Treasure Seekers: Empires of India Page #2

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different manners and customs.

It was astonishing,

truly astonishing.

India exceeded his wildest

expectations.

He discovered beautifully

crafted textiles,

refined sugar, perfumes and spices.

Here indeed was a rich land.

As he headed back to Kabul,

his resolve to return was redoubled.

But he would have to bide his time.

For 20 years Babur

made Kabul his home.

to taste the pleasures of life.

Until now he had been a clean living

and sober young Moslem.

In Kabul all that started to change.

At that time I had not committed

the sin of drinking to drunkenness

and did not know the delight

and leisure of being drunk

as it should be known.

Here all the implements of pleasure

and revelry were ready and present.

If I didn't drink now,

when would I?

He discovered a taste for fine wines,

and the sweetmeats laced with

hashish called Ma'jun.

In Kabul he drank often.

His memoirs filled with parties,

drunkenness and head splitting

hangovers.

We drank on the boat until

late that night.

We got on our horses,

reeling from side to side,

then let them gallop free reined.

The next morning they told me I had

galloped into camp holding a torch.

I swear I didn't remember a thing,

except that when I got back to

my tent I was extremely sick.

In Kabul, Babur learned how to let go,

but he never forgot that

if he was ever to take Hindustan

his troops had to stay disciplined.

He had no qualms about

extreme punishments.

I had one of the soldiers clubbed

at the gate for stealing a pot of oil.

He died.

The others were successfully

cowed by this punishment.

As he explored Afghanistan,

this ruthless nomad who was perfectly

capable of

putting entire cities to the sword,

became a keen student of flowers.

All sorts grow in these foothills;

I once counted them and found

We named one the rose scented tulip

because it smelt

rather like a rose;

it grows all by itself

on the Sheikh's plain.

Joy was to sit peacefully in one of

his beautiful highland gardens

and write poetry.

He built no fewer than

ten gardens in Kabul.

Before long, Babur's seven wives had

produced him eighteen children.

He was devoted to all of them

but it was his first born son,

Humayun, who he was determined would

inherit a great kingdom.

Babur bided his time, watching and

waiting for his opportunity in India.

Finally, in 1526, it arrived.

The Sultanate of Delhi was overtaken

by internal strife.

Babur realized his moment had come.

It would be now or never.

Babur marched into Northern India

with 12,000 men.

The sultan of Delhi marched to

meet him

with 100,000 men

and 1,000 armored elephants.

They met on the plain of Panipat

north of Delhi.

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