This route was not only a medium of commerce for merchants but also a channel for the merger of religious traditions and cultural norms. From sufism to exchange of ideas, an Asian history and identity could be defined through the Silk Road, writes ANANYA BORGOHAIN
AAMAD Dance Center in New Delhi recently organised a seminar that exhibited a delightful visual presentation of Indo-Persian art and culture and their influence on Indian society. The seminar, titled Jashn, was hosted at the India International Centre. Its objective was “to engage, educate, and entertain the public about a treasure of the living tradition of Indo-Persian synthesis of North Indian art and culture, giving due credit to the achievements of the renowned Sufi poets”. Jashn explored the journey of Asian art and culture that flourished from 11th to 19th century, and studied how it has been reconfigured in the modern era.
Turkish musician and scholar latif Bolat, who plays folk and mystic music from the 11th century, spoke through the web cam. He underlined how ideas were inherited by pilgrims, sufi saints and sages. A crucial part of his talk was on the Silk Road. Dating back to the era of the Han dynasty in China, the Silk Road or Silk Route, was a network of trade routes. But beyond just being a channel for commerce, it played a massive role in the integration of art and culture in several regions in Asia. It also connected the East and West from China to the Mediterranean Sea.
It is through the Silk Road that Sufism prospered; along with the culture of mysticism and zikrs. Sufism — the mystical Islamic practice through which one seeks out the true meaning of divine love and knowledge via a personal connection with God — came to India in the 12th century through Moinuddin Chisti. The other names associated with Sufism in India are Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya, Nasiruddin Mehmood Chirag-Dehlavi, and Qutbuddin Bakhtiar Kaki. They were all buried in Delhi and the Sufi Silsila is still very active in the city where qawwali enthralls people every Thursday night at the shrine of Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya at Nizamuddin.
The Silk Road has been influential in more ways than that. Asia’s oldest road, the Grand Trunk Road, was also a part of the Silk Road. The Silk Road connected Turkey, Central and South Asia, China, Persia, and Mongolia. Several kingdoms and empires merged in this exchange of trade, ideas, and culture. If qawwali is emblematic of an Indo-Pak South-Asian identity, the Silk Road is representative of a wholesome Asian identity. Several religious traditions moved through the same. When the Byzantine Christians chased the Nestorians in China, they escaped through the Silk Road, taking their cultural fabric to another land. On the other hand, Islam was spread all over the world by the merchants who traded on the Silk Road, which is why Islamic traditions vary in countries. For instance, Islam in Iran is different from Islam in Morocco or Saudi Arabia or India.
Jashn had attendees like Shanta Sarabjeet Singh (former vice-chairman, Sangeet Natya Academy), Narmada Upadhyaya from Indore (who spoke on the tradition of Indo-Persian miniature paintings in the context of North Indian dance), and Mirza Arif from Delhi (who spoke on Amir Khusrau).
At the same time, it also emphasised the history of miniature paintings in the religious context. As in Upadhyaya’s words, “Indians followed the concept of miniature paintings religiously. They used to paint within a specific block size, whereas Persians were more into definite figure paintings like portraits. A person can actually count the petals and waves in a flower and a rising wave respectively. The fusion of Indo-Persian culture was made famous by legendary artists Khusrau and Wajid Ali Shah relying on the idea of Ganga-Jamuni tehzeeb.”
These artisans developed miniature art in the pre-Mughal era. Awadhi artists also contributed to the same; many miniature paintings, for instance, depicted scenes from the Ramayana. As time passed, portraits of kings were made in the miniature style and Persian strokes developed the nuances of the background. That is when a blue colour scheme got popular. Rajasthani and Awadhi traditions followed the same and thus several Hindu aspects were merged with Indo-Persian attributes.
Another topic discussed at the seminar was the art of dance. Dr Chetana Jyotishi Beohar, said: “In 18th century, the works of Wajid Ali Shah were printed to let audience know about the performing arts, including Raag and Taal. Be it Drupad, Saawan, Sadra, Sargam and Chitram, every culture — whether it is Hinduism, Islamic or Persian — imparts a single idea that God is one and he is the protector of all.” Rani Khanam, the only Indian Muslim kathak dancer, said, “Being from an Islamic background, there were struggles in the early years of my career. I tried to master the art of Kathak. In other art forms too, when you dig deeper you get to know about the history and challenges to ace that art. The art and culture of performing arts existed for centuries. This practice initially took place earlier in 11th century and has been carried along with legacy till present.”
Khusrau and the last Nawab of Awadh, Wajid Ali Shah, were crucial to arts, architecture, language, dance and other forms of culture in that period. To cite an example, kathak emerged as a part of their legacy. Hopefully, the young generation will follow these pursuits with a more scholarly passion.
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