The Twentieth Wife: Indu Sundaresan

I have just finished reading The Twentieth Wife by Indu Sundaresan. An amazing book by a talented author who does not deviate from her mission to educate her readers of a woman and Empress buried in Mughal History. Her account of Mehrunnisa is told with fervour and passion. Refreshingly, Sundaresan tells her story devoid of gratuitous prose. Each line and word in her classic tale moves the story forward.

I picked up the book from Amazon inspired by the 'ethnic' cover (yes I am shallow- we judge people by appearances don't we? And sadly - books to me are just as valuable). I also felt inspired by the magnificent new release Jodhaa Akbar. Everyone wants to know about Mughal India- it's the latest craze. However this book was written well before Jodha -Akbar. It was first published in 2003.




The book tells of Mehrunnisa who was later known as The Empress Nur Jahan. She was the aunt of Mumtaz Mahal; the woman who inspired the Taj Mahal.



Transport yourselves back to 1577. As a winter storm rages in the remote outpost of Qandahar, a baby girl named Mehrunnisa is born in a nomad tent. Her parents, penniless and in exile from their home in Persia, decide to give up the child. They already have three children, and are on their way to the Mughal court in India. A stranger takes pity on their plight, he gives back their precious girl and transports the family in to the grandiose courts of Akbar. This story unlike Jodha Akbar tells of Akbar's son; Prince Salim and later known as the the great Jehangir.


We follow the beautiful and graceful Mehrunnisa "Sun of Women" through her journey.
Brought up around the Mughal court, Mehrunnisa sees Jahangir at his first wedding. She decides with the precocity of an eight-year-old, that one day, she will be his wife.

The words flow through your mind effortlessly. As I read in bed, my Egyptian cotton sheets felt like raw silk, I could smell the rose water on my own skin (yes I know the body shop is great) I could feel the gold and ruby bangles resting on my arms.

As you can see (no I am not delusional) Sundaresan carefully embroiders the tale to encapsulate the reader in an era that people tend to romanticise.

But we are under no illusions, the imagery also presents a vehement picture of the cruelties that only Emperors could inflict on their nearest and dearest as well as those in their empire. The Twentieth Wife does not shy away from gory descriptions of heads on poles and eyes burnt with hot pokers. We can almost see guts spilling to the ground and the smell of blood lingering in the 'night air'. But the author balances all of this, skillfully, with the tale of the long and tortuous journey made by Mehrunnisa from a will full child to a wife, from a mother to a widow and then finally to her intended destination as Empress of Mughal India.

You don't have to be a fan of historical fiction. It's an easily digested book with lots of pomp and grandeur without being overly flowery and dense in its style. Read it and believe.

Desi Mums, Desi Mom, Desi Mummy, Asian Mums, Asian mum, Asian Mom, Asian Mummy.