MEMORY ROOM
W
hite light fills the room
as I open my eyes and stare
groggily at the unfamiliar
surroundings—a huge
room with lime-washed
walls, high ceilings with ornate arches
and my bed, which sags a bit in the
middle because it is a palang—with
cloth strips stretched across and
wound tightly at the edges. And then I
remember: I am inside the mahalsara,
the women’s palace, in the heart of the
Qila of Mahmudabad, a living fort in
the Sitapur district of Uttar Pradesh.
My family and I are guests of Raja
Mohammad Amir Mohammad Khan.
We will be spending two days here,
participating in the mourning rituals of
Muharram, one of the most prominent,
and sacred, cultural observances by
Mahmudabad’s royal family.
The palace is divided into two
distinct sections—the zenana, the
women’s section, and the mardana,
FREEDOM,
SH E RU LED
By Zehra Naqvi
90 july 2019
Illustration by Atri
The Rani of Bilehra was an unlikely
champion of emancipation