John Lall

A fascinating re-creation of the life and times of the dazzling nautch girl who became the celebrated Begam Samru after her marriage to a foreign military adventurer, General Reinhardt. She shared his dangers and tortuous intrigues in the turbulent ‘time of troubles’ in the eighteenth century. When he died she took over his jagir, converted to Christianity and steered a perilous course with uncanny skill through the Moghul empire’s last days and the evergrowing power of the British. The life story of this extraordinary Christian princess has no parallel in the transition from chaos to order in Hindustan two hundred years ago. Her memory lives on in the splendid cathedral she built at Sardhana near Meerut which continues to draw thousands of visitors from far and near.