Muharram in Colonial Paintings

Dr.Mazhar Naqvi

The observance of Muharram dates back to Sultanate period in north India. But its representation in paintings is extremely rare before the arrival of the British. No painting depicting Muharram procession or mourning assembly during Delhi Sultanate has so far been traced. Similarly, no Muharram painting of Mughal era has been located. It is quite surprising, for festivals like Holi have found place in the works of painters active during Mughal period. Muharram also does not figure in the miniature paintings produced during the reign of Jahangir. His rule is considered to be golden period of Mughal paintings. Jahangir specially focused on miniatures and they are available in large number but none probably presents any Muharram ceremony. This feature is again strange, considering the fact that Jahangir’s wife was an Imami and her entire family was held in high esteem by the emperor. Jahangir has never been described as a liberal monarch like his illustrious father Akbar the Great. But no Muharram painting of Akbar’s has also been found as yet.

Since Akbar’s father Humayun had won back the throne of Hindustan with the help of Persian King, he only allotted place for keeping tazias but never engaged any painter to portray observance of Muharram. Shahjahan too ignored likewise and his successor and son Aurangzeb is infamous for his anti-Imami attitude. Later Mughals remained too preoccupied with their own problems and failed to patronize any form of art. The absence of Muharram paintings during Muslim rule over India indicates that Imamis did not profess their faith openly and they mostly remained under taqaiyya. The approach of Feroz Tughlaq against Imamis and barbaric execution of Qazi Nurullah Shustri is pointer to the fact that despite enjoying high ranks in the court, pro-Ahlebait elements passed their lives with caution. Under such circumstances, no Imami noble could have dared to direct any artist to prepare a Muharram painting. As there were no patronisers and takers, painters too refrained themselves from paintings depicting the observance of Muharram.

Things took a drastic change after the arrival of British. A number of paintings and prints of Muharram processions and majlises are available and most of them were the result of patronage extended by the British Sahibs in 18th and 19^th century. As new entrants, the British were interested in learning the Indian customs, festivals and culture. Since photography had yet to take birth, Europeans   living and working in the Indian subcontinent, especially British employees of the East India Company engaged artists to depict Indian festivals. They even commissioned Indian artists like Sitaram for the purpose. The outcome of such endeavors is called as company paintings and Muharram figures very prominently in the colonial paintings. These paintings represent fusion of traditional Indian artistic styles with conventions and technical features borrowed from western art. A famous painting in which Muharram has been depicted is part of an album, known as the Gentil Album, commissioned by a French infantry colonel, Jean-Baptiste-Joseph Gentil (1726-1799).He had served under Nawab Shuja-Ud-Daula of Awadh. Another interesting Muharram painting was done by Colonel Robert Smith (1787-1873) .Painted with oil on canvas, the painting shows a Muharram procession proceeding to Bara Imambara in Lucknow.

Painting Attributed to Colonel Robert Smith

Nawabs of Murshidabad despite their subordination to East India Company never compromised with the grandeur of Muharram ceremonies. Being Imami they not only observed Muharram with royal touch but also commissioned artists to represent Azadari rituals in paintings like the British. There is a group of nine paintings, depicting a durbar (public reception) at Murshidabad, various Hindu and Muslim festivals.A local artist copied it, probably from an original oil painting by George Farington. He had remained in Murshidabad from 1785 to 1788. His original painting is lost but its copy is still preserved. This painting shows Muharram processionists, carrying 'tazias' (replica of Imam Hussain’s shrine at Karbala) for immersion in the river. A very impressive Muharram painting represents patna. This painting  demonstrates with how much grandeur and mass participation Muharram was observed in Patna (See Below)

A very beautiful painting of muharram Procession in black and white colors is also worth mentioning here . It was printed undewr the title  "Festival of the Moharram, Funeral of Houssein and Hoossein, India," by H. Melville, Fisher, Son, & Co., in 1840 in London.( See Pic. below)

In the context of colonial Muharram paintings, Alam Musawwir also deserves to be mentioned. A 19^th century artist, he drew the famous Muharram Procession paintings of Dhaka in water color.. Nothing is known about the personal life of Alam. He was a contemporary of Nawab Nusrat Jung and presumably painted the procession series under his patronage. Alam Musawwir's Muharram Procession paintings portray the life style of the Nawab and his retinue, Company officials, and commoners as well as destitute. These paintings also represent important landmarks of old Dhaka, such as the palace and the portals of the Naib-i-Nazim of Dhaka at Nimtali. Musawwir and his pupils worked on hand-made paper a little larger in size as compared to Mughal miniatures. His style is influenced by both Mughal qalam and the Company style. Musawwir is known for using an indigenous color scheme with some traces of European perspective. (References available on request- Pix courtesy- Google Images))