Osian's Auction Catalogue Creative India Series 1 Bengal | December 2011

W illiam s impson 28 October 1823 – 17 August 1899 Nautch Girls at Shalimar Gardens, Cashmere. Watercolour & pencil heightened with white and gum arabic on paper, 1875 S/d with inscription ‘Wm Simpson 1875 Shalimar Gardens. Cashmere’ 6.8 x 4.7 in (17.2 x 12.0 cm) Provenance Private Collector, Mumbai. Acquired from Christie’s (London) in 2007. ` 350,000 – 525,000 US$ 7,000 – 10,500 Antiquity / A.S.I. Registered Non-Exportable Item 11 1780 1790 1800 1810 1820 1830 1840 1850 1860 1870 1880 1890 1900 1910 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2011 Creative India BENGaL | The Artists and Printmakers of the ‘Picturesque’ “There was always something to sketch in these places. In the afternoon we would move to some other spot, and come home in the evening, while the men in the boat - I think they were forty of them - would sing Taza-be- taza, as we glided through acres of the lake covered with large leaves and bright flowers of the lotus. The seeds of the lotus are not unlike green peas; they are very pleasant to eat and are supposed to produce forgetfulness. Moore realised the beauty of the spot from the accounts of others, and it is surprising to see how accurate he has been; ‘Lalla Rookh’ is a perfect guide book to the Lake of Kashmir. On the occasion of a visit by two friends, it was purposed to try, for my benefit, to realise the scenes described in the poem. To do this it was determined to have a nautch, and some of the most noted dancing girls were engaged. To carry out the idea fully, the performance was to take place in the Shalimar Gardens, created by the famous Delhi emperor Shah Jahan, and in the very building described by Moore, where Noor Mahal had sung: “And Oh! if there be an Elysium on Earth, It is this, It is this!” Our party, a very small one, crossed the lake in a boat, reading ‘Lalla Rookh’ as we were paddled along. The programme included a dinner to which we sat down at about sunset. The fountains had been playing, and a cascade had been turned on where there were small niches in the wall. Lights had been placed in these, and the water fell in front of them, producing a very beautiful effect. While we were at dinner, the men had been busy lighting chirags - small earthen cups containing oil and a wick, with which illuminations were produced. They are put in rows along the edge of the water. When we moved into the verandah, with coffee and cigars, the whole place was bright with the illuminations, the fountains were murmuring and we found the nautch girls arrived, each with their baji- wallahs, or musicians, and were ready to begin. The first song was “Taza-be-taza” - “Now-be-Now” - a very beautiful song by Hafiz, and a great favorite in Kashmir. “On one occasion they went to the Shalimar Garden, where the cascades at night were lit by candles in niches behind them. Nautch girls danced and sang Taza-be-taza. It was like a scene from Lalah Rookh! ‘We seemed not to belong to the nineteenth century’, Simpson wrote. ‘The Peris of Paradise were not a matter of doubt; they were realities before us.’ He described ‘the sweet delusions of a never to be forgotten night. Had a jinn or a giant appeared amongst us or - a Peri from Paradise, such an appearance would not have been thought out of place.’” [Archer, Mildred [1986]. Visions of India: The Sketchbooks of William Simpson 1859 - 1862. Oxford: Phaidon; p.110.] The effect was beautiful. I had been to nautches before, there are performances no one cares to see a second time. But in this case everything was different. While the dance went on, our thoughts turned only to the times of Jehangir and Noor Mahal. The illusion was complete. For a moment we seemed not to belong to the nineteenth century. Had a jinn or a giant appeared amongst us, or a Peri from paradise, such an appearance would have not been out of place.” [Simpson, William [1903]. The Autobiography of William Simpson, R.I. (Crimean Simpson). London: T. Fisher Unwin; pp.153-55.] 31 30