Reading time : 5 minutes
Noor Mohammad doubled up his efforts for preserving literature. Under him, the shop cum publication house flourished even more with book lovers, litterateurs and academics as regular visitors
By Mir Zuhaib Nissar
It is difficult to believe that a weather-beaten store with a faded sign, its windows dusty with age, located in the heart of Maharajgunj in Srinagar city, carries treasures within and is the bearer of a rich history. A signboard atop reads: ‘Ghulam Mohd Noor Mohd Tajraan-e-Kutub’.
It’s owner, 60-year-old Muhammad Iqbal Kitab, warmly greets the occasional customers who still visit the shop. But not many are interested in the rare collection of books they once housed in hordes. Some book titles are still piled up on the shelves, but it now mostly sells stationery items.
Iqbal is the grandson of Ghulam Mohammed who started the shop – believed to be the oldest book shop in Kashmir – about 135 years ago. His iconic father Noor Mohammad Kitab, who turned the bookshop into a publishing unit cum library, was famously known as the ‘Nawal Kishore of Kashmir’. Over the years, the family assumed the title of Kitab and are popularly referred to as ‘Kitab family’.
The shop’s significance and contribution to literature is as much told by Noor Muhammad’s son, Iqbal, as it is by those in their seventies and eighties. Their connection with the place is an intrinsic part of their journey.
For the Love of Books
Noted poet, writer and social activist, Zarief Ahmad Zarief, owes his love for books and reading.
“As students, we often visited Noor Muhammad’s shop in Maharaj Gunj. He would reward us with pens or sweets if we could read Kashmiri or Persian from his collection. In this way, he nurtured a love for reading among students,” recalls Zarief.
“His shop served as a library for everyone. As a nation, we owe a great debt to the Kitab family,” he says.
“The literature from our past has survived largely due their tireless efforts to collect old and rare books that were out of print and republish these works,” says Zarief.
Iqbal begins unraveling its history. “This shop was established by my grandfather during the rule of Maharaja Pratap Singh. At that time, there was no modern education, and very few people showed interest in studies. This predated the ‘Jabri Taaleem’ (Forced Education) introduced by Maharja Hari Singh after he took over the reins of the state in 1925. A visionary of his times, Ghulam Mohd decided that rare old books in Kashmiri that had been pushed into oblivion needed to be revived,” Iqbal tells.
He started collecting old manuscripts and old surviving copies from across Kashmir and decided to venture into publishing. But there were many challenges to navigate. “That was not the era of electronic media, libraries or academic spaces. It was an arduous task to find these gems of literature,” he says, narrating the family’s oral history.
“Besides,” he goes on, “he had to travel to places like Lahore (before the 1947 Oartition), carry them back in bundles and put them up for sale.”
It wasn’t just the lure of monetary returns that kept him going. It was mostly the love for books and especially for Kashmiri language which was inspirational. The book shop also began collecting and preserving literature on lives and teachings of great religious personalities like Hazrat Shielh Ul Alam (RA), Hazrat Baba Dawood Khaki, Hazrat Shiekh Yaqub Sarfi, Hazrat Khwaja Habibullah Nowshehri ( RA ) and Kashmir’s revered saints and personalities like Lal Ded, Arnimal and Habba Khatoon.
The shop soon became a popular hangout for those who loved reading. Iqbal’s father, Noor Mohammad, took it to even further heights when he took over the shop in 1917.
He translated the history of Kashmir. These manuscripts were originally written in Persian, and he translated them into Urdu language.
Noor Mohammad doubled up his efforts for preserving literature. Under him, the shop cum publication house flourished even more and within years he was called by book lovers, litterateurs and academics who frequently visited as ‘Nawal Kishore of Kashmir’. Munshi Nawal Kishore was a publisher who set up Asia’s first publishing concern in Lucknow in the mid-19th century.
Noor Mohammad pioneered publishing in Kashmir as the first to translate the Holy Quran into Kashmiri. His translation work extended to Hindu epics, including the Ramayana (with collaborator Keshav Bhagati), Sudhama Chitra, Ram Leela, and Krishna Leela. His literary contributions included two books published in the 1930s and poetry written under the pen name ‘Azad’, leading to his recognition as Noor Mohammad Azad.
Old regular customers still recall Iqbal’s famous verse:
Bijli gaash phyoor kocha bazaari
laala draav gunj bazaari’ye,
Noor Mohammad wanaan
vil’zaari pesha tass sund dukandaari’ye
(The electricity flashed in the market alley,
Laala went to Gunj Bazaar (Maharaj Gunj).
Noor Mohammad says, out of dedication
His profession as a bookseller continues.)
Kohinoor Press of Kashmir
Noor Mohammad divided his time between writing, translating and expanding his business. In 1956, he founded the ‘Kohinoor Press’ (also known as ‘Noor Mohammadi Press’), elevating his bookshop into an influential cultural and commercial landmark.
“With the printing press now located in Srinagar, it gave a big boost to the business and contributed to the literary culture of Kashmir,” says Iqbal.
Before Partition, he would travel to Lahore for getting the titles printed. Between 1947 and 1956, he sought the services of printing presses in Delhi and Lucknow.
Some of the old and rare books which are still in his possession are Sudama Chitr (1930), Ramayana (translated in Kashmiri language in the 1930s), Tareekh-i-waaqaat Kashmir by Khwaja Mohammad Azam Dedahmari (1920s), Holy Quran (translated in Kashmiri language in the 1960s), Pitanath Dharfani’s Posha Bagh (1944), Prem Nath Pardesi’s Shaam-e-Sehar (1945) and other books like Tazkirah Auliyah-e-Kashmir, Taraana Muslim etc.
Zarief Ahmad Zarief is not the only one to acknowledge the contributions of the Kitab family.
A Shop cum a Literary Hub
Prof Majrooh Rashid, who served as the head of the Department of Kashmiri in Kashmir University recalls being a frequent visitor to the shop during his student days in the 1980s. “I used to visit this bookshop to find good books on the subject. I would also meet people there and we had long discussions about Kashmir’s literature. Over time, I became a regular customer, as I felt a personal connection because of its enriching value.”
Prof Rashid reveals, “This bookshop was a hub of literary activities, attracting many great personalities such as Ghulam Nabi Farhad, Ghulam Nabi Khayal and Prof Rehman Rahi, etc. It was the time when literature was considered more important than other subjects, including the social sciences. It was more than a shop and will always occupy a special place in my heart,” he says.
Prof Rashid says that if Noor Mohd had not preserved old literature, it may have been difficult to set up a postgraduate department and PhD programme in Kashmiri literature. “We Kashmiris should be grateful to Noor Mohammad Sahab for his enormous contribution,” he says.
There wasn’t a single poet—from North Kashmir to Central Kashmir to South Kashmir—whose books weren’t published by this bookshop during that time, Prof Rashid says and adds some of his own favourites like Fida’s Gul-e-Bakaawali and Guldasta-e-Naat.
Noor Muhammad’s efforts in preserving Kashmiri literature were recognized by the J&K Academy of Art, Culture, and Languages, which dedicated a special issue, ‘Goshe Noor Muhammad’ in its annual publication Sheeraza in 2022.
Inheritor of a Legacy of Connections
Iqbal, the proud inheritor of his father’s and grandfather’s rich legacy, enjoys listening to such anecdotes from those who have had a deeper and long connection with the shop.
His establishment evolved into an intellectual gathering place, nurturing relationships with distinguished literary figures, including Meerak Shah Kashani, Ahad Zargar, Samad Mir, Mubarak Shahi Fitrat, Shamsuddin Pandaani, Mehjoor, Abdul Ahad Azad, Professor Mohiudin Hajni, Dinanath Nadim, Pitambhar Nath Dharfani and Rehman Rahi.
According to Mohammad Iqbal Kitab, “Rehman Rahi himself told me that Noor Mohammad inspired him to pursue literature. At that time, people used to read books a lot, but with the advent of the internet, the demand for books has declined, as most people now prefer reading e-books.”
The old publications no longer find any takers. The printing press is still run by Ghulam Murtaza, Iqbal’s elder brother. The eldest of the three brothers, Ghulam Hamza and Iqbal, also assist him in the publishing operations. But the shop is mostly run by Iqbal who took it over in 1970. After Noor Mohammad died in 1965, it was handled by the deceased’s brother, Mohammad Hussain, for a few years.
As for the printing press, they no longer publish too many old books, unless there is a demand. What is left of the old legacy is the bare bones of the shop in Maharajgunj, now reduced to selling mostly stationery items.
Iqbal lives on to narrate the story of the shop’s glorious days and its gradual decline.
Courtesy: Kashmir Times.
Pictures: Mir Zuhaib Nissar.