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4.25 AVERAGE
4.25 AVERAGE
A richly researched and a well written book, Daughter's of the sun is a beautiful read.
This book is about the women of the Mughal dynasty, how they helped shape the empire. A brief and in depth research about a topic which we seldom know and is not taught in our history textbooks.
Such is the beauty of Mukhoty's writing that I imagined myself living in that era and experiencing their grandeur and their days of hardship.
Mukhoty has answered all my questions about the Mughals. Who were they and where did they come from? How did they come to rule Hindustan for the next 200 years? I loved reading history from the point of view of women. It matters so much.
Finally something different which captures the essence of a era gone by. The only document ever written by a Mughal woman, Gulbadan Begum, about the empire and glimpses of the haraman. We learn about foster mothers, milk mothers, Queens who established legacies of their own.
I confess it was a little difficult to remember the names of all the women and the people they were related to, but it was worth the effort. We hear about Kings patronizing arts, writing their own memoirs, minting coins with their names and trading with foreigners, but the Mughal women did it too.
This book is a look at the zenana, and not stories of orgies or women captured as concubines. The Mughal women are witty, participating and lending their hand in every aspect of the courts.
A must must read for all! Don't miss out on this one.
This book is about the women of the Mughal dynasty, how they helped shape the empire. A brief and in depth research about a topic which we seldom know and is not taught in our history textbooks.
Such is the beauty of Mukhoty's writing that I imagined myself living in that era and experiencing their grandeur and their days of hardship.
Mukhoty has answered all my questions about the Mughals. Who were they and where did they come from? How did they come to rule Hindustan for the next 200 years? I loved reading history from the point of view of women. It matters so much.
Finally something different which captures the essence of a era gone by. The only document ever written by a Mughal woman, Gulbadan Begum, about the empire and glimpses of the haraman. We learn about foster mothers, milk mothers, Queens who established legacies of their own.
I confess it was a little difficult to remember the names of all the women and the people they were related to, but it was worth the effort. We hear about Kings patronizing arts, writing their own memoirs, minting coins with their names and trading with foreigners, but the Mughal women did it too.
This book is a look at the zenana, and not stories of orgies or women captured as concubines. The Mughal women are witty, participating and lending their hand in every aspect of the courts.
A must must read for all! Don't miss out on this one.
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
This well-researched book is enormously successful in what it set out to do - to bring back the women of the Mughal dynasty to our collective memories, and furthermore present them as far more than mythical love interests.
Through reconstructions of the lives of around fifteen women who play varied roles in the zenana, from the time of Babur down to Aurangzeb, this book achieves several things - it directly counters the Orientalists narratives around the royal harem and instead details its function as a place of empire building; it provides a more textured historical account of the Mughal period by bringing in sources, incidents and perspectives that are often overlooked; and, most of all, it brings back the histories of phenomenal women who shaped the Mughal empire in important ways, whose legacies continue to be felt, and about whom we clearly need to hear more.
Through reconstructions of the lives of around fifteen women who play varied roles in the zenana, from the time of Babur down to Aurangzeb, this book achieves several things - it directly counters the Orientalists narratives around the royal harem and instead details its function as a place of empire building; it provides a more textured historical account of the Mughal period by bringing in sources, incidents and perspectives that are often overlooked; and, most of all, it brings back the histories of phenomenal women who shaped the Mughal empire in important ways, whose legacies continue to be felt, and about whom we clearly need to hear more.
informative
reflective
medium-paced
informative
As we grow older, there is a strange thing that happens. The subjects that we loathed or discarded thinking that it is so irrelevant to our lives starts to make sense. Even though I cannot say that I hated History completely, there was something lacking in the chosen stories for the school syllabus. As years pass by, with newer experiences and the inevitable perspective shifting, we start paying attention to the untold stories hidden inside the old tales. It is this curiosity that drew me towards this book and I can honestly say that it really did meet my expectation.
When we think about the women of the Mughal Empire, the first names that come to our mind are Mumtaz Mahal and Noor Jahan. Both of them deserve their place in the History with their own accomplishments and not just as the celebrated love of the great kings. But very few know about the matriarchs of Babur's Zenana and their contribution in establishing the Mughal Empire in India. It is where Ira Mukhoty starts the book. It was an eye opener for me when she described the zenana. I always thought it as an establishment where the kings kept their countless women. I never thought of it as a powerful establishment where women are fully in control of their own lives and they participated in the discussions regarding the affairs of the country. It is mainly due to the westernized story telling of our history. Mukhoty bursts such notions at the beginning of the book itself.
It was fascinating to learn about Khanzada Begum (Babur's sister), Hamida Banu and Gulbadan Begum. They truly built a strong foundation for the glorious days of the Mughal Empire. I loved the fact that these women had such a pragmatic approach to life and there was no questioning of their chastity or unnecessary glorification of it like the one described later in the book relating to the Rajputs. It was also amusing to read about Akbar and his fascination with Hinduism in times like these when people are making noise about how the Mughals destroyed the Hindu culture. The explanation for the rumours about the incestuous relationship between Shah Jahan and his daughter Jahanara was very pragmatic. That incest story was again an end result of westernized story telling.
Overall this was a very compelling read. I am looking forward to reading Mukhoty's other books. Before I stop, I would love to quote one of my favourite piece about History from Yaa Gyasi's Homegoing - " We believe the one who has the power. He is the one who gets to write the story. So when you study history, you must always ask yourself, whose story I am missing? Whose voice was suppressed so that this voice could come forth? Once you have figured that out, you must find that story too. From there, you begin to get a clearer, yet still imperfect future."
Note: Listened to this in Audible and Shernaz Patel's narration was excellent.