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Kashmir in ‘L’espace bleu entre les nuages’ by Cosey, 1978

From personal collection

Kashmir in Jonathan series ‘L’espace bleu entre les nuages‘ (The blue space between the clouds) by swiss artist Cosey (Bernard Cosandey) for Tintin Magazine No.147, July 4, 1978.

The plot revolves around sale of rare European paintings meant to fund a militant movement run from Srinagar. The movement in this case happens to be a veiled reference to ‘Free Tibet’ movement whose main agents have taken refuge in Kashmir.

Much like the old European travellogues, Srinagar here is presented as the springboard to the roof of the world. The comic comes from a time when comics were art, this collection apparently is supposed to be read with the background score of Beethoven (Concerto No. 3 in C minor op. 37) and Chopin (Concerto No. 2 in F minor op. 21).


To get the art and feel of the place right, Cosey actually travelled to Kashmir and seems to have soaked it all in quite well. The issue also carried a brief piece by Cosey about his experience in Kashmir  (along with some photographs by Paquita Cosandey, who usually did script and design for him).

Tintin Magazine was meant to be a space where new and future comic works by various artists could be showcased. ‘L’espace bleu entre les nuages’ as a complete work came out later in 1980.

At that time the west seemed to be much taken by Tibet, in this particular issue of the magazine, I would find two more comics themed around Tibet.

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Previously:
Kashmir in Indian Comics

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European ‘Village Life in Kashmir’, 1760

Village Life in Kashmir, c. 1760. By Mughal painter Mir Kalan Khan. A painting imitating European style, explaining why Kashmiri village here looks more like an alpine village.

Via: British Library:

“Gouache painting with gold of village life in Kashmir, by Mir Kalan Khan, working in the Lucknow/Faizabad style, c.1760. Inscribed on the border in Persian: ‘majlis-i kashmir, ‘amal-i mir kalan’ (A Kashmiri assembly, the work of Mir Kalan).

This painting depicts scenes of village life and in the centre a group of people are shown gathering grapes and wood while also cooking. On either side are several multi-storied buildings, and numerous waterways can be seen in the distance with buildings on the land in between. Mir Kalan Khan’s distinctive Europeanised style was adopted by other Lucknow artists, yet this kind of scene and subject matter remained unique to Khan. The source of his European influence is uncertain, but his extensive scenes often relate to Dutch and Flemish paintings. The facial type is distinctive, with frequent use of three-quarter face instead of profile. The artists place of origin is uncertain, but he may have been trained at the Delhi court, indicating that he came to Faizabad or Lucknow later in his life.”

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Kashmiri Woman’s costume, 19th century

“Kashmir. Woman’s costume, nineteenth century, worn by upper classes. Hat is usually covered by a white silk scarf. Silk brocaded with metallic gold, floral and medallion pattern. Hat is made of gold-colorer paste with red paste “jewels,” seed pearls, and metal tear-shaped pendants. “

From ‘Costumes of the East’ by Walter Ashlin Fairservis, Jr. 1971

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Interesting read: Kashmir issue of Design magazine Pool (Nov, 2013)

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Kashmir State Forces Uniform, 1938

Cigarette Cards published by John Player & Sons, 1938

From the reverse:
“Indian State Forces:
Kashmir State Forces
The Maharaja of Kashmir maintains a larger number of State Forces than any other Ruler of any Indian State. These forces are organized into the Jammu and Kashmir Brigades, the latter of which is commanded by the officer in our picture, in Full Dress. They comprise one Bodyguard Cavalry regiment, two Mountain Batteries, seven active and one training Battalions of Infantry and a Transport unit consisting of both pack and mechanized transport. Several of these units served with distinction on the North-West Frontier of India and overseas during the Great War. Jammu and Kashmir lie to the north of the Punjab and cover nearly 85,000 square miles. The population exceeds 3,500,000. The background shows a view of Srinagar.”
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View from The Window, 1916

A postcard from 1920s based on a photograph from 1916.

View from the famous workshop of Habib Joo (State jeweller and wood carver), Subhana (jeweller and silversmith), Ahmed Joo (coppersmith and wood carver) and Jubbar Khan (papier maché maker and wood carver).

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and in 1849 the first students at Mission School Lahore were of course…


“The Punjab was annexed April 2nd, 1849. The boy King, Rajah Dhulip Singh, was deposed and given an annual al- lowance of 50,000 pounds. He retired as a gentleman to Norfolk, England.

During these months of turmoil and anxiety, the missionary work continued as usual. Soon after the annexation of the Punjab, a letter was received by the missionaries at Lodiana, sent by Dr. Baddely, a Christian surgeon at Lahore, urging them to move on to the capital without delay, assuring them that every encouragement might be expected from the Lawrences and Mr. Montgomery and others. Accordingly the Rev. John Newton and the Rev. Charles W. Forman were appointed by the mission to take up the work of establishing the mission in Lahore. Accompanied by Mrs. Newton, they arrived in Lahore on the 21st of November, 1849.

As the Christian community had urged the establishment of the mission, an appeal was made for financial aid, with the approval of the Board of Administration and the Governor General. In response thereto, the sum of Rs. 4,238 were contributed. A suitable house was secured in the city as a temporary residence. In this house an English school was begun on the 19th of December. It began with three pupils, all being Hindu Kashmiris, two of them having been formerly students in the mission school at Lodiana. The number gradually increased until it became necessary to find more capacious quarters. Happily a soldiers’ chapel built by an English gentleman at his own expense had been placed at the disposal of the mission, and being well adapted to the uses of a school the classes were transferred to it. The number of pupils rapidly increased until, at the end of the year, the attendance amounted to eighty. Of these fifty-five were Hindus and twenty-two Muslims, and three Sikhs. Racially the eighty ranked as Punjabis thirty-eight, Kashmiris three, Bengalis seven, Hindustanis twenty-eight, Afghans three and one Baluch.”

~ ‘Our Missions In India: 1834-1824’ (1926) by E. M. Wherry.

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