The coins till the police action were in the pattern of Moghal coinage before it was changed in 1858.
Nizam VII Mir Osman Ali Khan
Hyderabad:
The first series of paper currency introduced during the rule of Nizam VII Mir Osman Ali Khan were printed in London.
The currency notes of one five, 10, 100 and 1,000 rupee denominations were widely appreciated for their design and quality of paper, said Mr Amarbir Singh, an eminent numismatic. “The need for having paper currency was felt as there was a shortage of metal after World War I,” he said during a lecture here.
The notes had Islamic resemblance without any pictures of animals, plants or buildings and contained four languages — Urdu, English, Kannada and Telugu.
“The Nizam ensured that they were without any signature of the finance committee member. Only when they landed in the Hyderabad did they gain complete form,” Mr Singh said. The second series of notes, smaller in size, were introduced in the 1930s and printed at the Government Printing Press at Malakpet.
The regular coinage of Hyderabad in large circulation was the one rupee coin, the Osmania ‘Sicca’. The one rupee note was unpopular, and people were put off by its black colour.
The coins till the police action were in the pattern of Moghal coinage before it was changed in 1858.
Hyderabad had a mechanised mint at Saifabad where gold silver and copper coins were printed.
The highest coin for public circulation was silver one rupee.
source: http://www.deccanchronicle. com / Deccan Chronicle / Home> Nation> Current Affairs / by Asif Yar Khan, Deccan Chronicle / July 15th, 2018
Rifa-e-aam was where literary events were held to provide Rifa (happiness) to people
During struggle for independence, this club became the centre of anti-British activity
Rifa-e-Aam, Lucknow
Lucknow:
The city of adab (etiquette) and tehzeeb (manners) was also an indispensable part of India’s freedom struggle. The Nawabs of Awadh or the rulers who governed the state of Awadh during 18th and 19th centuries conspicuously nurtured syncretism, which became an integral part of the culture in the Ganga-Jamuna belt.
Nawabs were the great connoisseurs of art, music, and architecture. Numerous monuments were built during their time. One among those was Rifa-e-Aam, where literary events were held to provide Rifa (happiness) to people. When the signboards outside several clubs and gymkhanas signalled ‘dogs and Indians’ to stay out, Rifa-e-Aam welcomed dissenting voices, credit for which goes to the liberal Raja of Mahmudabad. The historic Lucknow Pact of 1916, between the Congress and Muslim League was signed here.
During India’s struggle for independence, this club became the centre of anti-British intellectual activity. In 1936, Anjuman Tarraqi Pasand Mussanafin-e-Hind or Progressive Writers’ Movement was born in this building, under the leadership of Syed Sajjad Zahir and Ahmed Ali. Soon a number of eminent progressive litterateurs like Saadat Hasan Manto, Ismat Chughtai, Faiz Ahmad Faiz, Mulk Raj Anand, to name a few, joined the movement. To cap it, presidential address was delivered by Munshi Premchand.
During my recent visit to Lucknow, I asked the person who ferried me around the city, to take me to this forgotten monument, tucked away in the crowded lanes of Qaiserbagh. When Google map ditched us due to poor network and left us amidst the labyrinth of congested by lanes, the human version of Google maps – paanwala (tobacco seller) helped us locate it. There stood the dilapidated structure which once upon a time heard the speeches of Mahatma Gandhi, Pandit Nehru, and many other visionaries.
The ground in the front of the monument is now a bus station. Lakshmi Narayan parked the car and since it had rained that morning, he asked me to get off from the other side to avoid a stagnated pool of water and filth. At present, one part of the decrepit structure is inhabited by a family of nonagenarian – C P Pandey, who was appointed as the caretaker of the club. The other portion is managed by the association and the only thing common between them is the illegal construction and encroachment, around which stands the cracking monument of Rifa, donning a lugubrious look.
I spent some time envisioning the past associated with it and wondering who is responsible for such sorry state of affairs today. Is it the people, ignorant of the past or the authority which has turned a blind eye to misdemeanour? Perhaps lack of pride in our glorious heritage.
I finally left with a heavy heart remembering Faiz and hoping one day Rifa would be restored.
source: http://www.travel.manoramaonline.com / OnManorama / Home> Travel> Reader’s Discovery / by Pragya Srivastava / July 17th, 2018
Lucknow-born Bushra Hasan, who has made her mark in Australia through her Indian-influenced art, now wants to use it as a therapy.
Bushra Hasan
If art enables us to find and lose ourselves at the same time, Lucknow-born graphic artist Bushra Hasan has used art to create an identity for herself Down Under, her new homeland. Hasan, who moved to Australia in 2013, has added beautiful hues to her varied creative portfolio.
In five years, her different strokes have left an indelible mark on the artistic landscape in Australia, and made Hasan a name to reckon with for her brushwork. Be it the painting of a life-size puppet elephant for Moomba Parade, or the Indian truck style art adorning the trams of Kolkata and Melbourne, or the recent community art workshop that she held for immigrants, the shades of her creative sensibilities have charmed one and all.
Armed with a mixed bag of experience in designing newspaper pages and magazine covers in India, Hasan moved to Australia’s cultural capital Melbourne after “falling in love with its vibrant, stylish and arty feel”. The City of Secrets embraced the artist and her India-influenced art with open arms, and she went on to join the Multicultural Arts Victoria (MAV) as Community Liaison Officer in 2018.
“I started looking for jobs after moving to Melbourne. In between, I also launched my art brand Indybindi and started putting its products in various makers’ market. People noticed my art and MAV expressed its keenness to hire me to conduct workshops. In January 2015, Moomba Parade organisers approached me to paint a life-size puppet elephant in Indian art style, and they have used it for all parades since then,” she says.
MAV introduced her to Roberto D’Andrea, a former tram conductor, and an activist who had been working on the unusual friendship between Melbourne Tramways and Kolkata Tramways for 21 years. “Kolkata Tramways had sent an SOS to all the tram-running cities requesting them to put pressure on the West Bengal government to rethink its decision to abolish trams in Kolkata. Only Roberto responded and went there with his team, collaborated with Indian activists and organised shows, etc., that worked and the state government postponed its decision,” she says, fondly recalling her artistic collaboration with Roberto. She used kitschy Indian truck art style to tell the story of 21 years that found its way to the trams of Kolkata to celebrate the iconic tram friendship between the two cities.
“Indian tribal art hugely inspires me, and I am proud to flaunt my Indian roots in my artwork,” she says. Hasan redesigned her artwork and turned it more colourful, and reflective of India’s diverse artistic culture and submitted her entry for the 5th edition of the annual Melbourne Art Trams project. She was one among the eight artists whose design made the cut, and Tramjatra, her artistic tribute, chugged along, happily for seven months from October 2017 to April 2018 on the trams in Melbourne.
She recently led a nine-day long art exhibition for people to share their ‘immigrant journey’ through art at the Emerge In The North festival. “The workshop was an effective step towards building relationships within the community,” she says.
Having used art to create an identity, she wants to use it to heal others. Talking about her next project, she says, “I want to do a lot more to keep myself creatively engaged. I am working on a module that will focus on helping children who are victims of sexual abuse to overcome their trauma through art therapy, heal themselves, and emerge stronger.”
Maulvi Barkatullah Bhopali believed the spirit of Marx’s thought and divine religions was the same. “The objective of both is to provide a dignified and peaceful life to the oppressed.”
Maulvi Barkatullah Bhopali, who was born 164 years ago this month, was a glorious standard-bearer of the Indian independence movement. He toured Great Britain, Europe, Japan and America, in addition to the Soviet Union in connection with the struggle against British imperialism. He was among those few ulema who travelled to Moscow in May 1919, just a short period after the Bolshevik Revolution; he saw the conditions there with his own eyes, and met Lenin and other Bolshevik leaders. During his stay in Moscow, he said during an interview with the Izvestia newspaper:
“I am not a communist or a socialist, but right now my political program includes throwing the British out of Asia. I am a staunch enemy of European capitalism in Asia. Therefore, there is complete compromise between myself and the communists over these objectives and we are allies on this field. I do not know what shape the future events will take, but what I can definitely say is that the famous appeal of the Soviet government of Russia, in which the people of all nations have been requested to rise up and conduct jihad against capitalists, has greatly influenced us, and what we like more than that is that the Soviet Union has revealed all the secret agreements (between Russia and Great Britain) whose objective was to enslave other nations, especially the Eastern nations. Not only this, but the Soviet Union has unilaterally cancelled all such agreements. Russia accepts the principle of equality and evenness between all small and great nations. The ideas of the Bolsheviks, which we call socialism, are also making a place in the hearts of the common Indian people.”
In his book, Bolshevism and Islamic Nations, Maulvi Barkatullah writes, “The actual spirit of Marx’s thought and divine religions is the same. The objective of both is to provide a dignified and peaceful life to the oppressed, punished people of god by freeing them from cruelty and oppression.”
“The philosopher Plato has presented such a map of his ideal Republic in which ownership would be common and public. The provision of basic needs, sources of entertainment, opportunities for employment will be equal for all. Because of the progress of education, every individual of the nation will benefit from knowledge in a way that his every act will be reasonable and right. These are the basic principles on whose foundation Karl Marx presented the majestic structure, behind which was the knowledge and experience of many generations,” he continued.
Maulvi Barkatullah bemoans the fact that in his time, there is not even a single Muslim kingdom which can be called independent in a meaningful sense. He writes, “Today not even a single independent Muslim state remains because Muslim countries have been subdued at the hands of British imperialism and the dictatorial royal tsar, French or Italian colonialism in the 20th century. They are being fully exploited.”
But he is not hopeless with this situation. He says,
“There is no cause for hopelessness. After the dark night of the czar’s oppression and tyranny, the dawn of human freedom has arisen on the horizon of Russia in which Lenin is giving the good news of human prosperity, sprinkling the light of his ideas like the sun (sic). That grand scheme which was presented 2000 years before by the philosopher Plato, which was transferred as a great heritage from one generation to the other; today the principles and ideologies of this ideal republic are being given practical shape. Under the leadership of Lenin, this is being popularly accepted as a reality. Across the length and breadth of Russia and in Turkistan, the entire arrangement and administration has been given to workers, people employed in agriculture and ordinary soldiers. The equal rights of all classes and nations have been accepted, every individual has been guaranteed a better life.’
Maulvi Barkatullah not only completely supported the Bolshevik government of Russia, but appealed forcefully to the Russian people, especially the Muslims of the eastern region, to support the Soviet government wholeheartedly and array themselves against its enemies so that the successes of the revolution could be defended; and the intervention and conspiracies of the imperialists could be countered.
He says, “Now the time has come that the Muslims of the whole world and Asian nations obtain complete information about Russian socialism, understand those golden principles and accept them with full passion and sincerity. The noble and high objectives hidden in the foundation of this modern system demand that Muslims should completely support and defend it. They should unite with Bolshevik forces to make the aggression of British followers and other tyrant rulers unsuccessful; send their children to Russian schools without wasting time so that they can obtain modern science, high arts, practical physics, chemistry and mechanical technique.’
In her book, Haj to Utopia, Maia Ramnath writes that Barkatullah “single-handedly embodied the overlap between the Bolshevik and Pan-Islamist networks, utilising the connective tissue of the Ghadar infrastructure to do so. She cites a foreign office report of 1915 as saying: “It would appear that Barkatullah was a sort of connecting link between three different movements, namely, the Pan-Islamic, Asia for the Asiatics and the Indian Sedition”. A German diplomat wrote that he was “first in line a nationalist and then a Moslem”.
Maulvi Barkatullah’s was a warrior life. He passed away in San Francisco on September 20, 1927.
Tribute paid to Barkatullah in the United States of India, a publication of the Ghadar Party in the United States, in 1927. Credit: South Asian American Digital Archive
Barkatullah had been one of those who had backed the Ghadar uprising against the British during and after World War I. In a tribute to him after his death, published in the United States of India, a publication of the Ghadar Party in the US, the magazine wrote:
“To the revolutionaries of Bharat, Maulvi Barkatullah will be a perpetual source of inspiration. He lived for India; he died for India. The only fitting way to consecrate the memory of this most revered leader is to emulate his example.”
Raza Naeem is a Pakistani social scientist currently teaching in Lahore. He is also the president of the Progressive Writers Association in Lahore. His most recent work is an introduction to the reissued edition (HarperCollins India, 2016) of Abdullah Hussein’s classic novel The Weary Generations. He can be reached at: razanaeem@hotmail.com .
source: http://www.thewire.in / The Wire / Home> History / by Raza Naeem / July 15th, 2018
Early start: Arsh Ali shows off his mummified shark. | Photo Credit: Rajeev Bhatt
At 17, Arsh Ali is an archaeology prodigy, already participating in ASI digs and seminars
Three months ago, Arsh Ali lost a coveted member of his aquarium: his little pet shark. But instead of disposing of its body, Arsh buried it in a tray filled with natron. A complex salt known for its ability to dry things up, natron is naturally available in Egypt, but Arsh had to create it by mixing multiple chemical elements.
He has learnt the method from the ancient Egyptians, about whom he knows much. “There is no foul smell or any organisms growing in it, even after so many days,” says Arsh, smiling proudly and pointing to the tray with the dead shark in the lawn of his house in Allahabad. His goal is to mummify his pet shark just like the ancient Egyptians did.
Pharaoh bread
Arsh’s knowledge of Egyptian history, archaeology and mummification runs deep: he has researched coffins, funerary hieroglyphic inscriptions and even knows how to make bread like the ancient Egyptian did. “Every other day he cooks something for me,” laughs Fatima Ali, Arsh’s mother.
At 17, Arsh is already an archaeologist, although he doesn’t have a formal degree yet. Unlike most kids his age, Arsh spends much of his time researching ancient history, visiting digs, attending seminars, and delivering lectures on history and archaeology.
Acknowledging his talent, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has been inviting Arsh since 2015 to their programmes, seminars, excavations and explorations, a privilege often restricted to post-graduate students of archaeology. Arsh has so far taken part in seven excavations and explorations. His first tryst was with the excavations at Binjor in Rajasthan in 2015-16 under the ASI, followed by those in Rakhigarhi, the largest known Harappan site in Harayana, conducted under the supervision of Deccan College in Pune.
“The Harappans were excellent craftsmen. Even 5,000 years ago, they produced a lot of things,” says Arsh as he describes each dig in detail. The cupboard of his room is crammed with specimens he has brought back from sites for further study: wheat grains, terracotta bangles, pot shards, shells, neolithic tools, starfish, and an octopus.
Arsh’s adventure with art and archaeology started early. His parents, Fatima and Faisal, were convinced from the start that their son was special — when he was six, for example, he sat at a restaurant in Kathmandu and sketched the Pashupati temple on a paper napkin in one shot, down to every dome and flag.
When he was in Class VIII, during a visit to Bara Imambara in Lucknow, the family met the site conservator of ASI who was impressed with Arsh’s knowledge. One thing led to another and soon Arsh was participating in ASI fieldwork.
Arsh knows 15 languages, including Hebrew, Arabic, Brahmi, Greek, Ugaritic, Nabatean and Phoenician, besides Kharosthi and Hieroglyphics. He credits his precocious knowledge to curiosity and reading. “I did nothing but read books, and purchased nothing but books every time I got an opportunity,” he says.
Smitten with Anubis
Ancient Egypt had him hooked early. “When I was five, I had an encyclopedia on Ancient Egypt. I didn’t knew how to read and write then, but that’s when I came across an image of Anubis, half-human, half-jackal.” He was smitten with the Egyptian god of mummification.
Arsh’s archaeological interest has culminated in a quest: he wants to establish the evidence of the existence of Buddhism in Egypt by tracing the route of the Buddhist emissaries of the Mauryan emperor Ashoka in Ptolemaic Egypt in particular, and the Hellenistic world in general.
He delivered a lecture on the subject at the National Museum in Delhi last month, and visited Egypt a few months ago.
Arsh was allowed access to the antiquities at the national museums in Cairo and Alexandria, where he came across plenty of evidence to substantiate his theory: a coin with details of King Ashoka, literary references, terracotta items, objects of Indian art, and Brahmi inscriptions on pots. When asked about future plans, Arsh says, “I want to gift something to the world, something that might be useful.”
omar.rashid@thehindu.co.in
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Society> Profile / by Oman Rashid / July 14th, 2018
Beat master: Taufiq Qureshi invited a score of other musicians to guest on his debut album Rhydhun.
Taufiq Qureshi revisits the music of his debut album that set the benchmark for world music
It’s been 18 years since percussionist Taufiq Qureshi released his debut album Rhydhun –An Odyssey of Rhythm under the FreeSpirit Entertainment label. Firsts are always of course, special especially since it pushed the boundaries of drumming patterns. The album featured a galaxy of guest musicians like Qureshi’s father Ustad Allarakha, brothers Zakir Hussain and Fazal Qureshi, wife Geetika Varde, vocalist Shankar Mahadevan, violinist L. Shankar and percussionist Nitin Shankar.
The magic of Rhydhun will be recaptured when Qureshi, Varde and their son Shikhar Naad Qureshi perform this evening. They will be joined by Sridhar Parthasarathy on mridangam, Vijay Prakash and Sandeep Patil on vocals, Aditya Paudwal on keyboards, and Nitin Shankar and Dipesh Verma on percussion. “We have been thinking of doing this for some time,” says Qureshi referring to this evening’s show that revisits the album that began it all. “We will adapt some of the pieces to give them a more contemporary feel, but the flavour of the original compositions will be retained.”
Born in a family of tabla greats, Qureshi was basically trained in that instrument and then in Carnatic rhythm styles. Later, his interest in world music inspired him to take up the Western drum kit, bongos and batajon, and eventually the African djembe. That gave him the idea of adapting the African djembe using patterns of the Punjab gharana of tabla playing. “I was fascinated by the djembe, and got the idea [of adapting patterns] while recording Rhydhun,” says tabla maestro Qureshi. “It took me three or four years to get the thought process in action. The tabla is a double drum and the djembe is a single unit. So I had to work hard on the adaptation.”
Naturally, Qureshi’s son Shikhar Naad took to percussion at an early age. Now at 21, he plays the djembe and drums, and regularly accompanies sitar exponents Niladri Kumar, Ravi Chary and Purbayan Chatterjee. “Rhythm flows in the family, and my parents and uncles have encouraged me a lot,” says Shikhar Naad.
With a long career in music, Qureshi points out his father has always been his biggest inspiration. “He encouraged people to do things differently,” says the musicians. “After all, rhythm is universal. This is something I encourage [students] at my Sion institute to do too though they have to master the basics first.” He tells all his ‘bandhus’, as he addresses his students, to keep an open mind and never copy anybody. According to Qureshi, there has been a huge interest among the young to learn the djembe in the last few years.
The audience this evening can expect favourites off Rhydhun such as ‘The Tree Of’, ‘The Other Rhythm’, ‘Nand’, ‘Ear To There’, ‘The Rhy In You’, ‘1/2 to 16’ and the Maharastrian lezim-flavoured ‘Jiji Rhy’.
Taufiq Qureshi & Shikhar Naad and others will perform at The Quarter this evening at 9 p.m., see insider.in for details.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Entertainment> Music / by Narendra Kumar / July 12th, 2018
The series will capture the dark side of the story of the Mughal empire and had emperors like Akbar, Jehangir, Shah Jahan and Aurangzeb.
Mumbai :
“Taj – A Monument of Blood”, a period drama series on the rise and fall of the the Mughal empire, is set to be produced by Applause Entertainment in partnership with Contiloe Pictures, who are confident of presenting a story with a mix of blood, betrayal, power, beauty, deceit and heartbreak.
The series will capture the dark side of the story of the Mughal empire, which ruled India for just over 3 centuries and had emperors like Akbar, Jehangir, Shah Jahan and Aurangzeb. Writing is currently underway.
The tale will be told over 5 seasons of twelve episodes each, using the birth and death of Shah Jahan as bookends. It will delve deep into the Mongol origins, bloodlines mixing with Persian and Rajput royalty, the court and palace intrigues, the repeated purging of aspirants to the throne, and the arrival of the British and Portuguese.
Sameer Nair of Applause Entertainment calls himself a big fan of revisionist narratives of history.
“Our history books have been written by victors and often paint very two-dimensional pictures about past empires. When Abhimanyu Singh (Contiloe Pictures) and I first discussed this idea, we immediately moved away from a typical historical to a darker and edgier version of the Mughal empire, a version in which symbolically the Taj is more a monument of blood, than a monument of love,” Mr Nair said in a statement.
Mr Singh, who has produced a slew of historicals for the small screen, says the new series will show viewers the historic journey through a fresh lens.
“It will take viewers on a historic journey showing them an unseen perspective of this illustrious dynasty which lead to their rise as the greatest empire in medieval times and the quest for power, within it, that finally lead to its downfall.”
source: http://www.ndtv.com / NDTV / Home> All India / by Indo-Asian News Service / July 12th, 2018
A still from the documentary Sarah, Thaha, Thoufeek
Documentary Sarah, Thaha, Thoufeek shows a moving relationship
A few years ago, a researcher from Belgium, who was scouring the Jewish sites in Kochi to learn more about the vintage Belgian glasses and ceramic material used in the city’s ancient synagogues, was surprised by a local’s understanding about them.
“Are you Jewish?” she asked him.
Thaha Ibrahim, a Muslim from Fort Kochi, smiled, shaking his head. Thaha and his friend Thoufeek Zakriya, a professional chef in Dubai and a master in Hebrew calligraphy, have a deeper connect with Jewish life in Mattancherry, courtesy their bonding with the senior most Kochi Jew, Sarah Cohen, in her late 90s.
The moving relation is portrayed in Sarah, Thaha, Thoufeek canned by Sarath Koottikkal, who followed the trio for a few years. The teaser of the hour-long documentary was released by Kochi Biennale Foundation secretary Riyas Komu at an event at Mocha Art Café, Mattancherry, on Tuesday.
“It’s an emotional work for me as well and nothing in this has been staged. It has candid shots capturing the touching relationship, which cannot be described in words or etched in a film in its entirety,” says Sarath.
He had known Thaha for sometime when one day Thaha causally told him about taking Sarah ‘aunty’, then 93 years and with no kin around, to a swanky new mall at the far end of the city. Ms. Cohen, who runs an embroidery shop in Mattancherry’s Jew Town, found news about the mall fascinating. On cue, Thaha, who has been close to the Cohen household for nearly two decades and taking care of the nonagenarian after her husband Jacob Cohen died, made a trip to the mall with ‘aunty’ and his family.
“The gesture moved me. We live in an age when aged parents are treated like an appendage, but this chap had the heart to heed to a wish by someone who’s 90-plus and not even a relative,” says Sarath, adding that the relation is thicker than blood.
“Thaha is like a son to Sarah aunty,” says Thoufeek, whose Hebrew calligraphic skills and knowledge of the religion, brought him close to Ms. Cohen in 2009. “She’s like my grandma, showering me with love and care. She happily relates things to me and reserves special dishes for me,” says Thoufeek.
Thaha’s cheerfulness and ability to inspire happiness and care won him a close pal in Thoufeek, someone less than half his age. “He’s like my brother and stays in close touch wherever I’m. We pursue our research on the Jews and Muslims of Kochi in right earnest,” maintains Thoufeek.
‘References coincidental’
As Sarath reveals, the film’s sharp focus is on bond binds the trio and not their religions. “If at all there are references to it, it’s all been coincidental.”
Candid shots, some of which were canned by Thaha himself — who took to photography inspired by Ellen Goldberg, co-author of The Last Jews of Cochin – form a remarkable feature of the film.
More than technical brilliance, accidental meetings, serendipitous moments and spontaneous conversations characterise the film, says Sarath. A point underscored by Thaha, who got to film Ms. Goldberg and her husband Nathan Katz, 30 years after he first met them at the Cohen household, and several such visitors and remarkable occurrences.
In the final stages of production, the film is set to be ready in the first week of August.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Kochi / by S. Anandan / Kochi – July 10th, 2018
Rehana Begum, a master of Chikankari work. Photo: R. Shivaji Rao | Photo Credit: R. Shivaji Rao
A pantheon of craftsmen and their art are on display at Kaivalam, under way in Chennai. Rashmi R.D. introduces us to some Living Legends of Indian crafts. Meet Rehana Begum
“I learned from my father Shree Hasan Mirza, who received a national award in 1969 for his craftsmanship,” says fifty eight year old Rehana Begum.
Hailing from a long line of chikankari exponents, Rehana Begum began her work with this form of embroidery at the age of thirteen.
Chikankari dates back two centuries. The word chikan is thought to be derived from a Persian word; one theory is that the form travelled to India when its artisans migrated from Persia in search of better patronage. I t is believed that these artisans found a patroness in Mughal Empress Noor Jahan, wife of Emperor Jehangir, and that she did a lot to promote and popularize this craft form.
Rehana Begum works from her home in Thakur Ganj, Napier Road, Lucknow. “We are Lucknowi, born and bred.” Her whole family is involved with making Chikankari embroidery. They work as a group in one room which has become the embroidery room of the house.
“When I was younger we embroidered kurtas, topis, angarkhas jaise nawab log pehn te te (just like the nawabs used to wear). Now we do saris, suits (salwar kameez), ladies tops, whatever the new styles of dressing are in fashion now we embroider.”
Chikankari, she says, was traditionally done only on pure, un-dyed white shazaada cotton or Dhaka ki mulmul, both sourced from Dhaka, Bangladesh. The katcha daagha, the thread used for the embroidery, was also white and procured from Calcutta or Dhaka. Rehana Begum defines Chinkankari in her terms as ‘white on white’ embroidery.
“The first thing I made all by myself was a table cover. It took me one and half years to complete.”
And how long does it take to embroider a sari? “About two years. We usually work six to eight hours a day. My eyes aren’t what they used to be, so now I only do about two hours of embroidery work a day. I spend the rest of the time supervising the work of my apprentices and teaching them the various stitches.”
Rehana Begum takes her inspiration for her embroidery motifs from Mughal architecture. The delicate marble jaali (trellis) pattern of Mughal-style windows and parapet walls is transposed onto the fabric as a fine gossamer trellis of thread work. She also replicates the inlay patterns from Mughal monuments on the fabric she embroiders.
Chikankari has six basic stitches and over thirty-five other traditional stitches used in various combinations based on what the pattern to be embroidered requires. The names of some of these stitches are phanda, chana patti, ghaas patti, bijli, jaali, tepchi, bakhiya, hool, zanzeera, rahet, banaarsi, kharau, keel kangan, bubul and hath kadi. Depending on the type of garment and the pattern to be embroidered the entire process happens in a series of stages over a period of months or even years. Also, the embroidery itself is divided among the artisans, with pairs or groups of three or more specializing in one particular stitch. When one group completes their particular stitch for a garment, it is passed on to the next group to add their specialty stitch. One group may also have mastery of two or more stitches.
The pattern to be embroidered is stamped onto the fabric by hand with a wooden pattern block that has been coated with neel (indigo). The fabric now has the outlines of the designs that will be embroidered into the delicate ‘shadow’ embroidery motifs that are the defining feature of Chikankari.
“I would like to open a shop of my own someday,” Rehana Begum says hopefully. “What we kaarigars (artisans) get at the end of the day, after the shops and agents have taken their percentage—it isn’t much. I’d like to be able to meet directly with people who want to buy our work. Maybe we should have something like a kaarigar market…”
She and her family do travel extensively to participate in national textile fairs and handicraft exhibitions, but though sales are good, the travel costs add up. The price of raw materials has increased too, with good quality cotton and thread getting steadily more expensive.
“I love what I do,” she says emphatically. “There’s no way I could have done this for so long if I didn’t. I get a lot of satisfaction when I finish a piece. I have a large sample swatch that I take with me to exhibitions or when I get called to travel abroad. It took me three years to embroider. When I show it to people they are always amazed by the work. I feel very happy when I see their reactions.”
Rehana Begum has been invited to show case her work in Hamburg (Germany), Ireland, Cuba, Dubai and Muscat (Oman).
In 1976, she was given a State Award from the Uttar Pradesh government, and her work has been on display in the Crafts Museum of Uttar Pradesh. In 2003 she received the Shilp Guru award for her contribution to Chikankari.
“I am excited about coming to Chennai in October. I haven’t been to that city in a long time. I see it as an opportunity to show the international artisans who will be attending this event that Hindustan has great craft talent. They will be able to see what a wealth of kaarigars we have. Jo bhi kaarigar waha maujood honge, hum sab milkar hamare desh ka naam roshan karenge. (All of the artisans who gather for this event, together we will make the name of our country shine).”
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Indian Crafts> Crafts / by Rashmi M.D. / Chennai – October 10th, 2012
Site of awakening: The Vellore fort today. Photo: Curator, Government Museum, Vellore
Though it preceded the First War of Independence by almost 50 years, not much is known of this brief act of valour by the sepoys of the Vellore fort.
In the late-18th Century, the fakeers played a key role in spreading the message of unity amongst Indians and the need to throw out the British.
AT three, in the stealth of the dawn, on July 10, 1806, when it was still very quiet and the calm enveloped the Vellore fort, the doors of the native barracks suddenly flung open. Five hundred brave Indian sepoys were on the threshold of a mutiny they had so carefully plotted. Armed with muskets, they tiptoed out, dragging in their midst two heavily muffled six-pounder guns. They reached the European barracks, briefly halted, lifted the muskets to their shoulders and waited expectantly. The signal they anticipated was issued presently. It was at once fire works that shattered the still and the quiet. Windows and glass crashed while the English inmates woke up to their peril. Either they were killed in their beds whilst in deep slumber or were put down while running out in night robes trying to make sense of the pandemonium that had broken out so suddenly.
Losing direction
The Vellore War of Independence against the East India Company occupation was now well on its bloody course with all the trappings of romance associated with mutinies manifesting itself on that fateful morning. Underdogs defying authority, secretive planning, courage against intimidating authority, bravery and fearlessness towards death – all moved by a deep sense of right being on their side. By the time the smoke cleared and the guns became quiet by 5 a.m., about 15 British officers and about 100 English soldiers had been killed.
Col. Fancourt, the Commander of the Fort and Garrison was the first to be shot. Jamaidar Shaik Cossim, one of the principal leaders of the rebellion, had arranged to hoist Tipu’s Mysore flag over the fort signalling that the fort had been taken over. As the flag was fluttering proudly, the course of the mutiny floundered and lost its sense of direction and purpose.
Some of the sepoys started looting the houses of the Europeans, whilst others were busy abusing sepoys who did not take part in the mutiny. Yet others were conducting inconclusive discussions with Tipu’s sons, who were held captive within the fort, to come out openly and lead. Tipu’s princes hesitated and vacillated.
Though this rebellion preceded the First War of Independence (Sepoy Mutiny of 1857) by over 50 years, it has not been given the importance and significance it deserves as a determined early attempt to throw out imperialism and alien rule from Indian soil. We will take a brief pause from the fast-paced events of that fiery morning and analyse the causes for and significance of this rebellion before coming back to July 10, 1806 once again to complete our story.
Key influence
At the time of the Mutiny, the Vellore fort was station to the following Infantry Military units.
Battalions of the 69th Regiment and 23rd Regiment with 1,500 native troops and about 370 white officers and men present inside.
And great dissatisfaction was brewing amongst the Indian troops on various counts. And this had a good deal to do with the Fakeer Movement of the late 18th Century.
These fakeers were mystic mendicants (at times doubling up as mercenaries!) commanding the respect and affection of both Hindus and Muslims. In large numbers, they went from town to town conducting discourses, prayers and even puppet shows. They played a key role in spreading the message of unity amongst Indians and the need to throw out the British. They often got in touch with sepoys and native officers and instigated them to rebel. Their methods were secretive and the appeal powerful. These fakeers fanned all over the South and hence one can see that in the early 19th Century, there were several rebellions in the South.
The Chittoor polygors fighting the British between 1804 and 1805, the Travancore Mutiny in the same period and the Madurai outbreak of 1804 are examples to cite.
The famous valiant Wayanad hero, Pazhassi Raja gave the English anxious times till his capture and death in 1805. There was a ground swell of nationalism and a strong undercurrent of hope. And the fakeers sure had a significant role to play. Cantonments from Wallajahbad to Palayamkottai had been caught up in this freedom fervour.
The fakeers had a simple and enduring message: “we are many and they are few”.Like the gunpowder in the cartridge that needs a spark to ignite, the spark for the Vellore uprising came in the form of new uniform regulation announced by John Cradock in March 1806.
Cradock was the Commander-in-Chief the Madras Army. A new cap was prescribed in place of the turban and caste markings on the face were prohibited. The beard was to go. The hair over the upper lip was to be regulated and the wearing of earrings abolished. The troops saw this as the first step to Europeanisation and conversion to Christianity. Hindu and Muslim soldiers resented the regulations. Muslim soldiers expressed solidarity with Hindu sepoys who despised the use of cow leather in the new cap prescribed in the revised uniform regulation issued by the office of Cradock. Hindus and Muslims together rose as one in the name of religion and liberty.
Yet another factor that helped shape events in Vellore was the presence of Tipu’s family in the fort. They were confined and housed in the palaces and mahals formerly of the Nawabs of Arcot which lay within the precincts of the fort. After his heroic death on May 4, 1799, Tipu’s 12 sons and six of his eight daughters were brought to Vellore along with a retinue of servants and the party totalled 1,378.
In Vellore town itself a number of people had settled down following Tipu’s heirs. A certain Lt. Col. Marriott (pay master of Stipends) and his brother Capt. Marriott (the assistant paymaster) were in charge of the privileged prisoners.
Ironic twist
The presence of Tipu’s princes undoubtedly inspired the sepoys. Ironically, the princes perhaps did not provide decisive and inspiring leadership to the uprising.
Prince Moiz-ud-Deen is reported to have conducted some parleys with the leader of the uprising and Prince Fettah Hyder offered support in the early phase of the planning, albeit not too openly. Prince Moiz is said to have met key leaders like Subedar Noor Mohamed, Subedar Shaik Hossain and Jamaidar Shaik Cossim prior to July 10.
After assuming control of the fort, when Sheik Cossim and the others asked the princes to come out and openly lead them, the princes were insisting that they see the body of Lt. Col. Marriott first. This response did not help the course of the uprising which was already beginning to lack organisation.At that point and at about 9.30 am on July 10, 1806, Col. Gillespie of the 19th Dragoons, commanding the Cavalry Cantonment 16 miles away at Arcot, reached Vellore to put down the Mutiny. One Major Coates of the 23rd Regiment had earlier dispatched a letter through an officer at around 6 a.m. to the Arcot Cavalry unit seeking help. Gillespie arrived with an advance force. Lt. Col. Kennedy from the same cavalry reached a little later with heavy guns.
Swift end
The dislocated mutineers did not regroup in proper defence. The gates were blasted open by the 19th Dragoons and they stormed in. The rebelling native sepoys were mercilessly hounded and killed. It is reported that around 800 of them were found dead at the fort alone. More lives were evidently lost. By 2 p.m. in the afternoon the rebellion had not only been completely silenced but had come to be a brief pale memory of heroism – a flicker that was sadly extinguished.
As was expected, the British ordered a Court of inquiry into the events. It was also considered risky to keep the Tipu’s family in Vellore, so close to the seat of their former glory. They were taken and resettled in faraway Calcutta. The news of the Vellore War of Independence had sent shockwaves in England. The Governor, William Bentinck and Commander-in-Chief of the Madras Army, Sir John Cradock both were recalled on this count.
Historians should do more to research this not so well documented act of heroism, to inquire into questions like the impact of this event on the 1857 great rebellion.
Commemorating this unique rebellion, the State Government on the Bicentennial Anniversary held a function on July 10, 2006 with the Chief Minister participating and releasing a special volume on the Vellore uprising.
Voluntary groups and students are planning cycle rallies to Vellore to take home to the people of India the message of sacrifice behind these sepoys who dared to rebel so that we may live in a free country.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> Sunday Magazine / by A. Rangarajan / August 06th, 2006
