Kohinoor

Title: Kohinoor – The Story of the World’s Most Infamous Diamond

Author: William Dalrymple, Anita Anand

Publisher: Juggernaut Books, 2016 (First)

ISBN: 9789386228086

Pages: 239

Jugalbandi is a special feature of Indian classical music, Hindustani or Carnatic. Literally meaning ‘entwined twins’, it features a duet of two solo musicians. The duet can be either vocal or instrumental. This book is an extension of the concept to the world of letters – a literary Jugalbandi. This is authored by William Dalrymple and Anita Anand. While Dalrymple needs no introduction, Anand is also a talented writer. She is a British-Indian radio and television presenter and journalist. Until the discovery of diamond mines in Brazil in 1725, the entire world's diamonds came from India. Unfortunately for the country, centuries of Islamic rule and invasions from the west had taken away all of them and the mines had become totally exhausted by the time India became independent in 1947. The chequered history of the world's most famous diamond, the Kohinoor, which literally means the ‘mountain of light’, is described in this delightfully readable book.

This volume is divided into two parts which broadly covers its Asian and European domiciles. The diamond adorned the pinnacle of Shah Jahan’s peacock throne. As the Mughal Empire withered after Aurangzeb’s disastrous reign, Nadir Shah appropriated this priceless artefact which costed twice as much as Taj Mahal. Ahmad Shah Durrani managed to steal the jewel when Nadir Shah was assassinated. Maharaja Ranjit Singh of Punjab forced a descendant of the Durrani clan, Shah Shuja, to part with the diamond. After Singh’s death, the British conclusively defeated Punjab and compelled his 10-year old son, Duleep Singh, to cede it to Queen Victoria of Britain. The second part starts with the gem’s voyage to Britain and stay there that lasts till now. The latter section is penned by Anita Anand who displays a calibre that pleasantly astonishes the readers.

The Kohinoor was not just a valuable diamond. As observed by Governor General Dalhousie, it was a sort of historical emblem of the conquest of India. The stunning fact is that this conquest was made by the private militia of a trading company – the English East India Company – whose army in 1800 was twice the size of that of the British Nation. The size of Kohinoor didn't matter in its reputation. The jewel weighed 190.3 carats when it arrived in Britain. Diamonds comparable in size are also of Mughal vintage. The Darya-i-Noor weighing 175 – 195 carats is now in Teheran and The Great Mughal at 189.9 carats is now in Moscow. Quite curious for the connoisseurs of gems, the Mughals and Persians opted for large, uncut, brightly coloured stones while the Hindus and Sikhs tended to prefer diamonds over rubies and such stones.

The authors bring out the moral anguish felt by Punjabis at the transfer of the diamond which was nothing short of a robbery that was turned palatable by procedural gimmicks. The Queen flaunted her new acquisition in the Great Exhibition of 1851. However, the diamond was large, about the size of a hen's egg and uncut. It didn't sparkle and failed to enthuse the visitors who thronged to view the famous diamond. It was after the development of the ‘brilliant cut’ in Europe in the seventeenth century that the fire at the heart of every diamond was released. The royalty decided to cut and polish the Kohinoor diamond in 1852 at a cost of 8000 pounds (1 million pounds in today’s value). This reduced its size to 93 carats. It now sparkled brilliantly, but the more than halved gem could lie meekly in the palm of a hand.

The fate of Duleep Singh, the last scion of the Punjabi royal family was miserable and is told touchingly by Anand. The boy was separated from his mother Jindan Kaur because she tended to be rebellious against the British. The 10-year old Singh was put under the care of a British family for a proper upbringing. As might be expected, he promptly converted to Christianity four years later. Queen Victoria was rejoiced at the salvation of the maharaja’s soul. He was taken to England and a suitable bride was arranged for him. Feeling rootless and rudderless in an alien country, Duleep Singh fell in foul ways and took to heavy bouts of drinking and narcotics. The once handsome young man became a bad tempered drunk with a long line of creditors at his doorstep. He neglected his young family and drove his wife also to the bottle. Festered with the constant strain of moralizing from the royal family, Singh wanted to take the Kohinoor back. He also threatened to renounce Christianity, warning that Sikhs do not profess one thing and do the other. His plans to reconquer Punjab with the help of Russian troops were fantastic but didn't augur anything more than wishful thinking. In 1893, Duleep Singh died penniless and alone in a shabby Parisian hotel. Since none of his children would ever have heirs of their own, his very name died with him.

The book ends with the story of the diamond in modern times and the new myths and superstitions that came to be associated with it. It was thought to bring disaster to any man who possessed or wore it. Women could wear it with impunity and in Britain only the Queen or Queen-Consort of a reigning King dares to carry the Kohinoor on her crown. By the end of the twentieth century, demands to return the diamond to the rightful South Asian owners had become louder. India and Pakistan have tried and failed to recover it, while the British steadfastly maintain that it was gifted to Queen Victoria by Duleep Singh. There was indeed a charade of submission of the diamond to the Queen, but this was forced. There was no other way open to the unfortunate prince other than handing it over to the lady who was also masquerading as his local guardian in London. Even the rogue Taliban of Afghanistan had initiated a claim to the stone as it was briefly in the possession of the Afghan Durrani dynasty.

The book is a delight to read. This is hardly surprising, because of the Dalrymple effect. Quite a few pictures of the persons and scenes are included. It gives us a fine introduction to the Mughal school of painting flourished in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The emphasis is purely on the history of the stone and its physical characteristics are not given any mention. Its history is steeped in the mists of the unknown and it becomes visible only in the time of Shah Jahan.

The book is strongly recommended.

Rating: 4 Star