What do you think?
Rate this book
Private Life Of The Mughals Of India
The opulent, sometimes scandalous private lives of the Mughals of India is brought to life in this book. The text covers various aspects of their lifestyles, such as their food and drinks; clothes and ornaments; perfumes and incense; addictions and intoxicants; amusements and pastimes; rituals of circumcision; and marriage and harem life. This well-written book will be a delight to the lay reader as well as the serious scholar.
Titled as it is, the book deals with the little known but much scandalised private life of the Mughals, who ruled from 1526 practically to 1803, when the British captured Delhi and Agra, their nerve centres, from them. This included the period of the reign of three great Mughals, viz. Akbar (1556-1605), Jehangir (1605-27) and Shah Jahan (1628-58), of little more than a century.
They possessed not only fabulous wealth but also the vision to found a culture-state in the real sense of the term. Planting it in the soil as naturally as a banyan tree, they institutionalized their life as much as their government. The former, almost completely shrouded in mystery, offers one of the most interesting aspects of medieval Indian history and culture.
Titled as it is, the book deals with the little known but much scandalised private life of the Mughals, who ruled from 1526 practically to 1803, when the British captured Delhi and Agra, their nerve centres, from them. This included the period of the reign of three great Mughals, viz. Akbar (1556-1605), Jehangir (1605-27) and Shah Jahan (1628-58), of little more than a century.
They possessed not only fabulous wealth but also the vision to found a culture-state in the real sense of the term. Planting it in the soil as naturally as a banyan tree, they institutionalized their life as much as their government. The former, almost completely shrouded in mystery, offers one of the most interesting aspects of medieval Indian history and culture.
Audible Audio
First published October 1, 2004
147 people are currently reading
352 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
July 22, 2020
I read this book as someone unfamiliar with Mughal history who wanted to understand it better, but needed an introductory book accessible to, what the blurb calls, "the lay person". Unfortunately, what promises to be an exciting and juicy book on the Mughals' daily lives is impeded by a convoluted writing style, which often renders Nath's point unclear. Additionally, as a non-native speaker of Hindi, I struggled with Nath's use of culturally-specific terminology that he does not explain (I kept Wikipedia open for most of my read to check this); Hindi is also used for many words that have English counterparts and I found it difficult when presented with a paragraph-long list of items in Hindi, which lacked even an English description.
It's telling that the blurb describes itself as "well-written". Whilst the English is understandable, it really needed an editor to remove poor phrasing (like referring to the inhabitants of the harem as "inmates"), check translations (Nath alternatingly translates nibu as "lemon" or "lime", but in a different chapter choona is translated as "lime", though this refers to slaked lime and not the fruit — for the reader unfamiliar with Indian cuisine, this is very confusing), and views that are more reminiscent of something written in the 1950s rather than 2004 - chief of these being the description of "the vices" of "sodomy" and "lesbianism".
Nath's aim in writing the book, according to the introduction, was to dispel exoticised myths surrounding Mughal life that were created by foreigners. He doesn't quite achieve this, however, as the harem-related chapter begins with the contention that the modern reader should not judge the Mughals by modern norms, but concludes that the huge size of Jehangir's (1605-1627) harem shows that he was obsessed with sexual pleasure; essentially the same conclusion that early European writers made.
Overall, the book provides a lot of information that has wet my appetite to know more about the Mughals, but I will look elsewhere for something more accessible.
It's telling that the blurb describes itself as "well-written". Whilst the English is understandable, it really needed an editor to remove poor phrasing (like referring to the inhabitants of the harem as "inmates"), check translations (Nath alternatingly translates nibu as "lemon" or "lime", but in a different chapter choona is translated as "lime", though this refers to slaked lime and not the fruit — for the reader unfamiliar with Indian cuisine, this is very confusing), and views that are more reminiscent of something written in the 1950s rather than 2004 - chief of these being the description of "the vices" of "sodomy" and "lesbianism".
Nath's aim in writing the book, according to the introduction, was to dispel exoticised myths surrounding Mughal life that were created by foreigners. He doesn't quite achieve this, however, as the harem-related chapter begins with the contention that the modern reader should not judge the Mughals by modern norms, but concludes that the huge size of Jehangir's (1605-1627) harem shows that he was obsessed with sexual pleasure; essentially the same conclusion that early European writers made.
Overall, the book provides a lot of information that has wet my appetite to know more about the Mughals, but I will look elsewhere for something more accessible.
June 25, 2018
An essay on the life of the Mughal's packaged in the form of a book.
Although cover says "Private life of the Mughals of India" but i didn't find anything related to their personal or private (sex) life. It lacks depth and provides shallow information about "Harem Life". Only general and known facts are discussed. At some point, it mentioned about Harem hierarchy and management, which aroused my curiosity, but again drifted to the number of Wives (Begums) a king had, their names and their tombs.
You can witness jumping from reign of one king to his successor, then again to the king, then again to his successor and so on. One cannot actually relate to what exactly he/she is reading and about whom. Basic introduction about the era is also missing at the beginning, which is an unwritten mandate for writing historical books.
Writing a book on historical topic requires in-depth research and study. But when Subject matter is so sensitive, one cannot find direct and easily available material to base their research upon. I am really unhappy with the way book has been presented (claimed to contain some untold knowledge).
Nothing unknown, would suggest "Wikipedia" for better information about Mughal's private lives.
Although cover says "Private life of the Mughals of India" but i didn't find anything related to their personal or private (sex) life. It lacks depth and provides shallow information about "Harem Life". Only general and known facts are discussed. At some point, it mentioned about Harem hierarchy and management, which aroused my curiosity, but again drifted to the number of Wives (Begums) a king had, their names and their tombs.
You can witness jumping from reign of one king to his successor, then again to the king, then again to his successor and so on. One cannot actually relate to what exactly he/she is reading and about whom. Basic introduction about the era is also missing at the beginning, which is an unwritten mandate for writing historical books.
Writing a book on historical topic requires in-depth research and study. But when Subject matter is so sensitive, one cannot find direct and easily available material to base their research upon. I am really unhappy with the way book has been presented (claimed to contain some untold knowledge).
Nothing unknown, would suggest "Wikipedia" for better information about Mughal's private lives.
February 6, 2019
Get your mind out of the gutter. This 1 uses a very matter of fact tone to tell you all you need to know about running the Mughal household.
November 23, 2021
Such a informative book. It depicts the day to day life of the Mughals of India. It will help reader to take a sneak peak into Mughals life. Very intresting book.. must read.
January 8, 2019
My reason for 1 star rating
1] beacuse this is a book on motherfucking invaders mughals
2] because the writer sings songs of glory to them but the fact is these motherfuckers did nothing that would make a positive impact on the life of an Indian commonner.
3]because the writer uses thousands of vernacular islamic language terms of those times whose meanings are impossible to find.
4] because this is a book on motherfking invaders.
1] beacuse this is a book on motherfucking invaders mughals
2] because the writer sings songs of glory to them but the fact is these motherfuckers did nothing that would make a positive impact on the life of an Indian commonner.
3]because the writer uses thousands of vernacular islamic language terms of those times whose meanings are impossible to find.
4] because this is a book on motherfking invaders.
September 29, 2021
Fairly private insights
The name of the book is perhaps a bit misleading and sets the wrong expectations. It's more a book about the lifestyle of the Mughals. Despite this, it's an informative and reasonably entertaining read.
The name of the book is perhaps a bit misleading and sets the wrong expectations. It's more a book about the lifestyle of the Mughals. Despite this, it's an informative and reasonably entertaining read.
June 13, 2021
Absolutely fascinating. To know how the Mughals washed their hands after their sumptuous meals, the way their palaces were lighted & administered, the meticulous manner in which record for even food ingredients was maintained it’s simply delightful & makes one proud as an India .
July 25, 2018
I have read over a dozen book on Medieval Indian History but none of them mentioned the details of the kitchen, their food habits, their clothing and accessories, perfumes etc. In this sense, I really appreciate the efforts put in by Mr. Nath.
The details are overwhelming at times; from the ingredients of dishes they ate to the prices of vegetables and precious stones during the age of Akbar are noted.
Since I prefer reading political history more than these details, I perhaps did not enjoy the book to the fullest. But then again, it is a shortcoming on my part than with the book.
The details are overwhelming at times; from the ingredients of dishes they ate to the prices of vegetables and precious stones during the age of Akbar are noted.
Since I prefer reading political history more than these details, I perhaps did not enjoy the book to the fullest. But then again, it is a shortcoming on my part than with the book.
May 31, 2018
A fascinating peek into the lives of those who ruled what is now called India, for well over 350 years. They definitley didnt come across as boors, uncivilised, or unsophisticated, and the wealth we had in this country before the Europeans came and sank everything. Infact in my opinion the Europeans were the uncivilised marauders and they left this sub continent much worse than all the Mughal invasions
May 13, 2017
Insight into unknown facts. Good to read although detailings are boring and can be skipped. One time readable and you can retain it in your mind
Insight into unknown facts. Good to read although detailings are boring and can be skipped. One time readable and you can retain it in your mind
Insight into unknown facts. Good to read although detailings are boring and can be skipped. One time readable and you can retain it in your mind
May 17, 2017
its a fabulous book!any lover of mughal history must read this book so as to get an insight into the luxurious lives of the mughals.
details from how they lived to how and what they ate,their favourite pass times and even their rather bizarre sex lives is revealed in this book.
by reading it we can only marvel at the quality of lives led by these great rulers of Hindustaan.
details from how they lived to how and what they ate,their favourite pass times and even their rather bizarre sex lives is revealed in this book.
by reading it we can only marvel at the quality of lives led by these great rulers of Hindustaan.
March 28, 2020
Good and light read of authentic history.
It is a very engaging book. The information given is very unique. It will certainly not help to understand the politics during medieval India or Mughal Raj but that's not even the intent of the book. Good read for those who want to read authentic history but not the complex politics and gory warfare..
It is a very engaging book. The information given is very unique. It will certainly not help to understand the politics during medieval India or Mughal Raj but that's not even the intent of the book. Good read for those who want to read authentic history but not the complex politics and gory warfare..
May 9, 2022
Awesome book for history connoisseurs or even for a layman looking to read a good book. The sections are well categorized and provide great insights into the smallest of the things managed in those times. The flow of the book I such that one doesn't lose interest at any point of time. one of the finest books providing insights into the life of Mughals. Must read!
August 31, 2023
This give provides a window to see on Mughal’s life style which you would easily get in other books. For example if you want to know how their dinners were prepared, how their kitchen used to look like etc etc
January 5, 2021
Recommended
July 31, 2023
Terribly written and mostly filled with grocery lists and medieval pricing. What the actual fuck.
July 9, 2024
DNF 17%
The topic does not interest me
The topic does not interest me
October 27, 2024
Wish I could give zero stars.
April 2, 2025
Recommended by tour guide in Agra. Not at all what I expected, but some interesting information anyway. Reads more like a textbook.
September 10, 2017
Excellent book. I was really unknown about the fact how richness and prosperous life of Mughal Sultnet till I found this book. Author must had hard work to get this useful and valuable facts. Well done author...
March 26, 2016
Great book if looking from historical perspective that too related with social issues.
December 9, 2016
Good book
A very god book. Talked about lifestyle of mughlas in detail. One good thing is that it is based on evidences and not popular stories.
A very god book. Talked about lifestyle of mughlas in detail. One good thing is that it is based on evidences and not popular stories.
December 16, 2016
Excellent research!
December 31, 2016
Fascinating read about the life of the mughals we didn't know about - the harems, their paraphernalia, the various aspects that went into running their kitchens, their day-to-day lives.
November 5, 2013
Well researched book written with limited material available on this subject.
March 4, 2019
Ever wondered Why everyone wanted to be a King? Read this book you will get it.
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews