CHARU RAM, who started collecting Raja Ravi Varf’s prints around 20 years back, has come up with an exhibition of the master’s artworks in the Capital. She talks to TEAM VIVA about the era when every household had at least six prints of the artist

In an age when painting was a craft considered best suited to folk artists, Raja Ravi Varma observed and got inspired from the British portrait painters and produced work that is revered even today. A very progressive thinker, Varma is credited with visualising the anthropomorphic forms of the plethora of Indian gods and goddesses and for also introducing a new style known as Company Art. To pay tribute to this great artist with royal lineage, Apparao Galleries has come up with an exhibition of his oleographs titled, After Ravi Varma, in Triveni Kala Sangam. The exhibition boasts of 260 original prints — 136 original frames and 132 without frames — by Charu Ram.

A Karnatic musician by profession, Ram is a passionate art collector and has been collecting Varma’s works for over 20 years and although has exhibited a few prints in Chennai, this is the first time she has put up for sale all the original antique printed series of Varma’s artwork. “I revived interest in the legendary painter in 1990. I also did an exhibition at the Indian Habitat Centre in 2006 but only with a few prints of oil reproductions by Varma. I was so busy collecting them that I never thought of making money out of them. Only recently when I realised that my collection is now huge, I thought, why not? People are very fond of antique art nowadays.” She adds, “Now I only have one Kartika print left with me which the packers forgot to take with them.”

Rama recollects how 19 years ago, when she bought her first Ravi Varma print, art prices were moderate but became costlier with each passing year. “Since I wanted to buy all 115 subjects he got printed, it became even more difficult to expand the collection,” saysRam who now has all the subjects — some of which are even repeats.

But what was more challenging was the task of finding these rare pieces all which she found in south India. “The northern part of the country had nothing to offer in terms of good Ravi Varma art. I got all works places like Trichy, Tanjore, Kumbakonam, Mysore, Trivandrum, Kochi and some places in Chennai,” she says. And finding someone has celebrated as Varma, was certainly not easy. She reveals, “I went to old antique shops, dealers and even individuals. Sometimes when I put up an exhibition, individuals came and offered 20-30 prints of the artist because they said they had lost interest in his work.”

Some of the common prints like Ganesha, Saraswati, Rama, Krishna, Kartika and Shiva. However, were easy to find. “In those days, every household would have these six prints, everyone wanted them. So I think Varma got these printed in plenty. The problem came with rare prints like Priyadarshika and Mahananda.”

As many as 120 year old, some prints were produced in Lonavala near Pune in a German press which Ram says he imported specifically to make his oleographs. “He was the father of what eventually became the ‘calendar art industry of India’. Today, while his paintings are a national treasure, one is able to view his repertoire through his prints that have become collectible.” While loose prints are priced at Rs 14,000, the framed ones will be available for Rs 25,000.

The Pioneer, 2nd December 2010

Ruins of a Shiva temple and 10 other temples belonging to the Parmar era have been located in Samasgarh, some 22 km from here. Culture Minister Laxmikant Sharma has directed officials to ensure the maintenance of these remains.

Shambles of almost one dozen temples have been located, in which symbols of Shiva temples, Vishnu temples and other temples could be easily identified at the location where the remains of Jain temples were discovered earlier.

Culture Minister Laxmikant Sharma has directed officials to take action for the conservation of these temples.

A survey team traced all these ruins in the leadership of Commissioner Archeology Ashok Shah on the day.

The ruins suggest that these temples would be of the Parmara-era that may have been destroyed by some reason. At a place, a jalahari and Shivling in the ruins of a rectangular temple were located.

In surveys performed earlier, only marks of Jain temples were located, which are exhibited at the Birla Museum and State Museum, here.

Historians believe that areas around the State capital were ruled by the Parmara King Bhoj and these ruins would definitely have been under his protection. Apart from Hindu, temples, ruins of Jain temples could also be easily identified.

Shah said the department was working on the plan to maintain these temples. He also informed Divisional Commissioner Manoj Shrivastava about the discovery over phone. The survey team included Vedprakash Nagayach, Deputy-Director Excavation OP Mishra, Archeologist Nagendra Verma and some photographers.

The Pioneer, 2nd December 2010

Though well-connected to Delhi and Chadigarh, RAJEEV RANJAN ROY wonders why Karnal, Kurukshetra and Panipat haven’t been able to carve a niche for themselves in the minds of tourists

Haryana’s Grand Trunk Road between Panipat and Karnal-Kurukshetra is full of historical references going back to the age of Mahabharata, and has immense potential to be developed as the State’s tourism corridor. Yet, it fails to attract tourists, both foreign as well as indigenous.

A large number of foreign and domestic tourists do pass by Karnal and Kurukshetra everyday while on their way to different destinations in Himachal Pradesh and Punjab, but very few stop at Kurukshetra or Panipat, even for a day, to visit the historical places there. Many feel there are not sufficient attempts in projecting the historical importance of the three places, particularly Panipat, where three famous battles took place between 1526 and 1761.

It’s not that the area is distant. Instead, it is well-connected to New Delhi and Chandigarh, which is the gateway to Himachal Pradesh. The key reason seems to be lack of a concerted effort to exploit their tourism potential.

Kurukshetra, which takes pride in housing Haryana’s largest university named after the city, is dotted with historical spots. A 15-minute drive from Pipli, Grand Trunk Road lands one in the city where the famous Mahabharata War took place.

The city’s main road, not so well maintained, takes one directly to Brahma Sarovar. It is a huge and beautiful structure. A dip in the sarovar is considered pious and millions of Hindus throng the venue during solar eclipse. The temple of Mahadeva in the midst of the sarovar is another sight worth watching. It is here that Lord Brahma is said to have created the universe. No wonder the area is dotted with temples and there are several food outlets, offering local dishes.

Nearby is located Sannihit Sarovar, considered the meeting point of seven sacred Saraswatis. Equally important is a dip in this holy pond. Also significant is the visit to the temples of Dhruva Narain, Lord Vishnu, Lakshmi Narain, Lord Hanuman and Goddess Durga.

If you are going to Kurukshetra by train, then you should first go to Jyotisar, about five-km from the railway station. It is said that during the Mahabharata War, Lord Krishna delivered the Bhagavad Gita to Arjuna at this place. Given its importance, efforts are needed to highlight the place accordingly.

A visit to the place would remain incomplete if one does not take a glimpse of Dharohar on the Kurukshetra University campus. One can find every aspect of Haryanavi lifestyle quite beautifully depicted there. From rural to urban life, whatever Haryana intrinsically stands for has been preserved.

Then there is Krishna Museum. Set up in 1987, it depicts different facets of Lord Krishna through various artefacts. Equally worth visiting are Kurukshetra Panorama and Science Centre.

As a day-long stay would suffice, one would be advised to do some planning in advance in terms of places one would like to visit, as there is no fine-tuned mechanism to guide and assist tourists on a daily basis. If you could do that, then there are places in adjoining areas you would love to visit.

For example, Pehowa, about 20-km from Kurukshetra, is named after King Prithu, who prayed for the salvation of his father’s soul here. In Kamal Nabhi, adjacent to Thanesar, which is part of Kurukshetra town, you have the famous temple of Kamal Nabhi. Bhishma Kund Narkatari is just four-km from Thanesar on Kurukshetra-Pehowa road. Legend says that Bhishma Pitamah rested on a bed of arrows here.

Kurukshetra has direct links with the Mahabharata, so has Karnal — nearly 124-km from New Delhi. The city is said to be founded by Karna of the Mahabharata fame. Karnal, which is also famous for the National Dairy Research Institute (NDRI), offers many of worth visiting. If you are there in summer, then make it a point to taste the NDRI-made ice-cream and lassi.

Though the city derives importance from Karna and the historical lake, called Karan Taal in Sadar Bazaar, Karnal offers more than what meets one’s eyes. The city used to be inhabited by Muslim nawabs during the British rule. Due to poor maintenance, however, many historical buildings have been lost. Important among such ruined buildings are the house of Pakistan’s first Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan, the Victoria Memorial Hall and the Old Wall. Also, one cannot ignore Karnal’s Cantonment Church Tower.

The crux of Karnal’s beauty, however, lies in Karan Taal. It is under renovation now. Legend has it that Karna used to take bath here and donate gold everyday. At present, however, there is nothing concrete that connects the place to the Mahabharata age.

As for Panipat, it is known more as the centre of oil refinery, carpet and textiles industry than a place where three landmark battles were fought. The first one saw the Mughals establishing their rule in Delhi when Babur defeated Ibrahim Lodhi in April 1526.

Panipat has the garden of Kabuli Bagh, which was built by Babur in 1526 to commemorate his victory over Ibrahim Lodhi. It also has the Grave of Ibrahim Lodhi, who was killed and buried at this place after his defeat at Babur’s hands.

It is not that tourists do not want to visit these places. What acts as a deterrent is the Government’s lacklustre approach towards tourism. The poor promotion of tourism in Haryana is amply reflected in the number of foreign tourists the State gets annually. It is less than 100,000 per annum, while Kurukshetra does not get even 10,000 foreign tourists. An official estimate says in 2008-09, 81,242 foreign tourists visited the State, out of which around 24,000 visited Faridabad, over 12,000 came to Karnal, more than 11,000 visited Panchkula and nearly 7,000 arrived at Kurukshetra.

It is not that efforts are not being made to attract tourists to Haryana. What is needed is greater efforts in promoting tourism. In this context, the Battle of Panipat Memorial Society is a well-thought out attempt to spread awareness about the glorious past of Panipat, and Haryana’s contribution to India’s politico-cultural history.

The Pioneer, 5th December 2010

If the Central Empowered Committee's report on the controversial Ambedkar Memorial in Noida, that finally got clearance from the Supreme Court on Friday, is anything to go by, the UP government will have to make some major changes in its plans. The apex court has asked Mayawati's government to ensure that construction is carried out on only 25% of the total area while the remaining is to be greened with trees to be planted specially near the Okhla Bird Sanctuary that is about 10m away from the park. The CEC report alleges that more than 50% of the park area is under concrete.

The Bombay Natural History Society was also asked to carry out a survey of the area and among the recommendations that it submitted to the ministry of environment and forests was that at least 50% of the total area has to be greened. "The area is not forest land as the trees finally cut down had all been planted there. However, there is no way that one should compromise on the greenery and we suggested that 50% of the area should be replanted. The government is creating a park there and the greenery is also very sanitised with grass and trimmed bushes, etc. That is not the right environment for the migratory birds that come to the Okhla Bird Sanctuary,'' said Dr Asad Rahmani, director, BNHS.

Sources said that the trees that had already been planted in the park were mostly ornamental. "Introduction of sufficient moisture in the area should help in raising reeds there, which can then be home to the small migratory birds. The sanctuary is essentially meant for migratory birds and some other water birds. Trees like amrood serve no purpose for them,'' said an official.

Another major recommendation was the inclusion of submerged areas in the river bed near the bird park in the sanctuary. Of the total area of 3,34,334 sqm of the park, the total built-up area is 1.1%, 38.62% comes under hard landscape and 10.42% under paths for vehicles and walking. Grass and other plantation occupies 47.01% of the total area. "A lot of area has been taken under concretisation and to compensate for that, and to ensure that no more area is taken under construction, the report also suggested that area near the park, that was submerged under water, should also be taken under the protected area of the sanctuary,'' said sources.

Times of India, 5th December 2010

Grand historical narratives have almost always had humble beginnings in the exacting labour of microscopic research. French Annales historians such as Marc Bloch and Fernand Braudel showed how to mingle the modesty of a local schoolteacher's profession with the ambitious scope of a historian's

vocation. Richard M Eaton, liberal India's favourite western scholar, has followed in their footsteps.
In town for the Medieval History Journal's annual lecture, Eaton turned into a historian from two encounters. He met India via Iran and he travelled through an American county looking for a teaching job. On any subject. It turned out that they wanted a history teacher.

In the Sixties, this gameyness turned the 21-year-old college graduate with a degree in philosophy towards history with a small detour through soil chemistry.

"I was posted in Tabriz as a Peace Corps volunteer…. Before the (Islamic) Revolution, the government of Iran thought Americans could teach anything, so I was asked to teach soil chemistry in an agricultural school," says Eaton with a laugh, sitting on one of the ramparts of the Lodhi tomb, remembering a journey to Delhi in the mid-sixties by train from Iran across the Baluchistan desert.

Eaton's book, Essays on Islam and Indian History (2000) has been the backbone of most arguments for denying the Hindu right's charge of Islam as the sole guiding principle for the destruction of temples by the Mughal rulers of India, and makes it essential reading, especially in our post-Ayodhya times.

Historian Harbans Mukhia says Eaton shifted the terms of debate in medieval history.

"Unlike the Sangh Parivar's fanciful claims that 60,000 temples were demolished in the medieval period, Eaton showed through scientific data and intensive research into primary sources that the number was actually 80 over the entire spread of Muslim rule in India from 1190 to 1760. He also investigated why, when and where the temples were destroyed and the wide range of motives that led to their destruction".

For example, according to Eaton's book, in 1679, temples patronised by Rajput chieftain, Rana Raj Singh, were destroyed by Aurangzeb for having backed his brother and rival, Dara Shikoh.

According to Eaton, the recent Ayodhya judgment - which some have interpreted as 'legitimising' the Babri demolition - is a "panchayat decision" and is symptomatic of the success with which Hindu fundamentalists have been able to project the concept of a 'Hindu nation' versus a 'Muslim nation' onto the 16th century.

"The idea of India as a nation or even two nations is a modern construct. And there was no sustained pattern of a Hindu resistance to Muslim rule unlike Chinese history which was marked by unstable dynasties and their violent overthrow," he says.

Unlike many western scholars whose need to 'understand' Islam is as recent as the anti-Soviet jihad in Afghanistan, if not 9/11, Eaton's interest stems from evidences of Islam's pluralism. That this is not a popular idea, even among Muslims themselves, owes a lot, he says, to the technology of communication.

"Earlier, you had local, village Islams... Then came the steamship. Muslims from different parts of the country started going for the Haj together. Travelling on the ship, they began to see themselves as a single community," he says.

"The TV, radio, ship, broke down differences between here and there. It made it all one."

Why is history writing in India skewed? National movements, says Eaton, made it necessary for historians to justify India, and Pakistan, in bipolar terms.

"Historians became servants of politics," he says.

"Post-Independence, the use of Persian declined and historians did not look up sources in the original. To discover new information, you have to go to the mofussil record rooms and not just sit in Calcutta and expect them to come to you."

Or, think that if the information was not in Delhi or Kolkata, it was in London.

If history doesn't stand still, should historians? Eaton, who witnessed the birth of the Subaltern Studies school in the '80s, says its latter-day tendency to do historiography "by keeping the British Raj in the centre" defeated its initial work of writing history from below.

Eaton says his work has Marxist 'influences'.

"Marx," he says, "taught that history is not just pushed along by great men."

As for Partha Chatterjee, the leading light of the Subaltern school, he is, says Eaton, "an old monument".

Hindustan Times, 5th December 2010

HERITAGE Imperial Durbar turns hundred in a year. However, the Coronation Park, the site of the event, is in a state of decay, writes R.V. SMITH

In about a year from now, the centenary of the Imperial Durbar of 1911 will be observed. To quote Pran Nevile's Sahib's” India: Vignettes from the Raj (Penguin), the Durbar was originally planned to be held on January 1, 1912, but since that day happened to coincide with Moharrum, “Their Majesties, out of consideration for their Muslim subject” decided to hold it a few days earlier on Dec 12,1911. January 1, however, had a special significance since it marked the annual commemoration of the proclamation of the Empire and the Durbars of 1877 and 1903.

Describing the event, Nevile says “The King and Queen (George V and Queen Mary) arrived in Delhi in December 7 and were taken in a royal procession through the streets of Delhi before reaching the entirely new “city” of tents set up on the occasion (in Kingsway Camp). As many as 233 camps were spread over an area of 25 square miles with 10 miles of canvas and the construction of 60 miles of new roads and over 30 miles of railway with 24 stations. Two vast concentric amphitheatres were built for the Durbar itself; the larger one to hold 1,00,000 spectators, the smaller one for princes and other notables. The cost of the Durbar came to 6,60,000 pounds as against 1,80,000 pounds which (Lord) Curzon had spent on his tamasha (in 1903).”

Nevile goes on to say that the imperial thrones were in the centre of a marble platform under a golden dome. And it was at this place that the royal visitors were crowned Emperor and Empress of India and received the homage of the princes in their colourful robes and bejewelled ornaments. The most important event of the Durbar was the announcement of the shifting of the Capital from Calcutta to Delhi, much to the joy of the people of Delhi and the chagrin of the Bengalis and British officials.

Incidentally, the Imperial Durbar of 1877 was organised by Lord Lytton to mark the 1876 proclamation of Queen Victoria as the Kaiser-i-Hind (Empress of India). The site was outside the city of Delhi. Lytton arrived on December 23 from Calcutta by a special train. About that time, “400 Indian princes and their retinues also assembled in Delhi. On New Year's Day, the Viceroy and his family came for the Durbar seated on elephants. The extravaganza was reminiscent of Moghul pomp and splendour. The royal herald read out the proclamation, issued after the Mutiny by Queen Victoria in 1858 and the promise of justice and equality for her Indian subjects.

Nevile then goes on to speak of the 1903 Durbar held by Lord Curzon to celebrate Edward VII's coronation as the successor of Queen Victoria, who had died in 1901. It surpassed Lytton's Durbar and the events spread out from December 29 for 10 days in the New Year. Part of the celebration was held in the Dewan-e-Am of the Red Fort.

Victoria's statue

However, the centenary of the most famous Durbar will be a hollow celebration unless Coronation Park, which marks the site, is rescued from the oblivion and decay into which it has fallen. The statues particularly need to be spruced up and Victoria's statue added to the motley assembly, for though breathing the free air of independence, we cannot ignore the events of the Raj, which also willy-nilly form part of our history.

The Hindu, 6th December 2010

It's a paradox of sorts. On one hand, the state government is making elaborate plans to conserve monuments in the city and on the other , a Lodhi-period tomb in south Delhi's Zamrudpur area is fast vanishing apathy and neglect .

The structure has been vandalised and its front portion recently destroyed to make way for new constructions. And if that is not bad, whatever remains of the tomb has been encroached upon by locals.

Times City visited the spot and found that the main structure has been turned into a garbage dump by locals. The tomb has been walled in by adjacent houses. No one took responsibility for the demolition of the front portion of the tomb, but locals claimed that a panchayat or community centre is proposed to come up there. "This portion was never a part of the monument. It was a barat ghar . With the help of local councillors and member of the legislative assembly from Greater Kailash Vijay Malhotra , efforts are on to rebuild the structure ," Umesh Khattar , a local resident , claimed.

There are five Lodi-period tombs in the heart of Zamrudpur which have been identified for a facelift by INTACH and state archaeology department. Under their plan to notify 92 unprotected monuments in the city, the state department of archaeology has identified these heritage buildings for protection. Sources said the process for notification has already begun. The tombs have been graded A and B in terms of heritage importance by INTACH in their listing.

All the tombs are in dilapidated condition and encroached by locals. A senior official said: " As no efforts were made for the protection and conservation of these tombs , villagers have encroached upon them and defaced their facade . One of the tombs in Zamrudpur is being used as a junkyard by the house adjacent to it, while another has become a cow shed. A third tomb is hidden behind huge buildings and cannot be accessed. Another is squeezed between two residential buildings."

The tombs have been damaged in several places . Not realising the significance of these heritage structures, residents of Zamrudpur have been misusing them. Sources said conservation work will be difficult as there is stiff resistance from locals. "Even during the survey, police protection was necessary as locals do not want these monuments to be notified as once that happens , they will be evicted ," said a senior government official.

"We don't expect any cooperation from the villagers . But conservation is very critical as these monuments have to be salvaged. We need to acquire them at the earliest," said an official.

Times of India, 6th December 2010

LEISURE Striking natural beauty and quietude of Shillong makes the place worth a visit

Shillong “the Scotland of the East” may be a cliché, but when in Shillong one finds nothing describes the place better. Perhaps the most explored hill station in the pristine landscape of the North-East , Meghalaya's Capital is easily accessible via Guwahati and Kolkata.

With the North-East being largely absent from the Indian tourism map and some States embroiled in conflict, not many travellers venture out to this region. However, Meghalaya being by and large peaceful, Shillong proves to be the perfect gateway to some of the virgin locations in the region. Nestled between pine trees and located at an altitude of around 5,000 feet above sea level, Shillong looks very English, especially with its beautifully designed houses and high-dome churches. A reasonably big city with far more traffic than it can accommodate, Shillong is naturally pretty with lovely weather round the year and is a perfect post-retirement abode.

Offering a prelude to the natural splendour of Shillong is the mighty artificial reservoir ensconced between lush hills — Umiam Lake (also known as Bada Pani) — about 15 kilometres before the main city. On the outskirts lie Elephant Falls where the mountain stream carves out its way and falls at two spots. In fact, this is just the beginning as Shillong and Cherrapunjee — one of the wettest places in the world — has been gifted with captivating waterfalls. Sweet Falls near Happy Valley is a case in point. The raging water is at a height of over 90 metres and descends to the rocks into the crevice below. Apart from Wards Lake (an artificial lake with a garden ) and Lady Hydari Park (a park-cum-mini zoo) , one must also visit the Shillong Peak. On a bright and sunny day, this peak offers a bird's eye-view of the city and with the traditional Khasi attire available on hire at a shop nearby, many tourists dress in the local costume and pose for pictures with the Shillong skyline forming the prefect backdrop.

If you are inquisitive about North-East India, then a visit to Don Bosco Museum is highly recommended. It offers an educational insight into all the States in the zone, their cultures, tribes, traditional clothing , farming and fishing methods and their way of life.

One must also keep a day for Cherrapunjee, roughly 60 kilometres from Shillong. The drive to Cherrapunjee is breathtaking and shows a surreal world. The route is dotted with stone monoliths (stones placed by the locals in memory of their ancestors) and graveyards that give it an old-world feel. Locally known as Sohra, Cherrapunjee is about 1,300 metres above sea level and is known for its boisterous waterfalls and limestone caves.

Along the main road lies the valley view point and it is impossible not to halt here and soak in the beauty of the hills and streamlets flowing in between. Cherrapunjee being close to the Bangladesh border, one can see the road leading to the neighbouring country from the hillock next to the Pillar Rock (Khoh Ramhah), which is a commanding single rock formation in the shape of a cone. During monsoons water flows down this rock making a magnificent waterfall.

Seven Sister Waterfalls are another attraction. From a cliff one can see a series of seven waterfalls on the opposite side as they flow down the mountain. The Mawsmai Caves have a myriad natural stalactite and stalagmite formations of varying shapes and sizes with its dark interiors. Another must-visit site is the Eco Park, set up by the State government, that offers a view of Bangladesh plains and houses many indigenous and hybrid orchids in its Green House. The trip to Cherrapunjee can be wound up with a stopover at Nohkalikai Waterfalls, one of the largest in India. From a distance, the surging water appears like white smoke spreading out from the rocks. The site is particularly striking during sunset.

The Hindu, 6th December 2010

The cave paintings in Ajanta and Ellora continue to mesmerise visitors with their awesome beauty. The Ellora Ajanta Aurangabad Festival is held in the last week of November every year.

The Ellora Ajanta festival is held every year in the last week of November. Ellora and Ajanta have been designated as World Heritage Sites by the UNESCO. Located near Aurangabad in Maharashtra, these rocks were discovered by accident in 1819. The festival is a reminder that we need to preserve our artistic legacy.

The serene figure of Buddha (Bodhisattva Padmapani) holding a lotus in his hand or the dreamy beauty of Ajanta might be familiar to most of you. They stand testimony to India's rich heritage and centuries-old artistic expertise. Images and sculptures like these adorn the interiors of the canyons of the Deccan trap along the ancient trade route between Paihan and the historical city of Ujjain. Nestled in the Sahyadri hills near the ravine of Waghora is the cave complex comprising 29 caves with Chaitya grihas (temples) and viharas (monastries) that are laboriously carved out of rocks. They served as an important religious centre of many Central Indian dynasties and the murals and sculptures reflect important social and political developments time.

Some of the paintings in Ajanta are believed to date back to second century BC. The work was undertaken under the patronage of various rulers and feudatories and the monastery lost its support with the fall of the Vakataka empire. For around 1300 years, these magnificent sculptures and enthralling murals were left to oblivion but years of weariness and negligence have not diminished the splendour that captivates the visitors even several centuries after their creation. It was British Army Captain John Smith who accidentally came across the cave complex during one of his hunting expeditions in 1819.

The wonder of it all

The first caves in Ellora were created shortly after previous shrines like Ajanta were abandoned and it follows the style of Ajanta in many aspects, but shows other influences and new trends as well. Ellora caves also known as “Verul Leni” is located along the Aurangabad-Chalisgaon road. There are 34 monasteries and temples dating from A.D. 600 to 1000, extending to over more than two km. The caves have depictions of Buddhist, Jain and Hindu deities and mythical scenes. The caves of Ajanta numbered from one to 12 are the largest Buddhist cave temples in India and belong to the Mahayana branch of Buddhism. Some of the Hindu shrines were created before the Buddhist ones while some were created after the decline of Buddhism. A number of depictions relate to Shaivism — a branch of Hinduism devoted to Shiva. The famous Kailasanatha Temple of Ellora, considered the largest and most magnificent monolithic excavation in the world, rises 30 metres above the courtyard. Another group of the caves is devoted to the Digambara branch of Jainism.

According to an inscription relating to Ellora, even the artist who created it was wonderstruck that he could build it. The larger-than-life images of deities, huge elephants and bulls, and the scale of the structures dwarf the human being standing in front.

The deities are depicted like human beings and on display are human emotions as in the scene of Siva and Parvati playing dice in the presence of Sivaganas (Shiva's attendants). The Nataraja figure at Ellora that expresses the energy of dance and dynamism of movements and the scene of Ravana shaking Mount Kailasa are fine examples of their artistic excellence.

Ajanta and Ellora are recognised as UNESCO heritage sites and are under the maintenance of the Archaeological Survey of India. The increasing number of tourists and some of the conservation efforts that caused reverse results have aroused concerns among many about the future of these treasures of Indian art.

Walk in time

The dexterous use of lines, strokes, space and the care given to the form of human beings, animals and birds by these ancient artists are amazing. Their skilful hands gave life to dynamic movements and human emotions of love, greed, compassion and indignation. As you enter these caves, you step back in time to feel the atmosphere in which the subjects of these art works lived. Their costumes, jewellery, mannerisms, hairstyle and even social life and relationships are all there on the walls for us to see and feel. The central theme of paintings and sculptures in Ajanta are scenes from Jataka Tales (collection of literature based on the previous births of the Buddha) and incidents from the life of Buddha.

Looking within

In Ajanta the patterns are semi-abstract and semi-realistic. The aesthetic compositions, simple and powerful lines and clever use of perspectives show their knowledge of iconographic scriptures, but they haven't attempted to follow those strictly. Human figures in these paintings are more dominant than other components. They have successfully employed three-dimensional effect and played with lines and shades to bring in a relief effect in some of the paintings. Another significant feature is how they have brought linearity of perspective onto the vertical plane, depicting the background at the highest band, followed by middle ground and the foreground at the eye level .

The festival

The Ellora Ajanta Aurangabad Festival celebrated at the end of November every year is aimed to bring to limelight the historical and pictorial sites in and around Aurangabad which include Ajanta, Ellora, Daulatabad, Bibi-ka-Maqbara, Panchakki, Lonar and Shirdi.

The festival is conducted by Aurangabad Festival Committee under the chairmanship of the Divisional Commissioner Aurangabad in association with MTDC.

The Hindu, 7th December 2010

As only a year is left for the centenary celebrations of Coronation Park in north Delhi, authorities are in a tizzy to start the much-delayed conservation plans for the historic park.

Also known as Coronation Memorial, the park is significant to Delhi's history as this was the place where King George V on December 11, 1911, announced that the capital of British India was shifting to Delhi from Calcutta. Though promises were made for restoration of the park, the park was a sight of neglect and vandalism for years. Heritage conservation body Intach Delhi Chapter, which had outlined the facelift plans for Coronation Park a few years ago, said the plans were finally going to be implemented . They had been sent to Delhi Urban Art Commission (DUAC) for approval after getting the goahead from the L-G and DDA technical committee.

Prof A G K Menon, convener of Intach Delhi Chapter, said, " The proposal for facelift was first made by us five years ago. Last year, we brought it up again with the L-G . We aim at starting work on the park at the earliest." A separate entry/exit for visitors and VIPs is being planned. The park has three main components — commemorative zone, recreation zone and forest area. " There will be an interpretation centre and a restaurant at the visitors' entry gate. We have also proposed a 1947 plaza where the national flag will be positioned as high as the Coronation Memorial itself," added Menon.

The project will be completely funded by DDA. DDA officials said tenders for civil work had already been issued in June this year. " We have started implementing the plan, and will be coming out with tenders for landscaping as well," said a senior DDA official.

DDA claims that plans for revival of Coronation Park in north Delhi were formulated only in 2007 when the 49-acre land was handed over to DDA from the L&DO . " The idea was to revive the park as part of the heritage trail undertaken by DDA. We will start the work in January 2011 and expect to finish the project by November next year," added the official.

Earlier this year, vice-chairman , DDA, Ashok Kumar, had talked about stepping up implementation of plans as part of his vision for DDA in 2010. " The interpretation centre will show films related to Delhi durbars and colonial Delhi. Panel exhibits, informative displays and interactive kiosks will also be there. We will change the location of the four statues, which are at present in a semi-circle around the statue of King George V. They will be positioned in a square pattern around the coronation pillar," said an official.

The work in the Coronation Park, however, has fuelled controversies. Not only has implementation been carried out tardily, officials within the agency are miffed with the decision by DDA brass to hand over landscaping work to another agency. Said a senior DDA official , " The landscaping tender will be given to a consultant , though DDA has a landscaping department ." DDA officials, however, claimed that the decision was taken as landscaping had to be carried out according to Intach's vision for the park, which an in-house department maynot have been able to implement.

Times of India, 7th December 2010

An unauthorised portion of the Dargah Baddrudin Samarqandi on the southwest side of Feroz Shah Kotla fort within the Acharya Narendra Dev Garden was demolished on Tuesday, following a Delhi High Court order. The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) along with the officials of the dargah jointly carried out the demolition.

The Feroz Shah Kotla fort, or Firozabad as it was then known, is one of Delhi’s seven historic cities. The fort and the adjoining dargah are frequented by sufi believers, specially on Thursdays.

Peer Sayyad Mairajuddin had filed a case in 2008 against the Delhi Wakf Board and other persons, claiming that the dargah had carried out unauthorised extension even though it is right next to the 14th-century fort which is under ASI protection.

While appearing in the court, the ASI officials said that they had sent notices for the removal of unauthorised construction in October 2002 and March 2003.

“It, however, appears that no follow-up action was taken by the ASI to send reminders to the law and enforcement agencies requesting their cooperation,” said justice S Muralidhar while directing the ASI to initiate steps to remove the unauthorised construction.

Syed Mohammed Iqbal, in-charge at the dargah, said, “This dargah is 754 years old. The petitioner wanted to bury his mother here, which we do not allow. Now, he produced some 1985 photographs, which did not have these extensions, to the court. So we have joined hands with the ASI to pull this down.”

The High Court has also given four weeks to the ASI to file a status report.

Hindustan Times, 8th December 2010

In what can turn out to be a major discovery, a conservation architect and a lecturer in the Architecture Department of GND University have located the site of a fort probably dating back to 18th century and belonging to the famous Majithia clan in the nearby township of Majitha. They claim it was called the Majitha Fort.

The Tribune team visited the site today and found clear land formations, suggesting the presence of four bastions of the fort surrounded by a double layer of moat which runs parallel to the site in the typical shape of a fort. Rawal Singh, a lecturer with GND University, and Rachanpuneet Singh, a conservation architect, who had worked on the historic Gobindgarh Fort in Amritsar, said they stumbled upon the fort while they were working on a re-use plan for a police station in Majitha dating back to 1937.

“We were working out the site plan on Google Earth when we zeroed in on a fort-like outline on it. We visited this site around a month back and were amazed to see the prominent land forms on four corners of the land located inside the moat,” they averred.

They said they would submit a report to the ASI in this regard in near future. Another fact that hints towards the existence of Majitha Fort at the site is that the Imperial Gazetteer and Punjab revenue records say that the Hudiara Drain originates from the Majitha Fort and, interestingly, the drain is connected with the moat surrounding this site, suggesting that once the fort existed here. The fort was supposedly built by the ancestors of the great Sikh warrior, Hari Singh Nalwa.

Out of the four bastions of the fort, the land formation around the southern bastion is weak. The land inside the fort was found to be dug up at a couple of points and one can easily see the bricks and lime plaster running deep, which would have once formed the walls of the fort. Rawal said a D-shape outline inside the fort had a very dominating profile when seen through Google Earth, hinting the presence of a structure or its remnants beneath the ground. According to him, the fort dates back to the 18th century. “The topology of this fort and Amritsar's Gobindgarh Fort is almost same. Also both the forts had a double layer of moat. In terms of differences, the area of this fort is far less than that of Gobindgarh Fort,” he said. The duo felt that the fort had a double layer of moat, which was used as a defence strategy as it may have been more vulnerable to attacks.

At present, some families are staying around the site and earning their livelihood by cultivating Singharas (water chestnut) in the moat. Simarjit Singh, who resides next to the site, said, “Born and brought up here, I know this place as Quila Dyal Singh and it was raised in the times of Desa Singh Majithia, who belonged to the well-known and illustrious family of the Majithias (of Majitha town). In my childhood, I have seen ‘dyodhi’ (entrance gateway) of the fort close to its north bastion and a dilapidated structure near its south bastion. However, with the passage of time, the remains of the structure vanished as people took away the bricks.” Incidentally, Desa Singh Majithia was the grandfather of The Tribune’s founder Dyal Singh Majithia. The moat, Simarjit Singh said, was up to 18 to 20 feet deep at one point of time and he would often go fishing on his boat once it received rainwater from Alliwal and Jijeana villages. Now, the farmers having their land around the moat have installed water pumps which are the source of water in the moat. Even the houses situated on and around the site are made of the bricks taken out from the structures inside the fort. Rachanpuneet said these bricks, too, would also be of great help in ascertaining the history of the fort. He and Rawal opined that once the site was restored by an agency like the ASI, a tourist circuit may be designed with the site being the major destination. They, however, said the facts and figures about the fort need to be rechecked in conjunction with history. The discovery is being seen as one of the most important research projects of the GND University’s Architecture Department.

On the other hand, District Congress (rural) President Lali Majithia, who currently owns the land of the fort’s site, said he could only recall some dilapidated structures on the site during his early days. “Those structures only had walls and no roof,” he added.

Simarjeet Majithia, son of former minister Parkash Singh Majithia, who owns ancestral land near the site, said he, too, had seen three-four structures there long back.

The Tribune, 9th December 2010

Encompassing a diverse range of art practices that exist within the exhaustive cluster of traditional arts, ‘vernacular in the contemporary' an ongoing exhibition at Anupam and Lekha Poddar's Devi Art Foundation (daf), presents some extraordinary works from the genres of popular, folk, tribal and native art of the country.

One hundred and eighty works by 32 artists that spread across four spacious galleries at daf include chittara art of sangam district in the Western Ghats to pichwai style of rajasthan to chola bronzes of Tamil Nadu to works by tribal women artists’ cooperative in Hazaribagh.

It also give space to Usman Tirandaz's naturalistic studies of flora and fauna done in Moghul miniature style, stalwart Baua Devi's Madhubani paintings and Ghanshyam Nimbark's rendition of Hindi poetry in calligraphy moulded in the shape of an image. But the list doesn't end here. The exhibition put together by daf and Annapurna Garimella's Bangalore-based jackfruit research and design, probably qualifies to be the biggest outing ever for our traditional arts on such a scale in the city.

Even bigger was the exercise undertaken to select the artists whose works are mounted in the show. Quantity factor is one but quality of the works and a gamut of traditional art practices included in the affair explain why it took Annapurna more than three years to put together this show.

First a public notice was put out in newspapers, announcing a programme in art, then a number of NGOs were consulted, newspapers, internet were referred to, and finally letters to 300 artists were sent out of which 175 artists responded with portfolios. Further filtering led to the commissioning of a total number of 32 artists to create works for the show. The artists were also called for a year-long residency at Bangalore and once they began working, glamour photographer Fawzan Hussain was commissioned to take pictures of the artists at work documenting the process.

Annapurna, curator of the show, calls it a pedagogic experience for everyone involved in the show from researchers to curators, photographers and artists themselves. The process of commissioning an artist, supporting him/her in doing his art, facilitating his/her research is described as an unusual experience by Annapurna.

And this is only the first part of the show titled ‘working'. The second part of the show ‘working consciously, working reflectively' will open in March 2011. According to Annapurna, ‘working' is about “artists who are really interested in the idea of working within the boundaries of an inherited or acquired art history”.

‘Working' is in turn divided into three sections — keeping the flame, nature and making a change. The presence of religious component in the displayed paintings is the connecting factor in ‘keeping the flame' section. Sanjaybhai Manubhai Chittara's Mataji ni Pacchedis, which is natural dye on cloth, are ritual textiles that are displayed behind the icon of a goddess during Navaratri.

While leather puppeteer S. Anjaneyulu has created characters based on the famous story of Bhakta Prahlada in the traditional style of Tholu Bommalata, l. Rathakrishnan, a bronze sculptor showcases 108 Karanas of Natyashastra. Annapurna says that 108 Karanas have been often depicted on the temple walls and gateways.

The idea of exploring possibilities with a god's icon outside a temple makes Rathakrishnan's effort a novel one. But it is in the Bhuta sculptures of Rathnakar Gudikar that she finds the deepest involvement and engagement with the culture taking place.

Myriad colours of nature find themselves in the pieces mounted in the ‘nature' section. Baua Devi — who was one of the first artists to shift to paper and canvas after Pupul Jayakar sent Bhaskar Kulkarni with paper to Mithila to encourage womenfolk to paint on it — Japani Shyam, Mayank Shyam and Prabhudas Mistry reflect on their immediate surroundings in their respective styles of Madhubani, Gond and paper craft traditions.

Nature for these artists works as a source of livelihood, myths and legends. It’s interesting to note the monochromatic palette of Mayank and Japani Shyam, the children of legendary artist late Jangarh Singh Shyam who had committed suicide in Japan. While he had actually initiated the change, the younger generation of Gond artists like Mayank and Japani are only walking on that path.

The third section concentrates on the bunch which is engaging with the world in a more contemporary manner. Patachitra artist Anwar Chitrakar's graphic novel on the subject of Maoism, Kapil Sharma's digital Pichwai and a collaborative work between Tarshito and Puspa Rao ‘Rathyatra' and few other works feature here.

The Tribune, 9th December 2010

The sculptor who left his name behind…

The annals of Indian history are filled with not just dates of battles fought and won, but also with lists of monuments built by kings and their generals. These could now be ‘World Heritage Sites' or just a dusty temple in a nondescript town. Scan through the inscriptions, and somewhere deep down you'll read the name of the humble sculptor who breathed life into the stones. Sadly, most of them are either forgotten or simply unknown.

The Chalukyan and Hoysala sculptors were, however, exceptions. They signed on the rocks they carved, and even today, they are known by the signature they've left behind. One such is sculptor Mallitamma who lived in the 13th Century.

There is very little known about the prolific artist, but signatures speak for themselves. Curiosity got the better of me as I started reading about him, and visited temples he had built.

Driving around the Hoysala country, I came to Nugehalli, a small town near Hassan. It was initially an agrahara, established by Bommanna Dandanayaka, the general of Vira Someshwara, and the town was called Veera Someshwara.

Temple art
Home to the 13th Century Lakshmi Narayana and Sadashiva Temples, Nuggehalli introduced me to Mallitamma, who has more than half-a-dozen temples to his credit — including the Amriteshwara Temple in Amritapura and the famous Kesava Temple in Somnathpur.

I learnt from the priest that the sculptor had lived in the agrahara, and had overseen the construction of the temple. His work is seen on the northern and western niches of the temple, and his signature, on the idols of Vishnu and Indra.

Mallitamma, like many other artists of those times, moved from villages to towns looking for work. His initials ‘Ma' or ‘Malli' (as he sometimes signs) can be seen on several towers and walls of temples.

Vaishnavite iconography
I visited Haronahalli, Govindanahalli, Javagal and Koravangala, mostly towns around Hassan where Mallitamma's penchant for Lakshmi Narasimha Temples is evident. In fact, he almost became synonymous with Vaishnavite iconography.

However, Mallitamma's greatest work, and, perhaps, his swan song is the Kesava Temple at Somnathpur. Built by Somnatha, a general in the army of Narasimha III, the temple is considered one of the best of Hoysala architecture, along with the monuments in Belur and Halebeed. As Professor Settar mentions in his book on the Hoysalas, Mallitamma's signature is visible in over 40 sculptures in this temple and another 20 on the northern tower.

As I looked at his creation, I realised that Mallitamma's greatness would have probably been lost to the world but for his initials on the carvings.

The Hindu, 13th December 2010

It was on November 30 that we got an opportunity to visit the Agrasen Ki Baoli, an ancient monument situated in Mandi House. The beautiful structure, with 104 steps made of ancient stones, was an enchanting sight. There was also a 50-metre-deep well, linked to the Yamuna river, on the site. Serenity reigned over the Agrasen Ki Baoli, with the top-most portion accommodating a monsque-like monument and and the bottom built like an ancient Indian temple. Many of the stones that were used to construct the monument are not even available now. The trip to the monument reminded us all that just as the water in it had disappeared, the Earth could also become bereft of it in a while. Humankind is on a countdown to extinction, and it is essential that we realise this before it is too late.

Aaina Hashmi, XI - C

Agrasen Ki Baoli, situated near Mandi House, was built in the 15th Century by Ugrasain, the forefather of the Aggarwal community. When we first entered the monument, I had no idea what I was going to see. It was a rough deep structure, and we climbed down the 104 uneven stairs. Twenty years ago, the well used to be full of water. Used by people for bathing and washing clothes, children used to dive down from the edge of the well and swim. However, all that has changed due to global warming and negligence. In the absence of measures like water harvesting, it has become dry. Also, there was a pulley on top, which the people would use to draw water. Today, the pulley lies unused. However, on the positive side, the structure is a marvellous combination of two styles of architecture. While the lower part is built like a temple, the upper portion resembles a Mughal structure.

Madiha, XI-C

On November 30, we went on an educational tour to see the Agrasen Ki Baoli, located near Mandi House. Not many know about this historical monument. The structure was made by Agrasen in the15th Century. As many as 104 stairs lead down to it, each of them eight inches in size. The monument was built at a time when Mughals still ruled over a significant portion of the country. Made of ancient stones, the structure contains traces of a Hindu temple. Ugrasain ki Baoli was earlier used by kings and emperors for their everyday needs as well as for rainwater harvesting. That was a time when the structure used to be full of water. But nowadays, due to global warming, there is not even a trace of wetness. Full of trash, the public today is not taking enough care of their national heritage. The ozone layer is not the only casualty of global warming; even our historical monuments are being affected by it. It's time we woke up to reality.

Manisha, XI-C

Agrasen Ki Baoli was built in the 15 th Century by the Mughals – Agrasen to be specific. In the Baoli is a deep well that once used to be full of water. As many as 104 steps lead down to it, and each step – made of red stones -- is eight inches in size. In the ancient days, the Baoli was used as a reservoir for water. Though it is part of our cultural heritage, the structure has been shown little respect by the people of the present day. Bereft of water, it is full of filthy things thrown in by the public instead. We should sensitise the public to preserving our national monuments; they should not be used as garbage dumps.

Deepali Meena, XI-C

Agrasen Ki Baoli is historical well, nested between the multi-storied buildings of Connaught Place. When I visited the place, mixed feelings rose up within me. Though it always feels nice to see something that is part of our cultural heritage, it is also disheartening to note that the public doesn't seem to care for it anymore. Built in the 15 th Century,. the Baoli used to serve as a water reservoir in the past. However, because it is hidden among tall buildings, not many seem to be aware of it. The reservoir is on the left side of the well, and about 140 stairs made of red stones lead down to it. It is about 60 metres in depth and 15 metres in width. On the northern end of the Baoli, you see a steep well, while in the western lies a small mosque with three arched openings.

Arti Singh, XI C

On November 30, we went on a picnic at Mandi house to see the Agrasen Ki Baoli. It was made up of coloured stones, just like old havelis. There were many stairs leading into the structure. Birds (mostly pigeons) as well as bats flew over the Baoli, giving it an air of mystery. In the old days, kings used to take bath in there. Of course, that was because it used to have water back then. The structure is in a state of ruin, and I think the authorities should do something to preserve it. Also, the public should be encouraged to visit historical monuments like these more often, so it could have an insight into the country's history.

Pooja Kamra, XI

In the old days, when there were no coffee outlets or watering holes for people to meet each other, they used to sit near Agrasen Ki Baoli to play cards, smoke the hookah and gossip to their heart's content. So, this ancient structure, constructed by King Agrasen in the 14th Century, served varied purposes. Agrasen Ki Baoli is about 60 metres in length, 15 metres in width from the ground level and has a long stretch of about 104 steps leading right to the bottom. In the old days, the Baoli was used for swimming as well as harvesting water. However, the scene has become different now, with all the water evaporating due to global warming and decrease in the groundwater level. Today, instead of water, the Baoli ‘boasts' of garbage and spider webs stretched across the arches of the well. Needless to say, the beauty of the Baoli has diminished, and it is time the Archeological Survey of India did something to rectify this.

Prachi Varshney, XI-C

The main purpose of the Agrasen Ki Baoli, which we visited on November 30, was to harvest water. Mesmerised by the sight, we could not help but notice that the structure was a pleasing combination of Indian and Mughal architecture. As we walked down its 104 steps, it came to our attention that no measures were currently being taken to protect the monument. It would be beneficial if the government were to put up a fence along its boundary and spread awareness on the Baoli among the public. Some corrective steps in this regard would also contribute to the government's coffers through tourism-related revenue. Though the government did make efforts towards restoring the Baoli's glory, it did not work as the public lacked awareness. But, in any case, the visit to the Baoli was a great experience.

Richa, XI-B

The Indian Express, 13th December 2010

Even with a continuous habitation record of more than 1,000 years, Delhi seems to have failed to beat Ahmedabad in featuring as India's first UNESCO listed World Heritage City. With sites dating back to Harappan era and around 1,200 heritage monuments and structures, including three World Heritage Sites, Delhi has far better stakes than any other city in India to be a World Heritage City (WHC), a title that helps increase flow of foreign tourists. The authorities of Municipal Corporation of Amhedabad, a city founded approximately 600 years ago, last Sunday handed over a dossier to the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), the nodal agency for India.

The ASI, in turn, would submit it to the UNESCO for including it in the "tentative list" of the WHCs. BR Mani, ASI spokesperson said, "We need little more information from Ahmedabad. Once the prescribed dossier is completed, we will send it to the UNESCO." It is not that authorities in Delhi have not thought about it. In fact, a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to make Delhi a World Heritage City was signed in 2008 by the Delhi government and the Indian National Trust for Arts and Cultural Heritage (INTACH), a not-for-profit organisation working in the field of heritage conservation.

"As against Ahmedabad, we don't have a consensus among the stakeholders. The people out there are very aggressive and proud about their heritage, which is reflected in the attitude of the government and the local body there," said AGK Menon, who heads INTACH's Delhi chapter."For Delhi, conflict of interest between various stakeholders is one of the reasons while multiplicity of authorities is another," Menon added. Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit said her government is looking into the issue. "We have started with lighting up several monuments ahead of the Commonwealth Games. Things are happening, albeit slowly," she said.

Dikshit also mentioned about a detailed "well-researched exhibition on the City" by INTACH, which is a step towards the direction. The exhibition 'Delhi: A Living Heritage' explains what Delhi as a heritage city means and its significance to humanity. But then what happened to the MoU signed in 2008? "Let us first get on to a position where we can put up a proposal (formal proposal to the ASI to be submitted to the UNESCO). We are trying to reach that stage, the process is on," Dikshit assured.

Hindustan Times, 13th December 2010

The grandeur of historic Jama Masjid overshadows all structures in its vicinity — even the magnificent, 17th Century Fatehpuri Masjid, which has received little attention over the years. Now, the area’s parliamentarian Kapil Sibal has turned his focus on the structure.

Sibal has asked the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) to prepare a comprehensive conservation plan for the site.

Neglect over the years has led to water seepage on the terrace and affected the minarets of this Wakf Board property.

According to the initial plans drafted by the INTACH, the total project cost is estimated to be around Rs 6.24 crore. The estimate takes into consideration the restoration of the mosque and its precinct, and putting up uniform signages for the shops along the mosque. Officials said Sibal has promised to allocate funds from the MP Local Area Development Scheme and will approach bodies like the National Culture Fund.

INTACH convenor, Delhi Chapter, A G K Menon said: “We have begun working on the conservation plan and are waiting for funds to be allocated to prepare the detailed project report. We were approached by Kapil Sibal and have been assured that funding will not be an issue.”

According to Menon, the mosque requires extensive work as it “is in a very bad condition”.

Shahi Imam of the Fatehpuri Masjid Mufti Mukarram Ahmed has also noticed the crumbling structure. “The front minaret has started tilting precariously and can give way any time. We had written to Lieutenant-Governor Tejendra Khanna and Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit and have been asking for help over the last two years. The mosque is of great historical significance and should be taken up on a priority basis for restoration.”

Though the mosque is an unprotected monument, it has been listed as one of the most important mosques in the Capital. Built by Fatehpuri Begum, one of the wives of Emperor Shah Jahan in 1650, historical records state that the mosque and its courtyard were damaged by the British after the 1857 uprising, when it was sold to banker Lala Chunna Mal. According to archival records of 1877, it was restored to the Muslim community.

Built in red sandstone, the mosque has a single dome and lofty flanking minarets. There are seven bays and the central bay has the main arch.

According to an INTACH report, “The pillared prayer hall is a particularly delicate idiom of multi-lobed arcades and columns. In front of the mihrab, the prayer hall has a massive masonry block consisting of a domed chamber preceded by a pronounced pishtaq. The courtyard is stone-paved and has a large central tank. The courtyard is surrounded by single and double-storeyed apartments, which are used as shops and houses. Many additions have been made to the mosque.”

Indian Express, 13th December 2010

Author Amita Baig, through her book, Forts & Palaces of India, not only encapsulates 5,000 years of the country’s architectural heritage but also tries to draw the attention of the government and the common man to help preserve the cultural heritage of the country, especially some of its forts, saysIla Sankrityayan

I’ve been living with them for years,” she says about her long-time association with India’s rich cultural heritage, especially its forts and palaces. And now, she has come up with a book, Forts & Palaces of India, that raises the issue of preservation of monuments including 60 forts and palaces of medieval and colonial India.

“I started working on this book three years back. It includes my experience over the last 25 years to protect and preserve the rich cultural heritage of India,” she says. Forts & Palaces of India covers 5,000 years of architectural heritage and has a fascinating collection of historic forts and royal palaces waiting to be explored through 300 plus photographs. “Over the centuries, as kingdoms rose and fell or expanded into mighty empires, the need for protection against invaders resulted in the building of magnificent forts and fortified citadels across the country. Many of these fortresses sheltered entire cities as well as royal palaces and pleasure gardens that were known for their splendour and luxury,” she elucidates. Published by Om Books International, the book was launched by the Nawab of Pataudi Mansur Ali Khan and his wife actress Sharmila in the Capital at Olive the Qutub.

The most striking aspect of the book is the use of number of photographs and paintings that highlight various palaces and forts of India. “My basic motive of using these photographs is to make the book more attractive and I feel it helps to highlight the issue in a better way,” explores Baig.

“I sincerely hope the message of this book reaches to the nooks and corners of the society and influence policy gurus to strategise proactive programmes of heritage and conservation in our country. Moreover, the images make the text come alive,” shares Sharmila Tagore. “As I studied the text, it attracted me and I tried to get her views on the images so that there should be a proper match between the text and photographs,” adds Joginder Singh, architect lensman about his photographs in the book.

Baig has a deep concern about the harm caused to the monuments, especially the forts, due to ignorance and lack of knowledge. “Today, a majority of our forts, as I have mentioned in the book, have been orphaned by circumstances of history. This in spite of the fact that a large number are under the custodianship of the Government since 1950s. While the palaces can transmogrify and be turned into heritage hotels to earn profits, the same cannot happen if they are converted into museums as they get its owners little monetary benefit. The fate of our forts, which exemplify centuries of our history, are facing threat from all directions and if care is not taken at the earliest, they will soon disappear from the map. To conserve these forts is an immense challenge and I feel, after years of working in this field, we must accept collective responsibility for the fate of our heritage. Take the example of Jaisalmer Fort that has been encroached upon due to the failure of governance. We should take the onus on us to conserve these monunemts instead of finding ways and means to exploit them unnecesarily by throwing garbage and writing on their walls,” says the former director general of the architectural heritage division at the Indian National Trust For Art and Cultural Heritage (Intach).

Though a lot of research has been done on the subject, Baig finds a difference in the thought process of research done by European archaeologists as she feels they pay more attention to the structures than the legends associated with them.

“I feel I have had the huge advantage of seeing so much of India’s heritage but often been so consumed with their state of preservation or the multiple problems they face. The richness of their history and the associated legends automatically took a backseat. I have tried to rectify that in this book. It is my firm belief that our cultural heritage is firmly rooted in the blend of history and legend and this makes every fort in India unique.”

Presently a consultant to the World Monuments Fund for its India programme, Baig says, “India has hundreds of thousands of forts and some don’t even fall on the tourist circuit and are not ever talked about like the Nurpur Fort in Himachal Pradesh. Or for example, there are 1,300 forts in Maharashtra alone. Through this book, I have just touched the tip of an iceberg. In fact, I feel each of these forts should have a book of its own,” she adds.

Baig further elaborates that there was a lot of chaos and mismanagement in the preservation of these monuments. “On one side, a lot of research and effort is being done to protect them, on the other, there are examples of Sisupalgarh Fort in Bhubaneswar where half of the land has been converted into housing accommodation. Even in case of the Jaisalmer Fort that has been encroached upon by hotels,” she puts in.

Joginder Singh, who travelled the length and breadth of the the country clicking photos for the book, says, “Even Punjab Fort needs a lot of attention but I’m happy to observe the state of conservation of monuments in Rajasthan and Down South.”

The Pioneer, 13th December 2010

2,100 flowering plants identified; seven of them are fresh discoveries

A recent study of the Wayanad part of the Western Ghats has once again proved that the biodiversity of the region is still not explored fully, with even higher plants waiting to be discovered.

In their latest trip, scientists from the M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation here identified 2,100 flowering plants, seven of them fresh discoveries, including Impatiens veerapazhassi, Impatiens jenkurumbae, Impatiens malabarica and Impatiens meenae.

A species of the unique high-altitude Ceropegia and a genus in the milkweed family christened Ceropegia manohari; a wild yam named Dioscorea longitubosa, belonging to the genus Dioscorea; and a narrow-leaved under-shrub, called Memycylon wayanadense, belonging to the family of Melastomataceae, are the other new discoveries.

Miliusa wayanadica and Miliusa gokhalae, belonging to the Annonaceae family (custard apple family), and Oberonia swaminathanii of the orchid family were discovered in an exploration last year.

Scientists Ratheesh Narayanan, P. Sujanapal and V. Balakrishnan, assisted by five research scholars, conducted the study under the direction of N. Anilkumar, Director of the Foundation.

“Since the start of a floristic study in 1999 and a rare, endemic and threatened (RET) plant species study of Wayanad district five years ago, our scientists have identified 14 new species, six of which have been published, four accepted and the remaining are in publication,” Dr. Anilkumar told The Hindu.

This year's discoveries come in the second phase of a project on the RET plant species. They were financed by the Mumbai-based Sir Dorabji Tata Trust.

Impatiens veerapazhassi was found in the Kurichiarmala range of forest. Others of the genus Impatiens were found from the sloppy forests in the Chembra peak in the South Wayanad forest division, Dr. Narayanan said.

The four species are of the ‘scapigerous' form, a rare group of Impatiens that appears immediately after rain and usually thrive for only a couple of months on dripping rocks or moss-covered tree trunks in evergreen forests. Twenty-two such species were reported from the Western Ghats and one from Sri Lanka, he said.

Christopher Grey Wilson, an expert from the Kew Gardens in London, had confirmed the status of the new Impatiens species.

Ceropegia manohari belongs to a rare plant group evoking scientific curiosity, with its many members endemic to the Western Ghats and having unusual flowers.

S.R. Yadav of the Kolhapur University, an expert in Indian species of Ceropegia, and David J. Goyder of Kew Herbarium, an expert in world Ceropegia, have confirmed its status.

Edible discovery
Wild yam Dioscorea longitubosa is found in the Muthanga range of forests in the Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary. This is extremely rare in distribution and found only in the wet evergreen forests, normally an unusual habitat for wild yams. The new species serves as food for the forest-dwelling communities such as Kattunayakka. Paul Wilkin of Kew Herbarium, an expert in world Dioscorea, has confirmed its status.

Memycylon wayanadense, a narrow-leaved species, was discovered from the Kattimattom forest in the Vellarimala peak in the Mepadi range of forests. This species has been accepted for publication by Rheedia, a journal published by the India Association of Angiosperm Taxonomists. DNA studies done at the Tropical Botanical Garden and Research Institute, Thiruvananthapuram, revealed the taxonomic significance and supported the morphological evidence.

“Before we started this study, it was never expected that these many species are distributed in the Western Ghats as undiscovered, as it is one of the best-studied floristic regions of the country,” Dr. Anilkumar said.

The Hindu, 15th December 2010

The State Government will submit a nomination dossier for inclusion of Golconda, Charminar and Quli Qutb Shahi Tombs in UNESCO's world heritage sites in mid-February. Chances of Hyderabad getting on the world heritage map have brightened with no other competitive entry from India this time, said Jayesh Ranjan, secretary, Tourism.

Assessment in August
He was releasing a book “A Guide to Heritage of Hyderabad: The Natural and the Built” authored by architect Madhu Vottery, here on Sunday. A team from the International Council on Monuments and Sites, an advisory body of UNESCO, will arrive here sometime in August to assess things. “But before that it is important that the violations near monuments, ugly constructions and disfigurements are removed”, Mr. Ranjan said.

Efforts to get UNESCO nomination were being made for the last one decade but it was only now that the process was in full steam. Still there were some monuments which were not tourist-friendly and this had to be corrected, Mr. Ranjan said.

He complimented Ms. Vottery for making a valuable addition to the repository of books on Hyderabad. The book provided important nuggets on the city and listed each and every monument.
With the help of slides, the author threw light on some of the 275 heritage sites listed in the book. A large number of sketches, drawings, maps and pictures made it the most comprehensive guide on the city's heritage structures, she said. V.K. Bawa and Narendra Luther, former bureaucrats, expressed concern over the poor upkeep of heritage sites and said heritage must take precedence over tourism.

The Hindu, 15th December 2010

The freezing of the water surface at Hokersar wetland, home to nearly 7 lakh migratory birds from Europe and Central Asia, has put pressure on the wildlife staff to ensure that the winged visitors stay put.

In the bone-chilling cold, with night temperature falling up to 5° below freezing point, the wildlife staff start the day by breaking ice on the surface and spreading artificial feed for the birds which stay at the wetland during the day before moving for feeding to Wullar lake and other wetlands like Hygam, Shalibugh and Mirgund in the surrounding areas.

“It is nothing new for us. We are used to this practice when the temperature drops and the water surface freezes,” said Range Officer of the wetland Mushtaq Ahmad. Ahmad said the early setting of cold wave condition this year has put extra pressure on the staff, which is already less than adequate. “Usually, the water pools get frozen during ‘Chilaikalan’, the 40-day-long severest part of winter in Kashmir, beginning later this month,” he said.

Spread over 13.75 sq km and located just 14 km from here, the wetland registered a record number of 10 lakh migratory birds last winter.

The birds found in the wetland include migratory ducks and geese — which include Brahminy Duck, Tufted Duck, Gadwall, Garganey, Greylag Goose, Mallard, Common Merganser, Northern Pintail, Common Pochard, Ferruginous Pochard, Red-Crested Pochard, Ruddy Shelduck, Northern Shoveler, Common Teal and Eurasian Wigeon.

The birds fly in from Central Asia, Siberia and Europe between September and April.

“We are hosting nearly 7 lakh birds at present and we are expecting the number to increase further, breaking all records. We are doing our best to ensure their stay,” said Senior Wildlife Guard Ghulam Mohammad, who leads the team entrusted with the job of breaking the thin layer of ice and spreading feed.

He said over the past couple of days, the frozen surface melts only by late afternoon, forcing the staff to break the ice manually before the return of the birds to the wetland. “They (birds) will not leave...They will leave for other wetlands for feeding only after dusk,” Mohammad said.

He said it was impossible for the employees to maintain the wetland without the support of casual labourers. “There are just seven casual labourers who have been doing a tremendous service for nearly a decade in maintaining the wetland. They are getting less than Rs 100 per day,” he added.

Lauding the efforts of labourers, he said they have become experts over the years but since the department has not gone for full time recruitment, their future hangs in balance. “They are manually removing the obnoxious weeds and trying their best to restrict the shrinking of the water pools, using traditional axes,” he said.

“Our plea for confirmation has fallen on deaf ears. We have developed a love for the birds and it is because of this we are continuing with the job. Otherwise, it is impossible to make ends meet on the meager amount we are getting,” said one of the labourers.

He said they were also part of the anti-poaching party. “Poaching is no major problem in the wetland but still we have constituted special squads to protect the birds,” the range officer said.

Admitting shortage of staff, Ahmad said, “Only 10 staff members are posted here. There is need for major recruitment in the wildlife department to help protect and conserve the wetlands,” he said.

The Pioneer, 15th December 2010

Pedestrians will have to keep dodging traffic at their favorite shopping destination, Connaught Place -thanks to New Delhi Municipal Council, which said it is not possible for them to dismantle the parking lots in Inner Circle and convert them into green space. The home ministry, too, recently
informed Rajya Sabha that there are no plans to convert parking lots into a green space - which would have made it a pedestrian-only zone.

"We have not yet received any document which says that the movement of vehicles will be entirely blocked in CP," said Satyendra Garg, joint commissioner of police (traffic).

The traffic police had earlier made several alterations to facilitate smooth flow of vehicles in CP.

NDMC - the civic body responsible for the maintenance of CP - has already planted green strips on some of the stretches, which were earlier used as driveways. Just before the Commonwealth Games, CP was given a facelift, which cost the exchequer Rs 350 crore.

"There are several issues that needs to be taken care of if the civic agency wants to make CP entirely a pedestrian zone. Lack of additional parking facilities anywhere in the vicinity is one of the major problems," said a senior police officer.

The civic agency had also planned to ban private vehicles in Inner Circle some time after the Games. But shopkeepers protested against the move, saying it would turn away shoppers incurring huge losses.

It was working on a 'park and ride' concept, under which people who wanted to enter Inner Circle would have been able to park their vehicles in multi-level parking lots at Baba Kharak Singh Marg and Shivaji Stadium.

Though the construction work started two years ago at both parking lots, it is yet to be completed. Work at the Shivaji stadium was to be completed before the Games.

NDMC was also to run battery-operated buses in the Inner Circle to help shoppers reach wherever they wanted to.

Hindustan Times, 15th December 2010

The news report (Dec 9) about architects discovering Majitha Fort in Amritsar is heartening for heritage lovers. However, at the same time it reflects the insensitivity of the people and the apathetic attitude of the government towards preserving our priceless pieces of history. This is precisely the reason why we see historic monuments across the country, particularly in Punjab, in a neglected state.

Now that the fort has been discovered, it is the responsibility of the government to come forward and launch its restoration work, as it may well turn out to be a huge attraction for tourists. In fact, the government should also start a survey, based on historical references, to locate all such forts and palaces which may have slipped into oblivion with the passage of time. In the present case, the government should ask the ASI to carry out a survey of the site without wasting any more time, as it may unearth a treasure trove of articles of great heritage value.

The Tribune, 16th December 2010

Keoladeo Sanctuary: Plethora of fauna

Look!
There's an owl' shouted a child from a bus window. Seeing birds from windows – any windows – is a treat for city clickers, more used to seeing smog and maybe wire-entr\wined poles. And this was a veritable feast: owls, robins, golden ducks, parrots.... and even wildlife like deer, fox, Nilgai.

I blinked. Yes, of course I would see these lovely creatures, as I was in the Keoladeo bird sanctuary in Bharatpur!

Interestingly, apart from the few special buses allowed inside, the best way to go round the park is in a rickshaw. Yes, a rickshaw, because the rickshaw pullers are the best guides to locate and identify birds! And for people who love to move independently and can do a balancing act off the beaten track so to speak , can hire bicycles but they are not very easy to get these days. Walking, perfect as it sounds, may not be ideal due to the vastness of the area.

Starting at the crack of dawn (4am) from Delhi and dozing a bit on the way, we reached the park at 8am. Its nearly 2km from the main entrance to the parking spot inside the park. Greenery spreads right from the entrance. We came across a few birds which we spotted through our binoculars. Breakfast was amid them too, in a fabulous place in the woods. Energized by the morning tea and stuffed with stuffed parathas we started off on bicycles.

I overheard some curious visitors inquiring at the gate whether they can see any rhinos, tigers or any ferocious animals in the bird sanctuary. Talk about hope springing eternal in the human heart! The guard just gave polite smile behind his thick moustache. Unhappy souls went away disappointed, as they were not enthused about the winged wonders inside!

Just entering the sanctuary we turned right. There was a water body, and a lot of activity. We put down our bags and planned to sit here quietly for a while. But then bird-watching reaches a new level when one is equipped with binoculars and tele-lenses!

There were some Tree Pie apart from some Brahminy Myna or Brahminy Starling. A Kingfisher perched in the distance. before I could capture its bright colours, it disappeared. A tapping sound made me turn around. There as a woodpecker was busy on a tree trunk... and even a pair of woodpeckers clinging to two branches at a distance. Among all these when we were busy locating these birds, a black shouldered kite was right behind on a tree top giving us a piercing look. Soon it vanished displaying its glorious wings.

We could see a drongo sitting on a distant dry branch dangling its cute tail.The robins were as friendly as the storybooks make them out to be. Throughout the day we could go as near as two feet from the bird without annoying it! Far from the road, on a huge tree, sat five spotted owls. Every rickshaw stopped there so that the passengers could gawk at the birds. Since we did not want to be part of the crowd, we decided to take a closer look at them on our way back when the hordes had departed.

Economic Times, 16th December 2010

We decided to look at the other critters in the sanctuary – besides, of course, the monkeys and cows who were all over the place, ambling through the greenery. The vegetation with water bodies, luckily, attracts a wider animal population! Parrots were common but we were on the lookout for the grey hornbill! One has to be very alert to spot one. We came across three of them on a single tree. And some green thing peeping too... Oh, it turned out to be a green pigeon!

A Nilgai ruminated a little away from us, and a closer look revealed that a drongo was enjoying a ride on its back. Nearer the water body, a kingfisher awaited its prey. Then I caught a glimpse of a huge snake moving slowly in the water. Quite near by was a pond heron, surrounded by many other water birds including cormorants, water hen, lapwing and wood ducks. Near by were a few more water bodies with similar activities... Birds, cows, deer, Nilgai were busy munching greens or drinking water. Cattle (cows and bulls) consume huge amounts of water, incidentally, so water has to be pumped out to tide over the dry season. At a pond, three turtles were sunbathing but just as we neared, two of them plunged into the dark green water.

A well placed watch tower gives a panoramic view of the vast greenland, and we also took advantage of it. The hubbub of the wildlife was exciting yet soothing at the same time! An eagle perched on a dry branch sticking out of a shrub and appeared to be calling its mate. The ducks were having a ball in the water, a doe was feeding its young and a temple in the vicinity was the focus of human interest. And once again, a huge snake was rippling through the water.

Economic Times, 16th December 2010

The temple town of Bishnupur in southern Bengal is not only a fine example of folk art, but also showcases the evolved mind of an ancient civilisation, says Sutapa Mukkerjee

They say art flourishes in the imagination despite the means. So it was with the Malla kings of Bengal, who built temples out of burnt clay bricks for their patron god Vishnu because there was no stone in their kingdom! Their legacy lasts in the terracotta art that we see around us. And should you drive down to Bishnupur, the citadel of the ancient rulers just 200 km out of Kolkata, you will understand why temple art in our country is feted for its infinite possibilities and varieties. It also leaves you wondering that if China can sell its terracotta warriors to the world, we too can project this ancient city as our civilisation’s tryst with the red earth in these eco-friendly times.

Driving out of the modern city to its ancient predecessor explains why our forefathers had it right all along, that prosperity was not to be measured only with the grandeur of achievement but with the thought that you put behind nurturing nature. While the Malla kings were almost obsessive about immortalising their love of Krishna through their temples, they had a well-laid out city plan with garden pavilions and numerous water tanks. The countryside is just as lush and serene — women in colourful saris rustling their way through the green paddy field, reeds with cotton white flowers swaying in the breeze, cow bells tinkling, thatched huts springing up here and there, ducks gliding through lotus buds in a village pond, the one-legged palms shadowing the lone ascetic crane and the temple priest sounding the gong for assembling devotees...

The temple construction began in the 16th century. The most interesting part about Bishnupur temples is the fact that unlike the superhuman dimensions associated with this form of architecture, these look like typical Bengal huts with domed roofs and hanging cornices. Perhaps, this was meant to bring the Lord closer home and humanise Him for the understanding of the common man. The masons and sculptors involved in intricately carving friezes and panels on brick compare no less in sophistication to Khajuraho in Madhya Pradesh or Konark in Orissa. Indeed, they speak of a golden age with evolved minds.

The Malla kings ruled Bishnupur for nine centuries until the advent of the Muslims and the British and in the earlier years were known for their military prowess. There’s evidence to support that they had maritime ties with places as far as Mesopotamia. This awareness explains their patronage to the development of distinctive styles of arts, architecture, sculpture and music. During the reign of Veer Hambir, Raja Raghunath Singh and Veer Singh, Bishnupur became one of the principal centres of culture in Bengal.

As you drive down, you spot a temple almost every few metres, most of which are protected by the ASI (Archaeological Survey of India). There are 26 red temples scattered all over what used to be a fort area, some still pristine with green lawns, others victims of neglect but craning above the trees and bushes that have clawed into their innards.

The oldest brick temple is the Rasmancha, which stands out from the rest for its 108 arched gateways, pillared hall and a fanned-out girth. From a distance, it sure looks like a trundling chariot on fire. It has just one singular chamber, the sanctum sanctorum or the garba griha. From this rises an elongated pyramidal tower which gradually tapers down. On the four sides, where it joins the roof, there are a series of hut-shaped turrets, typical of rural Bengal. It was built by Veer Hambir in 1587. He was supposedly extremely tyrannical in his earlier years as a ruler. But a chance meeting with a Vaishnavite ascetic changed him completely and he became an ardent follower of Madan Mohan, the incarnation of Krishna as God of love and benevolence. Hambir’s reign is commonly referred to as the golden era of the Malla dynasty.

The temple was built to host a festival during Holi. Story goes that the king’s men would bring all the idols of Radha Krishna from the length and breadth of the kingdom and collectively install them in these arches. After the priests had chanted the prayers, the idols, most studded with precious stones, would be moved to the inner chamber, which was much like a safety vault. They would be kept here till they were moved back to their original abode.

But there are more divine temptations at the Rasmancha in the form of a mesh of sculptures on walls, domes and pillars. The Bhagavad Purana, which deals with the life and achievement of Lord Krishna, has been a perennial source of inspiration for builders, artisans and craftsmen. And the Bishnupur cluster is no exception. You would find Krishna in various moods, stealing butter, being the cowherd, playing flute, pursuing water sports, dancing with gopis and so on. According to Arputharani Sengupta, who has done an intensive research on terracotta temples in India, “Surprisingly, the treatment of the subject as well as compositions in these temples correspond to the Rajasthani miniature paintings of the period. This points to deeper connections that unite Rajasthan and Bengal in a single thread of devotion to Krishna.”

The Madan Mohan Temple, about 5 km from the Bishnupur station, should be your next stop. Built by Durjan Singh in 1694, you have to climb a few steep steps to get an up close view of its facade. This is a piece of functional architecture, a quadrangular structure squatting on broad pillars. On the eastern end is the temple kitchen while on the southern end is the Natya Mandir, a hall still used for holy congregations. The temple is built in Ekratna style. In other words, it has a single spire which sits atop a curved roof resembling an overturned boat. Apparently, the astute architects thought of the design to drain off rainwater without damaging the temple.

En route, do stop at the stone chariot which was probably built in the 17th century. This is a two-storeyed structure with wheels surmounted on a low laterite plinth. Originally it had 12 wheels, three on each side. The lower storey seems to be a tiny replica of the Rasmancha temple. The chariot may just go unnoticed standing as it does amid local huts with goats grazing around and poultry basking in the soft turf. Somehow instead of taking away the charm, the earthy surrounds lend it a certain character.

The fort of Gumgarh stands silently on top of a hillock. There are two fables that explain the rationale of this square structure. One school of thought believes that criminals were taken right to the top of the wall and flung from there on a bed of upturned swords and spears. However, the more popular theory veers around it being either a water tank or granary. Apart from temples, Bishnupur has some very attractive bunds or large tanks — the Lalbandh, Krishnabandh and Pokabandh were built by the Malla kings around 17th-18th centuries. These were meant to provide water to the villagers and to protect the town from an enemy attack by draining out the water towards them.

A little further away are the twin temples of Krishna and Balram. Shaped like a beehive, these temples are taller than the rest. But it is the five-spired Shyam Rai Temple that is most impressive. Built by Raghunath Singh in 1643, this temple is the most ornamental with decorations on all sides, even underneath ledges.

By the time you move on to the Jor Bangla Temple, so called because it is in the shape of twin huts, you get the beginnings of an intricate design philosophy. For here the war between Ravana and Rama has been carved out on either side of a pillar. While the left side has Ravana and his brother Kumbhakarna, the right displays Rama and Lakshmana. An interesting plaque shows the final journey of the eldest of the Kaurava clan, Bhishma, lying on a bed of arrows. Punctuating these portrayals are plaques depicting scenes from daily life symbolic of life equating itself with divinity. The proximity of village life and sacredness in these reliefs also gave Bishnupur another legacy. That of sari-weaving. The famed Baluchari saris, so called because their natural dyes were probably sun-dried on sand flats, replicate motifs from temple reliefs. Today, they make for an elegant boutique specialty.

There are also some imaginative creatures and mythical scenes which belie any reference point. For example, there is an eagle-like bird with unbelievable strength which holds up five elephants, one in each claw! Perhaps the artist had had a vision. Perhaps he had intended to perpetuate divine might for posterity. Or perhaps, he was just working on a metaphor. Whatever the motive, the result is simply stunning. And should you, like me, be a poetry lover, you may just be tempted to rip off John Keats’ Ode to The Grecian Urn and paste it on an empty plaque:

“When old age shall this generation waste,/ Thou shalt remain, in midst of other woe/ Than ours, a friend to man, to whom thou say’st,/ Beauty is truth, truth beauty.”

GETTING THERE
Air India has daily flights from Agartala, Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi, Guwahati, Mumbai, Port Blair and Silchar and frequent flights from Ahmedabad, Aizawl, Bagdogra, Dibrugarh, Dimapur, Gaya, Hyderabad, Imphal, Jaipur, Jorhat, Shillong and Silchar to Kolkata. Internationally, the airline links Bangkok, Frankfurt, Kathmandu, London, New York and Yangon with Kolkata.

By Train: There are direct trains from Howrah to Bishnupur.

By Road: Bishnupur is 200 from Kolkata by road. A number of buses leave Kolkata’s Esplanade and Shahid Minar Bus Terminus to Bishnupur. Or you could drive down. There are two routes to Bishnupur. One goes via Singur and Arambagh. The other goes via Durgapur and Bankura town. We chose the second one, as we were told this road was better. It’s a fairly straightforward road. You turn left from Muchipara in Durgapur on NH2. Crossing Durgapur station and then the barrage you cross Barjora town and then turn left before hitting Bankura town. After this, you cross the little town of Onda and then Ramsagar. After Ramsagar turn left towards Bishnupur.

Pick up: A long-necked terracotta horse, the mascot of the town and a very good souvenir. Panchmura is the artists’ village where traditional burnt clay models are crafted. The raw material, a particular type of clay, is collected from a faraway place. It then undergoes a lengthy process at the potter’s wheel and takes marvellous shapes as per the artist’s innovation. The clay models are then burnt and the material used for burning gives them the unique colour. If wood is used to light up fire, the colour becomes reddish. On the other hand, it becomes black if cow dung cakes are used. Only a handful of families are engaged in this traditional form of handicraft which has been passed from one generation to the next. Baluchari and tussar silk saris, bell metal, shell handicraft and quaint circular playing cards called ganijifa are other specialties.

Best time to go: Bishnupur is a round-the-year destination. However, the best time is in August during the annual Jhapan festival and in the last week of December when the Bishnupur Mela takes place.

The Pioneer, 19th December 2010

In a surprising move, the civic authorities here have filled up the site where an “ancient structure” was unearthed during digging work carried out to lay a sewerage line in the Lohgarh area here.

The structure was discovered on Wednesday when the MC and the Punjab
Water Supply and Sewerage Board were working on an underground sewerage system of the walled city. The Amritsar MC had intimated the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) about the structure on the same day, but they were yet to receive any positive response from the latter. MC Commissioner DPS Kharbanda admitted that he had informed the ASI authorities about it, but was not aware of their response.

“The sewerage board is the executing agency and they will be able to comment on the ongoing work there." Sewerage board Superintending Engineer GK Goyal said the filling up of the site had nothing to do with the structure. “There was a leakage in an old sewer line and subsequently the trench was filled with water. As we were not able to control it, we filled it up with earth,” he said, adding that the ASI inspection was still possible and they were ready to pave the way for it.

Meanwhile, Rachanpuneet Singh, a conservation architect, and Rawal

Singh, a lecturer with GND University’s Architecture Department, today claimed that the structure could be an entrance gate with a room atop it. They said such gateways were a common feature in the walled city and still one such gate exists at Katra Dullo. Ruling out the theory of a tunnel, they said there were three arches in the trench, which had been levelled, but the arches were nowhere to be seen in the second trench. Moreover, no historic remains were found in the second trench.

“Had it been a tunnel, there would have been some continuity and some remnants would also have been found in the second trench, which is not the case here,” they added.

On the other hand, Bhagwant Singh and Joginder Singh, both traders from the area, claimed that the structure unearthed was the foundation of the shops which were shifted back many years ago to broaden the passage between the shops. However, a few others dubbed it old drainage system.

The Tribune, 19th December 2010

Ayan Ghosh is hopeful that Sandip Ray’s recent release will rekindle interest in an oasis of calm in the centre of Kolkata

The release of Sandip Ray’s film, Gorosthane sabdhaan, based on his father’s book of the same name, will hopefully rekindle interest in Kolkata’s South Park Street Cemetery. Opened in 1767, it is an oasis of calm in the centre of the city. The earliest grave dates to 1768 and the last memorial was erected in the late 19th century. A walk down the main cemented path reveals a vast, imperial necropolis, an open-air museum of a large number of (primarily) Victorian funerary sculptures. The architectural feature of the tombs imitated the glory of the British Raj. In City of Dreadful Night (1891) – a scathing commentary on colonial Kolkata — Rudyard Kipling sarcastically wrote about the Park Street cemetery, “The tombs are small houses. It is as though we walked down the streets of a town, so tall are they and so closely do they stand – a town shrivelled by fire, and scarred by frost and siege. Men must have been afraid of their friends rising up before the due time that they weighted them with such cruel mounds of masonry.”

Here lie Henry Vivian Louis Derozio, who inspired “Young Bengal”; Sir William Jones, the great Sanskrit scholar and founder of the Asiatic Society; Rose Aylmer, whom the poet Landor immortalised; and Lady Anne Monson, a great-granddaughter of Charles II. Others who rest here are still recalled — despite the best efforts of the government for over six decades — by the streets named after them: Colonel Vansittart, whose wife was a descendant of Oliver Cromwell; Lt-Col Robert Kyd, the distinguished botanist and founder of the East India Company’s Botanical Gardens across the river; Charles Short and Sir John Royd; and the sons of Captain Cook and Charles Dickens.

One of the most unusual mausoleums in this imperial necropolis is that of Major-General Charles Stuart. It is in the shape of a Hindu temple, with lotuses in full bloom. Apparently, the temple was embellished with beautiful Indian sculptures from Stuart’s personal collection, but over the past 200 years or so these have disappeared. Stuart was also reputed to have taken into his coffin other prized sculptures (idols of Hindu deities) – but only excavation (like that of Satyajit Ray’s fictional Perigar Repeater in Gorosthaane saabdhaan) – can now determine the veracity of this claim.

Charles Stuart was the son of Thomas Smyth, sometime MP for Limerick, and Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Thomas Prendergast, First Baronet. Born in 1758, Stuart joined the services of the East India Company as a cadet in 1877. Conversion to Islam was not unheard of around the time that Stuart arrived in India; however, he appears to have been one of the first to follow the tenets of Hinduism, and from quite early on used to walk to the Ganges in the morning for a ritualistic dip. Major VCP Hodson’s biography of Stuart mentions that he “had studied the language, manners and customs of the natives of this country with so much enthusiasm, his intimacy with them ... obtained for him the name of Hindoo Stuart”.

Since later British Indian history was starkly different, it may be worthwhile to better understand the context in which Stuart began his practice of Hinduism. Linda Colley’s recent book, Captives, describes how there was a time when Indians looked on their would-be British rulers in a very different and much less flattering manner than later; when they thought of the British military as effeminate, indeed as little better than eunuchs. Colley’s thesis is that the unprecedented military success and world political and economic domination achieved by the Victorian British had blinded the world to the smallness and vulnerability of Britain in the preceding two and a half centuries: and the defeat of British troops at the hands of Tipu Sultan at Pollilur in 1780, only a few months before the equally disastrous surrender of Yorktown and the loss of America, had been consciously edited out of the historical record.

Pollilur – three years after Stuart landed in India — led to the slaughter of an entire army and the capture of one in five of all the British soldiers in India! No fewer than 7,000 British men, along with an unknown number of women, were held captive by Tipu in the fortress of Seringapatam. Of these, more than 300 were circumcised and given Muslim names and clothes. Even more humiliatingly, several British regimental drummer boys were made to wear ghagra cholis and entertain the Mysore court as dancing girls. The image of the British defeat at Pollilur, painted on the walls of Tipu’s summer palace at Seringapatam, is interpreted by Colley as showing how Mysore’s victors viewed the surrounded British at the moment when the latter’s defeat became certain: “The white soldiers all appear in uniform jackets of red, a colour associated in India with eunuchs and women.”

Moreover, the British are “conspicuously and invariably clean shaven. Neatly side-burned, with doe-like eyes, raised eyebrows and pretty pink lips, they have been painted to look like girls, or at least creatures that are not fully male”.

One wonders to what extent Pollilur influenced Stuart’s campaigning for British troops to be encouraged to grow extensive facial hair as otherwise their masculinity would not be taken seriously by their Indian enemies, noting that until he himself grew a beard, “mendicants supplicated me, for charity, by the appellation of Beeby Saheb, mistaking my sex from the smoothness of my face”. He also permitted his “seypoys to appear on parade with their brightly painted caste marks and full moustaches”. This issue got Stuart into serious trouble – but not enough to stop him from achieving high rank. He was the Quarter Master of the First Bengal European Regiment (1786-94) and steadily rose through the ranks to command the Saugor (Sagar) Field Force as a Major-General between1819 and 1822.

It says something for the permissiveness of the day, the weakness of the company’s rule and Stuart’s own standing that he managed to get away with so much that would, only 50 years later, have surely brought about his downfall. It is also true that had Stuart’s successors subscribed to his wise view that “if their religion is insulted what confidence can we repose in the fidelity of our Hindu soldiers?” the events of 1857 may have been different.

However, even to his contemporaries, Stuart was distinctly eccentric.

“Incredible as it may sound,” wrote one horrified officer, “there is at this moment a British general in the Company’s service who observes all the customs of the Hindoos, makes offerings at their temples, carries about their idols with him, and is accompanied by fakirs who dress his food. He is not treated as a madman, but would not perhaps be misplaced if he had his idols, fakirs, bedas, and shasters, in some corner of Bedlam, removed from its more rational and unfortunate inmates.”

One of his colonels, William Linnaeus Gardner, himself a British convert to Islam, wrote how “he regularly performs his pooja and avoids the sight of beef”. Later, Gardner noted that Stuart was planning to take a week off to bathe at the Kumbh Mela, where he was later seen sitting “surrounded by a dozen naked faqueers who, joining their hands over his head, gave him Benediction… Every Hindoo he salutes with Jey Sittaramjee”. Stuart’s convictions were such that he took on the missionaries by publishing, in 1808, a book called the Vindications of the Hindoos in which he tried to discourage any attempt by European missionaries to convert the Hindus, arguing that “on the enlarged principles of moral reasoning, Hinduism little needs the meliorating hand of Christianity to render its votaries a sufficiently correct and moral people for all the useful purposes of a civilised society”.

On the subject of Hindu mythology which the missionaries ridiculed at every turn, Stuart wrote, “Whenever I look around me in the vast region of Hindoo Mythology, I discover piety in the garb of allegory: and I see Morality, at every turn, blended with every tale; and, as far as I can rely on my own judgment, it appears the most complete and ample system of Moral allegory that the world has ever produced.”

Stuart was not just an admirer of the Indian religions, he was also an enthusiastic devotee of Indian fashions, and in the early years of the 19th century he wrote a series of articles in which he tried to persuade the European women of Kolkata to adopt the “elegant, simple, sensible and sensual” sari on the grounds that it was so much more attractive than “the prodigious structural engineering Europeon (sic) women strapped themselves into in order to hold their bellies in, project their breasts out and allow their dresses to balloon grandly up and over towards the floor”.

Perhaps inevitably, the articles did not impress the Kolkata memsahibs, who wrote a series of angry letters denouncing Stuart as “an immoral libertine” with “enervated Oriental ideas!” The General took this in his stride and published the correspondence in a “deliciously silly volume” entitled The Ladies Monitor, Being A Series of Letters First published in Bengal On the Subject of Female Apparel Tending to Favour a regulated adoption of Indian Costume And a rejection of Superflous Vesture By the Ladies of this country With Incidental remarks on Hindoo Beauty, Whale-Bone Stays, Iron Busks, Indian Corsets, Man-Milliners, Idle Bachelors, Hair-Powder, Waiting Maids, And Footmen.

On retirement from the Army after 45 years of service, Stuart settled in Kolkata, taking up residence in Wood Street, and one can still imagine the elderly General, walking barebodied and barefoot for his early morning dip to the Ganges, and later feeding the poor and needy in his house. Stuart gained some notoriety in the manner in which he acquired his collection of

Hindu idols and sculptures; but this was offset to an extent by his converting the Wood Street house into a museum of sorts, into which any interested passer-by was welcomed, and frequently a conducted tour by the paan-chewing owner was given with much pleasure. Stuart was reputed to have married an Indian woman and over the years not only did his knowledge of the country’s arts, culture and spirituality become unrivalled, it was tempered by knowledge, sympathy and understanding of its people that only comes when one embraces them as one’s own.

General Stuart apparently had expressed a desire to return to his home country with his fabulous collection of Indian art but death intervened on 31 March 1828. His body was interred in the South Park Street Cemetery in his little temple, according to his wishes — tribute to a man who had embraced two cultures and made two faiths his own. Stuart’s fabulous hoard of antiquities was auctioned by Christie’s in 1830 and purchased by one James Bridge. The collection was acquired by the British Museum in 1872 where it still resides as the “Bridge Collection”.

The Statesman, 19th December 2010

Owing to the influx of hazardous chemicals and other effluents into the Ghaggar, the flora and fauna is running a great risk in areas irrigated by distributaries originating from the Ottu weir near Rania town in this district.

A large number of fish has been dying in the Ottu Lake daily, complained a fishing contractor. Not only fish, other creatures living under water have also been dying due to the highly polluted waters, leading to all-pervading stink in the vicinity of the Ghaggar.

Originating from the Shivaliks, the Ghaggar reaches Sirsa after passing through parts of Himachal, Punjab and Haryana and has become a source of irrigation for farmers of over a hundred villages of Rania, Ellenabad and Chopta blocks in this district over the years.

Though no water flows in the Ghaggar, except for the monsoon season, a large quantity of water is stored in the Ottu Lake and is used during the rest of the year. At present, six distributaries emanate from the Ghaggar from the Ottu weir and irrigate thousands of acres.

The water from these distributaries is also sometimes used for watering cattle and by children for bathing.

“The chemical-mixed water of the Ghaggar is causing harm to the soil. The water is also polluting the sub-soil water,” said a senior officer of the Haryana Agriculture Department requesting anonymity.

He said though the exact damage caused by the pollution could not be quantified, the reports that certain villages near Bathinda had witnessed a spurt in the incidents of cancer due to the influx of effluents into the areas was sufficient to gauge the gravity of the situation.

A farmer, Sukhdev Singh, rued that the underground water in their area had also become polluted due to the “poisonous” water of the Ghaggar. Farmers complain that the river waters contain effluents that enter it in Kalka, Pinjore, Panchkula and Ambala.

The pollution in it is caused by the discharge of untreated industrial waste and sewage from Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh and Punjab, they maintain.

Chairman of the Haryana State Pollution Control Board AS Chahal maintained that monitoring of the Ghaggar involved some problems due to the “inter-state nature” of the river. He said the meandering nature of the river made it all the more difficult and any proper monitoring of the influx of industrial waste into it was not possible without the participation of members of the Central Pollution Control Board.

Chahal said the board conducted checks as and when a complaint was received and a recent complaint against a Sirsa-based paperboard mill was examined and found false.

He maintained that the wastewater from Ambala town also entered the river and that too was a polluting factor for the Ghaggar.

The Tribune, 20th December 2010

Terming the concept of interlinking of rivers of the country ridiculous, noted environmentalist and activist Rajendra Singh said any such attempt will cause immeasurable damage to the environment.

During Paryavaran Panchayat on Sunday, the Magsaysay Award winner said: “Every river of the country has its uniqueness in terms of biodiversity. Any attempt to interlink rivers will not only disturb biodiversity but also create environmental imbalances.”

Popularly known as ‘Pani Purush’ (Water Man), Singh is praised for his constant effort in reviving seven dead rivers in Rajasthan and for his related campaign in the field of water conservation. “Rivers in Jharkhand are either running dry or getting polluted everyday, if we can revive rivers in Rajasthan why cannot in Jharkhand,” he said. Advocating the need for a sustained campaign and public awareness in Jharkhand he appealed the media and the people of the State to force the Government to fulfill its responsibility.

Singh warned the corporate houses have posed a big threat on water resources as they are consuming water resources for production. The Water Man expressed serious concern as it has left a vast chunk of population, even poor, to purchase drinking water. “Water resources,” he said, “has been hit hard by the greed of so-called development. Rivers of the country are now turning into sewage.”

Calling the mass to wake up before it is too late, Singh insisted the need for a rational water policy before the precious resource goes beyond the reach.

The organiser of Open Forum Debate and BJP leader and activist of Save Damodar River campaign, Saryu Rai, in his presidential note blasted pollution control boards for colluding with industrial houses in giving the no-objection certificate. “Those who have actually been assigned the task of environmental assessment impact are the biggest culprit,” he said. Talking about threat to the existence of the Damodar river, Rai said while in the constitution Damodar Valley Corporation has been vested with rights to penalise guilty of pollution, it has not exercised its power duly. He quoted instances when the tributaries of Damodar have been turned into slurry pond.

The BJP leader advocated there is a need for water police in Jharkhand to protect this precious resource.

Extending the debate from water conservation to forest, others speakers suggested the need to phase out economic activities in the reserved forest areas. Other suggestions were bifurcating of Environment department from Forest department. They suggested a power bio-diversity and bio-technology board to force industrial houses to follow the environmental laws. An autonomous agency to monitor the functioning of the units like pollution control boards and such others was also sought.

The Open Forum discussion was participated by other famous activists and experts like RK Sinha, known as Dolphin Man (Dept of Environment, Patna University); AJ Soloman Raju (Andhra University), Gopal Sharma (Zoological Survey of India), Ajay Kumar (Urological Survey of India), retired additional Chief Secretary of Madhya Pradesh Government SK Satpathy, and principal secretary of Water Resource department.

‘The Pioneer capable of setting protection agenda’

Rajendra Singh praised the role of the newspapers like The Pioneer in raising environmental issues prominently. “The Pioneer has been raising issues related to environment which is praiseworthy,” he said. He said that the newspapers have the potential to set agenda for the protection of environment.

The Pioneer, 20th December 2010

Hazrat Nizamuddin Basti, occupying one of the prime locations of Delhi, will soon gain a green cover and cleanliness deserving of an area with such historical importance. The Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC), as part of its renewal project, has begun changing the landscape of the place by creating green belts in the spaces that were formerly used as garbage dumps.

The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), meanwhile, also plans to upgrade civic amenities in the area, such as drainage, toilets and parking. On December 15, the Standing Committee of the MCD approved a sum of Rs 1.14 crore to be used in the first phase of the project — repairing of the stormwater drains, streetscaping and building new toilets. The entire project, which is planned on a big scale and will take nearly seven years to complete, has a budget of Rs 10.67 crore.

The second phase will include construction of parking slots and a water-recycling mechanism. According to AKTC and MCD officials, the idea is not just to restore monuments but also upgrade the area and improve the living conditions of its residents without changing the character of the locality.

Despite being nestled between the majestic Humayun’s Tomb and upscale localities like Jangpura, the Basti is currently in an abysmal state of cleanliness. The AKTC plans to clear away the dirt from spaces that intercept the bylanes of the Basti and turn them all into green zones. According to officials, while the area draws a lot of tourists, with monuments such as the Dargah of Nizamuddin Auliya, Mazar-e-Ghalib, Baoli and Chaunsath Khamba dotting it, the place itself has not been maintained in a befitting manner.

Work has begun on three small parks,while many more are going to come up soon. AKTC project director Ratish Nanda said that work on one of the parks, meant strictly for women and children, has already begun. The parks are expected to be completed by the end of January next year.

Under their “landscaping” plan, the MCD and the AKTC will put up tiles and streetlights on the pavements that match the décor of the dargah and other monuments. Farhad Suri, councillor of the area and former mayor, said the upgrade plan has been in the pipeline for the last three years and will be undertaken in a phased manner.

For the AKTC, the Nizamuddin Basti is part of The Humayun’s Tomb-Sunder Nursery-Hazrat Nizamuddin Basti Urban Renewal Project, for which it has partnered with the DDA, the Archaeological Survey of India, the Central Public Works Department and the MCD. The parks, which are currently being developed, belong to the DDA.

To make the Basti greener, the AKTC will also plant trees near buildings and revamp the roundabouts.

Indian Express, 21st December 2010

A senior scientist of Dehradun-based Wildlife Institute of India (WII) has warned that Orissa’s Gahirmatha marine sanctuary may no longer be the world’s largest rookery of the Olive Ridley marine turtles, due to massive erosion.

The spectacular arribada (Spanish for “mass congregation”) of Olive Ridleys for nesting has intrigued both scientists and nature lovers throughout the world as they are trying to find out why these tiny turtles swim thousands of miles before they haul themselves onto the sandy beaches of Orissa.

The state’s coast has Olive Ridley rookeries at the Gahirmatha and Rushikulya rivermouths — two of seven known in the world. The Gahirmatha rookery had a nesting beach running 32 km when it was discovered in 1974-75. According to wildlife officials, researchers and activists, at least 2-3 lakh turtles used to congregate there every February-March for nesting.

Senior scientist B C Choudhury of the WII’s endangered species division told The Indian Express that the Gahirmatha nesting beach has shrunk to 900 metres in the past three decades. “A few years ago the migratory turtles used to lay eggs on a 6-km-long sandbar which got divided into two — Nasi I and Nasi II islands. The turtles have deserted Nasi-I while Nasi II, where they now lay eggs, is about 900 metres long,” he said.

Turtle researcher in the Orissa Wildlife Department Chandra Sekhar Kar agreed that the government is concerned about the erosion but claims Gahirmatha is still the largest rookery for Olive Ridleys. “In 2009-10, more than 3.5 lakh turtles nested at Gahirmatha,” he said.

Choudhury and other wildlife activists believe the figures are exaggerated. “There’s no way to verify them. The Wildlife Department does not allow WII or other wildlife activists to go near Gahirmatha, calling it a defence area,” Choudhury said.

Gahirmatha’s shrinking could have made the Rushikulya rivermouth, at 5 km long, the world’s largest mass nesting beach. Choudhury said more studies were necessary to understand if nesting beaches are shrinking because of coastal geomorphological changes or for development. The geomorphological changes include the formation of a new mass nesting beach close to Wheeler’s Island at Dhamra off the Bay of Bengal. Last season, Olive Ridleys were seen migrating to a sandbar off Wheeler’s Island, where the DRDO tests ballistic missiles. The DRDO is spending a lot to check erosion of Wheeler’s. “If it protects the new nesting beach , turtles can be saved,” said Choudhury.

Activists fear for Rushikulya too as a new port is coming up at Palur, 5 km from the beach. South of this beach, about 12 km away, the Gopalpur port is dredging a channel; this too may affect the nesting beaches.

Indian Express, 21st December 2010

You don’t have to fly to Copenhagen or Cancun to save the planet. The other day Pradip Krishen, author of Trees of Delhi, took us for an excursion in Mangarbani valley. It is a 100-hectare jungle, mostly consisting of Dhau trees, in Aravalli hills.

The solitude of the woods, only a few miles outside south Delhi, is refreshing. The forest is sacred, the trees are worshipped and there are two temples. The valley has a village of Gujjar herdsmen who believe in a mystic called Gudariya Baba. They warn: cut a tree’s branch and get ready for the Baba’s wrath. On Sundays, village children share stories of the invisible Baba under a Banyan tree.

Local lore apart, walking in the valley would make you sensitive to the preciousness of our receding green cover. The forest’s wilderness — intertwined trees, twisted trunks, thorny twigs, rocky riverbeds, bird sounds — is uplifting. But the continuous ghrrrr of airplanes preparing to land at the Indira Gandhi airport reminds you that the concrete civilisation is not far. This savage beauty is fragile.

In his book, Krishen writes, “Mangarbani is a sacred forest, consecrated in the memory of... a local holy man, and protected by superstition that anyone who breaks a branch or grazes his goats here will suffer harm.

“It seems to work rather well. Gujjar herdsmen with their goats or cattle skirt the valley nervously, calling urgently or throwing stones when an animal grazes too close to the valley’s edge. One result of this sacred conversation strategy is that Mangarbani has become a little outdoor museum of what Delhi’s Ridge — or at any rate, the steeper bits of it — might have looked like without biotic pressure.”

Reaching Mangarbani is easy. Take the road to Chattarpur and drive towards Faridabad. A few minutes after crossing the Delhi border, you would spot a dumping site on the right. Turn into the rutty track and keep driving till you reach a dead-end. Your walk starts from that point.

Hindustan Times, 21st December 2010

Once again, the ancient Shiva temple at Baijnath is facing a threat to its existence.Despite stiff opposition of local residents, environmentalists and other social bodies, illegal mining near the ancient Shiva temple is still going on, posing a serious threat to the historical temple built in 1204 along the banks of the Binwa river.

Till date, no step has been initiated by the state government in this regard. The illegal mining activities have put a question mark on the future of the temple, which encompasses the essential features of the Nagara temples.

Earlier in 2008, The Tribune carried a news reports in these columns pertaining to the damage casued to the temple. Thereafter, the state government came in action and the SDM, Baijnath, banned the mining in the Binwa river. But later on, the officer was shifted and the illegal mining once again started adjoining the temple.

It may be recalled that on a PIL, the Himachal Pradesh High Court had banned all mining activities near the temple complex, but there was none to implement the orders of the High Court. At present, the temple is under the administrative control of the state government and the Archaeological Survey of India is maintaining the old structure.

It has spent lakhs of rupees on the maintenance and development of surroundings of the temple during the past 10 years. Thousands of domestic and foreign tourists visit the temple every year. Besides, the state government has constituted a trust to manage its affairs.

The temple, which remained intact during the major earthquake of Kangra in 1905, has been badly damaged by the unscientific mining in the river in the past 15 years.

Raja Sansar Chand, a Katoch ruler of Kangra, renovated the temple in the 19th century, but Aurel Steil, who studied it in 1892, said it had not undergone much alteration except the roof. Meanwhile, the district mining officer, when contacted by The Tribune, said all efforts were being made to check the mining near the temple. He said the mining wing was facing shortage of field staff.

He had urged the government to post a regular mining inspector at Baijnath to check the illegal mining. He disclosed that state government had also given powers to the DFO, the SDM, junior enginers of the IPH and the PWD to check the mining.

The Tribune, 21st December 2010

Monsoon's bountiful rainfall creating several water bodies all over the State and neighbouring regions and the delayed onset of winter in this part of the country has deprived the famous Nal Sarovar of its annual visit by thousands of migratory birds from the colder regions of the globe.

The Nal Sarovar, a natural water body of 121 square kilometres, about 72 kilometres west of the city, gets several thousands of migratory birds every year during winter. Birds like flamingoes, pelicans and other breeds, mostly from cool countries north of Himalayas flock here with the onset of winter, and the Nal Sarovar becomes a popular tourist spot during these months.

But the migratory birds have given a wide berth to their favourite spot this year owing to the twin reasons of excess rains and delayed winter.

Principal Chief Conservator of Forests (PCCF) RV Asari told The Pioneer on Monday that plentiful rains this year had created many more water bodies elsewhere too in the region, which has scattered the avian population that has arrived. Whatever birds have arrived, have been distributed all over the region this year due to creation of several smaller water bodies, Asari reasoned.

Moreover, the weather here is not yet chilly enough for winter birds like flamingoes and pelicans to arrive, the PCCF added.

Deputy Conservator of

Forests (Nal Sarovar), PA Patel offers more detailed reasons for the very few flamingo and pelican arrivals this year at the huge lake sandwiched between Ahmedabad and Surendranagar districts.

Patel told The Pioneer that flamingoes and pelicans wade and feed on fish in shallow water of around three feet depth. It is easy for them to catch fish that way, he said.

But the depth of water in most parts of the lake now is four to five feet due to heavy rains this year, Patel explained
why the bigger migratory birds have shunned the Nal Sarovar this season. However, smaller birds like coots and grebes which dive inside water to catch fish are aplenty this year, he said.

The other smaller birds which have arrived this year include various types of ibis, open bill storks, common teal, purple moor hen and common cranes.

The DCF sees a silver lining in the late arrival of flamingoes and pelicans after the Nal Sarovar water dries up to an average depth of three feet. As the lake shrinks due to drying up February onwards, the water also turns saline, a perfect situation for the flamingoes and pelicans, Patel said.

The stay of migratory birds at the Nal Sarovar would be prolonged till April though they are arriving late this year, Patel adds.

But Asari is hesitant to hazard a guess about exactly when the winged visitors from cooler climes would arrive at their favourite nesting site.

The Pioneer, 22nd December 2010

The Energy and Wetlands Research Group (EWRG) at the Centre for Ecological Sciences, the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), will conduct the seventh biennial lake conference, 'Lake 2010' from December 22, to bring out the latest trends in wetlands conservation.

With wetlands conservation gaining significance, the three-day symposium will have several sessions emphasising mainly on the latest trends in ecosystem conservation, restoration and management.

EWRG senior scientist Dr T V Ramachandra said Lake 2010 would focus on ‘Wetlands, Biodiversity and Climate Change’ to commemorate the International Year of Biodiversity.

“The United Nations has declared 2010 as the International Year of Biodiversity. This provides a unique opportunity to increase understanding of the vital role that biodiversity plays in sustaining life on earth,” he said.

He said the symposium aims at bringing awareness among school students, teachers and public about wetlands conservation. “This also provides a forum for researchers, technologists, economists, sociologists and others to meet and discuss water-related issues,” he said.

Explaining the ill effects of climate change, Ramachandra said there was a growing evidence that biological diversity will be severely threatened by rapid climate change.

“Much of the hydrological changes will be reflected in changes in freshwater ecosystem, including wetlands. The biological impacts include dwindling of biodiversity, habitat damage and loss of spawning grounds of aquatic organisms, reduction in inland fisheries resources and loss of vegetation.”

He said the symposium will identify significant natural, recreational, economic, cultural, scenic resources and aquatic ecosystem values and potential threats to aquatic resources. It will recommend policies and actions that can be undertaken to restore, maintain or enhance aquatic resources.

Deccan Herald, 22nd December 2010

Butterfly species found in himachal valley

Scientists at the High Altitude Regional Centre of Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) have discovered a rare species of butterfly known as Silvery Meadow Blue in Paangi Valley of Chamba district of Himachal Pradesh, 515km from Shimla.

The butterfly species, earlier reported in Pakistan and Afghanistan, has been reported for the first time in India by a scientific team led by Avtar Kaur Sidhu, head of the ZSI centre, in surveys conducted between 2007 and 2009.

The Silvery Meadow Blue was among 36 species of butterflies the scientists observed during the survey of the valley. “The Silvery Meadow Blue has been reported for the very first time in India,” said Sidhu. “We found 36 species of butterflies in Pangi out of which three to four species are rare and have been listed under the Wildlife Protection Act,” said Sidhu, who had spotted the Silvery Meadow Blue in July 2008 and July 2009.

The Silvery Meadow Blue (Polyommatus florience) butterflies are found in areas 3,000 metres above sea level. It likes meadows and areas outside forests and can be found during the month of July when the high altitude areas experience a late-flowering season.

A leading entomologist who specialises in butterflies said the Silvery Meadow Blue appears to belong to a family of temperate-zone butterflies found in low temperature regions such as central Asia.

The discovery of this rare butterfly in Himachal Pradesh also suggests that a host plant specific to this species is also found here, said Krishnappa Chandrashekara, a senior entomologist at the University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore. “All butterflies are very specific about the plants that their larvae feed on. The host plant for this species is likely to be growing across this high altitude region.”

Chandrashekara said it is possible that the rare butterfly always existed in India’s northernmost regions, and hadn’t been observed earlier. But if it is a new arrival, he said, it would be scientifically interesting.

“In a warming climate, we would expect temperate zone butterflies to move from lower latitudes to higher latitudes, instead we would be seeing this species moving slightly southward,” he said.

The Pangi valley of Himachal Pradesh is home to 36 species of butterflies out of which about half are oriental and half are Palearctic fauna.

“Besides the Silvery Meadow Blue, we have also reported Walnut Blue (which destroys walnut leaves), Black Vein Fritillary, Chequered Blue, Whiteline Hair Streak, Violet Meadow Blue, Common Meadow Blue, Large Green Underwing, Dusky Green Under Wing and Tawny Meadow Brown butterfly species from the valley,” Sidhu said.

Silvery Meadow Blue is incidental polynator.

The Telegraph, 22nd December 2010

In February, 1880, The Times of India reported with much relish about the meeting of a Russian scholar with learned Indian Sanskrit pundits. Ivan Minayev deeply impressed Indians with his extraordinary and refined knowledge of this ancient language. A Russian's mastery of Sanskrit may have created a splash in India at that time, but that was because not many knew about the Russian School of Indological Research.

Starting from Gerasim Lebedev, who is considered a pioneer in this field, many outstanding Russian researchers had engaged in comprehensive and insightful research into the fields of Indian history, political structure, economy, culture, philosophy, religion, literature and arts.

India and Indian culture have never ceased to interest Russian scholars and Russians. Ivan P. Minayev (1840 –1890) holds a special place in the galaxy of such renowned scholars. His encyclopedic knowledge of India, extraordinary language skills, inexhaustible enthusiasm combined with the aspiration to realise India as a living entity, an indissoluble unity of the past and the present, which he was so lucky to witness, entitles him to a place in the constellation of the best researchers of the world.

Minayev was no ordinary savant. The Russian scholar deserves special praise since he, unlike many of his Western colleagues who mostly concentrated on the so-called “classical” India, found contemporary India an equally important field of research. For the first time in Russia, he articulated the task of composite interdisciplinary approach towards the studies of Indian realities based on the conception of the uninterrupted process of cultural and historical evolution.

From the methodological point of view, it was a breakthrough of sorts, pioneering the path towards the research into this country given the dynamics of its culture-historical and socio-political development. Minayev gained global recognition due to his seminal research works on the history of Buddhism and Pali philology, as well as translations of early Buddhist texts and studies of this doctrine and phases of its development. His major work, “Buddhism. Research and Materials” (Volume 1, Edition One and Two), published in 1887, was based on a composite cultural, historical and social methodological approach to this phenomena. In the course of his analysis, which makes this study really unique, the scholar correlated archaeological discoveries, epigraphical and written sources related to the history of Buddhism with the day-to-day and religious life of Buddhist sangha, various aspects of Buddhist congregations, as well as with the activities of its main branches and movements based on this belief.

The Russian scholar also attributed great importance to the translation and publication of ancient Indian texts, actively contributing to the introduction of these rare manuscripts to the Russian and European academic community. His excellent command over Pali and Sanskrit, as well as the knowledge of many contemporary Indian languages and some Pahari dialects, allowed him to communicate freely with various strata of people in India living in the regions and territories which he travelled across, collecting and accumulating unique historical data, which he subsequently commented upon in the notes of his journeys to India, Nepal and Ceylon in 1874-75, to India in 1880 and to India and Burma in 1885-86.

Afterhis expedition to Garhwal and Kumaon regions, Minayev compiled a unique anthology of the local folklore – fairy tales, legends and rare pieces of the so-called “folk farce”, which had been performed during the Almora market. The Russian readers were greatly impressed by these publications. Legendary Russian author Leo Tolstoy commented enthusiastically in 1877 on the publication of Minayev’s “Indian Fairy Tales and Legends, collected in Kumaon in 1875”.

However, despite the broad range of Minayev’s research, most of of his writings remain unfamiliar to Indians. After a gap of almost fifty years, when his “Travels in and Diaries of India and Burma” was published from Kolkata, another masterpiece, “Old India: Notes on Afanasy Nikitin’s Voyage Beyond the Three Seas”, is now being brought out by the Russian embassy jointly with the Eurasian Foundation to commemorate the 170th birth anniversary of its author.

While commenting on the 15th century travelogue of the merchant from the city of Tver, who happened to be the first explorer of the Indian market, the Russian scholar analysed in detail Nikitin’s observations and also described many aspects of medieval India’s socio-economic, political and day-to-day life in historical perspective, tracing the genesis of their development upto the 19th century. He compared medieval India, as gleaned from Nikitin’s travelogue and other sources, with the situation in the colonial India. The travel notes of the merchant from Tver, who pioneered trade relations between Russia and India, looks set to get a second life, which looks very symbolical in the context of a breakthrough summit meeting between the leaders of these two countries.

Times of India, 22nd December 2010

Miss Heather Wilson used to stay in the Civil Lines, where she was born on January 2, 1901. One December day in 1970, near the fireplace of the home she shared with nephew Kenneth, she brought a dull, cold evening to life with a memorable account of a New Year's Day in 1899 her parents had spent with Freemasons in the Masonic Lodge in Qudsia Garden.

Known as Jamuna Lodge, it had been consecrated in March the same year. Heather did not know the history of the lodge but one heard it from W.W. Brother G.S. Gupta, a retired IAS officer, who had written a number of books on Freemasonry. According to him, the lodge was established in March, 1872, in a rented house on Jamuna Road under the United Grand Lodge of England. Before that there was Lodge Star, which was washed away during the War of 1857 but rebuilt in 1861 and then razed.

In 1865, Lodge Phonies came up in its place but it was erased in 1872. A few Anglo-Indian families got curious about the lodge relocated in the garden and with due permission spent New Year's Day there. Quite a number of Freemasons were present, among whom were Dr. H.C. Sen, Radha Krishan, Superintendent of the Deputy Commissioner's Office in Ludlow Castle Road, and J. Maiden, founder of Maiden's Hotel. In fact, it was Maiden who, on behalf of the visitors, had pleaded saying Freemasonry did not subscribe to any one sect or creed and that there is no harm in celebrating the day with them.

Heather recalled that her parents were among those who asked searching questions to the members of the Lodge. These related to secret rituals held at midnight, which are abhorred by the Catholic Church. The Wilsons were informed that though secret rituals were indeed held they were not defamatory to any religion, particularly Christianity, or so many Christians would not have been members of the Brotherhood. As a matter of fact, 22 years later, in February 1921, the Duke of Connaught, Most Worthy Grand Master of England, was honoured at the lodge, W.W. Brother Gupta had told this scribe in 1990, two years after Heather Wilson's death.

To recount the old spinster's tale (her memory was a bit muddled), New Year's Day 1899 was ushered in with a bonfire and the cutting of cakes (as several were needed for the large number present). They sang “Auld Lang Syne”, while Maiden played the violin. Champagne, whisky, brandy and rum flowed then. But a few preferred to have gin instead. Roasted meat was served to those who were fond of it, while there were vegetable sandwiches for the others. Teetotallers had to make do with soda or tea.

Love and murder

Among those present were Right Worthy Brothers, some Most Worthy Brothers, a Deputy Grand Master, a Junior Grand Warden, Senior Grand Deacon, Deputy Grand Sword Bearer, Assistant Grand Standard Bearer and Grand Steward. Heather's mother had jotted down the designations of the lodge members in her dairy, along with other details. One of them recounted the story of Hiram Abif of Tyre (son of a Jewess of the House of David), highly revered by the Freemasons, who was murdered on the orders of Solomon as he thought his kinsman was getting too close to his beloved Bilqis, the queen of Sheba. The original Word (of God) was inscribed on a jewel in a necklace worn by Hiram, which later fell into the hands of Solomon, who had been longing to acquire the prized talisman. With moist eyes another Freemason read a poem, “I dreamt last night that I knelt at Hiram's grave”.

In the evening over dinner, an old Brother disclosed that Freemasonry dated back to Solomon's time over 3,000 years ago and was formed by those masons who had built the king's magnificent temple in Jerusalem under Hiram's supervision. That's why the plumb-line, the compass, the trowel and the square were respected symbols. After enjoying themselves, the Anglo-Indians returned home but Mrs. Wilson could not sleep peacefully that night as she kept dreaming of the bejewelled Word of God, buried by Solomon in a temple vault, Hiram Abif's murder and the queen of Sheba.

The Hindu, 23rd December 2010

Ratan Singh is given to stroking his moustache frequently, often with affection, always with pride. Admittedly his moustache is magnificent, its twirl defying gravity and drawing attention from less well endowed beings. To him, the moustache is a symbol - of being male, of Rajput machismo and most significantly, of the martial tradition which he claims descent from.

The moustache is but a teaser, drawing my curiosity about its owner. Ratan Singh, to delve a little deeper, is one of several caretakers of the rambling old fortress at Chittor that captivated me recently. Despite living in the 21st century, his working in the medieval citadel his ancestors once stood guard over frequently causes his mind to wander, taking him back to an era where Chittor was always under siege and Rajput cavalrymen perpetually at war.

Besides being the largest fort in India, the ‘garh’ at Chittor has witnessed the myriad emotions of human conflict more than any others of its ilk. At one level Chittor or Chittaur is a city on the banks of the Berach River near Bhilwara in southern Rajasthan, and is the headquarters of the district that bears its name. At another level, it is a fortress that was once the capital of the Rajput kingdom of Mewar , and is a symbol of the golden era of Rajput valour

Indeed, to visit Chittorgarh is to travel back in time, willy-nilly , such is the air of the place, still resonating silently with the tumult of times past. At first glance the walls of the fort look inviting, willing me to come and explore it in the pleasant warmth of a winter sun. A second , more discerning look reveals the battle scars its defiance has earned it over time.

As I stood on the battlements and looked over the buildings within and the hillside outside, it did not take much of an effort for my mind to wander – Ratan Singh style - to another, less peaceful age...... .

Suddenly, I could hear the crackling of flames on the hillside grass, set alight by the burning arrows fired by an attacking force. The year is 1303 and the Rajput garrison is preparing for the final battle against Sultan Ala-ud-din Khilji . The Sultan, insane in his desire for the Rajput queen Padmini, has launched an all-out assault on the fortress that year.

He is driven by the humiliating defeat he had received in a previous attempt. That time, he had actually succeeded in capturing the king — another Ratan Singh, as it happens! — and made his life and freedom conditional to the Rajput queen giving herself up to him. The Rani had acceded, replying that her 700 maids would precede her in 700 palanquins.

The 700 palanquins duly arrived in the Sultan’s enclosure but unbeknownst to that worthy, they contained not maids but Rajput warriors.

TALES OF VALOUR
Soon the

Sultan was their prisoner and Ratan Singh a free man. Khilji was sent back to Delhi his life spared, but returned vengefully with a huge army, laying siege to the fort and cutting off food supplies. I imagined myself as a 20-something soldier, part of the defending garrison. Food had been rationed for the last six months and I was now down to a single meal a day; my ruler had told me to ready myself for a final stand to save the kingdom’s honour; the women of the household are preparing to immolate themselves in Jauhar....

The end was nigh, yet to go out as part of a force to take on an army several times in size and die fighting was the credo of the Rajput warrior. This was the fate of countless young men of Chittaur in 1303, also known as the first ‘saka’. I could almost feel the drama, the urgency, the adrenalin of that moment. And the stunning inevitability of its tragedy.

The serenity of its current state is a telling foil to its past. The palace where queen Padmini lived still exists, its graceful white walls reflecting the waters of the tank next to it In the middle of the water is Jal Mahal, and cut into the walls of the palace facing the lake are niches with deities.

Not far from the palace is the Vijay Stambh, a tower commemorating the high point of Rajput rule in the fort. Nine stories high and covered with stunning sculptures, it was built by Maharana Kumbha (1433- 68) to mark his triumph over the combined armies of Gujarat and Malwa.

SHAKTI & BHAKTI
Especially interesting is a level dedicated to the ‘Dashavatara’ – incarnations of the God Vishnu. Also attributed to Kumbha is the renovation of a palace complex which is the first structure a visitor to the fort encounters. Named after the king, it includes a Zenana Mahal and offers excellent views of the city.

Several temples also fall within the precincts of the fort. The most significant is the one dedicated to Mirabai, the Rajput princess who came as the bride of a Sisodia of Chittaur, but who won immortal fame as a devotee of Lord Krishna . Her fervent songs still echo around India as evidence of her bhakti.

Shanti Nath temple and the Kalika Mata temple are just two of the several shrines which dot the fort. Many of these were built under the patronage of the fort’s Jain population, who served as accountants to the rulers here. They also built the Kirti Stambh, a tower dedicated to Adinath. Across the road from the Kumbha palace is the Shringar Chauri, a small temple richly decorated with rock cuts. It too was built by a Jain, in this case a treasurer of Kumbha.

The area around the Vijay Stambh and the temples are often used by visitors as picnic spots.

BATTLE CREDO

The scenario was quite different in 1534, when the place turned into a vast cremation ground with 13,000 women led by Rani Karnavati committing Jauhar in what is called the second ‘saka’ of Chittaur. The invader this time was Bahadur Shah of Gujarat but the end result was the same. Any place having had to endure two such holocausts would have disappeared from the face of the earth. But it is a tribute to the fighting spirit of the Sisodia Rajputs that each time an opponent thought them destroyed, they came back. By the time the Mughals under Akbar attacked Chittor in 1567, another generation of Sisodias had grown to manhood, war and martyrdom. Another conflict and another ‘saka’ later, the Sisodias shifted their capital to Udaipur.

Those battles are long gone but the fort is filled with memories of Sisodia valour. The best way to take in the atmosphere of the fort is to walk along the battlements. Given that the fort is on a hill 180 meters high, encompasses an area of nearly 700 acres and has battlements running along the entire circumference of the hill, the walk seems a never ending one.

Some time in the course of this walk, the 21st century fades away and I begin to understand why Ratan Singh is so proud of his martial tradition.

Economic Times, 23rd December 2010

Forest Department in a fix over land allocation fearing ecological imbalances in the Tiger Reserve

The Kerala Irrigation Department has sought permission for the transfer of forest land for constructing the Periyar dam.

The executive engineer of the Minor Irrigation Department (MID), Kumily, has approached the Kerala Forest Department (KFD) with a request for allotting 50 hectares for the project. The KFD, however, is in a fix over the allocation of the land as it fears widespread environment and ecological imbalances in the Periyar Tiger Reserve, which is one of the 38 reserves dedicated to the big cats, and an elephant reserve, where the dam has been proposed. The new site is 366 metres away from the Mullaperiyar dam.

The MID has stated that the site identified for the new dam, which is “inside the national park sanctuary area, is the only feasible site approved after joint inspection by Kerala and Tamil Nadu.”

The new dam is considered as an alternative to the 115-year-old one. The area of submergence will be 50 hectares. Of this, 24.37 hectares will be submerged on construction of the dam and the rest will come under the area that will be additionally submerged. The Rs. 600-crore project will have no biodiversity impact and there will be no displacement of people, the Irrigation Department has stated.

Obtaining clearance for the construction of the dam will be a cumbersome process as the permission from a number of State and national agencies and officials have to be sought. The final clearance for the allocation of land should come from the National Board for Wildlife, which is chaired by the Prime Minister.

DFO clearance

As per the procedure laid down for allotting forest land for non-forest purposes, a report from the Divisional Forest Officer of the area will have to be obtained. The field reports from the Forest Range Officer of the region will also be considered for the preparation of this report. It will also have to be considered by the Field Director of the Periyar Tiger Reserve.

The views of the Chief Wildlife Warden and the Principal Chief Conservator of Forest of the State will follow and the reports by these officials will be placed before the State Wildlife Advisory Board. The Board, on its part, will forward the report to the National Board. The clearance of the National Tiger Conservation Authority will have to be sought in this case as the proposed site is the core critical tiger habitat of the Periyar Tiger Reserve.

The State Forest Department has not formed its opinion on the proposal and the department, whose mandate is to protect the forest and its ecology, is concerned about the implications of the project, said a senior official of the department. Incidentally, the Kerala government had been campaigning for a new dam highlighting the safety issue of the ageing Mullaperiyar dam.

Besides the impact of massive constructions on the fragile ecosystem and biodiversity-rich area of the tiger reserve, conservationists are worried about the possible fallout of the de-commissioning of the existing dam on completion of the new dam. The decommissioning will also leave widespread impact on the forest reserve and aquatic habitats, which evolved over a century, pointed out a forest official.

The Hindu, 23rd December 2010

Giving Ahmedabad tough competition in the race for nomination to UNESCO's tentative list of World Heritage City (WHC) status for Delhi, chief minister Sheila Dikshit on Thursday said the government would submit its application for the same next week. "We are not competing with Ahmedabad, but we will certainly win. Delhi has got the kind of monuments no other city has. We will definitely put up the application for the WHC status," Dikshit said after unveiling a catalogue called 'Delhi: A Living Heritage'.

The catalogue has been brought out by the Indian National Trust for Arts and Cultural Heritage (INTACH). Observing that "modern Delhi should exist with heritage Delhi," Dikshit assured considering shifting the INTACH exhibition permanently to the Dara Shikoh library at Kashmere Gate.

She also promised that there would be no dearth of funds for heritage conservation.

Speaking about the catalogue, INTACH's Delhi chapter convenor AGK Menon said, "Quite often, heritage is seen as a negative component in a city's development. This catalogue tries to show how heritage can add value to a city."

The catalogue — subsidised by Delhi Development Authority — is a step towards completing formalities for Delhi's application for WHS status.

Lavishly illustrated with over 300 archival images, photographs and architectural drawings, the catalogue showcases Delhi’s vast heritage, with contributions by eminent persons writing on different subjects.

Hindustan Times, 24th December 2010

Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit on Thursday released an exhibition catalogue — “Delhi: A Living Heritage” in a simple function organised at Indira Gandhi National Centre of Art (IGNCA) in presence of its chairperson Chinmaya R Gharekhan, chairman (INTACH) Delhi Chapter LK Gupta and convener (INTACH) Delhi Chapter AG Krishna Menon. The catalogue has been published by IGNCA and INTACH Delhi Chapter as part of the special exhibition on Delhi, which is on display at IGNCA and will continue to remain open till January 20, 2011. The exhibition and related catalogue have been sponsored by IGNCA and co-sponsored by the World Monuments’ Fund’s Sustainable Tourism Initiative, supported by American Express and DDA.

The Pioneer, 24th December 2010

An exhibition catalogue, “Delhi: A Living Heritage”, published by Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts and INTACH Delhi Chapter as part of the special exhibition on Delhi on display at IGNCA, was released by Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit here on Thursday.

Describing Delhi as a city with a mix of heritage and modern structures, Ms. Dikshit said during the Commonwealth Games the rare and unknown monuments were preserved, conserved, lit and landscaped. “These monuments turned out to be beautiful objects of public art. The Delhi Government inked an agreement with INTACH to showcase the heritage value of the city through the endeavour,” she added.

The Chief Minister, who has already visited the ongoing exhibition at IGNCA which would run up to January 20, 2011, said the exhibition is really a marvellous attempt to present Delhi's heritage. She also stressed the need for providing a permanent place to this exhibition and said the suggestion to shift it to Dara Shikoh Library at Kashmere Gate would be considered by her government.

The “Delhi: A Living Heritage” exhibition is an attempt to showcase the vast expanse of Delhi's heritage and the catalogue released on Thursday seeks to capture the very essence of this heritage and preserve it for posterity. The contributions to this piece of literature have come from eminent persons, who are experts in their individual fields and who have written authoritatively on the subject.

The writers have presented a new and different perspective of Delhi in the catalogue that is lavishly illustrated with over 300 archival images, photographs and architectural drawings.

For this limited edition publication, which is a collector's item for any one interested in Delhi's history and culture, the archival images have been sourced from the British Library, Chester Beatty Library, Victoria and Albert Museum, Archaeological Survey of India and National Museum, New Delhi, while the contemporary pictures of the Capital have been sourced from the archives of INTACH, Delhi Chapter's own archives.

The publication has been conceptualised by convener of INTACH Delhi A.G. Krishna Menon and edited by Swapna Luddle and Annabel Lopez. It is basically divided into two sections – Chronological Overviews and Specialist Essays on various aspects on Delhi's Heritage.

Besides, Prof. Menon, the release function was also attended by IGNCA chairperson Chinmaya R. Gharekhan and INTACH Delhi Chapter chairman L.K. Gupta.

The Hindu, 24th December 2010

Delhi may soon follow Ahmedabad in seeking world heritage city status . Around three years after heritage bodies and conservationists proposed it, Delhi government is warming up to the idea . Chief minister Sheila Dikshit on Thursday said that getting world heritage city status from Unescowas a priority for her government . She said formal arrangements for an application will be made within a week.

The CM was speaking at an event organized by INTACH to release a catalogue titled Delhi: A Living Heritage . The catalogue is based on its ongoing exhibition at Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts (IGNCA). Dikshit said Delhi is full of unique history , monuments and culture and is worthy of the Unesco recognition .

"We should submit our application to Unesco immediately and make it our agenda to seek status of world heritage city for Delhi . We haven't completely realized the value of all the monuments we have and there are so many smaller monuments scattered all over , some inside colonies that people are not even aware of. At the same time we can't stop modern India from coming up ... we need to make it possible for modern India and our heritage to exist together ,'' she said .

CM has reportedly called officials from INTACH and other bodies for a meeting next week. Sources said the process to prepare a dossier for nominating Delhi as a world heritage city would be discussed at the meeting . The dossier will be submitted by Archaeological Survey of India to Unesco . "This is a huge moment for us as our dream to promote Delhi as world heritage city is finally on the fast-track . Delhi's heritage spans so many dynasties and with a rich past , the city has right credentials to become a world heritage city ,'' said A G K Menon , convener of INTACH's Delhi chapter .

The fact that Ahmedabad has already beaten Delhi to become the first Indian city to apply for the world heritage city status is sore point with many conservationists in the capital . Other cities like Chandigarh and Varanasi are also bidding for the status . "We are not competing with Ahmedabad but realize that Delhi has excellent potential to become a world heritage city . We will certainly not let factors like shortage of funds stop us from aiming for this inscription . We will find funds for this,'' said the CM. She described Delhi as a city with a mix of heritage and modern structures and underlined how during Commonwealth Games , rare and unknown monuments were preserved , conserved , lit and landscaped . "These monuments turned out to be beautiful objects of public art ," she said .

Times of India, 24th December 2010

One look at the newspapers and you see announcements of Christmas parties, carnivals, brunches and shopping festivals. "The advertisements and pictures of Christmas parties make it look like these are the things the festival is all about. It is indeed a festival for everyone but the truth is that not many people know what Christmas is really about," said Samuel George, a resident of Shahdara, who had come to the Sacred Heart Cathedral on Thursday.

According to George, in today's consumer-driven society important celebrations during the midnight mass and morning service are being sidelined slowly. "Showing a two minute capsule of the celebrations at St Paul's Cathedral in Kolkata is not enough," he said.

And most Christians in Delhi feel the same.

"The celebrations in the big cities are becoming like those in Europe where you rarely see baby Jesus anywhere. It is all about malls and gifts.

Christmas is turning into a shopping festival," said Father Stanley, media coordinator of Sacred Heart Cathedral.

He said while the Christmas season is about having fun and gifting, it goes much beyond that. Midnight mass, which usually starts at 11 pm on December 24 in most churches, is how Christians start the Christmas celebrations.

In the Catholic service, also called the Eucharist, the idol of baby Jesus is brought in and incense applied on its forehead. It is followed by a reading from the scriptures.

"The tradition of bringing the idol is the high point of our service," Father Stanley said.

In the Protestant churches idols are not worshipped. Readings about the birth of Christ from the scriptures is done during mass, which is then followed by a special sermon by the priest.

But the beauty of the festival is that roughly half the people who visit churches are from other faiths.

Hindustan Times, 24th December 2010

A massive exercise is on in the state to save rare manuscripts (pandulipies) under the National Mission for Manuscripts (NMM). As many as 34,000 manuscripts, each of them rare in their own sense that would have been lost otherwise, have been found and registered.

The value of this “ignored” treasure can be gauged from the fact that it is just 40 per cent of the manuscripts which are likely to be found in the state.

The Department of Archives, Archaeology and Museums, Jammu, which is the project coordinator of the Manuscript Resources Centre set up by the NMM, has called upon the people to save such rare manuscripts and help the department in collecting them.

To underline the importance of these handwritten documents, which narrate the story of the mankind in this part of the world, the Department of Archives along with the Department of Culture and the Abrol Manuscripts and Rare books Library is organising a first ever workshop from December 27 to 31 on how to effectively conserve these rare documents of history.

Peerzada M. Ashraf, Deputy Director and project coordinator, Manuscripts Resource Centre, told The Tribune that many rare manuscripts in remote areas like Paddar, Madwah, Vadwan, Michel, Gurez, Tangdar, Uri, Shopian, Rajouri, Poonch, Bani and Basohli were likely to be registered soon.
“This workshop will have 45 participants from different parts of the country. It will make a valuable contribution in preserving the manuscripts and learning the same from experts as well,” he added.
The Director of the National Mission for Manuscripts, Prof Dipti S Tripathi, would inaugurate the five-day workshop.

The Abrol Manuscript and Rare Books Library is having a collection of more than 3,500 manuscripts and 550 rare books. Besides, the collection consists of rare paintings, coins, ethnic jewellery, textiles and a number of antiques. Peerzada said these items were of immense tourism importance and would go a long way in improving tourism flow to Jammu. The Tribune, 26th December 2010

Many may have lost access to the mosque and the ones who enter may still not get to know who Kamali was. But the architecture will definitely give you a glimpse of the era gone by.

A caretaker down the path from the Jamali-Kamali mosque walked up to us while Ashutosh and I stood peering from behind the locked gate into the courtyard fronting the red sandstone mosque in Delhi's Mehrauli Archaeological Park, wondering what to do next. The caretaker looked at my camera, deduced we were visitors and produced a key from his pocket.

A walkthrough
“We've restricted access to the mosque after some locals forced their way in to offer Friday prayers and lay claim to the protected structure,” he said, leaning his shoulder on the gate before forcing it back just enough for us to pass through.

A tree stood in the courtyard by a dry pool. Peering into the pool it's easy to imagine faces reflecting back from centuries ago when men performed ablutions in the pool before stepping across the courtyard to answer the call to prayer in the large hall approached through an imposing central arch flanked on either side by two ornamented arches before ending in staircases leading to the roof of the single domed structure from whose corners four octagonal towers resembling turrets in forts rise above the trees. Pointing to the ceiling the caretaker said, “These are verses Jamali composed himself.”

We looked up from the two graves centered in the mausoleum, a square building we had reached from walking along the eastern façade of the adjoining red sandstone mosque said to have been built by Jamali in 1528-29, and were met with an astonishing profusion of the most intricate of patterns arrayed seamlessly in blue, and ochre. It was what I might see on a starry night if I looked up long and hard, stars rearranging themselves into patterns and repeating across the sky as if guided by a divine hand helping the gazing eye make sense of the cosmos.

While the colours had faded in places, the outlines of the designs were easily recognisable, and the proximity of repeating patterns ensured the absence of colours in one was ‘filled in' by colours of another. It took me a while to actually locate the verses among the exquisite designs set along the ceiling of the mausoleum located in a walled enclosure that also features several cenotaphs. However it is to the element of mystery associated with the identity of Kamali buried with Jamali in the adjoining mausoleum that visitors to the Jamali-Kamali Mosque are drawn to before the mausoleum's ceiling embellished with pre-Mughal art takes their breath away, the tombs of Jamali and Kamali at their feet ceasing to exist in that moment of wonder.

The mausoleum's interior is finished in white plaster and inlaid with floral patterns embellishing the arches that surmount niches built in the walls at corner diagonals, reminding of mihrab niches in mosques. A screen or perforated jaali built into the eastern façade flooded the chamber with light from the winter sun, the perforations weaving patterns on the twin marble graves laid on the floor.

The caretaker had left the door open for the duration we were inside, reducing the patterns to mere hints. But once the door closed behind us, the perforated screen would blanket the graves with light-footed patterns, lengthening through sundown before moonlit nights would return their melodies to the silence of the Sufi, enveloping time with the timelessness of the peaceful. Jamali, a derivation of Jamal, meaning ‘beauty' in Urdu, and likely earned for his renown as a Sufi and poet in the court of Sikandar Lodi before transitioning to the courts of Babur followed by Humayun after the Mughals eclipsed the Lodis, was actually a pseudo name of Shaikh Fazlu'llah or Jalal Khan. Variously called a dervish, a Sufi, a wandering minstrel, and a poet, Jamali's reputation as a highly regarded Sufi saint of the Lodi-Mughal transition period is survived in his orks, key among them is Siyar-I-Arfin, his account in Persian of the Sufis in India belonging to the Suhrawardi order.

The Chisti was the prominent Sufi order in 16th century India. Jamali Kamboh died in 1536, not long after the mosque that bears his name was completed, and was buried in the adjacent mausoleum. He is credited with building the mosque in 1528-29 in the period the Delhi Sultanate fell into terminal decline with the Lodis ceding power to the Mughals.

As a result the mosque came to be considered as an important example of pre-Mughal architecture and is credited with influencing in part mosque architecture in the Mughal period. “Nobody knows who Kamali was,” the caretaker said, pointing to the second grave. The identity of Kamali buried alongside Jamali is a mystery to this day while the name is understood to have originated to rhyme with ‘Jamali'.

Over time Kamali has been variously speculated to be his brother, his son, and his lover among other people. Glancing at the ceiling Jamali's verses rendered in calligraphy amid well preserved coloured tiles and painted decorations convey the persuasion of a man who on being initiated in the Sufi doctrines by Shaikh Samauddin apparently redeemed his mentor's faith in the best traditions of Sufism, its development known to have been influenced by Hinduisim's Bhakti movement of the time. I let my gaze hang about the mausoleum.

Finer details
I could've plucked the silence like a string and let float sounds to the echo of time long past, to when the song of a Sufi likely tempered the turbulence of uncertain times. To the east of the walled enclosure, with arched niches and gates set in the wall and tombs aligned along its length, rises a gentle swell surmounted by Metcalf's Canopy.

The swell gradually raises the ascending eye above the line of trees, at the Qutb Minar emerging in the skyline opposite. The flecks of white visible in breaks in the canopies reveal the tomb of Quli Khan that was converted by Charles Metcalf into a retreat and named Dilkhusha or Heart's Delight.

It's lost to time, not to memory. Bathed in winter sunshine the swell of green opposite sets off the aging plaster of the walled enclosure securing the Jamali-Kamali mosque and the mausoleum. Solitary figures sit in silence on the grassy incline, soaking the Delhi sun in Mehrauli's old quarter, home to monuments largely resulting from Delhi's turbulent history following Prithviraj Chauhan's defeat in 1192 at the hands of the invading Afghan marauder Muhammad Ghori, paving the way for the Muslim conquest of India, beginning Delhi. Delighted squeals of children at cricket emerge from behind a patch of trees.

A wicket has fallen. The laughter ceases as the next batsman takes guard, much like the kings of yore. Before long the game will be over, and the sun will set, on the remains of an empire.

The Hindu, 26th December 2010

Chandan Sen visits the Vivekananda Rock Memorial in Kanyakumari and is moved by the spiritual ambience pervading the air

He sat on the rock and meditated, taking in the whole of India as it were, from that vantage point. At the end of three days and nights, the monk found enlightenment on his life’s mission: to arouse the nation from its dismal slumber of a thousand years of slavery and rediscover its past glory. Thus was born on that rock Swami Vivekananda — the spiritual teacher, prophet and patriot-monk of modern India.

The Vivekananda Rock Memorial in Kanya Kumari is built on the legendary Vivekanand Rock that juts out of the convergence of the Indian Ocean, the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal. About 400 metres offshore the two rocky islands became the seat of enlightenment for Swami Vivekanand, philosopher and social reformer. It is believed that in the year 1892, he swam across the sea and meditated for three days, 25, 26 and 27 December here on this isolated rock island, imparting the spiritual charisma to it.

The seashore visible from the Kanya Kumari railway station has crowded markets full of fancy items and the like. Long queues of people were seen waiting for their turn to board the streamer to reach the little distant rock memorial on the sea. An adventurous 10-minute streamer ride helps one reach the extraordinary rock where one meets the volunteers of the Vivekananda Kendra who are ever busy attending to the visitors. There were general tourists, ardent disciples and enlightened ones who had come with much curiosity about the shrine.

Strong ocean winds caress you in front the structure. The shore, the vast ocean, and the presence of so many visitors create a magical atmosphere. The gigantic statue of the well-known Tamil littérateur Thiruvalluvar is clearly visible nearby. The atmosphere had a divine fragrance, a spiritual aroma, resulting in a serene atmosphere that seemed to bless everyone present there. There was a feeling of inner joy, elevation, magnanimity, glow and positive impulses.

Tourists both domestic and foreign throng the Vivekananda Mandapam along with those who respect the Swami and his ideals. Those who seek mystical enlightenment also come to meditate here. Inside the Assembly Hall or Sabha Mandapam a statue of the swami has been installed. The design of the mandapam has different styles of temple architectures of India, instilling a complete Indian essence within itself. Just below the memorial are different stalls displaying mementos and books.

There were many thoughts that kept flooding our mind as we started to leave for the shore. Images of those special moments that took place hundreds of years ago began appearing before us... The impulse, enlightenment and vision that the young sadhu had then carried in his mind also materialized in front of our eyes. A divine motivation flew into heart and soul. We reached the shore and stood there glancing at the extraordinary structure on the ocean that seemed to tell us to “Arise, awake and stop not till your goal is reached”.

The Statesman, 26th December 2010

Will the spectacular sight of mass congregation of endangered Olive Ridley sea turtles for mating and nesting on the beaches of Gahirmatha become history?

The beaches coming under the Gahirmatha Marine Wildlife Sanctuary have shrunk considerably. A 32-km-long beach has shrunk to less than one kilometre in the past 35 years.

Gahirmatha is one of the first rookeries of turtles discovered along the Orissa coast.

A group of researchers from the Wildlife Institute of India and the Orissa Forest Department noticed the trend while studying the offshore distribution and migration pattern of Olive Ridleys along the country's east coast.

While presenting the outcome of the study spanning from 2007 to 2010 here recently, B. C. Choudhury, WII scientist and principal investigator of the study, said: “When as a researcher I worked in 1975, we used to walk a 32-km stretch beach where nesting used to take place. When the fragmentation occurred, at that point of time the nesting beach was six km long. And today it is about 950 metre.”

Fragmented space
In 2004, Islands of Nasi-I and Nasi II in Gahirmatha used to be continuous, but now the space was fragmented, Mr. Choudhury said. “Smaller patches of beach are often submerged. But when these are exposed, there is very little space available for nesting by turtles.” The area available for nesting was 1,80,000 square metre in 2004.

Mr. Choudhury said that in 2009, all smaller patches went under water and a very small piece of extended sand bar got attached to the Wheeler Island, which was being used by the Defence Research Development Organisation for missile testing. The nesting took place on the sandbar which was about 78,300 square metre.

“In 2010, the total mass nesting area is about 1,000 metre long by 53 metre width. You can easily calculate what is the total area? And even by wildest stretch of imagination, can you believe that 4.5 lakh turtles will lay their eggs in that area,” the WII scientist asked.

“Nesting by four to five turtles in a square metre area is very high density. Imagine the scenario on one metre square area where the first turtle will lay eggs, the second turtle will probably dig out those eggs. When 1.5 lakh eggs are laid and covered, probably 50,000 eggs are taken out.”

Apart from Gahirmatha rookery, two other mass nesting beaches are located on the mouth of rivers Rushikulya and Devi along the Orissa coast.

The study also said that nesting density (4 to5 turtles per square metre area) was high in Gahirmatha compared to Rushikulya (0.80 to one per square metre area) during the 2009-10 nesting season. Low erosion and sporadic nesting resulted in high hatching success at Devi.

Researchers say beach erosion is the major reason behind the gradual loss of nesting sites of Ridleys. Besides, proper management of turtle nesting has to be put in place as development activities (20 existing projects and 21 proposed ones, including ports along the coast) could prove to be the death-knell for Olive Ridleys.

The Hindu, 27th December 2010

Amit Pasricha’s latest coffee-table book offers a panoramic view of India and its spiritual beliefs

Known for his grandiose, large format books, Amit Pasricha has pulled out all the stops for his latest venture, The Sacred India Book (Shoestring, Rs 10,000). The glossy 224 paged book comes with over 100 panoramic photographs.

In an age defined by gritty photojournalism, Pasricha’s images are unabashedly beautiful and postcard-like. But he believes that his book is not just an ode to beauty. “I like to think that my images are held back from the cliché of the exotic because of the use of the panoramic format. This does not allow the viewer to be an outsider, because the image is wrapped around you,” says the 44 years old photographer, who studied at the Maine Photographic Workshop, Rockport, US.

The book contains images of landscapes and edifices, of man and nature, and they capture moments of faith and divine ecstasy. His camera has swept the length and breadth of the country — from the crowded temples of Vrindavan to the vast expanse of the monasteries of Ladakh, from the solitude of a single cross on a lone beach, to the buzzing kitchen-temple of Bhubaneshwar. Despite its clichés, the book has much to offer to the armchair traveller and even for the resident Indian who may claim to have seen it all.

Pasricha says he is open to critiques of his work. “Even a photographer of the rank of Raghu Rai reacts to my images with conflict. First he says ‘wow’, but he follows that with a ‘but you can’t do this!’ I am not a photojournalist and I don’t see why one shouldn’t explore different kinds of photography,” smiles Pasricha, who shot for this book over a period of seven years. The bulk of the work was done in the last three years though. The panorama is created by stitching images together to create a very wide view, with a variety of cameras, ranging from a Nikon SLR to a simple point and click digital camera. “It doesn’t matter what camera you use. I can shoot with a cool-pix camera and create the image later in post,” he says.

There are moments when he slips out of type and shocks you with an image that despite its beauty, holds you to a compelling message. For instance, his photograph of a straw dummy on a palatial building in Tarangambadi, Tamil Nadu, is a juxtaposition of two faiths in one frame. The Hindu demon mask wards off the evil eye but in the background, the 17th century red fort built by a Danish merchant is a reminder of our colonial past.

The Indian Express, 27th December 2010

Watching the past open up before our eyes was no less than a dream for us. The sight of Rahim Khan-e-Khana’s tomb was so natural and pure that we simply couldn’t believe our eyes. Rahim Khan, the son of Bairam Khan, was a great scholar of Hindi,Turkish ,Persian and Arabic. His Hindi couplets have been written under the familiar name of Rahim. And besides being a man of literature, he was also a great warrior who won many battles. When we entered the tomb, we came across a great gravestone with Khan-e-Khana’s name etched on it. The labourers who had built the tomb stayed at Arab ki Sari, where they planned the structure and architecture of Khan-e-Khana’s tomb. All this went to show that a lot of planning was carried out before implementing projects. After that, we visited Neela Gumbad tomb near the Nizammudin Railway Station. It was a wonderful sight, where we got to see the ancient and modern eras intermingling among each other. But we noticed that the blue tiles, which Neela Gumbad was made of, had started developing cracks and started peeling from the sides. But then, everything starts crumbling with age -- and the Gumbad was constructed as many as 1,000 years ago. Right opposite was Humayun’s tomb. It was with bride that we witnessed our city’s beautiful heritage. Though I was born and brought up in Delhi, I had never gotten a chance to see our monuments of importance.

Tanvi Sahni, XI-C
The students of Class XI and XII of our school went to Khan-e-Khana’s tomb for a heritage walk on December 3. We were guided by Jaya Basera, who introduced us to facts that were hitherto unknown to us. She helped us understand more about the Persian architecture and paintings there. We were also given information on Neela Gumbad, and a little about Humayun’s tomb. Abdul Rahim was a learned poet and writer, and we have been studying his works since the sixth grade, but it was only when we saw Khan-e-Khana’s tomb that we realised how great he really was. All in all, the tour was a very knowledge-gaining experience.

Urvashi Bhardwaj, XI-A
We have walked or driven past Nizamuddin East, on the way to the Nizamuddin station, hardly noticing a historical monument there. I was a part of the great ignorant majority until I got a chance to visit Abdul Rahim Khan-e-Khana’s tomb. Getting to know about Rahim’s life was a splendid experience. The tomb as well as the exquisite carvings etched on them astounded us. We could hardly imagine how such a masterpiece could be made with no machinery or tools of modern technology. The only thing that broke my heart was the fact that the public had disfigured the monument by writing their names on it. A monument, which had weathered all storms and attacks, could not survive Delhi’s miscreants. After getting to know about the tomb and it’s history, we went to Arab ki Sarai and finally ended our walk with a visit to Neela Gumbad, which was a perfect example of Mughal architecture.

Punnya Khanna
There are many monuments in and around Delhi that speak the city’s historical glory. They include Humayun’s tomb, Qutab Minar, Lotus Temple and India Gate. One such monument is Khan-e-Khana’s tomb. Built in the 17th century, it houses the mortal remains of Abdur Rahim Khan and his wife. He was the son of Akbar’s caretaker Bairam Khan. When Bairam Khan was killed on his way to Huz, Akbar had taken responsibility of his wife and son.
Abdul Rahim Khan was the general in Akbar as well as Jahangir’s armies. He was a poet and a very prominent jewel in Akbar’s nine jewels. An expert in many languages, his couplets are remembered by all. Rahim had built this tomb in memory of his wife, after which he was buried here too. It is a square double-storeyed structure that stands on a high pedestal with arches and cells on all sides. Sadly, though, the tomb lost its original grandeur in the later period because many things -- such as the red sandstone and marble used in its construction -- were removed and used to decorate Safdarjang’s tomb in the 18th Century.

Sanskriti Saxena, XII-C
Mirza Abdul Rahim Khan, the son of Bairam Khan, served both Akbar and Jahangir. He was the first prime minister or regent of the third Mughal emperor. A great scholar who knew several languages and wrote couplets in Hindi, his tomb was named after his title Khan-e-Khana. The double-storeyed tomb is a massive square edifice rising from a platform faced by the arched cells, following the pattern of Humayun’s Tomb. This tomb was built by Rahim with red sandstone and Delhi quartzite in the memory of his wife in 1598. The grave of Rahim, who died in 1627, is decorated with stucco work and intricate patterns. The interior of the tomb, especially its ceiling, is decorated with floral ornamental patterns and its exterior is decorated with stucco work. From the tomb, we went to a site that was a market during those times. It had many gates and the southern gates were known as ‘Arab-ki-Sarai’, built by Hazi Begum for the 300 people who built the famous tomb at Nizamuddin. Then we went to Neela Gumbad, a dome constructed with blue tiles, and decorated with beautiful flowers and colourful patterns. The trip, which was a remarkable experience for all of us, made us aware of our heritage and the various historical stories behind them.

Anu Sharma, XII-C
The best way to know yourself is to know your past. Keeping these words in mind, a heritage walk was arranged for the Class XI and XII students of our school. After a short bus journey, we found ourselves at a four-sided structure, complete with lush green lawns and a dome. Our guide told us about this monument, a tomb belonging to Abdul Rahim Khan-e-Khana. Rahim was a member of Akbar’s court and the son of Bairam Khan, who served as his guardian during his early years. From here we moved to Arab-ki-Sarai, where 300 Persian architects are believed to have stayed while constructing Humayun’s tomb. Our next and last stop was Neela Gumbad, aptly named because of the blue tiles on its dome. The structure was octahedral from outside and quadrilateral from inside. It was thus that we came to the end of our ‘monumental’ journey, taking some interesting pieces of history home with us.

Shikhar Singh, XI-B
When you are having a splendid experience visiting the past, coupled with a leisurely walk, don’t you wish that it never ends? I got the same feeling when we were taken for a heritage walk, starting from Abdul Rahim Khan-e-Khana’s tomb. As soon as we entered the fort, we came across a big gravestone, beneath which lay Rahim’s grave. The guide told me that his face lay towards the west and legs towards the south. Another thing that caught my attention was the beautiful Persian carvings on it. Later,we were taken to Neela Gumbad. Along the way, we also saw Arab-ki-Sarai. The dome of Neela Gumbad, which was made of blue tiles, showcased the ancient art of the Mughals. It was indeed a delightful experience.

 A schools’ initiative from The Indian express
On December 3, the Indian Express took students of St Mary's School, Dwarka, for a heritage tour of East Nizamuddin. A truly enriching experience, it provided the students with a better understanding of Delhi’s historical heritage and made them realise the need to protect it.

The Indian Express, 27th December 2010