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  A TALE OF FOUR DERVISHES

  MIR AMMAN was born in Delhi into a family of distinguished retainers at the Mughal Court, some time in the second half of the eighteenth century. Forced to leave the city of his ancestors at the close of the century owing to the declining fortunes of the Mughal Empire, he found employment as a munshi at the British East India Company’s Fort William College in Calcutta. It was here that he translated Bāgh-o-Bahār (in 1803) and Husain Wāiz Kāshifī’s celebrated book on good manners, Akhalāq-e-Muhsinī, which was published much later under the title Ganj-e-Khoobi (Treasure House of Virtue).

  MOHAMMED ZAKIR was born in 1932 in Delhi and educated at St Stephen’s College, Delhi University, where he took postgraduate degrees in economics and Urdu literature. His main interests have been translation, literary criticism and Urdu linguistics. Among his published works are Distracting Words, translations from Ghalib’s Urdu and Persian poetry; The Quintessence of Self-Culture, a translation of K. G. Saiyidain’s writings; Lessons in Urdu Script, which has seen several reprints, and some anthologies of Urdu prose and poetry. Presently he is working on a book for English readers on N. M. Rashed, a major Urdu poet. Mohammed Zakir lives in Delhi where he has been teaching Urdu language and literature at the Jamia Millia Islamia for over three decades.

  MIR AMMAN

  A Tale of Four Dervishes

  Translated from the Urdu with an Introduction by

  MOHAMMED ZAKIR

  PENGUIN BOOKS

  This translation is humbly dedicated to my parents

  who do not need to read it

  PENGUIN BOOKS

  Published by the Penguin Group

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  First published by Penguin India Books 1994

  Published in Penguin Classics 2006

  2

  Copyright © Mohammed Zakir, 1994

  All rights reserved

  The moral right of the author has been asserted

  Except in the United States of America, this book is sold subject

  to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent,

  re-sold, hired out, or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s

  prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in

  which it is published and without a similar condition including this

  condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser

  EISBN: 978–0–141–90439–9

  Contents

  Introduction

  The Author’s Petition

  Prologue

  The Beginning

  Adventures of the First Dervish

  Adventures of the Second Dervish

  — The Prince of Neemroz

  Tale of Azad Bakht

  — Khwaja the Dog-Worshipper

  — The Princess of Zerbad

  — The Princess of Sarandeep

  — The Merchant’s Son of Azerbaijan

  Adventures of the Third Dervish

  — Nu’mān the Merchant

  Adventures of the Fourth Dervish

  Dénouement

  Epilogue

  Selected Glossary

  Introduction

  A Tale of Four Dervishes is a translation of Mir Amman’s Bāgh-o-Bāhār, literally ‘Garden and Spring’. Itself an Urdu translation cum compilation of earlier Persian and Urdu versions of Qissa-e-Chahār Darvesh, which Mir Amman ascribes to Amir Khusrau (d. AD 1325), it has seen several translations and transcriptions in many Indian and European languages. Recent research leads us to believe that the Qissa was compiled several years after Khusrau and that its Turkish, Persian and Urdu versions already existed before Mir Amman took it up. Be that as it may, Mir Amman’s work remains significant in that it appeared at a time when very little prose literature existed in Urdu for, like many other modern Indo-Aryan languages, Urdu was seldom employed for serious writing. This was done in Persian, the language of the court and administration of Mughal India.

  Most of the known prose literature in Urdu, as later traced down from the fourteenth century onwards in the Deccan or in northern India, consisted of tracts, treatises, pamphlets and translations invariably religious in character. The fictional part of it was generally marked by the tendency to use involved sentences and rhyming words. Use of simple, direct prose in fiction, except in a few works which have been unearthed by later researchers, was generally the work of the writers of the Fort William College, Calcutta, established in AD 1800 to acquaint the officers of the English East India Company with the customs and traditions of the people of India. In fact, Mir Amman must have taken great pains to work out the simplicity and directness of his work and show off in full measure the richness of the Urdu language which was a significant manifestation of the Indo-Muslim culture which originated and flourished after the advent and spread of Islam in India. At times one cannot but feel that there is a fusion here of the Indian and the Islamic Middle Ages, both in methodology and literary ideals.

  Early prose in Urdu, as in many other languages, has been more akin to the literature of oral transmission. As such, it needs little introduction. It is the creation of imagination bordering on fancy and is essentially romantic in nature. In Urdu, this genre, known as dāstān, has been distinguished more by polished literary presentation than by lofty aims and ideals. It does not pretend to serve any moral purpose, though it has a moral framework and may give us guidelines of good conduct, good government, or virtuous living. In the accounts of the fanciful acts of chivalry and romance, individual responsibility may also have its play in the form of proselytizing zeal.

  Structurally akin to the Arabian Nights, Bāgh-o-Bahār comprises five stories interspersed with several other sub-stories of uneven length and interest, loosely bound together and all with traditionally romantic themes. The four dervishes (and others) who relate their experiences are princes or rich merchants who have renounced the world on account of their unsuccessful love lives. They are guided by a supernatural force to a city where, with the intercession of a king (himself a frustrated man pining for the birth of a son to succeed him) and the help of the king of the djinn, they are reunited with their loves. Typically medieval, the stories describe a magnificent world of romance and affluence—of fairies and the djinn, moonlight and oriental gardens, feasts and ceremonies, and, of course, adventures and mishaps. It is a world where anything might and does happen as man is tossed about by fate. The basic premise, though, is that providence always takes care of us all and that in the end good always triumphs over evil.

  As in the Arabian Nights, there is no rationality in this work in so far as the treatment of
time and space is concerned, yet there is comparatively little that is supernatural in it. Also unlike the Arabian Nights, it is not marked by elaborate wooing scenes and erotica or by the frailty and treachery of the fair sex. Though some of the female characters may appear vengeful at times, on the whole they show remarkable courage, faithfulness, integrity and ingenuity. Bāgh-o-Bahār thus portrays the more impressive features of Indian womanhood.

  Through the genius of the Urdu language, Bāgh-o-Bahār affords us a glimpse of the typical Indo-Muslim culture that was prevalent among the cultured classes of India at the time. The stories may be set in Basra, Baghdad, Azerbaijan, Sarandeep, Damascus or Constantinople but the atmosphere is typically that of a Mughal city of India. The weather, the courtly manners, the female guards and personal attendants, the dress, the variety of dishes, festivals and ceremonies, the fireworks, the superstitions and traditions as brought out by the proverbs and apt idioms, are all Indian and bring before us a passing panorama of the Indian elite of the middle ages.

  Its interesting tales, its simple and elegant prose as a precursor to the works of the writers of the Delhi College and the Aligarh Movement, its plain yet distinguished style couched in the purity of the idiom, and its portrayal of Indian manners and customs have contributed to make Bāgh-o-Bahār a monumental classic of Urdu literature. These qualities have kept it ‘green as ever’—still a worthy index of the faiths and beliefs, customs and ceremonies of the people of India.

  Very little, in fact no more than what he has written about himself in the preface of the present work, is known about Mir Amman. He hailed from Delhi and after experiencing many vicissitudes in life he finally found employment as a munshi at the Fort William College, Calcutta where he translated BĀgh-o-BahĀr. While there, he also translated Husain Wāiz Káshifi’s celebrated book on good manners, Akhïāq-e-Muhsim, which was published much later under the title Ganj-e-Khoobī (Treasure-house of Virtue). Recently a critical edition of this work has been published. But it is on Bāgh-o-Bahār alone that Mir Amman’s fame rests, and rightly so. Its literary quality and value have never been ignored, nor has it ever ceased being popular as a piece of entertaining literature.

  Translation, I believe, is a noble activity as it brings different cultures closer to each other and thus provides for the enrichment of human civilization. It is in this spirit that the present work was undertaken.

  With a sense of indebtedness I have availed of the earlier literal translations of the work by Lewis Ferdinand Smith and Duncan Forces, done more than a hundred years ago. My endeavour has been to find the equivalent English idiom without sacrificing the cultural content of Urdu.

  I am grateful to those who took the trouble to read the manuscript and offer their comments. Particular thanks are due to Mr L.G. Deo and Mr Muhammad Anas. I am deeply indebted to Mr Zamir Ansari but for whose timely help this translation might not have been published.

  March 1987 Mohammed Zakir

  October 1989

  Note. In order to facilitate the printing, footnotes and the diacritical marks have been reduced as much as possible. A glossary has been provided of necessary proper names and words of Indian origin.

  PETITION OF MIR AMMAN OF DELHI

  TO THE AUTHORITIES OF THE COLLEGE

  May God preserve the Exalted Managers and Patrons of noble men. On hearing the proclamation*, this humble being who has fallen away from his home has composed with great labour and pain, the Bāgh-o-Bahar in the Urdū-e-Mu’allā language** from the Qissa-e-Chahār Darvesh. By the grace of God, this ‘garden’ has been revived by your gracious presence. I hope I may also enjoy its fruits so that the budding desire of my heart also blossoms forth like a rose. About the Shahnama, Firdausi+ says:

  For thirty years I worked on it and took pains,

  And thus I revived Persia by my Persian verse.

  Like him, of my present work I may say:

  I have polished the Urdu language

  And made Bengal a Hindustan++

  Gentlemen, you are to judge for yourselves. May the star of your prosperity shine forever!

  Prologue

  Glory be to God! What an excellent workman He is! With just a handful of dust, He has created so many diverse faces and figures. Although of two colours, one white and one black, and though He has given to each a nose, ears, hands and feet, even then all of them have distinct features and colours. One is so sharply distinguished from the other in countenance and person that you may easily tell one from the other in the multitude. The sky is a bubble in the Sea of His Unity. And the earth, too, a fragile ball of air; but how so wonderful, the sea beats itself against it yet can cause it no harm. In praise of One who has such power and authority over all, man verily becomes dumb. What words can he find? Silence is better when all eloquence should fail:

  How can I have the power

  To write in praise of One

  Whose work expands from Heaven to the Earth?

  When even the Prophet said,

  ‘I could not comprehend Him’,

  One will be a great fool

  To make such a claim.

  Day and night the sun and the moon wander

  Through their course to see His works

  But each comes to have

  Only the looks of wonder.

  One whose equal has never been

  Nor will there be,

  To such an Unique One

  To be God suits in every way.

  He is the Creator and Nourisher of all.

  He has always been graceful and kind to me.

  And blessings be on His friend, for whose sake He created the Earth and Heaven and elevated him to Prophethood:

  The pure body of Mustafa

  A light emanating from God,

  And as is well-known

  It cast no shadow.

  Where have I the power to utter a word in his praise?

  But it is obligatory with poets all.

  And blessings be on his progeny, the Twelve Imams!

  After the praise of God and the Prophet

  Now I mention what I presently propose to do.

  May God, for the sake of the progeny of His Prophet

  Make what I say acceptable to all.

  I undertook this work in AH 1215/AD 1801, corresponding to 1207 Fasli when Lord Mornington, Marquess Wellesley, the Noble of Nobles, took office as the Governor General and learning came to be very much in vogue. (One actually finds oneself at one’s wit’s end in his praise. He has all the qualities required of great men. It was the good fortune of this country that such an ingenious administrator came here. By his charity and beneficence the majority of people lead a happy life; the poor pray for his life and prosperity. No one dares tease or wrong another; the tiger and the goat drink at the same fountain, as though.) The noble high officials became interested in learning the Urdu language to be able to converse with Indians and carry out the administration of the country more effectively. As such, many books were compiled the same year at his instance.

  A few words about the learned and those who speak the language of Hindustan. This tale was originally narrated by Amir Khusrau of Delhi. It so happened that his spiritual guide, Nizamuddin Aulia, the bestower of gold, whose saintly residence was near Lal Bangla, beyond the Matia Darwaza outside the Lal Darwaza, about three miles away from the Fort, was once taken ill. Amir Khusrau was by his bedside. He related this tale to entertain him. By the grace of God, Nizamuddin Aulia was cured of his illness in a few days. The day he took his bath of health, he gave the benediction: ‘Whoever hears this tale, will, by the grace of God, remain in health.’ Since then it has been quite popular and has had many versions in Persian.

  Mr John Gilchrist, the noble and beneficent and a great patron of the noble ones (may he ever remain exalted as long as the Jamuna and the Ganga flow), kindly urged me to render this tale into pure Hindustani which the Urdu people, the Hindus and the Muslims, men and women, young and old, and high and low use in common parlance. As desired
by him, I have written it in the conversational style.

  First, this humble being prone to sin, Mir Amman of Delhi, begs to say a few words about himself. My ancestors, from generation to generation, served the emperors from the time of Humayun. The emperors exalted them by giving jagirs (estates), titles and rewards in plenty. We were called genial retainers, as recorded in the royal archives.

  When the great family of rulers (on which rested the prosperity of all others) met such a calamity, which is too well-known to require mention, Suraj Mal Jat confiscated our jagir and Ahmad Shah Durrani destroyed our homesteads. Thus I left Delhi (which was my birthplace and where my navel-string is buried). When such a ship (which was steered by the king) was wrecked, I was tossed about on the sea of helplessness and misfortune. A drowning man clutches at a straw, so for a few years I stayed in Azimabad, to have some breathing space. There I saw both good days and bad but ultimately had to leave as I could not have a favourable time there any more. Leaving my family behind I embarked a boat and came to Calcutta, the city of cities, to earn my destined bread. For a short time I remained unemployed, till one day Nawab Dilavar Jung sent for me and appointed me tutor to his younger brother, Mir Muhammad Kazim Khan. I carried on for about two years and then, realizing that it would not be possible for me to continue any longer, I managed to get introduced to Mr John Gilchrist (may he ever remain exalted) through Munshi Mir Bahadur Ali. It is my good fortune that I found the patronage of such a benevolent person. So I hope for better days ahead; otherwise even this I take as a blessing for me. I have bread to eat. I sleep well. I support the ten members of my family and they pray for my patron. May God grant their prayers.