Bahadur Shah Ki Laundi (The Emperor's Handmaiden) – An Urdu Masterpiece By Khwaja Hasan Nizami

Heart-Touching Urdu Short Story by Khwaja Hasan Nizami. With Urdu, Hindi and English Text/Subtitles on Screen. Recited by Raheel Farooq. Afsana (Short Story): Bahadur Shah Ki Laundi (The Emperor's Handmaiden) What do you love most about this true and truly moving historical narrative? Let us know in the comments! _____ 00:00 Start of the Story 00:26 Introduction: The Kidnapped Handmaiden 02:19 Journey to Delhi & The Royal Summons 07:25 Meeting Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar 09:41 Life Inside the Red Fort 12:13 The 1857 Uprising & Fall of Delhi 15:13 The Heartbreaking Plot Twist 16:27 The Final Days in Old Delhi _____ LEHJA Lehja is a celebration of the timeless art and beauty of Urdu literature, especially poetry. As the largest online media library of Urdu classics, it brings the masterpieces of the greatest Urdu writers to life through eloquent readings and recitations in the voice of Raheel Farooq, enhanced by the soothing melodies of the sitar. Upholding the highest standards of Urdu accent and pronunciation, Lehja is also known for its aesthetic calligraphy, tasteful selections and the subtle art of heart-touching performance, ensuring that every video delivers an unforgettable cultural, emotional and spiritual experience to you. Whether you are a lover of Urdu Adab, an admirer of fine art or someone exploring the best of the Urdu language, Lehja cordially welcomes you to a world of peace, poise and purity. LINKS Subscribe: @urdu Support: Patreon: Urdu Shop: https://www.amazon.com/shop/urdu (affiliate commissions) LEGAL The rights to music, images and literature (unless in the public domain) belong to their respective creators. For any concerns, please contact [email protected]. All voiceovers, videos, branding and publications are copyrighted by Raheel Farooq. _____ Khwaja Hasan Nizami Khwaja Hasan Nizami (1878–1955)—born Syed Ali Hasan—was far more than a master of Urdu prose; he was the ultimate keeper of old Delhi’s secrets and a revered Sufi saint of the Chishti lineage. Growing up in the sacred air of Basti Hazrat Nizamuddin, his soul was deeply intertwined with the dying embers of the Mughal Empire. His maternal grandfather was the spiritual advisor to Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar, and the devastating, firsthand accounts of the Red Fort's fall were passed down to him as a childhood inheritance. Celebrated for his hauntingly beautiful, unmatched prose style, he became the definitive chronicler of the 1857 uprising, capturing human grief in masterpieces like Begamat ke Aansoo. A fiercely independent and pluralistic intellectual, he walked the earth with a Sufi's heart, writing with equal reverence on Islamic theology and Hindu philosophy. _____ Sample Text of English Translation of the Urdu Short Story: BAHADUR SHAH'S SLAVE-GIRL (Khwaja Hasan Nizami) My name is Shah-Nazar. I am a slave-girl, owned by His Majesty Jahan-panah [Refuge of the World — an imperial title], Abu Zafar Siraj-ud-Din Muhammad Bahadur Shah. I am now over ninety years old. At the time of the Mutiny of 1857, I was a young woman. My parents lived in Kangra, and farmed the land for their living. When I was ten or eleven, some bandits seized me and brought me to Lahore. There, they sold me to a woman of the marketplace, who taught me to sing and dance. I still remember my home and my parents, and that day is still with me. I was standing in our field, my father had gone off on some errand, when a few bandits came riding by on horseback and seized me by force. I wept and screamed and cried out, but no one came to help. Even after I reached Lahore, for two years I wept for my home and my parents. The woman who bought me was named Naubahar. She was an old woman of fifty or sixty, and had earned a great deal of money under the rule of the Sikhs. Naubahar was a learned woman. Every evening after sunset, a maulvi sahib would come and teach her Arabic. Naubahar arranged for me to learn Arabic and Persian from the same maulvi, whose name was Faizullah. By the age of fourteen, I had mastered both languages well. But my days were strange ones — by day and by night I studied Tafsir-e-Jalalain, Mishkat Sharif, Sharh-e-Waqaya, and Hidaya, and alongside this, for hours on end, I had to learn to dance and sing, and practice the art of music. #Urdu #Story #Literature #Slave #Fiction #History