THE LADY OF THE LOTUS RUP MATI QUEEN OF MANDU The Poetry of Rup Mati ONE page of this book is, alas ! already obsolete. My dear friend H. H. Sir Udaji Rao Puar died while it was in the press, and to him no thanks can now be offered. The dedication must therefore be read as written in his memory. This will long be cherished by his people for his many noble qualities, and by me for the friendship and afiection where-with he honoured me for over sixteen years, during which I was often his guest at Mandu. I desire, however, to express my indebtedness and to oifer my sincerest thanks to the following gentlemen : M. Bashir-ud-din, B.A., LL.B., of Bhopal, who found page by page and put together the Persian Manuscript and checked the translation : L. S. Balbhadra Sinha of Senore, who collected and gave much aid in the translation of Rup Mati’s songs : Pandit Gulab Shankar Dixit, for the spade-work of the translation of the Persian and assistance with that of the Hindi text: Colonel C. E. Luard, C.I.E., for much general assistance, especially in finding, extracting,