Muharram Paintings At Dhaka Museum & Their Acquisition

Dr.Mazhar Naqvi

Thanks to the generosity of an aristocrat, Bangladesh National Museum now probably has the best collection of  watercolor paintings of British Bengal, portraying Muharram processions in Dhaka. Drawn in 19^th century, these paintings were in the possession of Khan Bahadur Abul Hasnat who donated them to museum after its curator Professor Ahmed Hasan Dani made a courtesy call to the aristocrat. Khan Bahadur treated him with a lavish meal and then showed him the rare paintings. Then, much to the astonishment of the curator, he said” Professor Dani, you can take them and they are yours”. A grateful curator accepted his offer and even though the museum was short of space, Professor accommodated them in one of the galleries somehow as a mark of respect to the generosity exhibited by Hasnat. 

There are total 17 paintings that portray Muharram processions. They are of the average size of 24x 18 inches. Mystery shrouds the painter of the series. It is generally believed that Alam Musawwir painted them but Najma Khan Majlis in the book “Dhaka-Past,Present ,Future” thinks otherwise."A close examination of the minute details, difference of techniques and styles shows that a number of painters must have collaborated in these paintings", Majlis claims. Further, Musawwir means painter and so mention his name could just be epithet. Even scarce details are not available about lifer and works of Musawwir. The material available just suggests that he was a contemporary of Naib Nazim Nusrat Jung (1785-1823).As Jung was an art connoisseur, it is also believed that he might have behind the commissioning of these paintings. The blogger has already written about Musawwir in an earlier post under the caption” Muharram in Colonial Paintings”.

The paintings say a lot about the society and culture of those times, making them a must-see for those interested in the history of Dhaka - routes, buildings and  attires of people. The paintings depict more or less all men walking barefooted with ‘Tazia’. In some paintings, beggars are seen asking for alms whilst women and children watch over from their houses. Englishmen and Half-naked Sadhus are also seen. The predominance use of red, blue, ochre, beige and sepia palette with a visible influence of European and oriental elements is considered to be another unique feature of these paintings.

Details available with the museum also reveal that before landing in the custody of Khan Bahadur, these paintings were in possession of Nawab Shaista Khan’s family. These paintings amply demonstrate as to how grand Muharram processions used to be in Dhaka and how they are taken out on a subdued note in the recent years. The paintings also remind the participation of people from all walks of life in the Muharram processions in contrast to attendance of mostly Imamis now. These changes have occurred in Dhaka due to emergence of orthodox religious clerics who have been working with the agenda of removing Hussaini Ideology from Bangladesh at the instance of petrol-rich Muslims nations under the influence of Wahabism. It was they who had masterminded blast at Hussaini Dalan, the symbol of Imami faith in Bangladesh. 

Hussaini Dalan with Devotees Hours before Blast. 
(References available on request. Photo Courtesy Google Images)