Travels in the Mogul Empire (Bernier) 9.1.6

9.1.6

Still deeper in the square is the third tent, smaller than those I have spoken of, called Kaluet-kane, the retired spot, or the place of the privy council. To this tent none but the principal ministers of state have access, and it is here that all the important concerns of the kingdom are transacted. Advancing beyond the Kaluet-kane, you come to the King's private tents, which are surrounded by small kanates, of the height of a man, some lined with Maslipatam chintz, painted over with flowers of a hundred different kinds, and others with figured satin, decorated with deep silken fringes. Adjoining the royal tents are those of the Begums, or Princesses, and of the great ladies and principal female attendants of the Seraglio. These tents are also enclosed on every side by rich kanates; and in the midst of them are the tents of the inferior female domestics and other women connected with the Seraglio, placed generally in much the same order, according to the offices of the respective occupants.