Lyon and Lucknow may be several thousand miles apart but they are linked by two things: a weaving heritage and one of history's great adventurers, Major-General Claude Martin. Soldier, harem keeper, indigo farmer, palace builder and hot-air balloonist, Martin's life could only perhaps have taken place in the 18th century. A tropical Barry Lyndon, he was born in 1735 to generations of vinegar brewers but, thirsting for adventure, Martin fled Lyon with the Compagnie des Indes. His mother ordered him not to return until he was "in a carriage", and he fought against the British in the Carnatic Wars prior to defecting to the East India Company (enlisting in the Bengal Army) once the French lost their colony of Pondicherry in 1761.
Distrusted by both colonies as a deserter and not-quite-a-gentleman, Martin nevertheless distinguished himself as a strategist and surveyor, with a Machiavellian turn of mind that thrived in the cut and thrust of colonial derring-do. Managing to get himself appointed to the plum role of superintendent of the arsenal for the Nawab of Awadh, Asafud-Daula, at Lucknow, Martin began to amass his fortune. Shadowy was the provenance of most of his riches-backdoor sion with Enlightenment-era treasures, including ranks of classical statues and a philosophical library with many Oriental manuscripts. In true potentate fashion, he installed seven Indian mistresses and two African eunuchs, Mahboob and Amber, whom he acquired from an Arab trader.
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة September 2022 من VOGUE India.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة September 2022 من VOGUE India.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
Breathe In, Breathe Out
A powerful tool to help you master your nervous system or another biohacking buzzword? SIMONE DHONDY explores the inhalations and exhalations of breathwork
Red Pill, Blue Pill
India's nutraceutical industry is booming thanks to advanced technology, distrust of the medical system and rising vanity. With multivitamins becoming purer and more effective, NIDHI GUPTA finds out if supplements have become the new serum
Sign of the times
No longer do you need to have an answer to, \"What is the significance of this?\" when people point to your new tattoo. ARMAN KHAN discovers that everything is on the table when you get inked temporarily
Return to form
Watching the world's most elite athletes deliver the best performances of their careers rekindled SONAKSHI SHARMA's own love for sports
Dimple, All Day
YOU MAY HAVE WATCHED HER ON THE BIG SCREEN FOR OVER FIVE DECADES, BUT DON'T MAKE THE MISTAKE OF ASSUMING THAT YOU KNOW DIMPLE KAPADIA.
MUSIC, TAKE CONTROL
As someone who had always sought safety in numbers, ALIZA FATMA often wondered what her own company would feel like. The answer arrived unexpectedly when she attended her first-ever music festival, one of the largest in the world, all alone
Let it grow
When we think of hardworking farmers toiling in India's scorching heat, we often think of men, the sweat on their brow, the sinews in their arms. JYOTI KUMARI speaks to four women who are championing the invisible female labour that keeps these fields running
YOU'LL NEVER WALK ALONE
When armless archer Sheetal Devi set her sights on the Paralympic Games this year, she knew she had a tough journey ahead of her. Luckily, her mother was with her every step of the way.
Beauty and the feast
The appeal of Indian weddings has always been in a sprawling spread. For additional bragging rights, Aditi Dugar recommends going beyond designer tablecloths and monogrammed napkins.
Sweet serendipity
From a scavenger hunt-inspired proposal to a Moroccan-themed baraat, Malvika Raj and Armaan Rai's love story prioritised playfulness throughout their blended celebrations.