But the British overruled Akbar Shah's decision as they thought the younger prince was not only wayward but a drunkard. Some alleged that this was because of the monarch's love for boys in his youth, which made his father, Akbar Shah II decide against making him heir apparent, and Zafar's step-mother, Mumtaz Mahal II advocating the cause of her own son, Mirza Jahangir. Zeenat attracted the emperor's eye because of her tomboyish figure.
And yet this place was one of the most posh areas of Shahjahanabad. At one corner a dhobi plies his trade of ironing out clothes and dirt and refuge litter the street over which all sorts of vehicles weave their way in and out. A girls' school now occupies the inner space and outside is a rabbit's warren of shops overhung with electric wires and signboards. Zeenat Mahal has almost disappeared, with only the badly marred façade and boundary wall staring the passerby in the face.
His mansion was not far from that of the queen and still exists with much of its earlier trappings, including the beautiful 19th Century chandeliers. This was not true because Ahsanullah Khan was a man of great foresight who advised Bahadur Shah to adopt a cautions approach lest the rebellion failed to dislodge the East India Company Sarkar.
Zeenat Mahal was the youngest and favourite queen of Bahadur Shah Zafar, who was the age of her grandfather, and key participant in the Revolt of 1857, collaborating at first with nobles like Hakim Ahsanullah Khan alias Gangaram Yahudi (a name coined by his enemies) but charting out her own course after she suspected the emperor's physician of being a British mole. While there are rumours that the well inside the haveli is haunted because the British used to dump the bodies of Indian freedom fighters there, that really cannot be cited as a reason for the neglect and ill-maintenance that the haveli has suffered over the years.Passing by Zeenat Mahal's palace (also known as Zeenat Mahal) in Lal Kuan in old Delhi fills one with dismay at the plight of this once magnificent 1846 structure. It is indeed very difficult to imagine that instead of rusted, web-infested gates, dusty floors and flimsy, withered walls there lay gilded entrances and windows, and a palace fit for the royals. Visiting the haveli of Zeenat Mahal can be an epiphany! In the lanes of Chandni Chowk, where rickshawalas threaten to ride over your feet, vendors sell sugarcane juice and chhole bhature after every two steps, and it’s not unheard of to walk in pace with goats, it's quite difficult to imagine that along those very lanes lay splendid, luxurious palaces, in which resided queens and courtesans.
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