Book Title: Bhagmati: Why Hyderabad’s Lost Queen Is The Soul Of The City
Author: Moupia Basu
Publisher: Westland Non-Fiction
Number of Pages: 192
ISBN: 978-9360452872
Date Published: Nov. 11, 2024
Price: INR 244
Book Review
In “Bhagmati: Why Hyderabad’s Lost Queen Is The Soul Of The City”, author Moupia Basu uncovers a deeply emotional and poignant tale that intertwines love, history, and the soul of a city. The story of Mohammed Quli Qutb Shah, the poet-king, and Bhagmati, a Hindu devadasi, unfolds in 16th-century India against the backdrop of the Golconda Sultanate. Their love, born in defiance of societal norms, becomes a force powerful enough to shape the very foundation of Hyderabad. Through Basu’s vivid storytelling, we are transported into a world where love transcends boundaries, leading to the birth of a city that would carry the echoes of their bond forever.
Moupia Basu’s heartfelt exploration of their love story reveals a city that was not just built with stone and mortar, but with passion and dreams. The bridges, the streets, and the very name of Hyderabad owe their existence to this powerful connection between a king and a woman who was both his muse and his equal. Yet, as Basu’s research uncovers, Bhagmati’s presence in the city’s history has been erased, a painful consequence of a world that could not fully embrace their love. The book shines a light on the tragic mystery of Bhagmati’s disappearance from the historical record, offering a voice to the woman whose love shaped the destiny of a city yet whose memory was silenced.
With great tenderness, Basu invites us into the heart of Hyderabad’s history, where the absence of Bhagmati lingers in the air like an unspoken word. Through contemporary accounts and oral traditions, she paints a picture of a woman whose legacy lives on despite the erasure of her name. In doing so, Basu opens our hearts to the emotional depth of Bhagmati’s story, allowing us to feel her presence in the city’s very fabric. The ambiguity surrounding her existence only deepens the emotional resonance of her life and love, leaving us to wonder how many other women’s stories have been lost to time.
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“Bhagmati” is not just a book about the creation of a city; it is a tender tribute to love, loss, and the often-forgotten women who shape our world. Moupia Basu’s words will stay with you long after you’ve turned the last page, urging you to reflect on the powerful, sometimes heartbreaking, ways love changes the course of history. It’s a story that pulls at the heartstrings, reminding us that the most profound legacies are often the ones that are never fully acknowledged.
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