Agra Bazaars

It's in the shopping alleys of the city of Taj Mahal that Ira Parmar
loses herself to legends and anecdotes. Though most of them came into
existence because of the needs of the Mughals, they are an integral
part of our heritage today

Agenda
The Pioneer
http://www.dailypioneer.com
Saturday, September 24, 2011

It took me a trip to the streets of Agra to realise how things have
changed. This radical transformation is apparent in a literary gem
written by Habib Tanvir in 1954. His signature play, Agra Bazaar,
came about as a tribute to poet Nazir Akbarabadi. Nazir lived in Agra
during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The subjects of his
works were the common people of the Agra market and their everyday
concerns -- and not the lives of the nobility. Additionally, Nazir
chose to ignore the orthodox, elitist norms of poetic idiom and
subject matter of his time. For example, he used slang with flair.
For being associated with the plebian world and for his 'vulgarity',
many members of the literati of his time spurned him. Nazir was,
thus, faced with life-long ostracism and hardly ever published any of
his poems. Needless to say, he lived through many a dark day and
vicissitudes of life.

However, all was not lost -- not at least for the common people. An
anecdote from Agra Bazaar perfectly captures this phenomenon. A
cucumber seller feels that if he could get a poem written about the
qualities of his produce, it would sell better. He approaches several
poets, but they turn down his request. Finally, he goes to Nazir who
promptly obliges him. He returns singing Nazir's song about cucumbers
and customers flock to his cart immediately. Other vendors -- the
ladduwala, tarboozwala, etc -- follow suit and soon the whole bazaar
is humming with Nazir's songs.

Nazir's life is another example of what I would refer to as the Van
Gogh spectacle. Van Gogh and Nazir were both miserable in their lives
because of various socio-cultural factors. Had they been born in
another era, they would have been as successful as Pablo Picasso. In
Nazir's case, in sharp contrast to the scorn that he faced in his
time, the markets of Agra are today a happy hunting ground for
members of the literary elite in search of inspiration for a piece
that would take them to venerated heights. In fact, shopkeepers
pointed several Nazir groupies to me as I walked by, recognising that
I had an uncommon interest in the markets myself.

Princess came calling

"Kashmira, yes, I am Kashmira." I heard a beautiful elderly woman
with mysterious hazel eyes, say. There was something in that voice
that made me turn and look. She was sitting on a cane chair, wore
rather non-descript clothes and had a rolled cigarette in her hand.
All this, amid a sea of humanity in an old street, next to the
crowded Bijli Ghar, in Agra. Her demeanour was regal and the lines of
her face spoke of character. She seemed to have lived a full,
mysterious and tough life with the charm of a hero struggling to keep
his principles in place, against the world.

I was unsure about how to approach her, but, luckily, she saw me
hanging around, smiled and nodded. I presumed I had been granted
audience. I asked her whether she could tell me something about
herself and the market. This drew a nostalgic smile and she said,
"Where to begin and where to end? I own several shops in this market
and am here to inspect my zari-gota and jewellery business. Here, at
Kinaari Bazaar, lacework has been done since the time of the Mughals.
Empresses like Noor Jahan came to these narrow lanes (which were
actually quite broad in those days) to buy cloth for their dresses.
They would choose from some of the materials you see on display here
-- cotton, georgette, viscose, jacquard, silk, jute, jamavar and raw
silk." Often, unstitched cloth garnished with shiny zari, blooming
zardozi, gleaming beads and shimmering crystals was purchased and
then famous seamstresses were called to various palaces to make the
dress. "Our family has been into designing clothes and jewellery for
the citizens of Agra for six generations now and, funnily, we have
never needed a single man to run this business," she said.

Kinaari (a maze of streets) is the oldest of Agra Bazaars. The whole
intertwined area was home to most of the 12 historical markets
(mandis) of Agra -- Raja, Nai, Rui, Loha, Heeng, Peepul, Shahzadi,
Namak, Saunth, Purani, Khoya and Ink mandis. Perhaps it did have some
organisation during that time, but, today, there are no specifics for
the wares sold anywhere. Hence, today there's no particular character
to any market except a whiff or two of history.

To get a feel of the Agra street, imagine finding yourself inside a
never-ending gali of Agrabah, Aladdin's famed city, complete with the
ruffians, dogs, vendors, tented ceilings, city folk, auto-rickshaws,
narrow side branches and shopping items from all and sundry. Now,
further imagine this one street repeating itself incessantly with few
minor variations, in a criss-cross manner, in an area the size of
Chandni Chowk (Delhi), with the Jama Masjid and Bijli Ghar on one
side and the Agra Fort Railway Station on the other, as its
extremities. Besides, Shahzadi Mandi (Sadar Bazaar area), Raja Mandi
and Taj Ganj, one can walk from here to all the other nine mandis,
which the local folk distinguish with the help of various landmarks.

More than the Taj

Historical accounts suggest that after shopping for clothes in
Kinaari Bazaar, the royal entourage would go a few metres ahead to
the Johri Bazaar and specifically, to Chaube Ji Ka Fatak (that does
not exist anymore) to purchase renowned gold and silver jewellery of
Agra. Johri Bazaar still offers a breathtaking range of sparkly gems,
trinkets and heavy-duty necklaces.

Times have moved on, but the stalwarts of the Agra Bazaars retain
their sense of pride and dignity. Rakesh Chand owns one of the oldest
and grandest shops of Johri Bazaar. There is a tomb in the top left
corner, King George V's mural on the second floor and detailed floral
design work on the facade of his shop and it is more than 100 years
old. In fact, shops here started much before electricity was
introduced in the market.

Speaking of modernity, Sadar Bazaar (and Shehzaadi Mandi), located on
the Gwalior Road to the west of Khari Baoli, stands apart from
others. Built during the British occupation of Agra, it is the most
recent addition to the city's thriving mandis. The specialty of the
market is handicraft items as well as the famous Agra shoes and other
leather products. Moreover, this is a late night market where you can
sample the famous chaat from various perpetually crowded vendors.
Dawar's Shoes and Bachhoomal Textiles are the two oldest shops here,
but they are a mere 70-80-year-old in comparison to the 300-year-old
ones in Kinaari Bazaar.

On my second and last evening in Agra, I went to the Taj Mahal,
followed by Taj Ganj, where people buy replicas of the Taj. There
isn't only the mini Taj for sale; one could find many other exquisite
artifacts as well. The shops are teeming with brassware, leather
work, footwear, jewellery, carpets and leather goods. Embroidery work
is also quite unique here. Showpieces made of copper and brass are
twinkling away in the corner. Many shops which provide these arts and
crafts are concentrated in this region.

Additionally, the Government-approved emporia are right here,
conveniently, so as to prevent lambs like me from being ripped off.
Gangotri and Kalakriti are certainly worth a visit. The second day
left me exhausted. As I looked out from my executive suite room at
the Taj Gateway, the Taj Mahal faces me and towers over the city.
Just looking at it seems to relax me and rid me of my tiredness. Who
needs a spa when one can look at the serenity of the Taj from a hotel
room? In fact, as I reserved a fire-side barbecue dinner for myself,
I