At 5 p.m. on September 25, the open space around the epic sculpture of the Nandi (the Bull) in the Rajarajesvaram temple at Thanjavur — popularly called the Brihadisvara or the Big Temple — will witness a grand dance spectacle. One thousand dancers from different parts of India and abroad will come together to perform Bharatanatyam to celebrate the 1,000th year of the building of the temple by Raja Raja Chola.

The "Brhan-Natya Yagna" ((brhan in Sanskrit means big) is being jointly organised by the Association of Bharatanatyam Artistes of India (ABHAI) and the Brhan Natyanjali Trust, Thanjavur.

Padma Subrahmanyam, eminent dancer and ABHAI president, will choreograph the performance and compose the music for it. She has chosen 11 verses in Tamil composed by Karuvur Thevar, the guru of Raja Raja Chola, which will be set to music. The 1,000 dancers will dance in unison when these recorded verses, called Tiruvisaippa, will be broadcast.

It was on the 275th day of his 25th regnal year (1010) that Raja Raja Chola (who ruled from 985-1014 Common Era) handed over a gold-plated kalasam (copper pot or finial) to crown the vimana (the 59.82 metre tall tower above the sanctum) of the temple. Karuvur Thevar reportedly composed these verses for the occasion.

Dr. Subrahmanyam said: "This is an occasion to swell with pride. We cannot build a temple like the Rajarajesvaram temple. At least, we should come together to celebrate the 1,000th anniversary of the building of this great temple by Raja Raja Chola. It is a symbol of the Tamil culture. This is one temple where religion, dance, music, sculptures, inscriptions, frescoes, bronzes, aesthetics and so on came together. Raja Raja Chola patronised the artistes' community in an unparalleled manner. We want to express the gratitude of the dance community to the emperor who created this cultural capital."

The temple had on its roll 400 accomplished dancers called talippendir to perform dances during daily rituals and in festival processions. It also employed 240 musicians.

A wealth of Tamil inscriptions in the temple provided information on the endowments that Raja Raja Chola created to patronise the dancers, the villages they came from, and the streets around the temple where they lived.

"So this temple has been a centre of music and dance," said Dr. Subrahmanyam, who earned a Ph.D. on the karana (which forms the basic dance units of the Bharatanatyam) sculptures in the Rajarajesvaram temple, the Nataraja temple at Chidambaram and the Sarangapani temple at Kumbakonam.

The Rajarajesvaram temple has beautiful sculptures of 81 karanas (108 karanas form the alphabet of the Bharatanatyam) on the walls of the floor above the sanctum. Space had been earmarked for the remaining 27 karanas, but they were not sculpted. The bas reliefs portray Siva as performing the karanas.

A DVD will be prepared on the Bharatanatyam dances to be performed during the event and will be sent to the dance gurus whose students will take part. The participants will watch the DVD and practise the dances.

"So a thousand dancers will perform in unison. The idea is to make use of technology. This is the only way it can be done," Dr. Subrahmanyam said. She, along with top dancers, will perform in the dance event, which will last more than 30 minutes.

Dancers from New Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, the southern States, and from Singapore, Malaysia and the U.S. will take part.

- The Hindu, August 1, 2010

The seafarers had been on the Arabian Sea for over a month and now, they saw the white foam of the Periyar river in the distance. Ahoy, Muziris! Down in the cellar of their ship, the amphora jars clinked gently, filled to the brim with the choicest of wine and olive oil. And of course, gold coins. In December, when they go back, their ships would be full again, this time with that black, fragrant spice their Roman masters loved: pepper.

This was the port town of Muziris, "emporium of the East", located on the mouth of the Periyar delta, one of the biggest rivers in Kerala. Somewhere between 1st century BC and 4th century AD, Muziris was a thriving port city on the south-western coast of India. It flourished after the Romans conquered Egypt and rose to become a key centre for trade between the Red Sea and Indian Ocean regions—exporting pepper, precious stones, silk, beads, ivory and pottery to West Asia and Rome, and importing gold coins, glass, wine and wheat from there. So important was Muziris that it found a mention in ancient Tamil Sangam texts, such as Akananooru and Purananuru, and in early travelogues like the Periplus of the Erythrean Sea, a 1st century AD maritime navigational guide anonymously authored by a Greek-speaking mariner.

And then, Muziris disappeared. Nobody knows how, but the most plausible theory is that the decline of the Roman Empire sometime in 4th century AD probably affected the Indian Ocean trade and Muziris lost in importance. It stayed in the classical texts and acquired an almost mythical air for centuries. But Muziris was too real to be forgotten, so the search for the lost port city continued.

On a rainy day, the mud-and-gravel lanes of Pattanam, a village in Kerala's central district of Ernakulam, tell you this story of Muziris. That is, if you sit hunched and look hard like 10-year-old Athira and her friends do after school hours. With every rain, the earth magically sprouts beads in a dizzying array of colours and shapes—white, black, green and yellow; octagonal, cylindrical, rectangular and square—and Athira adds them to her prized collection, stored in a discarded jewellery box and put away in the steel almirah of her shack.

The beads are a part of Pattanam's lost history of seafarers and merchants, of a bead manufacturing and probably ship-making hub, of Romans and Arabs, of big ships gently bobbing at the mouth of the Periyar, of a planned, inland port town that was once a major trading centre. Pattanam, it now emerges, is a crucial part of the Muziris story.

On NH-17, the highway to Ernakulam city, a plain-looking board tells you Pattanam is a half-kilometre stray to the right. Here, a team of researchers led by P J Cherian, director of the Kerala Council of Historical Research, has been conducting excavations and research since 2007—in collaboration with the Archaeological Survey of India and a host of institutions worldwide—to find those crucial links to Muziris. The excavations so far have thrown up some amazing finds, helping researchers piece together a complex riddle: what was Muziris or Pattanam like two thousand years ago?

Cherian is confident the excavations will throw up answers. It has already become the first ever site on the Kerala coast to yield enough archeological evidence to establish links with the Mediterranean, North African and West Asian regions since the early Historic period.

In the backyard of one of the houses in Pattanam are four trenches, each 7x4 metres and part of 19 such pits in Pattanam. Here, workers sit sorting pieces of pottery, marking them, leaving them out to dry and finally packing them into plastic bags to be sent to laboratories for scientific examination. At the end of the recently-concluded fourth season of excavation from February to June this year, Cherian and his team found an astonishing two million local pottery sherds, about 2,000 amphora sherds (amphora is used in ancient Rome and Greece to store wine and olive oil, among other things) and about 1,400 sherds of West Asian make (turquoise glazed pottery and torpedo jars). The excavators also found a pot sherd with Tamil Brahmi inscription, suggesting the people of Pattanam were literate.

"This is the largest recorded sample of Roman amphora sherds found outside the Roman world and gives us an insight into what the Romans traded with India, in addition to the coins which are better known," says Roberta Tomber, visiting fellow, Department of Conservation and Scientific Research, British Museum. Tomber is an authority on Roman pottery and has visited Pattanam as part of her quest for sites connected with Egypt.

The most striking find yet in Pattanam is a wharf complex, with nine bollards to harbour boats and an adjacent warehouse and in the midst of this, a highly decayed canoe. Carbon dating revealed that the canoe belonged to at least the first century, making it the earliest watercraft excavated from an archeological context in India.

The researchers also found ornaments that suggest that the people of Muziris probably liked to wear their wealth—gold and copper ornaments, including a small gold axe with a loop on the handle, cameo blanks and those brilliant stone and glass beads. The presence of both finished and unpolished beads and waste products like flakes and chips suggest Pattanam could have been a bead-manufacturing hub.

Cherian feels that with every new find, Pattanam will bust a few myths—like the impression that rouletted ware, that fine kind of pottery, can only be European and that Indians weren't capable of such fine work. Or that India's commercial contacts started only with the Romans. "It's not true. The stratigraphic distribution of Indian rouletted ware in Pattanam suggests this was a commercial site even before West Asians or Romans arrived here," he says.

And the myth that Indians were bad sea-farers. Steven Sidebotham, professor of history at the University of Delaware, believes that it wasn't a one-way trade to Muziris. Just as Roman and Arab ships travelled to Muziris, Indians set sail to the Egyptian ports. Sidebotham has worked in Bernike, a legendary Egyptian port city on the Red Sea coast that was a contemporary of Muziris and which, like Muziris, was lost to the world till Sidebotham and his team began excavations in 1994. "We found 7.55 kg of black peppercorns in an India-made jar, buried up to its neck in the courtyard of a temple dedicated to the Greek god Serapis that went back to the first century AD," says Sidebotham. And the peppercorns could only have come from the Indian coast.

- The Indian Express, August 1, 2010

New methods in captive breeding are boosting vulture numbers

Delhi, they say, has a lot of history. From last Monday, it arguably has a little less. The tonga, which symbolized tradition on the roads of this 21st century capital of an emerging power, has been grounded. The municipal corporation made the decision pleading the need to ease traffic congestion. Many say it is a moot point if Delhi's few-hundred tongas crowded its roads unsustainably. More important, should heritage be sacrificed at the altar of convenience? Lessons from around the world and out-of-the box solutions:

TONGA TOURS: How about weekend rides up and down Rajpath in order for tourists to experience the presidential grandeur of Lutyens' Delhi? Or from Red Fort all the way down to Chandni Chowk so that the magic and liveliness of the market can be seen up close, suggests photographer Raghu Rai.

The plight of the now-unemployed tongawallahs spurred 15-year-old animal lover, Bhamini Rautela-Pahwa and four friends to start a signature campaign. The teenager says it is sacrilege that "Delhi's heritage can be lost. How can tongawallahs be allowed to lose their ancestral identity and the horses lose a home? MCD is planning for tomorrow, but at what cost?" She suggests that Rai's heritage tonga tours should use the existing vehicles but ensure that they are refurbished and clean. "Educate the tongawallahs to act as tour guides; organizations like Itihaas and students can help them," says Rautela-Pahwa.

Tonga tours would offer "tourists a spectacular view of the historic buildings at a wonderful pace...(far better) than whizzing past them in a car or a bus," says conservation architect Abha Narain Lambah.

Some Indian cities have shown the way. Mumbai PR consultant Ameya Bundellu says the Victoria tongas that ply on Marine Drive and around the Gateway of India afford "sheer pleasure". It is, he says, an extraordinary luxury to be "driven along the sea in a horse-drawn carriage. (It just) has to transport you to another era."

In Kolkata too, the Victoria tonga plies round and about the Victoria Memorial, a gentle, but thrilling reminder of the days of the Raj.

FOREIGN LESSONS: Texas, New York, New Orleans — each uses yesterday's transport to give today a special frisson. All the year round — so long as it is not hotter than 89°F or colder than 19°F — it is possible to ride around Central Park in New York. A standard ride costs about $50 and lasts 20 minutes. In Vienna and Prague, horse-drawn carriages take tourists through the cobbled streets of the old city, transporting them back in time. So could Delhi and the tonga, says P K Nair, founder director of the National Film Archive of India, "but sadly, tongas have been reduced to museum pieces, quite like the red-coated bandwallahs or the garishly donned baraat horses."

RUNAWAY ROMANCE: There are many ways to get married — underwater, in a plane, in the London Eye. Why not the tonga? Any bride would feel like Cinderella meeting her prince when she steps out of a stately carriage at the wedding venue.

Collector Sandeep Katari says it takes more than a year to restore the most dilapidated horse-drawn carriage but using "the same Burma teak, lights and brass used by the original manufacturers, be it Jarvis and Sons (British), H B Sleeman (French) or Dykes and Company (Kolkata)," they become a thing of beauty once again. Katari says that some are zenana or women's carriages.

Katari suggests tonga rides "by hotels on sunny winter afternoons. With wine thrown in, tourists can be made to feel like maharajas." Pradeep Sachdeva, the architect behind the aesthetically pleasing Dilli Haat, says, "How about using them in theme parks for short joy rides?" Event managers could use them for special functions and they could basically be for anything at all, including funerals.

FRINGE BENEFITS: Passionate tonga campaigner Bhamini Rautela-Pahwa suggests the tonga be employed inside the Commonwealth Games Village in order that foreign athletes get a taste of the real India. Ila Lumba, trustee of the Laksh Foundation, which runs a school and training centre in Manger in Faridabad suggests using them in inaccessible villages around the national capital. "We have some 100 children from three to 18 years who walk a distance of 2 to 5km from three villages in Faridabad (Manger, Shakari and Dhauj) to come and study here," she says. The villages are at least 5km away from the main road and she is keen to adopt four tongas for greater interconnectivity. "The tongawallahs can stay here and earn their livelihood. I can talk to the panchayat in this regard," says Lumba.

CORPORATE INITIATIVE: The tonga as sandwich board is yet another possibility, with corporate houses adopting them as a novel medium of advertising, rather than the billboard, suggests Rautela-Pahwa.

Five novel suggestions for the tonga's rebirth? What do Delhi's displaced tongawallahs think? Salim, who represents the group, says the tonga is more than just a horse-drawn carriage. "This is a job we have been doing for generations, from the time of the Mughals. We don't mind if our tongas are taken off the roads for a month, but give us alternate routes to ply on. Give us well-embellished tongas, we will take loans and pay them off but don't kill our vocation. This is all we know."

Box office ride

In the 1930s and 40s, tongas were an inseparable part of Bombay movies. P K Nair, founder director of the National Film Archive in Pune, says heroes of that era mainly used open, single-seater tongas. Ashok Kumar in Bandhan (1940) and Ulhas in Basant (1942) were just two who used tongas to give their leading ladies a ride.'

Nair says, "Remember the emotional attachment of Dilip Kumar in Naya Daur (1957) or Hema Malini in Sholay (1975) for their tongas? But it was in Kidar Sharma's Bawre Nain (1950), that for the first time the tonga was a source of livelihood for the heroine, Geeta Bali. Her emotional attachment to the horse and the vehicle provides a conduit for developing an emotional contact with the hero, Raj Kapoor."

Shammi Kapoor's Tongawali of the late fifties showed the tonga becoming breadwinner for the hero's family and the Pran-Ashok Kumar comedy Victoria No. 203 (1972) revolved around a tonga.

Then there's the unforgettable image of Balraj Sahni riding a tonga through the crowded streets in Garam Hawa (1973) as he tries to leave the country and fudge answers to the embarrassing questions posed by the Muslim tongawallah.

Many songs have been picturized around the tonga, not least Naushad's famous "Akhiyan milake" and the Mohammad Rafi-Asha Bhonsle duet "Maang ke .....Maang liya sansar" in Naya Daur.

Horse-drawn carriages have featured in many foreign films as well. Justin Carriage Works, based in Nashville, Tennessee, has been in the business 35 years and sold nearly 3,500 carriages. Its spokesman told Sunday Times via email that its carriages have been used by Disney and in movies such as Interview with the Vampire, A Little Princess, Dr Quinn Medicine Woman and The Crucible.

- The Times of India, August 1, 2010

Domes have a charm of their own. One remembers living in a domed house on the outskirts of Delhi more than 60 years ago in which beer parties were held on week-end afternoons and whisky and rum flowed in the evening. The house had been rented from a family which claimed noble lineage and a history of 300 years. That domed house has now been demolished but the memories associated with it still linger in the mind as Gumbad-ki-awaz or echoes from the dome.

Now news has come of the planned renovation of Phoota Gumbad, Kala Gumbad and the Anonymous Gumbad in Jawaharlal Nehru stadium. These monuments are believed to belong to Tughlaq times. The Tughlaqs were great builders and right from the time of Ghiyasuddin up to Mahmud Tughlaq's reign which saw the end of the dynasty, a large number of buildings came up in Delhi.

Mohammed-bin-Tughlaq followed in the footsteps of his father, whose tomb has a unique dome. After building Adilabad, Mohammad abandoned Tuglakabad, the fortified city to build his own capital city of Jahanpanah or Refuge of the World. That was the time when the threat of a Mongol invasion had receded and he could build his edifices without any fear.

Feroze Shah-Mahmud Tughlaq's reign saw the invasion of Taimur but before that Khan-i-Jahan Junan Shah constructed a host of mosques, with domes of all shapes and sizes, right up to Kali Masjid (originally Kalan Masjid) where the best nahari is sold, according to old Delhi wallahs. Taimur was fascinated by the buildings of the slave kings, the Khiljis and the Tughlaqs. He had come from a place where domes predominated and yet the work of Indian craftsmen so impressed him that he took away several hundred of them to beautify Samarkand.

The Sayyids, despite their short rule, added to the buildings of Delhi, with Kotla Mubarakpur coming up as the new capital in preference to Mubarakabad on the Yamuna bank. Kala Gumbad is sometimes mistaken for his tomb but it is actually that of Mubarak Khan and built in the Lodhi period in 1481. Mubarak Shah Sayyid's tomb is known for its wide dome which overshadows other characteristics of the mausoleum, quite unlike the stately dome of Mohammed Sayyid. The Lodhis also built lots of domed mausoleums like the Shish Gumbad, but it was during the Moghuls that the dome reached it's perfection.

The dome that graces Humayun's Tomb became the role model for the dome of the Taj Mahal, whose majesty has not been matched anywhere else perhaps. To return to the Tughlaq period, the Phoota Gumbad got its name at a later date when its dome cracked. The Kala Gumbad near it was so named after years of elemental fury made the dome black. The third domed building got the pseudonym of Anjan Gumbad. So all these three buildings lack proper names but are still heritage sites. ASI has done well to take up their renovation at last and save them for posterity, lest they be demolished to make room for modern structures.

- The Hindu, August 2, 2010

The upcoming Commonwealth Games has helped bring back to life a number of forgotten and unprotected monuments that had been heavily encroached over the years and were lying in a dilapidated condition. In an effort to revive these lesser-known heritage structures, Delhi government and Intach Delhi Chapter are jointly carrying out conservation, restoration and illumination work on the sites.

These buildings — which figure on the list of 92 monuments identified for notification by the state archaeology department — are high on priority as they are located near the Games venues such as the Siri Fort Sports Complex, R K Khanna Tennis Complex and National Stadium.

The monuments are getting a thorough facelift that includes comprehensive structural conservation, art restoration followed by landscaping, site development and illumination. ''This is an excellent way to showcase Delhi's rich heritage. All sites will have information boards explaining the monument's history and architectural significance," said a state archaeology department official.

One such structure, Bijri Khan's Tomb in R K Puram, is located at a short distance from the R K Khanna Tennis Complex and has been given a complete makeover by Intach. Another monument that has been restored is Darwesh Shah's Masjid. It could hardly be seen earlier as a result of heavy vegetation growth. Significantly, conservation work on Gol Gumbad near Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium brought to light intrinsic floral and geometric patterns in typical Islamic style.

Three monuments in Lodi Garden — a mosque, gateway and turret — are also being conserved. The ASI-protected monuments, officials say, are likely to be visited by the Games tourists as Lodi Garden is in close proximity to JN Stadium. A small tomb inside the stadium complex — Phutta Gumbad — has also been taken up for conservation. ''Illumination will be carried out in the end and testing — identifying spots to place the fixtures — has started at Bara Lao ka Gumbad in Vasant Vihar and Mutiny Memorial," said an official.

Conservation work started in April. Multiple teams are involved and trying to finish all works by August 30. ''It has been a mammoth task. While some buildings like Gol Gumbad required plaster work others such as Darwesh Shah's mosque had a damaged facade," said an Intach official.

Even for centrally-protected monuments in the capital, ASI officials said conservation work had never been carried out on such a scale. Tughlaqabad Fort — which receives few visitors and is one of ASI's most 'neglected' buildings — is being given the biggest makeover. The fort is located near the Karni Singh Shooting Range. And with portions of the Siri Fort wall being excavated, the site is also being touted as one of the hottest tourist destinations during the Games.

- The Times of India, August 2, 2010

The Unesco has declared Jaipur's Jantar Mantar as a World Heritage Site. The decision to declare Jantar Mantar as World Heritage Site was taken on Saturday night at a high-level meeting of Unesco officials in Brazil.

India's Archaeological Survey of India had submitted a request to the Unesco in 2009 to give the monument a heritage site status. "It is a big boost to our efforts to preserve such valuable heritage sites," said Rajasthan tourism minister Bina Kak.

India has five such observatories in Delhi, Jaipur, Ujjain, Varansi and Mathura, but Jaiupr's Jantar Mantar is the best preserved.

"We have spent over Rs 3.50 crores on renovation and conservation of the Jantar Mantar," said Ms Kak. Every year over seven lakh tourists from across India and abroad visit the site. The observatory was built in early 18th century by Swai Jai Singh.

Jaipur's stone observatory is largest among the five remarkable observatories built by Swai Jai Singh. The complex has instruments, which are scientifically designed and represent the high points of medieval Indian astronomy.

One of the such astronomical instrument known as "Smrat Yantra" is largest equinoctial sun dial in the world.

Astrologers gather here every year during the month of Ashadha of the Hindu calendar at to make a weather prediction.

This year, a group of astrologers and religious scholars assembled last week at the observatory and predicted good rains.

"It is more accurate than today's modern science in forecasting rains," said Vinod Sharma, head of astrology at the Sanskrit University in Jaipur.

The tourism department rejoiced over the declaration of the Jantar Mantar a World Heritage Site. Musicians were playing welcome songs at the Jantar Mantar while sweets were distributed.

''Not just the Jantar Mantar, but whole walled city of Jaipur should be declared as heritage site," said Charley, a tourist from the UK.

- The Asian Age, August 2, 2010

Welcome Heritage Lallgarh Palace in Bikaner has now gone in for a makeover of its interiors.

Built by Maharaja Ganga Singh in memory of his father Maharaj Lall Singhji in 1902, the imposing red sand stone structure is said to bring together the best of Rajput, Muslim and European styles of architecture.

With the emphasis on state-of-the-art amenities, the trustees of Maharaja Ganga Singhji Trust initiated an upgradation of the palace's suites, kitchen and verandas, according to a release.

Keeping in mind the legacy of royal architecture, six suites in the Sajjan Niwas wing of the palace have been renovated amalgamating contemporary interiors with the traditional decor.

LCD screens are now installed in each of the six suites while the bathrooms are equipped with glass shower cubicles and modern fittings and also have dressing rooms. New marble floors add to the sheen of verandas.

Alterations have also been made to the existing kitchen which now has energy saving equipments and gadgets.

- The Hindu, August 2, 2010

Not all monuments in Delhi belong to the time of Mughal emperor Shah Jahan. This one was built long after Bollywood actor Priyanka Chopra was born. We are talking about the Jeevan Bharti building (1986), popular known as LIC building. Located in colonial-era Connaught Place, its back overlooking the Janpath flea market, the building was designed by Hyderabad-born architect Charles Correa, whose collection of essays, A Place In The Shades, has just hit the bookstores. A complex of stone, glass and metal, this 'monument' means different things to different people. The building is a familiar landmark for many. Shikhar Sharma, a college student, says, "It's a really cool building and is pretty modern. It makes for a good view in Connaught Place."

Rakhshanda Jalil, an author who has written on Delhi's monuments, says, "The LIC building is a great piece of architecture. Amid the old buildings of Connaught Place (CP), it juts out like a paean to the need of modern times and gives a hint of the new-century skyline that may follow in the years ahead. Have you noticed that it is just across the road from the very colonial-looking Regal cinema building?

The contrast could not be starker and yet it is so aesthetically pleasing." Voicing a different opinion, Rakesh Chandra, a bookshop owner in CP, says, "It's ugly. It doesn't gel with the surroundings. The highrise has no relevance to CP's architecture where buildings were never supposed to be multi-storied."

Jai Kumar Chautala, a social activist in Valmiki Sadan colony, says, "LIC, after which is building is named, is India's first life insurance company. The building sends out an inspiring message to all the people looking at it. While the rest of the CP is being renovated, it is one landmark that need not be brushed up."

- Hindustan Times, August 2, 2010

The promotion by Sri Lankan Tourism of a "Ramayana Trail" to attract Indian tourists has run into criticism from local historians and archaeologists who accuse the authorities of promoting a myth ignoring historical inaccuracies.

The criticism comes in the wake of the recent commencement of a series of events for Ramayana enthusiasts by the Tourism Authority of Sri Lanka.

Under the programme, which will continue till September, visitors are taken across the country to the sites having mythological importance, including the place were the King of Lanka Ravana kept hostage Sita, the wife of Lord Rama.

However, a group of historians and archaeologists who gathered for symposium "The Tourism Authorities Ramayana Trail" in Colombo recently, said they had investigated the so-called "Ramayana Trail" and found it historically inaccurate.

"We oppose the tourism board's initiative in trying to promote the Ramayana Trail in the island. The information regarding the sites is historically and geographically inaccurate and such a promotion would not be favourable to the country," one of the speakers at the seminar, Dr Susanthe Goonathilake, said.

The tourism authority, however, dismissed these accusations saying it was not their job to verify historical accuracies, but to encourage tourism.

"Sri Lanka is the proud custodian of more than 50 Ramayana sites from the place of Seetha Devi's captivity to the battlefields where vast armies clashed, to the groves of exotic herbs dropped by the monkey god Hanuman, to the ultimate theatre of war where Lord Rama slew Ravana, the 10-headed demon-king," the tourism authority says on its website.

Some of the criticism by historians seems to stem from the fears of a growing Indian influence in the country in the post-war scenario. Hence, historian Dr Goonathilake sees a danger in promoting an Indian myth as a fact. "The Indian population has nationalistic and religious impulses that could be used as a pretext for war, if the sites become threatened," he said.

The number of Indian tourists arriving in the country has picked up after the end of the war with close to 10,000 arriving each month. The visa on arrival policy of the government has also led to increase in the number of Indians visiting the country.

- The Tribune, August 2, 2010

Sketches, artefacts made by sir edwin lutyens likely to be centrepiece of museum on celebrated architect

Delhi has always nurtured an admiration that sometimes borders on obsession, for Sir Edwin Landseer Lutyens, the talented English architect credited with designing the Rashtrapati Bhavan and the sprawling colonial mansions in the heart of the Capital. Rapid construction may have changed the face of the rest of the city, but no effort has been spared in ensuring that Lutyen's zone — the area in the centre of Delhi comprising the buildings designed by the architect — remains unchanged.

Now, in a glowing tribute to one of India' favorite Britons, the Rashtrapati Bhavan is planning to set up a museum dedicated to Lutyen's life and works. While the President's staff declined to speak on plans for the proposed museum, sources revealed that discussions have been going on for nearly a year. "We are now in the process of sourcing material, such as sketches made by Lutyens from various places. We are actively talking to institutions like the Royal Academy of Art and the British Museum," an official explained on the condition of anonymity.

It was also revealed that President Pratibha Patil herself is spearheading the project and is actively involved in its finer details. The museum, which officials expect will "open shortly", will be housed in the Rashtrapati Bhavan close to the main reception. Many of the artefacts that will be displayed in the museum are scattered all over Rashtrapati Bhavan presently. "We already have the bulk of the material needed for the display, we just need to organise and curate it," the official added. It is unclear at this stage whether the Rashtrapati Bhavan has sought curatorial advice from established museums.

While it has been decided where the museum will be housed, the President's staff is as of now unclear on whether the museum will be completely open to the public or will be clubbed with events such as the month-long Mughal Gardens tour. "That will be decided later. At present we are focused on acquiring artefacts and setting up the museum. We intend to complete the operations soon," the official added. The official refused to reveal the nature of the artefacts, except that some of them were sketches done by the architect.

- The Indian Express, August 2, 2010

The walk is gaining stronger stride. A growing number of groups in the capital are organising walks around various interesting pockets of Delhi to explore and know the capital better. Stepping out in sturdy boots for these paid walks are youngsters, foreigners and scholars. And the destinations range from the narrow lanes of Old Delhi, the bustling early morning flower bazaars, the ruins of palaces and mosques and a culinary tour of the Walled City. The walk is talking, and how.

When Himanshu Verma, who has been organising interesting walks for the last one-year, recently planned the sharbat, kulfi and food walk in Old Delhi, many Delhiites turned up to make it a success. He says, "We started organising walks last year for the 'Monsoon Festival' in Delhi. In this last one year, we have organised walks to various places including flower markets and lakes. Our idea is to make walks a celebratory experience for those who participate. We plan to organise many new concepts of walks by October and November this year. For instance, we plan to take people through the lakes of Delhi, lakes which are artificial, and some, which have a spiritual significance."

Interestingly, these walks not only lure tourists, but also youngsters, especially from the fields of photography and architecture. Some groups are organising these walks to spread awareness. "Delhiites are waking up to the idea of walks. We started with 15 youngsters, today, the number is more than 200. We aim at organising a relaxed walk and also creating awareness about street children and ways in which we can help them. We also organised a blanket-giving walk last winter in backward areas. After the walk, you feel you have contributed," shares Priyanka from the NGO Jamghat, which organises a night walk every month to reveal the life of street children around Jama Masjid and Old Delhi.

And if you really want to take time out for a leisurely walk and explore the historical beauty, a group of volunteers organises walks to the lesser-known parts of the city. Reveals Kanika Singh of Delhi Heritage Walks, "Unlike regular heritage walks, we focus on exploring not-so-popular ones. For instance, there's a beautiful historical area around the Qutab Complex, which not many people know about."

- The Asian Age, August 3, 2010

A key to reconstructing history is under serious threat of being lost. Latest reviews have revealed that the country now has no more than 30-35 well-versed epigraphists who can study inscriptions, many of whom have either retired from active service or keep ill health.

Concerned about the state of affairs, the Prime Minister's Office has stepped in to chart out a number of schemes to revive the study of epigraphy in the country.

According to sources, at a recent meeting, the Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister directed that the University Grants Commission (UGC) and the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) pull out all the stops to revive the discipline of epigraphy.

If the UGC will now formulate a special programme to rope in the 30-35 existing epigraphists and associate them with universities, despite superannuation, through fellowships, students in the history department at varsities will be encouraged to take up the branch through scholarships. The UGC has also been asked to look at options like making epigraphy and numismatics compulsory in Ancient History courses and to synergise varsity studies in the discipline with ASI's requirements. There are some 22 Departments of History in the country that offer epigraphy courses.

The ASI has also been asked to fill all vacancies in the epigraphy sections across its offices in the country and to identify proficient epigraphists and engage them. The ASI will also soon build a database of available manpower in epigraphical studies, and through workshops identify potential talent to take up epigraphy studies.

A committee has been set up under noted scholar Dr Kapila Vatsyayan to look into the remedial action possible.

How things have come to such a head for this ancient history discipline is, however, a study in itself. A combination of factors such as decades of ASI apathy to the branch, vacancies in the epigraphy section, little or no research or publication in the discipline for years now and the limited growth avenue that taking it up as a profession offers contributes to the loss of interest in the discipline amongst young students.

Dr K V Ramesh, Executive Editor of the Epigraphical Society of India and former Chief Epigraphist of ASI, says the discipline has suffered due to government apathy.

"There is a tremendous shortage of epigraphists in the country and that is so because the government has been indifferent to it. This is a highly specialised discipline that needs a lot of devotion and only if the government supports it in a big way can it be revived," Ramesh told The Indian Express.

ASI sources point out that the decline in the study of epigraphy crept in almost three decades back. While academic institutes in the south have still fared better, largely because of the bulk of inscriptions being found in the region, particularly Tamil Nadu, in the north, the study of epigraphy has seen a heavy decline. There have been instances when foreign epigraphists had to be called in.

Prof Suchandra Ghosh, Head of History Department, Calcutta University, says much needs to be done to remedy matters at the varsity level. "To become an epigraphist one must understand Sanskrit and Prakrit while a combination of both is not offered in our varsities.More courses need to be conducted in Sanskrit, Prakrit, paleography. While the ASI has begun doing some of that, there is no doubt there is a long way to go," Ghosh, who specialises in numismatics and epigraphy, says.

- The Indian Express, August 4, 2010

As many as 23 historic monuments in Ernakulam district of Kerala, identified as part of the Muziris Heritage Project (MHP), are set for renovation and conservation in Phase-I of the Rs.140-crore mission for retrieving and showcasing the legacy of the ancient port town.

Briefing journalists on the progress of the MHP in the district on Tuesday, State Fisheries Minister S. Sarma announced that the opening phase of the project, covering a period of three months, would be launched later this month.

Memorial identification

Identification of memorials was on at a fast pace and the government was holding discssions with the governing bodies of such institutions for carrying out related developments.

Renovation works on the Paliyam Palace, Nalukettu and the Synagogue in Chendamangalam were progressing well and scheduled to be completed by November end, the Minister said.

The government had issued an order for acquiring land on a fast track basis and efforts were on to acquire land for constructing a maritime museum, fisheries museum and the P. Kesavadev museum, along with the Jewish houses in the area, also exhibiting the cultural identity of each locality.

The primary phase would also cover development of infrastructure, including the setting up of signage, walkways, landscaping and toilet blocks, among other things.

Tender for upgrading the markets in Paravur and Kottappuram and for constructing roads connecting the heritage spots in the district had begun. About 14 boat jetties would be constructed under the canal renovation project, along with the strengthening of the sidewalls of the jetties.

The MHP is proposed to be completed in three phases, also by ensuring the participation of the local self-governments, government departments and institutions.

Green signal

The State government had given the green signal for the Rs.140-crore proposal for the Muziris Cultural Heritage Conservation.

It has agreed to expend about Rs.100 crore for the project.

Spread over an area of eight gram-panchayats and two municipalities in Ernakulam and Thrissur districts, the heritage sites in the MHP include the Kottappuram fort, the synagogue, the Dutch Palace, the Pallipuram Kotta, the Vypikotta seminary, freedom fighter Abdul Rahiman Sahib's house, the Kottayil Kovilakam, the Kodungallur Bhagavathi temple, the Cheraman Juma Masjid, the Cheraman Parambu, the Thiruvanchsikulam Mahadeva temple, the Keezhthali siva temple, and the old research centres at Pattanam and Kottappuram.

- The Indian Express, August 4, 2010

It's not just humans who are going to benefit from the Commonwealth Games. The National Zoological Park is in the process of creating a more "natural environment" for its inmates as part of its plan to improve the zoo for the event.

For example, the monkey and bear enclosures will get more trees and dead logs will be littered around it for the animals to climb and play. Work is already on and the entire process is expected to be over by September.

Over the past few years, the zoo has also been trying to provide better facilities to its animals like clean water and better food.

The earlier practice of filling moats around the enclosures with water from the Yamuna has been stopped. "The river water has become very dirty and we have stopped using it. Now, animals who don't require water have dry moats while animals like the tiger will have theirs filled with tap water," said B S Bonal, member secretary of Central Zoo Authority, the apex body that gives recognition to zoos in India.

One of the reasons for the changes, could be the fact that the zoo is not very popular among tour operators and tourists. In fact, not a single tour operator has included the Delhi zoo in their city tour package for the Games.

"Abroad, visits to the zoo are part of the tour packages. In India, we promote wildlife tourism, but zoos are not among the attractions. And because of the time involved, it's hardly a place to take tourists who are here only for a few days," says Vijay Thakur, president of the Indian Association of Tour Operators.

Rama Rao, manager of Southern Travels that conducts daily city tours, says he has never received any requests from foreign or domestic tourists to visit the zoo. "They are more interested in visiting monuments. In the recent years, Akshardham Temple has become very popular," he says.

Asked why zoos in India in general do not have facilities for interaction between visitors and animals, Bonal said the zoological parks are generally meant to provide a healthy living environment for animals. "In jungles, human beings do not interact with animals who lead their own lives, so why should it be different in zoos?" he asked. Bonal added that it would be wrong to say the zoo is not popular as it gets 1.5 crore visitors every year.

Many zoo officials are of the opinion that the enclosures here are so big that visitors often don't get to do not get to see animals as they move out of sight.

As part of the work, visitors to the zoo will get new facilities like a cloak room, food kiosks and ATMs.

- The Indian Express, August 4, 2010

After brazening it out for days over the Connaught Place makeover — which started so late that no one was in any doubt that it won't be completed by the time of Commonwealth Games — the NDMC has begun a massive cover-up. The sites for the three new subways under construction are now being covered by tonnes of loose earth. The civic body seems to have finally thrown in the spade.

The NDMC claims that the work on constructing the retaining walls for the subways has been completed though labourers working at these sites insisted that no such work had taken place. The civic body wants to resume work after the Games.

In fact, NDMC spokesperson Anand Tiwari is now saying that construction of these subways was never a part of the Games projects. Why NDMC then decided to take up this work before the Games and turn CP upside down is a question no one is willing to answer. Chairman Parimal Rai refused to talk about the CP mess when approached by this reporter.

NDMC had already dug up the premier commercial centre as part of the ongoing facade restoration work, construction of parking, streetscaping etc. In December last year, it was suddenly seized by this idea of upgrading the five existing subways besides constructing eight new ones. Eventually, work was taken up on only three.

Said an NDMC official: ''The three subways — two at Panchkuian Road and one at BKS Marg — have been covered with earth and a road will be laid over it. Work will be resumed after the Games. It will not cost us anything extra as the tender is valid for one-and-a-half years.'' The approximate cost of upgrading the subways and constructing new ones was estimated to be Rs 20 crore.

Experts are now apprehensive that filling the subways with loose earth might lead to road cave-ins during the Games but NDMC rules out any such possibility, insisting the work is being done 'properly'.

Said Tiwari: ''NDMC will take up subway work along the middle carriageway of the Outer Circle after Games with work having been completed at the two ends.''

However, the president of New Delhi Traders' Association, Atul Bharghav, told TOI: ''No work was started on the subway opening up near the Panchkuian Road.'' Plans to construct the fourth subway at Chelmsford Road was abandoned after initial digging.

Meanwhile, NDMC has also closed most of the openings made for installing escalators at the existing five subways. According to the civic body, the five subways — Janpath, Parliament Street, Super Bazar, Baba Kharak Singh Marg and Kasturba Gandhi Marg — will be ready for use by the Games.

''Drainage barrels are coming in the way of the escalator work. We will, however, try to install escalators in two subways,'' said Tiwari. The main objective of the upgradation work at the existing subways was to install escalators in them. It seems highly unlikely that even one of the five subways will finally have escalators.

Said Bharghav: ''We are just glad that this mess is finally over. At least things can return to normal.''

- The Times of India, August 5, 2010

The oldest university in the world is set to come up again after 800 years

During the six centuries of its storied existence, there was nothing else quite like Nalanda University. Probably the first-ever large educational establishment, the college — in what is now eastern India — even counted the Buddha among its visitors and alumni. At its height, it had 10,000 students, 2,000 staff and strove for both understanding and academic excellence. Today, this much-celebrated centre of Buddhist learning is in ruins.

After a period during which the influence and importance of Buddhism in India declined, the university was sacked in 1193 by a Turkish general, apparently incensed that its library did not contain a copy of the Koran. The fire is said to have burned and smouldered for several months.

Now, this famed establishment of philosophy, mathematics, language and even public health is poised to be revived. A beguiling and ambitious plan to establish an international university with the same overarching vision as Nalanda — and located alongside its physical ruins — has been spearheaded by a team of international experts and leaders, among them the Nobel-winning economist Amartya Sen. This week, legislation that will enable the building of the university to proceed is to be placed before Parliament.

"At its peak it offered an enormous number of subjects in the Buddhist tradition, in a similar way that Oxford [offered] in the Christian tradition - Sanskrit, medicine, public health and economics," Sen said yesterday in Delhi.

"It was destroyed in a war. It was [at] just the same time that Oxford was being established. It has a fairly extraordinary history — Cambridge had not yet been born." He added, with confidence: "The building will start as soon as the Bill passes."

Architectural marvel

The original university, located close to the border with what is now Nepal, was said to have been an architectural masterpiece, featuring 10 temples, a nine-storeyed library where monks copied books by hand, lakes, parks and student accommodation.

Its students came from Korea, Japan, China, Persia, Tibet and Turkey, as well as from across India.

The 7th Century Chinese pilgrim, Xuanzang, visited Nalanda and wrote detailed accounts of what he saw, describing how towers, pavilions and temples appeared to "soar above the mists in the sky (so that monks in their rooms) might witness the birth of the winds and clouds".

- The Tribune, August 5, 2010

The Union Cabinet will on Thursday give its nod for the creation of a National Monuments Authority that will serve as a watchdog for all the 3,675 ASI-protected monuments in the country and frame site-specific bylaws to check all unregulated construction in the vicinity of these monuments. The role and ambit of the authority is learnt to have been tightened considerably at the behest of UPA chief Sonia Gandhi who even wrote to the Prime Minister, who also holds the Ministry of Culture portfolio.

Provided for in the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains (Amendment and Validation) Act 2010 that has been passed by the Parliament this year, the nearly Rs 100 crore authority will map all ASI protected monuments, frame and establish heritage bylaws that will even supersede building bylaws and throw a 300-metre ring around monuments around which no construction or even repair of existing buildings will be allowed. The repair and renovation of structures constructed before 1992 and those that have ASI approval will, however, be permissible.

The NMA will be headed by a chairman and have five full-time and five part-time members. It will be assisted by 24 competent authorities/senior government officials posted in different parts of the country to whom each request for renovation, repair or construction within the heritage zone will be taken. This process is expected to make violations of the said rules quite difficult, sources said.

The amendment in the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains (Amendment and Validation) Act 2010 states that "no permission including carrying out of any public work or project essential to the public or other constructions, shall be granted in any prohibited area on or after the date on which the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains (Amendment and Validation) Bill 2010 receives the assent of the President."

In 2006 an advisory committee was instituted by the ASI to look at construction within the vicinity of a monument on a case-to-case basis. However, in October 2009, the Delhi High Court struck down this committee as illegal. The Ministry rushed in an ordinance in January 2009 to legalise the ASI committee when certain historians took up the issue with UPA president Sonia Gandhi, who intervened and wrote to the PM on the issue, sources said.

- The Indian Express, August 5, 2010

During the six centuries of its storied existence, there was nothing else quite like Nalanda University. Probably the first-ever large educational establishment, the college in eastern India even counted the Buddha among its visitors and alumni.

At its height, it had 10,000 students, 2,000 staff and strove for both understanding and academic excellence. Today, this much-celebrated centre of Buddhist learning is in ruins.

After a period during which the influence and importance of Buddhism in India declined, the university was sacked in 1193 by a Turkic general. The fire is said to have burned and smouldered for several months.

Now this famed establishment of philosophy, mathematics, language and even public health is poised to be revived. A beguiling and ambitious plan to establish an international university with the same overarching vision as Nalanda and located alongside its physical ruins has been spearheaded by a team of international experts and leaders, among them the Nobel-winning economist Amartya Sen. Legislation that will enable the building of the university to proceed is to be placed before Parliament.

"At its peak it offered an enormous number of subjects in the Buddhist tradition, in a similar way that Oxford (offered) in the Christian tradition Sanskrit, medicine, public health and economics,"Mr Sen said in Delhi.

"It was destroyed in a war. It was (at) just the same time that Oxford was being established. It has a fairly extraordinary history Cambridge had not yet been born." He added with confidence: "Building will start as soon as the Bill passes."

The plan to resurrect Nalanda in Bihar and establish a facility prestigious enough to attract the best students from across Asia and beyond was apparently first voiced in the 1990s. But the idea received more widespread attention in 2006 when the then Indian president, APJ Abdul Kalam set about establishing an international "mentoring panel". Members of the panel, chaired by Mr Sen, include Singapore's foreign minister, George Yeo, historian Sugata Bose, Lord Desai and Chinese academic Wang Banwei.

A key challenge for the group is to raise sufficient funds for the university. It has been estimated that $500m will be required to build the new facility, with a further $500m needed to sufficiently improve the surrounding infrastructure. The group is looking for donations from governments, private individuals and religious groups. The governments of both Singapore and India have apparently already given some financial commitments.

Mr Sen said the new Nalanda project, whose ancestor easily predated both the University of Al Karaouine in Fez, Morocco founded in 859 AD and considered the world's oldest, continually-operating university - and Cairo's Al Azhar University (975 AD), had already attracted widespread attention from prestigious institutions. The universities of Oxford, Harvard, Yale, Paris and Bologna had all been enthusiastic about possible collaboration.

Some commentators believe a crucial impact of the establishment of a new international university in India would be the boost it would give to higher education across Asia. A recent survey of universities by the US News and World Report magazine listed just three Asian institutions —University of Tokyo, University of Hong Kong and Kyoto University— among the world's top 25.

Writing when plans for Nalanda were first announced, Jeffery Garten, a professor in international business and trade at the Yale School of Management, said in the New York Times: "The new Nalanda should try to recapture the global connectedness of the old one. All of today's great institutions of higher learning are straining to become more international... but Asian universities are way behind." He added: "A new Nalanda could set a benchmark for mixing nationalities and culture, for injecting energy into global subject. Nalanda was a Buddhist university but it was remarkably open to many interpretations of that religion. Today, it could... be an institution devoted to global religious reconciliation."

As Mr Garten pointed out, the new university will have much to live up to. The original, located close to the border with what is now Nepal, was said to have been an architectural masterpiece, featuring 10 temples, a nine-storey library where monks copied books by hand, lakes, parks and student accommodation. Its students came from Korea, Japan, China, Persia, Tibet and Turkey, as well as from across India. The 7th Century Chinese pilgrim, Xuanzang, visited Nalanda and wrote detailed accounts of what he saw, describing how towers, pavilions and temples appeared to "soar above the mists in the sky (so that monks in their rooms) might witness the birth of the winds and clouds".

Yet the project is not without controversy. Mr Sen was asked about reports that claimed the Dalai Lama, who has lived for more than 50 years in Dharamsala, had been deliberately omitted from the project to avoid antagonising potential Chinese investors and officials. He replied: "He is heading a religion. Being religiously active may not be the same as (being) appropriate for religious studies."

The Indian authorities believe the establishment of the college would act as a global reminder of the nation's history as a centre of learning and culture.

- The Statesman, August 6, 2010

With monuments getting a facelift before the Commonwealth Games, heritage enthusiasts and conservationists are questioning the process adopted to make the ruins appear new. As part of the makeover, the monuments are being coated in lime plaster.

Heritage enthusiasts have regularly raised the issue with conservation bodies like the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH), the Department of Archaeology and the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), complaining the monuments are losing their charm.

Earlier this year, British High Commissioner Richard Stagg's wife had reportedly raised the issue in social circles when monuments in Lodhi Gardens were getting a facelift. Following that, senior INTACH officials and conservationists had conducted a tour for Lady Stagg, explaining to her the technicalities of conservation in India.

Recently, residents and enthusiasts near Gulmohar Park have been in talks with the INTACH and other officials over the conservation of Darvesh Shah's Mosque, a Lodhi-period monument. The monument, according to INTACH officials, was in ruins and needed intensive intervention to reconstruct portions that had collapsed.

Artist Arpana Caur and architect Gautam Bhatia, who go for regular morning walkers in the park, took note of the changing look and colour of the monument and raised the issue with INTACH and the state department of archaeology. "Along with structural reinforcement, retaining the look of the monument during conservation is also important. The colour of the monument is so white that it has completely different look from what it earlier used to be. We have voiced our concerns but officials working on the project have refused to see reason," Caur told Newsline.

Conservationists, however, maintain lime plaster is essential as it works like a protective water-proof layer. "After being exposed to a few seasons of rain and sunlight, the monument will develop a patina (a layer) on its exterior giving it an antiquarian look," said an INTACH official.

A G K Menon, Convenor, Delhi Chapter, INTACH told Newsline, "There has been a debate over the authenticity of ruins across the world. While the West believes in leaving their monuments untouched and do not reconstruct or restore their heritage structures with heavy intervention, there has been an alternate view on conservation in countries like India and a few others.

"Here, we can restore and reconstruct our monuments as we still have traditionally skilled artisans who have retained the old techniques of construction," he added.

- The Indian Express, August 6, 2010

First it was a late start. Then it was the complex design and labour-intensive execution. And then, it was rain and god's will. The CPWD's reason for myriad delays keeps changing just like the deadlines of its projects. Not a single venue under the CPWD charge has managed to meet a deadline, no mean achievement considering it had 10 venues on its to-do list.

The reasons for the delays are all different. While JN Stadium got late as the plan for a new underground tunnel for performers was submitted in late 2009, the Indira Gandhi Velodrome was delayed because the flooring had to be changed from cement to wooden according to the specifications of the international cycling federation.

CPWD engineers, however, have a different tale to spin. Senior officials claim that completing a stadium within 18 months is a feat of engineering. There is a point, especially as most stadia started off as being renovation projects but turned into complete constructions by the middle of 2009. Says one of the engineers working on the project, "We started implementing the design in early 2009. But as the work went on, it became obvious that the entire stadium would have to be rebuilt.''

The story was repeated in all the 10 stadia, with the most stark example being the JN Stadium. Here, the CPWD has spent over Rs 900 crore to come up with a stadium that was originally open but is now covered with a technically innovative roof. The roof alone cost Rs 500 crore and took over six months to be completed.

Interestingly, the last stretch of the construction schedule has been the most complicated for CPWD. Leaks, collapsed walls, and waterlogged stadia have beset the agency, which claims these are "teething'' problems. The Karni Singh shooting range, for instance, was almost flooded during a spell of heavy rain in July while its 50m range building saw the false ceiling come apart. The story was repeated in SP Mukherjee swimming complex, where the test event saw a player slip on a loose grill.

The reason for these incidents, according to CPWD, is seen as routine run-up. Officials say the venues are ready, and early problems like seepage is actually an illusion a spell of dry weather will get rid of all the problems. Wishful thinking? Maybe it's just God's will.

- The Times of India, August 6, 2010

Already in troubled waters for failure to save Sukhna Lake, the Chandigarh Administration's claims of "doing enough" were today washed away by the amicus curiae appointed by the Punjab and Haryana High Court.

In a fresh petition, Tanu Bedi minced no words while asserting that the Administration was "ruthless" enough to set up the information technology (IT) park in the ecologically fragile area near the lake, which has undergone a sea change primarily due to five decades of administrative neglect and non-scientific approach.

Punjab tries to slip through

Punjab on Thursday made an apparent attempt to wash its hands off the controversy by saying "silt formation was a natural process". In an affidavit, Executive Engineer with Bhakra main line division Geeta Singla said: "Preventive measures to control the siltation was out of jurisdiction of the Government of Punjab, as the area falls in the state of Himachal and Haryana.

"Moreover, siltation of lake is a natural process, as it happenes in most of the other manmade dams like the Bhakra and Beas, where lakes get a lot of silt and the time capacity of the reservoir/lake decreases".

Appearing before the Division Bench of Chief Justice Mukul Mudgal and Justice Ajay Tewari, Bedi also virtually lambasted the authorities concerned for not demarcating the lake's catchment area and allowing construction activity on it.

Bedi made it clear that the lake would soon lose what it has gained in the rains due to the leaking floodgates.

Bedi asserted in the petition: "The excitement of urbanisation, leading to unchecked construction activity in and around the catchment area of the water body, has posed a big threat to the ecological sensitive zone of the lake…

"The efforts by the administration are commendable, but not sufficient to undo the damage resulting from the long sleep of five decades leading to the problem of Sukhna Lake".

Bedi said the lake "for more than five decades has undergone a lot of change in water storage capacity and original size" due to heavy deposits of silt, water-loss and construction in the catchment area.

"All this happened, among other things, because of the Administration's neglect, absence of scientific approach to deal with the problem, lack of strong administrative will, undertaking of efforts as a piecemeal measure, rather than a consolidated action plan."

The proceedings, which lasted for approximately 15 minutes, saw Bedi telling the Bench that the leakage in the floodgates was reported in 2003-04.

Calling for the formulation of a concrete plan to block the leakage, she underscored the need for initiation of action within two weeks.

Appearing for the state of Punjab, Additional Advocate-General Rupinder Khosla asked for making the state of Himachal Pradesh a party to the writ petition - a prayer not allowed at the first instance by the Bench.

Referring to an affidavit by the UT Administration, Justice Tewari said the Superintendent Engineer had made no reference to catchment area in the hill state. Speaking for the Bench, Justice Tewari asked Bedi to verify the fact. The case will now come up on September 23.

- The Tribune, August 6, 2010

One dreamy ruin that you must visit with your lover is Metcalfe's Folly in Mehrauli Archaeological Park, a dense jumble of trees, graves, and domes in south Delhi. On the peak of a grassy mound stands a stone canopy built in the 1850s by Charles Metcalfe, a British Indophile, as a 'folly'. The folly was a very British thing, a new building meant to look like old and to be viewed in a picturesque landscape.

By itself, Metcalfe's hexagonal structure is unremarkable. The columns are minimally carved; the semi-circular arches are not ornamental, the surface is cobbled. It is the folly's lighthouse setting — commanding a view of the towering Qutub Minar, the lovely Jamali Kamali mosque and the rolling greenscape — that fills your senses with passion.

Arousing special, clandestine, buried sentiments, the seemingly insignificant ruins have great emotional potential. The softened stones, the abandoned state, the raw elements work together to cloak you with a sudden rush of feeling. Images from your past, voices of lost friends, and other awakened memories contribute to the ruin's effect on you. It is tough to figure out why you have been so moved by an old decrepit structure. There is a reason why most people never say, "I like that ruin." It's always, "I love that ruin."

The afternoon hours are the best time to visit the folly, especially if you are planning a date. There are very few people around this hour; being solitude-seekers, they won't bother you. There is an orange coloured bench just below the folly, and unknown tombs towards the Jama Kamali mosque on which squirrels play their catch-me-if-you-can game. The most inviting is the slope's trimmed grass. You may be tempted to lie down and kiss your lover's lips, or continue with the unreadable Marcel Proust or listen to Kishore Kumar songs on your iPod.

Sometimes, the slope is invaded by grazing cows. Watching the crows coming to sit on their humps, you may wonder, "God, am I really in Delhi?" One charm of urban havens, which a jungle resort lacks, is to experience the petrol-powered din of a city being tuned into a comforting hum. Metcalfe's Folly looks to the wild but the continuous roar of the flying planes makes it clear that an airport is nearby. The highway is a stone's throw away. Don't despair. The rumble of a DTC bus has a place here as vital as that of bird sounds. After emerging into the Mehrauli-Gurgaon highway, you will love the city more. Promise.

- Hindustan Times, August 6, 2010

With monuments getting a facelift before the Commonwealth Games, heritage enthusiasts and conservationists are questioning the process adopted to make the ruins appear new. As part of the makeover, the monuments are being coated in lime plaster.

Heritage enthusiasts have regularly raised the issue with conservation bodies like the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH), the Department of Archaeology and the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), complaining the monuments are losing their charm.

Earlier this year, British High Commissioner Richard Stagg's wife had reportedly raised the issue in social circles when monuments in Lodhi Gardens were getting a facelift. Following that, senior INTACH officials and conservationists had conducted a tour for Lady Stagg, explaining to her the technicalities of conservation in India.

Recently, residents and enthusiasts near Gulmohar Park have been in talks with the INTACH and other officials over the conservation of Darvesh Shah's Mosque, a Lodhi-period monument. The monument, according to INTACH officials, was in ruins and needed intensive intervention to reconstruct portions that had collapsed.

Artist Arpana Caur and architect Gautam Bhatia, who go for regular morning walkers in the park, took note of the changing look and colour of the monument and raised the issue with INTACH and the state department of archaeology. "Along with structural reinforcement, retaining the look of the monument during conservation is also important. The colour of the monument is so white that it has completely different look from what it earlier used to be. We have voiced our concerns but officials working on the project have refused to see reason," Caur told Newsline.

Conservationists, however, maintain lime plaster is essential as it works like a protective water-proof layer. "After being exposed to a few seasons of rain and sunlight, the monument will develop a patina (a layer) on its exterior giving it an antiquarian look," said an INTACH official.

A G K Menon, Convenor, Delhi Chapter, INTACH told Newsline, "There has been a debate over the authenticity of ruins across the world. While the West believes in leaving their monuments untouched and do not reconstruct or restore their heritage structures with heavy intervention, there has been an alternate view on conservation in countries like India and a few others.

"Here, we can restore and reconstruct our monuments as we still have traditionally skilled artisans who have retained the old techniques of construction," he added.

- The Indian Express, August 6, 2010

The Delhi Police is confident that its Tourist Police squads will act as tourist guides and save over a lakh foreign tourists — who are expected to visit Delhi during the Commonwealth Games — from being harassed by touts, which are a menace for foreign tourists and an embarrassment to the nation.

Stationed at 10 strategic locations in the city, the tourist police personnel will act as tourist guides, along with ensuring security of tourists.

"Personnel are undergoing rigorous training and will be deployed by mid-September," said Kewal Singh, Additional Commissioner of Police (PCR), Delhi Police.

He added that each Tourist Police squad will have literature on places of tourist interest and a Games information booklet.

Presently, 10 tourist police squads, each consisting of three personnel, operate in Delhi.

The officer informed that during the course of the Games (which will be held from Oct 3-14), tourist police vans will be stationed at IGI Airport, New Delhi Railway Station's Ajmeri Gate and Paharganj entry points, Hazrat Nizamuddin Railway Station, Raj Ghat, Red Fort, Qutub Minar, Palika Bazar, Janpath and India Gate.

- Hindustan Times, August 6, 2010

I could get used to waking up in an eggshell white room flaunting furniture with camel bone inlay work and a jharokha or window seat overlooking my very own semi-private infinity pool. But that wouldn't be such a great idea, given that this superbly decadent experience was just part of my teeny-weeny vacation at The Oberoi Udaivilas in the City of Lakes.

The Vilas properties across India are making their way to the hot list of every holidaymaker who can afford them, what with The Oberoi Vanyavilas, Ranthambhore, Amarvilas, Agra, Rajvilas, Jaipur and Udaivilas, Udaipur ranked the best four in Asia and among the top 15 in the world, rated by Travel + Leisure's World's Best Awards 2010 Readers' Survey.

It's a fact that Udaivilas takes extravagance very seriously. And you can guess how mere mortals like me, who have to battle endless traffic and trudge up flights of stairs to make themselves at home, responded to a welcome of rose petal showers, sprinkled from the rooftop — quite overwhelmed, to say the least. But that was just the tip of the luxury iceberg.

The hotel also organises a traditional Rajasthani welcome or lawajma, where a posse of trumpet blowers, dancers, camels, elephants and horses line up for an elaborate performance to usher in guests. In winter, patrons are even ferried across Lake Pichola (there's enough water at that time) to the hotel lobby to complete the check-in ritual. Clearly, there isn't anything called too much luxury in this part of the world.

But much of Udaipur was left to be explored. I was dying to set my eyes on the capital of the erstwhile princely state of Mewar, the land of the Sisodia Rajputs and Maharana Pratap who used to leap straight out of our history textbooks on his fabled steed Chetak. So, as the evening sky turned a shade of slate grey, I took off for Sajjangarh, the monsoon palace of the Mewar royalty, built by Sajjan Singh in 1884. Thankfully, I was visiting it precisely when the arid plains were awash with the first showers of the season.

Perched atop the Bansdara peak in the Aravalli Ranges, and gazing over Lake Pichola, the monsoon palace (at an elevation of 944m) is closer to the clouds than the rest of Udaipur. While treading softly on a rickety staircase that led to the topmost level of the edifice, I could see the sky getting more overcast by the minute. At the exact stroke of six, the clouds dissolved into a spectacular deluge, turning the neighbouring hills into a startling shade of green.

That night, I turned in early, preparing myself for an early date with the historic city but not before tucking in to some extremely juicy grilled lobsters.

Day two brought with it cloudless skies and my tour guide Manvendra Singh who made the city tour a whole lot of fun by peppering his narration of history with numerous anecdotes. We headed first to Jagdish Temple at the heart of the city, built in 1652, where the presiding deity is Lord Jagannath. Manvendra, a favourite with the Israeli back-packing crowd to Udaipur, and fluent in Hebrew, showed me a bevy of budget digs tucked in the narrow alleys of this ancient city which the Israelis inevitably track down, on our way to the temple.

Our next pit stop was the City Palace on the banks of Lake Pichola that offers from its balconies views of several islands on the lake including Jag Mandir. Of course, there was my Octopussy moment when Manvendra passed on trivia about the Bond movie that was shot at the iconic Lake Palace Hotel, which was right at the centre of the lake.

Of course, City Palace has more than its own share of legends involving scores of Rajput rulers right from Udai Singh, who is believed to have started building this palatial property from 1559 onwards. Listening in to the gripping tales of palace intrigue as I did the rounds of mahals was one of the highlights of my tour. One of them concerned Panna Dhai, wet nurse to the royal heir Udai Singh, who made her own son impersonate the young Maharana when rebellious nobles barged in to assassinate the prince. Her son was brutally murdered but the story lives on.

The next day began on a really happy note primarily because a huge picnic basket and I were making a trip to Kumbhalgarh, almost two and a half hours away from Udaipur in the Rajsamand district of Rajasthan. Tour guide lore has it that this fort (36km long), built all throughout the 15th century by Rana Kumbha, is second only to the Great Wall in terms of its perimeter. Of course, wikipedia rubbished that claim long ago but that's hardly of any concern to professional travel consultants who aim to impress tourists all the time.

I took a small detour on my way back to Haldighati, 40km from Udaipur, and the site of the now mythologised battle between Pratap of Mewar and Raja Man Singh of Amber representing Mughal ruler Akbar. Don't expect war memorabilia to be strewn around the place, but the hilly terrain provides an excellent venue for an excursion and some sightseeing in the form of the Chetak and Maharana Pratap National Memorials.

As I returned to the hotel, a sensual experience awaited me in the form of a fragrant rose bath sparkling with floating tea lights. As I said, I could get used to this.

Ready Reckoner

Getting there: You can take a flight to Maharana Pratap Airport, that's located 22km from Udaipur city.

Pocket pinch: The rack rate for a Premier Lake View Room is Rs 36,500, per night, excluding meals and luxury tax. Suites can go up to Rs 2,40,000 per night. For reservations, log on to www.oberoihotels.com.

- The Telegraph, August 7, 2010

In 2001, just before then Pakistan president Pervez Musharraf visited Agra, the world heritage monument was given a multani mitti 'facial' to decrease the yellowness caused by air pollution and restore its pristine white colour.

Now, ahead of the Commonwealth Games, the Taj may need it again when athletes and visitors from many countries are expected to visit Agra to see the monument.

For, the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has sounded a grim warning about alarming levels of suspended particulate matter (SPM), more than five times the permissible level, around the 360-year-old monument. The scientists say high SPM level is the main culprit behind yellowness of marble.

After setting up the Taj Trapezium Zone and ordering shifting of around 300 polluting industries within a 25-kilometre radius of the monument in 1996, the SC had on November 7, 2000, directed CPCB to set up four 'Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Stations' at Taj Mahal, Itmad-ud-Daulah, Nunhai and Rambagh.

The latest report submitted by CPCB through advocate Vijay Panjwani to the apex court appears to suggest that the ambient air quality around Taj Mahal is getting spurious and could be the cause behind the yellowness of the white marble of Taj Mahal.

After the "no tolerance for pollution" orders of the apex court, the SPM level around the monument had shown a decline from 2002 (376 per cubic metre) till 2005 (306). But, in 2009, it rose to 334 fuelling fears that fresh measures need to be taken urgently to save Taj Mahal from getting that dull white lustre. The ideal annual level of SPM, as per the National Ambient Air Quality Standards, is 70 per cubic metre.

The monthly monitoring report about air quality in 2010 is even more alarming. In January, the SPM level around Taj was 332 and it marginally declined to 297 in February. The SPM level climbed sharply to 575 by April and maintained a high of 490 and 470 in the months of May and June.

- The Times of India, August 8, 2010

The Centre has given its nod for the restoration and preservation of 250-year-old building, Pothimala, and its murals.A high-level team of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) of the Chandigarh circle led by its superintendent archaeologist VC Sharma along with members from drawing, engineering, chemist and other wings visited Pothimala this morning and carried out its physical examination.

"We will send a conservation note first before preparing an estimate of funds needed for preserving Pothimala and its murals, which have developed huge cracks," said Sharma, adding that the Prime Minister Office (PMO) had been taking interest in the restoration and preservation of this antique and historical treasure for the posterity.

"To declare it a national monument or not is the prerogative of the Centre. As per the history of the building and structures, it is worth a national monument," he claimed, adding that the work of restoration and preservation could be completed in two years.

A team of the ASI, which had carried out a survey of this building a few months ago, had recommended the restoration and preservation of the same. The Centre has now initiated action on the basis of its report, which was later sent to the PMO.

"Pothimala -'pothi' (holy book) and 'mala' (rosary)- belonging to Guru Nanak Dev, is lying in this building built by Guru Jiwan Mal in 1705, who was a descendant of the fourth Sikh Guru, Guru Ram Das, and was revered as Guru by a large number of people belonging to the Sodhi clan at that time.

At presently, Haresh Singh Sodhi is the owner of the estate, but he has given Gurgaddi (seat of guruship) to his son Yuvraj Singh Sodhi.

Haresh said the Centre had sent a team of the ASI in 1980 to preserve Pothimala, which was not done for reasons best known to the authorities. The building was in a deplorable state and and if it was not preserved now, a monument of an international importance would disappear one day.

Local MLA Rana Gurmit Singh Sodhi, who made efforts to involve the Prime Minister for its conservation, said murals present in Pothimala was the best example of secularism, which existed in India centuries ago. Such murals were found rare in other parts of the country, he added.

- The Tribune, August 8, 2010

The sheets of water which devastated Leh town and its outskirts also considerably damaged one of the Sikhs' holy shrine, Pathar Sahib. The historical gurdwara, which enshrines the memory of the first Sikh master Guru Nanak Dev's visit to the then, nearly unsurmountable region about 500 years back, is located about 25km away from the main Leh town on Leh-Nimu road and is maintained by the Army. The locals fondly refer to the guru as 'Nanak Lama'.

- The Times of India, August 8, 2010

Tatas had, and continue to have, a close connection with the Asian and European Arts. This is evident from the latest publication, East Meets West, written by eminent experts

There used to be a great journal with the name Journal of Indian Art and Industry, which started being published in England by William Griggs every quarter from 1884 onwards, and which, sadly, folded up in 1917 while the First World War was still on. But this piece is not about that journal (even though one is so tempted): it is about the connection between art and industry, in fact between art and a great industrial family, the House of Tatas. There is something about the Tata name that commands instant respect in most minds, for it directs one's thoughts towards pride in being Indian, towards vision and energy and philanthropy.

But despite there being monumental evidence to the effect — the Prince of Wales Museum, the National Centre of Performing Arts, the Marg magazine, the Homi Bhabha Fellowships, all carrying the Tata imprint, are distinguished examples — not everyone realises the close connection the Tatas had, and continue to have, with the arts. But one can be certain that the recent publication, East Meets West, by Marg, and the exhibition with the same title at the Prince of Wales Museum — now bearing the ponderous name, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya — will in some ways help. For both have as their exclusive focus the Asian and European Arts in the Tata collection.

My first personal acquaintance with the Tata collections was at a slant, and goes back some 30 or so years. I was researching the work and career of the great 18th century Pahari painter, Nainsukh of Guler, and, in the University Library at Berkeley, came upon — purely fortuitously — an entry in a Sotheby's London auction catalogue of 1931, which mentioned the sale of a group of paintings and drawings listed as "the property of Sir D. J. Tata", better known to us as Sir Dorab Tata. A number of objects were inventoried, and their description, however brief, led me to believe that these — portraits, hawking expeditions, darbar scenes, musical soirees, and the like — were the work of Nainsukh, even though the painter was not even referred to, being almost unknown at that time.

Many of them carried the name of one "Rajah Buldes" or "Buldeo" as per the description, which I guessed was a misreading of the name "Balwant (Singh)", Nainsukh's patron at the small hill state of Jasrota, whom I was already familiar with from my earlier work. From where Sir Dorab Tata got these paintings and sketches, and what led him to put these up for sale, is something I was never able to find out, and is still speculated upon.

But my guess at that time proved to be right, I hung on to the information, collated it to the known works ascribable to Nainsukh, and wove it into my book on Nainsukh of Guler, which was published from Zurich in 1997.

This, however, was acquaintance at a slant, as I said. When one gets to know all the art the Tatas collected, and gifted to national institutions, one is truly staggered. For the number of objects given to the Prince of Wales Museum alone exceeds 5,000. It all started in some ways with the visionary founder of the industrial family, Jamsetji Tata, who is said to have seen some spun-iron pillars at an exhibition in Paris and decided to secure these for his Taj Mahal Hotel in Bombay. But it was with his two sons — Dorab and Ratan Tata, both of whom were knighted — that collecting began in true earnest.

Ratan Tata (1871-1918) had a passion for antiques and having built up a large collection of Japanese and Chinese objects — then so much en vogue — he housed them in the 17th century royal mansion he had bought in England.

But nearly everything was eventually to land up at the Prince of Wales Museum to which he bequeathed more than a thousand objects. Sir Dorab (1859-1932) might be remembered today more for his industrial enterprises and his philanthropic projects, but his interest in art also ran deep and his largesse, now housed in the same museum, comprised close to 1400 objects.

The story of the Tata munificence has been told earlier and by many, but it is told with precision and crispness in the new publication by Pratapaditya Pal, who edited the volume together with Sabyasachi Mukherjee and Rashmi Poddar, having got eminent experts to write on the different segments of the collection: Indian Paintings and Manuscripts, Textiles and Arms, Himalayan Art, Art from China, Japan and Burma, European Paintings and Decorative Arts.

Here, in the beautifully produced volume, Mughal jades glisten, silver water jugs raise their swan-like necks, Kashmir shawls stretch out languidly in incandescent colours, Balwant Singh hunches under a tent writing a letter, the Buddha, shedding grace, touches the earth calling upon her as a witness.

But there are also Chinese vases of almost translucent nephrite, exquisite Japanese writing boxes in lacquer decorated with silver and coral, delicately carved Burmese ivories, European paintings, including a riveting 16th century portrait of 'a woman aged 21'.

Naturally, and understandably, the collection bears the mark of the times in which it was put together. But, when one sees it as a whole, it is not easy to move from one object to another, for the eye remains constantly at the point of being seduced.

There is much to say about the interest of the Tatas in contemporary Indian art, too. But for that one might have to wait. Meanwhile, towards the end of this piece, two possibly related things. While the Tata family is Parsi, and Parsi institutions are generously supported by it, all the Tata educational, scientific and cultural Trusts are emphatically committed to the fact that any support or grant given to individuals or institutions must be without regard to religion, nationality, language, caste or creed. This admirable bit I knew about. But I was not aware till now that it was Sir Ratan Tata, who persuaded the, then, British authorities to excavate the ancient Mauryan site of Pataliputra, now Patna. The excavation was carried out with funds provided by him between 1913 and 1917.

Countless objects — terracottas, plaques, sculptures, coins — were recovered, but the excavation also revealed the remains of Ashoka's great pillared hall that was modelled possibly upon the assembly hall of Persepolis. My own ignorance about this apart, I think very few know this fact.

- The Tribune, August 8, 2010

Kuttanad, the rice bowl of Kerala, came out of this lake. It once had 200 varieties of water-bound birds, 75 species of aqua plants and 200 species of fish. Now, more than 30 fish species are endangered and all that catches the eye are the 700-odd luxury houseboats and piles of plastic littered all around the banks and floating on the surface of this once pristine waters. VR JAYARAJ tells you how there is no point left on this lake that's hygienic — even for washing clothes

Not long ago, Vembanad backwaters covered 35,329 hectares. Farmers who relied on their rural wisdom for hydrological engineering later converted 37 per cent of this area into paddy fields, now called Kuttanad, the Rice Bowl of Kerala. The money game came later. When greed spread, the lake shrank. Surveys almost a decade back put the area of the backwaters at 13,224 hectares. It continues to shrink.

Vembanad, one of the natural-habitat water sources of India, used to be the rendezvous for more than 200 varieties of water-bound birds once. It had nearly 75 types of aqua plants — some of them very rare. The number of fish species that thrived in the backwaters was nearly 200. Fishermen now say that the fish resources have declined dangerously. More than 30 species of fishes are considered endangered. The eco-system has declined resulting in the disappearance of several water plants.

More than 700 houseboats, the state-of-the-art luxury version of God's Own Country's quaint Kettuvallams, cruise on the Vembanad backwaters day and night, dumping quintals of human excreta, gallons of petroleum effluents, countless numbers of plastic articles and tonnes of food wastes into the once-serene water body. Scientists say that there is no point in the vast lake where the water is hygienic enough to permit washing of clothes or a bath.

Water: Life and inspiration

They say civilisations are born by water: From Nile to Mesopotamia to Indus. So are cities: Venice, Moscow, Delhi, Paris, London, Mumbai, Kolkata… Water shapes cultures, ethnic identities, languages, food habits, amalgamation of all these, and more. In that sense, Vembanad has given rise to amazing cultural richness, creation of villages and towns on its contours, some of the most sought-after cuisines that the West is crazy about, etc. Vembanad is a veritable microcosm.

At least a thousand film songs have praised the beauty and importance of Vembanad Lake, also called the Vembanad Kayal and Vembanad Koal, the largest lake in Kerala. Dozens of eminent writers, including Jnanpith winner Thakazhi Sivasankara Pillai, have drawn inspiration for their works from this longest lake in the country.

Lakhs of farmers and farm workers depend on Kuttanad, the paddy fields carved out of the lake, for their lives. Lakhs of inland fishermen live off the resources this abundant water body provides. Lakhs of coir workers thank it daily for being the foundation of their lives. Hundreds of tourism resort and houseboat owners make big money out of it and thousands are employed in this sector. On it is situated the best-positioned harbour of India, Kochi.

At least eight big water festivals, including the famous Nehru Trophy Boat Race that attracts thousands of foreigners, are held every year on the Vembanad backwaters, enthralling lakhs with the rows of jetting snake-boats and synchronised movements of thousands of rowers to the accompaniment of the Vallappattus, the boatman's songs. "It all tells us how a water body had shaped the life, thoughts, culture and commerce of a region, while at the same time developing and conserving hundreds of unique life forms. But all this is now in danger of depletion — due to an arrogant philosophy that puts Homo sapiens above all other species," laments John Varkey, who now carries out a loser's war against pollutants, polluters and encroachers.

"Nothing of this can be reversed. The truth is that Vembanad is dying. It is already dead, almost," he says.

Unique socio-eco system

Covering an area of over 1,500 sq km, the Vembanad wetlands, the largest designated Ramsar site in India, is a complex system of freshwater-brackish water backwaters, marshes, lagoons, mangrove forests, natural islands, reclaimed land and a mind-boggling network of natural and artificial canals.

The lake contours three districts – Ernakulam, Kottayam and Alappuzha. It fosters a complex biological diversity, provides hydrological and ecological services and also serves as the direct and indirect support base of over two-million people. The unending expanse of greenery enriched by the waving palm fronds, the cruising country boats, turbaned fishermen, rows and rows of Chinese fishing nets, extra-hot food items, canals that lead to the very doorsteps of homes, the harvest and paddy-planting proletarian songs, all these make the Vembanad region one of the hottest tourist destinations in the world.

This largest estuarine system on the Indian west coast supports and hosts the third largest wintering waterfowl population of the country, prompting Birdlife International to identify it as an Important Bird Area. Still, no official protection is offered to the lake. "If the National Geographic Traveler had identified Gods' Own Country as one of its most favored destination, the main reason is Vembanad," says Manoharan Nair, manager of a resort-houseboat company. "You won't find such diversity of life in such a small area anywhere else on this planet. But this beauty and diversity would not be there for long," Nair said.

Fish pot, waste basket

Vembanad used to be described as Kerala's natural fish basket but every successive fish count has proved that the resources are getting depleted at alarming rates. The depletion is continuing, pushing tens of thousands of fishermen into penury. Biologists say that the remaining fish in the "fish basket" are fast becoming the specimens of evolutionary change as they are learning genetically to survive among toxicants. "No serious study has been conducted in this direction. With all those fertiliser chemicals and pesticides seeping into the lake from the paddy fields of Kuttanad, the only options for the flora and fauna is either to survive them through mutation or to embrace death," says Soman Pillai, an environmentalist living on the lakeshore in Cherthala.

On a cruise along the canal systems of Vembanad, one notices that the water is not transparent even by one inch. It is so black, so slurry. Scientists say that the total solid content of Vembanad water is well above 40,000 mg per litre but near Kochi it could be as a high 55,000 mg/litre. During summer, this could still go up. "I am sure the scientists from the West, if they hold a study, would be surprised to see the mothers of Alappuzha and Cherthala washing their utensils and clothes in this water, children playing happily in the canals, and even people drinking this water," said Pillai.

Biologist Ajith Kumar says that the lake is being asphyxiated by chemical pigments, fertiliser residues, pesticides, and tonnes and tonnes of organic wastes. Kuttanad, which has become a marketing battlefield for fertiliser-pesticide giants, consumes more than 20,000 tonnes of chemicals and once sprinkled, all this has to seep down into the earth and get carried away into the water system. "Think of 20,000 tonnes of toxic chemicals getting added into such a water system every year. How long would it survive?" there is a sense of despair in Ajtth's voice.

Ravaging rivers, cities

With development and improvements in lifestyle progressing in amazing pace in the cities, towns and villages upstream the five rivers that empty out into Vembanad, these rivers have become sewage canals. They carry thousands of tonnes of organic and inorganic wastes produced by millions of people every day, and Vembanad remains the recipient of all that evil substances, making life harder for the flora and fauna that live in it and the more than two million human beings. Incidence of water-borne and mosquito-spread diseases in and around the lake have gone up at least 20 times in the past five years.

Pampa, praised as the Southern Ganga by the Hindus here, is the one biggest contributor to the slow death of Vembanad. Even during normal times, the river is used by those living near it as their sewage line. The waste water of all those living on its banks and near its banks flows down to it, and all that dirt and wastes are received by Vembanad. But pollution levels in Pampa reach unimaginable levels during the two-month pilgrimage season of the Lord Ayyappa Shrine at Sabarimala.

As per the estimates of the Travancore Devaswom Board which administers the temple, an average of three crore pilgrims visit the hill shrine every year. They dump all their wastes, including the thousands of tonnes of excreta, on the hills of Sabarimala, all of which flow down to Pampa. The river carries all that to Vembanad waiting in the western end. "According to WHO, water with coliform bacteria should not be consumed. But if that is the case, the people and livestock living around Vembanad would never drink water. The lake is a sewage-collection facility where the fluid (I won't call it water) is saturated with pathogenic micro-organisms responsible for the outbreak of diseases like typhoid, cholera and dysentery hitting human beings and several diseases affecting the fish wealth of the lake and the livestock and flora around it.," said Joseph Sebastian, a Fort-Kochi based hydrologist.

However, the biggest contributor to the tragedy of Vembanad is Kochi, the fastest developing and most happening city of the South, where wastes are a huge law-and-order problem. But for the corporation divisions near the Vembanad shores, waste disposal has never been a problem: The unprotesting lake is there ready to receive anything thrown into it. According to environmentalist Anas Malayil, Kochi pushes into the Vembanad lake close to 250 crore liters of urban sewage on a daily basis. What about the solid wastes? "Do you think you will ever get even an approximate figure? But our studies put that at 300 tonnes a day," says Anas.

And what does it all mean? "Who doesn't know?" Anup Abraham of Mattanchery, a regular traveler, poses a counter-question. "It is death. Death of the lake, death of the organisms it conserves and slow death of the human beings over a long period. I haven't seen such callousness anywhere in the world – and I assure you I have seen a lot of this world. I can't understand how human beings can kill the very system that gives them everything, including life. My child is three years old and by the time he is 50, I may perhaps be telling him a story that once upon a time, there used to be a mighty lake called Vembanad," he says. May be, there is an overdose of alarm in that, but it is not unrealistic.

What's killing it

• Factory effluents
• Motor boat engine emissions, oil leakage
• Plastics, other inorganic waste from house boats
• Fertilisers, pesticide seeping down from Kuttanad rice fields
• Coir industry wastes, mainly dye chemicals
• Chemicals from tea plantations carried down by rivers
• Sewage from the nearby and far towns and villages
• Sewage, organic waste from houseboats
• Invasive and other aquatic weeds like water hyacinths, weeds, etc.

Two years after Vasco da Gama landed on the beaches of Calicut, an armed fleet led by Pedro Alvarez Cabral delivered a letter to its bewildered Hindu ruler demanding he expel all Muslims from his kingdom. The stand-off finally ended in 1509 when a small Portuguese force rout a combined fleet of Indian and Egyptian soldiers. On the heels of the Portuguese come the Dutch, then the British and French... and we all know what happens next.

The history of the pre-colonial encounter between India and the West is inevitably the story of a tragedy foretold. Seen in retrospect, each meeting, skirmish or mishap is yet another omen foreshadowing the great fall to come. So it is that Sudhir Kakar's new book, The Crimson Throne, begins on an appropriately elegiacal tone, with Shah Jahan's personal eunuch predicting the end of the House of Timur. "The Emperor Akbar was the high noon of the Mughul Empire and our own sovereign its setting sun", says Niamat, "I can pick up the whiff of decay emanating from the centre of the empire that has not yet reached other nostrils. You only see the brilliant light of today's fire; I see tomorrow's ashes". It is 1653, about 200 years before the Great Indian Revolt marked the bitter end of the Mughal dynasty.

Their empire may be long dead and gone, Mughal nostalgia is back in fashion, especially in literary circles. Once reserved for musty academic tomes, imperial history is now grist for the bestseller list. Indu Sundaresan turned the lives of Princess Noor Jehan and Jahan-Ara into chick-lit fodder. Alex Rutherford's latest release, Brothers at War, is merely the second of a five-part saga tracing the dynastic arc. William Dalrymple led the non-fiction charge back in 2008 with the well-received The Last Mughal, followed in turn by Fergus Nicoll's Shah Jahan. And now we have The Crimson Throne, a historical account of an imperial war of succession rendered in the form of a epistolary novel

In substance, Kakar's new offering is a prequel to Dalrymple's account of the 1857 revolt, revealing the seeds of defeat that will bear bitter fruit two centuries later. Narrated by two visitors to the imperial court — the Frenchman Francois Bernier and Italian Niccolao Manucci — the novel delineates a tipping point in Indian history. A sex-addicted, disengaged Shah Jahan sequesters himself in the harem, while his sons, Dara Shukoh and Aurangzeb, vie for his throne. What hangs in balance is not merely the fortunes of the Mughal Empire but the very future of Indian civilisation, soon to be doomed by Aurangzeb's victory to colonial servitude.

As in The Last Mughal, the political fortunes of the empire in The Crimson Throne reflect the larger, more decisive battle between tolerance and fundamentalism. Dalrymple's Bahadur Shah Zafar is a symbol of a "pluralistic and philosophically composite civilisation" under siege from Islamic purists on one side and a new breed of Christian imperialists on the other. In Kakar's novel, Dara Shukoh is a muscular version of Zafar, more ambitious but no less ineffectual, both done in by their overweening intellectualism and critical errors of judgment. He is indecisive and naïve where his sibling Aurangzeb is clear-eyed and ruthless. Fortune favours not the righteous but the single-minded.

As a form of popular history, The Crimson Throne offers a keenly intelligent, detailed and eminently readable account of Shah Jahan's last years. In its descriptions of life in the imperial court, the intimate confines of the zenana, or the bustling streets of medieval Delhi, the book offers us a front-seat view of history that's rarely boring. The narrative moves quickly ahead as Kakar brilliantly captures the steady unfolding of a disaster in the making, as the emperor and his chosen heir make the wrong choices over and again, alienating the very noblemen who will prove decisive in their downfall. Blinded with imperial arrogance, the son insults their honour while the father seduces — and on occasion rapes — their wives. Human weakness quickly snowballs into political calamity.

But for all its strengths, The Crimson Throne falls short as a novel. Despite Kakar's best efforts to endow them with a personality, the characters remain flat and uninspiring, be it his narrators, Manucci and Bernier, or the men and women they describe. Even the libidinal excesses of the imperial boudoir are rendered dull: "These ravishing dancing girls were known for employing their amazingly supple limbs most innovatively in amorous sport, particularly... in tightening the muscles of their sex at will around the base of a man's shaft..." The lack of narrative vigour here is especially disappointing since this is the author of The Ascetic of Desire, Kakar's delightful reimagination of the life of Vatsayana. Boxed in by the conventions and tone of a 17th century European memoir, he never quite manages to free the tale from the limitations of the teller.

Empires that rise will inevitably fall, leaving us to find meaning in their destiny. History, however "objectively" rendered, is but a mirror for our present-day fantasies, anxieties and preoccupations. In the hands of Kakar and Dalrymple, the fate of the Mughal dynasty becomes a cautionary tale on the perils of present-day fundamentalism. On the silver screen — in, say, Mughal-e-Azam — the Mughals serve as symbols of past glory and excess; an expression of our cultural id, where hatred, cruelty, passion, greed can reign unchallenged. The Mughals are perhaps best understood as the Indian equivalent of Ancient Rome — mythical archetypes of unrestrained might and vice that we each interpret according to our needs.

Lakshmi Chaudhry is a freelance writer based in Bengaluru. Her work has appeared in various publications including Vogue, Village Voice, Wired and salon.com.

- The Asian Age, August 8, 2010

A gem-encrusted gold finial from the decorated throne of Tipu Sultan and an eyewitness account of the battle that led to his defeat at the hands of the British are being put up for auction here on October 7.

The gem-encrusted figure, shaped like a tiger, has emerged after more than 200 years in the home of a Scottish family, auctioneer Bonhams said. The previous throne finial sold at Bonhams went for £389,600.

The British defeated the ruler and his throne was broken up in 1799. The British governor-general, the Earl of Mornington, the elder brother of Arthur Wellesley (later Duke of Wellington), disapproved of breaking it up, but it was done so the spoils could be shared.

Also being auctioned is an eyewitness account by Benjamin Sydenham of the battle which led to the final destruction of Tipu Sultan and his forces, the Daily Mail reported on Saturday. He also described seeing the body of Tipu Sultan. The account is set to sell for £15,000.

He described the body as "wounded a little above the right ear, and the ball lodged in the left cheek, he had also three wounds in the body, he was in stature about 5 feet 8 inches and not very fair, he was rather corpulent, had a short neck and high shoulders, but his wrists and ankles were small and delicate."

"He had large full eyes, with small arched eyebrows and very small whiskers. His appearance denoted him to be above the Common Stamp. And his countenance expressed a mixture of haughtiness and resolution. He was dressed in a fine white linen jacket, chintz drawers, a crimson cloth round his waist with a red silk belt and pouch across his body. He had lastly his turbaned (sic) and there were no weapons of defence about him."

- The Asian Age, August 8, 2010

A collection of facsimiles of century-old Buddhist relics, rare palm-leaf scrolls and fresco paintings in Chinese caves has made its way to Calcutta after touring Japan, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Hong Kong, Bangkok and Laos, plus three Indian metros.

Titled Lotus Sutra, the exhibition is the biggest ever organised by Bharat Soka Gakkai, the Indian chapter of Soka Gakkai International, a Buddhist organisation that follows the teachings of 13th century Japanese monk Nichiren.

The display contains about 63 photographic panels and 12 manuscripts tracing the Silk Route, through which the contents of Buddha's Lotus Sutra fanned out to the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia from Rajgir, Bihar.

"Buddha preached the Lotus Sutra in the last eight years of his life, and it upholds non-discrimination, gender equality and the possibility of all human beings attaining enlightenment. The exhibition aims to highlight this perspective and trace the origins of the Sutra," said Naveena Reddi, the director-general of Bharat Soka Gakkai.

The six-day display held in association with ICCR at the Rabindranath Tagore Centre, was unveiled on Saturday. Find the facsimiles of the arresting fresco paintings from the Mogao Caves of China's Gansu province, which describe the Sutra through parables. A copy of the Sutra inscribed on a Chinese fan, stone carvings of Buddha delivering the sermon and a large set of calligraphic records dating from 1st century BC in Sanskrit, Pali, Chinese, Tibetan, Korean, Sogdian and Khotan Saka, among other languages, form the bulk of the exhibits.

The Sanskrit manuscripts are from a cache of Buddhist relics found during the Otani expedition in China's then Xinjiang province in early 20th century. These are now a part of the Lushun Museum Collection in China. The other documents have been sourced from the Cambridge University Library, Columbia University Press, the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, and the National Archives of Nepal. The facsimiles and panels have been made by the Institute of Oriental Philosophy in Japan.

- The Telegraph, August 9, 2010

The Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS), India's premier non-government organisation institute on nature conservation, has recommended that the Uttar Pradesh (UP) government should urgently declare areas up to 10 km of the Okhla Bird Park and Wild Life Sanctuary and other protected areas as eco-sensitive zones.

The BNHS made the recommendation, along with 11 others, on measures to be undertaken by the UP state government to "mitigate the impact" of the controversial Bhim Rao Ambedkar Memorial Park Project on the Okhla Sanctuary.

The Ministry of Environment and Forest (MOEF) had requested the BNHS to examine the issue and submit a report.

The ministry recently informed the Supreme Court — which suspended construction work at the Park last October — that it would not give environmental clearance to the Rs 685-crore project until the UP government complied with the BNHS's recommendations.

The BNHS in its report, a copy of which is with HT, said the UP government had not declared the Okhla Sanctuary and other protected areas eco-sensitive zones despite repeated reminders sent by the MOEF since 2005.

BNHS director Asad R Rahmani had visited the Okhla Sanctuary on July 27 for an on-site inspection. The Okhla Sanctuary finds mention in Rahmani's books, 'Important Bird Areas of India,' and 'Existing and Potential Ramsar Sites of India.'

In its report, the BNHS said the Okhla Sanctuary was home to over 300 species of aquatic and terrestrial birds, including migratory. It said the park was an 'important bird area" visited by more than 20,000 birds during winter and that it had "great potential to become a major tourist attraction." It said the Okhla Sanctuary, a "wetland protected area" whose two banks are equally important, should be managed as an "inter state trans-boundary protected area in collaboration with the government of Delhi."

The BNHS report, referring to the hacking of 6,003 trees by the Noida Authority, said: "More than 6,000 trees were cut, reducing the habitat of terrestrial birds and in their place, concrete structures and pavements were built. The Noida Authority and Forest department have planted 'fruiting trees'…but such vegetation is not substitute for natural vegetation."

It added, "Even if earlier the trees were exotic (eucalyptus, subabul), it is suggested the NA should plant native (ficus, neem, mango) species."

The BNHS report suggested the Noida Authority should include "large areas adjoining" the Okhla Sanctuary as "compensation to what has been destroyed by this so-called park."

It sought a "bird-friendly, chain-link fence with vegetation on either side" instead of concrete walls between the project and the sanctuary.

- Hindustan Times, August 9, 2010

The Tibetan Buddhist tradition draws its root texts from the Nalanda masters and describes itself as a 'science of the mind'. It is ironical, therefore, that an initiative to revive the Great Vihara of northern India should plan not to include its greatest champion — the Dalai Lama

It is perplexing to discover that an Indian Nobel Laureate does not possess the insight to grasp what has been the hallmark of the Indian mind for millennia. I am speaking of Mr Amartya Sen, the chairman of the Mentor Group who is trying to revive the ancient Nalanda University. Mr Sen recently made a statement showing he is out of tune with the spirit of the ancient Indian viharas. This is rather worrying for the project. One can always argue that he is just a modern economist and can't be expected to understand the subtleties of the ancient Indian mind.

The facts: When asked about the omission of the Dalai Lama's name from the international project, Mr Sen stated that "religious studies could be imparted without involvement of religious leaders." This is a flabbergasting statement. Does it mean that 'religious studies' should be disconnected from the practitioners?

It reminded me of the 1960s in Europe when the first Buddhist lamas were engaged as lecturers in universities, they were told not to interpret Buddhism as an 'insider', but remain an 'outsider'. It is probably what Mr Sen means when he spoke about the Dalai Lama: "Being religiously active may not be the same as (being) an appropriate person for religious studies."

These declarations from a supposedly eminent intellectual proves that Mr Sen has no knowledge of what once made Nalanda University the greatest knowledge center of the entire world. Does he know why the great viharas of Northern India attracted scholars and students from the Koreas, Japan, China, Tibet, Indonesia, Persia or Greece, at least till the day it was looted by Bakhtiyar Khalji's Muslim troops in 1193?

Simply because the teachers, the gurus, the pandits taught what they had practised and experienced. It is during the 8th century that Trisong Detsen, the great Tibetan King invited Shantarakshita, the Abbot of Nalanda to introduce the Dharma to the Land of Snows and ordain the first monks. Since then, the lamas of Tibet have faithfully followed the masters of Nalanda.

During a recent encounter, the Dalai Lama explained: "I always describe Tibetan Buddhism as pure Buddhism from the Nalanda tradition. Nalanda had great masters such as Nagarjuna or Arya Asanga. During the 8th century, the Tibetan Emperor invited Shantarakshita. He was a famous, well-known scholar and master of Nalanda. He went to Tibet and spent the rest of his life there. He introduced Buddhism in Tibet. I myself studied the Nalanda tradition of Buddhism; first I learned by heart and memorised what we call the root texts. All these root texts have been written by Nalanda masters. The Tibetan Buddhist tradition is the Nalanda tradition which combines the Sanskrit and the Pali traditions as well Buddhist Tantrayana. Masters like Nagarjuna, Aryadeva and Chandrakirti wrote tantric treatises in Sanskrit."

After the Muslim invasions, the monasteries of Tibet became the last repositories of the ancient wisdom which had been virtually destroyed in India, its land of origin.

Mr Sen does not seem to understand that the Nalanda tradition is not a 'religion', but a 'science of the mind'. The Dalai Lama recounted the story of Mr Raja Ramanna, the nuclear physicist, who told him that he was surprised to find the concept of quantum physics and relativity in a text of Nagarjuna. The Dalai Lama continued: "The West discovered these concepts at the end of the 19th century or beginning of the 20th century, when some Indian sages like Nagarjuna knew it nearly 2,000 years ago." Nagarjuna's concept of madhyamaka (the Middle Path) was very much a part of the Nalanda curriculum.

The Dalai Lama likes to speak about his contacts with Western scientists. They started 27 years ago: "We have had some serious discussions. We have been meeting annually; the interest is from both sides. In Buddhism, there is a lot of explanation about the mind, many categories of mind. Therefore, Buddhism should be considered as a 'science of mind'."

The Tibetan leader clearly differentiates between this 'science of mind' originating from Nalanda, Buddhist philosophy (like Buddhist relativity of things, he explains) and Buddhist religion. He said: "When I contact modern scientists, I don't put them in contact with Buddhist religion, but with Buddhist science and to some extent to Buddhist philosophy." And he adds: "It is important to understand that when we say 'Buddhist science', we mean science of the mind; it is something universal; it is not a religion. Buddhist religion is not universal, it is only for Buddhists." The Nalanda project should be based on the 'science of the mind', not on Buddhist religion.

Unfortunately one has the feeling that Mr Sen would like to recreate a new Shantiniketan, an academic institution without its original spirit. How to lay the foundations of Nalanda International University without the spirit of Nalanda?

Some analysts tell me, "You are wrong, it is not a question of religion or science, but of politics. Mr Sen has to take care of Chinese susceptibilities. China wants to participate and does not want to hear about the Dalai Lama." This is terribly ironic. Mr Sen is probably unaware of it, but the Chinese fought hard to impose their own system of Buddhism in Tibet, but finally it is the Nalanda path which prevailed.

The decision was taken after a long debate, the famous Samye debate which was held in Samye (Central Tibet) between the Chinese and Nalanda schools of Buddhism. Shantarakshita before dying had predicted that a dispute would arise between the two schools of Buddhism that had started spreading in Tibet. The first one — the Chinese school, influenced by Taoism — was of the opinion that enlightenment was an instantaneous revelation or realisation. This system of thought had spread throughout China.The second school, taught by the Indian pandits of Nalanda, known as the 'gradual school' — asserted that enlightenment was a gradual process, not an 'instant one', but requiring long study, practice and analysis. The Samye debate took two years (792-794 CE) to reach its conclusion. Hoshang, a Chinese monk, representing the 'instant school' was defeated by Kamalashila who defended the Indian view. At the end of the debate, the King issued a proclamation naming the Indian Path (from Nalanda) as the orthodox faith for Tibet.

Today, the Marxist rulers in Tibet seem to have forgotten these details; they want to participate in rebuilding the Great Vihara. Fine, but it is nonetheless strange that the main living proponent of the Nalanda tradition is kept out of the project. I am sure that the Dalai Lama does not mind, but it would certainly have been a blessing for the project to have him as a mentor (or Chancellor), like Shantarakshita had done for Tibet.

It is clear that it is the spirit of appeasement and not the spirit of Nalanda which will prevail in South Block today. Very sad.

- The Pioneer, August 9, 2010

That Mithi river has been reduced to a filthy nullah is well-known. However, now a report of the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) shows that Maharashtra has the largest number of polluted river water stretches in the country.

The CPCB draws up a list of polluted river stretches in the country on the basis of what it calls "water quality monitoring.'' It has identified 26 such rivers in Maharashtra with 28 polluted stretches. Mula and Mutha in Pune, Kalu and Bhatsa in Thane and Mithi river in Mumbai are among these.

Environmental experts are worried that it is not only industrial pollution, which is responsible for degrading the quality of water in state rivers. The rapid urbanisation across the state is a major culprit as well. "Domestic sewage is a source of pollution besides industrial and other sources,'' said an official from the union ministry of environment and forests.

So even a river like Kundalika, which flows through the Sahyadris in Raigad district and is popular with river rafters, now houses a polluted stretch. Similarly, Nira__a small tributary of Bhima in Solapur, and Kanhan, a river flowing through Nagpur have been polluted because of industrial as well as domestic effluence.

The CPCB has marked 150 polluted river stretches in India, which includes almost all the major rivers flowing in the country. After Maharashtra, Gujarat has the most polluted rivers, showing that industrial activity remains a major source of pollution.

The National River Conservation Programme (NRCP) is the nodal central government plan to fight river water pollution. However, it covers only 38 rivers in 20 states. Of these, the clean-up of just four rivers in Maharashtra__ Panchganga, Tapi, Krishna and Godavari__is getting funds under NCRP. But CPCB data shows that even small rivers and tributaries in the state are now polluted. This means a lot of effort will have to be made by the state government and local authorities to clean them up.

Magsaysay Award winner Rajendra Singh, who has revived several dying rivers in Rajasthan, has a word of advice for the state government. "I have seen Mula and Mutha rivers when they were absolutely clean. Today, they only carry industrial discharge. As long as the government allows factories and individuals to keep flouting environmental guidelines, nothing will change,'' Singh added.

"If rivers are to be saved, then pollution abetment schemes must be taken up urgently. These include interception, diversion and treatment of sewage, low cost sanitation works on river banks as well as electric or improved wood crematoria,'' said another environmental expert.

- The Times of India, August 9, 2010

The season's first trip of the prestigious luxury train Palace on Wheels would have missed the tiger habitat of Ranthambhore but for the last minute intervention of higher authorities in the State. A visit to the Ranthambhore National Park (RNP) in Sawai Madhopur district of Rajasthan is part of the much publicized itinerary of the train which is considered among the top ten of its category in the world.

Though the train has been taking passengers to RNP ever since its inception what brought some tense moments to its sponsors - the Rajasthan Tourism Development Corporation and the Indian Railways - was the firm stand of the State's Forest Department this time that the tourists will not be allowed in the park as its closed for the annual stock taking and rejuvenation. The passengers of Palace on Wheels, which left Delhi on Wednesday with 80 per cent occupancy, did visit RNP as per the itinerary on Friday before leaving for Chittorgarh in the afternoon. But they had no inkling of how they won the right of passage to the sanctuary which boasts of best tiger sighting.

The practice of closing the park for three months from July has been there in Ranthambhore for many years - though this was introduced in Sariska Tiger Reserve only after the disappearance of all tigers there five years back — but the Forest authorities used to be lenient about the entry of Palace on Wheels passengers.

"This time we had to approach the Chief Minister to get the clearance to take the passengers to the park. We could not have skipped the RNP as it is part of the itinerary and highlighted in the marketing of the train within the country and abroad," said Manjit Singh, Chairman and Managing Director of RTDC talking to The Hindu. "We have been getting exemptions in the general rule of no entry of tourists to the park for over a decade," he noted.

"We had given exemption to the tourists of Palace on Wheels last year on condition that it would be the last time and they would not come with such a request again," noted P.S. Somashekar, Chief Conservator of Forests (Wildlife), Rajasthan. "We refused permission this time . Finding us unrelenting they approached the higher authorities," Mr. Somashekar said.

A series of meetings, addressed by Chief Secretary T. Srinivasan and Forest Minister Ramlal Jat, preceded the decision which came from Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot - again with the rider that this is the last time an exception is granted to the passengers of the two luxury trains, Palace on Wheels and the newly introduced Royal Rajasthan on Wheels. Mr. Gehlot reportedly asked the RTDC officials not to publicize the trains next season showing Ranthambhore as destination for the months of July, August and September.

"We have decided to allow tourists only for two hours inside the park and that too only in certain routes," Mr. Somashekar revealed.

- The Hindu, August 9, 2010

For several years, the monuments in Srirangapatna have remained in a state of neglect. The moat around the famed fort has been used as a dumping yard by residents. But, things seem to be changing with the authorities taking up restoration in a big way, reports Shyam Sundar Vattam

A ray of hope shines through on the restoration scene when it comes to the historic fort at Srirangapatna town in Mandya district. Lakhs of tourists who visit Mysore will make it a point to visit Srirangapatna to see the monuments that hold a mirror to the achievements of one of the the greatest warriors of Indian history-Tipu Sultan, popularly known as the 'Tiger of Mysore'.

The monuments in and around Srirangapatna tell tales of heroism of this great administrator. For many years, this fort remained neglected for various reasons. In the absence of watch and ward, many portions of the fort were encroached upon and vested interests levelled the fort wall to raise a garden. The importance of these monuments were understood after these sites were declared 'protected monuments' by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). Around 20 years ago, a portion of the fort was demolished to make a thoroughfare into the town without understanding its importance.

The ASI authorities are striving hard to protect these monuments. In the absence of co-operation from the local administration, they are finding it difficult to manage them let alone protecting them from some vested interests.

A number of dwellings have come inside the town and they are covering the monuments. The moat around the fort is being used as a dumping yard by local residents and traders. All kinds of garbage, plastic bottles, plastic carry bags and discarded clothes are dumped inside the moat. There is a lush growth of weeds inside the moat and it is spoiling the very beauty of the fort. Local people revealed to Spectrum that there are people who use the stones of the fort for laying foundation for their houses and buildings. Unfortunately, the ASI did not have adequate staff to keep a watch on such activities.

Cracks

The arch of one of the entrances from the bus stand side has already developed cracks due to constant movement of vehicles. Vehicles are allowed through this gate unmindful of what impact it will make on the fort. Besides, the walls of the arch and space supposed to be meant for guards are filled with filth raising a stench. The colour inside the arch has already turned black due to smoke emanated from vehicles.

Restoration

Neela Manjunath, heritage commissioner, Department of Heritage, Bangalore, told Spectrum that in connection with the 150th year anniversary of Tipu Sultan, the Government of India had given funds for restoration of the armoury and a portion of the fort. While the restoration of armoury is nearing completion, the rebuilding of the fort is going on. The department is mainly concentrating on the preservation of the fort, one of the prime attentions of Srirangapatna. Declaring the fort as a 'heritage monument' has come as a blessing for the department to take up restoration work.

The condition of armoury, at the time of taking it up for conservation, was in a horrible condition. Workers were reluctant to go inside the monument because of the filth and years of uncleared garbage. Despite all these odds, the department has done a neat job and has completed restoration.

A total of Rs 30 lakh has been allocated for both these works. The department plans to continue restoration of the fort wall from the present place, i.e, at the main entrance on Mysore-Bangalore Highway. "It is definitely possible to bring back the glory of this historic town if local people join hands with the authorities concerned. There is a need to protect these monuments for the future generations," she added.

Neela said she has written several letters to Srirangapatna Town Municipal Council requesting the authorities to clean the moat at least, as it can be seen right at the entrance. Tourists who wish to explore the town on foot are repulsed by the heaps of garbage inside the town. To ensure involvement of local people in conservation work, the department is planning to start a heritage committee comprising prominent local people and officials from various departments to give suggestions for overall improvement of the place.

Besides, heritage clubs have been started in local colleges to educate the youth about the importance of heritage. The department will write to the district administration directing the authorities to ban movement of heavy vehicles through the arch gate, situated next to the bus stand and suggest an alternative route, in order to protect the monument.

Further conservation work will be taken up after funds are made available in the coming months.

A revenue officer said the district administration of Mandya has also evinced keen interest in the development of Srirangapatna and is planning to convene a meeting of officials from ASI, Department of Archaeology and Museums, Department of Heritage and Town Municipal Council to work out a plan of action.

- Deccan Herald, August 10, 2010

Umesh Rao Ekkar has a rare passion, that of collecting old newspapers. His collection has journals and editions dating back to 1884. A 1948 special issue of Madras Samachara that condoles the death of Mahatma Gandhi is particularly interesting, writes Sibanthi Padmanabha K V

There are collectors, and then some. Meet Umesh Rao Ekkar, who has a rare passion, that of collecting newspapers. "As good as yesterday's newspaper" is a phrase that Umesh Rao doesn't believe in. Umesh Rao lives in Ekkar, three kilometres away from the famous pilgrimage centre of Kateel in Dakshina Kannada district, and his house has become an excellent archive for newspapers.

Rao's collection is interesting. His house is a storehouse of newspapers that range from an 1884 issue of Christa Sabha Patra (one of the earliest newspapers in Kannada) to a 1922 issue of Atmahladini, from Supantha of 1911 (price: two annas) to Suvasini of 1927, from Sadbodha Chandrike of 1932 to Jayakarnataka of 1951… Believe it or not, Umesh Rao has over 3,000 different titles in his collection, ranging from the oldest ones to the recent avatars.

"I'm sad I could not get the original of Mangalura Samachara, the first ever newspaper in Kannada, but I could obtain its photocopy… The media arena is expanding so fast that new publications are making their way every other day. I don't think I have missed many in recent years," beams Rao.

One can even find the special issue of Madras Samachara of February 1948 that was reserved to condole the death of Mahatma Gandhi; an issue of Rashtramatha that was edited by renowned poet Kadengodlu Shankara Bhatta; Ajantha that was headed by noted litterateur late M Vyasa; Kesari of Bal Gangadhar Tilak; a Kannada paper in Devanagari script… As you continue to explore Rao's shelves one after another, you can hear history speak. Interestingly, hundreds of Rao's collections are inaugural editions.

A wide variety

Rao has ensured that there is variety in his collection, even in terms of language, country and their time in history. There are publications in Kannada, English, Hindi, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kashmiri, Urdu and so on, and those belonging to different states within India and countries like China, the United States, Australia, England, Malaysia, Pakistan, etc. There is even space for heaps of Tulu publications such as Tulu Rajya, Tulu Nadu, Suyil, Ural, Madipu, Thoote, Tulu Bolli, Tulu Vartamana, Tulu Darshana, Enklena Chavadi, Tuluvere Kedage, Tuluvere Tudar, Pattaya etc and of Konkani publications such as Amchi Mayi, Jeevit, Dirve, Kalakiran, Mitr, Panch Kajaay, and so on. Of course, the entire collection includes dailies, weeklies, fortnightlies, monthlies, quarterlies, bi-annuals and annuals.

Disappointed over lack of interest

Despite having such a large collection, Rao is disappointed that optimal use has not been made of his collection.

"Whatever may be the number of titles I have, they gain value only when they are used. Of late, students of journalism and researchers have started approaching me, but the number is not so encouraging. My house is always open for students, teachers, researchers and any other knowledge seeker," says 65-year-old Umesh Rao, who was a Science teacher in a Kateel high school for over 35 years.

Rao himself tried to draw the attention of the public in the beginning and conducted a few exhibitions of his collections, but according to him, the response was not encouraging. "People used to invite me to hold exhibitions, but even they did not understand the value of these collections. From transporting the collections to arranging them in a systematic manner, everything was a Herculean task but I could not expect even the minimum facilities and support from them. Gradually I lost interest in such exhibitions. However, even today my house is open for all," explains Rao.

Umesh Rao feels that the government or other organisations should take steps to establish archives (not just libraries) of old newspapers and magazines at the district and state-levels, to open up new research avenues. "The district centres should concentrate on collecting and preserving the titles of their region. Certainly, such efforts will contribute towards enriching history. Moreover, they will be of great use to researchers and students. I am ready to offer all my help if there is anybody who volunteers to implement this idea," says Rao.

A newspaper is often referred to as a page of instant history, and one can only hope that Umesh Rao's dream of documenting history by way of newspapers succeeds.

- Deccan Herald, August 10, 2010

Indian Railways is gearing up to offer the Commonwealth Games an old world charm. Those who have an interest in the big mean machines or wish to experience the Victorian era lifestyle will now be able to chug along to Rewari about 80km from the capital in one of the oldest serving steam locomotives of the country.

The Rewari steam loco shed built in 1893, a decade before the Old Delhi station was inagurated is undergoing a makeover. In a bid to conserve the British period edifice set up 117 years ago and promote rail tourism during the mega sports event, Northern Railway has decided to convert the only existing steam loco shed in India to a museum. And unlike those at Chanakyapuri's National Rail Museum, the engines at Rewari will be available for live demonstrations.

"Few are aware of the shed's historical significance in helping connect Delhi and Peshawar. It was the only loco shed in North India for a long time,'' said Vikas Arya, senior divisional mechanical engineer of Northern Railway who is in-charge of this facility.

"Besides displaying parts of the steam engine, the museum will exhibit old Victorian era artifacts used in the Indian rail network along with the old signalling system, gramophones and seats. It will have a library housing rare books collected from across India, US and Europe,'' added Arya.

At present, 10 engines each weighing around 125 tonnes are stationed at the shed. "These engines guzzle about 4,000kg coal and 5,000lt of water from Delhi to Rewari. Before commencing on the journey, they need at least 10 hours of heating. They may be old, but they are capable of running at about 100kmph,'' said Soorajbhan, a driver from the steam locomotive cadre. He last drove a steam engine on a commercial route in 1993 two years after which railways withdrew all steam engines from service. Soorajbhan says the thought of operating one of these today still gives him "childish delight''. Co-driver Jagram draws an interesting analogy: "It's like a choice between kulfi and the ice-cream bars. While the bars come in different flavours, the kulfis just cannot be done away with.'' Several film crews even of the recent releases such as Guru, Love Aajkal and Veer have visited the shed. "We were part of Gandhi My Father, which was shot here for over six days,'' said an excited Soorajbhan.

Some of the oldest steam engines will be pulling the heritage coaches during the Games. "This will be part of the special heritage runs on October 9 and 16. Four of these coaches are unique as they are constructed of only wood. We will also place three engines at New Delhi, Old Delhi andDelhi Cantonment stations to offer visitors a peek into railway's heritage. There will be special runs on the Ring Railway Network. All work at the site will be completed in time,'' said Arya.

Some old timers, however, fear the last-minute sprint might not augur well for the shed. "This flurry of activity is only due to the Games. The museum idea took shape only in February 2010. While the National Rail Museum has allotted Rs 10.5 crore to Northern Railway for heritage preservation only 29% of the amount has been diverted here,'' said one of the shed's 22 employees. "The shed was almost abandoned in the late 90s and it was on August 14, 2002 that former rail minister Nitish Kumar approved the plan to turn this into a `live' shed for steam locos,'' he added.

Concerned about the future of these steam locos, 60-year-old Lombu Ram said: "We have approached the divisional railway manager, Ashwini Lohani, several times to make proper infrastructure available to the technicians. Going by the present state of affairs, there will be no one to maintain these jumbo machines after we are gone.''

- The Times of India, August 10, 2010

Memorials, temples, the banks of the Tungabhadra river, the colourful attire of Lambani women all find a place on Geesink's canvas. His paintings have a huge demand in European countries.

Hundreds of tourists visit Hampi for at least seven to eight months in a year. There are those that spend months on end in the erstwhile capital of the Vijayanagar Empire, marvelling at the sheer beauty of the architecture. And then, there are those that have chosen to stay on at Hampi. Holland's Robert Geesink is one among them. He lives in a small house in Prakash Nagar behind the Virupaksha temple in Hampi. At any given time, you can spot Geesink lost in painting the glorious structures of Hampi. He also paints a picture of the life of the common man in this ancient town. Memorials, temples, the banks of the Tungabhadra river, the colourful attire of Lambani women all find a place on Geesink's canvas. His paintings have a huge demand in European countries. Between 1975 and 1987, he had an agreement with the then Dutch government to paint, and earned a monthly royalty of Rs 25,000. Amsterdam's Dutch gallery has even honoured him with a title.

Robert's life is as colourful as the pictures he paints of Hampi. His father was also an artist, who worked in Hollywood. Initially, Robert was a graphic artist in his father's studio. Later, he left for Paris to break away from the monotony. After working with cinema artists, he quit his work there. This was because conditions were imposed on him to paint in the American style.

Robert visited India in 1978. After touring Gujarat, Kanyakumari and other places, he came to Hampi. After giving the great temples and architecture here one glance, he decided to stay put in Hampi. Initially, he lived in an ashram in the town. A local Lambani woman called Seethamma ensured that he ate his meals from time to time. Eventually, he married this Lambani woman from Hampi.

Hampi's Mariammana Gadde was where he started to paint. He created tens of paintings at this spot. He even taught his wife how to paint. Seethamma's death, after 17 years of togetherness, shook Robert. He later married a relative of Seethamma and now has four children. Robert can easily converse in the Lambani language. Robert's paintings have been exhibited in various galleria across the world. Robert is also deeply interested in playing the guitar and the saxophone.

His life and works have inspired a student to submit a doctorate thesis on him to the Kannada University in Hampi.

Robert in now 68 years old, but not short of enthusiasm. He wants to exhibit his paintings in Delhi's Lalit Kala Akademi and other major galleria across the country. Meanwhile, Robert continues to be one proud resident of Hampi.

- Deccan Herald, August 10, 2010

Close on the heels of the Leh cloudburst, tribals of Spiti valley in Himachal Pradesh are living under constant threat following unprecedented rain across the region — a cold arid desert with Leh-like topography.

Shimla Met director Manmohan Singh said the region was experiencing massive rainfall because temperature was "not low enough" to convert rains to snow. Like Leh, Spiti mostly gets snowfall. Rainfalls are seldom here.

Kaza (Spiti) SDM Jitender Sanjta told TOI the region had never in living memory recorded so much rainfall as had it in the past few days. While most of the rivers and nullahs are in spate, over 100 acres of fertile land with orchards and crops have been washed away, he said adding, "Skies are still overcast."

He said Tabo nullah, runs along the Tabo monastery which celebrated its millennium in 1996, was also in spate and had washed away 12 to 15 acres of land with apple orchards and crops. "Though the monastery is safe, it faces the danger of getting washed away if rains continue," he said. The over-1000 year Buddhist shrine is considered one of the most sacred Tibetan temples in India by the Dalai Lama. He said Tipta nullah, which flows about 10 km from Tabo, too had washed away 10 to 12 acres of crops and orchards. The tribals had never witnessed roads, bridges, crops, orchards being washed away, he said.

"We have asked people living near rivulets, nullahs and water channels to move to safe areas," he said. Landslips and landslides have played havoc have across the state. He said the road to the valley from Manali side opened on Monday after a week but there was no power for the past seven days.

- The Times of India, August 10, 2010

The government has initiated a programme to save medicinal plants, including guggal or commiphora wightii, under the National Mission on Medicinal Plants. Very little data is available on the shrubs left and the IUCN has put it in the date-deficient category, writes Ankur Paliwal

India is these days relying on imports to meet the demand for a plant extract valued for its medicinal properties. Guggal or commiphora wightii grows in the wild in the arid and semi-arid regions of Pakistan and northern India; its resin, guggal-gum, is prescribed in Ayurveda for heart ailments, obesity and arthritis. Pharma companies also use it in drugs for reducing cholesterol.

But the gum's availability in India has plummeted because Guggal shrubs are disappearing from its main habitats in Gujarat and Rajasthan. Very little data is available on the shrubs left; the International Union for Nature Conservation (IUCN) has put it in the data-deficient category.

"The demand for Guggal-gum has more than doubled in the past 10 years. We are completely dependent on imports from Pakistan—about 400 tonnes a year," said Rakesh Agarwal, a dealer of medicinal plants at Khari Baoli wholesale market in old Delhi.

As a result, the gum's price has risen from Rs 25 to Rs 300-Rs 500 per kg in the past decade. The demand is driven by drug companies. Research shows that guggalsterones (the active compound in guggal) inhibit cholesterol synthesis, said N Srikant, assistant director with the Central Council for Research in Ayurveda and Siddha under the Union Health Ministry.

Bled for resin

Unregulated exploitation of guggal for its resin is the main reason for its disappearance, said Vineet Soni, associate professor at the Jaipur National University. Soni, a member of the IUCN, said tribals and people in villages use crude methods to extract gum; the government has not standardised tapping methods.

"They make deep cuts on the stem and then apply a paste of horse urine mixed with cobalt sulphate (a toxin) around the incisions. This increases gum yield four times, but the shrub dies within a month or two," said Soni.

The destroyed shrubs are not easy to replace. Guggal seeds do not germinate easily and the saplings take a long time to mature—about 10 years.

"We do not cultivate guggal because it would occupy our fields for a long time," said Nanchi, a resident of Ballabhpura village near Jaipur.

Galta hill range on the outskirts of Jaipur is one of the areas identified for guggal conservation. Tapping and felling for fuel destroyed the shrubs and forest officials hardly survey the hills. The in-charge of Galta post, G S Rathod, refuted villagers' claims. The hills are divided into beats and surveillance is round-the-clock, he claimed.

The government has initiated a programme to conserve medicinal plants, including guggal under the National Mission on Medicinal Plants in 2008-2009. The mission encourages cultivation of medicinal plants to reduce the pressure on forests and has listed guggal in the endangered category.

"Rajasthan and Maharashtra proposed 125 hectares (ha) and 25 ha respectively under the mission for guggal cultivation. We are awaiting reports on the success from the sites," said R B Singh, consultant with the National Medicinal Plant Board. The board has sanctioned Rs 11.25 crore for three projects and offers 75 per cent subsidy on guggal cultivation.

Doubts cloud conservation

The Rajasthan government has undertaken a Rs 6.50 crore project on its own for conserving the plant and expects to bring 1,700 ha under guggal cultivation by next April. "We are raising 486,000 saplings. The state has also set up hi-tech nurseries under the project where the stem cuttings are nurtured in controlled temperature of about 35°C. The saplings are then kept in normal temperatures and acclimatised before they are planted in the wild.

Officials in the forest department said the project may not work because sophisticated technology and monitoring are required to ensure survival of the saplings in the wild. "The success rate of guggal transferred from the nurseries to the wild is 30-40 per cent," said Ramkaran Chaudhary, forestry in-charge of the hi-tech nursery at Jagatpura locality in Jaipur.

Soni said the conservation efforts have started rather late as the plant population has been declining for sometime.

Only a concerted effort by the government in collaboration with scientists and the community can now save the plant, he said. Soni is spearheading a Save Guggal Movement in Rajasthan to spread awareness about the shrub. Soni's research, published in the South African Journal of Botany, has shown higher concentration of guggalsterone in the shrubs in central, northern and western Rajasthan. These can be used for mass propagation and genetic improvement.

- Deccan Herald, August 10, 2010

One doesn't see Upinder Singh, a noted historian, anxiously describing a book, nor does one find Khushwant Singh reminiscing about the past so often, but with the launch of the book "Celebrating Delhi" edited by Mala Dayal, all this and much more came to the fore at the main auditorium of the India International Centre. The book of essays is based on the series of 12 lectures organised by the Attic in 2006. Organised in collaboration with the Attic and INTACH which explores the city's living syncretic heritage illuminating unknown and fascinating aspects of its history, it boasts contributors like Upinder Singh, Pradip Krishen, William Dalrymple, Duno Roy and Ravi Dayal.

Upinder Singh, giving a brief introduction of the book also showed a few pictures of the famous Iron Pillar, Purana Quila, etc and also of lesser-known treasures in and around Delhi. The audience which included Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's wife Gursharan Kaur was familiarised with the stone tools that were discovered on the campuses of Delhi University and Jawaharlal Nehru University through more visual support. "Most dilli-wallahs visualize their city extending from somewhere near the Qutub Minar to somewhere beyond the Red Fort and recollect a vague connection between ancient Indraprastha and the Purana Quila. But Delhi from the Stone Age to the times of the Rajputs stretches much further than one can imagine".

Pradip Krishen entered the discussion by shedding some light on the city's interesting native trees. He, then, invited Rakhshanda Jalil for 'Dehli ki Aakhri Shama', a poetic re-enactment of the 'Last mush'aira of Delhi'. In her chaste Urdu, Jalil spoke about Farhatullah Beg's novel "Dilli Ki Aakhri Shama" on which the dramatic re-enactment was based upon.

- The Hindu, August 12, 2010

The tower – erected in memory of soldiers of the Delhi Field Force who died in 1857 – is being chemically cleaned

Preparations for the Common-wealth Games have given a new lease of life to yet another historical monument in the city. Nineteenth century monument Mutiny Memorial —one of the tallest monuments in the city — is getting its first-ever, thorough chemical cleaning. Work is being undertaken round the clock so that illumination work can begin at the earliest.

According to officials from the state archaeology department, which owns the memorial, the 33-metre-high monument holds special importance owing to its prime location and a large number of visitors are expected to visit the site. ''Structurally, the memorial was in a fairly good condition but the chemical cleaning will give the facade a shine. After the task has been completed, we will begin with the illumination and landscaping work,'' said a senior official from the state archaeology department.

The conservation work has been entrusted to Intach's Delhi Chapter. Officials say the cleaning can be challenging and dangerous because of the height of the memorial. Though scaffoldings have been erected around the monument and workers are busy with the cleansing job, officials say a strong gush of wind could be fatal. ''We have to proceed with extreme caution, especially when work is being carried out near the top. The monument is located on a slope near the Ridge, which makes the place more windy than the average place in Delhi,'' said an official.

Intach officials said a non-acidic detergent/cleansing agent is being used to clean the surface inch by inch. The procedure is extremely time-consuming and the work, which started six weeks ago, is likely to take about a month in all. ''The chemicals will erase all marks like paan stains, bird droppings and graffiti on the building. We will also put consolidants in places where the original stone has started chipping due to ageing and climatic conditions. This material will act as a binding agent and strengthen the monument's facade,'' said a senior official from Intach Delhi Chapter.

Rated A in terms of archaeological value, the highest grade, Mutiny Memorial is an important colonial building related to the 1857 uprising in Delhi. It was erected in the memory of the officers and soldiers, both British and native, of the Delhi Field Force, who were killed in action or died of disease between May 30 and September 20, 1857. The building comprises a tapering tower, which has Gothic influences, and is raised on a base. The tower is circular from inside with a staircase. This octagonal tapering tower of red sandstone is now known as Ajitgarh and is situated just 200 metres away from the Ashoka Pillar.

All around the tower, there are plaques on the walls mentioning the names and ranks of soldiers who fought for the British in 1857. In the year 1972, on the 25th anniversary of India's Independence, a new plaque was added which says that the 'enemy' mentioned by the British were actually the freedom fighters and martyrs of India, who fought bravely against the repressive colonial rule in the First War of Indian Independence.

- The Times of India, August 12, 2010

"Astitva", a conscience-pricking show of photographs and installations on defaced Delhi monuments, is now a permanent feature at the Children's Museum in New Delhi.

'Raju loves Seema', 'vote for NSUI', 'Sajan Chale Sasural', 'for glowing skin use…' — these are the regular messages engraved on Delhi monuments that we see and tend to ignore. The teaching staff of Delhi's National Gallery of Modern Art and their students couldn't. With encouragement from K.K. Mohammad of the Archaeological Survey of India, they have mounted a thought-provoking exhibition (photographs/installations) on Delhi's monuments that have been "wilfully and maliciously destructed, defaced, and damaged". The site of the exhibition titled, 'Astitva', is the Children's Museum.

Real on artificial

The most interesting part of the exhibition is that it is created with a lookalike edifice of a monument, with scratches, films posters, and graffiti. Inside, life size pictures on archival paper/digital prints expose the shameless doings of the visitors and those who have encroached and turned them into tea stall-cum-home, shops and lovers' points.

A section of the exhibition also tests the visitors' knowledge of Delhi monuments with an installation of small (LED) pictures/names of monuments with buttons to match them up.

The show that pricks the viewers' conscience is now a permanent feature in the Children's' Museum.

- The Hindu, August 13, 2010

The Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium station on the Central Secretariat-Gurgaon Metro corridor will don a 'sporty look' for the Commonwealth Games. Along the line of the Stockholm Metro that is known for its exquisite decoration, the JLN Stadium station is being developed as a theme-based station with the Commonwealth Games as its theme. The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) is planning to showcase Games at the station that will be used by thousands of tourists and visitors to reach the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, where the opening and closing ceremonies will take place.

The mascot of the Commonwealth Games 'Shera' will be put to display along with the mascots of the previous Games at the JLN Stadium station. "Designing of the station building has been done. The interiors of the station building will be decorated with paintings and posters depicting various sporting events during the Commonwealth Games. Other games related information will also be displayed," a DMRC official said. He said art works based on the theme of the Games on the walls of the Metro station is also being done and the work will be completed before the Games. The Stockholm Metro system is decorated with works like sculpture, mosaics, paintings and inscriptions. The installations have been an ongoing process from back in the 1950s when the system opened, all the way to modern works.

The Delhi Metro will also come up with a Metro museum at the JLN Stadium station besides three others at Rajiv Chowk, Central Secretariat and Kashmere Gate Metro stations. "The DMRC is expecting a footfall of 80,000 at this station during the Commonwealth Games and hence a museum is being opened at the station that will be only next to the one at Patel Chowk station," the spokesperson said. The Central Secretariat-Qutub Minar Metro corridor is slated to be opened for public by the end of this month. It will further be connected to the already operational Qutub Minar-Huda City Center (Gurgaon) Metro section. The new museums have been planned to cater to the commuters on each of the operational lines. For Line 1, between Dilshad Garden and Rithala, the museum will be located at Kashmere Gate whereas the museum for Dwarka Sector-9-Noida corridor will be at Rajiv Chowk. Similarly, for commuters' convenience on Central Sceretariat-Gurgaon and Central Sceretariat-Badarpur stetches, the museums will come up at Central Secretariat and JLN Stadium respectively. The spokesperson said the museums will showcase the genesis, history, journey and technology of the Delhi Metro.

Delhi Metro will also showcase Delhi's rich heritage on its 10 Metro stations on Central Secretariat-Qutab Minar Metro line as it passes through the areas, which are enriched with historical monuments and World Heritage sites. Each station on this stretch will have artworks of monuments, which are in close proximity of the station. The information regarding the historical monuments will be showcased through informative panels, which will be mounted on the walls of the stations. The DMRC in collaboration with the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH), involved in protecting and conserving India's vast heritage, will execute this work.

- The Pioneer, August 13, 2010

The Delhi Metro railway in collaboration with the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) will use the metro stations along the upcoming Central Secretariat-Qutab Minar line to showcase the city's heritage.

Since the line passes through areas that are dotted with monuments and buildings of heritage value, the Delhi Metro will use all 10 stations along the way to offer information about them.

"The underground metro line between Central Secretariat and Qutab Minar station passes through areas which are enriched with historic monuments and World Heritage sites. Each station on this stretch will have artworks and panels of monuments which are in close proximity of the station," said a Delhi Metro spokesperson.

Information about the historic monuments will be showcased in panels mounted on the walls of the stations. INTACH has been roped in to execute the work.

About 40 panels covering all the 10 stations will display information about the monuments and their proximity from the metro station.

"The Qutab metro station will have this information displayed this month while the other stations will have similar information ready in another two or three months," said the spokesperson.

Some of the monuments which will be showcased are India Gate and its surroundings, Lodhi Garden, Safdarjung Tomb, Hauz Khas complex, Vijay Mandal, Siri Fort Wall, Qila Rai Pithora.

The stations between Central Secretariat-Qutab are Udyog Bhawan, Race Course, Jor Bagh, INA, AIIMS, Green Park, Hauz Khas, Malviya Nagar and Saket.

The metro line will be operational by August-end.

- The Hindu, August 13, 2010

Three German silver antiques have been stolen from the Hazarduari palace in Murshidabad. The three panjas (palm-shaped artefacts) were made 70 years ago during the reign of Wasif Ali Mirza. He was the nawab of Murshidabad from 1906 to 1959.

The theft at the palace, which has now been converted into a museum, was detected by the staff at the closure time of 5pm yesterday.

Goutam Haldar, the assistant superintendent of the museum, said: "Three of the fivepanjas kept in a showcase in room number 20 on the first floor of the museum have been stolen. The panjas were not very costly. They are used to decorate the tazia during Muharram processions."

A tazia is a replica of the mausoleum dedicated to the martyrs Hasan and Husain. They are made of bamboo sticks, coloured paper and fabric.

Haldar said the museum employees searched the palace for the stolen items but in vain. "We lodged a complaint at Murshidabad police station last night. Although thepanjas are not very costly, they have antique value," he said.

Additional superintendent of police Deep Narayan Goswami said the theft was being investigated. "We have sealed the room from where the objects were stolen. We found the showcase, in which the panjaswere kept, locked. Forensic experts today collected finger-print samples from the showcase," Goswami said.

He said the museum staff were being interrogated. A CID team would assist the police in the probe, Goswami added.

The palace was handed over to the Archaeological Survey of India in 1985 for better upkeep. Hazarduari has 20 galleries containing 4,742 antiquities, of which 1,034 are on display for public viewing. An ASI team from Delhi will also visit the museum to probe the theft.

The Hazarduari palace was built during the reign of Nawab Nazim Humayun Jah (1824AD–1838AD) by architect McLeod Duncan.

The palace has more than 1,000 real and false doors, the reason why it is called Hazarduari.

The collection of antiques at the museum include weapons, oil paintings by Dutch, French and Italian artists, marble, porcelain and stucco statues, rare books, old maps and manuscripts belonging to the 18th and the 19th centuries.

- The Telegraph, August 13, 2010

The Taj has chosen Independence Day to reaffirm the values it stands for. On August 15, 2010, it will open its heritage wingthat was gutted during the 26/11 siege—to an expectant public.

Born as India's answer to British arrogance, the hotel built by Jamsetji Tata opened its doors in 1903 to 17 guests.

A century later, tragic circumstances forced the Taj to shut its doors for the first time since it opened. But the staff and the management used this to their advantage and turned adversity into opportunity to match the best hotels of the world.

After the terror strike, the hotel was opened in stages and by September this year, it will be fully functional.

On Independence Day, although most of its rooms in the palace wing will accommodate guests, some of its opulent spaces, like the Tata Suite, will be unveiled in a month or so.

A night's stay at the Tata Suite, formerly the Presidential Suite, complete with personalized butler service will set one back by Rs 7 lakh.

There are more than 40 suites in the heritage part of the building with some of them being named after marine motifs, given the sea-front location.

"Each suite tells a story," says Ajoy Misra, senior vice president, sales & marketing, Taj Hotels. So, you can ride on a dolphin, search for coral reefs or chase a seagull for a price ranging from Rs 85,000 to Rs 1.5 lakh.

While it may be difficult for a visitor to spot the small differences, management has fine-tuned the hotel's interiors.

For instance, the ceiling in the Taj Palace lounge has been lowered by eight inches. Its spacious rooms are now soundproof.

Another feature it has added to its rooms is the special levers that allow guests to open the window in case of an emergency.

During the siege, trapped guests were forced to break open the window to escape to safety. Upping the security quotient, special access control elevators are installed in the premises, allowing only guests to operate them with a valid key.

The rooms are also equipped with mood lighting and giant television panels. State-of-the art technology converges beautifully with the hotel's old-world charm.

For instance, if there is no body movement in the room for a while, the sensors tend to switch off the air conditioner.

Attention has been given to space and hence the marginal decrease in the number of keys from 289 to 285. Typically, the rooms in the heritage wing spanning 500 sq ft are bigger than the ones in the tower wing that measure at 380 sq ft.

In terms of tariff, too, the rooms in the tower wing are 30% lower than their counterpart. In a healthy sign, occupancy levels in the hospitality industry bounced back to the optimum level of 2008. The rooms at the heritage wing are priced between Rs 22,000 and Rs 24,000.

About 20 consultants and designers such as Lissoni Associati of Milan, BAMO, San Francisco, DesignWikes of Malaysia and Singapore's James Park Associates contributed their expertise in giving life back to the hotel.

Even as Taj has put in new features to its property, it got its staffers to experience the rooms before a month of the heritage wing being re-opened.

The image of the flaming Taj dome against the night sky is not a distant memory, but as one walks down the royal heritage wing, it is easy to forget the terror of 26/11—for a while.

- The Times of India, August 13, 2010

After missing several deadlines, Barapullah flyover eyes September first week opening

On the left side of the gigantic Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, an unnoticed service lane leads you to one of the most talked about Commonwealth Games projects in Delhi — the Barapullah elevated corridor. The flyover, expected to complete by the first week of September, will bring athletes and officials directly from the Games Village to the gates of the stadium, the main venue for the 11-day event.

With the stadium on the left and the newly whitewashed government quarters on the right, you have to prepare yourself for completely unaccustomed sights from this under-construction flyover.

For the first two kms of this four-km elevated stretch, the black-top has been laid and the crash barriers are getting a new coat of lime. A little ahead, the cluster of monotonous government buildings of CGO complex are visible. But far ahead on the horizon are the comforting sight of Humayun's Tomb and Khan-e- Khana's Tomb.

Till Lala Lajpat Rai crossing, things are smooth over the flyover with majority of the work done, including installation of streetlights. But as you proceed, you realise it's not just finishing touches that remain, with workers busy connecting the two segments.

Above Mathura Road, one carriageway has been connected but work is going on at the other one. At this point, you are at a dizzying height of 20 metres above one of the Capital's busiest roads.

Tanned and lean labourers, most of them from Punjab's hinterland, walk carelessly over the yet-to-be-attached segments. The launchers, meanwhile, carefully manoeuvre a 90-tonne segment, lifting it from the ground and placing it carefully next to the already fitted portion. On the road underneath, a Malaysian supervisor keeps a close watch.

From one side, Dhobi Ghat next to Pant Nagar is visible while on the other is the endless traffic of Mathura Road.

The road takes a sharp turn from this point close to Nizamuddin and disappears into the Capital's smog.

Segment launchers make debut

For the first time in India, segments launchers have been used to build over traffic crossing without blocking the road under the flyover. The contractors of Barapullah Nullah — D S Constructions — have hired Norwegian firm NRS Asia to carry out the specialised job. Specific launchers were especially manufactured for the project.

The launchers are first placed on top of the pier by the crane, then the launcher picks up the pre-fabricated segments and places it one-by-one next to each other. "The segments are attached to each other by 'pre-stressing'. This basically means that a high strength iron wire is inserted inside the segment connecting each one with the other. This wire is tightly pulled to create tension which sticks the segments together," project manager Sarvagya Shrivastava said.

There are in total 200 piers on this four-km stretch of the flyover on which 2,473 segments have installed.

Too many authorities led to delay

The project was first proposed in 2006. The initial plan mooted by the Delhi government was to build a tunnel road connecting the two. As the plan was disapproved by the Delhi Urban Art Council and Archaeological Survey of India, it was later changed to the road being made partly underground and partly on the ground.

The ASI rejected this proposal too, saying it will affect monuments in Nizamuddin. The DUAC later suggested the road be aligned alongside the Barapullah Nullah.

The project remained unattended till April 2008 when the Group of Ministers working on Commonwealth Games intervened.

The project got final approval in August 2008 from Delhi government but ran into rough weather with the Indian Railways delaying the necessary approval, which was finally secured in September 2009. The work on the railway stretch began in December 2009.

- The Times of India, August 13, 2010

By weaving motifs of the Greater Adjutant, a rare stork species, into their gamochas, Assam villagers are raising silent conservation slogans, writes Bijay Sankar Bora from Guwahat

A unique episode of villagers participating in the conservation of an endangered bird species has been unfolding in the non-descript Dadara area in Kamrup district of Assam, about 30 km from the Guwahati city.

The villagers' commitment for the protection of the bird is reflected in the efforts of weavers from the area, who are raising silent conservation slogans by weaving motifs of the Greater Adjutant into 'gamocha' (traditional Assamese towels) to remind the users that only 800 of the species are left on the planet. Greater Adjutant (called hargila in the Assam valley) is an important scavenging bird species that keeps the environment clean, besides regulating the population of vertebrates like frogs, fishes, snails etc. found in wetlands.

Of the 20 stork species found on the planet, Greater Adjutant is the rarest. It is found mainly in Assam and Cambodia. Eighty per cent of the global population of the bird is present in the Brahmaputra valley of Assam and Kamrup district houses about 50 per cent of these birds. Though the species is protected under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, in India, its habitats and nesting colonies are not protected under the provision of the same Act. As these storks build their nesting colonies on trees grown on private land, the threat to their existence becomes greater and conservation efforts remain a far cry sans active cooperation from the community concerned.

A research team of Aaranyak, a society for biodiversity conservation in the North-East, set feet at the Dadara area in Kamrup district in July 2009 with the objective to elicit the community's cooperation for the conservation of the nesting colony of Greater Adjutant species spread over several treetops in the area. The effort has been funded by the Conservation Leadership Programme (CLP), UK. The CLP is a partnership of four organisations — Birdlife International, Conservation International, Wildlife Conservation Society, Fauna and Flora International — working to promote the development of future biodiversity conservation leaders by providing a range of awards, training and mentoring support via an active international network of practitioners.

"By virtue of frequent interaction and motivation efforts initiated by us, the villagers started understanding the importance of the bird species to the ecology. They have started taking pride that theirs' is one of the few places on the earth where this important species of stork is found and that puts their area in the global map of distribution of important bird species," said Purnima Devi Barman, leader of the Aaranyak research team.

The villagers have become so fond of those storks that they have now started flaunting it in whatever way they can. For instance, a team of weavers led by Sanju Saikia of the village have started weaving the motif of the bird on 'gamochas' under the guidance of Purnima Devi, who claims that this new-look 'gamochas' have been an instant hit with outsiders.

"Professor Stephen Garnett, Director of the School of Environmental Research Charles Darwin University in Australia, was overwhelmed by the stork motif in the 'gamocha' presented to him when I met him at Albarta University in Canada during a conference earlier this month. We are now planning to help and motivate Dadara weavers to weave bedsheets using the stork motif so that their love for the bird can provide them with a source of earning too," she said, adding that Dadara can now be promoted as a tourist location to highlight the community's involvement in ecology conservation.

According to Paresh Das, Principal of Sankardev Sishu Niketan, Dadara, the participation of villagers in conservation efforts has raised hopes for the survival of the species. "The villagers have realised that just as the Kaziranga National Park is famous for the one-horned rhino, Dadara, too, can win global recognition for the Greater Adjutant if the state's tourism authorities start promoting it," Das said.

- The Tribune, August 15, 2010

I was standing in front of the most imposing edifice of Shimla. Once a power to reckon with, it is today a scholar's retreat: the Viceregal Lodge, the former residence of the British Viceroy, Lord Dufferin; and presently the Indian Institute of Advanced Studies.

It is a magnificent, sprawling grey stone structure occupying an entire hill and is considered a fine example of British colonial architecture inspired by the Renaissance in England.

As we waited at the appointed hour in the afternoon taking in the views of the surrounding valleys and the verdant manicured lawns, our guide ushered us in. She was a pretty young lady with utmost patience; the visitors' queries seemed unending but she replied to all. The historical significance of the place is such that everyone was charged up.

Centre of power

Built in 1888, there was a time when the lodge was a centre of power from where one-fifth of humankind was ruled. It's a legacy of British imperialism; the top-brass of colonial rulers wielded power from Rangoon to Aden from this remote haven that was not even conveniently accessible in those days. It was the venue of the Shimla conference in 1945 and in 1947; the decision to partition India taken here changed the fate of the sub-continent forever.

We all seemed to be in awe of the stately building for it exudes the same regal splendour, pride and quaintness as in the days of yore. As our guide first led us to the seminar hall — the erstwhile conference room — we were rather intrigued. This was the room where the momentous decision to partition India was taken.

However the little round table on which this deed was accomplished now stands in another room, which has some rare photographs from pre-partition days. We saw the photograph in which Lord Mountbatten, Nehru and Jinnah along with members of the Congress and Muslim League sat around for the historical transfer of power.

Tasteful interiors

What really struck us were the aesthetics and the efficient construction of the building. The tasteful interiors with elegant teak panelling, exquisite furnishings and intricate woodwork were charming. Our guide, pointing to the fabric that plastered the seminar room, informed us that it had withstood the passage of many years. It was furnished by Maples, the smartest outfitters of London. The most appealing was the walnut ceiling in a room with the electrical wiring and switches still functioning (this is also the first building in Shimla to have electricity) and the rainwater harvesting system below the expansive lawns. We felt like saluting the foresight of its architects, the chief being Henry Irvine.

As we explored the place, taking in the sights and sounds, imagining the lavish parties of the British elite, we realised the edifice donned different roles: a hub of political decision, a President's summer retreat and now a scholars den. The edifice donned all the different roles with equal aplomb.

- The Tribune, August 15, 2010

The cloudburst and mudslides of Ladakh on August 6 did not affect any of the historic Buddhist monasteries and gompas located all across this Buddhist-dominated area of Jammu and Kashmir.

The two UNESCO heritage sites, Alchi Gompa and Hemis Gompa, besides other monasteries and gompas are safe and have not been ravaged by floods or mudslides.

Chairman of the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council Chering Dorjay said Buddhist community's "….all religious sites are intact and safe… we have checked up….. there is no damage to either the old structures or to the scriptures stored there".

Some of the monasteries are more than 2,000-year-old and find references in the books of international travellers during the middle ages. Most of the gompas in Ladakh are scattered along the mighty Indus. The world-famous one at Alchi, around 60 km away from Leh, is located on the left bank of the Indus. It is around 1,000-year-old and has amazing frescos and sculptures of early Buddhist art, a style quite different from the Tibetan art found in Ladakh's other gompas. S Majumdar, who heads a hydropower project near Alchi, confirmed that the site was safe.

The 300-hundred-year-old Hemis Gompa is the other UNESCO heritage site. It is also safe. This one is famous for its spectacular annual festival. It is one of the largest Ladakhi gompas and is located near Karu, around 42 km from Leh. Hemis is also known as "the solitary place of the compassionate ones".

Other than Alchi, all other gompas are located on hilltops in a gravity-defying architecture made famous by Buddhist monks. What seems even more ironical is the fact that brick and mortar structures built using "latest techniques" have been washed away while older sites survived largely due to their carefully chosen locations - away from the paths of small streams.

The normal functioning of religious sites can be gauged from the fact that six-year-old Thupstan Ngwang Norbu was anointed as the 20th Bakula Rimpoche on August 12 at a solemn ceremony at the historic Spituk monastery.

The Rimpoche succeeded Lobsang Thupstan Chognor, who died a few years ago. The new appointee was selected through a tough Buddhist procedure dealing with the reincarnation of dead monks. The programme was kept a low-key affair in view of the tragedy.

Among other monasteries that have not been affected by foods and landslides are Phyang, Lamayuru, Likir, Rizong, Shey, Thiksey, Tak Tok, Matho and Stok.

- The Tribune, August 17, 2010

Tourists headed to Old Delhi during the Commonwealth Games will be greeted by the usual chaos in and around Jama Masjid. While the roof of the 17th-century monument again started leaking this monsoon, the situation outside doesn't look promising either MCD is yet to start redevelopment work in areas surrounding the mosque.

Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) had undertaken work on the main monument over three years ago following a Delhi high court order. And even as ASI claimed to have carried out repairs last year, leakage was reported from the dome just recently. This year though, ASI has not undertaken any work at the mosque.

Jama Masjid Shahi Imam Syed Ahmed Bukhari said: "I recently wrote to the director general, ASI, and the authority informed us that restoration work will commence after August 15 for which a new estimate has been prepared. The biggest concern is the leakage from the main dome, as it could result in damage to the interiors,'' he said. ASI officials said that they needed more cooperation from the Wakf Board if complaints of leakage from the main dome are received. "Work will soon commence and if the roof is again leaking, we will address the issue more precisely,'' said officials.

ASI officials said conservation was a continuous process and they had already addressed a lot of concerns inside the heritage building such as flooring work and roof repairs. Other works undertaken involve replacing broken chajja stones and restoring damaged sections of marble. However, beautification work of areas around the mosque is yet to see light of the day.

The Jama Masjid redevelopment plan conceived over four years ago underwent many revisions and witnessed several delays in getting necessary clearances from DUAC and ASI. Sources indicate that MCD now plans to start work only after the Games. MCD commissioner K S Mehra said: "The procedures have been completed and work will soon begin.'' Mehra, however, did not indicate a time-frame for the project.

Under the redevelopment plans, new road sections from Subhash Marg and peripheral roads will cater to traffic around the area and adequate provisions for pedestrians and non-motorised vehicles will be made. A bay for tourist buses is also proposed on Subhash Marg. The market/shops around Dargah Sheikh Kalimullah will be turned into single-storey structures built at the level of the ground around Meena Bazar to avoid any obstruction to the view of the area.

- The Times of India, August 17, 2010

The spotlight falls on Asian cinema as the Network for Promotion of Asian Cinema (Netpac), which celebrates 20 years of its inception, holds "Imaging Asia" in New Delhi from August 18 to 22. Spread across Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts, Instituto Cervantes, Alliance Française, the India Habitat Centre and the India International Centre, the festival promises to be a vibrant celebration of cinema, which will see the screening of 31 Netpac award-winning films, a conference on Asian cinema, exhibitions that will delve into Asia's proto-cinema images and narratives and the performances of traditional Indian and Asian forms of pictorial storytelling. "It is a film festival that celebrates Asia," says Aruna Vasudev, president, Netpac and the founder of the "Cinefan Festival of Asian Cinema". According to Vasudev, while screening of films will be the nodal point of the festival, "Imaging Asia" will be more than a mere film festival. "It will also put the focus on pre-date cinema narratives and the forms of storytelling which were the precursor to cinema as we know it," she adds.

The festival will be inaugurated by foreign secretary Nirupama Rao on Thursday. The festival is being organised in association with Asian Heritage Foundation, the Indian Council for Cultural Relations and the Confederation of Indian Industries.

"It's a way of thanking everybody who has extended their support in the promotion of Asian cinema," says Vasudev.

Kazakhstan's Tulpan, directed by Sergei Dvortsevoy, which revolves around a group of nomadic shepherds in a poverty-stricken region of southern Kazakhstan, will be the opening film.

The films to be shown at the festival have been curated by Latika Padgaonkar.

- The Asian Age, August 17, 2010

Scientists have come out with the first draft of the world's most exhaustive inventory of species distribution and diversity in key global ocean areas. The decade-long Census of Marine Life shows that Australian and Japanese waters are the most biodiverse. Four new species were found in the Indian Ocean too, writes Kalyan Ray

What lies deep inside the ocean remains a mystery till date. Thousands of species have been discovered but there could still be millions more.

In the absence of an exhaustive inventory, it is practically impossible to understand how the marine species are evolving or whether they are vanishing because of threats like fishing and climate change.

To find out answers to one of the most ancient questions–what lives in the sea–scientists from all over the world have come out with the first draft of the world's most exhaustive inventory of species distribution and diversity in key global ocean areas.

Information collected over centuries was matched with data obtained during the decade-long Census of Marine Life to create a roll call of species in 25 biologically representative regions, from the Antarctic through temperate and tropical seas to the Arctic. It gives a baseline for measuring changes that humanity and nature will cause.

Most biodiverse waters

Australian and Japanese waters, which each feature almost 33,000 forms of life that have earned the status of "species" (and thus a scientific name such as Carcharodon carcharias, aka the great white shark), are the most bio-diverse.

The oceans off China, the Mediterranean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico round out the top five areas most diverse in known species.

Even less diverse regions such as the Baltic or Northeast USA still have about 4,000 known species. The relatively isolated regions in Australia, New Zealand, Antarctica and South Africa have the most endemic species. The waters of the Caribbean, China, Japan, and Mediterranean each have less than 2,000 endemic species, and the Baltic only one – a seaweed called Fucus radicans.

The number of known species contained in 25 areas ranged from 2,600 to 33,000 and averaged about 10,750, which fall into a dozen groups. On average, about one-fifth of all species were crustaceans which, with mollusks and fish, make up half of all known species on average across the regions.

Says Ian Poiner, Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Institute for Marine Science and Chair of the Census Scientific Steering Committee, "Consider that a well-informed person walking along a familiar seashore might identify 20 species or so; a fish monger perhaps 100.

Even in the world's least diverse marine regions, there are 50 to 100 times as many named species than an expert would know without resorting to field guides." New species were found in the Indian Ocean too. Surveys conducted by the National Institute of Oceanography in Panaji found four new species so far. As the work is continuing and the Arabian Sea data is yet to come out, more new species are expected in Indian waters.

In the Indian Ocean

"The Indian Ocean committee had the largest area of all regions. Given time, I expect they would have found that the region contains more species than any other because it stretches from species rich Indo-Pacific archipelago, Western Australia to South-East Africa and the Arabian Gulf," Mark John Costello, professor at the University of Auckland and lead author of the summary told Deccan Herald.

From a volcanic sea mount in the Andaman sea at 705 mt depth, the NIO team spotted a new sea sponge Hyalascus andamanensis; a marine mite Fortuynia arabica and a copepod (small crustacean) Cletocamptus goenchim from the intertidal waters. "Organisms like sponges are potential source for drug discovery. Hence new species could be a source of potentially new drugs hitherto unreported," said NIO scientist P A Lokabharati.

Many species appear in more than one region. The "most cosmopolitan" marine species are two opposite kinds: microscopic plants (algae) and single-celled animals called protozoa and copepod in the plankton, and the seabirds and marine mammals that traverse the oceans throughout their lives.

How the microscopic species can be cosmopolitan is still a subject of research, and may be due to their ability to survive unsuitable environmental conditions and then reach enormous abundance in a suitable environment..

Everyman of the oceann

Among fish, the manylight viperfish can be considered the Everyman of the ocean. Census data shows it has been recorded in more than one-quarter of the world's marine waters.

"This inventory was urgently needed for two reasons. First, dwindling expertise in taxonomy impairs society's ability to discover and describe new species. And secondly, marine species have suffered major declines, in some cases 90 per cent losses, due to human activities and may be heading for extinction, as happened to many species on land," said Costello.

For every marine species, Census scientists estimate at least four have yet to be discovered. In fish, scientists believe more than 70 per cent of species have been discovered, but for most other groups likely less than one-third are known. Scientists believe that the tropics, deep-seas and southern hemisphere hold the most undiscovered marine species.

The main threats to marine life have been overfishing, lost habitat, invasive species and pollution. Emerging threats include acidification, and the enlargement of areas characterised by low oxygen content (called hypoxia) of seawater.

Global warming too is a cause for concern. "There are studies from at least the North Atlantic and Australia showing changes in fish and plankton species distributions that match climate-change related changes in sea temperature," Costello said.

Percentages

The break-up of marine life is as follows:

• * Crustaceans (crabs, lobsters, crayfish, shrimp, krill & barnacles): 19 pc
• * Mollusca (including squid, octopus, clams, snails and slugs): 17 pc
• * Pisces (fish, including sharks): 12 pc
• * Protozoa (unicellular micro-organisms): 10 pc
• * Algae and other plant-like organisms: 10 pc
• * Annelida (segmented worms): 7 pc
• * Cnidaria (sea anemones, corals and jellyfish): 5 pc
• * Platyhelminthes (flatworms): 3 pc
• * Echinodermata (starfish, brittle stars, sea urchins, sand dollars & sea cucumbers): 3 pc
• * Porifera (including sponges): 3 pc
• * Bryozoa (mat or 'moss animals'): 2 pc
• * Tunicata (including sea squirts): 1 pc

Bid and Hammer Auctioneers Private Limited will auction a collection of antiquarian books, maps, prints and photography at a City hotel on Tuesday.

The auction, which the company claimed first of its kind in the country, is aimed at encouraging buyers with varied tastes and backgrounds and the works are priced from Rs 7,500 to Rs 12 lakh, the company said.

Company Chairman and Managing Director Maher Dadha said: "The auction will include pieces of arts spanning more than 200 years from 18th to 20th century with emphasis largely on the British Raj."

The collection covers 232 lots of visual impressions in the form of books, prints, maps and photographs.

The individual prints as well as illustrations in the books and the maps have been printed on paper by various printing techniques like engravings, aquatints, etchings, and lithography, some even painstakingly tinted by hand.

Further, he said the illustrious photographers represented include Lala Deen Dayal (1845-1905), Edmund David Lyon (1825-1891), Penn (1849-1924) and Samuel Bourne (1834-1912), while works of some renowned artists like George Edwards (1694-1773), William Hodges (1744-1797), Henry Salt (1780-1827) and Robert Colebrook (1762-1808) are also put up for the auction.

Dadha said the company is confident of an overwhelming response as is customary with their five auctions in the past.

- Deccan Herald, August 18, 2010

The three people arrested for the illegal blasts that led to cracks on the 104-year-old Spanish Mosque in Hyderabad are now in jail.

Incidentally, the blast was also only 300-metre from the US Consulate located in the Paigah Palace and raised security concerns.

"A case was booked under the Sections 3 and 5 of Explosive Substances Act," said Mr A. Yadagiri, the Begumpet inspector. "We are verifying whether the cracks occurred because of the blast," he said

He said police had written to the roads and buildings department and the HMDA to know the technical details because some reports said the cracks already existed and only got widened.

Meanwhile, the mosque committee sent a notice to the HMDA and other government agencies urging them to stop the construction. "How can we tolerate this near a heritage structure?" asked Mr Faiz Khan, the treasurer of the Spanish Mosque Muthawali Com-mittee.

The senior advocate, Mr Shafeeq Rehman Mahajir, said it was a highly reckless act to use explosives near the structure. "They (the developers) claim that they are doing excavation work as per the plans approved by the GHMC," he said. "This is in violation of regulations governing constructions in areas around heritage structures."

Mr Rehman said that developers of the property, in association with Pyramid Constructions, a sister concern of Ambience Properties Private Limited, were constructing the building. "Setbacks of 30 metres have not been maintained which is required," he said.

The GHMC additional commissioner (planning and projects), Mr K. Dhanunjeya Reddy, said there were special rules for constructions adjacent to heritage structures. "We will look into this case and take action," he said. This being the Ramzan season, thousands flock to this historic mosque to offer prayers.

Mr Mir Azam Ali, a resident of Prakashnagar said, "There were several people in the mosque. Suddenly we felt the vibrations as if the mosque is rocked by an earthquake."

Mr Mohammed Parvez, another resident of Prakashnagar said, "There were three explosions one after the other. I thought the roof of the mosque was caving in. Now there are cracks everywhere in the mosque."

Though soon after the blasts people ran out of the mosque, the prayers later resumed.

Unique history

• * Built by Sir Viqar ul Umra Bahadur, the Spanish Mosque was part of the Paigah Palace premises.
• * The construction of the mosque began in 1890 and ended in 1906.
• * It is a replica of a mosque in Spain which had Moorish architecture.
• * The inscriptions in the mosque are in Turkish unlike in other mosques that have Arabic inscriptions.
• * It has 17 minarets. The mosque comprises a main prayer hall, two rooms in front of it and a central corridor for entering the hall. Over this central corridor stands the octagonal dome.
• * The mosque management committee had received the Intach Heritage Award in April 2010.

A book titled "Shri Raghunath Temple, Jammu", authored by Dr. Kamal Kishore Mishra and documenting the historical background and architecture of the temple, was released by Indian Council for Cultural Relations president Dr. Karan Singh at ICCR auditorium in Azad Bhawan here.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Singh said the Raghunath Temple has a unique importance owing to its grandeur and historical background.

"The temple has every devta and devi and is the only one of its kind in North India. I was keen that a book on Raghunath Temple like the one on the Tirupati temple in the South must be brought out. Dr. Mishra has done commendable job in bringing out the book."

Dr. Mishra said on Dr. Karan Singh's instructions he embarked on the mammoth exercise of undertaking an in-depth research and then writing the book. "As writings on this temple were mostly in Persian, I first got them translated into Hindi by Delhi University's Head of Department Persian Studies Rehana Khatoon. Raghunath Temple has a history behind it."

The temple represents our composite culture. The labourers who constructed this temple were all Muslims, added Dr. Mishra.

- The Hindu, August 18, 2010

How is it possible for one not to be able to locate a 13th Century monument even while standing next to it? It happens when there is hardly anything left of the structure and even the remaining portion is fortified with asbestos sheets from all around to block the view of the outsiders. Amidst ambiguity, complexity and complacency stands the Lal Mahal.

The 1245 A.D. structure called Lal Mahal (Red Palace), is said to have been constructed in Nizamuddin Basti by Ghiyasuddin Balban before he ascended the throne. Made in red sandstone, the structure is raised on a chabutra or a platform. It is said that the Moroccan traveller Ibn Batuta visited Delhi in the 14th Century and stayed at the place which conservationists call as the "earliest surviving Islamic Palace building in India with true dome and arches." Based on the period the structure belonged to, its unique architecture and historicity, INTACH gave the building Archaeological Value A. Incidentally, the old palace of Bahadur Shah Zafar II in Mehrauli is also known as Lal Mahal.

What drew everybody's attention to the monument were a spate of news stories a couple of years ago reporting that two of its chattris (canopies) were brought down and then there was an attempt to demolish the basement and the main structure by a private builder who had been sold off a part of the land, on which stood the structure. The partial demolition elicited a strong reaction amongst the public and conservationists following which the Supreme Court appointed a four-member heritage conservation committee. It visited the site but couldn't inspect it as the structurehad been completely sealed off by the occupants.

Though the structure finds mention in the "Memoirs of the Archaeological Survey of India", the organisation has not bothered to take the monument under its wing.

After two years of the incident, the area still remains inaccessible to public. Recalls a local resident, "I grew up playing in the lawns of the monument, we used to play under the canopies. Music concerts, qawwalis, urs celebrations used to take place here. I have witnessed the decay of Lal Mahal step-by-step. Last time, I went inside was around three years ago. Nobody is welcome inside."

Meanwhile, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has not notified the remains as a protected monument. Dr. B.R. Mani, Joint Director General, ASI explains, "Because the structure has already lost a considerable part of it. Further construction and demolition was stopped after the ASI and MCD intervened and the status-quo remains."

According to A.G.K Menon, Convenor, INTACH Delhi, member of its heritage conservation committee, "The time has passed to save the original structure. The options are: do nothing. This will encourage others to do the same thing. Second, declare what remains as a protected site so that others do not think that they can get away with the same action. Third option is to purchase the plot from the present owners and build a new building to house perhaps an interpretation centre for the architectural heritage of the area or a school to train masons for conservation."

Fingers can be pointed at MCD too for the civic agency didn't notify the list of 768 heritage monuments of which Lal Mahal was part of. MCD spokesperson Deep Chand Mathur is still not sure if the monument was later notified. "MCD has a limited role, it is to stop any unauthorised construction if it takes place in the premises. Different agencies have to come together."

- The Hindu, August 21, 2010

Unhappy that construction-related debris is still lying near the recently inaugurated Neela Hauz flyover that straddles a medieval era lake, the Delhi high court has given a two-month deadline to the Public Works Department (PWD) to clean up the place.

A division bench comprising Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justice Manmohan recently expressed their displeasure with the civic agency for failing to enforce a clause in the contract with the private firm that built the flyover, namely its obligation to remove all debris that threatens the very existence of the Neela Hauz lake.

HC was alerted to PWD's failure to remove debris by petitioner Malvika Kaul, a resident of Vasant Kunj who has filed a PIL alleging government indifference towards the endangered waterbody. Kaul, appearing through her lawyer Bankey Bihari accused the PWD of forgetting its responsibility to ensure debris removal, pointing out how this construction waste imperilled the lake's existence.

The judges also demanded an answer from the Delhi Development Authority (DDA), which has been made the nodal agency incharge of overall restoration of the lake, by a committee of Delhi government officials. DDA's mandate is to ensure the lake is fully restored to its original glory since the flyover over it has now been opened to the public.

Kaul's PIL raised concern over ecological imbalance caused by construction of the flyover across the lake and relies upon information collated from RTI replies directed at PWD that showed no environment impact study was done to take into account ecological damage to the waterbody prior to construction of the flyover.

"Preserving this lake is important because it is the only source of natural recharge to ground water in Vasant Kunj. The water level in this area is already very low with a spurt of constructions including malls and housing complexes on the ridge land surrounding Vasant Kunj. These constructions will keep on depleting the underground water unless lakes like Neela Hauz are fiercely protected,'' the PIL contended, seeking HC's intervention.

The petition accused the government of violating rulings of the Supreme Court and its concept of "sustainable development'' by ignoring environmental concerns, seeking to commit the government to restore and preserve Neela Hauz. Lastly, the PIL stresses that the Neela Hauz along with the adjoining Sanjay Van form a distinct ecological unit and house a variety of life ranging from the aquatic to the migratory birds.

- The Times of India, August 22, 2010

Jatar Deul not only provides the opportunity to photograph the temples from different angles but also fills your lungs with a welcome dose of oxygen, says Rangan Datta

In the middle of the nineteenth century, land surveyors stumbled upon a towering brick structure in the midst of the Sundarbans. The structure was surrounded by dense forest and was itself covered with thick vegetation.

It seemed like a mysterious structure filled with secrets. Who had constructed this temple in the heart of one of the densest forests in the world? What was the purpose of construction? When was it constructed? Was this part of a remarkable civilization that once flourished in Southern Bengal? Historians are unable to come up with any concrete conclusion

A copper plate found near the temple in 1875 suggests that Raja Joychandra constructed the temple in 975 AD. The plate has long been missing and absence of any other historical records on Joychandra has still kept the historians in the dark.

So while historians struggle to assemble the pieces of a giant jigsaw puzzle, you can well spend your next Sunday exploring the oldest brick built structure (that's still intact) of the state.

Today, the forests have long gone and have been replaced with agricultural fields, but the temple still stands with its long and elegant spire towering above the treetops. The temple contains no idol but the locals believe it to be a Shiva temple and call it Jatar Deul (Jata: matted hair, Deul: temple), after the matted hair of Shiva.

Located about 80 km from Calcutta, Jatar Deul can be reached via Diamond Harbour. For the most comfortable journey, it is best to take the morning train / bus to Diamond Harbour. Get out of the station and hop into one of the M10 mini busses that would take you all the way to Raidighi. The busses are horribly crowded, but as you travel from terminus to terminus the crowd is not much of a problem. After about two hours of a terribly slow journey, you reach Raidighi.

After getting down from the bus, just walk across the newly constructed bridge across Moti River to Kankandighi where motor vans are available to take you to Jatar Deul. After a half an hour bumpy ride, you are at the temple complex that contains the lone towering Deul surrounded by eucalyptus and banyan trees. The Deul creates a striking contrast against the agricultural fields that surround it.

The temple is declared a monument of National Importance and is maintained by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). It rises to a height of 65 feet and stands on a base measuring 25 feet by 25 feet. The eastern wall is provided with an arched gateway leading to the inner sanctum, which is located below the ground level.

The sanctum contains idols and pictures of Shiva, Parvati, Karthik, etc., which are worshiped by locals but of no historical importance.

The exterior walls of the temple contain rich carvings, but only traces can be seen today as most of it has been lost due to unscientific restoration. The tip of the spire, which was broken off, has been reconstructed; unfortunately it neither resembles the grace and beauty of the former structure.

A short walk through the agricultural fields will not only provide you with the opportunity to photograph the temples from different angles but also fill your lungs with a welcoming dose of fresh oxygen.

Finally it's time for home. So follow the same route and you can well end your trip with a spectacular sunset at Diamond Harbour.

Getting there: Kolkata – Diamond Harbour bus/train (bus fare Rs 20, time 2 hrs).
Diamond Harbour – Raidigh bus (fare Rs 20, time 2 hrs)
Kankan Dighi – Jatar Deul motor van (fare Rs 9, time 30 mins.)

Places to eat: Raidighi has a few basic eateries.

Festival: On 2nd Baikash (Mid April) a mela (fair) is held near the temple. The highlight of the mela is a horse race.

- The Statesman, August 22, 2010

The Rajya Sabha today passed a Bill for establishing a transnational university at Nalanda in Bihar, which was a seat of learning in ancient India.

India along with 16 countries of East Asia would like to see Nalanda as "an icon of Asian renaissance".

Perceived to be an amalgam of ancient and modern thinking, it will be guided by an interim governing board, chaired by Nobel laureate Amartya Sen.

Nalanda, situated 90 km south east of Patna, near a village called "Bada Gaon", still has the ruins of the ancient Nalanda University which, according to studies, existed in the fifth century AD. The studies also said the ancient university had 10,000 students and facilities like nine-storeyed library building.

The Nalanda University Bill, 2010, which seeks to establish a teaching campus on 441 acres attracting students and faculty from across South and South East Asia, was passed by the House after a scholarly debate.

The debate saw Mr Karan Singh (Congress), Mr Sitaram Yechury (CPI-M), Mr NK Singh (JD-U) and Mr M Rama Jois (BJP) at their erudite best recalling India's rich contributions to the culture and civilisation of the world.

Quoting head of the Mentor Group, Amartya Sen, the JD-U member said: "When Oxford (UK) was being inaugurated, Nalanda was being destroyed ~ it did represent transition of knowledge from Asia to Europe. We want to rebuild Asia and regain knowledge leadership. Nalanda will become an icon of Asian renaissance."

Replying to the debate, minister of state for external affairs Ms Preneet Kaur said prominent academicians would be involved in the university which will be housed in a complex to be built on a design to be chosen through an international competition.

"Our focus has to be on Buddhist studies... A school of Buddhist studies has to be established," Ms Kaur said.

However, several members emphasised that the new Nalanda University should reflect the modern needs of the 21st century. "Buddham, sharanam gachchami (I take refuge in the Buddha), alone will not suffice," Mr Ram Vilas Paswan (LJP) said.

Observing that India's foreign policy now is focussed on "look east", eminent journalist HK Dua (Nom) said the initiative would be helpful in achieving the objective.

Some members said the governing board should have top minds from the world of learning instead of bureaucrats.

As Buddhism is flourishing in several countries of East Asia, Mr Jois said the "inauguration of the university should be an occasion to inaugurate peace with China".

The proposed university will have collaborations with other old universities, including the Al-Azhar University of Egypt, Oxford and Cambridge Universities in Britain and Harvard University in the USA.

With the approval of the governing body, the university will establish study centres outside India.

Initiating the debate on the Bill, Mr Bal Apte (BJP) said the responsibility of setting up an educational institution should rest only with education department.

Mr Karan Singh (Congress), however, said it is not necessary that all universities should be under one ministry.

Mr Singh said the proposed university should be different from other universities and have a "transnational" character.

Mr Pramod Kureel (BSP) said the university should have quota for SCs/STs and OBCs both in its faculty as well admission and the reservation should not omitted in the name of giving Centre of Excellence tag to the University.

He demanded that Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama should be made a member of the Governing Body. He also sought a Chair in the university in the name of B R Ambedkar.

- The Statesman, August 22, 2010

The Vijay Vallabh Smarak Jain Mandir complex houses one of finest museums of Jainism It's a structure that no one can miss while driving past Alipur police station on the GT Karnal Road—a grand pagoda-like mandap in front of an exquisite shikhar. Walk into the sprawling Vijay Vallabh Smarak Jain Mandir complex and you will be pleasantly surprised by not just the fine carvings on the temple exterior but also by the fact that the basement of the shrine houses one of finest museums of Jainism. From idols of Tirthankaras dated between 8th and 11th centuries to painted scrolls and remains of doorways and pillars, it is a repository of Jain iconography, architecture and paintings. Moortis, parikaras, vigyaptipatras—the artifacts have been collected from across the country. But the most precious aspect of the museum is a collection of centuries-old handwritten manuscripts—20,000 in number—many of them pictorial.

The museum is attached to the Bhogilal Leherchand Institute of Indology, located in the same complex. The institute is at present digitising the details related to these manuscripts.

"Dislodged from their homes in West Pakistan during Partition, Jain scholars had hidden several rare manuscripts under the foundation of their houses. Once both the nations settled down, they approached Indian and Pakistani governments and finally brought these manuscripts here," says 81-year-old Deven Yashwant, the honourary treasurer of the institute as he shows us around. Among the displays in the museum are his personal favourites—rare books, some published in the late 19th and early 20th century, both religious and secular in their content. Also on display are instruments, pens and ink used in writing manuscripts.

Spread across 20 acres, the complex dedicated to a Jain saint was established way back in 1974 and also has a high school attached to it. "The Indology institute, originally located at Patan in north Gujarat, was shifted here in 1984," says A K Singh, associate professor.

At a time when the government has admitted the dire need for trained epigraphist and manuscriptologist, the institute trains Indian and foreign scholars in Pali, Prakrit and epigraphy as part of its various courses on Indology. "We also publish several books on the subject," says Deven Yashwant as he takes us to the institute's library that has more than 25,000 books.

"This place is a treasure trove, but very few come to even peep inside," he says pointing towards a few foreigners, as we take a look at the temple. The shrine, a massive structure, is built in keeping with traditional Jain architecture, with typical ornamental torans and marble work.

- The Indian Express, August 22, 2010

Pilali tree (ficus macrocaroa), a gigantic tree spread across two acres in Jade village of Soraba taluk in Shimoga district, is part of the heritage list.

It takes 30 minutes to circumnavigate the tree which is 400 years old and six metres in height. The tree is home to rare varieties of birds. The canopy of the tree is such that sunlight hardly filters through it to reach the ground.

With the width of the tree expanding each year, Ningappa Nyarshi, owner of the land on which the tree is located even got suggestions to chop it. When branches of the tree were trimmed, hundreds of sheep reared by him died of a mysterious disease. The incident has led people here to believe that the tree is bestowed with mystical powers. People of Jade here have volunteered to save the tree which they revere. The Western Ghats Task Force even organised a programme in Jade recently to felicitate Ningappa for his efforts to save the tree. People of Jade have demanded the administration to compensate Ningappa as the 400 year old tree is still on expansion mode and he is losing additional land every year. They also have pressed the administration to develop the place into a spot of tourist attraction.

- Deccan Herald, August 24, 2010

One sure-shot way to ruin a perfectly good historic monument, is to let unauthorised occupants live in the complex and allow them to build toilets there. In the absence of a hearing by the Delhi State Archaeology Department to claims/objections over the ownership of heritage monuments, that's

exactly what's happening at the Bagichi ki Masjid — a Lodhi-era monument in Mehrauli.

The Delhi State Archaeology Department had issued a preliminary notification to bring this monument under its protection. Delhi Wakf Board (DWB) had raised objections regarding the ownership of 25 heritage monuments, including the Bagichi ki Masjid. A final notification on the issue is pending.

Meanwhile, more than a dozen children aged between 5 and 18 years have been living here with some adults (one of them says he's the DWB appointed imam for the Masjid) for more than a year. During this time, they have installed electrical fittings and hammered nails into the walls.

The latest in the series of defacing alterations at the monument is a row of toilets built inside the courtyard of the monument and two rooms covered with tin sheets beside the monuments eastern entrance.

When Hindustan Times visited the place, a woman who gave her name only as Shahnaz said, "These rooms were built some 7-8 months ago."

When HT had raised the issue earlier, a Wakf board official, requesting anonymity, had said that this and some other properties were notified in 1970 under the Central Wakf Act and so were Wakf property."

Delhi government sources said the Department of Archaeology is busy with the conservation, illumination and landscaping of 17 monuments near the Commonwealth Games venues. With time running out and their hands full, the hearing of DWB's objections has been put on the backburner by the Department.

Keshav Chandra, Director, State Department of Archaeology, said, "We'll hold the hearing after the Games." He refused to say anything else.

Matin Ahmed, former DWB chairman, criticized the alterations by the occupants. "The Wakf Board gave permission to conduct prayers at this and other monuments. People should neither live there nor carry out any kind of alterations."

But Ahmed did not say anything about how to stop the defacement.

Incidentally, answering a question asked in Parliament about encroachments at protected monuments, the Department had said that there were only six monuments notified and that all were free of encroachments.

The Department conveniently chose to mention all such encroached sites, for which preliminary notification has been issued.

- Hindustan Times, August 24, 2010

One has to look at the Adil Shahi architecture in Bijapur to realise how they ensured that homes stayed cool, in spite of the searing heat outside.

Their palaces were dotted with tanks, fountains and gardens, all to ensure that temperature levels stayed at tolerable limits. Take the Kumatagi tank for example. It was a resort that the Adil Shahis built. The ground floor of the building had layers of walls, in one of which were installed pipes that ensured water flow. This meant the whole building remained cool, even in summer.

Kumatagi tank, which is 10 kms away from Bijapur on the Sindhagi road, is known as the summer palace, and its architecture beat even modern-day resorts.The summer palace was built during the 1627-1656 AD period, during the time of Mohammad Adil Shah.

Kumatagi is a hamlet in Bijapur district, and the two-storeyed summer palace is on the outskirts of the village.

It has been ensured that water flows around the building, lending that sense of tranquility during summer. The walls of the building are embellished with beautiful paintings.

The paintings depict many aspects of life in those times, such as scenes of royalty, with the king and his bevy of ministers, scenes where hunters are setting out on an expedition, bows and arrows in tow. There are other paintings that depict elephants, musicians and dancers too, and enhance the beauty of the summer palace. Even the bath area in the resort is built in the most contemporary styles. There are even showers installed that can spew warm or cold water, depending on the temperature outside.

There are towers all around the palace. Towards the southern side of the palace are ruins of old buildings. The Archaeology Department has taken up repairs of the tank, and has even built a small park here. The area near the entrance to the palace, which is in the middle of the tank can be utilised for boating. The summer palace will then be a big tourist draw.

- Deccan Herald, August 24, 2010

The Union Ministry of Culture has admitted in Parliament that while 11 monuments under the protection of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) have been encroached upon, it has lodged more than two-dozen complaints regarding 'unauthorised prayers' being offered at protected monuments in Delhi.

The ASI registered as many as 36 complaints regarding unauthorized prayers at the Jamali Kamali monument at Mehrauli during March-August 2009.

The 36 complaints led to the lodging of one FIR, Parliament was informed.

Replying to a question raised by Rajya Sabha member Anil Madhav Dave regarding similar prayers being offered at the Kotla Feroz Shah, the ministry said it had lodged 31 complaints during August and September 2009, which were clubbed in one one FIR.

Similar complaints were registered at Khirkee Masjid, where, like the other two monuments, unauthorized namaz was stopped by police.

Further, answering another question by Lok Sabha members P.C. Gaddigoudar and Suresh Chanabasappa Angadi about the steps the government had taken to keep the monuments free of encroachment, the government replied that the Superintending Archaeologists are empowered to remove encroachments under the provisions of section 19 of the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958, and under the Public Premises (Eviction of Unauthorised Occupants) Act, 1971.

The number of encroachments at ASI-protected monuments has, according to the government's own admission, come down to 11 from 12.

- Hindustan Times, August 24, 2010

WHILE most civic agencies have their goals concentrated on the Games, the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) has already set targets that will be started post-Games. The civic body will be cleaning 64.5 km of sewage pipes using super sucker machines after October. Till then, Lutyens' Delhi will have to bear with sudden caveins and water-logging in the area, as the sewer pipes are very old and most of them have never been cleaned since they were built before Independence.

The sewerage network of the NDMC area is very vast -approximately 350 km -which was mostly constructed before 1947. While minor cleaning-up work is done when there are reports of clogging, the NDMC took up the task of cleaning or desilting them through machines a few years ago. Phase I of the work has been completed, which covered 43.5 km, and Phase II will begin soon. The budget has been estimated at Rs 6.5 crore, the lowest bidder being M/s WERM India Ltd.

The civic body used super sucker machines for the first time, through which sewage is collected by a machine without having to dig into the soil and without manually cleaning it, as was the case earlier. Mukesh Bhatt, an NDMC member, said the agency started using the new way of desilting pipes after the Supreme Court banned the manual entry into manholes that are more than five feet deep. "The question was whether we should begin work immediately or wait till the Games are over. We decided in favour of the latter as we are very busy with the Games work and cannot take on more work," said Bhatt.

This year, during the monsoons, the New Delhi area, one of the most VIP had four cases of cave ins and more than a dozen cases of water-logging each time it rained. More than 62 localities of the New Delhi area will benefit from the cleaning work. Prominent among them will be areas on which the embassies of Thailand, Poland, Canada and Australia. Kautilya Marg, CP Inner Circle, Regal Building compound, Park Street and Kali Bari Marg are some of the other areas that will be cleaned.

- Indian Express, August 24, 2010

The monolithic statue of the first Jain Tirthankara Bahubali sits atop the Vindhyagiri hill in Shravanabelagola. Varna Shashidhar discovers that it has been built in consonance with the boulder landscape.

The bus weaved its way from the town of Channarayapatna towards Shravanabelagola. The rocky hillock with the famed monolith of Bahubali loomed ahead of us growing larger as we inched closer and then unexpectedly vanished from our view. Percy Brown, the author of the book Indian Architecture has mentioned that the Jains made a departure from the Hindu and Buddhist styles of the same period by using sacred sites as 'mountains of immortality'. In Shravanabelagola, the 58-feet monolithic statue of the first Jain Tirthankara Bahubali sits atop the Vindhyagiri hill.

At the base of this Vindhyagiri (also called the Indragiri) hill rests the small Bhrammayaksha temple. The local people of Shravanabelagola make daily visits to this shrine and stand with their hands folded in devotion facing the direction of Bahubali's monolith on the summit. Their devotion marks the spirit of this unique piece of boulder and stone architecture. It has provided us with a glimpse of the ineffable tranquility to be found at the summit. Scaling the hillock is a passage of devotion for visitors to the shrine.

We discovered that the winding trail that we had seen from afar was actually several hundred narrow rock cut steps (620 to the summit). We began the journey to the hill top. The dramatic panorama of the city unfolded in a surprising revelation behind us and we paused to take in the compelling views of the city every hundred feet or so. The Chandragiri hill faces the Vindhyagiri as a striking counterpoint. The rock outcroppings are visible. At the convergence of both the hills is nestled the beautiful Belagola temple tank, an emerald green mirror etched into the boulder landscape.

The periodic thresholds were the gateways. The first occurred midway up the hill in the form of a stone archway. The next was the stacked stone enclosure wall and the entrance gateway containing a vast open space with the basadis. It took about 500 steps to reach this enclosure.

A 14th century shrine

This elevation contained the Odegal basadi, a 14th century triple shrine with images of the three Jain Tirthankaras, Adinatha, Shanthinatha and Neminatha all carved out of dark gleaming schist. The basadi has been built out of granite and is situated on a high plinth. The priest sprinkled jasmine water, and smeared our foreheads with sandalwood paste; the glow of the small oil lamps broke through the cloistered darkness. And as we emerged from the dim interiors of the temple, our eyes struggled to transition into bright sunlight. The mandapa of the basadi acted as a vantage point providing theatrical bird's eye views of the city.

The beautiful archway

We progressed towards the Tyagada Kamba, a small pavilion containing a craved pillar from the 10th century. We still had about 100 steps to climb to reach the summit with the monolith. Early into our next climb we arrived at an enclosed platform in front of the Akhanada Bagilu, a beautiful gateway with carvings of Goddesses Mahalakshmi. The shrines of Tirthankaras Gomateshwara and Bharateshwara have been built concomitantly at the entrance to this gateway. In a grotto like effect the carved boulder melded into the masonry.

The space within the Akhanada Bagilu was most interesting. Entering this threshold we encountered a pavilion like space and a wide flight of steps, the dramatic play of the light on the uneven boulder wall and a single boulder perched poetically over the roof. We moved through these episodic thresholds acutely aware of the layered spatial transitions they created.

Arriving at the summit we faced Bahubali who soared above us into the horizon from his earthbound enclosure, face and shoulders visible over the walled space. The entry to the monolith was through a pillared mandapa.

Beyond the framed doors of the mandapa we encountered Bahubali's creeper entwined legs and the silhouettes of devotees rapt in solemn prayers. We crossed threshold into the dark suttalaya space which contained at its core an open to sky courtyard with the monolith.

This central courtyard provided space for devotees to sit and to immerse themselves in prayers.

Breaking away from the darkness and shadows of the surrounding enclosure the imposing monolith of Bahubali Bhagawan rose into the sky. The grey granite synchronised perfectly with the blue of the skies and white of the fleeting clouds. Bahubali looked ahead with calm eyes and a harmonious smile.

The monolith was carved by Arishtanemi in 983 AD and is the tallest monolith in India. To one side of Bahubali was the shrine of Sri Kushmandini Devi. The suttalaya was a dark low ceilinged pillared chamber that formed an enclosure around Bahubali and contained the images of the 24 Jain Tirthankaras.

Simplicity of shape, not experience

While the way to the summit was an introspective passage our way back was easier we followed the steps, tracked the runnels carved into the stone, and faced the breeze. We descended lighter with the transmitted serenity into the welcoming verdant plains. My friends from abroad who had accompanied me on this trip seemed quite taken by the sensory experience of Shravanabelagola including scaling a 400-foot-hill bare feet.

As the artist Robert Morris has stated, "simplicity of shape does not equate with simplicity of experience."

The collective experience of Vindhyagiri is richer than the individual spaces we encountered. In Shravanabelagola the design is inextricable from the site, where the built is in consonance with the surrounding boulder landscape. Often treated as a prescribed stop on the way to the Hoysala temple cities of Belur and Halebid, Shravanabelagola is singularly worth visiting for its architecture of tranquility.

- Deccan Herald, August 24, 2010

Asia's first sloth bear sanctuary at Daroji in Bellary district is under severe threat as the State Government, by violating environmental norms, has granted permission for a major steel plant around its vicinity. It has also begun the process of land acquisition.

Less than 16 years of its establishment, the Daroji sanctuary already has its fate in jeopardy.

A mega steel plant is likely to come up at Gadiganur village, located just 500 meters away from the Sanctuary. Shaken wildlife enthusiasts in and around Bellary district have now written to Union Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh requesting him to mediate.

"It has come as a shock for us. We never even imagined that a huge steel industry is being planned adjacent to this sanctuary. We realised only when local people informed us about this," said K S Abdul Samad, President, Society for Wildlife Adventure and Nature (Swan).

Some of the wildlife enthusiasts who tried to dig out the information had another shock when they found that a notification has already been issued in this connection.

"We were appaled to find out that the Gadiganur village and a portion of the sanctuary has been earmarked for the steel plant," said Samad. Another wildlife enthusiast, Santosh Martin, who is also the honourary wildlife warden, Bellary said the six million-tonne capacity plant is being planned at a total area of 5,500 acres.

"The Gazette notification is over, acquisition may begin anytime. Though officials say it will come up at a distance of three to four kms away from the sanctuary, their map says a different story. We are planning a protest to save the sloth bear sanctuary," he said.

The plant, according to some official sources, falls between the bear sanctuary and the World Heritage site, Hampi and is also said to be detrimental even to the latter.

Daroji

The sloth bear sanctuary, being an unique one and the first of its kind in the country is a rock-strewn hillock that stretches between Daroji of Sandur taluk and Ramasagar of Hospet Taluk in Bellary district. The place has been an abode of Indian sloth bears since ages.

The entire hill ranges around Hampi vicinity are believed to be the mythological 'Kishkinda' valley, an abode of Lord 'Hanuman' and 'Jambavantha' (the bear). Following the efforts of former Minister and Congress leader M Y Ghorpade, the state declared 5,587.30 hectares of Bilikallu reserve forest as the Daroji Bear Sanctuary.

Apart from 120 sloth bears, the place is home to leopards, hyena, jackals, wild boars, porcupine, pangolins, star tortoise, monitor lizard, mongoose, pea fowls, partridges, painted spur fowl and quails. This unique ecosystem also hosts over 200 species of birds and 50 species of butterflies.

- Deccan Herald, August 24, 2010

The Ranthambore National Park, of late, is in news for all the wrong reasons. The man-animal conflict is gathering pace with either the tiger moving out of the reserve or man entering prohibited area. In fact, after recent incidents of tiger attacks on villagers or their cattle, people living near the reserve have visibly turned aggressive against wild animals. The same villagers were once considered as a shield to animals against possible threat from poachers.

If a few incidents saw the tiger attacking the man in his territory, in two cases, the villagers reacted strongly by killing tiger cubs or pelted stones with a vengeance at a tiger which strayed into the village in Bhuripahadi.

Many feel that things are grossly wrong in the national park. The manner in which the forest officials dealt with this grave situation is questionable. In the latest incident in which a forest ranger was injured, the crowd management at the site of tranquilization was abysmal which was one of the main reasons for the tiger being so agitated. It had been surrounded by the villagers and there was not enough force to deal with the crowd, said Dharmendra Khandal, conservation biologist, Tiger Watch, an NGO.

There are several complaints against the forest officials which make the villagers lose confidence in them and react aggressively.

Besides, the local populace and the stakeholders have started feeling alienated from the officials responsible for the park management. Two experienced and efficient rangers were shifted from Ranthambhore to Ganganagar. Sudarshan Sharma, an expert in understanding the canine behaviour was moved out to handle social forestry and R S Kalla, who caught 20 poaching cases, too was shifted out, said Khandal.

The park may be shut for the tourists but each day nearly 3,000 to 4,000 pilgrims walk unchecked into the park. There are five-six temples in the sanctuary which make the villagers enter the park every day who also don't follow the rules of the national park. At the moment, there is gross official apathy towards grazing and woodcutting in the park, that aggravates during the monsoon.

FIR against photographer, 11 others: The man who took the dramatic photographs of the Ranthambore forest ranger being mauled by a tiger is one of 12 people against whom cops have registered cases under the Forests Act and relevant IPC sections. In the FIR, police have charged Dharmendra Khandal with obstructing the forest department from discharging its duties.

- The Times of India, August 24, 2010

Bijapur and Mysore, known for their rich heritage, palaces and monuments, now have more reasons to be proud of. Ancient trees located in the two districts have made it to the recently announced list of the State's ten heritage trees. Raju S Vijapur and Shyam Sundar Vattam unravel the history of these trees.

If these giant trees were to speak, what stories would they tell? Take the 883-year-old tamarind tree at Devara Hipparagi, for instance, or the 600-year-old adansonia digitata, situated near the famous Ibrahim Roza monument in Bijapur.

When the Biodiversity Board declared 10 trees in the State as 'heritage trees' under Section 63 (2) (i) of the Biological Diversity Act 2002 at a board meeting last month, three rare and ancient trees from Bijapur district figured in the list. This has meant a new feather in the cap of Bijapur, already known for its rich heritage. Of the three trees selected for the heritage tag, two are situated in and around Bijapur and one at Devara Hippargi in Sindhagi taluk of the district. The tamarind tree at Devara Hippargi is the oldest among the 10 identified trees across the State for the heritage tag. The tree has a girth of 7.78 m and height of 39.39 m.

Adil Shahi love for trees

Adansonia digitata, located near Bijapur's Ibrahim Roza monument in Bijapur has a girth of 10.84 m and height of 5 m. One more adansonia digitata identified by the KBB situated at Yogapur Dargah, near Bijapur, is a 359-year-old tree with 9.2-m girth and seven-metre height. Both these trees were planted during the reign of Adil Shahis.

"Adil Shahi kings had a great fascination for rare plants. They brought saplings of adansonia digitata from Turkey and planted them here. They looked after these unique plants like their children. They were known to organise exhibitions of these mammoth trees every year," says H G Daddi, the author of Adil Shahi Heritage Sites.

The bark of adansonia digitata tree looks like a dinosaur's skin with a hard and uneven surface. Its branches are short but huge in width.

"Fruits and flowers of these trees are used for medicinal purposes. We consider herbal medicine prepared out of this tree's flowers and fruits as a panacea for several critical diseases," says the chief of Yogapur Dargah, without revealing what those critical diseases are. The history of the tamarind tree at Devara Hippargi is not clear. No one knows who planted it or when. But elders of the town point out that the tree, spread across more than one acre of land, has been standing tall from "their great-great-grand-fathers' time." Situated in front of Mallayya temple on Sindhagi Road, the tree is looked after by the temple committee and elders of the town.

"These endangered species of trees represent the rich bio-diversity of the district. People must understand their historical and environmental importance and strive to protect them," appeals Daddi.

Mysore has more to be proud of

Mysore, the state's cultural capital and city of palaces has more reasons to be proud of. The recent list of heritage trees includes three trees from Mysore.

While a 200-year-old banyan tree (ficus bengalensis) is located at Chikkahalli on T Narasipur Road near the city, the two others are the 160-year-old peepal tree (ficus religiosa) located in the sprawling Manasagangotri campus and the 100-year-old red silk cotton tree (bombax ceiba).

The Paramparika Vruksha Rakshana Samiti, a local organisation that has been involved in protection of heritage trees, has already identified five trees in the city as 'heritage trees'. They include a 130-year-old tamarind tree (tamarindus indica) located in the Horticulture Department of University of Mysore and an old ber tree (zizybhus jujuba) which is located in the premises of Tamil Sangham on Vani Vilasa Road. Although a big branch of this tree has broken, it is still green. Besides, two more trees of over 120 years are located in the premises of two houses and they have not been included in that list.

It is still not known much many such heritage trees are located in the city. The Samithi has vowed to identify and protect all those trees. In fact, such identification of heritage trees is the first of its kind in the country. It is carrying out its mission silently thanks to initiative of two people K B Sadanand and A Ramalingu. The yardstick for declaring any tree as heritage by this organisation is that it should be more than 100 years, it should have medicinal values and it should be of Indian origin.

Banyan by the Varuna tank

The 200-year-old banyan tree is situated near Varuna Tank on T Narasipur road, 12 km from Mysore and hardly five km from Lalitha Mahal Palace. History has it that Mummadi Krishnaraja Wodeyar's wife Devarajammanni built this tank in 1828. She got the Madeshwara Temple constructed on the right side of the tank and ensured that an open space was left for temple maintenance. It is believed that workers who built the tank rested below this tree. People use parts of this tree to treat many ailments. Many birds take to the fruit of this tree. Elephants thrive on these leaves. The leaves of this tree are supplied to Dasara elephants that arrive at least one month before the festival begins. This tree was identified by Paramparika Vruksha Rakshana Samithi.

The peepal tree which is believed to be around 150 years old is situated next to Manasagangotri hostel. This is considered sacred for Hindus and the Buddhists. Because Bhagavan Buddha got enlightenment under this tree, it is also called Bhodhivruksha. This tree is also called Ashwathanarayana tree. A peepal tree taken from India to Srilanka around 2,000 years ago, is still said to be in Anuradhapura. Such trees are found in abundance from Punjab till the Himalayan ranges.

The red silk cotton tree is located at Curzon Park in the city. Its branches are very smooth and flowers and fruits of this tree are favourites of spotted deer and monkeys.

According to an announcement by Western Ghats Task Force Chairperson Anantha Hegde Ashisara, the trees are: Adansonia digitata-Malvaceae in Bijapur taluk, 600 years old; Adansonia digitata-Malvaceae in Bijapur taluk, 359 years old; Tamarindus Indica (tamarind) in Devarahipparagi village of Bijapur - 883 years old; Azadirachta Indica (Bevu) - at T Venkatapura in Chikkaballapur district 200 years old; Ficus Begalensis (Alada mara) in Chickkahalli in Mysore taluk - 260 years old; Ficus Religiosa (peepal) at Manasagangothri, Mysore - 160 years old; Kempu boorga mara, Palace Gate, Mysore - 130 years old; Ficus Bengalensis (Doddalada mara) - Kethohalli, Bangalore, 400 years old; Araucaria cooki - Lalbagh, 140-years old; Pilali (Ficus Micro Corpus) - in Banavasi of Shimoga district - 400 years old.

- Deccan Herald, August 24, 2010

WHILE most civic agencies have their goals concentrated on the Games, the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) has already set targets that will be started post-Games. The civic body will be cleaning 64.5 km of sewage pipes using super sucker machines after October.

The red silk cotton tree is located at Curzon Park in the city. Its branches are very smooth and flowers and fruits of this tree are favourites of spotted deer and monkeys.

Till then, Lutyens' Delhi will have to bear with sudden caveins and water-logging in the area, as the sewer pipes are very old and most of them have never been cleaned since they were built before Independence.

The sewerage network of the NDMC area is very vast -approximately 350 km -which was mostly constructed before 1947. While minor cleaning-up work is done when there are reports of clogging, the NDMC took up the task of cleaning or desilting them through machines a few years ago. Phase I of the work has been completed, which covered 43.5 km, and Phase II will begin soon. The budget has been estimated at Rs 6.5 crore, the lowest bidder being M/s WERM India Ltd.

The civic body used super sucker machines for the first time, through which sewage is collected by a machine without having to dig into the soil and without manually cleaning it, as was the case earlier. Mukesh Bhatt, an NDMC member, said the agency started using the new way of desilting pipes after the Supreme Court banned the manual entry into manholes that are more than five feet deep. "The question was whether we should begin work immediately or wait till the Games are over. We decided in favour of the latter as we are very busy with the Games work and cannot take on more work," said Bhatt.

This year, during the monsoons, the New Delhi area, one of the most VIP had four cases of cave ins and more than a dozen cases of water-logging each time it rained. More than 62 localities of the New Delhi area will benefit from the cleaning work. Prominent among them will be areas on which the embassies of Thailand, Poland, Canada and Australia. Kautilya Marg, CP Inner Circle, Regal Building compound, Park Street and Kali Bari Marg are some of the other areas that will be cleaned.

- Indian Express, August 24, 2010

While the controversy over mining in Bellary has grabbed the headlines for various political reasons, what has remained out of public attention is the threat posed by industrial activities to Asia's only sloth bear sanctuary — located in Daroji region.

Wildlife activists fear the State's recent move to attract the steel industry in the district could sound the death knell for the unique sanctuary.

The State Government recently cleared a proposal by a Delhi-based company to set up a 6-million tonne plant at an investment of `30,000 crore. According to sources in the Government, land acquisition process for the unit has commenced. The proposed plant is barely 500 metres from the periphery of the bear sanctuary.

The world famous Hampi ruins of the ancient Vijayanagar empire — a World Heritage monument — falls within 15 km of the site identified for the project and it too is threatened.

Talking to The Pioneer, Honorary Wildlife Warden of Bellary Santhosh Martin confirmed that land acquisition had begun for the plant that would adversely affect the sanctuary.

"Already we have lost Sandur hills as well as the surrounding hills. We have appealed to the Union Environment Minister against this unmindful action. The steel plant is to come up just 500 metres from the sanctuary. This is a violation all guidelines. Such decisions will destroy this great ecological masterpiece," Santhosh lamented.

Wildlife activist Samad Kottur called it the death knell for the endangered sloth bear. He said the proposed steel plant and the already existing industries in the vicinity will not only destroy endangered sloth bears but also harm the Hampi legacy in Hospet of Bellary district.

However, Chief Wildlife Warden of the State BK Singh denied any knowledge of the proposed industrialisation. "I have not received anything so far. I reserve my comments until I see the proposal that you are talking of," Singh said.

The rock-strewn hillocks that stretch between Daroji of Sandur taluka and Ramasagar in Hospet Taluka have been the abode of Indian sloth bears for long. The entire hill ranges around Hampi vicinity is believed to be the mythological Kishkinda Valley, referred to in Ramayan.

In October 1994, the State Government had declared 5,587.30 hectares of Bilikallu reserve forest as Daroji Bear Sanctuary. Later, another 26 sq km area of Bukkasagara reserve forest was merged with it.

More than 180 sloth bears live in the sanctuary that is also home to leopards, hyena, jackals, wild boars, porcupine, pangolins, star tortoise, monitor lizard, mongoose, pea fowls, partridges, painted spur fowl, quails etc. About 200 species of birds and 50 species of butterflies have also been identified here in a survey.

The sanctuary has innumerable wild fruit-bearing trees and bushes like kavale (Carissa carandas), jane (Grewia teliafolia), ulupi (Grewia salvitidia), nerale (Eugenea jambolana) and bore (Zyziphus jujuba), among others. Sloth bears eat these fruits, disperse the seeds and thus keep the forest alive.

- The Pioneer, August 25, 2010

The change that has come over the 1,200-year old Kailasanathar temple at Uttaramerur, about 90 km from Chennai, is unbelievable. The temple, which was in total ruins, with dense vegetation growing over its vimana (the tower above the sanctum) and collapsed mantapas, looks as good as new today. The vimana has been restored to its original beauty, its broken stucco figurines re-created, the foundation's granite stones re-stitched and the fallen mantapas re-erected. REACH Foundation, a non-governmental organisation, was behind this massive restoration and conservation effort.

"There were many challenges in this restoration and conservation work," said T. Satyamurthy, founder of the Foundation and former Superintending Archaeologist, Archaeological Survey of India, who led the efforts. He said: "We overcame the challenges. The vimana has been conserved and restored, using as much as possible international techniques. The front mantapa, which had completely collapsed, stands majestically again. The arthamantapa has been re-assembled. The entire structure has been water-tightened. Not a drop of water can enter it now."

The restoration process, which began on June 3, 2008, yielded a bonanza. Six inscriptions, one of Aditya Chola, (regnal years 871 - 907 CE), three of Rajendra Chola (regnal years 1012-1044 CE), one belonging to the Vijayanagara king Krishnadevaraya (early 16th century CE) and another of the late Vijayanagara period were found. A beautiful sculpture of a young bull (Nandi) and bas reliefs of Tamil Saivite saints Sundarar, Tirugnana Sambandar and Appar were among the other discoveries. Ballustraded steps of the Pallava period were excavated. ( The Hindu, June 1 and November 20, 2008).

This Kailasanathar temple was built by the Pallava king Dantivarman towards the end of the 8th century CE. It was "a Mahaprasada," that is, "a great temple."

The sanctum sanctorum was built with two walls -inner and outer running around it, with an intervening space, called the sandhara type. The vimana rose over the inner wall. Thus the inner wall bore the entire weight of the vimana which was built of bricks. A solid shikara crowned the vimana. With dense vegetation including a tree growing over the vimana, its bricks had cracked on three sides. On the northern side, the crack was three-foot wide.

The cracks had dislodged the vimana's beautiful stucco figurines, which had fallen. The plinth's granite slabs had moved from their positions. Dr. Satyamurthy said, "The cracks in the vimana posed a major problem.

The challenge was whether to keep the plinth as it is or reconstruct it completely by dismantling its stone members and re-assembling them. We were not sure whether the plinth will bear the weight of the vimana." The staff and students of the Civil Engineering Department of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Madras, stitched the plinth's granite slabs with mild steel. They tested a few slabs by providing the same stress on them as the vimana would have. They found that the stitching would bear the vimana's weight.

The front mantapa, built by the Vijayanagara rulers, had collapsed because it had no proper footing. In re-erecting it, all its old members were used. "This was a redeeming feature," said P.N. Subramanian, trustee, REACH Foundation.

V. Venkatakrishnan, agriculturist from Uttraramerur, provided the finance for the restoration by selling his land. Although the peepul tree, which had grown over the vimana, had damaged it, it had its own use. A woman devotee bought it and transplanted it in an ashram's premises.

"We successfully restored the brick vimana by using lime plaster which was accepted by it. If we had used cement, it would have rejected it," explained Dr. Satyamurthy.

- The Hindu, August 25, 2010

The grand plan of authorities to redo the old Delhi and spruce up majestic Mughal-era buildings and historical Chandni Chowk for thousands of tourists during the Commonwealth Games has come a cropper thanks to the inefficiency and tardiness of the officials concerned. The ambitious project of illuminating heritage sites, opening souvenir shops and snazzy cafeteria has also been scaled down and these facilities would be available at only a few chosen places and that, too, on a much reduced scale.

From the initial plan of removing all the encroachments from the dense old Delhi and jazzing up the monuments and buildings, municipal and government sources said they are now concentrating on simply cleaning up the place so that visitors do not have to face heaps of garbage and filth around.

Out of more than 1,200 monuments in the Capital, Archeological society of India (ASI) and State Archeological Department had undertaken beautification of 60 prominent monuments. But the rains have derailed the work.

An ASI official said they had brought down their estimates for illuminating monuments and narrowed down to 13 of them out of 46. So far only five of them, Safdarjung Tomb, Red Fort, Purana Qila, Qutub Minar and Humayun's Tomb, have been lit up and the remaining eight are unlikely to be illuminated as they are not left with enough time, the official added.

"Most plans were not approved on time. Payments were delayed and the disagreements between various agencies led to months of delay," he said.

Many heritage sites are a mess these days. The rains have brought construction works to a halt. "We have laid the foundation. But we cannot proceed until the rains stop. The plaster needs time to settle and it is getting washed away, day after day," said one of the contractors.

Cafeterias or food kiosks were to be set up within the protected areas of five monuments: Red Fort, Qutub Minar, Humayun's Tomb, Purana Qila and Jantar Mantar. However, ASI's failure to even float tenders so far has left experts wondering if the project will be ready on time. Other tenders, including those of public toilets, were floated only recently and rains have hit the work hard.

Some heritage experts have also questioned the quality of work being carried out at many places.

- The Tribune, August 28, 2010

The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) told the Andhra Pradesh High Court on Friday that the proposed gold-plating of walls of the sanctum sanctorum of Lord Venkateswara temple at Tirumala would deteriorate the stone fabrics of the ancient temple. The ASI submitted a report to the court pursuant to its direction on a petition filed against the gold-plating project. It said that experts, who visited Tirumala on May 11, 2010, noticed that gold-plated copper sheet was fixed along with nails over the upper part of the sanctum sanctorum.

The experts opined that fixing copper sheet over the wooden ply and then fixing it on the wooden frame by drilling holes was against conservation and preservation of ancient monuments.

They said that due to the project, the inscriptions will be lost from view.

HC refuses to vacate order in BMW case Justice P.V. Sanjay Kumar of the AP High Court on Friday refused to vacate the interim orders pertaining to a probe against BMW India Ltd. The court had earlier directed that the investigating agency limit itself to allegations of defects in a car sold to a customer and check if similar defects, if any, were there in the cars sold to third parties.

- Deccan Chronicle, August 28, 2010

The Sikhs attacked the Red Fort on March 11,1783, and hoisted the Nishan Sahib. The Emperor offered a treaty, and accepted their terms, writes Major-Gen Kulwant Singh (retd)

Nadir Shah's brutal offensives and eight invasions by Ahmed Shah Abdali had made the Mughal Empire fragile and weak. Sikhs had emerged as a strong and powerful force in northern India. The Sikhs eventually halted Abdali's invasions. Under the leadership of Dal Khalsa chief Sardar Jassa Singh Ahluwalia, the Sikhs refused an alliance, and instead challenged Abdali for battle. They were anxious to avenge the killing of over 20,000 Sikhs, mostly women, children and old people, and also destruction and desecration of the Golden Temple. Sensing defeat, Abdali called it a day, and finally returned to Afghanistan, never to come back again. The vast area of the Indian subcontinent lying between the Indus and the Yamuna was free from foreign rule.

With no enemy in the North, and Shah Alam II at the head of the decaying Mughal Empire at Delhi, the powerful 12 misals had a free run in increasing their influence in all directions, from the Indus to the Yamuna, seeking rakhi (protection money) from various small chiefs, nawabs and rajas.

The Marathas, after their defeat by Abdali in the third battle of Panipat in 1761, were marginalised, and the Rohillas were a spent force. The English were in the process of finding their place at Delhi. It was easy for the Sikh misals to cross the Yamuna and make forays towards Delhi and beyond. The misals did not owe any allegiance to each other, except when the Sarbat Khalsa, through a Gurmatta, resolved to attack a common target. Baghel Singh's Karor Singhia Misal was operating in south-east Punjab. He was a very able leader of men, a good political negotiator, and was able to win over many adversaries to his side. The Mughals, the Marathas, the Rohillas, the Jats and the British sought his friendship, and, above all, he was a devout Sikh; amrit prachar was his passion.

Karor Singhia was one of the strongest misals with 12,000 well- trained horsemen. The combined strength under Baghel Singh, including soldiers of a few sardars who joined him, was well over 40,000. He captured territories much beyond Delhi to include Meerut, Khurja, Aligarh,Tundla, Shikhohabad, Farrukhabad, Agra and many other rich townships around Delhi, and collected tributes and rakhi from nawabs and rajas. He captured Saharanpur and overran the Rohilla territory in April 1775. In March 1776, Baghel Singh's forces gave a crushing defeat to the Mughal army near Muzaffarnagar; thus Sikhs extended their influence on the whole of the Yamuna-Gangetic doab.

Baghel Singh invaded Delhi on January 8, 1774, and captured the area up to Shahdara. The second invasion was on July 17, 1775, when the Sikhs captured the area around the present-day Pahar Ganj and Jai Singhpura. Bulk of the fighting took place where present-day New Delhi is located. Sikhs temporarily withdrew due to shortage of supplies, but they kept the agenda of the Red Fort alive, and continued domination and intrusions into the Emperor's territory surrounding Delhi.

By early 1783, the Sikhs commenced preparations for the capture of the Red Fort. A force of 60,000 under the leadership of Sardar Jassa Singh Ahluwalia and Sardar Baghel Singh assembled at Ghaziabad, continuing their attacks and capturing rich towns around Delhi. Enormous booty was collected by Sikhs, which was sent to Punjab with an escort of 20,000 soldiers. One-tenth of this booty was sent to the Golden Temple as offering to the Guru.

On March 8 the Sikhs captured Malka Ganj and Sabzi Mandi. Prince Mirza Shikoh, on orders from the Emperor, tried to stop the invaders but suffered defeat, and fled. On March 9 they captured Ajmeri Gate. There was a panic in the city; many took shelter in the fort. Jassa Singh Ramgarhia joined the Sikh forces at the last moment with 10,000 soldiers. As many as 30,000 Sikh horsemen of Baghel Singh's army were camping at a place now known as Tees Hazari, location of the Delhi High Court.

The Sikhs attacked the Red Fort on March 11,1783. The Emperor and all his guards, in fact every one in the fort, hid themselves. The story goes that an insider informed Sikhs of a weak spot in the wall of the fort, where the soldiers made a hole by ramming it with wooden logs; the place is named as Mori Gate, the location of Inter State Bus terminus (ISBT).

The Sikhs entered the Red Fort, hoisted the kesri Nishan Sahib, and occupied Diwan-e-aam, a key location in the fort, where the Emperor, sitting on the throne, used to have audience with the public. In a symbolic gesture, Jassa Singh Ahluwalia was made to sit on the throne, which made him the Emperor. His old rival and his name-sake, Jassa Singh Ramgarhia, joined by some other chiefs, opposed Ahluwalia's sitting on the throne. Before the event took an ugly turn, Jassa Singh Ahluwalia gracefully vacated the throne and, thus, avoided a controversy amongst the chiefs at a critical moment.

The Emperor was quick to reconcile with the Sikhs; he offered a treaty and accepted their terms. The Emperor was to pay Rs 3 lakh as nazrana. The kotwali area was to remain the property of the Sikhs. Baghel Singh was allowed to construct gurdwaras on all sites connected with Sikh history. Baghel Singh was to retain 4,000 soldiers till his task was completed; the Emperor was to pay all expenses. The Sikh army left the fort after the treaty.

The Sikh conquered the Red Fort, but they missed a great opportunity and failed to exploit the advantage of being the strongest force.

- The Tribune, August 29, 2010

In contrast to the grand Jama Masjid, Fatehpuri Masjid, built by one of Shah Jahan's wives, is subtle and subdued

The smell of spices being unloaded and loaded at Khari Baoli hasn't yet drowned the sweet scent of marigold. It's early morning and the flower market at Fatehpuri has barely folded up for the day. Rampyari has bought flower garlands to offer in a shivalaya at nearby Katra Neel. But first she takes a turn to enter the Fatehpuri Masjid. We follow her to the 17th century mosque at the western end of Chandni Chowk, counter balancing the Red Fort at the opposite end.

A contrast to the grand Jama Masjid, Fatehpuri Masjid is subtle and subdued. The red sandstone structure, with one dome, three gateways, not so tall minarets, dainty little fountain and tank in the courtyard, is without the flamboyance of the mosque that Shah Jahan built. This one was built by Fatehpuri Begum, one of Shah Jahan's wives. The queen, whose actual name is not known, also built a madrasa.

What's striking about the structure is the geometric symmetry of its arches and pillars. The dome looks like a marble one but is actually lime and mortar. The lack of lavishness is what makes the mosque unique—there's a feminine charm to its simplicity that makes one wonder whether it's akin to its builder's personality. The beauty of the monument was, however, not a deterrent for the British, who after quelling the 1857 revolt, closed this mosque and stationed their horses in its courtyard, just as they used the mosque built by Shah Jahan's grand daughter Zeenut-un-nisa at Darya Ganj as a bakery. Later, Lala Chunnamal, whose haveli stands near the Fatehpuri Masjid, bought the mosque from the British for Rs 19,000. It was not before 1877 that the mosque was restored to the Muslims of Delhi.

Rampyari, meanwhile, didn't seem inclined to admire the mosque or appreciate its historic significance. Instead, she rushed to the Shahi Imam's chamber at one end of the courtyard and finding him busy with Ramzan-related preparations, poured out her woes to the Imam's son, Md Anas Ahmad. She wanted a tabeez for her wayward and alcoholic husband. "My life is hell," she cried as the young man consoled her. He prayed for her for a while and gave her a talisman. Her mission accomplished, a relieved Rampyari left.

It's about to rain with dark clouds hovering over the while dome. Unlike Jama Masjid where a flight of steps can lead one to the panoramic view of the walled city, here, behind the arched gates the city is invisible and one sees just the sky overhead. Md Anas Ahmad says Rampyari is not an exception. "People irrespective of religion have faith in the spiritual atmosphere of the mosque. It was here that religious debate between Bishop Lefroy and Sharf-ul-Haq took place in the last century. Lala Chunnamal's descendants used to visit us till a few years ago. And even former President A P J Abdul Kalam offered prayers here," he says.

In the courtyard, one can't miss the graves of former Imams and spiritual leaders. But the builder of the mosque was not laid to rest here. Fatehpuri Begum, along with another wife of Shah Jahan, Akbarabadi Begum, rests at the southern point of the 60-bigha Taj Mahal complex, under the shadow of the emperor and his favourite wife.

- The Indian Express, August 29, 2010

Different facets of Lord Krishna's life have been depicted in the art and cultural heritage of the entire Hadoti region in Rajasthan. Miniature paintings at the royal palaces in Kota, Bundi, Jhalawar etc have Krishna themes.

According to Krishna Mahawar, a painter from Kota, "In the Hadoti kalam, Krishna has been depicted extensively ranging from simple images, raas, Radha-Krishna divine love episodes, Meera-Krishna and mythological themes etc". Experts owe the extensive presence of Krishna in art to the rulers and kings, who worshipped him.

At the famous art gallery Chitrashala, known for the Bundi School of Paintings, the colours are limited to blue, green and turquoise. Scenes of Krishna's life are still in very good condition. The Badal Mahal has paintings with mythological themes. Different moods of Krishna have been depicted in style. The paintings at Badal Mahal depict the colourful raasand maharaas and the images of Ranganathji and raas-leela etc. Krishna has also been depicted in theBara Masa series from the Chaitra to Phalgun months of the Hindu calendar with Krishna as the subject.

Abdul Hanif, artist photographer from Government College, Kota, says, "Even today, people prefer to take Krishna or Radha-Krishna paintings more than other subjects in silk, paper or cloth".

Chandrashekhar, an artist from the Kota Art Gallery, says, "In the traditional style of Kota-Bundi paintings, the Bhagvadagita has been thoroughly depicted with the images of Krishna as Balkrishna, Gopikrishna, Radha Krishna and Rasik Bihari Krishna. The Pichwai paintings on cloth are also very popular here."

In the personal collection of the erstwhile ruler of Jhalawar, a room with paintings has been dedicated exclusively to Shrinathji. The depiction of Mathuradheeshji and Shrinathji has been done wonderfully. Well-known painter Ashish from Bundi says, "Kota has also been a centre of Pushti Margiya sect religious activities. Lord Krishna has been depicted in the Kota style in innumerable ways. Themes like Bal Leela, cow grazing and Makhan Leela etc are aplenty."

According to Ashish Shringi, a young artist, "The Bundi, Kota, Jhalawar and other styles of the local thikanascan be called the Hadoti style and Krishna has been dominant in it. The royal palace of Kota is famous for its wall paintings, which has scenes from the legend of Lord Krishna."

- The Tribune, August 29, 2010

Delhi knows Mahmood Farooqui the dastango. Now meet Farooqui the scholar. A scholar who is disarming, even diffident, acknowledging the contributions of others with generosity. And what makes his book, Besieged: Voices from Delhi 1857, special is his sense of delight and curiosity, and a style that moves between the sober and the theatrical. Begin the book not on Page 1 but with the dramatic paragraph on pages 429-30, and you won't put it down.

Some years ago I counted over 200 books on 1857. And they continue to be published, in inverse proportion to the discussions on 1857 in our school and college history courses. Twice — in 1957 and in 2007 — the government got into the act. Roads were renamed, memorial parks were planned, the Red Fort was brushed and cleaned and lit up, speeches made... But the archived treasures of 1857 have hardly been mined. For 150 years, the Mutiny Papers — Persian and Urdu documents (20,000 according to William Dalrymple, 10,000 according to Farooqui,) from Shahjahanabad city's thanas — remained undisturbed and undusted, first in the Imperial Record Department in Calcutta and then in Lutyens' beautiful building in Delhi, the National Archives of India. Except that in 1921 the officials published a detailed Press List of the Delhi Mutiny Papers, in English (in 12 volumes), so that some of us got a sense of the documents, though we could not read the original.

Few scholars of modern Indian history could decipher the shikastah (literally, "broken") script, and those who could were not scholars of modern history. Obviously a partnership was called for, and this happened when Dalrymple came along, and found Mahmood (read the first paragraph of the "Acknowledgments" in The Last Mughal). The result was two books for the price of one arduous four-year stint in the Archives, deciphering, transcribing and then translating. In the process, Farooqui admits in his book, that he has "stuck to the outward form and ignored the internal rhythms" since the documents are not only difficult to decipher, but also lack punctuation marks.

Dalrymple incorporated only those documents which filled out his narrative. Farooqui has now published the text of as many as 400, in 15 sections, along with 50 pages of translated excerpts from the 1857 issues of Dehli Urdu Akhbar. This book is, therefore, both a primary source as well as an analysis of how the inhabitants locked inside Delhi lived through those difficult four months, coexisting with 70,000 soldiers forcibly billeted on them. Farooqui refers more than once to the writings of that brilliant scholar of the French Revolution, Richard Cobb. Both Cobb and Farooqui extract from day-to-day police records the many stories of people caught in a crisis not of their making, one in Paris and the other in Delhi.

Some of the cases documented in Farooqui's book are such as could have occurred in uneventful times. But we get vivid accounts of the rebels' government negotiating with local bankers and banias to secure money and supplies without resorting to force. There are delightful anecdotes about dhobis stealing clothes given for washing, and women running away with soldiers. Bahadur Shah alternates between being a statesman-like ruler and getting irritated by the soldiers' importunations, and threatening to retire to Bakhtiyar Kaki's dargah. Not all the documents narrate stories which we can follow through to the end, but even the glimpses are enough to bring Delhi to life in a way never before available, not even from the letters of Ghalib and his diaries, published as Dastanbu.

In 1857, Delhi was still regulated by the Mughal police-system. The barqandaz (police constables) reported to the thanadars, who were under the jurisdiction of the kotwal, who communicated with the Commander-in-Chief and the King. What marked a break with Mughal governance was that the Army Chief and the King in 1857 functioned within the limits of a written constitution. The Constitution of the "Court of Mutineers" (the governing council which the soldiers themselves referred to by the English term "Court [of] Administration") is a truly remarkable document. If this were seen as reflecting a modern political outlook superimposed on a medieval system of governance, one can understand Farooqui's enthusiastic comparison of this brief period in Indian history with the long saga of the French Revolution.

Farooqui cautions us against assuming that the Muslim mutineers were jihadis. The excerpts from the Dehli Urdu Akhbar help correct stereotypes — its editor Mohammed Baqar's exhortations to jihad were matched by his informed references to mythology in his appeals to Hindus to fight the British. The term qaum is used frequently, but to mean not a community but occupation/caste.

The 50th anniversary of 1857 was marked by V.D. Savarkar's feverishly "patriotic" The Indian War of Independence, 1857. Consistently banned by the government, the book in its title had coined a phrase which came in handy for political leaders across the spectrum. In 1957, the centenary year, Surendra Nath Sen, commissioned by the government, wrote the meticulously-researched Eighteen Fifty Seven, which set the pattern for more work of the same kind, all using English archival material. The year 2007 saw celebratory books of varying quality, but hopefully Beseiged has laid out a different way to look at 1857-59. And again, hopefully the translations will be translated back into Urdu and Hindi, to reach a wider audience.

- Deccan Chronicle, August 29, 2010

In her quest for some lesser-known spots, Aradhika Sharma discovers a beautiful monastery near Solan

Our discovery of the Menri Bön Monastery (or the Yung Drung Ling,) was as sudden as it was delightful. A few friends had planned a Sunday trip to the hills to Giri Ganga, close to Solan, and try and find some untouched spots — may be go down to the river there, attempt to catch some fish, or maybe a short trek. To our delight, we discovered that there was a monastery just a few kilometres off the road near Ochhaghat, which is the Narag-Sarahan road.

This unexpected fillip added even more excitement to our expedition. The drive to the monastery was through the lush greenery of the yet virgin hills, through the hills and dales, until Riyaal, the youngest amongst us, yelped in glee on spotting the golden roofs.

Built at several levels on the hillside, one has to climb a few flights of stairs to reach the main temple. There is a huge basketball court on way to the temple, where you are likely to see little monks dribbling ball.

You climb further and pass a modern guesthouse, go through the living quarters of the monks, and then to the main temple, which rises proudly from a precisely planned garden. White stairs lead to the veranda where a sign requests you to remove your shoes.

There are vast red pillars on either side, holding up colourful frescoed brackets, leading to rooms on top. The roofs are in the typical Tibetan sloping style, golden in colour, embellished with rich decorations that have come to characterise Tibetan religious edifices. Huge doors lead into the temple.

While we were still trying to get our breaths back from its sheer majesty, we spotted two monks atop the roof, wearing a curious headdress, chanting in deep voices. Evidently, it was a call for prayers because many monks were hurrying up the stairs. We saw a monk beckoning us to the main temple doors, which, to our disappointment, had been locked. "Do you want to go inside?" he asked.

"Oh, yes, please," we chorused. He smiled and unlocked the doors, and we entered the vast hall, with the statue of the Thanka Sherab, our monk guide told us, in the centre of the opposite walls. Lined in precise rows were desks with low stools, where monks conduct prayers and study. Strange and fascinating musical instruments were specifically placed. We were told that they were used during the 'big prayers'.

I wanted to know where the monks had been hurrying to and was told that they were at prayer in another complex behind the temple. We found ourselves in another, smaller hall, amidst student monks chanting prayers.

At the end of the prayers, the monks were served food from the adjoining kitchen, right there in the prayer hall. They were served steamed flour cakes, somewhat in the shape of small croissants and in their bowls (every monk has his own) was poured a thick dal.

Back at the temple, we met a Bön monk from France, who explained that the Tibetan Bön religion has its roots in pre-Buddhist religious practices. The Bön religion developed at the same time as Buddhism in the 7th century. Today, Bön forms a structured doctrine, but had had to go through a long struggle for identity. In 1978, the Dalai Lama acknowledged the Bön religion as a school with its own practices after visiting the newly built Bön monastery in Dolanji.

The followers of Bön are known as the Bönpo, and unlike the Buddhist monks who wear yellow-orange robes, they wear deep maroon robes with a royal blue vest.

We were told that this monastery is known as Menri Monastery and is the second oldest Bön Monastery in the world (after the one in Tibet). It was founded in 1969 by the Abbot Lungtog Tenpai Nyima. At the time of inception, there were around a 100 monks. Now, there are more than 350 residents. Large Tibetan-style buildings have come up to house the new temples, a library, dormitories, health centre, nunnery and a Bön Dialectic School.

Menri Monastery is the seat for all spiritual and administrative aspects of the Bönpos worldwide. The chief lama of Menri Monastery is Menri Trizin, who, at 80 years of age, is also the titular head of all Bönpos.

The world is now getting to know that Tibet is not synonymous with Buddhism, but is also home to this other great religion of the world.

FACT FILE

How to reach: The monastery is located 12 km from Solan, one needs to take a minor road at Ochhaghat, which is the Narag-Sarahan road.

Distances to Solan: Delhi 315 km, Kalka 42 km, Chandigarh 68 km and Shimla 48 km. From Chandigarh, one can either take a bus or drive down. By train, it is midway on Kalka-Shimla narrow gauge train.

What to eat: You will have to stop at Solan for food. There are plenty of dhabas and small restaurants there. Or one may carry your food and drink. The residents speak Hindi and a smattering of English.

Where to stay: There are plenty of luxury and budget hotels to suit every pocket. Those who plan to stay, can visit www.travelmasti.com/solan.htm and http://indoexpedition.com/solanhotels.html for further information

Other places of interest: Jatoli Shiv temple (6 km from Solan): This is an old temple. Every year an annual fair is organised here on Mahashivratri.

Barog railway station (8 km from Solan): Inspired by Scottish architecture, Barog's railway station, on the Kalka-Shimla train route, is one of the most picturesque stations.

Giri river (20 km from Solan): The banks of the Giri river, 20 km from Solan, offer some great picnic spots

Sholoni Devi Temple in Solan: This beautiful temple is dedicated to goddess Sholoni Devi. It is famous for Sholoni Devi fair, celebrated with great fervour in June.

- The Tribune, August 29, 2010

For fear of an onslaught by lunatic fringe environmentalists, I begin with a prologue. I am a fanatical environmentalist. I remember with deep nostalgia India's rivers when they were clean and Delhi's air so clear that at night you could count the stars. I remember when tigers wandered about thefarms my cousins had in the 'terai' of Uttar Pradesh. When INTACH began its campaign to clean the Ganga in 1985, I, who write for a living, wrote an action plan of more than 30,000 words for free. And, I wept when Rajiv Gandhi made the project governmental and killed it. I long to see real environmental movements that would clean our rivers, save our forests and give our children clean air to breathe. This is why I think of fake environmentalists as criminals and fake environmental concerns as a crime against India.

In the Niyamgiri hills, this is what could be happening and for Rahul Gandhi to go there last week and speak of the clash between 'rich India' and 'poor India' is most disturbing.If Vedanta succeeded in making aluminum close to a bauxite source, as it had planned in Orissa, world prices of aluminum could have fallen by half and India may have become an important aluminum producer. So, was it the powerful international aluminum lobby that persuaded idle socialites from London and New York to take up the fight against Vedanta? It is a question worth investigating. Assomeone who has actually been to Kalahandi, I would like to state clearly that the Adivasis live in such horrible poverty and deprivation that such exalted ideas as cultural heritage are irrelevant. In 1987, when I visited remote Kalahandi villages, there was a drought and the single crop had failed. I saw children dying slowly of hunger on the mud floors of bare huts. They had eaten nothing but birdseed for six months. If Vedanta had succeeded in bringing schools, hospitals and employment to Kalahandi, it would have transformed the bleak, hopeless lives of those who live here. It is a shame that this has been prevented by an Environment Minister whose concerns may be genuine but who appears to be in the clutches of some very dubious NGOs. He keeps forgetting that in 2010, development is not necessarily the enemy of the environment. This is how it used to be in bad, old socialist times when it was mostly government factories that poisoned our air and polluted our rivers. Private industry found it harder to break the rules because of the inspector raj. Today a company like Vedanta is forced to do everything in the full glare of international publicity. If it does not replace the trees it cuts, if it does not ensure that local people are paid well for the land they sell, if the promised schools and hospitals do not get built,Vedanata will be vilified in the forums of the world.

If Jairam Ramesh is genuinely concerned about preserving the environment, he needs to begin by ensuring that India does not make the same mistakes that other countries did when they were developing. Since he appears to be fervently concerned, why has this not already happened? Why do we not have clear guidelines about what can and cannot be done? What should planners keep in mind when they plan an airport, a railway station, a port or a road? What should planners keep in mind when they build a city? What should companies like Vedanta keep in mind when they decide to build a factory in an area full of forests and primitive tribes? Once there are clear guidelines it will become easier to put a systemof environmental clearances in place and make it a rule that if anyone stops a major project once it is cleared they will be locked up and the key thrown away.

As an ardent environmentalist, I have paid close attention to NGOs who operate in the name of the environment and have to sadly report that 99 per cent of the ones I have run into are fakes whose main 'environmental' concern is seeing their mugs on prime time. It is frightening that people like this have so much power not just over the Governmentof India but over the man who would be Prime Minister. When Rahul Gandhi said last week to the Adivasis of Niyamgiri that he was their 'sipahi' in Delhi, what exactly did he mean? Did he mean that he thinks they have a standard of living that he will help them preserve? Did he mean that he wants them to remain backward and primitive? He needs to explain because as someone more likely to be Prime Minister of this country than anyone else we need to know what his dream is for India.

- The Indian Express, August 29, 2010

Forget the Commonwealth Games. They will pass. Our national capital – occupied, abandoned, rebuilt over centuries – will remain and this may be the right week to 'celebrate' Delhi, considering it has just got its own logo and a theme song that exhorts every resident to sing from a heart that beats in time with their restless city.

These two books spin the brand new theme song, "Dilli meri jaan, dilli meri shaan", in two ways. Mala Dayal's anthology consists of 11 essays on various aspects of Delhi – how it was built; how it was planted; the food that sustains it; its lingo; sufi shrines and music. It has academic rigour and folksiness enough for a 360-degree view of a city that is rapidly – despite the Games – metamorphosing into a great megapolis of a mighty emerging power. But Supriya Sahai's black and white sketches of life as seen on Delhi's roads, completes the somewhat seminar-like feel of the other.

Khushwant Singh's account "My father, the builder" kicks off "Celebrating Delhi". Anyone who bought the book for just this one essay might be justly pleased. It is a simple and heartfelt story told by a man who disarmingly confesses at the outset that he has "done no research on the building of New Delhi" from "barren waste". But Singh, of course, has "lived" the building of the new capital of the Raj, internalizing the travails of converting "brick kilns" into a stately imperial seat of government. "My memory goes back to the time when there was no city but a lot of brick kilns," he writes, recounting the miniature train that ran from Badarpur "up to what is now Connaught Circus...it brought sand, gravel, stones and other building material and deposited them at different sites...my grandparents, parents and my elder brother and I lived in a large shack. My earliest recollection is of being woken up by the deafening roar of the 'ara' machines cutting stones with iron saws into different sizes, and the tick, tick, tick of masons chiselling stones into patterns..."

Slowly, over three years from 1919, the city began to rise, Singh continues. By 1929, major buildings had been completed. Singh's father, Sobha, was the contractor who built much of it, executing the builder's equivalent of the great Indian rope trick by transplanting, at the dead of night, Delhi's two foundation stones by bullock-cart from Kingsway Camp to Raisina Hill. Among other things, the senior Singh appeared to be tremendously clear-sighted, buying land in what is now Karol Bagh and Connaught Place (probably India's priciest real estate today) for two annas and two rupees a square yard respectively.

Subsequent essays by Pradip Kishen, William Dalrymple, Narayani Gupta and Priti Narain describe why the new city was planted with certain kinds of trees; the religious if paradoxically secular proclamations issued by the Mughal court during the 1857 uprising; how place names conjure up Delhi's vanished landscapes and should be zealously guarded and the peculiarities of the food the city has eaten down the centuries.

"Delhi on the road" is a simpler story with a startlingly broad scope. Sketches tell Delhi's tale, wandering Mughal structures and modern bylanes crammed with cigarette and car parts shops. Among other things, Sahai looks at "a packed parking lot in Connaught Place", leaving the reader with a view of a city, old and new, busy and big-hearted. Living in Delhi is reason enough to have both books on the shelf. Not living in Delhi is not reason enough to not have them.

- The Times of India, August 29, 2010

Hoysala kings made Dwarasamudra (today's Halebeedu) their capital for nearly 200 years. But today, the sculptures and temples that King Vishuvardhana commissioned during his reign are slowly losing their beauty. The Hoysaleshwara temple complex was constructed by Ketumalla, the commander of Vishnuvardhana. Ketumalla was a great Shaivaite.

The two temples he constructed are the Hoysaleshwara temple and the Shantaleshwara temple, both within the same complex, but the temples are ill-maintained.

There are attempts to ensure the inclusion of Halebeedu in the list of World Heritage sites, but it is sad that the carvings and relief works on the walls of the temples here are fading. Also, the stones seem to be crumbling, albeit very gradually.

If appropriate action is not taken, there is danger of the temple complex losing its original charm.

The whole structure has been built in the Vesara style of architecture on a star-shaped complex. The sculptures are all very attractive even today. But one can notice a kind of fungus on some of the sculptures.

A lot of money was spent on installation of electric lights in the temple, but the lights did not function for a long time, and have been removed now. But pipes and wires that still jut out of the temple walls have robbed the temple of its beauty.

During the time of installation of over a thousand lights in the temple, many holes have been drilled into walls recklessly, spoiling the beauty of the place. Though the roof of the temple complex was repaired, it continues to leak during the rainy season.

One hopes that these rare sculptures are given more attention by the Archaeological Department.

- Deccan Herald, August 31, 2010

A piece of floral decoration of one of the minarets of Charminar broke and fell off on Sunday night during heavy downpour.

The historic 418-year-old monument is soaked due to spells of heavy rains every night since last Sunday, and parts of the minarets that are carved in lime-mortar paste broke loose. A huge chunk fell off from the 48-metre high minaret facing Unani Medicine Hospital late on Sunday night. Parts of this particular minaret were repaired and renovated about a year ago. Build by Mohammed Quli Qutb Shah in 1591, Charminar is made of granite and lime mortar paste. No one was injured in the incident.

The Director of Archaeology and Museums, Prof Peddarpu Chenna Reddy, said the chunk that fell off is a protective outer layer and could be replicated using near-original material and affixed to the minaret again.

The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) had recently completed renovating parts of the monument. ASI officials said the original plaster was peeling off and they have re-plastered it with a near-original mixture.

In spite of frequent renovations, Charminar, Hyderabad's pride, looks shabby and in need of repairs. Recently, the National Geographical Research Institute, Hyderabad, (NGRI) sent a report to the ASI warning that vibrations caused by movement of traffic around Charminar may start affecting the foundations of the pillars.

Charminar area sees dense traffic throughout the day and late into the night. The NGRI had studied the effect on Charminar caused by the vibrations from traffic movement on all four sides and had suggested that all traffic should be halted or be diverted 40 feet away.

The ASI is concerned about the blackening of the structure due to pollution and has taken up chemical cleaning, which it hopes will also reveal if the monument has developed air cracks. ASI officials say the place is increasingly becoming congested and the number of vehicles passing the area has increased four-fold in the past five years.

At present, there's traffic movement less than five feet away from the monument.

- Indian Express, August 31, 2010