MUGHAL INDIA IN LONDON.

MUGHAL INDIA-ART, CULTURE AND EMPIRE.


It was just by chance that I came to know that the British Library was having an exhibition of rare manuscripts,  important documents and valuable possessions of the Mughal Empire.I quickly decided to visit the Library. The kind of stuff that I saw there  left me awe struck. I was delighted to see the collection of articles that were being exhibited. The magnificence of the Mughal empire was very evident. The way in which the Mughals  nurtured arts, artists, calligraphy, miniature painters, embroiderers, weavers, is unbelievable.All these activities and nurturing of arts, crafts and things of beauty are possible only when there is more peace than war. When life is going on without much of a struggle, it's only then that rulers can encourage the growth of objects of beauty.

What pained me was the fact that I had to see all this in London. All these treasures which belonged to my country are in the possession of some other country! But then the victor takes it all,isn't it?

There were about 200 artifacts in the exhibition.At the starting point was the Akbarnama with entries made by Abul Fazal, who kept an administrative account of the Empire. Everything that grew in the land was recorded and  taxes were levied accordingly. The Register is quite big, the entries are made very methodically and the writing though small is immaculate and neat. 

Some  manuscripts were farmaans(Royal Orders). The picture above says that a Qazi Jalaluddin of Batala was to be given 5000 copper coins. It is dated 1527. Besides this there was the Baburnama, Jahan Ara's poetry book, and even a recipe book from the kitchen of Shah Jehan. The page that was open in the recipe book gave the recipe for making a paratha. A quarter of a seer of ghee with animal fat was to be kneaded into the dough. Later frying the paratha would need more ghee! I quickly moved on from this extremely high in calories recipe. Then I saw  another book which had  17 chapters giving recipes for making perfumes, soaps, and there was a list of  specified auspicious and inauspicious dates for cutting down of trees!  Further on there was a  Notebook of Fragrance, a 17th-century guide to princely household management and also courtly activities. All these manuscripts were written in Persian and the writing was calligraphic. The Nikahnaama of Bahadur Shah with Zeenat Mahal too was on display. They were married on 18.11.1840. Today incidentally would be their 172nd marriage anniversary! Bahadur Shah was 64 and Zeenat Mahal was 19 years old. The signature of Bahadur Shah too was there. 

The manuscripts of the Babarnama were very beautifully written. It was calligraphy of the highest order. The page was painted with gold color and the writing was in black. The margins and borders of the pages were artistically painted with black and gold. The pattern was more like filigree work.There were extremely fine lines and very fine patterns on every page. I actually needed a magnifying glass to see the detailing. 

12 BADSHAHS OF THE MUGHAL EMPIRE

The miniature paintings on display are exquisite. Even if there were 10 persons in a miniature painting in the size of 5" x8" the face of each individual was painted with detailing and different expressions. Complexions too were painted beautifully. I was really very impressed with what I saw.I was amazed at the steady hands and perfect eyesight that the artists must have had then.

AURANGZEB IN SHAH JEHAN'S COURT

In fact Miniatures were from Babar's time to the later day Mughals and one could see that as time went by the artistry and gold in the paintings reduced. The borders and margins became less and the use of gold became quite visibly reduced.

AKBAR IN A SHIKAR SCENE

There was a sketch of Akbar's face done with what looked like a pencil to me. It was quite a small piece and yet the nuances were perfect. Babar had introduced miniature style paintings by getting artists from Iran. Around 1580, he established a royal painting workshop, initially with Iranian artists, to produce illustrated histories. At its peak it employed 100 painters fusing elements of Iranian, Indian and European art into what can be called Mughal style. These paintings show scenes of hunting, festivities, and life of the princes. There is one painting of Holi where everyone is well coloured with the vibrant colours of Holi.  A number of them show the King with his son and the obesience of the son to the father. The work is often luminous. A lot of gold is used in the paintings and the borders have fine filigree like drawings, which are very neat. Works from this period include pages from the illustrated Persian translation of “Memoirs of Babur”, such as “Babur Hunting”, a luminous painting in which deer plunge and twist as peasants beat them toward the royal hunter. Richard Johnson, an East India Company representative collected a vast number of miniatures between 1770 and 1790, and these masterpieces from the earlier reigns of Akbar and Jahangir  are on display here.

A CROWN OF BAHADUR SHAH ZAFAR.

Then I saw the  very beautiful crown of the Last Mughal, Bahadur Shah "Zafar". It is made of gold with lovely filigiree work. It is set with rubies, emeralds, diamonds, pearls and turquoise. The size and beauty of the gems has to be seen to be believed. The inside lining is made of red velvet. After the Badshah was deposed, Major Tytler  of the 38th regiment of Native Infantry, which had taken part in the seige of Delhi,was in charge of the Red Fort. He bought the Crown in an auction of the jewelry and along with two thrones, one of which was made of crystal,he brought them to London and sold them to Queen Victoria in 1861, for a paltry sum of Pounds 500! 

Besides this there is a jade fly whisk, which was used by Shah Jehan's attendant. This is set with rubies and emeralds in gold floral motifs and is very beautiful, the whisk would have had peacock feathers or horse hair sprouting from the top to keep insects at bay.

It is believed to have been acquired by the 6th Earl and Countess of Macclesfield in 1876 during a visit to India with the Prince of Wales.

If an attendant handled such a beautiful and expensive whisk, what would the family members be wearing? How magnificent must that collection have been!


There is the sword of Dara Shikoh, with a jade handle encrusted with jewels. There was a huge jade three striped roofed turtle displayed quite prominently. This belonged to Jehangir.

In the last room there was a 15 foot painting with the detailed map of Shahjehanabad. It was like a panorama and all the interesting buildings of Mughal Delhi like Begum Samru's haweli, Bada Hindurao, St. James Church, The Chandni Chowk, and Qutab minar in the far distance were all shown.The inscription below the Church said,"Girja ghar yani Church"

The pictures of the Red Fort and the different palaces and houses inside the fort are shown very clearly.Now we can see only clear lands and lawns where once stood houses inside the Fort. After 1857 almost all the houses were demolished and the British used the area and also built their own buildings there.

ZEENAT MAHAL'S PHOTO

ZAFAR IN CAPTIVITY-PHOTO

There was a photograph of Zeenat Mahal as well as of Bahadur Shah's two sons also on display. The photograph of Bahadur Shah shows an old man smoking his hukka, lying forlorn and quite dejected on his bed. The most telling photograph  was that of the Diwan-e Khas with the crystal throne wrapped up and packed to be removed from where it belonged. The photo showed the walls of the palace and it seemed quite decrepit.

One could see that decay  had already set in and the might, and beauty of the magnificent Lal Quila along with the Mughals was nearing its end.

BRITISH LIBRARY FOYER