Francois Bernier was a French physician and traveller whose memoir, Travels in the Mughal Empire writes, "Begum Saheb was handsome, lively and passionately beloved of her father which aroused unsavoury rumours. It is believed that Shah Jahan justified this attachment on the decision of the Mullahs. According to them, it would have been unjust to deny the king from gathering fruit from the tree he himself had planted. Shah Jahan reposed unbounded confidence in his favourite child and she watched over his safety. She was so cautiously observant that no dish was allowed on the royal table that had not been prepared under her supervision. Thus it was not surprising that her ascendancy in the Mughal court was nearly unlimited, she regulated the humours of her father and exercised powerful influence over the most weighty concerns".