Japan K Pathak

In this first season of History series, I am republishing some carefully selected old reporting/articles of historical value, curated from over 100 years old records. Such articles though deserving, never got placement in any book, journal or even Google search engine through all these years.

Today’s piece is regarding a February 1894 article, in which an Englishman J.C.Mackay narrates his journey to Ahmedabad through rail and his experiences while touring within Ahmedabad city.

The author writes, at the entrance to Ahmedabad’s Jama mosque he saw a Tain idol, which was turned upside down for the faithful (Muslims) to tread on (walk over while entering the mosque)! (Similar has been known about the mosque of Ghazni in Afghanistan. Some of the fragments of of Somnath idol were turned into the steps of the mosque by Ghaznavi where the faithful could defile it by walking on it.) The author is however incorrect about the date of make of Jami mosque. Not Jama mosque but another famous mosque in the city was built in year 1432 actually.

Another important detail mentioned in the article is that the Sidi Sayed mosque was turned into Government offices. It contained five windows of the finest pierced marble-work but one of them had been removed and sent to the South Kensington Museum in England. (I checked the website of a museum which was formerly known as Kensington Museum but didn’t find any trace of Sidi Sayed mosque’s jali there).

The author in his article mentions, ‘The Hindus have a very strong survival of caste ; they will not eat bread with us (Britishers), neither will they eat their own food if the shadow of a Christian has fallen upon it.’

The author mentions that Ahmedabad had a population of about 130,000, of which 68 per cent were Hindus, however in the height of its prosperity the city had contained one million souls.

The author noted, ‘nearly every house looks as if it were on its last legs, yet they are decorated with a wealth of stone-carving truly remarkable, whilst in the lower stories brasswork and copper work, cooking and shaving, gold and silver embroidery are in full operation.’ (Regarding author’s this particular observation, old Ahmedabad’s market-streets had typical feature of professional works going on at the ground floor while the family, owning that shop would stay upfloor. In Chandla Ole, same can be seen even today. In fact workplace on the ground-floor and residence on the first floor set up would have multiple benefits. One would not need to travel to his business as it would be just on the ground floor of the house. One would be able to involve family members to take over the shop counter for a while. One would be able to keep shop open for longer hours and also feel secure. Multiple benefits.)

Following is the article by J.C.Mackay in full text

We left Bombay by the night mail for our thirteen hours’ run to Ahmdabad. The railways in India – at least, the chief main lines are built to a five feet six gauge – say nine and a half inches wider than our main lines at home – and the carriages are specially constructed for sleeping. Each compartment accommodates four sleeping passengers, and is als furnished with a complete lavatory. Some of the carriages are fitted with a shower-bath in addition. This extra width of gauge allows the building of much wider carriages than we have at home, and also of a more powerful construction of the locomotive, and it is a pity that when Brunel and Stephenson were fighting the “Battle of the Ganges” a compromise was not agreed to and the standard gauge fixed at five feet six. Most of the railway-travelling by Europeans is done at night-time, and we have just come in after having had two consecutive nights of it, or 29 hours in all. Everyone carries his bed with him when travelling, as it is sometimes necessary at small hotels or Dak-bungalows – or if it is not absolutely necessary, it may be judicious – to use one’s own. Your native servant shakes your bed for you before the train starts, which consists of a rug, an elder down, and a pillow, or if you are luxuriously-inclined and do not mind surplus baggage, you may include a pair of sheets and a pillow-case. You can completely undress and enjoy a fair night’s rest, taking the precaution to put all valuables under your pillow, and not to hand any garments near the door, as a native may quietly take it out of the carriage whilst you are in “the Land of Nod.” It is also advisable to keep your eye on your baggage when anyone is leaving your carriage at an intermediate station as (by mistake, of course) they may take some of yours in addition to their own. On our first night’s travelling, a friend woke up in the morning and found an old pair of boots left, in mistake, for a beautiful new pair, cork-soled and made especially for India, which he had taken off the previous night. Another friend, later on, had his portmanteau taken away in a similar manner, and I woke up one morning at 12.30, and found my dressing-case disappearing also; in fact, in India you must keep your eye on everything and everybody.

Travelling by rail seems to have a great fascination for the natives. They swarm at every train, and a railway station here, at the arrival and departure of every train, is as crowded as an English station is on the arrival of an excursion train. Native fruit-sellers and sweetmeat or meat-sellers meet every train and seem to do a good business with the natives, whilst the pani-wallah or “the man with water” is a sine qua non. These men are Hindus of a high caste, and consequently the Brahmin, who is the highest caste of the Hindus, can drink directly from the store, whilst a low caste person has the water poured into his hands and he drinks it from the hollow of his hands. The Hindus have a very strong survival of caste ; they will not eat bread with us, neither will they eat their own food if the shadow of a Christian has fallen upon it. This caste has a very strong hold on the people and was a decided element in the mutiny of 1857, and is adhered to even amongst the most educated of the Hindus. India is a most conservative country. The same scenes that were enacted hundreds of years ago are being done to-day under our eyes, whilst the dresses and customs, the bullock-carts, and the primitive methods of raising water have been handed down from a bygone time, and are still preserved everywhere in their native simplicity. We see in the plough of to-day the same implement that was used in the Holy Land. The soil of India is extremely fertile, and where irrigation has been employed everything is beautiful and green. In this part of the country there seems to be plenty of water to be got by sinking wells, and although we pass through long stretches of country unoccupied and uncultivated, it seems to me that if water were applied to it crops could be produced. Approaching Ahmedabad in the early morning, we passed through a district which seemed to be the abode of monkeys. They were to be seen by dozens, fairly large, of a dark grey colour and quite harmless, gambolling about on the ground as we passed along.

We arrived at Ahmdabad early on the morning of the 23rd Dec. and after partaking of a good breakfast and arranging for our sleeping quarters in the railway waiting-rooms (there is no hotel in the place) we summoned our “garry” or carriage and went off to do the sights. The city of Ahmedabad has a population of about 130,000, of which 68 per cent are Hindus and was founded by Ahmed Shah. In the height of its prosperity it contained one million souls, but by successive conquests it has been reduced to its present comparatively small but prosperous condition. It is entirely surrounded by a wall 15 ft high and 5 ft thick, with large bastions every 50 paces, and must have been a most formidable place in its time, though with our modern artillery I fear it would not stand long. The walls are six miles in circumference and pierced by eighteen gateways, the teak doors of which are thickly studded with iron spikes to prevent their being battered in by elephants. It is the headquarters of a collectorate and of the Northern Division or the Bombay Army, and its great boast as regards architecture is its old Mahommedan mosques, beautifully and marvellously carved, and said to be the finest in India. Marble abounds in the district, and with the spoils of the Hindu capitals also at hand, the Mohammed conquerors had plenty of material for the purpose. They are all ruined and defaced now, and the custodian is generally a Hindu.

The Jami Masjid, built in 1432, has a marble floor, while the roof is composed of 15 domes of most delicate fretwork and supported by 350 pillars. At the entrance to the mosque is a Tain idol, turned upside down for the faithful to tread on, and opposite to it a crescent in marble, where the priest stands to pray. All the mosques face toward Mecca, and are open at the opposite side and have a large square in front, containing a tank of water, in which the worshipper washes his feet, head and mouth before praying. Notwithstanding that the mosque was built in marble and had a large square floored with marble, yet this tank was covered by galvanized iron, supported by wooden posts painted a light green, and the whole surroundings were as dirty as one could possibly imagine.

Close by, surrounded by the dirtiest of streets and buildings, is the Rani Jifiri mosque and tomb. The whole is of the choicest carved work in sandstone from top to bottom, and is considered a triumph of the sculptor’s art. The balconies and pillars are all carved, and there is scarcely a stone that has a plain surface. The windows are of pierced marble, and the inscriptions, in mother-of-pearl, set forth the glory of Allah and the virtues of the founder. The place is now utterly neglected, and long-tailed monkeys gabel over the building, and bats hang in clusters to the fretted dome.

The mosque of Sadi-Sayyid has been turned into Government offices, but it contains five windows of the finest pierced marble-work to be found in India. One window represents a tree, another palm, and one has been removed and sent to the South Kensington Museum. The tomb of Shah Alum is some distance from the City, and is built in the midst of largely and highly decorated buildings. The tomb is of marble, inland with precious stones and gold, and is enclosed with a railing of marble lacework and fine-hammered and perforated brass doors. The byegone opulence of this city may be gathered from the fact that in the 16th century there were over one thousand stone and marble mosques, tombs, and kiosques in or near the city, but they are all now in ruins, or nearly so.

There are many large tanks of artificial lakes in the neighbourhood, and the one we saw – the Kankaria Tank – is probably the largest in India, and covers over seventy acres. In the centre of this tank are the remains of an enchanting palace and garden (part recently restored by a generous Englishmen) and connected with the mainland by an earthenware embankment and by some of the old arches. Here kingfishers and monkeys have their abode and an alligator or two are also to be seen. On a temple here was stamped the impression of a human hand in red ochre, marking the spot where a Hindu widow was burnt alive on the funeral pyre, out of passionate love for her husband. I have noticed the impression of this hand on the walls of small villages in several places, kept fresh, I suppose, by the relatives of the deceased, as the sacrifice is now forbidden by the Government. Another tank at Sarkheg is surrounded on all sides by masonry steps, marble mosques and tombs, but for the most part they are in ruins, whilst the road to the tank, six miles long, is dotted with tombs on this side and that. Here is a beautiful tomb to the Sultan’s Vizier, that would cost upwards of British Pound 50,000 to produce. Here also is a tomb to his Queen, of like magnificence, and here also the Sultan provided one for himself on a similar scale.

The surrounding country of Ahmedabad is well-wooded and fertile and lies on the banks of the Jabermati river, which is here spanned by a bridge 600 yards long. The native part of the town is most interesting ; nearly every house looks as if it were on its last legs, yet they are decorated with a wealth of stone-carving truly remarkable, whilst in the lower stories brasswork and copper work, cooking and shaving, gold and silver embroidery are in full operation, in the dirtiest of streets and of rooms.

The bank of the river, or I would say, the bed of the river, is a sight. Hundreds of natives are there, some washing their clothes and spreading them out to dry, others bathing, and as many more looking on. seen from the bridge fifty feet above the river the swarming natives looked more like an industrious hive of ants than a mass of human beings, whilst the camels passing through the river added an Eastern aspect to the spectacle, and made such a picturesque scene of grace and colour that can only be met with in the land of flowing robes and of none at all.

The Fakirs, or religious ascetics, about here, and we met several of them, with long, unkempt hair hanging in clusters found their shoulders, their faces and bodies besmeared with ashes, and looking simply hideous in their holy rags. I do not know whether the Fakir is carrying out the injunction of the Shastras, which says: – “When a householder sees grey hairs in his beard and the face of the son of his son, let him take a black antelope’s skin and, sitting under a sacred tree, meditate on the infinite.”