TThe celebrated novelist -- who said he had conducted extensive research before writing his new novel that is partly set in Mughal times -- told the audience that primary sources for the history of Akbar, including two works by Abul Fazal, provide long, almost day-by-day, historical accounts of the emperor.
"But in none of them Jodhabai appears. There is no mention of such a person. There are mentions of Rajput princesses from Jodhpur, but there is no Jodha. It is not anyone's nickname. It is simply one of the great myths that has grown up," he said at the event organised by the Indo American Arts Council.
But, he added, it is a happy myth. "It is a happy myth about a Muslim ruler who had a Hindu wife, who does not make her convert to Islam and joins her in her religious pursuits and you can see why -- it is a happy myth and even a useful myth," he said.
Image: Actor Madhur Jaffrey (in orange sari) and novelist Shashi Tharoor (in grey kurta) at the event
Also read: When Salman Rushdie came calling...
Advertisement
