In an earlier post I had described the different Pugrees worn across Pakistan, including the famed and flamboyant Peshawari Patkaiy or Kullah. There is an interesting story passed down by generations of students of Islamia College Peshwar about how this particular turban, once part of the prescribed college uniform, was abandoned by the College.
As a background information I should add here that Islamia College Peshawar (ICP) was founded in 1913 by Sir Sahibzadah Abdul Qayyum, a Pushtun, and Sir George Roos-Keppel, the then British Chief Commissioner of NWFP, who was a virtual Pushtun in that he spoke Pushto fluently and also understood and adopted many of Pushtun customs.
While founding the ICP the two gentlemen tried to model their institution after the Aligarh Muslim College, which was founded 35 years earlier by Sir Syed Ahmed Khan. Following Aligarh’a example they also chose black achkan as part of the uniform for ICP students. To the achkan they added the local turban as head-wear. Both gentlemen, I should add, we proud turban-wearers themselves.
Thus the Peshawar Kullah along with black achkan, white shalwar, and black chaplis/shoes became the uniform of ICP students. However, the turban didn’t last long and was soon discarded. One reason for giving it up was that it didn’t sit too well on mostly 16-17 year olds who were usually too skinny at that age to sport this bulky head-wear. The other reason was more interesting and requires a bit of explanation.
In all the college hostels (there were 7) a bell would ring early in the morning and the students would stream out of their rooms into the hostel’s courtyard and line up, all dressed up in black achkan, white shalwar, black shoes and, of course, the Patkaiy or turban. First there would be a roll call to ensure that everyone was present, followed by an inspection. The hostel superintendent would pass by each student to see if he was properly dressed, which meant a properly buttoned up achkan, its collar hooked, no azarband hanging loose, the shoes shined and the shamla of the turban flared and proudly standing up.
Ditching the “dress parade” (that is what it was called) or turning up improperly dressed at the parade was considered almost a felony and the culprit was fined. Since boys were and will always be boys, they couldn’t resist pulling pranks on each other. When everyone was rushing out of his room to join the dress parade, one tug at the tail of someone’s turban would unravel the turban and the student would end up missing the parade.
And this happened not too infrequently. As an insurance against such mishaps the students would keep an extra turban ready to wear. If one were pulled apart at the last minute, the ‘victim’ would quickly fetch the other, don it and rush back to join the parade.
But there was not always a happy ending to such episodes. So, legend has it, the college administration mercifully decided to abandon the turban altogether – to the relief of the latter generations including mine.
Mast Qalandar is a proud alumnus of Islamia College Peshawar.Originally published at ATP on December 20, 2006.
really nice post…i am actually learning a lot about my country through this website.
Another nail in the coffin of our culture.
As always, interesting post Mast Qalandar. (Oh I wish we knew your real identity as you are an asset to our ATP community). On a similar occasion as described by you above, I once made the mistake of walking on to the campus grounds in my slippers. To my luck I got spotted by Professor Rashid, then principal of our collage (GC). After admonishing me for not being properly dressed, he sent me back to my hostel to put proper shoes on. Now that was forty years ago. I do not know what are the standards today. One more thing, would you tell us more about Sir Sahibzadah Abdul Qayyum?
Very beautiful post. I wonder why I never asked this question when was in IC. A beautiful and rich institution with great traditions and people. IC supported Peshawar University through its property holdings in the city as well.
I also remember Mohsin Ahsan,and Mr. Bun – an English professor who stayed behind after 1947 to serve people and the college – Ahmad Faraz who used to recite his poetry in the adjacent Teachers Hostel while sitting on a “charpai” and drinking “doodh pati” tea.
IC also had the best zoological collections in its zoology lab.
Must say, even if legend, the story sounds quite believable. Also, the ‘kulla’ (if it is that) on Sir George’s head (and on many British Indian uniforms) is less interesting, more pre-fabricated (like some current ‘dulha turbans’), but also more practical in taht it does not need the daily maintainance of Sahibzadah Abdul Qayyum’s more impressive, but more difficult to maintain, kulla.