The Legacy of Muslim Rule in India c5.s8.4

c5.s8.4

Muslim elite were very fond of eating rich and fatty food, both in quality and quantity. Their gluttony was whipped up as much by the love of sumptous dishes as by their habit of hospitality. It also received stimulus from the use of drinks and drugs and was best exhibited during excursions, picnics and arranged dinners. According to Sir Thomas Roe, twenty dishes at a time were served at the tables of the nobles, but sometimes the number went even beyond fifty. But for the extremely poor, people in general enjoyed magnificent meals with sweetmeats and dry and fresh fruit added.¹⁰⁴ All this was possible because food grains were extremely cheap throughout the medieval period as vouched by Barani for the thirteenth, Afif for the fourteenth, Abdullah for the fifteenth and Abul Fazl for the sixteenth centuries.¹⁰⁵ The poor benefited by the situation but the benefit was probably offset by the force and coercion used in keeping prices low as asserted by Barani and Abdullah, the author of *Tarikh-i-Daudi*.