An Indian manservant and Queen Victoria: the story of an unlikely friendship

As the trailer of Victoria & Abdul generates curiosity the world over, we speak to author Shrabani Basu whose non-fiction work forms the basis of the Stephen Frears film

Her six-decade reign, longer than any of her predecessors, is widely regarded as the golden era of Great Britain. Not only did the empire witness monumental expansion, it also evolved socially and culturally. No wonder then, in popular imagination, Queen Victoria represents an image of a monarch who is formidable and invulnerable. However, the Victoria you meet on the pages of Shrabani Basu's book Victoria & Abdul: The True Story of the Queen's Closest Confidant is a woman coming to terms with her loneliness. She finds an unlikely friend in Abdul Karim, her attendant who was brought to Her Majesty's court on the occasion of her golden jubilee celebrations. From teaching her Hindustani to preparing choicest of curries for her, Karim soon earned the Queen's goodwill and was promoted to Munshi. The friendship, however, was frowned upon by the court and Victoria's own family, as is evident from the fact that after she passed away not only was Karim sent back to India but every mention of him in Victoria's journals was destroyed by her son King Edward VII.
Author-journalist Shrabani Basu's meticulous research helped her get her hands on some untouched journals of Victoria. Soon after, Abdul Karim's descendants, who now live in Karachi, reached out to her to hand her Karim's own journal where he documented his own experiences of being in Her Majesty's court. What followed was a single-minded pursuit to tell the world a story buried in history that resulted in the book Victoria & Abdul. As this story is being brought to life on the big screen, London-based Shrabani Basu tells us why Victoria and Abdul's friendship is more layered than what history would have us believe.
What initially set you on the path of researching and examining the friendship between Victoria and Abdul Karim?
I knew that Queen Victoria enjoyed having curries and that she had some Indian servants. But it was only when I went to Osborne House in the Isle of Wight, which was the Queen's holiday home, that I realised her love for India. The Indian corridor had beautiful portraits of Indians that she had personally commissioned. There were paintings of Indian princes as well as ordinary people. There were two portraits of Abdul Karim. He looked more like a nawab than a servant. I wanted to know more about him. In the Durbar Hall, I saw the albums that had many photographs of him. In Queen Victoria's bedroom in Osborne House, there was a hand-painted photograph of Abdul Karim. It was clear he was someone special. I wanted to explore more.

As I started reading Queen Victoria's journals in Windsor Castle, the story started coming alive to me. By the time I had read 13 volumes of her Hindustani journals, I knew I had something to go on. No one had ever seen these journals, as western biographers of Queen Victoria had never accessed them. I travelled to Agra and found his desolate grave in the city. No one had heard of him. The man who had been Queen Victoria's closest companion for as long as 13 years had been forgotten and misunderstood. I felt his story had to be told.

A British-American film helmed by Stephen Frears, the story is finally being told on a big scale. But films, as one has noticed, can often undermine certain subtleties of non-fiction writing. Having seen the film, how do you think it tackles the relationship between the two?
A film is a different creative process. You have to create dialogue, you have to tell a story that spans 13 years in a limited time-frame. In the hands of a good director and screenplay writer, this story can be captured. I was very lucky to get a dream team to work on my book and adapt it for screen. Stephen Frears is a top director. Lee Hall has written a wonderful screenplay that has captured the heart of their relationship. It is funny and sad at the same time. I discussed the multi-layered relationship with both Stephen Frears and Lee Hall. I think both Judi Dench and Ali Fazal bring out the subtleties and nuances of this relationship beautifully.

Author Shrabani Basu
The Queen Victoria one reads about in the book is a strong but emotionally fragile woman. What were the factors that contributed to it?
Victoria was widowed when she was just in her forties. She was devoted to Albert. She chose to wear black all her life after his death. She was a lonely woman, called the Widow of Windsor. As a Queen, she had to live a formal existence, with her family and Household all keeping their distance.
She found a friend in John Brown (her Scottish manservant) after Albert's death and he drew her out of her mourning and depression. When Brown died, she was devastated. Four years later, Abdul Karim entered her life. He transported her to another world. She lived her dream as Empress of India, ate curries, learnt the language and built an Indian room in Osborne. His friendship gave her a new lease of life.
You travelled to Karachi to receive Abdul Karim's journal from his family. As a researcher, what were the most intriguing aspects of his personal journal?
It was amazing to hear his own voice and his thoughts. It gave me a vivid picture of his life in court, the European royalty he mixed with, the presents he gave them, and the presents he received. His respect and admiration for Queen Victoria comes through very clearly. What was also most important to me was the fact that the Royal Household had wanted to suppress this Journal. They were determined that it should never be published. That I could bring this diary to the world after over a hundred years, was thrilling. That it survived the journey from Windsor to Agra and then the violence and riots of the Partition and reached Karachi, made it very special.

What are the larger factors you think are responsible for this friendship being looked down upon?
Victoria's children and the Royal Household hated Abdul because he was an Indian and, worse still, was a commoner. They hated the fact that the Queen was so close to him. It was a question of race and class. They were jealous because the Queen lavished him with land, titles and gave him houses in Balmoral, Windsor and Osborne. He was given his own carriage, servants and lived the good life. It was unbearable to them.

Be it John Brown or Abdul Karim, what made Victoria connect with her manservants at a more humane level?
Both John Brown and Abdul Karim were tall, strong men who cared for Victoria and treated her as a human being. With Abdul Karim, this went further, as she made him her Munshi or teacher. She honoured him with titles. John Brown remained a servant, but Abdul Karim was promoted.

Karim advised Victoria on important matters, sometimes even sectarian politics. Is there any evidence on how astute his vision may have been as an adviser?
Karim advised Victoria on Hindu-Muslim politics, impressed on her that Muslims were a minority in India and needed protection.He also told her frankly, that while she was popular and loved in India, her administration was not, much to the concern of the Viceroy and the secretary of state for India. When Victoria died, there was an outpouring of grief in India, and money was raised by public subscription within days for a memorial for her. Abdul was right about her popularity. The Victoria Memorial in Kolkata, India, is the biggest memorial to the Queen in the world.
anamika@khaleejtimes.com