Mumbai: Muslim follower beats the naubat, keeps Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s memories alive – Times of India

As the sun begins to set in the crimson western horizon, Mehboob Imam Hussain, clad in traditional white dress of a Mavala (foot soldier) with saffron kamarband (belt) and headgear, reaches the huge naubat or drum kept in the centre of the iconic arched Gateway of India.
Bowing in salutation to the Maratha king Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, cast in a black metal statue to the eastern side of the monument, Hussain beats the drum energetically. Piercing the evening calm, the sudden loud noise attracts attention of some of the holidaying crowd who inches towards the monument. Hussain beats the drum some more, closes the cart’s case which holds the drum, changes into his normal clothes and slips into darkness. Unpaid, anonymously.
This is a routine Hussain, 54, has followed for over two decades. A diehard “Shivpremi ” (follower of Shivaji), Hussain has kept alive a tradition that began during the Maratha king’s rule in the 17th century. “The naubats were kept at durgs or forts of Shivaji across Maharashtra and were beaten to announce the closure of the forts’ gates at sunset. We continue this tradition as part of tribute to Shivaji Maharaj,” says Hussain.
“It is true that this was a tradition at Shivaji’s forts. This continues at some of his forts even today,” confirms historian Shrimant Kokate who has written extensively on Shivaji. Though the Gateway of India has no direct connection with Shivaji-Shivaji died in 1680 and the Gateway, the triumphal stone arch erected to commemorate the landing of King Emperor George V, the first British monarch, in India in 1911, was inaugurated on December 4, 1924-the landmark does have a Shivaji statue in its vicinity. Hussain recalls that Shivmudra Pratishthan, an organization established in the 1980s to perpetuate and popularize Shivaji’s memories through functions on his birthday (February 19), coronation day (June 6) and death anniversary (April 3), started the tradition of beating the naubat at the Gateway in 1989. He adds that famous politicians, educationists and philanthropists, including Ram Rao Adik, Nusli Wadia, Summati Devi Dhanwante, D Y Patil and a few others, were the Pratisthan’s founding members. This could not be verified independently.
Deepak Baburao Jadhav, a bank employee and a Shivaji bhakt was the first to have begun playing the naubat at the Gateway in 1989. “On his transfer from Mumbai, he passed on the baton to me in 1995 as he had seen me play it on occasions like Shiv Jayanti and Shivaji’s Rajyavishek (coronation) anniversary. I have continued it since,” says Hussain, a small garment seller who doesn’t get paid for the service he has rendered for so long. “I don’t seek money from anyone as I think Shivaji was a good ruler and never discriminated against anyone,” he explains.
Friends Vikrant Valkar, Kailash Jadhav and political analyst Shaikh Mukhtar are livid at the state’s “apathy” towards Hussain. “Politicians use Shivaji’s name to further their politics. But a true Shivpremi like Hussain doesn’t have a proper house. He must get at least a monthly stipend ,” says Valkar. Mukhtar shares his friends’ worry that perhaps this tradition at the majestic Gateway will die once Hussain hangs up his shoes as none of his two sons are ready to take it up. “Who will replace him?,” asks Mukhtar.