Acknowledgements

My heartfelt thanks to:

Nawab Jafar Mir Abdullah for giving me an insight into the lives and times of the nawabs as well as for the handwritten notes.

Shri Ram Advani, Mrs Asma Hussain and Prof. Salim Kidwai for giving me their precious time as well as some invaluable information.

Susie Dunlop and the rest of the team at Allison & Busby, especially Chiara, Lara, Lesley, Georgina and the copy editors for doing such a thorough job and for providing me with this wonderful opportunity.

Christina Griffiths for the exotic cover design.

Jane Conway-Gordon for believing in my book even more than I did. Thank you for your support and for being such a positive influence on my life.

Siobhan Curham, not just for the guidance and for plodding through the first draft, but also for pushing me – ‘Stop revising and send the damn thing off,’ she said.

My teachers, especially Miss Flynn, Ma’am Chakravarty and Ma’am David for instilling in me a love for literature and writing.

Simon, who is sadly no more, but whose words and encouraging smile will always be with me.

My fellow writers – Anna, Barbara, David, Gabriela, Indra, Jan, John, Kay, Maneesha, Mike, Oscar, Phil, Richard, Robin and Salil for their useful feedback and support, which has made all the difference.

Gaurav, for encouraging me to blog and for not letting me give up on my dream.

My extended family, my punching bags, my moral support – AnjaliB, AnjaliR, Anju, Bindi, Gouri, Madhu, Meena, Neelam, Neha, Nupur, Pooja, Prachi, Prerna, Pratichi, Rupali and Vimla – for always being there for me.

My family, my pillars – my parents, my in-laws, Tauji, Sameer, Monica, Nikeeta, Shilpi and Promit.

Karn and Diya, for not fighting and keeping the volume down when Mamma was working on a difficult scene.

My husband Bhaskar, my strength – for taking care of the kids as well as the cooking whenever I had a deadline, for making me what I am today and for showing me the way to a world beyond.