The pages of this Sanskrit trestise eschew a story of timeless love, passion and the strife it accompanies
Misrigunj is one of the old city areas of Hyderabad where it is easy to get lost as the lanes and bylanes double back and are in no particular order. Even a compass will be of little use, forget about online maps. In one of the lanes that lead on from one of the biggest domes in the city is the grave of Syed Kalimullah Hussaini or, as he was known in his lifetime, Akbar Shah. Walking in the lanes and standing near his grave in Misrigunj, it is difficult to imagine that the young man wrote a Sanskrit treatise on love, heroines and their moods called Sringaramanjari. The treatise on the many moods of love begins with a Guru stuti.
Guru Ganapati Durga Vatukam Shivamachutam
Brahmanam Girijam Lakshmim Vanim Vande Vibhoteye
If Akbar Shah wrote the Sringaramanjari, credit has to be given to Sanskrit scholar Venkataraman Raghavan for resurrecting the book based on two manuscripts and giving insights into the life of Akbar Shah or Bada Akbar. Raghavan became curious in 1943 when he saw a Sanskrit manuscript in Government Oriental Library, Mysore. Using other material from Tanjore Library, Raghavan published a book with an exhaustive introduction leading to the adaptation of the work for Bharatanatyam and Carnatic music.
To understand how a book on love written in Sanskrit by a Muslim scholar living in a Sufi khankah came to be written about in the latter half of seventeenth-century Hyderabad would be a challenge. Akbar Shah was the son of Shah Raju Qattal who traced his lineage back to Gesu Daraz credited with bringing Sufism to Deccan. Akbar Shah grew up in his father’s khankah along with another young boy: Abul Hasan, or as Shah Raju called him Tana Shah(young king).
Painting of Akbar Shah
The lines of religion and language in Deccan were like lines drawn in the sand. It was in Deccan that a king moved his capital from Gulbarga down south to Bidar where the linguistic boundaries of Kannada, Telugu and Marathi met. The language and court practices were a blend of the Persian world and those from the native kingdoms. The taj worn by kings became the colourful pugree in course of time.
It is in this flexible world that a Muslim scholar could sit inside a Sufi khankahat the feet of his father and write a work that dwelt at length about the fickleness of love, heroines, beauty and attraction. If the love of your life is angry, Sringaramanjari has a recipe to solve the problem. It suggests a time and a place with a romantic mood like spring and moonlight. It also gives six ways to win over the love: pleading, gift, winning over her friends, indifference, falling at her feet or changing the circumstances.
One of the topics that Akbar Shah ponders is whether a courtesan is capable of real love and after much deliberation concludes that she has love for one person but feigns love with many so that she can carry on her life.
Unfortunately, Akbar Shah died young. Raghavan uses evidence in the book as well as a firman issued by Aurangzeb to prove that he died before 1675. Much before his playmate, Abul Hasan could rise to the pinnacle of giving one final burst of cultural efflorescence.
The mazar (grave) of Akbar Shah is in a much better shape now than it was in 1949.“People still come here and spread flowers,” says the mutawalli of the dargah of Shah Raju Qattal.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Society> History & Culture / by Serish Nanisetti / September 03rd, 2018
To clean and manage the 13th-century shrine, a Swachh Iconic Place, ₹5.68 crore to be spent
The historical dargah of Sufi mystic Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti in Ajmer is all set to get a facelift as a memorandum of understanding has been signed by the Dargah Committee, the Ajmer Municipal Corporation and Hindustan Zinc for spending ₹5.68 crore to clean and manage the shrine.
The 13th-century dargah has been included among the Swachh Iconic Places, a clean-up initiative focused on iconic heritage, spiritual and cultural places through a multi-stakeholder approach model. The campaign was initiated under the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan in 2016.
Select 100 SIPs across the country will be cleaned and developed at a higher level of sanitation and facility management in collaboration with corporates and leading public sector units as part of the initiative.
In Ajmer, the Collector will act as the project’s nodal agency with the Dargah Committee and ‘khadims’ (workers) being the primary stakeholders. An amount of ₹5.68 crore will be invested in the project’s first phase for establishment of two flower compost making machines, cleaning and basic repair of the Jhalra pond, re-flooring in select areas, procurement of machines for cleaning the floors, risk management system plan, conservation of Shahjahani Gate and initial plans for Nizam Gate.
More amenities
The MoU was signed in Ajmer on Saturday in the presence of Union Minister for Minority Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi. Mr. Naqvi said the project would help in the dargah’s upkeep and provide more facilities to the pilgrims coming during the Urs and in other seasons.
Two flower compost machines have already been installed in Kayad at a cost of ₹27 lakh for churning out about 25 kg of compost from 100 kg of flowers offered at the dargah. A vision document for the shrine has been prepared by a team of architects and building plan and design consultants.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Other States / by Special Correspondent / Jaipur – September 04th, 2018
When Imam Azhar al Qassimi stopped barely 20 minutes into his Friday sermon, many among the faithful were surprised.
Surprise turned to astonishment when they saw a man in a Christian priest’s robes walking into the jummah congregation.
It was Fr Sanu Puthussery, vicar of St Antony’s Church in Vechoor, Kottayam. The priest from the Syro-Malabar Church walked up to the podium, which the imam quickly vacated, and for the next eight minutes, addressed the 250-odd Muslims.
“It was an unbelievably holy experience,” Fr Puthussery told The Telegraph on Sunday about an event being portrayed as a milestone in communal amity and just the inspiration a flood-battered Kerala needs as it inches towards normality.
“I had gone to meet the imam at the Juma Masjid next to our church to thank him and the Muslim community who helped me feed and take care of the 580 flood-hit families who had taken refuge at our church.”
The imam asked him to wait through the Friday prayers, kept his sermon short and left the floor to the Christian priest.
Faced with a food shortage for the 2,000-odd people sheltering at the church, Fr Puthussery had approached the imam on August 17. He “mobilised food, medicines and volunteers” till the families left nine days later.
In a video clip of his thanksgiving address at the mosque, Fr Puthussery is heard saying: “This mosque came as God’s own hands to help those who took refuge at my church.”
He told this newspaper: “I had never even entered a mosque until then…. I spoke about brotherhood…. I could see tears roll down the cheeks of some elderly people.”
The imam said: “Humanity doesn’t have man-made boundaries. If we can continue to live by the same level of love and brotherhood, we can convert this planet into heaven.”
After the floods, Muslims youths have cleaned up temples. A church and a temple were thrown open for Muslims to offer Bakrid prayers as their mosques were under water.
Yassar Arafat, who had led a group of Muslim volunteers in rescue and relief and helped at the church, said the vicar’s address was “a moment everyone at the mosque would cherish through their lives”.
The man who shared the story on Facebook, Niyaz Nasar, said he had just happened to be at the Vechoor mosque although he usually goes to another mosque.
“Perhaps I was destined to be the messenger to reach this story to the world,” an emotional Nasar said.
source: http://www.telegraphindia.com / The Telegraph,Calcutta,India / Home> India / by K.M. Rakesh / September 03rd, 2018
For the fourth year in a row, Shia and Sunni Muslims on Wednesday offered joint namaz on Eid-ul-Azha at Shahnajaf Imambara in Uttar Pradesh’s capital Lucknow
For the fourth year in a row, Shia and Sunni Muslims on Wednesday offered joint namaz on Eid-ul-Azha at Shahnajaf Imambara in Uttar Pradesh’s capital Lucknow.
The namaz was followed by an Eid Milan programme organised and managed by a team of non-Muslim volunteers.
Several known faces, including former DGP Javeed Ahmad, participated in the joint namaz.
The organisers had made special arrangements this year for women to offer prayers. Participants from Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Qatar, who were visiting Lucknow for the festival, participated in the programme organised to promote communal harmony.
The namaz was led by Maulana Mustafa Nadvi.
Like previous years, citizens from other religious communities were present to witness the event and lend support to the cause during the Eid Milan programme organised by Shoulder to Shoulder Foundation, a non-profit organisation.
In view of the devastation caused by floods in Kerala, the volunteers had kept donation boxes at the venue for people to contribute to help rebuild the southern state.
These were particularly useful for those not adept at net banking and other such means.
The amount collected will be transferred to the Kerala Chief Minister’s Relief Fund.
source: http://www.hindustantimes.com / Hindustan Times / Home> Cities> Lucknow / by Press Trust of India / Lucknow – August 22nd, 2018
In the two volumes of ‘Asar-us-Sanadid’, Sir Sayyid combined anecdotes with rigorous measurements and descriptions.
IntroducingAsar-us-Sanadid
by Rana Safvi
Asar-us-Sanadid by Sir Sayyid Ahmad Khan is an important book for many reasons. It was the first time that a book on this scale describing Delhi’s monuments had been written. The first volume was published in 1847 and a second volume in 1854. Though both had the same name and were about Delhi, they were very differently written. The first was an anecdotal description of the buildings, while the second took a more scientific approach with historical references, and the dimensions of the monuments.
It was also the first time in India, that a book had lithographically produced illustrations. As many as 130 illustrations of Delhi’s monuments were drawn by Faiz Ali Khan and Mirza Shahrukh Beg. The drawings were probably based on rough sketches provided by Sayyid Ahmad Khan himself. He made many sketches – a fact he mentions in the book – and also copied the inscriptions on each of the monuments, often at great risk to life and limb, as in the case of the Qutub Minar, where he hung down from the top of the minaret in a basket held by ropes. It was the first time that inscriptions on the buildings were noted down.
Asar-us-Sanadid is an invaluable work. Both editions – Asar-1 and Asar-2 (published in 1847 and 1854, respectively) – were written before the Uprising of 1857. As is well known, much of Shahjahanabad changed during and in the aftermath of the events of 1857. The British broke down many structures to make governance easier and there was massive restructuring, in particular, of the Red Fort.
Later, when Lutyens’ Delhi was being built, many more changes were brought about, not to mention the changes that are still taking place today. Thus, in his descriptions of the buildings and monuments of Delhi prior to 1857, Sayyid Ahmad Khan gives us a glimpse of lost glory. For students of history and heritage this is where its greatest importance lies.
The partition and transfer of population in 1947 meant that the landscape of medieval Delhi was changed further. Today urban development has resulted in encroachment and destruction or alteration of many more monuments.
Mehrauli is the first documented city of Delhi and it was from here that the Tomaras, Chauhan and early Delhi Sultans ruled. As it was a hilly and wooded area it become a favourite of the Mughals too, with the last two emperors shifting here during the monsoons. The last Mughal building is the Zafar Mahal, situated in Mehrauli, which was the royal residence during those months.
A unique festival called Phool Waalon ki Sair was also celebrated in the monsoons under the last two Mughal emperors.
The excerpt below describes some of the buildings in Mehrauli.
The Bagh e Nazir is now Ashoka Mission. According to some monks I spoke to there, the family of Nazir Roz Afsun fared very badly in the riots which took place during the partition of India in 1947, and the lone survivor, a young boy, migrated to Pakistan.
In 1948 Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru gave the land as a gift to the famous Cambodian monk Dharmvara Mahathera on behalf of the Indian state for the purpose of opening a Buddhist institute. It was he who founded the Ashoka mission there. It is now the Official Buddhist Mission in Delhi, known as Ashoka Mission.
The Hauz e Shamsi is a poor reflection of what it was, and though the pavilions of the Jharna still stand forlorn, they are desolate. The water is a dirty and stagnant pool and gone are the diving competitions or sliding stones. The mango orchard has disappeared and there are only residences in the area. One can only thank Sir Sayyed for a glimpse into that era when emperors and their consort picnicked here.
Bagh-E-Nazir
This is a beautiful, attractive, verdant and luxuriant garden near the waterfall of Qutub Sahib [in the Mehrauli area]. It is still very well maintained, with blooming flowers and green trees. The buildings around it are still intact and thousands of people come here during the Phool Walo’n ki Sair procession, to enjoy its beauty. The spectacle is as entertaining as though one were at a fair. This garden was built by Nazir Roz Afzun during the reign of Muhammad Shah Badshah. I will write down the verses inscribed on the entrance as they give the date of the construction and name of the builder:
By the orders of Muhammad Shah Adil,
Whose head bears the sacred crown.
He founded this garden near [the shrine and tomb of] Qutub Sahib,
And has adorned it with the flowers of paradise.
It should remain green till the Day of Judgment,
By the Grace of the Holy Quran.
The year of its construction,
Was found to be the blessed date,
AH 1116 in the thirty-first regnal year of Muhammad Shah.
Bagh-e-Nazir | Courtesy: National Archives of India, New Delhi
A wall surrounds the garden and there are red sandstone buildings of great attraction built all around, within the wall. There is one building in the middle of the garden that is the biggest and best of all the buildings there. Thus I am attaching its sketch here.
Jharna This is a place for recreation and pleasure; it is exotic and unearthly, elegant and refined, interesting and delightful, happiness-bestowing and heart-pleasing. Qutub Sahib’s waterfall [jharna] is famous for its verdant green trees and reminds one of heaven. Initially, Sultan Firoz Shah had constructed a dam here and the wall of the waterfall is that dam. It is still intact.
He had diverted the excess water of Hauz-e-Shamsi reservoir into Naulakh canal [nala] towards the moats of Tughlaqabad Fort. After some years however, the fort was abandoned and water stopped going to that area. The excess water from the Hauz-e-Shamsi then started flowing into the jungles from this dam and was wasted. Nawab Ghazi-ud-Din Khan Firoz Jung built a tank, water channels, and chutes for the water to flow through. The waterfall is an awesome spectacle and pleases the heart, causing the spectator to involuntarily exclaim in delight. There are various buildings around this waterfall which I will describe here.
Jharna | Courtesy National Archives of India, New Delhi
Pavilion on the western side On the western side, adjoining the wall of the dam stands a pavilion at an elevation of 11 feet and 5 inches. It has three arches, and the waterfall cascades down on it. There is an attractive tank in front of it, into which people jump from the roof of this building. During the Phool Walo’n ki Sair festivities people diving into this tank and swimming in it, make for a huge spectacle. They use various diving styles including somersaulting into the water, they also make a pyramid by climbing onto the shoulders of men standing below until the man at the top of the pyramid reaches tree-branch height. Then those at the bottom dive into the tank and all those on their shoulders plunge into the tank. This is called a “tree dive” [darakht kakudna] or a “wild growth dive” [jhad-jhankar ka kudna].
There are thirteen small water pipes under the roof of this building and water from the waterfall flows down through these, via the pavilion, and into the tank. There is a 3.2-feet wide water chute inside the pavilion which falls from a height of 4.3 feet into the tank. There are niches built under the chute in the pavilion wall, and water flows over lighted lamps that are placed within the niches.
This 25-feet square tank has an opening of 1.7 feet for water to flow into it and is 7.6 feet deep. There is a 22 feet long, 6 feet wide and 3.6 feet deep water-channel, which flows out of this tank in a 5.6 feet cascade and is joined by two smaller cascades from the north and south. There are beautifully carved stone chutes [salami pathar] measuring 3 feet 7 inches, to receive the cascade. The water winds its way down the carvings on the chute creating a mesmerising effect.
The water channel in front of this pavilion is 26 feet long, 6 feet wide and 2 feet deep, while the water channel in front of the smaller cascades is 15.3 feet wide, 2.9 feet wide and 8 feet deep. All the water collects at this point and flows into the jungle. The waterfall passes over all these pavilions and the water channel, and in reality it is a truly spellbinding sight. The sound of the flowing water mingles with the singing of the nightingale, the chirping of doves, peacocks dancing and the sounds of merriment of finely attired men and women. It is a mesmerizing scene, which could put Raja Indra’s assembly in the shade.
Pavilion on the northern side There is a very attractive double pavilion on this side. Muin-ud-Din Muhammad Akbar Shah Badshah built the double pavilion in his reign, around three years ago. These are the most attractive buildings in the place.
Pavilion on the southern side There is a three-arched pavilion in this area, with two smaller pavilions on its sides which gives it the impression of being five arched. In addition to this there are two doors next to it, thus making it seven arched. This pavilion was built around 50 years ago in the reign of Shah Alam by Shahji’s brother, whose name was Sayyid Muhammad.
Pavilion on the eastern side There are only mountains on this side and no buildings, but Muhammad Shah Badshah built a stone slide [phisalna pathar] 18 feet 3 inches long and 7 feet 7 inches wide.
The mango orchard There are many mango trees in this area. People tie swings to the branches and have fun swinging on them. Numerous dancing and singing girls gather here to enjoy themselves. In short, this place is magical and the mind boggles at its attractions. There is also a grave here with the following verse inscribed on it:
Abid who was wise, learned, pious and man of intellect,
Was martyred by a dishonest robber.
The invisible crier told me the chronogram of his death,
The soul of Abid, the martyr entered paradise [in] AH 1209.
Hauz-E-Shamsi This reservoir [hauz] was one of a kind. Sultan Shams-ud-Din Altamash built it during his reign and that is why it is famous as Hauz-e-Shamsi. Once upon a time this reservoir was made of red sandstone but now all the stone has been torn off and it is just a simple reservoir and that’s why people call it Qutub Sahib’s reservoir, while some still call it Hauz-e-Shamsi. The water from here feeds the waterfall and also fed the moats of Tughlaqabad in olden days.
It is difficult to imagine there is a reservoir of this size on the face of earth. It is spread across 276 bighas [a land measurement] and its water reaches eight provinces [subahs]! The pavilion has been built around the mark of a hoof which people call the hoofprint of the Prophet’s celestial steed Buraq, but to me it seems a made-up story. God alone knows the truth.
Auliya Masjid On the eastern side of the Hauz-e-Shamsi is a platform and on it another smaller platform about a gaz or so with a small wall. According to legend, Hazrat Khwaja Qutb-ud-Din Bakhtiyar Kaki and other Sufi saints undertook their spiritual retreat/penance [chillah] on it. They built the mosque with their own hands, bringing baskets [of mud from the reservoir] and that’s why it is called Auliya [The Saint’s] Mosque. Now people have plastered it with mortar and lime.
Excerpted with permission from Asar-us-Sanadid, Sayyid Ahmad Khan, translated and edited by Rana Safvi, Tulika Books.
source: http://www.scroll.in / Scroll.in / Home> Book Excerpt / by Sayyid Ahmed Khan & Rana Safvi / August 31st, 2018
Barbaria (Narsingpur District) MADHYA PRADESH / NEW DELHI :
S.H. Raza: Traversing Terrains which opened at the Piramal Museum of Art, Mumbai, will be on view till 16 December 2018. Through the paintings, photographs, diary extracts, and written correspondence between the artist and his contemporaries of the renowned Indian painter, the exhibition presents the story of Raza’s life from the early 1940s to the late 1990s.
A painting workshop that individuals can choose to participate in.
An extensive outreach programme has been put together that draws upon key themes in Raza’s work and the narrative focus of the exhibition to make it accessible and engaging. A host of events including talks, film screenings, workshops and walkthroughs designed to increase the accessibility of Raza’s work for a wide range of audiences are also scheduled.
Programmes like Cycle 16 which will allow visitors to engage with the artists in residence and their on-going projects and a children’s workshop called Raza’s Bindu, which introduces children to the world of art using the most recognizable symbol from Raza’s work, the bindu, are to be held.
A second edition of Art Night Friday, part of the newly established Mumbai Midtown Arts Collective, will take place in late-September. Piramal Museum of Art will hold guided tours in English and Marathi till 10 pm. Towards the end of the month, Connect the Dots 2 is scheduled to be hosted. In this adventurous programme, participants will trace the footsteps of Raza by visiting locations around Mumbai that he frequented.
The registration for a few events is free or starts at INR 650. While most programmes will be held at Piramal Museum of Art in Lower Parel itself, ‘Connect the Dots’ will begin at Jehangir Art Gallery.
Ruby Lal’s book gives a new life to Nur Jahanas Jahangir’s co-sovereign, a position never held by any Mughal woman
While there may be more than a grain of truth in Jahangir’s devotion to his beloved spouse (it has been the subject of several movies), Nur Jahan’s political acumen and gallantry make her phenomenal career trajectory seem inevitable.
The polemical potential of Ruby Lal’s new book is apparent from its title, even before we get to the text proper. Empress: The Astonishing Reign Of Nur Jahan takes the spotlight away from Jahangir, one of the Great Mughals, to shine it on his 20th and favourite wife, who, as Lal proposes, not only scaled untold heights during his reign but also announced herself to be his “co-sovereign”.
“Scholars have for some time acknowledged her power, almost in bullet points, but never in any concrete way thought through it,” says Lal, who teaches at Emory University in the US, on email. “There is still the tendency in scholarly and other writings to lock Nur’s power in a romantic story with Jahangir: in fact, that romance becomes the explanation for her rise.”
While there may be more than a grain of truth in Jahangir’s devotion to his beloved spouse (it has been the subject of several movies), Nur Jahan’s political acumen and gallantry make her phenomenal career trajectory seem inevitable. Lal begins, for instance, with a spectacular scene of a hunt, in which a musket-bearing Nur Jahan kills a man-eating tiger in Mathura, where the royal cavalcade made a stop on its way to the Himalayan foothills in the autumn of 1619. Nur, 42 at the time, had been married to Jahangir, her second husband, since 1611. It was a fate her parents, Ghiyas Beg and Asmat Begum, could never have foreseen when their daughter, Mihr un-Nisa, was born in 1577 by the roadside outside Kandahar, as they fled their home in Herat.
Hounded out of Persia due to religious persecution, Beg sought Akbar’s patronage in the late 16th century, and it was generously provided. Eventually decorated as I’timad ud-Daula, or the Pillar of the State, by his regal son-in-law, Beg went on to assume the highest rank in Jahangir’s service. His family did well by the Mughal rulers too. Beg’s son, Asaf Khan, would turn out to be the future emperor Shah Jahan’s father-in-law. But it was Beg’s daughter, Mihr un-Nisa, honoured by her royal husband as Nur Jahan, or the Light of the World, who assured him a place in history.
If Nur was exemplary for being the first woman in the subcontinent to exercise direct executive privilege, she was doubly impressive for achieving such a status as a rank outsider. “Remember, she was not a Mughal by bloodline,” says Lal, “not like Queen Elizabeth I (of England) or Queen Christina (of Sweden), who were from royal families.” Nur’s elevation, in the context of her times, was certainly unprecedented, though women in the Mughal harem, especially the elders, often did act as confidantes, advisers and counsellors to the emperor.
Gulbadan Banu Begum, Babar’s daughter and Akbar’s aunt, and Hamideh Begum, Akbar’s mother, were matriarchs to reckon with. Nur’s mother, a lady of refinement and education, was credited with the discovery of an itar (perfume) while boiling petals to make rosewater. But no one went as far as Nur, who made appearances on the imperial balcony, issued firmans (orders) and had coins embossed with her own image—all of which were kingly prerogatives. A skilled marksman, Nur would also lead an army later in life in a failed attempt to rescue Jahangir when he was held hostage by one of his aggrieved officials.
Although the Mughal harem has claimed the attention of scholars, Ira Mukhoty’s recent feminist history, Daughters Of The Sun: Empresses, Queens And Begums Of The Mughal Empire, breathed fresh life into it, making it accessible and emotionally absorbing to the common reader. Lal’s book, replete with research but also narrated with a sense of drama befitting a novel, complements it beautifully.
With the paucity of first-person testimonies from the women of the era, it is not surprising that much of the narrative of Empress is pieced together from observations left behind by Nur Jahan’s contemporaries in the footnotes and interstices of archival documents. “The records are plenty and rich,” says Lal, emphatically, “it’s how you approach the courtly documents, paintings, poetry, coins, architecture, and even legends.”
The British diplomat Thomas Roe, for instance, who visited Jahangir’s court to woo him for exclusive trading rights, was piqued by Nur’s bossiness. But her charisma, intelligence and stately demeanour didn’t escape him. “Noormahel fulfils the observation that in all actions of consequence in Court, a woman is not only always an ingredient, but commonly a principal drug of most virtue,” he noted, “and she shows that they are not incapable of conducting business, nor her self void of wit and subtlety.” It’s not hard to imagine why tales were spun around Jahangir’s early infatuation with Nur, since the days he was Prince Salim. Some chroniclers even claim that young Mihr was married off to a fellow Persian nobleman, Ali Quli, to keep her away from the smitten crown prince.
Yet it would be patently unfair to reduce Nur’s influence to her “womanly wiles”. As an astute observer of court politics, she played her hand shrewdly. Initially, she forged an alliance with the ambitious Prince Khurram (later Shah Jahan), but then Nur got her only daughter, Ladli Begum (by her first husband), married to the younger Prince Shahryar, hoping to push the latter for the throne. With Jahangir’s health worsening due to his addiction to alcohol and opium and civil wars breaking out between factions of the royal family, Nur became increasingly anxious about her hold over the palace. The last straw was the ascension of Shah Jahan to the throne after Jahangir’s death when he stripped Nur of her privileges. She was packed off to live on a modest pension away from the court. In exile, too, she conducted herself with the dignity and grace suited to her station as a noblewoman. Known for her philanthropic work for the poor, she also built a tomb for her parents in Agra that would become the model for the Taj Mahal.
Nur Jahan was neither a Machiavellian dissenter nor a feminist rebel, as Lal writes tellingly. She seemed to have accepted the “emphatically patriarchal” norms of her time, the rules of the feudal, aristocratic world she spent her life in. “I do not believe feminist history should be one in which the woman is always a winner,” says Lal. “It is (rather) what she does, and how effectively she does it, despite all odds. Vulnerability is feminist history.”
source: http://www.livemint.com / Live Mint / Home> Lounge> Leisure / by Somak Ghoshal / August 31st, 2018
Of History and Gastronomy: Ira Mukhoty at Jaypee Vasant Continental’s Paatra restaurant in New Delhi | Photo Credit: SHIV KUMAR PUSHPAKAR
From the resilience of Khanzada Begum to the food habits of Akbar, author Ira Mukhoty reveals many Mughal secrets over a lavish vegetarian meal
Those who suffer from colonial hangover or know their Mughals through movies have an exotic notion about the haramam or harem – a place where many women were housed to please the most important man in the empire. Author Ira Mukhoty, who scans history and mythology to find the status of women in India, counters the perception through a well-argued book, “Daughters Of The Sun” (Aleph). “This idea of ‘oriental harem’ came through the British historians because they had a long association with Islam right from the times of crusades. For them, the Mughals, the Sultans and the Tughlaqs were all the same – part of one Islamic marauding entity. The idea was completely false.”
The whole harem space, she says, evolved from the time of Babur, who wanted his women to be well-educated and was pragmatic about women who ‘fell’ to an enemy. “Over a period of time, when Mughals absorbed some elements of Rajput culture, it became a little different but even then it was completely alien to the oriental idea of a sexual space. Most of these women were in no way sexually available to the Padshah. The harem had relatives, other noble men’s wives; there were servants and attendants…there was a huge collection of women but not to please the emperor,” says Ira, as we settle for an elaborate lunch at Jaypee Vasant Continental’s Paatra restaurant.
The catalyst came from Ira’s previous book, Heroines, where she wrote about powerful women in myth and history. “One of them was Jahanara Begum. I was interested in finding more women like her associated with the Mughal empire.” She found many. But the one story that is most compelling is that of Khanzada Begam, the sister of Babur, whom he left behind with Shaybani Khan as war conquest when he escaped from Samarkand. She remained with Khan for ten years but remained true to her brother’s cause. And when she eventually returned to Babur’s household, her sacrifice and resilience was celebrated. “In fact, she went on to be anointed Padshah Begum of Hindustan during Humayun’s reign,” says Ira.
Powerful women
Women are a neglected lot in our history. Ira says this is not specific to our country. “Around the world, women stories are neglected to a smaller space – it is not just about Mughals or India. You first talk about the kings and and rajas. Women were treated like wallpapers. It is not that I have found something special here. The resources have been there but they have seldom been used to join the dots. For instance, Gulbadan Begum’s biography of her father Babur and brother Humayun was translated from Persian into English in 1907.” She reminds how Jahanara Begum wrote about her Sufi masters in two books. “Her lines are very powerful and erotically charged for Sufis believe in erotic love as means for union with the divine. A 17th Century Muslim woman writing such a powerful language is extraordinary.” Ira has tried to find out first hand information about these women who engaged in diplomacy and patronised the arts. “ I have written about Mughal women who were highly educated, who advised emperors and traded with foreigners. Babur saw them as symbols of Timur legacy. He wanted them to engage in verbal repartees and write poetry.”
Ira says her study of royal firmans reveal that Jahanara Begum asked for permission to go for Haj but it was denied. “Years before her, Gulbadan Begum had made the famous journey that lasted seven years. But by the time of Jahanara, royal women were not encouraged to take this hazardous journey. But she did make a request. I looked at the date and it was one month after her sister Roshanara Begum had died. I wondered that did something come over her.” It is her ability to join these dots that makes Ira’s work much more engaging and accessible than academic works by the likes of Prof Ruby Lal, whom Ira has extensively quoted.
“I try to find a thread between these stories to make fully-rounded characters. With women’s stories you get that sense. However, I tell the reader where I am not sure and am talking about possibilities.” Ira, who studied Immunology in Cambridge University, says her science background has always helped her in research. “It gives me patience. History brings subtlety and nuances which interest me much more. Science is no good for that,” she chuckles. Having said that, she doesn’t believe in speculating. “You should tell the reader where you are not sure even if it breaks the rhythm of the story. If I say it could have happened, I expect the reader to make his own mind.”
A vegetarian these days, Ira undertook ‘walks’ to the Walled City to understand the fragrances and the language of the time gone by. “They might not help you with facts, but they definitely help in writing about a past whose remains are very much part of our ecosystem.” As she appreciates the lavish spread at Paatra, she remembers the meal she had at the Nizamuddin dargah.
Introduction to ghee
Ira hasn’t written much about the Mughal kitchen but she has mentioned some instances which give us an idea of what was cooking. For instance, she captures Humayun’s exile in Persia with Hamida Banu Begum after the embarrassing defeat to Sher Shah Suri. “At one point they were actually cooking horsemeat to survive. But when they went to Persia, they were greeted as kings. Suddenly, the meal changed from fibrous, overcooked horsemeat to the amazing food that the Shah would offer them. When they were leaving, Shah Tahmasp wanted a banquet in Hindustani fashion prepared by his guests. What he liked the most was something called dal khuske which was like matar ka pulao. He tasted ghee for the first time as Persians used to cook in fat.”
Over the years, Mughal food became more and more refined. “There came a time when hens were massaged so that the chicken would be soft and tender. Akbar was a frugal eater who used to have just one meal a day but the time for it was not fixed. At any given time around 100 dishes were kept almost ready for him so that they could be served to the emperor at a short notice.”
Ira, who is now working on a biography of Akbar, says the emperor turned vegetarian under the influence of his Rajput wives. “Luckily for us, we have the Akbar’s biography of Bada’uni. He was a conservative person and his account is not glowing with praise like that of Abu’l-Fazl’s. He could not do what Akbar expected of him. He wrote the biography in secret and it was published during Jahangir’s rule. It is fascinating because it tells truthful things about Akbar. He writes that Akbar is so influenced by his Rajput wives that he gave up meat and indulged in Hindu rituals.” Similarly, she says, Gulbadan Begum’s account is very honest in comparison to a male biographer because she is not looking for building an image for posterity. “She writes very candidly like she explains why Humayun was very angry one day. He believed in astrology and always made the journey when the stars were in right alignment. One day he told the women in harem that they would go on an expedition at such and such time. Unfortunately, his new wife fell off the horse. It took her some time to get back. He got furious. He said he would need some opium to calm down. A male biographer would not have put all this but Gulbadan mentions all these intimate details so that we would know the man not just as a king and a conqueror but also as a father, a husband and a son.”
Ira has emerged at a time when Akbar’s legacy is being questioned and anecdotal history is gaining currency in mainstream discourse. She says hers is not a political book. “I am not trying to push any agenda. However, in this atmosphere, it is not unimportant to hear these stories also to clear many of the prejudices that we may have had. When things remain in anecdotal form, it is easy to manipulate them.”
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Society> History & Culture / by Anuj Kumar / August 31st, 2018
The disastrous floods of 2014 in Kashmir is as vivid in Bilal’s mind as if it happened yesterday.
Along with his two brothers, he was stuck in his house in Srinagar for almost 12 hours. The three boys, who had already lost their parents, stared helplessly at the waters which seemed to reflect their fear of death. But fortunately for them, their uncle managed to find his way to their house in a boat and rescued them.
Bilal Ahmed Sofi, a 29-year-old marketing professional from Srinagar, was reminded of those days when he heard about the flood waters rising in the other end of the country, Kerala. The youngster, who has been working as part of a social service group who calls themselves Athrout Kashmir , kept everything else in the backburner and took off to Kerala, along with two other selfless souls from the group — businessmen Abdul Hamid and Waseem Hakim.
“We flew from Kashmir to Bengaluru first, to source some medicines. From there, we took off to Wayanad by road as it was in the news as one of the most affected districts,” says Bilal. The three-men army from Kashmir helped out the volunteers in Wayanad with medicines, supplies and more for almost a week here, and left only after assuring that if ever in need, they wouldn’t hesitate to come back and help again. “Athrout is a Kashmiri word which means a helping hand. We have many college students, youngsters and more as part of the group and we help with many things like conducting weddings of girls from poor families, helping the unemployed youth start a business, providing medicines, disaster relief, and more to those in need, wherever possible for us.” But then, what inspired them to come all the way to Kerala, from the other end of the country? “I believe that for volunteers, there are no boundaries,” says Bilal.
Hamid, who has also helped the victims of Chennai floods
in 2015, says, “I feel that the most difficult aspect during such a disaster is overcoming that mental stress, induced when watching your house getting torn down, nature in all her fury and being tormented by thoughts on what would one do from now on. Though there was a language barrier, we tried our best to talk to people and reassure them on how it’s still possible to rebuild their lives, from our own experiences.” The three also joined the various relief groups and visited villages, interacting with people, inquiring their needs and meeting them.
The three feel that when compared to how the authorities in Kashmir handled the floods, Kerala fared much better. Hamid says, “First of all, there was no religion causing any divide at least compared to the Northern States. People were helping each other out very well. We were given food from the house of one of the local volunteers and they were even ready to provide us accommodation.”
But it’s the local administration they praise the most. “The relief work was so systematic and well thought out. We could see that even the supplies we bought were first sorted and stored carefully, after which we were given a receipt. “This is a crisis, so we have to make sure all needs are taken care of,’ said some of the officials. When it happened back home, the counterparts there were only trying to save themselves and nothing more. Here, they were also tracking down dead bodies soon enough,” Bilal says.
At the same time, the trio feel that it’s time the government did something to form well-trained volunteer groups for such situations, across States. “Having a mind to serve is great, but it’s also important to have the right skills for it. For instance, a flood relief volunteer should know how to swim and what medicines would help the ailing. If there are such groups of interested citizens, the relief efforts can save lives better,” Bilal adds.
Unveiling a tale that is sure to tease your taste buds, we trace the gastronomic journey of Mughal cuisine in India from Babur to Aurangzeb.
One of the most powerful dynasties of the medieval world, the Mughals are entwined inseparably with India’s history and culture. From art and culture to architecture, they bequeathed to this country a substantial legacy that lives on even today.
But what often gets forgotten is that they also left us a rich culinary legacy — the deliciously complex blend of flavours, spices, and aromas called Mughlai cuisine.
Tracing the origins of this cuisine in India, we unveil a tale that is sure to tease your taste buds!
Lavish and extravagant in taste, the Mughals were connoisseurs of rich, complex and sumptuous recipes. Creating such dishes meant that cooking in royal kitchens was a riot of colours, fragrances, and harried experiments.
Curries and gravies were often made richer with milk, cream and yoghurt, with dishes being garnished with edible flowers and foils of precious metals like gold and silver.
It was also not uncommon for the shahikhansama (chief cook) to consult with the shahihakim (chief physician) while planning the royal menu, making sure to include medicinally beneficial ingredients. For instance, each grain of rice for the biryani was coated with silver-flecked oil (this was believed to aid digestion and act as an aphrodisiac).
Flavour-wise, the royal cuisine of the Mughals was an amalgamation of all kinds of culinary traditions: Uzbek, Persian, Afghani, Kashmiri, Punjabi and a touch of the Deccan. Interestingly, Shah Jahan’s recipe book Nuskhah-yi Shah Jahani reveals much about the intermingling of these traditions in the imperial kitchens, including a fascinating account of the then-world’s largest sugar lump!
As for the contributions of the Mughal emperors themselves, each of them added his own chapter.
The foundation, of course, was laid by Babur — the dynastic founder who brought to India not just an army, but immense nostalgia for a childhood spent in the craggy mountains of Uzbekistan.
Not a fan of Indian food, he prefered the cuisine of his native Samarkand, especially the fruits. A legend has it that the the first Mughal emperor would often be moved to tears by the sweet flavour of melons, a painful reminder of the home he’d lost. Interestingly though, he loved fish – which he did not get back in Uzbekistan!
Historical accounts also reveal the prevalence of cooking in earth ovens — earthen pots full of rice, spices and whatever meats were available would be buried in hot pits, before being eventually dug up and served to the warriors. As this suggests, Babur’s cooks were primarily attuned to war campaign diets and employed simple grilling techniques that utilised Indian ingredients.
On the other hand, Humayun — an emperor who spent much of his life in exile — brought Persian influences to the Mughal table. More accurately, it was his Iranian wife Hamida who introduced the lavish use of saffron and dry fruits in the royal kitchens during the first half of the 16th century.
Humayun was also immensely fond of sherbet. So beverages in the royal household began being flavoured with fruits. As such, ice was brought from the mountains to keep the drinks cool and palatable.
However, it was during Akbar’s reign that Mughlai cuisine truly began evolving. Thanks to his many marital alliances, his cooks came from all corners of India and fused their cooking styles with Persian flavours.
The result? Some of the most unique, elaborate and delicious meals in Mughlai food.
Take, for instance, the magnificent Murgh Musallam, a whole, masala-marinated chicken stuffed with a spice-infused mixture of minced meat and boiled eggs before being slow-cooked.
Or Navratan Korma (curry of nine gems), a deceptively delicious dish prepared from nine different vegetables coated in a subtly sweet cashew-and-cream sauce.
Interestingly, Akbar was a vegetarian three times a week and even cultivated his own kitchen garden — the emperor ensured that his plants were carefully nourished with rosewater so that the vegetables would smell fragrant on being cooked!
Akbar’s wife, Jodha Bai, is also believed to have introduced panchmeldal (also called panchratna dal) into the predominantly non-vegetarian Mughal kitchen, along with a handful of other vegetarian dishes. It became such a big hit with Mughal royalty that by the time Shah Jahan took over the throne, the court had its own shahi panchmel dal recipe!
Mughlai cuisine continued to evolve swiftly during Jehangir’s reign. The reins of the empire lay with his twentieth wife, Mehr-un-Nisa (better known as Nur Jahan). An enormously powerful figure at the royal court, the empress would often be gifted unique preparations by visiting traders from European nations such as France, Britain and Netherlands.
A true aesthete by nature, Nur Jahan used these ideas to create her legendary wines, rainbow-coloured yoghurt and dishes decorated with pretty patterns of rice powder glaze and candied fruit peels!
Noor Jahan (left) and her plate — it was decorated with an inlay of rubies, emerald and gold thread.
However, it was during the reign of Jehangir’s son that the Mughal cuisine reached its zenith. The greatest of the Mughals in pomp and show, Shah Jahan’s first step was to enlarge the menu devised by his father and grandfather.
He instructed his cooks to add more of spices like haldi, jeera and dhania to royal recipes for their medicinal properties. Interestingly, a legend has it that his cooks also added red chilli powder to keep evil spirits at bay!
Another legend explains the origins of the nihari, a spicy meat stew that is slow-cooked overnight in large cauldrons called shab deg. This is how the story goes:
In the 17th century, soon after Shah Jahan established his capital in Delhi, a virulent flu swept through the sprawling city. It was then that the shahi khansama and the shahi hakim joined their hands to devise a robust spice-packed stew that would keep the body warm and fortified!
Interesting, another popular story traces the origins of biryani to Mumtaz Mahal, Shah Jahan’s beautiful queen who inspired the Taj Mahal.
It is said that Mumtaz once visited the army barracks and found the Mughal soldiers looking weak and undernourished. She asked the chef to prepare a special dish that combined meat and rice to provide balanced nutrition to the soldiers – and the result was the biryani of course!
The extravagance of Mughlai cuisine during Shah Jahan’s reign was toned down by his son Aurangzeb.
The most religious and frugal of all the Mughal emperors, Aurangzeb fancied vegetarian dishes like the aforementioned panchmel dal more than the roast meat dishes that found favour with his uncles and brothers.
According to Rukat-e-Alamgiri (a book with letters from Aurangzeb to his son), Qubooli — an elaborate biryani made with rice, basil, Bengal gram, dried apricot, almond and curd — also held a place of pride on the dining table of Aurangzeb.
It was also during Aurangzeb’s reign the intermingling of Mughal and Deccan culinary traditions gained momentum (the kitchen moved with the emperor when he went on wars). During this time, Agra and Delhi started to lose their preeminence as hubs of Mughal culture, with the focus shifting to cities like Hyderabad and Lucknow.
Take, for instance, haleem, present-day Hyderabad’s favourite Ramzan street food which also has a prized Geographical Indication (GI) tag.
A deliciously thick paste of meat, wheat, spices and ghee, haleem‘s first recorded appearance in India was in the 16th century according to the historical text Ain-i-Akbari.
Written by Abul Fazl, the book also mentions that there was a Minister of Kitchen during the reign of Akbar.
While the dish’s exact origins are difficult to pinpoint, haleem is believed to have made its gastronomical journey to the Deccan during the Mughal era.
In the years to come, the secrets of the imperial kitchens gradually made their way across the country — not just to the royal kitchens of princely states but also to the gullies and bazaars of many Indian towns.
And over the centuries, they made their way to fancy restaurants, old-school outlets and home delivery services in bustling cosmopolitan cities.
So the next time you dial for Mughlai paratha and Reshmi Tikka, spend a minute thinking about (and perhaps, thanking) all those food-loving emperors, their fashionable wives and their hardworking khansamas!
Interestingly, the tale of Mughal culinary culture is incomplete without a mention of the dynasty’s fondness for mangoes!
A sole exception to this rule, Babur had little time for mangoes. However, such was Humayun’s love for the fruit that he took care to ensure a good supply of mangoes (through a well-established courier system) while on the run from India to Kabul.
A painting of royal women shooting down mangoes during the Mughal era.
Akbar built the vast Lakhi Bagh near Darbhanga, growing over a hundred thousand mango trees. This was one of the earliest examples of the grafting of mangoes, including the Totapuri, the Rataul and the expensive Kesar.
Shah Jahan’s fondness for mangoes was so deep that he had his own son, Aurangzeb, punished and placed under house arrest because the latter kept all the mangoes in the palace for himself!
In fact, Jehangir and Shah Jahan even awarded their khansamas for their unique creations like Aam Panna, Aam ka Lauz and Aam Ka Meetha Pulao (a delicate mango dessert sold all through the summer in Shahjahanabad). It was also mangoes that Aurangzeb sent to Shah Abbas of Persia to support him in his fight for the throne!
(Edited By Vinayak Hegde)
source: http://www.thebetterindia.com / The Better India / Home> Food> History> India / by Sanchari Pal / August 31st, 2018
