ÿþ<html><head><link href="../../Styles/global.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet"> <link href="../../Images/favicon.ico" rel="shortcut icon" type="image/x-icon"><meta name="Keywords" content="A visual essay about the circulation of devotional images and ephemera around the Sufi and Shi'i shrines in greater Lucknow.Imambara, Lucknow, Barabanki, Shii" /><title>Outside the Imambara</title></head><body style="background-color:#666699" topMargin=0 ><div align="Center"> <table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="6" width="100%" style="background-color:#ffffff"><tr><td style="background-color:#666699;font-size:12px;font-family:Verdana;" align="center"> <a href="http://www.tasveergharindia.net" style="text-decoration:none;color:#ffffff;">Tasveer Ghar: A Digital Archive of South Asian Popular Visual Culture</a></td></tr><tr><td align="center" ><p><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 153);"><strong><span style="font-size: 24px;">Outside the Imambara</span></strong></span></span></p></td></tr><tr><td align="center" > <p><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="color: rgb(102, 102, 153);"><span style="font-size: 16px;">The Circulation of Devotional Images in Greater Lucknow</span></span></span></p></td></tr><tr><td> <p>&nbsp;</p> <table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" border="0" align="center" style="width: 850px; height: 1731px;"> <tbody> <tr> <td> <p><span style="font-size: 14px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><strong>The Devotional Images of Dewa Sharif</strong><br /> <br /> The vendors who line the path to the Dewa Sharif shrine in Barabanki sell a variety of small-scale commodities, many of which feature images of Waris Ali Shah, a saint who lived from 1809 to 1905, making his home in Dewa, Uttar Pradesh. Items sold in the Dewa market include a variety of CDs with content ranging from <em>qawwali</em> dedicated to Waris Pak (as he is popularly known) to morality/didactic dramas; pendants and <em>tavizat</em> (talisman); religious books and pamphlets; and, most commonly, images of Waris Ali Shah and his tomb [Figures 2 and 3].<br /> </span></span></p> <table cellpadding="0" border="0" align="center" style="width: 395px; height: 141px;"> <tbody> <tr> <td><span style="font-size: 14px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><table valign="middle"><tr><td> <a class="navigation-a" href=http://tasveergharindia.net/cmsdesk/viewgallery.aspx?id=68&EId=76&ImageId=2><img width="200" height="133" alt="" src="/cmsdesk/userfiles/image/uploaded/Tasveer%20Ghar/imambara/DSC_0751fig1tn.jpg" style="border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-bottom-style: none"/></a></td></tr><tr><td align="Center" > <a class="navigation-a" href=http://tasveergharindia.net/cmsdesk/viewgallery.aspx?id=68&EId=76&ImageId=2> Fig.02</a></td></tr></table><br /> </span></span></td> <td><span style="font-size: 14px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><table valign="middle"><tr><td> <a class="navigation-a" href=http://tasveergharindia.net/cmsdesk/viewgallery.aspx?id=68&EId=76&ImageId=3><img alt="" src="/cmsdesk/userfiles/image/uploaded/Tasveer%20Ghar/imambara/DSC_0769fig5tn.jpg" style="border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-bottom-style: none"/></a></td></tr><tr><td align="Center" > <a class="navigation-a" href=http://tasveergharindia.net/cmsdesk/viewgallery.aspx?id=68&EId=76&ImageId=3> Fig.03</a></td></tr></table></span></span></td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <p><span style="font-size: 14px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">In the display of these images in the market, equal space is given both to the saint and his tomb, suggesting the symbolic importance of both. In pictures in which they are featured together, the tomb is shown as a companion to the images of the saint. It tends to stand above his head, and is proportionally smaller. The tomb is often embellished, with flowers, clouds, or bright lights [Figures 4, 5, 6 and 7]. In Figure 5, Waris Ali Shah reclines in front of the columns of what is now the <em>imambara</em> of the mausoleum. Photo duplication companies take the opportunity to iconize the images, to make them more patterned, graphic, and ornamented than they appear in everyday life.</span></span></p> <table width="200" border="0" align="center"> <tbody> <tr> <td><span style="font-size: 14px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><table valign="middle"><tr><td> <a class="navigation-a" href=http://tasveergharindia.net/cmsdesk/viewgallery.aspx?id=68&EId=76&ImageId=4><img width="200" height="141" alt="" src="/cmsdesk/userfiles/image/uploaded/Tasveer%20Ghar/imambara/DSC_1347fig6tn.jpg" style="border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-bottom-style: none"/></a></td></tr><tr><td align="Center" > <a class="navigation-a" href=http://tasveergharindia.net/cmsdesk/viewgallery.aspx?id=68&EId=76&ImageId=4> Fig.04</a></td></tr></table></span></span></td> <td><span style="font-size: 14px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><table valign="middle"><tr><td> <a class="navigation-a" href=http://tasveergharindia.net/cmsdesk/viewgallery.aspx?id=68&EId=76&ImageId=5><img width="200" height="147" alt="" src="/cmsdesk/userfiles/image/uploaded/Tasveer%20Ghar/imambara/DSC_1274fig7tn.jpg" style="border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-bottom-style: none"/></a></td></tr><tr><td align="Center" > <a class="navigation-a" href=http://tasveergharindia.net/cmsdesk/viewgallery.aspx?id=68&EId=76&ImageId=5> Fig.05</a></td></tr></table></span></span></td> <td><span style="font-size: 14px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><table valign="middle"><tr><td> <a class="navigation-a" href=http://tasveergharindia.net/cmsdesk/viewgallery.aspx?id=68&EId=76&ImageId=6><img width="151" height="194" alt="" src="/cmsdesk/userfiles/image/uploaded/Tasveer%20Ghar/imambara/DSC_1279fig8tn.jpg" style="border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-bottom-style: none"/></a></td></tr><tr><td align="Center" > <a class="navigation-a" href=http://tasveergharindia.net/cmsdesk/viewgallery.aspx?id=68&EId=76&ImageId=6> Fig.06</a></td></tr></table></span></span></td> <td><span style="font-size: 14px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><table valign="middle"><tr><td> <a class="navigation-a" href=http://tasveergharindia.net/cmsdesk/viewgallery.aspx?id=68&EId=76&ImageId=7><img width="143" height="200" alt="" src="/cmsdesk/userfiles/image/uploaded/Tasveer%20Ghar/imambara/DSC_1275fig9tn.jpg" style="border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-bottom-style: none"/></a></td></tr><tr><td align="Center" > <a class="navigation-a" href=http://tasveergharindia.net/cmsdesk/viewgallery.aspx?id=68&EId=76&ImageId=7> Fig.07</a></td></tr></table></span></span></td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <p><span style="font-size: 14px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Waris Ali Shah&rsquo;s photographs were in circulation long before his death in 1908. According to some accounts, the experience of seeing Waris Ali Shah&rsquo;s eyes in photographs sometimes led to devotion in viewers and an intense desire to meet the saint in person (Liebeskind 1998, 203). In the proliferation of images of Waris Ali Shah, one notices the image being pared down to a few key elements as for example, his yellow robe, and a couple of familiar postures. Through the process of replication, these images become standardized, as have the stories about Waris Ali Shah&rsquo;s miraculous life. <br /> <br /> Comparing the photographs of Waris Ali Shah to the illustrations (some of which are edited and enhanced versions of the photos), we see this standardization process clearly. Figures 4 and 7 are black and white master-images from which the others originate. Figure 4, a postcard, probably dates from before the time of Waris Ali Shah&rsquo;s death. Waris Ali Shah lies on a <em>kambal</em> (blanket) wearing his yellow <em>ihram</em> (pilgrimage robe). According to biographers of Waris Ali Shah, he wore yellow because it was a color favored by the Prophet, because Jesus wore this color, and because it was earth-toned, symbolizing the disintegration of the human being into dust (Liebeskind 1998, 185). In Figures 8, 9, 10,12 and 13 the tomb appears in familiar formations along with the saint&rsquo;s image. <br /> </span></span></p> <table cellpadding="0" border="0" align="center" style="width: 537px; height: 157px;"> <tbody> <tr> <td><span style="font-size: 14px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><table valign="middle"><tr><td> <a class="navigation-a" href=http://tasveergharindia.net/cmsdesk/viewgallery.aspx?id=68&EId=76&ImageId=8><img width="150" height="113" alt="" src="/cmsdesk/userfiles/image/uploaded/Tasveer%20Ghar/imambara/DSC_1274fig10tn.jpg" style="border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-bottom-style: none"/></a></td></tr><tr><td align="Center" > <a class="navigation-a" href=http://tasveergharindia.net/cmsdesk/viewgallery.aspx?id=68&EId=76&ImageId=8> Fig.08</a></td></tr></table></span></span></td> <td><span style="font-size: 14px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><table valign="middle"><tr><td> <a class="navigation-a" href=http://tasveergharindia.net/cmsdesk/viewgallery.aspx?id=68&EId=76&ImageId=9><img width="114" height="150" alt="" src="/cmsdesk/userfiles/image/uploaded/Tasveer%20Ghar/imambara/DSC_1354fig11tn.jpg" style="border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-bottom-style: none"/></a></td></tr><tr><td align="Center" > <a class="navigation-a" href=http://tasveergharindia.net/cmsdesk/viewgallery.aspx?id=68&EId=76&ImageId=9> Fig.09</a></td></tr></table></span></span></td> <td><span style="font-size: 14px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><table valign="middle"><tr><td> <a class="navigation-a" href=http://tasveergharindia.net/cmsdesk/viewgallery.aspx?id=68&EId=76&ImageId=10><img width="113" height="150" alt="" src="/cmsdesk/userfiles/image/uploaded/Tasveer%20Ghar/imambara/DSC_1288fig12tn.jpg" style="border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-bottom-style: none"/></a></td></tr><tr><td align="Center" > <a class="navigation-a" href=http://tasveergharindia.net/cmsdesk/viewgallery.aspx?id=68&EId=76&ImageId=10> Fig.10</a></td></tr></table></span></span></td> <td><span style="font-size: 14px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><table valign="middle"><tr><td> <a class="navigation-a" href=http://tasveergharindia.net/cmsdesk/viewgallery.aspx?id=68&EId=76&ImageId=11><img width="147" height="151" border="0" src="/cmsdesk/userfiles/image/uploaded/Tasveer%20Ghar/imambara/pendantx.jpg" alt="" style="border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-bottom-style: none"/></a></td></tr><tr><td align="Center" > <a class="navigation-a" href=http://tasveergharindia.net/cmsdesk/viewgallery.aspx?id=68&EId=76&ImageId=11> Fig.11</a></td></tr></table><br /> </span></span></td> </tr> <tr> <td style="text-align: center;">&nbsp;</td> <td style="text-align: center;">&nbsp;</td> <td style="text-align: center;">&nbsp;</td> <td><span style="font-size: 14px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">&nbsp;</span></span></td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <table width="200" cellpadding="0" border="0" align="center"> <tbody> <tr> <td><span style="font-size: 14px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">&nbsp;<table valign="middle"><tr><td> <a class="navigation-a" href=http://tasveergharindia.net/cmsdesk/viewgallery.aspx?id=68&EId=76&ImageId=12><img style="width: 159px; height: 185px;" alt="" src="/cmsdesk/userfiles/image/uploaded/Tasveer%20Ghar/imambara/2457_TG12tn.jpg" style="border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-bottom-style: none"/></a></td></tr><tr><td align="Center" > <a class="navigation-a" href=http://tasveergharindia.net/cmsdesk/viewgallery.aspx?id=68&EId=76&ImageId=12> Fig.12</a></td></tr></table><br /> </span></span></td> <td><span style="font-size: 14px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">&nbsp;<table valign="middle"><tr><td> <a class="navigation-a" href=http://tasveergharindia.net/cmsdesk/viewgallery.aspx?id=68&EId=76&ImageId=13><img width="150" height="128" alt="" src="/cmsdesk/userfiles/image/uploaded/Tasveer%20Ghar/imambara/DSC_1303fig15tn.jpg" style="border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-bottom-style: none"/></a></td></tr><tr><td align="Center" > <a class="navigation-a" href=http://tasveergharindia.net/cmsdesk/viewgallery.aspx?id=68&EId=76&ImageId=13> Fig.13</a></td></tr></table></span></span></td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: 14px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><strong>Waris Ali Shah and Other Saints</strong><br /> <br /> At Astana Dada Miyan, a replica shrine a kilometer from Dewa Sharif, a large portrait of Waris Ali Shah and Syed Ibrahim Shah (his sister&rsquo;s grandson, known popularly as Dada Miyan) was placed on the grave [Figure 14]. This was the only shrine that displayed an image of Waris Ali Shah inside the mausoleum where visitors could place offerings to the portrait. The portrait may have lent credibility to Dada Miyan&rsquo;s succession claim.</span></span></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 14px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px; font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif;"><table valign="middle"><tr><td> <a class="navigation-a" href=http://tasveergharindia.net/cmsdesk/viewgallery.aspx?id=68&EId=76&ImageId=14><img style="width: 164px; height: 109px;" alt="" src="/cmsdesk/userfiles/image/uploaded/Tasveer%20Ghar/imambara/DSC_0807fig19tn.jpg" style="border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-bottom-style: none"/></a></td></tr><tr><td align="Center" > <a class="navigation-a" href=http://tasveergharindia.net/cmsdesk/viewgallery.aspx?id=68&EId=76&ImageId=14> Fig.14</a></td></tr></table></span></span></span></p> <p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: 14px;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">Waris Ali Shah declared before his death, <span style="font-style: italic;">&quot;</span><em>Waris ka koi waris nahin&quot;</em>, that no one could be his successor (Narayan 1996). Despite this statement, a dispute did ensue after his death in which Dada Miyan was claimed as the legitimate successor. In addition to the portrait&rsquo;s place at the Dada Miyan shrine, Waris Ali Shah is frequently depicted with other Sufi saints in images. In Figures 15 and 16, for instance, Waris Ali Shah is featured with Rahim Shah of Gangwara Gaddi, Hazrat Faizu Shah, and Baba Saughat Shah.<br /> <br /> Images such as these, like the smaller, more personalized images of Waris Ali Shah and the Dewa shrine, possess the ability to relocate the spiritual power of the shrine into new spaces. Waris Ali Shah lived in the era of photography, but his images tend not circulate in photographic form, but in forms that are more colorful and embellished. In addition to the framed images, the wall hangings and pendants are designed to fit easily into devotee&rsquo;s daily lives: to hang in a shop or on the body.</span></span></p> </td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <table width="200" cellpadding="0" border="0" align="center"> <tbody> <tr> <td><table valign="middle"><tr><td> <a class="navigation-a" href=http://tasveergharindia.net/cmsdesk/viewgallery.aspx?id=68&EId=76&ImageId=15><img border="0" src="/cmsdesk/userfiles/image/uploaded/Tasveer%20Ghar/imambara/DSC_1280fig16tn.jpg" alt="" style="border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-bottom-style: none"/></a></td></tr><tr><td align="Center" > <a class="navigation-a" href=http://tasveergharindia.net/cmsdesk/viewgallery.aspx?id=68&EId=76&ImageId=15> Fig.15</a></td></tr></table></td> <td><table valign="middle"><tr><td> <a class="navigation-a" href=http://tasveergharindia.net/cmsdesk/viewgallery.aspx?id=68&EId=76&ImageId=16><img width="110" height="150" border="0" src="/cmsdesk/userfiles/image/uploaded/Tasveer%20Ghar/imambara/DSC_1274fig17tn.jpg" alt="" style="border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-bottom-style: none"/></a></td></tr><tr><td align="Center" > <a class="navigation-a" href=http://tasveergharindia.net/cmsdesk/viewgallery.aspx?id=68&EId=76&ImageId=16> Fig.16</a></td></tr></table></td> <td><table valign="middle"><tr><td> <a class="navigation-a" href=http://tasveergharindia.net/cmsdesk/viewgallery.aspx?id=68&EId=76&ImageId=17><img border="0" src="/cmsdesk/userfiles/image/uploaded/Tasveer%20Ghar/imambara/DSC_1267fig18tn.jpg" alt="" style="border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-bottom-style: none"/></a></td></tr><tr><td align="Center" > <a class="navigation-a" href=http://tasveergharindia.net/cmsdesk/viewgallery.aspx?id=68&EId=76&ImageId=17> Fig.17</a></td></tr></table></td> <td>&nbsp;</td> </tr> </tbody> </table> <p>&nbsp;</p> </td></tr></table><table style="width:850px"><tr><td></td><td align="right"><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:12px;color:#ffffff;">Select Page</span><select id="cmbPages" class="text-box" onchange="javascript:openPage();"> <option value="1">1</option><option value="2">2</option><option value="3">3</option><option value="4">4</option></select> <script type="text/javascript" language="javascript">function openPage(){ var i = document.getElementById('cmbPages').value; var path =window.location.pathname.substring(0,window.location.pathname.lastIndexOf('/')); if(i== 1) window.location.href = path + "/index.html"; else window.location.href = path + "/index_" + (i-1) +".html"; } var path =window.location.pathname.substring(window.location.pathname.lastIndexOf('/')+1); if (path.indexOf('_') == -1) document.getElementById('cmbPages').value=1; else {path = path.substring(path.lastIndexOf('_')+1); document.getElementById('cmbPages').value=parseInt(path)+1;} </script><a class="navigation-a" href="index.html" style="color:#ffffff;">Previous</a> <a class="navigation-a" href="index_2.html" style="color:#ffffff;">Next</a></td></tr></table><table style="width:100%;"><tr><td></td></tr><tr><td align="center" colspan="2"><a class="gallery-a" style="color:#ffffff;" href=http://tasveergharindia.net/cmsdesk/viewgallery.aspx?id=68&EId=76&ImageId=1>Visit The Gallery</a> </td></tr><tr><td align="center" colspan="2"><a href="http://www.tasveergharindia.net" class="footer-a" style="color:#ffffff;"> Tasveer Ghar Home </a>-<a href="http://www.tasveergharindia.net/frmessaylisting.aspx" class="footer-a" style="color:#ffffff;"> Gallery </a>-<a href="http://tasveergharindia.net/cmsdesk/pages/copyright.html" class="footer-a" style="color:#ffffff;"> Disclaimer on images </a>-<a href="http://tasveergharindia.net/cmsdesk/pages/Contact_Us.html" class="footer-a" style="color:#ffffff;"> Contact us </a>-<a href="http://tasveergharindia.net/Unsubscriber.aspx" class="footer-a" style="color:#ffffff;"> UnSubscriber </a></td></tr></table></div><script type="text/javascript">try {var pageTracker = _gat._getTracker("UA-8020078-1");pageTracker._trackPageview();} catch(err) {}</script> </body></html>