The inscriptions — ‘Mulla Murad Kashmiri’ and ‘Hari Ram’ to honour both, a calligrapher and the other, a Hindu sculptor from Agra — carved at Srinagar’s Jamia Masjid records the mosque’s reconstruction in 1621 CE. According to Umar Farooq, assistant professor at the department of architecture, Islamic University of Science & Technology in Kashmir, the name of a Hindu artisan inscribed so prominently on Kashmir’s most important Muslim monument is an excellent example of “syncretism”. “So it seems like, back in those times, there was a lot more syncretism in practice than we really think of,” Farooq tells TMS.
This inscription is one of the highlights of ‘Naqsh… The Imprint’, an exhibition on view at the India International Centre (IIC), Delhi. The show features photographs, and translations of architectural epigraphy from Kashmir, covering the period between the 14th and 19th centuries.
The exhibition is the result of a year-long project, supported by London’s Barakat Trust, and carried out by a team of architects and historians in 2023–24. Nearly 600 sites across Kashmir were surveyed, of which 41 inscriptions were studied in detail.
Stories engraved herein
“Epigraphy is basically text on buildings,” says Hakim Sameer Hamdani, conservationist and art historian who led the project. While explaining the process of documenting epigraphs, he says, “The first step was deciphering the text, then it was translated.” The text, which was not legible “in terms of what was seen on the surface”, was drawn on separate large sheets and displayed at the exhibition.
At the Kathi Darwaza, the main gateway of the Mughal city of Nagar Nagar built in 1597 CE, the epigraph notes that 200 masons were brought from mainland India and paid for their work — evidence of organised labour and supervision.
The 1676 CE Naidyar Kadal bridge in Rainawari, mentions the name of a local official, Chowdary Mahesh Shankar Das, who commissioned it during Aurangzeb’s reign, linking his home to a temple nearby.
Additionally, Pokhribal Devi Temple inscription of 1820 CE indicates the revival of Hindu shrines under Sikh rule, while a terracotta plaque from Masjid-i Aham Sharif (1872 CE) is unique as the only surviving inscription of its kind in Kashmir.
Some stones, like the chronogram from Zaina Lank, an artificial island in Wular Lake constructed in 1442 CE by Sultan Zain-al-Abidin, have also been housed in the Sri Pratap Singh Museum in Srinagar.
Preserving a fragile legacy
“We often assume rapid exchange of ideas is a modern phenomenon,” Hamdani remarks. “But in the 14th and 15th centuries, artistic experiments in Iran were replicated within years in Kashmir. These inscriptions are the important highlighters of craftsmanship and knowledge travelling across regions.”
Most of the inscriptions are in Arabic and Persian; a few Sanskrit and Hindi examples were also found. The research spanned mosques, khanqahs (buildings designed specifically for gatherings of a Sufi brotherhood), viharas, temples, and gardens. But many have disappeared due to neglect, repeated fires, or erosion.
The project team includes young professionals such as Mehran Qureshi, Ta-Ha Mughal, Zoya Khan, and Tabish Haider Gazi, who worked on mapping, translation, and conservation research. The Delhi exhibition is therefore as much about preservation as about display.
Hamdani stresses that these inscriptions represent a very interesting connection wherein the “material evidence” talks about people, societies and the interactions of cultures. Farooq, on the other hand, notes that people should visit these sites more often, “so that these places become more lively”.
(The exhibition will be on display till September 28, at IIC, Lodhi Estate)