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Muharram is the first month of the Muslim calendar, but not one to celebrate — rather, it is a month of mourning, observed in particular by Shia worldwide. 
It commemorates the Battle of Karbala in 680 AD, where amongst many, the grandson of Prophet Muhammad , Imam Hussain, was martyred and other family members were killed or subjected to humiliation.
Worldwide, and in South Asia, Shias mourn these deaths even today through elaborate processions and gatherings.
Leading the procession is an alam. Following it is a shroud of the martyr, decorated and bloodstained.
There is customary weeping as tragic stories from the battle are narrated.
There is customary weeping as tragic stories from the battle are narrated.
Then begins the matam — synchronised self-flagellation as elegies and songs penned in the memory of Imam Hussain and his companions are sung.
For long in South Asia, the observance of Muharram has been accompanied by large gatherings, speeches and public grieving.
Participants are dressed in black — the colour of mourning — and as they chant poetry of lamentation, they beat their chest in synchronic unison.
Participants are dressed in black — the colour of mourning — and as they chant poetry of lamentation, they beat their chest in synchronic unison.
Given the social and public nature of these gatherings, other communities and faiths such as Sunnis, Hindus, Sikhs and Christians have a history of being involved, albeit in different capacities.
Even though, through the ages, Muharram has been commemorated with fervour and ferocity, there is little visual evidence of it in the subcontinent before the late 17th century.
The commemoration seems to have emerged as a subject of interest only after the European invasion.
The commemoration seems to have emerged as a subject of interest only after the European invasion.
This is particularly surprising given that a series of Muslim rulers governed the subcontinent prior to the British, and recorded even the most banal details of their lives through their paintings.
The British and Europeans were patrons of a school of art called the Company Style or Kampani Kalam.
These paintings were made by anonymous Indian artists, exclusively for European patrons in the British East India and other companies.
These paintings were made by anonymous Indian artists, exclusively for European patrons in the British East India and other companies.
The style blended traditional elements of the miniature school with a Western treatment of perspective, often in watercolours.
With its ritual self-flagellations and dramatised public processions, it is not surprising that Muharram both horrified and fascinated the Europeans.
At first glance, the paintings reveal how it had to be sanitised to fit the audience’s sensibilities.
See below.
At first glance, the paintings reveal how it had to be sanitised to fit the audience’s sensibilities.
See below.
"Scene in the Imambarah during Muharram", a watercolor, Patna, c.1790-1800.—British Library
"Shi'a Muslims Mourning Before a Ta'ziya", c. 1800, Lucknow.—Chester Beatty Library
"Prayers and recitations at the Imambara during the Muharram", Patna, 1820–30.—francescagalloway.com
"Festival of the Moharram, Funeral of Houssein and Hoossein, India," by H. Melville, Fisher, Son, & Co., London, c.1840.—Columbia.edu
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