A PAINTING OF ZAINA KADAL BRIDGE MARKET, SRINAGAR .. YEAR 1855.

                                         

ZAINA KADAL  BRIDGE MARKET,  SRINAGAR .....A WATER COLOUR BY WILLIAM CARPENTER  DONE IN 1855.

                                    

 Built by Sultan Zain ul Abdeen in 1427,  the old Zaina Kadal bridge in downtown Srinagar, remained  a key link between two halves of Sringar city created by  River Jhelum. The  bridge  built  by Sultan Zainul Abdeen was dismantled and reconstructed by Maharaja Partap Singh in 1897 and again a new bridge was constructed by Maharaja  Hari Singh in 1926. The bridge built by Maharaja Hari Singh  was put to extensive repairs by the government in 1953-54 .

I have seen many old photographs of this Zaina Kadal bridge  market . It was exactly like this. Pulses especially Moong  grown in North Kashmir (  Baramulla area  ) were largely sold by Kashmiri traders near this bridge  . The structures on the river bank or near the bridge were made of wood and had many shops selling grains . These shopkeepers were known as Galdhaars  in Kashmir.  It was during Maharaja Partap Singh's rule that these shops shifted to new market  nearby , a part of which is presently known as Gadda Kocha  .Fresh vegetables  ,rice (mushkabudej,  Zag  etc. ), pulses,   spices, rock salt,   fresh fish  , dried fish ( Hoggaad ) , smoked fish ( Furrie ) ,pickle, tobacco, Naabad( sugar candy pots) and dried vegetables continued to be  sold in this area. I saw this in 2012 as well. One felt  a peculiar smell of spices as one passed through this area. For many years , this remained  the biggest market for local produce  although the Maharaja  had invited traders from Punjab who established another market at nearby Maharajganj.The traders  of Maharajganj mostly sold goods brought from the plains .

In the painting,  one can see pickle kept in earthenware pitchers  on roof tops  of these rickety shops . A voguv ( dry weed mat ) has been used as a sunshade  by a shopkeeper .

( Avtar Mota )

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