Life and Conditions of the People of Hindustan (1200–1550 A.D.) c7.s4.49

c7.s4.49

Mention may be made in this connection of the State department for the entertainment and care of official guests. Ibn Batuta has described in detail the arrangements for State guests in the kingdom of Delhi; we may quite believe that similar arrangements existed in provincial kingdoms and in the Deccan.² When the State guests arrived to the frontier of the kingdom, he was received by a distinguished official. A regular staff of cooks and domestics then attended him during his journey to Delhi and catered for his needs on the way. We shall not go into the details of arrangements, but they were on a very lavish scale. At every halting place, the visitor was provided with the choicest food, fruits, dessert and drinks. Not even the smallest detail of entertainment was neglected. When he arrived at the capital, he was presented with a handsome purse. A list of his servants and retainers was taken from him; all of them were classified according to their position and social status, and they also were rewarded handsomely. A daily allowance of flour, mutton, sugar, butter, betel-leaves and other requisites was fixed for him and his establishment on a very liberal scale.³