Surati Experience - Day 3, Part 3

We walked back to where we left our Auto and on the way, I took this picture:

No boundaries here. A Muslim boy playing a British game in front of a picture of a Hindu deity. I sure hope that the new generation breaks its shackles of hatred, and create the India of tolerance and mutual respect that MK Gandhi envisioned.

We reached the fort, but only after the Indian traffic ensured I inhaled toxins worth 10 cigarettes. The fort now houses various government offices but it was once a formidable fort as its plaque says:

"This strong imposing building was erected in 1540 by Khwaja Jafar appointed Governor of Surat with the title Khudawand Khan by Sultan Mahmud Shah III of Gujarat in order to put a stop to rising power of the Portuguese on the Gujarat coast. The castle was protected on the land side by a ditch 60ft wide and was fortified with many Turkish guns. In the year 1573 A.D., it was captured by Emperor Akbar. Under the Mughals Surat became a port of great importance. It was sacked by Shivaji twice in the year 1664 A.D. and 1670 A.D. but he did not attack the castle. The place continued to be in Mughal possession till 1759 A.D. when it was captured by the English and castle to be occupied by them. In 1962 the small garrison of European and native troops posted at the station was withdrawn and the place has been occupied by public officers."

Unlike many European countries but like many other places of historical places in India, this fort is in serious deterioration.  The entrance of the fort was littered with court peons who had setup kiosks with a type writer to get the complaints of the people written down:

As you enter, if you look up you can see the strong beams to support the structure:

Looking up the narrow corridor as you enter the fort.

Profile shot of the fort.

A massive iron door protected the entrance of the fort. The spikes on the door were placed to prevent using elephants to push open the door. Looking at the condition of the door, I cannot imagine closing this door ever again. Signs of peace?

Despite my love for India, I do not support vandalizing important historical places (even if it is an Indian flag).

The Tapti river next to the fort was one big sewage (like so many rivers that go through cities). So, I did not bother enjoying the view except to take a shot of this girl:

Girl with her luggage walking along the banks of Tapti river.

As we left the fort to check other places, I came across a man lying on the middle of road. You may know that the Indian traffic is a horror to many but imagine yourself lying on a main road with all sorts of traffic weaving through you. He was clearly unaware of his situation. It seemed that no one cared to lift him up. I pondered about helping him and I asked a passerby about whether he knew why he was on the middle of the road. He said, "Drunk, sahib". I did not help him but I find no reason as to why I did not. It would have taken me 5 minutes to pull him to the side of the road and 20 cents to get him some water. What happened to the high-held principles of mine? Perhaps, I was becoming immune to the vices of the society... Scary, indeed.

Before we got back on our Auto-Rickshaw, we walked past this man:

Views like this are all over India and they are more common than public washrooms. While India is a paradise for street photography, I can't help think feeling a certain way about my subjects. How can I not see the burdens of past, the pain of the present, and the anxieties of the future in this man? Yet, even the slightest smile on his face suggests that internal peace requires very few conditions. Such observations are everywhere but perhaps nowhere as evident as in India.

Surati Experience - Day 3, Part 2

Jan 29 2013

We knew that the Dutch and Armenian cemeteries were near the English cemetery but the locals were unaware of the difference and so we were always pointed to the English cemetery. We decided to get off the Auto-rickshaw and started exploring on our feet.

Surat is one of the main centers in India for cotton spinning for a very long time but the old factories disappeared along with their machinery.   According to Dr. X, you could hear the manual spinning of cotton anywhere you went in Surat but not so much these days. So when he heard the noise again, he was excited to check it out. We followed the noise and reached a small factory:

Rooms of British-era machinery. See the distortion of the photo? I took this photo at 18mm.

Small-scale industry is vital to Indian economy. I am not sure for how long this factory will last. Nevertheless, the flag captures the Indian spirit.

A worker. Work safety is non-existent. With so many moving parts at fast speed, risk of injury was high even for a visitor like me.

This man's job was to take each thread, insert it to a hole and make the yarn. All manual. I can't even to imagine the patience he must have.

 After this short detour, we moved on to explore and after asking various people for direction, we entered a cemetery but it turned out to be a recent one. Disappointed but determined, we finally found it with a help of a local. It was just one cemetery that had both Armenian and Dutch tombs. The Armenian tombs were much older than the English or Dutch (probably from late 1500's or early 1600's). Here are some photos:

Entrance to the cemetery but we came from the back. The photo was taken in a hurry as were running out of time.

Armenian inscriptions. We could not dicipher. Please contact me if you can read Armenian.

Armenian. The tomb stones were stuck to the ground (unlike the usual straight-up ones)

Looking up. This one was dated mid 1600's. The painting was still in tact. This really-fancy mausoleum suggests that it was for a high-ranking officer in the Dutch East India Company.

There was a hole on the floor in one of the mausoleum. It was so dark that I could not see any staircase but the camera flash came in handy. The stair case lead to a basement room. Real freaky.

Look at that wood work.

It takes you back in time and I wonder if some of these Mausoleum took longer than the dead's lifetime to build.

The far ones on the right and center show a clear Indo-Islamic style.

Next, we were off to search an old fort in Surat on Tapti river. This fort was a very important one for the Marathas, the Mughals, and the European invaders.

Surati Experience - Day 3, Part 1

Jan 29 2013

One of my friend's uncle (Dr. X) mentioned to me that there are old European cemeteries and a fort in Surat. History interests me and so, we decided to find out about them. We asked the locals but surprisingly many had no idea about them. Then, we turned to almighty Google and sure enough, these cemeteries and an old fort do exist within Surat's city limits. But far from being tourist spots, finding them turned out to be an mini adventure in itself.

Dr. X and I took an Auto-Rickshaw to check them out. Surat was one of the first European settlements in India and its sea port offered an excellent opportunity to do trade. Naturally, the foreigners wanted to impress to Mughals and they did this by building mosques and the tombs for their important men, women and children showed a blend of European and Mughal. When we reached an area where we expected a cemetery to exist, Dr. X asked the locals in about these cemeteries. Again, the locals did not seem to care much about its significance and could not pinpoint the location. But by mere coincidence, we spotted one. It was the English Cemetery:

Entrance to the English Cemetery

This tomb's architecture shows a blend of European and Mughal.

The cemetery is serious need of restoration like this tomb shows.

A stone showing that this area belongs to the Church.

Year 1736 but there were much older tombs as well.

On some, you can climb to the top through very narrow stairs. I've tried to capture the scale of the cemetery.

Surati trees, electric poles and lines are decorated with fallen kites.

This tomb says the person died of Smallpox.

A view for the Dead.

Then, we set out to look for other cemeteries (we knew there was a Dutch and an Armenian one). Stay tuned.

For more details, refer to this article: http://dro.dur.ac.uk/3774/