Saving His Highness

The Story revolves around the effort of a Doctor to save the last Nizam Of Hyderabad

Jamaal was a middle aged lawyer in the capital city of Delhi who had reached great heights as an advocate, his house was lush and palatial with the cities hobnobs descending frequently, out of all the stories he galvanized his guest with was the one about his grandfather whom he loved and admired, he dint spend much time with him but was frequently bombarded with stories from his father. He took great pride in his Grandfathers name being echoed in his house. He was the pride of the family. His grandfather served as the personal physician to nizam of hyderabad, he took great pride in proclaiming it at dinner parties at his house. he thought of it to be his lifelong duty to serve the nizam, his health was of utmost importance to him, the nizam always called him by his name and was always genial towards him, he always listened carefully to his advice and accorded him important status in the royal protocol, which afforded him personal access the nizam at any time.

 

The nizam accorded him a high salary and a large apartment in the royal palace, which Salim Jhaffar declined as he wanted a large open space with very frequent visitors, the hustle bustle of the palace snatched the peace he always wanted a house to have, he decided to stay a few miles away from the palace in large stone and gravel house, with a large garden and porches it gave the family a humble aboard. Salim Jhaffar, his wife parveena and their 3 children shifted in to the house, jamaals father had not born yet. Mr Jhaffar decided to request for royal bearers and cooks to make life easy for his family, the request was swiftly accepted and 4 royal bearers were appointed for the newly appointed royal physician.

 

Salim jhaffar was a very fair man, his color was milk white with little red patches which never disappeared, they clung to his face and provided the white smooth surface with little red bosom patches. He had long hair which packed into a turban, always a white one. The turban was the only thing he was finicky about, it was his honor. He could never be lost or disrespect, honor could easily be lost but never earned easily- it took years and years of determination, honesty and benevolence that earned someone respect. Dr Salim decided to walk a few miles every day to the palace to keep a check on the health of the nawab, his attendants kept giving him hourly reports of H.H �"the nizam was suffering through high fever and reason was unknown. Medicines provided by the special medical unit of the British army have not shown much improvement. Dr Salim decided to send two royal attendants to London to get special ointments and pills for the nizam, Salim was certain that the medicines would greatly help in restoring the health of his royal master. The nizam was resting in his private chambers and was alone resting in the gold laced specially handcrafted bed gifted to the nizam which sat right at central part of the main wall. Dr Salim paced through the wide alleys towards the royal chambers, he walked through several large rooms and climbed several steps of stairs that connected to audience hall with royal chamber. He opened the door to his internal apartment and entered the room trying not to make any sound that would disturb his excellency. He silently sat on the chair stationed opposite to his right side, he cautiously picked up his hand and tenderly asked him if there was any pain. The nizam responded in negative, he was too tired to talk, the fever had robbed him of his energy and voracious  enthusiasm, he could no longer roam around the palace and find some thing to day, he wanted to get up and enjoy all the luxuries he was provided as the royal master of the state of Hyderabad. Dr Jhaffar after carefully inspecting his royal patient decided to tell the nizam about his plans to get some medicines from London directly and not through the British stores in the cantonment areas which provided British medicines to British residents. ‘The medicines are exclusive’ said the Dr, ‘due to price not sold in India’ he quickly added. The Nizam was least interested in it, the pain was enough to corner all his attention and lock it up so that it could be nulled. He nodded his  head and blurted to the doctor to go ahead with whatever plan he thought to be necessary, the doctor sensed the discomfort of his patient but he was helpless, he couldn’t help him with the medicines he currently had. The idea of usual herbal medicines were harshly rejected by Salim jaffar who said ‘just throw them out’ ‘I don’t want any one to ever get them inside the palace’. His staunch belief in the western medicine made him intolerant towards the medicines which most of the people of his land bought.

The doctor decided to leave the nawab to rest and conserve his bantam energy. He walked of out the chamber and the main garden on the east side, he walked through lovely flowers and well manicured gardens, with fountains sprinkling water droplets on any one who passed, they filled the air with calm coolness and extreme subtly provides great comfort. He decided to head to the medical room in the palace and briskly sat on his seat started typing a letter on his typewriter , it was addressed to the chief royal attendant to immediately dispatch royal medical expert called Dr vijayanta magaima , deputy surgeon to the prince. He was ordered to leave for England get certain specific kinds of ointments and pills. The letter was wrapped in thin silk paper and dispatched to the concerned department through royal messengers. Dr salim ordered the royal guards to immediately dispatch someone if the nizam needs any medical help, his medical helps were ordered to remain inside royal chambers.

 

Dr salim then walked back home through the narrow crowded bazaars and wide streets which led to his house, he relished the walk back home, he saw the beautiful colours all around, different kinds of fresh food being cooked and soled, meat being sold with wheat bread. The people around gave him energy and made him forget about the little worries he had, the fresh fruits lying on the wooden carts on the side of the roads, the large shops selling cloth or shoes. There was activity all around, people seemed to be happy and reviling their weekly shopping experience. He nonchalantly walked on the side walk, he eventually had to cross a small temple from where he entered to his lane. He causualy looked around, the sounds of bhajans occupied the man in his last stretch. Dr salim entered his house and was greeted by his wife and their little children.

The palace was quite and abeyant, the palace with all its great splendor and majesty was devoid of all the attention it got for its beauty, the great amount of state dinners it held and precious stones and gems which were stashed in underground chambers with metal gates and armed guards, the health of the nizam did not permit him to attend day administrative work nor could he dispense justice to people of his land. Dr salim was ardently waiting for a telegram from London to confirm if Dr vijayanta had purchased the veracious medicines. He reached the palace early in the morning, anticipating the telegram, he kept sipping tea and frequently asked his attendant on any update. Dr salim was worried about the nizam, he thought if they dint get the medicines in time it could cause the nizam losing his life, the nizam was old and his body was reacting less to medicines, the ‘nizam could be in his last leg’ said Salim to a close friend who also was a noble in the court of the nizam. ‘but what about the expensive meds from the brits’ was the question asked by his friend when told about how the pills weren’t doing the wonders with H.H.  ‘They are not the ones we need’ ‘we need specific pills which are only available in London’ said salim. The telegram reached his chamber at lunch and he hurriedly opened and read the contents and gave sigh of relief when he read the confirmation. Dr Vijayanta had successfully purchased the required quantity and was ready to leave for INDIA soon, but their was one glitch.

 

The British ships leaving for the continent are worried due to the tightened war tensions, most of the sea routes had been blocked and naval warships patrolled heavily. The ships were hardly leaving the shores and frequent bombing had caused people to find safe shelter, Dr Vijayanta himself has been hiding in the London underground station which were heavily guarded from the continual bombings which the Germans were calling ‘Blitzkreeg’ . The telegram said that Dr vijayanta would only be able to board a India bound ship by Thursday which was 4 days away. This would take a lot of time worried Dr salim , he knew that the nizam would not be able to saved if the medicines were not delivered on time. The nizams health could not be sustained for more than a week if they keep giving him the medicines they were giving him right now. The words gave him immense pain and dissatisfaction, it frustrated it him that he could not do anything about it. He sat on his wooden chair and stared straight in the wall opposite to him, it had a large painting of a waterfall and a thick forest with its beautiful clump of trees. The whole idea of getting it from London was doubtful in his mind now, he could not imagine anyway through which he could procure the precise medicines. The British hospitals ordered only if there was a need for it. Ordering through the hospital would take even more time. Everything seemed hazy and confusing, Dr Salim could not figure out how he would get of the problem, how will he be able to save the life of the nizam of hyderabad. He immediately wrote a telegram asking Dr vijayanta to try any way possible for him to get the medicines aboard the ship by tomorrow. He wrote how urgent the matter was and asked for a quick reply. He waited patiently through out the day for his reply, he immersed himself in checking the nizams report and deciding the new diet they were planning to give him. He chided the attendant for not keeping a warm jug of water for the nizam, he was late by 10 minutes and was snubbed and asked to remain out of the royal chambers for the day.

The telegram reached the palace at 5, it said that there was absolutely no way the medicines could leave tomorrow because  no ship is setting sail till day after and even if they are they are all going to north America . Dr vijayanta wrote that he is currently at a local doctors house who could give the exact chemical compositions and the same medicine could be tried to be made in India by Dr salim and his medical team. He event went on the assure Dr salim of the validity of what he was trying to do. Dr salim was hesitant in accepting the idea, he trusted Dr vijayanta but dint expect same chemical compositions to be found in the subcontinent. He decided to write back to Dr vijayanta and ask him if it be appropriate and whether such chemical compositions could be found here. He quickly dispatched the telegram and expected the reply soon. He got a reply an hour later which informed him that the chemical composition is the almost the same as ayurvedic medicine found in the foothills of the Himalayas. The words crept into his mind and rejected every word with bias. He couldn’t let the health of his master be depending on some ‘18^th century remedy’, he couldn’t expect the ayurvedic herb to do any better when the modern western medicines could not do anything. He immediately wrote back highlighting his concerns and asking for an alternative. He expected Drvijayanta to understand that science was the way and not some ancient remedy which reeked of ancient ignorance and failure of people to understand or accept rationality.

 

The reply came and it said that the only available option for them was to get the ayurvedic medicine and save the nizams life, he accepted that nothing could beat modern western medicine but wrote that due to non availability of those medicines it is justified to use the other if it could actually do good, he believed that the herb with same chemical composition would provide great relief to the nizam. Dr salim dint know what to do, years of medical training had taught him to put full faith in the modern medicine. His belief would shatter if he started using the ways of the ‘tantric’. His years of training and learning would go waste, he thought. Dr salim wrote back that Dr vijayanta should keep trying for other ways and asked him to send the chemical composition urgently. He immediately walked out of chamber and walked towards the palace gate, he decided to head back home for some rest. The only thing he could think about was the nizams health, he greatly worried that he could not be saved, his years of experience would be of no use.

 

His walk back this time was not that blest, the noise of the moving motor vehicles and the shouts of the vendors irritated his ear, the smoke and smell tortured his blunt nose. The green manicured parks and gardens and the wide streets witnessed Dr salim listlessly walk back home. He crossed the temple which still was playing bhajans at high volume. The people went around doing their work not caring about anything. He looked at the small temple which was probably built several decades ago, it had 3 huge idols of Hindu gods, people sat in two different groups and sang songs in praise of the divine. Beggars lay squirting around the temple in search of some money or food. The temple provided them food, it was the only way those poor could eat, the harsh city and poverty would have killed them otherwise. Dr salim entered the main gate and calmly walked into to house and went straight to his study where he spent the rest of the evening.

He decided to head back to the palace after to check on the nawab. He decided to go to his chambers first to check if there was any message from London, the attendant greeted the doctor and told him about the message, he glanced at the words written. Drvijayanta had just met a renowned doctor in London who said that the herb could do better to save the nizam and they should without any hesitation dispatch royal envoys to get the required the herbs. Dr vijayanta highlighted that the herb was the best option available for them. He also said that science could not solve all problems and the herbal method was the tried and tested way. Dr salim kept the message on his table and left hurriedly to see the nawab, he entered to chambers and inspected the frail old nizam.

 

The nizam was surrounded by his begums and his dozen children, they all looked at the ageing man helplessly and prayed for his recovery. Salim closely inspected the half sleep nizam and briskly walked back to his chamber, he knew that they dint have much time left and he should urgently take a decision regarding what they were to do. He immediately decided to meet the chief minister and update him. He reached the other end of the palace and asked permission to urgently meet the chief minister, the royal guards allowed him hearing the matter to be regarding the nizams health. The chief minister was in his personal chambers. Dr salim entered the main alley and was escorted to the guest room.

 

The chief minister was already present there, he greeted salim and asked him to sit down. Kamaal ghufoor was a short and burly man who seldom laughed, he sat and kept quite. He had his arrogance which made him pariah for many. Dr salim told him about the situation, he told him he dint know what to do. He wanted permission to use ayurvedic medicines. The chief minister after patiently hearing the doctor, smiled and said ‘the matters of health are out of my purview’ ‘the matter is best known to you mr jaffar’. The situation was not what Drsalim expected, he wanted a clear suggestion, he wanted the answer from someone else. ‘but, should we trust the nawab’ s health with the herbs’ asked Drsalim , sitting on teakwood chair right in the center of the colossal guest room. The room was painted in white and the portraits of the nawab adored the freshly painted walls. Kamaal ghufoor feeling his discomfort asked the royal physician to ‘undertake the required actions’, ‘whatever your conscience accepts’ he added. The beclouded doctor could not figure what he could do now he wanted the chief minister to take a decision regarding what was to be done. The chief minister was happy to let the decision be on the doctor, he was skeptical regarding the health of the nawab.

 

Dr salim walked back to his chamber, his mind was clouded with all kinds of things, he couldn’t think straight. The doctor slowly entered the chamber and sat on his desk. He ordered the attendant and asked him to dispatch the chief royal envoy to the British residency at Bombay and request the higher British authorities to immediately dispatch the herb through their counterparts in Shimla, Salim immediately put the royal stamp on the thin yellow request paper. The attendant speedily dispatched the paper through the royal messengers. The Dr sat on his chair introspecting, the actions he took for the nawab, he worried if anything went wrong, whether the respect he earned all these years would be lost in a blow. Salim knew that his years of experience was at stake, if his decision would not be able to save the life of the nawab then his reputation would go for toss, his training and years of practice would go waste, his promise to save every life would not be fulfilled.

Dr salim remembered his young days, his time at the medical school, growing up in Peshawar, life after marriage and what not. He felt blissful thinking of the astounding times he had all his life, the casualness and calmness which filled his life, they were there to remind him how exacting and tedious his life had become. The royal attendant named Irfan qurishi entered the chamber through its primary door which was on the north east side of the dimly light chamber which was congested with thick blue medical books and several bunches of  paper lying around the without any concern. The desk was hardly cleaned, the doctor had given strict orders to not touch his desk, fearing losing any important papers or notes. The room only had a table, chairs and a wooden bed on the extreme end, for the doctor to unwind whenever he feels like. Irfan informed the doctor to immediately accompany him to the royal chambers, as the nizam was feeling a little uneasy and had called for Dr salim. Dr salim sprung up without letting Irfan finish and rushed to the royal chambers , the nizam was lying on his bed groaning in pain, the chief minister and chief imam were sitting on a couch situated opposite to the nizams bed. They sat there quit not trying to disturb the ailing nizam, they whispered to each other in hush tones and talked about what should be done if the nizam decides to leave for his heavenly abode. The duty of the chief minister was to run the kingdom even if the nizam was not present, he knew the mantle would fall to him after the demise of the nizam. Dr salim on a wooden stool placed right beside the bed, he held the nizams hand and asked him if he needs a painkiller to rescue him from the unbearably pain he was suffering, the fever would just not go down. The nizam quietly nodded his head slowly, he eyes were closed and skin had gone pale, he was growing weaker day by day. The nizam was on liquid diet, he could not bite or swallow his food so Dr salim decided to put him on a constant stream of glucose and pain killers. Dr salim silently inspected the frail old body that was lying on the gold laced bed, he told the nizam about the herb and assured him that he will be relieved of his pain as soon as the herbs are mixed with milk and swallowed down the nizams throat. The nizam was least interested in how he would be treated, he just wanted to get well and get down to his business as the nizam of Hyderabad. Dr salim got up and looked at the two important persons sitting innocently on the couch, he gave them a nod indicating that nizam situation is controllable and the nizam could be saved. Dr salim himself was a bit skeptical, he wasn’t sure if the nizam would survive, the fever was very high and it dint respond to any kind of pill, tablet or ointment. Dr salim picked up his papers and left the palace for his home, he asked the attendant to deliver any message from London at his home.

 

Dr salim walked from his chamber to eastern gate of the palace which led to his house, he admired the beauty of the architecture, the high ceiling walls and the extravagance of the palace, the paintings on the walls depicted the nizams of Hyderabad, all of them. The lavish vases collected from all around the world were scattered around signifying the exorbitance of the state of Hyderabad.

 

 

Dr salim sat on the dining table accompanied by his wife and his 3 children, they were about to start their dinner, the bearers dexterously placed the food on the table for the family to start their supper. Parveena broke the silence prevailing and asked her husband about the nizams health, she heard around in the bazaar that the nizam was about to die and there would be total chaos, ‘is he really dying, what after him?’ said the worried sounding parveena. ‘Oh lord, don’t believe in all this, it’s just utterly absurd gossip’, ‘He would be alright very soon after he completes my medication’ added the innocent doctor, ignoring what his mind said. He dint believe that he could be so helpless, months of care and medication could not bring any improvement, how would a little plant save him. ‘ everyone is saying otherwise, they say if the nizam dies the British will take over’ , the rumors that parveena had heard compelled her to believe that something may be wrong. The bazaars and tavern’s were filled with abundant conspiracy theories, enough to feed the ears of everyone in Hyderabad, from British takeover to congress asking for Hyderabad as a part of India after the British decide to leave. There were also rumors saying that the British and the INC would jointly attack the state and overthrow the nizam even before he dies. The bearers kept hovering around the dining table making sure fresh bread was placed swiftly on the table after it finished. Parveena had got the pulse of the matter, she knew  with Dr jhaffars behavior that the rumors might be true and there could be a volatile situation where the family could also suffer. She thought of taking the children back to her parents place in Karachi and come back after every thing settles down. ‘The children are not leaving me and going anywhere’ thundered  Dr Jhaffar, ‘nothing like that will happen until I’m alive’ the dinner table suddenly turned into battle ground, parveena was adamant, she thought the safety of the children were of utmost importance . Dr jhaffar reeling under the huge rock fell on him, tried to assure parveena that nothing like that would happen and the death of the nizam would not lead to the assault. ‘You just don’t care about us’ ‘nizam is all that matters to you’ said the sobbing mother who desperately wanted to take her children to the safety of her parents, she knew that the change of rule always lead to chaos, arson and large scale carnage.

 

Parveena was born in Quetta, her father a local trader married her of at the young age of 16 to a young, educated doctor called Salim jhaffar, her father was rich man who made a lot of money through the opium trade with china and the few mills he ran around qwuetta. The British had given him a government contract to export opium from Karachi port to shanghai port in china, he got a cut in the profits, which made him very prosperous and influential, he decided to marry his youngest daughter to the young doctor whose father he met a few years back and had become close friends with, the friendship evolved into a relationship. The nikkah was to be held in Karachi and the couple were supposed to honeymoon in the valley of Kashmir. The bride groom had never met before their nikkah , the families arranged for everything, the parents decided the mehr amount and qazi was requested to preside over the conspicuous occasion. Parveena was excited and sad, she wanted to get out shackles and run free in the world, she wanted to experience everything she couldn’t as a girl, restricting herself to the 4 walls of her house, the strictness of her culture suffocated her. Marriage was a way through which she would be able to do all that she always wanted to do, her parents would not be there to keep an eye on her. She worried that her husband be the same as her parents and would control and dominate her life, but she knew salim was well educated man who was young and could understand her needs. The wheels of knowledge would have made him realise how absurd some traditions are. Dr salim was exactly the same as she expected. She wore the exclusive jewelry, Sindh or Baluchistan could produce, guests numbering hundreds came for their nikkah which was held at Dr salims house in Karachi, a large palatial house bought by his father a few years back. The celebrations lasted a whole week and It was announced that the bride groom would settle in Bombay, both side wanted the couple to stay in their own respective cities but a compromise was reached and Bombay was chosen as the city of residence.

 

The children quitly a sipped their soups and enjoy the little lumps of chicken floating in the feverous tomato soup. Akbar was 15 and the oldest, Amir was 13 and Shifa was 9. The three children spent most of their day inside their home, playing around with anything they lay their hands, Akbar and Amir spent most of their time playing cricket or trying to learn bridge with ladies that came over the house to play a game of bridge with Mrs jhaffar. Shifa spent her time reading almost anything she could lay her eye on, she was just like her father, who was an avid reader and collected books and journals from all around. The family lived in calmness and simplicity which were engulfed by the desire of Dr jhaffar to not make his family use to luxury, he always believed in a hard days labor. The family principle was never bend and they kept living in the facile world which mostly revolved around their house. The children spent their day studying or playing, parveena always made sure that the children be busy and don’t waste their time just whiling away, she always thought that an empty mind was the house of a devil and wanted her children to make the best of the time available with them.

 

 

 

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Dr jhaffar slouching on the chair in his study kept wondering what the British would be doing right now, would they seriously pursue the search for the herb, will they put it on priority or will this message from the nizam go unnoticed like many other requests sent by the nizam. He thought if they would get the correct herb or will they just give some herb and tell us that it is the one. Dr jhaffar was always suspicious of British civil servants, he thought that the death of the nizam would be greeted with cheerfulness by the civil service, it would give them a facile chance to takeover the state of Hyderabad. Dr jhaffars escapade was interrupted my his chief attendant, Irfan. He walked into the study unnoticed and stood infront of the Dr jhaffar gaping at him. He handed the doctor the urgent message sent to him. Irfan could not understand the words written, he had never read English but he could certainly speak a little.

 

The telegram was from Dr Samuel James from the Army medical Corp stationed in the city of Chail, up in the Himalayas, it was few miles away from the summer capital of Shimla. He wrote that the required herb was not available at the time but a British expedition is currently coming back from the upper reaches of tibet and they have it, the expedition would reach Shimla by tomorrow noon and it would dispatched by them through the royal mail express as soon as they get hold of it. Dr jhaffar knew that the herb would not reach before 4 days, he had to keep the nizams heart beating for the next 4 days. He knew that only prayers could save his life and it would be almost impossible to expect him to survive without some drastic changes. Dr jhaffar decided to meet his decades old friend residing in the new part of the city, he was employed with the with royal army as medical advisor, basically all sick leaves went through him, any permission to discharge on health grounds went through him. He was the man if you urgently needed permission to vacate your duties or extend your leave.

Dr Mangal Shastri was humble man with a tough upringing, his parents abandoned him at a vedic school which in a period of over twenty years instilled every stanza of every paragraph of the vedic texts. Rigorous training through out enabled him to succeed as an expert surgeon. Dr jhaffar cycled several miles to the outskirts to reach shastris house which sat amidst the foothills of kurni range, he passed through the scenic foothills amidst lush trees and flowers blooming on the banks of a small stream rushing down through the mountains finally merging into a large blue water lake. Dr shastri was patiently waiting on his porch to receive his dear friend, after the initial greetings Dr salim immedeitly broached the matter, he asked ‘Mangal! You have known me for decades. I’ve never felt this helpless, no way is the nizam coming out alive with the current medication we have’, ‘ the only way we could probably save him would be through a herbal medicine which we only lay our hands by this fortnight’ he added. Drshastri patiently sitting on his heavy leather couch smiled and cut his nervous friend short. ‘when I was in the middle of the first year of my medical practice I came across this young women who was dying of a unknown infection, no medicine, ointments or surgery could save her.’ ‘but eventually she did not die, I was amused to how she was not dying even after all her vital organs had failed. That women looked almost dead. No one could ever imagine that she would live for more than a day, but she did. Slowly over months that young women recouped, she started eating sold food, began taking walks, started taking a bath on her own. Slowly and steadily she gained what she had lost, her health. Even after gaining her health she still had effects, frequent nausea and migraine caused her distress but over time the medicines started to work on her.’ ‘ but what miracle did get her back from the brink?’ the doctor blurted dying to hear the answer. ‘ Please Mangal tell me the miracle’ he added sounding unlike the ‘westernized Doctor’  he proclaimed himself as.  

 

Dr Shastri looked at him with a poker face and retorted ‘ what got her going were two things; one was that by accident the corner where her bed was suppose to be swept every day so her bed was carried outside in the verandah where she laid for hours a day, the sun provided her with vitamin’s and minerals which we need naturally, it was doing what the medicines could not do. The second was that was that we gave her herbs from the mountains for a month and that enabled her further recovery’. The young women with the help of frequent healthy living , herbs and pills recovered, she had missed either of them then should probably would not have been alive. The story was a clear indication from Dr shastri to take the nizam out if his dingy room out in the open till the herbs arrive which could further enable him start the routine pills and tablets.

The Palace sat amidst the bustling city with a majestic façade hiding the grimness inside. Dr Salim walked into the royal chamber and ordered all bearers to carry the nizams bed out in the open in the main portico, confused they whispered into each other’s ears but without hesitation carried out the duties. The nizams medical equipment with his bed were shifted out in the open. The news flew to the chief ministers chamber who personally decided to descend on the floors of the royal chambers to question the royal physician as to what authority he had to take that decision. Dr salim was instructed the helps about the new diet he was putting the nizam to when the chief minister interrupted and asked ‘ Dr salim what was the rational behind your dangerous decision to shift is highness out in the open’ like he was chiding him as a schoolboy and questioning him why he had not done his work. Dr salim patiently replied ‘ ive decided to shift him here till the herbs don’t arrive to help sweep up all the nutrition that the mighty sun pours on us.’ The chief in irritated tone asks him to withdraw his orders and shift the nizam back  the arguments gets heated with a fierce debate which reaches the queen. Both are summoned to her chambers and asked to explain the confusion, the queen who was listening patiently behind starch white curtains which made her not clearly visible, both argued fiercely in front of her and waited for her to pronounce her judgment, whether the chief ministers or the royal physician orders regarding health would matter. The old queen slightly removed the curtain to make her face visible and said ‘ Im illiterate, I know nothing of matters other than my household, all matters of health are above my head .what I should do as I queen is that I should listen to my trusted chief minister who had advanced several subjects of education and holds great merit amongst the learned for his vast knowledge but I would listen to my heart and order that my bed be also shifted out in the open next to my husband. The chief minister stormed out of the chamber signaling his displeasure.

 

 Within few days the health of the nizam started to get better, he started to wake up and enjoy peacocks playing in the garden, fruits ripening, flowers blooming and birds chirping, he liked it much better out there in the portico. He could watch the gardens the whole day, the sprinkling fountain with majestic gazebos and pavilions filled the landscape. Nizam also started taking some food, eventually the herbs arrived in a special consignment from Shimla with a jeep of British officers accompanying it. The bag of herbs were opened and ordered by the Dr to be stored in large container with lock and key and armed guards. The nizam was made to drink two glasses of herbs mixed with milk for over a month and he started to recoup, regular medicines also started to work. In a period of over six months the nizam was able to start his royal duties, he became as active as ever and went on constant hunting trips and drank the finest wines till he died a decade later. Dr salim had managed to save his reputation, he got his simple happy life back and he had of most important able to save the state of Hyderabad from a British takeover. The doctor had been able to live up to his oath.