A Syrian rebel fires towards regime forces as his comrade ducks for cover during clashes in Aleppo on 30 September where fire tore through a medieval souk. Photograph: Miguel Medina/AFP/Getty Images Large parts of Aleppo's covered market, the largest of its kind in the world and a Unesco world heritage site that traces its history back to the 14th century, have been reduced to ashes as government forces and rebels fight for control of the city.

Shops caught fire during clashes on Saturday and the flames spread rapidly, destroying at least 1,500 shops, partly because many of the small retail units tucked beneath the market's ancient arches were full of fabric, activists said. "It is not only the souk (market) that is burning, my heart is burning as well," said an activist called Hashem, who learned the craft of jewellery making in the market.

The devastation is a reminder of how the 18-month-old conflict – in which activists estimate 30,000 people have been killed – is destroying Syria's rich cultural and historical legacy as well as the lives of its 22.5m people. Aleppo's old city is one of several places that Unesco, the United Nationscultural agency, has designated world heritage sites and which are now at risk. Activists accused government forces of using incendiary bullets to attack rebels who had taken up positions in the market after launching a new offensive in the city on Thursday.

"The fighters tried to put out the fire but failed to do so because snipers were shooting at them," another activist said. "The fire is still raging and at least 1,500 shops have now been burnt down."

The market – Souk al-Madina – comprises a network of vaulted stone alleyways and carved wooden facades and was once a tourist attraction and a busy cosmopolitan trading hub on the ancient Silk Road from China. Its many narrow alleys have a combined length of 13km (eight miles).

The market sold everything from soap to jewellery to clothing.

The Hindu, 1st October 2012

We visit the temple that inspired legendary composer Purandaradasa's famous ‘Jagadodharana’

There are temples that have taken me on a mythical trail or on a spiritual path, narrating stories of deities and demons, miracles and morals, believers and non-believers. I hear stories about how the shrines were built or plundered, of legendary kings who left their stamp on a pillar, of gods and goddesses who decided to live here in these shrines. The temples have taken me on a heritage tour, an architectural trip, or a mystical journey, but for the first time, I visited a shrine that led me on a musical route.

I had almost driven past the temple. The nondescript gopuram tried the best it could to attract the wayfarer driving down the Bangalore-Mysore highway in a hurry. The air brought with it a strong culinary flavour, as multiple eateries interrupted my journey, tempting me to stop. McDonald’s burgers vied with maddur vadas, filter coffee competed with cappuchino. The highways turned into a food court as the eateries dwarfed almost every other sight on the street. No wonder we almost crossed the little board that said Aprameya Swami temple, distracted by the many food signs.

Strains of Carnatic music caught my ears the moment I entered the portals of the temple, built in a small town called Doddamallur, located between Chennapatna and Maddur. The name ‘Doddamallur’ may have been a misnomer unless there was a ‘Chikkamallur’ somewhere nearby, as this was an absolutely small village in itself with just a cluster of homes and shops. (Dodda means big in Kannada while chikka is small) . It was once a Vedic town, referred to as Chaturveda Managalapura, where scholars resided and learnt all four Vedas. Is that why they called it ‘big’?

The priest have another clue, calling it the Ayodhya of the South, as this more than 1500 years old temple has a mythical connection to Rama, who apparently came to worship Vishnu and lived here for a while. The deity is referred to as Aprameya and his consort Arvindavalli. The temple’s showstopper is, however, the Krishna idol and the shrine is popularly referred to as the Navaneetha Krishna temple.

As I walked down the corridor, I saw a small shrine behind the pillars, where a beautiful baby Krishna carved in saligram or black granite looked at me with a twinkle in his eye. I could almost visualise the Krishna Leela — the statue is of a crawling child, holding a ball of butter in his hand. Innumerable cradles offered by devotees crowd the shrine and the priest told me that childless couples offered these cradles once their desire to have a child is fulfilled by the deity.

It was then that I heard the story of the legendary composer Purandaradasa, as I walked towards a mandapam named after him. I learnt from the priest that the composer, who had apparently persuaded the local ruler to build this temple, was mesmerised so much by the beauty of the idol that he composed the famous ‘Jagadodharana Adisidale Yashodha’ in this shrine. A small stone stood there as testimony to this, and the priest spoke of how it had the composition etched on it in Kannada. The musical strains now sounded familiar, as a group of singers joined in, humming the song, referring to the innocent Yashoda who played with her son Krishna, oblivious to the fact that he was god. A few devotees walked past with cradles in their hand, and a bonny baby looked at me with wide eyes as I left the shrine.

The Hindu, 1st October 2012

The Tripoli Gateways, an early 18th-century structure on the Grand Trunk Road in Rana Pratap Bagh, have got a new lease of life two years after a truck crashed into them.

The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has begun work on the conservation of the structure that consists of north- and south-facing gates, each with three arches. A narrow passageway and poor lighting makes the area accident-prone. “Massive jams and accidents are commonplace,” Rohit Jain, a resident of the nearby Jain Colony, said. The ASI has spent around Rs. 21 lakh on the conservation. The work on the northern gate is well-nigh complete.

It had been proposed that the level of the road be lowered, so that trucks do not hit the arches. On the proposal, ASI’s Delhi circle chief DN Dimri said, “It is pending with the civic agency.”

YS Mann, director (press and information), North Delhi Municipal Corporation, said, “The work has been put out to tender. The road passing below the arches will be dug up to give a slope up to 1.5 metres.”

Commenting on the alleged controversy over the “design” element on the pillars of the structure, Dimri said: “The contractor had first done plain plaster for the walls. Now, when we insisted, the work is being done for ornamental plaster.”

Anirudh Singha of AIC Building Solutions Ltd, the contractors for the work, said, “The ASI had no original design. Moreover, we were never given anything in writing. Whatever we have done is based on the evidence available. They (ASI officials) seem to have agreed and have given a written consent now.”

Experts and ASI officials are debating whether to allow vehicular traffic to pass through it or encircle the structure with metal barricades. Singha said, “A truck recently hit a repaired arch. If such damage continues, heavy traffic needs to be stopped before starting work for the other gateway.”

OP Jain, former convener, Indian National Trust for Arts and Cultural Heritage, said, "The whole thing is more to do with city’s management of heritage. The solution has to be based on some kind of conservation rules.”

However, Jain agreed, “Trucks and heavy traffic should not be allowed. It is a question of enforcement (but) different agencies involved are not on the same page.” Dimri said: “The structure is strong, especially up to the plinth level, it is safe. So, smaller vehicles can always pass. (But) we have not earlier discussed bypass for the gates.”
The Hindustan Times, 1st October 2012

An aggressive campaign by Turkey to reclaim antiquities it says were looted has led in recent months to the return of an ancient sphinx and many golden treasures from the region’s rich past. But it has also drawn condemnation from some of the world’s largest museums, which call the campaign cultural blackmail.

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
The top half of the “Weary Herakles” statue recently returned to Turkey by the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

In their latest salvo, Turkish officials this summer filed a criminal complaint in the Turkish court system seeking an investigation into what they say was the illegal excavation of 18 objects that are now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Norbert Schimmel collection.

Last year, Turkish officials recalled, Turkey’s director-general of cultural heritage and museums, Murat Suslu, presented Met officials with a stunning ultimatum: prove the provenance of ancient figurines and golden bowls in the collection, or Turkey could halt lending treasures. Turkey says that threat has now gone into effect.

“We know 100 percent that these objects at the Met are from Anatolia,” the Turkish region known for its ancient ruins, Mr. Suslu, an archaeologist, said in an interview. “We only want back what is rightfully ours.”

Turkey’s efforts have spurred an international debate about who owns antiquities after centuries of shifting borders. Museums like the Met, the Getty, the Louvre and the Pergamon in Berlin say their mission to display global art treasures is under siege from Turkey’s tactics.

Museum directors say the repatriation drive seeks to alter accepted practices, like a widely embraced Unesco convention that lets museums acquire objects that were outside their countries of origin before 1970. Although Turkey ratified the convention in 1981, it is now citing a 1906 Ottoman-era law — one that banned the export of artifacts — to claim any object removed after that date as its own.

Thievery and looting are wrong, Turkey says, no matter when they occurred. “Artifacts, just like people, animals or plants, have souls and historical memories,” said Turkey’s culture minister, Ertugrul Gunay. “When they are repatriated to their countries, the balance of nature will be restored.”

Turkey is not alone in demanding the return of artifacts removed from its borders; Egypt and Greece have made similar demands of museums, and Italy persuaded the Met to return an ancient bowl known as the Euphronios krater in 2006.

But Turkey’s aggressive tactics, which come as the country has been asserting itself politically in the Middle East in the wake of the Arab Spring, have particularly alarmed museums. Officials here are refusing to lend treasures, delaying the licensing of archaeological excavations and publicly shaming museums.

“The Turks are engaging in polemics and nasty politics,” said Hermann Parzinger, president of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation, which oversees the Pergamon. “They should be careful about making moral claims when their museums are full of looted treasures” acquired, he said, by the Ottomans in their centuries ruling parts of the Middle East and southeast Europe.

One example is a prized sarcophagus named for Alexander the Great, discovered in Sidon, Lebanon, in 1887, and now in Istanbul’s Archaeological Museum. Mr. Suslu said the sarcophagus was legally Turkey’s because it had been excavated on territory that belonged to Turkey at the time.

Turkey’s campaign has enjoyed notable success, however. Last year the Pergamon agreed to return a 3,000-year-old sphinx from the Hittite Empire that Turkey said had been taken to Germany for restoration in 1917. German officials said Turkey had threatened to block major archaeological projects if the sphinx did not come home.

But even after it had, the Germans complained, Turkey still declined to collaborate and refused to lend four objects for a current exhibition. Mr. Suslu indicated that the Pergamon had to return other disputed items before loans would resume.

Mr. Parzinger said Turkey had no legal claim to the contested objects it says his museum has illegally, and that treating Germany like a petty thief puts more than a century of archaeological cooperation at risk and harms relations between the countries as Turkey seeks to join the European Union. He pointed out that Westerners had been at the forefront of safeguarding Turkey’s rich history.

“If all Westerners are just thieves and robbers,” he asked, “then who has been restoring their cultural heritage?”

In another victory for Turkey, last month the University of Pennsylvania’s Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology announced that it had agreed to lend indefinitely 24 artifacts to Turkey from ancient Troy whose murky provenance helped inspire the 1970 Unesco convention. Turkey, in turn, promised future loans and collaboration with the university.

Some museum directors said that they feared that the surrender of the objects by the university, which acquired them in 1966, threatened to lead to a flood of further claims.

In September 2011, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, returned the top half of an 1,800-year-old statue, “Weary Herakles,” which the Turkish prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, triumphantly took home on his government jet.

To press the Met for documentation on the Schimmel objects, Turkish officials said they had refused to lend to a Met exhibition that ran this year, “Byzantium and Islam: Age of Transition.”

The Met denied it had asked Turkey for pieces for the show. Its director, Thomas P. Campbell, said in an interview that the Met believed the objects sought by Turkey had been legally acquired by Norbert Schimmel in the European antiquities market in the 1960s before being donated to the museum in 1989, and thus were in compliance with the Unesco accord.

He acknowledged that most of the objects had no documented ownership history, but also said that there was no evidence of an illicit excavation. Turkish officials said they had not yet uncovered evidence proving that the objects had been illegally smuggled out.

“If evidence emerges that the objects were illegally excavated or looted, we will address that on a case-by-case basis,” Mr. Campbell said.

Mr. Campbell said the argument that objects should always be returned to their countries of origin was dubious, given that many artifacts had traveled throughout the centuries. “We are in the business of celebrating Turkish culture,” he said, “and it is the great displays in London, Paris and New York, more than anything else, that will encourage people to go to Turkey and explore their cultural heritage, and not just the sun and beach.”

Marc Masurovsky, an expert on plundered art at the Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, said it was no surprise that in the absence of an international agency to enforce anti-plunder measures, the Turks were resorting to hard-nosed diplomacy. But Turkey faces hurdles trying to apply an Ottoman law outside its borders, he noted. And even if that law is accepted as applicable, dating the illegal excavation of any site is difficult because no records are typically kept.

Still, Mr. Suslu said nothing justified theft, and he pointed to the Louvre’s possession of late-16th-century Iznik tiles that had been stolen, he said, by the French restorer Albert Sorlin-Dorigny in the 1880s. The tiles, from the mausoleum of Sultan Selim II in Istanbul, were taken to Paris for repair, but he said Sorlin-Dorigny gave them to the Louvre in 1895 instead of returning them.

The Louvre did not respond to messages seeking comment. Turkish officials said that the French insist that the tiles were given to Sorlin-Dorigny by a member of the royal family, but that they did not offer any documentary proof.

“Who in his right mind would give a present from his own relative’s tomb to a foreign country?” Mr. Suslu asked. “If you come to my house and you steal precious objects from me, do I not have a right to get them back?”

The New York Times, 2nd October 2012

Stung by Opposition parties’ criticism following killings of rare one-horned rhinos in the Kaziranga National Park, a World Heritage Site, the Assam Government on Tuesday decided to rush a 100-member team of the elite Assam Forest Protection Force (AFPF) for its protection.

“A 50-member AFPF team has already left today while another 50 members will be despatched before 6 October,” Forest Minister Rockybul Hussain told reporters here. Confirming that 39 rhinos were killed — 11 by poachers and 28 due to floods — this year, he said the rhino population had increased in Kaziranga tremendously for which the “endangered” tag has been officially removed for them.

Of the 11 rhinos who fell prey to poachers — six were killed inside the park and five in neighbouring Karbi Anglong district, where the animals had migrated. Another 28 of the species died under water following severity of flood, Hussain said.

The Assam Government had already decided to get the rhino killing cases of the last three years probed by the CBI and deploy the Army and Central paramilitary forces in the adjoining areas of the park to foil attempts by poachers. The unprecedented spate in the rhino killings have also forced the State Government to consider setting up of a State Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (SWCCB) to stop poaching and other wildlife crimes and also to formulate strategies for successful conservation of the State’s wildlife.

However, Hussain said the number of rhinos have risen to 2,505 in the State at present and 2,290 in Kaziranga alone because of better forest management.

“The AGP and BJP are raking up the issue of bad forest management which will harm the prestige of the park which is a pride for the people of Assam,” Hussain said.

He denied charges of AGP and BJP that illegal migrants are being helped by the Government to settle inside the buffer zone of the park to increase the Congress’ vote bank.

“In fact, the AGP Government under Prafulla Kumar Mahanta in 1996 had issued an order to settle 96 landless families in those areas,” the Forest Minister claimed.

Stating that a CBI team is camping in the KNP to probe into the killing of animals, Hussain said six .303 rifles and 73 ammunition have been seized while three poachers were killed by forest guards and 14 arrested this year.

Earlier, a team of Wildlife Crime Control Bureau had also visited the park and taken stock of the situation.

On the rhino which strayed to Rani Chapori beel after being washed away, Hussain said he visited the spot on Tuesday but bad weather prevented the IAF chopper from airlifting the animal which is in good health.

It would be airlifted to safety soon, he said.

The Pioneer, 2nd October 2012

A plaque at Bellary’s railway station mentions the visit of Gandhi to the town. Bellary’s Gandhian and freedom fighter Tekur Subramanyam’s diary throws more light on Gandhi’s visit, writes P Satyanarayana Rao

Tekur Subramanyam, Gandhian and freedom fighter from Bellary was associated with senior Congress leaders Gandhiji, Rajaji and Nehru. He was in charge of the Gandhi Smarak Samithi in this region and helped set up Gandhi Bhavan in Bellary. He has left behind his memoirs in which he describes the two historic visits of Mahatma Gandhi to Bellary, one in 1921 and the second time in 1934. The diary preserved by his son Tekur Ramanath throws light on the visits.

‘God be praised’
When Tekur Subramanyam visited Wardha in 1935, Gandhiji referred to his first visit to Bellary in 1921 and at the end of the conversation said, “God be praised...” This remark has a lot of significance attached to it.

Tekur writes, “There were two Congress committees functioning in Bellary in 1921, before the Kelkar award. After addressing a huge public meeting in Bellary, in the evening, he (Gandhi) went to the railway station with his small party, spread his khadi shawl and slept on the platform, leaving early morning by train to reach the next place. There was no representative from either district Congress groups to purchase tickets for him and his party, and to see him off. He purchased his own ticket and travelled by train. In 1935 when I visited Wardha, Gandhiji referred to his 1921 episode in Bellary and he referred to the incident and asked me what the position was at the time (1935). When I mentioned to him that there was only one district committee functioning and I happened to be the humble secretary thereof, he said “God be praised…”

This episode is hardly remembered. It is certainly to the credit of former deputy commissioner of Bellary V N Manjula (now Commissioner for Urban Land Transport) that she sent a copy of this extract from Tekur’s diary and sought the Railways to put up a plaque at the spot in the Bellary railway station where Gandhi is said to have slept. She also organised a ceremony on the platform with a bhajan meeting to mark the occasion.

More from the diary
Tekur writes in his diary, “In March 1934, Mahatma Gandhi under took a tour of ‘Karnatak Province’ to serve the Harijan cause. After visiting Harapanahalli and Kudligi in Bellary district, he reached Sandur by the evening...the cool climate of Sandur was a welcome relief. That night he stayed in the residence of Dr S B Shroff...I met him to discuss the day’s programme which included an extension of a visit to a village which was not previously included in the programme. He asked me why that was not included. I took upon myself the responsibility in this regard and said “to better serve the Harijan cause to raise more funds...” Gandhiji urged me to drop the item as its inclusion may upset the rest of the programme.

Then he gave me a longish talk on the place of money in our affairs and activities. He told me that to raise money for a cause was subject to some limitations – that serving the ideals and principles was of prime importance, and money had a subordinate place and there should not be any compromise on principles. He incidentally mentioned to me that a merchant in Bombay had sent him a cheque for a large amount with a condition that it should not be utilised for Harijan cause as a result of which he returned the cheque.” That was Gandhiji.

The Deccan Herald, 2nd October 2012

The contractor may be trying to wrap up the over-ground work in Connaught Place completely by December, but CP will not be construction-free at least till the dawn of 2013.

Placing the utilities underground will take at least another six months and no deadline has been set forcompletion of the four new subways that will connect the Outer Circle with the main roads.

The Connaught Place restoration project had envisioned a wire-free market where telephone, electricity and water pipelines will be placed in the underground tunnel. At present, all the pipes and wires have been shoved to the side of the Middle Circle.

Since it is a huge task, the work of shifting utilities will be taken up only once all the construction work is complete. “There is some work left in the Middle Circle’s utility tunnel. Once the over-ground work is complete, we will start installing pipelines and wires underground. This work will continue till 2013. But since it will be under-ground, shoppers will not face any inconvenience,” said an official of the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC).

However, renovation work of the five existing subways is still stuck. The subways were to have modern facilities such as escalators and better security. The authorities have blamed it on the delay in getting permissions from the traffic police. Work on four of the eight new planned subways has begun only recently. The deadlines for the subways have not been declared yet. Moreover, the remaining four subways have been simply chucked out of the plan.

The original redevelopment plan had also included the installation of a central cooling unit to provide air-conditioning to the market and hot and cold water in the taps. That plan, however, has been postponed indefinitely.

“With so many delays, the NDMC and the contractors thought it best to postpone some of the projects that are not required immediately. They will be taken up once the redevelopment work is complete,” said an official of the contractor, Engineers India Limited. The other pending works include completing the façade work of the blocks and repairing drainage facilities.

Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit has been personally monitoring the work every fortnight to ensure timely completion of work.

The Hindustan Times, 4th October 2012

The water woes of the celebrated park have come to an end

The birds of Keoladeo have perhaps never had it so good! The water woes of the celebrated Keoladeo National Park, listed as a heritage site by UNESCO, have come to an end with the completion of the 17.10-km-long dedicated pipeline on the Govardhan drain.

The much awaited Rs.56-crore drain project, taken up with funds provided by the Planning Commission under Additional Central Assistance (ACA) to Rajasthan, was formally completed this weekend. This Saturday saw the first flush of rain water from the canal entering the F 1 and F 2 blocs of the park. As the electrification of the pumping station is yet to be completed a generator was used to pump water, which heralded a new era in park history.

“This is a momentous occasion for bird-lovers and conservationists. The absence of a guaranteed source of water for the park all these years had been posing a serious threat to the very existence of the marshland as well as its status as a world heritage site,” Rajasthan Minister for Forests & Environment Bina Kak told The Hindu.

“We thank the Centre. The support it extended through sufficient funds would surely register in the annals of conservation history,” Ms. Kak noted.

Though the monsoon season has come to an end, the glass-reinforced plastic and mild steel pipeline, bringing the flood waters from neighbouring Haryana and Uttar Pradesh to parts of Rajasthan, is still expected to provide 30 million cubic feet (MCFT) to 40 MCFT water.

“The park is finally getting its due. The impact of water on the birds will be seen during the coming winter,” said conservationist Harsh Vardhan, who has been crusading for Keoladeo for long.

The Govardhan drain originates in Haryana, enters Rajasthan at Santruk village in Bharatpur district after winding its way through Uttar Pradesh. The seasonal water body finally drains out near Agra. It is estimated that during 35 days in the monsoon, the Govardhan drain pipeline can provide 350 MCFT water. “A dedicated pipeline was thought about in the wake of the bitter experience of farmers en routethe canals elsewhere demanding a share of water,” noted Chief Conservation of Forests P.S. Somasekhar, who was in charge of the park in 2009 when the idea was first mooted.

The park had three to four extremely bad years between 2006 and 2009. “We were desperate for an assured water source other than Panchna dam. During these years, Rs.10 lakh on an average was spent on diesel for pumping sub-soil water to the depressions in the park in order to keep the fauna and vegetation alive,” Mr. Somasekhar observed.

Keoladeo, a place graced by the rare Siberian cranes till the turn of the Century, has been twice lucky with water this year. Only recently it started getting 62.5 MCFT water brought to Bharatpur town for drinking purposes from the Chambal river. For fully inundating its marshes — as it was during the golden days — where the heronry breeds during winter and keeping of boats for the tourists afloat, it needs a minimum of 450 MCFT water. With these two sources and a share from the contentious Panchna dam, the park now can expect to have its good times returning!
The Hindu, 4th October 2012

The Jhandewalan Mandir and its environs in west Delhi are going to get a facelift, with the North corporation sanctioning Rs 159 crore for the project. There will be proper seating arrangements around the temple , better pavements and drainage facilities as well as greener precincts.

Three commercial complexes with an underground parking facility will also come up in the vicinity. Construction of a shopping centre, chest clinic, and relaying of roads, including Rani Jhansi Road, Faiz Road and DB Gupta Marg, are also planned. Through this, the corporation is hoping to earn more revenue .

The project has got the goahead from DDA, and work is expected to start by Octoberend . "The temple building is very old and the pavements are broken. We have been considering a revamp for long. After the feasibility study was tabled, DDA cleared the project . The plan has been fleshed out along with the budget estimates ," said chairman of the works committee, Ravinder Gupta. However, the corporation is still to set a deadline.

North corporation wanted to relocate the godowns near the temple used for storing LPG cylinders. "We asked LG Tejendra Khanna to identify an alternative site, and last week we got permission to relocate the structures. The godowns will be relocated to Karol Bagh, as it is unsafe to have them near a religious structure visited by hordes of people ," said Gupta.

The corporation will also plant shrubs and ornamental trees to spruce up the area. Parking is a major problem. With the nearby Karol Bagh market already congested, the temple area is used for parking vehicles.

The corporation plans to provide parking space for about 1,050 cars. "The area becomes even more chaotic during festive season. This project should ease parking problems. We also hope to clear the area of all encroachments and make it cleaner," said Gupta.

The Times of India, 4th October 2012

The gopuram of the 500-year-old Srisailam temple, nestled in the thick green hills of Nallamala forests, collapsed in the early hours of Wednesday. Battered by incessant rains for the past couple of days, the top portion of the gopuram caved in at around 2.20 am. There was no loss of life as there were no pilgrims at the time when the 100-ft tall structure collapsed.

The gopuram on the northern side, believed to have been built by King Shivaji, served as one of the main entrances to the Sri Bhraramba Mallikharjuna Swamy temple. It developed cracks showing stress and the wood used in it had decayed long back. The state government last carried out repairs to the heritage structure almost 50 years back in 1965.

An experts' committee, which was set up in 2010 to examine the condition of 40 heritage structures and ancient temples in the state after the collapse of the rajagopuram of Srikalahasti temple, had recommended immediate repair of the Shivaji gopuram. The experts panel of architects, after examining all the four gopurams at the temple, found out that Shivaji gopuram was the weakest. Though the temple authorities had performed a puja in 2011 for dismantling the gopuram and constructing a new one in its place, the works could not be undertaken due to objections raised by the archaeology wing.

According to the committee report, cracks had developed on the external and internal surface of the brick gopuram, while the wooden paneling was totally damaged. The internal plaster was also damaged. No repair works had been taken up all these years other than the cement plastering in 1965. Experts said the old structure withstood the vagaries of weather due to the strong stone structural base on which it stood.

"The collapse of the gopuram was inevitable as it was soaked in rain for the past three days. If it rains further, even the stone base would meet the same fate," Chandrasekhar, a Telugu University lecturer in archaeology, pointed out.

The endowments officials said the dismantling works were taken up some time back after Telugu film producer, Nellore-based devotee Alturi Adinarayana Reddy volunteered to meet the cost of the new gopuram along with the Dwajasthambhum at a cost of Rs 4 crore. But the department of archaeology and museums wrote to the endowments officials in September this year, urging them not to dismantle the structure.

"We had temporarily stalled the works in view of the letter," endowments commissioner Balaramaiah said.

"We are facing problems in dismantling some other gopurams which are in a precarious condition as some organizations or individuals have approached courts against such a move," he added. Sources said patrons of Chilukuri Balaji temple had also forwarded a letter to the government not to take up dismantling works.

Though the Srisailam temple does not come under the purview of the archaeology department, temple board chairman Koteswara Rao said they could not go ahead with the dismantling works because of the letter.

"Since half of the structure has crumbled, we will dismantle the entire gopuram and build a new structure retaining its old look," he said.

Endowments secretary Chitra Ramachandran said many dilapidated temples were in dire need of repairs. "Efforts are on to refurbish the Srisailam temple also," she added.

The Hindu, 4th October 2012

The evening aarti at Dauji Temple on the banks of the river Yamuna in Agra has remained the same as that of any other for years. But three months ago, the ritual on Monday was turned into a celebration of the river. The temple has an idol of the Yamuna Devi. Instead of restricting the prayers to the temple precincts, the priests of the temple have taken to worshipping the river itself.

Just before the designated hour of sundown, the priests and volunteers from the adjoining areas deck the three platforms of the ghat with marigold flowers and little diyas. As the sun sets, the head priest prepares and lights the grand aarti before bringing it for the ritual of symbolically circling it in the air at the river. A local band plays pious tunes with much fanfare.

“This is the eleventh aarti,” said Shailja Devi, one of the regulars. “The aarti here is a very personal matter. The devotees are allowed to hold the aartidaan as there are not too many people present.” The steps leading down to the river on the ghat are kept clean but the polluted waters deposit fresh loads of plastic bottles and trash along the banks. “The young people have lost interest in the cleaning programme that had been initiated along the river a few years back,” said Pt Girija Shankar, the head priest at the temple. “We hope that the aarti will attract the attention of national and international photographers who come here to click pictures of the Taj Mahal and carry the message for a cleaner Yamuna to their audience.” “The aarti is a natural offering to the river. It is a word of thanks for the life that the river nurtures,” said Pt Shankar. “Governments have come and gone but little has been done to restore the river. The Taj Mahal is a monument, the river is a source of life but the Government has been spending endless amounts of money to restore a mausoleum while no efforts are being made to help the river survive.” Agra follows on the footsteps of Vrindavan, where the Kesi Ghat witnesses a daily aarti of the Yamuna. Pt Shankar and the other locals hope that the ritual at the ghat, a popular destination for photographers looking to click the Taj Mahal at sunset, will find more takers and renew the Government’s efforts to clean the river.

The Pioneer, 5th October 2012

Archaeologists have discovered the tomb of a powerful seventh-century Maya queen in Guatemala, who carried the title 'Supreme Warrior', higher in authority than her husband, the king.

A team of archaeologists led by Washington University discovered the tomb of Lady K'abel, one of the great queens of Classic Maya civilisation during excavations of the royal city of El Peru-Waka' in northwestern Peten, Guatemala.

A small, carved alabaster jar found in the burial chamber caused the archaeologists to conclude the tomb was that of K'abel.

The white jar is carved as a conch shell, with a head and arm of an aged woman emerging from the opening. The depiction of the woman, mature with a lined face and a strand of hair in front of her ear, and four glyphs carved into the jar, point to the jar as belonging to K'abel.

"Based on this and other evidence, including ceramic vessels found in the tomb and stela (large stone slab) carvings on the outside, the tomb is likely that of K'abel," Freidel, professor of anthropology in Arts & Sciences and Maya scholar, said.

K'abel, considered the greatest ruler of the Late Classic period, ruled with her husband, K'inich Bahlam, for at least 20 years (672-692 AD), Freidel said in a statement.

She was the military governor of the Wak kingdom for her family, the imperial house of the Snake King, and she carried the title "Kaloomte", translated to "Supreme Warrior", higher in authority than her husband, the king.

K'abel is also famous for her portrayal on the famous Maya stela, Stela 34 of El Peru, now in the Cleveland Art Museum.

The Business Standard, 5th October 2012

Joggers will soon have to watch their step at Lodhi Garden. For, bandicoots are feasting on food left behind for birds by visitors, and have dug up burrows, leaving hundreds of holes that could cause cave-ins. The growing pack of rats has also gnawed into tree roots and water pipes, even causing a major leak last fortnight.

The hillock closest to gate no. 5 is the worst-hit. The digging, first noticed a month-and-a-half ago, is now weakening the soil around trees as well. A chamror (Ehretia laevis) tree — one of only four in the park — near the Amrita Shergill Marg entrance had to be barricaded a week ago. "People were leaving food there and the rats had burrowed so many holes that the tree was at risk," says Jitendra Kaushik of the NDMC, who is in charge of Lodhi Garden.

People throw food over barricades
Bandicoots are gorging on food left behind for birds by visitors at Lodhi Garden, and have dug up burrows, leaving hundreds of holes that could cause cave-ins.

"After barricading the chamror tree, people started throwing food over the fence," says Jitendra Kaushik, assistant director (horticulture) of New Delhi Municipal Corporation, in charge of Lodhi Garden.

Environment activists and NDMC authorities have been trying to ban visitors from leaving food on the premises but even posting guards hasn't worked. "If I try to stop them, they tell me to do my duty," says R N Singh, a security guard at the park. Besides foodgrains - lentils, bajra and corn - leftovers are dumped as well. Stale bread, rice, boiled sprouts are everywhere, on the ground and the stone platforms. Guards say one visitor was caught dumping a bagful of food from a hotel while another dumps 20kg of food daily. Besides keeping the bandicoots well-fed, the cooked leftovers lead to bacterial and fungal infections as well, say authorities. "It's a danger for morning walkers as the roofs of the tunnels burrowed may collapse under their feet," says Kaushik. The bandicoots, however, can be seen only after dark, when they emerge in packs. "They are big and even the few cats that hang about are scared of them," says Singh.

The holes were first spotted at the gate 5 hillock but the situation is worsening with burrows cropping up 100m away. A luxurious bougainvillea at some distance from the hillock had to be trimmed, which exposed the burrows, and now, several trees, including a large neem and an Ashoka, are standing on ground riddled with holes. Around a fortnight ago, the rats chewed into a water hydrant cover, causing a leak in the park's irrigation system, says gardener Basram.

"We can't use rodenticides. Rats will not die inside the burrows but come out, which will harm the birds," says Suhar Borker, founder of Delhi's Green Circle. The only way to save the park from this "infestation", he says, is to ban visitors from leaving food and then fill the tunnels and burrows - Borker calls them "bunkers" - with water to flush the rodents out.

The ban itself will be nothing new. Boards placed around the park two years ago discouraged visitors from feeding as it does more harm than good to the birds, including inducing blindness, besides damaging trees. Now, a new batch of bo8a8rds and signs are likely to come up, says Borker. That, or the growing burrows, might put an end to the killing kindness.

The Times of India, 5th October 2012

In a city as historic as Delhi, heritage walks are nothing new. However, a few individuals and groups are working to present little known aspects or newer perspectives on the city’s rich history – and the autumn weather is just right to explore it. Tonight, Old Delhi’s famous Chandni Chowk could be your first taste of experiencing the city along with a knowledgeable guide and an eclectic group of people. The recently launched Chandni Chowk Night Walk is the brainchild of curator Himanshu Verma, founder Red Earth and 1100 Walks.

The heritage of the city is much more than its famous monuments. It’s just as much about the people who lived here and their lives, as well how these places are populated now. Chandni Chowk is an example of the city’s continuance despite massive changes through the centuries,” he says. Through the walk expect to learn about this ever- changing city – from the 18th and 19th century architecture, to the 1911 shift of the capital of Imperial India and explosive growth in population that followed.

The walk starts at the 18th-century Shishganj Gurudwara, moves close to Mirza Ghalib’s home in Ballimaran on to Sunehri Masjid before heading out to Jama Masjid. It culminates with dinner at Moti Mahal restaurant, whose owners lay claim to the invention of a very ‘Delhi’ delicacy – the butter chicken. Inclusive of food, this walk will cost you Rs. 2000 and Verma promises that the experience will be worth it.Helping people explore another era of Delhi’s history is Sunil Raman, former BBC journalist and author of Delhi Durbar 1911. Raman’s walk, called Imperial Delhi, is run under the aegis of the India Habitat Centre. Starting at the Teen Murti House, the walk winds through Rashtrapati Bhawan, the South and North Blocks and down Raisina Hill, taking a 90-minute trail through some of the first buildings of New Delhi.

Raman says, “During my walk, the participants and I have conversations about the buildings. Many times I’ve had people show up with their grandchildren to recount some of their fondest, youthful days. Other times, diplomats or expatriates have recalled how their grandparents lived or worked in some of the buildings that the walk covers.” The walk is free but participants must register at the Centre’s programme desk.Another aspect of Delhi’s heritage is its Sufiyana culture and Delhi by Foot, a group that has been organising walks for about four years now. Focusing on Mehrauli, the walk takes a leisurely route through Mehrauli and introduces participants to one of the city’s oldest bazaars. The Dargah of Bakhtiyar Kaki in Mehrauli is where one can listen to praises of the divine.

Delhi Heritage Walks, another group working to familiarise people with Delhi tumultuous history, has started organising the Mutiny Walk, which takes participants through Shahjahanabad and the various sites associated with the Mutiny, including St James Church, the and cemetery nearby.

The Hindustan Times, 6th October 2012

Get ready for an international experience at the Kashmere Gate inter-state bus terminus. The ISBT, which has been under renovation for much longer than planned, is all set to begin operations from next month. "Of the 2,000 buses that operate from the ISBT, 500-600 had been diverted to the other bus terminals. They will resume operations from Kashmere Gate November onwards," said a senior official from the transport department. Though no date has been set for the inauguration of the revamped terminus, trials have already begun.

The first look is certainly impressive. Shiny escalators take passengers to different levels — ticketing has been kept on one floor while the bus bay is underneath. Apart from that, the terminus boasts of glass elevators, an air-conditioned waiting lounge, food court, an enquiry booth right at the centre of the terminus and state-of-the-art toilets. "The area for public use is almost complete, so starting operations will not be a problem," said the official. LED display boards have been fitted at the platforms. As part of the project, retrofitting of the building has been carried out to make it earthquake resistant.

However, final touches are yet to be added. For instance, platforms still need to be numbered along with the seating facility for passengers in the area around the bus bay. Work on water recycling, air-conditioning and sewage still needs to be completed. Sources added that the public information system has also not been installed yet. "Work on installing the machinery to announce arrivals and departure of buses and public help desks is still going on," added the official. Security equipment like metal detectors also have to be installed. "High-resolution CCTV cameras across the terminus along with other security equipment such as boom-barriers and an access-controlled system for buses have been put in place," the official said.

However, sources say that the initial hiccups have already been identified. "Though a few ticket counters for short distance travel have been kept in the lower section, most of the ticketing counters fall in the upper section. Commuters feel that getting tickets from the upper level may be a problem as they may miss the bus," said the official.

That's not all. While the fittings used for renovation are of an international standard, officials fear their usage may be a problem. In fact, two of the toilets which were in use during trials are already showing signs of rough usage. "Most people coming here are not used to these kind of toilets," the official rued.

The Times of India, 6th October 2012

The vulture population in Gujarat has dropped by a whopping 65 per cent since 2005. Sensing that diclofenac may not be the only significant factor in the steady decline of vultures, the state-run Gujarat Ecological Education and Research (GEER) Foundation, which coordinated the last four statewide surveys, is expanding research into other areas—increasingly scarce carcasses and loss of nesting sites.

The foundation has announced that an upcoming research would focus on Gaps in research on Vulture Ecology/Conservation.

Veterinary formulations of diclofenac, an anti-inflammatory drug that causes renal failure and visceral gout in vultures, were banned in 2006. But the drug is still available for human use.

Despite the ban in Gujarat, consecutive surveys since 2005 have found the vulture population to be steadily declining. However, the rate of decline appears to have slowed down slightly in the last two years as per the last survey conducted in May.

“Veterinary science tells us that diclofenac finds its way from cattle carcasses into vultures and causes renal failure and, eventually, death. This is indisputable and there are reports that diclofenac is still being used illegally for humans and livestock, but it has also been observed that the availability of carcasses has declined, leading to food shortage for the scavengers. In Gujarat, what happens in panjrapols (shelters for destitute cattle) is an important pointer,” said Bharat Pathak, director of GEER foundation.

“It used to be that the people who maintained these panjrapols would offer small sums to workers to take the carcasses away from the area. But now, it is the opposite. Workers are going to panjrapols for carcasses and, if there are any, pay for them. This is because there is commercial benefit from such carcasses now, every part is recycled and sold and in the process, vultures are left with little to feed on,” he explains.

Kartikeya Sarabhai, director of the city-based Centre for Environment Education (CEE), a centre of excellence under the Environment Ministry, said that proposals have been made to use panjrapols in a broader way for conservation, beyond what the Jain community had originally established them for.

“When we survey vultures, their population was always higher around panjrapols. This led us to believe that panjrapols could be used as very effective conservation instruments, especially because cattle can be monitored and when they die, their bodies can feed vultures without posing any toxic effects,” said Sarabhai.

Bakul Trivedi, secretary of the Bird Conservation Society, Gujarat, agreed that commercial use of livestock carcasses may be one of three major factors in the vulture population decline.

“Besides the scarcity of carcasses, large, old, trees that vultures prefer to nest in are also becoming scarce,” he said. The third major reason is the prevalence of visceral gout in vultures as tests on carcasses conducted by Bombay Natural History Society have shown.

GEER Foundation’s Pathak said future research would look into all these factors, particularly focusing on nesting site decline (environmentalists have long held the view that vultures are disliked by people and trees where they nest are often cut down to drive them away) and reconciliation of data as head counts often vary due to differences in survey methods.
The Indian Express, 7th October 2012

Did you know that there is another Taj Mahal built by another Shah Jahan?

If you mention Taj Mahal and Shah Jahan, but suggest a city other than Agra, could you be accused of making a monumental blunder? Not if you are in Bhopal. The Madhya Pradesh capital has its own Taj Mahal that was built by Shah Jahan, the begum of the erstwhile princely state of Bhopal, in the late 19th century.

Unlike the 17th century grief-stricken emperor who built the world-famous mausoleum in the memory of his wife, his namesake built a palace, where she lived and ruled from. The begum gave it a prosaic name, Raj Bhavan, which she later changed to Taj Mahal, on the suggestion of the British.

While lakhs of tourists troop to Agra to marvel at the symbol of eternal love, the bored visage of the lone guard in Bhopal tells you that he has not seen a visitor in a long time. It’s only when you enter Taj Mahal and walk around its numerous courtyards, large halls, long passages and open spaces that you realise how magnificent an edifice it must have been. But you can only witness this grandness if you bother to find the stairs, which are covered with vegetation.

With crumbling walls, faded colours and the plaster long gone, the facade is so unimpressive that you are likely to miss it unless you are looking specifically for Taj Mahal, which was one of the biggest palaces of that time and much admired for its beauty.

Commissioned in 1871, its construction spanned over 13 years. It looked so beautiful that the begum celebrated its foundation for three years with what was called “Jashn-e-Taj Mahal.’’ The palace included 120 rooms, a sheesh mahal and an elaborate fountain structure called “savan bhadon” that simulated the effect of rain.

Architect Savita Raje says, “It’s a unique palace, and not just for its design.” Taj Mahal was built as part of a complex of monuments such as the Benazir Palace (the begum’s summer residence) and the Taj-ul-Masjid (one of the largest mosques in Asia), along with three surrounding lakes. The wind blowing from the lakes kept the palace cool while the three lakes themselves were a fine example of surface-water harvesting. One can feel the difference in temperature even in the ruins. It’s a typical Indo-Saracenic building, with few closed spaces, and cool temperatures, says Raje, who includes the monument in the heritage walks she conducts for architecture students.

After Partition, several refugees were allowed to live in the palace. The last of the refugees moved out in the 1980s, taking with them slices of history and damaging the structure.

Taj Mahal has been neglected for quite some time except the brief period when the state archaeology department ¬carried out restoration in parts after taking it over in 2005. The government denotified it in 2011, hoping that it would be converted into a heritage hotel once the property was transferred to the tourism department. The move was opposed by some, saying that those running a hotel would tamper with the original structure.

Since then, the passage of time has ensured that the restored parts have come undone. The archaeology department says it has no funds for restoration and is unlikely to generate them in the future.

“There is nothing wrong in converting it into a heritage hotel or an activity centre that is viable,’’ says commissioner (archaeology) Pankaj Rag citing the example of Gohar Mahal, a smaller monument that regularly hosts exhibitions.

Till such time, the palace, and the bored guard, seem resigned to its neglect.

The Indian Express, 7th October 2012

The ill-fated ruler was farsighted in more ways than one. Restoring his mausoleum in Sasaram might be a good way to acknowledge his contribution, says R.V. Smith

The spotlight this week has to be on Sher Shah Suri, whose mausoleum in Sasaram, Bihar, was found dirty, defaced and utterly neglected by Union Minister Jairam Ramesh. The minister is a man of varied interests, as is apparent from his visit to an out-of-the-way monument last week, where only the local hoi polloi, particularly young lovers looking for privacy, are to be found day in and day out. The last resting place of Sher Shah’s father nearby is also a picture of desolation. Quite a contrast to his archrival Humayun’s tomb, now so spruced up under the Aga Khan Foundation restoration plan. Sher Shah died during the siege of Kalinjar in May 1545 during an explosion. He was mortally wounded and did not survive for long at a time when he was at the zenith of his power after ousting the Mughals, though temporarily. Had he lived on, Humayun might not have been able to win back his kingdom even with Persian help.

Sher Shah, acclaimed by most historians — particularly Dr. Kanungo — rebuilt Humayun’s Dinpanah (Purana Quila), one of whose prominent buildings is the Sher Mandal. It was there that Humayun eventually met his end after an accidental fall on the steps, which he was descending in a hurry to answer the evening call for prayer. The stair on which his foot got caught in his robes still exists and one can see that it is crooked and accident-prone. Was it a deliberate act by the masons or Sher Shah to teach a lesson to hasty enemies or a quirk of destiny that the stair should have been there in the first place? Secondly, the call for prayer was given at the wrong time by a man seemingly deputising for the regular muezzin while Humayun was scanning the skies for a constellation that “had swung into his ken” (to quote from Keats, as much an opium eater as the King). No doubt he was surprised by the early azaan, and his impulse to get down and rush to the masjid proved fatal. Was it kismet’s way of retribution for the sudden end of the Sur dynasty? One cannot help thinking thus, though it is not true.

In the case of Sher Shah, it is not known whether the gunpowder explosion at Kalinjar was an accident or a deliberate act by an envious soldier of his, perhaps harbouring ill will on behalf of the ousted Mughals. Some do not rule out this possibility at a time when victory was within easy grasp of the Afghan forces. Be that as it may, another surprising thing is, why did Sher Shah wish to be buried in distant Sasaram and not Delhi, which he had embellished with many buildings and even built a new city of Siri? The walls of his township still stand at places along with at least two gates — Lal Darwaza and Kabuli Darwaza. The simple answer is that the Afghan ruler was deeply attached to Sasaram, where he and his family had lived for long and where his father had died and was buried.

Giving concrete shape to his sentiments, Sher Shah built his mausoleum in his lifetime and that of his father too. And what a beautiful monument it is, situated in a mini-lake, with a baoli or step-well attached to it. Jairam Ramesh, in a letter to the Union Minister for Culture, Kumari Selja, as quoted by a news agency, has drawn attention to the deplorable state of the monument and the dirty water in the lake and the baoli, made filthier by human and animal excreta and dumping of other rubbish by visitors or vandals. And yet this magnificent building, according to reports, was included in 1998 in UNESCO’s tentative list of World Heritage Monuments, which included the Taj Mahal, Red Fort, Fatehpur Sikri and Qutub Minar.

That Sher Shah’s creation should be at par with such world-famous sites is all the more reason to preserve it for posterity. It is a tribute to a farsighted monarch who not only built the G.T. Road from Calcutta to Peshawar, lining it with trees, wells and sarais or inns for the convenience of travellers but also suppressed highwaymen. It’s certainly a long way from Bengal to Peshawar and that the project could be completed by the ill-fated ruler during the course of the five years of his brief reign is an example of his sagacity and administrative skills. Even the British made use of the Grand Trunk Road to establish an integrated countrywide link.

It was on Sher Shah’s policies that Akbar based his principles of governance to achieve tremendous success and gain the title of “The Great Mogol” the world over. In that sense, Sher Shah could be said to be his precursor, albeit unknowingly. Even the rupee was his coinage — how smoothly it fits into our modern-day financial dealings is evident. As homage to this wise ruler, the Archaeological Survey of India should take immediate steps to protect and preserve his mausoleum.

The Hindu, 8th October 2012

After battling water shortages for 10 long years, Bharatpur is again ready to host winged visitors in numbers not seen in the bird sanctuary since the 1990s. Water from the Goverdhan drain reached the park last week, promising a permanent solution to the water woes of Keoladeo Ghana National Park. The Goverdhan project, which became functional last Friday, uses a 17.4km pipeline to pump Yamuna flood waters from a reservoir on the Haryana-Rajasthan border to the park. The Rs 56-crore project was expected to kick off in 2009 but was delayed due to re-tendering and other formalities.

"The quality of water from Goverdhan drain is good. It even has fish. I haven't seen so much water in the sanctuary in the past 15 years," said Abhishek Bhatnagar, who heads a WWF project at Bharatpur.

As a result of plentiful water, park authorities are expecting a record turnout of migratory birds this the winter. Birds have already started flocking to the world heritage site, with painted storks, spoonbills, large and little cormorants, Indian darters, egrets, herons and saras cranes seen in the park.

Goverdhan drain ends water woes
Bharatpur is again ready to host birds as it received water from the Goverdhan drain.

"Many monsoon breeding birds have flown in to the park this year and we expect a large number of migratory birds this winter. The current water availability should support the growth of enough vegetation for all birds that come here this winter," said the park's field director, Khyati Mathur.

Bhatnagar said the park's troubles began in 2003, when the height of the Panchna dam on the Gambhiri river was raised from 253 metres to 258m, which effectively left no water for the sanctuary. Severe water shortage over the years has kept many migratory birds away from the park. The last three years were particularly bad for the park.

The maximum water capacity of the park is around 550-600 million cubic feet (mcft), of which 350 mcft is expected to be supplied by the Goverdhan drain each year. The park has also received close to 65 mcft water through the Chambal drinking water project. Though it is primarily a PHED project for Bharatpur and Dholpur, but given the crisis at the park, some water was diverted to it. Another 50 mcft was received from the Ajam Dam.

"The breeding birds at the sanctuary are a sight for sore eyes. It's been some time since the population of birds here was so good at this time of the year. The plentiful water will ensure a wonderful winter season, which will begin in early November," said Rakesh Fojdar, secretary of the Ghana Bachao Sanyukt Sangharsh Samiti.

The Times of India, 8th October 2012

An Urdu newspaper hand crafted by calligraphers
“The Moving Finger writes; and, having writ,
Moves on: nor all thy Piety nor Wit
Shall lure it back to cancel half a Line,
Nor all thy Tears wash out a Word of it.”

-- Verse 51 of Edward FitzGerald's translation of the Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám.

In a digital era where speed and immediacy of news reports has gained currency, The Musalman stands tall as perhaps the last hand written newspaper in the world today. From its small office in Triplicane in Chennai, all four pages of this Urdu daily are created by calligraphers or katibs and circulated to a small group within the Urdu reading population. In a film made by Ishani K Dutta last year, she speaks to the calligraphers who have dedicated their lives to the newspaper. At the office of The Musalman, no one has ever quit. It takes around three hours for the katibs to complete a page, before it is turned into a negative and printed to be made ready for the market. The film tracks the history of the newspaper that was established in 1927 by Chenab Syed Asmadullah Sahib and after his death, was being managed by his son Syed Faisullah and then his grand son Syed Arifullah. They believe that the handwritten pages are crucial to preserving the tradition of handwritten Urdu.

The film has been filmed and created by Carrot Films and produced by the Public Diplomacy Division of the Ministry of External Affairs.

The Hindu, 8th October 2012

Upkeep, exposure of monuments transferred to the varsity

“Do you know the name of the wise man who brought the Ashoka Pillar all the way from Meerut into the city to rest right here, in the middle of our university?” says Delhi University Vice-Chancellor Dinesh Singh.

Not receiving an answer, Prof. Singh explains it was around the 14th century that Emperor Feroz Shah Tuglaq brought this symbol of peace into the city.

The Vice-Chancellor also says that soon most people around the vicinity will know the answer to this question as well as several other questions about the historical ruins and magnificent edicts to our past that surround the university’s north campus — as the varsity has almost concluded a memorandum of understanding with the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), that transfers the upkeep and public exposure of the monuments over to Delhi University.

The historic flag-staff in front of the famous Ridge area, the Khooni Khan Lake within the ridge, the Ashoka Pillar and the Mutiny Memorial are all on the list.

“We had requested the ASI for the upkeep of the monuments and they responded magnificently, generously and with a sense of purpose,” said Prof. Singh, adding it was an onerous responsibility and that they had every intention of seeing that the monuments received every type of attention they deserved.

“We will be placing visual material strategically close to these monuments so that people know about the story behind every fading stone,” he said.

Heritage walks, sound and light programmes and hands-on learning of history for his students are all part of the big plans that Prof. Singh has in store.

“Come June 2013, our students from the four-year undergraduate programmes will be put in-charge of the heritage walk. They will also be responsible for working and coming up with visual material and scripts, anything that can help them learn history,” he said.

Recalling how the Anthropology Department itself was once a mess for the English Cavalry, Prof. Singh said: “It is things like this where history is learnt from — actually being in the place of the event and how the people in the past lived, that will be the USP of the four-year undergraduate courses”.

“We will also be approaching Delhi Government for carrying out the sound and light show on a regular basis at the Vice-Regal Lodge. It has been in the offing sometime now and we hope to start by June 2013, at the earliest.”

Although the script is not ready yet, Prof. Singh had earlier talked about his plans for the sound and light programme, which was to tell the incredible story of the Vice-Regal Lodge, the university and the personalities and events that the lodge silently witnessed. The opening act will begin with the Sepoy mutiny of 1857 when the British, be they soldiers, children or shopkeepers — whomsoever managed to escape the rioting crowds inside Delhi — made their way towards the Ridge, north of the city and took shelter at the Flag-staff Towers…a stone’s throw away from the Vice-Regal Lodge, then a nondescript hunting lodge set within wild forest.

The crucial seize of Delhi by the British, which wrested back the city from the rebellion, was also played out at the Ridge and might form a part of the show.

The Hindu, 8th October 2012

Special cover released after Delhi makes house sparrow its ‘state bird’

The campaign to save the humble house sparrow from extinction got another shot in the arm on Monday when India Post released the special cover commemorating the Delhi government’s decision to make the species the city’s ‘state bird’.

Designed by Nature Forever Society, the cover features a painting by UK-based artist Sue Tranter.

Coming close on the heels of the city government’s August 14 announcement to make the sparrow the state bird, the special cover was unveiled to increase public awareness, especially the need for habitat conservation in the urban environment.

Welcoming the move, Mohammad Dilawar of Nature Forever Society said: “For the past seven years, Nature Forever Society has been working to raise the profile of the house sparrow and to involve citizens from all walks of life in the conservation movement. The efforts are now bearing fruit as the sparrow is finally getting the attention it deserves. And till now, only exotic birds and tigers have been featured on stamps.”

“We thank India Post for bringing out a special cover, right after it was declared the state bird of Delhi,” Dilawar, who founded the society, said.

Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit had earlier expressed concern over the dwindling number of house sparrows (Passer domesticus subspecies indicus) in the city. She hoped that the new status would help conserve the species.

Once a common species, the tiny sparrow is now at the top of the list of birds facing extinction. “The bird has disappeared in the city because of rapid urbanisation. The sparrows fly within a radius of two-three km. We will have to create an atmosphere conducive to the habitat of sparrows in the city,” the Chief Minister said.

The Indian Express, 9th October 2012

Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit on Monday announced that Delhi government would soon sign an agreement with the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) for conservation and restoration of 16 more monuments in the Capital.

The decision to sign the agreement was made following a meeting of the Delhi Cabinet on Monday.

“A lot of work is to be done in terms of conservation and protection of monuments and so far INTACH has done well we have decided to sign another agreement for an additional 16 monuments in the city,” Dikshit said. She said the list of 16 monuments includes the gateways of Badarpur Sarai, the Northern and Southern Guard Houses, Chaumchi Khan’s Tomb and a tomb in the Mehrauli Archaelogical Park.

Officials in the Delhi government said they had launched a project in 2007 to survey, document, protect, conserve and restore ancient monuments of local importance and a memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed with INTACH to carry it out in two phases.

“In the first phase, INTACH completed field surveys, photo documentation, descriptions and site plans of 95 monuments and in the second phase, 17 monuments were selected for conservation and restoration,” an official said.

The second phase also included chemical cleaning and preservation, scientific conservation, landscaping and illuminating the monuments, all executed by INTACH. “Keeping in mind the impressive outcome of the earlier MoU, extensive resources and expertise of INTACH, we decided to further utilise its services for survey, protection and conservation of 16 other monuments,” Dikshit said.

The Indian Express, 9th October 2012

Sultanpur Bird Sanctuary opened for the public on October 2 with only one highlight. The park's only pair of resident saras cranes have had two chicks. While the parents can be seen strutting around the heronry, the babies are well concealed in the tall grass that is growing in abundance in the park this year.

"The park was initially scheduled to be opened on September 15 but the cranes had made their nest just off the main path leading towards the heronry and only one chick had hatched by then. We had to wait for the other chick to hatch before the public could be allowed inside. Letting people in any earlier might have been very dangerous for the eggs," said Kulwinder Singh, divisional forest officer of Haryana. Migratory birds have already started coming in but it will take a month or so before a sizable population can be seen. Of the winter migrants , a few raptors like the booted eagle, marsh harrier and white-eyed buzzard can be seen at Sultanpur and the neighbouring Basai wetlands.

Others that are easily visible include the norther n shoveler, gadwalls, common coot and common pochard. However, the biggest concern this year seems to be a loss of habitat for waders. The natural wetland is in a state of degradation with extremely tall grass. The only place where waders can be seen is an artificial water body that has been created on one side. Birds like ruff, green sandpiper, black tailed godwit and common red shank can be spotted here. Dr Surya Prakash, a birder who visited the park after it reopened, said, "It is still too early to find many migratory birds though some numbers have already arrived. Painted storks have started nesting in the heronry . So far, the area seems satisfactory for water and grass birds. However , the loss of wetland is a huge problem. Waders will simply bypass the area if they do not find suitable habitat. Places where hundreds of waders could be seen at one point are completely overgrown with grass now," he said.

Since the past few years, the park is being closed for a few months each year, ostensibly during the period when resident birds breed. However, sources say that the park authorities were caught on the wrong foot once when they drained the lake to kill off a variety of fish and no other park, including bigger ones like Bharatpur, are closed ever. "The decision was taken by the government to protect resident birds when they breed and we have seen positive results," said a source.

When asked about the poor maintenance of the park, the DFO says that they are starved of funds and have no money to carry out any work. "We are given Rs 2 lakh annually for maintenance work which is pittance for a park of this size. For a lot of other work, we had sent a proposal to the Centre and funds were sanctioned about two months earlier. That money has to be released to us by the state government but we have heard nothing from them so far. We have no resources to even cut the grass," said Singh.

He also attributes the condition of the park to a poor monsoon. "The wetland would have been fine had the monsoon been good this side. But the rain came quite late and it was too little in quantity. Even water for irrigation was delayed this year. A lot of work is required in the park but we are helpless," he said.

The Times of India, 9th October 2012

The Delhi Cabinet on Monday gave its nod for an agreement with INTACH for conservation and refurbishment work of 16 monuments.

Giving details after the meeting, Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit said a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with signed with the INTACH in October 2008 for survey, documentation, protection, conservation and refurbishment of Ancient Monuments of Local Importance and the work was to be done in two phases. In view of the impressive outcome of the earlier MoU and extensive resources and expertise of INTACH, the Government has now decided to further utilise its services for survey, protection and conservation of 16 other monuments.

The Hindu, 9th October 2012

The Delhi Cabinet on Monday gave the go-ahead for executing its agreement between the Department of Archaeology and the Indian National Trust for Cultural Heritage (INTACH) for conservation and refurbishment of 16 monuments in the city. INTACH, a conservation NGO, had already carried out refurbishment of monuments under the Delhi government in 2008 when the first memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed.
“In view of the impressive outcome of the earlier MoU, it has been decided to further utilise its services for survey, protection and conservation of 16 other monuments,” chief minister Sheila Dikshit said.

As mandated under the Delhi Ancient and Historical Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, the government had outsourced its ambitious project of survey, documentation, protection, conservation and refurbishment of ancient monuments of local importance to INTACH through the first MoU in October 2008 for three years.

In the first phase of its work, field surveys, photo documentation, brief descriptions and site plans of 95 documents showing topographic features were completed.

Based on this, the department is processing the notification for protection of various monuments.

During the second phase, 17 monuments were selected for carrying out chemical cleaning and preservation, scientific conservation, landscaping the surrounding, developing cultural notice board and signage and illuminating the monuments.

Sites to be refurbished

Mosque, Baoli & Water Channel DDA Park, Vasant Vihar
Mosque, Baoli & Water Channel DDA Park, Vasant Vihar
Gateways of Badarpur Sarai, Badarpur
Tomb, Sadhna Enclave
Baradari, Sadhna Enclave
Tomb, Archaeological Park, Mehrauli
Tomb near Mehrauli bus terminal
Imambara, Qutub Road
Tomb, Qutub Road
Northern Guard House, Northern Ridge
Southern Guard House, Northern Ridge
Chaumchi Khan’s Tomb, Mehrauli
Tomb, Katwaria Sarai
Tomb, DDA Park, Greater Kailash II
Tomb, Gautam Nagar
Jharna, Mehrauli

The Hindustan Times, 9th October 2012

The penetration of innumberable electro-magnetic fields into our urban spaces has wreaked havoc on our environment. The hardest hit have been insects and little birds because they are more sensitive and vulnerable. But we don’t seem to care much for that

I remember the monsoons in Delhi were wet, green and full of really interesting little bugs and insects I wouldn’t see usually. Evenings in the park were spent under bushes or crawling through the grass looking for anything with more than two legs. Little centipedes called kaankhajooras were always a hit. There were these wet earthy patches which had a peculiar smell and we were sure to findkaankhajooras there. Once in a while we discovered ‘nests’ with hundreds of them piled onto each other. Earth worms drowning in puddles, frogs near an old hand-pump, slugs, dragon flies, bees, snails, red ants and strange bugs that lived on the bark of trees. It was as if a bomb made of bugs had exploded, and with the explosion of bugs came the birds. Hoopoes, golden orioles, starling mynahs, spider hunters, sun birds, gray hornbills and of course the ones that never left until now, sparrows.
It’s nowhere near the same now. In just about three decades our nights have become silent. No crickets, no rustling of the leaves as bats foraged in the trees. Even the jhingur, which we would find hiding behind the sink around the drain, is gone.

Insects play a crucial though often unnoticed role and indeed hold the web of life together. Without insects to pollinate or become food for other species, the environment can quickly crumble. So, what happened to our green spaces? The local park, the terrace garden? Where did everyone go? A lot of heads came together to get to the bottom of this especially to answer the question about our missing sparrows. Many theories, debates and databases later there is some evidence to conclude that we’ve changed the environment, and specifically the air to such a degree that our neighbours have moved out. Some of course stayed behind, some are unaffected like mosquitoes and cockroaches, but most have left.

There might be many species we never noticed and now we won’t even know if they ever were here.

One of the biggest culprits has been cell phone towers. The towers are tall and emit microwave radiation over a huge area. Unfortunately what is being revealed now is that we’ve polluted the air space with many types of waves and radiation. Insects and birds leaving is an indication of the degraded environment we’re living in now. They are considered to be indicator species. With their smaller bodies they are more sensitive to changes in the environment and react to it much more quickly than we would.

It’s called electro-pollution. Electro-magnetic fields are unseen, un-felt and all around us, especially in the cities. Elecro-magnetic fields are generated by almost all electrical appliances including cell phones, microwaves, televisions, computers, WiFi and voltage stabilisers. Now imagine what exists in our homes at a larger city level — cell phone towers, power lines, power grids. There is literally a blanket of an electro-magnetic field around us. Of late, there has been a debate about the effects of these on people, and some truly scary facts have come up. It’s been suggested that health and electro-pollution seem to have a direct connection with each other. Rising cases of illnesses related to the heart, tumors, cancer as well as ‘newer’ disorders like depression, chronic headaches, insomnia etc are being linked to electro-magnetic pollution.

A few years ago an experiment was conducted by researchers in Russia. They continuously exposed chicken embryos to microwave radiation. After 21 days of exposure 75 per cent of the embryos died. Dimitris Panagopoulos and Lucas Margaritis, both professors of Cell Biology and Electron Microscopy, wrote a paper on the effects of electro-magnetic frequencies on the offspring production of insects. They exposed fruit flies to cellular phone radiation including a GSM field which most phones now have for only six minutes a day over five days, and found that there was a dramatic decrease in their reproductive capacity. They also exposed the flies to other forms of electric and magnetic radiation and found the same result.

A few years ago an experiment was conducted by researchers in Russia. They continuously exposed chicken embryos to microwave radiation. After 21 days of exposure 75 per cent of the embryos died. Dimitris Panagopoulos and Lucas Margaritis, both professors of Cell Biology and Electron Microscopy, wrote a paper on the effects of electro-magnetic frequencies on the offspring production of insects. They exposed fruit flies to cellular phone radiation including a GSM field which most phones now have for only six minutes a day over five days, and found that there was a dramatic decrease in their reproductive capacity. They also exposed the flies to other forms of electric and magnetic radiation and found the same result.

We’ve all noticed the sparrows, earthworms and butterflies have gone missing and which are only now sometimes seen in the odd plant nursery. In fact, whenever I visit a nursery the same woody earthy smell of parks from years ago is there and so are the bugs. Not as many in number or variety, but a few for sure. Little mounds of tiny pellets made by earthworms, hairy caterpillars and strange white bugs which secrete a yellow fluid. These green spots in our cityscape almost seem like all that’s left behind.

Over the years there seems to have been a growing trend towards ornamental and evergreen plants. The plants and trees we now choose are very often non-fruiting and the kind that don’t shed leaves. One of the reasons possibly being to avoid the ‘mess’ that is created each season when most plants shed leaves and drop fruit. With Chinese palms, fast growing ‘green’ trees and pruned bushes our green spaces don’t provide the environment necessary for biodiversity to exist. And from what I can tell by reading numerous reports is that this is happening all over the world.

India is on the list of the 17 ‘mega-diverse’ countries in the world. With almost 70 per cent of the country surveyed, 45,000 plant species and 89,492 animal species have been recorded including 59,353 insect species, 2,546 fish species, 240 amphibian species, 460 reptile species, 1,232 bird species and 397 mammal species. The uniqueness of the diversity is revealed with the astounding number of endemic species we have. There are 4,950 species of flowering plants, 16,214 insects, 110 amphibians, 214 reptiles, 69 birds and 38 mammals that are endemic to India. Unfortunately, we are losing species to extinction as you read this. In the past century we have the Indian cheetah, the lesser Indian rhino, the pink-headed duck, the forest owlet and the Himalayan mountain quail along with several others that have been classified as vulnerable or endangered.

It is a fact that up to 75 per cent of the world’s natural resources are consumed by the world’s cities. It’s been predicted that urban growth will increase dramatically over the next 40 years consuming agricultural land and covering an area three times that of France. It is now more important than ever to understand the link between a healthy ecosystem and bio-diversity for the functioning of a city.

A few years ago a historic initiative was taken with the forming of the Global Partnership on Cities and Biodiversity’. It bought together various UN agencies, international organisations and local Governments to engage cities in the fight to reverse the loss of biodiversity by 2010. While steps are taken and conventions attended with many signatures, it’s only when the situation changes at the ground level will things actually start looking up.

Our connect with the environment has faded over the years. With cities, towns and villages racing to modernisation, efficiency and technology, we’ve overstepped some boundaries.

Einstein had famously said that, if the bees disappear, in five years so will mankind. In school we all learnt about the pyramid of life, and how we’re all connected. It is a lesson we must re-read and re-learn before it’s too late.

The Pioneer, 10th October 2012

A recent archaeological survey has led to the discovery of rare megalithic sites in two districts of Chhattisgarh establishing signs of prehistoric settlements in the area.

“We have found more than 200 megalithic sites in the districts of Dhamtari and Mahasamund during a megalithic survey recently. Many of them can be classified as rare megalithic sites. Monuments erected in these sites are found to be 10 ft-12 ft tall. In normal megalithic culture, monuments measuring no more than 4 feet have been recorded so far,” Atul Kumar Pradhan, the archaeologist working under Chhattisgarh government’s culture department said.

In archaeology, megalithic monument denotes construction involving one or several roughly hewn stone slabs of great size. It is usually of prehistoric antiquity, erected for funerary or religious purposes.

Signs of megalithic culture have been found in Europe and Asia. In India, megalithic culture is traced back to Iron Age, the last phase of prehistoric period.

Two types of megalithic sites have been recorded so far — habitation sites, built for religious purposes, and burial sites, erected in memory of the dead.

The latest archaeological survey in Chhattisgarh has found megalithic sites in Bisrampur, Sanoli and Dargahan in Dhamtari district and Baratia Bhata in Mahasamund district.

The exploration has yielded megalithic monuments in form of menhirs (a tall upright stone of a kind erected in prehistoric time as a memorial or a monument), cap stones (resembling a cap hanging on a vertical structure) and cairn circle (a huge stone encircled by stones).

The menhirs are 10-12 feet in height.

With the season of festivals and holidays drawing near, the Supreme Court on Tuesday served some good news for wildlife enthusiasts by indicating that it would lift the two-and-a-half month old ban on tourism in core areas of tiger reserves next week.

After additional solicitor general Indira Jaising informed that National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) would notify new guidelines permitting regulated tourism in core areas within a week, the court fixed further hearing on October 16 and said on that day, it would "modify or vacate" its July 24 interim ban order.

A bench of Justices A K Patnaik and Swatanter Kumar realized that the court could not have passed the July 24 order on a special leave petition challenging an interim order of Madhya Pradesh High Court and said, "The Supreme Court could not in these proceedings either put a stamp of approval on the NTCA guidelines or quash them."

After the interim ban, the NTCA revisited its guidelines on tiger reserve management, made a U-turn, and framed fresh guidelines giving importance to public participation in efforts to conserve tigers and recommended limited tourism in 20% of core areas under strict supervision of forest officials.

Given the legal status of the guidelines framed by NTCA under its statutory obligations, the bench said, "NTCA may therefore issue the formal notification notifying the comprehensive guidelines in accordance with the Wildlife Conservation Act. The additional solicitor general appearing for the NTCA submits that the requisite notification will be issued within a week. List the matter for further hearing on Tuesday, October 16, for consideration of the prayer for vacating/modifying the interim order."

The SC's July 24 interim order banning tourism in core areas of tiger reserves had cut off access to popular tourist destinations like Dhikala in Corbett National Park. It had brought politicians and environmentalists together in citing the importance of tourism in core areas for protecting the endangered big cat from poachers.

What the court was concerned about was rampant commercialization of buffer and core areas of tiger reserves without proper demarcation of these two important areas in protected forests. Its interim ban had shaken the NTCA to shed its lethargy and consult stakeholders before framing fresh guidelines on a war footing.

On July 9, the ministry of environment and forests (MoEF) had filed the 'Guidelines for Ecotourism in and around Protected Areas' in the apex court and said, "Any core area in tiger reserves from which relocation has been carried out will not be used for tourism activities."

The guidelines were based on key recommendations of the Tiger Task Force (2005) and were in sync with Section 38(v) of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 (as amended in 2006), which defined core/critical wildlife habitats as such areas that needed to be kept inviolate for tiger conservation without affecting the rights of Scheduled Tribes or forest dwellers.

On September 26, the NTCA submitted new guidelines to the SC and said tourists were permitted to visit only 20% of core areas of tiger reserves and it was well within ecologically permissible levels.

Taking into account the court's concern for tiger conservation, the NTCA had said conservation efforts must have public participation and regulated tourism was an effective and invaluable tool to harness community support for this purpose.

It had said, "With the importance of tourism in tiger conservation in mind, it is recommended that a maximum of 20% of the core/critical tiger habitat usage (not exceeding the present usage) for regulated, low-impact tourist visitation may be permitted."

The core area is kept free of biotic disturbances and forestry operations, where collection of minor forest produce, grazing and human disturbances are not allowed. The Act defines buffer zone as the area peripheral to the critical tiger habitat or core area providing supplementary habitat for dispersing tigers, besides offering scope for co-existence of human activity.

The Times of India, 10th October 2012

With Yamuna water showing a shocking increase in levels of dissolved human waste and a corresponding drop in dissolved oxygen levels, the Supreme Court on Wednesday asked Centre, UP, Haryana, and local civic bodies in Delhi to give an account of the over `1,062 crore incurred on cleaning Yamuna so far.

“It is unfortunate that huge public funds were spent without showing any improvement in water quality of Yamuna,” remarked a bench of Justices Swatanter Kumar and Madan B Lokur, based on a report submitted by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).

Water samples tested at 14 locations across the stretch of Yamuna beginning from Hathnikund (Haryana) till Agra near Taj Mahal showed how the river showed excess pollution on all parameters namely, coliform bacteria count, dissolved oxygen level, bio-chemical oxygen demand, and ammonia level. The pollution of the river increased steeply on entry of river into Delhi at Nizamuddin Bridge, further at Kalindi Kunj, Okhla, till the course of river reached Palwal in Haryana.

CPCB counsel Vijay Panjwani took the court through the various parameters measured by the experts’ team that visited the 14 spots. For instance, he pointed to the high level of coliform bacteria in the river which pointed to the presence bathroom and kitchen waste discharged into Yamuna. For testing water quality, a count of 5,000 MPN/100 ml is a healthy sign. But at Nizamuddin, the count is a whopping 1,700 crore, and remains so at Kalindi and Okhla. Only on reaching Palwal, the count drops to 80 crore MPN/100 ml.

Even dissolved oxygen level in the water was found to be too low. The desirable level for testing this parameter was 4 mg/litre. At Palla, the point just before Nizamuddin, the water records a healthy level of 6.2 mg/l which drops to 0.7 mg/l at Kalindi. Expected BOD level in water too was found to be way beyond the prescribed limits. Instead of desirable maximum limit of 3 mg/l, the river flowed through Delhi with 37 mg/l recorded at Nizamuddin that steadily rose to 99 mg/l at Okhla.

Faced with these figures, the bench wondered what had happened over the years, especially since the court was monitoring the situation since 1994. “It has been brought to our notice that despite Centre spending more than `1,062 crore in addition to amount being spent by local authorities in Delhi, Haryana, and UP, the pollution of Yamuna has increased by the day.”

To add to the apathy, when the court quizzed the local bodies, none was willing to shoulder the blame, forcing the court to appeal, “For once, let all authorities make a joint effort to clean Yamuna in the interest of public.”

It asked Chief Secretaries of the three States, Union Secretary of Urban Development and Environment and Forests, DDA Vice-Chairman, Municipal Corporation Commissioner, and Delhi Jal Board CEO to file personal affidavits before October 30 giving details of the funds spent, existing sewage treatment plants and their functional capacity, points where drains opened into the river, and estimated time to complete pending projects under Yamuna Action Plan.

The Pioneer, 11th October 2012

Intelligent management of ecosystems can help to turn local economies around and give destitute households a chance to increase their incomes

Protecting biodiversity is humanity’s insurance policy against the unprecedented biodiversity loss and ecosystem degradation which has occurred in recent decades, undermining the very foundations of life on earth.

This is why this week’s 11th Conference of Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity in Hyderabad, which India is hosting, is so important. The thousands of experts and officials representing nearly 200 countries attending the conference carry the enormous responsibility of facing the difficult trade-offs that lay at the heart of biodiversity management.

In the race to increase national income, countries around the world are over-exploiting biodiversity by failing to integrate environmental measures in fisheries, agriculture, infrastructure and mining. This approach is understandable when governments are trying to quickly raise living standards but the risk of mismanaging biodiversity far outweighs short-term gains, reducing the ability of the environment to sustain the present generation, let alone meet the needs of future generations.

A key theme of the conference is the impact of biodiversity loss on the poor. Dependent directly on nature for food, clean water, fuel, medicine and shelter, poor households are hit hardest by ecosystem degradation.

COMMUNITY-BASED MODELS

In India, where ecosystem services account for 57 per cent of a poor household’s income and nearly a quarter of the country’s population depends on non-timber forest produce for their livelihood, important community-based models for managing diversity are showing impressive results.

An example of this is the village of Gundlaba in Odisha where the 1999 super cyclone destroyed habitats and livelihoods, mangroves and forests belonging to coastal villages. Fearing that their community may not recover, the village women formed a Forest Protection Women’s Committee. During the past 12 years, the committee has worked together to regenerate mangroves and other forests. Forest cover has gone up by 63 per cent and fish catch has increased from one to five kilograms per family.

The story of Gundlaba shows that the weight of ecosystems in the lives of the poor represents an important opportunity for achieving broader social and economic goals. Proper and intelligent management of ecosystems at the local level can help to turn local economies around and give destitute households a chance to increase their incomes. This is an important lesson to share with the world.

Investing in the protection of biodiversity is another important lesson. A government of India initiative to increase coral reef cover in the Gulf of Mannar Biosphere Reserve on the Tamil Nadu coast, which the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Global Environmental Facility are proud to have supported, has resulted in diversified livelihoods at the local level and increased income. As a result of this programme, more than 24,000 women now have access to more credit from microenterprises and thousands of young people have taken up new vocations after receiving technical training.

Recognising our shared responsibility to promote proper management of biodiversity, the UNDP at the global level has worked closely with partners in 146 countries to develop a Biodiversity and Ecosystems Global Framework to accelerate international efforts to reverse biodiversity loss and ecosystem degradation. The framework represents an important shift in focus towards harnessing the positive opportunities provided by biodiversity and natural ecosystems, as a driver for sustainable development.

The framework takes into account the real value of biodiversity and ecosystems to society—in relation to secure livelihoods, food, water and health, enhanced resilience, preservation of threatened species and their habitats, and increased carbon storage and sequestration—and calls for innovation to achieve multiple development dividends.

The officials and experts attending this week’s conference will have the chance to debate important issues related to biodiversity management. With so much at stake, we hope that participants are able to establish an effective governance system for making and implementing decisions on matters affecting biodiversity and ecosystems and discuss candidly the capacity of markets to reflect the real value of ecosystem goods and services and the true costs of losing them. Agreeing on ways that governments and markets can increase the flow of ecosystem services for the poor is equally important.

(Lise Grande is U.N. Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in India.)

The Hindu, 11th October 2012

Union Minister for Environment and Forest Jayanthi Natarajan has announced that the central government would provide an un-manned remote-controlled aircraft and an electronic surveillance system for protecting the rhino and other wildlife in Kaziranga National Park in Assam that recently witnessed a spurt in killing of flood-hit rhinos by poachers on the prowl.
Natarajan was on her maiden visit on Wednesday to the abode of one-horned rhinoceros, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, which suffered extensive damages recently to its infrastructure due to three waves of floods since June this year.

She also announced a grant of Rs 1 crore for taking immediate measures to repair the damages caused by three successive waves of floods in the rhino sanctuary known all over the globe for its diversity of faunal resources.

"We are happy with the announcements made by Natarajan. The un-manned remote-controlled aircraft and the electronic surveillance system, once installed will further strengthen the wildlife protection measures in the park that is known for the highest concentration of one-horned rhinos on the globe. It also has the highest density of endangered tigers," Assam Forest Minister Rakibul Hussain said.

He said the electronic surveillance system would include a series of towers with remote-controlled electronic cameras including night-vision and thermal imaging devices in and around the 850-sq km national park. It will help the wildlife personnel to have real-time images of any suspicious movement inside the park that in turn will further help in checking poaching of rhinos.

Natrajan also reviewed of the existing protection and anti-poaching measures in the national park with Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi [ Images ], state forest minister Hussain and senior officials of the state and central government.

Eleven Kaziranga rhinos have been killed by poachers in the current year while 28 rhinos have died during three waves of floods that hit the park since June this year. Kaziranga currently boasts of a treasure trove of more than 2,100 rhinos apart from nearly 100 endangered tigers and a large number of animals of various other species.

The Assam government submitted a memorandum to the Union minister seeking support to construct at least 50 more raised earthen highlands inside the park to help flood-hit animals to take shelter on those during the flood. The state government has also asked for assistance to set up 20 more anti-poaching camps in the outer fringes of Kaziranga.

Such anti-poaching camps in fringe areas have become a must in Kaziranga Park to prevent incidents of poaching of rhinos outside the park's core areas as recently happened during the flood.

The Assam government also sought Centre's assistance for replacing the existing wooden bridges inside Kaziranga with bailey bridges. Animals used to get killed when water hyacinth and other vegetation get stuck under wooden bridges during the flood.

Image: A one-horned rhinoceros walks in Kaziranga National Park in Assam

The Indian Express, 11th October 2012

The ambitious project of illuminating centrally-protected heritage monuments in the city ahead of the Commonwealth Games 2010 has met with a sad end. Two years after the Games, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is facing more problems than benefits from the illumination of monuments. Theft of equipment, damage to the delicate and expensive lights and broken glass encasement or wirings are a few of the problems that have left most monuments in the dark.

The ministry of tourism had sanctioned Rs. 23.75 crore to India Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC) to illuminate 13 ASI monuments but the latter has washed its hands of the responsibility now.

"We have done our job and handed it over to the ASI. We have no role now," ITDC's Lalit Panwar said.

Thanks to the power-guzzling lights, the illumination of monuments also incurred huge electricity bills. The cash-strapped ASI opted to shut down most illuminations, except at the three world heritage sites and those on important roads.

DN Dimri, ASI's Delhi circle chief, said, "I have asked the officials concerned to calculate the average running cost of the illuminations so as to make a provision in the next budget."

For the damages, the ASI has identified two monuments -Purana Qila and Safdarjung Tomb. At the Safdarjung Tomb, most electrical fixtures have been damaged. The focus lights have been overturned and at a few places, the stream of lights lining the pathways in the lawn has been damaged.

"We will prepare an inventory on the existing functional infrastructure available and damaged equipment/fixtures," he said.

The Hindustan Times, 11th October 2012

Experts and officials are alarmed over the mounting pressure on Environment Ministry by the PMO and Finance Ministry on the issue of project clearances. First it was over the proposed National Investment Board (NIB) which would act as a final body for clearing big investment proposals followed by a missive from the PMO on proposal to exempt the Ministry from providing mandatory clearance to linear projects under Forest Rights Act (FRA).

While alleging that it is a brazen effort to bypass the MoEF in its purpose of acquisition of forest land, they have questioned that if economic progress could not be achieved in 96 per cent of country’s landscape how can the miracle be achieved in barely 4 per cent of the area comprising its protected areas. They have lauded the steps taken by Environment Minister Jayanthi Natarajan in writing to PMO against NIB. Pointing to the recent letter from the PMO to the Environment Minister proposing to keep away the Ministry from awarding clearances on FRA, a senior official pointed out “it is difficult to acquire forest land for infrastructure projects”. He felt it is a deliberate effort on the part of the highest office to keep away the project proponents from the various committees and boards under whose scanner the proposals have to pass prior to getting clearances.

By trying to keep MoEF away from the process the project proponents would get a free hand to negotiate with the forest communities directly who either have individual or community rights of the respective forest land under FRA thereby simplifying the process of forest land acquisition. Former member National Board For Wildlife and environmentalist Praveen Bhargav pointed out that hundreds of peninsular rivers originate from the forests. A wealth of bio-diversity these forests are the storehouses of various ecosystem services which are an integral part of our economy. Thee forests constitute barely 4 per cent-5 per cent of the country’s landscape and destroying them can not bring about development. “We want the right amount of monsoons at the right time but if forests are not protected, how can this be possible”. The linear projects according to him are the most destructing in terms of fragmentation of forests and protected areas. When there are technologies and means of underground diversions of these projects, can’t there be an additional investment for barely a couple of kms in this regard. CAMPA fund for instance has accumulated to `25,000 crores which could be utilised for such purposes, he added.

Standing Committee Member of National Board For Wildlife (NBWL) Kishore Rithe felt, “the apex bodies responsible for protection of wildlife and forests can not be ignored in the name of development”. Such one-sided policy making process would be detrimental to the developmental process. Pointing to a part of the letter of the PMO whereby the Agriculture Ministry has urged the PMO to get the MoEF to lift its objections to the Biotechnology Regulatory Authority Bill pending in Parliament he pointed to the Biodiversity Act 2002 which empowers the MoEF to protect the genetic biodiversity of agricultural products.

The Pioneer, 12th October 2012

India, which recently took over as President of the Conference of Parties (CoP) to the Convention on Biological Diversity, is ready to help other developing countries in building capacity and raising awareness of biodiversity conservation.

This was stated by M.F. Farooqui, Special Secretary, Ministry of Environment and Forests, at a press conference on Thursday, on the sidelines of the ongoing 11 CoP here.

Replying to a question, he said that on the one hand India was facing biotic pressure and surge for growth and, on the other, was maintaining the status of a mega biodiverse country.

Referring to the Science Express-Biodiversity Special Train launched to raise awareness, he said as many as 1.4 million people had so far visited it, while the target was five million. “We want to share this experience with other developing countries,” he said, pointing out that lack awareness was one of the biggest issues. India’s other priority area would be to establish a close linkage between issues of biodiversity and livelihood as also mainstreaming it with development

To a query on establishment of a contact group due to a lack of consensus among nations on resource mobilisation to achieve the 20 Aichi Biodiversity Targets, Mr. Farooqui admitted that it was a “difficult and challenging issue.” He, however, expressed confidence that consensus would be arrived at and India would play a constructive role in ensuring that there was a satisfactory outcome at CoP 11, being attended by delegates from 193 countries.

Mr. Farooqui said India was spending about Rs. 11, 000-crore annually on biodiversity related activities. “We have about 4.7 per cent of land area of the world, 18 per cent of the world’s population and 8.5 per cent of biodiversity. The government would like to ensure that awareness levels are increased further and capacity building [is] broad-based. “The country has a tradition of protecting biodiversity. Besides initiatives of government at various levels, the local people themselves protect forests.”

Asked if India raised any objection on any issue during the current negotiations, he said its stand in many ways was close to that of the developing countries. “We will not compromise on our national interests.”

The Hindu, 12th October 2012

After the police refused to provide security, the North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) on Thursday urged the Delhi High Court to provide paramilitary force protection to its demolition team to raze an illegal structure on the Jama Masjid Metro station site. The Archeological Survey of India (ASI), too, told the court that demolishing the structure would be necessary to start excavation work at the station site.
The ASI has been asked by the court to ascertain if the ruins, which surfaced during digging, were indeed from the Mughal era and remains of the Akbarabadi Mosque as claimed by Matia Mahal MLA Shoaib Iqbal and his supporters.

"It is wrong to blame us for the non-implementation of the court's unequivocal demolition order dated July 30. The non-compliance is because the police are refusing to provide security. If they continue to filibuster, there are other paramilitary forces who may be asked to provide us cover," NDMC's lawyer told the court.

The police had earlier expressed their helplessness in providing protection to the demolition team, saying that they feared a communal flare-up. They urged the court to direct Matia Mahal MLA Shoiab Iqbal, who had allegedly raised the structure on the ruins, to demolish it himself.

Standing counsel for the police Pawan Sharma repeated the stand in the court, saying that the police did not wish to take any action till the ASI came up with its final findings.

Meanwhile, the ASI told a special bench headed by Justice SK Kaul that IIT Kanpur had started conducting Ground Penetrating Radar Survey (GPRS) of the area and has filed a preliminary report. The final report will be ready by October 20, it said.

The court slammed Iqbal for seeking a stay on the demolition order till the ASI came up with its final report and taking the ground that "the area was pre-dominantly occupied by the minority community.” “We are not looking into minority-majority angle. No one can take law into their hands. We are only enforcing the law,” Kaul said.

The Hindustan Times, 12th October 2012

Just a year after the renovated Palika Bazaar was inaugurated by the chief minister, Sheila Dikshit, it is in urgent need of repairs and maintenance.Overflowing drains, lack of sanitation, poor maintenance and gradual increase in tehbazaaris outside the market are driving the 400-odd traders to despair. Despite spending Rs 30 crore on the market's renovation, traders say, New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) has failed to address their basic problems. As a result, business has sharply declined over the years.
While renovating the market, the NDMC didn't replace the old drainage and sewer pipelines . Recently, the civic agency had to dig up a portion of the market as it had got waterlogged . This section, which is filled with drain water, is right next to the only escalator. "This is extremely dangerous, as the water level is high. An accident is waiting to happen,'' said Dinesh Gaur, president of Palika Bazaar Traders' Association. Though there is provision for two escalators, the civic agency has installed just one. "That also doesn't work most of the time," said Gaur.

Gaur claims the market association had made several representations before the NDMC officials asking for changing of the drainage system while the renovation work was on. "But our requests fell on deaf years. The market was constructed in 1978. Over the years, the drainage pipes have got damaged and choked due to the massive construction work in Connaught Place. In some shops, water has seeped into the flooring. Shopkeepers are finding it difficult to stock their goods,'' said Mehar Elahi, vice-president of the association .

The false ceiling has developed gaping holes at various places due to water seepage. Though the market was renovated, the civic agency didn't do any waterproofing. According to a senior NDMC official, who is in-charge of the area: "The waterproofing has got damaged due to digging done by various departments in the park which is right above the market. Due to this, water has seeped in and damaged the false ceiling. We will carry out repairs soon. The life of waterproofing is not yet over. We will soon start doing fresh waterproofing of the market and it will be completed before 2015."

The market was one of the main centres for the disaster management mock drill conducted in the city in February this year. Interestingly , it is yet to get fire clearance from Delhi Fire Service. "We have asked NDMC to make some changes in the existing system. We are in the final stages of giving them fire clearance,'' said a senior fire officer. But the fire hoses installed in the market are locked in boxes which have iron grills. "This is a precautionary measure to prevent the equipment from being stolen. The keys are available with the security guards,'' said the fire official. "But NDMC chairperson Archana Arora said, "The fire safety equipment is not locked." Traders say sanitation is a serious problem in the market. The toilets are dirty and the fittings have been stolen. "It doesn't look like the market was renovated a year back. We have been asking them to hand over sanitation to us. As of now, the NDMC staff doesn't listen to us,'' said Pankaj Mehta, joint secretary of the association.

But the problem that directly threatens the very existence of the traders is the gradual increase in tehbazaaris outside the market. Though just 97 are allowed, traders say, over 200 are operational. The main entrance to Palika Parking and the market is blocked due to these tehbazaaris. Traders say the footfall in the market has dropped by 40% due to NDMC's inaction in controlling the number of tehbazaari sites. In September, Dikshit had directed NDMC to immediately find a solution to the problem after traders approached her. They are still waiting.

According to Arora, "We have been taking action in the past. I'll again ask my officials to take action against the illegal tehbazaaris. The false ceiling has caved in and we will repair it. I have asked my officials to submit a report regarding accumulation of water near the escalators. We are carrying out repairs.''

The Times of India, 13th October 2012

A huge dome-shaped white marble piece of a minaret has fallen off at the northern entrance of the 17th century Jama Masjid. The piece was big enough to create a dent in parts of the red sandstone stairs below. No one was hurt in the incident.
The marble piece broke and fell around 7am on Tuesday and when HT visited the spot on Friday, the rubble lay scattered near the gate even as the mosque was full of people.
On Tuesday, Mohammad Arshad was sitting near Gate number 3 of the grand mosque when he heard a loud thud. He found this dome-shaped minaret on the stairs. "It was early, so there were not many people around. Otherwise, someone could have been hurt," said Arshad, who mans gate number 3.

A similar minaret near the southern gate had fallen in 1992. But the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) had repaired and put it back.

Jama Masjid gets a large number of visitors, especially foreign tourists, every day apart from regular devotees.

Delhi government's Shahjahanabad Redevelopment Corporation (SRDC) is working on redevelopment of the Jama Masjid precincts. The decision to fund the project was taken a few months back. But a court case and the redevelopment plans both have been dragging on for over two years.

"However, the actual maintenance of the main structure remains with the ASI," said OP Jain, one of the directors of the SRDC.

But the mosque is not an ASI-protected structure. It was at the behest of then prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru that an arrangement was put in place. The ASI was assigned to take care of the conservation and preservation work for the main structure and the integrated finance department of the government foots the bill."

"ASI staff visit the mosque from time to time or the mosque authorities inform the ASI in case there is some damage," said ASI spokesperson BR Mani.

The Shahi Imam of Jama Masjid Delhi, Syed Ahmed Bukhari, said the mosque needs 5-7 years of repair works on a daily basis to avoid these kinds of accidents. "The government should save the Jama Masjid," he said.

The Hindustan Times, 13th October 2012

The Sunday Story Token approaches to conservation are leading to loss of healthy ecosystems. Natural forests are being replaced by weak monocultures in the name of afforestation, and tribal rights are ignored. Is India serious about saving its biological diversity, and giving forest dwelling communities a fair deal at least in the future.

The delegates from 192 nations now in Hyderabad for the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) would get a glowing picture of their host nation's biodiversity wealth going by their welcome kits. Stunning images of tigers and squirrels, peacocks and mountains are splashed across brochures, along with quaint tales of how Emperor Ashoka established the world's first nature reserves in ancient India in the second century BC, and idealistic Mahatma Gandhi quotes on how the earth provides enough for man's need, not greed.

It's a grimmer picture if one moves from glossy images to hard numbers.

On Friday, the Environment Ministry announced that over the last one year, it has permitted the legal diversion of more than 15,000 hectares of forest land, with the lion's share going to the mining industry. Over the last three decades, more than 11 lakh hectares have been diverted legally, not even taking into account the rampant illegal encroachment and decimation of Indian forests.

The country's national report to the CBD does show progress in afforestation, with 5 million hectares added over the last decade. But environmental experts bemoan the facts beyond those figures: untouched pristine forests are being replaced by paper and timber plantations in the name of afforestation, without any care for the loss of priceless biodiversity.

Putting a human face to those numbers paints bleakness into the picture.

Troubled tribals

On Monday, a group of Khairwar tribals from the Mahan region of Madhya Pradesh will arrive in Hyderabad to tell international delegates that their forest rights are being ignored in the drive for unfettered development. The government plans to give the green signal for mining the Mahan coal block, despite warnings from its own advisory committee that it will tear up pristine forests, harm biodiversity and threaten a nearby reservoir. Tribals insist that a forest clearance would be illegal as community forest rights have not been granted, in violation of the Forest Rights Act (FRA), 2006.

The FRA and National Biodiversity Act, 2002 have been cited as landmark measures showcasing India's progress on the path of biodiversity conservation over the last decade, with Environment Minister Jayanthi Natarajan telling CBD delegates that India has “a great deal to offer to the world in terms of our experience in protecting biodiversity with the active participation of the local community.”

However, activists working among these local communities say India had better put its own house in order before preparing lessons for the world.“What these legislations have done is to give a framework for people to assert their rights, and that is a positive step, but the government ignores its own laws,” says Shankar Gopalakrishnan of the Campaign for Survival and Dignity.

“Community protection of forest areas is the most effective way of biodiversity conservation. Far from recognising their efforts, the government regularly infringes the rights of forest dwellers,” adds Greenpeace campaigner Priya Pillai.

Moving from forests to rivers, Himanshu Thakkar of the South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People feels that the government is ignoring the three pillars of the CBD: conservation, sustainable use, and access and benefit sharing. “What kind of biodiversity conservation are you taking about when Environmental Impact Assessment Reports at best list out species in a river without even assessing what the impact of a dam would be on those species, or how it can be minimised? How is it sustainable use when each project is assessed on its own, without any thought of the cumulative impact of dozens of dams on a single river? And to speak of access and benefit sharing is a cruel joke, when those affected are not even considered for compensation or rehabilitation, leave aside participatory decision-making or benefit sharing.”

Eminent scientist M.S. Swaminathan has been one of the architects of the National Biodiversity Act, and a champion of the protection of traditional varieties of plants and the creation of community gene banks. However, his Research Foundation director Ajay Parida says the three-tier format of the NBA mechanism – national, state and local – has not been effective at the panchayat level. “There is a serious lacuna at the grassroots, where we have failed to create any economic stake in conservation. What economic incentive does a villager have to document and conserve a traditional variety instead of a higher-yielding hybrid?” he asks.

No incentive

Despite the existence of more than 32,000 panchayat-level biodiversity management committees, only 1,121 people's biodiversity registers are being maintained according to the NBA's fact sheets. “Rather than just listing species, they need to be able to link economic value to biodiversity resources,” says Dr. Parida.

The National Biodiversity Authority has formulated ten targets for 2020, mostly policy measures couched in ambiguous language about developing “national programmes”, “coordination mechanisms” and “cooperative approaches”, aiming to implement existing legislations better. One of the few specific goals is found in the sixth target, which calls for a modest two to five per cent increase in the area of forests, protected areas and marine and coastal ecosystems by 2017.

However, at a time when major voices in the government bemoan the “hurdles” that green clearances place in the path of economic growth, when the Finance Ministry is proposing a National Investment Board, which could override environmental concerns to fast-track approval for mega projects, the first target seems laughable. It reads: “By 2020, the national planning process of Government of India considers biodiversity as an integral part of national development that is reflected by biodiversity and ecosystem related issues as a part of implementation strategies across sectors, ministries and programmes with adequate and where possible specific financial allocations.”

“Today, biodiversity is seen as an 'impediment' to development, not an 'integral part' of it,” says Divya Raghunandan, campaign director at Greenpeace. “Facts have been presented repeatedly to show that economic bottlenecks are not caused by biodiversity concerns, but it's a convenient scapegoat.”

The Hindu, 14h October 2012

The ‘My Ganga, My Dolphin’ campaign in Uttar Pradesh picks up pace with WWF going into campaign mode in Narora

Once found in abundance in the Ganga river system, the number of dolphins has dwindled at an alarming rate in the past three decades owing to a host of reasons — shrinkage of habitat and industrial pollution being at the top of the table. According to a World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) estimate, the population of these graceful creatures plummeted from 4,000-5,000 in 1982 to a less than 2,000 at present. Moreover, their annual mortality rate is as high as 130 to 160 animals.

Incidentally, dolphins were declared India’s National Aquatic Animal in 2009.

In order to save the Gangetic dolphin from relegated to natural history book pages and find ways of increasing the existing population, WWF India, in partnership with the Uttar Pradesh Forest Department, has undertaken a survey of the number of dolphins in an approximate 3,000 km stretch of the Ganga and its tributaries Yamuna, Son, Ken, Betwa, Ghagra and Geruwa.

Speaking about the constant dip in dolphin numbers, Sandeep Behera, dolphin researcher and associate director of WWF India’s River Basins and Bio-diversity, held unplanned developmental activities along the rivers, indiscriminate fishing and habitat destruction as some of the prime causes behind it.

“The decrease in the number of dolphins in the 165-km stretch, including Narora, was due to the use of pesticides in the crops in fields by river, industrial radiation and pollution,” he added.

The WWF has set up an office at Narora in Uttar Pradesh’s Bulandshahr district to carry out an awareness campaign ‘My Ganga, My Dolphin’. The campaigners are reaching out to school students in the area, apart from trying to convince the fishermen and farmers. Earlier, the fishermen used to extract oil from the blubber of dolphins for its perceived medicinal properties to cure skin diseases, as fish baits and for soap making and tanning. Dolphin teeth were superstitiously used to cure children from having nightmares.

The local WWF representative Viveksheel Sagar said: “In Narora, we involved sadhus , fishermen and farmers in the project. While sadhus can preach in mandalis , fishermen can avoid indiscriminate fishing and farmers can stop using pesticides.”

To discourage the farmers from using spray pesticides and yet get good yield, they were taught wormiculture, which is preparing organic pesticide for free in 45 days using cow dung, food waste and earthworms. “We managed to pursue Jayshankar Singh Kushwaha, the only graduate in Narora’s Naudei ki Madhaiyya village. He convinced his family and they started wormiculture in 2010,” Mr. Sagar said.

When The Hindu visited this non-descript village of 1,100 people, we found two huge pits of wormi-compose/culture in the house of Chandarpal Kushwaha. They prepare the pesticide till June and use it throughout the year.

Excitedly showing a bunch of healthy brinjals, Chandarpal said that though hesitant initially, use of the pesticide has given good yield of crops. “Earlier we used to use 10 kg of urea in our 10 beegha fields, now we have to use only five kg of wormi-compose. We not only get better crop but also great prices in the market.”

Pramod Kumar Sharma in nearby Karnwas village maintains 22 wormi-compose pits and sell the fertiliser to 250 farmers. Each 50kg-bag fetches him Rs. 200.

Happy with the results, the Kushwaha family is helping in spreading awareness in nearby villages about the use of wormi-compose and saving the dolphins by keeping the river clean. Jayshankar said: “I tell them not to throw polythene bags and other waste in the Ganga.”

To check how clean the Ganga is on that stretch and watch dolphins, we head for a boat ride in the scorching but breezy afternoon. In the clear water with no trace of polythene or grime, we spot eight huge, grey dolphins — one even with four calves. They come out of water to breathe, creates a swirl in that area and a few seconds later, plunge back making a sooooos sound. Mr. Behera informed that 71 dolphins have increased since the survey in 2005 that recorded 600 animals.

The Gangetic dolphins, Plantaista Gangetica, are one of the four freshwater dolphins found and differ from the well known marine species. “They are 90 per cent blind as their eyes have no lens. So they use echo-location, creating sound to make out the topography. They have a long snout with which they grovel in mud for food. Because of less use of eyes, or environmental pollution, their eyes degenerate,” said Hari Singh, a WWF researcher. Because of the sound they make, local people call them susu orsooons .

WWF CEO Ravi Singh said that the river dolphin is an indicator animal, which has the same position in a river ecosystem as a tiger in a forest. “Listed by IUCN as ‘Endangered’ and placed in Schedule - 1 of Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972, the dolphin enjoys high levels of legal protection nationally and internationally. Yet its numbers continue to decline, in absence of a coordinated conservation planning, lack of awareness, continuing developmental pressures and almost no protected areas for the species.”

The Hindu, 14th October 2012

To observe the first ever International Day for the Girl Child, four monuments in Delhi and Hyderabad will be illuminated pink Oct 11, Bollywood actor Anil Kapoor said Tuesday.

Qutub Minar, Humayun's Tomb and Purana Quila in Delhi and Charminar in Hyderabad will be illuminated pink Thursday (Oct 11), said Anil Kapoor, goodwill ambassador for NGO - Plan India.

The buildings are being illuminated to spread the message of protecting the girl child.

"This is a subject close to my heart. I will say women are definitely superior to men. They should not just be supported but worshiped," Anil Kapoor said.

Superintending Archaeologist with the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) D.N. Dimri said: "We would like to associate in future in such activities as well. Next year, we would like to have more monuments lit."

This year Oct 11 will be for the first time celebrated as the international day for the girl child.

The Times of India, 14th October 2012

Barely a few metres from the cacophony and the chaos outside the New Delhi railway station on the Ajmeri Gate side lies an island of serenity. Anglo Arabic School, the more than three centuries old institution of learning, is probably the city's oldest school. The sprawling premises opens up to a different world.

"It was originally a 10 acre campus. Land was acquired when the railway line was laid in the early 20th century, leaving about seven acres," said Firoz Bakht Ahmed, who is on the panel of the governing body of the school.

It was founded by Ghaziuddin Khan, a leading Deccan commander, in 1692 during Aurangzeb's reign and named as Madarsa Ghaziuddin Khan. This was also the centre for Delhi's renaissance.

Rakhshanda Jalil in her 'Invisible City: The Hidden Monuments of Delhi' has documented the transition: "It has been, in its 300 years of existence, an Arabic madarsa, an oriental college, briefly an artillery barrack and a police station, a hostel, a madarsa again; now it is a high school with 1,900 students from class XI to XII."

It is more than a coincident that the premises is located at the junction of the Old and the New Delhi and has been a witness to three centuries of change. And there is a change right outside it too.

"The enclosure wall is also a part of heritage. Shops and rehdi-thelas clinging to it and the rain basera on the footpath have more or less become permanent fixtures," Ahmed said.

The Hindustan Times, 14th October 2012

Combining the virtues of wildlife photography with essays of a rich natural heritage, Santuary Asia’s ‘Wild Maharashtra’ offers rare insights

It is rare to get to know a bird like the small green bee-eater but Baiju Patil in the best traditions of wildlife photographers managed to do that last year. Waiting in chest- high water, complete with a tripod and camera, Baiju tracked the bee eater in the waters of Jayakwadi dam near Aurangabad for two months. “Every day I waited and watched the bird for four to five hours and even wore the same clothes so the bird would be familiar with me,” he says. A chummy relationship developed between him and the bird, at best a frisky creature, and he noticed the bee-eater often dived into the water. And the moment he was waiting for came without ceremony one day. The bird dived into the water and Baiju was there with his 300 mm lens to capture it emerging beak upward, the water droplets forming a halo around its curving wings to give him an award winning photograph.

His picture was chosen as the best in the photo contest held by the Maharashtra government and even made it to the cover of the recently released book published by Sanctuary Asia titled ‘Wild Maharashtra.’ Another of his photos which won the third prize is the glowing frontispiece of the large book, edited by Bittu Sahgal and Lakshmy Raman. The book has put together pictures from the competition which got over 350 entries and essays in a concerted effort to highlight the state’s biodiversity and natural riches. The chief minister’s foreword is proud to point out that Maharashtra is one of the few States which have over 200 tigers. There are four tiger reserves in the State and Nagpur is slowly emerging as the tiger capital of the world, says Praveen Pardeshi, secretary, forests. Both the forest department and the tourism department worked closely to envision this book aimed at promoting the state’s rich wildlife and historical legacy of forts and other heritage sites. The state has notified four more protected areas and for the first time given permanent employment to 6000 forest guards who have been working for 15 to 20 years. About 500 sq km of new sanctuary areas will go towards creating vital wildlife corridors and since these have no habited villages there will be no issues of resettlement.

Mr Chavan said that six national parks and 41 wildlife sanctuaries was a rich wealth intended to protect, showcase and also celebrate the biodiversity of Maharashtra. Right from the Great Indian Bustard to the Pangolin, to the fan throated lizard or the red rumped swallow the state has a rich fund of wildlife, apart from its burgeoning tiger population and a plethora of diverse habitats. The focus is also on involving local people in tourism around these forts and parks and near Sinhagad people have made Rs 1.7 crores from visitors and created jobs for over 100 youth.

Apart from excellent pictures, the book has essays by Bittu Sahgal, Erach Bharucha, Deepak Dalal, Ulhas Rane who writes on the Malshej Ghat region with its majestic forts familiar to many trekkers, chief conservator G Sai Prakash’s take on the Sahyadri Tiger Reserve which he knows inside out, conservationists Debi Goenka, Anish Andheria, Raman Kulkarni, Faruk Mhetar, Farah Vakil, Sarang Kulkarni on their favourite protected areas and herpetologist Varad B Giri who has a newly discovered snake species named after him, gives you the lowdown on reptiles and amphibians in Amboli in the Western Ghats. Kaas Plateau near Satara, nominated a World Heritage Site, and evocative of Kashmir with its carpet of myriad flowers get its due as also the spectacular Lonar Crater.

Maharashtra has its own set of dedicated wildlife researchers and Poonam and Harshawardhan Dhanwatey with their close association with the Tadoba Andhari Tiger reserve give a glimpse into the field level management of this reserve while photographer Aditya Dhanwatey writes about his pet subject-- the tigers of Pandharpauni. The efforts of conservationists like Kishore Rithe, Asad R Rahmani director Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS), Parvish Pandya, Ashish Fernandes, Girish Punjabi and others are also part of the book’s features as also the great riches of the State’s coastline, its wetlands, and little known wildernesses. No such book on Maharashtra’s wildlife can be complete without a mention of butterflies of which the Western Ghats offer a rich biodiversity and none better than Isaac Kehimkar of the BNHS to give an insight. Kehimkar’s The Book of Indian Butterflies has spawned an entire breed of butterfly watchers in the same mould as birdwatchers. The book rounds off with essays by Pardeshi, a personal account of his love and involvement in protecting and enjoying wildlife habitats and Sahgal’s concerns for the future.

The Hindu, 15th October 2012

R. V. Smith revisits the times when people waited for vendors to bring their daily delights from across the subcontinent

When the hot weather ended, it was time for the turbaned Paharwala (mountain man) vendor to return to the plains. In childhood one could picture him descending the mountains with a basket on his head, wrapped in a blanket, covered with snow and making his way to the hospitable streets and lanes of Delhi, where children and housewives eagerly awaited his coming. He would make his rounds in the afternoon, calling out “Paharwala, Paharwala”. He claimed to be an Afghan and fruits were his speciality. The pomegranates were from Kabul, the apples from Kashmir and the grapes from Chaman in Balochistan.

Years ago he used to accompany his burly father to the city, where both of them found lodgings in Ballimaran. The fruits were stored in a room there and replenished from time to time with fresh arrivals brought by their countrymen, at a time when travel between India and Afghanistan was hassle-free. Balochistan, of course, was part of the country for there was no Pakistan then and getting grapes from Chaman was as easy as procuring them from Pusa now. This agricultural institute was originally situated in Pusa in Bihar’s Samastipur district. It moved to Delhi after the original campus was destroyed in an earthquake in the third decade of the 20th Century. Incidentally, Prithviraj Chauhan’s son-in-law was killed in a battle near what is now the Indian Agricultural Research Institute campus in the late 12th Century and his wife, Bela committed sati. A temple in Jhandewalan is said to have been built by her.

Looking at the sprawling buildings of Pusa Institute, who would imagine that this place was nazul (government freehold lease) land up to 1935, where wheat and vegetables were grown by the villagers of Todapur-Dasgarha. It is nestled on the Ridge, with its abundance of babool (prickly acacia) trees, under which women bathed their rickets-infected children and those suffering from diseases like measles and smallpox or convalescing after an attack of typhoid or malaria. When one asked why so many dried bottle gourds (lauki) were hanging on the tree branches the reply from a village matriarch was, “Sookhey ki bimari khatam karne ke liye” (to end the disease that made babies sickly and weak). The gourds were tied with saffron strings and healthy children and pregnant women were warned against walking under the kikar trees for fear of catching an infection that could affect even those still in their mother’s womb.

However the Paharwala did not venture that far even after his father died. His beat, like that of the Khan Bhai selling pastries, was the Walled City and the Gali of Hakims, not far from Ghalib’s Mir Qasim Jan haveli. The Hindustani Dawakhana, established there by Hakim Ajmal Khan, was a prominent building even then.

Hakims, after examining their patients prescribed unani medicines and a diet of fresh fruit and vegetables. Apples and pomegranates along with anwale-ka-murabba were the usual supplements to good, healthy food, along with papaya, both ripe and unripe. The latter was good for the liver, with best results obtained by keeping it immersed in vinegar. The ripe one aided digestion, as did the sirka (vinegar)-matured small onion, and was a sure cure for constipation. Anwale-ka-murabba was considered beneficial for the heart and anar was a great pick-me-up for anaemic women. Would you believe it that one such suffering woman, who had been restored to sound health, was nicknamed “Anardana” by her doting husband. And this unfortunately turned out to be the cause of much friction in the locality, with amorous young men shouting “Anardana, Anardana” (pomegranate seed) whenever the pretty woman went for shopping.

Another fruit then very popular with patients was anjeer (figs). These were grown in isolated pockets in Delhi but the best ones were brought from Meerut, Sardhana and Agra, where Semy’s Bagh was famous for them. Dried figs were prescribed for a number of ailments, including those of the digestive system, and could be had from the grocer’s shop where they were hung in garlands to attract customers.

Paharwala added some of the local produce to give variety to the fruits he sold and there was no dearth of people waiting for him to make his daily visits. Closely following him was Kalewala, the dark, tall, thin man, wearing a tattered paghri on which rested his basket of stuff like bers (plums), tamarind, goolar, coconut, shakarkandi (sweet potato), am-ka-papad, karonde and pungent amruk. Monkeynuts he carried in a bag hanging from his shoulder. Just after Kalewala had made his round, appeared the one-eyed papadwalah and Reti, a wizened old man who sold halwasond, gajak, dal-seo, salt and sweet sankhein. When Reti (actually Raoti) left, the bearded vadahwala entered the galis crying “Yeh tau dahi vadah / Yeh tau dahi vadah, Khake dekho / Yeh tau dahi vadah”, and urchins taunting him with “Yeh tau gir para / Yeh to gir para”. The Paharwala ceased coming long ago and so also the other vendors.

The children of today prefer popcorn, chips, chocolate, patties and ice-cream. So where is the need for the likes of the Paharwala and fellow-pheriwalas to make their rounds?

The Hindu, 15th October 2012

There’s more to Hauz Khas than the village

Verve, Gunpowder or Lake House 23 for a bite followed by shopping at Shivan and Narresh, NappaDori or Aphrodite…Sounds familiar? I am at Hauz Khas, one of the hippest addresses in New Delhi. But as I walk a little further ahead, I find a big chunk of history right there amongst all that greenery along the banks of the Hauz (tank).

I enter a crumbling archway, climb a slightly raised, flat platform and am stunned by the view. There is a grand medieval structure with sprawling lawns around the calm waters of the Hauz. Emperor Alauddin Khilji built the hauz in the 13th Century for the people of the city of Siri — one of the ancient cities of Delhi and where the Siri Fort and Asiad Village also stand. History tells us that after Alauddin’s reign ended, the Tughlaqs took over and the hauz was abandoned. But when in the latter part of the 14th Century, Feroz Shah Tughlaq ascended the throne he decided to make the water body functional again.

Feroz Shah Tughlaq was also known for setting up many educational institutions and laying out gardens. And maybe he was responsible for the layout of the lush green lawns I see around me. I find myself standing in one of the wings of the L-shaped madrasa (an institution for teaching Islamic theology and religious law), that he set up. The madrasa is believed to have drawn scholars from far and wide. The ambience would tempt any student to study! I make my way through the labyrinth of pillars that is the madrasa. The structure is big and well ventilated, and a large part of it overlooks the hauz. The graffiti on the walls is a mood dampener. But the entire structure is so pleasing in itself, that you can pretend the graffiti doesn’t exist.

I sit down in one of the many balconies of the madrasa and watch ducks make their way across from the other end of the hauz. But for the mid-afternoon jogger, some students and tourists with cameras, I could have fooled myself into believing I was a commoner enjoying the ambience in the Tughlaq era.

There is also a big domed structure. It is a tomb with a set of intricately carved doors. I learn that while the madrasa was being built in the 1350s, Feroz Shah also had his tomb built here. He was laid to rest there after his death in 1388. Besides the tomb of the emperor in the centre, there are three other graves. Two of them are said to hold the remains of his son and grandson. The fourth grave is unidentified. The ceiling and sides of the tomb have verses from the Quran inscribed on them. The inscription right above the southern entrance of the tomb informs us of subsequent repairs to the building that were carried out under Sikander Lodhi in 1508.

After spending two hours in medieval India, I stumble back into the present. I look for a place where I can mull over what I had seen over a cup of coffee. And I find just the place– Café Kunzum, the traveller’s café, a perfect place to write about my recent travel to the past.

The Hindu, 15th October 2012

Books with pictures make for interesting reading. It is the picture that invites you to read the book. Check out India’s rich and varied folk art forms.

While browsing books at your local bookstore, did you happen to notice illustrations that were different — almond-eyed two dimensional figures, animals and birds defined by dots, lines and waves in colourful patches, white geometric figures dancing against a monochromatic background? Publishing houses are not being abstract or innovative but just using talent from our own folk backyard.

Folk art like Gond, Warli, Madhubani, Patua and Kalighat are now slowly garnering the attention and credit they deserve thanks to such creative initiatives that also ensure that you become more aware of our folk art tradition before you familiarise yourself with the fine art.

Community life
You would have probably heard of the Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci, the surrealism and cubism incorporated by Pablo Picasso, the life-like portraits of Raja Ravi Verma and the record-breaking paintings of M.F. Hussain. These are what you would call fine art that is defined by the individual. But folk art has the distinction of the community.

It was a way of life in tribal communities where they would paint on walls or cloth using natural dyes. The introduction of paper led to introduction of the expression of self and taking folk art out of the communities,” explains Padma Srinath, Head of School, Akshar Arbol International School.

To create awareness about indigenous art and understand its importance, the World Crafts Council organised “The ‘Craft’ of Reading — Introducing Young India to our Folk Art Traditions”. It was an exhibition and seminar on children’s books illustrated in folk art styles of India, curated by Young India Books.

Here are some of the folk art traditions and books that use them for illustrations…

GOND
Community: The Gonds, the largest tribal community in India

Region: Chhindwara district in Madhya Pradesh, Bastar in Chhattisgarh, parts of Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and Orissa.

Themes: Draws inspiration from nature and social customs.

Features: The images are decorated by a distinct, repetitive pattern of dots, dashes and waves that add intricate detailing to the flora and fauna. They use the art as a means to record history.

Books:
Mai and Her Friends by Durga Bai, Katha
The London Jungle Book by Bhajju Shyam, Tara Books
The Old Animals' Forest Band by Sirish Rao, Tara Books

MADHUBANI
Region: Mithila region in Bihar

Themes: Mythology, nature, stories of the origin of earth and moral instructions.

Features: Madhubani refers more to the way of painting — using natural dyes on mud walls and floors of huts, cloth, handmade paper and canvas. They use a bamboo stick with one of its ends frayed, as the brush. For centuries, the art has been passed down from mothers to daughters, and its only recently that men have started taking it up and the art has come out of the community.

The story goes…: King Janaka ordered the kingdom of Mythila to be painted at the time of his daughter Sita’s wedding to Ram. The wall painting tradition continued for many centuries to mark special occasions like weddings and festivals.

Books:
Following my Paintbrush by Dulari Devi, Tara Books
Panna by Kamala Das, Puffin
Drawing from the City by Teju Behan, Tara Books

WARLI
Region: Originated in Warli village, Thane district, Maharashtra. Now indigenous to Dahani, Nashik and Dhulr districts of Maharashtra, Valsad district of Gujarat and the union territories of Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu

Themes: Marriage, harvest and other activities like hunting, fishing and dancing.

Features: The art uses basic geometric shapes like circle — derived from sun and moon, triangle — from hills and tree tops and square — denoting a piece of land is significant to Warli art. The paintings are monochromatic — white (a mixture of rice paste and water with gum for binding) against the predominantly red or brown of the walls (mixture of branches, earth and cow dung)

Books:
Do! by Gita Wolf, Tara Books
Where’s the Sun by Niveditha Subramaniam, Tulika
Dancing on Walls by Shamim Padamsee, Tulika

PATUA
Community: Patuas

Region: West Bengal

Themes: Stories of gods and goddesses and social issues.

Features: The practitioners of this art painted stories on scrolls and travel from one village to another singing their stories in return for money or food. Pieces of cloth or paper of different sizes are sewn together to make the scrolls and are then painted. Now the artists use it to address social and political issues to create awareness among people.

Books:
I See the Promised Land: A Life of Martin Luther King, Jr. by Arthur Flowers, Tara Books
The Enduring Ark by Joydeb Chitrakar and Gita Wolf, Tara Books

Other Indian folk art

Kalamkari , Tanjore painting, Rajasthani Minature painting, Kalamezhuthu, Phulkari

KALIGHAT
Region: Kolkata, West Bengal
Themes: Deities and mundane life.
Features: At a time when the Kalighta temple in Kolkata was gaining popularity as an important place of pilgrimage in 19 century British-India, local Patua and other artists developed a method to paint on mill-made paper. These were intended to be bought by the visitors as souvenirs but soon developed into an art form in itself. This art that has free-flowing lines is said to have inspired Jamini Roy an Indian artist.

Books:
My Mother by Bahadur Chitrakar and Jaya Jaitly, Pratham Books

The Hindu, 16th October 2012

The university also wants to maintain Flagstaff Tower and Mutiny Memorial.

The Viceregal Lodge, which houses the Vice-Chancellor’s office in Delhi University, will soon host heritage tours and sound-and-light shows, V-C Dinesh Singh said on Monday.

“The Chief Minister has promised to provide support to the university for the sound and light show at the Viceregal Lodge. Students of B Tech in Humanities will plan a heritage tour of the building as part of their project work. Barring certain sections of the building, which have been occupied for official purposes, we are thinking of opening the Viceregal Lodge to the public,” Singh said.

Elaborating on the historical importance of the place, he said Bhagat Singh and Rash Behari Bose had been imprisoned in the building’s dungeons.

The Viceregal Lodge had housed five viceroys from 1912 to 1931, till the construction of the Rashtrapati Bhavan. The building, which had served as the residence of the last Viceroy, Lord Mountbatten, was renovated during the tenure of former Vice-Chancellor Deepak Nayyar.

“The Gandhi-Irwin Pact was also signed here. The Legislative Assembly used to meet in the rooms that now host meetings of the university’s Academic Council. Similarly, the Executive Council Hall was the chamber of the Executive Council in those years,” Singh said.

“The convocation hall served as the ballroom and the registrar’s room was where Lord Mountbatten had proposed to Edwina. When Edwina told her aunt about his proposal, she was told that she should be engaged to a man with a more promising career. Of course her aunt did not know that Mountbatten would become the Viceroy. A plaque telling this story stands in the registrar’s office,” he said.

Delhi University has also taken over the maintenance of two monuments in the Northern Ridge from the Archaeological Society of India. This includes Flagstaff Tower, a one-room red sandstone structure in Kamla Park, near the V-C office. Several Europeans had taken refuge in the monument during the 1857 revolt. Dr Nayanjot Lahiri, in her article “Commemorating and remembering 1857: the revolt in Delhi and its afterlife”, wrote that bodies of some officers “were sent by the rebels to the Flagstaff Tower on the Ridge where they remained on a cart till June 8, when the British forces found them”.

The Ridge also has a few other monuments. Next to the Hindu Rao Hospital is an Ashokan pillar, inscribed with Ashoka’s policy of dhamma in the Brahmi script, brought to the city by Firoz Shah Tughlaq. A few metres away from the pillar stands a tapering red sandstone structure called Mutiny Memorial. It was built during the British rule, in the memory those who were killed in the 1857 revolt.
“While we also intend to maintain the memorial, we do not know which authority to approach since the monument does not fall under the ASI’s purview,” Singh said.

In an article on the memorial, Lahiri says it was erected “on the site of the artillery unit known as Taylor’s battery, which bore the brunt of rebel fire... The structure is “prolifically inscribed with a narrative of the Delhi revolt”.

The Indian Express, 16th October 2012

A slew of events will be held at over a dozen venues in Mysore from October 16 to 24

Dasara unfolds on Tuesday amid trepidations of low tourist turnout fuelled by the Cauvery crisis.

Notwithstanding the government’s decision to “scale down” the festivities in view of the drought in the State, the unbroken tradition will be observed nevertheless to capture a slice of glory of a practice whose grandeur peaked during the regime of Nalwudi Krishnaraja Wadiyar (1902-1940).

A slew of events will be held at over a dozen venues from October 16 to 24 before an audience whose numbers tend to peak in the run-up to the famed Jamboo Savari. From folk and classical music and dance to adventure sports, the range of events to be presented during the festivities will be nothing short of a tapestry of the State’s culture and traditions.

What began as a thanksgiving to gods evolved over centuries to portray the triumph of the good over the evil and during the medieval period captured the imagination of travellers like Domingo Paes and Fernando Nunez of Portugal and Abdur Razzak of Persia. The chronicles of Domingo Paes and Fernao Nunez refers to the “great feast celebrated for nine days” in an obvious reference to Dasara during their visit to the Vijayanagar sometime in the early and mid-16th Century. The Wadiyars of Mysore inherited this tradition, and in 1610 A.D. Raja Wadiyar who ascended the throne at Srirangapatana decreed that Dasara be celebrated on a grand scale and hence Mysore Dasara is a continuation of a historical tradition that is now 402 years old.

The festival received State-patronage under the Wadiyars and after the abolition of the monarchy, the government took over its organisation and declared it a State festival or Naada Habba as it is known in Karnataka.

At the heart of the celebrations remain the cultural programmes with live performance by renowned artistes in front of the illuminated palace lit up by nearly 96,000 bulbs. But unlike in the days of the Maharajas when the palace programmes were confined to the elite, the events are open to the public and has emerged as a platform for talented artistes.

Over the years new venues have been added and they include Jaganmohan Palace, Nadabrahma Sangeetha Sabha, Ganabharati, Kalamandira, Town Hall etc where music, dance, plays etc are staged during the nine days. Farmers have been given due importance in recent years with Raitha Dasara, while food mela is an introduction to the culinary delights from across the country for the gourmet while heritage walk is a must for those seeking to explore the city’s architectural structures. Dasara track and field events, yoga, adventure sports, film festival, flower show are other programmes held to mark Dasara.

Though considered for long as a religious and cultural event, Mysore Dasara in recent years has emerged as a fulcrum for tourism with considerable success and the authorities are confident that the tourists will turn up in large numbers. The festivities will be inaugurated by Sri Siddeshwara Swamiji of Bijapur at Chamundi Hills at 10.42 a.m. and the cultural programmes will be inaugurated by Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar at the palace at 6 p.m. on Tuesday. For detailed programme schedule visit www.mysoredasara.gov.in
The Hindu, 16th October 2012

State governments have acted positively to protect it, say agencies

The lion-tailed macaque, one of India’s endangered mascot species, is no longer on ‘The World’s 25 Most Endangered Primates’ list, after the international body compiling it determined that the State governments had acted positively to protect it.

The list of 25 primates is put out by a group of specialist agencies — the Primate Specialist Group of the IUCN/Species Survival Commission; the International Primatological Society; Conservation International (CI); and the Bristol Conservation and Science Foundation.

It was released here on Monday at a press briefing at the conference of parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity. Announcing the list of endangered primates for 2012-14, Russell A. Mittermeier, chairman of the IUCN/SSC and president of CI, said the Western purple-faced langur in Sri Lanka was still on the list.

Wild primate species are found in 91 countries, and their conservation status is periodically monitored with the Red List criteria by the IUCN. A new assessment is under way to determine how they are faring. It will build on the 2008 assessment — that 303 primates are critically endangered or endangered.

The Western Hoolock gibbon found in northeast India was also removed from the ‘list of 25’ earlier, though “it is still not doing well,” said Sanjay Molur, executive director of the Zoo Outreach Organization and participant in the assessment exercise. The Assam Forest Department is engaged in conservation action, along with NGOs, improving its fortunes.

The habitat of the lion-tailed macaque continues to be fragmented though it is getting positive attention in the Western Ghats. Across India, the growing problem is one of conflicts among langurs, macaques and humans, aggravated by lack of understanding of primate behaviour.

Many Indians feed them sentimentally, which contributes to their aggression as they seek more food; crop raiding is also common. India’s primates are classified as ‘least concern’ on the scale of threat assessment, but “these species are declining,” according to Dr. Molur.

More studies need to be done on Indian monkeys such as the Kashmir gray langur found in the Chamba Valley of Himachal Pradesh. It was rediscovered recently after first being described more than eight decades ago. Half of India’s 43 sub-species of primates are threatened.

The latest top 25 endangered primates comprise a range of ape, monkey and lemur species from Tanzania, Ghana, the Ivory Coast, Madagascar, Indonesia, Vietnam, China, and South America. Clearing of forests for oil palm cultivation and agriculture, demand for bush meat, and staggering deforestation in Madagascar, removing 90 per cent of endemic lemur habitat, severely threaten long-term prospects for primates.

The CBD is meeting in Hyderabad to look at new ways of reducing the loss of biodiversity and encouraging conservation actions.

The Hindu, 16th October 2012

Fourteenth-century Tughlaqabad Fort is easily one of the more striking monuments one can find in the capital. The large, open green areas surrounding the fortress have been identified under the master plan to be developed as an archaeological park. However, several years after the plans were outlined, they remain only on paper.

Tughlaqabad Fort, an ASI protected monument, is a massive fortress running to over 6km.A short distance away, one encounters 14th-century Adilabad Fort, built around the same era. Both the forts have stood the test of the time, though they have not been promoted enough by ASI despite Tughlaqabad Fort being a ticketed monument.

Adilabad Fort does not even have proper access. With even Tughlaqabad Fort getting desultory visitors, it is very rare for Adilabad to attract any tourist. Most people have not even heard of it, said an official.

In 2002,Delhi Development Authority (DDA) planned to build pedestrian pathways in the green patches enveloping the fort and also conserve the area. A route was chalked out for visitors, complete with signage and boards detailing the history and significance of the two massive forts. This was in addition to a landscape plan for the green areas, but to date the plans have not taken off.

DDA officials blamed opposition from local villagers for their inability to construct the pathways. In 2011,the Supreme Court had ordered ASI to chalk out a plan to remove the villages which had sprung up in the protected area of the fort. ASI had sent notices to several villagers asking them to evict the areas, but they resisted and warned of law-and order problems if ASI went ahead with its plan.

Sources said over 70,000 people from nearby villages would have been affected if ASI had acted on its threats. Since then, there has been no progress, though ASI sources say a surprise demolition drive may happen sometime soon.

Till the villages which have encroached on ASI land are shifted, any landscape plan would be ineffective. The matter is still in court, said a DDA source. As there have been no attempts to conserve the green area around the fort, it resembles a concrete jungle today with dense and thorny vegetation.

Sites like Tughlaqabad Fort have the potential to become world-class tourist destinations, if only the land-owning agency comes up with a proper management plant. The biggest problem is that boundaries for the archaeological park are not well defined despite the master plan making it essential for heritage zones. The park currently has nothing to offer visitors and lack of management has led to more villages coming up in the area, said an urban planner.

The Times of India, 16th October 2012

A major report that will help countries understand the economic value of inland wetlands, which cover a vast area of the earth’s land surface and provide key ecosystem services, was released at the conference of the Convention on Biological Diversity here on Tuesday. The message ofthe report is simply, ‘drain it, lose it.’

Inland wetlands cover at least 9.5 million sq km of the earth’s surface, and together with coastal wetlands, 12.8 million sq km. Restoration of this particular type of ecosystem is the most expensive. These water bodies provide clean water for drinking and agriculture, cooling water for the energy sector; they also regulate floods. Agriculture, fisheries and tourism sectors depend heavily on the health of wetlands.

“In 100 years, we have managed to destroy about 50 per cent of the world’s wetlands, which is a stunning figure,” said Achim Steiner, Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme, at the release of the final consultation draft of the report titled “The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity for Water and Wetlands” (TEEB for wetlands). The perception that wetlands are not essential to the functioning of societies and economies, contributes to their destruction. The TEEB report has been commissioned by the Ramsar Convention. India, a signatory to the Convention, has 25 wetlands listed under the covenant (such as Chilika) and about 150 identified wetlands of national importance. The country is being persuaded by international monitors to put in place management plans for the protected sites. Progress in this regard is “partial,” according to Ritesh Kumar, conservation programme manager of international NGO Wetlands International – South Asia.

According to him, the conservation approach in India has to move from a ‘puritanical’ one, to one that emphasises economic value and its vital link to human survival.

Professor Nick Davidson, Deputy Secretary General of the Ramsar Convention, said the final TEEB report was scheduled to be released on February 2, 2013, coinciding with Wetlands Day. Flood plains are being built over in many places, resulting in losses to people when there is natural movement of rainwater across these sites.

India’s challenge is to define wetlands on sound lines, and apply the rules it issued in 2010 for conservation and management of these water bodies. Building activity in fast-expanding cities is draining wetlands, and many are also being filled with garbage. There is almost no conservation response from local and State governments, an activist said at the release of the report.

The Hindu, 17th October 2012

Efforts towards conserving the country’s biodiversity are hobbled by the frightening insistence that development cannot be held up

Who knew the term biodiversity 20 years ago? Hardly anyone. The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) was opened for signature at the now famous “Earth Summit” at Rio de Janeiro in 1992. For the first time, world leaders acknowledged that biodiversity was a valuable asset for both present and future generations, while also recognising the increasing threat of human induced extinction of species and destruction of biodiversity. “Biological diversity,” or the more commonly used biodiversity, was arguably first defined in the text of the CBD, having a very broad and all encompassing meaning, that includes all life forms and ecosystems. It is one of the most widely accepted international treaties, with 193 nations being a party to it. India ratified the CBD in 1994, and is now the host nation for the 11th Conference of Parties (COP 11), currently underway in Hyderabad. The “high level segment” is on the last two days.

The working groups are discussing various technical issues from the last COP in Aichi, Japan. Civil society groups are organising side events at the venue. One of the most important issues is the operationalisation of the biodiversity targets decided on at Aichi. India is chairing the discussions, and leading the global discussion until the next COP in two years.

Some success stories
Considering India’s role, it is worth examining the efforts at conserving our own biodiversity. There have been some well known success stories for critically endangered species. The only population of Asiatic lions in the world, in the Gir National Park, have more than doubled its numbers, moving from “critically endangered” to “endangered.” The Chambal river Gharials are doing well. The one-horned rhino has made a spectacular comeback, from about 200 to nearly 3,000 today. But, are these stories representative of what is happening in India? The major problem with “biodiversity” is its all encompassing, immeasurable nature, especially with the CBD definition. According to scientist David Takacs, “though it has considerable technical and scientific resonance, it defies precise scientific definition.”

There is the “Linnean shortfall” of knowledge, where we have been able to document only a small proportion — about 1.4 million of the 12-18 million species that exist on the planet. Exciting new species are being identified every day, some even becoming extinct before they are formally named and identified. The Wallacean shortfall refers to the incompleteness of our understanding of geographical distribution of species across the globe. With this huge gap in our knowledge of biodiversity, the approach taken across the world is to identify and protect important landscapes as well as “flagship” or “umbrella” species, covering large home ranges.

This is where things start to go badly wrong. Though the marine realm is the largest repository of biodiversity, far larger than the terrestrial landscape, we barely consider oceans worthy of conservation. All our efforts focus on the terrestrial world.

India is home to three of the world “biodiversity hotspots,” the Western Ghats-Sri Lanka region, the Himalayas and the Indo-Burma region. The Western Ghats are currently being ripped apart by large-scale legal and illegal mining, large development projects and even private hills stations like Lavasa. The hills have recently witnessed a very comprehensive conservation prioritisation and planning exercise by the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel (WGEEP), which suggests an intelligent and democratic zonation plan with varying levels of exploitation. But most politicians object to the recommendations of the panel, arguably driven by kickbacks from the extractive industries or a short-sighted approach to “development.” Vast tracts of the Indo-Burma hotspot will be submerged by a series of dams, supposedly to cater to India’s ever expanding power needs.

Next, is the species based approach. India’s two main flagship programmes — “Project Elephant” and “Project Tiger,” have been in place for a few decades now. Though their success is debated, they have been doing a reasonably good job of protecting these two species. But India Inc is now catching up with our charismatic beasts. Central India, globally recognised as one of India’s best meta population of tigers, is being carved up for coal mining. A proposal for an Elephant reserve in Chhattisgarh never saw the light of day since there is coal under the elephant forests. India’s Forest Advisory Committee (FAC) and the Minister of Environment and Forest (MoEF) have been fighting desperately to stop the indiscriminate industrial expansion into India’s natural forests. But both the FAC and MoEF were chastised for “slowing down India’s galloping economy.”

A 1,000-year-old Sal forest in Mahan was denied clearance for a coal plant because of the rich biodiversity and tiger presence. But with industrialists requesting the Prime Minister’s intervention, the clearance is now likely to go through. The needs of biodiversity conservation versus development must be carefully balanced. Especially for India where almost half the population has little access to electricity and lives below the poverty line. But frighteningly, there appears to be no balance. The scale rests firmly on the side of development. From Montek Singh Ahluwalia, to Manmohan Singh, to P. Chidambaram, there is a public proclamation that India’s “development” cannot be held up by the environment. There is no understanding of the CBD’s Aichi mission of “sustaining a healthy planet and delivering benefits essential for all people.” The “National Investment Board” (NIB) proposal, by which the government seeks to bypass laws and constitutional provisions, is an environmental disaster. Projects with large investments of above Rs.1,000 crore will be exempt from social and environmental clearances. This will be decided solely by the head of the NIB.

Rarely alleviate poverty
Ironically, the “development” plans rarely alleviate poverty. The policies cater to the corporates and urban elite, on the assumption that a “trickle-down” will happen to benefit the grassroots, though evidence shows otherwise. Across the country, the masses are at the forefront of the protests against the take over of their forests and livelihoods for “development.” A group of villagers from the 1,000-year-old Sal forest in Mahan are currently at the CBD COP 11. They are trying to tell the world they want to protect their forests from shining India.

Biodiversity is under threat from a range of sources, but the very first Aichi strategic goal is to “address the underlying causes of biodiversity loss by mainstreaming biodiversity across government and society.” The question now is whether India is going to honestly identify what this underlying driver is and make a serious effort to balance the development versus nature battle. Both the Minister for Environment and Minister for Tribal Affairs appear to be making serious efforts to level the battlefield. They have taken strong stands against the NIB proposal. Perhaps there is still hope.

(Tarsh Thekaekara is a biodiversity conservation researcher with The Shola Trust, The Nilgiris.)

The Hindu, 17th October 2012

An e-Atlas of Marine-Important Bird Areas, was launched by the BirdLife International at the ongoing 11th Conference of the Parties (COP11) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) here on Tuesday.

The inventory, covering 3000 Important Bird Areas (IBAs) worldwide, was described as a major contribution to marine conservation and a vital resource for meeting the CBD target of protecting 10% of marine and coastal areas by 2020.

It will also be crucial to the process of describing Ecologically or Biologically Significant marine Areas (EBSAs) and will have significant input into the siting of offshore energy infrastructure, according to a note circulated at the COP11.

The e-Atlas will be available exclusively online. Like Google Map, it will be dynamically updated as new sites are identified and new data about them become available. It will be linked to other BirdLife data resources.

Seabirds are now the most threatened group of birds. They present unique conservation problems, since many species travel thousands of kilometres across international waters and multiple exclusive economic zones, and only returning to land to breed.

“Given the vast distances they cover, the long periods they spend at sea and the multiple threats they face there, identifying a network of priority sites for their conservation is vital to ensure their future survival,” said Ben Lascelles, BirdLife’s Global Marine IBA Coordinator.

The Hindu, 17th October 2012

357 families with 1,391 members residing in Jalpaiguri district will benefit

The West Bengal government has decided to provide free foodgrains to members of the Toto community, one of the country’s oldest tribes, and which is facing extinction.

“All the 357 families of Totos with 1,391 members who reside in Jalpaiguri district will be provided eight kg of foodgrains every month from November 15,” Food Minister Jyotipriya Mullick told The Hindu over telephone on Tuesday. The announcement comes on World Food Day. The Totos are one of the oldest Indo-Bhutanese tribes — living at Totopara in the Madarihat block of Jalpaiguri district, about 100 km from the district headquarters.

“I visited Totapara on Tuesday and was appalled to see their condition,” Mr. Mullick said.

He said since the community did not come out of Totopara to avail the public distribution system, the government had decided to arrange free supply in their locality.

The government is also considering extending this scheme to other tribal communities such as Bihor, Sabar and Lodhas, he said. Mr. Mullick visited some tea gardens, where there have been deaths allegedly due to starvation in the past one year.

“I visited Kumlai and Dheklapara tea gardens in the district. The people had certain grievances like subsidised foodgrains through the PDS not being properly distributed,” he said.

“In case of closure of tea gardens the families of workers will be covered under the Antyodaya Anna Yojana schemes where subsidised foodgrains are provided to the family.”

Meanwhile, the government distributed free foodgrains in several places to mark the day.

Representatives of various NGOs who took out a two-week-long “Right to Food Campaign” across 16 districts of the State claimed that the government had been forced to acknowledge starvation because of the campaign.

“It is important for the government to acknowledge that there is starvation in certain parts of the State. The problem should not be seen from the point of view of politics and all stakeholders should come forward to address the issue,” said Anuradha Talwar, a civil rights activist involved with the campaign.”

The Hindu, 17th October 2012

Four centuries of printmaking in India and the challenges it faces are documented in an exhibition.

Years before the British etched the East, Mumbai-based entrepreneur Bhimjee Parekh saw potential in printing when he purchased India’s first printing press in 1674. The experiment did not succeed. Nevertheless, Parekh became part of the printing history of India. More than a century later, in 1805, India was to produce its first block-printed book, the Bhagavad Gita, and it took another decade for the first illustrated Bengali book, Bharatchandra Ray’s Oonoodah Mongal that comprised six engravings.

“This medium has always played a third fiddle to painting and sculpture. One needs to understand that it was a colonial import, essentially used by the colonial masters for documentation before the arrival of photography,” says Paula Sengupta. The academician, writer and artist who did her PhD in printmaking in India, has spent the last year researching further on the subject. The book titled The Printed Picture documents four centuries of printmaking in India through hundreds of frames, some of which are part of an accompanying exhibition at Delhi Art Gallery. “To a large extent, the concerns were also technical, getting material and adapting printmaking to the Indian weather,” reflects Sengupta, glancing at the works that span from early 1550s to 1990s.

The book establishes that modern-day printing originated in Europe in the 15th century and travelled to India with the colonial masters. The parallel movement in India, in the form of regional schools of art, is also documented. Among others, Sengupta compares Bat-tala reliefs or wooden prints to the Punjab lithographers. “Perhaps, by virtue of their medium, the Punjab lithographers have a linear appearance, like outline drawings, as opposed to the heavily patterned and ornamented Bat-tala woodcuts,” she notes.

The contributions of individual artists have been acknowledged. It’s pointed out that the Bichitra Club, which was established in 1915 by Abanindranath Tagore, “undertook to issue reproduction prints of its paintings in an attempt to wean public taste away from the oleographs of Raja Ravi Varma and Bamapada Banerjee and the standard book illustrations of the time”. Mukul Dey is acknowledged as one of the first Indians to “use the graphic medium as a means of creative expression” and Nandalal Bose and his two disciples, Benode Behari Mukherjee and Ramkinkar Baij, have been credited for emancipating printmaking from elitism. Chittaprosad’s prints championing the cause of the proletariat are striking, as are Krishna Reddy’s intaglio plates treated as a sculptural surface.

The research undertaken is also reflected in the rare works that make an appearance — one sees early covers of safety matches, depicting episodes from Indian mythology; and the Victoria and Albert Museum collection has been tapped for the images of Mumtaz Dehlavi’s prints Hawk and Tiger, acknowledged as “the first instances of colour lithography to be seen in the indigenous art of the 19th century north India”. What completes the journey are interviews with pioneers in printmaking, including Krishna Reddy, Jyoti Bhatt and Anupam Sud. “They map the shift in the practice of printmaking,” concludes Sengupta.

The exhibition is on till November 3 at Delhi Art Gallery, 11, Hauz Khas Village. Contact: 46005300

The Indian Express, 18th October 2012

Seven tiger reserves on the borders, all running into contiguous habitats across in neighbouring countries, are vulnerable. One appreciates concern for national security, but ecological imperatives too have their place

Barely two per cent of India’s land is reserved for the tiger. Shouldn’t here, at least, the tiger be the primary stakeholder? Not coal, not mines, not dams, not roads, not tourists, not people. This was put up at a meeting where everyone wanted a share of the pie of the tiger’s forest — for mining, for highway, for timber, for votes, for growth. The tiger is merely a hurdle en route.

Let me explain: Protected areas — our last refuges for endangered wildlife — cover barely five per cent of the country’s geographical area, of which 41 tiger reserves constitute 1.9 per cent. One would think that this, at least, is sacrosanct and reserved for the wild. Think again.

I won’t dwell on tourism; because it’s simply taking up disproportionate effort and space while other key threats continue to destroy, degrade and fragment wild habitats through development projects such as mining, power plants, dams, roads, canals in addition to anthropogenic pressures from communities living within and around tiger habitats. Coal is tearing apart the Central Indian tiger landscape, which has at least a dozen inter-connected tiger reserves, and no less than a fourth of our tiger population. Odisha has refused to notify two elephant reserves due to mining considerations, as has Chhattisgarh. And Goa is dawdling over declaring Mhadei a tiger reserve for the same reasons. Highways criss-cross many ‘protected areas’ and wildlife corridors and there is constant pressure to build new roads, and expand existing ones, as has been seen in the case of the highway cutting through Rajaji National Park, or NH7 through the Kanha-Pench corridor.

There are other equally lethal threats that have quietly, insidiously, become part of policy that will potentially devastate our wilderness. One such threat is from the decision to redefine bamboo as ‘minor forest produce’, instead of timber, thus allowing its harvest by forest dwellers. Marry this to the new amendments in the Forest Rights Act, which practically allow limitless commercial extraction of minor forest produce. The amendments also allow for “any appropriate transport” — read trucks — for transporting the harvested produce. Trucks mean roads, and roads mean the end of wilderness.

The implications are ominous. A fifth of India’s forest is bamboo — nearly 14 million hectares, which supports good wildlife, providing shelter for ground birds, cover to tigers and food for elephants and ungulates. Commercial exploitation of bamboo will devastate the ecology, the very nature of our forests. Why is there such haste without any rigorous scientific study to gauge the impacts on biodiversity? Even currently, the impacts of extraction of the produce are grave. It’s no longer a subsistence exercise, but caters to organised industries within India and abroad. Products from the forest are considered premium. Consider that forest honey on your table, or the herbal amla shampoo that you use. Nothing in the forest is ‘waste’.

Most ‘minor’ forest produce is forage or cover for wildlife and the methods to extract them are destructive. Villagers burn the forest floor to clear undergrowth and make collection of tendu leaves easier. Tendu leaf collection is perhaps the single largest cause of forest fires in Central India.

Another upcoming concern is the Border Infrastructure Bill proposed by the Union Ministry of Defence and the Union Ministry of Home Affairs, calling for exempting infrastructure including roads within 50 km of the international border from all relevant forest and wildlife laws. This has faced stiff opposition from conservationists as prime wildlife habitats such as high altitude habitats of snow leopards, forests and grasslands of the Terai, rain-forests of the North-East, wetlands and the Thar desert in the western front lie near our borders and stand to be jeopardised if the proposed Bill comes through. Seven tiger reserves on the borders, all running into contiguous habitats across in neighbouring countries are vulnerable. One understands and appreciates the concern for national security, but surely ecological imperatives have their place too. We cannot afford to compromise on security, but can we afford to discard green laws? Media reports cite that green ‘hurdles’ have delayed and halted roads along the border while records show that most roads are granted forest clearances along borders, even in wildlife rich areas at rather high ecological costs.

Sometimes, however, ecological concerns must take precedence, for a very simple reason: Water. The Trans-Himalayas feed the Himalayan rivers, the forests along the border nourish and nurture these perennial rivers, on which depends the very life-and livelihood of a third of India’s population. We commit to save wildlife, but the land the tiger treads has other, seemingly more lucrative, competing needs. Saving our endangered wildlife calls for hard choices, clarity in priorities, a commitment both in word and deed. Saving wildlife means that we recognise the writ of the wild in its habitat.

(The writer is member of National Board of Wildlife)

The Pioneer, 18th October 2012

Controversy brews in the heart of Terai Arc Landscape, which is a part of crucial tiger-elephant habitat in the country, in Uttarakhand.

The Forest Advisory Committee (FAC) under the Environment Ministry had directed for notifying Nandhour and Powalgarh forests in the area as wildlife sanctuaries while granting permission to carry out boulder mining in the nearby Gola River till May this year. However, this direction of FAC has not yet been complied with so far by the State.

But with mining season approaching from November, the State Government, according to sources, is planning to declare this area as a conservation reserve rather than a wildlife sanctuary. This, experts say, will not ensure adequate protection to these forests which have a good tiger presence.
The Wildlife Institute of India (WII) had carried out surveys in the area, recording presence of both inhabiting and breeding tigers in the region. Dr Bibhash Pandav, heading the Department of Endangered Species, WII, who is working in the region, said an area of 400 sq kms Nandhour forests under Haldwani Forest Division has camera-trapped at least 8-10 tigers. Besides, recent studies have also documented presence of other rare wildlife species such as Large Indian Civet, honey badger, sloth bear, serow and red-headed trogon in the region.

Further, the area also forms the connecting link between Corbett Tiger Reserve in Uttarakhand and Pilibhit forest of UP. On the eastern side this landscape maintains direct connectivity with the Shuklaphanta Wildlife Reserve of Nepal through the Brahmadev corridor across Sharada River. Most importantly, the area is free of human habitations as well, pointed out Dr Pandav. Pawallgarh forest is much smaller with an area of about 64sq kms under Ramnagar Forest Division.

However, the point of contention originates from the issue of boulder mining done across the Gola River, about 15-20 kms from the site. The FAC under MoEF vide its letter No. 8-61/1999-FC dated April 8, 2011 while granting permission to carry out boulder mining in Gola River till 31.05.2012, laid down 30 conditions to allow mining in the region.

In condition number 12, the letter from MoEF states, “To ensure long-term survival of the wildlife in the important habitats located on northern side of the Ramnagar-Haldwani State highway, the State Government shall initiate appropriate measures to improve conservation status of the area such as Powalgarh and Nandhour by notifying them as wildlife sanctuaries. This should be done in the time bound manner before applying for further extension of this permission.”

However, the boulder mining here starts from November and continues till end of May. Now that the mining season is approaching, the sources pointed out that in a bid to comply with the FAC directive, the State is planning to declare it a conservation reserve rather than a wildlife sanctuary. In such a case, the local village committees residing in the vicinity of the forest areas will have a role in the management of the forest.

Sources in the State Forest Department pointed out that if this area is declared as sanctuary, the eco-sensitive zone will extend upto 10 kms which will include the Nandhaur mining area. However, phase-2 of the State Infrastructure and Industrial Development Corporation of Uttaranchal (SIDCUL) is scheduled to be launched on October 21 by the CM. In such a situation if it is declared a wildlife sanctuary, all its development proposals will be struck in the National Board for Wildlife.

The Indian Express, 18th October 2012

Delhi chief secretary Praveen Kumar Tripathi on Wednesday said the government would carry out a city-wide census of trees. He said while lamp posts and even manholes are identified and marked in the Capital, trees are not.

"We have prepared literature to be distributed among resident welfare associations. We will meet RWAs soon and discuss with them as to how we can go about this (tree census)."

Releasing a tree census report prepared by the residents of South Delhi's Sarvodaya Enclave, in association with civil society group Green Circle, at India International Centre, the chief secretary admitted people were not open to trees in their bungalows being counted and marked.

"This is something I have been trying to do for a long time. But it's not easy. Every time RWAs come to meet the chief minister, they voice their concern against trees. Some say certain trees block light, other RWAs complain trees obstruct outside view. This has to change," he said.

"As far as a census is concerned, people are suspicious about parting with information. But it's time we generated awareness and went about a city-wide tree census. Forest department officials cannot be posted everywhere. The Sarvodaya Enclave census is a great initiative. We can certainly improve and build on the momentum," he said.

Tree census has been conducted by some cities such as Nagpur, Mumbai and Calcutta. The New Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC), which covers only 3 per cent of the Capital, has also done a tree census in its jurisdiction. "I'm glad NDMC officials are counting and marking the trees. Once the trees are numbered, you will get to know something is amiss, if a tree is felled," he said.

Padmawati Dwivedi, who led a group of volunteers for the Sarvodaya Enclave census, said, "The biggest difficulty we faced was in getting support from residents. But our drive has had an impact on people. Interventions are being made for protection of trees. Our biggest challenge is how to get authorities and residents to de-choke trees."

Reports from other areas beginning with Sundar Nagar and Jor Bagh will also be released. "Gradually, we will cover the entire city," said Suhas Borker of Green Circle.

The Hindustan Times, 18th October 2012

Old but vivid photographs and fading memories as aids, the historic library in Rashtrapati Bhavan overlooking the Raisina Hill is being reinstated to resemble Edward Lutyens’ original design.

Extra shelves that were added over the years to accommodate books have been removed, an old table that Edward Lutyens designed, complete with a set of chairs inspired by his famous round spectacles occupies the pride of place, and artefacts that were buried in vaults are being retrieved and polished. Work is underway at a frenzied pace to restore the library to its magnificence.

The decision to revert to the original was an outcome of President Pranab Mukherjee’s wish to spend time in the library.

“Over the years the number of books in the library rose to 15,000. There were bookcases everywhere suffocating the room. By trying to restore the Library we are trying to bring out the unique features of the room, especially the floor and the pillars,” said Venu Rajamony, Press Secretary to the President.

In his book ‘Dome Over India - Rashtrapati Bhawan’ Aman Nath says as per the original design, the Library was equipped with 60 feet of book cases, two fire places, a marble and golden-yellow Jaisalmer stone floor with a ‘Swastika’ in the centre and pillars circling the room with bells of the Delhi Order.

To catalogue the books, some of which date back to the 18 Century and to ensure the library is equipped with political history and other genres that the President prefers, the Rashtrapati Bhavan staff is being assisted by a team from the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library.

To be ready by November, the Library will only have select books apart from rare titles like the coffee table compendium of engravings in pictures of various art schools, published in 1807 and presented to Lord Curzon in 1904 by the Raja of Hill Tripura.

Artefacts that were placed along the two fireplaces have been traced and will be put on display. “All the Presidents have visited the Library during their respective tenures, they would ask for books, which I would then have delivered to them. But this is the first time that a President has expressed the wish to sit in the library,” said the Library incharge who has been in the position for nearly three decades.

“We are planning to include the Library in the tour of Rashtrapti Bhavan in the future. We are also seeking help from scholars to assist us in documenting the historical events that took place inside the Rashtrapati Bhavan premises. Pre Independence, there would have been a lot of discussions and meetings that took place here, and the President has instructed that we should document these. There are a lot of books about the Rashtrapati Bhavan, but we are yet to discover the ones that documents what happened in here,” Mr. Rajamony said.

Discussions are also underway with experts in museum conservation to give a facelift to the existing museums inside the Presidential retreats in Shimla and Hyderabad and in Rashtrapati Bhavan. “We are tying to explore the long term best arrangements for these museums,” Mr. Rajamony said.

The Hindu, 19th October 2012

The Union Urban Development Ministry has constituted a working group to suggest ways for the preservation of water bodies in the urban areas. Rapid disappearance of water bodies from the urban landscape has sounded an alarm vis-à-vis water shortfall and has also put a considerable strain on States’ spending to meet the demand for water.

A case in point is Bangalore, which despite having a Lake Development Authority that is considered a model worth replicating, is being forced to spend Rs. 3,000 crore a year on electricity, which is consumed for supplying water from the Cauvery.

According to official data, about four per cent of Bangalore’s metropolitan area constituted water bodies, which dried up on account of urbanisation.

The city now has to supply water from the Cauvery and draw on its groundwater reserves to meet the demand.

A senior official of the Ministry said efforts are being undertaken to augment the efforts under way for the preservation of the water bodies. “There are several water bodies in the urban areas that are a source of drinking water, others are not being used, some others have dried up; there is a need to preserve these natural resources. The Union Ministry of Environment and Forests is already working in the area, but we want to strengthen the efforts to preserve water bodies in urban areas and see how local bodies can be drawn in to do so,” he said.

At a recent interaction, which the Ministry held with experts from the water sector, it was decided to step up efforts to conserve water bodies in urban areas. Experts suggested the preparation of a national level ‘vision’ document on urban water bodies, including lakes, to designate them as “separate urban natural resources.”

A recommendation that all states should set up a Lake Development Authority to save lakes from contamination caused by sewage that is released into them was made; and ways of dealing with sewage, its treatment and setting up of constructed wetlands was discussed.

The experts also called for States being asked to formulate a policy on installation of sewage treatment plants in urban areas using biotechnology, avoiding chemical-applications and ensuring urbanisation planned around lakes and water bodies does not encroach on these natural resources.

To rule out the ambiguity in the description of a lake in the land use policy, it was suggested to the Ministry that lakes should be designated as potential natural resources and given the status of a water body of ecological benefits.

“The Ministry has acknowledged that the fast drying up of water bodies is a challenge, but they also want to see it as an opportunity,” said Manoj Misra, of non government organisation the Yamuna Jiye Abhiyan, who was part of the deliberation on sustainable conservation of urban water bodies conducted by the Ministry.

The MoUD’s intervention and decision to hold workshops and set up working groups on water body conservation and wetlands restoration can help check the large scale destruction of the natural resources, said Mr. Misra. “The Ministry does not cover lakes that are less than 500 hectares in size, a lot of urban water bodies and lakes fall in this category. In the absence of laws and strict watch over them, these natural resources are fast disappearing. There is also, a need to look at the revitalisation of lakes, which are fed by waste water from the cities,” he added.

The Hindu, 19th October 2012

Measuring water demand through meters, metering ground water usage, water audit for ascertaining and changing usage pattern and increasing distribution efficiency to bring down leakages are some of the highlights of the ‘Water Policy for Delhi’ in the making. Focusing on “learning to live with water we already have”, the draft document for ‘Water Policy for Delhi’ is being worked out by the natural heritage division of Indian National Trust for Arts and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) and Delhi Jal Board (DJB).

INTACH and DJB held a consultative workshop, third such meeting, two days ago wherein views of experts, NGOs and other stakeholders were sought with a felt need to ensure Delhi’s water security in future.

Welcoming suggestions to bring down losses and control water demand, Nitya Jacob, director (Water), Centre for Science and Environment, said, “There is a broad recognition that Delhi cannot sponge off its neighbours and therefore must learn to live within its means.”

Pointing out a “good thing” that there is less input from the government and more from the civil society, Jyoti Sharma of NGO Force said, “The document mentions increasing efficiency in water distribution, but there is no overt mention of how it should be done.”

Manu Bhatnagar of INTACH said, “There are various issues that we are seeking to address. For instance, we are looking at aquifer management policy. Groundwater is our only internal source. We need to regulate that.” Dunu Roy of Hazard Centre said, “The way the DJB is outsourcing and privatising its services and operations, will there be a DJB in 2030? Will the private players abide by this?” To this Debashree Mukherjee, DJB CEO, said, “Policy document is never legally binding but we can evolve a legal framework. (But) Private operators or any one employed by the Jal Board would be bound by the policy we adopt.”

The Hindustan Times, 19th October 2012

A legacy of the colonial days, Shimla’s Mall Road is rapidly shedding its understated elegance to give way to commercialisation

It was over a century and a half ago — during the British rule — that that the famous Mall Road of Shimla was constructed. While nothing much may have changed structurally since, except the installation of the statue of Lala Lajpat Rai after Independence or the opening of a few new shops, its ethos and character has undergone a sea change. As historian and author Raja Bhasin says, “Once likened to the elegant streets of London, Paris and St Petersburg, the intrinsic character of the Mall Road today has altered.”

According to him, it is perhaps because today the place is catering to a variety of clientele.

Old timers recall the evenings spent watching plays staged by prestigious drama companies at the famous Gaiety Theatre on the Mall. If not the Gaiety Theatre, many a couple would dance to the tune of the Western Band at the Devicos as the influence of the British Raj lingered well after Independence. Devicos is still there but sans the glamour it was identified with.

Rajiv Sud of ‘Maria Brothers’, where one can find the rarest of books on Himachal Pradesh, says: “The old vestibule or the heritage shops are slowly on the way out and it is gradually giving way to multi-brand stores — which I presume are the in thing with our modern day youth.” The shop used to attract a lot of tourists at one time; but today, it wears a deserted look.

With the new generation of tourists more comfortable with hanging out at fast food jaunts or shops selling branded goods, many locals agree that commercialism and consumerism is fast taking its toll on Shimla’s Mall.

A regular visitor to Shimla, Chander Kumar, says, “Every time I come here, I find hoardings of some new multi-brand showroom that has opened shop; the Mall Road of yesteryears has now been turned into a ‘shopping mall’.”

While some changes have been taking place over the years, it is during last few years that the character of shops on the Mall has changed rapidly. Many of the old shops have been given a makeover or their owners have decided to sell fashionable dresses, jewellery, shoes or fast food instead of other wares. One can see the sale discount billboards hanging out from shops on the Mall almost throughout the year.

Kikku Kapoor, shop manager of an exclusive shoe brand, says earlier tourists used to buy mainly the local gift items but now they want to buy branded stuff. That what has not changed perhaps is the ‘Scandal Point’. Pulsating with life, the ‘Scandal Point’ has generated many theories on how this name came about. F. Beresford Harrop, author of Thacker’s New Guide to Simla published in 1925, wrote: “The transmitters of gossip are ever at work and savory and unsavory secrets of our society are flashed to the uttermost limits of Simla with all the speed of wireless.”

For the residents, even today, the ‘Scandal Point’ on the Mall is a place to meet friends, gossip or discuss politics and then take two or three rounds of the Mall before calling it a day. But with the rapid increase in the number of tourists every year, many feel that it has become almost impossible to take a stroll on the Mall leisurely. “You either have to push your way through the crowds or you are carried forward by a wave of people that throng the Mall Road from the Telegraph Office to the High Court building during the tourist season. Ironically, almost every season has become a tourist season in Shimla these days.” Yes, the Mall may no longer be a pedestrians’ paradise that it used to be and the old world charm may have been lost, but a visit to this historic tourist town is incomplete without taking a round of this famous haunt.

The Hindu, 20th October 2012

There are three kinds of graffiti in Delhi – one needs to be preserved, the second prevented and the third encouraged

Graffiti is plural for graffito and is defined in the Concise Oxford Dictionary as “a piece of writing or drawing, scribbled, scratched or sprayed on a surface”. This piece is about all the three kinds of graffiti as seen on the walls of Delhi. There are other kinds of graffiti that use visuals or language that one prefers to avoid and we will not talk about those for that may lead to the raising the collective moral heckles of those whose sentiments are easily hurt.

We will begin with writing, go on to the scratched and conclude with the painted and sprayed kinds of graffiti. The first, and to my mind one of the finest examples of the traditional art of graffiti, can be found in an unnamed mausoleum inside the Mehrauli Archaeological Park.

To reach this graffiti you will have to enter the Mehrauli Archaeological Park from the Gandhak ki Baoli side. After crossing an ancient and now encroached upon mosque and a few houses to your left, you will be in front of a large square structure surmounted by a dome. The ruin dates back to the Sultanate period. Enter the structure and you will notice that the central arch (Mehrab) on the western side is blocked; this is to indicate the direction of Mecca for visitors, who might want to pray for the soul of the departed.

On one of my visits I saw some Persian poetry written on this central Mehrab, the person who wrote it had obviously come prepared. He had a fine hand; he could have been a trained calligrapher. Part of the first line, written in bold strokes with a reed pen and in Indian ink, was still legible as was part of the second line, written in smaller and less well formed strokes. I copied the words that I could read and took them to the Persian scholar Dr. Akhlaq Ahmad Aahan who teaches at Jawaharlal Nehru University. I showed him the words and he said this is most likely the poetry of Sheikh Hafiz Sheerazi.

The complete couplet is:
Dar Namazam Kham-e-abroo-e-tau ba yaad aayad
Haalati raft ke Mehraab ba Faryaad aamad
A very rough almost verbatim translation would be:
As I stood (facing the arch) for prayer, I remembered the arch of your brow
Things came to such a pass that the Arch (of the mosque) came pleading before me

This is subversive Sufi poetry at its best and the graffiti artist knew what he was doing, to write this couplet from one of the greatest poets of Persian and to write it on the arch, that functioned as the qibla, is so well founded in the tradition of graffiti that one begins to wonder if graffiti too, like so many other great things have its origin in the east.

The example of the scratched graffiti that we present here is taken from the mosque and baoli popularly known as Rajon ki Baoli from the Mehrauli Archaeological Park. The structures commissioned in 1516 by Daulat Khan, a noble in the court of Sikander Lodi, came to be called Rajon ki Baoli because a group of masons (Raj-Mistris) had begun to live inside the mosque in the early 20 century. The graffito is taken from Daulat Khan’s mosque and will come in the category of ‘Scratching’. The text is written in a bad hand and the content “Jitender Jyoti Romeo” has no meaning except the obvious.

From Hafiz Sheerazi to Romeo, from the sublime to the ridiculous.

The third example of graffiti that we bring for you, from near Shivalik, near Malviya Nagar, in South Delhi is the latest addition to street art in Delhi and is something that needs to be encouraged. This is modern graffiti and our civic authorities will do a lot of good to the city to allot the drab and colourless government walls to these artists and let them paint without fear of being hauled up under the “Bengal Act” on defacement of public property. Right now these creative young people are forced to work surreptitiously like guerrilla squads using names like Daku, Rane, Zeb Star, Rush and Treble.

We also need to develop a policy that helps us protect the first kind of graffiti because this graffiti is now part of history; to prevent the vandalism of the second variety; and to encourage the third kind and hope that Delhi will soon become the ‘Centre of Graffiti’.

The Hindu, 20th October 2012

It plans to convert it into a research centre-cum-museum

The University of Mysore proposes to take over the bungalow of renowned novelist R.K. Narayan and convert it into a research centre-cum-museum.

It intends to offer a specialised programme for postgraduate students and research scholars in English and will house Narayan’s collection of works and writings.

Narayan’s bungalow at Yadavgiri in the city with the bay room — where the novelist penned many of his works — was on the verge of being demolished in September 2011, but the Mysore City Corporation stepped in and offered to conserve it as a heritage structure and compensate the family members.

Permission
Vice-Chancellor V.G. Talawar told The Hindu that the issue came up for discussion at the Syndicate meeting on Thursday where it was decided to seek permission from the government to take over the bungalow.

“We will also request the government to help the university to restore the building so that research works in English can be held there. We plan to attach it to the Department of English, which will offer specialised programme for students,” he said. The university’s move gives a new lease of life to the proposed conversion of the bungalow to a heritage site or a memorial.

A section of Kannada writers had opposed it on the grounds that public money could not be spent on acquiring and restoration of the bungalow and the project could be taken up if family members donate it to the authorities.

The corporation, which received a directive from the Urban Development Department to release Rs.2.34 crore for the restoration and conservation of the bungalow, rejected it on the grounds that the cash-strapped institution could take up the project provided the government released special grants.

The idea
The idea to restore the bungalow and convert it to a museum and a research centre was initially conceived in 2006 when a seminar to mark the late writer’s centenary was held here. However, the project never got started. Prof. Talawar said the university would also seek funds for its maintenance and would be modelled after the Oriental Research Institute.

The Hindu, 20th October 2012

The Bekal Fort in Kerala, made famous by the romantic song ‘Tu Hi Re’ in Mani Ratnam’s Bombay, is a remarkable example of technology in defence strategy and its hidden chambers are now a haven for tourists. VR Jayaraj tells us more about it

For the romantic soul, Kerala’s 350-year-old Bekal Fort, like the two other famous forts nearby (Chandragiri Fort and Hosdurg), is ideal for savouring moments of freedom from worries. For the common traveller, the fort is no less a recommended destination, with its sprawling courtyards, the vast expanse of Arabian Sea seen from there, the well-kept interior pathways and the quaint recesses, all promising great opportunities for photo sessions. In the middle of the fort is an observation tower, around 80 ft in circumference at the base and standing 30 ft tall. It gives a magnificent view of the Arabian Sea on three sides and lush green landscape to the east. There are several underground passages leading out of various parts of the fort and at least two of them are intact.

History sleeps here. It is a virtual confluence of languages, culture, having witnessed many regime changes. The Mukhyaprana temple and the old mosque nearby bear testimony to the age-old religious harmony and cross-currents that prevailed in the area. But the zigzag entrance and the trenches around the fort show that defence was of paramount concern as it lay in the prized spice coast of India.

Unlike most other forts, Bekal was not a centre of administration or large-scale human settlement. There are no remains of any palace or mansions. But there are markers of defensive strategies. The holes at the top of the outer walls were meant for aiming at the farthest points; the holes below for striking when the enemy was nearer and the holes underneath were meant to fob off attacks on the periphery.

Ideal military base
Bekal served as a nucleus in establishing the dominance of the Nayak kings of Malabar, who foresaw its politico-economic significance. But it was Tipu Sultan, who overran them and converted it into a military base for his many expeditions. The coins and other artifacts found during recent excavations reveal the hold of the Mysore Sultans. The fort came under the British East India Company after the death of Tipu Sultan in the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War of 1799. The Nayaks had not developed guns to defend themselves from invaders coming in from the Arabian Sea route. But the British fortified the western ramparts, carving numerous cannon slits into the walls.

I stand alone at the base of the watch tower like the royal guard of Tipu Sultan, who must have stood here and kept an eye on enemy ships in the Arabian Sea. The sea is a writhing mass of blackish water at the edge of the precipice with clouds hanging over it. Standing on the bastion, I imagine myself as captain on the deck of a black armada that brings me tantalisingly close to the horizon.

Then the rain comes, beating down the parapet and trickling down layers of history. I hear the thump of liveried soldiers, hurrying across the courtyards and carrying immense bundles of arms and ammunition. I listen to the rhythmic tapping of the half-naked foot soldiers of Sivappa Nayak leading the masons who built the fort. And when the thunder forks through the sky, throwing a flashlight in the recesses, I see the neatly-dressed soldiers of Tipu Sultan scaling the inner walls to spy at the Union Jack drenched in rain. The whistling winds remind me of the cavalry and bagpipers of the British East India Company, doing morning drills in the quadrangle. You may call it hallucination but that helps me transcend through times.

Back in the late 1980s, I used to sneak into the Tughlaqabad Fort on the rare moonlit nights of Delhi to watch the noisy activities in the old city where purdah-clad women negotiated the prices of bangles and surma even as policemen dragged away bread-thieves. I have always thought the capacity to hallucinate is a blessing for the traveller. The wave crashes on three sides, shafting up the surf and mist that envelopes me. I watch this raging battle of human endeavour and nature with endless fascination. Till all fury settles into the dead calm afternoon, the sun daubing the cotton clouds in vibrant shades. We watch a fisherman cutting open shells, attaching the worms to his hook and casting again and again; he seems to have caught only a couple of small fish, hardly worth the effort. It’s still the lean season for fishing. Nevertheless a few fishermen join hands to cast a large net deep into the rushing waters and slowly pull it out again. We watch them, rhythmically bending and pulling, bending and pulling, all in a line, with reels of rope coming out but no net in sight. When the net finally appears, they all gather around it to weed out the junk and salvage the fish. “After a couple of months, the fish will come,” one of them explains later.

OTHER FORTS
Being the meeting ground of languages, cultures and a geography that tended to lay clear of regional demarcations, Kasargod had from early times been a significant spot on the map of racing armies. With the Chandragirippuzha (River Chandragiri) serving as a barrier between territories and the Arabian Sea extending to kingdoms unknown, it occupied an important place in the strategy charts of kings and captains. This amply explains the presence of the three mighty forts within a small radius in and around today’s Kasargod town.

Walk down if you care some four-km southeast to Chandragiri village where the Payaswini river meets the Arabian Sea. Opt for a leisurely houseboat cruise along the imposing facade of another 17th century fort built by the Nayak kings. They built eight forts along their territorial limits. So don’t miss the Hosdurg Fort, also known as the new fort.

The Pioneer, 21st October 2012

The now dried up Saraswati river holds the key to many riddles of ancient Indian history — from the fate of the Harappans to the identity of the Vedic people. A convergence of archaeological, geological and climatic studies may soon provide us some answers

The riddle of the Saraswati river never goes long out of public view. The fascination the lost river has exerted on Indian minds is understandable: Praised in the Rig Veda’s hymns as a “mighty” river flowing “from the mountain to the sea” somewhere between the Yamuna and the Sutlej, it is reported a few centuries later by the Brahmanas (commentaries on the Vedas) as disappearing in the desert at a point called Vinashana, which was then a highly revered pilgrimage site. The Mahabharata, whose great war is waged in the region of Kurukshetra watered by the Saraswati and its tributaries, paints a similar picture, adding some details about the broken-up westward course of the river all the way to Prabhasa on the Arabian Sea. The river went on dwindling down, eventually becoming ‘mythical’, finally relocated at the confluence between Ganga and Yamuna as an ‘invisible’ river — a convenient device to remember it.

A modern myth is that satellite imagery ‘rediscovered’ the river in the 1970s. Actually, it only confirmed what had been known for over two centuries: As early as in 1760, a map from The Library Atlas published by Bryce, Collier & Schmitz showed the Saraswati (spelt ‘Soorsuty’) joining the Ghaggar (‘Guggur’) in Punjab; indeed, even today a small stream called ‘Sarsuti’ seasonally flows there. In 1778, James Rennell, a noted English geographer and cartographer, published a Map of Hindoostan or the Mogul Empire with similar details. In the early 19th century, several topographers surveyed the bed of the Ghaggar, a seasonal river that flows down from the Shivalik hills, and found it much too wide for the paltry waters it carried during monsoons; the first scholar to propose that the Ghaggar-Saraswati combine was the relic of the Vedic Saraswati was the French geographer Louis Vivien de Saint-Martin, who authored in 1855 a massive Geography of India’s North-West According to the Vedic Hymns. Subsequently, nearly all Indologists, from Max Müller to Monier-Williams or Macdonell (and later Louis Renou) accepted this thesis. Geologists such as RD Oldham (1886) joined in, followed by geographers such as the Indian Shamsul Islam Siddiqi (1944) or the German Herbert Wilhelmy (1969).

The Indus Civilisation
The story of the Saraswati’s rediscovery would thus have ended long ago if archaeology had not sprung a major surprise by redefining its role in antiquity. In the 1920s, cities of the Bronze Age like Mohenjodaro and Harappa came to light; initial findings were limited to the Indus Valley and Baluchistan, but in 1941, the intrepid explorer Sanskritist Marc Aurel Stein conducted an expedition in the then Bahawalpur State — today’s Cholistan, a very arid region of Pakistan which is technically part of the Thar desert. The Ghaggar’s dry bed continues there under the name of ‘Hakra’, and had long been known to be dotted with numerous ruined settlements. Stein’s contribution, encapsulated in his paper titled ‘A Survey of Ancient Sites along the Lost Saraswati River’, was to show that some of those sites went back to Harappan times. So the Saraswati, too, had nurtured the ‘Indus civilisation’, which prompted a few archaeologists to propose the broader term of ‘Indus-Saraswati civilisation’.

Indeed, decades of further explorations both in India and Pakistan have established that the Saraswati basin was home to about 360 sites of the Mature Harappan Phase (the urban phase that saw cities thrive, from about 2600 to 1900 BCE). This includes settlements such as Bhirrana, Rakhigarhi, Kunal or Banawali (all in Haryana), Kalibangan (Rajasthan) or Ganweriwala (Cholistan) — altogether, almost a third of all known urban Harappan sites. (Gujarat was also host to over 300 of them, another indication that the term ‘Indus civilisation’ is something of a misnomer.)

Again, that the Ghaggar-Hakra was the Saraswati’s relic was accepted by most archaeologists, including Mortimer Wheeler, Raymond Allchin (both from Britain), Gregory Possehl, JM Kenoyer (both from the US), Jean-Marie Casal (France), AH Dani (Pakistan), BB Lal, SP Gupta, VN Misra or Dilip Chakrabarti (India).

The Aryan Issue
Despite the broad consensus, scholars such as Romila Thapar, Irfan Habib and the late RS Sharma started questioning this identification in the 1980s. What prompted this rather late reaction? It was a new development: A study of the evolution of the pattern of Harappan settlements in the Saraswati basin now revealed that in its central part — roughly southwest Haryana, southern Punjab and northern Rajasthan — most or all Harappan sites were abandoned sometime around 1900 BCE, a period coinciding with the end of the urban phase of the Indus civilisation. Clearly, the river system collapsed — which archaeologists now saw as a factor contributing to the end of the brilliant Indus civilisation.

Why was this a problem? We must remember that the Saraswati is lavishly praised both as a river and a Goddess in the Rig Veda, a collection of hymns which mainstream Indology says was composed by Indo-Aryans shortly after their migration to India around 1500 BCE. However, by that time, the Saraswati had been reduced to a minor seasonal stream: How could the said Aryans praise it as a ‘mighty river’, the ‘best of rivers’, ‘mother of waters’, etc? There is a chronological impossibility. Hence, the objectors asserted, the Ghaggar-Hakra was not, after all, the Saraswati extolled in the Rig Veda. While some (Rajesh Kochhar) tried to relocate the river in Afghanistan, others (Irfan Habib) decided that the Saraswati was not a particular river but “the river in the abstract, the River Goddess”; but both theses ran against the Rig Veda’s own testimony that the river flowed between the Yamuna and the Sutlej.

However, what should have remained a scholarly issue now turned into an ideological and often acrimonious battle: On the one hand, those who stuck to the identity between the Saraswati and the Ghaggar-Hakra concluded that the composers of the Rig Veda must have lived in the region during the third millennium BCE at the latest — but as the only settlements known of that period were Harappan ones, they often held that the Harappans were part of the Vedic people; cultural evidence such as a Harappan swastika, yogic postures, figurines in namaste and more was pressed into service to bridge the Harappan and the Vedic worlds. On the other hand, scholars who continued to swear by an Aryan immigration in the mid-second millennium BCE, and therefore a pre-Vedic Harappan civilisation, accused the former of ‘chauvinism’, ‘jingoism’ or worse, conveniently forgetting that dozens of Western scholars had, for a century-and-a-half, accepted the same location for the Saraswati river.

New Research
Leaving aside the controversy, we now have scientific research combining geology and river studies. Satellite imagery is another useful tool, but cannot by itself date the numerous buried palaeo-channels (ancient waterways) it has brought to light; anyone can today access websites such as Google Earth and view the well-marked bed of the Ghaggar, but when did a perennial river last flow through it, and where did it draw its waters from?

Several recent studies have thrown new light on the ancient river, though sometimes with contradictory findings. Thus, in an article of April 2011 published in the noted magazine Science, A Lawler claimed that “the Ghaggar-Hakra was at most a modest seasonal stream... from 2500 BCE to 1900 BCE”, that is, at the height of the Harappan civilisation. This ran against the notion of a mighty, or simply perennial, Saraswati flowing during mature Harappan times. Lawler based himself on recent independent studies piloted by geologists Sanjeev Gupta, Peter Clift (both from the UK), and Hideaki Maemoku (Japan), which suggested that the river had largely dried up long before Harappan times.

But Clift had, in a paper of September 2009 in Geoscientist, found that “between 2000 and 3000 BCE, flow along a presently dried up course known as the Ghaggur-Hakkra river ceased, probably driven by the weakening monsoon and possibly also because of headwater capture into the adjacent Yamuna and Sutlej rivers”.

Clift’s multi-national team, using sophisticated methods to date zircon sand grains and identify their provenance, published in the journal Geology of 2012 a paper which showed that the Yamuna once flowed into the Ghaggar-Hakra, but switched eastward tens of thousands of years ago; the Sutlej also contributed to the Ghaggar system but abandoned it 10,000 years ago or earlier. But the paper remained non-committal as regards the precise time for the drying of the Ghaggar itself.

More recently, in March 2012, a similar team of geoscientists published in Proceedings of National Academy of Science a paper entitled ‘Fluvial landscapes of the Harappan civilisation’ (its lead author was Liviu Giosan, with Clift as second author). The team disagreed that “large glacier-fed Himalayan river watered the Harappan heartland on the interfluve between the Indus and Ganges basins”; rather, “only monsoonal-fed rivers were active there during the Holocene” (that is, the last 10,000 years or so). In particular, “rivers were undoubtedly active in this region during the Urban Harappan Phase”. Indeed, the geoscientists found “sandy fluvial deposits approximately 5,400 (years) old at Fort Abbas in Pakistan, and recent work on the upper Ghaggar-Hakra interfluve in India also documented Holocene channel sands that are approximately 4,300 (years) old”. In other words, the Ghaggar-Hakra was active during the mature Harappan period, although not fed by glacial sources; it was a monsoon-fed river, like rivers of central or southern India: “Reliable monsoon rains were able to sustain perennial rivers earlier during the Holocene, (which) explains why Harappan settlements flourished along the entire Ghaggar-Hakra system without access to a glacier-fed river.”

While this conclusion of a perennial but monsoon-fed Saraswati in Harappan times may be provisionally accepted, further studies surveying larger areas may slightly alter it, since we know from a 15th century Islamic chronicle that the Sutlej and Ghaggar systems were still connected in medieval times, and therefore sands of Himalayan provenance carried by the Sutlej should be identifiable in the Ghaggar’s central and lower basin.

But that is, after all, a detail: What matters is the acknowledgement of a perennial Ghaggar’s role in sustaining numerous Harappan urban settlements, and the coincidence between its dwindling down and the withdrawal of Harappan sites from its central basin. This is further supported by another 2012 study, directed by Indian geologist Rajiv Sinha and published in Quaternary International, which mapped palaeo-river sedimentary bodies in the subsurface by measuring their electrical resistivity (water-bearing sediments having a lower resistivity than dry ones). The study offered “the first stratigraphic evidence that a palaeochannel exists in the sub-surface alluvium in the Ghaggar valley. The fact that the major urban sites of Kalibangan and Kunal lie adjacent to the newly discovered subsurface fluvial channel body suggests that there may be a spatial relationship between the Ghaggar-Hakra palaeochannel and Harappan site distribution”.

Such a conclusion had been reached by archaeologists long ago, since Kalibangan, for instance, shows no evidence of independent water supply; unlike Mohenjodaro, it had very few wells, and unlike Dholavira, no reservoirs, yet it was continually occupied for several centuries: For its water supply through the year, it must therefore have depended on the Ghaggar, on whose left bank it lay (with entries into its fortified areas facing the riverbed).

A convergence of archaeological, geological and climatic studies is thus on the horizon, and we may soon be in a position to better understand the reasons for the decline of the Indus civilisation. As regards the Saraswati river, allowing for some metaphorical inflation in the Vedic hymns, nothing in the recent research contradicts the river’s break-up and gradual extinction as depicted in India’s ancient literature. We are thus back to the original problem: If we accept the Vedic hymns’ description of a river flowing from the mountain to the sea and located between the Yamuna and the Sutlej, the Ghaggar remains the sole candidate; but as we now know, this description can only apply to the third millennium BCE or earlier, an epoch that does not fit with the conventional scenario of a second millennium Aryan migration into India. We still have to wait for the last word on India’s protohistory.

The Pioneer, 21st October 2012

Bera, a sleepy village in the Pali district about 140 km from Jodhpur, doesn’t get too many visitors. But for those who do drop by, there’s a lot to see. The tour guide promises panther sightings and a peaceful getaway from the hustle and bustle of the tourist destinations of Rajasthan.

Tapping its potential of a perfect retreat for wildlife enthusiasts, the state government has identified Sumerpur, another site in Pali district, to be notified as a panther conservation reserve. The area, right next to the Kumbhalgarh sanctuary, with its thriving panther population (20 to 30 in 650 hectares) will soon figure among the state’s wildlife destinations.

Many pockets in the Pali district, such as Bera, Kameshwar hill, area around Velar village, Bhubhutia Mahadeo, Ludada hill, Perwa Bisalpur and Sena are not part of the Kumbhalgarh sanctuary but support a sizeable population of leopards, also called panthers. Eleven villages have been identified for in situ conservation of panthers to protect their depleting numbers.

Rajasthan tourism and environment and forest minister Bina Kak said, “While tigers hog all the attention, the depleting population of panthers has been neglected. Therefore, before it is too late, we have proposed to come up with a dedicated reserve for panthers in Pali district near the Jawai Dam. The final notification will ensure that there is a system in place to conserve them in the area and at the same time develop eco-tourism in and around the earmarked reserve.”

Parbat Singh Champawat, Range Officer (Wildlife), Sumerpur, said, “The area identified for the reserve is an ideal habitat. The broken hilly terrain with sparse vegetation provides suitable natural habitat to this big feline species. Many caves in the area provide hideouts to them. The Jawai Dam provides them water besides a few perennial springs in the hills near Sena village.”

In three villages, waterholes will be desilted and deepened while 18 new waterholes will be created across the reserve. Around Rs 292 lakh is the estimated cost for habitat development and another Rs 66 lakh will be spent on waterholes.

The state government also plans to run a dedicated public awareness and education campaign to educate the local community about the importance of conservation. The local community will be explained how the panther-centric eco-tourism will help improve their socio-economic status. Currently, Castle Bera, the only heritage hotel in the area, and a few other smaller resorts do manage to draw a few tourists. However, no property offers accommodation of more than 10 rooms.

Panther’s common preyshare—porcupine, nilgai, chinkara, monitor lizard, langur and crocodile—are not in adequate numbers any longer. As a result, panthers venture into villages to pick up domestic animals. “To increase the count of naturally found herbivores, grasslands in the area are planned to be developed which will provide a ready source of fresh fodder. Chinkaras, however, are no longer found in the area and hence they are proposed to be brought in ,” said PS Somashekar, Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife).

Though not in the endangered list yet, panthers have been declining in number at an alarming rate, Somashekar points out. According to the 2011 census, 436 panthers were found within protected areas and another 129 were found outside protected areas in the state. Officials said that the figure, though much better than in many other states, needs to be worked on as Rajasthan’s terrain makes for a natural habitat.

The Indian Express, 21st October 2012

If you are on Lothian Road and going towards Red Fort, behind the row of shops on your left is a significant centre of learning. The present-day campus of Delhi government’s Ambedkar University has a hidden gem on its sprawling premises: the Dara Shikoh Library. An old but renovated building sporting a mix of Mughal and British architecture is the proud legacy of Dara Shikoh (1615-1659), the eldest son and heir apparent of emperor Shah Jahan. However, his younger brother Aurangzeb beat him to the Mughal throne.

Dara Shikoh, an erudite scholar, had a huge collection of books. An example of his penmanship are his translations of several Upanishads from Sanskrit to Persian. After his death, the building underwent numerous changes.

It became the residence of a Mughal noble, then that of a British resident, a government college, district school, a municipal school and much later, in the 20th century, the Delhi government's department of archaeology moved in.

Every occupant or agency added on to its architecture. The English built the tall imposing Roman-style pillars as additions were made from two sides to the Mughal-era building. Inside, you can still see the decorated sandstone arches akin to that of a baradari.

The archaeology department’s administrative wing recently shifted to Vikas Bhawan II, adjacent to Metcalfe House. "However, our museum artifacts and archival records continue to remain there. In the future, we hope to put this building to better use,” said Vishwa Mohan, additional secretary, department of art and culture.

The Hindustan Times, 21st October 2012

Sparrows are sparse in Delhi. Alarm bells were sounded regularly in the last decade about the household bird, whose chatter used to wake us up, vanishing. With our modern gadgets using various wavelengths and radio signals, we succeeded in driving the small birds out of our homes and the city.

After the slow decimation of the bird was complete, the Delhi chief minister declared sparrow to be the state bird, setting in motion conservation efforts. Why is it intrinsic to humans through civilizations to kill, destroy or decimate something to remember its utility and value later and then erect memorials or take corrective measures?

We did that to wildlife and tigers. Poaching and pleasure killings almost wiped out the big cat and many a small animal from the jungles. We then set in motion the Wildlife Protection Act and created the National Tiger Conservation Authority.

The scenario outside the jungles is pretty much the same. Two basic ingredients of a constitutional democracy - honesty and integrity - have been systematically decimated in the three organs of governance. And now, there is a public outcry to root out corruption and create an 'honesty and integrity conservation authority' in Jan Lokpal.

The anguished cry to conserve the endangered tribe of honest politicians and bureaucrats came up because corruption has robbed us of almost everything that we promised to ourselves while adopting the Constitution in the Constituent Assembly on November 26, 1949.

We, the people, had more than 60 years ago solemnly resolved that in India, there will be social, economic and political justice; that there will be liberty of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship; and that we shall all be equal without any division and get equal opportunities in everything.

Six decades is a long time for a country to achieve at least justice, if not in economical sphere, in the social and political arena. Is it visible or felt by the common man? Why has corruption prospered to such an extent that honest and integrity have become the sacrificial lamb on every occasion?

We, the people, provided the government with one of the largest human resources. Instead of getting us united and guided towards the common goal of prosperity, we today find ourselves divided by caste, creed, regionalism, religion and sectarianism, taking ourselves as far as possible from the desired goal of social and political justice.

Economic justice too is a far cry. We are forced to fight a daily battle for survival. Millions are still clueless how to cross the poverty line by earning a meagre Rs 32 a day to be counted as not poor.

In contrast, the political class thinks that the country's resources have been bestowed upon them through legacy and heritage. They do everything, including manipulation, to utilize these resources to their advantage.

The honest bureaucrat too has been decimated. In S S Brar vs Chandigarh Administration, theSupreme Court two weeks back said, "In the system of governance which we have today, junior officers in the administration cannot even think of, what to say of, acting against the wishes/dictates of their superiors. One who violates this unwritten code of conduct does so at his own peril and is described foolhardy. Even those constituting higher strata of services follow the path of least resistance and find it most convenient to tow the line of their superiors."

When a country's law minister, confronted with documents relating to possible irregularities in the receipt of government grants by his NGO, adopts a threatening posture and talks of blood, we the people must understand that drastic steps are needed to remind the political class about constitutional promises. Otherwise, democracy itself could find itself in troubled waters.

In a 1996 judgment in Fred Harvey vs Attorney General of New Brunswick relating to illegal practices by a legislator, the Canadian Supreme Court had said, "If democracies are to survive, they must insist upon the integrity of those who seek and hold public office. They cannot tolerate corrupt practices within the legislature. Nor can they tolerate electoral fraud. If they do, two consequences are apt to result. First, the functioning of legislature may be impaired. Second, public confidence in the legislature and the government may be undermined. No democracy can afford this."

The Times of India, 22nd October 2012

We visit Ramanujam’s house in Kumbakonam

Sarangapani Sannidhi Street in Kumbakonam, Tamil Nadu, takes its name from the massive temple that looms at the end of the road. Yet, a barely-there agraharam house on that unremarkable and dusty street also demands attention. Simply because it was home to a mathematician called Srinivasa Ramanujan, who confounded the scholars of Cambridge with his sheer genius with numbers. The house is 150 years old and, fortunately for it and for those who know of and revere the man, SASTRA University stepped in to maintain it as a heritage structure. In 2003, Dr APJ Abdul Kalam declared it an international monument.

Just as well, because Ramanujan’s home is today squeezed between Pandian Hotel on one side and a sanitaryware shop on the other; a hoarding of the shop rests partly on its roof. Very little of the original street exists, but for an old godown diagonally opposite his house called Vembu Ammal Mandapam, which is in a shambles, and of course the Sarangapani temple.

It is not difficult to imagine Ramanujan sitting on the thinnai outside, leaning against the pillars that are painted a bright blue today. There are many stories of how he sat there dreaming of numbers and formulae, scribbling them on his slate and, when too impatient to rub it clean, how he continued his calculations on the bare floor. A short passage from the thinnai leads to the inner entrance. One can’t help being moved entering the house with its low doors. It lies largely empty today, but for a cot and a bicycle parked inside. Maybe the family did not have many worldly possessions that could be preserved and displayed proudly. But there is a bust of Ramanujan in the hall, set there by the university. There is also a bedroom and a kitchen and a tiny backyard with a well. An ammi kal and a small aduppu sit in the otherwise empty kitchen, where no doubt Ramanujan’s mother Komalatammal and later wife Janakiammal spent a good part of their day, cooking and doing puja and sitting on the small thinnai right by the kitchen door cleaning rice in the bright daylight.

The main hallway has copies of some of Ramanujan’s letters and some of his work framed and hung up. ‘Some magic squares liked by Ramanujan’, ‘Fascinating patterns even in irrational numbers’, ‘Hardy Ramanujan Rademacher Series’, ‘Exquisite forms among powers of numbers’… are some of them. Then there are copies of postcards he wrote to various people, one of them from a sanatorium in England to Cambridge University, requesting an extension of date for his admission as he was unwell.

In the bedroom there is a framed copy of the house paper dated April 16, 1860. More of Ramanujan’s correspondence with Hardy and his mathematical calculations are displayed at a museum at the university building in Kumbakonam. According to a spokesperson, the university will hold a celebration between December 14 and 16 at which the winner of the Srinivasa Ramanujan award will be honoured. The award of 10,000 US dollars is granted to mathematics scholars for exemplary work done before the age of 32, the age at which Ramanujan died.

The Hindu, 22nd October 2012

More than two years after the Delhi government announced formation of a water body authority, officials are still "working out modalities".

The government claims to have expedited work to form the authority which will protect and manage the 600-odd water bodies left in the Capital.
"We're identifying all water bodies currently falling under the jurisdiction of various land-owning agencies such as Delhi Development Authority, Delhi Jal Board or the three municipal corporations. We're seeking - from these agencies -their existing action plans so that we can prepare a holistic plan and form the authority," a senior government official told Hindustan Times on Monday.

"We want to avoid duplication. For example, Delhi Jal Board also prevents pollution of water bodies. We're working out modalities for one unified authority," he said.

The government claims that the delay in formation of the authority does not mean the water bodies are not being protected. "For example, we're writing to the East Delhi municipal corporation for protection of a water body at Mandawali in Shahadra. Debris had been dumped there after construction works. We're telling the corporation to carry out plantation work in the area," he said.

The government also claimed that it is committed to protect marshes - a mix of wetland and grassland - near Jahangirpuri in North Delhi. "DMRC is building a Metro line in the area and has set up a temporary depot for storage of material. The area is under Delhi Jal Board and DDA. We will go for plantation in the area after the Metro construction is over. We believe parks and water bodies can co-exist," the official said.

"After the national green tribunal (NGT) told officials to clear debris from the Yamuna riverbed, we have initiated measures that the order is followed in toto," he said. The tribunal observed early this month that the debris was causing pollution and was hazardous to the river ecosystem, flow of water and to the inhabitants who use the water.

These actions are being taken after Yamuna Jiye Abhiyan, a civil society group, asked the government to protect waterbodies and marshes from pollution and encroachment.

The Hindustan Times, 23rd October 2012

Acting tough following yet another Public Interest Litigation (PIL), the Allahabad High Court, in an interim order, has directed the civic agencies to cement the drain which allegedly overflows into the green area of Sai Upvan city forest in Ghaziabad. The court has also directed that there should be a sewage treatment plant (STP) to protect the water of river Hindon from pollution.
The interim order came from Acting Chief Justice Amitava Lala and Justice Ashok Srivastava on a PIL filed by Ghaziabad councillor Rajendra Tyagi. He had filed the PIL against the proposed golf course by the Ghaziabad Development Authority (GDA) over 81 acres of the Sai Upvan city forest.
Tyagi had also alleged that a drain was flowing into the forest area and the sewage was destroying the trees.
In his PIL, Tyagi had also requested that the court stop any non-forest activity in the area and direct the agencies to initiate a reforestation drive. He also wanted the court to ensure that no untreated sewage is dumped into River Hindon and that the drain was cemented.
Also stating that there should be substantial development in this regard — which should also be reported to the court — the court order also stated: “In case of failure, the Municipal Commissioner of Ghaziabad Nagar Nigam will be directed to be personally present before this court.”
The court also connected Tyagi’s PIL to another PIL filed by Alok Kumar, vice-president of Ghaziabad RWA Federation (Indirapuram zone). Kumar had also moved court against the proposed golf course project and had filed a supplementary affidavit along with his main petition which called for better implementation of the UP Apartment Act 2010.
Earlier, in an interim order on October 4 over Kumar’s PIL, the court had ordered that status quo be maintained for Sai Upvan and Kanha Upvan green areas. In its counter affidavit, the GDA had stated that no project had be en finalised as yet and requested that the interim order be vacated.

The Hindustan Times, 23rd October 2012

Mining companies have not taken kindly to the Government’s move to demarcate a one kilometre buffer zone around wildlife sanctuaries and have said that the decision would adversely affect the ‘economies’ of those regions.

In a formal statement issued here the Goa Mineral Ore Exporters Association (GMOEA), which represents Goa’s miners says “Given the contiguity of forest land due to the topography of Goa, the Cabinet’s decision to demarcate eco-sensitive buffer zones of 100 metres to one km around wildlife sanctuaries and national parks will have an adverse socio-economic impact in these regions,” the Association said adding that the cabinet decision impacts nearly 4000 jobs related to the mining and other ancillary industries.

Forests accounted for 38 per cent of Goa’s geographical area out of which mining accounted for less than 7 per cent of the green area, they said to buffer their claim.

“The total forest area in Goa is about 38 per cent of the total Geographical area. Of which, less than 7 per cent area where mining happens is considered to be forest area and these mines have been accorded all the requisite Government clearances, both at the State and the Central level,” the statement read. Over 30 mines operate in close vicinity of wildlife sanctuaries in Goa and have been in the news regularly over conflict between wildlife and mining activity are now likely to be shut in a phased manner.

The Pioneer, 24th October 2012

Activists working for the protection of the Yamuna are upset "at the continuous destruction of the riverbed". The Yamuna Jiye Abhiyan (YJA), a local group, has submitted a few pictures to Lt Governor Tejendra Khanna that highlight how a natural water body in the Yamuna riverbed near Krishan Kunj in east Delhi is being filled with household waste brought in trucks. "The pictures also suggest that the riverbed next to and downstream the water body is being converted into a solid waste dump by various agencies," said Manoj Mishra of YJA. "The National Green Tribunal, on our complaint, has ordered the removal of debris from the riverbed," he added.

The organisation has requested Khanna that the "illegal activity" should be stopped and the riverbed and water body be restored.

The YJA also wants to make a presentation “highlighting more such ongoing activities” at the next meeting of the Yamuna River Development Authority. The organisation said most of the activities it will highlight are harmful to the river, its floodplains and ecology.

Diwan Singh, another activist, said, "We told the chief secretary about the mushrooming of unauthorised colonies on the riverbed. We spoke about ecological balance and the need to check further urbanisation by giving incentives to agricultural activities or encouraging farmers to perform ecological activities such as social forestry, rainwater harvesting, biodiversity conservation etc. But he said no agricultural activity takes place in Delhi."

"But farmers have been carrying out agricultural activities for centuries here and they still do so till the DDA uproots them. Delhi’s farmers on whose land this city has come up are very depressed over such attitude of the authorities," Singh added.

The Hindustan Times, 25th October 2012

The sight is far from pleasing. Household waste and sewage water have amalgamated into a huge pile of garbage on a two-acre plot. This isn't the description of a landfill site. It's a pond in Aya Nagar that has turned into a dumping ground, owing to continuous neglect on the part of civic authorities. At a time when the capital is witnessing a surge in the number of dengue cases, the area is serving as a breeding ground for mosquitoes.
"It's not really a pond. It's a dumping site. Even sewage water is making its way into it. Three cows died here last week after being trapped in the swamp. We have repeatedly complained to civic authorities but no action has been taken. When we approached South Delhi Municipal Corporation but the agency refused to take responsibility for the mess. Officials said DDA is responsible for the pond's maintenance," said Ved Pal, president, Aya Nagar RWA.

This isn't the only pond in the city dying a slow death. Water bodies across the city are fast disappearing and municipal corporations haven't taken any steps to maintain them despite a high court on the issue. "It is not the corporations' job to maintain water bodies. Either the Delhi government's flood and irrigation department or DDA looks after them," said Mukesh Yadav, director, press and information, South corporation. Interestingly, the erstwhile MCD had earmarked Rs 50 lakh for the upkeep of water bodies in last year's budget.

HC had instructed DDA to take action against private parties which had connected sewer lines to the pond. But, DDA and the corporations have been passing the buck as far as the maintenance of water bodies is concerned. DDA says that all areas which contain water bodies have been transferred to the corporations. "Only lakes fall under DDA's ambit. Smaller water bodies have been given to the corporations," said DDA spokesperson, Neemo Dhar.

Recently, health department officials of one of the corporations found mosquito larvae breeding at a Najafgarh pond. "Many areas lack a proper drainage system. Since sewage enters water bodies they turn into breeding grounds for the insects," said a source.

Times view
The MCD has for a few years now been very meticulous in sending out squads to check for mosquito breeding in private homes. Perhaps it should focus more on ensuring that public spaces are kept free of the menace. Water-logged public spaces and open drains are too common a sight to excite any comment from the capital's residents, but they do provide fertile breeding grounds for all kinds of health hazards. A civic authority that insists on individual citizens maintaining cleanliness in their homes and neighbourhoods carries little credibility if it itself has such a poor record of sanitation.

The Times of India, 25th October 2012

There were four official ghats where the Delhi government had permitted immersions on Wednesday, the day of Durga visarjan. However, either because people were not aware, or because it was convenient for some, several small idols and tonnes of puja material found its way into the Yamuna from all possible bridges in the city.

At the Yamuna Bridge on Vikas Marg, despite two traffic police constables, a tow truck and notices that warned people against stopping, several people parked their vehicles on the main road to throw puja material into the river. A temporary mesh structure erected in the river just off the main road also did nothing to hold in the puja material that were immersed there. Consequently, the already filthy Yamuna was even filthier on Wednesday, dotted with hundreds of plastic bags, strips of red cloth and small idols among other things.

"We had made extensive arrangements to ensure that the major immersions took place in the four ghats identified by us which were Ram Ghat, Kudsia Ghat, Geeta Ghat and Kalindi Kunj. The irrigation and flood control department had made temporary enclosures here and Delhi Jal Board had also been roped in to release extra water in the river so that the solid waste would get washed away. On Thursday, the irrigation and flood control department will clean the river and the municipal corporations will remove the waste from the ghats. The environment department held two meetings with stakeholders to ensure pollution was kept to the minimum," said an environment department official.

The official added that they had already tied up with an NGO that makes organic colours for holi to give them the puja flowers that would be pulled out from the river.

Officials did accept though that even though the major puja committees were part of the meetings and knew where the immersions were allowed this year, not too many others were aware of the restricted locations. "Despite everything, the river was looking equally filthy on Wednesday. People threw in things from every place possible even though we carried out several campaigns asking them not to do so.

"The HC had ordered that 13 permanent structures were to be built in the Yamuna for the purpose of immersion. In 2009, the erstwhile MCD had given an affidavit in court that these special enclosures would be made and though the environment department sent it several reminders, no work was carried out. The Yamuna is already pretty much a drain because of its water quality. Each year tonnes of waste is thrown into it under the garb of immersions as the idols are painted with toxic paints. It is not even aesthetically appealing," said a senior government official.

The Times of India, 25th October 2012

The transformation of Delhi from an aesthetically constructed city to an urban jungle has left many old residents disappointed and aggrieved. One of them is the widely acclaimed photographer Raghu Rai who has lived and worked as a photo-journalist in the city for decades.

Now Raghu Rai’s portrayal of the city as it existed when he made a foray into this creative line will be displayed at a month-long exhibition at Ojas Art near the Qutab Minar main roundabout here beginning November 2.

The exhibits, including Rai’s iconic black-and-white and coloured images, cover divergent subjects and, more importantly, the Delhi which no longer exists.

So, from an early morning Yamuna view to the ancient Jantar Mantar in the afternoon and a silent Qutab Minar to the majestic stance of Humayun’s tomb, the never-seen-before images of Rai will be a visual treat for the ubiquitous art collector.

Raghu Rai says the exhibition will be a special one because it will feature photographs which have never previously been published. “Delhi has changed dramatically. It will not be an exaggeration to say that Delhi of the earlier era is simply non-existential. The pictures are undoubtedly important because they are historical images. They can be used for reference purpose by those who want to study changes in the landscape, demographics and social contours of Delhi.”

Pained by the ugly changes taking place in the city in the name of development, Raghu Rai is disturbed by the urbanisation of villages around Delhi. “Villages are fast losing their identity. Even our heritage sites have not been spared. The landscape around Qutab Minar and Humayun Tomb has changed so much that these sites do not look the same from a distance. Unauthorised colonies which mushroomed illegally have been legitimised.”

The senior photographer says the political masters have allowed the powerful builders to construct anything without sparing a thought to aesthetics. “This is nothing but directionless urbanisation. Delhi has seen exponential growth in recent times but our precious heritage edifices, greenery and forest areas should not have been tampered with. Unfortunately those who have done mindless encroachment in the forest areas and agricultural lands have been given legal sanctity.”

Blaming vote bank politics for the chaos prevailing in the Lutyens’ city, Raghu Rai says migrants have succeeded in living in the city by greasing the palm of the men in khaki and government employees.

“Delhi was beautifully constructed by the Mughals. The majestic Mughal Delhi or the Walled City was constructed with a lot of care and compassion for the inhabitants. There was magic in the earlier houses. But now we see swanky buildings which are expressionless. Somehow the magic in them is missing.”

Some of the best images captured by the magic lens of Raghu Rai to be displayed at “India Images: Delhi…. that was by Raghu Rai in Extended Edition” seek to promote the art of photography.

The Hindu, 25th October 2012

The recent Rs 500 crore heist at Rewa royal museum in Madhya Pradesh could be replicated in as many as 11 new museums of the Archaeological Survey of India across the country. Precious artifacts and antiques continue to be guarded by daily wagers in these museums, set up 1998 onwards. The ASI has failed to make regular appointments at these museums, mostly located adjacent to the excavation sites. The value of the artifacts in these museums could run into hundreds of crores of rupees.

While daily wagers are entrusted with the task of guarding the artifacts at these 11 museums, the Union Culture Ministry has passed the buck on the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) for failing to give the go-ahead to it to recruit requisite staff for these museums.

Sources said that most of these museums came up following intense pressure from VIPs or Member of Parliaments.

A classic case of a museum being set up in haste by the ASI is at Piprahwa in Uttar Pradesh, 22 km from Siddharthnagar, which is identified with ancient Kapilvastu where Gautama Buddha spent the early years of his life. A large stupa stands at the ancient site which is said to have housed the bone relics of Buddha.

However, it is learnt that the building for the proposed museum remains inundated with water due to heavy flooding in the region throughout the year. To play it safe, the ASI decided not to keep the valuable replica, but just showcase their photos.

Congress MP Jagdambika Pal, who has been pitching in for setting up the museum, said that the site is of historical importance and the museum will not only boost tourism but will also give a chance to people to have glimpse of the historical importance of the site.

"If there is any staff crunch issue I will ensure that it is resolved adequately," he said.

There are overall 44 museums in the country supervised by the ASI which in a sort of makeshift arrangement transfers the staff from the Monument divisions to the Museums Division on temporarily basis as per requirement. "But, then, this is at the cost of security of monuments," said the sources.

Though, luckily, so far no untoward incident has been reported from these 11 museums, the officials admit that the sites can fall victim to theft as has happened at the Rewa museum. The robbers decamped with over 500-year-old antiques and ornaments belonging to the royal family of the erstwhile princely state. They struck at the museum in Rewa fort, murdered a security guard and escaped with valuables worth crores.

"There is a need to recruit permanent staff at the museums so that in case of any theft or some untoward incident they can be made accountable in theft cases. But these daily wagers can easily escape the scrutiny net," said sources in the Culture Ministry.

The Pioneer, 25th October 2012

Archaeologists believe they have discovered the largest ancient Hindu templeever found in the Indonesian island of Bali.

Construction workers were digging a new drainage basin near a Hindu learning center on Jalan Trengguli, in east Denpasar, when they struck a large stone structure one metre underground, the Jakarta Globe reported.

A large stone plate was excavated , the first of many discovered at the site. The Denpasar Archeology Agency took over the excavation and uncovered an 11-metre-long structure. "We will continue until (the whole structure is revealed)," said Wayan Suantika , an official in the agency.

Suantika told reporters that judging by the square structure's similarity to ancient temples found in east Java, it likely dates back to the 14th century, the paper said. "The strengthener layers in between the stone plates were another characteristic usually found in 13th or 14th century (structures)," he said.

Local residents also found ceramic wares and stone plates at the site, Suantika said. "This discovery is the largest stone temple found in Bali," he added.



The Times of India, 26th October 2012

A socio-economic survey of Hazrat Nizamuddin Basti in 2008 revealed that less that 2% of the local population visited parks. The fact that parks of over 5 acres surrounded the basti did little to stir people's interest. In order to overcome this mindset, a newly landscaped park was inaugurated by additional CP Ajay Chaudhary before the leader of opposition, South corporation.

The ribbon-cutting ceremony was accompanied by children of the area's corporation-run primary school singing the National Anthem and youths from the basti playing an inaugural football match. The redevelopment of the park was carried out by Aga Khan Trust for Culture(AKTC). Shveta Mathur, AKTC programme officer for urban planning, explained that community management of facilities, such as toilets, had ensured proper use of the park as well greater participation in its management.

Chaudhary also assured women of the basti that police will show zero tolerance towards drug-peddlers and will keep addicts off the newly developed park and the surrounding areas.

In 2007, AKTC had signed an MoU with the erstwhile MCD, Central Public Works Department and the Archaeological Survey of India to undertake the urban renewal project with distinct objectives: heritage conservation, socio-economic development and improving the environment.

In November 2009, an MoU with DDA allowed AKTC to undertake a landscape project aimed at making these parks accessible to the community by making it free of drug-peddling, a serious concern for the locals.

Officials said the landscaping was done after extensively consulting the community members and keeping in mind distinct use of each of the three major parks. "There is now a women's only Pardah Bagh with an attached Children's Park, a park for the community elders and events, and a larger park, which has just been inaugurated, for youth sports, and an overspill from the Barat Ghar," said an official.

The design also reflects the historic nature of the settlement as there has been a extensive use of natural materials, such as sandstone, quartzite stone, and popular flora like Ashoka, Alostonia, Spathodia, Chandni and the Bougainvillaea.

The Times of India, 26th October 2012

It's official. Sparrow is Delhi's state bird. The Delhi government has issued a notification to this effect. Now, the government is working on an action plan to sensitise people, especially children, about saving the bird and preserving its habitat. "We need to protect sparrows and bring them back, besides raising awareness on their life and habitat," a top government official told Hindustan Times.

Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit had made a declaration in this regard on August 15 this year. The government will first monitor these birds and create a distribution map.

"We will first work in areas where there is some presence of these birds. We want to promote, especially in schools, the concepts of kitchen gardens and artificial nesting. We hope their (the sparrows') numbers increase. Otherwise, the task will be more difficult," the official said.

"Methyl nitrate - emitted by vehicles - is one reason why these birds are becoming extinct. Vegetable production along the river, which used to attract sparrows, is also becoming a thing of the past," he said.

"Cell phone towers are another reason. Studies have suggested these birds, after they leave nests in search of food, lose ways because of waves and often do not get back. They migrate to areas where there are foodgrain markets or small shrubs," he said.

Mohammad Dilawar, a bird activist, said, "We have tied up with the government in this conservation project. We're drafting guidelines for creation of more habitats, and getting these birds back to Delhi.

Founder of Nature Forever Society, Dilawar has set up an online portal - Common Bird Monitoring of India (www.cbmi.in), where people can register themselves and monitor the birds around their offices, homes and school.

Information has also been uploaded about various species of birds and the ways to monitor them and record data.

"In the food chain, this bird, like many others, is a bio-indicator. To be able to save this bird will also mean we have made the environs we live in better," he said.

"The Delhi government has plans to incorporate common bird monitoring in the school curriculum in the city. Nature Forever Society will provide the logistics," said the official.

Experts had said that due to reduction of open spaces, the birds had been declining in number and there was an urgent need to reverse the decline.

Rampant urbanisation has eroded habitat for common bird species in metropolitan cities such as Delhi.

Therefore, conservation efforts - apart from raising awareness among the people about the fact that the common birds around them are in danger - focusses extensively on endeavours to save habitat.

The Hindustan Times, 27th October 2012

George Roshan crosses a dry ravine to meet the Rani of Ranthambore, only to be taken by complete surprise.

At around 3 in the afternoon on a summer’s day, an open jeep arrived to take us for a safari ride. Our guide for the day was Rajkumar, an expert in jungle lore and the wild denizens of Ranthambore National Park. At the entrance to the park, we were besieged by a legion of local touts wanting to sell souvenir caps, vests and the like. We had gone with our sun hats, so we politely declined. Rajkumar returned from the Forest Department post to inform us that we had been allotted beat no.2 for our ride. It would still be some way before we would reach the foot of the Ranthambore Fort, from where we could take our specified route through the designated gateway.

Almost immediately after crossing the gateway, we saw a peacock, perched on the bough of a tree. As the jeep slowly traversed the stony track, we scanned the water bodies around. Tigers love to cool themselves in the forest pools, and are believed to never stray too far from them.

We moved on. Nature seemed at peace with itself. Where were the famed tigers of Ranthambore? We had been inside the park for close to two hours, and had not heard the call of a tiger, much less glimpsed the stripes or tail of one. Then we came to a spot where the trail dipped and cut across a dry ravine. This ravine held a tiny pool, something like a puddle of algal water actually. We soon settled at a suitable vantage point above the waterhole and waited anxiously.

It was Rajkumar who spotted the tiger in the undergrowth and pointed it to us. The tiger’s coat was so perfect a cloak of camouflage in that tangle of tawny bush and weeds, light and shadow, that he would be invisible to all but the most highly trained eye expecting such a canvas. Through the telephoto lens of my camera his thick, muscled forelegs seemed huge as he stood there briefly surveying the scene. We were fully expecting and hoping that he would step forward into the ravine and on to the waterhole, but he decided to half turn and spring on to a rock with cat-like grace and then disappear into the jungle from which he had emerged. The king had opted for privacy over extroversion.

Machli’s territory

Rajkumar arrived with the jeep and driver at 5.45 the next morning. He told us that we had been allotted beat no.4 for the drive that day, and that beat 4 was tigress Machli’s territory.

We drove endlessly, passing scrubland, lakes and rock-strewn open spaces, but not stopping by herds of sambar or spotted deer which were common in the park. The big cat lay in a shallow, stony ravine to our right, relaxing under a small tree. This was Machli, probably the most photographed and famous tiger of the wild. She paid us no mind as we manoeuvred our jeep into the best position for observation and photography. This particular animal had a reputation for not being shy of jeeps or human presence. We spent about 15 to 20 minutes at the spot, in which time I had exposed a roll of film on the “Rani of Ranthambore”.

There was plenty of wildlife to engage our attention as we went on our way. And just before we exited the beat gate a peacock danced in front of the jeep. By a quirk of coincidence it seemed like we had been first welcomed into the park by a peacock and it was a peacock, again, bidding farewell to us.

At the park entrance the souvenir salesmen were missing. After checking out of “Ranthambore Bagh” post lunch that afternoon, we rode in the hotel’s open jeep to the Sawai Madhopur railway station to take the train to Jaipur. But I felt a sense of regret that we had not purchased any souvenirs from the locals outside the park entrance — no matter what the cost. For conservation to succeed, the local people living in the area have to benefit from the effort.

The Hindu, 28th October 2012

A little of Iran blossomed on the streets of South Bombay in the form of restaurants and bakeries in the late 19th century. A few have closed down owing to various pressures. What about those that remain?

On a walk down the oldest parts of Mumbai, south central Mumbai to be precise, one cannot miss the streets populated by old restaurants. Located in Ballard Estate, Fort, Colaba and Churchgate, these Irani restaurants are reminders of a bygone era. They continue to do brisk business, but face stiff competition from newer, more popular joints that have mushroomed.

Run mostly by third-generation proprietors, the Irani restaurants are unlikely to hold out much longer. The restaurants are dwindling in number as owners choose to sell them or shut them down. One must remember that real estate rates in south Mumbai are among the highest in Asia.

The ambience in any of these establishments is typical — rounded rosewood chairs and tables, the ubiquitous antique wall clock, stained glass windows, and the proprietor shouting orders to his staff.

While several restaurants seem quite run-down, they certainly evoke memories of a different era — a far gentler era of probably a century ago when Mumbai was Bombay and textile mills were flourishing.

The Zoroastrian Iranians, named after the Iranian prophet and reformer, arrived in India in the late 19 and 20 centuries. Bombay was a logical port of call as it was an established trading centre. The Iranians chose to work in houses owned by the established Parsi community here and gradually opened up small restaurants to cater to the needs of the growing migrant population in Bombay.

The cuisine on offer was typically Parsi and Irani fare. Several of these bakeries still offer their famousKhari biscuits (multi-layered baked salted biscuits) and Brun maska (hard buttered croissants) to be had with Irani chai (sweet milky tea) and a host of other savouries.

The restaurant’s menu would typically feature Dhansak, a lentil-based spicy dish served with mutton, Berry pulao made of meat, berries and spices, and Akuri, which is spiced scrambled eggs eaten with bread.

Boman Kohinoor, the 89-year-old owner of Britannia Restaurant in Ballard Estate, recounts that his establishment was set up by his father when he was born in 1923. “I still enjoy coming to my restaurant and sitting here for a few hours to meet old customers.” The day-to-day affairs are managed by his children.

Zyros Zend, a 44-year old second-generation proprietor of Yazdani Bakery in Fort area, too enjoys running his establishment. “But I do not know if my daughters will have the same interest to do so after me.”

That, in essence, is the dilemma facing most of these establishments — the need to change, which they are reluctant to do anything about, and the lure of the lucre, a significant factor considering their premium location.

The Hindu, 28th October 2012

Discovery has opened new chapter in understanding maritime trade of Indian Ocean countries, say historians

A Tamil-Brahmi script inscribed on a potsherd, which was found at the Khor Rori area in Oman, has come to light now. The script reads “nantai kiran” and it can be dated to first century CE, that is, 1900 years before the present. The discovery in the ancient city of Sumhuram has opened a new chapter in understanding the maritime trade of the Indian Ocean countries, according to specialists in history.

It was by chance that the potsherd was sighted. Alexia Pavan, an Italian archaeologist, had displayed the potsherd during an international ceramic workshop on “The Indian Ocean Trade and the Archaeology of Technology at Pattanam in Kerala” held in September in Kochi. P.J. Cherian, Director, Kerala Council of Historical Research (KCHR), and Roberta Tomber of the British Museum, London, had jointly organised the workshop. Pottery from several Indian Ocean countries was on display during the workshop. K. Rajan, Professor, Department of History, Pondicherry University, D. Dayalan, Regional Director, Archaeological Survey of India, and V. Selvakumar, Head of the Department of Epigraphy and Archaeology, Tamil University, Thanjavur, spotted the potsherd displayed by Dr. Pavan.

The Italian Mission to Oman (IMTO) had found this potsherd during its second archaeological excavation in 2006 in the Khor Rori area. The Director of the excavation was Alessandra Avanzini and Dr. Pavan was part of the team. Since 1997, the Mission of University of Pisa, forming part of the IMTO, has been working in Oman in two sites: Sumhuram in Khor Rori and Salut in Nizwa.

Personal name

The potsherd was found in a residential area of Sumhuram city. Dr. Pavan said it was part of a lid made by reusing the shoulder of an amphora. Soot traces visible along the external ridge suggest the use of the lid for a cooking pot. The sherd was discovered in a layer mixed with a few pottery pieces and animal bones, “which [layer] corresponds to one of the most important constructional phase of the city, to be dated to the first century CE,” she said. So the sherd could be dated to first century CE or a little earlier. There was so much of Indian material, including beads, coins and pottery, discovered during the excavation that it was important to show the relationship between India and the southern coast of Oman, she added.

The script “nantai kiran,” signifying a personal name, has two components, Dr. Rajan said. The first part “[n] antai” is an honorific suffix to the name of an elderly person. For instance, “kulantai-campan,” “antai asutan,” “korrantai” and so on found in Tamil-Brahmi inscriptions could be cited. The second component “Kiran” also stands for a personal name. More than 20 poets of the Tamil Sangam age [circa third century BCE to third century CE] have “kiran” as part of their personal names. “Thus, the broken piece of the pot carries the personal name of an important trader who commanded a high regard in the trading community,” Dr. Rajan argued.

It was generally believed that India’s contact with the Mediterranean world began with the Roman trade and much of the studies were concentrated on the Red Sea ports such as Quseir al-Qadim and Berenike, both in Egypt. While the excavation at Quseir al-Qadim yielded potsherds with the Tamil-Brahmi texts reading “kanan,” “catan” and “panai ori,” the one found at Berenike was engraved with the Tamil-Brahmi script “korrapuman.” The latest discovery in Oman was significant as it opened a new avenue in understanding the impact of the Indian Ocean trade, particularly on the west coast of the peninsular India, Dr. Rajan said. The region was known for frankincense and there was a possibility that trade in horses could also have taken place in these ports. (Frankincense is an aromatic gum resin used for burning as incense).

“Excavations by the University of Pisa have confirmed Sumhuram’s link with the ancient frankincense route and its cultural links with the frankincense-based kingdoms in southern Arabia,” Dr. Rajan said.

In the context of the advanced scholarship available on Tamil-Brahmi, estimated Dr. Cherian, this epigraphic evidence from Khor Rori had a great significance. “To the best of my knowledge, Khor Rori is the first South Arabian site to yield epigraphic evidence of the early historic phase [that is, when written records began].” Earlier, in the Mediterranean maritime trade network, only Myos Hormos and Berenike (on the Red Sea coast of Egypt) and a few sites in Sri Lanka had produced Tamil-Brahmi inscriptions outside India.

The importance of Khor Rori rested on the fact that it was an important pre-Islamic port-city in the ancient Indian Ocean exchanges between the Mediterranean region and India, Dr. Cherian said. The port of Sumhuram could be dated to circa third century BCE to fourth century ACE. This site could be crucial in tracing the maritime history of the Red Sea, the South Arabian and the Mesopotamian coasts and their hinterlands which could have played a pivotal role in the long-distance maritime trade between Tamilakam and the Mediterranean between the first century BCE and the fourth century CE, he added.

“It is unfortunate that the geographical and the cultural significance of the South Arabian region and its links with ancient south India has not been properly studied for various reasons,” said Dr. Cherian, who recently did field studies in Oman including at Sumhuram (Khor Rori) and the nearby Al Baleed sites. The Euro-centric perspectives that became dominant after the Roman Empire seem to have erased more history than they probably produced anew. In the absence of textual evidence for the early historic period, he said, archaeological evidence and to some extent, anthropological sources such as myths were the available means to retrieve such lost histories.

Dr. Cherian added: “This artefact with a post-firing Tamil-Brahmi script is, therefore, a find with a dual significance both as material and textual evidence. The challenge now is to seek associated archaeological finds from elsewhere, especially peninsular India.”

Brisk trade activity

The substantial quantity — the largest-ever assemblage from any Indian site — of 3,384 torpedo jar fragments and 1,720 turquoise glazed pottery from Pattanam suggested the brisk trade activity between Tamilakam and the South Arabian regions. (The KCHR, in association with other agencies has been excavating the Pattanam site, near Ernakulam, from 2007. Archaeologists feel that Pattanam could be Muziris/Muciri, which was a flourishing port on the west coast during the Tamil Sangam age, which coincided with the classical period in the West). “The presence of frankincense crumbs in almost all trenches at Pattanam is yet another indication of the site’s connection with South Arabia, including Khor Rori and the Al Baleed region, famed as the ‘land of incense’,” Dr. Cherian said.

The Hindu, 28th October 2012

A Tughlaq-era bridge was recently unearthed inside a tiny DDA park within the Nizamuddin basti area. Most of the park, alongside a dingy lane, has been encroached upon by a family of squatters; it was an aborted attempt by one of the occupants to expand his dwelling by digging up large portions of the park that led to the discovery of the arch-shaped structure. Attempts to start construction at the site of excavation were thwarted by the locals, who lodged a police complaint and got the beginnings of a building demolished.

The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has now been asked to inspect the bridge, portions of which were damaged before the police intervened. The park is located opposite a municipal school but there were no traces of the bridge earlier as it was below ground level. Only the arch shape of the bridge can be seen above the ground level with typical Tughlaq architecture.

Historians claim the bridge is from the same period as Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya. Several monumental buildings were built in Nizamuddin Basti during this period, such as the Khilji-era Jamat Khana mosque and the Tughlaq-era Nizamuddin Baoli. "It is possible that this was one of the structures built during the sufi saints' time to allow people to cross the Barapullah nullah, which used to be a big stream in the 14th century," said a historian.

Following an MoU between DDA and Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC), three of these parks have been carefully landscaped for community use. AKTC officials have been requesting DDA to remove encroachments from this park, so that it can be landscaped for community use. Residents say the area is populated by squatters and drug peddlers, and in an area like Hazrat Nizamuddin Basti, which is home to over 30,000 people and sees millions of annual pilgrims, open space is at a premium. "If the DDA is able to reclaim the park, the newly discovered structure can be conserved and the park landscaped. At present, even entering the park occasions a violent response from encroachers, which is unfortunate," said a resident.

The Times of India, 28th October 2012

In an attempt to popularise heritage education among schoolchildren, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) is all set to come up with an interactive heritage website. The website, to be officially launched on Monday, will initially have four domains - Built Heritage, Natural Heritage, Performing Arts and Arts and Crafts - where students can contribute by working on that particular area which interests them.
Partnered with Sahapedia - an online encyclopedia on Indian Culture and Heritage - the project, which primarily focuses on creating awareness, is an attempt to create space for synergy in the area of heritage education.

"It is a forum where students, teachers and even parents can come together and get a comprehensive view into the pluralistic and diverse culture of the country. They can contribute content in this space, share experiences, knowledge and the joy of learning together. There are definitions and guidelines for schools and teachers to follow and a lot of sample material and games are available for students," said Sudha Gopalakrishnan, executive director of Sahapedia.

Other partners on the project, which was ideated around six months back, are the National Museum of Natural History and SPICMACAY.

"We want maximum amount of participation to make this website a success. Schools from all over the country can be a part of this initiative by sending us inputs, pictures, videos and various other resources, which after careful screening and technical and content input can be uploaded on the web," a CBSE official associated with the project said.

- The Pioneer, 27th January 2013

Lifestyle of Nagas is truly amazing

The fact that I am writing about Liphi village once again which lies in 'no man's land' between Assam and Nagaland means that this small Naga village has left a lasting impression. And hence, it was not surprising that I wanted to spend a lot more time in this village than was intended.

One of things that has really caught my imagination was the kitchen. Not only had the villagers a foolproof system where they could preserve the meat, the sheer size of it left me speechless. Taken aback that a kitchen could be this huge, I visited more kitchens. There is a pattern. The kitchens are large, very large indeed. Also, the kitchens are separate from the main house. Interestingly, the area doubles as a living room as well. In one corner, there is a table and chairs. This announces the Naga splendour. The idea that people in this area live in huts is far removed from reality.

Here is another clarification. There is no tribe called the Naga tribe. The truth is that the term Naga tribe refers to a number of tribes that inhabit this land. There are at least 15 tribes that form the Naga tribes. To really appreciate the Naga splendor, one needs to visit Nagaland State Museum and the Naga Heritage Village that celebrates hornbill festival each year in the first week of December. Both the institutions are located in the beautiful city of Kohima. Unfortunately, I missed the event.

The reason for the festival has an interesting story behind it. Legend has it that once the area was inhabited by hornbills who could talk. The bird today, is nearly extinct and the Nagas who revere the bird are doing their best to save it. The festival is held to honour the bird which is sighted in the first week of December and occupies a special place in Naga culture and heritage.

The Naga Heritage Village is promoted by the State's tourism department. While no one lives in the village, one can get a peek into the kind of houses the people lived in and their lifestyle. The splendour is best explained by the kind of houses they lived. The heritage village was built by Naga people themselves. There is nothing in the house that the people don't use. Also, special care has been taken to ensure that all the Naga tribes are represented in this heritage village.

Since over a dozen tribes, there is bound to be disputes as well which sometimes led to wars. Intra-tribe wars can't be ruled out as the region has several tribes that dot the entire North-east region. One of the most amazing tool at the heritage village are the war drums. Each Naga tribe has its own war drum which is totally different from the others. The sheer size of these drums mesmerizes visitors. Made from single piece of wood, some war drums are over 15 feet long and over three feet in radius. The drum making is an exceptional art which is indigenous to this area. An entire tree is felled and cleaned. The tree is then carved into a pipe-like shape. A long hole is made on top of the pipe. Two huge wooden hammers are also made. In times of distress, the hammers are beaten on the pipe. The sound can travel for miles. It will 100 well-built people to transport these drums from one place to the other.

Even the entry doors of the houses are interesting. On the doors of the most houses, bones and heads of wild buffalos are placed strategically. Those who have seen a wild buffalo would know the power of this animal. To kill it requires skill. The paddy crushers on display makes one think why the Nagas require such a huge piece of machinery when elsewhere in the country people do with smaller individual crushers. Well, it appears, that every thing that relates to the Nagas has to be big. The fact that these people hunted the wild buffalo means that their hunting tools have to be bigger and stronger.

The Nagaland State Museum is must see. It gives a sneak peek into the sophisticated lifestyle of the people. The museum showcases how the people melted steel and made large spears and arrows that could bring down an animal as large as wild buffalo. Contrary to the belief, by the rest of the country, that the North-eastern tribes only knew how to use spears, bows and arrows, the museum shows that the people even made guns. The fact that the people made fine jewellery and could weave fabric centuries ago is fascinating.

Visit to this region has made me realise one thing — that the tribes here are far more civilised than we gave them credit for. Given the rough terrain and the isolation they have had to face, their advancement in every field is truly amazing. If India has to evolve into a great nation and I am sure it will one day, school children every nook and corner of the country need to be taken for a visit to North-eastern States. it will help them to not stereotype people.

A diverse demography like ours demands more interaction among its people so that they come to mutually respect each other. It is good that Indians know the history and geography of the rest of the world. But ignorance about their own people living in North-east or even central India — places in the Deccan plateau — will make us incomplete.

The Hindustan Times, 28th October 2012

It has a solid stone base with a brick masonry pillar tapering upwards. Exposed stones and peeled-off lime plaster only add to its pitiable condition.

Kishen Kumar, a driver on the Nehru Place-Badarpur Border bus route, crosses it at least thrice a day. "Guess, this is some peer's mazar!" The 'Kos Minar', as this structure is known as, is the medieval equivalent of a modern mile stone (kos is approximately 3km).

This one has almost choking grill-sides, a stout pillar ensconced between extremely busy carriageways of Mathura Road, just metres from the Badarpur Metro station.

Originally about 30 feet tall, this is a dwarfed version as the road level went several notches up. Two gensets buzz right next to it. Standing amid numerous concrete pillars of the flyover and the Metro, people hardly notice it.

"I have been working here since the last 20 months. Just one person has asked about it," says Govind Sharma, manning the genset office.

This is one of the few surviving Kos Minars in Delhi. Mughal-era highways spanning almost 3,000 km from Lahore, Peshawar in the north to Bengal in the east had these minars. At few places, it had an accompanying sarai (roadside inn).

As all those interested in the study of history tell us "past is the link to the future", these are the proverbial milestones in our history. No wonder, most of the national highways today take almost the same course as that of the centuries old thoroughfares.

The Hindustan Times, 28th October 2012

After being parched for 25 years, Devyani pond in Rajasthan’s Sambhar Lake is full to the brim — thanks to local efforts

For the past 25 years, it was a dry pond, surrounded by long grass and grazing cattle, barren ghats and temples yearning for devotees — an apt description of famous poet Rahim’s immortalized verse Bin Pani Sab Soon.

Thanks to a section of youngsters’ zeal and community mobilisation, the historical Devyani, one of the holiest of ponds in Rajasthan, has regained its lost glory. The revival has been possible by diverting water from a nearby overflowing dam which was causing havoc in fields and salt pans during the monsoon.

Popularly known as Sab Teerthon ki Nani (grandma of all pilgrim places), Devyani is situated in Sambhar Lake, 75 km from Jaipur. One of the protected monuments in Rajasthan, it finds references in ancient mythological and holy scriptures as old as the Puranas. There is even a reference to Guru Dronacharya’s son Ashwatthama’s penance at the Devyani pond after the battle of the Mahabharata.

The pond derives its name from Devyani, the daughter of Guru Shukracharya, who was a great master of sanjivani vidya (the skill to revive the dead). A holy dip is considered sacred particularly on the occasion of Buddh Purnima, when an annual fair is also held.

The pond had completely dried up due to erratic rains and encroachments in its catchment area. Over the years, several plans were made to revive the pond but nothing seemed to work. While everyone else accepted it as destiny, the hard work and ingenuity of a few youngsters achieved the unthinkable.

It was no child’s play to fill the pond spread over nearly 20,000 square yard area through artificial measures. After the flash floods in Sambhar Lake town in 1977, the town never had good rains. With growing number of anicuts and farms obstructing the catchment area of Devyani, the pond gradually dried up. There were efforts by Nagrik Vikas Samiti, a non-profit people’s forum, to restore and clean the pond in the ‘90s. But lack of good showers meant the pond remained parched. Even if it rained in surrounding villages, the water never made way to Devyani.

Thanks to a blessed monsoon this year, the nearest Jaitpura dam overflowed making way to the Sambhar Lake, incidentally, the country’s largest salt lake. As the downpour continued, the overflowing water started submerging the salt panes, threatening the quality of salt in the area. The neighbouring fields, too, started getting inundated.

“Wish this water could be diverted to Devyani,” thought Siya Ramji, Sarvesh Shukla and Heera Lal Tanwar, living in the vicinity of the pond. But this “if” was indeed too big a stake, said Pawan Modi, who later joined the action along with his friends like Ashok Kayal, Devendra Bhargary, Vijay Prajapat and others. But they neither had resources, nor any technical knowledge or experience. Though they had one thing -- the will power and a keen desire to see the Devyani pond refilled with water. They grew up hearing stories of a once lotus-filled Devyani but they never saw in its original glory. They knew the task was not easy and the challenge was great. Still worth trying, they thought.

They had to act really fast since the water could just drain away if no quick measures were taken up to store and divert it to Devyani. It was necessary to clear the bamboo bushes and other wild weeds from the pond. Soon young volunteers from Shyam Prem Mandal, Volleyball Club, Khatik Samaj and others joined hands.

After a quick clean-up, a small storage tank was dug up with the help of a JCB machine and an experimental drill was conducted. It worked and they all decided to pump the water as quickly as they could. They hired more digging machines, tractors and powerful pumps with the help of individuals and organisations, built another storage tank near the pond and started pumping water to the pond. Their task was made easy with continued downpour. They were able pump in at least one feet water every day to the pond. Within seven days, the Devyani was brimming with 9ft. water. The whole restoration project cost them Rs. 3.50 lakh only, a feat which other government schemes worth over Rs. 40 lakh could not accomplish over the years.

Since Devyani is one of the protected monuments, the State Urban Development Department and INTACH had got a study conducted by DRONAH in 2006 for developing Sambhar Lake town as a heritage site. But unfortunately, despite strong recommendations, no concrete steps have so far been taken up. The youngsters have shown the way and it is hoped government agencies will now ensure that the pond retains its splendour in future.

The forthcoming month of Karthik will be particularly full of activities as lots of rural devotees will head for a holy dip at Devyani. The ghats will once again resound with bhajans about the holy pond.

The Hindu, 28th October 2012

The Dagshai Jail near Chandigarh, which once housed “hardened” freedom fighters, has been converted into a museum that preserves its 160-year history.

From behind the stone walls of Dagshai Jail come the sounds of bolts being drawn, objects being dragged and the shuffling of boots. “This is the sound of history being released from behind the bars of time,” says Dr Anand Sethi, 67.

The jail has been converted into a museum called the Dagshai Jail Museum, the only jail museum in India apart from the Cellular Jail in the Andamans, and Sethi is its curator.

Situated in the cantonment town of Dagshai, 60 kms from Chandigarh, the 163-year-old Dagshai Jail building and its adjoining areas were being used as a storage and dump yard till last year. Brigade Commander Brig Ananth Narayanan from Dagshai took up the cudgels to save this historical site.Today, visitors stroll through the two sections of the museum — the Dagshai Jail, which contains 54 maximum-security prison cells, and an exhibit area that displays archival photographs of the jail and its surrounding areas.

A trip through the jail blocks is as chilling now as it was in the British era. Sixteen cells were meant for solitary confinement, with no ventilation or access to natural light. A dummy prisoner demonstrates how hardened prisoners — among them several Indian soldiers who sympathised with the Ghadar Movement in 1915 — were kept. These cells have two doors that are three feet apart. The prisoner stood against one door while the other one was locked. He would serve his sentence standing between the steel grills, with body movement practically impossible. “Nobody has ever escaped from this jail,” says Sethi, who is planning to make a film on the jail museum. There is only one VIP cell in the jail — with luxuries such as a fireplace and washroom. “This is where Mahatma Gandhi stayed,” says Sethi.

The courtyard outside the cells, too, bears signs of the past, among them a 1865 fire hydrant made of solid gun metal by the Scottish Glenfield Company. “It is in perfect working condition,” says Sethi, adding that the museum value of the hydrant is Rs 1.25 crore at present. “There are also technically brilliant air ventilation ducts and door stoppers that weigh a kilo each. We are discovering a treasure trove here,” says Sethi. A “new” prized display here is a pair of fully functional bellows that were used by ironsmiths to make chains and handcuffs. Its museum value is 50,000 pounds today. “We didn’t tamper with or change anything; except for the surrounding lights, this place is as it was earlier,” says Sethi, adding that the army has been closely involved with the jail museum project.

In the exhibit area, a pictorial showcase of the jail as well as the mythology, history, churches and forts of Dagshai explains the historical developments. Photographs of soldiers, forgotten heroes and writer Rudyard Kipling, who was in Dagshai and wrote Plain Tales From the Hills here, takes one through a forgotten chapter of the past. “More exhibits and militaria are being sourced from Ireland, the UK and Nepal,” says Sethi.

Around him, as army jawans go about their work, bits of forgotten history emerge into the daylight. Old locks are broken open, layers of dust are wiped off gauges, motors, dials and weighing planks and torchlights reveal faded dates on new finds.

The Indian Express, 29th October 2012

Through the eyes of an old friend, R.V. Smith illustrates the timeline of Delhi’s great poets

Emran was a handsome boy with a baby face, long hair and almost feminine manners, so much so that on a moonlit night one could mistake him for a teenaged girl waiting for a lover under a tamarind tree. No wonder men were attracted to him and sometimes made his life miserable. But over the years Emran changed. He started wearing a black kurta and matching pyjamas or tehmet (lungi) and frequenting the shrines of saints in Delhi as, though semi-literate, he was drawn towards Sufism. He would talk about them in a sonorous voice imbued with devotion. But when the mood seized him he would go looking for the mazars or mausoleums of Urdu poets.

The ones often visited by him were those of Mir Dard, Hakim Momin Khan Momin and religious reformer Shah Walihullah. Dard is buried in the cemetery on Mir Dard Road, opposite the Khooni Darwaza. Emran used to walk there from Kucha Chelan, behind the main Daryaganj street, where he lived at the shop of his cousin, Sultan, a carpenter who made expensive furniture. Momin’s grave, saved from demolition, is in Katra Mehdian, behind J. P. Hospital but one could not trace the tomb of Alexander Heatherley “Azad”.

It was friendship with Emran that made one accompany him to some of these venerated spots, including the vacant tomb of Bahadur Shah Zafar. Khwaja Mir Dard (1719-1785) was probably a courtier of Mohammed Shah. Like his ancestor, Khwaja Bahauddin Nakshabandi, he was drawn to mysticism. Besides poetry, he also composed khayals, thumries and dhrupads. When Nadir Shah invaded Delhi in 1739, Dard, despite repeated requests, refused to move to the Red Fort from his ancestral house near the present Baraf Khana in Paharganj. He later built a house in Kucha Chelan, where he settled. His younger brother, Mir Asar, wrote Masnavi-Khab-O-Khyal which, according to Dr. Muhammad Sadiq, author of History of Urdu Literature, was a monologue to an imagined mistress that verges on pornography and ranks with the risqué works of Chaucer, Boccaccio and Ovid. Mir Asar was a Delhiwallah out and out. Mazhar Jan Janan (1700-1781) was attached to Aurangzeb’s court and Emran off and on went to his mazar near Madarsa Shabul Khair, close to the Jama Masjid. Mazhar was a pioneer poet who met a tragic end as he was shot by a zealot. Despite lingering on for two days, he did not disclose the name of his assailant, who was later identified.

Emran was very good at repeating dialogues from Hindi film classics like Yahudi, Yahudi ki Beti, Mughal-e-Azam and Anarkali. He mimicked the voice of Sohrab Modi to perfection, “Tumhara khoon khoon, hamara khoon pani hai” was his favourite. He was also infatuated with the work of Mir Ghulam Hasan, born in Delhi in 1727, the son of a poetaster whom, Dr. Sadiq says, the poet Sauda satirized in one of his memorable works. Mir Hasan migrated to Faizabad with his father, Mir Zahik, where he was patronized by Mirza Nawazish Ali Khan, son of Salar Jang-Bahadur, and died in Lucknow in 1786.

Mir Hasan’s “Masnavi-Sihir-ul-o-Bayan” is the story of the son of the mythical king of Sandaldip, who was born in the king’s declining years and at the age of 12 was abducted by a fairy. Having fallen in love with him, the fairy gave him a magic horse and “during one of his jaunts on it, he himself falls in love with Princess Badr-e-Munir. Betrayed by a demon, he is cast into a well in the Caucasus mountains, from where he is rescued by Najm-un-Nisa, daughter of the (royal) minister who, having donned the dress of a jogan (woman mendicant) saves him by charming the son of the King of Jinns. The prince and the princess are reunited and Najm-un-Nisa weds Firoz Shah, the Jinnee Prince”. This is the version recorded by Dr. Sadiq but Emran had his own take on it.

Mir Taqi Mir, though greatly devoted to Delhi, did not die here, nor at his birthplace Agra, but in Lucknow in 1810. So also Sauda, his rival, who wrote a famous elegy on Delhi. Having been born in Kabul in 1713, Sauda came with his father to Delhi, who eventually died in the city. But somehow Emran was on the side of Mir who, like him, had to leave Agra in shame after an affair with a relative.

Emran was under the impression that both were buried in Delhi. It is sad to note that Mir’s mazar was destroyed when a city railway station was built over it. Momin Khan Momin Emran quoted with ease, especially the lines “Tum mere pas hote ho goya / jab koi doosra nahin hota”. Strange as it might seem, Momin predicted his own death in verse, saying that he would fall and break his limbs and die in agony. This is what happened in 1851 and people like Emran visited his grave to see their future in visions. Mirza Ghalib’s tomb in Nizamuddin draws budding poets who get their kalaam (poetry) blessed by keeping it on his grave.

Hasrat Mohani (1875-1951) who moved from Ballimaran during the freedom struggle to the mosque opposite Parliament House, before becoming an M.P., was a great lover of the female form (particularly wind–blown tresses). But he left Delhi to die in Mohaan, at Unnao. His ghazal “Chupke Chupke”, immortalised by Ghulam Ali, gives an idea of his mindset, which fascinated Emran. Ustad Daagh Dehlvi died in Hyderabad in 1905 and his pupil, Muztar, lamented “Ek Daagh tha so woh bhi tau Muztar guzar gaya / Baqi raha hai kaun ab Hindostan mein”.

Emran’s claim to have known Benjamin Montrose Muztar is unbelievable since the poet died long ago in Allahabad. He did visit Hali’s grave in Panipat for sure, though his story of Mohammad Husain Azad’s spying mission on behalf of the Punjab Intelligence Department in British times to Bokhara and Khiv was embellished with a lot of gossip. Azad did not die in Delhi like his idol Zauq, whose mazar Emran visited before Partition, after which it was demolished and a latrine built over it. But now a memorial to Bahadur Shah Zafar’s ustad has been erected on the spot in Paharganj. Emran couldn’t have known about it as he died earlier. One misses him as he first introduced this scribe to Delhi’s poetic heritage.

The Hindu, 29th October 2012

Environment and the idea of environmentalism - both face serious challenges in India today. The demands of a surging economy require natural resources to be used and exploited at an unprecedented rate. In a populous and poor country, these new demands on resources - land, water and what lies underneath - have aggravated the contests between different stakeholders. Villagers who want to hold on to their lands and water sources are pitted against industries that require raw material. Many of these contests are taking a violent turn. Expanding cities are eating into agrarian land. Industrial hubs are becoming public health nightmares.

The forest and environmental clearances given by the Union government in recent decades are an indicator of the rate at which resources are being consumed. In the past 30 years, about 1.6 lakh hectare of forest land has been diverted for mining. Of this, about 48,537ha was diverted in the 11th fiveyear Plan alone - 30% of the total forest land diverted for mining.

While policymakers face the challenge of ensuring sustainable development , the idea of environmentalism itself is also in a state of flux. The era when the poor could be squashed between demands of industrial growth and imported ideas of conservation is over. A changed polity today has greater space for the most vulnerable communities to argue, fight if required, and demand their own collective and individual rights. The environment cannot be protected in the name of the poor anymore. The green movement today needs to find a way to ensure that the environment is not exploited in the name of the poor either.

Then there is also the greater challenge that links nations and communities across the globe - climate change. The warming of the atmosphere threatens everybody and makes poorer people more vulnerable. Countries need to take collective action to reduce emissions from fossil fuel burning. But India and its environmental movement will have to ensure that these actions do not come at the cost of a better life for the poor.

The strains and stresses of rising and highly varying consumption levels are now visible on natural habitats as well as on the poor. For them, more than anyone else, a healthy environment is a prerequisite for survival and livelihood.

Clearly, people, communities and corporate houses need to abandon the fallacious debate of growth versus environment ; those who can find ways to marry the two for the benefit of the less privileged are the environmentalists this era requires.

Green go-ahead

In the 11th five-year Plan period, 276 thermal power plants of 2.2 lakh MW capacity, 203 steel plants of 132mn tonnes per annum capacity and 112 cement plants with capacity to produce an additional 202mn tonnes cement every year, have got environment clearance 8,734 projects have been granted forest clearance and 2 lakh hectares of forest land have been diverted 119 coal mining projects have got forest clearance during this period, diverting 31,500ha of forest land - the highest number cleared in any five-year Plan since 1981.

The Times of India, 29th October 2012

The Delhi government has decided to get tough with those causing harm — such as non-permitted lopping, nailing or girdling — to trees. The Capital’s tree authority will meet soon and issue fresh guidelines to protect the greens. Residents will be able to upload pictures of such activities on a web portal that the government is working on and penal actions will follow.

In case of charges being found true under the Delhi Preservation of Trees Act, 1994, an offender would face a jail term of up to one year or a fine of up to Rs. 1,000 or both. Even owners of trees in their own backyards cannot harm them unless not doing so may endanger life and property.

“Our inspections will continue but we want more and more people and RWAs to come forward and register complaints. We have decided to run our tree control room 24x7 to deal with such complaints more effectively,” a top government official told Hindustan Times.

Commencement of a city-wide tree census is also on the agenda. “Tree census has been our mandate ever since this authority was set up in 2007. Unless you have identified and marked trees, you will never know if some of them have been felled. We’re consulting RWAs on how we can go about a tree census in the capital,” he said.

The tree authority’s meet will also clear the air on the issue of pruning the trees. “Also, since the forest department takes time in deciding on permissions sought for tree felling, the process has to be expedited,” he said.

“We will also study proposals of various government departments and private bodies for the construction of buildings, roads, factories, irrigation works, laying electric, telephone, telegraph and other transmission lines with regard to protection of existing trees and planting of more trees, wherever possible,” the official said.

The authority will also work on development and maintenance of nurseries, supply of seeds, saplings and trees to those willing to plant trees.

The Hindustan Times, 29th October 2012

Nanak Chand, a Mehrauli resident, looks intently at the setting sun over the Shamsi Talab. "The lake is full of hyacinth and the water is contaminated with sewerage," Chand, who visits the place almost daily, said. Prabhu Dayal, another resident, pointed out the garbage strewn along the approach road and in the park right next to the lake and adjacent to the Lodhi-era built Jahaz Mahal. "Also, look at the garbage dumped on the northern side of the lake," 70-year-old Dayal said, pained at the deterioration of the more than 750-year-old water body.

Hauz-i-Shamshi, popular locally as the Shamsi Talab, was earlier spread over 100 hectares. Over the years, not only has the lake shrunk, but its catchment area too has seen construction.

The stage for the cultural programmes during the festival Phool Walon Ki Sair rests on the southern face of the Jahaz Mahal while the audience sits at the civic body's ground in front of it. Both the lake and Jahaz Mahal are under Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) while the ground belongs to the civic body.

Usha Kumar from the Anjuman Sair-e-Gul Faroshan, organiser of the Phool Walon Ki Sair, said, "The lake is sacred to Muslims as many believe that it has the print of the hoof mark of the Prophet's horse. But today, sewerage from surrounding areas is being dumped into it."

But Pushpa Singh, the Mehrauli councillor, defended herself: "The condition of the lake has improved quite a bit after we shifted the drain pipes that brought in sewerage from neighbouring colonies."

Prompted by a court case by NGO Tapas for saving Delhi's lakes and water bodies, the court orders ensured that Shamsi Talab was cleaned at least 3-4 times in the past decade. The order also ensured that a boundary wall with a grille was constructed around the lake. "But water hyacinth can be found only when there is sewerage in the water," pointed out Tapas's Vinod Jain.

"Water hyacinth is cleared away after monsoon. The sewerage running into the lake is a thing of the past now. But we will need to investigate the matter if someone is pushing it in through an underground pipe," said a senior ASI official.

The Mehrauli councillor added: "We have even deployed a guard to stop people from throwing garbage but it is difficult to keep a check at all times. People dump garbage at night."

The Jahaz Mahal is fairly maintained, Kumar said, adding, "(But) the burjis (chhatris atop) are in a precarious condition and need strengthening."

The Hindustan Times, 29th October 2012

The 10 days of Dusshera can be regarded as a celebration of feminine power. Over time, male interpreters of religious texts have, in their explanations of festivals, focused on women as either maternal figures or as temptresses and consorts of male deities. The festival of Dussehra, however, refuses to be framed in this manner.

In India, for any celebration a single story just cannot suffice. Every region has its own tale, although somewhere they are all linked to a common belief. Take the different ways in which Dussehra is celebrated across India. The east revels in the story of Durga, who manifested herself in the form of a woman riding on a lion to slay the demon, Mahishasura. As the conch shells blow and incense sticks fill the air with fragrance, men and women in their finery throng the ‘puja pandals’ that house beautiful idols of the goddess. Go to any state in this region during this period and you will find pandals every few kilometres.

Traditionally, about three to four months prior to Dussehra comes the festival of Akshay Tritiya. On this day, clay is collected from the river bank to make the idols for Durga puja, although today plaster of paris has come to replace clay for the most part.

Several other rituals are followed while making these statues, before they are decorated in a manner that is meant to delight every devotee: Durga, with her glittering crown and ornaments, is adorned in a resplendent sari. She rides a majestic lion and holds in her 10 arms weapons of many kinds. In her person she melds the opposites of beauty and ferocity – her stance is fierce, although her face is often portrayed as serene.

And this is Goddess Durga’s story: There once was a demon called Mahishasura. Through severe penance he procured from Lord Brahma, creator of the world, the boon that no man or deity or animal would be able to kill him. So it was that when the Gods failed to contain the havoc Mahishasura was wreaking on the world, they created Durga, a powerful female form with ten arms. All the Gods gave her their most potent weapons – the Puranas provides a detailed account of the weapons she received. In essence each God gave of himself to the feminine form, who emerged superiorly endowed. Thus empowered, Durga went forth into battle and conquered Mahishasura. It is this famous victory that is re-enacted and celebrated during Dussehra for the general betterment of people.

In the southern state of Karnataka, too, it is Durga who is worshipped, but here she goes by the name Chamundeshwari. The manner of worship is also different. Kannadigas do not erect puja pandals; instead women visit and offer to each other turmeric powder (haldi) and kumkum (vermilion), both symbols of auspiciousness and well being. Chamundeshwari temples across the state are the scene of hectic activity during this period, with thousands of devotees thronging them. Dussehra is particularly special in Mysore, where traditionally the celebrations were presided over by the royal family, with a huge procession being taken out on the tenth day amidst teeming crowds. To this day, the erstwhile royal family of Mysore is involved in the festivities.

Some southern communities also stage the ‘bommai kollu’ or a display of dolls on small, stepped podiums during the Dussehra, which is also known as Navratri, which literally means nine nights. On the tenth day these dolls are symbolically put to sleep. Visitors are invited to come and enjoy these colourful displays that recall scenes from religious mythology, and they are customarily served ‘sundal’, a snack made of boiled chickpeas seasoned with mustard seeds and garnished with lemon.

Move towards western India and the scenes are somewhat different. Here, the 10 days of festivities are traditionally celebrated with dance. Long, all-night sessions of the ‘garba’ and ‘dandiya raas’ can be seen in states like Maharashtra and Gujarat during the Navratris, with young women playing a major role in the celebrations dressed up in their finest colourful skirts. Men, too, join in the dance. The ‘garba’, which is performed as an offering to Durga, is performed before prayer time while the ‘dandiya raas’ – performed with sticks – is more for personal enjoyment and can continue long into the night. The ‘garba’, it is said, began as a symbolic representation of the fight between Mahishasura and Durga but has, over the years, evolved into a colourful folk dance form as well.

In northern India, the 10 days of Dussehra are marked as the period leading up to the victory of Lord Ram over demon king Ravan. On the tenth day of the festival, huge effigies of Ravan are burnt to ashes to symbolise the end of the reign of evil. Over the days preceding this moment, groups of people get together and enact the ‘Ramayana’. Roles of various mythological characters come alive in the delightful tableau known as Ramlila. The Ramlila is staged every night, and the story unravels bit by bit over the 10 days.

Even in places where the Ramlila is the focus of the Dussehra celebration, on the eight and ninth day, a kanya puja (or the worship of young girls) is performed to mark the end of the period of worship to Ma Shakti, or Mother Goddess. As part of this ritual, nine pre-pubescent girls are invited into the home, treated with great respect and fed and given gifts. They are seen to symbolise the nine forms of Durga, embodying fertility and, therefore, the continuation of the world.

All over India, the first three days of Dusshera are devoted to the worship of Durga, the next three days to Lakshmi and the last three days to Saraswati. That is why the ninth day is also celebrated as Saraswati puja in the south. The final or tenth day is termed as Vijayadasami, or a celebration of victory.

Dussehra, then, is a commemoration of creation and marking the victory of good over evil. But it is also, one understands, about venerating feminine power. There is a story that encapsulates this. Lord Vishnu, preserver of humankind, once assumed the form of a child and as he lay on a fig leaf he wondered who he was and what he had been born to do. A voice then told him that He was everything, the only eternal. Meditating upon this, he saw Devi. She was attended upon by the powers of intelligence, intellect, reputation, patience, memory, dedication, wisdom, beauty, riches, compassion, momentum, happiness, growth and forgiveness. These are the qualities that are associated with the feminine principle, which is worshipped every Dussehra.

The Kashmir Times, 30th October 2012

Mathematics is an integral part of our everyday life. In this National Mathematical Year, let’s take a look at why the Jantar Mantar was built.

Three hundred years ago, a heated argument took place in the courtroom of Mughal Emperor Muhammad Shah. The Emperor had wanted to know if the planets were in a favourable position for him to undertake an important journey. But the dozen or so astronomers came up with different calculations and were unable to agree on an “auspicious” date. The Emperor looked at them in exasperation. His kingdom was in danger of being attacked by the Marathas from the south, and the Persians from the north. He really needed to set off at once to secure the support of as many neighbouring Hindu kingdoms as he could. If only his astronomers would come to a conclusion!

Quietly watching this commotion was Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh. He was the Rajput king of Amber, a close ally of the Mughals. His was a rare talent, for apart from being a shrewd king, he was well versed in mathematics, architecture and astronomy. Brewing in his head at the moment was an ambitious plan. The Emperor caught the look of intense concentration on Jai Singh’s face, and knew that his troubles were about to end. For this man was gifted with extraordinary intellect.

“What do you have in mind, Sawai Jai Singh?” asked the Emperor.

“Simply to build the largest astronomical observatory in the world.”

Observe and learn

In the period between the years 1724 and 1734, a truly international collaboration of mathematicians resulted in the rise of the Jantar Mantar observatories at Delhi and Jaipur. Sawai Jai Singh consulted Islamic astronomers and studied their calendars. He read about ancient astronomical observatories in Babylon and China.

He spoke to European Jesuit missionaries, asking them all about the latest development in Greek astronomy. He was a keen student of the works of ancient Indian mathematicians, as well as Ptomely and Euclid. He himself was an architect, trained in traditional Indian methods of precise geometric construction. Pooling all this knowledge together, he came up with a number of huge observatories that were not only massive in scale, but also more accurate than any instrument in use then. Today, they are a standing example of using geometric designs ingeniously to make astronomical observations. One of the most striking structures at Jaipur’s Jantar Mantar is the ‘Samrat Yantra’. This is the world’s largest sundial. A sundial has two parts — a gnomon (pronounced no-mon) and a scale. A gnomon is a long triangular structure. The scale is drawn in a circle at the base of the gnomon. As the day progresses, the gnomon’s shadow moves along the scale. The gnomon at Jaipur is 73 feet tall (about as much as a seven-storey building). There are two arc shaped ramps on either side that reach up to 45 feet. You can climb up these ramps to watch the shadow of the gnomon fall on the scale below. The smallest division of the scale corresponds to two seconds. This means that you can read the time off this dial to an accuracy of two seconds. Before this mammoth structure was built, astronomers had only small brass instruments that could not be calibrated to such precision. Sawai Jai Singh simply increased the size of this instrument by more than a hundred times, and achieved a degree of accuracy never before possible.

And so the royal astronomers finally reached a consensus on which planetary position was most favourable for their Emperor. It is another matter however, that in 1739, Muhammad Shah was defeated by the Persian Emperor Nadir Shah.

Well at least, mathematics marched on, undefeated!

Where is the sun?

There are a number of such fascinating structures, but one of the most elaborate is the ‘Jai Prakash Yantra’. This was built to find the position of the sun in relation to other stars and planets. Because the sun is so bright, none of the other heavenly bodies are visible to us in the day time. So how do we know where the sun is? By using the Jay Prakash Yantra. There are two huge bowls, sunk partly into the ground. The diameter of the bowls at Jaipur is 17.5 feet (a little longer than the average sedan). Engraved in each of these bowls is the map of the heavens — different maps for different seasons. In addition to that, he divided the map into segments separated by steps. Going up and down these steps is like taking a walk across the sky. A crosswire stretched across the rim of the bowl casts shadow over the map on a clear day, showing the co-ordinates of the sun.

The Hindu, 30th October 2012

For the first time ever, the most endangered slender-billed vulture eggs hatched in the incubators and nestlings, have successfully grown into chicks at the Pinjore centre bringing hope amongst the nature lovers.

“Yes, this is indeed very big achievement for us. Earlier, we brought slender-billed vultures from Assam as the numbers had been decreasing day-by-day. However, after this successful experiment, now we hope that we can increase the bird population here by double clutching and artificial incubation and raring of chicks’ method,” said Dr Vibhu Prakash, principal scientist of Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS).

He added that eggs hatched from three different pairs of birds, in the month of February-March this year, successfully fledged in the month of July. Now these birds are seven months old.

Dr Vibhu told The Pioneer, “This double clutching and artificial incubation and raring of chicks’ method is not an easy task. We have to take care of accurate temperature with required humidity, favourable environment and correct food in exact amount during this process. Most important thing is timing; we had to keep a close watch on at every moment of vultures.”

At present Vulture Conservation Breeding Centre, Pinjore has 21 slender-billed vultures which are included in endangered list.

However, the Haryana Forest department constructed a New Colony aviary at the Vulture Conservation Breeding Centre, Pinjore. This huge aviary is of 100x40x20 ft and will house a flock of 35-40 vultures.

The department has constructed eight breeding aviaries in addition to this colony aviary and it also intends to construct the display-cum-interpretation room.

The centre houses in all 160 vultures of three critically endangered Gyps species of which 46 have been breed at the centre.

The different aviaries have all the facilities here including quarantine aviary, nursery aviary, hospital aviary, colony aviary, holding aviary and display aviary besides different rooms (molecular room, microbiology room, haematology room, clinical room, critical care room and recovery room) and laboratory and veterinary care facilities to look after birds.

The Pioneer, 30th October 2012

After cocking a snook at the National Green Tribunal (NGT), the environment ministry's Forest Advisory Committee (FAC) has also snubbed the Central Information Commission (CIC) by holding meetings and clearing projects in violation of the panel's orders on disclosing the proposals to public.

In addition, even after three years of the environment ministry's orders, the committee — the mandatory body to give its nod for use of forests — has bypassed the need to seek the compulsory consent from affected village councils of tribals and forest-dwellers.

Union environment minister Jayanthi Natarajan told TOI, "These actions and decisions of the officials are unacceptable to me. The forthcoming meeting of the FAC will be postponed, and I shall resolve these issues."

The FAC's decision — to clear projects defying the norms laid down by CIC as well as its parent ministry — comes even as the forest bureaucracy has told the NGT that the authority to give forest clearance doesn't come under its purview.

In February, the CIC had ordered that the environment and forests ministry must put out details of the projects to be cleared in public domain before the FAC considers them. These, the commission demanded, be put out at least 10 days before the FAC considers the cases.

But the FAC had failed to do so. In fact, it has put out even the agenda of the meeting only a couple of days before the senior forest officials in the FAC decide to clear the projects.

The FAC, which is chaired by the director-general of forests, has persisted with violating the 2009 orders of the parent ministry, demanding that the panel ensure affected villages certify that their rights have been settled under the Forest Rights Act (FRA) in the green patch under consideration and also give their consent for use.

Minutes of the meetings held since April show that many cases were cleared without considering the FRA and parent ministry's orders. The 2009 order requiring the clearance process fall in line with the FRA has largely been ignored by the forest bureaucracy since its inception. Senior forest officials had even asked Natarajan's predecessor, Jairam Ramesh, to withdraw the orders.

In April, almost three years after the orders were passed by the environment ministry to synchronize the clearance process with provisions of FRA, FAC resolved in a meeting to follow it. It had also asked for all relevant documents, including the village council resolutions, consenting to the forest diversion. But soon after, the minutes reveal, the committee, which consists of senior forest officials and three non-government experts (with one vacancy at the moment), started ignoring the orders while clearing projects.

A perusal of the latest agenda of scheduled FAC meeting shows that even projects that had been rejected earlier for lack of mandated documents or falling foul of regulations and norms are back on the talks table, including the Kalu Dam project in Maharashtra's Thane district, which is also under litigation in the High Court.

The Times of India, 30th October 2012

The Sultan Ghari tomb, one of the oldest monuments in the Capital, has developed cracks and a tilt which has made portions of the ornate gateway bulge out.

To put it back to shape, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) will soon start an extensive conservation project on the monument built in 1231 by Iltutmish, the Mamluk dynasty ruler, over the remains of his eldest son and heir-apparent, prince Nasiruddin Mahmud.

Located 500 metres from housing societies in Vasant Kunj, the Sultan Ghari site also has tombs of two other sons of Iltutmish — Ruknuddin Firoz Shah and Muizzuddin Bahram Shah — a mosque and a well that dates back to the Tughlaq-era.

The ASI’s Delhi circle superintending archaeologist D N Dimri said: “Some cracks have developed in the main gate that leads to the tomb. The gateway has tilted and portions of the stone structure are bulging out.” A team of ASI officials recently inspected the site, he said.

Adorned with inscriptions on marble in the Naskh script, the doorway mentions the construction date, details of the person buried there and information on Iltutmish, ruler of the Delhi Sultanate.

The gateway covers a flight of stairs leading to a raised courtyard where the octagonal tomb can be accessed by another set of steps towards the southern side.

The courtyard is flanked by colonnades in the north and west. The wall towards the west has a prayer niche or “mihrab” — intrinsically embellished with Naskh characters.

Next to the tomb stands a dome-shaped pavilion or “chhattri” which, according to the World Monument Fund created by INTACH, dates back to the Tughlaq period. Dimri said the stone floor of the structure has been damaged.

He said the entire conservation project would be “very challenging” because extensive work would be required to fix every detail.

At present, there is no signage or boards displaying information about the historical importance of the monument. This will be taken care of during conservation.

“We are going to put cultural texts and signages near the tomb. A new ticket booking counter will be built in place of the one that has been damaged,” Dimri said.

The Indian Express, 30th October 2012

After 18 years of monitoring efforts to reduce pollution in the Yamuna for which UP, Haryana and Delhi have spent nearly Rs 5,000 crore, the Supreme Court on Tuesday asked - thousands of crores of rupees have been spent to achieve what? UP has spent Rs 2,052 crore, Delhi government and its civic bodies Rs 2,387 crore and Haryana Rs 549 crore to clean the Yamuna, taking the total to Rs 4,988 crore in the last nearly two decades.

A bench of Justices Swatanter Kumar and Madan B Lokur said the authorities had taken the court's orders too casually for too long and warned that it would not hesitate to crack the whip.

Unimpressed by the affidavits of the states reeling out data on efforts to clean the river, the bench asked, "What fruitful purpose has been achieved by spending of thousands of crores of rupees when Yamuna river continues to be dirty?"

The bench constituted a two-member expert committee comprising the member-secretary ofCentral Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and the chief engineer of Delhi Jal Board (DJB) to examine and report to the court what had been achieved on the ground regarding reducing pollution in the river. "The river continues to be dirty as ever," the bench said. The court asked the expert panel to submit its interim report by November 9 and asked it to examine how many drains in Delhi discharge untreated waste water into the river. The bench said the panel would also examine the feasibility of blocking these drains to save Yamuna and compel the authorities to take corrective measures.

In its last order, the bench had said, "It has been brought to the notice of this court that despite heavy expenditure, in thousands of crores, having been incurred by the central government, governments of Haryana and Uttar Pradesh and the local authorities in NCR, the pollution of Yamuna has increased by the day."

CPCB had told the court that samples collected from the Yamuna showed that the water quality was way beyond prescribed standards. "Where the maximum permissible limit of coliform is 5,000 mpn/100 ml, it is 17,00,00,00,000 at Nizamuddin bridge. The situation at areas including Kalindi Kunj, Okhla and Palwal is no different," the bench had said.

"It is unfortunate that huge public funds have been spent without showing any results in the improvement of water quality of river Yamuna... This petition has been pending before this court since 1994 primarily with one object in mind that the dirty Yamuna should be converted into wholesome and clean Yamuna... Statistics show that this object is much far form being achieved," the court had said.

The Times of India, 31th October 2012

Status quo will be maintained for the next two days at the unauthorised structure built by a local MLA and his supporters at a site near the Red Fort, where the Mughal-era Akbarabadi mosque had apparently existed, the Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday.

“Till Thursday all parties are directed to maintain status quo on the site in question,” a bench headed by Chief Justice Altamas Kabir said. The bench, also comprising justices S.S. Nijjar and J. Chelameswar, said it would like to hear the views of all the parties, including the Archaeological Society of India (ASI), the Delhi government and the Centre. The bench was hearing an appeal filed by MLA Shoaib Iqbal, who is facing contempt proceedings in the Delhi high court for trespassing and building a mosque on the government land.

He has moved the apex court challenging the high court’s July 30 order directing the ASI and the North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) to demolish the structure.

Taking suo motu cognisance over the reported construction of a structure in Subhash Park near the Red Fort, the high court had on July 30 asked the ASI and the NDMC to demolish the structure within 15 days to ascertain if any Mughal-era mosque existed on the site. On October 19, the high court had dismissed as infructuous a Delhi police plea for modification in the high court’s earlier asking it provide help and security to the ASI and the NDMC in razing the illegal structure.

The Asian Age, 31th October 2012