Ilaa - a self made man

Chapter 4

Five years had passed since Ilaa escaped the harem disguised as a man. She now lived in Paithan while her father travelled to the mill from Sauviragram daily. She had slowly taken over the production of Paithanis and proven her mettle in the trade. The saree mill had now grown twice of its original size. Following the advice from Mr. Dubois, she had started the production of Himroo, using cotton from her village and thus reducing the cost multiple times. She tried to employ as many women as she could and preached the importance of being independent and to be able to make one's own decisions. Not many people knew that she was a girl. She only came back to her beautiful self at nights in her private chambers. However, today she was feeling quite nervous. She was going to the palace in Aurangabad with a small team to see the emperor. She was to present him the finest Paithani and Himroo. But she wasn't sure if the disguise would work in front of the emperor and the courtiers. Too many bitter memories plagued her. Adjusting her turban and tucking a loose strand of hair, she approached the gates of the palace. After passing all the security and clearing a few formalities, she was presented before Emperor Aurangzeb. It was a mark of her success in the trade when the emperor declared that she was to make bales of Paithani and Himroo cloth for the palace exclusively. The quality of her cloth was fit only for the royals and he wished that the entire stock be delivered to the karkhana at the palace where the pieces of cloth would be tailored for exclusive use of the royal family. No one had recognized her. Although she had to sacrifice her identity, she had realized that in this man dominated society her only chance of survival and be independent was to have adorned the garb of men. She had come a long way from the girl who wanted to take an overdose of afeem and kill herself to being 'man' enough to outwit the emperor himself and establish herself as the best in her trade.