Sufi Mystics of Surat

Sufi mystics of Surat

On the first day of Ramadan, this columnist was fortunate enough to visit the shrine of Hazrat Moinuddin Chishti. It is one place in the world that never fails to provide the serenity and solitude I seek, no matter how crowded it is. There is a certain magical mysticism linked with Sufi saints and believers often experience what poet Octavio Paz once best described it as:

'I did not have the imageless vision; I did not see forms whirl until they vanished in unmoving clarity, the being without substance of the Sufis. I did not drink the plenitude of the void …..I saw a blue sky and all the blues, from white to green, the spread fan of the poplars and on a pine, more air than bird, a black and white mynah. I saw the world resting on itself. I saw the appearances. And I named that half hour: The Perfection of the Finite.’

Gujarat’s belief in Sufism is at its prime in Ajmer and prevalent among the pilgrims there. The main entrance to Ajmer’s Dargah has’ Khwaja Garib Nawaaz ‘written in Gujarati text besides Urdu script. A ‘Khadim’ from Patel Gujarat house mediated my obeisance to the saint, whose legend says that he was simultaneously seen circumambulating the Khana-e-Kaaba, Mecca, during Haj, when he was actually still at Ajmer.

Upon my return, I discussed this observation with my learned friend Ayub Sopariwalla, who informed me about the Sufi saints of Surat, whose ‘roohs’ (souls) guard its people and preserve its prosperity. Curious to know more, I went around the popular shrines of Tapi Town and learnt that, since as early as the 12th century; Sufi saints began visiting and settling in Gujarat, spreading messages of peace and love within a melting pot of Hindu-Muslim cultures.

More than 400 years ago, five brothers from Bokhara traveled to Agra and then settled in Surat. Their knowledge in the field of relieving ailments seemed to have miraculous powers to provide relief and thus they gained immense popularity within the town. Till date, their Dargahs continue their mission.

Hazrat Dana Pir’s Dargah at Bade Khan Chakla, Gopipura is one of the above .Meet the mujawar here and you will get to know how the Hazrat overpowered an evil spirit and saved the locals. He further claims that,” During Urs, the lock on its gate unlocks by itself, then, the golden hand on the shrine waves down thrice and a little Dargah beside the adjacent mussafirkhana moves forward by the width of a rice grain.”

A lot of people visit here to offer miniature cloth horses as mannat against boons asked. Childless couples, upon being granted the same, donate grains against the infant’s weight. There also exists here, the grave of ‘shakkarwaley baba’ who helps tongue tied infants speak if their tongue is rubbed thrice against his tombstone. The child leaves a handful of sugar molasses in return.

Dana Pir’s other brothers Khwaja Khizr, Khwaja Didar, Khwaja Suleiman and Khwaja Madni are said to be the guards of Surat’s prosperity, residing besides the gates of the inner walled city .Visited by Muslim and Hindu believers alike, these shrines ring true the verse of the 15th century Sufi saint Shah Ali Gamdhani:
’ Haj jau hu ki Dwarka,ghar na koi dekhu paarka,sab khel pyaar ka.’

Moments in monochrome,sepia and colour.

Last week, upon a friend’s recommendation, I took a peek at some amazing works by Edward Weston-the most influential photographer of the twentieth century. Since then, I keep going back to browsing his aces, only to discover new lines and deeper meanings.

Weston once pointed out that ‘Photography to the amateur is recreation; to the professional it is work and hard work too, no matter how pleasurable it may be’ these words immediately bring to mind a conversation I once had with TOI photographer Gaurang Joshi, whose pictures in the daily editions portray more than text can say and defy mundane ‘snaperazzi’. Upon asking him if a certain time was suitable for a photo shoot, Gaurangbhai smiled and replied,”Maru schedule bambawala jevu hoy chey” (my schedule is like that of a fireman, I am on the job 24/7) His enthusiasm for snapping the perfect moment comes through in his shots ,often taken from difficult aerial perspectives.

Both he and his brother Dharmesh have inherited this art from their father Chandrakant Joshi, fondly known as ‘kaka’ in most Surti households ,mister Joshi senior is a self taught photographer who has clicked Tapi town through its days of glory as well as natural calamities. As a student, he brought his first camera in 1964, a Kodak Brownie, from a Surti sailor for Rs.25.Through the years, the instruments changed from Rolleiflex, to Yashica to Nikon and even in these digital times, he has preserved a cupboard full of the old pieces which are priceless because of the memories snapped through them.
Legendary photographer Robert Capa once advised, ’If your pictures aren’t good enough, you are not close enough.’what he actually meant was not the use of longer lenses but the fact that the photographer needs to be closely involved and intimate with the subject.

Good photography comes forth from the power of observation, not how technology is applied, the proof of which lies in classic black and white photographs which have managed to capture the past in so regal a manner. In circa 1901, Surat’s oldest photo studio was founded by Vijbhukhandas .N. Mehta .Mehta worked in the accounts department of Ajmer railways .He once happened to visit a local studio there to have a photograph taken along with a friend. With interest invoked in photography since, he took training from a friend’s relative and joined a Britisher’s photo studio as a helper. Over time, he saved enough to set up one himself and deeming it inappropriate to comepete with his employer, he shifted to Surat and set up shop in a tiny space on Rajmarg.

This iconic studio is a warehouse of brilliant photographs that has captured British Royalty, India’s first politicians and connoisseurs from Mumbai and Ahmedabad in the early 20th century. The passion for photography was passed down generations and a hundred and ten years later, continues with fourth generation representatives in the form of his great grandchildren Rita, Bina and Rajesh Mehta who maintain the state record breaking sales of Canon cameras as well.

That Surat tops in camera sales within Gujarat is evident within its shutterbug community who, like Pablo Picasso feel,’ I have discovered photography.Now I can kill myself.I have nothing else to learn.’

Creative amateurs have sprung up clicking away life, nature, models, sports, industries, with their individual imagination.

The best part about photography is that even if you don’t know how to click or pose, you can be part of the picture; as Ansel Adams, the God of nature‘s best clicked splendour once said, ’There are two people in every photograph, the photographer and the viewer.’

Arrack-shun ! No more cheers !

Noticed how wobbly kneed women, who walk up to Permit rooms to claim their monthly quota of alcohol allowance, look so weary and wary these days?

Even the otherwise bindass permit holders are now heard whispering,’je pataavu hoy tey aath-nav sudhi maan patavi devu, aney Dumas toh humnaa maatey bhulij javanu,whu ?’(Get it over and done with by 8-9 and forget Dumas for now)

Present prohibition may have partially dried up not only spirits but also Surat’s social glue-booze, but there was a time when Tapi town used to turn into a Cavalla by sundown, ’Surya ast toh Surti mast’.

During olden days, alcohol was distilled locally in many a different way:

In the 16th century, Sidi Ali Reis, a Turkish Admiral who embarked at Surat’s Suvali beach, observed and penned in his travelogue, Mirat-ul –Memalik (Mirror of Countries), “There is in Gujarat a tree of the palm tribe, called tari agadji (millet-tree). From its branches cups are suspended and when the cut end of a branch is placed into one of these vessels a sweet liquid, something of the nature of arrack, flows out in a continuous stream; and this fluid, by exposure to the heat of the sun, presently changes into a most wonderful wine.”

Being a central port for unilateral trade, Surat had sailors from all over the world wading in. The ever busy Surti beach-Swally hole where they embarked was also their watering hole. Spirits were locally made here from fennel seeds, tadi and opium .The entire process of how Surtis prepared ‘niro’ and ‘tadi’, is picturesquely described by J.Ovington in his book”A Voyage To Suratt’

In 1632 A.D., Peter Mundy, European traveler was surprised to discover how in opium addicts seeped poppy husks and seeds in water to produce an alcoholic beverage called ‘poste’, drinkers of which were called’ postees’, while those who prepared drinks from Cannibes-bhaang were called ‘bhaangees’. Many Parsis grew toddy and opium in large amounts; although it was otherwise officially banned, trading it to China was legally allowed.

When Parsis sailed into Gujarat, most of them had a still (tiny distillery) in their homes for procuring ‘pehli dharno, beeji dhar no’ (first outflow, second outflow). They prepared an intoxicating drink from Mahuda flowers available locally; the drink was said to be a digestive, with cooling properties especially during the summers. For winters, special liquor was made from fermented raisins and dates. Also, Port wine is a much loved appetizer amongst Parsi women who prepare the same at home. They consume it differently, by adding a shot of lime to a peg of the fortified liquid.

It was only after the British came into Surat’, that Scotch and beer were introduced to the town’s elite. Beer became a lunchtime drink and Scotch was relished before dinner by the elite. The locals stuck to local brews. In Douglas E Haynes’, Rhetoric and Ritual in Colonial India,’it is mentioned how,” alcohol was present within the moral code of Surat’s Ghachi/ Khatri/Gola community.”

Amongst the earliest responsibilities that Surat’s first Municipalty carried out in 1852, were tasks like lighting and cleaning the streets, expenses of which were met by levying a surcharge on alcohol production at the local distillery.

Douglas has also well documented how the ban on alcohol first began within Surat. In 1906, headmen of the Khatri and Gola communities made’ bandobast’ against the consumption of alcohol as an enforcement of moral codes by threat of social sanction.

Around 1911, social educators like Dayalji and Kunvarji who ran local boarding schools, founded journals that urged Anavil and Kanbi communities to abstain from ‘corrupt customs’ like the consumption of alcohol.

The Gandhian campaign of antiliquor was launched in full swing serving the dual purpose of social purification as well as that of harming Government revenue which greatly depended upon the sale of liquor shop contracts and sales tax on alcohol .In 1921, about 175 picketers marched to the collectorate pleading bidders of liquor shop contracts to,’ Give up sinful money and depend on money that is pure.’

This was perhaps, the moment when the first foundation of prohibition was laid in Surat.

Interpreter of Surti Maladies

INTERPRETER OF SURTI MALADIES


Now covered under the umbrella of health insurance policies, ancient medicinal recipes of Ayurveda and Unani no longer remain crushed and confined between pestles and mortars.

Known to be an extremely effective alternate option to allopathy, for treatment of chronic illnesses such as spondylitis, arthritis and epilepsy, along with other physical grievances big and small, these naturally derived cures claim to have no harmful side effects.

While Ayurveda is native to India, the term Unani (pronounced Yunani) is the Arabic spelling of Ionian, the islands of Greece.

A study by Subhuti Dharmananda, Ph.D., Director, Institute for Traditional Medicine, Portland, Oregon, traces how ‘Unani owes its origin to the Greek physician Hippocrates (460-377 B.C.) Based on the original Greek concept of balancing the four body humors and resulting Unani systems involve the four elements: earth, air, water, and fire; along with four natures: cold, hot, wet, and dry; and four humors: blood (which is hot/wet), phlegm (cold/wet), yellow bile (hot/dry) and black bile (cold/dry).’

The Unani system is known as Hikmat or Unani-Tibb. Its medical practitioners are called Hakims. Here is the story of how a pioneer Hakeem of Surat went on to establish its ‘most effective pharmacy’ –Hakeem Chi Chi:

Once upon a time, there lived in Surat, a talented locksmith. Offering his services door to door, within the old walled city, he went about repairing and replicating keys, for a hard earned living. This gentleman named Sheikh Mohammad, was once asked to make a key for the ‘tijori’ (safe) of the then Nawab of Sachin .While on the job there, he chanced to meet a Hakeem from Junagadh who was on visit at the palace ,for ‘ilaaj’ (treatment) of an ailment that troubled the Nawab.

Sheikh Mohammad’s knowledge of ‘jadi booti’ (medicinal herbs) surprised the Hakeem who then offered to train him with a course in the medicinal field, at Junagadh.Since the Surti key maker was too poor to afford the travel fare to Junagadh, he set out on foot towards it, letting his profession as a key maker pay for his journey, as he trudged from one town to another, before finally reaching his destination, that opened doors to a new world.

He returned to Tapi town as Hakeem Sheikh Mohammed and set up a desi dawa khana (clinic) at Ranitalao. His knowledge teamed with knack benefited patients immensely and he quickly gained popularity as well as publicity by word of mouth. He had a nasal voice which squeaked a bit due to which, locals lovingly nicknamed him ‘Hakeem Chi Chi’, the clinic and name continued, ever since. His son educated at the Aligarh University for a degree in Unani; his grand son was appointed advisor at the Kasturba Memorial Trust.

The legend lives on, functioning in full form with hundreds of naturally derived in-house products. Since 79 years, the pharmacy has stood firm ground as the shop around the corner of Chakkapir street, at Rani Talao.“ We have been at this very place since 1932.We do not and will not have any other branches because we want to maintain the quality set up by our forefathers. We also cater to NRI customers via their relatives who reside in Surat and around the surrounding villages here. Our original surname was Navsariwala; our profession provided the present last name”, says Mohammad Qasim Hakeem, who represents the fifth generation of the lineage.

His father, Abdul. Hakim .Hakeem sits on the loft above, reading the trembling nerves of patients who have lined up to be cured. It is here that ageing men, pregnant women, insomniac professionals and colic children come for cures that are derived from exotic botanical ingredients such as Licorice roots, Peppermint, Malabar nuts, Rhubarb and other such herbs, sourced from all around India. Downstairs, a troop of educated young staff , hands out prescribed cures for allergies, asthma, eczema and caters to other demands such as beauty products, naturally extracted sherbets, top quality khajoor (red dates) etc.

Within the heart of city, one can catch the whiff of fresh gulabjal, sukhadd, amla, jojoba along with henna and sesame amongst other aromas from this treasure trove that is the sum of ancient herbal wisdom, which thrives and throbs steadily along with the pulse of Surat city.