A GEOGRAPHICAL LANDMARK – A part of Delhi ridge along which Buddha Jayanti Park has come up | / Photo Credit: HINDU PHOTO ARCHIVES
The news of a maulvi living in an alcove of the Ridge area makes one reflect on the legacy of Feroz Shah Tughlaq who respected men of divinity
Police accosting a maulvi in a forest bordering the Bodyguard Lines of the President’s Estate recently should cause little wonder. Ghazi Norool Hassan, say reports, was found living in an alcove of the Ridge area along with his son, claiming to be the caretaker of a mazar. This shrine is supposed to be very old and in keeping with the legacy of the reign of Feroz Shah Tughlaq. A large part of Delhi was forest area in the 14th Century and this helped the Emperor to indulge in his favourite past-time of hunting. Right from Mehrauli to North Delhi there is evidence of the Sultan’s hunting lodges where he sometimes rested at night too.
While in North Delhi he built an observatory, besides a hunting lodge, a Pir of his time also set up abode in the area and, after drawing a lot of devotees, disappeared one fine day, leaving his admirers shocked. The place has come to be known as Pir Ghaib. On the Ridge near Karol Bagh is the ruined gate of Bhuli Bhatiyari-ka-Mahal. Though Sir Syed Ahmad Khan thought it was a distortion of the name of a nobleman, Bhu Ali Bhatti, there are not many takers for this assertion.
If oral history is to be believed, Bhuli Bhatiyari was the comely daughter of a dhaba owner (Bhaitiyara) with whom the Sultan fell in love while passing that way. There is incidentally a Bhuri Bhatiyari-ki-Masjid (dedicated to a fair innkeeper) opposite the Khooni Darwaza. Another story says Feroz Shah actually fell in love with a gypsy girl for whom he built a palace as she had stolen his heart after offering him a drink of water on a hot summer day while the Sultan was out hunting.
Historian Ishwari Prasad says that Feroz Shah was a pious man, despite being an orthodox Sunni who ill-treated the Shias and non-Muslims. But at the same time he was generous and not fond of shedding blood, like his cousin and mentor Mohammed Bin Tughlaq, whom he had succeeded. Feroz was a great devotee of dervishes, many of whom flourished in his empire. One of them probably was the Pir Sahib of the place where the maulvi was found living secretly for 40 years. The forest area of which the shrine is a part, had many other dargahs which were demolished when New Delhi was built. Raisina Hill was also covered with a forest where wolves, leopards and hyenas were found. So a Forest Ranger’s bungalow was set up there. In later times, this bungalow became part of the Sacred Heart Cathedral and now after renovation, is known as Maria Bhawan.
Some old mosques still exist in nearby areas which may be dating back to Tughlaq times, for that matter the place where now stands Gurdwara Rakabganj was also a jungle once in which during Aurangzeb’s time lived a contractor, Lakhi Singh of the Mughal court. When Guru Tegh Bahadur was beheaded on the orders of Aurangzeb, there was a violent storm, taking advantage of which Lakhi Singh and his eight sons (who had come on horses and bullocks) took the body away, while the Guru’s head was taken away by a man named Jatha. Lakhi Singh drove all the way from Chandni Chowk to the forest where he lived and putting the body in his house set it on fire to avoid suspicion. Later Gurdwara Rakabganj came up there.
But to come back to Feroz Shah, the number of mosques and dargahs that were set up in his reign rivalled the inns, gardens and hospitals. He is said to have laid 1,200 gardens around Delhi and nearby areas in each of which a Sufi found refuge. The Sultan lived up to the age of 90, the longest living ruler of Delhi after Aurangzeb. He was so generous at heart that even while laying siege to a city he would often turn back on hearing the cries of women in distress and suffering from the pangs of hunger, along with their children. Even while on shikar, Feroz Shah would pay obeisance to saints who had set up abode in his empire. Many of them were helped by him to set up khankahs or hospices, and when they died the Sultan was always ready to build a mazar for them.
Once while visiting a dervish he was puzzled on seeing a goat and a tendua (panther) lying in the courtyard of the jungle abode. Seeing his amazement at the sight the dervish told him that in the royal darbar this may not be possible but in his khankah the goat and the panther could lie side by side, forgetting their enmity. When the British built what is now President’s Estate, they reclaimed a lot of forest land in which wild animals roamed. But still a lot of the area acquired by Lutyens and Baker was left as forest land. The mazar of which Noorol Hassan claims to be caretaker is only one among many hidden away from the public eye. Don’t be surprised if in course of time the mazar becomes a regular shrine with an annual Urs. But for this the history of the mazar and of the saint buried there would first have to be determined. Until then Ghazi Noorol Hassan can continue to be caretaker of the legacy bequeathed to him by Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed. The late President himself preferred to be buried outside the New Delhi Jama Masjid, opposite Parliament House, where once the heart-broken poet Hasrat Mohani of “Chupke, chupke aansoon bahana” fame had made his bachelor’s quarters.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Society> History & Culture / December 25th, 2016
A day after staging the internationally-feted heritage play, Quli: Dilon ka Shahzaada , actor-director-playwrighter Mohammad Ali Baig staged its sequel, Saavan-e-Hayat in Golconda Fort this Sunday celebrating the splendour of the Qutub Shahs.
A biographical play on the life of Golconda’s de facto empress, Hayat Bakshi, the only child of Mohammad Quli Qutb Shah and perhaps the most powerful lady of medieval Deccan.
A magnificent blend of great writing and commendable acting ensured the 65 minute play in Hindustani kept the audience glued to their seats.
The play featuring Mohammad Ali Baig in triple roles as Hayat’s father, husband and son, Rashmi Seth as old Hayat, Noor Baig as young Hayat and Ayushi Gupta as adolscent Hayat also featured Vijay Prasad, Kavita Golechha and SA Majeed in prominent roles.
It was well-attended and generously applauded by the theatre lovers and the locals alike who thronged the fort to watch the historic play.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News> City News> Hyderabad News / December 20th, 2016
In 1913, Maharaja Krishna Raja Wadiyar IV appointed William Clarence Rose as the first chief manager of the Bank of Mysore. Whilst in office, Rose collected all British India banknotes of denominations five, ten, fifty and one hundred in a series. When he retired in 1925, he received a wax-paper scroll rolled into a carved silver sheath, mounted on a teak base. Everything was made from melted silver coinage issued by the Raj.
Rose passed all this onto his daughter Vera Katherine Maud Collins, who bequeathed it to her grandson Simon Collins.The latter remembers how the “gift was kept in a 1937 coronation stamp album“ and was passed on two months before his grandmother’s death in 1982. This legacy -along with other historical nuggets -is finding its way back to the city .
The collection will be housed in a museum of Indian currency, expected to come up in Bengaluru next year.
The project is the brainchild of realtor and currency collector Rezwan Razack, who has been collecting Indian paper money since 1971. Spread across 4,000 square feet and located off Brunton Road, the museum is expected to be open to the public in the latter half of 2017. “The intention of setting up the Museum of Indian Paper Money is to display all that there is in my collection. It is to create awareness about our history and our journey so far as a nation, through our currency ,“ says Razack, who is the managing director of city-based Prestige Estates Projects and chairman of the International Banknotes Society’s India chapter.
Among the world’s most prolific collectors of rare currencies, Razack has preserved bills dating back to early 1770s.These include the uni-face (onesided) notes first launched by the government of India, portrait notes of King George V & VI, cash coupons of princely states, Indian notes issued in Pakistan and Burma, special issues made for the Persian Gulf and Haj Pilgrims and all variants of Indian notes -from the Independence era till the latest demonetisation exercise.
E a ch n o t e links us to the way of life in the past and unearths lesser-known stories of our city and country, believes Razack. For instance, on display will be 100-odd Prisoner of War coupons issued by the British. “There were eight camps across India, including Bengaluru, which issued bills from one anna to ten rupees,“ he says.
The museum will comprise of interactive displays, historic facts and trivia, along with stories and essays written by Razack from his own journey and experience as a collector.Architects are working on the blueprint of the museum and estimates should be drawn up by the end of the year, Razack informs.
source: http://www.economictimes.indiatimes.com / The Economic Times / Home> ET Home> Magazines> Panache / by Divya Shekhar, ET Bureau / November 24th, 2016
HERITAGE WATCH: The Abdul Wahab Khan tomb in Kurnool. Photo: U. Subramanyam
The Archaeological Survey of India, which is protecting the monument, will carry out repairs to the 400-year-old structure in Kurnool
The mausoleum or tomb of Abdul Wahab Khan here is going to get a facelift soon. The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) which is protecting the monument has embarked upon the project to carry out repairs to the 400-year-old structure. The Union Tourism Department also announced a grant of Rs. 2 crore for the development of the tomb as tourist spot.
The magnificent structure stands on the bank of river Hundri near Osmania College.
The structure believed to have been constructed in 1618 after death of Abdul Wahab Khan, first nawab of Kurnool, comprises two domes, three verandahs, five arches and parapet walls. The workmanship which is intact four centuries after it was unveiled is much admired.
According to history, Abdul Wahab Khan, Governor of Bijapur Sultan laid siege to Kurnool Fort but failed in his first attempt.
Araviti Gopal Raju, last Kurnool king of Vijayanagara empire, was backed by his relations from Anegondi, Ghani, Own and Penugonda and repulsed the attack. However, when the Bijapur army struck second time, the Kurnool king was left alone and ultimately defeated.
In reward of his victory, the Bijapur Sultan declared Wahab Khan as Nawab of Kurnool. However, his dynasty was replaced by Dawood Khan Panni, representative of Aurangazeb, whose successors continued till the end of 1839 when the British defeated Gulam Rasool Khan.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Vijayawada / by Special Correspondent / Kurnool – July 02nd, 2013
The pallid, smudgy walls of Mahmudabad fort glistened in yellow lights as hundreds of followers of Imam Husain (Prophet Mohammad’s grandson and martyr of Karbala) walked barefoot on the rugged path from the outer gate to its interiors, beating drums and reciting ‘nauha’ (elegy) that filled the air with a tradition that has been part of the cross cultural commemoration of Muharram at the royal estate. For centuries, locals have been an important aspect of the Muharram legacy and on Saturday, Mahmudabad offered a special experience for many first-timers from Lucknow and other cities of India as well as foreign nationals from different religious backgrounds, who took part in the tradition, showcasing the synergistic nature of Awadh’s heritage.
A joint effort of Waqf-e-Maharaja and a citizen-driven initiative working for communal harmony- Shoulder to Shoulder (S2S), ‘Karbala: Beyond Religious Boundaries’ served opportune time for people from different cultures to gather and watch closely what Muharram signifies. An eye-opener to Awadh’s culture, the initiative served also as a platform for breaking several myths about Islam and Shia faith.
“I thought there would be a ‘tamasha’ of people striking their bodies with blades but instead I came to know about the sacrifice of Imam Husain and could feel the pain during the sermon,” said Amit Kumar, part of the entourage from Lucknow.
Visitors witnessed several traditional arts that are part of ‘azadaari’ (mourning) at this Sitapur town and the intangible heritage of Awadh, from melancholic classical Indian ragas on shehnai like Khamaj and Bhairavi , to the recitation of ‘sozkhwani’ and ‘marsiya’ in English and Urdu and experiencing the age old tradition of Nassari-a dying narrative art.
“In most part of the world, I had met only Sunnis from Asia but here is an example of how much more there is to India than just one culture,” said Philipp Jeun from Switzerland.
When the maulana (priest) began his speech on Karbala with: “Dar-e-Husain pe milte hain har khayal ke log/yeh ittehaad ka markaz hai aadmi ke liye (At Husain’s threshold meet people of all ideologies/this is the hub of unity of mankind),” all agreed in unison.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City News> Lucknow / by Yusra Hussain / TNN / October 11th, 2016
The historic tank has been revived with water from the Krishna river
Brimming with water, with women washing clothes at the edge while children swim in the fresh water, it is hard to believe that just a month ago, the Begum Talab, spread across over 234 acres, was a barren wasteland, with few small pools of water.
The ancient tank, built during the rule of Mohammad Adil Shah in 1651, has not seen such water levels for the past five decades. But under an ambitious project of the Water Resources Ministry to rejuvenate and replenish tanks, water from the Krishna river has been drawn to fill the tank and recharge ground water. Over the past year, a 50 km pipeline was laid from the river to the tank. The tank was among seven revived in the district at a cost of Rs 190 crore.
Crucial water source
According to historian Abdulghani Imaratwale, Adil Shah built the tank in the name of one his queens; Jahan Begum. The construction was supervised his commander Afzal Khan to provide drinking water to Bijapur city which then had the population of around nine lakh.
Dr. Imaratwale said the water was not only used for the palaces or prominent places of the kingdom, but also for public consumption as the city did not have other drinking water sources.
The tank, located on the southern part of the city, used to supply water through the earthen pipes to many ganjs (overhead stone tanks). It was the second major water source for the city after the Ramalinga tank. Unfortunately the ganjs and the old pipes have fallen into disrepair,
Expressing elation over the government decision to refill the tank, Dr Imaratwale termed the project a significant step in restoring the history of the city.
“ It is heartening to know that Water Resources Ministry led by M. B. Patil is showing concern to restore and revive the ancient tank which had once served a major water source. The tank still has the same capacity if the water is stored and used,” he said.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National> Karnataka / by Firoz Rozindar / Vijayapura, October 10th, 2016
Bollywood actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui may have backed out of his Ramlila act in riot-affected and divided Muzaffarnagar , but in adjoining Agra, Nizamuddin continues to rock the Ramlila stage.
He’s been doing key roles for over last five years and is Janak, the father of Sita, this time, no less. It wasn’t always that easy for Nizamuddin though.
During his early years in the Ramlila theater, he too faced protests and opposition like the way Nawazuddin did. But he stood his ground. In fact, another Muslim will do the part of Bharat along with him this year.
The 55-year-old Nizamuddin, who is the track man at Agra cantt station in north central railway zone, never had any acting classes but landed up for top notch role in 46th edition of Ramlila theater on dussehra.
Speaking to TOI, Nizamuddin said, “Back in 2010 when I gave my first audition for Ramlila play organized by railway, I was offered roles of Shantanu (father of Shravan) and Rishi Atari (mentor of Sabri). But soon, scores of people from my own community raised questioned on my faith in Islam. I was almost ousted.”
Nizamuddin playing Janak character, father of Sita, sits on the extreme left and delivers his dialogues.
“But as an artist I never changed my stance. There is no sin if a Muslim man acts in Hindu play. Ramlila talks about peace and triumph over evil. Getting a role in Ramlila is a matter of pride for me,” he said.
Expressing his dissent on Bollywood actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui backing out from play after opposition from right wing members, Nizamuddin said, “Nawazuddin is an artist, he should have continued with his act instead of giving up against bullies. I’m sure, the local residents and administration would had supported him if he would have stood up.”
Talking to TOI, director of Ramlila theater, Manoj Singh, who has been playing role of Ravan since 1998, said, “It is amazing to see the zeal of men like Nizamuddin, who outsmart other contestant for the roles. This is blunt and appropriate reply to those people, who want to create enmity and disturbance among different communities.”
“This year we had only two Muslim artists who have notched the top roles, while for the first time a woman has joined the play to act as Sita,” added Singh.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City News> Agra / by Arvind Chauhan / TNN / October 08th, 2016
Abortive takeover bids did not prevent the Muslim influences from impacting the Kashmir society. Long before Kashmir’s transition to Islam, the new faith existed and thrived even during the Hindu rule, says Sara Wani
(Manuscripts of the Holy Qur’an calligraphed in 1237 AD on a 25 feet long and 2.5 inch wide scroll paper. Belived to be gifted by Shiekh Hamza Makhdoom (RA) to Khawaja Miram Bazaz, great grand father of Majid and Ashraf Quazi, who displayed it in an exhibition in Srinagar.)
Mohammed bin Qasim packed home never to return and Ghaznavids’ left, as if vowing never to set foot on mountains guarding Kashmir like a wall. Kashmir kingdom was apparently insulated against the changes that swept proper India. Delhi Muslim kings and Turkish Sultans remained too preoccupied with power consolidation to make any advance toward Kashmir.
But for the ideas and influences, high Himalayas were no impregnable. Then, political boundaries did not stop trade, refugees and even fortune hunters. Kashmir knew of Islam much earlier than the two failed conquests.
In his Shah Hamdan of Kashmir, Kashmir’s former Director of Archives, Archeology, Research and Museums, Prof Fida Mohammad Khan Husnain has referred to a legend that then Kashmir ruler Veenditya’s emissaries had trekked through Bahrain and met the prophet of Islam. “This information is further collaborated in a Persian manuscript entitled Anwar-i-Kashmir, where it is informed that the Holy Prophet did depute Abu Hazifa Yamani in about 8 AH (after Hijra) with letters to the Chinese emperor but the above emissary got held up in Kashmir due to a heavy snowfall,” Husnain wrote. “Veenditya, the Raja of Kashmir treated them well.”
While the author offers no detail about the veracity of the manuscript and its writer, he claims that Caliph Umar ibn Khitab had deputed a delegation of five persons to Kashmir in about 21 AH. He offers no reference to substantiate the claim. Extensive research failed to trace the king in Rajatarangini. At that point of time when Islam was getting established in the deserts of Arabia, Kashmir was witnessing transfer of power from Baladitya, the last Gonanda king, to Karkotas whoso rule begun with Durlabhavardhana (627-649). Even the Thang dynasty records in China suggest that the first Muslim delegation comprising 15 Arabs was led by Said Ibn Abi Waqqas. Thabit ibn Qays accompanied him. Dispatched by Caliph Usman, it met Chinese Emperor Yung-Wei in 651.
But the existence of Muslims in Kashmir is well documented after the fall of Sindh. Chachnama author Alafi bin Hamıd al-Kufı, states that Muhammad Alaf, an Arab mercenary who had served Sindh ruler Dahır (712 A D), sought refuge in Kashmir. The then Kashmir ruler Candrapıda, received him well and bestowed on him the territory of Shakalbar. G M Sufi, the author of Kashir: Being A History of Kashmir has quoted Sir Alexander Cunningham locating Shakalbar somewhere around the slat range saying the territory was then under the control of Kashmir king.
After Alafı’s death, his estate was inherited by one Jahm, who, according to al-Kufı, “built many mosques there”.
Writing in the UNESCO publication History of Civilizations of Central Asia (IV), N A Baloch has quoted al-Bırunı recording that Muhammad bin al-Qasim bin Munabbih who took Multan “belonged to the house of Jahm bin Sama al-Shami, who had allegedly settled in Kashmir as far back as 712–14 and whose descendants had reportedly continued to flourish there.”
Baloch says though Kashmir was ruled, from the eighth century onwards, by the local, independent, originally non-Muslim dynasties, the region had “increasing political contacts with the Muslim rulers of Sind and Khurasan.” Kashmir and Kashgar, then, would be the two main trading states through Gilgit.
(Arabic and Sharda inscription on the grave of Seda Khan, next to Ziarat of Bahauddin Sahib, who died in a battle in the reign of Mummad Shah (1484-1537).)
Gaznavids’ returned home from Rajouri as winters set in and failed to wrest Kashmir from Sangramaraja in 1021. “It is, however, possible that some of Mahmud’s soldiers, finding it difficult to cross the mountains towards the plains of India, stayed behind and settled in Kashmir,” historian Abdul Qayoom Rafiqui writes in the UNESCO publication. “It is after these Turkish invasions that Kalhana refers, for the first time, to the presence of Turuskas (Muslim) in Kashmir when describing the reign of Harsa (1089–1111).”
Venetian adventurer Marco Polo is still a widely reliable traveler of that era. He visited Kashmir in 1260. His description of an “idolatrous” Kashmir, then ruled by Laksmanadeva (1273-86) – an “incompetent” ruler “consistently harassed by the Turks and his turbulent nobles”, is brief but interesting.
“They have an astonishing acquaintance with the devilries of enchantment; insomuch that they make their idols to speak,” Polo records in his Travels of Marco Polo. “They can also by their sorceries bring on changes of weather and produce darkness, and do a number of things so extraordinary that no one without seeing them would believe them.”
While terming Kashmir as the “very original source from which Idolatry has spread abroad”, Polo has made the predominant faith clear. But he has made two other observations.
“There are in this country Eremites (after the fashion of those parts), who dwell in seclusion and practise great abstinence in eating and drinking. They observe strict chastity, and keep from all sins forbidden in their law, so that they are regarded by their own folk as very holy persons. They live to a very great age,” goes the first one.
“The people of the province do not kill animals nor spill blood; so if they want to eat meat they get the Saracens who dwell among them to play the butcher,” is the other observation. Saracen is a generic term for Muslims that Christian writers widely used in Europe.
Evidences suggesting Muslim presence in thirteenth century were further corroborated in August 2012 by Qazi brothers – Ashraf and Majid, originally from Khawaja Bazaar. At an exhibition, they displayed full text of the Qur’an calligraphed in 1237 AD on a 25 ft x 2.5 inch scroll paper. “It is part of our heirloom and we had forgotten it on our attic in our old house under the shingled rooftop and nobody touched the two boxes for nearly 150 years,” Ashraf said. “Once we discovered and opened the box, we discovered the treasure.” The rare manuscript, calligraphed by Fatahullah Kashmiri was gifted by Sheikh Hamzah Makhdoom to Khawaja Miram Bazaz, the great grandfather of the Qazis. It carries a certificate of authenticity and transfer with 35 Ulema as witness. Historians did not expect Muslims to be living in Kashmir, then.
Focusing on the ‘court’, Rajatarangini, Kashmir’s oldest historical chronicle skips mentioning social changes in detail. But the first major mention of a social change is during the reign of Lohara dynasty king Harsa (1089-1101). The king says Kalhana, “introduced into the country more elaborate fashions in dress and ornaments and made his courtiers imitate his own taste for extravagance in personal attire.” The ‘new dress code’, an apparent ‘Western Disturbance’ was explained by M A Stein as the “Mohammedan influence”.
This observation is indicative of a social impact though not a religious transformation. But the Kashmir court was never immune to foreign influence. Even Lalitaditya’s had a Turk minister Cankuna. Stein says he was from Badakhshan or its immediately adjoining tracts on the upper Oxus. Besides, Lalitaditya, “as overlord of India”, according to Maharajas’ of India, by Annmorrow Shrishti was “already recruiting regiments from Central Asia.”
Vajraditiya-Bappiyaka, Lalitaditya’s son who ruled Kashmir for seven years, says Kalhana “sold many men to and introduced in the country many Mleccha practice”.
Apparently, Mlecchs were to Hindu scholarship what Saracens were to European writers. A Sanskrit word, Mleccha means “alien in language and manners, uncouth, inferior”. Their presence was felt throughout the reign of Korkotas’, the dynasty that reigned Kashmir between 663 – 855 AD, coinciding with the period when Arab armies were being dispatched to the length and breadth of the world. Even the Bhavaishya Purana, one of the 18 Puranas of ancient Vedic literature dealing with the future, anticipates the rise of prophet of Islam as “the Acharay of Mlecchas”, a desert resident who would be the embodiment of divine qualities. Some Kashmir historians see Ali Kadal as the Mleccha Mar that Rajatarangini refers to.
Husnain is correct in saying that Islam was brought to Kashmir by non-Muslim Rajas. While Karkota king Vajraditya (761– 767) introduced Mleccha practices, Lohara dynasty king Harsa not only employed Turuska commanders but made temple spoliation a state policy. He confiscated idols possessing the valuable metals, they were made of.
A Hindu iconoclast, Harsa was an interesting character. Initially prudent, courageous and lover of art and music, Sufi feels “his mind was rather demented”. Kalhana see him as “a jumble of contraries”, who was bankrupted by extravagances. To manage his kitty, Kalhana says he would loot the temple treasures, especially the metallic idols. An exploitative taxman, he would even levy night soil! Even though famines, bandits and plagues attacked Kashmir, Harsa never exempted his subjects from taxes. Eventually, his nephews led a rebellion, putting his palace afire, roasting his queens alive and slaying his successors. He was perhaps the only Kashmir king who head was sliced after being hunted down and left to be cremated by a wood-dealer “as a naked pauper”.
Stein has explained Harsa differently. “As Kalhana is particular to specify the new metal statues of gods throughout Kashmir which escaped Harsa’s clutches, we cannot doubt the extent and thoroughness of Harsa’s iconoclasm,” Stein writes. “Can the latter have been instigated or encouraged somehow by the steady advance of Mohammadanism in the territories? Kalhana when relating to these shameful confiscations, gives to Harsa the epithet Turuska i.e; Mohammadan, and later makes reference to Turuska captains being employed in his army and enjoying his favor”.
Having little faith in his people and his soldiery, Harsa had raised a new model for his army. Comprising mostly Ekangas, the royal bodyguards and the Tantrins, the reformed trouble-makers, each group of hundred soldiers was placed under a Muslim commander, thus making it impossible for soldiers to run away or hatch plots. This was the beginning of Muslim influence in Kashmiri politics. After Harsa, Bhiksacara (1120-21) is understood to have raised a Muslim cavalry for his personal guard, a task they eventually failed in.
Harsa, however, was one of the series of puppet kings who misruled Kashmir for nearly 500 years after Lalitaditya (724-60) when court rivalry would change kings in Kashmir like turbans. In between came Avantivarman (855-883) who tried to put the house in order. Putting foreign conquests at halt, he devoted his attention to his state focusing on development, welfare, and delivery of services. As his son succeeded him, things were back to square one with class-wars and internecine battles triggering the political instability and reducing the kingdom to its old territorial confines.
By the time Jayasimha (1128-1155) took over, Muslim mercenaries had gained so much popularity that the king and his army chief, according to Kalhana, would go “into the camp with Yavanas (Muslims).”
The gradual decay of the state and the society had led to such deterioration, according to Rajatarangini that when Sahadeva (1300-1 to 1319-20 AD) took over, Kashmir had reduced to a kingdom of “drunkards, gamblers and profligate women”. So when Mongol king Karmasena’s commander Dulcha (Zulchu) invaded Kashmir in 1320, the king fled to Kishtwar. Nobody resisted 70,000-strong invaders, who devastated Kashmir for eight months, selling men to Tartar traders, setting afire dwellings and standing crops. But the entire army perished over Devsar Mountains in south Kashmir while fleeing Kashmir winters with thousands of men and women slaves.
Dulcha destruction literally marked the end of a long chaotic Hindu rule. That changed Kashmir forever.
(This is the second in a four part series on advent of Islam in Kashmir. Read the first partIslam’s Kashmir Story.)
source: http://www.kashmirlife.net / Kashmir Life / Home> Faith History / Tuesday – February 16th, 2016
As the city is being spruced up for it to sport a bridal look, inside the Palace too, hectic activities have begun to get the elephants ready for the Vijayadashami grand finale. The main attractions on the last day of the festival are the 12 elephants with Arjuna, carrying the Golden Howdah (Ambari), being the cynosure of all eyes.
Special care is taken by the team of Forest Department officials, mahouts and kavadis to ensure that the elephants are fed well and trained so that they can gain enough weight enabling them to stay composed amidst the cheering crowd at the Jumboo Savari. Care is also taken to decorate them with specially designed robes. Their trunks are painted and metal ornaments with hangings are fixed into their tusks.
Among the specialised team is Pasha and Zakaulla, the two mahouts who have retired from service and who are experts in creating the ‘Gaadhi’ or the cushion and ‘Namdha’ or ‘Gouse’, a robe for the elephants. While the ‘Gaadhi’ is tied to the elephant’s back, a ‘Namdha’ covers the elephant skin and looks like a jacket. The ‘Gaadhi’ and ‘Namdha’ are newly made every year.
Explaining the ‘Gaadhi’, Pasha and Zakaulla say that it makes the uneven surface of the elephant plain and look good when the “Namdha” is spread on the elephant. Each ‘Gaadhi’ has a girth of 1.5 ft and the length depends on the size of the elephant.
While Arjuna, the Howdah Elephant’s ‘Gaadhi’ will weigh 500 to 800 kilograms, the ‘Gaadhi’ made for other elephants weigh 250 to 300 kgs. This is because Arjuna has to carry the 750-kg Golden Howdah with the idol of Goddess Chamundeshwari placed inside. The combined weight of the ‘Gaadhi’ and Ambari is around 1,100 to 1,200 kgs.
A special grass that is grown abundantly on lake and river side is used to make the ‘Gaadhi.’ Locally the grass is called ‘Odake Hullu’ that turns soft when dry. The grass is bundled and filled into a soft but sturdy square shaped cloth specially stitched for the purpose. Along with this grass, dry paddy grass is also used to fill the edges.
“The proportion is important to give a soft and sturdy feel,” say the mahouts. Once the grass is filled, the ‘Gaadhi’ is stitched after covering it with jute gunny bags.
“When I was the mahout before 2006, I used to observe people making the ‘Gaadhis’ and ‘Namdhas’ and slowly I learnt the tricks of the trade. I retired in 2006 and since then I am doing this job every year,” says Pasha.
Pasha and Zakaulla have been a part of the festival and have stitched many ‘Gaadhis’ and ‘Namdhas’ for many elephants in the past. The Forest Department officials too have reposed their trust in their skills and summon them every year for the job. While Pasha is the resident of Gandhinagar in Mysuru, Zakaulla is from Gundlupet.
“I have been the mahout for elephants including Radhika, Jayaprakash, Ramani and Chandrika. I retired 10 years ago and I am happy to serve the Naada Habba. I am willing to teach other mahouts on the making of these specialised equipment,” says Zakaulla.
source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Feature Articles / September 26th, 2016
The ongoing curfew in Kashmir has seen a sharp drop in tourists.
Mohammad Qasim (right), 55, and Khushi Mohammad, 35, have been working as palanquin bearers at Vaishno Devi for decades. They confirm that they have never faced any religious biasness here.
Located at a staggering altitude of 5,200 ft above sea level in the Katra valley in Jammu and Kashmir , is the lofty abode of goddess Vaishno Devi. The 13.5 km stretch to the main bhawan (temple housing the holy shrine) is accessible via various modes of transportation, including ponies, electric vehicles, helicopters and, most popularly, its paalkhis (palanquins), operated by two or four bearers a time.
There are over 5,000 palanquin bearers in the area, out of which around 3,500 are Muslims, often seen chanting “jai mata di” on top of their voices during their steep trek to-and-fro the shrine. “I’ve worked all my life here and have never faced any problem,” says 55-year-old Mohammad Qasim, who has been a palanquin-bearer for the last 32 years. “So what if I’m a Muslim, the goddess protects everybody. I get my food from here, so, this place is my home,” he adds.
The famous Katra market wears a grim, desolate look these days, given the conflict in Kashmir that has brought to halt all forms of functionality. The ongoing curfew in Kashmir has seen a sharp drop in tourists. The shopkeepers and locals depend on the pilgrimage, which sees outsiders in throngs, for their daily livelihood. The last two months have been severe, say some of the locals, pointing at the empty roads. But the palanquin-bearers appear strikingly unperturbed.
Khushi Mohammad, 35, smiles as he recalls the last 20 years of his service at the shrine, facing neither any troubles from his own community for visiting a Hindu pilgrimage, nor from the devotees for being a Muslim at the shrine. “We trek even during our Ramadan fast. People are so nice to us, they wait while we read the namaz during our working hours,” he says.
source: http://www.indianexpress.com / The Indian Express / Home> Lifestyle> Life-Style / by Cheena Kapoor / September 18th, 2016
