A couple of months ago, I visited Orchha in Madhya Pradesh, not far from Jhansi in Uttar Pradesh.I remember standing before an enormous fort-palace—a fascinating blend of Rajput grandeur and Mughal elegance. The signboard read: Jahangir Mahal.I was puzzled.Why would Emperor Jahangir stay in this remote corner of Bundelkhand? The locals could not tell me much. "It belonged to some Rajput king," they said.That king, I later discovered, was Vir Singh Deo Bundela.
And then Google led me to a darker, more fascinating story.In 1602, Prince Salim—the future Jahangir—was locked in a bitter struggle with his father, Akbar. One man stood firmly in Akbar's camp: Abul Fazl, the emperor's closest advisor and author of the Akbarnama.Salim saw him as an obstacle.So he sought help from Vir Singh Deo.Near Narwar, Abul Fazl was ambushed and killed. History records that his severed head was sent to Salim.Akbar was inconsolable after hearing of the death of his trusted friend and advisor. Many historians believe the tragedy cast a long shadow over his remaining years.Years passed.Salim became Emperor Jahangir.Vir Singh Deo was rewarded with the kingdom of Orchha and built this magnificent palace—Jahangir Mahal—to commemorate the emperor's visit.
Standing in its courtyards centuries later, I could not help wondering:Was this palace merely a monument to friendship?Or was it also a silent reminder of a murder that changed the course of Mughal history?Yet there is one more irony.Abul Fazl died before he could complete the Akbarnama.But the manuscript refused to die with him.Later, the remaining part of Akbar's story was completed by another scholar. In the imperial Kitabkhanas, scribes and calligraphers copied the text by hand.Thus, the story of Akbar endured.Jahangir did not destroy the book of his father's trusted friend. Instead, he wrote his own memoir, the Tuzuk-i-Jahangiri.Yet today, for many readers and history enthusiasts, it is the Akbarnama that remains the more beloved companion.History, it seems, has a habit of repeating itself.Akbar lost his dearest companion and was heartbroken.Jahangir too would face sorrow in old age.Sorrow may be inevitable.Loss cannot always be prevented.
But perhaps the choice of friends, advisors, and companions—that is where destiny quietly begins to change.And the strangest twist of all is this:The palace still stands.The empires and dynasties of both Mughals and Rajputs are long gone.But Abul Fazl still speaks.His Akbarnama survived its author.Perhaps books possess a strange immortality.They outlive their authors.Sometimes, they even outlive the emperors who feared them. For the storyteller died.But not the story. ✒️✨
