The Pakistani Palanquin

Yasmeen Aftab Ali

Known as palki in ancient India, the palanquin was the mode of transport mostly used for women of noble lineage. Palki derived its name from the Sanskrit word ‘Palanki’ for a bed or couch except a palki is much bigger in size. Made of wood,  it has doors on both sides- with long wooden poles attached length-wise to be carried on shoulders of four or six men- known as Baharas- a name given to a class of people to carry the palki.  The Portuguese and British called it the “Palan Queen”  It had windows draped with curtains made of intricate brocade or lighter chiffons and silks to maintain the privacy of the noble female traveler- however, allowing her a peep into the outside world now and then. An array of cushions to lean back against, ease an aching back or restfully close eyes- was the standard accompaniment. The palki is mentioned as early as in the Ramayana (250 BC). It was used to carry a deity or idol of a God. One needs only to view the many sculptures in temples depicting Gods been carried in a palki.

Devdutt Pattanaik  in an interesting piece in Economic Times, wrote of an interesting incident involving Nahusha, son of Ayu, a king of Alia dynasty. “He asked seven sages to carry him on a palanquin to the abode of his queen. They agreed reluctantly, out of respect for his kingship though they felt this was not the way to treat a sage. They were philosophers, not laborers. On the way, Nahusha became impatient, as the sages were moving very slowly. He noticed that the short sage Agastya was slowing the pace. So he kicked Agastya on his head and asked him to move faster. An angry Agastya cursed Nahusha: ‘May you turn into a snake and carry yourself on your own belly.’ Nahusha immediately turned into a snake, no longer carried by sages, but carrying himself on his own belly. The story shows the power of the palanquin-bearers and how they can subvert the process if they so wish.” (October 17, 2015)

Palanquins were custom made as per individual needs. This depended on not only the user, the length of travel, social status and gender. The Palki would even have what was needed to write, eat and sleep too. However, historian David Arnold, in The Tropics and the Travelling Gaze, states that writing in a palanquin, made writing in it as it moved along unevenly rather clichéd- post mid- 19^th century. On longer sojourns, singers, dancers, even storytellers would accompany the traveler in the palki for lighter and merrier moments.

Palkis were also used by European women as well as men of affluent class to travel in India before the advent of railways. The palanquins were traditionally also used for carrying the bride to the bridegroom’s house. From red gauze, gold brocades, silver tassels to drawing back curtains to wedding bells on a bride’s palanquin, tinkling merrily- to simpler ones… done in soft all whites as per need of the traveler- palanquin history in India makes a fascinating read.

It is interesting to note Tyrion Lannister’s thoughts, “A palanquin fit for a man of my stature.”As we know, he is a fictional character from the Game of Thrones.

The concept of Palki, the rich, the affluent, riding on the shoulders of the under privileged has not changed much. At least not in Pakistan. The palkis have converted into long sleek black cars and Land Cruisers, the Baharas have changed into the entourage of minions escorting the leader’s car creating massive hurdles for the common man. According to a report dated October 12, 2014, “At this particular point in time, more than 34,000 security personnel from the Elite force and the Paramilitary force have been deployed for the security of politicians, bureaucrats, and other top brass police officials. Chief Minister (CM) Shahbaz Sharif’s security entourage includes 95 elite force commanders and more than 840 security personnel. For Nusrat Shahbaz’s security 11 security personnel have been deployed, whereas, the CM’s other wife, Tehmina Durrani is shielded by 11 elite force commanders, and 32 police personnel. 18 elite force commanders and 30 police personnel have been deployed at her Gulberg residence in Lahore. The Model Town residence is fiercely guarded by a heavy deployment of security personnel as well. Elite force commandos and government cars are being used to guard the CM’s sons and son-in-law since 2008. Even those people, who are not in power or have retired from key posts, still use the taxpayer’s money for their security.”

The Pakistani palkis also comes in form of airplanes where flights are delayed, revenue loss caused to the national carrier when prime minister’s granddaughter is getting married. According to Daily Pakistan Global, “New York to Lahore bound flight got delayed for 17 hours because the prime minister’s relatives were flown to attend his grand daughter’s wedding in Jeddah, revealed the flight’s cabin crew. Passengers protested at the New York airport against the delay in PIA flight PK-722. The flight was supposed to take off from the New York airport at 9 am Eastern Standard Time (EST) on July 14, but the passengers were informed that due to unavoidable reasons, the flight will be delayed for 13 hours and the plane will take off at 10:45pm EST.

Passengers came to the airport at the given time to find out the flight was further delayed for two hours. The flight finally took off at 2:30am EST with the delay of 17 hours. PIA officials did not provide any reasons for the delay.

After transporting ‘special guests’ of the prime minister to Jeddah, Flight PK-722 flew to New York without any passengers, which resulted in the loss of revenue.” (July 19, 2015)

More recently, Prime Minister returned from UK in a special PIA plane to transport not only the PM but also 100 (reportedly) members of his family and “camp office” set up in UK during his stay there.

Reverting to Devdutt Pattanaik ,“Nahusha managed to get the sages to serve him as palanquin-bearers and he would have surely reached his destination had he not been impatient and tried to control them. Leaders must never forget that they are riding a palanquin borne by employees. The relationship is fragile and delicate. Too much of screaming and you may end up cursed.”

I forgot to mention, courtesans too used palkis in ancient India.

The writer is a lawyer, academic and political analyst. She has authored a book, ‘A Comparative Analysis of Media and Media Laws in Pakistan.’ Her mail ID is [email protected] and tweets at @yasmeen_9