Spy Princess by Shrabani Basu Read Free Book Online Page B

him and Noor never dared to test this threat. She believed he might actually try to end his life and that she could never forgive herself if he did so. Noor’s family felt that her relationship with Goldberg was putting too much pressure on her, while she felt they did not have any understanding of her situation.
    It was true that Noor was under great strain, trying to balance her love for her family and love for her fiancé. For six years she struggled with her emotions, sometimes falling quite ill with the stress of it all.
    Noor felt that her family underestimated her fiancé and never appreciated the fact that he was a fine pianist. She confided in her friend Raymonde’s mother, Madame Prénat, and told her: ‘He is a man in a thousand.’ 28 Strangely, Noor never told Raymonde, her closest friend, about her fiancé. Noor felt Raymonde was too young and innocent to understand the complexity of her relationship.
    Noor’s emotional ups and downs are reflected in her poems from this time. In this one, to her mother, she apologises for her faults and the pain they may have caused.

    How oft throughout life’s puzzling path,
    Our feet have gone astray,
    Ah! Dear Amma you will forgive,
    Our endless faults this day.

    Two other poems of the period, ‘The Song of the Ocean’ and ‘The Song of the Night’, are also very melancholy in tone. In the latter poem Noor wrote ‘Who has heard my painful cry, who has heard my sigh…’ reflecting all the emotions she was going through.
    Musically, Noor was making good progress. She was particularly influenced by the guidance she received from Nadia Boulanger. Between 1930 and 1934, all four of the Inayat Khan children played in concerts at Fazal Manzil when the summer school was on. The audience consisted of visiting Sufis from all over the world, many of whom were also trained musicians. The instruments used by the Inayat Khan family quartet were the violin, cello, piano and harp.
    The four siblings would often go to concerts at the Music School and the large Paris concert halls. The students received free tickets to these concerts and were encouraged to attend them. After the performance they would go and talk to the musicians and Noor, Vilayat, Hidayat and Claire had the privilege of personally meeting the great violinist Joseph Zigetti and the members of the Lener Quartet, besides others who had a great influence on them. The four Inayat Khan youngsters enjoyed these outings, and would often return late at night from the concerts animatedly discussing the merits of the performance. The four were totally immersed in their music studies and Sufi background and had few friends outside the family circle. It is not surprising that they were rather insular and other-worldly.
    One of Noor’s early compositions during her École Normale days was ‘Song to the Butterfly’. Piano music for the piece was given by a Sufi disciple of Inayat Khan. She also composed ‘Prelude for Harp’ and ‘Elegy for Harp and Piano’ which were played at concerts in Fazal Manzil during the summer school to a very good reception.
    When she was in her twenties, Noor took to a more European style of dressing and started using light make-up. She presented an image of a beautiful young lady, elegantly dressed, well mannered and gentle. Vilayat wore a black robe while in Fazal Manzil but in Paris he changed into normal western clothes. Claire, the quiet sister, had always preferred western clothes. The influence of the uncles in Fazal Manzil was now diminishing. Only one of them, Mohammed Khan, still lived there. Maheboob Khan had married the daughter of a leading Dutch family, the van Goens. Musharraf Khan too married a Dutch lady. The Sufi branch grew strong in Holland. The uncles disapproved of Noor going alone to attend classes and returning home late from concerts. But Noor, though always respectful of her elders, was determined to carry on and do exactly what she wanted to do.
    Along with her