Posted on: 13 October 2010

A view of the Himalayas from the top of the Judge's House at Moradabad - 1814.

Watercolour of the Himalayas from 'Views by Seeta Ram from Mohumdy to Gheen Vol. V' produced for Lord Moira, afterwards the Marquess of Hastings, by Sita Ram between 1814-15. Marquess of Hastings, the Governor-General of Bengal and the Commander-in-Chief (r. 1813-23), was accompanied by artist Sita Ram (flourished c.1810-22) to illustrate his journey from Calcutta to Delhi between 1814-15.
View of Himalayas from the Judge's House at Moradabad. Moradabad, in Uttar Pradesh was founded around 1625 by Rustam Khan, the governor of Katehr, who named it after the imperial prince Murad Bakhsh. The Afghan Rohillas acquired Moradabad in 1740 and controlled the city until 1773 when it passed to control of the Nawab of Awadh. Nawab Shuja ud-Daula of Awadh (r.1753-1775)subsequently ceeded part of his territory including Moradabad to the Britsh in 1801. In 1814, the Judge and Magistrate in Moradabad was James Oldham, from whose house this view was illustrated. Inscribed below: 'Distant view of the Snowry' [sic]' Range of the Himalaya's from the Top of the Judge's House at Moradabad.'.

Source : British Library


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What a beautiful, evocative pisture

Very beautiful indeed.

i daught if this view is from moradabad city , must be from some corner of the distict..... nice watercolour

On a clear day, after rains, you can actually see the range from the top of houses. The snow is visible clearly in the upper reaches. I know, because we have a 220 yr old house in Moradabad, and I have seen the ranges form the top of my house several times. There is too much pollution now so it is possible only after it has rained and the skies are clear. However, in 1814-15, when this painting was made, I guess it would have been possible more ften to see the ranges.

I still think that the mountain view from Moradabad may have been exaggerated by the Artist. At least from Sambhal, a tehsil (now a district apparently) very close to Moradabad proper, I was never able to see the mountain range. Interestingly, Babur in his memoirs "Babur Nama" also writes that he could not see the mountains from Sambhal as is widely reported. That was in 1526.