Jewel in the Crown

Salman Rushdie’s newest tells about two fascinating stories: One’s the tale of three boys from Florence of de Medici’s (one of them none other than the potical realist Niccolo Machiavelli himself).

The other’s the story of Akbar, one of the greatest Mughal emperors from India, who dreams about a fictional lover called Qara Köz-mysteriously rhyming with Kara Göz (one whose eyes are black) in Turkish.

Beautiful queens, enchantresses who turn people into puppets at their will, and other marvellous characters and playful fancy are the main plots.  The book also touches on historical facts like Akbar’s doomed attempts to unite India, ‘all races, tribes, clans, faiths and nations’.  This being a book by an author whose head is still wanted in parts of the world, the clash of science and religion (or the latter’s existence in the first place) is vaguely debated here, too. 

Recent release in India of the box-office hit Bollywood epic Jodhaa Akbar, which tells the marriage of Muslim empreror Akbar with the Hindu princess Jodhaa (also a character in Rushie’s book), adds glamour factor to an already glorious book.  All in all, a captivating mixture of history with art, philosophy; and a testament to love…

‘Enchantress of Florence’ by Salman Rushie is out now at amazon.co.uk.