Marriages[edit]

 

(From left to right): Pershad’s grandson Raja Ratan Gopal Saincher, his daughter Rani Sultan Kunwar Bibi and Kishen Pershad

 

Pershad with his children, c.1935

Pershad had seven wives. Three were Hindus of Brahmin caste and four were Muslims (which also included Shia Muslims). His Muslim wives bore him six sons; his Hindu wives bore him nine sons. The wives followed their own religion and the children were brought up in the religion of their mother. The children from Muslim wives had Islamic names; the children from Hindu wives had Hindu names.

One of Pershad’s favourite wives was Ghousia Begum. She belonged to an orthodox Muslim family. Although she lived under a strict purdah, they managed to court each other using disguises. According to Islamic law, marriage between a Muslim and a Hindu is not allowed. To marry her, he was ready to convert to Islam. However, Nizam Mahboob Ali Khan was not in favour of him converting as he did not want a Muslim peshkar.

Interests and beliefs[edit]

Pershad wrote Persian and Urdu poems under the pen name “Shad” (English: happy). His poetry was influenced by Sufism. He was also a proponent of Ganga-Jamuni tehzeeb (communal harmony between Hindus and Muslims). He wrote

I am neither Hindu nor a Muslim
My faith reposes in every religion
Shad alone knows of his religious beliefs
As none but the free can fathom the essence of freedom.

Pershad was a patron of poetry, paintings and music. No matter the quality of their work, he encouraged painters, writers and musicians. In the early morning, artists from different parts of India as well as from Persia and Arab countries visited him. He also published an Urdu poetry magazine titled Mahbub Al Kalam. In it the first ghazal was written by Nizam Mahbub Ali Khan, the rest were written by Pershad. The ghazals were written in the form a dialogue between two lovers.

Pershad’s hobbies included painting, playing sitar, photography and sculpting. He was a childhood friend of the Nizam and throughout his life, he was a staunch Nizam loyalist.

The Times of India wrote the following about him:

His charismatic personality and legendary largesse endeared him with the masses. His eminence as the supreme personification of all that was good in erstwhile Hyderabad has ensured that ‘Maharaja’ implies none other than Kishen Pershad.