Having dwelt upon Jodha’s preferred status in Akbar’s life, Akbar’s subsequent marriages cannot be wished away. That Jahangir, Akbar’s successor, too is appreciated as a liberal leader, perhaps only shows the indirect influence that Jodha might have made politically. Akbar’s fondness for Jodha only made him more accepting of Hindu rituals. It is also accepted that Jodha had the permission to worship in the Hindu way in her palace and continued to remain a devotee of Lord Krishna. Jodha used her influence to build gardens, wells, and mosques around the country. She was Akbar’s only queen who could issue farman (official decree), which was normally the exclusive privilege of the emperor. Subsequently, Jodha is said to have enjoyed increased clout over political matters. Was Akbar’s affection for Jodhabai thus familial and borne out of a sense of gratitude? Akbar’s first queen was the childless Ruqaiyya Begum, and his second wife was Salima Sultan, the widow of his most trusted general, Bairam Khan.Ī sense of desperation seemed to mark Akbar’s prayers at the dargah of the Shaikh Salim Chishti, which later led to the birth of his first surviving child Jahangir. But apart from her personality attributes, she gave Akbar what his other queens could not - an heir. Jodha, it is said, was extremely gorgeous and dignified. What then could have possibly led to Jodha being given this preference? Yet, there seems to be near unanimity over Jodhabai being referred to as Akbar’s favourite queen. History does not corroborate any instance of Akbar’s romance with Jodhabai in the real sense. The law of Hindu succession has always been patrimonial, so the threat to lineage, in marrying their princesses for political gain, was pretty inconsequential. The fact that other Rajput kingdoms, subsequently, also established similar matrimonial alliances with Akbar, cannot be disproved. It will be interesting to note here that there is little clarity on the total number of wives that Akbar eventually had. Hira Kunwari (Jodha’s maiden name) was married to Akbar on January 20, 1562, at Sambhar near Jaipur. We now look forward with my beautiful family to welcoming guests to our awesome home.Akbar’s marriage with the daughter of Raja Bharmal of Amber (modern day Jaipur) was quite unequivocally a device used for political acquisition. It has made everyone appreciate the build and the gaining of new and invaluable skills. Their and the dedicated craftsmen’s contribution to this project cannot be understated.Įvery family member has contributed immensely to our build and we love them all the more for their awesome input. It might be an opportune time to mention and thank our dear friends in India, who have overseen the design and delivery of over 300 tonnes and 11 containers of hand carved Indian red Sandstone and Indian joinery that all needed to so closely replicate that of Jodha Bai Palace. After five years of planning, 2 trips to India and nine months to get our Development approval we finally started construction in 2015 and as owner builders took 5 years to complete. Keen not to be dictated to by our vision and design by some large architectural firm we instead employed an architectural draftsman now our dear friend Richard Matthews. Jodha Bai retreat is modelled after her summer palace Akbar’s favourite wife was supposedly his Hindu wife, Jodha Bai, who had a summer and winter palace. Akbar the Great was considered one of the most progressive Mugal Emperors and had three main wives, one Muslim, one Christian and one Hindu. Now, we must go back to 1571 when the city was founded as the capital of the Mugal Empire by Emperor Akbar. Not one to give into anything and with an eternal positive attitude to life, an incredible supportive family and fantastic medical treatment I sit here 10 years later to tell the story of how and why we built part of an almost exact replica of a 450 year old Indian Palace, Jodha Bai Palace in Fatepur Sikri, India. Then at the age of 47 the life altering experience of being diagnosed with an extremely rare terminal illness, Amyloidosis and given three to six months to live.
These exciting years have been interjected by lots of travel, business, working abroad in SE Asia and culminating in the CEO of successful public renewable energy forestry company. Now married 30 incredible years, 4 awesome children, Wade 30, Amber 28, Brad 23 and Brandy 22. Where do you start an epic story, I suppose the day I met my sole mate and gorgeous wife Susan 35 years ago.
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