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Parable for Fools


In 2048, Dr. Doomdullah, after years of study, finally understood the true nature of his problem and why the obvious solution wouldn’t work. He wanted to know, ‘If 90% of humanity is trash, why not just be done with it?’ He found his answer in a lost work of parables from Kashmir known as ‘Concise Reshinama of Lost Souls’.

Parable 161

‘After years of observing the sad condition of the world in which he lived -the depravity of men, the vile and evil, Sanger Rishi came to the conclusion if a stone were to randomly drop from the sky and onto a random person, there is a good chance it would hit the head of someone deserving such divine retribution. To test his theory, one early morning Sanger Rishi started climbing the hillock of Kus-ha-sa-Maraan that overlooked the city. On reaching the highest point, he planned to pick a stone and hurl it down at the city. While trekking up the hill, strangest of thing happened: a stone from nowhere hit him on the head. He died. Mazar of Sanger Rishi came up at the spot. His epitaph read:

From my throne high up on
Parbat
every morning
Down below
I see him make his way to the temple,
the mosque, the shop, the job…
Every morning
I hurl down a pebble at his head
Every morning
my head hurts

Dr. Doomdullah understood the true meaning of the parable: you have to get to the top of the hill before anyone else does; hold fort.



Parable 143

Two men were fighting over truth. Each called the other a lair. Each had a dagger at the throat of other, ready to let the blood run and settle the matter. Prophetess Red Dead, who happened to be passing by, intervened. Taking piety on them, in all compassion, she took the daggers from them and casting a certain spell over the metal blades proclaimed, ‘This dagger of truth can now only pierce an untrue heart.’ She then returned the daggers to the two men. Divine daggers in hand, the two men lunged at each with a new righteous ferocity. It was over soon.

Dr. Doomdullah understood the true meaning of the parable: Hold onto your truth and let the blood flow.

Parable 157

The crowd gathered in the village square to begin stoning the condemned man. Prophet Yekusinsaan arrived at the scene and told all gathered people, ‘He who is without sin among you, let him be the one to throw the stones.’ Hearing this a seven-year old girl came forward and threw a small rock at the man. It caught the man’s head at a wrong angle, the condemned man died three days later in much pain.

Dr. Doomdullah understood the true meaning of the parable: Stop talking in parables.

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Here hear the battle of Basgo

View of plans of Basgo (Bazgu) village with Zangla castle at top of a hill, about 4 miles further of Nimo, about 42 kilometer west of Leh.

Here was fought the battle of Basgo that ended with Ladakh coming under to sphere of Mughal influence.
Zangla Castle

In the middle of 17th century, Tibet was under the control of Mongol Gushi Khan who supported the 5th Dalai Lama to take control of the region that was seeing quarrels between different sects of Buddhism. This is the Dalai (meaning ‘Ocean’ in Mongolian) who built Potala (Skrt. Potalaka meaning ‘celestial residence’) in Lhasa.

Ladakh at the time was under a new Dynasty, Namgyal who had defeated the king of Leh and moved the capital to Basgo. In a dispute between Tibet and Bhutan, Namgyals of Ladakh, given the head of their sect was based in Bhutan, decided to support Bhutan. In return, in the Dalai Lama of Tibet sent Mongol and Tibetan forces on an expedition to Ladakh under one warrior monk Lama Sang (Ganden Tshewangpel Sangpo of Ganden (Skrt. Tushita)) monastery). Tibetans forces also had the support of Kehari Singh (1639-1696) of Bushar state in upper Satluj Valley as he wanted to recover some part of Kinnaur area which had been earlier claimed by Namgyas. 
When Gyalpo Delek Namgyal (1640(5)-1680 A.D) of Ladakh found Tibetan-Mongols on his heel, from Basgo he wrote for help to Kashmir. Kashmir at the time was under Mughal governor Ibrahim Khan (reign: 1678-1885) son of famous Kurdish administrator Ali Mardan Khan. Already, during the time of Shah Jahan, Namgyals and their territorial ambitions in Trans-Himalayas were not unnoticed by the Mughal court. But, Namgyals on being notified, did tender submission to Mughal court. Now, that Namgyals needed help, they looked to Mughals. 
Ibrahim Khan forwarded the request to Mugal Emperor Aurangzeb at Aurangabad (August Hermann Francke mistakenly mentions ‘bigot’ Shah Jahan). Mughal historian Mir Izzet Ullah (1812) mentions an army of six lakh men from Kashmir was sent and lead by Ibrahim Khan’s son Fidai Khan (Alexander Cunningham pegs the number at a more believable 6000, Francke mistakenly gives the name as Fateh Khan). In return for this help, Delek was to become Muslim and promise to give Kashmir monopoly over the pashmina trade. 
Mughal crossed the Indus at Khalatsi (Khalatse) on two wooden bridges and marched to Bargu village. Bidhi Singh of Kullu Kingdom  (Lahul and Kullu tributary were tributary of Ladakh since AD 1125-50 ) supported Mughals but plundered Zanskar valley nevertheless when he entered it. 
The Mongols had taken position on the plain of Jargyal between Bazgu and Nemo. In the battle that ensured, the Tibet-Mongol were defeated and chased till Spituk. 

After the war, Ladakhi source do not mention the conversion of Namgyal to Islam, but Mughal sources do. As was the norm of the time, Fidai Khan took some of the royal family members to Kashmir as ‘hostages’ while Delek Namgyal changed his name to Akbat Mahmud Khan.

However, after the Mughals returned to Kashmir, the Mongols again came in 1684 and the king of Ladakh had to submit and pay yearly tribute to Tibet. Dalai Lama wasn’t pleased with the interference of foreigners in Himalayas. A peace treaty was signed between Tibet and Ladakh which ensured Tibet will never attack Ladakh and among other things ensured Kashmiri Pashmina traders will only be allowed till Spituk.
However, after the battle of Basgo, Ladakh continued to remain in sphere of Mughals, then Durranis, Sikhs and the Dogras.
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Based on info. in ‘Buddhist Western Himalaya: A politico-religious history’ by O.C. Handa. According to the author, the exact year of the event is much disputed and is given as 1650 by Francke, 1680 by Hutchison and Vogel and 1687 by Cunningham. This was also the time when first mosque was erected in Leh in 1699.

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The Zangla castle was where stayed the famous Hungarian Alexander Csoma de Kőrös (1784-1842) and brought out the first Tibetan-English dictionary and grammar book. The castle was renovated by a Hungarian team in around 2006.

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First page of the last Rajatarangini

1456.

Then there appeared a comet, a sign of calamity, extending over the sky with its tail towards the east. It was first seen by Vahramakhana. Its tail was like the bearded lance of death, and its wide extending form was seen even in the day time, towards the west. A mare in the king’s stable gave birth to twins, and the king, in order to remove the animal from the country, gave it away to the Yavanas. Lions and other animals of the forest wandered about during the day in Shrinagara town, a bitch gave birth to kittens. The Sadanandi tree, which had been barren, bore fruits and flowers grew on the roots of pomegranate trees near the palace. A rain of blood fell on the clothes that were in the garden, and when men saw this, they felt as if salt has been sprinkled on a wound.

In the the meantime the Hindus, excited to anger by Parna the barber, were guilty of severities on Saidakhana Agaha and others who were residing in the town. When the Yavans heard of this, they became angry and went to the king and lamented aloud, and the king ordered a persecution of the Brahmanas. In his fury the king cut off the arms and noses of Ajara, Amara, Buddha and others, and even those Brahmanas who were his servants. During this time of the pillage of the property of the Brahmans, that gave up their cast and dress and exclaimed, “I am not a Bhatta, I am not a Bhatta.”

1986

The comet again appeared in western sky, a sign of calamity, extending over the sky with its tail towards the east. It was first seen by Vinayak Razdan at Chanpore. The bearded lance of death now had a name: Halley. Pakistan needed four runs to win the match off the last ball, Javed Miandad hit a six off Chetan Sharma to win. Shers driven from the beautiful Golden temple, now roamed around Srinagar, ready to cross border. Bearded kids of downtown were seen always walking in trekking shoes, talking in whispers to moneyed agent provocateurs. A fatherless child was born with an AK-47 in hand. A hand-grenade grew on a pomegranate tree. In two years it was going to burn the roots of a barren Chinar. The sweet water of Chamashahi garden, it was said had turned sour, someone it was claimed had added a certain poison that dried your nutsacks. The clown king was seen driving a scooter with an Indian actress. Gull’e Raid’e, the new king held onto his brief reign using curfews and tear gas. Dancers were ashamed to dance and sing. Even old women now were often seen in black burqas. Old men claimed they were all headed for heaven. Hearts of generational neighbours were turning stiff.

A Muslim woman in India asked for divorce rights and was denied by the highest court of the land. Hindus in India planned to demolish the Babri Mosque of Mughals and plant a grand temple of Rama. The temple was opened by the son of a Bhatta. A cow’s head was found inside a temple in South-Kashmir. There were riots for days. Their properties burned for days. The Brahmans of Kashmir discovered their ancient threads and exclaimed, “I am a Bhatta? I am an Indian? I am a Bhatta! I am an Indian! I am a Bhatta. I am an Indian.”

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dislocated

Somewhere around 1989, I dislocated my left shoulder after falling from a broken chair while dancing. In 1990, while leaving Kashmir, among the important things taken along was this X-ray. Things that have to be borne. I think my shoulder is still a little off balance-0-

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Wood carving Workshop on Jhelum river

Wood carving workshop on Jhelum river.
Fateh Kadal, Urdu Bazaar.

Way to the Ghat

Upper floor

The entire building used to be wooden. It is now being remade in cement and bricks. The upper floor was still under works. If I could get into that floor, the view would have been something like this:

from the book Irene Petrie : Missionary to Kashmir (1903). Photographs by Geoffroy Millias.
Had been trying to find the spot for quite sometime
Only other option left is to find Ahmed Joo’s Shop

Stories from Kashmir

This entire floor was under water in the flood of 2014

He was kind enough to tell me that the shop/house once belonged to a Pandit family long ago.

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Sher Garhi Palace as it Was

Last month received an email from INTACH (Srinagar), they will be using the images shared by SearchKashmir to help with the renovation of Sher Garhi Palace. Here are the images and some elementary back info. about the place.


Located on the left bank of River Jhelum near the Budshah Bridge. Built originally by Afghan governor Ameer Jawan Sher Qizilbash in around 1772. It is said the stones for the palace came from Pathar Masjid. It was built on a site where King Ananta had built his Royal Palace in 1062-63. Later it became palace of Dogras who added a Dogra art touch to it. Sometime before 1900, the palace was again renovated in faux Greco-Roman style with great Grecian columns. A major portion was destroyed in fire, I believe, in late 1970s. This building was the “Old Secretariat”. It was used as an office building in 1980s. A description of the palace and the adjoining buildings can be found in “The Happy Valley: Sketches of Kashmir & the Kashmiris (1879) by William Wakefield”.

Pursuing our course down the river the sides of which in former days were em- banked from the first to the last bridge, by an embankment composed of large blocks of limestone, of which at present the ruined remains are all that is left we soon come to a large building, the Sher Garhi, the city fort and palace. Situated on the left bank, it presents to the river, which flows along its eastern side, a long loop- holed wall, with bastions rising between twenty and thirty feet above the general level of the water, surmounted by roomy, but lightly-built, houses. Its southern and western sides are protected by a wide ditch ; the Kut-i-Kul canal bounds it on the north, and in its interior are grouped a number of dwelling- houses for the officials of the court, government offices, and barracks. On its wall, facing the river, and perched upon one of the bastions, is a large double-storied house, the abode of the Dewan or Prime Minister, and just below his residence is a long lofty building, the government treasury, containing shawls, ‘pushmeena,’ coin, and other valuable property. A curious-looking wooden building comes next, the Rang Mahal or ‘audience hall,’ a part of the royal residence, which is just below it, styled the Baradarri, and which is unquestionably the most important modern structure in Srinagar. It is a large irregular building of a peculiar style, for while partly of native architecture, one portion, with a large projecting bow, partakes somewhat of an European character. A flight of wide stone steps leads up from the water’s edge at the angle of this building, and conducts into the palace. Adjoining is the temple frequented by the ruler and family, called the Maharaj-ke-Mandir, the domed roof of which is covered with thin plates of pure gold, which glitters in the sunlight, causing it to be plainly perceptible a long distance away. To reach the interior of the palace, one ascends by the before -mentioned steps, which at all times of the day appear thronged with people, some waiting to prefer petitions to the sovereign or his ministers as they descend to their boats, others to obtain a hearing or justice, which is here administered in open court daily by the governor. To the more private portion of the palace they have no access ; for, guarding the gateway at the top of the stairs which leads directly into the royal abode, stands a sentry, a warrior belonging to the Kashmir, army, and near by is the guard-room, what we should call in our service the main-guard.

View of the Place before the last renovation
Probably by Samuel Bourne
in around 1860s

Sher Garhi Palace, the Summer place of 19th-century Dogra ruler, Pratap Singh. From ‘The Romantic East: Burma, Assam, & Kashmir’ by Walter Del Mar (1906

Sher Garhi Palace. From Dutch travelogue ‘De zomer in Kaschmir : De Aarde en haar Volken’ (Summer in Kashmir: ‘The Land and its Peoples) by F. Michel (1907)

From ‘The road to Shalimar’ by Carveth Wells, 1952.

view of Sher Garhi Palace in winter.
Postcard. Early 20th century. [courtesy: Micheal Thomas]

from ‘Our summer in the vale of Kashmir’ (1915) by Frederick Ward Denys.

From ‘Kashmir: Its New Silk Industry’ by Sir Thomas Wardle (1904)

Illustrated Weekly of London. 1921.

Postcard. 1920s.
[via: ebay]

From National Geographic. 1921.
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Vohorwod gift

And on my angreez vohorwod, the woman I am marrying gave me this. A scrapbook with Kashmiri verses.


My afflictions are obvious.

Weeds have laid our gardens waste,
since conjurors became the gardeners.
The commoners learnt the dirty tricks from elites.
Among ourselves let us crop our own candour.
~ Abdul Ahad Azad
A yearning dragged my steps to you, To be greeted with wrinkled brows,
And a wish sprang from deep within me.
“May you live long as Rum Rishi”
(a Kashmiri Rishi said to have lived a very long life.)
This one is by a poetess named Arnimaal, a woman who had a bright but stupid husband.

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