A story of 359 long years (1415 to 1774)

Prof Upendra Kaul

The city of Srinagar is situated on both the banks of the river Jhelum, (Vyth in Kashmiri). To cross the river there are several bridges which are a part of its history. Rajatarangni, the chronicle of Kings of Kashmir and Northern India, has some situational references to bridges in Tarang 3 during the reign of Pravarsena II (123CE). There are, however, no details described.

Jhelum has well known connections in the form of bridges (Kadal in Kashmiri) to cross it at various points in the city. The localities around these bridges are also known by the names of these bridges. As one comes down from the tourist reception centre near the Radio Kashmir area (now known as the Door Darshan Kashmir) towards the downtown or the old city also called the “Shahar e Khas”, there are now 11 bridges; Zero bridge, Abdullah bridge, Amira Kadal, Badshah Kadal, 2 Habba Kadals (new and the old), 2 Fateh Kadals (new and old), Zaina Kadal, Aali Kadal, Nawa Kadal and Safa Kadal. The order of construction, however, is different with Aali Kadal being the first one to be constructed. Many of them got destroyed during ravaging floods and earth quakes and were re built by the successive rulers. For a long time, the good old times of my childhood and adolescence, there were only 7 bridges and Srinagar was called the “City of 7 bridges”. The narration below is the history of these bridges in the order of their creation.

Aali Kadal

The first bridge across the Jhelum was built by Sultan Ali Shah also known as Ali Shahmiri, in 1415 AD. He belonged to the Shah Mir dynasty. It has very revered Sufi shrines around it. The shrine of Hazrat Syed M Amin Owasi popularly called Woosi Sahab. The Batyar Mandir is next to it and the shrine of Reshi Peer and Pt Narayan Joo’s temple are also in the neighbourhood. Close to it is the historic mosque where Rinchan Shah (Lhachan Gualbu Rinchana) a king from Ladakh, got converted to Islam under the influence of the well-known Saint Bul Bul Shah and became known as Sultan Sadar u Din.

It is a bustling area with markets selling every day needs. In the lanes, however, one can find small outlets where the well-known delicacy “Harissa” is available in early mornings especially in winters with people consuming it in those shops and also carrying it home. The area also is known for traditional cooks “Wazas” who are in big demand especially during wedding seasons. The area has big famous bakeries with the well-known and popular Janta Bakery.

The ghats of Aali Kadal are called the Doeb Ghat where washermen adept in washing carpets, pashmina etc., can still be found doing their work. The area is also historically known for its money lenders, one of them a Kashmiri Pundit Ram Joo Koul, who had a big typical Kashmiri house near the bridge which has now been given to a charitable trust “Help Foundation” led by Ms Nighat Shafi and converted into a heritage house ‘Baitul e Meeras”. It depicts typical Kashmiri small and large handicrafts. It has been recently thrown open to public. In short Aali Kadal is historically the cultural hub of Srinagar city.

Zaina Kadal

According to some, this was the first bridge built on Jhelum and is just one minute away from the neighbouring Aali Kadal by a vehicle and 3 to 4 minutes by foot. This is, however, contested by most. According to the records it was built by Sultan Zain-ul-Abdin around 1425/1426. It had a much sturdier construction and was the main link between the two sides of the city across the river. Its surroundings had a lot of commercial activity in good old days. The well-known Gade Bazar ( Fish Market) used to be a very popular place for buying meat, fish, cheese and vegetables. It has become a usual type of market over the years. The nearby Ranbir Gunj and Maharaj Ganj are wholesale markets for tea, spices, cloth, cooking oils and even goods like spices, tea, wood, fabric and rice. The area used to be the most liked area of the old city with even people from villages converging towards it. With the development of Lal Chowk area lot of business shifted from there.

Sultan Zain ul Abdin, the builder, is buried in a tomb near his mother’s grave close to the bridge. Unfortunately, for a man who did so much for the city, it is maintained very poorly.

Fateh Kadal

Built by Sutan Fateh Shah in 1500. It was a rather small wooden structure. Later in 1902 Dogra Maharaja built a new bridge close to it. Both the bridges are there. The shrine of Khanqah Moula which is close to it is visible from both this and Zaine a Kadal. In olden days it was a favourite market for foreign tourists who used to come in boats since roads were very narrow to buy items of famous Kashmir arts. The area had the first missionary school started by Mr Tyndale Biscoe later taken over by Mr Eric Biscoe. The main school is now shifted near the Lal Chowk area.

Habba Kadal

This bridge has a controversy attached with its construction. Some historians believe it was built by Yusuf Shah Chak and named after Habba Khatoon, an exceedingly beautiful lady from Pampore Pulwama district. Yusuf Shah was madly in love with her. But other school of thought believes it was built by Sultan Habib Shah in 1551. He was the last Sultan of Shah Mir dynasty and was succeeded by his commander , General Ghazi Chak in 1551. This bridge too had to be rebuilt by Maharaja Partap Singh in 1898 after the deluge of 1893. A new concrete bridge has been made close to it in 2001 to replace the traffic of old bridge. This area used to be a site of rallies against the Maharaja by local leaders before the independence of India.

The bridge used to be surrounded by a large Pundit population till 1990 before their exodus. It used to be full of vegetable and pickle markets. A number of temples on the banks: Porshayar, Soomayar and Ganpatyar still exist but bereft of people. An impressive white mosque “Pathar Masjid” stands near the end of the wooden bridge. In addition, one of the most famous book and stationary seller Ali Mohammed and Sons used to be there. Over the years they have also shifted to a spot near Lal chowk.

Nawa Kadal

Built in 1666 by Afghan ruler Nurudeen Bamzai, it had to be rebuilt in 1953 by Sheik Mohammad Abdullah, but was burnt in 1981. It was later built again by Farooq Abdullah’s government. The place is known for a Women’s College which is the Nawa Kadal Women’s College, the main attraction of this area.

Safa Kadal

It was constructed by Saif Khan during the reign of emperor Aurangzeb in 1671. The area is known for a Kashmiri Pundit lady Roop Bhawani who was a mystic saint and lived in a place called Khanakha-e Sokhta. There is a temple in her memory near Chashma Shahi also.

In olden times this area had silk traders coming from Yarkand and Samarkand in Turkistan through Ladakh using the ancient silk route. The headquarters of it used to be in a building called Yarkand Sarai. It used to be a hub for high quality of silk products. After 1947 with the closure of the silk route, it got slowly transformed into a refugee shelter for persons living there for several decades. The State government has taken over it.

Amira Kadal

This very well-known bridge of the city was built by the Afghan governor, Amir-ud-Din Khan Jawan Sher in 1774 AD. It was a 5 pier wooden cantilever structure, it got severely damaged in devastating floods of 1893 and was soon rebuilt. It has a peculiar curvature with typical walk ways on both sides. One can see small pavement dwellers selling their goods. Freshly caught fish is one of the specialities there. After it was rebuilt by Partap Singh in 1893, it was renamed as Partap bridge but that name never became popular and it continues as Amira Kadal.

The area surrounding it is the Lal Chowk, Ghantaghar and the Hari Singh High Street (HSHS). Before 1990, three cinema halls, Palladium, Regal and Amrish were the special places of this area. The area has all the modern and fashion markets of Srinagar including the famous Jewellery and ornament shops. On one end of it is the ancient Hanuman Temple.

Bridges after 1947

Badshah (on the name of Sultan Zain ul Abdin) near Amira Kadal, Zero bridge (actually a modification from Zaer bridge because the contractor was hard of hearing), Cement bridge near Qamarwari and lastly the Abdullah Bridge built in 1990). All these were built by the successive elected Governments.

These seven bridges which have been very historic bridges not only serve as the means to connect the two shores of the river Jhelum but also have bustling localities, populations and well stocked markets around them. Each area has a history of its own starting from the days of Kota Rani, Shah Mirs, Afghans, Moghuls and then the Dogras. All of them have very sacred mosques, temples and dargahs associated with them. Having seen the growth of the city in the last several decades it is a real nostalgia and quite a sight going over these beauties of the past.

(Acknowledgements: The information gathered from the write ups of Ms Namarta Wakhloo and Khawar Khan Achakzai is acknowledged.)

Prof Upendra Kaul, Founder Director Gauri Kaul Foundation