Englishman’s 1847 travel to Kashmir (Part 3)

( By: Kanwal Krishan Lidhoo*)

Kashmir Rechords in its previous blogs dated 9^th and 12th December 2023 had mentioned an Englishman’s visit to Jammu and Kashmir in 1847 recorded in the form of daily entries called ‘Roznamcha’ by one Pandit Kanhaya Lal Aashiq Dehalvi and later published under the title Sair-e-Kashmir and we had in two of the previous episodes brought to our readers very significant historical details regarding prevailing socio-political conditions. Not only do these details appeal to the common reader but the students of history also got invaluable insights into the geography and strategic situation of the formative phase of the rule of Dogra kings when they ruled the region called “Jammu Kashmir Ladakh and Tibbet Ha”.

The previous  two blogs carried the information about the travel from Englishman’s 1847 travel to Kashmir via Jammu  dated  9^th December 2023, to be accessed  at:https://kashmir-rechords.com/englishmans-1847-travel-to-kashmir-via-jammu/ and  next  Englishman’s 1847 travel to Kashmir via Jammu, Rajouri, published on 12th December 2023, to be accessed at: https://kashmir-rechords.com/englishmans-1847-travel-to-kashmir-via-jammu-rajouri/

The book is a compendium of daily entries of his accounts in his diary during travel, which was undertaken by Pandit Kanhaya Lal Aashiq Dehalvi along with an Englishman named Mr. Winter Bedim. Pandit Kanhaya Lal Aashiq was a resident of Akbarabad Sialkot (now in Pakistan) who sought employment in the office of the then-British Agent in Lahore, Colonel Lawrence due to his proficiency in the English language.  Thus, he wrote this travelogue also for the Englishman, with whom he had traveled to Kashmir via Jammu.  “Sair-e- Kashmir 1278 AH” is written on the cover of the Book having 41 (forty-one) pages. The travelogue is between the periods of   April 1847 to June 1847.

From here we are continuing with the third portion of the travelogue as follows:-

On 9^th May, 1947 we reached Kulgam which is at a distance of six kos from Acchabal. We would often come across springs and innumerable water bodies. Since Kulgam is situated in Devsar Pargana on the banks of the river called “Vishaw” the volume and flow of water at this place is very large. One Fatu Chowdhary (probably Fatehdin) came to see us.

On the 10th of May, 1847 we reached “Chowgam” where we camped. At about a distance of four kos lies a spring, rather a geyser that sprouts water at least one meter high into the air. Thus a constant stream of pure and clean water emanates from it. The local population whenever inclined to celebrate their happy occasions do come to the banks of this river and cook their delicacies. The powers of digestion of this water are legendary and are said to be such that one can devour a whole lamb. Due to personal reasons, however, I couldn’t test the powers of these waters. This spring is known as “Vasuk Naag”. On our return, we got caught up in a vicious hailstorm which caused such an indescribable suffering and threw everything into disarray. We got drenched in the rain and hailstorm and since we had no extra pair of clothes with us the cold also pounced on us severely. We did however finally make up to our place during the night where we warmed ourselves thoroughly. In between the” Chowgam” and “ Vasuk Naag” areas, we saw another spring at a place called “Razlu” but it is not as big as “VasukNaag”. At our place, an inherently warm person with a very cheerful disposition who works as a cook came to see us. This man is used to visit Lucknow and other places and has some experience in dealing with foreigners. Though he is Lachhi Ram he is rightly called Lateef. This man divulged the information that whosoever arranges for cooking a lamb doesn’t encounter any problem whatsoever. Our plight during the day may have been the result of the same. I admonished him about the fact that he could have warned us in advance.

Due to continuing rains and hailstorms that ensued we couldn’t move out of  “Chowgam” on the 11th, however, on the 12th of May 1847, we started our journey again and when we were about to reach “Shahbad”  we came across a spring known as “Bararat” and another one nearer to it known as “Kananag”. The locals of the village revealed to us that nearly every single fish residing in the spring is one-eyed which gives the spring its name. But I couldn’t notice any such thing. Later in the day when we were at a distance of about one kos from Shahbad the “Kaardaar” of the Shahbad area Noor Shah accompanied by the local “Kotwal” came to see us. Chats followed all the way to Shahbad and mainly centered on the details of running the administration. Upon reaching Shahbad we later proceeded towards an adjoining place called “Dooru”.

Camping at `Ver Naag’

We camped at this place and later proceeded to “Ver Naag”. The rest of the Indians call it “Beri Naag”. This place has the largest flow of clean water which presents an astonishingly wonderful and pleasing sight. A strong wall has been constructed around its periphery by the orders of King Jahangir. A Persian inscription stands engraved outside this periphery in a small hut.

The inscription mentioned above goes like this.-

“The ruler of the seven lands who is known for his legendary dispensation of justice Emperor  Shahenshah Abul Muzaffar Noor- u- din Jahangir son of legendary king Akbar the Great has in the fifteenth hundredth year visited this spring and on his majesty’s orders only could the work on the wall get completed. It is due to his Majesty King Jahangir King Shah Akbar Shah’s grace that this building has touched the skies. The wise king arranged this foundation around here in `Verinaag’. It is Almighty’s grace that on orders of the ruler of seven worlds such a cascade got built reminding us that the stream originating from heaven brought grace to Kashmir. The mysterious sounds emanating from heavens issuing forth through its waters finds mention in this inscription.”

Later in the day we returned to our abode and spent the night in the company of Noorshah Kaardaar. (To be continued)

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*Kanwal Krishan Lidhoo, an accredited translator of Kashmiri, Urdu, and Hindi by Sahitya Akademi New Delhi and Indian Institute of Languages Mysore,  is associated with the institution of All India Radio (AIR) where he worked as a Senior Producer. During his career of more than thirty years in AIR, (including Radio Kashmir Srinagar and Radio Kashmir, Jammu),  he has produced hundreds of programmes covering a wide range of topics and interests that range from ‘Features’, ‘Dramas’ , ‘Literary Magazines’ , ‘Current Affairs’ and overseen Music recordings. He also has the professional expertise of anchoring live shows and News.

His books of Translation include:

1. “Samay Matrika” … Translation of 10th century Sanskrit classic of the same name by Acharya Ksemendra of Kashmir.

2. Sahitya Akademi New Delhi’s “Hum Kaal Sindhi Afsana Sombran” a Kashmiri translation of Hindi scripted ” Samkaleen Hindi Kathayen”, and under publication “Navi Yogikie Vaaeris Dar” a Kashmiri translation of English scripted collection of Punjabi short stories of renowned Punjabi short story writer Mohinder Singh Sarna.

 3. Indian Institute of Languages publication “Hindustaenie Falsafekie Khad-o-Khal” …The Kashmiri translation of “Outlines of Indian Philosophy” by world-renowned Professor M.Hiriyanna.

4. The Writer of the Monograph on veteran and doyen of Kashmiri poetry, Makhan Lal Kanwal…. Sahitya Academy Publication, Delhi  

Kanwal Krishan Lidhoo is also a short story writer in Kashmiri. In addition, he has presented a number of essays in Kashmiri