Babar, in his Memoirs, gives a long list of Indian fruit trees commencing with the mango, of which he says with his usual observation: 'Such mangoes as are good, are excellent. Many are eaten, but few are good of their kind.' The plantain he considers of the next importance, adding: 'Its tree is not very tall, and indeed is not entitled to the appellation of tree; it is something between a tree and a vegetable.' His list of the flowers new to him in India is short: jasun (Antiaris toxicaria), asoka tree, kanir (oleander), keuri (Pandanus odoratissimus), and last, 'the white jasmine which they call chambeli. It is larger than our jasmine and its perfume is stronger.'
The new Mughal style of gardening developed quickly on being transplanted to India. It began to take on fresh features even in the few years of Babars reign in the country. The water, as we have seen, became more and more the central motive, and many new flowering shrubs, fruits, and vegetables were introduced. But when Babars grandson, the Emperor Akbar, set a precedent by his marriage with a Rajputni, Mariam uz Zamani, Princess of Jaipur, Hindu influence at Court increased rapidly. At Fatehpur Sikri the Rajput Queens Golden House and its little garden can still be seen. This Princess was the mother of the Emperor Jahangir, whose first wife was also a Rajput Princess, so that Shah Jahan, the great builder, was by descent more Rajput than Moslem.
