National Archives of India

[ETA: Please check out the new website for the National Archives of India. You will find updated contact information, etc. on the website.]

I'm hesitant to post any advice about using the collection at the NAI in Delhi, because I'm still struggling through the experience myself. But the ArchivesWiki on the NAI is completely empty, and the Archives Made Easy site for India only has one entry, Erica Wald's description of her experience. Actually, Erica Wald's description summarizes my experience at the NAI pretty well, so I'll just add a few details now. I'm sure I'll have more to add in three or four weeks, so check back later.

First, being accepted at the NAI as a researcher is not particularly difficult. You need a letter of introduction from your home institution (in my case, University of Illinois and JNU), any other letter of support you can provide (in my case, a letter from USIEF), a letter from the relevant Embassy (see previous post), and copies of your passport and research visa. You fill out a registration form,* available online at the NAI website, and hand all these papers to the fellow inside the Research Room. Once you are approved to do research, you sign the entry book (at a table just inside the RR door), and then you are ready to work.

But wait. First you have to get to the RR. Here's my advice:

Have your autorickshaw drop you at the NAI gate. Take a blue or black pen out of your pocket. Walk into the Reception Office (guard house) just at the gate, look confident and indicate you are going to the RR, and make a signing gesture. This should make the guard think you know what you are doing. If you look confused, you might have to go into a very elaborate exercise over your ID, and why you don't have an I-card (because you're not Indian), and some phone calls will be made, and you will be very annoyed and upset. Don't get upset! Be silent! Just stand there with your pen in your hand and wait. Eventually, enough people will consult about the matter, and you will be able to sign the entry book.

Here is what you need to write:

Your name IN BLOCK LETTERS. Your Delhi address (don't abbreviate!). In the next space, confidently write DDAR MG. In the next space, boldly write RR. Check the time on the clock over your shoulder and note the time in the next space. Don't make a mistake, or this detail might be cause for more delay. Sign your name on the last space on the line. Don't ask any questions, just act like you know what you're doing.

Then stand and wait, and the guard, who is actually a very nice guy once he knows you're not trying to break in, will write you out a daily security pass. Take the pass in hand, and go through the gates into the NAI complex. Sometimes the guard right inside the gate will want to look at your pass, but usually not. Make sure you say "Namaskar" politely to them, it is good if they recognize you and let you in every day with a smile.

So, you're in the gate, but where is the RR? Confidently walk forward. The museum is on the left, and there is a sign on the building saying it is the National Archives Museum. Keep walking straight, the path leads right to the building that has the RR. Sometimes there is a guard outside this building, so you might want to keep your security pass in hand until you are inside.

Once inside this building, you will need to step around the various construction projects (trust me, they will be still be going on 2 years from now), and take a left through the first left door. You will be seeing some elevators. To the left of the elevators is another door. That is the RR!

You have been reading this, and asking yourself, is this level of detail really necessary for a blog post? But yes, it is, because there is not a single sign to tell you where you are going or what to do. So take notes on this stuff.

The fellow who issues the reading passes is usually in the office to the left just inside the RR door. Sometimes he is sitting at a desk in the middle of the RR, next to a pillar. You will know him because he is facing the door, more or less, and the readers are all facing the opposite direction.

Okay, here is some practical stuff. No bags are allowed in the RR, but there are some lockers just outside the door. They don't lock, and often they are all full so you have to just dump your bag on the floor, so make sure everything valuable fits in your pockets because you will have to take it into the RR with you. Using a laptop at the NAI is no problem. There are several power points, but not enough for every researcher. So far, I have had to run on laptop battery power twice in three weeks, so be prepared for that. Either that, or make sure you get up earlier than I do.

The RR is open from 9:30-6:00. You can stay all day, but the staff go to lunch from 1:15 to 2:30, and you can get no help from them during that time. Sometimes it is difficult to find someone to help even during working hours, and I have no good solution for that problem.

There is a canteen on site (as you leave the RR building, it is to your left), but I haven't used it. Another thing, I don't know how it is for the men, but you have to be pretty courageous to use the women's restroom at the NAI. There is a water leak in the restroom, so...well, it's useable, but not comfortable. The restrooms are on the 3rd floor, by the way.

On your way out at the end of the day, you need to give the security pass back to the fellow in the guard house. One or two days of this routine and he will get to know you and it will all be very pleasant. He also goes to lunch from 1:15 to 2:30, so don't expect to gain entry to the NAI complex during those hours.

Just one other small thing. It is difficult to get an autorickshaw in the late afternoons, so be prepared to wait for one. It's easier to get one headed north than south. Don't let the rickshewallahs fool you--you're not very far from CP, so if they ask you for 100 rupees, they are being bandits. It's more like 20 rupees, but if you can get there for 30-40, you're doing pretty good for a foreigner.


*You will be asked for your research topic--make it as broad as possible, encompassing as many years as possible. I have already been refused access to some PWD records because they do not match my original research inquiry (although they definitely do!). So don't write down your dissertation topic. Write down instead a time period well beyond your actual focus, and a very general topic.

Independent Research

If you are in India on a research visa, but are not sponsored by USIEF (Fulbright), you are going to need a notarized letter from the U. S. Embassy in order to access the National Archives of India in Delhi.* Contrary to the many rumors circulating on the The Internets, the U.S. Embassy does provide this letter for a $30 fee as part of the notarial services they provide to U.S. citizens.

To receive this letter, you should take the appropriate ID (passport, visa, letters from home university, etc.) and money to the American Citizens Services Unit at the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi. The Embassy is open for routine consular services from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. The Embassy closes on a surprising number of holidays, most of which you've probably never celebrated in your life, so be sure and check the list of holiday closings before you head over there. You don't need an appointment, as it's first come, first serve.

To find the American Citizen Services Unit, go to Gate 6 of the Embassy (generally known as the Visa Gate) located on Nyaya Marg in the Chanakyapuri neighborhood. Nyaya Marg runs parallel to Shanti Path, to the west. If you can find Panchsheel Marg, that runs perpendicular to both, crossing both Shanti Path and Panchsheel Marg to the north of the Embassy. Another relatively close landmark is Nehru Park--it runs parallel to Shanti Path along Niti Marg, to the east of Shanti Path. I think the closest Embassy to the U.S. Embassy is Finland's, so if you see that, keep going, you're almost there.

*If you on a Fulbright-Hays DDRA, USIEF will arrange for this letter, free of charge. It takes about a week, so if you're in a hurry, you could always follow the above advice and get the letter yourself (for a fee).

Useful Blogs

Many of the blogs out there on the interweb are for backpackers and tourists. Some of them are useful, but life as an academic researcher is quite different from life as a footloose backpacker. So, while I do use sites like India Mike when I am thinking of taking a vacation, I generally avoid the other travel/tourist sites. Here are a few sites I find/found useful (I usually read most of them as RSS feeds):

Expat/Local Blogs
Our Delhi Struggle.
Gora Desi in Delhi.
Maddy's Ramblings.
The Delhi Walla.
Delhi Magic.
Delhi Tube.
Same, Same (but different).
DilliNet.
Thepopularcasecentre.
Yuni-Net (Yahoo Group).

Food in Delhi.
Foodiebay.
UncleJi's.
Pudding and Pie.
Eating Out in Delhi.
Coffee Houses.

Out and About in Delhi.
Time Out Delhi.
Delhi Happenings.

Bookstores.
Bookstores in Delhi.
My recommendations: Midlands in Aurbindo Marg Market; Full Circle, N-Block Market, GK-I; Oxford Books (not OUP), Barakhamba Road, CP; Amrit Book Co., 21-N Block, CP (although I usually recommend avoiding CP if at all possible); Book Cafe, located inside Cafe Coffee Day (multiple locations).

Flora/Fauna
Trees of India.
Birds of India.
India Birds.
Delhi Bird.
Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary.

Travel.
Delhi Metro.
India Mike.
Make My Trip.
Trains at a Glance.

Hair Salons:
Affinity Salon, Green Park Main Market, Delhi
Geetanjali Salon, Green Park Main Market, Delhi

Clothing, luggage, shoes:
Saronjini Nagar Market

FRRO Advice

If you are planning on staying for more than six months in India, don't forget to register at the Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO) at some point in the first fourteen days of your stay. If you are going to be in Dehli, you can find the FRRO at East Block, No. 8, Level-II, R.K. Puram-1, New Delhi-110066, behind Bhikaji Cama (9.30 am- 1.30 pm; 2-4 pm). You need to go through the gates and follow the signs for "FRRO" or "visa office" or "visa renewal," whichever sign you see first.

[Check here for FRRO addresses in a few other cities.]

Officially, the office opens at 9:30, but my advice is to get there at 8:00. I showed up between 9:30-10:00, and the process took almost five hours. A friend of mine showed up at 8:00, was third in the queue, and was done by 10:00.

Here's what you should take to the FRRO (if you are an American, anyway):

• comfortable shoes because you will not be able to sit down
• your own pen with black or blue ink!
• your passport, with research visa glued inside (if you don't have this, you're probably still sitting in the airport, waiting to be deported)
• 3 photocopies of your passport
• 3 copies of the research visa
• 3 copies of the affiliation letter stating that you are a legitimate researcher (for instance, I brought my certificate of affiliation with JNU)
• 3 copies of your hotel/guesthouse C-Form if you have one
• 4 passport photos
• The flight number and date you arrived in India
• Address in India
• Address in U.S.
• A book to read while you wait, or an MP3 player for chilling
• A snack (you're not supposed to bring food, but I did eat a granola bar while standing in line)

Here's what you should expect at the FRRO:

The general process is this: first you stand in line to get a form to fill out (I got the green form, "Applicaton for Registration"). You fill that out with passport number, visa number, flight number, etc. You also get a little book, fill that out with the same information. If you are lucky, they will give you three green forms, and you can fill them out in triplicate. If you are unlucky, you will have to run make photocopies of your one form, because you need to turn in three (make a fourth copy, just in case). You can find a photocopy shop outside the gate, to the left, across the road, maybe 100 yards down the street. This same shop will do passport photos, so don't panic if you forget them, you can buy some after you get the registration form.

Take four passport photos, glue three to the triplicated form, and one in the little book (glue stick is outside main room door, on desk, if someone hasn't stolen it). Collate your documents into three packs. Each pack should have copy of passport, copy of visa, copy of affiliation letter, copy of (green) form.

If you look at the top of your registration form, there should be a handwritten note on it, something like "3/25" or "2/17". This number tells you which counter to keep your eye on (2 or 3 in these examples) and what number you are in the queue (25th or 17th in these examples). In theory, you can take a seat and wait for your number to be called. In practice, you will notice a crowd around each counter, and the truth is, whoever is closest usually gets immediate service. They do call out numbers, but if your papers aren't on the desk approximately two seconds later, you will be passed by. So be alert!

After your number is called, you approach the desk, and the person behind it looks over your forms, types some things into the computer, and stamp stamp stamps everything. Then she or he will send you over to "In Charge." At this desk, you simply hand over the stamped forms, and they smile and tell you to have a nice day as they drop the forms into the in basket. Process complete.

The process takes longer than it needs to take because some people have really odd registration requests. It takes ten people to solve their problem. This is why it is good to be 3rd in the queue, that way no odd problems stall out in front of you. It's not a complex process--pick up form, fill out form, glue photos on form, have form stamped, drop off stamped form--but be prepared to spend a number of hours getting it done.

Chahar Gulshan

Chahar Gulshan (Four Gardens) is an short history of Mughal India written by Rai Chatar Man Kayath, c. 1759 A.D. The last section of the Chahar Gulshan consists of a road book, describing all the major routes originating in Delhi. Schematically, it is very similar to the Mughal map described by Phillimore (see my earlier post).

Sir Jadunath Sarkar analysed a copy of the Chahar Gulshan now kept in Aligarh as part of his book The India of Aurangzib. In the British Library, I found four other versions of the CG. One was badly damaged by worms and age, but the other three were fairly legible. Here is a page of the most legible, with some translation.

Large view of page:





















Right hand column of page:



Translation of cities, top to bottom (south to north, Delhi to Serai Lashkar Khan): Badli ki Serai (now in North Delhi), Narelah, Sonepat, Ganaur, Sahenalkah (Samalkha), Panipat, Ghaurandah, Karnal, Taori-Azambad, Thanesar, Shahabad, Ambalah, Serai Nun, Serai Hajam, Todar Mal, Aluah, Sirhind, Khana, Serai Lashkar Khan. The Persian running down the right-hand side represent the mileage between two cities/caravanserais.

Copy of Mughal Map, c. 1650-1730

British Library Shelfmark: Maps 188.i.2

Typewritten notes by Reginald Henry Phillimore attached to the map:

"Copy of a Mughal Map probably made about 1780 from an original that at the time of copying had already been seriously damaged...probable date of the original might therefore be placed between 1650 and 1730."

This map is a schematic of Mughal routes through northern India. It follows the same format at the Chahar Gulshan, with place names captured in rectangles (scaled in relation to importance), and rough mileage indicated with numbers written next to the route.

Phillimore wrote extensive notes on the map, but apparently did not publish them. His typewritten commentary can be accessed at the same Shelfmark number as the map.

Large Scale View (click for better resolution):




Detail View (with some translation):

Cities listed in right-hand column, top to bottom [north to south, Delhi to Agra]: Tonk, Faridabad, Sikri, Palwal, Hodal, (Serai) Kosi, Chatur (Serai Chata), Mathura, Koila (Serai Kolah), (Serai) Farrah, Sikandra, Akbarabad (Agra).

Archives de la Province de France de la Compagnie de Jésus

A few catalogue listings for Fonds Brotier:

Volume 82 GBro 082
Lettres de l’Inde de Père Gargam: 18 lettres 1726-1741, pour la plupart autographes et adressées (quand le destinataire est indique) au P. Etienne Souciet, du collège Louis le Grand a Paris, avec notations linguistiques, ff. 66-114.

Volume 83 GBro 083
1. Lettre du P. Moriser sj au P. Souciet, 26-1-1731; 3 p. ff. 17-118
2. P. Duchamp: sur le calcul des planètes selon la méthode Graha Chendrika; pour calculer les éclipses; calculs divers; 71 p. ff. 119-115
3. Observations astronomiques diverses, 189; 12 p. ff 156-60 et 162-163
4. Copie d’une lettre du P. Coeurdoux, 17-9-1733, écriture de Brotier; 6 p. ff. 161, 164-165
5. Lettre de P. Duchamp au P. Souciet, reçue en 1733 (copie); 7 p. ff 166-69

Volume 88 Gbro 088
Lettres de missionnaires des Indes au P. Souciet (sauf la première) toutes autographes

Volume 89 Gbro 089
10 lettres de P. Calmette, 1726-1737, au P. Souciet (quand le dentinaire est indique) Autographes, sauf la 1er