Mahlaqa Bai- A Great Devotee of Maula Ali and Hyderabad's Most Celebrated Courtesan

By Prof.Mazhar Naqvi “Cypress of the garden of grace and rose-tree of the grove of coquetry, an ardent inamorata of Hydar and suppliant of Panjtan. When the tidings of the advent of death arrived from God, she accepted it with her heart, and heaven became her home. The voice of the invisible speaker called for her chronogram, Alas! Mah Laqa of the Deccan departed for heaven 1240 A.H” This is the Urdu translation of the inscription on a carved teakwood over the door of Mahlaqa Bai Chanda’s Mausoleum on way to Maula Ali’s shrine in Secunderabad. The inscription indicates her exemplary devotion and love for Hydar (Another name of Ali Ibn Abu Talib) and ‘Panjatan’ (Pious Five). Though she devoted her entire life to reverence and remembrance of Maula Ali, historians have preferred to describe her only as the most celebrated poet, court dancer, song writer and warrior of Hyderabad’s cultural past. The treatment meted out to her is simply tragic. She never wanted to be acknowledged merely as a courtesan or woman with beauty and grace. Mahlaqa wished to be remembered as a true and faithful devotee of Hazrat Ali and Panjatan i.e. the holy Prophet, Ali, Fatima, Hasan and Husain. Her wish still remains fulfilled even though her tomb has been renovated and several programs were hosted in 2010 to portray different aspects of her life but her devotion to Maula Ali remained untouched. William Dalrymple deserves all praise for bringing out the reason of Mahlaqa’s unbound love for Maula Ali in his famous novel ‘White Mughals’. Apart from him, no other author ever tried to find as to why she chose Maula Ali hill as the last resting place of her mother and herself? In fact, Mahlaqa had inherited love for Maula from her mother Roop Kanwar Bai who was also a celebrated courtesan. Quoting a book composed by Mahlaqa herself, Dalrymple has mentioned that Raj Kanwar went on a pious outing to Maula Ali shrine with Tajalli Ali Shah, the celebrated historian and painter of Nizam, in 1764.She was in 6th month of her pregnancy and suddenly she began bleeding and a miscarriage seemed certain. Being very close to shrine, Tajalli Shah immediately took her to caretakers who tied ‘Kalawa’(Thread) around her wrist and offered her ‘Tabarruk’ to eat. Within a short span of time, she recovered and returned home to deliver after three months a healthy female child who went on to become India’s first woman to author a full collection of Urdu ghazals(Divan). She also played an active role in the religious and political life of Hyderabad during the city’s golden period. Her father was Bahadur Khan, who served as a Mansabdar (military official) at Mughal Emperor Muhammad Shah's court. Khan shifted from Delhi to Hyderabad where he fell in love and married Raj Kanwar. Mahlaqa was adopted by Raj’s childless sister Mehtaab Ma who was married to Nawab Rukn-ud-Daula, a Prime Minister of Nizam of Hyderabad. At a time when few women could read and write, Mahlaqa received an elaborate education thanks to her foster parents. She also received military training and participated in battles with her patrons. She composed her first ghazal at the age of eight and compiled her first collection of poetry when legendary Urdu poet Mirza Ghalib was just a year old. She lived in a period when Dakhini (a version of Urdu) was making its transition into the highly Persianized Urdu. Her literary contributions provide insight on such linguistic transformations in southern India. She was an influential female courtesan of the Deccan; the Nizam, ruler of Hyderabad, appointed her to the omarah (the highest nobility), and as a close affiliate at the court. Despite her success at royal court and tremendous popularity among the people, she remained a prominent donor and devotee to the shrine of Maula Ali like her mother. Mah Laqa constructed a walled compound where she frequently held religious sessions and Mehfils. Inside the compound, she built a tomb for her mother in 1792. She was buried next to her mother in 1824. The tomb is a judicious mix of the Mughal and Rajasthani architecture style in the Char Bagh pattern. The complex contains a pavilion in centre that is decorated intricately with stucco work, the caravanserai, a mosque and two step wells. Before her death, she also replaced the wooden canopy installed by Nawab Shamsuddaula over the holy relic. Even she persuaded her intimate friend Raja Rao Rambhar Jivant Bahadur. It is generally believed that the annual fair (Mela) at Maula Ali Shrine on Rajab 17th had attained tremendous popularity due to efforts of Mahlaqa who not only ensured royal patronage to shrine but also persuaded British resident to also visit Mela positively. Like a true follower of Maula Ali, she donated her all belongings to needy women and gave her palatial residence in Nampally for opening a girl’s school. (References available on request)