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Costumes & textiles of Awadh
Legacy of a nawab Interview with Rajkumar Mohd Amir Naqi Khan of Basha State, Lucknow My interview with Rajkumar Mohd Amir Naqi Khan of Basha State was an experience in itself. From the moment I entered his palace (Iqbal Manzil, Wazirganj, Lucknow) till the end of the interview, I had a strange sensation of travelling back into the enchanting era of nawabs. His house was full of photographs of bygone days, which showed that the palace was the centre of political and cultural activities at the time of the British Raj and the Independence movement of India. Rajkumar Mohd Amir Naqi Khan belongs to the royal family of Mahmudabad. He can be considered the preserver of Awadhi culture, as can be seen from his multifarious activities. The most important of these are his contributions to the preservation of historical monuments of Lucknow and the revival of
Left: Late Maharaja Sir Mohd. Ali Mohd. Khan (1876-1931) is wearing his ceremonial dress, ‘khillat, patka, churidar paijama, heeled shoes and holding the customary sword as a sign of nobility. Right: Rajkumar Mohd. Amir Naqi Khan and Kunwar Rani Kulsum in their wedding attire. He is wearing sherwani with churidar paijama and begum is wearing arri khariyon ki gote ka paijama kurti and odhni enriched with zari border. The brocade paat of the paijama and the gote made of diagonal silk stripes is embroidered with salma sitara. A composite gota band joins the upper part with the lower part of the garment called chasak.
the old arts and restoration of rare paintings. In his own words, ‘my life has been dedicated to continuing the legacy of the culture of Awadh and the GangaJamuni tahzeeb.’ My interview started with reminiscences of his childhood memories. He recalled the clothes worn by his grandparents and parents. His grandfather used to wear an angarkha, churidar paijama and patka; and he wore khillat with patka and a sword with high-heeled shoes for ceremonial use. The influences
Awadh-nama
of Hyderabad can be seen in the style of draping the dupatta, and the Awadhi touch in ghatele (type of shoes in fashion in Awadh) worn by his respected great grandmother. The married women of his family wore bar ka paijama (also called bade paichon ka paijama). Kalis determined the volume of the paijama; more kalis gave importance to paijamas. Unmarried girls wore ghuttanas (knee-length paijama) with kurta and chunni. These were made of muslin for everyday wear in summers and brocades and silks for the winter season. These garments were decorated with zari and kamdani for special occasions. Rajkumar remembers that his mother, aunts and sisters wore many kinds of ornaments like tika (ornament for the forehead), chapka or jhumar (to be worn on the right side of the head), karnphool and bunde (earrings) in the form of fishes called machalia, guluband (necklace), tauk (a pendant), haar (necklace), satlara (seven-stringed necklace), bajuband (armband), and dastband (bracelet), payal or pajeb (literally meaning anklet that bestows beauty on the foot). The married women wore kare (heavy bangles made of gold) and churis (glass bangles) as sign of suhag.
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Birthday celebration of Rajkumar Amir Naqi Khan who is seen wearing sherwani, churidar paijama and sehra. The dress for birthday celebration was as important as a wedding costume. To celebrate the birthday or saal-girah of a son, a knot is tied in a string every year, as the term saal meaning a year and girah, tying a knot. Instead, a silver ring is added to the necklace of a daughter each year.
An interesting revelation he made was that there was an area allocated in the palace for mughlanias (artisans) to stitch, dye and embroider cloth. Fabrics were dyed in natural colours and real flowers were added for a pleasing aroma. The flowers were chosen according to the season of the year. For summer, rose, khas, harsingar were preferred; for monsoons, bela, juhi, chameli, champa were favoured; and in winter, mushk, hina and amber were chosen. My rendezvous with Rajkumar recreated the era of nawabs, not only through the description of costumes but also through the nawabi tehzeeb of Raj Kumar Mohd Amir Naqi Khan. His courteous and gentle disposition and his refinement reaffirmed the continuity of the legacy of Awadh’s culture in Lucknow.