Anarkali, (literal meaning:"Bud of Pomegranate") written in 1922, is a romantic play based on a quasi-mythical legend. It tells the story of a beautiful slave girl named Anarkali (a courtesan) who falls in love with Prince Salim, but the romance ultimately leads to her tragic death. Anarkali (birth name was Nadira Begum or Sharf-un-Nissa) had come to Lahore from Iran with a traders' caravan as a young girl. She was endowed with the title of 'Anarkali' (Bud of Pomegranate) by the Mughal Emperor Akbar because she was physically very attractive. It's really amazing that Emperor Jahangir (son and successor to Emperor Akbar) who allegedly got involved romantically with this courtesan girl never mentioned her in his autobiography Tuzk-i-Jahangiri or any other historian of that time mentioned their love saga. Of course, at that time, due to the fear of disapproval by the domineering Emperor Akbar, no historian of that time would risk touching the subject. Yet this tragic love saga persisted and stayed alive among the common public and ended up becoming a popular folktale.
