Travels in the Mogul Empire (Bernier) 5.7.1

5.7.1

Chah-Jehan was fond of the sex and introduced fairs at every festival, though not always to the satisfaction of some of the Omrahs. He certainly transgressed the bounds of decency in admitting at those times into the seraglio singing and dancing girls called Kenchens (the gilded, the blooming), and in keeping them there for that purpose the whole night; they were not indeed the prostitutes seen in bazaars, but those of a more private and respectable class, who attend the grand weddings of Omrahs and Mansebdars, for the purpose of singing and dancing. Most of these Kenchens are handsome and well dressed, and sing to perfection; and their limbs being extremely supple, they dance with wonderful agility, and are always correct in regard to time; after all, however, they were but common women. It was not enough for Chah-Jehan that the Kenchens visited the fairs; when they came to him on the Wednesdays to pay their reverence at the Am-Kas, according to an ancient custom, he often detained them the whole night, and amused himself with their antics and follies. Aureng-Zebe is more serious than his father; he forbids the Kenchens to enter the seraglio; but, complying with long established usage, does not object to their coming every Wednesday to the Am-Kas, where they make the salam from a certain distance, and then immediately retire. While on the subject of festivals, fairs, and Kenchens, or Kenchemys, I am tempted to relate an anecdote of one of our countrymen, named Bernard.