Town in Uttar Pradesh, India
Patan is a town in Sumerpur block of Unnao District in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India.[2] It is located 16km south of Purwa on the main Unnao-Allahabad road,[3] and a short distance to the south of the Loni river.[4] Part of the historical region of Baiswara, it historically gave its name to a pargana which existed since at least the time of Akbar, and under the Nawabs of Awadh it was the seat of a tehsil.[4] The Rae Bareli-Kanpur branch of the Northern Railway zone runs through Patan, and the Takia train station is located in the village.[3] A huge fair called the Takia-ka-Mela is held in Patan on the first Thursday in Paus, in honour of the saint Niamat Shah, revered by both Hindus and Muslims, drawing tens of thousands of visitors.[3] A second fair, established by Muhabbat Shah's disciple Shafqat Shah, is also held in Muhabbat Shah's honour at the tomb on the first Thursday of Jeth.[4]
As of 2011, Patan has a population of 5,364 people, in 1,044 households.[2] It serves as the seat of a nyaya panchayat and has a post office, a bus station, an intermediate college, a library, a temple dedicated to Lingeshwar Mahadeo, and the tomb of the 18th-century darvish Muhabbat Shah, which is where the Takia-ka-Mela is held.[3] The village hosts a market twice per week, on Mondays and Fridays, where vegetables and cloth are sold.[5]
History
There is a large old mound in Patan, ascribed to the Bhars.[3] Local tradition holds that the Bhars were the original rulers of the Patan area, before it came under control of the Bais Rajputs.[4] Under the Mughal emperor Akbar, Patan gave its name to a pargana, which continued to exist into the 20th century.[4]
Under the Nawabs of Awadh, Patan was the seat of a tehsil, with its headquarters on the western side of town.[4] The tehsildar also had control over the town's thana (police station).[4] The darvish Muhabbat Shah, who is buried in Patan, was a contemporary of the Nawab Shuja-ud-Daula.[4] He supposedly first came to Patan on a pilgrimage.[4] His tomb is now the site of two annual fairs;[3] the larger, the Takia-ka-Mela, was supposedly inaugurated by Muhabbat Shah in honour of his favourite disciple, Niamat Shah, who is also buried here in the takya (graveyard).[4] Muhabbat Shah is still venerated and his spirit is believed to cure possession; people used to perform exorcisms by tying up the afflicted person and leaving them in a tree near Muhabbat Shah's tomb overnight.[4]
At the turn of the 20th century, Patan was described as a small town that was mostly significant for hosting the two fairs at Muhabbat Shah's tomb.[4] It had an upper primary school with 60 students at the time.[4] Its population was overwhelmingly Hindu — of the 2,545 residents recorded in the 1901 census, only 158 were Muslims.[4]
The 1961 census recorded Patan as comprising 4 hamlets, with a total population of 2,159 people (1,082 male and 1,077 female), in 630 households and 420 physical houses.[5] The area of the village was given as 1,137 acres.[5] Average attendance of the Takia-ka-Mela fair was about 46,000 people at the time, while average attendance of the twice-weekly market was 1,000.[5] The M.G. Higher Secondary School in Patan, established in 1952, had a faculty of 17 teachers (all male) and a student body of 463 (also all male) at the time.[5] The village of Patan also had the following small industrial establishments at the time: 1 grain mill, 9 miscellaneous food processing facilities, 1 manufacturer of (non-chewing) tobacco products, 3 makers of textile garments, 7 makers of wood products not otherwise classified, 2 bicycle repair shops, 7 makers of jewellery and/or precious metal items, and 9 manufacturers and/or repairers of items not assigned to any group.[5]
Culture
Patan hosts two annual fairs at the tomb of Muhabbat Shah.[4] One is the Takia-ka-Mela, which is held on the first Thursday of Paus in honour of Niamat Shah and which regularly draws tens of thousands of visitors, both Hindu and Muslim.[3] Vendors bring agricultural implements, wooden items, glassware, cloth, sweets, toys, and miscellaneous other items to sell at the fair.[5][3] The story goes that, one day, a Kurmi devotee of Muhabbat Shah fell down a well and cried out to Muhabbat Shah for help, believing him to be omnipresent, but to no avail.[4] The Kurmi then cried out for Niamat Shah, who instantly appeared, took him by the hand, and helped him out of the well.[4] When Muhabbat Shah found out about what happened, he was furious and commanded Niamat Shah to die, which he did.[4] Muhabbat Shah then ordered a fair to be held in commemoration of Niamat Shah, over the latter's tomb.[4]
A second fair is also held in honour of Muhabbat Shah on the first Thursday of Jeth.[4][3] Originally inaugurated by Shafqat Shah, another of Muhabbat Shah's disciples,[4] it regularly drew around 1,000 visitors around the middle of the 20th century.[5][3]
Agriculture
As of 2011, Patan village lands cover an area of 459.5 hectares, of which 155.3 are farmland (another 80.7 ha are orchards).[2] The main crops grown in Patan are wheat, barley, gram, juwar, bajra, and paddy.[3] Of the total cultivated area, a majority (120.7 ha) are irrigated; irrigation is mostly provided by tube wells.[2]
India