{"id":2250,"date":"2019-02-25T21:34:30","date_gmt":"2019-02-25T16:04:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/museumofmaterialmemory.com\/?p=2250"},"modified":"2019-02-25T21:35:24","modified_gmt":"2019-02-25T16:05:24","slug":"twin-heirlooms-from-a-colonial-past","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/museumofmaterialmemory.com\/twin-heirlooms-from-a-colonial-past\/","title":{"rendered":"Twin heirlooms from a colonial past"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

TEXT BY SAEED IBRAHIM
PHOTOGRAPHS BY NAILA IBRAHIM<\/strong>
Bangalore, Karnataka<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The strong gusty winds and gigantic waves rising high above the surface of the sea lash the sides of the ship as it sways relentlessly upwards and comes crashing down again in a mad seesaw.  Fear grips my innards as I cling desperately to the nearest firm object I can lay my hands on only to be dragged cruelly away  by  the  sheer  force  of  the wind and the rain. The screams of the terrified women and children rent the air high above the crashing waves.  I awake with a shudder, my body drenched in a cold sweat….<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In my dream I had been transported back in time and aboard the SS Vaitarna (or “Vijli” as she was popularly known) on that fateful night on 8 November 1888, when caught in a violent cyclonic storm the ship was wrecked off the coast of Gujarat near Mangrol with no survivors. My great grandparents on my father\u2019s side who lived at the time in Bhuj, the capital of the then semi-autonomous princely state of Kutcch, perished in this maritime tragedy known as the “Titanic of Gujarat.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n

They left behind a 16 year old orphan, Aisha, my paternal grandmother or dadi<\/em>, and a bone china tea service which they had intended as a wedding present for her. Totally devastated by the loss of her parents at such an early age, this special memento of her parents\u2019 love brought my grandmother great comfort and solace and at her marriage some years later it occupied pride of place in her wedding trousseau. It has since been passed down through the generations in my family as a remnant from the colonial period in India of the late 19th<\/sup> century.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
The fine bone china tea service left behind to 16-year old Aisha <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The tea set is a beautiful blue and gold piece of the finest egg shell china, complete with six delicately crafted cups and saucers, a large and elegantly shaped tea pot, milk jug and sugar bowl and half a dozen dessert bowls and an equal number of dessert plates.   It was most probably   imported from England by my great grandfather from one of the porcelain manufacturers in Staffordshire. Though the set does not bear the manufacturer\u2019s name, each piece of the service has my great grandfather’s name “Haji Jan Mohammed”<\/strong> inscribed in gold lettering in Urdu script.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At her death, my grandmother in\nturn passed it on to her daughter-in-law, my mother who carefully preserved it\nand used the tea set sparingly only for very special family occasions.  My family moved to Bangalore from Bombay in\n1990, and along with us, so did the tea service. Today it stands prominently in\na glass show case in our dining room, undamaged in its pristine beauty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n