Pen-and-ink drawing of a pattamar boat on the west coast of India by Thomas Cussans (1796-1870). Cussans served in the Madras artillery in 1814, then the Horse Brigade from 1817 to 1829. This is one of 19 drawings (22 folios) of scenes in Mumbai (Bombay) and the south of India together with a few miscellaneous sketches by the artist between 1817 and c.1822. Inscribed on the cover of the album is: 'Thos Cussans Lt. Madras Artillery. Janry 1817'; and on the title page: 'Thos Cussans, July 30th, 1817'. The pattamar boatwas a messenger or mail-boat used on the west coast of India. It was a large, fast and able lateen-rigged sailing-vessel with a sharp forward hull and one, two or three masts. ======================================================================
"Pattamar"
Below is the pen and ink drawing of a "pattamar" or Indian Dhow by Thomas Cussans, Lt., Madras Artillery, dated July 30, 1817. The description reads- "the Pattamar was a messenger or mail boat".
Hobson-Jobson's Anglo Indian Dictionary however states the meaning of 'pattamar' as a foot runner, a courier, used by old Portuguese writers. The other synonym is a kind of a lateen-rigged ship with one, two or three masts. Theories state the word has origins in Malayalam, patta-mar or goose wings and Konkani, 'path-mdr' meaning a courier. It also has Hindi origins, 'paththa'dar- one who brings letters.
Earliest mentions of Pattamars in Madras is from the book, "travels of Abbe Carre to India and the near East"- 1672-1674, where he states that in 1627, a Hindu runner by name Benarasi took the message of Jehangir's death from Kashmir to Shahjahan who was at Junnar in Deccan, a distance of 1000 miles in 20 days. He adds this was an exceptional case and the 'pattamars' employed by East India Company were not so speedy. In 1662, the Governor of Madras reported that ordinarily it took the Pattamar 20 days to go from Madras to Goa, a distance of 450 miles, showing a Pattamar covering 22 miles a day on average.
Jean Baptistery Tavernier's "Travels in India" of 1676, mentions- "In India all the letters which Kings, Generals of Armies and Governors of Provinces sent by footmen (Pattamar) go much faster than horsemen, the reason being that for every two leagues, there are small huts, where two or three runners are posted, and immediately when one of the carrier of these letters arrives in one of these huts, he throws it to the others sitting at the entrance and one of them who picks it up and at once starts the run."
Sir John Sinclair's account of 1818 is even more interesting. He says the "pattamar Hindoos occupied in carrying letters by land performed journeys by land almost incredible in the time allotted. From
No comments:
Post a Comment