Revision as of 10:57, 14 February 2017

The first tunnel on the Banihal Cart Road. It connected Srinagar with Jammu and was constructed at the behest of Maharaja Pratap Singh. Photo: from the Facebook page of Vikram Singh Rathore

Jammu of 1880

Sunny Dua,Jammu Of 1880 "Daily Excelsior" 31/7/2016

Map Depicting Jammu of 1880

“Those who don’t know history are doomed to repeat it.” ?

Edmund Burke

This adage has today become more or less relevant because of the fact that there’s nothing that we have left to be known as ‘History’. Out on a rampage to demolish and destroy our past, we in Jammu and Kashmir State are virtually heading towards an era where we will be soon made to repeat history as said by Burke.

Nevertheless, there still is a ray of hope in the form of some human beings whose hearts beat for this state and its lost treasure. Some private as well as government collections of art pieces, literature and pictures while are enough to take anyone down the memory lane and abreast him/her with Jammu and Kashmir State, a 1880-90 Jammu map on a piece of cloth dated AD 1880-90 and belonging to company period, Punjab, Circa housed in National Museum of India at Delhi has a lot to tell about Jammu of yesteryears.

Today when finding a solution to complex traffic, administrative and housing issues besides water scarcity; way back in 1880 Jammu City located on the bank of river Tawi had one of the finest systems of governance in place leaving little or virtually no scope for any inconvenience while dealing with such complexities. Still important was that people were living in such a composite culture that their cultural, regional or religious diversities never became any hurdle in their prosperity. And strangely this all could be found in this map of 1880.

This painted piece of cloth pasted on paper, 128X208 cm is a revenue map, an engineering drawing and a piece of art – all drawn together. The map depicts geographical features of City of Temples, its slopes, River Tawi, green forest cover, water bodies, roads, streams and all government as well as private buildings of importance thereby suggesting that the city was well located, well nurtured and very well governed to the utmost convenience and satisfaction of its subjects.

The multicoloured map also depicts localities of different traders, a well laid down sewerage system, water reservoirs and canals, bungalows and Havelis of rich and famous, pilgrim centres, army and civil areas, cantonments besides Dhakis (Slopes) and beautifully painted stairs leading to temples and Maharaja’s palaces. A visit to the Museum is must for the simple reason that one is sure to know how Jammu city existed and how much self-reliant it was during that era.

The water reservoirs which today stand converted into parks or parking spaces have not only been painted as well maintained but well laid out and evenly distributed in the city and its peripheries to cater to the needs of city people and its environment besides augmenting ground water or serving the purpose of feeding domestic animals. Ghrats (Water Mils), cleanly visible Dewan Mandir; the entrance of which is still intact on ground zero could be very well located on the map. Shop lines scattered in the city reveal how the planners were concerned about conveniences of people.

Like any medieval period map, this too is not to the scale but the map or fine piece of art definitely portrays original character of Jammu city wherein its history, structure of society, religious thrust, economy and political set up, strategic positions, important personalities besides various civic amenities have been artistically drawn and coloured.

Very important structures like Pentagonal Government Mandi, long row of shops, the Urdu Bazar, other commercial key-positions like bazaar ‘Maga’, Kanak Mandi, Mandi of firewood and timber, Purani or Old Mandi, ‘Chhapekhana’ or the printing shops, ‘Mishtri Khana’ or the market of mechanics, ‘sarain’ or the inn of Vedanti Shah have all found a place in the map which has also been labelled in Urdu.

Though, a few aged persons would be able to connect people of Jammu and Kashmir to that Jammu of 1880 through this very important map, yet for majority of next generation boys and girls this could be nothing but a piece of art. It is said that a picture says a thousand words and this perhaps holds true for this map which is housed in National Museum and has houses and bungalows of Jammu’s elite marked and drawn in most beautiful manner. The owners of Havelis like Virji, Miyan Jagat Singh, Badri Nath, Miyan Manjit Singh, Sardar Itar Singh, Pandit Ram Kiran, Raja Moti Singh, Mahate Sultani, Dhaki Gomtiwale etc have all been drawn and labelled in the map showing how important these people were and how they, irrespective of their caste or religion contributed in the society.

This map takes one to the 19th century Jammu wherein one could gather details about well developed trade and market system. ‘Bari Pandita’ or the enclosure of Brahmins, Mohalla of ‘Chudian’ or the ward of sweepers, locality of ‘Jogian’ again reveals that Jammu had a strong caste-based society but despite that the importance of people and societies was as important as any other. Saying that it was a well knit society wouldn’t be wrong.

It was believed that Jammu was a Hindu dominated city yet the shrine of Jay Sheikh Jahar Auliya, tomb of Miyan Sahib, Mosque, Madarsa and cemetery, the Kabristan all existed here and have also been depicted in the map which shows religions coexistence. Most interestingly, the city that remains choked with traffic had a wonderfully developed transport system and well laid network of roads and lanes. The cable bridge on river Tawi was not only centre of attraction but its brickwork and cables were not less than London Bridge which was later demolished for no reasons.

Interestingly the defence structures like Kotwali for civilian security, Maheshi Darwaza for cantonment and artillery, cantonment and artillery of Begum, cantonment of Dhyan Singh, the Prime Minister of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, and Dhohal Khana or the Drum House were all there and find a mention in the map which again states that Jammu city was fortified and remained prepared for any invasion. The date of this map is believed to be sometime in between 1860 to 1870.

The massive bridge on river Tawi was named “Khata Gallat”, as per the map. A small rivulet has been marked in Urdu as “Yeh Nehar Bagh Bhulami Ko Jaati Hai’ (This river goes to Ghulami Bagh) on the map. This again signifies that water reservoirs and ponds named as Talab Rani or Talab Khatikan besides rivers and streams were very much a part of Jammu city that helped people harvest water for meeting their needs.

The map says that one of the reservoirs is attributed to Rani of Jhansi and the other to Wazir Sahib Lajiyo. People like Miyan Sahib owned private ponds for bathing his elephant. It is also said that Rani of Jhansi had also visited Jammu which is evident from the fact that the map marks a temple and a water reservoir constructed by her, obviously, in memory of her visit to the place. Rani Jhansi, it is believed had visited Jammu around 1850 seeking support for her mission against British rule.

Royal mansions like Kothi Sarkari, Royal Palace, the Mahal Sarkari and Treasury, the Toshakhana are other buildings of significance have also been marked and drawn in colours to enable one to detect the places of importance right on the map itself. Believed to be a map drawn for the reference of Maharaja, the flawless piece of art is worth a watch and if possible a copy of same must also be brought to Jammu for people’s viewing.

The map mentions that “Dhyan Singh, the Prime Minister of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, is known to have shifted from Lahore to Jammu after 1849, when with his help British power was able to capture Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s part of Punjab. After Maharaja Ranjit Singh’s death Dhyan Singh had betrayed all his three successors. Obviously the cantonment of Dhyan Singh, mentioned in the map, could have come into existence only after he had settled in Jammu”.

Now that this map is open for viewing, the opportunity must be seized for the reason that those who will choose to forget the past will miss out on its fullest potential. There are valuable lessons to be learned from it. However, those who will desire to ask the right questions about their past will most likely be prepared to live life to the fullest in the present.

Jammu of the fifties

Lt Gen Syed Ata Hasnain (Veteran) , Jammu of the fifties "Daily Excelsior" 13/9/2015

My relationship with Jammu goes back almost 60 years. What can humans remember from the time they are aged all of three years. My family and friends laugh at my ability to recall details of my days when I was a mere infant but there is nothing I can do about that because pictures of the past are stuck firmly in the mind. Of Jammu, there are just too many.

There was no railway from Pathankot to Jammu then, in 1955-56. My earliest memory is of the journey from the Army transit camp at Pathankot with my parents, cuddled in my mother’s warm lap and seated at the back of an Army 7 ton vehicle. It was raining and the water in the numerous nalas was overflowing. Jammu was a sparsely populated city but we were headed to one of the satellite military locations at Damana where my father was being posted as Brigade Major (BM) with the famous Brigadier (later Lt Gen) Harbaksh Singh (of 1965 fame). Damana was located with the Ranbir Singh Pura canal next to it. Our house was virtually on the canal; a mud baked, thatched house with no power but a huge compound. My elder brother was admitted to the Presentation Convent. It was the best school and all fauji children studied there; admission was guaranteed. I was too small and perhaps too unintelligent to be given a chance at education. So I whiled away my time in my own world. The RS Pura canal was our home’s refrigerator because its water was ice cool at most times. My mother would put milk bottles, vegetables and even butter in a plastic cover and then place it in a jute sack (probably a sand bag) and have Inder Singh, my father’s loyal World War II buddy, tether the sack to a stump on the bank and immerse the sack into the water. The more ingenuous was my father’s technique of cooling his beer bottles,in a sack with a stone attached to it because cool water would flow at the bottom of the current in the canal. Once in a while the canal would be shut down for maintenance I suppose and those were bad days in our house because our provisions were not cool enough and my father’s weekend beer with his headquarters mates was incomplete.

How did children get transported to school in those days? The Army was poor in funds so there were no school buses authorized. The kids from Damana used to go by ‘tanga’ (the horse drawn little buggy that the new generation knows nothing about). I am not even sure what the distance was but there were about 10 kids in my brother’s tanga and Ram Singh the tanga man would tie them up because they all fell asleep while going and coming to/fro. Between Damana and Jammu was a huge khud and the tanga had to negotiate the down slope very carefully. I have tried searching for that khud or depressed road today but never succeeded. Even once in three months outings in Jammu were by tanga, with my parents. A very famous Kwality restaurant existed somewhere near Jewel theatre, I think. I recall that the best ice cream served anywhere in India could be found at Jammu Kwality; a particular ice cream called ‘My Fair Lady” was a hit with kids and adults.

The iron bridge over the Tawi River was perhaps the only connection between the segments of the city. Pedestrians were not permitted on the bridge and had to walk on a most dangerous pedestrian walkway on both sides and the path was barely 12 inches or so. I was mortally scared of this walk and clung to my mother as I saw the water of the Tawi swirling below.

It was hot as hell at Damana and there was no power. We did not even have a petromax but for my father’s homework (BMs are very busy people) there was a battery powered light; the battery was recharged every two days. We sat in the compound cooled by the evening ‘chhirkao’, or sprinkling of water on the parched earth; all seating was on ‘sarkandamundhas’. At night we had cobras that fought with each other on the tarpaulin ceiling beneath the ‘chhappar’ of the roof of our four room hut. One day a cobra fell into the room where I slept with my parents. I was petrified by snakes, then.

In 1957, my father’s tenure as Brigade Major was over but luckily his unit First Garhwalis, moved to Jammu. We had our shortest move ever, from Damana to Jammu. The GOC of the Division I learnt much later was first Maj Gen PP Kumaramangalam and then Maj Gen SHFHJ Manekshaw. I never knew that the Tiger Div was such a high profile one which produced two successive Chiefs and later a third in Gen Krishna Rao. We were now staying somewhere near the Tawi bridge and the river flowed about a kilometer away from the house. We were in luxury as the house had cement walls and asbestos roof. Evenings were spent on shikar with my father who would walk us a distance and shoot ‘Tilyar’, a delectable table bird. Shikar was not banned then and all good faujis had BSA 12 bore guns. Once in a while a picnic was organized by the unit. The most common spot was the Akhnoor bridge; the same iron bridge which was the objective of the Pakistani armour in 1965. I have been able to discover the exact spot of these picnics during visits to Akhnur in the recent past.

The Army had many sports competitions in those days and for us children there was no better occasion for entertainment and to munch some nice Army snacks besides sipping ice cold Vimto and Orangeade made by Army units. No television, no video games and no internet, we did more roaming around in the open air. In a particular event, the Division athletics (probably at the stadium of the Tiger Division), I got away from my mother’s gaze and decided to take a walk. No time and space restricted my mind so I walked and walked, past parked vehicles and troops. I was told later that I was missing for over two hours by the time I was found and restored to my mother.

Jammu being close to the border has always been vulnerable to espionage activities. I was exposed to the needs of security very early in life because every evening the night password would be conveyed by the Havaldar Major to Inder Singh in whispers and then to my father in whispers again, lest some Pakistani spy gets to know it. It fascinated me that they all spoke in hushed tones at this particular time in the evening. So I also joined in conveying things in whispers. That was the beginning of my security training.

My first ever trip to Kashmir was also undertaken at this time, probably in a JKSRTC bus and it met with an accident enroute, nothing too serious though. I distinctly remember the dripping roof of the Jawahar tunnel. Adoos was the favorite for the most delectable cold coffee and my parents could not get enough of Suffering Moses.

When it was pack up time in 1959, after almost four continuous years in the City of Temples, none of us were happy to leave. Jammu had grown on us and we had grown used to Jammu. Ram Singh’s ‘tanga’, Kwality’s ice creams, Presentation Convent’s annual days, Division sports of the Tiger Division, the RS Pura Canal (our ever present refrigerator), long journeys by bus and back of Army trucks; all this is a maze of memories which gives Jammu a special place in my heart and the head.