National Curry Week just concluded in Britain — marking two centuries of the country’s dalliance with one of the most famous imports from its largest colony. When the Hindostane Coffee House opened in London in 1810, many British got the hots for curry, a food trend that even interested Queen Victoria decades later. In a quirk of fate, London-based journalist-writer-historian Shrabani Basu chanced upon Abdul Karim, the man who introduced the dish to the Queen, when she was researching for her book Curry — The Story of the Nation’s Favourite Dish . She saw him again in a Rudolf Swoboda painting clothed in scarlet and gold holding a book; an unlikely portrait for a servant from India. Basu’s meticulous research for Victoria & Abdul — The Extraordinary Story of the Queen’s Closest Confidant brushed off the dust on the kind of person the Queen really was — an emotional woman who overturned the stereotypes history bestowed on her, that of a dumpy, long-reigning monarch with terrible colonial policies that live on in our collective imagination.
In this image released by Focus Features, Judi Dench, left, and Ali Fazal appear in a scene from "Victoria and Abdul." (Peter Mountain/Focus Features via AP)
As the story delved deeper, it seemed that Victoria wasn’t so Victorian after all. She reached out across race to make friends with Abdul, promoted him from table waiter to personal secretary and lavished attention and houses on him in equal measure. It didn’t go well with the court. After the Queen’s death, Abdul found himself sent unceremoniously packing; everything he owned emblazoned with the royal crest was destroyed in an act of colonial snobbery. It took Basu several journeys on a trail gone cold — to his derelict tomb in Agra and meetings with his descendants in India and Pakistan — to unravel who he was.
It was a story interesting enough to be made into a film by Stephen Frears, starring Judi Dench as the doughty Queen and Ali Fazal as Abdul. In an email interview, Basu discusses her work and her lifetime passion for India-Britain relations. Excerpts:
How did you come to write on the Raj?
I’ve always been interested in history, and like to find hidden and unusual stories. I wrote Spy Princess, The Life of Noor Inayat Khan about the forgotten World War II heroine before I wrote Victoria & Abdul . Now Noor’s inspirational story is known around the world. Similarly, this would have been lost, as all the letters were destroyed by Queen Victoria’s son and heir. I followed the story for four years, and pieced it together.
How different is the well-known contribution of Noor and the lesser-known one of Abdul to the idea of Britain?
Noor sacrificed her life fighting Fascism. She was posthumously awarded the George Cross. Abdul’s life took a different path. He became Victoria’s closest confidant, taught her Urdu and got her interested in Indian culture. Today, we have the beautiful Durbar Room in Osborne House on the Isle of Wight, thanks to his influence. He was the only Indian to ever hold an important position at the heart of the royal court. He became a sort of cultural ambassador, in a way. Both Noor and Abdul were Indians who played a role in the history of Britain.
Tell us a little about the Noor Inayat Khan Memorial Trust.
I set up the Trust in 2010 to campaign for a memorial for Noor. We succeeded in installing a beautiful memorial in Gordon Square near the house where she lived. It was unveiled in 2012 by Princess Anne. People from all over the world leave flowers and messages. It is also part of the Bloomsbury peace walk, as Noor stood for peace and non-violence.
While Britain celebrates the Great War, not much has been done to remember the Indian soldier who fought in it. How does your For King and Another Country challenge this perspective?
The soldiers were sent there because we were a colony and had no choice. The Congress supported the war effort. The soldiers travelled thousands of miles and fought bravely in the harshest of conditions. It would be the ultimate disservice to forget them. I wrote the book so we could remember the soldiers, the women they left behind and even the cooks and cleaners who went to the frontline. I think the perspective is changing now in India. More people are talking about the role of the Indian soldier in the World Wars and restoring their place in Indian history. There have been a number of books over the last two years in India. In the UK, I am campaigning that the contribution of Indian soldiers be recognised and included as part of the school curriculum.
There are more people likely to watch Victoria & Abdul than read the book and the reviews have been mixed. Do you feel the truth may be lost?
I think the film has taken the story to a lot of people around the world. It has been a huge box office success in the UK, US, Australia and Europe. It is important that the story is told. I hope it will be successful in India. My book has been on the Sunday Times bestseller list in the UK; clearly people are going to the book to learn more.
How did you construct Abdul given that almost everything related to him was destroyed?
I read Queen Victoria’s journals and her Hindustani journals. I found his grave in Agra and consulted records in the archives. I read the papers and letters between the various Viceroys and the Queen. I read the journals and letters of members of the Royal Household, particularly the diary of the personal physician of the Queen. There were also newspaper reports. The icing on the cake was finding Abdul’s personal diary in Karachi. It gave me his voice and I could finally tell the whole story. I covered three countries and three palaces.
How do you write for an audience that has increasingly no nostalgia for the Raj?
I don’t write for an audience. I write because I want to tell a story. If the story is good, people will read it. My book has been translated in countries such as France, Germany, Italy, Hungary and The Netherlands. There is a request for a Bulgarian translation and, possibly, a Russian one soon. These countries have nothing to do with the Raj.
Was Queen Victoria less imperialist, given that she was willing to try curries and learn Urdu, than the Era she symbolised?
I definitely found Queen Victoria ahead of her time. It was not the fact that she wanted to taste curries, it was the fact that she did not believe in class or race distinctions. She accused her family and Household of racism and class snobbery and called them to task with stern memos and letters. She stood like a rock backing Abdul in the face of opposition. She was very different from her family and the British administration.
