In the summer of 2017, I tucked my daughter in with a bedtime story I had read in my childhood.
The story is as follows:
A butcher and an oil seller both lay claim to a bag of gold coins. Local law enforcement, unable to decide who the gold belongs to, escalates the matter to Akbar's court.
Akbar was the Mughal emperor. His wise advisor Raja Birbal has a reputation for rendering justice even in the most obscure and baffling cases.
Raja Birbal hears them both, then orders a bowl of hot water.
"Empty the bag of gold coins into the bowl," says Raja Birbal.
The court waits as the bag is emptied into the hot water and a thick film of oil floats to the top.
"Padshah ( emperor), the bag belongs to the oil seller. Every time he was paid with a gold coin, it passed through his greasy fingers. The butcher is lying and should be imprisoned."
As my daughter fell asleep, I could not help but wonder if something else I had read a long time ago was true; Birbal had been deceived and killed by his enemies.
I did a quick online search, and a sentence stood out to me: "...but his body was never found."
Which prompted the question--was this brilliant man killed, or did he pull the wool over his enemies' eyes and stage a daring escape?
From this point, I asked myself several questions:
There were multiple attempts on Birbal's life, some of which are described in the comic books. He always escaped unharmed and got back at his enemies. So what changed? Did something happen before his "death" in 1586? If yes, what was the trigger?
I utilized 2 non-fiction books for most of my research:
Akbar, the great Moghul by V.A. Smith and Raja Birbal by P.P. Sinha
There were 2 attempts to kill him and 2 separate attempts to malign Raja Birbal described in the book by P.P. Sinha. The worst was an accusation of incest. These 4 events happened in the space of 3 years after Akbar defeated the Islamic clergy-backed rebels who attempted to dethrone him.
Convinced there was enough of a loophole in the story and sufficient motivation for Birbal to go underground, I pondered: If Birbal staged his death, was Akbar in on the plan? If the 2 close friends had wanted to meet secretly, it would have been challenging to do so at home, where Birbal was popular and well-known.
They would have planned it to coincide with Akbar's move to another place, where Birbal could also live incognito.
Then I found my answer. When did Birbal die? 1586.
When did Akbar move his capital/court from near Delhi ( Fatehbad) to Lahore? 1586.
Next question: If Birbal left his family in northern Hindustan to move or be closer to Akbar, what was his relationship with his wife?
And more importantly, why did Akbar bestow the title Raja Birbal? Hint: Who was the other emperor with nine gems in his court? I will write about this in a future post.
I also utilized Ain-i-Akbari, the official chronicle of Akbar's court by one of his nine "gems" Abul Fazl. Birbal was the most well-known of Akbar's courtiers or his nine "gems."
What I enjoyed the most about researching and writing The Final Puzzle was finding answers to support my hypotheses. Imagine the excitement when you suspect something had happened, and actually find evidence for it.
One example is a trip jointly undertaken by Raja Birbal and the main villainous character Zain Khan.
Towards the latter half of the novel, I write about the Raja of Rewa, a king who hesitated to declare fealty to Akbar. I wondered if Raja Birbal and Zain Khan had been sent there together on a diplomatic mission and if something from this trip may have enlightened Birbal about Zain Khan's weakness. This then may have been of value in the story's climax where the 2 men are pitted against each other and Zain Khan is plotting Birbal's murder.
Had I not specifically looked for proof that Akbar had sent Birbal and Zain Khan together on this mission, I would not have found it.
Five hundred years later, our society is dealing with almost all the issues The Final Puzzle explores. Religious leaders who cling on to power and mislead the masses, intelligent and good people like Raja Birbal becoming the target of jealous enemies, and above all the importance of clever and capable leaders like Akbar who can protect good people and toss out the bad ones, no matter how powerful or close to "God" they may be.
I conclude with this ever prescient saying:
“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it! (George Santayana-1905)
