Meena Bhargava
Meena Bhargava
PEOPLE WHO MADE HISTORY: STORIES FROM MEDIEVAL INDIA by Nilima Sinha Ratna Sagar, New Delhi, 2019, 104 pp., 149
November 2019, volume 43, No 11

This book is a part of the series on People Who Made History. The series aims at narrating stories from the lives of such historical figures that made a lasting contribution and left behind a glorious legacy whether in politics and governance or political thought and ideology, art and architecture, science, literature, travelogues or any other. The series belongs to the genre of historical fiction that brings alive the historical past by imaginative, creative stories. It is, in other words, a storehouse of stories from Indian history. Each story is accompanied by fine aesthetically done illustrations that enhance the worth of the story and would make it an even more interesting read for children.

The value of the book is its diverse focus on characters ranging from kings and queens to saints, women saints, Sufi Shaikhs. It tells the story of Kothai, adopted daughter of Vishnuchitta and Vrajai. Vishnuchitta was a Vedic scholar and poet known for his hymns to Vishnu. Kothai was later known as Andal —the girl who ruled over the Lord— for her ardent, passionate devotion to Lord Ranganatha, deity of Srirangam, whom she ultimately married in his temple in a grand ceremony. Of the twelve Alvar saints of India who lived between the fifth and the ninth centuries, Andal is the only woman bhakta saint from the Tamil speaking regions. The story on Nizamuddin Auliya is a narration of the rise of the Sufi Shaikh into becoming one of the greatest Sufi saints, popularly called mehboob-i-ilahi or beloved of God, his experiences during the rule of Sultans of Delhi and the legacy that he left behind comprising disciples or murids (not khalifas as said in the story. Khalifa, when translated would mean leader, successor, ruler, vice-regent) like Amir Khusro. Also, it may be worth noting the meaning of Awliya or Auliya i.e., friend of God.

Continue reading this review