A History of Agriculture in India v2.c80.s1: The City of Agra
A History of Agriculture in India v2.c80.s1
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The City of Agra
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Agra was the capital of Mughal India during the reign of Jahangir. A graphic account of the city of Agra has been provided by a Dutchman, Francisco Pelsaert, in his report entitled *Remonstrantie*, written in 1626. Pelsaert was employed as a factor by the Dutch East India Company at Agra, which was the centre of indigo trade. This report sums up his experience of seven years' stay at Agra. Pelsaert wrote, 'The city of Agra is situated in 28° 45' latitude: The city is exceedingly large, but decayed, open land, unwalled. The streets and houses are built without any regular plan. There are, indeed, many palaces belonging to great princes and lords, but they are hidden away in alleys and corners. This is due to the sudden growth of the city, which was a mere village lying in the jurisdiction of Bayana, until King Akbar chose it for his residence in the year 1566, and built the magnificent fort on the Jumna, which flows past the city, and is a musket-shot broad. The luxuriance of the groves all round makes it resemble a royal park rather than a city, and everyone acquired and purchased the plot of land which suited or pleased him best. Consequently there are no remarkable market-places, or bazars, as there are in Lahore, Burhanpur, Ahmadabad or other cities, but the whole place is closely built over and inhabited; Hindus mingled with Moslems, the rich with the poor; and if the present King (Jahangir) had fixed his residence here as his father did, the city would have become one of the wonders of the world, for the gates which Akbar built for its security (Madari darwaza, Chaharsu darwaza, Nim darwaza, Puttu (?) darwaza, Nuri darwaza) now stand in the middle of the city, and the area of buildings outside them is fully three times greater in extent.
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FIG. 46. Iahangir hunting a blue bull (nilgai). Mughal, c. 1610. (Courtesy: Indian Museum, Calcutta)
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A Turkey cock. Mughal, c. 1612. (Courtesy: Indian Museum, Calcutta)
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'The breadth of the city is by no means so great as the length, because everyone has tried to be close to the river bank, and consequently the water-front is occupied by the costly palaces of all the famous lords, which make it appear very gay and magnificent.
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'Then begins the Shahburj, or royal bastion, of the Fort, the walls of which are built of red cut stone, 25 ells high, and 2 kos in perimeter; in appearance, as well as in cost, it surpasses many of the most famous structures in the world. It is situated on a moderate elevation with a pleasing prospect on all sides, but especially towards the river, where it is magnificently adorned with stone lattice work and gilded windows, and here the King was accustomed to sit when he made his elephants fight. A short distance within stands his Ghusalkhana, which is very richly decked with alabaster, and has four angles and raised seats, the domes over which are plated on the outside with gold, so that the look of it is not only royal on a close view but Imperial from a distance. Beyond this is a palace of Nurjahan Begam, the present Queen. There is little or no room within the Fort, it being occupied by various princely edifices and residences as well as mahals, or palaces for ladies. Among these is the palace of Maryam Makani, wife of Akbar and mother of Jahangir, as well as three other mahals, named respectively Itwar (Sunday), Mangal (Tuesday), and Sanichar (Saturday), in which the King used to sleep on the day denoted by the name, and a fifth, the Bengali Mahal, occupied by ladies of various nations. Internally then the Fort is built over like a city with streets and shops, and has very little resemblance to a fortress, but from the outside anyone would regard it as impregnable.
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'After passing the Fort, there is the Nakhas, a great market, where in the morning horses, camels, oxen, tents, cotton goods, and many other things are sold.
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'On the other side of the river is a city named Sikandra, well built and populated, but chiefly by merchants, for through it must pass all the merchandise brought from Porop, and Bengalen Purop and the Bhutan mountains, namely, cotton goods from Bengal, raw silk from Patna, spikenard, borax, verdigris, ginger, fennel, and thousands of sorts of drugs, and also innumerable kinds of grain, butter, and other provisions, which are produced in the Eastern provinces, and imported thence. Here the great lords far surpass ours in magnificence, for their gardens serve for their enjoyment while they are alive, and after death for their tombs, which during their lifetime they build with great magnificence in the middle of the garden.’¹
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¹ W.H. Moreland and Geyl, P. (tr.), Jahangir’s India—the Remonstrantie Francisco Pelsaert, pp. 2-5
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Jahangir enjoyed a comparatively peaceful reign which enabled him to indulge in hunting and gardening. There are a number of paintings in which he is depicted hunting lions and antelopes. We reproduce one in which he is shown hunting a nilgai. In the background is a cheeta mauling a deer. In the foreground are carcases of antelopes (Fig. 46). Jahangir was endowed with a keen sense of observation, and made accurate observations on animals, birds and plants in his memoirs, the Tuzuk-i-Jahangiri. He also maintained an aviary and a menagerie in which he carried out his tests and experiments, including weighing and measurements of birds and animals. Knowing the tastes of the Emperor, his nobles, traders and foreign visitors presented him rare birds and animals.