Observations on the Mussulmauns of India Part 33

[1] This is incorrect. Hindu traditions refer to a deluge, in which Manu, with the help of a fish, makes a ship, and fastening her cable to the fish's horn, is guided to the mountain, and then he, alone of human beings, is saved.--J. Muir, _Original Sanskrit Texts_, part ii (1860), p. 324.

[2] This is merely a stupid folk etymology, comparing Kanauj with Cain.

[3] _Qil'a_.

[4] Kali Nadi, 'black stream', a corruption of the original name, Kalindi.

[5] _Tahsildar_.

[6] In the southern centre of the ruined citadel stand the tombs of Bala Pir and his son, Shaikh Mahdi. Shaikh Kabir, commonly called Bala Pir, is said to have been the tutor of the brother Nawabs, Dalel and Bahadur Khan. The former ruled Kanauj in the time of Shah Jahan (A.D. 1628-1651), and died after his deposition in 1666.--A. Fuhrer, _Monumental Antiquities and Inscriptions of the N.W. Provinces and Oudh_, 1891, p. 80.

[7] Horseshoes are often nailed on the gates of the tombs of Musalman saints, as at the mosque of Fatehpur Sikri.

[8] _Pir_, 'a saint, a holy man'.

[9] _Maqbara_, 'a sepulchre'.

[10] The Emperor Aurangzeb, A.D. 1658-1707.

[11] Khalifah, Caliph, one of the terms which have suffered degradation, often applied to cooks, tailors, barbers, or other Musalman servants.

[12] This may be the building known as Sita ki Rasoi, the kitchen of Sita, heroine of the Ramayana epic. It is described and drawn by Mrs. F. Parks (_Wanderings of a Pilgrim_, ii. 143).

[13] Butkhana.

[14] The tomb of the Saint Sa'id Shaikh Makhdum Jahaniya Jahangasht of Multan (A.D. 1308-81). Fuhrer, _op. cit._, p. 81.

[15] Many saints are credited with the power of changing the courses of rivers: see instances in W. Crooke, _Popular Religion and Folklore of N. India_, 2nd ed., ii. 218.

[16] This may be a variant of the story that after the capture of Chitor, Akbar weighed 74-1/2 _man_ (8 lbs. each) of cords belonging to the slain Rajputs.--J. Tod, _Annals of Rajasthan_, 1884, i. 349.

[17] The name has not been traced. The reference is to Jains, who are specially careful of animal life.

[18] If this is a male figure it cannot represent the G.o.ddess Lakshmi.

Mrs. Parks (_Wanderings of a Pilgrim_, ii. 144) speaks of images of Rama and his brother Lakshmana, one of which may possibly be that referred to in the text.

[19] _Tahkhana_, an underground cellar.

[20] This account is fairly correct. 'Although active saltpetre is met with under a variety of conditions, they all agree in this particular, that the salt is formed under the influence of organic matter.'--(G.

Watt, _Economic Dictionary_, VI, part ii, 431 _ff_).

LETTER XX

Delhi.--Description of the city.--Marble hall--The Queen's Mahul (palace).--Audience with the King and Queen.--Conversation with them.--Character of their Majesties.--Visit to a Muckburrah.--Soobadhaars.--The nature of the office.--Durgah of Shah Nizaam ood deen.--Tomb of Shah Allum.--Ruins in the vicinity of Delhi.

--Antique pillars (Kootub) .--Prospect from its galleries.--Anecdotes of Juangheer and Khareem Zund...Page 289

My visit to Delhi, once the great capital of Hindoostaun, and the residence of the great Sultauns, has made impressions of a lasting kind, and presented a moral lesson to my mind, I should be sorry to forget in after years; for there I witnessed the tombs of righteous men in perfect repair after the lapse of many centuries, standing in the midst of the mouldering relics of kings, princes, and n.o.bles, many of whose careers, we learn from history, was comparatively of recent date; yet, excepting in one solitary instance of Shah Allum's grave, without so much of order remaining as would tell to the pa.s.sing traveller the rank of each individual's mausoleum, now either entirely a ruin or fast mouldering to decay.

The original city of Delhi presents to view one vast extent of ruins; abounding in mementos of departed worth, as well as in wrecks of greatness, ingenuity, and magnificence. Why the present city was erected or the former one deserted, I cannot venture an opinion, neither can I remember correctly in what reign the royal residence was changed; but judging from the remnants of the old, I should imagine it to have been equally extensive with the modern Delhi. A part of the old palace is still standing, whither the present King, Akbaar Shah,[1] occasionally resorts for days together, attracted perhaps by sympathy for his ancestors, or by that desire for change inherent in human nature, and often deemed essential to health in the climate of Hindoostaun.

The city of Delhi is enclosed by a wall; the houses, which are generally of brick or red stone, appear to good advantage, being generally elevated a story or two from the ground-floor, and more regularly constructed than is usual in Native cities. Mosques, mukhburrahs, and emaum-baarahs, in all directions, diversify the scene with good effect; whilst the various shops and bazaars, together with the outpourings of the population to and from the markets, give an animation to the whole view which would not be complete without them.

The palace occupies an immense s.p.a.ce of ground, enclosed by high walls, and entered by a gateway of grand architecture. On either side the entrance I noticed lines of compact buildings, occupied by the military, reaching to the second gateway, which is but little inferior in style and strength to the grand entrance; and here again appear long lines of buildings similarly occupied. I pa.s.sed through several of these formidable barriers before I reached the marble hall, where the King holds his durbar (court) at stated times; but as mine was a mere unceremonious visit to the King and Queen, it was not at the usual hour of durbar, and I pa.s.sed through the hall without making any particular observations, although I could perceive it was not deficient in the costliness and splendour suited to the former greatness of the Indian empire.

After being conveyed through several splendid apartments, I was conducted to the Queen's mahul[2] (palace for females), where his Majesty and the Queen were awaiting my arrival. I found on my entrance the King seated in the open air in an arm chair enjoying his hookha; the Queen's musnud was on the ground, close by the side of her venerable husband. Being accustomed to Native society, I knew how to render the respect due from an humble individual to personages of their exalted rank. After having left my shoes at the entrance and advanced towards them, my salaams were tendered, and then the usual offering of nuzzas, first to the King and then to the Queen, who invited me to a seat on her own carpet,--an honour I knew how to appreciate from my acquaintance with the etiquette observed on such occasions.

The whole period of my visit was occupied in very interesting conversation; eager inquiries were made respecting England, the Government, the manners of the Court, the habits of the people, my own family affairs, my husband's views in travelling, and his adventures in England, my own satisfaction as regarded climate, and the people with whom I was so immediately connected by marriage;--the conversation, indeed, never flagged an instant, for the condescending courtesy of their Majesties encouraged me to add to their entertainment, by details which seemed to interest and delight them greatly.

On taking leave his Majesty very cordially shook me by the hand, and the Queen embraced me with warmth. Both appeared, and expressed themselves, highly gratified with the visit of an English lady who could explain herself in their language without embarra.s.sment, or the a.s.sistance of an interpreter, and who was the more interesting to them from the circ.u.mstance of being the wife of a Syaad; the Queen indeed was particular in reminding me that 'the Syaads were in a religious point of view, the n.o.bles of the Mussulmauns, and reverenced as such far more than those t.i.tled characters who receive their distinction from their fellow-mortals'.

I was grieved to be obliged to accept the Queen's parting present of an embroidered scarf, because I knew her means were exceedingly limited compared with the demands upon her bounty; but I could not refuse that which was intended to do me honour at the risk of wounding those feelings I so greatly respected. A small ring, of trifling value, was then placed by the Queen on my finger, as she remarked, 'to remind me of the giver.'

The King's countenance, dignified by age, possesses traces of extreme beauty; he is much fairer than Asiatics usually are; his features are still fine, his hair silvery white; intelligence beams upon his brow, his conversation gentle and refined, and his condescending manners hardly to be surpa.s.sed by the most refined gentleman of Europe. I am told by those who have been long intimate with his habits in private, that he leads a life of strict piety and temperance, equal to that of a durweish[3] of his faith, whom he imitates in expending his income on others without indulging in a single luxury himself.

The Queen's manners are very amiable and condescending; she is reported to be as highly gifted with intellectual endowments as I can affirm she is with genuine politeness.

I was induced to visit the mukhburrah of the great-great-grandfather of the present King of Oude,[4] who, at his death,--which occurred at Delhi, I believe,--was one of the Soobadhaars[5] of the sovereign ruler of India.

This n.o.bleman, in his time, had been a staunch adherent to the descendants of Timoor, and had been rewarded for his fidelity by public honours and the private friendship of the King. The monument erected over his remains, is in a costly style of magnificence, and in the best possible condition, standing in the centre of a flower-garden which is enclosed by a stone wall, with a grand gateway of good architecture. The mukhburrah is s.p.a.cious, and in the usual Mussulmaun style of building mausoleums; viz., a square, with a dome, and is ascended by a flight of broad steps. This building stands about three miles from the city, in a good situation to be seen from the road. I was told that the family of Oude kept readers of the Khoraun in constant attendance at the mukhburrah; and I observed several soldiers, whose duty it was to guard the sacred spot, at the expense of the Oude government.

In explanation of the word Soobadhaar, it may not be uninteresting to remark in this place, that when the government of Hindoostaun flourished under the descendants of Timoor, Soobadhaars were appointed over districts, whose duty, in some respects, bore resemblance to that of a Governor; with this difference, that the soobadhaaries were gifts, not only for the life of the individuals, but to their posterity for ever, under certain restrictions and stipulations which made them tributary to, and retained them as dependants of, the reigning sovereign:--as for instance, a certain annual amount was to be punctually transferred to the treasury at Delhi; the province to be governed by the same laws, and the subjects to be under the same control in each Soobadhaarie as those of the parent sovereignty; the revenue exacted in the very same way,; each Soobadhaar was bound to retain in his employ a given number of soldiers, horse and foot, fully equipped for the field, with perfect liberty to employ them as occasion served in the territory which he governed, whether against refractory subjects, or encroachments from neighbouring provinces; but in any emergency from the Court at Delhi, the forces to be, at all times, in readiness for the Sultaun's service at a moment's notice.

The gift of a Soobadhaarie was originally conferred on men who had distinguished themselves, either in the army, or in civil capacities, as faithful friends and servants of the Sultaun. In the course of time, some of these Soobadhaars, probably from just causes, threw off their strict allegiance to their Sovereign, abandoned the t.i.tle of Soobadhaar, and adopted that of Nuwaub in its stead, either with or without the consent of the Court of Delhi.

As it is not my intention to give a precise history of the Indian empire, but merely to touch on generalities, I have confined my remarks to a brief explanation of the nature of this office; and will only add, that whilst the Soobadhaars (afterwards the Nuwaubs) of Oude swayed over that beautiful province under these t.i.tles, they continued to send their usual nuzzas to the King of Delhi, although no longer considered under his dominion; thus acknowledging his superiority, because inferiors only present nuzzas. But when Ghauzee ood deen Hyder was created King of Oude, he could no longer be considered tributary to the House of Timoor, and the annual ceremony of sending a nuzza, I understood, was discontinued. The first King of Oude issued coins from his new mint almost immediately after his coronation, prior to which period the current money of that province bore the stamp of Delhi.[6]

Shah Nizaam ood deen[7] was one of the many Mussulmaun saints, whose history has interested me much. He is said to have been dead about five hundred years, yet his memory is cherished by the Mussulmauns of the present day with veneration unabated by the lapse of years, thus giving to the world a moral and a religious lesson, 'The great and the ambitious perish, and their glory dieth with them; but the righteous have a name amongst their posterity for ever.'

I was familiar with the character of Nizaam ood deen long prior to my visit at the Court of Delhi, and, as maybe supposed, it was with no common feeling of pleasure I embraced the opportunity of visiting the mausoleum erected over the remains of that righteous man.

The building originally was composed of the hard red stone, common to the neighbourhood of Delhi, with an occasional mixture of red bricks of a very superior quality; but considerable additions and ornamental improvements of pure white marble have been added to the edifice, from time to time, by different monarchs and n.o.bles of Hindoostaun, whose pious respect for the memory of the righteous Shah Nizaam ood deen is testified by these additions, which render the mausoleum at the present time as fresh and orderly as if but newly erected.

The style of the building is on the original, I might say, only plan of Mussulmaun mukhburrahs--square, with a cupola. It is a beautiful structure on a scale of moderate size. The pavements are of marble, as are also the pillars, which are fluted and inlaid with pure gold; the ceiling is of chaste enamel painting (peculiarly an Indian art, I fancy,) of the brightest colours. The cupola is of pure white marble, of exquisite workmanship and in good taste; its erection is of recent date, I understand, and the pious offering of the good Akbaar Shah, who, being himself a very religions personage, was determined out of his limited income to add this proof of his veneration for the sainted Nizaam to the many which his ancestors had shown.[8]

The marble tomb enclosing the ashes of Shah Nizaam ood deen is in the centre of the building immediately under the cupola; this tomb is about seven feet long by two, raised about a foot from the pavement; on the marble sides are engraved chapters from the Khoraun in the Arabic character, filled up with black; the tomb itself has a covering of very rich gold cloth, resembling a pall.

This tranquil spot is held sacred by all Mussulmauns. Here the sound of human feet are never heard; 'Put off thy shoes', being quite as strictly observed near this venerated place, as when the mosque and emaum-baarah are visited by 'the faithful'; who, as I have before remarked, whenever a prayer is about to be offered to G.o.d, cast off their shoes with scrupulous care, whether the place chosen for worship be in the mosque, the abode of men, or the wilderness.

I was permitted to examine the interior of the mausoleum. The calm stillness, which seemed hardly earthly; the neatness which pervaded every corner of the interior; the recollection of those virtues, which I so often heard had distinguished Shah Nizaam's career on earth, impressed me with feelings at that moment I cannot forget; and it was with reluctance I turned from this object to wander among the surrounding splendid ruins, the only emblems left of departed greatness; where not even a tablet exists to mark the affection of survivors, or to point to the pa.s.sing traveller the tomb of the monarch, the prince, or the n.o.ble,--except in the instance of Shah Allum,--whilst the humble-minded man's place of sepulture is kept repaired from age to age, and still retains the freshness of a modern structure in its five hundredth year.

There are men in charge of Shah Nizaam ood deen's mausoleum who lead devout lives, and subsist on the casual bounties gleaned from the charitable visitors to his shrine. Their time is pa.s.sed in religious duties, reading the Khoraun over the ashes of the saint, and keeping the place clean and free from unholy intrusions. They do not deem this mode of existence derogatory; for to hold the situation of darogahs, or keepers of the tombs of the saints, who are held in universal veneration amongst Mussulmauns, is esteemed an honourable privilege.

In this sketch of my visit to the tombs at Delhi, I must not omit one very remarkable cemetery, which, as the resting place of the last reigning sovereign of Hindoostaun, excited in me no small degree of interest, whilst contrasting the view it exhibited of fallen greatness, with the many evidences of royal magnificence.