The Moghul

by Thomas Hoover

  In fashioning a story such as this, a writer must necessarily beindebted far beyond his ability to acknowledge adequately. The scholarwho provided the greatest assistance was Professor John Richards of theDuke University Department of History, a widely respected authority onMoghul (he might prefer it be spelled Mughal) India, who graciouslyconsented to review the manuscript in draft and offered manycorrections of fact and interpretation. He is, of course, in no wayaccountable for any liberties that may have remained. Thanks aresimilarly due Professor Gerald Berreman of the University of Californiaat Berkeley, a knowledgeable authority on Indian caste practices, whoagreed to review the relevant portions of the manuscript. I am alsoindebted to Waldemar Hansen, who generously provided me with thevoluminous notes accumulated for his own history, The Peacock Throne.Historians in India who gave warmly of their time and advice includeDr. Romila Thapar, Professor P. M. Joshi, and Father John Correia-Alfonso, the preeminent Jesuit authority on the early Moghul era and ascholar whose characteristic integrity and generosity roundly revisethe period depiction of his order in the story.

  Thanks also are due Mrs. Devila Mitra, Director-General of theArchaeological Survey of India, for special permission to study thenow-restricted _zenana _quarters beneath the Red Fort in Agra; to NawabMir Sultan Alam Khan of Surat, for assistance in locating obscurehistorical sites in that city; to Indrani Rehman, the grande dame ofIndian classical dance, for information on the now-abolished _devadasi_caste; to Ustad Vilayat Khan, one of Indian's great sitar masters, fordiscussions concerning his art; and to my many Indian friends in NewYork, New Delhi, and Bombay.

  I am also obliged to Miss Betty Tyres of the Indian Department of theVictoria and Albert Museum in London, who kindly provided access to themuseum's extensive archives of Indian miniature paintings, and to theNational Maritime Museum in Greenwich for information on early Englishsailing vessels.

  Finally, I am most indebted to a number of tireless readers whoreviewed the manuscript in its various drafts and supplied manyinsightful suggestions: including my editor, Lisa Drew, my agent,Virginia Barber, and my patient friends Joyce Hawley, Susan Fainstein,Norman Fainstein, Ronald Miller, and Gary Prideaux. Most of all I thankJulie Hoover, for many years of assistance, encouragement, andenthusiasm.

  GLOSSARY

  affion--opium

  aga--concentrated rose oil

  akas-diya--central camp light

  alap--opening section of a raga

  ankus--hook used for guiding an elephant

  arak--Indian liquor

  areca--betel nut used in making pan

  art ha--practical, worldly "duty" in Hinduism

  Asvina--Lunar month of September-October

  azan--Muslim call to prayer

  bhang--drink made from hemp (marijuana)

  biryani--rice cooked with meat and spices

  bols--specific hand strokes on the Indian drum

  cartaz--Portuguese trading license

  charts--cattle sheds

  chapattis--unleavened fried wheat cakes chapp--seal or stamp

  charkhi--fireworks used to discipline elephants in combat chaturanga--chess

  chaudol--traveling conveyance similar to palanquin chaugan--Indian "polo"chauki--weekly guard duty at the Red Fort chaupar--Indian dice game

  chelas--mercenary troops beholden to single commander

  chillum--clay tobacco bowl on a hookah

  chitah--Indian leopard

  dai--midwife nurse

  dal--lentils

  darshan--ceremonial dawn appearance of Moghul devadasi--temple dancer, aspecial caste

  dey--Turkish ruler

  dharma--purpose or duty in life of Hindus

  dhoti--loincloth

  diwali--Indian New Year

  Diwan-i-Am--Hall of Public Audience

  Diwan-i-Khas--Hall of Private Audience

  durbar--public audience

  feringhi--foreigner

  fil-kash--elephant-drawn cannon

  firman--royal decree

  frigalla--Portuguese frigate

  gau-kash--ox-drawn cannon

  ghee--clarified butter

  ghola--blend of opium and spice

  gopi--milkmaid

  gulal bar--royal compound in camp

  gur--unrefined cane sugar

  guru--teacher

  gurz--three-headed club

  hal--goalposts for chaugan

  harkara--confidential court reporters

  hookah--water pipe for smoking tobacco

  howdah--seat carried on back of elephant

  jagir--taxable lands granted to a nobleman

  kama--love, sensual pleasure

  karwa--Indian seaman

  katar--knife designed for thrusting

  khabardar--"take heed"

  khaftan--quilted vest worn under armor

  kos--approximately two miles

  kamar-band--ceremonial waist sash

  lakh--a hundred thousand

  lapsi--preparation of gur, ghee, and wheat

  lila--play or sport

  lor langar--chain attached to elephant's leg

  lungi--long waist wrap worn by men

  mahal--palace

  mahout--elephant driver

  maidan--public square

  mansab--rank given a nobleman

  mansabdar--nobleman granted estates to tax

  mardum-kash--small cannon

  masala--blend of spices, "curry powder"

  mihaffa--wooden turret suspended between two animals

  mina bazaar--mock bazaar held on Persian New Year

  mirdanga--South Indian drum

  mohur--gold coin

  mudra--hand signs in the Indian classical dance

  musallim--navigator on Indian ship

  mutasaddi--chief port official

  nakuda--owner-captain of Indian trading vessel

  naqqara-khana--entry to royal compound

  nashudani--"good-for-nothing"

  nautch--suggestive dance

  nezah--lance

  nilgai--Indian deer

  nim--plant whose root is used for cleaning teeth

  nimaste--Hindi greeting, "Hello"

  pahar--three hours

  pakhar--steel plate elephant armor

  palas--wood used for chaugan stick

  pan--betel leaf rolled around betel nut and spices and

  chewed panch--wine punch pandit--Hindu scholar pice--Indian "penny"

  postibangh--mixture of opium and hemp extract

  prahna--spirit, life force

  Puranas--Hindu scriptures

  qamargha--hunt using beaters to assemble game

  qarawals--beaters for hunt

  qazi--judge

  qur--hunting enclosure containing game rasa--aesthetic mood

  rasida--"arrived"; a piece that reaches center in chaupar

  board game sachaq--marriage present sandali--type of eunuch sarachah--royal platform

  sarangi--Indian musical instrument, resembling violin

  sari--woman's wrap

  sati--immolation of Hindu wife with body of her husband sehra--bridegroom's crown sharbat--lemon and sugar drink shikar--the hunt

  sitkrita--intake of breath signifying female orgasm

  strappado--Portuguese torture device

  sum--climax of rhythmic cycle in Indian music

  sutra--Hindu scripture

  suwar--"horse rank" granted noblemen

  swanih-nigar--special spy

  tari--species of palm

  tavaif-- Muslim courtesan

  teslim--prostrate bow to Moghul

  tithi--day in the lunar calendar

  todah--mound of earth for bow and arrow target practice

  topiwallah--"man who wears a hat," i.e., a foreigner

  tundhi--drink made from seeds and juices

  vama--Aryan scriptures

  wakianavis--public court reporters

  wallah--man

  wazir--counselor

  yogi-- Hindu contemplative

&
nbsp; zat--personal rank given a nobleman

  zenana--harem

  zihgir--thumb ring for shooting bow

  BOOKS BY THOMAS HOOVER

  Nonfiction

  Zen Culture

  The Zen Experience

  Fiction

  The Moghul

  Caribbee

  Wall Street Samurai

  (The Samurai Strategy)

  Project Daedalus

  Project Cyclops

  Life Blood

  Syndrome

  All free as e-books at

  www.thomashoover.info