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Somewhere in the deserts of the Khyber Pass, Ghiaz Begs caravan is attacked by ruthless bandits while his wife Asmat is in agony giving birth to his third child and first daughter. Thanks to the birth of this innocent new born, the bandit spares his family considering its a girl child and theyre doomed any way. Ghiazs family continues on along the unforgiving path until they meet nobleman Masood, who in a twist of fate, rescues the Beg family and takes them all to meet the emperor of Hindustan Akbar. 12 years later, Ghiaz is a part of Akbars court while his daughter Mehrunissa Nisa, grows up to be a bright and precocious child always brawling with her older brothers Mahmud and Abul.
Jagat Gosini, the Rajput princess betrothed to Salim, is on her way to Lahore. Salim visits Man Bai, his wife sister to Man Singh one of Akbars military commanders. Their son Khusrau has a reputation for being slightly eccentric and dangerous. Man Bai expresses her concern and discontent to Salims second marriage who reassures her that this is a political alliance and that she will always have a special place in his life.
Ghiaz his family are invited to Salims wedding with Jagat, in which Nisa is barred because of her altercation with the Pandit hired to teach her. Meanwhile Nisas sulking emotional manipulation melts the will of her angry parents and she is allowed to attend the wedding with the family. At the wedding, Nisa finally sees the palace and, due to her excitement, is slapped by Hoshiyaar. This also allows her to be noticed by Ruqaiyya Begum, who asks for her to be sent to the zenana the next day.
Nisa readies herself to visit the palace. Upon arriving there her excitement is palpable. But on her very first day she sees Ruqaiyya lock horns with Princess Jagat and she gets got in the crossfire. Princess Jagat catches Nisa laughing involuntarily at her, and thinks it impertinent.
Akbars birthday preparations take place with great fanfare. Unspoken kitchen politics begin, as Jagat and Ruqayya both start preparing meals for the Emperor. It becomes a competition of sorts, to see who will impress the Emperor the most.
Prince Salim organizes a qawwali on the occasion of Akbars birthday. On seeing his fathers closeness with his youngest brother Daniyal and fearing the loss of the throne to him, Salim decides to do the unthinkable. Akbar suffers an attack as a result of food poisoning. KhanIKhanan and Fazl decide to investigate and get hold of all the cooks and tasters to try to get to the root of the poisoning. Mahabat and Koka assure Prince Salim that their tracks have been covered but when they learn about KhanIKhanans order for all the hakims to be brought to the palace, Mahabat hires an assassin to get their hakim killed. The assassin manages to kill all the captive hakims. Fazl tells Prince Salim that he is aware of his master plan to poison his father and that he will leave no stone unturned to find out the truth. When Akbar tells the young Prince that the throne is his for the taking, he is ashamed of his deed. KhanIKhanan and Fazl meanwhile discuss how they can prepare the young Daniyal for the throne.
Mahabat wants to get rid of Abul Fazl to ensure the safety of Prince Salim. The prince on the other hand, diverts his focus on the impending war campaign while the king recuperates. Abul Fazl reminds Mahabat again that with Jahanpanah Akbar springing back to life, he is getting closer to proving to everyone that it was Prince Salim who poisoned his father. Young Nisa meanwhile, is enamored by the Mughal way of life and under Ruqayyas watchful eye, learns many life lessons too. Her mother insists that the young, loquacious girl be married though. Ruqayya reminds Man Bai that as Salims first wife, she will have to constantly make him realize her worth but her efforts hit a roadblock when she discovers that Jagat Gosaini is pregnant. True to her nature, Jagat Gosaini doesnt shy away from letting Man Bai and Ruqayya know that she will soon be mother to the possible future ruler of Hindustan. When young Prince Khurram is born, Ruqayya, in a very smart manoeuvre requests Akbar to let her adopt the baby a request he doesnt deny to get back at Jagat for the uncalledfor comment made when the young princess discovered she was expecting
Six and a half years later, Nisa and her family return to Lahore. Now sixteen, the confident and beautiful Nisa turns up at the Zenana, much to Ruqayyas joy. She also meets Khurram, now six, and the two take to each other with ease. Pleased, Ruqayya asks Nisa to look out for Khurram, an arrangement that she accepts wholeheartedly. Her mother Asmat isnt happy about the fact that her daughter will now be spending most part of her day at the zenana. She also makes it clear to Nisa that she has little respect for a woman who snatched another womans child and made him her own. Salims troops return after losing the extremely arduous Rajputana campaign. The dejected Prince refuses to meet his father. Abul Fazl uses Salims absence to his benefit by welcoming young Prince Daniyal to court, who has just arrived at Lahore after tasting success at Kashmir. Mahabat and Koka remind Salim that he has a contender in Daniyal and must tread carefully if the throne must be his. Similarly, Abul Fazl ensures that Daniyal begins to understand that Salim hates him and thinks of him as competition. Seeds of doubt and thoughts of immense hate begin to take root in both the brothers minds and hearts. Nisa sees Ruqayya being very hurtful towards Jagat so when the Rajput Princess wishes to spend some time with her son Khurram, Nisa agrees, also assuring her that this will be their secret. On one such evening, she has a romantic
Nisa receives a note from Salim saying he wants to see her but Nisa plays hard to get. Jagat Gosini gets wind of this budding romance but ignores it thinking it as just another affair for Salim that fizzle out in due time. Salim comes to meet Nisa while she is tending to little Khurram. The two sneak away and indulge in some harmless flirtation. The first sparks of a tempestuous romance are visible.
Koka and Mahabat warn Salim that Daniyaal is trying to win favor in the court as well as the zenana and Salim needs to be wary of him but Salim seems to be lost in another world. He and Nisa have another romantic rendezvous. During this meeting, Nisa gives Salim some very valuable advice. Salim tells Akbar that he wants the campaign in Rajasthan and not the one in Deccan. Abul Fazl and Daniyaal cannot believe their luck as the prestigious Deccan campaign has landed in their laps.
Hindi
19 November 2014
History, Fiction
1
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