Budshah Tomb/Queen Miran’s Tomb

Main brick structure to Right: Tomb of Zain-ul-Abidin’s (1420-1470) Mother Queen Miran (Jonaraja’s Meradevi). Dating to about 1430 and built atop an earlier structure belonging to Hindu era.

The enclosure to left houses the graves of  Zain-ul-Abidin and some other royalties like Muhammad Haidar Dughlat (1499 or 1500–1551), a cousin of Mongol Babar who ruled Kashmir.

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Photograph of the enclosure surrounding Zain-ul-abidin’s tomb taken by John Burke in 1868 for his ‘Illustrations of Ancient Buildings in Kashmir’ (1869). Via British Library.

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Women are anonymous. Most books written on Kashmiri history in last 100 years by Kashmiris is nothing but replication of text from older books written by Europeans. With each replication a certain loss of information is induced. Internet is inane replication of data. Mix them together and all you get is mindset that fails to ask basic questions. Here’s a fun exercise. Near Zaina Kadal is the “Budshah Tomb”, the tomb of Zaina, his mother and some other royalties. Do a quick Google search, you will find thousands of entries for “Tomb of Budshah’s Mother”. The question: What was the name of Budshah’s mother? The monument was built for her but how come nobody mentions her name?

It took me hours trying to look online but with any success. Finally found the answer in a beautiful book that costs $50. ‘The Arts of Kashmir’ (2007) by Pratapaditya Pal.

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The Romantic Kashmir, 1906


Photographs from ‘The Romantic East: Burma, Assam, & Kashmir’ by Walter Del Mar (1906)

 Shankracharya Hill

 Wular Lake

 Bund

Sher Garhi Palace, the Summer place of 19th-century Dogra ruler, Pratap Singh. Most of it destroyed in a fire some years ago.

Fateh Kadal

Biscuit Tin Temple [ Shri Sanatan Dharam Sabha or  Gadhadhar Temple near Sher Garhi Palace ]

I believe the above image is of the Gadhadhar Temple or the Shri Sanatan Dharam Sabha as it looked in 40s. This was also the site of old Secretariat.  [Check comments on post Kashmir in 1945 ]

Update: Thanks to questioning by Man Mohan Ji and some subsequent self-questioning, I now believe that the above image is not of Gadhadhar Temple  of Srinagar but may well be of Gadhadhar Temple of Jammu. It seems that Dogras built two temples with the same name in the two capitals of their Kingdom.  [Check comments for more on this.]

Update: The above image may in fact be of a Jain temple in Calcutta. Check original post (Kashmir in 1945) for updates.

Kashmiri Beauties

Jama Masjid or The Great Mosque

Zaina Kadal, the fourth Bridge

Shah Hamadan

Hari Pabat

On the River, 1906

On the River, 2008

Jhelum Bank

Leaving on House Boat

A village on Naru Canal

Duck Hunter near Sopore. He is re-winding the turban to be photographed. His musket, lashed to the boat, projects forward.

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Boat Bridges

“Over the Vitasta this King had the Great Bridge constructed and only since that time the design of such boat bridges become well known.”

– 354, Third Taranga. From Ranjit Pandit’s translation of Kalhan’s Rajatarangini.The king was Parvarasena.

An old photograph of Habba Kadal Zaina Kadal (check the note below) with boat design.

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Correction by Man Mohan Munshi Ji:

This bridge cannot be HabbaKadal (2nd Bridge) by any chance . The Tomb of Zain-ul-abdin’s mother/(Sikandar Butshikan’s queen) located in Mazar Salatin is clearly visible in the background and as such the bridge is Zaina Kadal the fourth bridge.

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Update: This is what a boat bridge would have looked like:

Bridge of Boats over Indus at Khushal Garh [District Kohat, now in Pakistan]

From: Asia (Volume 1, 1885) by Elisée Reclus (1830-1905)

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