Con man or royal? The incredible story of a reclusive Indian ‘prince’
The royal family of Oudh has been one of India’s great mysteries. Some say they’ve been there since 1856.
New York Times| Nov 23, 2019
New York Times
By Ellen Barry
NEW DELHI: On a spring
afternoon in 2016, when I was working in India, I received a telephone message
from a recluse who lived in a forest in the middle of Delhi.
The message was passed on by our office manager
through GChat, and it thrilled me so much that I preserved it.
Office manager: Ellen have you been trying to
get in touch with the royal family of Oudh ?
Ellen: this has to be the best telephone message
ever
Office manager: It was quite strange
.. It was quite strange! The secretary left precise instructions for when you should call her — tomorrow between 11 am and 12 noon
Ellen: oh my god
I knew about the royal family of Oudh, of
course. They were one of the city’s great mysteries. Their story was passed
between tea sellers and rickshaw drivers and shopkeepers in Old Delhi: In a
forest, they said, in a palace cut off from the city that surrounds it, lived a
prince, a princess and a queen, said to be the last of a storied Shiite Muslim
royal line.
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