AS the Haj is weeks away, pilgrims are arriving in thousands everyday at the Kingdom's airports in Jeddah and Madinah. One's thoughts naturally go back in time, and turning a few pages, we discover how the royals of yore performed the obligatory duty. The youngest daughter of Babar, the founder of the Mughal Empire, Gulbadan Begum, made the journey around 1575, in the reign of her nephew Akbar. She was born in Kabul in 1522 or 1523 and lived almost through three reigns – her father Babar's, her brother Humayun's, and her nephew Akbar's, till two years before his death. In her modest way, she was a scholar – she collected books and wrote poetry. It was not easy for her to get permission to go on Haj. There were grave objections, since she was in her 50s and Akbar was reluctant to let her go, knowing full well the rigors of the long and arduous journey. He felt she would not be able to bear the hardship. Akbar had himself wished to go on Haj, so finally, he agreed to let her go, and even walked the first stage with the caravan from Agra to Ajmer, wearing the ‘Ihram.' He paid for the expedition from his own purse and sent one of his own sons to escort the caravan – his second son Murad, but at Gulbadan's request he was “excused from his duties” and sent back to Agra. Of the women who went with Gulbadan were Haji Begam, senior widow of her brother Humayun. Then there was Gulnar, Babar's Circassian slave, the widow of Askari, who had looked after Akbar as a baby, Gulbadan's granddaughter Umm Kulsum, and one of Akbar's wives. Akbar appointed a sultan as leader of the expedition, which carried many presents and 12,000 dresses of honor. Traveling across India, they were escorted from one garrisoned fort to another because there was always the danger of ambush and pillage. The dust and the heat can only be imagined – meat going putrid, food, fruits and water to be used with utmost care. Also to be faced were flies and insects, which caused illnesses, not to count dysentery, boils and fevers. The caravan needed two boats from Surat, the port in what is now Gujarat State, and not far from the city of Ahmedabad. But before they could embark, they were held up for a year because their ‘passes' were not in order. The Portuguese controlled Surat, and each pilgrim had to have a pass. Finally, they set sail on ships which were Turkish transports, heavy sailing ships, with oarsmen for times when the wind dropped. “Labbaik…” was on the lips of every pilgrim, making them feel part of something vast, wonderful, infinite, and one – princes, nobles, slaves, and humble boatmen were all alike. Gulbadan stayed in Arabia for three and a half years, and performed Haj four times. The ships that eventually came to fetch them were wrecked at Aden and they were stranded in that arid, dull, burningly hot and desolate place. It is said that the Turkish Governor was inhospitable and rude. The unfortunate pilgrims were marooned for months, partly because Akbar was away in Kabul and could not arrange a safe and large enough escort to fetch them. It was after the long period of almost seven years, in March 1582, that they finally reached India and Agra. On the last stages, an ‘amir' came every day from the Emperor with greetings. They paused in Ajmer, where Prince Salim came to greet and welcome her. Then at the next stop, came the Emperor Akbar himself. They all spent the night of the reunion keeping awake, asking questions and learning about the long, long travel. Gifts were showered, and happiness reigned all around. How much Akbar, who himself had a wish and a desire to perform Haj, respected the returning pilgrims can be seen from the fact that he gave them control of Uzek, the most important imperial seal – no royal document was valid without its mark. Gulbadan died in February 1603. From a report, originally in Urdu, by Nawab Sikandar, the Begum of Bhopal, who set sail for Haj in late 1863, accompanied by her mother, uncle, and a retinue of several hundred people, and which was subsequently translated into English by Elizabeth Willoughby-Osborne, her friend and wife of Bhopal's British political agent, and printed in London in 1870, we learn that she reached Jeddah on January 23, 1864 with a shipload of gifts. As Michael Wolfe mentions in his ‘One Thousand Roads to Mecca,' it is the first Haj report actually written by a regent. “It reflects the importance of the Indian Haj and underscores the growing universality of Islam. By 1850, eighty-percent of the world's Muslims lived outside the Arab Near East,” he comments. She set sail for Makkah in late 1863, traveling with her uncle, her mother, and a retinue of several hundred people. At the time of her pilgrimage, she governed a province of 9,000 square miles with a population of one million people, the second largest of the Anglo-Indian principalities. She reached Jeddah in January 1864 with a shipload of gifts. Accompanied by her mother Nawab Qudsia Begum, uncle Nawab Mian Faujdar Muhammad Khan and Charles Thomson (surgeon to the Bhopal Political Agency, who had been deputed by the Indian government to escort the Begum as far as Jeddah), she proceeded to the house of Ahmad Arab, where the caravan of pilgrims was staying. Thomson left her and went to call on the Consul of Jeddah. Ahmad Arab received her very hospitably and gave a dinner in her honor. Saying that it was an honor to have her stay, he did not charge any payment. She nevertheless presented some bales of cloth, some coins etc. In Jeddah, she visited the site where Bibi Hawa is buried. A week later, she left for Makkah with a train of 80 camels, which were hired at the rate of one riyal each for the various stages – Jeddah to Makkah, Makkah to Mina, Mina to Arafat, Arafat to Muzdalifah, Muzdalifah to Mina, and Mina to Makkah and back to Jeddah. Her report sheds light on the Hijaz pilgrim routes, their number and general disposition, who controlled them, and the dangers facing the travelers. She also talks about wealthy Makkans, and marriage customs. She found Makkah “… desolate looking”, and “surrounded by lofty hills,” and “quite destitute of trees.” The road between the hills so narrow in places as to admit only three to four camels abreast, and at others wide enough for five or ten. The inhabitants of Makkah suffered severely from sickness. Nine of her people had such complaints as dysentery, fever, and tumors in the leg. She lost eight people – four of whom died on board ship and other at Makkah and Jeddah. In the caravan that separated from her and went to Madinah, many died – some on land and some on board ship. Two persons from her group disappeared and were never found, one was a woman, and the other was a water carrier. The Begum talks of water shortage in Makkah and “magnificent baths in the city, those for men being separate from the women's …” She writes that the foundations and walls of the buildings in Makkah are very strong, being composed of either bricks and mortar or stone, but the roofs and floorings are roughly constructed – with branches of the date palm laid crosswise over the beams and rafters, and a layer of earth spread over them. If any porous vessel containing water is placed on the floor, the drippings percolate through into the rooms below. “Or should there be a pan of fire for cooking placed on the floor; the house is in danger of being set on fire. After rain it is common to see grass growing on the roofs. Every house has a kitchen, bathroom, and other offices of masonry, the remainder of the building being composed of mud …,” she adds. She notes that imports from every part of the world are procurable, but the price of everything is dear, and “almost all the bad characters that have been driven out of India may be found in Mecca.” __
