Poetry Challenge #283-Mughal Princess Poetry
There are princesses among us, walking, talking, working—using royal for good now* and then 350 years ago, confined to life behind harem walls writing poetry!
Imagine Zeb-un-Nisa*, a Mughal princess born Feb 15, 1638, wrote poetry that, centuries later is still being read, translated, published!
“Impatient were my hands , and in their haste
Never could they untie the knot of fate ,
So vain it is to wail my life laid waste,
My hours unfortunate .
And strange it is that even in my heart
The sweet tormenting flame of my desire
Is; quenched; impatiently I pulled apart
The brands and killed the fire
And never did the blossoms of success
Within my hope’s enchanted garden bloom
And my fair beacon-light of happiness
Is sunk in gloom
Faithless Beloved, many friends are Thine
So many love and have been loved by Thee,
They give their hearts, what cares Thou for mine
What need hast Thou of me”
Zeb-un-Nisa means “Jewel among Women.” She was the eldest daughter of Prince Muhi al-Din Muhammad (the future Emperor Aurangzeb) and his first wife and chief consort, Dilras Banu Begum. Her grandfather was Emperor Shah Jahan—yes, the one who built the Taj Mahal! (If you’d like to learn more about the Mughal empire, Shah Jahan & the love of his life and why the Taj Mahal came to be, read Taj by Timeri N. Murari, told partly from the viewpoint of a stone cutter building the Taj.)
As happens among Royals, turmoil, strife, back biting and in-fighting ensued. Zeb-un-Nisa was imprisoned (not sure how different that was from “confined in harem”) and died in 1702. But that’s not what this is about.
This is about how, in the midst of it all, Zeb-un-Nisa sequestered in the royal harem, wrote poetry, and impudent imp that she was, “used to secretly participate in hidden literary and poetry parties.”…As the years passed Zeb-un-Nisa began to write under the pen name Makhfi meaning “the hidden one. In all, Zeb-Un-Nisa is said to have written more than 15,000 verses.
What’s amazing, and cause enough to celebrate her, is that centuries later, her poetry is still be read, translated & published!
Poetry Challenge #283
Mughal Princess Poetry
Take a moment to read one of Zeb-un-Nisa’s poems. Notice how the translators took care to maintain the old world feel of the poem through language and rhyme scheme.
Choose a few lines or stanza from one of Princess Zeb-un-Nisa’s poems. Using the princess’s words as inspiration, see if you can’t use modern phrasing, line breaks, images to update the poem from the 17th Century to the 21st Century while still evoking the same feelings and sentiment.
Set Your Timer for 7 Minutes
Start Writing!
Don’t Think About it, write it!
*Carrie Pearson’s forthcoming picture book, Real Princesses Change the World features real-life modern royals working, inventing, striving!
Cindy Faughnan and I began this 7-Minute Poetry Challenge 2400+ days ago. Now we take turns creating prompts to share with you. Our hope is that creatives—children & adults—will use our prompts as springboards to word play time. If you join us in the Challenge, let us know by posting the title, a note, or if you want, the whole poem in the comments.
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