Empire of the Sikhs (26 page)

Ranjit Singh liked to see colour, jewellery and rich fabrics about him, as evidenced in the interior decoration he commissioned,
notably in the hall of the Lahore Durbar and on great ceremonial occasions such as the meeting with Lord Bentinck at Ropar and the wedding of his grandson Nau Nihal Singh. The shawl industry in particular, developed in Mughal times, flourished during his reign, and shawls were part of the annual tribute paid to the Durbar by the governors of Kashmir. The main trade centres were Srinagar, Amritsar and Lahore.

Patterns and colours of shawls worn in the Punjab changed during the Afghan occupations of the eighteenth century. Yellow was a popular colour and the paisley became more elongated. The ‘moon' shawl or
chand dar
– so named from the round pattern woven at its centre in a different colour – was much in demand between 1815 and 1830. Finely woven shawls which could be passed through a ring were known as ring shawls and were highly valued. Shawls were not only gifted to courtiers to be worn as sashes and turbans but were also made into tents.

A Kashmiri embroidered pashmina wool shawl has always been the vogue in Europe. General Allard, shortly before his death, ordered a richly embroidered piece at a cost of 3,000 rupees as a gift for the Queen of France. General Ventura's shawl, especially made for him, cost him over 6,000 rupees. Generally the price of a pashmina shawl was upward of 500 rupees. European ladies turned them into dresses and scarves and draped furniture with them. The famine that ravaged Kashmir in 1820-22 slowed down production but did not destroy it. Small carpets made from pashmina were thin, uniform in colour and with a border, and some had silk embroidery worked on them. These carpets were delicate and not very durable; they were mostly used in the
zenanas
(harems), where the women usually went about barefoot.

When travelling Ranjit Singh used a fine scarlet and gold embroidered tent made of pashmina. Even when at rest at night his sword and shield were always at his side, and his favourite horse was saddled and kept ready for him to ride at a moment's
notice. His horses were adorned with velvet trappings encrusted with pearls and rubies and draped with embroidered pashmina shawls. He mostly travelled in a sedan chair made of glass and gold gilt. Sometimes he used a procession of carriages. His state carriage was very large, drawn by six horses and with a platform around it which could accommodate up to twenty courtiers.

Silk, a fabric mainly worn by courtiers, was considered a great gift for visiting dignitaries.
Kinkhab,
a brocade made of silk and gold thread woven in intricate designs, was especially favoured. Raw silk was imported either from Bokhara or China, as Kashmir could not supply the demand, but it was woven in many parts of Punjab, for example, Multan, Ludhiana and Shahpur. Multan was also famous for its fine woodwork and carving, especially on screens and doors. There were other centres for furniture and decorative woodwork in Kashmir, Peshawar, Gujrat, Lahore and Hoshiarpur. Examples of this splendid workmanship can be seen today in old traditional homes and museums.

Before Ranjit Singh, trade in and out of Punjab was almost non-existent owing to chaotic conditions created by centuries of wars and invasions. The main route into the Punjab, the Grand Trunk Road, was closed. Most of the other roads were infested with robbers and very unsafe for travellers. During Ranjit Singh's time it was decreed that wrongdoers would be severely dealt with, but although chastisement at times could be harsh there was no capital punishment. People in Punjab under Ranjit Singh felt more secure, and his kingdom had a better safety record than most other parts of India. When asked why he did not improve the roads, he replied that should he do so it would make it easier for the enemy to advance on him.

Despite all he had to deal with, Ranjit Singh was an environmentalist far ahead of his time, who realized that wood and forests had
to be preserved for the ultimate survival of humankind and not cut down indiscriminately. Lieutenant William Barr, writing around 1844 of his experiences in Punjab during Ranjit Singh's reign, reported: ‘Wood, strange to say, is not to be bought, nor could I ever get sufficient for a small frame; which appeared so extraordinary that I concluded my servant was either misinforming me, or had not made sufficient inquiries; however, on asking the Maharajah's officers about it, they told me it was true, and that Ranjeet Singh will not allow a tree to be felled until it is actually required for use.'
⁹

Ranjit Singh was fond of planting gardens and trees, notable testimony of this being the park at Amritsar, the Ram Bagh, completed in 1831. And during his brief reign his son Kharak Singh continued the tradition; he ordered trees to be planted along either side of the fifteen-mile stretch of road from Amritsar to the Tarn Taran, a tank of healing waters around a gurdwara built by Ranjit Singh.
¹⁰

The Maharaja was a superb horseman, and horses were his passion. He would often spend a whole day in the saddle without tiring. A connoisseur, he had over 1,200 horses in his stables out of which he kept a thousand for his private use. The king of England presented him with horses from Scotland, and Arabian thoroughbreds were gifted to him by the Nizam of Hyderabad. The extent to which horses affected him comes through movingly in this description dating from his later years: ‘as soon as he mounts his horse with his black shield at his back, [it] puts him on his mettle – his whole form seems animated by the spirit within, and assumes a certain grace, of which nobody could believe it susceptible. In spite of the paralysis affecting one side, he manages his horse with the greatest ease.'
¹¹

If Ranjit Singh heard of a horse of particular beauty or grace, he had to have it – no matter what the cost. He would willingly spend the equivalent of £30,000 or more for one that caught his
fancy. In the 1820s he was captivated by stories of a horse called Leila. But her owner, Yar Mohammad Khan Barakzai, governor of Peshawar, flatly refused to part with it. Not prepared to take no for an answer, Ranjit Singh ordered a detachment of his army to Peshawar to bring him the mare. It took two expeditions against the Afghans, but in the end Ranjit Singh had his Leila. A rare beauty, dark grey with black legs, Leila was joyously celebrated on her arrival at Lahore by her adoring new owner, who thought her to be ‘the most perfect animal he had ever seen'.

The saddles and bridles of Ranjit's horses were exquisitely tooled in silver and gold, a rich mixture called
ganga jamni.
This is described as follows by a contemporary: ‘Runjeet's own horse-equipments are very gorgeous, the holster pipes being covered with gold tinsel, and studded with precious stones, particularly emeralds and topazes; while the bridle reins are formed of pieces of gold or silver, connected together over the leather which is thus concealed.'
¹²

Baron Charles Hugel, who was taken to have a closer look at the horses by Ranjit Singh, noted: ‘a pommel of one of the saddles struck me as particularly worthy of remark, having a ruby two inches square, bearing on it the name of Jehanghir. Dow, in his
History of Hindosthan,
tells us, that when Jehanghir had his name engraved on this beautiful stone the celebrated Empress Nur Jehan told him that she thought it a pity; to which he answered, “This jewel will more assuredly hand down my name to posterity than any written history. The House of Timur may fall, but as long as there is a king, this jewel will have its price.” Many other names are now engraved on it, the best known being Ahmed Shah's.'
¹³
This 352.5-carat stone originally belonged to Timur who carved his name on it. Although known as the ‘Timur Ruby', the stone is actually a spinel. It was a gift from the East India Company, along with other incomparable treasures including the Koh-i-noor, to Queen Victoria in 1851 after the annexation of Punjab.

Ranjit Singh much enjoyed hunting as a sport. He and his guests participated enthusiastically in tiger, wild hog, black partridge and hare shoots while riding on elephant-back. Fields of sugarcane and grain were especially cultivated for game. Since elephants played an important role in his hunting expeditions, he owned about 700 of them; his favourite, Sundargaj (‘beautiful elephant'), the most imposing of them all, was a gift from the king of Nepal. Hugel describes him as being of immense size and ‘ornamented with a splendid gilt howdah and crimson velvet cushions. Red velvet housings fell as low as his knees, trimmed with a gold border and fringe. The long tusks were cut at the end, as is the case with all tame elephants; but this deficiency was supplied by tops of silver gilt, united by a golden chain. Round his ankles were curiously wrought heavy gold bangles such as the Hindus wear. The price of this elephant's ornaments, according to the Maharaja's account, was 130,000 florins [£13,000].'
¹⁴

Ranjit Singh had his elephants serve another enjoyable purpose in his life. These stately creatures, uniquely attired and outfitted under his specific instructions, had beautifully carved lanterns fixed to their upturned tusks, so that when the Maharaja took a favourite like Moran or Gul Begum through the streets of Lahore at night his path was romantically lit by them. It is said that Sundargaj looked like a well-lit jeweller's shop as he made his way through Lahore in all his finery and lanterns.

Little has been written on the distinctive coinage of the Sikhs. Yet it is an integral part of the Sikh heritage. Apart from C.J. Rodgers, who wrote on Sikh coins in 1881, it has taken numismatists over a century to study them. They are original in a way that sets them apart from any other currency of the time, exhibiting a theme of divinity and valour which the Sikhs see as their hallmark. So coins are a part and parcel of the struggle and sacrifices of the Gurus,
Banda Bahadur, the
misls
and of Ranjit Singh himself – all of whom carried a vision of a Sikh nation to which each in his own way gave specific form and substance. They testify to a nation in which its people were at last free to practise their religion and live in peace and harmony; a land in which the tenets of the Gurus and other religions could coexist – a truly secular land. It is impossible to describe the coinage of Maharaja Ranjit Singh's period without touching on earlier history.

The first Sikh coin was minted at a time of upheaval. Baba Banda Singh Bahadur – appointed leader of the Sikhs by Guru Gobind Singh in 1708, intent on avenging the brutal killing of the Guru's two sons by the Mughals, hounded though he was by the Mughal army and fighting one battle after another with them, unfazed nevertheless – struck the first Sikh coin in 1710 after he had consolidated the Sikh seat of power at Lohgarh. The coin was historically unique. It broke away from the accepted numismatic practice of bearing the ruler's name, title or portrait. The Sikh rupee carried none of these and was dedicated instead to the glory of the Sikh faith and its Gurus. In those troubled times this helped reinforce the Sikhs' resolve and self-assurance and gave them added strength in their fight for their rights and beliefs. They believed that
fateh
or victory and power could not be gained without the help, blessings and guidance of the Sachcha Padshah, the True Lord. The coins were minted with the following couplets in Persian. On the obverse: