COMMUNITY PROFILE OF KUCHA PATI RAM,SHAHJAHANABAD

Depanshu Gola 9/23/2013

COMMUNITY PROFILE OF KUCHA PATI RAM,

SHAHJAHANABAD

INTRODUCTION Its towers are the resting place of the sun..Its avenues are so full of pleasure and its lanes are like the roads of paradise. Its climate is beautiful and pleasant.. - Chandar Bhan Brahman, noble at the court of Shahjahan (1648/9).

Shahjahanabad, the city that served as the capital of the imperial Mughals from 17

th century to mid 19th century was once a dream land - with the magnificent palace complex inside the walls of Red Fort, the havelis of the nobles, the numerous markets crowded with exquisite commodities from all around the world. To add to the beauty of the city were the numerous gardens and water bodies, the sarais for the traders and travelers, the grand mosques and havelis. The so called Mughal Style of architecture reached its zenith under its most lavish patron The Mughal Emperor Shahab-ud-din Muhammad Khurram Shah Jahan I. The capital city established by Shahjahan withstood the ravages of time, with the scars and irreparable loses made by Nadir Shahs invasion in 1739, the Sepoy Mutiny of 1857 and the developmental activities in the post - independence periods; mostly unsympathetic to the old fabric and its history. The city still thrives - a far cry from its former grandeur. With the changing scenario the capital city, once praised by eminent poets and travelers as a paradise has turned into an over populated slum. The Master Plans have placed the old city under special area. Within the ever changing face of the city we can still find a group of people who still have a sense of belonging the city, its narrow kuchas and galis, the old baolis and the crumbling havelis they are deeply rooted to Shahjahanabad.

BEFORE SHAHJAHANABAD A BRIEF HISTORY:

The boundary of Shahjahanabad fell within the precincts of Firuzabad, one of the old cities in
Delhi, established by Firuzshah Tughluq in the 14th century. Even before Emperor Shahjahan decided on making his capital city, this region supported a decent population, with people belonging to various walks of life.

The settlements were mainly concentrated along the banks of the river Yamuna and around ancient religious centers such as Pahari Bhojla, the tomb of Raziya Sultana and the Kalan Masjid. Ballimaran. The settlements of oarsmen were located near the river, Katraneel- the settlement of indigo makers and dyers were also concentrated along the river bank. Lalkuan and Khari Baoli were well known as settlement of the trading community.

MAP SHOWING THE VARIOUS OLD SETTLEMENTS IN AND AROUND THE BOUNDARY OF SHAHJAHANABAD

PLANNING OF SHAHJAHANABAD The city was planned according to hindu planning principles of shilpashastra from vastushastra. The site was placed on a high land as in the shastra and was karmukha or bow shaped, for this ensured its prosperity. The arm of the archer was Chandni Chowk.. The string was Yamuna river. The junction of the two main axes is the most auspicious point in thewhole region and was therefore the red fort.

EVOLUTION OF THE CITY

As early as 1637, Shahjahan has lamented on the lack of space in the old capitals at Agra and

Lahore. To alleviate all the short comings of the old capitals laid out by his predecessors, Shahjahan decided to build a capital city for himself. The site in between the Aravalli ranges and the fertile banks of River Yamuna was selected for building his new capital. In 1639 the work commenced and over the years a magnificent city evolved out of the land previously inhabited by the huts of the working class. The initial settlement pattern inside the city developed around certain nodes. The palace complex inside the Red Fort attracted the lite class, the nobles to settle around it. Large chunks of land were gifted to the Emperors favourite nobles, who in turn built their ravishing havelis, with large private gardens and orchards and water bodies. Lesser nobles and the traders settled on both sides of the numerous markets Chandini Chowk being the most important among them. Fatehpuri Bazaar, Chitli Bazaar, Urdu Bazaar, Jauhri Bazaar, Khari Baoli, Khas Bazaar, Faiz Bazaar were some of the rest. Chattah Chowk- the covered Bazaar inside the Red Fort complex catered only to the needs of the Imperial Royal family. Religious structures such as Jama Masjid, Akrabadi Mosque and Fatehpuri Masjid also attracted settlements around them, mostly religious. The small scale traders and merchants settled outside the city wall and formed the floating population inside the city. They came inside the city only for the trade and after that they were not allowed inside the city. The craftsmen also were not allowed to settle inside the city walls; however, many of them lived within the precincts of the havelis of their patrons during the time of work. The traditional crafts were also broadly divided into two, the Imperial Crafts and the Lesser Crafts. The Imperial crafts consisted of Zardozi, Jewellery works, Miniature painting and Ivory and Sandal wood carving. The centers of these crafts were placed near to the Imperial palace complex. The Lesser Crafts comprising of Pottery making, Puppetry, Delhi Blue pottery making and Pottery painting were located on the outer precincts of the city and sometimes outside the city walls. THE SUBURBS

Along with the evolution of the capital city, there arose several pockets of settlements outside

the city walls. Some of the nobles moved out of the capital and founded their large havelis and gardens in these suburbs, the Rajputs nobles also settled there. Siddhi Pura was a strong hold of

the Hindus, the Sufis settled in Nizamuddin. Muslim settlements were found around Id Gah and Qadam Sharif. The farming community who sustained the population within the city walls lived in the suburbs, on the banks of the canal carrying water inside the city. They cultivated the lands on both sides of the canal. The hand of the omnipresent Emperor was present in all levels of administration of the city. For effective administration the city was divided into Thanas consisting of large havelis and the associated structures, there were gateways for each and every Thana and they were governed by Thanaedars who were assisted by the Kotwals. Every Thana had its own public wells and open community spaces and the nearby markets catered to the needs of the residents.

KUCHA PATI RAM THE TRANSFORMATION

Kucha Pati Ram the street we are focusing on was in the 17

th century, a Muslim dominated area. It was a residential Kucha near the Sita Ram Bazaar (previously known as Hyder Quili Khan Street), a bustling market place. The Kucha was located near to the sprawling haveli of Qamr-ud-din-Khan, a Mughal nobleman. There were also several mosques in its vicinity. The mosques still survive to this day.

The Mutiny of 1857 brought about drastic changes to the community profile of the Kucha and Shahjahanabad as a whole. The Muslim population who were the original settlers of the area were forced out of the city and Jama Masjid was sold off to a wealthy Hindu merchant. After the revolt the abandoned havelis were occupied by Hindu traders- the Banias, Jains and Kashmiri Pundits. Therefore, the present settlers we find in the Kucha are those who made the Kucha their home after the revolt. After the revolt of 1857, the British occupied the Red Fort complex and the Mughal Empire thus came to an end. With the end of the Mughal rule, the community profile inside the city began to change at a faster pace. Even in 1820s when the British occupied the city and made the Emperor a puppet in their hands, the middle class population who now gained prominence encroached into the interiors of the city. In 1820s middle class houses were constructed around Jama Masjid, which was once reserved for the royalty and the nobles. Settlement pattern once based on the class of the people changed and now became based on caste. Before 1857 it can be said that the old city was inhabited by civilized, cultural community with non-competing and mutually respecting elites. Another important change is the decline in Patron - Client relationship that once existed between the elite community and the traders and the craftsmen. The middle class of the society wielded more power and significance. The craftsmen who lived in the outskirts of the walled city moved in and occupied the abandoned houses. The larger havelis were divided among the new settlers and now inside a Kucha wecan find a heterogeneous population, with people belonging to different class, religion and professions.

MAP SHOWING EXTEND OF MIDDLE CLASS POPULATION INSIDE THE CITY AFTER BRITISH OCCUPATION

Kucha Pati Ram, inspite of all theses transformations retained its residential character until the early quarters of 20th century. Commercialization was restricted to the major existing bazaars until then. However, the old capital city was to witness one more major event in the Indian history, which was to influence the Kucha and Shahjahanabad as a whole. The mass migration and immigration following the partition of India had its effect on the city also. During the mass-migration, many families from the region abandoned their houses and migrated to Pakistan. Purana Qila and Daryaganj accommodated the refugees who came from Pakistan; they subsequently occupied the abandoned houses and became the adopted children of the city. In course of this migration, Delhi lost its wealth of craftsmen, petty traders and shop keepers. Non-cultivating landlords, money- lenders, doctors, lawyers, teachers etc, who formed the middle class migrated to various parts changing the occupational pattern of the Kucha and the old city.

The new migrants who settled in and around the old city established new shops inside the city and gradually commercialization crawled inside the residential Kuchas and Galis. The rooms in the ground floor of havelis were rented out to tenants who converted them into shops. The roads that were once meant for pedestrian usage were blocked by heavy traffic. The introduction of incompatible commercialization inside the Kucha also resulted in many issues - resulting in the deterioration of the place. According to our study on Kucha Pati Ram the street is now occupied by people who can be broadly divided into three groups based on their occupation. The Service Class consists of daily wage workers, clerks in private firms and priest who live there. The Professional Class consists of lawyers, Engineers, Artists and Architects. The Business Class consists of various Small Scale and Large Scale Traders. Apart from this, the Kucha and the shops sustain afloating population of daily wage workers who come there to work in the shops and godowns.The older generations still remember the long lost days of glory, when the Kucha was verydifferent from what we find there today. The large havelis had large courtyards in which thefamily assembled for important functions. Marriages were held there, the womenfolkassembled there performing their daily chores, drying fruits, pickles, washing etc. The Otla infront of the houses were the transition zones connecting the street, which was the public zone to the private zone inside the havelis. Old men sat on otlas, cracking jokes and engaged in arguments. In course of time many of the old sprawling havelis have been demolished, making way for modern interventions. The old houses are being converted into shops, shops into godowns - the Kucha, like the old city is ever changing.