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26 Literary Review DELHI THE HINDU Magazine THE HINDU Magazine DELHI Literary Review 27
Sunday, March 3, 2019
Sunday, March 3, 2019
account as possible, but in a nuanced neutral but is actually anti- A TYPOPHILE’S NOTES
and entertaining way. Islamic?
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■ I won’t disagree with that because,
In perhaps a first for history- for me, writing history arose from a
writing in India, your book posits visceral need to ‘decolonise’ my Head in the cloud
European presence as almost notions of Indian history. Mughal
incidental to the grand enterprise history, especially, since it coincided
of the Mughal empire. with the period of forays by
■ Other countries have such a strong Europeans into India, has been Buying rare books online can be as rewarding
sense of their histories. It has always shaped in popular memory by the
irked me that a lot of our history writings of these men. as browsing in a real bookshop
books and indeed even our novels, I felt it would be useful to swing the
mostly lack a strong, easily identifiable narrative arc away and view these
Indian identity. events from an factually Download Indian Library App c have been steadily buying rare
Our writing is not indigenous point of view, and fine books for several years
deeply anchored in the to reclaim this history, in Narrative now from online antiquarian
physical, geographical, a way, and place the history is a Isellers, and find I don’t miss the
cultural reality of the Europeans within the challenging ‘bookshop experience’ at all. One of
country and so we are Indian framework, as genre because my earliest online rare books
more familiar, for interlopers and grifters there is an transaction nicely eased me into it: I
example, with initially, on the sidelines unspoken discovered ‘ReadInk’, a used, rare and
Wordsworth’s poetry of Mughal history, at a outofprint online bookstore, by
than with Ghalib’s; more time when this empire pledge to the chance when I was looking for a book
conversant with the was arguably the greatest reader to that didn’t turn up in the bookstores I
visual history of the rose in the world. For colonial present as frequented. It was Ira Levin’s suspense
than that of the writings, it’s good to classic, A Kiss Before Dying. I couldn’t
harsinghar or the remember, was deeply accurate an afford a first edition but knew that a
chameli. influenced by the book club edition would be within my GETTY IMAGES/ ISTOCK
I thought it would be Western writers’ own account as means — if only I could find one in a
interesting to place my prejudices towards possible, but decent condition. day looking and reading through it. He
book very firmly in the Islam, which was a force in an And I found it in ReadInk (I was had titled it ‘Objects of Obscure
Indian context, and then they long had a violent entertaining going to say on but with some online Desire’ and each bibliographical entry
view the ‘others’ through association with. way booksites, the feeling is as if you’ve in it, description, notes and condition
this lens, instead of the stepped into a bookshop), whose of an item, felt definitive, honest and
other way around. And so In taking up this website was, unlike large booksearch restrained and showed the obvious
instead of the Europeans particular subject, did and marketplace sites, personal and bibliographical pleasure the
recording Mughal you want to show cosy and idiosyncratic. ‘Books for the bookseller had taken in writing it.
women, we can imagine that Islam is not an Obsessive or the Merely Curious’ it
Gulbadan [Babur’s anti-women creed? read. Now, if you come across such a Immersive experience
#70929 daughter and biographer] ■ I knew that a lot of sign just under the name of a One item in particular that caught my
seeing the Jesuits, and what we had inherited as bookshop you were passing by, attention for the way it was described
being dismayed by their Mughal history from wouldn’t you dash in right away? I was the paperback first edition of Jim
manner and attire. British writings about spent a good hour or so browsing, Thompson’s noir classic, The Killer
that period was tainted by taking in the bookplatelike graphic of Inside Me. After carefully describing
In this context, how effective is it complicated British attitudes towards the store’s patron saint, The the book’s condition, Howard writes:
to tell history through women’s Islam. What I had not realised was the Bookman, whose credo announced: A
perspectives? extent of the misinformation about Vita sine libris mors est (“Life without ReadInk’s website was, unlike
■ Almost all of written history ignores the status of Mughal women in books is death”).
the role of women. Recorded history, particular. This I discovered as I large book-search and
started on my research and found that Packaged with care marketplace sites, personal,
IN CONVERSATION: WITH IRA MUKHOTY they were highly educated, influential, I wrote to the bookseller asking for cosy and idiosyncratic
A details about the backjacket photo of
CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC respected, wealthy and ambitious.
CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC Akbar’s insistence that widowed The Timurid Mughals were not Levin on the book, and received my
‘Imagine Gulbadan seeing and divorced women be that girls intransigent about the purdah of their first email from Howard Prouty, the “A pretty damn goodlooking copy of a
allowed
damn good book, Thompson’s
owner. He assured me it was the
women, which remained more
his dismay
marry,
or
to
nihilistic masterpiece…Would it be
edition I wanted (“yes, that is the
porous, with women being ‘visible’ in
given
were
of
share
smaller
inheritance, a is astonishing even many ways. photo — young beardless Levin — on going too far to call this the greatest
the rear panel of the jacket”), so I
paperback original in modern
...........................................................................
the Jesuits for the first time’ which begins in 5000 BCE, deals with The interviewer is Professor of English and, though my purchase was an argument from me.” Like many
American literature? You wouldn’t get
the
21st century
placed the order. It arrived promptly
in
at Panjab University, Chandigarh.
bibliophiles, Howard one day woke up
inexpensive, was packaged with great
women only 0.5% of the time, which care. Impressed, I wrote to him asking to the fact that he had too many
gives us a scale of the problem. In for a few tips about protecting dust books. To remedy that, he bought
jackets, and I was more than gratified
more books and stared ReadInk when
‘Almost all of written history ignores the role of women,’ says Ira Mukhoty, of Daughters of the Sun fame ignoring the role of women we not when he responded in generous detail he discovered that “the Internet made
only reduce the status of women,
naturally, but we are also forced into a with instructions on how to preserve a it possible for me to sell my books and
book in collectable condition.
get decent prices.”
RUMINA SETHI have taken over her life. Excerpts: fascinating. My initial idea was to friendly format? reductive, simplistic reading of events. With an online rare bookseller like When I asked him to say something
write a book only around these four ■ There seems to be a new awareness The nuance and texture are removed Howard, you don’t even miss handling about his success as a rare book dealer
he little that we know about What inspired you to take up this siblings: Jahanara, Roshanara, Dara among publishers and writers that from history. the books: the accuracy, knowledge online, he answered unpretentiously:
the queens and princesses of particular period, from the 1520s Shukoh and Aurangzeb. Indian readers are becoming When we read, for example, about and the care with which he describes “I’m afraid I don’t have anything very
the Mughal dynasty in India is to the early 18th century? Why But my editor encouraged me to increasingly interested in history Akbar never refusing his mother and a book you’re interested in is close to profound to say about the subject. I
A Tshrouded in mystery and did you choose the Mughal look further and that was when I written in an accessible, engaging fostermothers anything, or Babur having a facetoface conversation in a just cannot remember a time when I
prejudice. The sense that we get is of women rather than, say, the realised that the vaunted ‘Timurid way. There has always been excellent dropping all protocol in his eagerness
The vaunted disempowered Mughal women Rajput women? legacy’ that Jahanara claimed for history writing by academics in India, to meet his family, it adds to our physical bookstore with an haven’t loved being immersed in
‘Timurid eclipsed by the sheer magnificence ■ In my first book, Heroines, one of herself had come in with Babur and but this is restricted to a tiny, understanding of these men. Akbar’s impassioned book dealer. And his books — to me it’s a natural state of
stock wasn’t highend or bargain
existence — and being a bookseller
legacy’ that and masculinity of the padshahs. Ira the eight women I talked about was the women who accompanied him, academic clique. insistence that widowed and divorced driven, but carefully chosen, highly gives me the perfect excuse to live that
Jahanara Mukhoty repositioned them in our Jahanara Begum, daughter of Shah and that those women were equally As a result, most of the lay women be allowed to marry, or his Her story desirable editions that one could save way.” Browsing and buying rare and
claimed for imagination with her book, Daughters Jahan. I found her story the most aware of the allure of this ideal. For audience in India is relatively unaware dismay that girls were given a smaller Ira Mukhoty and a few paychecks towards. beautiful books online has turned out
(left) an image from
share of inheritance whereas they
herself had of the Sun, which came out last compelling and being a Delhi woman Rajput women of the same period, on of many developments in history and, needed it more, is refreshing and Akbarnama A few months later he to be a rich and expansive experience
myself, was astounded at how much
the other hand, the records are much
instead, is raised on a diet of myths
summer. We realised that the
come in with ubiquitous European accounts did not of her story had been forgotten. more elusive and inaccessible. and popular legends. Narrative astonishing even in the 21st century. showing Akbar’s sent me ReadInk’s first for many collectors today; and, as I
Babur and the tell the whole truth — there was much I found that entire period — the history is therefore a tremendously mother travelling printed catalogue, and discovered, the experience can be
every bit as invigorating as being in an
I remember spending
women were that remained concealed. wars of succession around the end of Are you attempting to liberate challenging genre because there is an Does your writing present a by boat to Agra. at least half a actual bookshop.
equally aware In this interview, Mukhoty talks Shah Jahan’s reign and the siblings history from its narrow focus by unspoken pledge to the reader to counter-discourse to the Western SHIV KUMAR PUSHPAKAR
narrative that pretends to be
of its allure about the extraordinary women who involved in this deadly game — telling it in a narrative, reader- present as factually accurate an & WIKI COMMONS Pradeep Sebastian is a bibliophile, columnist and critic.
