Farzana

A very well-done nonfiction account of a part of Indian history that I previously knew very little about. In the late 1700s, though the Mughal Empire still held nominal control of most of north India, the emperors actually held extremely little actual power, whether political, military, or economic. The power vacuum this caused was filled by a multitude of competing groups: to the south, the Marathas, to the west, the Rajputs, and to the north, the Sikhs: all groups with a lot of military power but torn by internal divisions; to the north-west, Afghan leaders who occasionally would raid and pillage into India, but who had little interest in staying put; the former Mughal territories of Awadh, Bengal, Hyderbad and the independent Mysore, all city-states with a lot of political and cultural power within their boundaries, but all fairly small; and the new European trading powers, the main ones being the British in Calcutta and Madras and the French at Pondicherry and Chandernagore (and the two of them, of course, bringing into the chaos their own rivalry from various wars on other continents). It was basically a Dark Ages, with constant competition for more territory or wealth and little overarching law and order. Unsurprisingly, a number of mercenary companies sprang up, mostly composed of a mix of Indians, Europeans, and people of mixed race, who moved from ruler to ruler determined by who could pay and who had won the most recent battle.

All of this is just the background to Farzana's own life: she was born into an impoverished family, sold as a child to become a nautch girl (a sort of courtesan), moved up to become the concubine of the English leader of a mercenary band, took over the band in her own name after his death, ruled her own little state, became famous for riding into battle alongside her soldiers, and was eventually adopted as a daughter by the Mughal emperor himself. "Saved" the Empire is an exaggeration – "helped it to limp along for a few more decades before it was dismantled by the British in the 1850s" would be more accurate – but it's an exciting enough story that it hardly matters. Keay's style is easy to read and never becomes confusing, despite the multitude of names and groups to deal with. She tends to attribute emotions to people – Farzana "was reluctant", "she was impressed", "she was certainly in no mood to be courted", etc – although as far as I can tell, we have absolutely no way of knowing what Farzana felt about anything. That annoyed me, but it's a minor problem, and overall I highly recommend the book.

Review also posted here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1063562837

Why this is not yet a Bollywood epic I don't know. Farzana started as a brothel dancing girl, became the concubine of a disreputable German mercenary, learned to command the regiment so well that when he died, she took over, built up the estate they were paid with into a profitable enterprise, saved the tottering Mughal Emperor, survived a mutiny staged by her ungrateful step-son with the held of a dashing ex-lover, and when the British finally seized power over the French and the Marathas, demanded (and got) a seat at the imperial table and lived into the 1830s. Keay wades through 18th century and Victorian primary sources casting Farzana as a damsel in distress and harridan to tease out the realities of India in its transition to the British raj, and an extraordinary woman who worked these changes to her advantage.

I never heard about Farzana before but she was an interesting figure. I had to read slowly because I didn't know much about her. The author's writing is really engaging, and it is sad that she is no longer with us but her work will live on.

Fascinating account of a young Muslim girl in the last years of the Mughal Empire in India, who rose from the lowest depths to the highest of heights. Dancing girl, mercenary, ruler, christian, Begum Sumru was a tiny woman who lived a larger than life existance - and whose story is far more exciting than any novel could portray.

Faranza's story puts me in mind of that other notable Indian heroine, Phoolan Devi, and like Phoolan, her story is being made into a movie (still in production stage).

Compelling read - and not just for those interested in the Mughal Empire of India.