The mists of time

It is a cold, winter evening in Bhopal, capital of the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, and most people don't relish the wind slicing through them as they hurry home. But Mohammad Jameel is pleased. He is braced for good business. And the colder it is, the better.

Jameel owns the Royal Kadimi Hammam — a 280-year-old steam bath — a precursor to the steam and sauna baths frequented today by the fit and the fashionable. Built by Dost Mohammad Khan between 1722 and 1728, the Bhopal hammam is perhaps the only one still functioning in India and provides a fascinating view into the history of Turkish art and architecture.

Hammams were, in fact, public steam baths and could be found in many Middle Eastern countries. It was Turkey that introduced the concept of the hammam to Europe, and in many parts of the world, it is known as the "Turkish bath".

"As a Muslim custom, hammams everywhere are segregated by gender but people from all walks of life are allowed inside it. Men and women have different hours for bathing," Jameel says.

Entering the bath

You enter the quaint, domed hammam, perched on a hill overlooking Bhopal's lake, through iron gates. The dim, cavernous interior is lit by a lone bulb. The steam rises in thick clouds from a large tub set on a stone floor, misting over the arched mortar walls. As the steam swirls all around, a masseur helps the visitor loosen up with a warm shower and scrubs him with soapstone brought from Ajmer, smears him with groundnut oil and herbs, and asks him to lie down on a slab above the floor. A massage is then given with the sole of the foot and the visitor is left to relax on a stone bench and soak up the steam.

After a nice session at this age-old hammam, bathers move into a cooling room to neutralise their body temperature before leaving for the outside world. At all stages of the session, senior experts from the family are present and provide assistance to people.

"The atmosphere in a modern steam chamber is artificial. Here I feel at home," says a customer, Ankur Pandey, a middle-level manager with a private company.

"At the end," Pandey says, "I feel as light as a bird."

It is a unique experience to take a bath in a hammam.

A slice of the bygone comes for Rs200 (Dh16) for men and Rs250 to Rs350 for women. Naturally, visitors are impressed.

"It's an invigorating experience. I go as often as I can," said one.

For Jameel, it costs a pocket — he spends as much as Rs300,000 on firewood to run the hammam between November and March every year. The hammam opens every year after Deepawali (the festival of lights symbolising the victory of righteousness and the lifting of spiritual darkness, celebrated by Hindus in India) and closes before Holi (a spring religious festival celebrated by Hindus).

It takes 25 quintals of wood and eight days to get the hammam started. A quintal of wood costs about Rs500. Once the fire is lit, it is not allowed to go out during the period and as such, has to be fed about three quintals of wood every day.

The masseurs — all Jameel's cousins — work every night for these months. But being here apparently does wonders for one's health. "If we don't work in the hammams for four months in a year, we will fall ill," Haseen says.

In fact, its therapeutic value is common knowledge in Bhopal. Doctors practising indigenous systems of medicine around the city refer patients suffering from arthritis, body ache or even fractures to the hammam. For others, Jameel says, it is a place of social interaction.

Over the years it has had many renowned patrons including former Indian president Shankar Dayal Sharma and actress Sulakshna Pandit. "Dr Shankar Dayal Sharma used to bring his food along, sit here listening to sher-o-shairi [poetry] and leave only in the morning," Jameel recalls.

The clientele may have changed somewhat — young urban professionals are increasingly seen among the 15 to 35 visitors every day — but little else has in this old-world place.

To Jameel, who is also a barber and owns a salon, the hammam is family business. Built by members of Bhopal's royal house, it was passed on to his grandfather by Shah Jehan Begum in 1925 just before she died. Women from the former royal family of Bhopal still use the hammam occasionally. Then the hammam — usually open between 7pm and 5am only for men — is operated during the day and a masseur is brought in.

But the functioning isn't easy. Spiralling costs of fuel and a dwindling clientele have forced many hammams in Delhi and Hyderabad to close down. Jameel too suffered a financial setback last year when the price of wood shot up. But determined to keep the hammam running, he is thinking of increasing charges.

"It will be an insult to my forefathers and the heritage of Bhopal if the hammam closes down," he says.

The people of Bhopal aren't complaining. Salman, a college student who has been a regular for eight years, says: "I look forward to the winters because I know the hammam will be open then."

Shuriah Niazi is a freelance journalist based in central India.