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in love with him too, but just as with Krishna, who only really loved Radha, I think the Prophet’s only true love was his young wife, Aisha.”
    Hand in hand, the two friends continue to converse all the way home.
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    â€œWhat a scandal! Dancing half-naked in front of the populace, with his concubines to top it all! And spending exorbitant sums on those ridiculous shows instead of carrying out the reforms we have been demanding for years!”
    In his dark wood-panelled drawing room, lit with copper lamps, Colonel James Outram, the British resident, comfortably settled into a deep leather sofa, is entertaining a few friends. The scene could well be taking place somewhere in distant England, if it were not for the dark-skinned servants wearing white gloves, silently serving the whisky.
    â€œAs of now, all this is over. Gentlemen, I have a great announcement to make. I have just returned from Calcutta where I met with the Governor General Lord Dalhousie. It has been decided that henceforth the state of Awadh will be administered by the East India Company, which will have all powers and financial control. The king will retain his titles, authority over his house and we will grant him a pension of one hundred and fifty thousand rupees a year. If he refuses, we will be obliged to annexe the state and the sovereign will be relieved of all his rights and privileges.”
    The announcement is received with a general outcry. Although the news has been awaited for a long time—Lord Dalhousie has never hidden his desire to offer the Crown this new jewel, the richest state in north India—everyone is surprised at the manner in which this is to be carried out. To annexe the state while they are still bound to the sovereigns of Awadh by numerous treaties, while the rulers of Awadh have always been loyal allies and, in difficult times, have even lent the Company considerable sums, showing good taste never to demand repayment. How could this act possibly be justified before the Indian community?
    â€œCome, gentlemen, it is our moral duty to take control of this state! The natives will thank us for freeing them from this libertine!” exclaims Colonel Outram, indignant at his compatriots’ unexpected reluctance. “For almost ten years we have been asking the king to carry out reforms, and instead of complying, he continues to sing and dance!”
    â€œIt is just the manner in which this whole thing is being handled, sir, that may pose a problem. We all agree in substance: Wajid Ali Shah is totally unfit to govern.”
    â€œLet us rather say that we have done our utmost to prevent him from governing,” intervenes Colonel Simpson, a white-haired gentleman.
    And, unmoved by the reproving outcries, he proceeds.
    â€œI have lived here for twenty-five years, much longer than all of you put together! I collaborated with Major Bird and Colonel Richmond, the resident of Awadh during the first two years of Wajid Ali Shah’s reign. I can testify that as soon as he came to power, the king tried to reform the army and the administration, particularly the legal system, but Colonel Richmond vetoed it. The king then declared himself ready to follow our instructions. In fact, within eight months, advised by the resident and Major Bird, his prime minister had drawn up a far-reaching reform plan that was to be tested in one part of the territory. The king was going to sign it when Colonel Richmond decided to obtain prior approval from Lord Dalhousie, the Governor General in Calcutta. Newly arrived from England, the latter did not even look at the project. He rejected it on the pretext that the reforms would serve no purpose unless they were brought into immediate effect throughout the state of Awadh.
    â€œExasperated, the resident handed in his resignation, as it was clear from that time onward, that no matter what the king did, Awadh was condemned. For economic reasons, the Company had