Muharram Painting From Album of French Colonel

Muharram Procession in Faizabad During Rule of Shuja Ud Daula  

Dr.Mazhar Naqvi

Colonel Jean-Baptiste Gentil, a French military officer, deserves mention in mourning assemblies and Karbala literature.It was he who had retained an  anonymous artist or artists to draw a  mourning procession during the observance of Muharram in Faizabad In 1774.Though it is not certain what propelled Colonel to do so but the painting produced by the artist/artists retained by him certainly portray the grandeur of Muharram mourning in Faizabad. It can also be safely said that the painting is probably the earliest of its kind after Awadh came under the rule of Nawabs in 1722.The first two Nawabs of Awadh Burhan- Ul- Mulk and Safdarjang did not get much time to develop their capital and they remained busy in either military engagements or handing court politics in Delhi.

It was third Nawab Shuja-Ud-Daula who made Faizabad his capital after ascending throne. He was an ambitious ruler and wanted to have a well-trained army as well. He recruited French Officers to train his soldiers. The British did not like the idea and made all out efforts to discourage Shuja Ud Daula for undertaking such activities. It is also evident from the battle of Buxar  that Shuja Ud Daula had realized true intentions of the British and therefore, he fought  against them with Mir Qasim. Unfortunately, the British won and were able to penalize Shuja-Ud-Daula severely. He had to accept certain very disgraceful conditions to save his throne.

The defeat of Buxar dampened the spirit of Shuja-Ud-Daula. To overcome depressing tendencies, he concentrated on giving fillip to Azadari and development of Faizabad as a capital town. His efforts attracted many a traders, merchants, artists, poets and men of letters from various places, including Delhi. In a short span of time, Faizabad became a great city and hub of all sorts of activities. Out of his sheer devotion to Holy Prophet and his progeny, Shuja Ud Daula made the observance of Muharram a grand affair in Faizabad. To what extent Azadari attained regal touch is exemplified from the painting made at the instance of Colonel Gentil.

The descending scale of figures implies their movement in the painting. The party is led by soldiers and elephants, followed by bearers of standards (alam) that commemorate the martyrs of Karbala led by Imam Hussain. Some hold aloft models of symbolic figures, including beautiful maidens (houris) and the mythological steed Buraq, while others hold replica of  the shrine of the martyred Imam(Tazua), as well as models of their coffins (ta‘but). Knots of mourners chant elegies of the battle (marsiya) and weep as they beat their chests (matam). In the largest group, a man is labeled as the nawab of the region; his presence defines this as an elite procession. Evoking sound, touch, and sight, the image also nods to the scent of flowers streaming from some of the standards, and even to taste. At the finale, supplicants distribute bread to devotees and the hungry from atop elephants.

The painting is reportedly preserved in Victoria and Albert Museum in London. It is part of Colonel’s album and appears on page 30.The painting is in water color on paper with its size as 37 x 53.5 cm. The museum considers it as its one of the proud possessions since it not only reveals the grand scale of Muharram Observance in Faizabad by the third quarter of 18^th century but also perhaps the first painting on Ashura after formation of Awadh dynasty.It is worth mentioning here that Faizabad had lost much of its sheen after Shuja Ud Daula as his son Asaf Ud Daula had shifted his capital to Lucknow after becoming the ruler.(References available on request. Photo Courtesy Google Images/Victoria Albert Museum,London)