The advance of Prince Jadar's army west toward the Rajput
stronghold of Udaipur was like nothing Brian Hawksworth had ever seen.
Jadar was marching into the heart of ancient Rajput country, and the
movement of his army suddenly came to resemble a triumphant victory
procession.
The heavy artillery formed the first contingent, drawn by teams of
elephants and bullocks. Two thousand infantry moved in front, smoothing
the ground with spades. The army's baggage animals followed the
artillery, and after this came Jadar's personal treasury--camels loaded
with gold and silver coin--together with his records and archives. Next
in the line of march were elephants carrying the _zenana _women's
jewels and a collection of ornate swords and daggers that Jadar
periodically gave to his officers as presents. Then came the water
camels, and finally Jadar's kitchen and provisions. The baggage was
followed by the ordinary cavalry, and after them rode Jadar and his
retinue of nobles. Behind him came his _zenana_. The rear of the
procession was brought up by women and servants, then elephants,
camels, and mules carrying the remainder of the baggage and tents.
Some of Jadar's _zenana _women traveled in gilded _chaudols _carried on
the shoulders of four bearers and shaded with netting of colored
embroidered silk. Others were transported in enclosed palanquins, also
covered with silk nets decorated with gold fringe and tassels. Still
others chose to ride in swaying litters suspended between two elephants
or two strong camels. A female slave walked near each litter carrying a
peacock tail to brush off dust and keep away flies.
Jadar's first and favorite wife, Mumtaz, seemed to scorn all these
comforts, displaying herself regally all day long from atop her own
personal elephant, riding in a gold _howdah _shaded by a vast tapestry
umbrella. Her elephant was festooned with embroideries, yak tails, and
large silver bells; and directly behind her, on six smaller elephants,
rode the women of her immediate household. Her eunuchs rode clustered
around her on horses, each carrying a wand signifying his office and
sweating profusely beneath his jeweled turban. A vanguard of footmen
with bamboo canes walked ahead of Mumtaz's elephant clearing a path
through the crowds.
Jadar himself traveled mainly on his favorite Arabian horse--except when
passing through cities, when he would switch to a conspicuously
bedecked elephant--surrounded by the high-ranking nobles. Trailing out
behind this first circle were the ranks of the lesser _mansabdars_, who
rode in full military dress, displaying swords, bows, shields. While
this procession inched along at its regal pace, Jadar and his nobles
frequently paused ostentatiously to bag tiger or chase stripe-eared
antelope with the prince's brace of hunting _chitahs_.
A complete set of tents for Jadar and his _zenana _traveled a day
ahead, to ensure that a fully prepared camp always awaited him and his
women when, at approximately three in the afternoon, the procession
would stop and begin to settle for the night. Each of his larger tents
could be disassembled into three separate sections, and all of these
together required a full fifty baggage elephants for transport. Moving
the smaller tents required almost a hundred camels. Wardrobes and
kitchen utensils were carried by some fifty mules, and special porters
carried by hand Jadar's personal porcelains, his gilt beds, and a few
of his silk tents.
The procession was a lavish display of all the wealth and arms Jadar
had remaining. And nothing about it hinted that his was an army on the
run . . . which in fact it was.
Hawksworth puzzled over Jadar's extravagant pomp for several days,
finding it uncharacteristic, and finally concluded it was a deliberate
Indian strategy.
Jadar has to raise another army and quickly. He'll not do it if he has
the look of a fugitive and loser about him. He's managed to hold the
Imperial army at bay for a while, wound them enough to escape
entrapment. But he's wounded too, and badly. The Imperial army may be
shattered for the moment, but Jadar's lost half his own men. The winner
will be the one who can rebuild first and attack. If Jadar doesn't make
some alliances and get some men soon, Inayat Latif and the queen will
chase him from one end of India to the other.
Along the way a few independent Rajput chieftains had come to his
banner, but not enough. When Hawksworth asked Shirin what she thought
Jadar's chances were of raising a Rajput army large enough to face
Inayat Latif, she had made no effort to conceal her concern.
"The greatest Rajput nobles are waiting to see whether Maharana Karan
Singh of Udaipur will decide to openly support him. He's the leader of
the ranas of Mewar, which is the name for the lands of Rajputana around
Udaipur, and they're the highest in rank of all the Rajput chieftains
of India. If Maharana Karan Singh agrees to support him with his own
army, the other ranas of Mewar may follow, and after them perhaps all
of Rajputana."
"What do you mean? He's providing Jadar a place to stay, or at least to
hide while he licks his wounds. That looks like support to me."
Shirin had tried to smile. "Permitting Prince Jadar to camp in Udaipur
doesn't necessarily imply support. It could also be interpreted merely
as traditional Rajput hospitality. It's one thing to open your
guesthouse to a son of the Moghul. It's something quite different to
commit your army to aid his rebellion." She drew her horse closer to
Hawksworth's. "You see, Maharana Karan Singh and his father Amar Singh
before him have had a treaty of peace with Arangbar for almost ten
years, after many decades of bloody war between Mewar and the Moghuls.
There are many Rajput chieftains in Mewar who do not want him to
renounce that treaty. They're weary of Moghul armies invading Rajputana
and burning their fields and cities. Prince Jadar will have to
negotiate with Maharana Karan Singh if he's to be persuaded to help.
The prince will have to offer him something in return for his aid. For
the risk he'll be taking should the prince lose. That's why the other
Rajputs are waiting. Everyone here knows the prince has no chance if
the maharana withholds his support."
A noticeable feeling of relief swept through the long columns of
Jadar's cavalry the afternoon that Maharana Karan Singh was sighted
riding out on his elephant, surrounded by a retinue of his personal
guard, to welcome Prince Jadar at the high stone gate leading through
the walls of the mountain city of Udaipur. Throughout the ranks of
Jadar's bedraggled army it was seen as a positive omen.
The army and the lesser _mansabdars _camped outside the city walls; the
highest-ranking nobles were invited to stay in the maharana's city
palace, set on a high cliff overlooking Pichola Lake; and Jadar, his
_zenana_, and his personal guards were ferried with much pomp across to
the new guest palace on Jagmandir Island, in the center of the lake. As
one of Arangbar's khans and a foreign ambassador, Brian Hawksworth was
installed by the maharana in a special suite in his city palace
reserved for dignitaries.
In an even more auspicious gesture, the maharana invited Prince Jadar
to dine with him in the palace that evening. The ancient Rajputana
tradition of hospitality did not normally require dining with your
guests, and the Rajput chieftains traveling with Jadar were again
heartened. Late in the afternoon, an invitation also arrived requesting
that Ambassador Hawksworth and Shirin, characterized as Jadar's
personal aide, join the dinner.
"Why do you think he wants us?" When the maharana's servants had left,
Hawksworth showed the gilded invitation to Shirin. She was on their
balcony watching white-necked cranes glide across the surface of
Pichola Lake, spreading out hundreds of feet below them.
"Perhaps the maharana is curious to meet a _feringhi_. I'm sure he's
never seen one before." She hesitated. "Or perhaps Prince Jadar
arranged for you to be there. To imply he has the support of the
English king's warships."
"You know I don't speak for King James on matters of war."
"Tonight you must appear to do so. I'm sure your king would help Prince
Jadar if he knew him."
"He'll support him if he becomes Moghul."
"Then you must help Prince Jadar tonight. So that he will."
Shirin had overseen the servants who had been sent to clean and repair
Hawksworth's doublet and hose. Then a bath was brought, accompanied by
barbers and manicurists. The maharana sent a vial of musk perfume to
Shirin, buried in a basket of flowers. By the time they were escorted
through the high scalloped archway leading into the palace banquet
hall, they both were bathed, perfumed, and refreshed; and Hawksworth
again looked almost like an ambassador.
Accustomed to the red sandstone of Agra, he was momentarily astounded
to see a room fashioned entirely from purest white marble. The hall was
long and wide, with two rows of bracketed columns its entire length.
Maharana Karan Singh sat at the far end in front of a marble screen,
his gold wand of office at his side, reclining against an enormous
bolster of gold brocade. He appeared to be Jadar's age, with eyes that
sparkled mischievously, a long Rajput moustache, glistening with wax,
which curled upward at the ends, and a turban of gold brocade. He wore
a long red and white striped satin skirt beneath a translucent cloak.
His necklace and earrings were matching green emeralds. Seated around
him, on red carpets woven with designs of fighting elephants, were his
Rajput nobles, each in white with an orange turban and a gold-trimmed
brocade sash at his waist. Every Rajput in the room had a gold-handled
katar.
Jadar saw Hawksworth and Shirin enter and rose to greet them. The
prince was dressed in his finest, with a cloak of gold cloth, pale
green trousers, red velvet slippers, a long double string of pearls
around his neck, and a pink silk turban crisscrossed with flowered
brocade and secured with a large ruby. He led Hawksworth before the
maharana and introduced him, in Rajasthani. Jadar then translated the
introduction into Turki for Hawksworth, who was startled to learn that
he was a high-ranking member of Angrezi--English--royalty. He looked
around and realized he was easily the most shabbily attired man in the
room, including the servants.
After the introduction Hawksworth took his place among Jadar's own
retinue of nobles. Shirin was seated on the carpet directly behind him.
All the guests sat in a line facing a long gold-threaded cloth spread
along the floor. Food was brought in on silver trays, which were placed
on silver stools directly in front of each diner. Hawksworth had
scarcely taken his seat before a full wine cup was placed in his hands.
It was never allowed to approach dryness.
The banquet was lavish, equaling anything he had seen in Agra. It was
immediately apparent that roast game was the speciality of Udaipur, as
tray after tray of antelope, venison, hare, and wild duck were placed
before him. In its emphasis on roasted meats, the food could almost
have been English, save it was all seasoned with spices he had never
tasted in London. The centerpiece was an elaborately glazed wild boar
the maharana had bagged personally from horseback with a spear. Nominal
Muslim though he was, Prince Jadar downed a generous portion of the
boar and praised the flavor.
The trays of meat were accompanied by spiced curds, local yogurts, and
baked vegetables swimming in ghee. The meal concluded with dried fruits
which had been sugared and perfumed, followed by mouth-freshening
_pan_, the betel leaves wrapped around spiced bhang, currants, sweet
imported coconut.
The final offering, eagerly awaited by all the Rajputs, was opium. As
they popped down handfuls of the brown balls, Hawksworth discreetly
signaled for more wine. After the dishes were cleared, several jeweled
women in red trousers and thin billowing blouses entered, drank glasses
of wine in honor of the maharana, then danced among the guests to the
accompaniment of a large sarangi.