Pandit A Pandit ( sa, पण्डित, paṇḍit; hi, पंडित; also spelled Pundit, pronounced ; abbreviated Pt.) is a man with specialised knowledge or a teacher of any field of knowledge whether it is shashtra (Holy Books) or shastra (Wea ...

Taba Ram Turki (1776 – 1847 CE, 1833 – 1904

Vikram Samvat Vikram Samvat (IAST: ''Vikrama Samvat''; abbreviated VS) or Bikram Sambat B.S. and also known as the Vikrami calendar, is a Hindu calendar historically used in the Indian subcontinent. Vikram Samvat is generally 57 years ahead of Gregorian Calend ...

) lived at Rainawari,

Srinagar Srinagar (English: , ) is the largest city and the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir, India. It lies in the Kashmir Valley on the banks of the Jhelum River, a tributary of the Indus, and Dal and Anchar lakes. The city is known for its natu ...

and wrote

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

poetry Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings i ...

under the pen name ( takhalus) of Betab. Betab made an important contribution to the

Persian poetry Persian literature ( fa, ادبیات فارسی, Adabiyâte fârsi, ) comprises oral compositions and written texts in the Persian language and is one of the world's oldest literatures. It spans over two-and-a-half millennia. Its sources h ...

and he commanded great respect among the poets of

Kashmir Kashmir () is the northernmost geographical region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term "Kashmir" denoted only the Kashmir Valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal Range. Today, the term encompas ...

of his time. Betab was an exceptional poet whose Persian poetry reached as far as

Central Asia Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a subregion, region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes t ...

. Some critics have rated Betab's works at par with the Shahnama of

Firdausi , image = Statue of Ferdowsi in Tus, Iran 3 (cropped).jpg , image_size = , caption = Statue of Ferdowsi in Tus by Abolhassan Sadighi , birth_date = 940 , birth_place = Tus, Samanid Empire , death_date = 1019 or 1025 (87 years old) , de ...

. Betab was also proficient with reading and writing Arabic. Mulla Mohammad Taufiq Kashmiri, another popular Persian poet of the era who lived near Jama Masjid area of Srinagar and wrote under takhalus Taufiq was a contemporary of Betab. Betab was a frequent visitor to the Court (

Durbar Durbar can refer to: * Conference of Rulers, a council of Malay monarchs * Durbar festival, a yearly festival in several towns of Nigeria * Durbar floor plate, a hot-rolled structural steel that has been designed to give excellent slip resistance o ...

) of Pandit Raja Kak Dar, who was also a gifted poet and wrote under takhalus Farukh. Betab's comprehensive collection ( Diwan) of poems was first published fourteen (14) years after his death in 1861 CE. * in

Kashmiri language Kashmiri () or Koshur (, /kəːʃur/) is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by around 7 million Kashmiris of the Kashmir region, primarily in the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. In 2020, the Parliament of India passed a bill to make ...

Taba is a short name for Aftab (meaning ''Sun'' in

)

Origin

Betab's ancestors originally hailed from village Turkipora in Rajwar Tehsil of

Kupwara Kupwara is a town and a municipal council in Kupwara district in the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. Municipal council Kupwara is an Urban Local Body with 13 elected members (also in Delimitation in progress for wards), which adm ...

district. This village was previously named Trikhapora. Betab's ancestors relocated to Srinagar during the reign of

Budshah , spouse = , issue = Haider Shah , issue-link = , issue-pipe = , house = Shah Mir dynasty , father = Sikandar Shah Miri , mother = , birth_date = 25 November 1395 , birth_place = Kashmir, Shah M ...

. In the next few hundred years, Betab's ancestors moved around to live at various localities of Srinagar before settling at Motiyar Rainawari.

Occupation

After completing his education Betab was appointed as an administrative official (Kardar) at village Breng in

Anantnag Anantnag (/ə'nʌntna:g/ or /-nɑːg/ ), also called Islamabad, is the administrative headquarters of the Anantnag district in the Indian union territory of Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), Jammu and Kashmir. It is located at a distance of ...

area of the valley, where he spent most of his service life.

Compositions

Betab composed his writings in the form of ''

masnawi Urdu poetry ( ur, ) is a tradition of poetry and has many different forms. Today, it is an important part of the cultures of South Asia. According to Naseer Turabi there are five major poets of Urdu which are Mir Taqi Mir (d.1810), Mirza Ghalib ...

s'' which contain historical details of his times (a ''masnawi'' is a long

epic poem An epic poem, or simply an epic, is a lengthy narrative poem typically about the extraordinary deeds of extraordinary characters who, in dealings with gods or other superhuman forces, gave shape to the mortal universe for their descendants. ...

describing the battles fought and past events and may also include

philosophical Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

ethical Ethics or moral philosophy is a branch of philosophy that "involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior".''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' The field of ethics, along with aesthetics, concerns ma ...

themes). Betab was summoned to

Kabul Kabul (; ps, , ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province; it is administratively divided into 22 municipal districts. Acco ...

and honoured by the general and wazir of

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

Prince Mohammad Akbar Khan. Betab praised his patron Mohammad Akbar Khan in the poem ''Akbar-nama''. Akbar Khan was a great lover of fine Arts. Betab then witnessed the invasion of the

Sikh Sikhs ( or ; pa, ਸਿੱਖ, ' ) are people who adhere to Sikhism, Sikhism (Sikhi), a Monotheism, monotheistic religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Gu ...

army of

Maharaja Ranjit Singh Ranjit Singh (13 November 1780 – 27 June 1839), popularly known as Sher-e-Punjab or "Lion of Punjab", was the first Maharaja of the Sikh Empire, which ruled the northwest Indian subcontinent in the early half of the 19th century. He s ...

over his native land Kashmir and the defeat of the

Afghan Afghan may refer to: *Something of or related to Afghanistan, a country in Southern-Central Asia *Afghans, people or citizens of Afghanistan, typically of any ethnicity ** Afghan (ethnonym), the historic term applied strictly to people of the Pas ...

governor Muhammad

Azim Khan Sardar Mohammad Azim Khan Barakzai ( ps, عظیم خان) was a Pashtun noble who served as Afghan governor of Kashmir (1812–1819). He was the second son of the Barakzai chief Payinda Sarfaraz Khan, while his elder brother Fateh Khan was kin ...

in 1819 CE, which he versified under the title ''Jang-nama''. After the change of rulers, Betab visited

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city. ...

for a meeting with Maharaja Ranjit Singh. Betab was honoured by Maharaja Ranjit Singh in his Durbar, where he also met the powerful and influential

Raja Dina Nath Raja Dina Nath Madan (Razdan) (1795–1857) aka Diwan Dina Nath or Dina Nath, who was a Kashmiri Hindu, rose to the position of the Privy Seal and finance minister ( Diwan) in the Punjab empire of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. Life Dina Nath was civil ad ...

, who was Finance Minister of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. Following his return from Lahore, Betab composed one more masnawi containing historical details like the other two named ''Ranjit-nama''.

Style

On one occasion someone recited Taufiq's

verse Verse may refer to: Poetry * Verse, an occasional synonym for poetry * Verse, a metrical structure, a stanza * Blank verse, a type of poetry having regular meter but no rhyme * Free verse, a type of poetry written without the use of strict me ...

(

sher Sher can refer to: People * Sher, a Baloch tribe in Pakistan * Sher-e-Bangla (''Lion of Bengal''), a popular title of 20th century Bengali statesman A. K. Fazlul Huq * Sher-e-Punjab (''Lion of Punjab''), a popular title of Maharaja Ranjit Sing ...

) - ''shikasta rangiye man ba tabeeb dar jung ast /ilaje darde saram husne sandali rang ast,'' which was applauded by all present in the gathering. Pandit Raja Kak Dhar who was present in the gathering threw a challenge - If anyone could compose a better sher in the same style and manner? Betab accepted the challenge on the condition that he should be suitably rewarded and produced a master piece in the process - ''siyah bakhtam wa az bakhte khaesh khursandam /chara ki bakhte man wa zulfe yar hum rang ast''. Pandit Raja Kak Dhar immediately ordered his men to deliver one hundred Kharwars (legacy measure of weight in Kashmir; 1 Kharwar = 177 Pounds or about 80 kg) of paddy at Betab's residence.

Reviews

J.K. Banerji in the book ''Encyclopaedia of Kashmir'' mentions "Outstanding among the

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

Pandits who made important contributions to Persian poetry may be mentioned the name of Pandit Taba Ram Turki "Betab" whose ''Jang Nama'' reached classic heights." Further eminent historian and author Pandit Gwasha Lal Kaul in the same book ''Encyclopaedia of Kashmir'' mentions "''Jang Nama'' by Taba Ram Turki stands on the same footing as ''Shah Nama'' of Firdausi". Eminent a

Kashmiri Kashmiri may refer to: * People or things related to the Kashmir Valley or the broader region of Kashmir * Kashmiris, an ethnic group native to the Kashmir Valley * Kashmiri language, their language People with the name * Kashmiri Saikia Baruah ...

politician, scholar and author Prem Nath Bazaz in the book ''Inside Kashmir 2' states "Pandit Taba Ram Turki " Betab " (1840 A.D.) whose ''Jang Nama'' stands on par with ''Shah Nama'' of Firdausi lived during the time of the Sikhs". Betab's Masnawis are prescribed for Post Graduation studies in the

University of Tehran The University of Tehran (Tehran University or UT, fa, دانشگاه تهران) is the most prominent university located in Tehran, Iran. Based on its historical, socio-cultural, and political pedigree, as well as its research and teaching pro ...

References

External links

* Bhat, Dr. Khursheed Ahmad

"Cultural Conditions of Kashmir during 20th Century" Retrieved 2018-04-07. * Iqbal Ahmad

"The Less Known Persian Manuscripts" Retrieved 2018-10-31. * Kaul, Brigadier Rattan

"Saraswat Brahmins" Retrieved 2018-04-07. * Kilam, Jia Lal

"A History of Kashmiri Pandits" Retrieved 2018-04-07. * Kilam, Jia Lal

"A Survey of Afghan Rule in Kashmir" Retrieved 2018-04-07. *Turkipora Retrieved 2018-10-31. *PIB, GO
7
/nowiki>] Vice President, Hon. Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu Ji's speech to Kashmiri students on 23 DEC 2019 Retrieved 2023-12-08. {{DEFAULTSORT:Taba Ram Turki 1776 births 1847 deaths Persian-language poets Kashmiri people People from the Durrani Empire People from the Sikh Empire