I looked at the Heritage History in Asian Voice of 18th March and got another surprise. Shahariyar Khan is a good friend of ours. He was at school with my husband and when he was High Commissioner for Pakistan here we saw a fair amount of him. He is a very special person and it has been a privilege to know him. Some time ago his mother came here to visit him and he invited me to his home to meet her. She was truly a Begum of Bhopal. The whole family including her son addressed her as Huzoor which was to show respect. She had on her wrist an amulet which belonged to the founder of the state and she took it off and put it on my arm. Unfortunately she took it back when I was leaving! Shahariya Khan has written a book called The Begums of Bhopal. It seems that the male rulers were quite ropey and so the Begums ran the state for some time.
Baroness Shreela Flather
Via Email
