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A window to other times

Photo: Mita Kapur

Elegant aesthetic: Rare manuscripts at the institute.

The building belies what it holds within its decrepit rooms. For a book lover, it’s like entering the secret cave in Aladdin’s story. There are stories waiting to be discovered in the main hall, where a 50-year-old hand fan which belonged to the last Nawab’s begum, hangs, where a map of the Tonk riyasat shows how it was divided into six parts by the British to keep its Nawabs busy so they couldn’t plan any rebellion against them, where original letters written by Mirza Ghalib dating back to the late 19th century are framed on walls, where pencil sketches by Jigar Muradabadi are preserved, and the original treaty signed between the Nawab of Tonk and the British, with Hastings and Metcalfe’s signatures visible, stands framed in the central hall ….there are afsaanas and dastaans ….and we were yet to enter the main library and museum!

For 28 years, Nawab Muhammad Ali Khan, the ruler of Tonk, lived in exile in Benaras for opposing the British and threatening a rebellion against them in 1867. Those 28 years were spent in sharpening his intellect and wit, collecting rare books, manuscripts, letters, writing and translating some of them himself. His son, Abdur Rahim, took the entire collection back to Tonk and in 1946, Nawab Saadat Ali Khan transferred all the tomes to the District Library. Formed as an institute in 1978, it was named the Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Arabic, Persian Research Institute in 1989. Its literary treasures date back to Fifth Century of the Hijra era covering science, philosophy, history, religion, medicine, astrology, literature and it boasts of a collection of 8,087 manuscripts, 28,188 books, 674 farmans, 12,957 magazines, judgement files and records of the erstwhile Tonk State.

That the Institute is a treasure trove of some of rarest manuscripts and scriptures gives an immense feeling of pride for all of us living in Rajasthan. The Director, a passionate and devoted man, took us around the entire building. That one room which opened up one cameo after another keeps coming to my mind. Under one roof, we saw the Tarikhi-i-Masudi, a hand-written note from Rahim, Akbar’s Firman — its paper has been attacked by termites but the ink is such that no termite can eat into it, along with realms of history captive in pages that have survived the ticking of time. Centuries of preservation stare at us in tragic contrast to how we are preserving these valuable tomes and documents.

The original manuscript of the history of 74 Iranian emperors in Persian and the Tarikh-i-Guzidah which is a historical account from the ninth to the 15th Century lie here for researchers and scholars to examine and learn from. A rare and precious manuscript,

Tarikh-i-Taj-Ganj chronicling an account of Mumtaz Mahal and the description of Taj Mahal, covering the period from the 13th to the 19th century sits proudly along with the original Akbarnamah. A detailed history of Rajasthan compiled by Kali Ram Kayasth, Tarikh-i-Rajasthan, (1209-1794) under Maharaja Pratap Singh is the only surviving history of the State before Colonel Todd. An entire commentary on the Holy Quran, Sawati-ul-Ilham, written by Shaikh Abul Faiz Faizi, without using any mukta — a well nigh impossible task — is a proud part of this nayab collection. To match this, we found a Quran written in just 30 pages by Abdul Baqki with each line starting with an alif. An ornate manuscript in real gold and Kashmiri work done by Kamal-ud-din Husain Kashifi in 910 AD lies next to Santh-ul-Bukhari, composed before 870 AD, copied before 1510 AD — an exquisite work of calligraphic art of the minutest naskh.

Probably some of the earliest translations of rare books exist here. The Ram Charit Manas, copied in 1885 in the Shikastah script first, is found in Awadhi here. Tarikh-i-Ranthambor (13th-15th Century) is a Persian rendering of a Hindi book. There are translations from Sanskrit to Persian of works like Lilawati, written by the mathematician Bhaskaracharya and translated by Abul Fazl Faizi. The Mahabharata written in Urdu during Akbar’s reign is preserved here.

There is section devoted only to preserve and secure rare manuscripts and books by using ajwain ka sath, thymal crystal, acetone, cellulose paper. The technician showed us the entire process of fumigation to destroy termites and worked his way about pressing tattered pages deftly. The basic differences between calligraphic styles were explained, how the khat-e-makhoos differed from a khat-e-gulzar. It was a step back not only in time but also into a culture, a language that combined artistry with solid knowledge and techniques.

There are many such gems, each as valuable, their worth immeasurable not only in monetary terms but in the role they play of opening up new vistas and worlds unknown to us — an exposure to lives and times in all its multi-faceted content. Knowledge management is not a field unknown to India — this institute’s collection proves that we have been into it for centuries now. What is of concern is whether we are doing anything to save what we have. There is a huge lacuna in the act of preservation and information dissemination here. These rare pieces need to be preserved keeping in mind the requirement of controlling dust, light, moisture, pilferage and security. The systems currently in place do not suffice. The Director rued the fact that the grants received from the Central and State governments are paltry and don’t serve the purpose of hiring expertise to sufficiently process and preserve what they have. There is an urgency and immediacy that demands action here — action in terms of sprucing up the institute as a research centre, as a library and as a museum.

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