. Sri Satguru Jagjit Singh Ji eLibrary [email protected] . South Asian Studies A Research Journal of South Asian Studies Vol. 25, No. 2, January-June 2010, pp.283-301 Life at the Lahore Darbār: 1799-1839 Nadhra Shahbaz Naeem Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS), Lahore Maharaja Ranjit Singh (1780-1839) occupied Lahore in 1799 and ruled the Punjab from that city for forty years. He chose to live at the Lahore fort built by the Mughal emperors and to some extent, brought back the grandeur and magnificence it knew in Mughal times. This article is an attempt to describe the glamorous life at the Lahore darbār (Sikh court) based on contemporary sources, majesty that was lost forever after annexation by the British in 1849. Ranjit Singh selected the Musamman Burj in the Lahore fort for both his private and official use and chose the sheesh mahal chambers or mirror pavilions within the Musamman Burj, built by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan (r. 1628- 1658), as his residence1. Alexander Burnes visited the Maharaja’s private quarters in the fort in 1831, and noted that the passages were decorated with “waxen tapers” and that “bottles filled with different coloured water were placed near the lights, and increased the splendor” (Burnes, 1992: 29). He sat with some of his companions in silver chairs in Ranjit Singh’s bedroom in the Musamman Burj and describes it in the following words: In one end of the room stood a camp bedstead, which merits a description. Its frame-work, posts, and legs were entirely covered with gold, and the canopy was one massy sheet of the same precious metal. It stood on footstools raised about ten inches from the ground, and which were also of gold. The curtains were of Cashmeer shawls. Near it stood a round chair of gold; and in one of the upper rooms of the palace we saw the counterpart of these costly ornaments. The candles that lighted up the apartment were held in branch sticks of gold. The little room in which we sat was superbly gilded; and the side which was next the court was closed by a screen of yellow silk (Ibid: 30). The account of entertainment offered at the Musamman Burj to a group of British officers including Captain Wade, Alexander Burnes and Doctor Murray, in February 1832, gives a glimpse of how these pavilions looked like during the Sikh 283 . Sri Satguru Jagjit Singh Ji eLibrary [email protected] . South Asian Studies 25 (2) reign. After the inspection of troops of the Campoo-i-Muallā (Maharaja’s special guards) that included a performance by the dancing girls in male attires, a grand reception was arranged for the guests. The arrangements included illuminations with camphor candles fitted in candle stands that were hung all over the place. The outer and inner walls of the Musamman Burj were covered with fine fabric, exquisite gold-embroidered and gold-threaded curtains hung on all windows and gold-woven carpets were laid in the corridors. Tents with silver and gold plated poles were fixed in the open space in front of the Musamman Burj. A gold- canopied charpoy and gold utensils were displayed and an abundant supply of food and drink was available for the guests. A dance and music performance was presented and according to Sohan Lal Suri, the sahibs thoroughly enjoyed the entertainment (Suri, 2002, 3(i):157-59). The illuminations and extravagant decorations arranged by Khalifa Nuruddin (Maharaja's court physician) were meant to leave a lasting impression on the visitors and the Maharaja personally asked them towards the end of the evening, if they had ever experienced something similar in Hindustan (Ibid). All contemporary historical sources talk about the grandeur of the Lahore darbār and have recorded countless occasions where Ranjit Singh emphatically ordered his courtiers and troops to pay special attention to their attire. He wanted to build the morale of his own men with uniforms and discipline in military exercises comparable to the British and impress everyone with the grandeur and riches of his court. The chieftains and troops accompanying Ranjit Singh's eldest son Kharak Singh’s wedding procession in 1811 were ordered to present themselves in richly decorated clothes and plumes on their headgear (Ibid, 2:114). They were directed to be magnificently dressed in order to "…strike surprise among the onlookers and create wonder among the spectators…." (Ibid:116). This exercise was especially for the benefit of the British officer Colonel Ochterlony and the Hill Rajas invited for the ceremony. A similar display of magnificence mesmerized the European visitors when Lord William Bentick, the Governor General of India visited the Maharaja at Ropar in 1831. Raja Dhyan Singh, the Prime Minister was asked to make arrangements that included decorating the camp with velvet and brocade tents, huge canopies of brocade, satin, gold-threaded fabric and tūs (or shahtoosh, top quality fine wool), as well as excellent floorings. Misr Beli Ram was ordered to get fine gifts and rare object, with seventy-one garments bound in pashmīna (costly hand-woven woolen fabric) wrappers, ready to be presented to the honorable guest. The platoons and horsemen were all asked to be dressed in brocade suits and ornaments, and to stand in a row from the portico to the bridge for firing a salute upon the chief guest's arrival. The chiefs at Sikh court were also required to wear fabulous clothes and jewelry and were arranged to stand near the Maharaja's canopy according to their ranks (Op.cit, 3(i):112). 284 . Sri Satguru Jagjit Singh Ji eLibrary [email protected] . Nadhra Shahbaz Naeem Life at Darbar G. T. Vigne (2004), the famous English traveler, visited Lahore in 1837. He found the gold and jewels on the Sikh sardārs tempting enough to note in his memoirs that “There were scarcely any of the Sirdars around him [Ranjit Singh], whom one would not have been glad to have pillaged in the dark; so bedizened were they generally with gold and jewels, pearls, emeralds, and the rubies of Budukshan” (274-5). A meeting between the Maharaja and Lord Auckland took place at Ferozepur on November 29, 1838. Describing the magnificence of the Maharaja's darbār, Stienbach who accompanied the British Governor General, notes that the “…Sikh chieftains, all clinquant, all in gold, or clothed in every diversity of colour, and every imaginable variety of picturesque costume, armed to the teeth with spears, saber, shield and lighted matchlock, - scrambled onwards….” (Steinbach, 2005: 140-42). The colonel was mesmerized by the opulence and magnificence of the Indian troops and his awe is evident from his statement that “the scene which now presented itself is utterly beyond description. All that the imagination can conceive of human grandeur – all that the most exuberant fancy can devise in its endeavour to portray the acme of royal splendour – was here embodied forth” (Ibid: 148). Maharaja Ranjit Singh, in later years of his life is recorded to have worn a simple dress with few pieces of jewelry but during his early reign he also used to bedeck himself with fancy clothes and jewels to impress the visitors. In December 1813, for example, he ordered the vakīls of Hyderabad to appear in the court before granting them leave and had a very fine carpet laid, and wore a green dress and turban and "ornaments and armlets beset with jewels"(Op.cit, 2:152). Before granting audience to Dewān Gudar Mal, the vakīl or representative of Alijah Fateh Khan Barakzai in 1811, the Maharaja made sure that the guests were impressed with the riches of the Lahore darbār as he put on elaborate clothes and fine jewelry, ordered a superior quality carpet to be laid out and sat in a gold chair (Ibid:111). The magnificence of the Sikh court was echoed by a silver bungalow Ranjit Singh had ordered for holding court away from the pavilions of Musamman Burj. It was set up for the first time near a “northward garden” near the Lahore fort and he entered it at an auspicious moment calculated by the court astrologers (Ibid: 289). In 1826 or 1827, while the Maharaja was in Amritsar due to ill health, he ordered the silver bungalow to be brought to Amritsar for the Dussehrā celebrations2. It was fixed on the bank of the stream in the village Tang. That the bungalow was double-storied is evident because on October 29, 1831, during the display of Maharaja's military drills at the meeting with Lord William Bentick at Ropar, the Governor General was taken to the “upper storey” of the silver bungalow. It is a probable that the “bungalow on wheels” described by Fakir Waheeduddin refers to the same one. He writes that it had silver walls, a shawl canopy and was furnished with carpets, cushions, curtains and chandeliers and was pulled by eight elephants (Waheeduddin, 1965: 159). Another novelty recorded by 285 . Sri Satguru Jagjit Singh Ji eLibrary [email protected] . South Asian Studies 25 (2) Suri is a boat that Ranjit Singh ordered that was shaped like a peacock (Op.cit, 2:427). Other curiosities patronized by the Lahore darbār are briefly described; Kharak Singh’s wedding procession had a moving throne and a model of the Shalimar Gardens that was carried on the shoulders of about one hundred men and Rani Nakain, the groom's mother sat in a chariot that was set with jewels and had a crown over it (Ibid:117). At the time of Kharak Singh's son Naunehal Singh’s wedding in February 1837, Henry Fane noted with approval the trees at the fort of Bhangian (Amritsar) bearing “fruit covered with gold and silver leaves” hanging from the branches (Op.cit, 3(iii):440). Most of the novelties created for the Maharaja and the elite Sikh courtiers are not extant and can only be reconstructed through their accounts in contemporary historical sources. The lists of items given away as offerings and presents inform us of the riches that circulated in Sikh society. Luxury items made of silver and gold including utensils, beds and chairs, votive objects, picture frames used for sacred images, gold-threaded horse saddles, silver and gold howdās or elephant seats are mentioned. Pashmīna and gold woven fabrics appear to have been a great favorite along with different kinds of cottons and silks. Jewelry was worn extravagantly by both men and women and names of a few pieces are mentioned by Suri like the chaura pāīn, ponchiān, bāzooband, qashaqa, damnī and mālā (Ibid: 432). Contemporary jewelry pieces are shown in nineteenth century illustrations for the copies of Ain-i-Akbari (figure 1). Fig.1: Ain-i-Akbari (The Chronicles of Emperor Akbar), Lahore, Pakistan. Ink, pigment, gold leaf paper, c. 1822. Collection of Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto, Canada. (2006.70.1_16_page09_det) The frescoes in the interior of Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s Samadhī in Lahore, built around the middle of the nineteenth century, present excellent examples of the ambience of the Lahore darbār. Here the mythological scenes are illustrated 286 . Sri Satguru Jagjit Singh Ji eLibrary [email protected] . Nadhra Shahbaz Naeem Life at Darbar with a firsthand knowledge of opulence and grandeur, showing even the shepherds, ascetics and maidservants laden with jewelry and wearing richly embellished dresses. The pomp and pageantry of the Lahore darbār was fully displayed during popular Hindu religious festivals. Dussehrā is celebrated in memory of the Hindu god Rama's victory over Ravanna; an occasion that reinforces the triumph of virtue over evil. Maharaja Ranjit Singh celebrated the event every year with great festivity and ordered his courtiers to participate with equal fervor. He began the celebrations with the worship of the horse and the sword (Op.cit, 2:495). An explanation of this act is found in H. T. Princep’s statement: “Guru Govind [the tenth Sikh guru] devoted his followers to steel, and hence the worship of the sword, as well as its employment against both Mahomedans (sic) and Hindus” (Princep, 1846, 1:122). James Tod notes that “Karga Shapna” or worship of the sword is a Rajput tradition and is “essentially martial” (Tod, 1877, 1:458). Other activities during the Sikh period included putting up effigies of the characters of the epic Ramayana and a discharge of the topkhanā (canons). In 1811, the festivities included a mock battle of the conquest of Lanka by the Maharaja’s armed troops that resulted in a great confusion leaving countless injured and many dead (Op.cit, 2:109). Dussehrā in V. S. Sambat 1883/1826 A. D. was celebrated at the village Tang, near Amritsar where the Maharaja’s silver bungalow was set up after being brought from Lahore (Ibid: 408). Prince Sher Singh, one of Ranjit Singh's sons, “got a hint from the Maharaj” to erect the symbolic “Lanka" in a "graceful and stylish manner". The carpet-layers were ordered to spread fine floorings and to affix tents without poles, woven with gold and silver threads and brocade and gold threaded canopies with golden poles, near the Maharaja’s silver bungalow. The daroghā or in-charge of the stables was ordered to present the best horses decorated with gold and bejeweled harnesses and the in-charge of elephants was similarly ordered to bring fully decorated huge elephants. Prince Sher Singh, the chieftains and the troops were directed to put on fine clothes and appear for inspection before the Maharaja (Ibid: 409). During the Dussehrā festivities, the chieftains along with their troops of horsemen wore steel armors inlaid with gold and enameled golden that was highly polished. Their bright dresses were made of gold-threaded cloth, brocades and satins of various colors (Ibid: 455). In March 1832, preparations were made for a grand Holī festival. Holī is a Hindu spring festival celebrated by throwing colored dyes on each other. Misr Beli Ram was ordered to give Rs. 500/- every day to Raja Hira Singh (Raja Dhyan Singh's son and a favorite of the Maharaja) for the preparations of the event and the staff responsible for floorings was instructed to make arrangements in the garden of Shah Balāwal. The merriment went on for three days; March 15 to 17, 1832. The Singhs (Sikh sardārs) and the troops of Campoo-i muallā (According to Lafont, name given to the regular units which did not belong to the Fauj-i khās or 287 . Sri Satguru Jagjit Singh Ji eLibrary [email protected] . South Asian Studies 25 (2) to another French brigade) were made to stand opposite each other to playfully fight with the lac dye in sprinklers while the dancing girls presented their dance and songs. The Maharaja later held a darbār at the garden of Chota Ram where all the vakīls, nawābs and chieftains were invited for the celebrations. They played with the lac dye, sprinkled rose water and saffron. At the end of the celebrations, the dignitaries were awarded robes of honor (Op.cit, 3(ii):170-71). Basant is another Hindu spring festival, dedicated to the goddess Sarasvati. During Ranjit Singh’s times, celebrations usually took place at the mausoleum of Madho Lal Husain, at Lahore. For Basant in 1825, the Maharaja ordered all horsemen and platoons to wear yellow costumes and to form lines all the way from the Delhi Gate to the mausoleum. The Maharaja came out of the fort, performed suchetā (ablutions) and inspected the parade of the troops. He then went to the mausoleum and sat under a high yellow canopy and enjoyed watching the fair for two to three hours before returning to the fort (Ibid, 2:388). A couple of years later on Basant day at the same venue, tents, screens and canopies of yellow color, beautifully woven in wool, were set up which the Maharaja had recently received from Kashmir. Chieftains, platoons and the horsemen were all ordered to wear yellow costumes and to stand in rows from the Delhi Gate to the tomb for inspection. After his usual inspection, the Maharaja took his seat in the gold chair in his tent at the tomb (Ibid: 438). These festivities and royal entertainments also included dance performances by the dancing girls frequently mentioned by contemporary sources. Especially noteworthy is Ranjit Singh's troop of female “Amazons” or the zenanā platoon. Each one of these “soldiers” carried a bow and arrow in hand and had a sword by her waist during performance (Ibid, 3(i):114-15). The band consisted of thirty or forty singing and dancing girls chosen for their "beauty of face and figure, playfulness and agility" (Op.cit, 1965: 178). The Real Ranjit Singh gives their description in the following words: A lemon-yellow banarsi turban with a bejeweled crest; a dark green jumper over a blue satin gown, fastened with a gold belt; deep crimson skin-tight pyjamas of gulbadan silk; and a pair of pointed golden shoes. As for jewelry, they wore a pair of gold earrings set with stones, a diamond nose stud, a pair of gold bracelets and a ruby ring on the middle finger (Ibid). The Maharaja was very fond of watching dance performances and sometimes spent all day or most of the night in such entertainments, if we are to believe the newsletters published as Events at the Court of Ranjit Singh, 1810-1817 (Garrette and Chopra, 1986: 11-12, 26, 53, 56, 74 etc). But these sources also record some of his rare solitary moments away from merriment and expeditions that were spent in listening to one Attar Khan playing the flute, especially on rainy evenings (Ibid: 70, 96, 101, 186, 189 etc). He is also noted to have pleased himself with a ramble in heavy rainfall in summers while enjoying the sight of fountains (Ibid: 83). 288 . Sri Satguru Jagjit Singh Ji eLibrary [email protected] . Nadhra Shahbaz Naeem Life at Darbar Ranjit Singh’s martial impression is further softened by his fondness for gardens. Although the outer precincts of Lahore still displayed ruins with abandoned mosques and mausoleums in the nineteenth century as stated by various European travelers and visitors, the main city boasted many gardens (Barr, 1844: 66). The Shalimar Gardens in the outskirts of nineteenth century Lahore was not only visited for enjoying the remarkable beauty but it also offered a place for journey-break on the Maharaja's frequent visits to Amritsar. He used to put up at the Gardens for days while proceeding towards the Holy City or upon entering Lahore on his way back. The pleasure the Maharaja derived from the Gardens is evident from Suri's account of September 1818, given below: The Maharaja ordered the march of his royal standards from the village of Sourian, and, by way of the bridge of Kakargill boarded the boats and came over to Shalabagh. As the said garden brightened the eyes of every body on account of its abundant trees, plenty of roses, fruit bearing trees and water channels, the Maharaja was pleased and liked to stay there for a few days (Op. cit, 2:265). Sohan Lal Suri mentions the Garden in different names; Shalamār, Shalabāgh or Shehla Bāgh and also as Shualā-i-māh or the "spark of the moon" (Ibid: 54). An explanation for this variety of names is found in Sita Ram Kohli's account where he refers to Dewan Amar Nath's Zafarnama-i-Ranjit Singh, and notes that in 1803, the Maharaja while strolling in the Gardens with his companions argued about the meaning of the name “Shalamār”. According to the Maharaja, the literal meaning of the word in Punjabi was "God's strike" and therefore it was unsuitable for a garden. The courtiers tried to make him understand that this was a Turkish word that meant "farhat bakhsh" or refreshing, but Ranjit Singh dismissed them saying that the Punjab was not inhabited by Turks, therefore a name understandable in the local language needed to be adopted and that was to be Shalā Bāgh (Kohli, 2004: 77). Captain Wade, the British political agent at Ludhiana, visited Lahore in June 1838 prior to the Governor General Lord Auckland's visit in January 1839. The Captain appreciated the delightful Shalimar Gardens but pointed out that dilapidation marred its beauty. He suggested that repairs be made before the Governor General's forthcoming visit, to which the Maharaja readily agreed and ordered Khalifa Nuruddin to immediately visit the Gardens and submit a report (Op.cit, 3(iv):195-96). Besides the Shalimar Gardens, Umdat-ut-Tawarikh frequently mentions the Hazuri Bāgh that lies between the Badshahi Mosque and the Alamgirī Gate of the Lahore fort. Sohan Lal Suri records that this garden was laid out at the orders of the Maharaja at the beginning of the new Bikrami year 1870 (April 1813), and expert gardeners were engaged for the purpose (Ibid, 2:136). Following the 289 . Sri Satguru Jagjit Singh Ji eLibrary [email protected] . South Asian Studies 25 (2) Mughal tradition, a marble baradarī was constructed in the centre of the garden (figure 2). Fig. 2: Hazuri Bāgh, Lahore. (Photo: 2006) Fig. 2: Hazuri Bagh Pavilion, Lahore, Pakistan.  (Photo: 2006) An Englishman, Lieut. William Barr visited Lahore in February 1839. His detailed account of the Hazuri Bāgh baradarī given below helps reconstruct the original structure: In the center of this square [Hazuri Bāgh], which is laid out in gardens and terraces, is an elegant little building, erected by the Maharaja, with marble pilfered from the tombs of Jahangir and his wazir [Empress Nurjahan's brother Asif Jah], where he transacts business in the hot season. The lower apartment is fourteen feet square, ornamented with looking-glass, gilding, and colours, most harmoniously blended, and extremely rich. Light is admitted through Saracenic arches on pillars, and a verandah, eight feet broad, with a ceiling embellished in the same style of profusion, encompasses the whole, which is built on a chabootra some four of five feet above the ground. We ascended to an upper room of similar size and shape, but even more beautifully and gorgeously ornamented; the four doors being decorated with ivory, inlaid in various devices, each being different from the other, and all arranged with much taste. There is also an apartment under-ground, where the Maharaja takes refuge from the hot winds, and during the hours of recreation admits a few of his most intimate friends (Op.cit, 1844: 98). Suri's accounts mention that the Maharaja used the baradarī not only for recreational purposes but also to celebrate various festivals (op cit, 2:441). The pavilion lost its upper storey on July 19, 1932 and the damaged portion was removed to the fort (Aijazuddin, 2004: 74). Presently, the baradarī is a single- storied structure and is in a fairly good condition. 290 . Sri Satguru Jagjit Singh Ji eLibrary [email protected] . Nadhra Shahbaz Naeem Life at Darbar Contemporary sources also record several occasions when the Maharaja ordered the laying out of gardens and construction of baradarīs. In November 1819, the Maharaja ordered Fakir Imamuddin, thanedār (in-charge) of Gobindgarh fort at Amritsar, to lay out a garden (Rambāgh) outside the katrā (or the locality generally occupied) of Jai Singh Kanhaya3, and that it should be similar to the Shalimar Gardens (Op.cit, 2:312). The garden complex has a double-storied red sandstone gateway and buildings laid out in the chaupār (four sections) pattern (Khanna, 2001: 116). Ranjit Singh’s summer palace stands in the center of the garden with four ancillary buildings on the cardinal axes. The Garden still exists but is now called the Company Bāgh and the buildings are used for different purposes. The Summer Palace is now used as Maharaja Ranjit Singh Museum (figure 3). Fig. 3: Rāmbāgh Palace, Amritsar, India.  (Photo: 2006) There are quite a few references in the chronicles of private gardens laid out and owned by the sardārs and the elite. The Maharaja frequently visited these gardens (bāghs) and occasionally celebrated festivals or held court. Suri states that "he indulged in walks and strolls there among the blossoms and rosebuds which had been set in graceful order by the gardeners" (op cit, 2:415). Among the most frequently mentioned besides Shalimar Gardens are the gardens of Chota Ram, Jamadar Khushal Singh, Amb Dhoorewalā and Anguri Bāgh. These gardens also had small pavilions in them. In September 1827, ahalkārs or the officers of the concerned department were issued orders to "get ready a newly founded Baradari in perfect strength together with a fine garden on the bank of river [Ravi]" (Ibid: 430). The chronicles of 1832 shed interesting light on the architectural activities that prevailed during the Sikh rule over the Punjab. Suri records: As the Maharaja always had a great liking for building lovely new buildings, he proposed the building of a Baradari at Kaulsar [Amritsar] during these days. He, therefore, appointed Fateh Khan, son of Mian Elahi Bakhsh, for fetching stone from Lahore. Rs. 50 were given to him for his personal use, 291 . Sri Satguru Jagjit Singh Ji eLibrary [email protected] .