Cover Story: Treasure trove of the empire

Mirza Ghalib holds an iconic status in Urdu poetry but he was known to take more pride in his Persian poetry than in Urdu. For Persian was the bourgeois language in the Mughal period and "had long been the language of the educated elite." The magnificent influence of the Iranian culture and tradition on Mughal India brims into all the art and architecture of that period. While Mughal India accepted tremendous Iranian, European and Central Asian influences, which show prolifically in its art, architecture and culture, it was emperor Akbar's secular instincts that offered great impetus to the local art of his time (1556-1605). "While the subcontinent had its own remarkable artists and craftsmen (and literati) … Akbar's energetic patronage drew Hindu and Muslim practitioners from all over the empire to the royal workshops and to construct his monuments," explains Stronge. Susan Stronge's latest book, Made for Mughal Emperors: Royal Treasures from Hindustan, researches the impact of various influences on the architecture, art and culture of Mughal India. A writer and senior curator at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, Stronge's areas of interested include the "court arts" of South Asia; her previous books, Tipu's Tigers (2009), Painting for the Mughal Emperor (2002), and The Arts of the Sikh Kingdoms (1999) were all highly acclaimed. Made for Mughal Emperors is not just dry text on art and craftsmanship and neither does it simply rely on stunning visuals with minimal text as most coffee table books do. Rather, the beautiful pictures in this 255-page book are appropriately supported by well-researched, interesting and everyday accounts of the lives of the Mughals: their lifestyles, pastimes, beliefs, celebrations, and traditions, and so on. Accounts of royal weddings and traditions, such as the celebration of Nowruz are fascinating pieces of information. The pictures are of artifacts, court scenes, jewellery and portraits housed in museums and art institutions the world over. Stronge also tells us that in Mughal India women held an important advisory status as they "were often extremely influential figures and from the time of Babur played crucial roles in peacemaking." We also learn that it was the Europeans who brought the concept of portrait to the subcontinent. Most miniature paintings are opaque watercolour and gold on paper which seem to be extremely enduring. As God is in the detail, the accounts carry the right spice to keep the reader hooked. Akbar "never learnt to read and write, as Jahangir confirmed in his memoirs," yet his patronage attracted scholars and writers from Iran and Central Asia, and produced what one commentator describes as "the most brilliant period of Persian literature in Hindustan as well as some of the finest manuscripts of the Mughal dynasty." Stronge also believes Akbar to have been dyslexic. "However, his inability to read was not a barrier to acquiring knowledge." While claims such as these may not go down well with many subcontinental readers, one of the strengths of Stronge's work is that she presents historical facts in a non-partisan manner rather than in a biased light. This makes the narrative an even more interesting read. Made for Mughal Emperors: Royal treasures from Hindustan (History) By Susan Stronge Roli Books, India ISBN 978-81-7436-696-2 255pp. Rs8,995