Caravansaries - Public Wells and Description of Ahmedabad THE imperial city of Ahmedabad is situated in the latiude of 23 degrees north, and in 72° 37′ east longitude, and is built on the banks of the river Sabermatty, which washes its western wall. From being formerly one of the largest capitals in the east, it is now only five miles and three quarters in circumference, surrounded by a high wall, with irregular towers every fifty yards, in the usual style of Indian fortifications; there are twelve principal gates, and several smaller sally-ports. Ahmedabad was built in the year 1426 A. D. by sultan Ahmed Shah, on the site of a more ancient town. The sultan being on a hunting party at a great distance from Gulburga, his usual place of residence, was so delighted with this spot, that he resolved to build a magnificent city, and called it after his own name Ahmedabad. On every side, nodding minarets, decaying palaces, and mouldering aqueducts, indicate the former magnificence of Ahmedabad. It was then enriched by commerce, peopled by industry, and adorned by wealth. Long wars, unstable and oppressive governments, and the fluctuation of human establishments, have brought it to a state of decay from which it seems doomed never to recover. From covering an extent of thirty miles, it had dwindled to less than six: much of that space, even within the walls, was covered with ruins, or appropriated to corn-fields and fruit-gardens. Some of the streets were broad, but not planted with rows of trees, as mentioned by Mandesloe, and other travellers; neither are they paved. The triumphal arches, or three united gates, in the principal streets, with the grand entrance to the durbar, still remain. The mosques and palaces of the Pattans still give evidence of their original magnificence. The streets were spacious and regular; the temples, aqueducts, fountains, caravansaries, and courts of justice well arranged. Commerce, art, and science, met with every encouragement, when a splendid court was kept in this city; it was then the resort of merchants, artists, and travellers of every description; it now exhibits solitude, poverty, and desolation! You behold the most heterogeneous mixture of Mogul splendor and Mahratta barbarism; a noble cupola, overshadowing hovels of mud; small windows, ill-fashioned doors, and dirty cells introduced under a superb portico; a marble corridore filled up with Choolas, or cookingplaces, composed of mud, cow-dung, and unburnt bricks. But declining commerce and ruined buildings are not the only symptoms of decay. I saw a VOL. II. 194 UNHAPPY FAMILIES. great many unfortunate Pattan and Mogul families, who, having survived the dignified situation of their ancestors, lived in the gloom of obscurity and felt the degradation of poverty. The young men offered themselves as soldiers of fortune to more flourishing governments, or otherwise sought a provision. The jewels and ornaments of the Mogul paraphernalia were privately sold at a great disadvantage to procure the necessaries of life; during my short residence I saw many articles thus disposed of, especially a small mirror, in the centre of a single agate, adorned with golden foliage, and roses of small rubies, which had been purchased from a Mogul widow for only ten rupees. Of such females it might truly be said, "her virgins are afflicted, her gates are desolate ; they sigh for bread, they have given their pleasant things for meat !"-Lamentations of Jeremiah, ch. i. ver. 4, 11. These unhappy families excited our pity; their wants were not relieved by that generous charity which characterizes my native country, where the children of adversity find affliction softened, and sorrow soothed, by exalted souls, who wipe the falling tear from the orphan's eye, and cause the "widow's heart to sing for joy." Virtues amply recompensed in this life, by sweet sensations in the soul of sympathy, unknown to the votaries of dissipation, and which will meet a glorious reward in that day, when those who have pity upon the poor shall be pronounced blessed, and the merciful shall obtain mercy! Love is the essence of that divine religion, it pervades the whole system of the Gospel. And from that pure principle in the Christian's heart, flow all the delightful charities of life. In Ahmedabad, as in most other large cities of India, are splendid remains of those noble structures, for the accommodation of travellers, erected by the Mogul monarchs. They were not always in towns, but frequently in deserts, and places little frequented, except by travelling merchants and religious pilgrims, whose profession led them from one place to another, through every variety of country. When benighted in a dreary solitude, they were certain, within a moderate distance, to find one of these buildings appropriated for their accommodation, and were often supplied with the necessaries of life gratis, at least such as sufficed the lower classes of pilgrims. Opulent travellers, as already mentioned, always carry their comforts and luxuries with them on an eastern journey. Those buildings, under the different names of serais, caravansaries, or choultries, were erected at stated distances throughout the Mogul empire, especially on the patshah, or royal roads. In those provinces which now form part of the Mahratta dominion, many of these structures have been converted into fortresses; others are made storehouses for the grain and hay belonging to the circar; a few answer the purpose for which they were intended, but most are in a state of dilapidation. The serais were generally constructed in an oblong square, consisting of a high wall and towers, with a handsome entrance at each end; a few had a gate-way at the cardinal points. The gates were often of considerable strength, with guard-rooms on each side. Two ranges of apartments for the convenience of the merchants, containing sleeping rooms and warehouses for their goods, formed a street from one gate to the other; with a colonnade, or veranda, in front of the buildings, opening to a spacious area between them. The serais with four gates contained a double range of these apartments, forming an avenue to each entrance. Under the inner wall of the ramparts were similar accommodations. In the most complete and splendid serais a due regard was observed for public worship, ablutions, and other ceremonies; without the eastern gate was generally erected a musjid, or house of prayer, where a mullah attended to assist the pious Mussulman in his devotions. This edifice, of marble or stone, was often surrounded by a garden, or a tope of mangoes and tamarinds, shading a cemetery for such pilgrims as finished the journey of life at a place where they only intended a halt. The opposite gate often led to a tank, well, and useful gardens: these were noble and expensive works, becoming a wise government, or erected by the piety and benevolence of opulent individuals. Sultan Ahmed, the founder of the city, enriched it with a variety of other public structures, especially a magnificent jumma musjed, or grand mosque, called after his name, which arrests the attention of all strangers. It stands in the middle of the city, adorned by two lofty minarets, elegantly proportioned, and richly decorated: each minaret contains a circular flight of steps leading to a gallery near the summit, for the purpose of convening the people to prayer, no bells being in use among the Mahomedans. From thence you command an extensive view of Ahmedabad, and the Sabermatty winding through a wide campaign. The domes of the jumma musjed are supported by lofty columns, regularly disposed, but too much crowded; the concave of these cupolas is richly orna |