Chapter 2 Bombay to Suez

On the Beautiful Ship

The name of this steamer is the Salsette. It belongs to the P&O Company.1 It is beautiful and comfortable. The lights are all twinkling now, even though it is still daytime (fig. 2.1). Many lunch tables have been set out. The dining room is large and beautiful. We took the ship in as we walked to our cabin. I removed my burqa and gazed through the porthole out at the sea with wonder. The ship was still anchored. An English waiter arrived and said, “Madame, lunch will be at two thirty.” I answered, “Yes.” I know English well enough to be able to make myself understood easily. Then I laid on the bed and had Amina bi carefully arrange the luggage.2

Interesting Aspects of the Ship

Soon Nawab Sarbuland Jung arrived and said, “Come, the table is ready.”

“Should I eat with everyone?”3

“Yes, come. Who will see you here, anyhow?”

“All right, let’s go, then.”

I put on a cloak that I had had stitched especially for this trip and covered my face with a Turkish niqab, and we went to the drawing room. Despite [my niqab], I still felt uncomfortable and shy. By chance, though, our table was completely separate from the rest. Only Nawab sahib could see my face; everyone else was seated at tables directly behind me. Once we were seated, I flipped the niqab back over my head. There was no one at the table but us. The waiter who served us was European. He was very excited and said, “Oh, I am serve Indian lady!”4 It’s quite droll that he would be so excited to serve me.

I returned to the room after eating to rinse my mouth and wash my face. Nawab sahib said, “Let’s go up to the drawing room. We can sit on the deck and watch the sea.” “You go ahead,” I said. “I’ll join you soon.” He went up, and I followed soon after wearing my cloak and niqab. On deck there were several ladies reading books or strolling about. I went straight out, sat on a bench, and began to read a book. I read for a while and then got out the diary that I started keeping while still in Hyderabad. Soon it was time for tea. Nawab sahib came and said, “Let’s have tea.”

“I’ll have tea in my room.”

“Sure. I’ll have it sent.”

Everyone went for tea, and I went to my room. I took off my niqab. The waiter brought the tea. I drank it and lay down in bed to read my book. At evening time, the electric lights were illuminated. At seven Nawab sahib came and said, “You should get ready. I will change my clothes. Dinner is in thirty minutes.”

“Yes, do get ready. I already am.”

We both went to the table and sat in our places. The food on this ship is excellent. After dinner we went to the deck and strolled for an hour before returning to our cabin. Then we prayed isha and went to sleep.

First Morning at Sea

November 15, 1909: In the morning, we prayed fajr. Then we took a “sea bath,” which made us very clean and soft. By then it was seven and breakfast was ready, so we went down to eat. I liked the mutton chop, so I had that. Then we had tea, and I went to sit in the drawing room. I spoke to the memsahibs for a while and then wrote in my diary as usual. Nawab sahib and the others strolled about. At eleven, the waiter brought beef tea. The ladies and I each had a glass. Then I went back to my room to write a few letters until mealtime. Later Nawab sahib came, and we went down to lunch. We heard that another ship would pass ours. Everyone stood up from their tables to watch. It came closer and closer until the passengers on that ship were looking at us and we were looking at them. Once this spectacle concluded, we ate, and I returned to the cabin.

Taking a stewardess with me, I went to the kitchen and made a tour of all the places on board. I saw every machine on the ship. The tableware is washed in a wondrous way. First, they put the dishes in a basin. Then they turn the machine [handle], and the dishes go up and down while the machine is filled with hot water. And that’s it: the dishes are clean!

After the tour I went up to the deck, where the mems were waiting for me. Today I became friends with Mrs. Shane. We spoke for a long time. Then I wrote in my diary till teatime. Nawab Sarbuland Jung sahib and I went to tea and then returned to our cabin. After the asr and maghrib prayers, we went to dinner as usual. Then we strolled the deck, prayed isha, and went to bed.

November 16, 1909: I went to the drawing room after completing my usual morning routine. There I had a long debate with a mem about religion. She criticized Hindustani customs and practices. I did not hold back either. Then we began to joke with one another and moved on. We played a few games. The memsahiba asked me for some cardamom. “Give it to us,” she said. I gave her a few pods. She noted down my address and also gave me hers. Suddenly Mrs. Shane appeared. She is elderly and has taken quite a shine to me. She lives in Allahabad but is going to London for a while. She asks me often about Hyderabad: “What is Hyderabad like?” she asks. I described the flood to her and praised my city so much that she grew eager to visit Hyderabad Deccan herself.5

Then it was lunchtime. I ate and went to my cabin. Nawab sahib did the same. We began to chat. Nawab sahib said, “What should we do? Do you want to go to Jerusalem or Egypt? We will have to wait for a week at Suez. We can visit either of these places in that time.” We’ll see what we end up doing.

We were still discussing this when suddenly there was such a tumult on the ship that I became frightened. Nawab sahib said, “Don’t be scared. This is just a drill of what to do if the ship is caught in a storm.” All the poor workers had to drop whatever they were doing and run to the muster. Al-hamdulillah, the drill soon ended. The day passed in conversation. After dinner we prayed and slept.

November 17, 1909: I woke up early and took a sea bath. I take a sea bath every day because I hear it is good for one’s health. After breakfast Nawab sahib came and said that we will stop at Aden today. “We need to transfer from the Salsette to another steamer. Please get your things packed. We will disembark after lunch.” “Very well,” I replied. Amina bi and I got everything in order. Now it is 11:00 a.m., and I am on the deck, packed, ready, and waiting.

Soon I could see land taking shape in the distance. My memsahiba friends and Mrs. Shane were also all packed, and we were taking in the mountains and the sea. Then Mrs. Shane, Mrs. Koch, and I went into the drawing room. Mrs. Koch began to play music. It’s strange. This is my first sea voyage, but I haven’t felt dizzy at all. Nawab sahib and I have moved about in total comfort.

When she finished playing, Mrs. Koch asked me, “Do you also know how to play music?”

“Yes,” I replied, “I know a bit of Hindustani music. In English, I can only play the scales and a few sharps. That’s all.”

Some of the ladies pressed me to play. “Please, play something!” I looked about first to see where the men were, but they had all gone out on the deck. So I sat at the piano and played the ghazal “Saqiya Mai Deh ki Ma Durdi Kash-e Maikhana-im.”6 The tune of this ghazal is very sophisticated, and everyone enjoyed it. Then Mr. King suddenly appeared, so I shut the piano and left.

Arrival in Aden

By then the ship was very close to shore. It was lunchtime. When the bugle sounded, everyone went to their tables. Just as we were sitting down, the ship dropped anchor. The ship came to a stop. We had arrived at Aden. We began to hear the buzz of sailors and passengers outside. After lunch, we went out on the deck to watch the spectacle. Before us we could plainly see Aden’s shops, buildings, streets, cars, horses, camel carts, etc. We saw people navigating the sea in tiny little boats, some of them propelled by steam, others by hand-drawn paddles. Some of the boats moved with a broad white sheet that looked like a banner. They all zipped about so quickly; it was astonishing. They bobbed with the waves as they went, but the people inside them were at ease, as though they felt no fear at all.

Several boats approached our ship on either side. Inside were Habshis,7 who dance about and make a ruckus. All the ship’s passengers threw coins from the deck as a reward. I threw six anas myself.8 I have heard that these savages speak Arabic. A month before leaving for this trip, I had hired an Arab woman as a servant so that I could practice spoken Arabic with her.9 Thus, I had begun to be able to understand Arabic. I said a few things to them in Arabic, which shocked my English lady friends. They asked me, “Oh, what are you say?”10 I replied, “This is our pure Arabic language. I speak a bit of it.”

Then we all went up to the deck and sat in the drawing room. Notice was given that at 3:00 p.m. we would have to transfer from the Salsette to the China, which was larger.11 Nawab sahib came at 2:00 p.m., and we went to our cabin and checked the luggage. We had two stewards on board, one who served our meals and another who looked after our cabin. We gave tips to both: two rupees for the first, four for the second. There is a third servant who keeps the bathroom warm. We gave him one rupee.

When everything was ready, Nawab sahib went upstairs while I took a nap in the cabin. When I awoke it was 3:30 p.m., not 3:00. Afraid [I was late], I rushed outside only to discover that everyone was going to tea. My sahib and I went too. Then it was five. We went to disembark. As is standard, we boarded a large boat that came to collect us. This boat ferried us to the China. We were assigned a corner cabin that I did not like. Nawab sahib had us switched; the new one was very nice. The bathroom and so forth are nearby. Amina and I organized the luggage. I washed up and changed my clothes before donning a niqab and cloak to go up on deck. Oho! This entire ship is filled with sahibs and memsahibs, all of them strolling about. My sahib and I too had a stroll. When my lady friends arrived, Nawab sahib walked alone while I went to speak to the ladies. The dinner bugle sounded. We went to eat. Then, as usual, we strolled on the deck before returning to the cabin.

November 18, 1909: After finishing our morning routine, we had breakfast as usual, then went to the deck. Nawab sahib spoke to some sahibs while I sat on a bench and talked with Mrs. Shane. Two girls of about six or seven came toward me. They were frightened by my niqab. I flipped the niqab back and called out to them. They ran over, sat close beside me, and began to chat.

Girl: “Who are you? Are you a pussy[cat]? Is that why you’re wearing clothes like this?”

The word pussy[cat] made me laugh out loud. Mrs. Shane too was beside herself with laughter. I told them, “No, I am not a pussy[cat].” Their fear evaporated. They gave me their parents’ names and told me about their homes. One of them said, “I have a beautiful doll.” The other said, “I have a beautiful little diamond brooch, a pair of earrings, and three silver bracelets.” I really enjoyed listening to them. Eventually their parents arrived and began to laugh on seeing them so engrossed in the conversation. The girls had me write their parents’ names in my diary. Their names are George Webb and Mrs. Webb.

Nearby there were a few ladies playing cricket. It was nearly one. I went to the cabin, got ready for lunch, and went to the dining room. I returned to the cabin after eating. I changed and laid down. At four, I washed up, did vuzu, and performed the asr prayer. Then I got dressed, put on a niqab, and went for tea. Nawab sahib was there. Afterward I went to the cargo-loading area and inspected the machinery. Everything is done so precisely. Back on deck, I chatted with Mrs. George Webb. I also brushed up on my Arabic until the two girls reappeared and we began to talk.

Mrs. George Webb said, “Come, let’s take a walk before going to eat.”

We strolled around. The dinner bugle sounded. As usual, after dinner I went back to the deck. Nawab sahib was strolling around on the other side of the deck. Mrs. George Webb then came to meet me again. We began to chat.

“Would you like to go to the barbershop tomorrow?” she asked.

“There’s a shop here?”

“There’s a barbershop at the far end of the ship. You can buy brooches and ribbons and such. Whatever you want, you will find it there.”

“Very well. If you are going, I will join you. I’ll see what all they have there.”

Then I said good night and retired to my cabin. Nawab sahib was praying isha. I prayed too.

November 19, 1909:12 As usual, I woke up, had a sea bath, got dressed, and had tea. Then I went straight to the deck, where the first person I met was Mrs. Webb herself. The moment she saw me, she reached out and flipped the niqab off my head.

“What’s happened to you? Don’t put this over your face like that.”

“Madame, it is our customary practice [to wear the niqab]. Please, leave it be.”

Even still, she wouldn’t listen. I left the niqab open for a while before eventually lowering it again. Later, I went with the ladies to look out at the sea. The lunch bugle sounded. After lunch I went to the cabin and took out two pounds and a few shillings. Back on the deck, I saw Mrs. King and spoke to her for a while. Mrs. Webb and Mrs. Shane came over too.

“We are playing a game,” they said. “The game is to guess how many miles the ship travels in an hour. Whoever is correct wins the prize. You should wager a shilling. I’ll enter it for you.”

“Take the shilling, and enter it for me. I don’t understand this game at all.”

I gave her a shilling to humor her, but immediately after, we learned that a sahib had won. He had won the previous thirteen days too. Mrs. Webb and I went to the barbershop. The barber had decorated it very nicely. He was doing someone’s hair when we arrived. We looked at the products for sale. Mrs. Webb handed me a book and said, “Can you read this? It is in English.”

“Yes, I can read it,” I said, and we began to read together. She sat on one chair; I, on another. She began to knit a woolen stocking. I took it from her and said that I would knit while she read. Eventually, the barber finished their work, and we returned to the shop. I bought a brooch, a few safety pins, and some postcards with a picture of the China steamer. Then we left, and I went to write the postcards. I sent one to each of my children in Hyderabad. Letters can be mailed from the ship itself. They will be forwarded to the post when we reach Port Said. Anyhow, I wrote the postcards and mailed them. When Nawab sahib came, we prayed asr and then went up to the deck to watch the sea. A piano has been put out on the deck.

“There will be a dance tonight. You must come,” Mrs. Webb said.

“I will certainly come,” I replied.

A Dance at Sea

After dinner we went to the cabin and prayed isha before going on deck. I sat with the ladies while Nawab sahib strolled with the sahibs. The music began. Nawab sahib said, “I’ll go to the cabin. I want to pray some vazifas.”

“Go ahead. I’ll watch the dance and come later.”

Then I went to sit with Mrs. Shane. The sahibs walked over to ask the memsahibs, “Will you dance with me?” Most of the mems refused, and most of them also got ready to dance. The dance began. A steward played the piano; everyone enjoyed his playing. There were many different types of dances. I had never seen an English dance before. This was my first, and I took it all in. Mrs. Shane stayed with me. She really wanted to dance with someone. This was completely astonishing to me, given the fact that she was nearly sixty years old. She herself told me that she was sixty. Imagine wanting to dance at such an age! Sadly, her desire went unrequited. No sahib asked her to dance. This greatly disappointed her. Thank God, the event finally concluded at 11:30 p.m. I bid her good night and went to my cabin. Nawab sahib had already finished his vazifas.

November 20, 1909: I woke up early, had a sea bath, and then we went to breakfast. I said to Nawab sahib, “Please have my trunk brought up [from the hold]. I want to retrieve some clothes. The luggage hall is open today.” My sahib had it brought. I took a few clothes out and put some others in. I closed it back up and had it returned to the luggage hall.

Back on the deck, I wrote letters to Lady Walker, Mother, Khurshid, and Father before meeting with my memsahib friends. After lunch I lay down in my cabin for a while. Nawab sahib returned after getting a haircut at the barbershop. We bathed and went to tea. Afterwards we strolled the deck. I spoke to a few ladies who were there. At maghrib I went to the cabin to pray and then returned again. Nawab sahib was doing some writing in the drawing room. I had a stroll and ran into Mrs. Lyall and Mrs. Webb. There was still a quarter hour until dinner. I told Nawab sahib to get ready. He went to the cabin while I continued to walk. After dinner I prayed isha and went to the deck again. Mrs. Webb took my hand, and we walked together before settling into the deck chairs.

“How do mem women style their hair?” I asked.

“Come to my cabin. I will show you.”

We went to her cabin. She let down her hair and then showed me how she did it up.

“Now you do yours,” she said.

“My clothing is different from yours. That hairstyle won’t look good on me.”

But she would hear none of it. She did up my hair and said, “Let’s show Mrs. Lyall.”

“You’ll have to ask Mrs. Lyall to come here. I won’t go outside like this.”

Mrs. Lyall came, and we all laughed together for a long while. Then I let my hair back down and returned to my cabin.

November 21, 1909: I woke up and prayed fajr as usual. Then I had a sea bath, got dressed, and had breakfast before going on deck. I wrote a letter to [my aunt] Khala Masudah. Mrs. Studes came and said, “Please read your diary aloud to me. What is it that you write every day?” I read it out to her and Mrs. Shane in translation. Al-hamdulillah, my translation from Urdu to English was good enough that they could both understand and enjoy it. When we were done, they stood up to leave because it was time for church, for today is Sunday.

They all left until only Mrs. Shane remained with me. “Won’t you go to worship [namaz]?” I asked her.

She replied, “No, no, I will not. I will stay right here and talk with you.”

She sat down beside me and wrote out a letter to her son, who is in Shimla, while I wrote in my diary. When she finished, she said, “Let’s to go the barbershop to buy stamps. We’re going to pass Suez at one today. We should have all our letters posted.”

“All right,” I replied, “I’ll post my letters too.”

We gathered up the letters and took them with us. We put stamps on them and posted them.

A View of Suez

Suez slowly came into view around eleven. Some of the sahibs were at church, while others were on the deck reading books or perusing the newspaper. Then we reached Suez. It seems to be a beautiful city. The buildings are nice. It’s verdant too. Aden was completely dry, but in Suez I saw a lot of greenery. Everyone here appears to be Arab. Their clothes are Arab. Everyone is Muslim. Many Arabs came out in their little boats and tied them to the ship. They climbed up on to the ship bearing large baskets and laid out their wares. They had all kinds of things. The mems and the sahibs began to shop. I myself bought three necklaces, a pair of bangles, and a black shawl with excellent embroidery. I also said a few words to them in Arabic, which made them happy. They said, “You are Islam. All these people are Kafir. You are good. Al-hamdulillah, masha Allah, Muslim.13 We will give you a cheap price. Wallahi, we will be honest with you.” They went on displaying and selling their products for two hours. So many people bought something or other. Finally, it ended. They climbed back down and untied their boats. They said “as-salamu alaikum” and “marhaba marhaba” as they left. Everyone here gets about in these little boats. They carry people to shore for thirty pence and then bring them back to the ship too.

It was time to leave. The ship set off again. From here our path was very strange. There is dry land on either side, right up against the edges of the ship. The ship travels between these two banks. Suez can be seen from right up close. It looks green and prosperous. You can even see trains passing. Stations appear regularly. You see laborers at work. It has been suggested that the canal be expanded so that two ships may pass in either direction at once. It is already 5:30 p.m., but the laborers are still at work. The ship is proceeding so slowly you cannot discern if it is stationary or in motion. They say this place was once completely dry; it was all land. A ship could not pass through here. Travelers would get down [at Suez] and travel by train. Water was only brought here and made deep after digging endlessly. It cost hundreds of thousands of rupees to bring water here and to make it deep enough for it to become a sea. Now ships pass easily. Construction is ongoing. This place is called the Suez Canal. It is very long.

The dinner bugle sounded. We could still see everything. We had dinner and then returned to our cabin.

Port Said

November 22, 1909: We woke up as usual, got dressed, and went to breakfast. We can still see land. We heard we would arrive at Port Said soon, and at 8:30, we did. Nawab sahib said, “Get your things together quickly. We must disembark here.” I hurried to the cabin and prepared everything. I told Amina bi to get ready, and then I went on deck. The ship had already stopped moving. The Arabs again brought their wares to sell. The passengers began to make purchases. I bought two muzak brooches and spoke to the vendors briefly in Arabic.14 As usual, Nawab sahib tipped the steward, who was European, half a pound. He gave four rupees to the stoke, and two rupees to the sweeper.15 To our waiter he gave three rupees. I said, “With your permission, I will go and see Port Said with Mrs. Shane” (fig. 2.2).

By Nawab sahib’s leave, I put on my cloak and covered my face with a niqab. I collected a few pounds and shillings and boarded a small boat for the ride to shore with Mrs. Shane. To disembark from the ship, a ladder is placed in the boat. You climb down this ladder and sit in the little boat, which bears you to shore. None of the larger boats that unload passengers came to the ship. These smaller boats charge you a fee to come. The fare from ship to shore is thirty pence. Well, Mrs. Shane and I reached the shore. Al-hamdulillah, everyone here is Muslim. They wear Turkish fezzes. The people here have such fair skin, though quite a few are darker too. Their dress is largely angrezi, though some wear a long kurta with a coat and a fez. All the city’s residents speak Arabic and English. Their English is broken. They don’t know Urdu at all. They speak French better than English. There is a Jewish community here too. What I liked most is that Islam is given great value. Muslims are highly respected. Mrs. Shane said, “These Arabs are so brave and daring. There are hardly any angrez people here. I am afraid that if we go into the city, they may do something to us.”

“No, you should go,” I replied. “You are with me, a Muslim.”

When the memsahib and I reached the main gate of the city, a few policemen salaamed when they saw me and asked, “Are you Turkish and Muslim?” I returned their salaam and said, “Al-hamdulillah, I am Muslim.” They were glad to hear this.

“Marhaba,” they answered. “What brings you here?”

“I am making a pilgrimage to Mecca.”

“God’s mercy be [on the Prophet].”

Mrs. Shane asked, “What are these people saying?”

“They’re asking where we have come from and where we are going.”

One of the men began to walk with us and said, “I will show you the way.” I told Mrs. Shane, “Let’s let him come with us. It’s OK. He will guide us.” Taking him along, we first went to the Cook office.16 This is where you buy tickets and such. Mrs. Shane said, “Your sahib promised to come to the Cook office [to meet us.] We should wait here for a while. When he comes, we can explore the city.”

I replied, “All right.”

Nawab sahib came a short while later and said, “Go tour the city with the memsahib, but be sure to come back by four. We need to board another ship. First, we’ll board a P&O ship and have lunch there. Then we’ll change ships again.”

“All right. I will go to the ship by two p.m., inshallah.”

Then I went into the city with Mrs. Shane and our escort. Mrs. Shane was very frightened. She said, “Tell this man to please go away. We will manage from here.”

But he replied, “No, please let me accompany you. I will arrange everything for you.”

I said to her, “Please don’t be afraid. Let him accompany us. He will help us with our tasks, and then we will give him a tip.”

The two of us went into a shop. Mrs. Shane asked him repeatedly, “Where are you taking us? Please take us somewhere where there will be other memsahibs.”

This made me laugh. “Look,” I said, “there are so many English people in this shop. You can relax now.”

We went in. The owners are Greek and speak English and French. When they saw me, they said “marhaba” in Arabic and then spoke to the memsahib in English. They gave us chairs to sit on and brought out a lot of merchandise. I bought a jacket, a blouse, a coat, a warm Turkish kurta, two pairs of warm stockings, and a pair of shoes. I didn’t find any warm cloth that was appropriate for a sari. I had everything packed up and asked them to keep it for me. “We will collect it on our way back,” I said. “We’ll continue shopping for now.”

Then we went to a doctor’s clinic. Mrs. Shane bought a purgative. Then we visited a fruit vendor. One fruit caught my attention, but when we peeled it, it was still unripe. I did not like the taste. We bought some dates and then went to another shop. Here we saw two Egyptian women wearing jewelry and other ornaments. Their burqas were very strange. They had a round, golden ornament at the nose. Their eyes were completely open, but their mouths were entirely covered. Below their burqas they wore blue kurtas with frills and other designs. Their hands were covered with henna, and they had golden bangles on their wrists. They were buying some cloth. They looked at me, and I looked at them. Each of us was wondering at what the other was wearing. Their kurtas were so long that I was unable to see their pants. I saw curly hair peeking out [from their burqas] at their temples. These women had a good look at me and realized that I might be Muslim.

One of these bibis came up to me and asked, “Are you a Muslim?”

“I am,” I replied.

She kissed my hand and said, “You know Arabic.”17

I replied, “No, I only know a little. I know Hindi.”18

“Wonderful. You sit beside me.”19

I went and sat beside her. This bibi’s feet were tattooed. The practice of tattooing exists among the Hindu women of Hyderabad. I asked the bibi, “What is this?”20 She replied, “Look this. Good.”21 I didn’t understand the rest of what she said, except that her people consider these tattoos beautiful and that they tattoo their hands too. It is a pity that so many questions worth asking went unasked because our languages are different. Mrs. Shane too stared at these bibis in astonishment. The bibis said to her, “Come here, servant girl, come here.”22 But she didn’t understand.

I bought a belt and some cloth for a warm sari, said goodbye to the women, and left. Then we went back to the first shop to retrieve our purchases. I still owed the shopkeeper a pound, but we had already spent all our money. He sent a boy with us. “Take this boy with you and give him the pound.”

On the Same Ship Again

We returned to the ship around twelve thirty. We were both famished. The policeman carried our items to the dock. I gave him a shilling, which made him very happy. He then asked the memsahib for a reward. She said to him, “Oh, the bibi gave you a lot. You go away now.” But he did not go. When I boarded the boat, he held my hand to steady me. Then he gave a salaam and left. Back on the ship, Mrs. Shane came to my cabin. We opened the packages because our items had all been wrapped up together. She took her things and gave me mine. We counted the items and ensured that everything was there and then gave the boy the pound we owed. We had Amina bi take Mrs. Shane’s items to her cabin.

Nawab sahib returned and quickly got his luggage together before going to the table. After lunch he gave our baggage to the Cook representative, who had it transferred into a boat. Then my sahib and I went to the deck to meet with everyone. I spoke with all the people I had met while at sea. All the memsahibs who had become friends with me during these few days together expressed their sadness at my departure and shook my hand affectionately. There was a magician performing, and everyone was engrossed in his act. I watched for a few minutes, too, before turning away. I met Nawab sahib on the way, and we went to the boat together.

When we got to shore, I sat in the boat while he went to the Cook office. He was gone for so long that I began to get bored.23 I left the boat and began to walk around. Suddenly two Muslim men walked by speaking in Urdu. This was the first time that I had heard a conversation in Urdu since leaving Bombay. I was excited to hear it. I asked them where they were from. “We are from Punjab. We’ve come here to look for work.” Then some Arabs walked by. I chatted with them in Arabic. When Nawab sahib returned, I got back into the boat with Amina bi.

On the Ship to Jerusalem

From here we boarded another ship headed for Jaffa, Haifa, and Jerusalem.24 The name of the ship is the [Imperatrice]. The boat left at six. This German vessel is so dirty that my mood was completely spoiled.25 Our cabin is large, with four beds, but I do not like it. Dinner here is at seven. We went to eat. At dinner there were a few priests and ship officers. The meal was just a few cuts of foul-tasting meats. There were no puddings etc. at all, though they did have oranges. I couldn’t bring myself to eat this German food. When the “salad” came, it was just a leaf of spinach. Not good spinach, either. After eating we went on deck. The lounge area only has rattan couches. It is very uncomfortable. The area around the room is filthy too. There are poor Arabs and Turks lying about everywhere underneath the open sky. Some of the Arabs sell fruit. This area is known as third class. I had a good look around. Then Nawab sahib and I went to the uppermost deck and had a stroll. There are many deckchairs, but they are all dirty and wet. All the officers and passengers speak German, which I cannot understand at all. Men and women share the same restroom. I don’t like that either. We have returned to our cabin.

Today is November 23, 1909. Right now it is six in the morning. We prayed the morning prayer, got dressed, and went to tea. The tea is very bad too. I only had milk with plain toast because there was no butter. At seven we reached a settlement called Khafa [Jaffa]. The ship stopped here for an hour.26 I went onto the uppermost deck, found a dry seat, and sat to write in my diary. Nawab sahib came up, and we chatted. He told me that we will reach Haifa, which the Arabs call Kafa, tomorrow morning, inshallah. We will disembark there and go to see a place nearby called Muzik. We will also visit Nazareth and Tiberias. We were told that lunch is served at 11:00 a.m. I went and sat in the room with the rattan chairs.

An Encounter with a Poor Turkish Woman

After leaving the room I saw some poor Turkish women walking around. One of them came up to me. She spoke to me in Turkish; I understood nothing. How could I respond? Suddenly her brother appeared and spoke to me in English: “Do you speak English?”

“Yes,” I replied.

He spoke to me in English and told me about his sister. “Look, do you see these marks on her face? She teaches sewing at a school. One day she was on her way to class when she was attacked by thieves. They beat her so badly that her entire face was covered in wounds. These scars are from those wounds.” I felt very bad for her when I heard this story. These siblings are Muslims. I gave them a shilling, which made them very happy. They salaamed me and left.

Then the bugle sounded, announcing lunch. We went to the table. Hae hae, that same stinky food again! I didn’t eat it. My sahib didn’t like it either, but he knows a bit of German, and when he spoke to the officers, they encouraged him to eat it. As for me, I asked them “to bring me a boiled egg with toast.” They brought it. I sprinkled some salt on it and ate it. Then I went back to my cabin and began to write in my diary. At seven we were served the same food as before, and again, I didn’t eat it but had egg with toast. Then we returned to the cabin and, by God’s grace, fell asleep.

Notes

1. 1.The couple’s choice of the vessel Salsette itself reflects Hamidullah’s passion for the newest technological and logistical advances. The ship was then brand new and the fastest in the P&O fleet. It began regular operations in late 1908. Between 1908 and 1914, the vessel shuttled between Bombay and Aden, breaking speed records for the journey. In 1917, less than a decade after its creation, the ship was traveling between London and Bombay when it was torpedoed by a German submarine in the English Channel. “Ship Fact Sheet—Salsette (1908).”
2. 2.Her servant Amina bi was about ten years younger than Begum Sarbuland. Their relationship was quite close, and she remained a frequent visitor to the Sarbuland household until the end of her life. Her daughter Muhammadi Bi was herself employed by the family to assist Begum Sarbuland’s daughter Qudsiya Begum. Amina bi continued to visit the family into the 1950s, and Begum Sarbuland’s grandchildren, who called her “Anna Ma,” still remember her affection. Interview with Najeeb Jung, May 23, 2022.
3. 3.She questions if she should abandon her observation of purdah and take her meals in full view of unrelated men.
4. 4.“O, ham Indian lady ko khana khilata hai.”
5. 5.In September 1908 the Musa River, which flows through Hyderabad, rose sixty feet. It washed away three bridges, caused massive flooding, and killed an estimated fifty thousand people. Reservoirs were later constructed to prevent future tragedies.
6. 6.A Persian-language ghazal by Saadi Shirazi: “Give me wine, cupbearer, for we are the dreg-drinkers of the tavern.”
7. 7.The term Habshi, when used precisely, refers to people from the Horn of Africa. It is, however, more typically used in a general—and often derogatory—sense to refer to people of African descent. In this case, the people to whom Begum Sarbuland refers are Somali. Despite her excitement for meeting Muslims on this journey, she does not at all indicate a willingness to acknowledge that these Somalis are Muslim.
8. 8.There are sixteen anas in a rupee.
9. 9.The Arabic vocabulary she uses in the diary suggests that this servant came from Arabia.
10. 10.“Tum kya bolta hai?” The reported speech of Begum Sarbuland’s English interlocutors is typically grammatically incorrect. It is unclear if she generally conversed with the women in Urdu or English or both. Her seeming mockery of these women’s Urdu is a striking reversal of Euro-American travel writing about India, which similarly renders Indian speech as ungrammatical.
11. 11.Another P&O vessel, built in 1896.
12. 12.The text erroneously gives the seventeenth.
13. 13.“Enti Islam. Hada kulluhum kafir. Enti tayyab. Al-hamdulillah masha Allah, Musulman.” Begum Sarbuland often includes spoken Arabic phrases in her diary without translation. The Arabic she records is typically an ungrammatical reconstruction of what the speakers might have said. It sometimes includes Urdu words that are not used in Arabic. In most cases, though, the meaning is clear, and it is a testament to her acuity and commitment that she learned so much Arabic so quickly during this journey. I reproduce the Arabic text here without correction, and my translations are necessarily approximate.
14. 14.The meaning of muzak is unclear.
15. 15.What “stoke” refers to is unclear. It could possibly refer to the category of steward mentioned earlier who “keeps the bathroom warm.”
16. 16.This refers to the local representative of the well-known travel company Thomas Cook. Begun in England in the 1840s, it had become a popular tour operator both within and outside Europe by the end of the century. It was particularly popular among wealthy Indians, who relied on it to arrange their tours abroad. For an enlightening study of the company’s history, see Withey, Grand Tours.
17. 17.“Enti ‘araf ‘arabi.”
18. 18.“La, ana ‘araf shuaya. Ana ‘araf Hindi.”
19. 19.“Zain. Enti ajlas ila ‘andi.”
20. 20.“Mish hada?”
21. 21.“Hada shuf tayyab.”
22. 22.“Enti tatal, kaniz, tatal.”
23. 23.He had gone to arrange for passports. “We landed at Port Said and assumed the incognito of ordinary Indian pilgrims. . . . The Indian pilgrim, who had previously obtained a passport in India; but who out of foresight obtained another at Port Said, had very little difficulty in obtaining it, the whole process taking a couple of hours.” H. Khan, Pilgrimage to Mecca, 4.
24. 24.She calls these places Jaffa, Hafa, and Bait ul-Muqaddas. Curiously, she never actually visits Jerusalem. Her writing on Palestine, Jordan, and Medina here can be compared with several pieces by her husband, Hamidullah, who wrote in detail about these portions of the trip. His writing is found in the second appendix.
25. 25.The ship was in fact Austrian, belonging to the Österreichischer Lloyd company. H. Khan, Safarnama-e Madina, 2. She gives the ship’s name as Almafi Tahter, but Hamidullah calls it the Imperatrice. H. Khan, “Pilgrimage to Medina I.”
26. 26.Assuming that Khafa is indeed Jaffa (which concurs with Hamidullah’s account), he states that the ship remained there “all day” loading and unloading cargo. He writes about the city at length. H. Khan, 2–3.