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a the ongoing exhibition at @dag.museums ( on till 14th ) on M.F.Husain’s paintings is a series on religion.
I had posted one on Islam yesterday. Today i want to talk of the painting titled humanism. On it is inscribed Iqbal’s verse:
ḳhudī ko kar buland itnā ki har taqdīr se pahle
ḳhudā bande se ḳhud pūchhe batā terī razā kyā ha
خودی کو کر بلند اتنا کہ ہر تقدیر سے پہلے
خدا بندے سے خود پوچھے بتا تیری رضا کیا ہ

Allama Iqbal’s verse “Khudi ko kar buland itna” highlights the philosophy of Khudi—the realization of one’s potential and individuality. He urges individuals to elevate themselves so profoundly that God seeks their will in shaping destiny. This concept emphasizes self-sufficiency, courage, and purposeful action, guiding humanity toward self-actualization, spiritual growth, and the fulfillment of their unique purpose.
all inputs welcome

The most famous Sufi saints of the Qadriya order in the Indian subcontinent are Miyan Mir (1531/32–1653 CE), Sultan Bahu (1630–1691) and Bulleh Shah (1680–1757).
Miyan Mir preached that there were two paths to finding God. The first was when a devotee was drawn to God himself; the other was through meditation and contemplation under a Sufi saint’s guidance. Dara Shukoh records that one of his disciples claimed that Miyan Mir never slept at night and for several years used only one breath lasting the entire night till sunrise. Even at 80 he was inhaling and exhaling only four times nightly.
You can read about the Qadri ya silsilah and the two saints in my book
In Search of the Divine: Living Histories of Sufism in India

This painting is in @pergamonmuseumberlin

https://bit.ly/3Lzjxnl
@hachette_india
#insearchofthedivine #sufism #sufi #dargah #spirituality #tasawwuf #ishq #silsilah #islam #khanqah #chillahgah #langar #langarkhana #dua #fana #baqa #wahdat #wujood #sufipoetry #qawwali #sufikalam #Quran #marifat #tariqa #haqeeqat

We all know that the Muslim creed is based on the principle of Tauheed or One God.
How did this creed reflect in Islamic architecture?
You may have heard of the term sacred geometry: It is related to the oneness of God or tauheed.
In geometry, the point symbolizes the oneness of God by representing the concept that there are no parts other than the whole through the point. Just as the point has no extension in any direction, God is perceived as metaphysically absolute and infinite.
His motion generates space and breathes life into dimensions, reflecting the idea of unity and indivisibility. Therefore, the point serves as a metaphor for God’s singular existence and omnipotence in Islamic thought.
The study of geometry’s laws reveals cosmic relationships and the unity of creation, mirroring the divine mystery.

Rao Surjan Singh (r. 1554-1585) allied with the Mughals & served as governor of Varanasi and came in contact with Mughal painters. After him his son Rao Bhoj Singh succeeded him and he too spent time in the fort of Chunar like his father. It is here that they came in contact with painters of the Mughal atelier. Successors of Mir Saiyed Ali and Abdus Samad, the founders of the Mughal school of art, had finished a series of 36 ragamala in Chunar.
These were commissioned by the Hara rulers and became a template.
The Mughal style is apoarent in the Badal Mahal , with its red and gold murals. The Badal Palace as its name suggests is the top most level of the palace complex built by Rao Bhoj Singh.

When Rudyard Kipling saw the palace in in 1887 he wrote, “such a Palace [is] … the work of goblins rather than of men. It is built into and out of the hillside, in gigantic terrace on terrace, and dominates the whole of the city.”

The construction of the Bundi Fort was started Rao Surjan and his son Rao Bhoj Singh & built upon by successive rulers, each adding his own palace.

Bundi paintings, characterized by meticulous brushwork, are small in size. They are crafted with natural colors derived from minerals, vegetables, precious stones, silver, and gold.
The Cloud Palace, or Badal Mahal, within Garh Palace boasts some of southern Rajasthan’s finest paintings. Vibrantly colored depictions of Krishnas and Radhas encircle the vaulted dome, accompanied by murals portraying Krishna’s wedding procession led by Ganesh and Rama’s return from Sri Lanka to Ayodhya.
These were painted during Rao Ratan Singh’s reign but since he was most of the time posted in the Deccan during Shah Jahan’s reign, they were probably commissioned by his son Gopinath or one of his queens.
It betrays Mughal and Deccan influence.
There are five horizontal levels, with the lowest being ragamalas in 13 niches and vertical spaces.
Above that are paintings depicting hunting, polo games,elephant fights etc from the Rao’s life.
Above that are the painted areas and a pointed arch. The arches have murals from the life of Lord Krishna and Lord Rama.
There are large frescoes on the ceiling and it is central rasmandala which takes your breath away and you realise why it is called the Sistine Chapel of India.
The mural I want to focus on today is the Lord Krishna with Radha and the Parthasarthi is being driven by Lord Ganesh. They are escorted by angels.
The vibrant red of the background ( all natural colors) contrasts beautifully with Lord Krishna’s dark blue and Radha’s red lenhga.

Tedhi Qabr
Come ashoor or 10th Muharram and Sham-e Gariban majlises are held across the world.
While the hadith in the majlis, though centring around the events of the 10th of Ashur in Karbala, will differ according to the Maulana reciting it, one thing remains standard: every majlis will end with the iconic and evocative nauha ghabrayegi Zainab.
This nauha has the power to make tears fall from even the most hardened soul.
This year i was determined to go and pay my respects and recite a fatiha at the grave of Channu Lal who wrote this nauha. He wrote under the takhallus of Dilgir.
Thanks to Taha Ahmad and Sabika Abbas i went there.
It’s called ‘tedhi qabr’ or crooked grave because it is not in alignment with the road running next to it.
As many would know a qabr/grave of a Muslim has to be perpendicular to the direction of the Qibla, this here the direction is tilted & not perpendicular to the road.
Channu Lal (1780 – 1848 CE)and his brother Raja Jhau Lal were courtiers of Nawab Asaf-ud-Daula. Brought up on the ethos of nawabi tehzeeb, Channu Lal was an accomplished marsiya nigar and poet.
Mirza Khani Nawazish was his first ustad and Nasikh was his second ustad.
The nondescript grave is in middle of the chidiya market of Nakkhas and there are shops on one side of it.
I spoke to a few shopkeepers and requested them to keep it in a good condition.
Due to a lisp he himself could not recite hos nauhas, but today the world is hos voice.
Request a surah e fatiha for Dilgir

ashura

This gurudwara is located in Talwandi Sabo, which also has one of the five takhts of Sikhs (Takht is a temporal and spiritual seat). It is here that the final version of Adi Granth( now known as Guru Granth Sahib) was compiled by Guru Gobind Singh ji. This place was a confluence of scholars and a seat of learning ( the reason it is also known as the Kashi of sikhs)
It is said that there used to be a pond here where Guruji threw all the reeds and left over ink after the writing of Guru Granth Sahib. Thus blessed, it came to be known as Gurudwara Likhansar sahib. (Likhan-writing and sar-sarovar or pond)

#GurukiKashi
#TalwandiSabo
#GurdwaraLikhansarSahib

(With thanks 🙏 to  Gurpreet Singh )

From #travelspast
#Bhatinda #gurudwara #gurudwaradamdamasahib

There are very few monuments acknowledged by name as having been built by women especially those of public utility.
Chandni Chowk built by Jahanara Begum.and Rani ki baori in Bundi and Rani ki Vaw in Patan are a few spectacular examples.
I had visited the other two now it was the turn of Bundi.
Rani ki Baori is a stepwell built by Queen Nathavati, wife of a famous King of Bundi, Anirudh Singh in 1699.
It is built on three levels and once you enter it has two fantastic arched gates with great artwork done on the pillars and statues of elephants. Interestingly while the stepwell is made of limestone the elephants are of marble.
The second gate inside the stepwell is beautiful with two different arch styles the one on top is ogee shaped and the bottom is cusped. The elephant on top is shown with trunk inwards as if drinking water.
There are images of various gods carved on the walls. The 10 avatars of Lord Vishnu is noteworthy plu a Mahisaadurmardini.
It’s clean and filled with water which itself is a boon.
#bundi #rajasthan

The Bundi Fort is amazing with it’s painted palaces and elephants

The fort has recently been leased to a private company and maintenence is being done.

#bundifort #bundi @rajasthan_tourism #rajasthan #hadoiti

A classical nayika ( heroine) pose is the enchanting one where she has stepped out of her bath and her hair is still wet..
The swan (‘s) try to catch it mistaking it for pearls.
This mural from the beautiful Chitrshala in Garh Fort in Bundi
#bundi #bundifort # chitrshala #bundischoolofart #rajasthan

Akbar had an enquiring mind and that can be seen in his interactions with various priests, maulvis and monks in his ibadatkhana debates.
Here in a beautiful nim qalam representation of one such meeting, but seeing he is a dervish, its not in the ibadatkhana but the jungle, where he interrupts his shikar trip to meet the dervish.
The painter is Abdus Samad who came from Iran to Humayun’s court.
The Iranian influence can be seen in the horses with “corpulent bodies and slim heads”.
The tree substitutes for a throne for the young Akbar while the dervish is identified by his kashkol or beggar’s bowl.
Sufi saints had immense influence on the Mughal emperors and princes and we see in numerous paintings of their meetings with the saints.
Jahangir meeting Jadrup being very famous.
@Agakhan museum Toronto

]]> https://ranasafvi.com/akbar-and-the-dervish/feed/ 0 38955 https://ranasafvi.com/dargah-asar-sharif-in-delhi-s-jama-masjid/ https://ranasafvi.com/dargah-asar-sharif-in-delhi-s-jama-masjid/#respond Tue, 30 May 2023 14:07:30 +0000 https://ranasafvi.com/?p=38684

I had shared that the Jama Masjid, Delhi has relics attributed to the Prophet pbuh anf Hazrat Ali.
This is the Quran sharif attributed to Hazrat Ali.
As I had said in my video, scholars dispute it. There’s even a question mark over the one in Raza Library.
Marjin van Putten, scholar of early Quran mss says for the Raza library folio: “Palaeographically there is no doubt that it is NOT a seventh century manuscript (likelier late 8th/early 9th), so can’t be Ali’s.”

for this folio Marjin says “Very beautiful! Manuscripts in this style (Kufi D.I) stem from the middle of the 3rd century AH/9th century CE up until the early 4th/10th probably.” #earlyquran #koranKodex

This folio of the Quran sharif is said to have been written by Imam Hasan. In the Dargah Asar Sharif in Jama Masjid, Delhi.

Marjin. Van Putten, Scholar of early Quran manuscripts says “Gorgeous! I was not aware that there were complete Mushafs in this style. It’s quite early, but not quite early enough to have been written by Hasan.” #earlyQuranmanuscripts

All of us are familiar with the image of a rather corpulent Nawab Wajid Ali Shah wearing an angarkha in which his left nipple is showing, creating an impression of decadence.
On a visit to the Company paintings exhibition in National Museum, New Delhi I found this image of a young Wajid Ali Shah.
Sharp, dapper, looking like the ruler who wrote an administrative manual called the Dastur-i-Wajidi, which he used in the early years of his reign.

Mirza Kaisar Zaman Wajid Ali Shah was born on 30th July 1822 in Lucknow to Malika Kishwar Aara Begum the Chief Consort of Nawab Amjad Ali Shah. He was tutored in classical subjects by Maulana Imdad Hussain along with training in horseman ship and sword play. He was drawn to music and was not only a connoisseur but a great patron of music. He was well accomplished in poetry and wrote under the takhallus of Akhtar. A number of books authored by him still exist

Once he ascended the throne he organised the military, put his administrative reforms in place and much to the alarm of the angrez Bahadur every morning at dawn he’d inspect military parades, fining late comers.

The campaign against him ( putting it very simply though it was a complex affair) started. The very things that endeared him to his people were used to prove he was a debauch who had only time for song and dance.
“The Heir Apparent’s character holds no promise of good,” it was noted. His “temper is capricious and fickle, his days and nights are passed in the female apartments and he appears to have resigned himself to debauchery, dissipation and low pursuits”.

In 1856 he was removed by General Outram
“Why have I deserved this? What (crime) have I committed?”
As Manu S Pillai wrote in a Mint column
“There was no clear answer, but one hint lies in the fact that the East India Company owed him large amounts in debt. Why bother repaying a loan when liquidating your moneylender was a more comfortable option?”

His descendant Kamran Meerza writes: “Wajid Ali Shah was also the literary King of his age. He had even set up petition box to get the public opinion and to hear their problems. He was for 5 yrs peshkar of his father Amjad Ali Shah bahadur and used to solve the problems of the administration. His openness to reveal his personal life to the public in the form of his poetry and writings was the excuse for his dethronement.”

Trying to decolonise Wajid Ali Shah

Shah Raja Qattal is father of Banda Nawaz Hazrat Gesu daraz.

He is buried in Khuldabad near Aurangabad in Maharashtra. His tomb was made by Tana Shah, his disciple the last Qutb Shahi king of Golcunda.

Salih a contemporary historian writes in Amaal e Salih: “after reaching Akbarabadi’s, it [body of Mumtaz Mahal] was entrusted to earth In the heaven like tract of land situated to the south side of the abode of the caliphate overlooking the river Jamuna which had belonged to Raja Mansingh and to acquire it his Majesty the Caliph ranked had given an exchange a mansion loftier than the said mention to his grandson Raja Jai Singh”

This is a record from 1631. In the farman of 1633 there are four other havelis mentioned. It is not certain whether there was an exchange or 5 havelis were given in total.

These are photos from The Illumined Tomb by Begley and Desai.
They have examined & translated all contemporary records of Shah Jahan ‘s reign including farmans giving 4 havelis in lieu of Raja Man Singh’s ‘haveli’
Haveli means mansion
The last pg has the descriptions of the havelis

Thanks be to God, that by the blessing of the grace of the Sayyed, a protection of the knowledge (of God), Shah Bhik who is a perfect and holy teacher
In the reign of a king glorified like Alexander and dignified like Jamshed, the spreader of justice (named) Mohammad Shah, the champion of the faith and the King
Roshan ud Daula Zafar khan, the Lord of beneficience and bounty, built this golden mosque resembling heaven.
Such a mosque that its dignified open courtyard the sky sweeps every morning with the pencil of the sun’s rays.
It’s clear tank represents the stream of Paradise, whoever performed ablution with its water became pure of his sins.
The date of its foundation Rasai obtained from the invisible inspiration;” (It is a ) mosque like the mosque of Jerusalem where the light of God descends.” The year 1157.
This masjid is very beautiful and famous and so I will make its sketch.” (Given)

It is very easy to miss as its on tje first floor, the entrance is in a lane and it’s not visible from the road.

India is home to many amazing stepwells. I have visited many of them all over India.
Today a different stepwell- Helical- in the Pavagadh area of Gujarat.
This 16th century well has a 1.2m-wide staircase that spirals down along the wall of the well shaft, making it quite unusual in design among stepwells

#stepwell #gujarat #pavagadh #pavagadhhills
#stepwell #gujarat #pavagadh #pavagadhhills

Nawab Mustafa Ali Khan Shefta (1809-1869 AD), was a famous poet and critic. He was a contemporary of Mirza Ghalib.
Like the majority of Muslim nobility he was arrested by the British in connection with the Uprising of 1857. He had close ties with the Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar.
However, unlike the more unfortunate ones from Kucha Chelan, such as Imam Baksh Sehbai he escaped execution and was sentenced to seven years imprisonment and his estates were seized, only half of which were later restored on appeal.
Later, his son Nawab Ishaq Khan bought the prison and built their family home on it.

Shefta died in 1869 at his house in Kucha Chelaan in Delh and was buried at his family graveyard at Hazrat Nizamuddin.
He belonged to the famous Bangash family and was buried in their family graveyard which was very close to the Loharu graveyard.
He was a close friend of Mirza Ghalib who stood by him in his hour of need and it’s fitting that they sleep their eternal sleep near each other. Unfortunately, heavy construction in the twentieth century has resulted in many changes and since no headstone or marker indicates his grave, we don’t know which one it is.
Whenever i go to Chausath Khamba i just recite a fatiha for all the souls there.
As per my understanding the Bangash family graveyard is behind Chausath Khamba. That area has many graves.
Ghalib’s tomb is separated from the Chausath Khamba by a wall.

Excerpt from: “The Forgotten Cities of Delhi: Book Two in the Where Stones Speak trilogy” by Rana Safvi.

image 1&2 – unidentified graves in that area
image 3- Chausath Khamba
Image 4- Ghalib’s tomb

‪Dopahar aur roza thoda mushkil ho jaata Hai.‬
‪That’s the time when you need a “Qaylulah” (borrowed from arabic [qeylule] meaning siesta) in your Khwaabgah (Sleeping apartment, bed-room)‬

‪Here is the doorway to Padshah Shah Jahan ‘s khwabgah in Red Fort ‬
‪#Ramzan #travelwithme ‬
#RedFort #Shahjahanabad #ShahjahanabadTheLivingCity #Delhi #heritage

The first time I heard of Mysore silk as a special kind of silk was when the serial Mahabharata was aired.
In the famous cheer haran / vastra haran scene she wore a Mysore silk sarees. Specially woven to a length of 19 metres if memory serves me.
It was light so the actor didn’t look too fat when wrapped in so much cloth.
On my first visit to Bangalore in 1990 I bought two of those plain silk, very lightweight but exquisite sarees. On my recent visit to Srirangapatna I came to know that it was Tipu Sultan who founded this industry.
In this mural painted on the wall of Daria Daulat bagh palace in Srirangapatna /Seringapatnam Tipu rides out to battle wearing a dress of Mysore silk with tiger stripes.
In the 1780s the Chinese ambassador from the court of Qing dynasty came to the court of Tipu Sultan and presented a length of silk to him.
Tipu was fascinated and wanted it produced in his court.
“Simon Charsley, professor at University of Glasgow and author of the book “Culture and Sericulture”, notes that to establish the silk industry, Tipu issued one of his first orders to his agent stationed in Muscat, the great Arab trading port on the Gulf of Oman. It went thus: “To Mir Kâzim, Dâroga at Muscat, April 24, 1786. Get the Dullâl (broker) to write to his agents in different places, to collect silkworms, and persons acquainted with the manner of rearing them, and (having procured them) let them be dispatched to us.”
People were sent to Bengal to procure silk worms and orders given for locating them on previously planted mulberry trees.
21 stations were established to breed silkworms in his kingdom.
After his death the sericulture industry received a setback but was revived in 1866 by an Italian industrialist set up the Silk Filature Company at Kengeri near Bengaluru with help from Wodeyar rulers.
https://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/economy/a-sultan-s-silken-dreams-51808

A 2nd century Buddha in Chandigarh museum.
At the time of partition it wasn’t only land that was divided, museums collections were too.
India received 627 Gandhara sculptures as her share of the Lahore Museum’s collection at the time of the partition of India in 1947. They are housed in Chandigarh museum & the second largest collection of Gandhara art in India.
The largest is in the Indian museum in Calcutta

#buddha #gandharaart #chandigarh #museum

On a recent trip to Vrindavan I was struck by the tell tale signs of a receding Yamuna. I could see small pavilions on the opposite side of the road from Yamuna river which must have been the entry points to the ghat. In a few places these burjis were surrounded by some water.
River fronts are a very significant site of architectural and religious heritage.
Yamuna is revered as a goddess as the daughter of Surya and sister of Yama (god of death) she is linked with the forces of both life and death.
Her role in Krishna mythology makes her even more important. The baby Krishna was saved by his father transporting him on a dark stormy night, where the river calmed herself to facilitate the journey.
The image in the post is curious because of the fountain.
Sushant Bharti tells me the fountain was added later as part of renovations

#yamuna #vrindavan #ghat

The most famous resident of Mathura museum is “the great King, the King of Kings, the Son of God, Kanishka.”
So says the kharosthi inscription on his tunic.
Carved from red and white spotted sandstone, the statue of the Kushan emperor Kanishka is dated at 2 CE, possibly coinciding with the king’s reign.
It was found in Mat site a shrine built during the Kushan reign as a southern parallel to the shrine at Surkh Kotal, Afghanistan.
Glad to have met the headless king after seeing this booted image so often in text books.

We have all grown up hearing about Awadh’s famed Ganga Jamuni Tehzeeb: for some of us it has been a lived reality.
While I never tire of pointing out to the kamal and kalash on Delhi’s Jama Masjid (and many others monuments including the Taj Mahal) I recently came across this temple in Vrindavan.

I had read about this temple where Awadh met Rome met Braj, but it is something one has to see to understand.
It is the place where Nawab Wajid Ali Shah dances the cosmic dance dressed as a gopi, the Awadh fish emblem supports the crown, and where the rampant lions and statues on the roof remind one of Constantia (La Martiniere Boys College) and a bejewelled Lord Krishna reigns over the hearts of his devotees.

Nawab Wajid Ali Shah as a gopi

As Sugata Ray writes, “Framed by classical pillars, Roman pediments, Solomonic columns, and a Mughal/Awadhi gateway, Krishna thus became the cosmopolitan monarch, an imperial figure of veneration and worship.

This unique temple known as Shah ji ka Mandir after its builder Kundan Lal Shah was completed in 1868.
Kundan Lal Shah had been a treasurer in the court of Awadh’s last Nawab, Nawab Wajid Ali Shah. After the Nawab was exiled to Calcutta by the British East India company and the state annexed by them he moved to Vrindavan.

The entrance is built like Lucknow’s famed Rumi Darwaza.

There are two halls inside: The outer hall has two levels of decorations-

At the lower level are marble inlaid figures of women in various poses as well as one of the builder himself.

Gopis

The builder Kundan Lal Shah as a gopi with an inscription on the shawl edge identifying him

It is however the upper level that held my interest. On a protruding ledge were 12 figures: eleven of the dancing hopis performing a rasleela and the twelfth of the Nawab himself.

We all know that Nawab Wajid Ali Shah composed and performed elaborate plays. Here he would dress up as Krishna as well as the gopis.

In fact as Sugata Ray writes “One of the primary justifications for the 1856 British annexation of Awadh was Wajid Ali’s purported effeminate depravation. A 1857 history of Awadh thus states: “Dressed in female attire, Wajid Ali Shah entered into rivalry with Nautch girls; or trifled in his garden amid swarms of beautiful women draped in transparent gauze, with wings fastened to their shoulders, in humble imitation of female angels.”

This is not how, a fellow Krishna devotee saw his beloved Akhtar Piya Nawab Wajid Ali Shah and he immortalised him in this temple.
As Ray writes, “The symbolism of divine love, where the devotee imagined himself/herself as Radha, Krishna’s consort, created a new vocabulary of religiosity where yearning for the divine, yearning for an absent lover, became the ideal form of bhakti or devotion.”

The sanctum sanctorum bears a close resemblance to imambaras of Lucknow as as those who have visited Lucknow know one enters the Para Imambara through the Rumi Darwaza. The chandeliers and lamps, the elevated shahnasheen all reminded me of the imambaras I visited in Lucknow during the month of Muharram to mourn Imam Hussain.

The marble basin in front of Lord Krishna would once have been linked to flowing water but was dry now.

The Awadh fish emblem

The serpentine columns inspired by the Vatican and lion of Claude Martin’s Constantia : now La Martiniere Boys College, lucknow

My lived reality still lives.