M Saleem Beg
Meeras Mahal Museum of Ethnography, the first of its kind in northern India, has existed in Sopore for over a decade. Living up to its name (Meeras Mahal: The House of Heritage), the museum embodies the lived history and experiences of the inhabitants of Kashmir. Its collection represents the people’s myriad responses to the changing economic and social fortunes of the Valley. This museum, like museums in general, plays a pivotal role in enriching our comprehension of history. They serve as custodians of our cultural heritage, preserving artifacts that offer a tangible connection to the past.
Initially established as an individual effort by Ms. Atiqa Bano, who served the Department of Education, J&K, in various senior positions, including Joint Director of Education. Her passion for preserving Kashmir’s past led her to travel extensively within the Kashmir Valley, collecting objects of interest. For her, everything was valuable, from watches, telephones, and spectacles from the 80s to centuries-old manuscripts, terracotta, and coins. With determined efforts, she amassed over 7000 artifacts, most of which are everyday items that were a common sight in Kashmir until the end of the twentieth century. The collections are categorized into Terracotta, Woodwork, Wicker and Grass ware, Metal (including Jewelry), Stone, Textiles, and Manuscripts. The terracotta collection, sourced from various regions of Kashmir, features everyday kitchen items like pickle jars, clay stoves, and water pitchers, each bearing the mark of Kashmir’s artisanal heritage. The museum proudly displays a rich collection of wicker baskets and traditional Kashmiri firepots, skillfully crafted from terracotta and encased in wicker frames.
In 2017, Atiqa Bano passed away, leaving behind a legacy embodied by the treasure trove of Meeras Mahal. Today, the museum is managed by the Meeras Mahal Trust, based in Sopore, and overseen by the Trust Committee. Recognizing its immense cultural significance, INTACH, Kashmir Chapter, has been steadfast in its support, working to introduce the collection to a broader audience. INTACH, funded by the Aliph Foundation Switzerland, undertook the preventive conservation of the artifacts through its manuscript conservation center. The foundation had introduced a post-COVID rehabilitation program for cultural assets under which this museum received the grant. The funding also facilitated the preparation of the website, meerasmahalmuseum.com.
The efforts of the Trust, along with INTACH’s support, garnered the attention of the Delhi-based SPAN Foundation, which generously supported a comprehensive refurbishment and renovation program prepared by the INTACH Kashmir Chapter. Recognizing the need for a contemporary and accessible museum, the museum building and its interiors were redesigned. Galleries were created to accommodate 30 percent of the museum’s collection, following standard international norms for museums, allowing each artifact to shine individually. Today, Meeras Mahal is a testament to Atiqa Bano’s unwavering commitment to preserving Kashmir’s rich cultural heritage. The museum’s artifacts are categorized into terracotta, woodwork, wicker and glassware, metalwork (including exquisite jewelry), stone artifacts, textiles, and ancient manuscripts. Each section offers a unique window into the life of Kashmir Valley’s past inhabitants, allowing visitors to connect with their ancestral heritage.
Collections
The museum is home to more than 7000 artifacts that provide an ethnographic lens into the rich cultural heritage of the Kashmir valley, especially its hinterland. Most of these artifacts are items of everyday use that were a common sight in Kashmir up until the end of the twentieth century.
These collections have been classified into Terracotta, Woodwork, Wicker and Grass ware, Metal (including Jewelry), Stone, Textiles, and Manuscripts.
The Terracotta collection, acquired from various regions of Kashmir, primarily includes items of everyday kitchen use such as different varieties of matths (storage vessels for storing pickles, curd, and water), lopun (large storage vessels for storing grains), daan(clay stoves), toer (serving bowls), chai pateil (tea pans), name (spice grinding basins), martaban (containers) and naer (jugs). Complementing this collection are the artefacts of wicker/grass, stone, and wood. The museum features a rich collection of zaen (wicker baskets) and kangris (traditional Kashmiri firepot made of terracotta and encased in a wicker frame) that were crucial to effective running of a Kashmiri household. The stoneware, amongst other things, includes large mortars that were used for the process of hulling or husking the paddy crop to obtain rice grains. In wood, a wide variety of containers, kitchen tools, children’s toys, and wooden sandals form the highlight of the collection while the metalware includes locks, coins, weights and measures, bolts, and a diverse collection of tools. Together, these artifacts encapsulate Kashmir’s domestic space’s richness, intricacies, and historical evolution.
The collection also brings alive the patterns of public life in Kashmir, showcasing the integrated realities of the private and public spheres in the Valley. The stone-based hand mills and querns, wooden lattice screens, intricately carved wooden columns, and window frames are representative of the proficient agricultural machinery and the vernacular construction technology that developed in the region.
The Meeras Mahal is also home to an exquisite collection of white metal hand-made jewelry. The collection includes a wide variety of haar (necklaces), tikka (head pendants), kaenvaej (earrings), halqa-band (chokers), a diverse assortment of bracelets and arm jewelry, mas kaent (elegant hairpins) and kasabtsisin (kasab pins) and embellished buttons. Made with the techniques of cutwork, engraving, and embossing, these items of everyday wear and ceremonial adornment highlight the traditional technologies of jewelry making that developed in Kashmir. The pottery, decorative wood ware, ceremonial wicker ware, and a small collection of traditional textiles throw light on the myriad craft traditions that adorn the cultural landscape of Kashmir, namely wood carving, potter making, pinjrakari (lattice work), kaenikaem (wicker craft), sang taraashi (stone carving), embroidery and shawl making. In addition, the few musical instruments displayed at the museum are representative of the sheer richness and diversity of Kashmiri music.
While the majority of the artifacts preserved at the museum belong to the late 19th or early 20th centuries, a few archaeological artifacts, especially stone sculptures and coinage date back to the ancient and medieval times. Similarly, the manuscript section of the museum houses a multi-lingual corpus of primary and secondary literature on poetry, history, literature, and religion including a few hand-written manuscripts that date back to the 18th century. Museums are not mere collections of objects of historic value.
The most significant part of the Intach-Meeras Mahal project is the interpretation for creating knowledge and education that the collections provide for visitors. Some examples of exploring their educational significance that have been provided at the Museum are worth mentioning here. As an example, the terracotta objects have been placed in the following context in the panel adjoining the display:
“Pottery is one of the oldest inventions in the history of mankind, and, as a result, pottery cultures across the world have developed as a specialized activity, with its makers acquiring a distinct social-economic entity. Similar developments can be noted in Kashmir, where pottery making has developed as a specialized profession performed by only a specific artisan caste group. The potters in Kashmir are called kral who are found across the valley. Patterns of occupational settlements and endogamy were shared amongst the kral of Kashmir. Many villages in the valley (Kralpora, Gufkral) are named after this profession. In Srinagar, the neighborhoods of Kralyar, KralSangri were once the hub of pottery making. Today, many potters continue to use the title of Kumar (potter in Urdu) in their name.
The museum collection at Meeras Mahal showcases a myriad of terracotta objects, acquired from various parts of Kashmir. These artifacts, primarily items of everyday kitchen use, are testimony to the rich tradition of terracotta used in Kashmir that, with the rise of modern technology and use of metal, is now fading out. Terracotta musical instruments, oil lamps, and toys are also part of this collection.—”
Likewise, wickerwork, the other lead collection has been explained as under:
“The craft of wickerwork is called kanikaem in Kashmir. Wicker refers to a process of weaving reeds or twigs of a particular plant into a wide variety of furniture and containers. In Kashmir, the stems of the locally grown willow plant are typically used in this craft. While the use of wicker isa functional product for use in villages for dailyhousehold and farm work, cultivation of improved varieties of wicker gave rise to a craft industry that became popular in Kashmir only in the 20th century when large-scale willow plantation was undertaken by the Forest Department. Oral legends, however, suggest that it was the Dogra ruler Maharaja Hari Singh (1925-47AD) who brought 12kgs of willow seeds and got wicker craftsmen from European lands to introduce high-end wicker products.
The highlight of this collection is the wicker baskets that represent the range of wicker ware produced in Kashmir. Locally referred to as the Zaen, wicker baskets were once a common sight in every Kashmiri household. They were used to carry food items like bread, eggs, fruit and hold crockery. Their utility spanned from every day to ceremonial use. From simple weaves to ornate, intricate designs; the Meeras Mahal is home to a wide variety of wicker baskets that are a true specimen of the artistry of Kashmiri basket makers or the Shaksaaz.”
A visit to the Museum thus becomes a source of immense importance for trying to understand the cultural, economic, and social relevance of these and other collections.
Community Engagement
The museum is directly connected to the local community as it has largely built on contributions of artifacts from members of the public. Local communities from Sopore, Srinagar, and other areas of North Kashmir have actively participated and volunteered in preparing displays, events, fundraisers, and inventories for the museum. Most of the people engaged in the maintenance and promotion of the museum work pro bono. The only gratifying reward for them is promoting Kashmiri culture and cherished values to the larger audience.
The museum is visited by school and college students, visitors, and other members of communities due to its significant educational value. The objects have a huge cultural and heritage value as they depict a lifestyle and living pattern of a bygone era of Kashmir. The museum has been used by the local population to get an understanding of the life and times of our immediate ancestors. In Kashmir, it is the only other museum apart from the government-run Sri Pratap Singh Museum and perhaps contains more relevant artifacts that local communities can relate to than the SPS Museum as it gives them first-hand information about their immediate vernacular past.
(The author is former Director General Tourism, Convener INTACH, J&K)
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