Addressing a rally in Jodhpur in 2018, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, "Those who went around wearing a rose had knowledge of gardens; they had knowledge neither of farming, nor of the sweat of farmers." This may be an amusing slice of rhetoric for many reasons. But pitting the rose against the sweat of farmers would be equally amusing in the case of the lotus, used for a political identity that the prime minister is associated with.
One may differ here: The lotus was an image, symbol of fertility and metaphor of beauty in the long cultural past of India. It still enjoys a sacred position and its "Indianness" is beyond doubt. One hardly thinks of the rose from a similar perspective. It is neither sacred, nor "Indian". It may sound true, as Nehru himself had put it once that "there is nothing special about" the rose on his coat.
What is truer is that an object assumes meaning once it comes into contact with human relationship. It is therefore inconceivable that the first prime minister took to the habit of wearing a rose with clockwork regularity for no special reason. This puzzle perhaps made the Congress offer an explanation in 2019 that he wore the rose in honour of his wife Kamala, who passed away in 1936. If this was precisely the reason, Nehru himself could have said it. Instead, he was evasive whenever asked. It gave rise to a few more speculations from various quarters, all of which invariably make no sense.
However, if one can find them meaningful, it is possible only with reference to Nehru's life; the same cannot be held true in the case of Giani Zail Singh, the former president of India, who buttonholed a rose every day exactly the way Nehru did. Why were these two modern rulers very particular in following a not-so-modern and unusual habit? Was there anything cultural or political in it? A counterpoint to the lotus and its Indianness? We are not sure. But history has something else to unfold.
A mural in the summer palace of Tipu Sultan (Darya Daulat) in Srirangapatna near Mysore shows Haider Ali and Tipu in two separate military processions. Mounted on horseback, they are shown holding a rose. Its description reads, Tipu "imperturbably smells a rose". However, it is interesting that they hold a rose so conspicuously that no one will lose sight of it. It implies the painters portrayed them the way the rulers liked themselves to be 'seen'.
Surprisingly, there are innumerable portraits of Tipu's contemporary rulers painted on the other side of the palace. Hailing from different religions and cultural spheres, they are invariably shown with a rose held conspicuously in their hands. Only a few of them are shown in a gesture of smelling it.
In the same manner, there are Mughal miniatures that depict Shah Jahan, Dara Shukoh, Aurangzeb, et al. Projection of the rose can also be seen more emphatically expressed in the portraits of the Qutb Shahi dynasty of Golconda (1518-1687). Incidentally, in a few paintings, Abdul Hasan, the last ruler of the Qutb Shahi dynasty, for instance, is represented not only in a striking gesture of 'showing' a rose, but his entire upper garment has roses richly embroidered.
The rose began to play a significant role in Indian culture after the advent of the Mughals. The first Mughal emperor, Babar (1483-1530), displayed enormous love for that flower. To cite an example, all his daughters had it in their names: Gulchehra (rose-cheeked), Gulrukh (rose-faced), Gulbadan (rose-body) and Gulrang (rose colour).
Akbar is sometimes depicted with a rose. But more often he is projected as divine king with a halo. Jahangir is usually portrayed with a globe or a sword in his hand, which visually translates his title "the world conqueror". Whereas Shah Jahan recurrently appears with a rose between his fingers. This variation bears different connotations. Shah Jahan with a rose sought to display in his portraits the image of a humanist king. Akbar and Jahangir followed the image of a god-king and hero-king respectively. The rose for Shah Jahan and many others was an attribute as important as the globe or sword for Jahangir, or what the divine halo was for Akbar.
With these subtle shades of meaning that the rulers were represented over the centuries, the rose seems to have been an important motif, more of a source of value than of a source of fragrance - to be shown as a symbol of political power with a human touch, which resounds today in the police force as its motto, "Firm but Polite". Hence the Mysore Tiger “smells a rose” and remains undisturbed in the battleground. So does his father "Tiger" (Haider) Ali.
With this symbolism and its fabulous visual expressions, the rose would have left a lasting impression on Nehru. Presumably, once in power, he reimagined it for projecting himself as “a powerful ruler with a human face”—his heart out on his political coat. Bear in mind his The Discovery of India and writings on Mughal history. Rose was another discovery for himself. It does not reflect knowledge of gardens, but knowledge of history and a rare sensibility to see a flower is not always a flower.
(The writer is an art critic, author and teaches art history at the College of Fine Arts, Thiruvananthapuram. He can be reached at chandrantv67@gmail.com)