This seems to be a photograph from her early days of life. One can notice age & her aquiline typical Punjabi nose (a physiognomic feature of Arain females) in this portrait. It was small black & white photograph. In later years when Amma passed away, I got it converted by a studio in a colored portrait.
Urdu Columnist & Author, Shams Jilani memoirs connected with his mother, & moments from pre- Partitioned India.
Memories & moments spent with parents became an integral part of your life. When they left the material world, the same moments became a beacon for you. When the context is connected with special socio-political events such as Indian partition where hundred of human souls were uprooted from their hometowns, these moments became a bridge with bygone past. Noted Urdu columnist, & author, Shams Jilani shared memories of his mother with these precious portraits from his personal collection. During the days of lock down, he spoke with me from Richmond City, British Columbia that a place his residence from last three decades.
I asked, from paternal side you carried a great literary legacy from the days of your great-grandfather up to your late father. But today I am eager to know about your mother.
The conversation of past pushed eighty nine years old author back to his childhood days in India. Clearing the hoarseness of his voice & overcoming his emotions, he said, did you know that three females has a great role in my life. Today what I had achieved in my entire life from childhood days is due to their support, mentoring & guidance. First one was my maternal grandmother, Hamidun Nisa Begum, then my mother, Fayyazi Begum & then my better half, Quraisha Begum. All three of them has left for heavenly abode. Coincidentally, both my wife & my mother were from a small village, Khamaria.
An acknowledgement of Shams Jilani poetic account of Urdu, titled Urdu Sada Ba Sehra (published 2000 from Canada) to his nani, mother & wife. It read as ‘Dedicated to the daughters of eve those who had played a big role in constructing my life’. Then it continued with names of his nani, mother & wife.
Its a small village located 11 km south of district headquarters of Pilibhit. This district is tucked on Indo-Nepal border in Tarai plains of Himalayas. You know I had written a biographical account (Seerah) of Prophets, Ahlul Bait, & Rashidun Caliphs. This interest was inculcated by my mother & maternal grandmother (Nani). I still remember bed time Islamic stories interwoven with story telling style by my nani when we spends our vacations at village Khamaria. These childhood stories created a quest for exploring more on these subjects that later concluded as a books. The moral teachings embedded with this formative style learning always remained with me. My mother came from middle class orthodox family of Muslim zamindars. She was born in 1912 & received all her education in a traditional manner. In those days, it was rare from Muslim middle class from rural background to send the females for formal education. As you know my father, uncle, & their cousins were send to Aligarh University & one of them even to England but unfortunately this was not a case for females. She took the lesson of Quran, Arabic & Urdu from her mother. The grand village style haveli of Nana also hosted his Sufi master, Sayyad Meharban Ali Shah who belonged to far off land of Pashtuns & each year visited our district. He was affiliated with Nashbandi Mujaddidi order & his Sufi master was the famous Shahji Mian of Pilibhit who passed away in 1907. It was here in his company I received some most worthy spiritual lessons of my life as four years old kid. The learning from Nani & mother continued in all these days. In 1950 at the age of 19 years, I left for Kishore Ganj (East Pakistan) with my parents leaving behind my Nani. As our district witnessed riots so entire family decided to migrate. In those days, the passport was not required for traveling to East Pakistan. In 1952, I again visited hometown, I got married during this visit & parents stayed back in Pilibhit. My destiny took to me to Karachi in 1954 from East Pakistan. Now at age of twenty, I was away from my entire family. For reading more on this journey & story of his ancestors, please read this article.
Shams Jilani with his wife Quresha Begum (1935-05th March 2017), Pic source: Rehan Asad
A detailed interview of Shams Jilani on his ancestral connection & hometown Pilibhit located in Tarai Plains of Himalayas, Uttarpradesh, India.
Somehow during late 1954, the reunion started in phases. With one year old son, she traveled with her brother, Maqbool Ahmad. Then my mother & nani came in 1956. Finally, the last one was father who joined us in 1958. The village Khamaria of my childhood was divided in two quarters. The more spacious & well build quarter was occupied by middle class Arain Zamindars who were relatives as a member of an extended family of Sheikh Jaan Mohammad who migrated from Punjab in late 18th century. The Baithaks of their old homes in this quarter were place of intellectual discussions on diverse titles that varied from religion & poetry to politics. It was in this background my mother was raised by Hamidun Nisa Begum & her father, Sheikh Fida Hussain. The another quarter of the village was occupied by other communities who resided in the village as cultivators & peasants. This quarter was mainly mud homes lined by thatched roof but they maintained cordial bonds with the residents of another section.
A portrait of a ruined Baithak (Male Guest section) build in 1930s, Pic source: Rehan Asad An old Baithak in Village Khamaria that dated 1930s, Pic source: Rehan Asad
Then he started to describe the portraits of his mother & intervened with a query, Can you find one similarity in all these three pictures. I gently replied, its your resemblance with face of your mother. He replied, yes off course but I am focusing of something else. Can you able to see a small nose pin. She always used to wear this nose pin as I remember from my childhood days to her departure from this world. This was a photograph pasted on her official traveling passport when she came from India in 1954. In second portrait where you can find me standing with mother & my eldest son, Shahid who left this world in 1959. As I could remember this was taken in 1958.
Fayyazi Begum, mother of Shams Jilani, 1954, Source: Personal collection of Shams JilaniA portrait of Shams Jilani with his mother & eldest son, Shahid, Pic source: Shams Jilani, 1958
About third one I exactly don’t remember the year. It seems to be a photograph from her early days of life. One can notice age & her aquiline typical Punjabi nose (a physiognomic feature of Arain females) in this portrait. It was a small black & white photograph. In later years when Amma passed away, I got it converted in a colored portrait. You can notice the same simple nose pin adored her face as I told you before. By the time when we shifted to Canada from Pakistan, the original portrait was damaged by termites but fortunately a digital copy survived.
An old portrait of Fayyazi Begum that was later reconstructed with colors in 1960s, Source: Shams Jilani
In 1957, my Nani passed away & her grave is located in graveyard of PCS, Karachi. In year 159, my eldest son, Shahid met a fatal accident at the age of six while crossing a road to take a school van. After leaving his hometown in India, my father lived for three years, & in 1961, he left this world. A year later, in 1962, mother left us & was buried at Mirpur Khaas, Sindh, Pakistan, a place far away from her ancestral village Khamaria in Pilibhit, Uttarpradesh. I still remember that on the last night when she was unwell & I was sitting beside her, she said with gentle kindness by concealing her pain, my dear son, please go & take some rest. You will get tired if you will awake whole night by sitting beside me. She was survived by four daughters & three sons.
Mr. Kamaluddin, father of Shams Jilani born at Pilibhit in 1905 and passed away in 1961 at Karachi, Pakistan.A short Urdu poetry written by Shams Jilani for his maternal grandmother & mother.
Now only memories had left in all these decades. We visited India ten times after Amma & Nani passed away. My last visit to India was with entire family in 2012. Every time we used to visit the home of Nani & Amma that was connected with my childhood days. Stories of Nani reverberated my ears whenever I visited those landscapes in Pilibhit. Last year I got the news that the house where my mother was born has been left abandoned by our cousins as their extended families has shifted to city. I was lucky enough to have a chance to visit my home land from Pakistan & then from Canada also. Unfortunately, Nani & Amma didn’t able to go back after they shifted to Pakistan. This is how time flies, & people who experienced multiple migrations cling their memories of bygone days. Adding two verse of short Urdu poetry written by Shams Jilani for mother. Meri Maan Jannat Nashin Jannat Makan Sabr ka paikar thin aur azmat ka nishan Zindigi bhar wo rahin sab par shafeeq Marte dam mamta hi thi rukh par ayyan
My mother sits in heaven & dwells in heaven She was portrait of patience, & sign of greatness For entire life she remained kind to everyone Motherly reflection predominated her face during time of death
A Karachiwalla’s connection with his ancestral hometown Pilibhit in Uttarpradesh.
Mian Tauseef Ahmad
Pics & Memoir by Mian Tauseef Ahmad, compiled by Rehan Asad
Mian Tauseef, a seventy- two years old retired squadron leader of Pakistan Air force social media shares consisted of a larger chunk of Indian history, culture, poetry, & Bollywood. His profile introduced him ” Squadron leader (R) Mian Tauseef Ahmad, b 20 Oct 1947, Arain settled in Karachi came from Pilibhit, Rohilkhand, UP“. He was born two months five days after the 15 August 1947 when the Indian subcontinent gained independence from British rule. His birthplace Pilibhit was located on the fringes of Western Uttar Pradesh close to the Indo-Nepal border. His ancestors belonged to the “Arain tribe” of eastern Punjab who migrated to Rohilkhand in the late 18th century. It was famines & political unrest caused by Bhatti Rajputs that forced a small part of the tribe from Punjab to relocate in Terai plains of Himalayas. By the time of partition, this small Punjabi diaspora of approximately around ten thousand was distributed in eighty villages of Pilibhit, Bareilly & Nainital districts of United Provinces. As an agrarian tribe, they were stratified as cultivators (Kisans), middle-class landowners (Zamindars) & few of the elite landlords (Rich Zamindars). With Indian partition, almost half of the youngsters moved to the newly created Pakistan & mainly settled in Urdu speaking cities of Sindh with few families in Punjab & NWFP. His father Mian Muhammad Tauseef was born in July 1922 in village Dheram, District Pilibhit & mother Qayum Al Nisa Begum was born in village Karghaina, District Pilibhit in October 1928. A British army recruit Mian Tufail who also took part in WW II moved with his family members from Pilibhit to Lahore in December 1947.
In his reflective account he shares a biographical account of his late father Mian Tufail Ahmad, ancestral connections with Pilibhit in India, story of their migration to Pakistan, his struggle, education & upbringing among the diverse cultures of Punjab & North West frontier as an Urdu speaker with roots from small fringe town of United Provinces.
Mian Tauseef Ahmad wrote: My late father Mr. Tufail Ahmad was from a kissan (small farmers) family of Arain tribe in the Village Dheram, Amaria Block, Pilibhit located in Uttar Pradesh, India. Before the abolition of Zamindari in 1952, our small village was under the zamindari of one Hindu Zamindar. I am told that his representative would visit the village twice a year just to collect Malia (the government tax). After 15 August 1947, it came under All India Congress Government and by 1951 all Zamindaris were abolished and the land belonged to the farmers. The farming land in Uttar Pradesh was measured in Bighas. My grandfather late Mr. Barkat Ali owned a hundred bighas of land. Now the official record of farming is kept in Hectares and one Hectare is equal to 20 kanals. There are almost 80 villages of Arians in District Pilibhit, Bareilly & adjoining Nainital District. The majority of these Arains are called Sirsawal Arains because of their affiliation from Sirsa (Now in Haryana) from where they migrated in 1783 AD.
Left to Right Prof. Mian Shafeeq Ahmad with his elder brother late Mian Tufail Ahmad
My late father was first in his small village to join the Primary School. It was located in Madhopur, a village that was 6 kms away from our ancestral home. He passed his class V in 1932. He completed his middle from Government School of a small town Jahanabad, District Pilibhit. It was due to an incident during a football match at Government High School Jahanabad of District Pilibhit where some students surely including my late father misbehaved with the referee. As a result, they were expelled from admission & barred to be admitted to any school of Bareilly division. So he joined Islamia High School Muzaffar Nagar & completed his matriculation from the same school. Coming from Urdu medium background & once expelled from middle school delayed his matriculation. He matriculated at the age of twenty in 1942. He also motivated his younger brother Shafique Ahamd for the studies who is now a retired Professor & settled in Florida USA. After completing Matriculation in 1942 AD from Islamia High School Muzaffar Nagar in First Division, he was misled by a recruiting agent and joined the British Army as a Havaldar Clerk. His Corp was ASC. Later he repented it because there was no release from the Army during WW II. He was one of the earliest recruits in Defence forces from his locality as there was no tradition of joining Defence Forces among Arains who was prospered by the landholdings. In 1942 when he was under training at Bareilly his marriage was arranged. He got a single day leave & his Sikh Company Commander gave him an optional leave on the birthday of Baba Gru Nanak Dev. Later on, I used to cut jokes with him by saying that this might be the reason we have certain habits resembling the Sikhs. He got four transfers for three and a half years. Trained at Bareilly, then first posting at Karachi Cantt, second at Ferozpur and fourth at Lucknow. On 6th August 1945, the USA detonated the first nuclear bomb on Hiroshima and second on Nagasaki on 9th August that ended WWII. Now the release from the Army became open. My late father immediately applied for release and it was granted. Based on his education, he was rehabilitated as Assistant Welfare Officer and placed at Lucknow.
Late Mian Tufail Ahmad with his wife Qayum Al Nisa Begum, 1993
For the first time, he took his family that includes my mother & my elder sister late Fatima who was born in January 1945 to Lucknow. I was yet not born. In the mid of 1947, the situation started to deteriorate particularly in the cities so my parents came back to their village. Before leaving Lucknow my late father bought edible Attar from Ms. Iqtida Khan Muqtada Khan so from August to December 1947 he sold it to the local sweetmeats marts. This was the time when I was born on 20th October 1947. My father waited till the mid of December and finally decided to migrate to Pakistan, a dreamland for the Indian Muslims. My parents with two children reached Lahore on 25 th December 1947. My father reported to his ex-unit at Jehlum. He was converted to Upper Division Clerck & send to serve the industries department at Lyallpur now Faisalabad. We were allotted temporarily a house in Mohalla Khalsa College. We remained at Lyallpur for five years. My father used to go to a place Mae Di Jhuggi to his office. Although I was a child of four years I still remember the road leading to Kohinoor Textiles Mills and the bullock carts carrying cotton. I also remember that the majority of residents in our Mohalla were Punjabi speakers and my father told me that they were Punjabi speaking Pathans from Amritsar. There was no mosque in the vicinity so all the people made efforts to make a masjid. My father occupied an Ahata, kept four buffaloes in it and with the help of a servant used to maintain them and also sold milk to the local Halwais.
Portrait of Mian Tufail Ahmad , 1986
I don’t remember personally but as I was told that in 1949 my late father picked up a quarrel with a Pesh Imam (Cleric who performs prayers in a mosque) who allegedly indulging in some unwanted activities and my late father stabbed and injured him seriously right in the masjid during Isha prayers. The local police arrived and arrested him. My late mother used to tell us that this was one of the toughest days of her life. It was the time when my younger sister was about to be born. It was after 15 days his release was arranged and the Punjabi friends helped him a lot. He had to approach the family of the injured person and offered him a reasonably good amount by selling the four buffalos. This was the time when my younger sister was born and she was named Masooda which means a person of good luck.
Now my late father was fed up petty local politics. He returned to the self-studies. He did Adeeb Fazil, then Bachelors in English language and went to Sialkot to got admission in MA (English) in Murray College Sialkot. During the evenings, he used to serve as Accountant in a surgical instruments firm. He completed his MA Previous from Murray’s College. I vividly remember first we used to live in Sialkot Saddar and then in Ghazipur/Talwara. Ghazipur was small village of Jutts (a sturdy & respectable caste in Punjabis). It was pretty difficult to pull on economically with the family of six members and he continued with his MA classes so in MA Final he moved to Rawalpindi where we had some well-established relatives from Pilibhit connection. One of them Mian Faheem ud Din was Deputy Military Accountant General & his brother In law Abdul Khaliq Jillani was Accounts & Audit Officer in Military Accounts. My father took admission in MA Final in Gordon College Rawalpindi. It was in January 1956 that my late father joined GHQ as Assistant Superintendent on basis of BA. Thus we started living in Tench Bhata a suburb of Rawalpindi. I remember the celebration of 23rd March 1956 when Pakistan was declared Republic. It was in May 1957 that my father took me for admission in class 6 he submitted an affidavit that I had not studied in a regular school so I was given a test in Urdu, Math and General Knowledge which I passed successfully. I studied in Cantonment Board High School Lalkurti Rawalpindi. The headmaster of the school, Mr. Ansari was very efficient gentleman. I studied in that school up to class eight. Some of the teachers I remember were science teacher Mr. Samiulla, Urdu teacher Mr. Sabir , English teacher. It is no more a village rather a suburb. As my father was serving in GH Q and we were allotted a JCO quarter in Victoria Barracks just opposite Convent School and very close to Lalkurti Rawalpindi. Then my father applied for the allotment of small property in exchange what was left in India and he was allotted five acres of fertile land and a house just in the beginnings of Bazar Garhi Daulat Zai part of big village Garhi Kapura Tehsil in District Mardan. The house was left by one Ram Singh but was occupied by some local family but it was the time when Martial Law was imposed by General Muhammad Ayoub Khan and things were moving very quickly. My father exerting the influence of GHQ got both his properties vacated. He himself got posted at Air Headquarters Peshawar and we started living in Garhi Kapura. It was in 1961 I was admitted in class eight in Government High School Garhi Kapura. I was the only Urdu Speaking student in the school and called “Panhguzeen” a Pashtun word meaning Refugee. I picked up Pashto very quickly. Our headmaster was Sir Fida Younas from the nearby village Galyara who was a towering personality in a small school. I studied in this school for two years and then my father decided to shift his family to Peshawar Saddar. A house was allotted right on the city saddar road near Green Hotel opposite General Post Office. The street was known as Donga Gali. I got admission to Government High School one of the best in Peshawar Cantonment. I passed my matriculation from there. Among our teachers, Mr. Husnain Naqvi was an outstanding personality. He was remembered as an iconic educator in Peshawar Saddar. I passed SSC in 1964 and my late father had a desire that I should become an agricultural scientist. I was taken to Agriculture College Peshawar for admission and after a short interview with the vice-principal Dr. Roghani I was admitted. The most interesting part of the interview, it was started in English and came to an end in Pashto. Dr. Roghani remarked that I spoke Pashto perfectly but Tauseef is not a common name among the Pashtuns. Dr. Shamsul Islam Ali Khan was the Principal of Agriculture College. United States government was kind to Pakistan & our Agriculture College of Peshawar was associated with Colorado State University. The majority of the faculty members hold Doctorates in various disciplines. Every student was given scholarship and the scholarship of the boarders was double than the day scholars. It was my hard luck or laziness that I did not succeed there. My late father said that if you had the talent you are likely to succeed in any field. I pray for his departed soul. It was August 1965 and Indo-Pak battle had yet not taken place. My father decided that I should go to India and meet my relatives as my paternal uncles; Nani (Grandmother), Khalu (Uncle) & Khala (Aunt) were alive then. Not hardcore but skirmishes were taking place in Dara Haji Pir in Kashmir. I raised my concern to my late father but he told it was common between India and Pakistan since 1947. So it was on 30 August 1965 that I departed for Bareilly by Hora Mail which used to depart from Platform No.4. I reached Bareilly the next morning and was received by my Khalu Haji Amir Ahmad. I was still staying with my Nani when one of our relatives who had a radio run with battery informed that the battle between India and Pakistan had commenced. It was on the evening of 6th September 1965 that a constable from Police Station Amaria came and informed that I was under house arrest. Two of my relatives gave guaranty that I would remain confined to the village Karghaina. It was just a formality otherwise I used to roam all the areas of Rayeenwara (a local term used for Arain villages in Pilibhit). So I remained with my ancestors up to February 1966 till the Tashkent Declaration took place. The other mishap happened in the land of ancestors; I lost my Pakistani passport for which FIR had to be lodged in the Police Station of Amaria, a small town of Pilibhit near my mother’s ancestral village. Finally, my Khalu Haji Amir Ahmad went to Pakistan Embassy Delhi and got a new passport issued for me. In February 1966 I returned by land route of Ganda Singh Hussaini Wala. Here during stay six months at the ancestral village of my mother in Pilibhit, UP, I also learned a little bit of Hindi Language.
From left to right, the portrait of all four brothers, Mian Tauseef Ahmad, Mian Tauqeer Ahmad, Taufeeq Ahmad, & late Tanveer Ahmad, 2002
I finished my Intermediate (FA examinations) in 1967 & took admission in Government College Peshawar. It was a great experience to stay for two years in this institution. Mr. Mosa Khan Kaleem was the principal. It was during the General Yahya Khan regime when I started my career as upper-division Clerk in Accountant General NWFP Office. I must mention here that I was already rejected twice Inter Services Selection Board aka ISSB. After serving AG Office for one year and four months one of my colleagues. A friend informed me he had listened on the radio that Pakistan Air Force was in need of Education Instructors directly to be inducted as Flight Sergeant. He also informed me the basic requirement was BA/BSc in Second Division. I immediately reported to PAF Information and selection center located on 3 The Mall Peshawar. Flag officer Nazir Mirza was Officer in Charge who reviewed my documents & passed to the wing commander who was Director of Education. I very well remember it on 28th April 1971. After basic Intelligence tests and primary medical examination I, Fazal Karim, Mosam Khan, and Ajab Khan were sent the School of Education for basic training of 6 weeks. I was transferred to the Central Technical Development Unit, PAF Base Faisal as Ian in charge of the Library. On 16 December 1971 when the Pakistan Defence Forces surrendered at Dhaka, there was an urgent need of Education Instructors at PAF Kohat because all the Bengali Education Instructors and Officers were demobilized. I was posted to recruits Training School Kohat now known as PTTS . From June1972I to June I974 Base Commanders Kohat were Grp Capt H MC Misra, Grp Capt Nazir A Mirza, Air Commodore M Afzal Khan. I taught English and Pakistan Studies there for two years and then I was transferred to Air Headquarters Peshawar in Central Library from November 1972 to September 1973. In September 1973 I was back in teaching at Kohat. Once again I was transferred to Central Library Air Headquarters Peshawar. I must mention that my late father was GSO III aka Gazetted Staff Officer at Air Headquarters Peshawar and I was unmarried so he got me twice transferred to Peshawar. I got married to Sarwat on 28th December. They were our relatives & connected with our small Pilibhit based Arain tribe in Pakistan. They lived from 1950 to 1974 in Kocha Hari Singh, Main Bazar Kohat. They later shifted to Lahore and lived in Gulberg III. I completed four years as Flight Sargent & four years as Warrant Officer. Then as an Education Instructor at Peshawar. Now I completed 8 years so I was eligible for Commission so applied for it & my good luck that most Education Instructors were on Deputation to Libya. I was selected easily and send to the College of Education Kohat for six months. It was the time when Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto was hanged on 4th April 1979 and everybody felt it very badly. In this College Group Captain Kiyani later on, Air Commodore Kiyani and Group Captain Nizam and Flt Lt Masroor Ahmad Siddiqui were good teachers. I graduated as a Flying Officer and transferred to Directorate of Studies PAF Academy Risalpur but one of my ex comrades then Warrant Officer Rao Ayoub (now a big tycoon as a property dealer in Malir Cantt, Karachi) played dirty politics and I was posted to PAF Base Samungli. Now I realize that people were against me but Allah was very kind to me otherwise I would have never seen Balochistan and enjoyed my three years stay at Quetta. My first Base Commander was Air Commodore Aziz known as Aziz Tao and second Base Commander was then Air Commodore Akhtar Bukhari later on AVM Bukhari really a good commander. Begum Bukhari was a German lady of a cultivated taste. All students used to go to Quetta for studies. She asked me to establish a school up to class 5 so we were successful in establishing the school. My son Ehtisham Khan was born on 18th August 1981at PAF Base Samungli. I stayed at PAF Base Samungli (Quetta) for three years. In 1982 my father was retired from Peshawar. I served Air force for thirty years & got retirement in 2001. A year after my father left the world in 2002 at the age of ninety. I joined one private Air force training center & served there for the next ten years.
Mian Tauseef in his uniformMian Tauseef Ahmad with his wife late Sarwat Tauseef visiting Sikh pilgrimage
In the flashback, the memories of my six -month stay visit to India, the land of my ancestors are still fresh in my mind. The connection with the hometown where I was born seems to be inseparable. This is the memoir of the man who left India along with his parents at the age of three months. He was brought up & educated in Punjab, & Khyber Pakhtunwala. For six months, during his teenage, he stayed in India, his birthplace & land of his ancestors. In addition to Urdu as the first language, he fluently spoke Punjabi, Pashtu, English & Hindi. Where many of the smart city residents felt embarrassed to affiliate with the mofussil towns of UP & Bihar, Mian Tauseef proudly associates with the small town of Pilibhit on the other side of Radcliffe line. Where many of his relatives from Pilibhit Arain diaspora in Pakistan finds chauvinism with their ancestral roots of Colonial zamindari of United Provinces, he is proud of his roots from the Kisan(Farmer) grandfather.
A reader’s reflective account on “Chandni Chowk: The Mughal city of Old Delhi” authored by Swapna Liddle
Front cover page of the book Chandni Chowk, The Mughal City of Old Delhi
The book “Chandni Chowk” was published by Speaking Tiger Publishing Pvt Limited in collaboration with YES Institute in 2017. The “Walled City/Old Delhi” located in the present urban landscape of National capital region was once a dream project of a monarch to establish it as a new capital for mighty Mughal empire. The oriental accounts referred the term “Old Delhi” for the thirteenth century Mamluk capital Mehrauli, the first city of Delhi. Before the establishment Luytens Delhi, the walled city of Shahjahanabad has a privilege of the term “New Delhi” associated with it. The authors Swapna Liddle treatise on Mughal city of “Shahjahanabad” is a fascinating account articulating its formation, culture, rise & fall integrated with the history of its political transition & turmoil down the centuries. The book started with the story of its birth under Shahjahan, passing over to the puritan Aurangzeb, vulnerable days under forgotten Mughals, its cultural zenith, devastation during the mutiny, post-mutiny transition and its acclimatization with the twentieth century. The rich scholarly content with fine contextual details reflected in the manuscript is reflection of authors doctorate on eighteenth-century Delhi & her great experience of conducting heritage walks in Shahjahanabad. The description of the key events by citing accounts of the contemporaries such as narrations of Bernier and Mannuci in chapter one & two gave the reader an alluring engagement during the journey of exploring the book. The references were cited in the text as superscript in a continuous manner with the diverse range of references presented as notes at the end of the manuscript. This style facilitates the flow of the reading while maintaining the scholarly practice of in-text citation. Embedding heart-rending verses and their translation of contemporary poets like Sauda and Mir provided the readers to explore the plight faced by the citizens of Shahjahanabad during the days of turmoil. The creativity lies in outlining every sociocultural and religious transition of the nineteenth century in a succinct manner. For example, in a concise way schism created between grandson of Shah Waliullah Dehalvi and all the other traditional scholars of Zafar’s Delhi over basic beliefs of Islam were elaborated. It was the newly evolved puritan ideologues from the deserts of central Arabia imbibed by Ismail Dehalvi. All the great scholars of Delhi including Sadaruddin Azurda and Maulana Munawwaruddin, the maternal grandfather of Azad rejected it and they came to refute Ismail in a long debate held at Jama Masjid by Maulana Fazle Haqq in 1831. The chapter “The East India Company’s administration” also depicted vivid description of the cultural, and educational renaissance going on in 19th century Delhi. The chapter “The Revolt and Aftermath” is an account presenting the plight of Shahjahanabad and its citizen under the hands of mutineers and then by British forces after 14 September 1857. How the social order has been uprooted in the midst of the chaos and massacre, the author cited the heart-wrenched verses of “Zahur”.
Sada tanur Jhonke tha jo ladka nanbai ka
bhara hai iske sar me ab to Sauda Mirzai ka
The street cook’s lad, who did nothing but stoke the fire,
Now he fancies himself a Mirza
The last part of the same chapter articulated the response, growth and modifications happened in the plan of the Shahjahanabad during post-1857 era. The second last chapter sketched the transition happened in the city from Mughal capital to the British capital. The author focused on the modern infrastructural changes, upcoming civic bodies, coronation durbar, political winds of twentieth-century Delhi and demographic shift with the mass movement of immigrants from the newly created state of Pakistan. The book ended with the last chapter titled “Shahjahanabad Today”. This chapter is a wonderful connection of present vibrant, encroached and overcrowded “Purani Dilli” with its glorious past. The Chandni Chowk though no more left with a pool reflecting the moonlight but its eateries, culture, shops and worship places have the lot to offer for the visitors. The origin of the localities with its translated names like Katras (Commercial enclaves) and Kuchas ( lanes) is helpful for the English readers. The addition of nineteenth-century paintings with each chapter add the rich visual perspective to the text. For me as a reader, the “Chandni Chowk: The Mughal City of Delhi” is a fascinating journey that also provided much insightful learning on the title. Its an account talking on culture, society, ethnic composition, literary & political environment intermingled with the historical timeline of Shahjahanabad from its birth up to present days.
Swapna Liddle account will provide you a wonderful journey to the days mesmerized by the 18th-century poet, Mir Taqi Mir.
Dilli jo ek Shahar tha aalam me mein inthikhab
rahte the muntakhab hi jahan rozgar ke
There was a city, famed throughout the world,
Where dwelt the chosen spirits of the age
Note: The English translation of the poetic verses has been taken from authors account.
A restaurant of Persian speaking Afghan at AlMajmaah
Text & Pics by Rehan Asad
(مطعم) Muttam an Arabic term used for the restaurant. The Al Turkistani Bukhari restaurants are commonly seen in Saudi Arabia. Majority of them are own or manage by the Afghans. Its a typical preparation of the rice (Ruz) and the recipe that reached here from the central Asian city “Bukhara” located on the old silk road. It is this historic connection, the rice preparation got its Arabic name, Ruz Bukhari. The Bukhari rice is one of the delicious and familiar rice preparation of Middle East, especially in Gulf countries. Its a preparation of basmati rice and grated carrots cooked in olive oil along with spices like cinnamon sticks, cardamon, and cloves. The crushed Saffron and fried garnish of whole carrots, almonds, pistachios, and raisin also add to its flavor and appearance. The rice has been served with different types of the roasted preparation of chicken and lamb.
Sample plate showing two different varieties of the rice. The yellow one is Bukhari ( Ruz Bukhari). The white one is Peshawari Rice ( Ruz Abyad).
Located a hundred meters away from the main Al Rajhi Bank on King Fahad Road, at Al Majmaah, this Muttam Al Turkistani Bukhari is managed by Abdul Ghafoor and his son. The man in his fifties originally belonged to Shehberghan, the capital city of Jowzan province of Afghanistan. Etymologically his home city name is derived from the Sassanian monarch, Shapur. Abdul Ghafoor was fluent in Arabic but hardly able to understand Hindustani/Urdu language. While communicating with him in my broken Arabic, I came to know that Persian was his first language. He told that Pashtun & Uzbek speakers are also present in Shehberghan but his tribe is hundred percent Persian speakers from the centuries. Abdul Ghafoor was dressed in the red shirt and trousers, a uniform for all the Al Turkistani Bukhari managers in Saudi Arabia. The son was dressed in modern attire with black casual shirt & jeans. He communicated in his sluggish Urdu predominated by the accent of his native language.
Abdul Ghafoor told that his son is studying and helps him for managing the restaurant. Other than Arabic and Persian, he is also studying the English language. Both father and son missed the food, culture & weather of their hometown but they are residing here for making the better livelihood of their family. He was satisfied with his business. The cooking team is from Afghanistan and the assistant is from our neighboring country Nepal. As Saudi Arabia has the separate section for bachelors and families. The front section for bachelors have both types of arrangement, the dining tables, and traditional carpets for those who wish to dine on the ground. Behind the main section, there are separate cabins for the family section. Other than grilled chicken, he is also serving several other middle eastern meat preparations such as (Shish tawook), (Shawaya), Camel, and Mutton Kababs (Muqebelat)
From the vegetarian dishes and salads also on the display are cucumber yogurt salads, Hummos ( Chickpeas paste), green salad, Mulokhia (Jews Mallows: an Egyptian vegetarian savory sauce made up of green leaves Molokhia with coriander and mint leaves), and Arabic style of ladyfinger preparation.
