(Guess whose photo this is! Answer at the bottom of this post)

Recently ran into an interesting check-list of items to be addressed to create great tourism experiences.

1. Enrichment and authenticity
2. Partner with community
3. Invent the themes that will intrigue visitors
4. Engage all the seasons
5. Increase the value inside the tourism experience by including access to people, a unique activity, or combination of both. When you do this , you can increase the selling price
6. Invent new forms of programs that incorporate new mixes of activities, people, traditions and places that showcase and celebrate the community. Invention is the key
7. Personalize and customize your services
8. Add interaction and hands-on activities
9. Involve local community and mentor them those not in the tourism industry to help them understand why visitors find what they have to say and offer is very special
10. Add specific local retail items into the experience or package.

Ok. So let us try to apply this check-list to something we know. How about India's best known attraction, the Taj Mahal? (Given the very sterile and - sometime very hassling - experience that is visiting the Taj Mahal, I think some creative thought can help). Here is my take on how one could apply some of these principles to the tourism experience of the Taj Mahal.

Enrichment & Authenticity : An 'immersion' into the world of Shah Jahan - how about setting up a place where travellers can experience in at least a small way, the nature of life at the time of Shah Jahan. Maybe, this can be in the form of a bazaar recreated in authentic historical detail.

Partner with Community: An obvious area would be to bring in the community into this bazaar. There are other options to bring in local musicians, artisans & cooks into an authentic street scene.

Invent themes that will intrigue visitors: How about "Luxury in the time of the Mughal", a theme of what it meant to indulge in luxury fit for a king in Shah Jahan's time. This can cover so many aspects, it is almost endless. As a beginning, the theme can cover Jewelery, Perfumes, Clothing & Transportation (chariots, howdahs etc). The manifestation of the theme can be very multifaceted. It can cover exhibitions, shops, manufacturing, home-stays etc.

Engage all the seasons: This I think is one of the most under-applied principles in Indian tourism. The Indian summer is pretty hot, so we get no tourists at this time. But, think of how we can create a unique experience around this. To me, one of the most impressive features of Mughal architecture was the network of little waterways & fountains across the entire palace that enabled the central asian Mughals to brave the heat of the Indo-gangetic plain. How can we re-create this experience?

Include access to people: For 15 days in a year, the direct descendant of Bahadur Shah Zafar, the last Mughal Emperor will be available at Agra. She will personally talk to a select audience everyday for these 15 days and give them a peek into the world of her ancestors. Extremely unique & authentic, this should be able to bump up the price of an upmarket Taj holiday package by about USD 250 to 500 per person.

Invent new forms of programs: Yup, I really like this. My earlier thought on the bazaar works great for this, especially if that can be clubbed with highly interactive stuff. How about setting aside an area in the bazaar as a street theatre area? In this place, locals as well as travellers are encouraged to come up and show their stuff. From juggling to karaoke, the idea being to mix the modern with the ancient, Indian with foreign and for everyone to have a good time at it. I saw something like this done in Ingos' night market in Goa and I think that is the right direction.

....and so it can go on...

Wonder why nobody does such stuff in India - there is so much raw material to work on. Unfortunately I haven't as yet found anybody who will pay me to put together such ideas.

Hulloooo, anybody there?

Now, about the photo at the top. The photo is of Begum Laila Umahani, direct descendant of Bahadur Shah Zafar, the last Mughal ruler of Delhi. If history had not taken its inexorable course, she would have been sitting on the peacock throne in Delhi. But now, this last of the direct descendants of the Mughals who ruled India for 332 uninterrupted years, lives in a 3 room house in Hyderabad.

That old man, dear readers, is Abu Zafar Sirajuddin Muhammad Bahadur Shah Zafar, probably better known as Bahadur Shah Zafar II. And that photograph, is quite possibly the only one ever taken of a Timurid ruler. For a while I just kept staring at the picture. That old, tired, pathetic looking man, propped up against a mountain of cushions, was royalty. The last Mughal Emperor. Or perhaps more significantly, the last of the Timurid Dynasty. The last of a 500 year old royal family which claimed to have descended from Genghis Khan. The Mongols of Genghis Khan conquered the world and carved an empire bigger than Alexander’s. Timur himself forged an empire that rivaled his supposed ancestor Genghis’, in terms of size. And then there was Zahir Uddin Mohammad Babur Mirza, or simply Babur, Timur Beg’s descendant and ruler of Ferghana who later conquered Hindustan and established the Mughal Empire. Ironically, he never considered himself Mughal and had nothing but contempt for them. ‘Only mischief and devastation can be expected from the Mughal horde…’ he wrote in the Baburnama. But I digress yet again. That picture saddens me. His sunken eyes seem lifeless and devoid of any hope. Of course, that picture was taken in 1858 and he was already in his 80s by then and it would be foolish to expect someone that old to be full of vitality and rigor. Regardless, to see the descendant of such powerful, world changing rulers reduced to a puppet ruler [and I say that in the strongest sense of the term] and then to an exiled prisoner, fills my heart with sadness. I must admit to partiality here. I have a fascination for the Mongols and their descendants and a soft spot for Babur. Melancholy, as this makes me, I cannot even begin to imagine how it must have been for the man, to watch helplessly, the steady decay and disintegration of a centuries old empire, and the decline of one of the greatest dynasties ever.

A forefather of that broken man conquered the world.

I don’t know why I wrote this and I have no clue why I’m inflicting this upon others by posting this. That picture lingers. It made me want to write.

Currently listening to : Jan Garbarek - In Praise Of Dreams

New Delhi, April 24: A mammoth effort to analyse genetic variations across Indian populations has blurred the lines that separate caste and religious groups, kindling memories of a 98-year-old verse from Rabindranath Tagore.

The Indian Genome Variation (IGV) project analysed 75 genes from 1,871 people drawn from 55 diverse caste, religious and tribal communities. Scientists also expect the project to throw light on how genes influence diseases, susceptibility to infections, and response to medicines.

The study by a consortium of six Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) laboratories and the Indian Statistical Institute, Calcutta, has provided the strongest genetic evidence yet to suggest that several populations have intermingled in India over the centuries.

Dravidian lineages have mixed with Indo-Europeans, Austroasiatics have mingled with Dravidians, and bridge populations in central India are blends of Dravidian, Indo-European and Himalayan groups.

“When people move, genes move with them,” said Partha Mazumder, a senior project scientist at the statistical institute in Calcutta. “Genes carried by migrating humans cluster into groups, and different populations acquire some genetic distinctiveness.”

The scientists consider some of the findings about genetic proximity and disease risk data as so sensitive that they have decided not to make the identities of the communities public — for now.

“We had intense debates on whether to reveal the names of communities,” said Mitali Mukerjee, project coordinator at the Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology (IGIB), New Delhi.

“I don’t think scientists are prepared yet to understand the full social ramifications if such information is made public,” Mukerjee said. “For medical applications, we don’t need names. Data about disease susceptibility genes will be made available to doctors and researchers,” she said.

The study, published this month in the Journal of Genetics, has shown that some Hindu caste groups are genetically closer to Muslims in the same geographical region than to their own caste cousins elsewhere in India.

The findings show differences between caste and tribal populations, but researchers believe this is because of the ancestry and relative isolation of tribal groups.

“The social hierarchy of caste groups is not fully reflected in their genetic profile,” said Mazumder, who’s been trying to use genetics to piece together migratory histories of populations.

The analysis has also indicated that Kashmiri Pandits and Kashmiri Muslims are genetically similar and share genetic similarities with Dravidian groups. It has also shown that some Dravidian-speaking population groups in south India have Indo-European lineage.

“This opens up a number of intriguing questions about the ancestry and movement of Dravidian populations,” Mukerjee said.

“The map we’ve got shows a remarkable coincidence with what Tagore appeared to have sensed,” said Samir Brahmachari, the director-general of the CSIR, who, as former director of the IGIB, served as project chairman.

Brahmachari said the study results stirred his memories of Tagore’s 1910 poem Bharat-tirtha that has the lines: Aryan and non-Aryan, Dravidian and Chinese... Pathan, Mughal/All have merged into one body.…

The study of genetic variations can help determine risk to disease and infections and even response to drugs.

The analysis has shown that a genetic mutation called CCR5 which provides natural protection to individuals from infection with HIV is not present or is present in low frequency in most Indian populations

In the coming months, scientists hope to use genetic variation studies to understand how genes influence risk of a range of diseases — malaria to diabetes to brain disorders.

“We don’t want to label communities as carriers of disease-related genes nor do we want to raise false alarms,” said Saman Habib, a project scientist at the Central Drug Research Institute, Lucknow, who plans to use the data to find out why different populations respond differently to malaria. [The Telegraph]

LAHORE, April 19: A number of Punjab Civil Secretariat’s old trees have been felled as part of Chief Secretary Javed Mehmood’s ‘demolition plan’ and the premises has been denuded of its natural beauty, green shadows and most importantly the historical links.

Among the felled ones is a red berry tree, which was standing near the back gate of the secretariat and was famous for its sweet fruit. It was perhaps one of the very few red berry trees in Lahore and was a link between the Lahore of today and the past.

“I really regret the felling of this tree. It should have been preserved,” said a senior secretariat employee, recalling how he used to pluck berries from the tree in spring after offering prayers in the nearby mosque without caring for his age and rank.

Among the ‘victims’ are two big trees on the premises of the education department, two near the health department, one (the biggest of all) at the back of the additional chief secretary’s block and two near the mosque.

Officials were also preparing to trim a big banyan tree to clear view of the minaret of the mosque from the main gate of the secretariat. This tree is standing on the right side of the chief secretary's block. The only trees now left at the secretariat, which has a mixture of Mughal, Sikh and English heritage, are located in the lawn in front of the chief secretary's office, local government department, previous IGP office blocks and the cabinet block.

The felled trees have been sold at a throwaway price, and officials say this is the only income the secretariat has gotten after disposing off its ‘junk’ even though “we have got only peanuts”.

“The wood has been auctioned against a few thousand rupees that is certainly not a fair treatment to the old trees,” an official said.

The chief secretary has gifted to its employees the ‘junk’, including old cabinets, tables, stationery and even bricks and iron bars of the offices, which have been demolished during the operation clean-up.

Officials believe the operation has caused the government a loss of millions of rupees, as the demolished structures had costly false ceilings and wood paneling.

The picture above is NOT from the secretariat. It has been borrowed from here

THE MUGHAL EMPIRE has an inordinate pull on the contemporary imagination. After a succession of assaults on India beginning in the 11th century, the Mughal dynasty had established itself over north India by the 1500s, and at its height in the 1700s, controlled all but the southernmost tip of the subcontinent. The empire has today become a byword for opulence and aestheticism. Akbar, the 16th century Mughal emperor is a central figure in Salman Rushdie’s latest novel, The Enchantress of Florence, a book that flits between Renaissance Europe and Akbar’s court, and the cultures in between.

It is a readable book, pacy and irreverent, but steeped in an English bourgeois romance with the Mughals, whose wealth and artistic refinement awed the precolonial westerners who first encountered them — a view that has dominated history. Sentimentalists will revel in the smells, superstitions and exotica of the novel; those with a grittier knowledge of Indian history will find it effete and superficial. Rushdie’s writing style is both fey and bombastic; reading him is like being cornered by an overexcited elderly schoolmaster.

This is most acute when the subject is sex. His mysterious Italian journeyman protagonist, Niccolo, is discovered as a stowaway, enroute to India, and attracts the attention of the ship’s captain, who then exposes himself: “The Florentine gravely expressed proper respect for the heft and circumference of the mottled member that lay before him upon his lordship’s table smelling of fennel, like a finnochiona sausage waiting to be sliced.” I laughed aloud reading that, but for the wrong reasons. All the sex in the novel — and there is a lot — is written with a similar combination of jaded prurience and juvenile glee, much like the imaginings of a dirty old man. But it is with sex that Rushdie comes closest to providing an adequate metaphor for the relationship between the Mughals and their subjects — albeit a trivial and unwitting one.

Rushdie writes of Akbar’s son Salim, and his youthful penchant for raping dancing girls: “But the dancing girls were complaining, their bruised rears, their vandalised pomegranate buds, made it harder for them to perform, the little whores.” Akbar is acclaimed as an exceptional Mughal for rescinding the levy on non-Muslims and entertaining dialogue with other faiths. His uniqueness lies in the hiatus his regime provided to the annihilating hatred of other Mughals towards those they ruled. The 800 year period that began with the 11th century invasions was an era that saw the near extinction of Indian Buddhism, the desecration of countless temples, forced conversions, and the reduction of the bulk populace to a servile peasantry — heavily taxed and deliberately starved to keep it pliant. It was an era of profound intellectual stagnation in which India made no scientific and political progress.

Like the Russian tsars, they squandered the enormous resources of their kingdoms on courtly art and lavish architecture, while Europeans developed the social ideas and technology that would enable them to conquer the globe. India was, to the Mughals, simply a vast pool of bodies from which to extract wealth and pleasure — the little whores. Rushdie doesn’t address the ugly wider reality of India under Mughal rule, fixating instead on the court and person of Akbar, who is depicted as fraught with existential doubts and the responsibilities of power. Like so many hippy dope-heads, India’s complexity provides a context for his banal navel gazing: “Was there then no essential difference between the ruler and the ruled? Could there be an ‘I’ that was simply oneself?” The real-life Akbar held discussions with Hindus, Sikhs and Christian missionaries that culminated in his creation of the Din-i-Ilahi (“Divine Faith”), a personality cult that died when he did. Rushdie’s Akbar is even less interesting than the original.

These debates don’t appear at any length; nor does Rushdie refer to India’s classical tradition with any depth. Classical India and non-Mughal Indians are merely ciphers lending exoticism and comic value — fawning servants, mystics and prostitutes. Rushdie’s Akbar sees himself as one of “the humdrum people of the East” but his engagement with India is as shallow and aloof as that of any bush-hatted Rajera bureaucrat. This Akbar, like Rushdie himself is an entirely Western construct, cloaking himself in India’s mystique to maintain a pose of worldliness and higher wisdom. The novel is at its strongest when addressing Europe of the same period.

Rushdie captures something of the filth and chaos of the continent, wracked with religious and mercantile wars. But his treatment is undermined by his constant descent into fantasy, overwrought lyricism and halfbaked attempts at sensuality. The European part of the story only reminded me of Q, a far superior
Italian novel. Set in the same era, Q vividly portrays the desperate struggles of a continent awash with blood, fighting to find a new identity as Protestantism rose and shook its foundations. It also uses sex as a device to animate the past, but depicts it in earthy and anatomical terms, underlining the mortality and physical urgency of an era in which human life was short-lived and cheap. Rushdie gives no sense of the political intensity and cruelty of the times; his obsessive diversion into fables only glosses over what really took place.

AS THE novel’s plot traverses the brothels, battlefields and courts of Europe, India and the near East, it introduces us to many beautiful women, oddball characters and mythical figures. Consequently, no character develops believable depth. Rather than explore the psychology of any individual, Rushdie leads us through a trite and exhausting carnival of giants, witches, strange tyrants and apparitions come to life. It is ultimately a sexualised fairytale: Harry Potter for adults. As such, it is an entertaining romp, but a worthless insight into history. There is a symmetry in how this novel is being released at the same time as Patrick French’s biography of Rushdie’s nemesis, VS Naipaul. Naipaul has tackled India with more courage and honesty than anyone. His description of the destruction of the Hindu kingdom of Vijayanagara by the Dec can sultanates is a harrowing account of how 16th century India actually worked. With India booming, Rushdie has returned to the subcontinent wanting to be on the ball; but his romantic whimsy reveals how little he knows it, and only confirms Naipaul as its preeminent writer.
From Tehelka Magazine, Vol 5, Issue 14, Dated April 12, 2008

Shah Allah Ditta caves are located on the route leading towards Khanpur. These caves are next to the shrine and tomb of a Mughal period ‘dervish,’ Shah Allah Ditta. Once you start travelling on Golra Sharif Road, a sharp turn comes for a village named after the saint — Shah Allah Ditta. The narrow road leads towards Margalla Hills on the base of which these caves are located. Old Banyan trees at the roadside marks the entrance to the caves.

The caves are in the form of tufa (a rough, thick, rock-like calcium carbonate deposit that forms by precipitation from bodies of water with a high dissolved calcium content) caverns with a stream about 17 metres below. According to the research conducted by Taxila Institute of Asian Civilisations Director Dr. M Salim, tufa deposits are from the late Pleistocene Period and 17 metres is the maximum thickness of tufa deposits recorded in this area.

There are two caves in general, which further bifurcate into two more portions. They are arranged in a crescent form on tufa rocks at foothills of the Margallas. This cliff is located at the base of Margalla Hills and has ancient city of Taxila on its back. It is reported that the people of Taxila also used these caves in Buddhist times.

The caves have a spring water stream in the middle. The water of the stream is collected in a man-made pond. There is an arch opening into this pond and steps leading down into the water. The caves have underground warm mineral water springs, which the locals believe, have powers to heal their illnesses. These caves have some important religious significance as well for the local people as devotees visit the place often. We found signs of burning of ‘diyas’ on the cave walls that these people have been burning and many ‘taveez’ or amulets were tied to roots of old Banyan trees. Banyan trees are interlaced with the caves so tightly that they have become their part and facade.

On the outer wall of the caves there are paintings on the red toned mud plaster. The paintings are more like drawings with the black and terracotta red paint. Unfortunately, the people who visited the place have totally vandalised paintings on the wall. Now only an eye of a human face is left to give us clue that there were some paintings on the wall. The remains of red pottery and flaked artefacts of limestone have been discovered all around the caves.

Dr. M Salim and his team have found evidence that makes them believe that these caves were in the use from the middle stone-age period. The caves have platform like formations between them, indicating a raised area where ‘sadhus’ or priests performed their acts of spiritual meditations. There are many fossilised deposits found here. The Taxila Institute of Asian Studies, Quaid-i-Azam University, has dated these to the late Pleistocene Period.

Recently, a research team of the Comsats University, in a joint venture with Natural History Museum, visited the caves. The idea was to collect samples for dating the correct time period of these cavern like caves. And to create awareness about these caves, which are there for many thousands of years ignored by the people of Islamabad.

The initial conclusion of the team that was made on the site after looking at tufa fossils was that it was a very important discovery, as it gives clues about the botanical life of this area as well as also tells geologists about the cultural life that has been going on in these caves. Hence these caves have dual importance as they hide scientific as well as anthropological clues within them. The director general of Natural History Museum was certain that these fossils were thousands of years old and immediately need to be taken under the protection as national heritage sites. The team took many samples from the site for dating the caves.

These caves need our immediate attention or they will vanish without a trace. They are situated at such a place that they will most certainly become part of some housing scheme sooner or later. It is our heritage that we are ignoring. We need to take immediate steps to save these caves from their hopeless and doomed conditions and preserve them for our coming generations.

—- By Samra M. Khan (associate professor) & Aisha Imdad (assistant professor), Department of Architecture, Comsats Institute of Information Technology, Islamabad

Read the story by Ali Usman
LAHORE: An exhibition of paintings by AQ Arif opened at the Native Art Gallery on Friday.

The artist’s work aims at highlighting the decay of natural beauty. Landscapes portrayed are real, but the artist has added his creativity to show how skyscrapers and plazas are replacing natural sights. Yellow color is dominating in all the paintings, which refers to the autumn, and has given a gloomy look to the work. A ‘dome’ is present in all the paintings, which stands for the artist’s attachment to historic monuments. Artist Shahid Iqbal said, “Arif seems obsessed with the dome symbol. The work is simple, but lacks depth.”

He said the artist had taken inspiration from the historic monuments and used small objects like windows and domes in his mixed media paintings. “The mosaic effect in some of the paintings is good, but lacks originality,” he said.

In one of the paintings, the artist has portrayed some historic buildings of the Mughal era, which are decaying with the passage of time. Stagnant water along the boundary wall of the building is portrayed skillfully. The painting is eye-catching owing to its graphic description. It hints towards the fact that historic monuments are not being taken care of and are being ruined. Artist Shaukat Rizvi said, “The strokes in Arif’s work give the paintings a luminous, mystic and dream-like looks.”

He said the paintings were pleasing and anybody would like to have them. “At times, they tend to look similar, yet they are different,” he added.

AQ Arif told Daily Times that nature had always been a source of inspiration for him. “I try to highlight its importance through my work. I believe development is good, but it should not be at the cost of our historic monuments,” he said, adding, “Plazas are engulfing landscapes, and to serve them on the canvas might help create awareness about ecology.”

This possibility was first suggested by a distinguished Lahore researcher, Dr Abdullah Chughtai, who contended that the original route used by royalty was, coming from the east, or Amritsar, along G T Road and through Yakki Gate and straight to the fort, passing to the north of the mosque of Wazir Khan. The Katra Wazir Khan occupied the area to the north of the mosque, and an entrance to the mosque was originally from the chowk Purani Kotwali. It seems that the Delhi Gate bazaar was deliberately formed to ease the flow of traffic to allow the royal route to the north to function with ease.

For this reason the Delhi Gate bazaar is an immensely important portion of the walled city. This 200-yard long bazaar is bound by Delhi Gate to the east, ending at Chitta Gate to the west, which links it to Chowk Wazir Khan. To the north is the famous Mohallah Qasaban, the place where the first Sikh onslaught before Maharajah Ranjit Singh took place on the pretext that they wanted to cut off the noses of all the butchers of Lahore as revenge for their terrible role in slaughtering thousands of innocent Sikhs as part of the Mughal campaign against them.

Hundreds of Lahore butchers suffered in that bloody raid. Also to the north is the old Changar Mohallah, an area once inhabited by the Changar tribe, said to be the original gypsies, who migrated towards the west, some landing as far away as Italy, traces of which have been researched considerably. In fact, DNA tests on Italian and Romano gypsies show them amazingly similar to Sargodha and Lahore gypsies. But that is another story.

The reason for pointing out these two ‘mohallahs’ is because these two communities always lived outside the walled city.The butchers were not exactly a favourite community in a nonMuslim Lahore, and originally lived in what is today Lahore’s hide market. Sikh raids led them to living closer to the walls of the city. The Changars always did live, as they still do today, slightly detached from civil life. In a way these two mohallahs can be said to be a detached mode from the old walled city, and it is for this reason we find repeated mention of these areas as being in the middle of a ‘rarra maidan’.

This means that when the Mughals took over, the walls of the walled city were to the west of the mosque of Wazir Khan. A research shows the wall to have existed along the ‘ghatti’ or mound that runs along the Shahalami Bazaar. When Akbar reshaped the old city and gave it its first baked brick walls, the city was expanded, and it was this expansion that created the ‘rarra maidan’ and later provided Wazir Khan with enough space to build his mosque and the Shahi Hammams.

The creation of this bazaar was a deliberate planning act, even though the bazaar is a curious curved one. That is why the original alignment of the mosque and the Chitta Gate are important to understand how this bazaar evolved. Also to the north are Koocha Mian Ghaus and chohatta Rajah Dina Nath, now officially known as Chohatta Qazi Allah Dad. To the south are Akbari Mandi and Khajooranwali Gali.

One study of the bazaar, carried out by a team of international experts in 1992, dated all the building in the bazaar as being from the late 18-century to the late 19-century. Except for the Shahi Hammam, located a secluded corner outside the city, no building of any Mughal period exists in this bazaar. Then suddenly one has the Chtta Gate, an original outer gate of Lahore leading to the outer walls and the Delhi Gate. In between was open ground. Originally when one entered the Delhi Gate, the first place one hit was Chowk Rang Mahal and then on to the Nakhas Khana and on to the Lahore Fort. In the Shah Jehan era, no haveli or palace or building or mosque or mausoleum or an earlier period of any significance existed in this empty ‘rarra maidan’. It was this fact that propelled Wazir Khan to build his mosque here and also to claim all land between the mosque and the Delhi Gate.

But then Wazir Khan built, somewhere in this area, a ‘serai’ for himself.The exact location of this is not known. Three places are mentioned by different researchers, but no proof of its existence can be verified from any known source. An 1877 report mentions its ruins as existing outside the mosque, but no direction is given. In the 18century when Kabuli Mal ruled Lahore for Ahmad Shah Abadali, Sikhs defeated him and entered Lahore from the Delhi Gate, on the pretext of cutting off the noses of all the butchers of the city. In the confusion they looted all the spice and ‘gurr’ shops of this small bazaar, torching it in the process. With it considerable history was lost.

Courtesy DAWN

sMG_9332

Originally uploaded by yasir nisar

by Yasir Nisar

The Lahore Fort, also known as Shahi Qila, is located in the northwestern corner of Lahore's Walled City. The majestic edifice is the result of many centuries' work. According to the Pakistani historian Wali Ullah Khan, the earliest reference to the Fort comes in the history of Lahur (Lahore) compiled by Al-Biruni, which refers to a fort constructed in the early 11th century. Munshi Sujan Rae Bhandar, author of the Khulasa-tut-Tawarikh records that Malik Ayaz, a lieutenant of Sultan Mahmud, built a masonry fort at Lahore and inhabited the city. It is generally believed that present Lahore Fort is the same fort, which was damaged by the Mongols in 1241 and again in 1398 by a detachment of Timur's army, then rebuilt in 1421 by Sayyid, son of Khizr Khan.

The Fort was extensively refurbished, extended and upgraded during the Mughal era. This is why it is rightly attributed as one of the gems of the Mughal civilization. Emperor Jalal ud Did Akbar, Jahangir, Shah Jahan, and Aurangzeb all added to it. During the period of Sikh occupation, Ranjit Singh added several pavilions on the upper ramparts. Some modifications to the Fort were made during the British period beginning in 1846 for housing facilities for colonial functions. Those modifications have been reverted and efforts made to bring the Fort back in its pre 1846 appearance.

 Source: Our historic monuments that should have been preserved by the concerned authorities lie wasted away owing to the negligence of the Archeology Department.Lahore Fort is the first choice of visitors (including locals and foreigners) and is one of the best Mughal era construction piece. The garden in the front of the Fort, which used to double the fort's attraction has now given way to bus stands, approved by the Archeology Department. Some of its portion remains intact, but the grandeur has withered away.The Post observed in its survey that the part of the garden used for bus stand is the dirtiest and the most muddied with garbage strewn all around and contaminated water further polluting the environ. The beggars continue to repose there while the iron fence around the part lies broken from three different places. Grass has been removed and crushed beneath the tyres of buses.

SDO Archeology Anjum Saleem told The Post in his defence that the stand was to provide parking facilities to the visitors, given on a contract for a year at Rs 410,000.

He said he has no knowledge about the legality of such an act, but added that the demand for a parking stand was greater and needed to be fulfilled. "The garden has no historical background, prepared as it was by the PHA a few years back," he said, adding that a river flow was 'where the garden is now.'

Curator Lahore Fort Afzal Khan said visitors park their vehicles at Hazoori Bagh, but the rising uncertainty 'compelled us to arrange parking outside the fort.' "Our contract started from April 15, 2007 to mature on April 15, 2008," he said, explaining that the rules decree that the parking stand be 200 feet away from the walls of the fort. He accused the contractor of violating rules and regulations, breaking the iron fence of the garden and widening the entry without approval of the Archeology Department. "We will fire the contractor after maturity of his contractual period," he added, maintaining that a written application has been forwarded to the high-ups in this regard.

Contractor, Muhammad Aslam told The Post that the lack of visitors at the fort forced him to open the parking stand for buses and vans. "I paid Rs 520,000 for the stand," he said, adding that he would, again this time try his luck to win the contract.

He said he charges Rs 100 per time stay and for small vehicles Rs 50 besides those who refuse to park their vehicles in the stand, running them in, near the fort's main entry.

Visitor Muhammad Iqbal blasted the relevant department for failing to preserve the garden instead of wasting it by using it as a parking stand. "Our tourist spot has been damaged," he added, continuing that the officials concerned should also keep a record of all those using the place at night-time.

Fictionalised account of the Last Great Mushaira in Delhi prior to the before the overthrow of the last Mughal Emperor of India by the British East India Company in 1857.

At this gathering poets presented their verse in accordance with strict etiquette and decorum. A mushaira usually started after the late evening Isha prayer, continuing through the night and into the early morning. The poets would take their seats on the carpet. When the proceedings began a lighted candle would be passed around, and when it was set down before a poet this meant that it was his turn to recite. Every poet who participated, from the youngest to the oldest and most eminent, confronted his audience, and his work was at once, couplet by couplet, assessed by people who, courteously but uninhibitedly, let him know their estimation of its worth. Most of the poems would be ghazals, and since every couplet is a complete entity, the mood might vary startlingly from couplet to couplet, so that lines of the most intense sadness mixed with others of broad comedy and yet others which had nothing so much to say but said it smoothly and well.

Often the mushaira would be hosted by a prominent noble who would prescribe a misra-i-tarah – a half-line of verse which every participating poet had to incorporate in the poem he was to present there. Much importance was attached to a poet’s technical skills – his command of metre and rhyme and figures of speech. Rhetoric, irony and wit were also greatly featured in the best verses. For even the greatest poets a mushaira was a contest in which if they were to hold their own they would need the skills not only of a poet, but of an orator, a public performer and a debater. In an all-night session, with poem after poem in the same form, their greatest enemy would be monotony, and the rapid changes of tone and mood which the ghazal allowed would be a great help to them.

The candle was set down before Ghulam Rasul Shauq. He is old now, poor fellow. He leads the prayers in the Azizabadi mosque. In his early days Zauq [now the ustad of the Mughal Emperor] used to submit his verses to him for correction, and on the strength of that he still calls himself Zauq’s ustad and thinks that Zauq should still bring his verses to him for correction. He seems to have become somewhat senile. The opening couplet of the ghazal he recited was quite a forcible one, but of the rest, the less said the better.

Ghalib, Momin, Azurda, Sahbai – in short all the masters of the art of poetry, began to tease Zauq, exclaiming loudly in praise of our friend Shauq’s verse. Shauq thought they were genuinely praising him and could not see that they were making a fool out of him. The moment anyone cried out in praise he turned his gaze upon Zauq and said, ‘You see? This is the way poetry is written’. Zauq, poor man, would laugh and make no reply. One or two of his shagirds [pupils] would want to reply, but he restrained them.

The next to recite was Alexander Heatherley, whose takhallus [nome de plume] was Azad. He is French, but he was born and brought up in Delhi, where he lived until he went to Alwar as captain of artillery. He is twenty-one years old, and is qualified in medicine too. He loves poetry, and is the shagird of Ghalib’s wife’s nephew Arif. Whenever he hears that a mushaira is going to be held he comes straight to Delhi. He dresses in his military uniform, but converses in Urdu, and his Urdu is as pure as any Delhi man’s. His verse is not bad, and for a Frenchman to compose Urdu verse as he does is something truly remarkable.

 Earlier in the mushaira one of the palace officials who recited well had been called upon to recite a ghazal sent by the heir-apparent of the Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar, who had not himself come to mushaira. 

The ghazal was totally undistinguished, but it was the heir-apparent’s, and it needed courage to refrain from praise. But Ghalib and Momin sat absolutely silent. This did not please some of those present who had come from the Red Fort. But they knew very well that if the Emperor himself presented a ghazal which was not up to the expected standard, those two would not so much as nod their heads.

The candle came to Nawwab Mustafa Khan ‘Shefta’. He is an acknowledged master of the art of poetry, as is expected of a shagird of Momin. However, he himself is also an Ustaad. When he praises a couplet this establishes its worth, and if he is silent, it devalues it in the eyes of others too. He recited a ghazal of seven couplets, which was greeted with praise, but praise very soberly expressed. In big mushairas I have seen that those present will encourage newcomers with their praise, but when the time comes for the masters to recite the atmosphere becomes filled with a silence of expectation, and is more restrained and solemn, and only those couplets will be praised that deserve to be praised. And this is as the masters wish it to be. If any couplet is praised beyond its worth, this distresses them. The seek praise only for those couplets that they themselves think deserving of praise. And when they recite they look only to their equals, and it is they alone who appreciation.

 The numerous members of the royal family, sons of numerous wives and concubines, regarded themselves as arbiters of taste both in dress and in language, and were especially ready to criticise any member of their own who had left Delhi to live in other cities, such as Lucknow and Benares. The poet Haya had adopted some Lucknavi Urdu dialect in his verse for which he was criticised in the mushaira. 

Haya is a good-natured man, with a happy temperament. He is also highly intelligent, humorous, and a spontaneous poet. He is about thirty-five or thirty-six and normally lives in Benares, visiting Delhi only occasionally. He looks just like the other princes except that he is clean shaven and dresses in Lucknow style, with angurkhas and tight pyjamas. In poetry he was at first his father’s shagird, then Shah Nasir’s, and now Zauq’s. He is an excellent chess-player. He learnt chess from Hakim Ashraf Ali Khan, but these days it is Momin that he plays with. He plays the sitar beautifully. He is a good poet too, but he does not work hard at it, and sacrifices meaning to colourful language. He presented a ghazal of six couplets, and his father rebuked him for a fault in the fifth couplet.

‘Since you went to Lucknow you’ve changed your style of dress. And now you’ve changed your language too. You’ve made ‘saans’ [breath] feminine. Haya replied that he had followed Zauq’s usage, and quoted a line of Zauq in support, at which his father retorted, ‘I ask you, can the ustaad’s usage be any authority when it conflicts with ours? He may write as he pleases. Just tell me this: in the Fort is 'saans' masculine or feminine?’ Haya, poor fellow, smiled and said nothing.

Other poets defended themselves more vigorously – not to say brazenly, no matter how eminent the critic. Such a one was ‘Mir Sahib’. It was late at night when the candle was set before him, and as people saw that it was his turn to recite all of them roused themselves.

Some rubbed their eyes, some got up and splashed water on their faces – No one wanted to doze or sleep any more. The mention of his name had alerted them all. The great poets were smiling and the young ones whispering to one another.

There is no one in Delhi who does not know Mir Sahib, no mushaira which is not enlivened by his presence, no gathering where his presence does not brighten the atmosphere up. There may be a handful of people who know his real name, the majority do not know him as anything other than ‘Mir Sahib’. He is seventy years old, a tall man withered and dried up, with drooping eyelids accentuated with kohl, a nose like a parrot’s beak, a wide mouth, a long beard, grizzled hair and fair complexion. Describe him and any child in Delhi will direct you to him. He dresses immaculately in spotless white from his embroidered Mughal style hat (slanting slightly to one side of his head) down to his white slip-on jootis embroidered with silver floral patterns. He also wears an impressively grave and solemn expression, but when he gets angry there is no controlling him.

At mushairas everyone used to tease him, from the Emperor downwards. He always used to compose poetry off the cuff, and never took the trouble of writing them down beforehand. He saw no need to match the two lines of a couplet. All he was concerned with was the rhyme. Whatever he had to say he would recite with complete aplomb in prose, breaking off in between lines to rebut people’s objections, and when he got tired of that he would finish off his ‘verse’ with the rhyme. As per usual, he was showered with criticisms from all sides as soon as he started reciting his offerings.

That night he and his critics ran true to form. He rebuffed a criticism of Ghalib, telling him that he knew nothing about certain metres. This lively atmosphere continued practically a full hour. It was convention that the most eminent poets’ turn to recite would come last. In this mushaira Momin and Ghalib were two of the last to recite.

Momin was a man of striking appearance and presence. When the candle was set before him the assembly quietened, for all were eager to hear the verse of the master. He picked up the candle and moved it forward a little, sat up straight, passed his fingers through his long hair, and cleared his throat with a quiet cough. In a voice full of emotion, he began to recite a ghazal of eight couplets, which enthralled the audience. He too felt the impact of his own poetry; at those verses that held the strongest appeal.

His fingers moved more quickly through his long oily hair. He acknowledged praise with the slightest motion of his head. His style of recitation is all his own, gesturing very little with his hands. It is the modulation of his voice and the expression of his eyes that so cast a spell on the audience. When he had finished his ghazal all the guests present expressed their praise. He smiled and said, ‘Your kindness is the reward of all my labours. I have already said:

            I seek appreciation; Its not wealth I seek

            Critics’ praise is all the recompense I need.’

Ghalib’s style is quite different. When the candle was set before him it was nearly dawn. He said, ‘Now gentlemen, I too shall tune my mournful lay.’ And he began to recite, raising his voice in a tone so majestic and so compelling that the whole assembly was lost in contemplation – a tone that seemed to say that there was no one who could truly appreciate his worth.

He said:

O foolish heart, what has befallen you?

Do you not know this sickness has no cure?

I long for her, and she is weary of me

O Lord above, tell me, what does this mean?

I too possess a tongue like other men

If only you would ask me what I seek?

When all is you, and nought exists but you

Tell me, O Lord, why all this turmoil too?

These fair-faced women, with their coquetries,

Their glances, airs and graces, what are these?

Why the sweet perfume of their coiling tresses?

Why the kohl that adorns their eyes?

Where does the grass, where do the flowers come from?

What is the cloud made of? What is the breeze?

See how I look to her for loyalty

Who does not even know what loyalty is.

I would lay down my very life for you

I do not know what praying for you means.

I grant that you are right: Ghalib is nothing.

But if you get him free, then what’s the harm?

When Ghalib finished he smiled and said, ‘If even now there is anyone who doesn’t understand I must leave him in God’s hands.’

Guest in town: ‘Lahore and Isfahan share same cultural soul’

* Isfahan mayor says city government of Isfahan spends $300m yearly on cleanlinessBy Ali Usman

LAHORE: Lahore and Isfahan share the same cultural soul and the two cities should strengthen cultural relations, whatever their political relations, said mayor of Isfahan, Iran, Dr Saghaeian Nejad.

Dr Nejad was talking to Daily Times on Saturday. His recent visit to Lahore aims at giving practical shape to the cultural agreements signed three years ago between the city governments of Isfahan and Lahore, when Lahore District Nazim Amer Mahmood visited Isfahan.

Dr Nejad said, “Political relations change with the changing times, but the cultural relations bind the nations. Both Lahore and Isfahan have great cultural diversity, historical background and hospitality. There is an old adage that Isfahan is the half world, but I must say Lahore and Isfahan together make the whole jahan (world).”

He said Lahore and Isfahan bore a great resemblance, as both had been the capitals during Ghazni and Mughal dynasties. Jamia Masjid (Isfahan) and Badshahi Masjid (Lahore) look alike in terms of architecture, he said. He said both the cities had shared sisterly relations and the city governments of the both cities had agreed to name their streets after each other’s names.

“We have also discussed municipality staff exchange to benefit from each other’s experience. The city government of Isfahan spends $300 million each year to keep the city clean.”

To further strengthen the relations, he said, they were planning to have the Urdu chair in the University of Isfahan.

He said the Punjab University already had Persian Department. He said when the people of both the countries would learn each other’s languages, it would help promote cultural relations.

Talking about the common things of the two cities, Nejad said, “I and mayor of Lahore, Amer Mahmood, have an important thing in common. Both of us have an educationist background. I served as vice-chancellor of a university, while Amer runs a chain of colleges.”

He said Lahori food was delicious and he enjoyed the hospitality of Lahoris. He said Consulate General of Iran Saeid Kharazi was helping Lahoris in getting visa related and other information. He said cultural centres of both the countries should educate their citizens about their respective cultures.

Now im probably quite late in posting about this Bollywood film since it was released a few weeks ago, but it really does deserve a mention.

Jodhaa-Akbar stars the gorgeous Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Bollywood hunk Hrithik Roshan. The film is set in the 16th century and tells the story of a marriage of alliance between the great Mughal Emperor (Akbar) and a Rajput Princess (Jodhaa) and their journey. The journey itself involves a few political battles as well as Akbar's battle to win the trust and love of Jodhaa.

The film took around 2 and a half years to make and is certainly a classic. From the performances, to the action, to the lavish sets, everything about this film works and makes it a worthwhile watch. Hrithik and Aishwarya share great onscreen chemistry, and send shivers down your spine (in a good way) as their romance begins its journey with the characters laying eyes on each other, even if it is through a veil! Both the stars play their respective roles very well, and they really do look the part with the gorgeous traditional outfits and beautiful jewellery (do i see a trend for brides here).

The music of the film takes into account the settings and the Mughal period, which also helps to move the love story along at times. But in itself, the album is a pleasure to listen to, and is certainly not one to be missed since its by A.R Rahman. I'd have to say, at the moment my most favourite track would have to be 'Jashn-e-Bahaara' which first highlights Akbar's love for Jodhaa in the film.

The film itself has been in the news alot, in regards to some Rajputs stating that in reality Akbar's wife was never known as 'Jodhaa'. Please do not let this put you of from watching the film. Ashutosh Gowariker clearly states at the beginning of the film that this is simply one viewpoint on Jodhaa and Akbar's relationship.

Jodhaa-Akbar is truly a magnificent film....Bollywood at it's best!

Indian Rose x

This piece  is peppered with fact, but it still is reminiscent of the orientalists who exoticised the orient to such an extent that it became so distorted and inaccurate, yet those distortions have become received wisdom, past down from generation to generation here in the West. For example, the myth of the Ottoman Harem being solely a place of licentious pleasure for the Sultan filled with maidens and wine, is wholely inaccurate.

For those wishing to read the article, it is Here

Aushutosh Gowrikar of Lagaan fame has done precisely that to the image of Jodha Bai a Rajput Queen of middle ages and the Mughal King Akbar who is remembered as one of the few benevolent despots who have given this country a symbol of administrative reforms and spirit of religious tolerance .

Having failed to meet success at the oscar nominations for his period film Lagan , Gowrikar has come out with a more calculated assault on the Oscar battlefield through Jodah Akbar romance which the film claims is not reported in history ( the name of the princess and her relation ship with Akbar is also doubted) but the expensive film with lavish squandering on objects of visual pleasure appears to be attempting to become a historical magnum opus. Nobody wishes to join the issue of historical credibility with Mr. Gowrikar but pray Mr. Gowrikar why did you thrust this plastic beauty of Indian screen to wipe out the memories of Jodha Bai so powerfully projected by the legendary Durga Khote. And your Akbar…although young , but can he ever be expected to adorn the throne occupied by powerful personae of Prithviraj Kapoor in Mughal-e-Azam which is etched in the memory of generations of cinegoers .

A good documentary for Rajasthan Tourism or chalu stuff for a good tear jerker TV serial to be watched by Saas Bahus in the afternoon , or a modern presentation of Vikram Betal stories is what you have produced Mr. Gowrikar with so much fanfare. Your bundle of mini stories of religious hysteria , Saas bahu tussle ,wimpish Rajpoot princes , plotting brother-in-law, fanatic ulemas and incognito visits of young emperor to see the status of his praja could have created a long running TV serial because each episode is a mini thriller but not the part of a story of any interesting substance. The only tears which come to the eyes of an intelligent cinegoer are due to strain of spending 200 minutes in the theatre for witnessing your mediocrity.

And there was a feeling of relief after coming out of the hall for one more reason. That was for the realization that the romantic excitement of Madhubala, Dilip Kumar pair in Mughl-e-Azam would remain beyond the reach of producers for all times and the movie would remain the true Moughal amongst the movies as tribute to the genius of it’s producer and Director.

Madam Ashwarya Rai may now try her luck with some other fake piece of history because this one again seems to have floundered like remake of Umrao Jaan…despite the hidden support of dad-in-law by way of unworthy praise of a dance sequence filmed on Hrithik Roshan. Cinegoers having seen the Mughal movies like Anarkali and Mughal-e-Azam will have to recall the emotional thrill of “Pyar kiya to darna kya “ dance number performed so tantalizingly by Madubala and the Quawalis of the films produced in sixties when they want to think of a piece of art which is highly entertaining and also intellectually satisfying , while the likes of Aishwarya and Aushotosh will fade away from the scene in no time.

And now last but not the least, the latest news  reports say that Mayawati Ji Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh has chosen this occasion to garner some votes from Rajput community by placing a ban on the movie (just two days after the MP High Court quashed a ban of similar nature and under full realization that hers would also be a short lived ban). The scenario is a bit  comical in the sense that Akbar the great warrior of middle ages has come to the rescue of another damsel in distress in modern times by helping her recover some popularity in Rajput community .

At the entrance to any English country manor house you will inevitably see two pillars either side of the entrance, each with a large stone globe perched on it.

These globes are design remnants of the Roman Empire’s villas in what was then Britannia. The globes have taken the place of the two faced bust of the God Janus. He was the God of gates, beginnings and endings (January is named in his honour) so he had a head with two faces looking in opposite direction so he knew the past and future and the past all at once.

The entrance to the house was a transition in the temporal and spatial realms, therefore by having Janus oversee the transition of your visitors, he would cleanse them from any ill intent…that was the intention.

The exquisite peacocks at the park near where I live (shown above) are my Januses (Janii?) during the transition from Winter to Spring. They feel something in the changing air which we, as humans feel but are incapable of expressing so we need to express it with the things around us through descriptions.

The peacock was a symbol of majesty for the Mughals, which is why they commissioned the famous Peacock Throne (Takht-e-Tavous), which was looted by the Persian invader Nadir Shah in 1739. The throne was worth so much that when he went back to present day Iran (his conquered kingdom) he didn’t collect taxes for 5 years. 

Although the peacock is a male, its appeal is very feminine, so I always think of my favourite Raag Bhairavi as perfectly reflecting it. This is a feminine raga that represents hidden, surging power and beauty (think of the undulations of the peacock), and takes its name from a Hindu goddess able to mercurially take on different forms that could be anything from serene to aggressive flows full of energy. It is best played at night, in the early hours and has had some songs written to it, some of which are suggestive - Laga Chunari Mein Dagh Chupaun Kaisey (How shall I hide the stain on my clothing?) 

मुझे यह सोच उन लोगों पर हंसी आ रही है कि खामखा अपना समय वे लोग एक बेकार के मुद्दे पर हल्ला कर व्यर्थ कर रहे हैं। फ़िल्में कब से सच्चाई का आईना हो गईं? अधिकतर फ़िल्में मनोरंजन के लिए बनाई जाती हैं और जोधा-अक़बर भी एक कमर्शियल फ़िल्म है जिसका उद्देश्य भी मनोरंजन ही है न कि लोगों का ज्ञानवर्धन करना। तो कुछ हल्ला मचाने वाले लोग यह कह रहे हैं कि जिस तरह जन्नतनशीन फिल्म निर्देशक के.आसिफ़ द्वारा बनाई गई दिलीप कुमार तथा मधुबाला की फ़िल्म मुग़ल-ए-आज़म ने जोधा का अक़बर की बेग़म होने की भ्रांति फैलाई थी उसी प्रकार फ़िल्म जोधा-अक़बर भी उसी भ्रांति को कायम रखे है।

पर बात वही है कि फ़िल्में कब से सच्ची घटनाओं को जस-का-तस देखने का आईना हो गईं? जिन अत्यधिक पढ़े-लिखे महानुभावों को यह पता है कि जोधा वास्तव में अक़बर की बेग़म न होकर जहाँगीर की बीवी थी उन पढ़े-लिखे महानुभावों को यह न दिखा कि फ़िल्म जोधा-अक़बर के आरंभ में कथा बाँचते हुए अमिताभ बच्चन कहते हैं:

हिन्दुस्तान.....
इतिहास गवाह है कि इस ज़मीन पर खून की खुराक से ही सल्तनतें पनपती रही हैं। सन्‌ 1011 से कितनों ने ही वक्त-२ इसे लूटकर इस फूल को अपने कदमों तले रौंदा है। और फिर..... सन्‌ 1450 में कदम रखा मुग़लों ने; जिन्होंने इसे अपना घर बनाया, इसे प्यार दिया और इसे नवाज़ा। बादशाह बाबर से शुरु हुई मुग़लिया हुकूमत हुमायूँ से होती हुई अक़बर तक पहुँची जिसे मुग़लिया दौर में सबसे ऊँचा दर्जा हासिल हुआ।

फ़िल्म वालों की तो क्या कहें पर इन पढ़े-लिखे विद्वानों और इतिहासकारों पर अवश्य आश्चर्य हो रहा है कि इन्होंने इस बात पर हल्ला नहीं मचाया कि फ़िल्म में कहा गया है कि मुग़ल सन्‌ 1450 में आए थे। अब यह तो फ़िल्म में सही कहा गया है कि मुग़लिया सल्तनत की नींव बादशाह बाबर ने रखी थी पर यह मुझे समझ नहीं आता कि मुग़ल सन्‌ 1450 में भारत कैसे आ गए थे क्योंकि मुग़ल सल्तनत की नींव बाबर ने सन्‌ 1504 के आसपास रखी थी जब उसने काबुल और खोरासन के पूर्वी भागों और सिंध पर कब्ज़ा किया था। और तो और, उसे छोड़िए, बाबर का जन्म सन्‌ 1483 में हुआ था तो वह कैसे सन्‌ 1450 में भारत आकर मुग़लिया सल्तनत की शुरुआत कर सका यह वाकई चर्चा का विषय है। क्या कोई समय में यात्रा कर सकने वाला उपकरण उस काल में मौजूद था या भविष्य से कोई वहाँ जाएगा यह करने के लिए? ;)

फ़िल्म में यह बात तो सही दिखाई है कि सन्‌ 1555 में बादशाह हुमायूँ की अकस्मात मृत्यु से लफ़ड़ा हो गया था और हेमचन्द्र विक्रमादित्य भार्गव उर्फ़ हेमु ने दिल्ली और आगरा पर अपना कब्ज़ा जमा अपने को सम्राट घोषित कर दिया था और फिर बैरम खाँ की कमान में चलती फौज ने पानीपत की दूसरी लड़ाई में हेमु की अपने से दोगुणी फ़ौज से लोहा लिया था और हेमु आँख में तीर लगने से ज़ख्मी हो गिर पड़ा था जिसका बैरम खाँ ने तब सिर कलम कर दिया था जब अक़बर ने ऐसा करने से मना किया था। यानि कि पूर्णतया झूठ नहीं दिखाया है फ़िल्म में, कुछ-२ जगह पर सही इतिहास फ़िल्माया गया है।

पर बात यह नहीं है कि क्या सही फ़िल्माया है, बात यह है कि इन हल्ला करने वाले विद्वानों को सन्‌ 1450 वाली त्रुटि क्यों न दिखी? जोधा का अक़बर की बीवी न होने का गूढ़ राज़ मालूम है जो कि अभी भी विवादास्पद है क्योंकि इस बारे में कोई ठोस प्रमाण नहीं हैं पर तारीख का नहीं मालूम जिसके बारे में पक्के ठोस प्रमाण हैं और जो दर्ज इतिहास है?

ज़ाती तौर पर मेरा मानना है कि फ़िल्म मनोरंजन के लिए होती हैं, इतनी टेन्शन न ही लो तो बेहतर होता है। तकरीबन दो वर्ष पहले आई हॉलीवुड की फ़िल्म 300 का ही उदाहरण लें जो कि थरमॉपली की प्रसिद्ध लड़ाई पर बनी थी जिसमें कथित 300 स्पॉर्टा के सैनिकों ने हज़ारों-लाखों की पर्शिया की फौज से लोहा लिया था, परन्तु उसमें दिखाया गया कि अंत में सिर्फ़ स्पॉर्टा के ही सैनिक रह गए जो मारे गए परंतु इतिहास तो कुछ और ही कहता है। दर्ज इतिहास के अनुसार उन 300 स्पॉर्टा के सैनिकों के साथ तकरीबन 700 थेस्पिया के सैनिकों ने भी अंत तक ज़र्कसीस की सागर सी विशाल फौज से लोहा लेते हुए अपने प्राणों का बलिदान दिया था। तो इस बारंबार दोहराए जाने वाले गूफ़-अप(Goof Up) को क्या कहेंगे कि जब भी थरमॉपली की प्रसिद्ध लड़ाई का ज़िक्र आता है तो सिर्फ़ उन 300 स्पॉर्टा के सैनिकों तथा उनके राजा लियोनाईडस की वाह वाही होती है जबकि उनके साथ आखिरी साँस तक लड़ते हुए शहीद हुए 700 गुमनाम थेस्पियन सैनिक अपने हिस्से की वाह-वाही से वंचित रह जाते हैं!!

तो बात यह भी नहीं है कि फ़िल्म जोधा-अक़बर में बताई गई गलत तारीख को हल्ला करने वाले इतिहास के विद्वानों ने अनदेखा कर दिया; बात यह है कि फ़िल्म को फ़िल्म की तरह ही लो यानि कि काल्पनिक कहानी के रूप में। यदि यह कहा जाता है कि फ़िल्म सच्ची घटनाओं पर बनी है और फिर उसमें कोई बात गलत दिखाई जाती है तो उसका विरोध लाज़मी है।

और जो हल्ला करने वाले लोग यह कहते हैं कि इस तरह की गलतियों से लोगों को गलत ज्ञान मिलता है तो भई जो व्यक्ति ठोस दर्ज किताबी ज्ञान लेने की जगह फ़िल्म देख यह ज्ञान लेता है कि अक़बर कब बादशाह बना और उसकी बीवी का क्या नाम था तो उस व्यक्ति और उसकी बुद्धि पर तरस ही आ सकता है!! ;)

(The masterpiece and the monkeypiece side-by-side)

The Taj Mahal has enchanted us for centuries. It was built by the Mughal emperor Shahjahan, in the memory of his wife Noor Jahan, in 1631. The Taj has attracted tourists from all over the world and it has been appreciated for its unparalleled craftsmanship and beautiful architectural design. The Taj Mahal has featured on the list of the 7 wonders of the world for years and years ! Touch wood ;)

However, many would be surprised to know, that there is a twin Taj Mahal in India as well. It is a bad copy of the original Taj, and is situated in the Indian city of Aurangabad. It is more popularly known as Bibi ka Makbara. The locals call it the twin Taj...quite proudly. However, I find it hedious and a really bad copy of the Taj Mahal. It is more of an anti-climax to the real Taj. This struture at Aurangabad makes me laugh my head off! ;) Prince Azam Khan who was the son of the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb (Shahjahan's son), built this disaster to honor his mother in 1679. His intentions were noble though ;)

However, you guys decide for yourselves. Which one do you like better? The Taj Mahal or its parody? ;) Sorry Mr Khan!

At last, a film called "Jodhaa Akbar" about the Mughal Emperor Akbar and his Hindu wife Jodhaa Bhai. The trailer is quite disappointing because it doesnt capture the opulence, complicated court etiquettes and rituals, and cultural richness of the Mughal Court. The architecture and armour isn't true to that Mughal period either. Doesnt seem that the film will be historically accurate either.

Had the film makers read The Empire of the Great Mughals: History, Art and Culture By Annemarie Schimmel, and Bamber Gascoigne's The Great Moghuls they may have had their set designers and the script writers come up with a whole different product.

The fact that the actor playing Akbar doesnt have much of an imperial presence doesnt help, nor does the fact that he cant pronounce the 'kh' sound properly as one would expect an emperor of central asian descent to do. He voice seems like he's about to cry any moment which is another big minus. Had the casting people gone with Shah Rukh Khan, he would have added immensely to the film.

 But then why would they bother with details when they have songs and dance routines? It is Bollywood after all.... 

by S S Gandhi
Published by Singh Brothers, Amritsar
Pages: 741; Price: Rs. 500

[Reproduced from Abstracts of Sikh Studies, Jan-Mar 2000]

Eighteenth century, the focus of this book, is of absorbing interest and historical importance because it witnessed the end of the rule of Mughals and Afghans, the dissolution of Maratha paramountcy and the rise of Sikh power. Yet, strangely enough, it did not attract the attention of the historians it merited with the result that not many books came out focusing exclusive attention on the period. Even the few books that are available are mere sketchy narratives. It goes to the credit of Gandhi that he has been able to give us a comprehensive account of the Sikhs in the eighteenth century.

The Sikhs, being engaged in a life and death struggle during this period, could not afford to put into black and white their strivings and achievements. Another reason for the non-availability of Sikh records was the official campaign spearheaded by the Mughal Subedars such as Zakaria Khan, Yahiya Khan, Shah Nawaz and Mir Manu, that aimed at the destruction of such records. The Muslim scholars, who were often in the service of Mughal/Afghan rulers, took a prejudiced view of the Sikhs whom they regarded as mere upstarts, quintessentially inimical to Muslim rulers and the Muslim society with its political and social framework, showing utter insensitivity to the real issues which had stirred the Sikhs to rise against the Mughal and Afghan political masters. As such, their works presented a distorted or blurred picture of the Sikhs. The Hindu chroniclers or Hindu men of letters also did not care much to take notice of Sikhs’ activities, possibly because of the perception that the Sikh movement's strength is indirectly proportional to the strength of Brahminical order in a society.

Notwithstanding these limitations, Surjit Singh Gandhi has done an excellent job. He has very patiently built up an account of the Sikhs by putting together bits and pieces of information from available manuscripts, printed works, and other contemporary/semi-contemporary historical literature.

The learned scholar begins his narrative with the martyrdom of Guru Gobind Singh, which sent shock waves among the Sikhs. They were, however, clear in their minds that the fatal dagger thrust of a hired Pathan, cutting short the fabulously brilliant life of their Guru, epitomised the determination of the ruling Muslim class of which the Hindu Rajas and leaders of Hindu orthodoxy were active allies, to liquidate the nonconformist ideological challenges. The martyrdom of Guru Gobind Singh was not just an empirical fact, it symbolised a unique reality that Sikhism was a fresh ideology, and an urge to establish a new society with its own social and political codes, and fight out even violently as a last resort, forces which hampered their march to these goals. This being so, the stage was set for the Sikhs to resist with physical force what the Mughal state at that time stood for. Banda Singh Bahadur was the symbol of that response. He shook the mightiest empire in the world of his time to its very foundations. Within a short time, he became the master of the territories between the Jamuna and the Satluj, yielding an annual revenue of thirty-six lakhs of rupees. He established a rule far different from that of the Mughals. It was committed to the welfare of all, irrespective of class, caste or creed. No communal group was special to him. Banda Singh proclaimed that his rule was to usher in a new era of harmony and mutual respect. He assumed royalty but did not flaunt it by sitting on a throne or by covering himself with a canopy. He issued coins, not in his name but in the name of the Khalsa. He introduced official seal, but that too was to declare that everything he had achieved was due to the grace of the Satguru. His rule, however, was short-lived, because the forces inimical to him, namely, the Mughal government, assisted by the Muslim religious elites, and Hindu political, religious, and social vested interests, combined together and defeated and executed Banda Singh in 1716. Even during this short period, the Sikhs’ awareness sharpened and they were awakened to certain new realities. They demonstrated that the invincibility of the Mughals was a myth and that they could wrest independence if they had a will. Sikhs, under Banda Singh, by launching an offensive against the Mughal rule and winning, set an example for others to follow.

Though Khalsa sovereignty was short-lived, it went down into the memory of the people as a very good model of government and of governance. This fact alone was sufficient to sustain and boost the morale of Sikhs as it was a vindication of their belief that the Sikh ideology was a sure way to raise the status of the people. No wonder they soon regrouped to wage struggle not only for their survival, but also for asserting what they stood for. For quite a long period after the execution of Banda Singh, they had to face persecution at the hands of the Mughal Subedars of the Punjab who were hell-bent to annihilate them. The author very vividly narrates all this in his work. Not only this, he also explores the reaction of the Sikhs to these penalisations, and of the specific models they evolved during the process. They cultivated a sense of Charhdi Kala. They developed a vibrant awareness of the role assigned to them by the Guru as members of the Panth. They organised themselves into Misls, voluntary organisations comprising equals — all soaked in Sikh ideology, and determined to reorganise society as per the Khalsa ideal. To successfully confront the Mughal and Afghan rulers, they evolved an organisation, Dal Khalsa, a combination of all the Misls which not only fought militarily against the enemy, but also took care that the Sikh institutions and Sikh values were safeguarded properly.

Ultimately, this organisation emerged as the vanguard both in the military and social fields. So that its decisions might not be taken impulsively in contravention of Khalsa moral parameters, the Sikhs organised Sarbat Khalsa, an organisation in which all the Sikhs, including the members of Misls, could participate. It took unanimous decisions in the presence of Guru Granth Sahib often in the space between Sri Akal Takht Sahib and Sri Harmandar Sahib. These were called Gurmattas and were regarded by the Sikhs as sacred and, hence, to be faithfully followed. With all these institutions and with the grit and the high spirit accompanied by the lofty targets, the Sikhs at long last succeeded in overthrowing the Mughals as well as Afghans even though the latter were led by Ahmed Shah Abdali, the ablest military commander of the contemporaneous world. Ahmed Shah Abdali’s attempts at establishing Afghan rule in the Punjab and his hegemony over the rest of India were frustrated and the Sikhs established their principalities both in cis-Satluj and trans-Satluj Punjab — which accounted for over half of the Punjab. Not only this, they carried their forays into Indo-Gangetic Doab and considerably weakened the Mansabdars and other officials of the Mughals from which they found it hard to recover.

In this context, they raided Delhi fourteen times, proclaiming thereby, that the Khalsa power was the supreme and that its writ must be complied with without demur. At all-India level, they did destroy the prestige of the Mughal empire which was considered unchallengeable till then. However, they failed to evolve any suitable pan-Punjab model of governance which could appropriately replace the Mughal administrative apparatus. Like Marhattas, they were more interested and involved in the affairs of their homeland. All the same, they stopped forever the entry of invaders from across the Hindukush into the Indian subcontinent. The author discusses all these facts in detail and very appropriately, in sections bearing headings such as, Penalisation — A March Towards Sovereignty, Misl Polity and Organisation, The Sikhs and Indo Gangetic Doab. Prof Gandhi has been able to successfully present the matchless character of the Sikhs, moulded by innumerable sacrifices, untold hardships, and their impeccable faith in Khalsa ideology.

The learned scholar has taken up many controversial points for discussion. Almost in every chapter, he poses questions before him and then proceeds to give his answers based purely on academic research. He has been competently successful in bringing out the heroic tradition of the Sikhs and their ability to administer the country to the satisfaction of all the citizens of the State without any prejudice and bias even against those at whose hands they had suffered immensely.

Apart from the successful struggle against the Mughal oppressive state, hand in glove with the parochial Muslim and Hindu political and religious elites, the eighteenth century is significant in the life of the Sikhs from religio-social point of view as well. At the spiritual level, Panth and Granth acquired unquestionable supremacy over the mind of the Sikhs. Sikh heroism was crested with spiritual glory. Martyrdom became a tradition. However, institution of Gurdwara fell into the hands of Hindu priests, or those who were nurtured in Hindu traditions, with the result that the institutions which were expected not only to educate the people in Sikh teachings but also to present an ideal pattern of Sikh way of life, began to function like Hindu temples, and Sikhism began to be projected as a modified version of Hinduism, or at best, its militant form. Caste considerations began to stalk the Sikh society. The Sikh orders, Udasis and Nirmalas, deviated from the pristine objectives of projecting Sikhism in its unalloyed form. In the economic sphere, when the Sikhs came to settling down, they established themselves as peasant proprietors or as feudal chieftains — the development which clashed with egalitarian spirit of Sikhism. All this has been meticulously brought out in the last section of the book entitled, What Happened to Sikhism. The author also discusses the initial encounters of the Sikhs with the British Imperialism.

Surjit Singh Gandhi’s Sikhs in the Eighteenth Century has struck me as a work of outstanding merit, speaking high of author’s erudition and his remarkable patience in piecing together the information that he gleaned from different sources available at different places in different languages — Persian, English, Punjabi, Urdu, Marathi, and Hindi. The book is well-researched, highly readable and of immense academic value to any researcher of Sikh history.

When the stars adorn the night

And the zephyr bears lingering scents

Every flower and every leaf

To your beauty bears testament

Purdah gave a special poetry to Indian architecture. The desire to conceal women from view produced the inner courtyards, the verandahs, the intricate lattices and shutters of that private world. It was a domain unto itself, and some harem festivities were of a heart-stopping beauty. On the Night of the Full Moon in the pure white Pritam Niwas courtyard of Jaipur’s City Palace there was dancing. All the women wore pink. There was absolute silence, no lights, only the moonlight washing the walls and glinting off their jewellery and gossamer veils. The fulfilment of every sense was considered an art at the Mughal court. The blending of scents and perfumes and the discovery of the legendary attar of roses is credited to the Mughal Empress Nur Jahan. This elegant and beautiful Empress always bathed in a marble pool filled with the petals of a thousand roses. It is said that one evening when she was in her bath she noticed an oil-like substance floating on the water and, lowering her head, was intoxicated by the heady essence of roses. She commanded the oil to be collected and the precious fragrance-always compounded from a thousand roses-became the most sought after perfume in India. Scents were blended to suit mood and season and were believed to complement the colour of clothing. In the summer heat the green scents of vetiver and lemon and other light fragrances such as sandalwood were worn with gossamer garments dyed in the palest of hues. The spicy fragrances of musk and attar of roses and patchouli were used with the rich colours of winter silks. Dyers and washerwomen daubed freshly laundered clothing with the preferred scents of the owner, and sticks of incense were burned in wardrobes to retain scent. 

Since the Indian garden was best enjoyed after sunset, when the heat of the day had passed, the harem gardens were planted with flowers to perfume the night. Frangipani, jasmine, queen of the night (Raat ki Raani), and narcissi flourished between pleasure pavilions and lotus pools, their perfume heightened by the fragrances worn by the ladies of the harem. And on a terrace sat the begum queen of the harem, tranquilly smoking her hookah as she watched a dancer agilely balance flasks of perfume, while waves of the scents contained in the fragile glass bottles already wafted from gardens and attendants and garments, filling the night with fragrance.

Just read that a special crane was being procured to support the conservation work at the Lahore Fort. Well, I not sure if a crane would help unless there is the requisite political will and the technical capacity within the relevant government agencies. While reading the story, this little introduction to the frescos and paintings on the Lahore Fort's wall was quite interesting - here it is - a kind of an introduction for readers who may not be too familiar with it..

".....the pictured wall is situated in the north and northwest of the Lahore Fort and presents a series of tile montage panels which are amongst the most spectacular worldwide.It has a remarkable unity of composition along with a variety of unique designs. Its construction was started by Mughal Emperor Jahangir and completed during the tenure of Shah Jahan in 1631-32 AD.

The Wall is nearly 450 meters in length and 17 meters in height. It is embellished with panels of tile mosaics and fresco paintings. The decorations are between the two cornices which are divided into a double row of arched recesses of different sizes. The fresco paintings are carried out in the arched recesses, while the spandrels are tastefully decorated with tile mosaics, depicting men, fairies, elephants, lions, dragons, scenes of animal fights, men playing polo, and numerous other games. The human figures on the wall give an insight into the fashion sense of that time, from royalty down to the servants and gladiators."

Images from here and here