Sounds of silence

HYDERABAD: A wrestler and a national level hockey player in his hay days, octogenarian Abu Pehalwan resides in a dingy room located in a narrow lane in AC Guards colony, named after the former African Cavalry Guards of then Hyderabad state. Sitting cross-legged on his takhat and chewing paan, the oldest living Habshi from Hyderabad is loud and proud about his connection with music, sports and his African ancestry.
While a true blue Hyderabadi instinctively taps his feet to the marfa beat, very few remember that the music traces its root to the African subcontinent. While much research has been done to validate the AC Guards’ African origin, one cannot deny the immediate connect as one sets eyes upon the six-feet-two-inches-tall strong-built man with a thick lower lip. He calls himself Abdul Fateh Bin Mahboob and his community lovingly calls him Abu Pehalwan.
Abu Pehalwan traces his roots to Zanzibar (now Tanzania) from where his great-grandfather Hassan Bin Mahboob was brought to India with 300-odd men by the Raja of Vanaparthy as a gift for the erstwhile Nizam, Mehboob Ali Khan. Dressed in his traditional headgear, long kurta and lungi, Abu bhai is an epitome of gentility and Hyderabadi ‘tehzeeb’.
“Our community, unlike in most cases, did not come to India as slaves but as personal guards. The Siddis’ main assignment was to accompany the entourage of the Nizam, especially during his salgira, the annual celebration of his coronation day. Officials used to bring tributes to the Nizam and it was the duty of the Siddis to receive and put them in the royal treasury. It was also customary for the Nizam to present gifts to his Siddi bodyguards on that day. Eventually, impressed with their loyalty, valour and sword fighting skills along with their penchant for dance and music, the Nizam absorbed them into the main cavalry and gifted them a huge chunk of land here. They were trained in horse riding, trotting, galloping and jumping. They were also trained to tame and massage the wild horses which the British brought from Australia. Our community members are now scattered in small pockets in Habsiguda, AC Guards and in parts of Ranga Reddy district,” informs Abu bhai.
When asked about his marfa band, the man’s eyes twinkle. “I have been playing the daff for more than sixty years. ‘Siddi ka baja’ has never failed to enchant people. Brass bands and filmy songs have to change their tunes with the times, but the sound of marfa and muzinar remains universal,” he says. When pointed out that a lot of marfa bands are going out of business, Abu Bhai snaps back: “That is not the failure of marfa, it is the failure of families who are unable to hold on to the tradition.” His own children and grandchildren are engaged in various professions, but they continue to be an integral part of his band. “Of my six sons, three have been national level hockey players,” he says proudly. The sportsman within him adds, “Cricket to kal ka game hai, hockey is our national game and we should take pride in it.”
On his broken link with Africa, Abu Bhai explains, “Our forefathers didn’t bring women with them, so they had to settle down with the local people. When talking with their wives, they used to use sign language and a few words that they picked up here. The Africans couldn’t communicate among themselves either, as they were from various countries and language groups of the continent. That is essentially why we lost our cultural roots. When we buried our fathers, we buried their culture with them and became Indians.”
With the tiny houses packed with members of large families, it is clear that this community has fallen on hard times. “In the past, people used to respect us,” says Abu Bhai, "but now we are only remembered during the marriage season."
So did Abu Pehelwan ever nurture any wish to see the land of his forefathers? “Hyderabad is my land and that of my father and grandfather. I have been born and brought up here. The Nizams have fed us, made us who we are. Nizam ka namak khaye, Nizam se gaddari kaise karte?” asks the man who in another time could very well have been a loyal bodyguard of Hyderabad’s royalty.