[Reader-list] death and bazaar: among the dead

[Anand Vivek Taneja]

Dear Marya,

I work at sarai, and I pass the grayeyard you mention on my way to
work, and on my way to almost anywhere, as a matter of fact.

From your postings so far it seems as if you're concentrating on this
particular cemtery/necropolis and the lodi road crematorium adjacent
to it.

I'd recommend a story called 'Kabadi' by the Malyalam author Anand -
the story is about a  ragpicker who lived on a slum on the edges of
this particular cemetery in delhi, and died in a riot engineered to
expand the boundary of the crematorium. I have oversimplified the
story here, for it powerfully weaves together a brilliant picture of
Delhi - migration, illgeality, landgrabbing, exploitation, slums and
flyovers. And though the story is purportedly fictional, the author is
very much in tune with the realities, the processes and conflicts that
make up delhi. All of which can be seen in the story of the Kabadi
waala and his precarious slum on the edge of the cemetery - the living
squatting on the land of the dead.

There is still a slum hanging on to the edgs of the cemetery. this is
on the eastern side, where you become aware that the cemtery is
actually an island. the land of the cemtery forms a wedge bound by two
ganda nallahs, which were once part of medieval delhi's irrigation
network, and are now part of the sewage network. with these two
nallahs, and the main road on the west, the cemtery is essentially an
island very distintly separate from the habitations to its north and
south, nizamuddin  and jangpura, and from the cgo complex on the west.

it would be interesting to see the cemtery in its historical contexts.
many medieval towns had graves stretching outside their walls or
borders, often called the 'ganj-e-shahidan'... did this cemtery serve
a similar function for the settlement around Nizamuddin/Ghiyaspur?
What were/are its connections to the mosque near the nallah? To the
Dargah Fatima Bi across the road? And  to the streams that bound it on
two sides, and must have done so historically as well? How have those
connections altered with the devlopment of the new roads, the coming
of flyovers, the CGO complex and the Lodi hotel? How did the process
of 'land grab' by the Lodi Road cemtery happen? What is the relation
of the slums to the cemetery?

Also, it might be interesting to speak to someone at the Wakf Board.
By law, the wakf Board owns the land on which any Muslim cemtery
exists. How does this work in practise? The Wakf board has recently
lain claim to the Taj Mahal and the revenues it generates - because it
contains Muslim graves. Which opens an interesting area for us - since
a lot of extant Islamic architecture in India is funerary in nature.
interesting possibilites there - I would recommend looking at some of
Richard  Eaton's work.

I would also stress trying to figure out your cemtery's connections
with the Nizamuddin Dargah and Basti. For the dargah is essentially
built around the veneration of graves. 'Death and the bazaar' carries
on at the urs of Nizamuddin  Auliya, which is on right now...

Finally, on an upbeat note, I hope taking pictures is part of your
project. because I have passed the graveyard on the evenings of , I
think, Shabe-Baraat (or Shabberraat?) and Shab-e-Mehraj. (I am
probably wrong about this - but on some evenings...). Individual
graves were lit with tens of candles in the gathering dusk, and the
whole place  looked really beautiful.... I hope you can capture that
on film!

Cheers,
Anand

ps - The short story, 'Kabadi' by Anand is in the collection 'Image
and Representation: Stories of Muslim Lives in India', edited by
Mushirul Hasan and M. Asaduddin, and published by OUP. I have a copy
of the book. You can borrow it when you're next in Sarai.


On 5/26/05, marya shakil <maryashakil at hotmail.com> wrote:
> Dear friends,
> 
> 
> We intend to enter a new space through this posting.
> 
> 
> Choosing a space and deciding upon it is quite a task.The location? The
> neighbours? Comfort? And what all comes to our mind…………..
> 
> I am dead.The space will be decided by someone else and I have No Say. But
> we can tell our loved ones to take care of "all that" after Death.
> 
> Shamim Khan of an upper middle class background says he followed his
> father's will and buried him at the place he desired. He had expressed his
> desire for his final resting place. Were the neighbours known to him? - His
> wife and mother.
> 
> 
> 
> He repulsed our presence. We were researchers intruding and knocking at the
> doors he had shut two months back. His father was one of the pandits who
> performed the last rites at the Lodhi Road Crematorium.
> 
> 
> Pt. Manish Kumar, a B Com graduate wanted to know our "motive behind the
> research" . It was sacrilege,us addressing his calling as an industry. He
> was determined that he would not be convinced. Reasons? He was there by
> Will. Carrying on the family tradition. The issue wasn't the prestige.
> "pundit are no longer respected" so why did he choose it. Family prestige
> and societal acceptance. "He had to continue the tradition" while his
> brothers are quite well placed as chartered accountants. Dressed in a
> starched white kurta, Manish clearly did not belong to the place where he
> was placed. He was visibly upset with his circumstances but couldn't state
> it. But Why? For "karma and dharma".
> 
> 
> It was "his day". According to the distribution of the task the eight
> pandits of the crematorium perform rites on the allotted days. Interesting
> day-wise distribution
> 
> 7 days- 8 pandits how does it work. "it works for us….why are you worried.
> Come with a dead and see it for yourself". We were not the customers.
> 
> Accommodation is "first Class" with quarters given within the premises.
> Besides the 8 masters of the dead, the crematorium provides employment to
> two malis and "others".
> 
> 
> Hierarcy exists among the eight as well. Pt Ramesh Kumar whom we had met on
> our first visit is the most press savvy. "He is the one who responds to all
> the queries and he is the head" told Pt.Daulat Sharma. Sitting in the office
> of the crematorium he attended 5 calls while talking to us. So who pays the
> telephone bills and the malis and other employees. It's the Arya Samaj Jor
> bagh that looks after the maintenance. What about their appointments." We
> are here on our will….grandfather, father and then I" what if your son wants
> to take up some other profession. Such an option exists. Daulat Sharma
> avoided any questions related to the boundary wall that separates the
> graveyard and the issue of the disputed land.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> We were welcomed on the other side. Have the dead started recognizing us.
> Sakina was delighted to see us. Her grand child was sleeping in the
> graveyard., next to a grave.
> 
> Its just like any other resting place.
> 
> 
> This time we manage to talk to another living presence in the graveyard. An
> elderly rugged looking man, dressed in rags. The father-in-law of Ghulam
> Rasool. His son-in-law is away on work, so he can talk.
> 
> His reason for being there. As a guardian of his granddaughter who has now
> become of marriageable age. "Its unsafe not having a male member around.
> This place is open and accessible." So he stands in proxy while the father
> is away. So how long does he plan to stay here.' As soon as she gets married
> I'll leave', says he.
> 
> So many conflicts,where the dead live!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Sakina, her friends and this old man are hopeful, they will benefit from us.
> We give them ten rupees each for their chai-pani. They have not received
> anything since morning. Its already lunchtime now. Their faces have
> brightened up at the sight of the tenner.
> 
> In turn we are blessed.
> 
> 
> We promise to come back. We want to talk more. We have built our
> acquaintances here. It's a familiar place now.
> 
> Time will tell, of our return ,to this living space of the dead.
> 
> _________________________________________________________________
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> 
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-- 
Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons, because you are crunchy and
taste good with ketchup.
(with apologies to Dilbert)
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Only that historian will have the gift of fanning the spark of hope in
the past who is firmly convinced that without a sense of humour you're
basically pretty f***ed anyway.
(with apologies to Walter Benjamin)
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