First one to build was Pravarasena-II.
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| 2008 [Photograph 1] |
Zor Kadal/Zar Kadal/Zero Bridge. The zeroth bridge. Said to have been constructed by a deaf contractor in 1950s.
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| – from the book ‘Afoot Through the Kashmir Valleys’ (1901) by Marion Doughty. Also from the book: note on how these bridges were built in Kashmir [Photograph 2] |
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| [Photograph 3] |
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| 1950s. [Photograph 4] |
Omra Kadal/Womra Kadal/Amira Kadal/Amiran Kadal. First bridge. Built by Afghan governor Amir Khan Sher Jawan in 1774-1777.
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| From ‘Indian pages and pictures: Rajputana, Sikkim, the Punjab, and Kashmir’ (1912) by Michael Myers Shoemaker (1853-1924). [Photograph 5] |
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| 1950s [Photograph 6] |
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| 2008 [Photograph 7] |
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| from ‘The Romantic East: Burma, Assam, & Kashmir’ by Walter Del Mar (1906) [Photograph 8] |
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| from ‘Our summer in the vale of Kashmir’ (1915) by Frederick Ward Denys. [Photograph 9] |
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| By Major E Brookman in July 1944. [Photograph 10] |
Fateh Kadal. The Third bridge. Built during Fateh Khan’s rule (1510- 17 AD).
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| from ‘The Romantic East: Burma, Assam, & Kashmir’ by Walter Del Mar (1906) [Photograph 11] |
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| [Photograph 12] |
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| from the book Irene Petrie : Missionary to Kashmir (1903). Photographs by Geoffroy Millias. [Photograph 13] |
Zaein Kadal/Zaina Kadal. The fourth bridge. Built by Zain-ul-Abidin (1420-74).
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| By Francis Frith around 1875. Via: V&A [Photograph 14] |
A’el Kadal/Aali Kadal/Ali Kadal. The fifth bridge. Built by brother of Zain-ul-Abidin, Sultan Ali Shah (1413-19) in 1415.
Nawa Kadal/Naw Kadal. New Bridge/Boat bridge. The sixth Bridge. Named after one Nur Din Khan in A.D. 1666.* Rebuilt in 1953 by Sheikh Abdullah, completed by Bakshi.
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[Photograph 15]
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Safa Kadal/Saifa Kadal/Saf Kadal/Safr Kadal. The seventh Bridge. Clean Bridge. Or bridge of departure. Said to be the Oldest. Built by Saif-ud-Din urff Suha Bhatt, Chief Wazir of Sikandar Butshikan and Ali Shah. Or by one Saifulla Khan.*
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| 1950s [Photograph 16] |
Dareesh Kadal
Gaw Kadal
Badshah Bridge…
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| 1912 [Photograph 17] |
Bohri Kadal…
…Rajvir Kadal/Razvir Kadal.** Built over Mar Canal by a princess from Rajouri.
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* ‘Kashmir in Sunlight & Shade: A Description of the Beauties of the Country’ by Cecil Earle Tyndale-Biscoe. (1925)
**’History of the Panjab Hill States’, Volume 1 by John Hutchison, Jean Philippe Vogel
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Kadalnama
Zero
Zor Kadal/Zar Kadal
First
Omra Kadal/Womra Kadal/Amira Kadal/Amiran Kadal
Second
Habb’e Kadal/Habba Kadal
Third
Fateh Kadal
Fourth
Zaein Kadal/Zaina Kadal
Fifth
A’el Kadal/Aali Kadal/Ali Kadal
Sixth
Nawa Kadal/Naw Kadal
Seventh
Safa Kadal/Saifa Kadal/Saf Kadal/Safr Kadal
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Such a nice collewction…reminded me so much of home…thanks for the excellent post
Thanks Bro for this. As all wooden bridges are gone now ( i heard even our Aali Kadal was torn down to make way for a cement kadal.)such a sorry state of affairs. Venice has bridges dating back to 17th century. Dinesh
Received following corrections and additions from Man Mohan Munshi Ji.
"Firstly I want to place on record that no permanent masonry or timber bridges were built on the Vitasta/Jhelum. The bridges referred in the ancient historical documents as Seetus were actually boat bridges which used be dismantled and all boats pulled to the right bank of the river . The oldest boat bridge in Srinagar whosoever built it referred as Maha Seetu was at the location where Zain-ul abdin built the first permanent bridge in the 15th century across Jhelum named after him as Zainakadal which latter also became known as fourth bridge.
Neither the contractor nor the engineer who built the Zero bridge were deaf. Since the Zero bridge is located immediately upstream of Amirakadal which since long was and is even now known as the 1 completion during middle 1950s was named by Bakshi Gulam Mohamad the then prime minister of J&K State as zero bridge. Zero bridge/ kadal in due course of time got corrupted to Zor/Zar Kadal by lesser educated and imaginative Kashmiris and myth was woven that the bridge was built by a deaf person.
Picture no 2 in the blog is not that of Amirakadal . The picture has been taken from the downstream side of the bridge and on the upstream of the bridge the river immediately takes an eastward bend which is not seen in the picture. Picture nos 3 and 4 are actually that of Amirakadal
Picture no 5 is not that of Habbakadal but old Zainakadal tomb of Zain-ul-abdin’s mother within Mazar Salatin is visible on the right bank of Jhelum downstream of the bridge. Picture no 6 is that of Alikadal as it used to be a pedestrian’s bridge during 1940s and 50s.
Picture no7 is that of modern Habba Kadal the temples of Purashyar and Raghunath are visible along the left bank of the river. Besides picture no 10 no 9 also is that of Fatehkadal as Shah Hamdan’s Ziarat is visible in both downstream of the bridge
Picture No 12 is of old Zainakadal /fourth bridge b, picture no 13 is not of Zaina kadal but of Fateh Kadal/3rd bridge as Ziarat of Shahamdan is visible on the right bank of the river
Picture No 14 is of old Alikadal /6th bridge of 1930s.
My response:
"Thanks! I was expecting a response from you. That information about correct identification of structures in the picture is helpful as I did have my doubts while posting them…but then posted them anyway based on captions given in the book. About Zero Bridge and Zorr thing…I included the Zorr part as local oral stories about the bridge is important. Do post that info. to the post as a comment so that others might find it useful. Also…any info. about the bridge on Mar canal."
His reply:
"We Kashmiris are known for fabricating stories and exaggerating and mispronouncing certain words the way Seetu (bridge ) is pronounced as Soth, Maruti (cars) were and are pronounced as marwati. I remember in 1947- 48 when I was a school boy emergency was pronounced as Emerjenti. Some of the foreign authors have also given wrong captions /descriptions in their books. One cannot ignore the prominent features like Shah Hamdan ziarat , Rughunath temple, Tomb of Zain-ul abdin 's mother etc on the banks of Jhelum."
Sir, I had my doubt about pic 14 being of Ali Kadal, as Ram Kaul Temple is not visible in it. May be hidden by the Chinar tree or it just was not built by the Kauls till 1875. I'm sure you can shed some light on this. I was amused when my father too disagreed about names given to some bridges. Seems you two are in the same boat on this. Regards/Dinesh
Good point. There is a good chance it wasn't built yet. Ram Kaul made his fortune in time of Maharaja Pratap Singh (during this time Gadadhar Temple was constructed). In 1875 the ruler was Ranbir Singh.
Thanks Dear ,
Pic 1 , Zero bridge ,It is not because some contractor was deaf , It is just somebody's imagination ,,The reason is that this bridge came before Amira Kadal ,which was known as 1st bridge , so in order not to confuse things ,it was named Zero bridge because it came before 1st bridge .
Pic 5 is Zaina Kadal as Budshahs tomb is on Right side.
pic 13 is Fateh Kadal
pic 16 is Gow Kadal
pic 17 is Saraf Kadal on Nalah Mar……..Rest seems to be correct
Thank you for the corrections and adding much needed info..
hello,
ive gone through ur blogs a lot. and it is a library in itself.keep up the efforts to spread true knowledge.
i want some data on the inland settlement of dal lake for my thesis could u suggest some links?
regards
ikra
Please provide some specifics.
Hello. When my aunt died she left me a beautiful oil painting unsigned but attributed to George Chinnery. Unfortunately there was no provenance so the location depicted was unknown. After searching for months, I finally discovered it is of a bridge that once crossed the Nallah Mar in Srinagar (my aunt lived in Chicago, Illinois in the United States). The painting is made even more beautiful by its hand carved wooden frame with floral motif.
What finally gave me a match in my search was a photograph taken by Samuel Bourne in 1864 as the painting bears a striking resemblance to the black and white print. I was disappointed to read that the canal was filled in to create a roadway.
I'd be happy to share an image of the painting if anyone would care to see it.
Hi James…Please do send the image. Would love to see it. vinayak.razdan @ Gmail . Com
Thanks. I'm happy to show it to someone who can appreciate not only the painting but also the wood frame. It's like a beautiful time capsule. Interested in any thoughts you may have as I know little about it.
there is confusion about the which one of them was the first permanent bridge built on jehlem leaveing alone boat bridges .in some text I read it was aali kadal built by sultan ali shah in around 1418 , second bridge was zaina kadal built on same pattern by sulta zainul abideen in 1449. please put some light on the subject.
The Zero or zaer bridge ( kadal) was built during the PM Bakshi Gulam Mohammad and contractor by kh. SONA ULLAH SHORA a renowned contractor of those times who was def.
All the elderly persons of RAJBAGH who reside around the Zero Bridge …..even today, recall & remember the construction & contractor and still call zero bridge as ZAER KADAL.
This is to put the records straight about Zero/ Zaer Kadal.