Read Online In the City of Gold and Silver by Kenizé Mourad, Anne Mathai in collaboration with Marie-Louise Naville - Free Book Online
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loyalty and the incessant intriguing by those who claim to be paragons of morality.
For his part, fearing that the East India Companyâs questionable methods would be exposed and that the British press would discover that the âguilty party is not who one thinks it is,â Colonel Outram resolves to do everything in his power to prevent the kingâs departure. Under false pretences, he places the ministers who are to accompany the sovereign under house arrest: the finance minister, the person responsible for the government archives and even the prime minister, although he is close to the British but critical of the annexation. The colonel also seizes the official documents and public acts that could support the kingâs arguments, leaving the latter with no means of pleading his cause.
Contrary to the residentâs calculations however, Wajid Ali Shah does not give up. He will go and throw himself at the queenâs feet, as he has every faith in her impartiality and wants to be heard.
Colonel Outram is furious. Abandoning all semblance of civility, he spares the king no humiliation and will stop at no malice to prevent his departure. As he dares not detain him by force, he has the twenty-two members of the sovereignâs inner circle arrested, his closest supporters chosen to accompany him, and he goes as far as confiscating all his carriages.
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From her apartments in Chattar Manzil Palace, where the kingâs wives and relatives live, Hazrat Mahal follows these events in great detail thanks to Mammooâs invaluable network. He has his informers both within the Residency and within the palace walls.
She is proud of her king, who displays such determination confronting this ordeal, but deplores the fact that he has not followed Rajah Jai Lalâs advice. She had tried to talk to him, but he had frowned at her first words. He, usually so patient, suggested she return to her poems instead.
The young woman seriously doubts the king will obtain satisfaction from Queen Victoria. How could she challenge the Company, which in a few decades has brought the Crown three-quarters of India with its immense resources? Resources that have allowed England to become the worldâs leading industrial and commercial power.
These are all questions that are readily debated in the zenana.
Smiling to herself, Hazrat Mahal remembers the amazement of the British ladies when the Queen Mother invited them to high tea. They only talked about their wardrobes and knick-knacks, convinced these were the sole subjects accessible to these poor cloistered women, until, exasperated, the Queen Mother had begun to question them about their new prime ministerâs programme; questions they had been quite incapable of answering.
For these
memsahib
s, 36 convinced of their superiority, reclusion implies ignorance and submission. They are far from imagining the complexity of a harem and the extent to which, if one wants to go beyond the condition of mere odalisque, one must remain constantly alert and up-to-date with everything, in order to be able to steer a clear path through the innumerable pitfalls.
Reclusion is a litmus test that destroys the weak and makes the indomitable stronger. In order to attain their goals, these extraordinary women have to deploy a wealth of intelligence, subtlety and tenacity. This is how Oriental women, these âsubmissive creatures,â whether shut up in a harem, confined to their homes or hidden under their veils, generally control the person who imagines himself to be their lord and master.
Hazrat Mahalâs thoughts gradually return to her husband: why has he refused to fight? She had reacted fiercely when she had heard Rajah Jai Lal accuse him of weakness, but in the light of the tragedy they are currently going through, she has her doubts . . . Accustomed to the indulgent lifestyle at Court, is Wajid Ali Shah still capable of making difficult decisions? She promises
For his part, fearing that the East India Companyâs questionable methods would be exposed and that the British press would discover that the âguilty party is not who one thinks it is,â Colonel Outram resolves to do everything in his power to prevent the kingâs departure. Under false pretences, he places the ministers who are to accompany the sovereign under house arrest: the finance minister, the person responsible for the government archives and even the prime minister, although he is close to the British but critical of the annexation. The colonel also seizes the official documents and public acts that could support the kingâs arguments, leaving the latter with no means of pleading his cause.
Contrary to the residentâs calculations however, Wajid Ali Shah does not give up. He will go and throw himself at the queenâs feet, as he has every faith in her impartiality and wants to be heard.
Colonel Outram is furious. Abandoning all semblance of civility, he spares the king no humiliation and will stop at no malice to prevent his departure. As he dares not detain him by force, he has the twenty-two members of the sovereignâs inner circle arrested, his closest supporters chosen to accompany him, and he goes as far as confiscating all his carriages.
Â
From her apartments in Chattar Manzil Palace, where the kingâs wives and relatives live, Hazrat Mahal follows these events in great detail thanks to Mammooâs invaluable network. He has his informers both within the Residency and within the palace walls.
She is proud of her king, who displays such determination confronting this ordeal, but deplores the fact that he has not followed Rajah Jai Lalâs advice. She had tried to talk to him, but he had frowned at her first words. He, usually so patient, suggested she return to her poems instead.
The young woman seriously doubts the king will obtain satisfaction from Queen Victoria. How could she challenge the Company, which in a few decades has brought the Crown three-quarters of India with its immense resources? Resources that have allowed England to become the worldâs leading industrial and commercial power.
These are all questions that are readily debated in the zenana.
Smiling to herself, Hazrat Mahal remembers the amazement of the British ladies when the Queen Mother invited them to high tea. They only talked about their wardrobes and knick-knacks, convinced these were the sole subjects accessible to these poor cloistered women, until, exasperated, the Queen Mother had begun to question them about their new prime ministerâs programme; questions they had been quite incapable of answering.
For these
memsahib
s, 36 convinced of their superiority, reclusion implies ignorance and submission. They are far from imagining the complexity of a harem and the extent to which, if one wants to go beyond the condition of mere odalisque, one must remain constantly alert and up-to-date with everything, in order to be able to steer a clear path through the innumerable pitfalls.
Reclusion is a litmus test that destroys the weak and makes the indomitable stronger. In order to attain their goals, these extraordinary women have to deploy a wealth of intelligence, subtlety and tenacity. This is how Oriental women, these âsubmissive creatures,â whether shut up in a harem, confined to their homes or hidden under their veils, generally control the person who imagines himself to be their lord and master.
Hazrat Mahalâs thoughts gradually return to her husband: why has he refused to fight? She had reacted fiercely when she had heard Rajah Jai Lal accuse him of weakness, but in the light of the tragedy they are currently going through, she has her doubts . . . Accustomed to the indulgent lifestyle at Court, is Wajid Ali Shah still capable of making difficult decisions? She promises
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