Serendipity in Khurja.

Sometimes unplanned trips hold the most surprises.One crispy winter morning in January turned blissful when my Aunt came over to Delhi to visit her in -laws and see off her husband’s niece ,who was going back to Canada.

My Uncle’s niece had come down from Canada with her family after three years and before bidding farewell to her he had planned two trips back to back to make her trip even  more memorable and eventful.

Day one was planned for Agra ,a visit to the Taj Mahal and to the Mazaar of Shaheed-e- Salis(third martyr)

Day two was kept especially for kids to enjoy ,and a trip to a Pottery Factory in Khurja was organised for them.

I too was invited to join in the family fun as she was a childhood buddy ,we grew up together  and met often on family gatherings.I was more keen on paying a visit to the Mazaar  of Shaheed e Salis or the  (third martyr)  in Agra.Of the little I knew of him was that, he was an eminent Shia faqih (Jurist) and Alim(Scholar) of the Mughal period.

Somehow visit to Agra wasn’t in store for me ,but Allah had planned something else for me ,and it was going to be unfolded right before my eyes.

Day two was kept especially for kids, a visit to Pottery Factory. I was just as excited to visit it .I wanted my daughter to join the family and to see for herself the labour that goes into making a piece of pottery as simple as a plate.

I decided to skip her school just to make sure that she wouldn’t miss this precious opportunity to observe and see for herself ,the art of making a pottery as it was going to be an  educational as well as a thoroughly enjoyable experience.

Before leaving I was told that we would be visiting Akbar Allahabadi’s house in Khurja,not knowing that I would start my tour of Khurja from that historical mansion.

photo credit :rekhta.org

Akbar Hussain Rizvi popularly known as Akbar Allahabadi (1846-1921)was an Indian Urdu poet .He retired as a Session Judge from the Allahabad High Court.

The thought of visiting a great Urdu poet’s house brought back a flash- back of childhood memories .I along with my younger brother Hasan had visited the house of eminent Urdu poet Raghupati Sahai’ Firaq’ Gorakhpuri as little kids in his lifetime in his hometown of Gorakhpur (Uttar Pradesh, India).

My father was his colleague , working with him in the English Department of Allahabad University.

My childhood was filled with my Father and Uncle’s reciting Urdu couplets and poetry,Urdu seemed like a language that was sweet to both mind and soul.Though at times I would fail to understand it’s meaning ,it’s vocabulary would work like magic to my ears.

Akbar Allahabadi house :Khurja

What awaited me in Khurja was even more than I could have ever imagined:

We started our trip in Khurja from the mansion in which Akbar Allahabadi used to reside.It was now occupied by Mrs.Jyotsna Singh who is working as ADJ (Additional District Judge)in Khurja city.

Photo credit :Mrs.Jyotsna Singh

The mansion was lying in a diaplilated state for many years until the passion of Mrs.Jyotsna Singh uplifted it and gave it a new life . In my  brief meeting with her she told me that government officials would come and stay in one particular room and refused to even clean the property for rumours of evil spirits doing the rounds.(sadly even today we are still a superstitious society)

Mrs.Singh  preserved this historical mansion ,along with the unflinching support from her husband.

Photo credit : Mrs.Jyotsna Singh

She maintains that she finds inspiration and motivation from her family ,especially her mother.

Louvre:

She showed me the Louvre’s preserved in their original form in the house.

Louvre is a set of angled slats , fixed or hung at regular intervals in a door , shutter or screen to allow air or light to pass through.This particular piece of architecture is found in old havelis or mansions dotted across India.

On an interesting note she told me that Louvre the famous Museum in Paris (France) is named after this .

Skylights:

Photo credit:Mrs.Jyotsna Singh

One interesting observation I made was the skylights scattered across the property especially in the kitchen area and bathrooms.It reminded me of skylights in Hammams (Bath house)in Alhambra (Spain) though I never got a chance to see it in person but my research and pictures drew me to it’s similarity I was seeing in Khurja.Two cultures so different ,so unique ,so distant  yet so similar in their approach to daily lives.

Elephant Eye:

Photo credit : Turkishtowelstore.com

Hammam is a Public Bath House usually with separate baths for men and women.Long before the advent of Beauty Parlour’s and Spas these were the ideal places to detox mind and body along with socialising in the Islamic world ,later it caught the fancy and  imagination in the West.

The domes of  Hammams or( Bathing Houses )are decorated with Circular, Hexagonal or Star- Shaped Windows.These Windows are called as ‘Elephant Eyes’.They allow the light to enter at any time of the day.

The’ Elephant Eye ‘,windows on the domes were designed by special insufflation methods and were used for illumination.

Skylights on Hammams or( Bath House) scattered across Turkey ,Morroco,Syria  ,Iran and other Middle Eastern countries provide light and air to a rather simple and compact space.

Acknowledgment:

I salute Mrs.Jyotsna Singh’s  modesty and passion in maintaining (a mansion so historically important) in it’s original form ,giving her time,energy and soul into preserving it ,knowing that one day as a Sarkari Afsar (government official) she would have to vacate the mansion for another official.

History and culture is our identity and Indian heartland is dotted with unique stories, history and myths . Infact every stone in every nook and corner of India has a story to tell.

I feel proud and privileged to have met a person both beautiful inside out. A person and an officer who can be an inspiration to millions in our country, preserving the cultural fabric ,the Ganga -Jamuna tehzeeb of our society.

Khurja Pottery Factory: Visit to the Ceramic City.

Next trip was planned to take children to the pottery factory in Khurja.

Khurja is a city in the Bulandshahr district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.

Khurja supplies a large portion of the ceramic used in the country,hence it is sometimes called the ,’Ceramic City’.

There are around 500 factories scattered across the city supplying and supporting the ceramic industry in India.

I was very excited to visit the pottery factory like an excited school kid.

There is no age to learn and I was keen to learn and know as to  what goes into making a piece of pottery.

Chhabra Industries:

Upon entering the ceramic factory ,there was an eerie silence, every worker was engaged in their craft.Some craftsmen used stencil to draw on the pottery,

while some craftsmen were doing free hand sketching which needed a lot of time,patience and concentration.

Mr.Razi Ahmad Khan and his younger brother Mr.Wasi Ahmad Khan  were a gracious host taking us around the factory ,explaining to the children and giving us the  minute details of pottery making.Their father Mohammad Abdul Rahim Khan is the proprietor of  this factory .

There were 6 stages that goes into making a clay into a piece of pottery they told us.The difficult one’s are the plates or flatware .They have to be kept in moulds specially designed for the heat in the furnace.Every piece of pottery undergoes different temperature changes and are kept in the burning furnace approximately for 36 hours to keep them sturdy and in shape.

Highway Chaupal:

Photo credit :Mr.Wasi Ahmad Khan

We ended our trip with a sumptuous lunch at Highway Chaupal another initiative by the brother’s which offers retail and restaurant under one roof.

In case, you happen to be on Grand Trunk Road you can try food at Highway Chaupal along with shopping the eye -candy ceramics.

Address :

Highway Chaupal,

Dharpa Mod,

G.T.Road , Khurja

203131

Uttar Pradesh

Contact:9759034446

9720362605

Website:www.highwaychaupal.com