Victoria & Abdul (22 page)

In Osborne that Christmas season, the Munshi took the starring role in the tableau
King of Egypt
. Dressed in an elaborate Bedouin costume and crowned with the headgear of the pharaohs and sitting on a lion throne, the young Karim – now rapidly becoming portly – looked delighted as the King of Egypt, with the other Indian servants playing envoys from other African countries, paying homage to him. The Queen sat separated from the stage only by a strip of fern and palm and showed her appreciation of the theatricals.

The Queen’s closeness to Karim meant that she remained constantly concerned for Muslims in India and never failed to convey this to the Viceroy or the Secretary of State. Having discussed at length with Karim the passing of the Indian Council Bill, which gave representation to Indians in the native assemblies, she was convinced that Muslims would not be adequately represented and urged the Viceroy to consult various bodies on this. ‘The Mahomedans are undoubtedly by far the most loyal of the Indian people, and wd. be a great support in Council,’ she said.
²⁰

The Viceroy replied that it would be necessary to fill a certain number of appointments to the Councils by direct nomination in order to safeguard the rights of minorities. ‘This,’ he said, ‘would afford the means of securing proper representation for Mahomedan interests.’

The Queen’s passion for Indian colours and ceremonials remained unquenched. For the inauguration of the Imperial Institute, she now wished for a guard of honour from the Indian Native Army and requested the Viceroy to send her a small contingent from India. The latest demand provided another
headache for Lansdowne as bringing native soldiers to England on duty was illegal. The costs would also be quite high. The problem was overcome for the sake of the elderly Queen by sanctioning the travel expenses of eight officers, under the condition that their expenditure did not exceed £2,500, they stayed no longer than three weeks and it was clearly understood that they were there ‘on furlough and not by orders on military duty’.
²¹

The Munshi was due to go on leave in May, but the Queen wanted him to accompany her first to Florence where she was going for her European spring break.
The Times
reported on 24 March from Florence: ‘The Queen’s Indian attendants who followed Her Majesty’s carriage excited great interest as they drove along.’
²²
The
Birmingham Daily Post
had an intriguing article titled ‘The Florentine’s Impression of the Queen’. It remarked that the Florentines were apparently not ‘particularly impressed’ by the style of the Queen’s cortege, but that her Indian secretary had intrigued them as he had sat in his carriage in ‘solitary state, arrayed in a splendid Oriental costume, and blazing with gold lace’. The paper went on to report that on the box of his carriage sat one of the Indian domestics, who was attired in a sumptious dress. The correspondent wrote:

The Munshi (Hafiz Abdul Karim) has fairly puzzled the Florentines of all classes, and also the Italian court … for it is reported that after King Humbert’s visit to the Queen at the Villa Palmieri, his Majesty requested Lord Vivian to inform him who the Munshi is, and what is his exact position in the household, as the King did not understand why this magnificient and imposing Hindoo should have been formally presented to him. The popular idea in Italy is that the Munshi is a captive Indian prince, who is taken about by the Queen as an outward and visible sign of Her Majesty’s supremacy in the East.

The reports only amused the Queen as she spent her mornings with Karim taking her lessons. She had nearly finished her fifth Hindustani Journal. ‘This is my last lesson,’ wrote the Queen, ‘as the Munshi goes on leave to his own country tomorrow morning.’
²³
She always missed him terribly when he was away.

Six months later, the Queen was beside herself with excitement. The Munshi was bringing back his wife and mother-in-law. The Queen told Ponsonby to spare no expense to ensure that they had a comfortable journey and ordered a cottage in Frogmore to be prepared for them. Ponsonby sanctioned £300 to the Munshi for his wife’s expenses. He entered the extra funds under the head of ‘extra ordinaries’ in the accounts. The Queen went to visit them at the earliest opportunity. She wrote in her Journal:

Abdul has just returned from six month’s leave and brought his wife back with him from India. She and her mother are staying at the Frogmore Cottage, which I had arranged for them, and I went down with Ina McNeill [extra woman of the bedchamber] to see them. The Munshi’s wife wore a beautiful sari of crimson gauze. She is nice looking, but would not raise her eyes, she was so shy.
²⁴

The Court circular of
The Times
newspaper covered the formal presentation of the Munshi’s wife and mother-in-law to the Queen. The reporter wrongly wrote that one of the ladies was his daughter.

The wife and mother-in-law of Munshi Abdul Karim had the honour of being presented to the Queen yesterday.

The Queen’s Indian secretary, the Munshi Abdul Karim, who has been visiting his native land returned to England on Saturday in order to resume his duties upon the arrival of the court from Scotland. The Munshi was accompanied by his wife and daughter [sic], both of whom were closely veiled, the lady being shrouded in a cloak of yellow stuff and the girl in a darker garment, the Oriental coverings completely concealing the features and figures of the wearers. During this journey every attention by command of her Majesty was shown to the Munshi and his family, who travelled from London in a south western saloon, with drawn curtains, and on reaching Windsor in the evening were conveyed in a Royal carriage to Frogmore Cottage, where apartments have been provided for them.
²⁵

The Queen wrote to her eldest daughter Vicky in great excitement:

I don’t think I told you of the two Indian ladies who are here now, and who are, I believe, the first Mohammedan purdah ladies who ever came over … and keep their custom of complete seclusion and of being entirely covered when they go out, except for the holes for their eyes. They are the wife of my Munshi … and her Mother. The former is pretty with beautiful eyes … she was beautifully dressed with green and red and blue gauzes spangled with gold, very gracefully draped over head and body …
²⁶

The Queen had resumed her Hindustani lessons the very day after Karim returned, quickly making up for the time lost over the past four months. She wrote in her Journal that she had begun the sixth book and hoped it would be finished nicely.
²⁷

‘
Aj yeh chhati kitaab shuruat hain. Umid hai ki yeh bhi bakhubiat tamam hogi
,’
²⁸
she wrote. She also noted that this would be a little larger than the last book. The Hindustani Journals from now on were thicker, replacing the old smaller diaries which she had used for the last few years. Clearly the Queen had made substantial progress and had now graduated to writing full sentences. As always, Karim wrote the lines first in Urdu, followed by Urdu in roman script so the Queen could read out the lines, then finally the English translation. The language that had evolved largely during the rule of the Mughal Emperors in India, who had combined elements of Persian and Arabic with the Prakrit dialect of the locals, appealed to the Queen. Urdu was a rich language, suited to the Mughal courts. Well over seventy now, the Queen’s enthusiasm for learning a new script was remarkable. She faithfully copied out Karim’s Urdu writing and then read out the words to him. Karim patiently helped her along, encouraging her at every step. He enjoyed these lessons as much as she did, as it gave him both the chance to relax and a sense of fulfilment. Sometimes, in the English translation, Karim would make a grammatical mistake. The Queen would discreetly correct the English when she wrote it again, teacher and pupil now both learning from each other.

A leaf from the Hindustani Journal of 31 December 1892 shows how they worked together:

Today I at all out not went, because cold worse was. I was uncomfortable, but I downstairs twice went and arrangements of the tableau saw. [Karim’s entry in English]

Aj ham bilkul bahar nahin gae kuinke zukham zyadah raha. Ham ko taklif the, lekin ham niche do dafa gae aur taiyari tableaux mulazah ki.
[Karim’s entry in Urdu in roman letters]

Today I did not go out at all as my cold was worse and troublesome, but I went twice downstairs to see the arrangements (rehearsals) for the Tableaux. [Queen Victoria’s entry with corrections].
²⁹

With the arrival of the Munshi’s wife, the Queen now had two people to fuss over. She would often drive to see the Munshi’s wife in her cottage, whether she was in Balmoral, Windsor or Osborne, and always noted her visits in her Hindustani Journals. She also liked to take her family, visiting foreign Royalty and ladies of the Household to meet her, as well as other Court officials. The Munshi’s house soon became filled with gifts and memorabilia given to the couple by visitors accompanying the Queen. Victoria, now more than ever, became a mother figure to the couple.

Visitors to the Munshi’s house included Duchess Helena, as well as Princesses Beatrice and Louise, Empress Frederick, Princess Henry of Prussia and the Empress of Russia, among others. The Queen would often take her daughters and her grandchildren to the Munshi’s house where they would have cake and tea, the Munshi’s wife and mother slowly losing their initial shyness and inhibition. Princess Victoria and Princess Maud were taken there, as were ladies-in-waiting like Lady Churchill and Lady Lytton. The Munshi often received a note from the Queen which informed him at short notice that the Queen was bringing a visitor.

‘Would you and your wife prefer if I only brought Beatrice, or might Victoria who is so interested in India come at the same time or would she rather only see one at a time?’ the Queen wrote to Karim in Osborne shortly after their arrival. ‘Perhaps tomorrow mg. wd. do? P.S. Pcss. Louise w. also go some morning – perhaps later.’
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A few weeks later, she wrote again:

My dear Abdul, The Empress [Frederick] wd. much like to go – see your dear wife tomorrow (Friday) mg. at a little past 12. She says she is sorry she shd. trouble herself by dressing in her smart clothes for her, but I know you wd. like her to be seen in her fine
clothes. Only I think the
large
nose rings spoil her pretty young face. Your loving mother, Victoria R.I [signed in Urdu]
³¹

Sometimes the Queen signed these hastily written notes as ‘Your affectionate friend’. At other times it was ‘Your loving mother’. She nearly always signed now in Urdu. The presence of Abdul Karim and his wife, and the knowledge that there was now a cosy domestic atmosphere in his cottage, gave the Queen a feeling of satisfaction. She was happy that he could have his family by his side and she appreciated his closeness to his wife and her extended family. Her own children, by contrast, were often troublesome. The Queen provided the Munshi and his wife with cottages in Balmoral, Osborne and Windsor. In Windsor the Munshi lived in Frogmore Cottage; in Osborne it was Arthur Cottage, which was extensively renovated and extended for him, and in Balmoral a special cottage was built for him on the estate. The Queen called it ‘Karim Cottage’ in his honour. Alexander Profeit reported to the Queen that he was trying his best to follow the Munshi’s instructions on the furnishing. The Munshi himself spared no expense in decorating his house.

On the completion of the building of Karim Cottage, a delighted Munshi threw a house-warming party, inviting the ladies and gentlemen of the Household. Among those present were Lady Ampthill, Miss McNeil, Miss Cadogan, Revd A.A. Campbell, Revd Jonper, Dr Noble, Dr Mitchell and Dr Profeit. At his party, Karim made a gracious speech thanking the Queen for all her kindness:

Ladies and gentlemen, I thank you most heartily for coming here today, and thus honouring with your presence this new home of mine which Her Majesty has been graciously pleased to name Karim Cottage. Your visit, I assure you, gives me very great pleasure indeed. There can be no doubt that the great majority of the people of Her Majesty’s Empire are well aware of the position which I hold as Indian Secretary to the Queen Empress; and this position I have tried, and will always try by faithful service, to be worthy of. I do hope that my service here will ever grant me the sympathy of the Royal Family, the noblemen and the people of the British Empire. Ever since the year 1887, the year when first I came to Scotland (but especially the people of Balmoral) has been that of good faith and kindness, and I sincerely trust that as
long as I and my family remain in this country and among you, this feeling may reciprocally remain unchanged.

The
Aberdeen Journal
, which faithfully reported the party, noted that the Munshi again thanked his guests after which Dr Profeit, on their behalf, ‘thanked the Munshi in a few words for his hospitality, and hoped that he and his wife would be long spared to live happily in his new house and to serve our beloved Queen’. The newspapers noted that the Queen and the Princess of Wales were among the first to visit Karim Cottage.