SRINAGAR: The tradition of serving Kashmiri tea during Ramzan in the princely court of Bhopal offers a little-known glimpse into the cultural exchanges between royal households across the subcontinent.
According to a report in The Times of India, the last Nawab of Bhopal, Hamidullah Khan, had a distinctive Ramzan custom: after offering evening prayers, he would invite not only members of the aristocracy but also ordinary citizens to tea gatherings during the fasting month.
Quoting conservation architect SM Hussain, the newspaper reported that the Nawab’s hospitality extended beyond the elite.
“It was customary for Bhopal’s last Nawab… to invite his peers, guests and peasants to tea after offering his evening prayers during Ramzan,” Hussain told The Times of India. The beverage served at these gatherings was no ordinary tea. It was a rare Kashmiri preparation made with precious ingredients that were associated with royal kitchens. “It was a very special Kashmiri tea brewed with saffron, musk and ambergris.”
The origins of this recipe lay in the court of Hari Singh, the last ruling monarch of Jammu and Kashmir. According to the report, the preparation was shared by the Maharaja’s royal cook with the kitchen staff of the Nawab of Bhopal, allowing the drink to travel from the Himalayan valley to central India.
The Nawab’s Ramzan traditions were marked by elaborate hospitality. Festive foods were prepared in large quantities, and special dishes associated with the fasting month were distributed to guests and visitors.
The court also maintained a practice of sending Ramzan delicacies as gifts to other princely households. Food hampers containing sweets such as sheer khurma were dispatched to rulers across the country, including those in Jaipur and Jaisalmer, as well as the court of the Nizam of Hyderabad.
The account highlights how culinary traditions travelled between princely courts and became part of royal culture in different regions. In Bhopal’s Ramzan gatherings, a cup of Kashmiri tea symbolised not just hospitality but also a historical connection between two distant royal courts—one in the Himalayan valley and the other in central India.
