A lost Hindi Novel
I am trying to identify an old Hindi historical novel that I read around 1997–98 in a university library. The book itself was probably published in the 1960s or 1970s. I do not remember the title, author, or character names, but I remember the plot in considerable detail.
The story is set in a small princely state in Central India, possibly in the Bundelkhand region, sometime before and during the Revolt of 1857.
Main plot points I remember:
- The ruler of the princely state is an aging king.
- The region has the influence and terror of Thugs/Thuggee gangs.
- An English businessman becomes a victim of the Thugs.
- Using this as a pretext, the British place two Resident officers in the king’s court, likely as a step toward eventual annexation.
- The senior British officer is experienced, calculating, and always looking for an excuse to annex the state.
- The junior British officer is young, handsome, intelligent, and comparatively kind-hearted.
The king later marries a young, educated, elegant princess from a neighboring princely state. She can speak English but is culturally rooted and dutifully agrees to marry the elderly king.
The new queen arrives with a beautiful and skilled companion/maid (possibly a close friend as well). The companion is excellent at horse riding and shooting.
One memorable scene:
The junior British officer is riding outside the fort when he sees the fort gates open and the queen’s companion ride out rapidly on horseback carrying an old-style gun. While controlling the horse with one hand, she successfully shoots a bird in motion. The officer is astonished by her skill.
The junior officer and the companion gradually fall in love. He secretly visits her at night by climbing the palace walls. Once, when someone notices him entering and raises an alarm about a thief, the queen helps hide and protect him.
Later, it is discovered that the companion has become pregnant by the British officer.
Soon afterward, the old king dies childless. The relatives/brothers of an older queen want the new young queen to commit Sati so they can control the kingdom/property.
The senior British Resident is pleased because, since the king appears childless, the East India Company may annex the state under the Doctrine of Lapse.
To save the queen from Sati, the junior British officer officially reports that the queen is pregnant and therefore cannot become Sati.
A lady doctor is brought from Calcutta to examine the queen. Secretly, the junior officer substitutes the pregnant companion in place of the queen during the medical examination, without the senior officer discovering the deception.
The queen survives. Later, the queen and her companion travel to Calcutta, where the companion gives birth to a son. Publicly, the child is declared to be the dead king’s heir, and the queen adopts him as her own son.
During the Revolt of 1857, the queen protects the junior British officer by hiding him in a remote ancient temple, while the senior officer is killed.
Later, because one British officer survived under her protection, official British reports describe the queen as “loyal to the Empire.”
The child eventually grows up and becomes the ruler of the princely state, though in reality he is the son of the British officer and the companion/maid.
In the end:
- The British officer eventually returns to England.
- The companion initially stays behind because she does not want to leave her son.
- Later, unable to forget her lover, she sails for England.
- Her ship is wrecked during the voyage, and she dies.
The novel was written in relatively modern conversational Hindi, not heavily Sanskritized language. The tone was historical, romantic, political, and emotionally serious rather than pulp adventure fiction.
Does anyone recognize this novel or its author?