Note 38 — The Fourteenth New Year’s Feast from the Auspicious Accession

On Thursday, the 24th of Mihr, the festival of the Dasahrā was held. After the custom of India, they decorated the horses and produced them before me. After I had seen the horses they brought some of the elephants. As Muʿtamid K. on last New Year’s Day had not made any offering, at this festival he presented a golden tablet (tak͟ht), a ruby ring, a piece of coral (bussad), and other items. The tablet was beautifully made. The total value of the offering was Rs. 16,000. As he had brought the things from pure sincerity and loyalty, they were accepted. On this day Zabar-dast K. was promoted to the mansab of 1,000 personal and 400 horse. As the day of the Dasahrā had been fixed as the time of starting, I embarked on a boat with all happy omens and pleasure in the evening, and went on to my goal. I halted for eight days at the first stage that the men might come on, after making all preparations at leisure. Mahābat K. had sent apples from Bangash by runners (dāk-chokī). They arrived very fresh, and were of excellent flavour. I was greatly pleased in eating them. They cannot be compared with the sīb-i-k͟hūb (“the good38 apples”?) of Kabul which I ate there, or with the Samarkand apples that they bring every year. For sweetness and delicacy of flavour they cannot be compared with either of the latter (i.e., the Bangash apples were far better). I had until now never seen such delicate and delicious apples. They say that in Upper Bangash, near Lashkar-dara,39 there is a village called Sīv Rām, in which there are three trees of this apple, and although they have made many trials, they have never found so good ones in any other place. I gave Sayyid Ḥasan, ambassador of my brother S͟hāh ʿAbbās, a dish of these apples in order that he might tell me if there were any better apples in ʿIrāq. He said: “In the whole of Persia the apples of Isfahan are preferred, and they are of the same quality as these.”