Syed Mahmood
Judge Syed Mahmood (1853–1903) was a Muslim Theosophist who is best known in Theosophical Society history as being present for the [phenomenon] at the Sinnetts’ picnic in 1880.
Personal life and career
Syed Mahmood was born in 1853. His father was Sir Syed Amhad Khan. He was educated at Indian colleges and at Christ College, Cambridge, where he studied Latin, Greek, and Arabic. He was admitted to Lincoln’s Inn on May 10, 1869, and called to the bar on April 30, 1872, as one of the first Indians to become an English barrister. He practiced at the High Court in Allahabad until 1878 and became the district judge at Rai Bereli (Raibareilly), Oudh, in 1879, as well as the judge of the High Court of the N.W. Provinces, 1887–93. He then served on the North-Western Provinces and Oudh Legislative Council from 1896 to 1898. With his father, Sir Syed Ahmad Khan, he founded Muhammadan Anglo-Oriental College at Aligarh. He translated the legal code into Urdu; wrote over three hundred judgments, often using arguments from Islamic law; and wrote numerous articles on law and education.
Theosophical Society involvement
Judge Mahmood contributed at least one article to The Theosophist.
Cup and saucer phenomenon
On October 3, 1880, Mr. A. P. and Mrs. Patience Sinnett organized a picnic near their home in Simla, India. The party consisted of the Sinnetts, Madame Blavatsky, Henry Steel Olcott, Major Henderson, Mrs. Reed of Ajmere, and Damodar K. Mavalankar. At the last minute, after the picnic had been packed, Judge Mahmood joined the group. No cup and saucer were available for his tea, so Madame Blavatsky used her special abilities to create an extra set for him to use. The cup and saucer were found by Major Henderson buried in the black soil at the place she pointed out.
Additional resources
- C. Jinarājadāsa, "The Early History of the T.S.: XVIII The Cup and Saucer Phenomenon" The Theosophist 47 no. 1 (October, 1925): 70-71.
- Mohammad Nasir and Samreen Ahmad, Syed Mahmood; Colonial India’s Dissenting Judge Bloomsbury, 2022.