334 pp. His excessive love and affection gave me feelings of heavenly love and happiness. The movie's title refers to the nickname that other staff members gave the Queen behind her back. which showed how incredibly close the two were, as Abdul eventually became a confidante and trusted advisor. The diaries add weight to suggestions that the queen was arguably far closer to Mr Karim than she was to John Brown - the Scottish servant who befriended her … She graduated in History from St Stephen’s College, Delhi and completed her Masters from Delhi University. In just two months, Victoria was able to write directly to Abdul, instead of having to send instructions through her other Indian servants.Queen Victoria in her later years. The pair married on 10 February, 1840, and by Victoria’s account, the wedding night went off with a, er, bang. Queen Victoria's special friendship with her Indian servant Abdul Karim scandalised England. (PA Images via Getty Images)Thankfully, Abdul's descendants kept his diaries, which is how so much is known about his friendship with the Queen. And much to the horror of the royal family, Victoria began to warm to Abdul, treating him with gifts, titles and honours.Abdul was handpicked to serve Victoria who had recently been christened "Empress of India." Before he departed India, where he lived near Jhansi, he was given a crash course in English, as well as lessons in palace etiquette.He was also given a new wardrobe, but it was said to be more along the lines of a British person's idea of what Indian clothes should look like, rather than what Indian people were actually wearing at the time.Portrait of Abdul by Rudolf Swoboda, 1888. VICTORIA & ABDUL The True Story of the Queen’s Closest Confidant By Shrabani Basu Illustrated. For example, Abdul was often asking the Queen for excessive favours, such as securing a pension for his father and purchasing land for Abdul back in Agra, India.A scene from the film 'Victoria and Abdul'. "But it wasn't long before Victoria insisted on more and more English lessons for Abdul, so that she could communicate with him better. In 1983 she began her career as a trainee journalist in the bustling offices of She has always combined her journalism with her love of history and all her books have evolved from her observations about the shared histories of India and Britain. She graduated in History from St Stephen’s College, Delhi and completed her Masters from Delhi University. She has been invited to speak at several literary festivals including the Cheltenham Literature Festival, Bath Literature Festival, Words by the Water, Keswick, Cambridge History Festival, Jaipur Literature Festival, Indian Summer in Chicago, Seattle and Vancouver and the Lahore Literary Festival. Following Victoria's jubilee celebrations, Abdul travelled to her home on the Isle of Wight, where he prepared some of his favourite meals using spices from his home town. According to the Queen's biographer A.N. Royal Collection. "Racism would have accounted for much of the hate thrown at Abdul, but there were other reasons why the other servants had their noses out of joint. Since UK-based Shrabani Basu is briefly in India to promote a new edition of her first book Curry, The Story of Britain’s Favourite Dish, ... her two daughters and her journalist husband.
This meant Abdul was much more than a servant, he was the Queen's official Indian clerk and no longer was required to do the menial duties expected of other royal servants.It was around this time that other members of the royal family began to realise the closeness of Victoria and Abdul's friendship – and they were not impressed.One reason members of the course were unhappy was due to another close friendship Victoria had cultivated with her Scottish servant John Brown in the aftermath of her husband Albert's death. Victoria allowed Abdul to bring his wife over from India, and invited Abdul's father and other family members to visit England. )Victoria wrote: "Am learning a few words of Hindustani to speak to my servants. Historian Shrabani Basu then managed to find the diaries, which she used to write the source text for the film Victoria and Abdul's friendship survived jealousy, racism and hatred. Her father, C R Basu, was in the Cabinet secretariat and served in Dhaka and Kathmandu, where she did most of her schooling. She was very keen to learn about Indian culture and to learn Urdu (at the time, the language was known as Hindustani. One of her final wishes was that Abdul be a principal mourner at her funeral, which was usually a position reserved to family members.But when Victoria died in 1901, her biggest fears were realised: her children made sure every letter she'd sent to Abdul was burned and he and his wife were quickly deported back to India.But while Victoria's family tried to erase Abdul's names from official records, they couldn't completely erase him from history because his diaries survived.Prince Charles by a life size exhibit of Queen Victoria with her Mushi, Abdul Karim. Perhaps surprising, though, is who she was talking about – not her beloved husband, Albert, who had died in 1861. The Queen met Abdul during festivities for her Golden Jubilee when he was chosen to present her with a … Shrabani was born in Calcutta and grew up in Dhaka, Kathmandu and Delhi. Brown had died in 1883, and now it looked like Abdul was taking his place as the Queen's new confidant.According to author Michael Nelson, Abdul was even using the former bedroom of John Brown – further evidence that he was very much in the Queen's inner circle.Queen Victoria and Albert, Prince Consort, 1861. Vintage Books. She is soon to appear with celebrity chef Heston Blumental in his series Great British Food.
Paper, $16. Queen Victoria’s Indian confidant: an interview with Shrabani Basu; By the time they finally arrived at seven o’clock that evening, the young queen had a headache and had to lie down. "Abdul gave Victoria Urdu lessons, educated her on Indian affairs, and introduced her to Indian food. (Biography.com/Royal.uk)Then, Victoria gave Abdul the title of "Munshi Hafiz Abdul Karim."