Travels in India (Tavernier) 10: Route from Surat to Agra by BurhAnpur and Sironj
Travels in India (Ball) 10
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Route from Surat to Agra by BurhAnpur and Sironj
10.1
All the routes by which one can travel to the principal towns of India are not less well known to me than are those of Turkey and of Persia, and, for six journeys which I have made from Paris to Ispahan, I have made double the number from Ispahan to Agra, and to several other places in the Empire of the Great Mogul. But it would weary the reader to cause him to pass more than once by the same roads while giving him an account of these different journeys, and of sundry small adventures with which they have been accompanied ; therefore it is that, without indicating for him the times at which I have made them, it will suffice to give him an exact description of each route. There are but two roads from Surat to Agra, one by BurhAnpur and Sironj, and the other by AhmadAbAd, and the first will form the subject of this chapter. From Surat to Barnoly (Bardoli), 14 coss. Bardoli is a large town where you cross a river by a ford, and traverse in this first march a country of mixed character, sometimes meeting woods, and sometimes fields of wheat and rice. From Barnoly to Balor (Ballor), 10 coss.
10.2
Ballor is also a large village, and is situated on a tank which has about a league in circuit, upon the edge of which you see a good fort, which, however, they neglect to keep in repair. Three-quarters of a league on this side of the village you pass a rivulet by a ford, but with much difficulty, because there are many rocks and stones under the water which are liable to overturn a carriage. You travel this second day nearly altogether in woods. From Balor to Kerkoa, or, as they now call it, the Begum’s caravansardi, 5 coss. This caravansardi is large and spacious, and it is Begum-Sahib, the daughter of ShAh JahAn, who caused it to be built as a work of charity. For formerly the stage from Ballor to NawapurA was too long, and this place being on the frontier of the country of those Rajas who are generally unwilling to recognise the Great Mogul, whose vassals they are, scarcely a caravan passed there which was not ill-treated; moreover, it is a forest country. Between the caravansardi and NawapurA you pass a river by a ford, and another close to NawapurA. From Kerkoa to Navapoura (NawapurA), 15 coss.
10.3
NawapurA is a large village full of weavers, but rice constitutes the principal article of commerce in the place. A river passes by it, which makes the soil excellent, and irrigates the rice, which requires water. All the rice which grows in this country possesses a particular quality, causing it to be much esteemed. Its grain is half as small again as that of common rice, and, when it is cooked, snow is not whiter than it is, besides which, it smells like musk, and all the nobles of India eat no other. When you wish to make an acceptable present to any one in Persia, you take him a sack of this rice. It is the river which passes Kericoa, and the others of which I have spoken, which combine to form the Surat river. From Navapoura to Nasarbar (NandurbAr) 9 coss. ,, Nasarbar to Dol-Medan (?) . . 14 ,, ,, Dol-Medan to Senquera (Sindkheir) 7 ,, ,, Senquera to Tallener (Talneir) . 10 ,, At Talneir you cross the river which goes to Broach, where it is very wide, and from thence it flows into the Gulf of Cambay. From Tallener to Choupre (ChoprA) . 15 coss. ,, Choupre to Senquelis (Sankli) . 13 ,, ,, Senquelis to Nabir (RAver ?) . 10 ,, ,, Nabir to Baldelpoura (BalledA) 9 ,, It is at BalledA that loaded carts pay the BurhAnpur customs dues, but the carts which only carry passengers pay nothing. Between NawapurA and BurhAnpur it is all a good country for wheat, rice, and indigo. From Baldelpoura to Brampour (BurhAnpur), 5 coss.
10.4
Burhānpur is a large, much-ruined town, of which the houses are for the most part covered with thatch. It has a large castle still standing in the middle of the town, and it is there that the Governor resides. The government of this province is so important that it is conferred only upon a son or an uncle of the King, and Aurangzeb, who now reigns, was for a long time Governor of Burhānpur during the reign of his father. But since they have realised what can be yielded by the province of Bengal, which formerly bore the title of kingdom, as I shall elsewhere indicate, its government is now the most considerable in the Empire of the Great Mogul. There is a large trade in this town, and both at Burhānpur itself and in all the province an enormous quantity of very transparent muslins are made, which are exported to Persia, Turkey, Muscovie, Poland, Arabia, Grand Cairo, and other places. Some of these are dyed various colours and with flowers, and women make veils and scarfs of them; they also serve for the covers of beds, and for handkerchiefs, such as we see in Europe with those who take snuff. There are other fabrics, which they allow to remain white, with a stripe or two of gold or silver the whole length of the piece, and at each of the ends, from the breadth of one inch up to twelve or fifteen — in some more, and in others less — it is a tissue of gold, silver, and of silk with flowers, whereof there is no reverse, one side being as beautiful as the other.
10.5
If those which they export to Poland, where they are in great demand, have not at both ends, at the least, three or four inches of gold or silver, or if this gold and silver become black when crossing the ocean between Surat and Hormuz, and from Trebizonde to Mangalia, or other ports of the Black Sea, the merchant cannot dispose of them except at great loss. He ought to take great care that the goods are well packed, and that damp cannot enter: this, for so long a voyage, requires much care and trouble. Some of these fabrics are all banded, half cotton and half gold or silver, and such pieces are called ornis. They contain from fifteen to twenty ells, and cost from one hundred to one hundred and fifty rupees, the cheapest being not under ten or twelve. Those which are only about two ells long serve ladies of rank for the purpose of making scarfs and the veils which they wear on their heads, and they are sold in abundance in Persia and in Turkey. They make, besides, at Burhanpur other kinds of fabrics, and there is hardly another province in the whole of India which has a greater abundance of cotton. In leaving the town of Burhanpur there is another river to be crossed besides the large one of which I have above spoken; as it has no bridge, when the water is low you cross by a ford, and by boat in the rainy season. The distance from Surat to Burhanpur is 132 coss, and these coss are the smallest in India, a cart being able to traverse one in less than an hour.
10.6
I remember here a strange commotion which arose at Burhanpur in the year 1641, when I was returning from Agra to Surat. In a few words, the origin of it was as follows. The Governor of the Province, who was the nephew of the King on his mother’s side, had among his pages a young man of handsome appearance and fairly good family, who had a brother who lived as a Dervish, and for whom all the town entertained much veneration. One day . . . the page, observing that he was about to commit an offence, stabbed him three times in the stomach, and slew him before he could open his lips to cry aloud. This being done, the page left the palace without allowing any sign of emotion to appear on his face, and the guards at the gate thought that the Governor had sent him on some message.
10.7
The Dervish having learnt from his brother how the affair had passed, in order to preserve him from the fury of the people, and to disclose at the same time the infamy of the Governor, caused all the other Dervishes, his comrades, to seize the banners of Muhammad which were planted about the mosque, and at the same time they cried out that all the Dervishes and Fakirs and others, who were good Muhammadans, should follow them. In less than an hour a multitude of rabble assembled, and the Dervish, taking the lead with his brother, went straight to the palace, crying out with all their might, “Let us die for Muhammad, or let them give to us that infamous person in order that dogs may eat him after his death, as he is not worthy to be interred amongst Mussulmans.” The guard of the palace was not in a condition to resist such a multitude, and would have yielded to them, if the Darogha of the town with five or six nobles had not found an opportunity of making themselves heard, and of appeasing them, by representing to them that they should have some respect for a nephew of the King, and by obliging them to withdraw. The same night the body of the Governor was carried to Agra, together with his harem, and Shah Jahan, who reigned then, having heard the news, was not in the least distressed, because he inherited the property of all his subjects, and he even bestowed on the page a small appointment in Bengal. From Brampour to Piombi-sera (?), 5 coss.
10.8
Before proceeding further, it should be remarked that throughout, wherever the word sera occurs, it means that it is a great enclosure of walls or hedges, within which are arranged all round 50 or 60 huts covered with thatch. There are some men and women there who sell flour, rice, butter, and vegetables, and who take care to prepare bread and cook rice. If by chance any Muhammadan should come there, he goes to the village to seek for a piece of mutton or a fowl, and those who supply the food to the traveller clean out for him the house that he wishes to take, and place in it a small bed of girths, upon which he spreads the mattress that he carries on the road. From Piombi-sera to Pander (Mandwa) . 3 coss. From Pander to Balki-sera (Balwārā ?) . 6 coss. Balki-serā to Nevelki-sera (?) . 5 Nevelki-sera to Cousemba (?) . 5 Cousemba to Chenipour (Chainpur) 3 Chenipour to Charoua (Charwā) . 8 Charoua to Bich-ola (Bicholā) . 8 Bich-ola to Andy (Hindiā) . . 4 At Hindiā you cross a river which discharges itself into the Ganges between Benares and Patna. From Andy to Onquenas (?) . . . 4 coss. Onquenas to Tiquery (?) . . 5 Tiquery to Toolmeden (?) . . 4 Toolmeden to Nova-sera (?) . . 4 Nova-sera to Ichavour (Ichāwar). 4 Ichavour to Signor (Sehore) . 5 Signor to Chekaipour (Sheikhpurā) 3 Chekaipour to Dour-ay (Durāhā) . 3 Dour-ay to Ater-kaira (Hatiākherā) 3 Ater-kaira to Telor (Dilod) . 4