; and from Safíah, who was the last of them who die
d, he wished to be divorced; but she said, ‘Keep me with your wives and do not divorce me, peradventure I may be of the number of your wives in paradise.’
Some authorities assert that the prophet had eighteen wives: Atàa only mentions nine. To recompense his warlike followers for allowing them only four wives each, he gives them the mutâ marriage for any period they may choose with the wives of their enemies taken in battle.
In the beginning of Islam, the followers of the prophet, the shīas, were allowed to marry for a limited time; this temporary marriage was called mutâ. ‘Verily the prophet prohibited, on the day of the battle of Khaiber, a mutâ marriage, which is for a fixed time, and he forbade the eating of the flesh of the domestic ass.’ ‘His Highness permitted, in the year in which he went to Awtàs, mutâ for three days; after which he forbade it.’ At length a revelation came down which rendered every connection of the sort unlawful for the faithful, ‘excepting the captives which their right hands possess.’
If a woman of high rank and consequence has no heir, this farce is often played. The lady appears to expect one; she is fattened up in the same curious manner in which they fatten their horses: five or six low caste women, who really expect children about the same time, are secreted in the zenāna: when one of them is delivered of a son, the begum takes it, the farce of an accouchement is acted and the child is produced as the heir; the real mamma has Rs 500 (£50) given her – and perhaps a dose of poison to secure her silence.
The father of Mulka Begum, the Huzūr Mirza Sulimān Shekō, the brother of the present Emperor of Delhi, resides at Agra on a pension from Government; he has children innumerable, all young princes and princesses; there are, it is said, some forty of his children now alive, proud and poor. By Mulka’s first marriage with Mirza Selīm, the second son of the present King of Delhi, she had three children. The first wife of the King of Oude is a sister of Mulka’s and is reckoned more beautiful than even Mulka herself:
February 24th – We drove over to Khasganj, Colonel Gardner’s residence, thirteen miles over roads that were hardly passable. On our arrival, we found our dear friend seated on the steps in front of his house with many gentlemen, both English and native, around him. I thought I had never seen so dignified and graceful a person; he was dressed in a lubāda of red figured Indian shawl, the rest of the dress was English, but the style of the lubāda was particularly good and suited to an old man; his half brother, Mr Valentine Gardner was with him, also an old nawāb from Cambay.
Colonel Gardner has a fine estate at Khasganj; the outer house is dedicated to his friends and English acquaintances; within four high walls is the barā-deri, or pavilion, in the centre of the zenāna gardens, in which his begum resides.
Apartments were given to my husband and me in the outer house, where the English visitors resided. The dinners at first consisted of European as well as native dishes; but the latter were so excellent, I soon found it impossible to partake of dishes dressed after the English fashion; and as all the guests were of the same opinion, Colonel Gardner had the kindness to banish European dishes from the table.
I must not forget to mention the arwarī fish, the finest and most delicious I ever tasted; the Kālā-naddī is famed for its arwarī, a sort of mullet; the fish delights to bask in the sun, floating on the surface of the water. Colonel Gardner kept two shikarees (native sportsmen), for the purpose of shooting these fish; one man fired and the other instantly plunged into the water and brought out the fish that were killed or stunned. The Musulmāns object to eating fish having no scales; such fish was also forbidden to the Jews.
In the evening, the native mimics came to perform before us; they imitated Europeans very well and mimicked the gentlemen of the party. A pūtlī-nāch was afterwards brought forward; I was surprised to see the natives, young and old, so eager and fond of this absurdity, until Colonel Gardner said, ‘The natives are madly fond of this pūtlī-nāch; indeed, it is all the English have left them of their former glory. You see, represented by puppets, Shāhjahān and all his Court and Durbar: one puppet is brought forward and the manager, whilst it bows to the audience, relates the whole history of the minister whom it represents; giving a true account of his pedigrees, riches, influence, etc. At this moment, standing behind my chair, at a salary of four rupees a month, is the lineal descendant of one of the first lords in the Court of Shāhjahān. The managers of the show mix up infinite wit with their relation of events, and sarcasms on the English.’
After this explanation I could see the reason of the fondness of the old natives for this puppet-show which before, in my ignorance, I had not comprehended. One by one every puppet is brought forward and its history recounted. This evening fatigued me a good deal; we sat under the verandah to see the sights, the glare of the torches was painful to my eyes and the noise made my head ache.
February 27th – A lynx (the caracal), the property of Colonel Gardner, a most extraordinary looking beast, killed a goa samp: I was told, the animal catches crows by springing several feet into the air after them as they rise from the ground.
The cheetah, or chīta (hunting leopard), killed two antelopes. Some nāch girls danced and sang in the evening, and thus closed the day.
My husband, who had accompanied me to Khasganj, now took leave of Colonel Gardner and returned to Allahabad, leaving me with our dear friend to witness the Mohammedan marriage ceremonies. My husband quitted us with regret, being obliged to depart on account of the expiration of his leave of absence.
Colonel Gardner married Nawāb Matmunzilool Nissa Begum, of the Cambay family; she resides in the house or pavilion within the four walls, with her relatives, attendants and slaves. This morning the begum sent word she would receive visitors in the evening; Colonel Gardner took me over and introduced me to her as his adopted daughter; she rose and embraced me, putting her cheek to mine on each side the face, after the fashion of the French, and her arms around me: having received her guests, she sat down on her gaddī of purple velvet, embroidered with gold; and we seated ourselves on plain white gaddīs either side.
The begum is a very lively little old woman; she was magnificently dressed in pearls, diamonds, and emeralds – as many as it was possible to put on her little body; she wore a peshwāz, or very short full gown, with a tight body, made of red and gold Benares tissue; this is a dress of state; pajāmās of silk; and, over all, a dupatta of red and gold Benares tissue which, as she sat, covered her entirely; and she looked more like a lump of glittering gold and crimson and pearls than a living woman. A golden huqqa, with four nā’echas (snakes) was placed before her on a huqqa carpet of raised flowers, curiously cut out in paper. The room was covered with a carpet, over which white cloths were spread after the usual fashion and the lamps all stood on the ground.
At the other end of the room sat fourteen slave girls belonging to the begum, who played on different instruments, whilst one or two of them nāched before us.
The ladies of the family were seated on the begum’s left hand.
There was Hinga Bibi Sāhiba, the widow of Allan Gardner, the eldest son of Colonel Gardner; her eldest daughter, Hirmooze, married Mr Stuart William Gardner, an officer in the 28th Native Infantry, and son of Admiral Francis Gardner, a relative of Colonel Gardner.
Her second daughter, Susan, generally called Shubbeah Begum, was not present; being engaged to be married to a young Prince of Delhi, she was kept in parda. At her feet were the two daughters of James Gardner by a former marriage; the eldest, Alaida (the Morning Star), about fifteen years old, very fair, with a round pretty face; but her great charm was a remarkably sweet and interesting manner; she of them all was the one whom Colonel Gardner best loved; and indeed she was a sweet girl. Her younger sister (the Evening Star) was darker than Alaida, pretty and lively. They, like the begum, had Tartar faces, in which the eyes are wide apart; but were both, nevertheless, very pretty and interesting girls.
Two English gentlemen who were fond of native life and fascinated with Khasganj, requested m
e to mention to Colonel Gardner their wish to become of his family; I did so. Colonel Gardner replied, ‘Shubbeah is engaged to the Prince,’ but, said I, ‘Do you think she likes him?’ ‘How little you know of the natives!’ he replied; ‘it would be considered the greatest indelicacy for a girl to prefer one man to another, or to have seen the man to whom she is to be united. Tell Mr — I am flattered by his wish to be of my family, and would willingly give him my granddaughter, but the begum is bent on this grand alliance, as she considers it: I have withheld my consent for years; “The house may be filled with the falling of drops;” i.e. continual dripping wears away stones. She has carried the point. I have been happy in my marriage but I would not advise a European gentleman to marry a native lady. With respect to the proposals of the other gentleman, in a worldly point of view it would be a good match; but I do not like the man; I cannot bestow upon him the Morning Star!’
Bānoo Bibi Sāhiba was also there; in her younger days she must have been pretty; her liveliness she still retained.
The guests smoked the huqqa, and ate pān; some very delicate pān was prepared for me of which I partook for the first time, and rather liked it.
At the end of the evening, the begum gave her guests liberty to depart; pān and atr of roses were presented to us; rose-water was sprinkled over us; we made salam in due form and returned to the outer house.
The begum has a guard of honour of forty men who live at the entrance of the zenāna, and guard the gateway night and day.
I must not forget the old Nawāb of Cambay, the uncle of the begum; he is quite a character and a very singular one; he has visited England; he used to dine at the table with us and would take sherry with the guests. When a lady was at table he would take sherry; if gentlemen only were present, the sherry was discarded for brandy: one day I observed he drank some white spirit and found it was a strong spirit he himself distilled from different flowers: to my surprise, he used also to play backgammon. Natives have names and titles innumerable, of which his are a good specimen: Fakhr-ul-dawla Moomtaj ul Moolk Nawāb Meer Momun Khān Bahadur Delme Delawor Jung.