The light of the world
Have you ever been to Delhi?
Have you ever seen pictures of Nur-Jehan, `the light of the world’?
Once, long ago, a poor Persian prince was coming to India with his family. On the way a baby girl was born to them.
`It is only a girl,’ said the prince a girl, `Let her die.’ So the baby was left on the roadside. But her mother hid near by. Just ten, a great man came along and found the baby. `What is this, a baby!’ he cried, and he took it in his arms. `Now we must find a nurse for this baby,’ he said. At once the mother came to him. `Let me be the nurse,’ she begged.
The great man was so kind that soon the mother told him the truth. The great man felt sorry for the poor prince and told King Akbar about him.
`He may work in my palace,’ said King Akbar. And so, you see, the baby girl grew up near the king’s palace.
Years later, King Akbar’s son, prince Salim went to a fair to see the fun. He had two doves in his hands. He anted to fly kites with other boys, but he could not do so, because he was holding the doves. Just then he saw a beautiful girl, and who do you think she was? Can you guess?
`Please hold my doves for me,’ said prince Salim to the beautiful girl.’ `But don’t let them fly away.’
After sometime he came back for his doves and saw only one love in the girl’s hands.
`Where is my other dove?’ he asked angrily’ `I let it fly away,’ said the girl.’ How did you do that?’ asked prince Salim.
``Just like this, said the young girl, letting the other dove fly away too.
Was prince Salim angry then? No, he fell in love with the beautiful girl that minute, and later he married her.
They were very happy indeed. At first he called her `Nur Mahal,’ `the light of the palace,’ and then he called her `Nur Jehan,’ `the light of the world.’’
I wonder how many leaders nowadays could shear the wool of a came!
Although Akbar is called `the great,’ he made some mistakes. He built the new city Fatehpur Sikri near Agra. Thousands of people worked hard to make it grand beautiful. But Akbar did not live there very long and it was never used again. Historians think his court left Fatehpur Sikri because there was not enough water there. It was a waste of time, work ad money.
Some people did not think Akbar was great. Many Muslims hated him because they thought he changed their religion and gave favors to Hindus. Some Hindus hated him because he took over their kingdoms and killed their people in war. For example, Rana Pratap and Queen Chand Bibi fought against Akbar because they wanted to rule their own kingdoms.
Different people understand history in different ways. Each person who writes about it has a different opinion. These were two pieces of writing by two different visitors from Europe. Both traveled in India in Akbar’s time, but chose to tell us different things.
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