Navaratris

The festive season is here again. Navratris have already started, a few days from now it would be Durga Puja & Dussehra, & soon it would be time for one of my favourite festivals, Diwali. & sadly, like the past two years I would not be in Delhi to celebrate Diwali, but would be struck in Durgapur where Diwali (or any other festival except Durga Puja) is never celebrated with much pomp. But I am in Delhi right now, & shall be here for a week more, spending all my time travelling & writing, much to the anguish of my parents & friends who think I spend more time on the road than I do at home!! That’s not true, just so you know. I decided to halt the series about Durgapur (why write about Durgapur when you aren’t even in Durgapur) & write about the celebrations in Delhi. I shall try to incorporate more of festivals & celebrations in this blog. Just for the sake of some of those who don’t know anything about these Indian festivals & for those who would like to learn more, here is a small gist about these celebrations & their significance to let you know what is to follow on this blog’s posts in the coming few days–

Literally “Nine nights”, Navratris herald the beginning of winter festivities, each of these nine nights is dedicated to a form of the Hindu Goddess Durga, the consort of Lord Shiva (the God of Destruction). Although the festival of Navaratri is traditionally celebrated five times/year, the most important of the celebrations are reserved for the advent of winter (September-October) & summer (March-April). It is said that the festival of Navratris is being celebrated since way before the time of the ancient Hindu king Rama. Rama, an ideal son-husband-brother-friend-king-warrior-who-knows-what-else, invaded Lanka (many believe the Lanka in scriptures is the present day island of Sri Lanka) to rescue his wife Sita who was abducted treacherously by the demon king Ravana, the lord of Lanka. Unable to get an upper hand in the long war that followed, Rama prayed to Goddess Durga for several days & she finally blessed him on the eighth day. The eighth day is called “Ashtami” & is celebrated in every household by inviting young girls & a young boy & worshipping them with the belief that Goddess Durga & Lord Shiva reside in each of these girls & the boy respectively. This ritual is called "Kanjak". The women of the house wash the feet of these girls with water & tie red-coloured threads (“Moli”) on their hands & place a small vermillion mark on their forehead. They are then fed with puris (unleavened Indian bread, made after deep-frying wheat flour batter), chole (chickpea), boiled rice, halwa (confection made with flour, condensed butter & sugar), coconut & occasionally chocolates & soft drinks & given small gifts & money. The festival has gained so much popularity in north India, especially Delhi & Haryana, that hordes of impoverished girls & young boys from villages visit the cities early morning in anticipation of the food & money they would collect – many can be seen returning home in the evening carrying large polybags filled with puris. Women wake up very early in the morning to prepare all these delicacies, & toil hard for the blessings of these little living Goddesses. I for one love this festival as I too get to eat these delightful dishes that my mother cooks, & then I can bargain with her for the amount of money I shall be getting!! When I was younger, I used to be called to my neighbors' houses for the prayers & the procedures, & it used to be amusing for us kids to count & boast about the total money we collected that day. It usually continues till noon, since not all ladies can feed the kids early morning, many working women even tend to give fruits & eatables to the kids in the evening.

The Kanjak fare

On the same evening, the Bengali communities celebrate Durga Puja (“Pujo” as Bengalis call it, literally “worship”). Huge idols of the Goddess are bought & established several days (usually on the sixth day of Navratris - Shashti) in advance in the households, or community buildings, & temples. Prayers & prasad (ceremonial offerings of sweets, milk, occasionally fish & meats) are offered every day to this seated Goddess, the places where these idols are housed are covered with tents (“pandals”) & stalls selling all sorts of eatables & mini-idols, devotees gather in large numbers, especially in Delhi’s CR Park locality, for prayers, dances & idol-shopping, making it one of the best nights for gourmets, photographers & heritage-lovers. & of course, you get to see so many beautiful girls all night long in the pandals!!

The Gujarati community too celebrates Navaratris with great pomp & gaiety - the people take part in communal meets & perform the traditional "Garba" dance with each other, irrespective of any social or economic distinctions.

Durga idol - 2012, Janakpuri Kalibari (Kali Temple)

The tenth day “Dashami” is also called “Vijay Dashami” or “Dussehra”. It is said that Rama killed Ravana on this particular day. Hindus believe that Rama was an incarnation of Lord Vishnu, the God of Life & Preservation. In full disclosure, I don’t actually believe that Rama was an incarnation or Ravana was a demon (I am an atheist) – Rama may be a model king, but not a God. Ravana may be a villain, but not a demon, just a man blinded by his lust & power. Ramayana, the book of the story of Rama, composed several millennia ago, talks of Ravana as one of the most learned men in the world, son of a mighty sage, himself a sincere devotee of Lord Shiva & blessed with several boons & weapons, a composer of spiritual texts & also a mighty warrior capable of bringing his foes to their knees. But there is no stopping the believers, since eons they have been burning effigies – big or small, depending on their budget – of Ravana (& his brother Kumbhakaran & son Meghnad) in almost each & every community ground & park (refer Pixelated Memories - Tatarpur, New Delhi). This burning of effigies is seen as the symbolic act of destroying the evil from the world, but I won’t get into a discussion about the merits & demerits of this effigy-burning ritual, or the qualities & character faults of Rama/Ravana – somewhere deep down I too like these festivities – a mode of passing along the stories & belief systems of the ancient culture down the next generation via prayers, singing, dramas & communal gatherings, that’s what Dussehra is about. The Bengalis celebrate Dashami by drowning the ceremonial idols of Durga down some source of flowing water – such as a river or some small stream.

Ravana Dehena - The ritualistic burning of effigies of Ravana & his relatives

So that’s it as of now. Now I have to run & attend the various events that accompany these celebrations. Fast forward to the next post to know more about what is happening in Delhi right now..

Relevant Links -

1. Pixelated Memories - Kali Puja, Durgapur
2. Pixelated Memories - Tatarpur, New Delhi

Suggested Reading - 

1. Timesofindia.indiatimes.com - Article "Fasting and feasting during Navratri" (dated Oct 21, 2012) by Shruti Jambhekar
2. Hinduism.about.com - 10 Days with the Mother Goddess!
3. Hinduismtoday.com - Navaratri
4. Navratrifestival.net - Why do we avoid Grains and Wheat during Navaratri
5. Wikipedia.org - Navaratri
6. Zeenews.india.com - All you need to know about Navaratri!
7. Zeenews.india.com - Legend and myth behind Navratri

Barber's Tomb, New Delhi

Within Humayun's Tomb Complex stands a small red & grey sandstone tomb, square in plan, simple in ornamentation, & mysterious in its identity. Locally referred to as Nai ka Maqbara ("Barber's Tomb"), the striking tomb supposedly belongs to the royal barber who served Humayun. One wonders if the barber also held some political or administrative power in his hand to claim a tomb within the same garden as the emperor of India. Although Humayun's Tomb, commissioned by his widow Hamida Banu Begam in the year 1550, was built on the established axis of a previously built tomb-garden complex belonging to an unidentified lady known as Bi Halima, & incorporated within itself the tomb-garden complex housing the remains of Isa Khan, a nobleman in Sher Shah Suri's court - the tomb of this barber is the only structure to have been constructed after Humayun's Tomb complex was completed. It was commissioned by Humayun's son & successor Akbar (ruled AD 1556-1605). Perhaps Akbar wanted to emphasize the position of the barber who was the only person to be able to hold a blade every day to the emperor's throat. Either that, or he was a tad touched by the Egyptian tradition of burying slaves & pets alongside their pharaohs for company in the afterlife!! Though the latter appears less likely as we haven't yet found tombs dedicated to Humayun's lions & elephants, or parrots!! If you ask me, the whole thing is a myth - the barber story somehow got traction since it's not known who is interred here & stuck.  In all probability, it must be some sibling/cousin/close associate of Humayun.

Tomb of a Barber

I first visited Humayun's Tomb Complex as part of the HOHO Bus tour of Delhi I took in the summer vacations of 2011, subsequently I ended up visiting the complex twice again in the past year - every time I did, Barber's Tomb was locked away for public entry by means of metal sheets & bamboo barriers. The tomb was being restored to (almost) its original condition as part of the larger Humayun's Tomb - Nizamuddin Basti restoration project undertaken by the Aga Khan Trust for Culture (A.K.T.C.) in collaboration with the Archaeological Survey of India (A.S.I.). I would sneak in the tomb every time, have a look at the work being undertaken & take a few photos. The tomb looked hideous, covered under all that scaffolding, green cloth covering its chattris (umbrella domes surmounted on thin pillars), metal sheets barring the entrance & debris strewn all around. Last week (Referring to my visit on May 14, 2013. This post has been edited on May 19, 2013) I visited the complex again, the authorities recently threw open the tomb complex of Isa Khan, subject of another post, closed away for years for restoration. I decided to pay a visit to the less frequented Barber's Tomb too & see if its condition has improved. The tomb has certainly taken a turn for the better - its single, double-dome (sounds an oxymoron, but that's a dome within a dome) has been spruced up, the interiors have been restored & the sandstone walls now appear more crimson than they earlier did. The most brilliant of all changes is that vibrant blue tiles are now being affixed to the four chattris that surround the dome & add a quirky touch to the entire structure.

So who exactly are these guys??

It is known that the individuals interred here are male & female respectively, but their identity is not clear - perhaps the barber & his wife. Had they both been male, we might have conjectured that the barber's son or assistant is buried with him. What is known however is when the tomb was commissioned - both the graves inside are embossed with Quranic inscriptions & one of them is marked with the number 999, which represents the Hijra year when the tomb was built (1590-91 AD).

You see the flower like I do??

The elegant tomb stands on a platform 2.44 meters high & is reached by climbing 7 steps. Arched niches exist on all four sides of the square tomb - while an arched entrance is built into one of these, the rest are filled with stone latticework screens ("jalis"). The inner dome rests on four larger, upward-rising curves, giving it the picturesque appearance of a four-petalled flower when seen from underneath. On the outside, the dome sits on a sixteen-sided drum (base) & is topped by a lotus finial. Slender minarets mark the corners of the octagonal drum. The scarcity of sunlight inside the chamber makes it dark which is further compounded by the dark red color of the walls. The water channels around the tomb were added in 1905 & 1909 according to the characteristic red sandstone tablet placed by the A.S.I. outside the tomb to provide general information about it.

A view of Barber's Tomb & the Nila Gumbad in the background (Photo courtesy - Wikipedia.org)

The tomb can be reached by descending from Humayun's Tomb & walking towards its southern gate (the gate presently used for entry is the western gate, but the original entry was via the southern gate - visible from Humayun's Tomb towards the right as an exact replica of the western gate). Barber's Tomb stands on a platform on the south-east side of Humayun's Tomb.

Open: All days, 8 am - 6 pm
Entrance Fee: Rs 10 (Citizens of India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Maldives, Afghanistan Thailand and Myanmar), Rs 250 (Others) (Children up to 15 years free)

Nearest Metro Station: JLN Stadium Metro Station
Photography charges: Nil
Time required for sight seeing : 30 min

Relevant Links - 

1. Pixelated Memories - Bi Halima's Gate
2. Pixelated Memories - Humayun's Tomb Complex
3. Pixelated Memories - Nila Gumbad

Suggested Reading - 

1. Gktoday.in - Double Dome in Indo-Islamic Architecture