assailed by intrigue and assassination , tormented by a forbidden love , enthralled by a mystic poet , hawksworth engages war elephants , tiger hunts , the harem of the red fort of agra , the rajput warriors at udaipur , becomes intimate champion to shah jahan , ( builder of the taj mahal ) , and , in his supreme test , plays the sitar with a touch that elicits from the great shah finally , my english friend you understand .