BENEATH A MARBLE SKY
This book is so beautifully written that you have to be made out of marble to not be moved by it. His author, John Shors, was able to write the story with the same style of Indian writers. The flow of his prose is exquisite, almost poetic.
This novel is about the family of the emperor of Hindustan, Shah Jahan and the construction of the Taj Mahal. Under his mandate the Taj Mahal was constructed as a mausoleum that would hold his favorite wife and first lady of the empire, Arjumand. He hired an architect, Isa, to build this monument so wonderful that it would honor the love and devotion that he had for his wife as well as her beauty.
After reading the description of the materials used to construct the Taj Mahal, I understood why it is one of the Seven Wonders of the World. I have not seen it yet but it is one of my personal goals to do so. It is made entirely of bright white marble with jewels and precious stones carved in the rock with different designs of flowers.
There are several stories intertwined: Jahanara and Kondamir, Jahanara and Ladli, Jahanara and Isa, Jahanara and Arjumand Sr, Jahanara and Arjumand Jr, Jahanara and Shah Jahan, Jahanara and Dara, Jahanara and Auragnzeb, Dara and Aurangzeb, Jahanara and Nizam, Ladli and Nizam. As you see, Jahanara is a key character in this story. Actually she is the one that tells the story to her granddaughters. She was the eldest daughter of the emperor and his wife, Arjumand. She was as clever as her mother and as fierce as her father. Just like her mother before her, she was the true ruler of the empire once her father widowed and subsequently fell sick.
Her sharp intelligence amazed me throughout the story. I am going to include some examples that I think will not reveal key moments in the novel so I will not ruin it for future readers. Jahanara’s two brothers, Dara and Aurangzeb were as different as day and night. Once, Jahanara found out that Aurangzeb wanted to kill Dara and he was going to do it during battle so it would appear as if it was an accident. She bribed one of the cookers to give Dara rotten meat; this way he would be sick and he would not be able to go to battle. That was exactly what happened; this way she saved Dara without him knowing about neither plot. The solution was simple and clever. In another occasion, when her mother was still alive, a man was being accused by one of the empire’s nobles. The plaintiff accused the farmer of stealing his crop, and as a Muslim he was asking for the maximum punishment, death. The accused said that he and his wife were hungry, that their crops did not grow that year and they needed to eat. Arjumand, accompanied by a young Jahanara, was present. She asked her daughter to touch the man’s hands and to tell her if they were the hands of a worker or not. They were the hands of a laborer. The solution was simple: the accused had to give all of his possessions to the noble including the land, and he, the farmer, would be hired as a gardener in the Red Fort along with his wife. All parts were happy: the noble had more land; the farmer did not die and had a mean to earn his living.
It was astonishing that these women had so much power in a Muslim society of the 17th century. They were fierce, smart, sharp, but at the same time, compassionate, tender, and sensitive; even the ones condemned to a meaningless life in the harem. For all these qualities men and women, Hindus and Muslims respected them. Female power is such that men all through history had greatly feared it. Perhaps this is one of the reasons why women have been deeply mistreated; men felt intimidated by this power. Women see things from so many different perspectives that it is hard to trick them. Female instinct is so keen it is difficult to explain it and to fight against it. Men of all centuries have been deceived by the lack of physical strength keeping women as second-class citizen; but it is the strength of their minds and spirits that have made them success all this time.
This novel is about the family of the emperor of Hindustan, Shah Jahan and the construction of the Taj Mahal. Under his mandate the Taj Mahal was constructed as a mausoleum that would hold his favorite wife and first lady of the empire, Arjumand. He hired an architect, Isa, to build this monument so wonderful that it would honor the love and devotion that he had for his wife as well as her beauty.
After reading the description of the materials used to construct the Taj Mahal, I understood why it is one of the Seven Wonders of the World. I have not seen it yet but it is one of my personal goals to do so. It is made entirely of bright white marble with jewels and precious stones carved in the rock with different designs of flowers.
There are several stories intertwined: Jahanara and Kondamir, Jahanara and Ladli, Jahanara and Isa, Jahanara and Arjumand Sr, Jahanara and Arjumand Jr, Jahanara and Shah Jahan, Jahanara and Dara, Jahanara and Auragnzeb, Dara and Aurangzeb, Jahanara and Nizam, Ladli and Nizam. As you see, Jahanara is a key character in this story. Actually she is the one that tells the story to her granddaughters. She was the eldest daughter of the emperor and his wife, Arjumand. She was as clever as her mother and as fierce as her father. Just like her mother before her, she was the true ruler of the empire once her father widowed and subsequently fell sick.
Her sharp intelligence amazed me throughout the story. I am going to include some examples that I think will not reveal key moments in the novel so I will not ruin it for future readers. Jahanara’s two brothers, Dara and Aurangzeb were as different as day and night. Once, Jahanara found out that Aurangzeb wanted to kill Dara and he was going to do it during battle so it would appear as if it was an accident. She bribed one of the cookers to give Dara rotten meat; this way he would be sick and he would not be able to go to battle. That was exactly what happened; this way she saved Dara without him knowing about neither plot. The solution was simple and clever. In another occasion, when her mother was still alive, a man was being accused by one of the empire’s nobles. The plaintiff accused the farmer of stealing his crop, and as a Muslim he was asking for the maximum punishment, death. The accused said that he and his wife were hungry, that their crops did not grow that year and they needed to eat. Arjumand, accompanied by a young Jahanara, was present. She asked her daughter to touch the man’s hands and to tell her if they were the hands of a worker or not. They were the hands of a laborer. The solution was simple: the accused had to give all of his possessions to the noble including the land, and he, the farmer, would be hired as a gardener in the Red Fort along with his wife. All parts were happy: the noble had more land; the farmer did not die and had a mean to earn his living.
It was astonishing that these women had so much power in a Muslim society of the 17th century. They were fierce, smart, sharp, but at the same time, compassionate, tender, and sensitive; even the ones condemned to a meaningless life in the harem. For all these qualities men and women, Hindus and Muslims respected them. Female power is such that men all through history had greatly feared it. Perhaps this is one of the reasons why women have been deeply mistreated; men felt intimidated by this power. Women see things from so many different perspectives that it is hard to trick them. Female instinct is so keen it is difficult to explain it and to fight against it. Men of all centuries have been deceived by the lack of physical strength keeping women as second-class citizen; but it is the strength of their minds and spirits that have made them success all this time.
posted by Trudie at 4:44 AM
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