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THE NOCTURNAL COURT:  Sidq Jaisi (Tr. Narendra Luther); Oxford University Press,YMCA Building, Jai Singh Road, New Delhi 110 001;pp 61+ 95; Rs.295/-.
“The opulence of the lives of kings, potentates and nobles is beyond the common people like us, so distant, separate and strange from our lives.  Their living style, food and drink, joys and sorrows, loves and hates, interests and hobbies, indulgences and sports, their treatment of relations close to them, their ceremonials connected with birth and deaths, their generosities and largesse, their cruelties, their worship and their festivities, their day and night – all are larger than life, technicolour and extra-ordinary.”

Sidq Jaisi (Mir Tassaduq Hussain, in real life) was in the court of the Junior Prince (second son, Muazzam Jah of the Nizam VII, the last ruler of the Asafjahi dynasty) as an honorary courtier and had a ringside view of the happenings of the royal court.  He records truthfully his recollections of the “forbidden territory” from very close quarters, free of any bias, always keeping the dignity of the Prince and the royal etiquette in view.  As he himself admits, he has not spared himself and does not spare others. 

The incidents occur mainly in the first half of the last century during the reign of the Nizam VII.  The Junior Prince was a poet himself and gathered around him local poets and those from ‘Hindustan’(mainly UP and North) who include such noted poets of that time, as Josh Malihabadi, Najm Affandi (the Poetry tutor of the Prince) and Fani. The Prime Minister Maharaja Kishen Pershad was a lover of poetry himself and encouraged the luminaries of Urdu poetry to the court of Hyderabad and even paid them allowances from out his personal funds, to those who could not be readily provided with jobs in the State service.  Sidq was provided with a job in the Education Department and was therefore an honorary courtier while many others were paid courtiers. The nightly court of the Prince commenced with the assembly of courtiers at around 7.30 p.m. in Hill Fort Palace (the residence of the Prince) and lasted till the wee hours, when the Prince went to sleep. It consisted of well known poets, psuedo-poets, those that hired poets on the sly and passed off their poetry as their own, and others who ordered poetry from a Ghazal Manufacturing Company and plain sycophants who considered it their duty to raise any verse of the prince to great heights.  Ummak Jung and Dhimmak Jung were prototypes of this genre. There was Khammo, the Superintendent of the public gardens, who was a great stickler to discipline and was duty minded.  He is credited to have ordered a waterman not doing his duty on a rainy day to pour water to the plants using an umbrella!

This book, a translation of Darbar-e-Durbar of Jaisi by Mr. Narendra Luther, who does an excellent job, adding to the spice of the reading with his Introduction explaining the historical and social life of that time and ample footnotes which clarify the subtler points in the narrative.  Mr. Luther, himself a writer of repute and a connoisseur of Urdu poetry has a great sense of humour.  Most of the Poems of the poet were translated quite ably by him and put along with the text, in a racy style.  He, however, leaves some alone lest their beauty be spoiled.

All this increases the readability of the book many times over.  Right from his arrival at the Kachiguda railway station in 1923, till his departure in 1953 Jaisi gives a highly fascinating account of the happenings of the nightly court of the Junior Prince bringing out vividly the splendour, pomp, the intrigues and the pettiness of the courtiers and general mood of merriness of the court, as compared to the rigid and frugal atmosphere of the ruler (the Nizam VII) father of the Prince.   It is a rare experience to the  readers to savour the royal spread of dinner, the delights of the royal company and their prejudices, their customs and superstitions.  One of the superstitions of the court was that when one’s eye gets irritated one has to rub both the eyes in the royal presence. Another one: Any article touched by a commoner is not used again by the royalty.  A servant happens to touch a diamond studded smoking pipe and it is given away to him by the Prince.  When the Prince goes to visit Bombay, a waiter in the Hotel tricks the servant into parting with it and he becomes a millionaire, while the poor man languishes as a servant.

Some of the pranks played in the Court are interesting. Such as the impending feigned death of Piya, the raconteur. And the Iranian, whose knowledge of Urdu was put to ridicule with his inability to pronounce correctly the hard ‘t’ in the word ‘chot’.  One is reminded of Tenali Rama’s wit and presence of mind in the court of Sri Krishnadevaraya of Vijayanagar empire.

One is delighted by such episodes recalling the eccentricity and munificence of the Nizam VI (Mahboob Ali Khan) the Prince’s grandfather.  The noted poet Dagh spends 10 years in Hyderabad before he manages entry into the Court of the Nizam. The Prince goes on a hunt and Dagh is called.  In a moment of flippancy, the Nizam asks Dagh to show his horsemanship.  The unruly horse throwsdown  Dagh and bolts and the king and the courtiers have a hearty laugh. The Nizam enquires of Dagh of his stay at Hyderabad, and immediately appoints him to the court on a salary of Rs.1,000/- and orders the Prime Minister to pay him immediately arrears of the past 10 years.  The next day the amount in gold and silver is carted in bags to Dagh’s house!

Sidq’s compositions include some marvellous pieces such as the one he has recited before Najma, the beauty from Bombay:

“Zulfon peh kabhi phool se chere par nazar jaai
 Kyaa waqt hai who bhi jo huzoori main guzar jaai”

“Gaging at your tresses or ogling the flower face  
Ah! The time spent in your attendance!”

which completely captivates not only the Prince, but also readers like us.

The portrait of the Prince that emerges is very much real and alive.  The Prince prides himself of his descent from his grand father than his father. As usuall, the father gifts him with a newly stitched sherwani for Eid.  The Prince conveys his displeasure to his father and the Nizam tells him that his sherwani is also made of the same material.  The Prince conveys his displeasure to his father and the Nizam tells him that his sherwani is also made of the same material.  The Prince replies that it is Okay for the Nizam as he has no father.  But he, the Prince, has his father alive!  The Nizam is silenced by this argument.

Here is a book that one rarely comes across, depicting as much History as of poetry and lives of the Kings and their courts.  A very valuable addition to any or anyone’s library.
- Vemaraju Narasimha Rao

India! Speak up!! Dr. T. H. Chowdary, Sahitya Niketan, Kesava Nilayam, Barkatpura, Hyderabad; Price: Rs.125/- ; US $5/-; pp:342.

Dr. T. H. Chowdary, who is well known for his scholarship as well as forthrightness  in fearless expression  of his views has rightly titled the book  “India! Speak up!!”  This book is a collection of the author’s essays written on wide-ranging topics contributed to various publications during the last three years.  It is a companion volume to his previous publication under the title ‘India Under Strain’ which was brought out in 2002.

The book in question contains seven sections and the articles covered under these sections are thought-provoking and of public interest, bearing a testimony to the author’s rich experience, understanding and insights into the areas of education, literature, social problems, science and technology etc., He covers subjects of national importance and pressing problems that the Indian society is facing these days.

In chapter IV on Terrorism he discusses the Naxal problem, LTTE – Srilankan imbroglio, Israel-Palestine issue and Kashmir. In the Essay “Education Divide” he takes cudgels against commercialisation of education where in most of the educational institutes do not comply with the stipulations laid down by the designated authorities.  He also expresses his concern about the falling educational standards and laments the lack of quality in professional education.In another essay he elaborately discusses the urgent need of revamping and revitalising Intermediate Education and suggests some reforms to overhaul BIE which is now in doldrums.

The cover page is designed beautifully.  The book has a wealth of information coupled with constructive criticism.
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