Love is in the air! Valentine’s Day is next week, and what better way to celebrate than with a romantic history lesson? The couple I’m introducing today lived more than 400 years ago, with a love story that is as moving as it is tragic. No, I’m not talking about Romeo and Juliet. This is the story of Nur-ud-Din Muhammad Salim, or more simply Prince Salim, third son of the Mughal Emperor Akbar, and Nadira Begum, a courtesan later nicknamed Anarkali, or “pomegranate blossom” in Urdu.
This story takes place in Lahore, Pakistan, the jewel of the Mughal Empire from 1526 to 1799. Today, Lahore is known for its rich history and culture. Many impressive monuments are still standing from the time of the Mughals, such as the Badshahi Mosque, Lahore Fort and Shalimar Gardens.
For many, the story of Anarkali and Salim is the stuff of legends. No one knows how much of it is fact or fiction. I want to believe most of it is true, but history often has a way of becoming warped and twisted beyond recognition.
At a young age, Salim was sent away from Lahore to learn how to rule a country. When he completed his training, he returned to the city. His father, Emperor Akbar, planned a large gathering in the palace to celebrate his son’s return. He invited Anarkali, a young slave girl famous in Lahore for her dancing. It was there Anarkali and Salim met and fell in love. They began meeting in secret, and Salim planned to make her his empress.
Upon learning of their relationship, the emperor became enraged, as princes were supposed to marry within the nobility, not poor working girls. When Salim refused to stop seeing her, Akbar had Anarkali imprisoned in the palace dungeons. Salim helped her escape and then declared war on his father, but it was very short-lived. Salim’s army was nowhere near as powerful as Akbar’s.
Just as Akbar was about to sentence his son to death, Anarkali came and took her lover’s place, determined to spare his life. Akbar had her buried alive, right before Salim’s eyes. Some versions of the story say Anarkali escaped through a secret tunnel and fled the city, never to return.
Today, the love story of Anarkali and Salim has been immortalized through film, literature and music. Anarkali Bazaar, one of the oldest marketplaces on the subcontinent, is named after her. Though Salim ordered its construction six years after he became emperor, you can still visit the Tomb of Anarkali in Lahore today. On one side of the tomb is a mournful inscription, reminding anyone who reads it of the doomed ending to their love story:
“Ah! Could I behold the face of my beloved once more,
I would give thanks unto my Creator
Until the day of resurrection.”