Agitations are going on demanding protection of pasture lands in Jaisalmer. Intensifying agitation, villagers from different areas of Jaisalmer have planned a 225 kilometer walk covering more than 40 villages and orans (sacred forests) from December 11 onwards for six days to meet the district collector. The protesters will give a petition demanding urgent need to save orans from power companies.

Environment activist Sumer Singh Bhati informed that the walk will start from Shree Degrai Temple of Rasla Village in Fatehgarh block to create awareness about these old historical sacred sites. He said organizations like INTACH, ERDS Foundation have done surveys and prepared reports on these sacred forests of the district in which many historical and interesting facts have also emerged.

Parth Jagani, local coordinator of ERDS Foundation and member of Team Oran informed that many historical Orans are not recorded in government revenue records and their land is being continuously allotted to renewable energy companies. This has led to the destruction of this important community protected ecosystem, which is also habitat for critically endangered Great Indian Bustard.

Many Orans which are registered in revenue records have been disturbed by installation of high power electricity transmission lines of energy companies resulting in death of several large bird species including Great Indian Bustard, Vultures, Eagles, Cranes, Pelicans etc. Bhopal Singh Bhati, another member of Team Oran informed that there will be a facility of Camelcart made available for old people and for those who are not habitual of walking for so long.

https://m.timesofindia.com/city/jaipur/villagers-plan-225km-walk-to-save-orans-from-power-cos/amp_articleshow/96099332.cms, December 1, 2022

J&K Dharmarth Trust in collaboration with Jammu Municipal Corporation (JMC) and INTACH Jammu Chapter organized a number of activities to spread awareness on preserving rich culture and heritage among the youth and children. In last one week, the Trust carried out several activities including the Heritage Walk for students at historic Shri Raghunathji Temple, an informative photo exhibition of heritage temples of Jammu showcasing religious significance of the Temple City, an effective sanitation drive and pruning and giving shape to ornamental plants inside the temple complex besides others.

The Trust organized an exhibition of crafts of Jammu during World Heritage Week. The Heritage Walk was flagged off by Ajay Gandotra, President of the Trust, Ashok Kumar Sharma (SSP Retd), Secretary of the Trust and S.M Shani, former Director Tourism and Convener INTACH Jammu Chapter. Next in the series of activities was Heritage Temples Corridor Walk for students under My Town My Pride programme.

The walk was flagged off by Rahul Yadav, JMC Commissioner in presence of Hitesh Kumar, Joint Commissioner JMC and others including faculty members of participating institutions and students of MIET Jammu, Department of Dogri, University of Jammu, Department of Buddhist Studies, SD Tara Puri School and Government Higher Secondary School Gandhi Nagar Jammu. Under this initiative, the participants visited various ancient temples of Jammu city before culmination of the walk at Shri Raghunath Ji Temple. Ashok Kumar Sharma, Trust Secretary laid emphasis on educating the younger generation about the glorious past of the region.

Similarly, a sanitation drive was also launched by JMC along with Dharmarth Trust in temples maintained by the Trust. Ajay Gandotra said that the Trust is presently maintaining 114 temples falling under the realms of the Trust and efforts are being made to digitize the rare books and manuscripts in the library of Shri Raghunathji Temple Jammu.

https://www.dailyexcelsior.com/dharmarth-trust-joins-hands-with-jmc-intach-to-preserve-jk-heritage/, December 3, 2022

While the Telangana government restored the 17th century Bansilalpet stepwell to its former glory, the structure surrounding the 350-year-old stepwell, built as part of Toli Masjid during the reign of 7th Qutb Shah ruler Abduallah Qutub Shah, is in shambles. As one enters the open premises of Toli Masjid in Ramsingh Pura of the Karwan area of the Old City, debris can be seen floating inside a walled structure filled with stagnated algae-covered green water. The stepwell, which is approximately 35 metres deep and has a flight of around 130 steps inside, is now almost invisible because its surface is filled with algae water, liquor bottles, and furniture foam floating on the well's surface.

The stepwell, which is protected by the state heritage department, was built to supply water to the mosque. Locals recalled how water from the stepwell was used for drinking purposes around 50 years ago, and how children used to swim in the well, which was now dying slowly. “People from nearby liquor shops have been dumping liquor bottles and even foam from the surrounding furniture workshops," said Abu Bakar Bakulka, pointing to the stepwell. "Because the premises are unattended and unsupervised, there is no one to intervene and protect this centuries-old structure. People come and throw garbage after late evenings when no one is around."

Afzaluddin Farooqui, joint secretary of Toli Masjid Committee, stated that a complaint was filed with the relevant authorities about three years ago, but there was no response and no further action was taken. "We filed a written complaint with the heritage department, requesting that the entire mosque area be protected and the stepwell be restored. Because the monument is a government-protected site, all activities are prohibited. We attempted to clean the stepwell but were denied due to the restrictions. The authorities are not taking any action, and we are not permitted to do any cleaning. The situation gets worse during monsoons when the stepwell overflows. The aquifers are still active inside the well, and if it is restored to its original state, water can be provided for the mosque again," Farooqui explained.

Authorities had only placed a concrete sheet over a portion of the stepwell, beneath which was a massive hollow indicating how the stepwell was collapsing on the inside. P. Anuradha Reddy, co-convenor of the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) and aviation historian, stated, "The stepwell inside the mosque area was beautiful, but it is now in bad shape. The garden and water channels have also vanished. We are blessed with such jewels and a rich heritage in the Deccan plateau, particularly in Telangana.

It is critical that we spend the appropriate budget and hire a technically qualified workforce to restore such wonderful gifts that we have inherited over the centuries." A senior official of the heritage department refused to comment.

https://www.deccanchronicle.com/featured/071222/350-year-old-stepwell-in-hyderabads-old-city-begs-for-attention.html, December 5, 2022

In some good news for heritage buffs, the state government has finalised the revival and restoration plan for Sardar Mahal, near Charminar. The announcement was made here on Sunday by special chief secretary (urban development), Arvind Kumar. In a Tweet, he wrote that the mahal will also have an art gallery, studio, cafe and heritage accommodation on the lines of the Neemrana Fort Palace in Rajasthan. He said that works are being taken up by Kalakriti Art in a tripartite agreement with the government and Quli Qutub Shah Urban Development Authority (QQSUDA).

Sardar Mahal was built in European style by the Nizam VI, Mir Mahbub Ali Khan, in 1900. Though the then ruler of Hyderabad State built the palace for one of his beloved consorts, Sardar Begum, she is said to have refused to stay there as it did not live up to her expectations. While no one stayed there, the building took her name. The then Municipal Corporation of Hyderabad, precusor to the GHMC, took over the palace in 1965 due to outstanding property taxes.

The historic structure was declared a heritage building by the Heritage Conservation Committee and Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH). It was in April this year that minister K.T. Rama Rao along with MIM president and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi formally launched works to conserve, restore and strengthen the palace. The former announced that the project, taken up at a cost of Rs 30 crore, will not only protect the heritage structure but will also attract tourists visiting the city.

https://www.deccanchronicle.com/nation/in-other-news/041222/hyderabads-sardar-mahal-to-get-a-facelift.html, December 7, 2022

This site needs to be protected to study the impact of climate change as Erra Matti Dibbalu have seen both the glacial and the warm periods, they say. The city of Visakhapatnam is blessed with a number of sites that have geological importance. One among them is the coastal red sand dunes, popularly known as ‘Erra Matti Dibbalu’. The site is located along the coast and is about 20 km north-east of Visakhapatnam city and about 4 km south-west of Bheemunipatnam.

This site was declared as a geo-heritage site by the Geological Survey of India (GSI) in 2014 and the Andhra Pradesh government has listed it under the category of ‘protected sites’ in 2016. Geologists say that this site has much significance geologically, archaeologically and anthropologically and it needs to be protected for further study and evaluation. Primarily this site needs to be protected to study the impact of climate change, as Erra Matti Dibbalu have seen both the glacial and the warm periods, said adviser to the Geo-Heritage Cell of INTACH (Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage) and former professor of Geology, Andhra University, D. Rajasekhar Reddy. According to him, the site is about 18,500 to 20,000 years old and it can be related to the last glacial period.

"Such sand deposits are rare and have been reported only from three places in the tropical regions in south Asia such as Teri Sands in Tamil Nadu, Erra Matti Dibbalu in Visakhapatnam and one more site in Sri Lanka. They do not occur in equatorial regions or temperate regions due to many scientific reasons," he said. The Erra Matti Dibbalu are spread across an area of about 20 sq km and the entire area has been notified as a Geo Heritage Site. 'Bar constructions'
Other senior geologists from Andhra University say that the entire area needs to be protected and the government should not allow any kind of constructions, including roads, any kind of entertainment zones, including building of restaurants, and even permission should not be given for film shootings, as heavy equipment are used. The uniqueness of this site is that the red sediments are a part of the continuation of the evolution of the earth and represent the late quaternary geologic age.

With a height of up to 30 m, they exhibit badland topography with different geomorphic landforms and features, including gullies, sand dunes, buried channels, beach ridges, paired terraces, the valley in the valley, wave-cut terrace, knick point and waterfalls. It is a lively scientific evolution site, which depicts the real-time effects of climate change. About 18,500 years ago, the sea (Bay of Bengal) was at least 5 km behind from the present coastline. Since then it has been undergoing continuous active changes till about 3,000 years ago and still the changes are on, says Dr. Rajasekhar Reddy.

Geochemically unaltered
The top light-yellow sand unit, which is estimated to have been deposited around 3,000 years ago, could not attain the red colouration as the sediments were geochemically unaltered. These sediments are unfossiliferous and deposited over the khondalite basement. The dunes consist of light yellow sand dunes at the top followed by a brick red sand unit, a reddish brown concretion bearing sand unit with yellow sand at the bottom. The earlier studies indicate that the bottom-most yellow sand unit is fluvial while the other overlying three units are aeolian in origin, he added.

The site also has archaeological significance, as studies of artefacts indicate an Upper Palaeolithic horizon and on cross dating assigned to Late Pleistocene epoch, which is 20,000 BC. Scientists from the university say that the site was home to the pre-historic man as the excavations at several places in the region revealed stone implements of three distinctive periods and also the pottery of the Neolithic man. Keeping all these in mind, the scientists from the GSI, the NIO and the varsity and heritage enthusiasts from INTACH say that it is the responsibility of the State government to see that the site is protected at all costs from all vagaries.

https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Visakhapatnam/scientists-urge-andhra-pradesh-govt-to-protect-glacial-period-coastal-red-sand-dunes-of-vizag/article66215533.ece, December 9, 2022

The State Central Library in Afzalgunj, one the oldest libraries in the city, will soon get a massive facelift as the state government has now finalised a plan to restore the structure as well as conduct an elaborate digitisation of its book collection. The 131-year-old Nizam-era building, previously known as Asafia Library, houses a massive collection of over 5 lakh books with many of them being rare and exclusive.

The Hyderabad Metropolitan Development Authority (HMDA) and the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) are executing the restoration and the Detailed Project Report (DPR) is already prepared. According to official sources in the HMDA, the entire project including repair works, new furniture, book racks and beautification of the interiors including the reading room is estimated to cost around 1.8 crore.

"The library building sits at a 72,247 square yards space. We would be strengthening the structural stability of the building and we are also planning to add additional infrastructure perhaps a cafe, develop more parking space etc," a senior official told TOI. With broken book racks, old furniture and lack of proper maintenance, the library has been languishing in apathy for decades after it was designated as State Central Library after Hyderabad Public Libraries Act became law in 1955. Heritage experts note that the structure has a unique architecture and houses a plethora of rare books from different languages such as Sanskrit, Urdu, English, Arabic, Persian, Hindi and Telugu. "It has Osmanian architecture, and we (INTACH) have given a heritage award to the place back in 1998. The book collection is of extreme value and some of it was sent to Salar Jung Museum," INTACH's convenor Anuradha Reddy told TOI.

As part of the digitisation drive, around 50,000 books have already been computerised and officials in the library are working to restore some of the damaged old books and upload them digitally as well. The library was originally established by Syed Hussain Bilgrami, a notable educationist and was called as Kutub Khana Asafia (house of books of the Asafia dynasty) at Abids in 1891. It was later moved to the current campus in Afzalgunj in 1936 to mark the silver jubilee of the seventh Nizam Mir Osman Ali Khan.

https://m.timesofindia.com/city/hyderabad/afzalgunj-state-library-to-be-given-rs-2-crore-facelift-in-hyderabad/amp_articleshow/96159088.cms, December 12, 2022

On the one hand, the climate change has delayed the arrival of the winged guests in the national Capital, but still those on the journey, on the other hand, are preferring to skip Najafgarh jheel, Delhi’s one of the most important wetlands, from their itinerary. The extreme disturbance caused by rampant illegal fishing at the biodiversity hotspot may be accounted for deterring the migratory birds to look safe greener pastures for feeding and roosting, say avian experts. Usually, with the onset of winter, more than 25 species of resident water birds and more than 50 species of winter migratory water birds arrive from far Central Asia, and North Asia including the Russian and Siberian parts to the wetland at this time of the year.

However, the usual hustle-bustle is missing at the Najafgarh Jheel which has been the feeding, resting, roosting, and foraging habitats for the water birds. It is also one of the enlisted largest annual Asian Waterbird Census (AWC) sites in NCR-Delhi carried out by the Wetlands International South Asia. After monitoring the wetland in the first week of December 2022, senior ecologist, TK Roy said that this year due to impact of global climate change, the migration of long distant winter migratory water birds is slow and lesser.

Even this was not enough, and the illegal fishing at the wetland has compounded the matter for the birds. “Still the arrival of about eight to ten thousand of winter migratory water birds of more than 24 species largely ducks, geese, and waders was recorded only on the extended part of the jheel in private land till November 2022 last week, but not on the main part of the jheel due to extreme disturbance of illegal fishing across the wetland,” he rued. “By the start of December 2022, the extended part of the jheel largely dried and the migratory ducks, geese, and wader species completely left the jheel except for 17 species of small waders in smaller numbers, and only14 species of resident birds minimal in number without Greater Flamingo was recorded on the outer periphery of the Jheel. No winter migratory Ducks and Geese species are seen on the Jheel first time ever this month," Roy said.

Informing about the reason behind the no-show of migratory water birds on the wetland, the bird expert said that the Najafgarh Jheel has been subjected to neglect and has gone unprotected due to rapid urbanization, extreme human intervention, misuse of natural resources of the wetland, irregular pattern of rainfall, large scale illegal fishing, etc. “Besides, water pollution and encroachment of the drying parts of the wetland for agriculture are destroying the ecology and functioning of the ecosystem of the wetland and degrading the aquatic biodiversity habitat.

This results in fluctuation of water level, shrinking of the wetland, and subsequently, declining water bird species diversity and population,” he said. Earlier this year in January 2022, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) had directed the Delhi and Haryana State Governments to implement the ‘Environment Management Plans’ for the Najafgarh Jheel so as to conserve the Jheel from further degradation, pollution, and encroachments.

“Even after the NGT directions that came following a petition by the Indian National for Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) for conservation, notification, and protection of the Jheel, no action has been taken by governments till date,” Roy lamented.
Najafgarh Jheel
Najafgarh Jheel, the second largest wetland in NCR-Delhi located partly in Haryana, Gurgaon District, and partly in Delhi, Southwest District at 210 meters Mean Sea Level (MSL) consisting total revenue land area of the Jheel on record in Delhi wetland area 5.84 sq km and buffer zone 5.55 sq km and in Haryana wetland area 4.46 sq km and buffer zone 9.17 sq km and further some more sq km extended part of the jheel locates on the private land. The main source of water for the jheel is the Sahibi River and monsoon rainfall.

https://www.dailypioneer.com/2022/state-editions/illegal-fishing-delays-migratory-birds----visit-to-najafgarh-lake.html, December 12, 2022

The restoration of the General Post Office (GPO) building has thrown up some secrets. Hidden wooden panelling in a dome, a monitoring deck built by the British to keep an eye on the workforce, and a geometrical stone staircase leading to the postmaster general’s quarters are some of them unearthed during the first phase of the restoration that was recently completed. This is for the first time that the iconic over-century-old building is seeing such massive restoration. A year after the restoration began, the GPO wings are getting restored one by one. Phase 1 saw the restoration of the West Wing of the building.

"Carefully with the help of consultants Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH), we are taking extreme care in restoring every bit of the building with the smallest of detail. The wood panelling, the brass handles, the door knobs, the teak roof panelling and all other stuff is being matched exactly as per English standards," Postmaster General, Mumbai Region Swati Pandey, who initiated the restoration project said. mid-day had first reported last year when the project had started. The West wing now does not have any partitions, blocks and false ceilings with high-pitched stone roof and hidden teak panelling.

Secrets unearthed
“Last week, while restoring a dome, we found that it had been made of fine teak panels that had been erroneously covered by RCC layers during one of the earlier repairs. This small dome is now being restored to its original glory,” she said. “Behind one of the closed panels was a viewing deck, possibly built by the British to oversee the working staff and monitor them. We are now restoring the pathway and the deck as it could be used for heritage walks and we could get school kids and enthusiasts to show them around,” she added. “In the rear side of the building was a blocked geometrical stone staircase which led to the post master general’s quarters. We have restored that too,” she added. The post-master general’s cabin has the original British-styled colour panel glass and circular, hanging retro wooden lamps with fans given matching wooden colour shades. “Once this wing is complete, work shall move to the front facade,” she said.

What’s iconic
The building is being restored by established conservation firm Savani Heritage. The iconic building was designed by British architect John Begg in 1904. Its construction was completed in March 1913 at a cost of Rs 18,09,000. Its dome is modelled on the Gol Gumbaz of Bijapur, Karnataka. As per the archives, the building measures about 1,20,000 square feet with an end-to-end length of 523 feet and a central hall with the dome rising to a height of 120 feet and a 65 feet diameter.

https://www.mid-day.com/mumbai/mumbai-news/article/mumbai-gpo-facelift-reveals-historical-secrets-23259872, December 13, 2022

Making matters worse, the original paper identifying and cataloguing the collection of the 30 bundles has also gone missing. A bundle of palm leaf manuscripts dating back at least 350 years and belonging to Paliam Museum at Chendamangalam in Kochi has gone missing, leaving authorities stumped. The missing item was among the 30 bundles of rare palm leaf manuscripts given for conservation purposes to Muziris Heritage Project (MHP), India’s largest heritage conservation project of which the museum is also a part. They are considered to be of archaeological importance.

Making matters worse, the original paper identifying and cataloguing the collection of the 30 bundles has also gone missing. This means none can identify the contents of the missing manuscript. The identification and cataloguing work had been carried out by renowned scholar late K Kunjunni Raja.

The manuscripts had been among the several artefacts that were kept in the Muziris Heritage region and damaged during the 2018 flood. Later, a team led by M Narayana Namboothiri, the art restorer who headed the Muziris Conservation Lab, restored them. Following this, the 30 bundles, along with Kunjunni Raja’s paper manuscript and a collection of rare letters, were officially handed over to MHP for conservation.
Museum manager seeks govt action “When the Muziris Heritage Project handed the rare palm leaf manuscripts back to us, there were only 29 bundles. One bundle was missing. We reckon someone who knew the content of the rare manuscript stole it,” alleged Krishnabalan Paliath, manager of Paliam Eswara Seva Trust, which manages Paliam kovilakam (palace). He said they have been knocking on the doors of MHP for the past two-and-half years to get the lost palm leaf manuscript back. The 30 bundles contain the Ramayana, some portions of Mahabharata, details of Paliam land, rare ayurveda texts among others.

"It’s difficult to know what the missing bundle contains until we find Kunujunni Raja’s paper manuscript,” he said. When contacted, MHP MD Manoj Kumar K admitted that one bundle of the manuscript was missing.

"I have submitted a report to the tourism director. It is now up to the department to take action and recover the manuscript,” he said. Kumar said Muziris Heritage Project has copies of Kunjunni Raja’s document. Krishnabalan Paliath said officers of the tourism department and MHP are yet to realise the seriousness of the incident. “We want urgent action from the government to find the missing manuscript and return it to the museum,” he said.

https://www.newindianexpress.com/states/kerala/2022/dec/16/bundle-of-350-year-old-palm-leaf-manuscripts-goes-missing-from-kerala-museum-2528555.html, December 14, 2022

Little is known about its natural history except that it is associated with bamboo forests. The rare Assamese cat snake has reported its royal presence for the first time from the Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan. A team of officials from Jomotsangkha wildlife sanctuary in Bhutan with the help of herpetologist Abhijit Das of the Wildlife Institute of India has found Assamese cat snake (Boiga quincunciata) from Menjiwoong village of Jomotsangkha town in Bhutan for the first time.

The place is 6km from the Assam border. The finding was mentioned in Monday’s edition of the Journal of Threatened Taxa. The officials from the sanctuary are Lekey Chaida, Ugyen Tshering and Dorji Wangdi. "I got this species from my friends in Bhutan who asked for more information on this," Das told this correspondent. "The snake was discovered by Col Frank Wall from Tinsukia and Rangagara in Upper Assam close to the present Dibru Saikhowa National Park in 1908.

After a gap of almost 32 years, two additional specimens of Assamese cat snakes were recorded from Myanmar by Malcom Arthur Smith. Since then nothing was known about this snake until 2000 when this species was rediscovered after a gap of almost 60 years from Garbhanga reserve forest close to Guwahati by herpetologist Saibal Sengupta," Das said. “Subsequently fresh observation on this snake was made from Jeypore reserve forest, Barail wildlife sanctuary and Dibrugarh of Assam and additionally from Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Meghalaya and north Bengal states.

With the latest addition of this species to the fauna of Bhutan, there has been significant increase in the distribution range of the species that include the Northeast India, Myanmar and Bhutan since its description 112 years back."

"The bordering areas are losing forest cover and often development projects like road planned along border thus fragment forest continuity that affects species which are rare and endemic.” Das said: “This elegant and elusive species got its name (Boiga quincunciata) from its chequered dark spots on its body. It is one of the members of six species of cat snakes known from Assam.

It can be easily identified from other cat snakes of Assam by observing its head with three black spots and series of black blotches on top of its body. This 1.5-metre long slender, nocturnal and arboreal snake is non-venomous and rarely encountered in lowland evergreen forests close to streams. “Little is known about its natural history except that it is associated with bamboo forests. A few sightings comes from rocky slopes where they were seen hunting bent-toed geckos.

Their ribbon-shaped body, light body weight are just perfect for movement among rocky crevices and steep slopes. They lay elongated eggs up to five in number during July. "Due to its apparent rarity and poorly known status, the Assamese cat snake is not evaluated in the IUCN Red List so far.

The authors say with the confirmed occurrence of Assamese cat snake in Jomotsangkha wildlife sanctuary, Bhutan now has seven Boiga species and 70 snakes in the herpetofauna list and this region should be prioritised for future survey efforts. “Follow-up efforts should target in tropical and subtropical forest near riverine ecosystems, bamboo forest and even near human settlement to get additional distribution range of this snake in the country and the region," they said.

https://www.telegraphindia.com/north-east/rare-assamese-cat-snake-reported-in-bhutan/cid/1768532, December 15, 2022

The fourth edition of the Pondicherry-Auroville Poetry Festival (PPF) gets under way across multiple venues in the city on Wednesday featuring poetry readings, book launches, discussions and music sessions. Hosted by the Pondicherry Poets and The Brown Critique, this year’s theme of ‘equality/oneness’ is set against the backdrop of an increasingly polarised and conflict-ridden world.

The key question we ask is whether oneness is possible in a world divided in innumerable ways — communal disharmony, gender inequality, national conflicts, and whether such a discourse can be kept going by honouring differences and diversity, said Gayatri Majumdar, festival director and Anju Makhija, PPF co-founder. The two-day event will unfold at the Matri Niketan (previously Academy House restored by INTACH), Kurussukuppam, Palais de Mahe (CGH Earth) in Bussy Street (in association with the People for Pondicherry Heritage), and at Unity Pavilion in Auroville.

Apart from the main events that include a panel discussion on ‘Poetry: New Spaces and Future Trends’, there will be a farm Visit to Ousteri Lake and a workshop on Haiku led by Rochelle Potkar, Mumbai, at Aura store on Beach Road. At least 20 renowned poets, apart from musicians and speakers from across the country are participating in the festival.

Among the book launches on the schedule are the works of Ashwani Kumar (Rivers Going Home Anthology/Mumbai); Mani Rao (Love Me in a Hurry and Saundarya Lahari: Wave of Beauty/ Bengaluru); Sushrut Badhe (Sri Aurobindo’s Vedanta – Rhythm of Ananda/Puducherry); Gopal Lahiri Crossing the Shoreline/Kolkata); Anju Makhija (Mumbai Traps/Mumbai); Gayatri Majumdar (The Dream Pod/Puducherry); Nishi Pulugurtha (Raindrops on the Periwinkle/Kolkata); Smita Agarwal (Speak Woman/Allahbad), Kiran Bhat (Speaking in Tongues/Mumbai) and Paresh Tiwari (Now a Poem, Now a Forest/Mumbai).

https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/puducherry/poetry-festival-today/article66285505.ece, December 19, 2022

More than 100 orans documented by a non-profit still listed as wastelands. Residents from around 40 villages of Jaisalmer, Rajasthan have walked 225 kilometres to protect community-conserved sacred spaces known as ‘orans’. Currently, the biodiversity hotspots are classified as wastelands. The villagers walked to the district headquarters of Jaisalmer to submit a letter to the collector December 19, 2022.

They asked them to recategorise the area as ‘oran land’. The current categorisation is causing a loss of biodiversity and is affecting the livelihood of the locals in the area, as huge chunks of land are being allotted for setting up solar plants. The orans are among the last natural habitats of the great Indian bustard. The open stretch of land, which receives long hours of sunlight and brisk winds, has become a hub of green energy with windmills and solar photovoltaic dotting it.

“The orans are listed as ‘wastelands’ in the revenue records. The Degrai Oran is around 10,000 hectares (60,000 bighas), but only 4,000 hectares are recognised as oran, which are listed as common land. The rest is categorised as wasteland,” said Sumer Singh Bhati of Sanwata village in the Jaisalmer district. The government is allotting these lands for solar projects to make them ‘useful’, according to Bhati.

“There are other orans like Mokla, Salkha, Kemde, which also spread across several hectares but are listed as wastelands,” he added. Rajasthan-based non-profit Ecology, Rural Development & Sustainability (ERDS) Foundation documented 100 orans and identified 30 more with the help from the Jaisalmer Chapter of the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) last year, said Sumit Dookia, assistant professor at Delhi’s Indraprastha University and member of ERDS. “All legal documents were procured from revenue records of Rajasthan and corroborated with locals to identify the land on sites. We observed that the orans have not been properly recorded, which is why these ‘oran lands’ or village common lands are given to the development projects,” said Dookia.

The foundation is working with locals, who have realised this injustice and are now raising their voices, he added. A group of 20 people, including Bhati from Sanwata, Bhopal Singh Bhati from Jhaloda, Sujan Singh Bhati from Salkha, Kundan Singh Bhati from Mokla, Chatar Singh from Jam and Durg Singh Bhati from Satyaya have been walking from December 11. The group began from Degrai Mata Mandir of the Rasla village, getting residents of different villages to sign the letter. Several people also joined them as they progressed.

“We have been preserving these grasslands covered with native biodiversity like ber, khejdi, kair, etc since generations. We have conserved these as we are barred from cutting and felling trees here. We have spiritual and religious connections to the orans,” the letter said. These orans are hotspots of biodiversity with trees and flowers like rohida, bordi, kumbhat, and desi babool in large numbers, the letter added. There are different varieties of grasses like sevan and murath as well, making these grasslands home to more than 250 species of birds and animals, including the great Indian bustard, McQueen bustard, chinkara, Indian desert cat, desert fox, etc, it said.

The villagers have raised this issue of conservation and correcting the land records to accommodate the orans, Bhati told Down To Earth. If corrected, local people can take their cattle to graze and depend on them for livelihood, but so far, no action has been taken. “The Supreme Court in 2018 had ordered the orans be recorded as ‘deemed forests’ in the revenue records in the TN Godavarman vs. Union of India case, but not even one oran has been recorded as a deemed forest so far,” said Dookia.

“We have given several memorandums to the district administration in the past as well, but our requests seem to fall on deaf ears. But will continue fighting for our orans,” added Bhopal. Most people in the Jaisalmer district are indirectly dependent on animal husbandry for employment, the letter said. Almost all the ancient orans of the district are located in the middle of livestock-dominated villages, where agriculture is prohibited due to ancient social and religious beliefs. “Due to this, animal husbandry has been the main source of income and medium of employment for most of the villagers in these oran areas for centuries. And their pastures are located in these oran areas,” read the letter.

“In these, the herdsmen of the area have been grazing cows, sheep and goats for centuries, but for the last few years, there has been a crisis on the pastures due to allotment of these ancient traditional pastures to various energy companies,” it added. The government has allotted vast chunks of lands under the orans to energy companies and it is creating pressure on the remaining grazing lands, the letter further stated. Many types of grass have started disappearing and the area’s natural biodiversity is being affected.

https://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/wildlife-biodiversity/jaisalmer-villagers-march-225-kilometres-to-get-sacred-groves-listed-as-oran-land--86653, December 22, 2022

The Archeological Survey of India retweeted the ministry of culture's tweet and said, "Big boost to India's cultural heritage, as Sun Temple, Modhera & adjoining monuments, Rock-cut Sculpture & Reliefs of Unakoti, and Vadnagar: A multi-layered Historic town, Gujarat are the 3 new sites added to Tentative List of UNESCO world heritage sites making the count 52."

Three more sites in India have made it to the tentative list of UNESCO’s world heritage sites. While two of them are from Gujarat, one site is from Tripura. These three sites consist of Vadnagar town and Modhera’s Sun Temple in Gujarat, and rock-cut sculptures and reliefs of Unakoti ranges in the Unakoti district in Tripura.

The ministry of culture tweeted on 20th December 2022, “Congratulations India! India adds 3 more sites to UNESCO’s Tentative List: 01 Vadnagar- A multi-layered Historic town, Gujarat 02 Sun Temple, Modhera and its adjoining monuments 03 Rock-cut Sculptures and Reliefs of the Unakoti, Unakoti Range, Unakoti District."

The Archeological Survey of India retweeted the ministry of culture’s tweet and said, “Big boost to India’s cultural heritage, as Sun Temple, Modhera & adjoining monuments, Rock-cut Sculpture & Reliefs of Unakoti, and Vadnagar: A multi-layered Historic town, Gujarat are the 3 new sites added to Tentative List of UNESCO world heritage sites making the count 52.” Union Culture Minister G Kishan Reddy shared brief information about the three sites in his tweet thread. He also credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision for this achievement and congratulated the ASI. Reddy wrote, “With this, India now has 52 sites on UNESCO Tentative List. The List indicates the rich cultural & natural wealth of India & shows the huge diversity of our heritage.

With Hon PM Narendra Modi’s dynamic vision & leadership, India is committed to adding more sites to the World Heritage List.” G Kishan Reddy further wrote, “I congratulate ASI for their role in identifying more monuments and places for the world heritage nomination. The Sun Temple, Modhera dedicated to Surya dev, is a gem of temple architecture in India & the pride of Gujarat. It is the earliest of such temples which set trends in architectural & decorative details, representing Solanki style at its best."

Informing about Unakoti, the union minister wrote, “Located in the northeastern part of Tripura, Unakoti is known as an ancient holy place associated with Shaiva worship. The site is a massive gallery set amongst the forest displaying a number of towering low relief images in a unique style, making it a masterpiece of human creative genius.” Vadnagar in Gujarat is the hometown of India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The town is inhibited for at least the last 2700 years and is now included in UNESCO’s heritage list. G Kishan Reddy wrote, “Vadnagar is a municipality under Mehsana district of Gujarat. A multi-layered Historic town, the history of Vadnagar stretches back to nearly the 8th Century BCE. The town still retains a large number of historic buildings that are primarily religious & residential in nature."

https://www.opindia.com/2022/12/three-more-sites-in-india-included-tentative-list-unescos-world-heritage-sites/, December 23, 2022

New Parliament to be ready for budget session; current building will host offices. Often, as the old makes way for the new, the past re-emerges in the most intriguing ways. Sir Edwin Lutyens, the architect of New Delhi, had in 1928, just a year after the Parliament house was inaugurated, proposed constructing a mirror image of the building. The second building that would have been constructed across the Central Vista Avenue would have housed the Parliament secretariat.

The proposal did not take off. Almost a century later, Lutyens’s proposal was dusted off and became the basis for a discussion on the need to construct a new Parliament building. The current one, it was increasingly felt, was over-utilised and showed signs of wear and tear.

The new building―the centrepiece of the ambitious Central Vista Redevelopment Project―is not circular though. And here, Lutyens’s co-architect in the design of New Delhi, Sir Herbert Baker, could claim vindication. His original design for the Parliament house, a triangular structure, finds resonance, even if inadvertently.

Lutyens had prevailed upon him to alter his plan and thus was born the colosseum-shaped edifice. A new, triangular Parliament house has taken shape. Though not at the location Lutyens had chosen for his proposed lookalike, the site is just a stone’s throw away from the iconic building. The original plan was to get the building ready before the winter session of Parliament.

According to officials in the Lok Sabha Secretariat, the building is almost ready and the budget session is expected to be held in the new Parliament. Plot No 118, located at the heart of the country’s preeminent real estate, is, at present, the hub of hectic construction activity. The plot of land will soon bear the most important address in the country―Sansad Bhavan. Designed by renowned architect Bimal Patel, the new Parliament building promises to be an imposing structure, grand in scale and vision, and modern in construction and functionality. And even as it seeks to break from the old and represent, in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s words, the aspirations of a new India, the links to the past remain. “Our effort is to build a state-of-the-art new Parliament building in a very short period of time,” said Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, who is the custodian of the Parliament building. “The building will be a symbol of a new and self-reliant India.

The new Parliament building will become the centrepiece of the fulfilment of the aspirations of the India of the 21st century. In the new building, we will get to witness India’s glorious culture, its rich traditions and its golden future.” According to HCP Design, Planning and Management, Patel’s Ahmedabad-based architecture firm, the shape is inspired by the triangular plot. The idea is to make the best use of the available space. Also, as per details on the new Parliament building shared by the firm in December 2020, when the foundation stone was laid, the triangular plan lends itself well to the three primary functional requirements―the Lok Sabha, the Rajya Sabha and a courtyard, allowing the floor space to be organised in an efficient manner.

Moreover, said HCP Design, "The two forms (the old Parliament building and the new) work well together, aesthetically, for a complex that will ultimately function as the legislative enclave along with the library and annexe.” Elaborating on the shape, the firm further said: “The current Parliament building is much loved by the people of the country and is built in a pure geometric form―a circle. The proposed facility is designed to pay homage to this iconic structure without mimicking it, therefore the choice of a different but equally strong pure geometric form―a triangle―was found apt."

The new building, with a total built up area of 58,700sqm, has much bigger debating chambers compared with the current Parliament. The Lok Sabha chamber in the new building is three times bigger than the present one, with a seating capacity of 888 members, which can be increased to 1,224 in joint sessions. The Rajya Sabha has space for 384 members―four times bigger than the current chamber. The interiors of the Lok Sabha have references to the national bird, the peacock, while the interiors of the Rajya Sabha have been built on the inspiration from the national flower, the lotus. In the third aspect of the building―the open courtyard―the national tree, the Banyan, is preeminent.

The courtyard leads to a central lounge where members can interact. The new Parliament building matches the height and bulk of the present Parliament building. According to HCP Design, the architecture and aesthetics of the new building takes reference from the current building, other buildings of the Central Vista, and the classical, folk and tribal arts and crafts of India. The Lok Sabha, the Rajya Sabha and the courtyard form the central core of the new building, with office spaces located along the outer edges.

The ceremonial entrances are located at the three vertices of the triangular building, and three public entrances are located in the middle of the three sides of the structure. The dome of the new Parliament is ready, and a grand replica of the national emblem, cast in metal, was installed on top of it. Although, its unveiling in July did give rise to a debate on whether the lions looked aggressive and menacing in deviation from the original. A central Constitution hall and gallery will showcase the Indian Constitution, and the cultural diversity and heritage of the country will be depicted through art installations.

Sandstone from Sarmathura in Dholpur district of Rajasthan has been used extensively in the building to help give it an appearance that is in keeping with the original buildings of the Central Vista. There is extensive use of wooden structures, with wood procured from Nagpur, Maharashtra. Artisans and craftsmen from Mumbai were brought on board for the woodwork, which will bear traditional motifs and elements. Carpets have been procured from Bhadohi, Uttar Pradesh, which is famous for its hand-knotted carpets. Desks in the debating chambers have been designed by HCP, with the firm’s architects testing prototypes to check for convenience and functionality.

The designs of the desk and the bench were revised based on feedback from multiple users and stakeholders to create an improved prototype which was again tested. Three-dimensional models were used as design tools to determine the ideal levels for seating in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha halls. The arrangements for circulating printed documents and the visibility of the speaker was an issue in the current Lok Sabha hall. This was addressed by sinking the central well into the floor in the proposed design. Also, the new Parliament will be tech-friendly. Members’ desks will be equipped with a multimedia screen through which they will be able to vote, register attendance and request for an opportunity to speak. They will be able to access the MP Portal through the touchscreen available on it. Apart from this, they will also be able to access the documents uploaded earlier in their personal folders. The new Parliament will be a green building equipped with necessary facilities for environmental and energy conservation. It will also be earthquake-resistant and has been designed for seismic zone V. Delhi-NCR falls in seismic zone IV.

Two committees were set up under the aegis of the Union culture ministry to finalise the art work that will adorn the galleries of the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha and the ceremonial foyers in the building. Granite statues of personalities with great significance to the country’s history are being installed. The new Parliament building was conceptualised in 2019 as part of the Central Vista Redevelopment Project.

Its cost was originally estimated to be around Rs970 crore, but is learnt to have been revised upwards. Tata Projects had won the contract to build the new Parliament in September 2020. In the backdrop of questions on whether the current building could have been retrofitted to meet the growing needs, it has been emphasised by the decision-makers that the Parliament house, almost a 100 years old, was designed to house the Imperial Legislative Council and not planned for a bicameral legislature.

They point out that previous Lok Sabha speakers, too, had sent proposals to the government of their time for a new Parliament house to be constructed. S.K. Misra, former chairman of INTACH (Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage) agreed with the argument that the need for a new Parliament was being felt. “The current building is suffering from wear and tear," he said. "As chairman of INTACH, I had visited the Parliament building to assess the state of maintenance, and the building is in dire need of repairs." According to the Lok Sabha secretariat, studies have been undertaken by various agencies which reveal that to carry out structural retrofitting, re-laying of electrical and mechanical services and air-conditioning, the building will have to be vacated for 18-24 months.

It has been pointed out that the building had to be modified from time to time to a large extent to suit the purpose of a modern Parliament, and new constructions and modifications have been done in an ad hoc manner. However, over-repair and over-maintenance have led to poor condition of the building and issues of structural safety. Also, it is stated that over the years, parliamentary activities and the number of people working in the complex and visitors have increased manifold, and the building is unable to meet the requirements in terms of space, amenities and technology. Another argument in favour of a new Parliament is the likely increase in the number of Lok Sabha Members after 2026. The number of Lok Sabha seats has remained unaltered at 545 after the delimitation carried out on the basis of the 1971 Census.

It is likely to increase substantially after 2026 as the freeze on total number of seats will be over. It is pointed out by the Lok Sabha secretariat that the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha are full to the brim and there is no scope to add seats in the event of the Parliament getting expanded. The seating arrangements in the two houses are cramped and there are no desks after the second row. Also, the central hall has a seating facility for around 440 people, and when joint sessions are held, chairs are placed in the aisles to seat members, which not only undermines the dignity of the institution but is also a security challenge as movement is highly restricted. Former Secretary General of the Lok Sabha P.D.T. Achary said he has innumerable memories associated with the Parliament house, and while he realises the need for a new building, the old one should remain in use in some form and not be relegated to irrelevance.

“Major events, such as the president’s address, can continue to be held in the building,” he said. “It reverberates with history. It has seen history getting enacted, from the transfer of power to Nehru’s tryst of destiny speech to the Constituent Assembly meetings. The grandeur of this building should be maintained. Special care should be taken to maintain the building in its pristine form.” According to Birla, the current Parliament building and the new one will be harmonised. “It (the present building) will be used,” he said. “Offices will continue to function from it.” he said. The new takes shape, but in the shadow of the old.

https://www.theweek.in/theweek/cover/2022/12/24/new-indian-parliament-to-be-ready-for-the-budget-session.html, December 26, 2022

Clusters of geoglyphs are spread across the Konkan coastline in Maharashtra and Goa, spanning around 900 km. Here is why they are important. Experts and conservationists have raised concerns over the proposed location for a mega oil refinery in Barsu village of Maharashtra’s Ratnagiri district. They claim that the refinery might damage prehistoric geoglyphs found in the area. The sites are protected by the state archaeology department and the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). In April, these sites in the Konkan region were added to a tentative list of UNESCO’s world heritage sites.

While the UNESCO listing dates these sites to be over 12,000 years old, some experts have claimed that these sites might go as far back as 20,000 years, and that this can be ascertained through carbon and geological dating. The Barsu-Solgaon site was proposed after the original plan to construct a refinery in Nanar village of the district was dropped in 2019. Geoglyphs are a form of prehistoric rock art, created on the surface of laterite plateaus (Sada in Marathi). They are made by removing a part of the rock surface through an incision, picking, carving or abrading. They can be in the form of rock paintings, etchings, cup marks and ring marks.

The UNESCO listing mentions “Konkan geoglyphs.” However, elsewhere, the term petroglyph (literally, “rock symbol/character”) is also used. As per the UNESCO listing, petroglyphs and geoglyphs share similarities as both require the skills of removing parts or engraving a symbol on the rock surface. Clusters of geoglyphs are spread across the Konkan coastline in Maharashtra and Goa, spanning around 900 km.

Porous laterite rock, which lends itself to such carving, is found on a large scale across the entire region. Ratnagiri district has more than 1,500 pieces of such art, also called “Katal shilpa,” spread across 70 sites. UNESCO’s tentative world heritage list mentions seven sites with petroglyphs in Ratnagiri district — Ukshi, Jambharun, Kasheli, Rundhe Tali, Devihsol, Barsu and Devache Gothane, one in Sindhudurg district –Kudopi village, and nine sites at Phansamal in Goa. According to UNESCO, "rock art in India is one of oldest material evidence of the country’s early human creativity.” Ratnagiri’s rock art is evidence of the continued existence of human settlements from the Mesolithic (middle stone age) to the early historic era. The geoglyphs also show the existence of certain types of fauna that are no longer present in the region today. Ratnagiri’s prehistoric sites are among three Indian attractions that may soon become World Heritage Sites.

The other two include Jingkieng Jri, the living root bridge in Meghalaya, and Sri Veerabhadra Temple in Andhra Pradesh’s Lepakshi. What does the imagery in these sites tell us? UNESCO’s World Heritage Site listing says that imagery from these sites shows how people “adapted to ephemeral wetlands in a dry-arid plateau having shallow rock pools, streams and watercourses”. Experts say that the discovery of geoglyphs has added to ongoing research on human resilience and adaptation to extreme fluctuations in climates. The geoglyph clusters also are examples of advanced artistic skills, showing the evolution of techniques of etching and scooping in rock art.

The figures depicted in the geoglyphs include humans and animals such as deer, elephant, tiger, monkey, wild boar, rhinoceros, hippopotamus, cattle, pig, rabbit, and monkey.

Moreover, they also include a high number of reptilian and amphibian creatures such as tortoises and alligators, aquatic animals such as sharks and sting rays, and birds like peacocks. Some clusters have one or two standalone figures of larger-than-life scale, while others show multiple figures gathered together, seemingly for a purpose. The largest rock engraving or geoglyph in India is at Kasheli in the Ratnagiri district, which has a large figure of an elephant with dimensions of 18X13 metres.

"The iconography, content, scale and composition record faunal, especially marine and large mammals that have become extinct in the Indian subcontinent over 30,000 years,” the UNESCO listing states.
How were Geoglyphs in the Konkan region found? Nisarga Yatri Sanstha, a Ratnagiri-based non-profit organisation, has been working for the last few years to find and preserve geoglyphs in the Konkan region. Led by a local conservationist, Sudhir Risbud, Nisarga Yatri has thus far discovered over 1,700 geoglyphs in more than 72 villages. It is this team that brought these priceless prehistoric sites to the knowledge of Indian authorities.

While they came across rock carvings in mid- 2000s while working on other projects, it was in 2010 that Risbud and his team started making a concerted effort to determine how many such sites are around, often asking villagers for help. A shepherd in Rajapur taluka first spotted a location for the team and pointed to the boundary wall and the shape of bushes around the geoglyph. This led to the discovery of over a thousand rock carvings across the Konkan region, which later became protected monuments.

Why have experts raised red flags over the refinery project site at Barsu- Solgaon?
The committee of experts appointed by the Union Ministry of Science and Technology visited Ratnagiri last month to assess the funds required for the conservation of geoglyphs.

Senior archaeologist Professor Vasant Shinde, who headed the team said that more than 250 geoglyphs have been identified in the area where the petrochemical refinery will be built. He said that if the project starts at the presently proposed site in Barsu, the rock carvings will get destroyed due to construction and chemical reaction at the site. “A refinery project can be set up elsewhere in Konkan beyond 5-6 km of the petroglyphs,” Shinde said.

https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-culture/ratnagiri-geoglyphs-8344954/, December 27, 2022

The sthapathi, or the community of artisans in Swamimalai Tamil Nadu, are the practitioners of an ancient craft that began under the Chola dynasty. They craft exquisite bronze statues of religious and cultural significance using the lost wax technique. The Swamimalai bronzes have come a long way since the times of the Cholas, and now have a Geographical Indicator (GI) tag to give them a stronger formal identity.

The Chola kingdom was the dominant force of the Deccan region for about four hundred years. Those kings were great patrons of the arts and crafts and were instrumental in creating a haven for architecture, sculpture, and painting artisans.

The construction of their temples brought carpenters, sculptors, goldsmiths, stone masons, et al., from across the country, who then settled in Swamimalai, in the Thanjavur district. The sthapati began making bronze statues, as they were privy to the complex nature of metal statue making. The current community claims descent from Agora Veerapathira Sthapathy, and there are, as of now, about three hundred families who are in the business of casting bronze for statues.

Tools Of The Trade
Special instruments are used for casting bronze, and some continue to be what the sthapathis’ ancestors created, while some have been modified with the passing of time. The leaf strip, a ribbon of the coconut tree leaf, cut to the length of the model and folded to different sizes in proportion to the model, is still used to take the measurements of the statute, while the spatula is used to shape the wax model, and the knife, to carve the wax.

To bring sharpness to the relief features, a scrapper is used, and then a soldering iron comes into play in order to even out the edges of the wax. The well-known tools of the sculptor, the hammer and chisel, are used to get rid of the unwanted metal from the casting. Engraving tools, files, and forceps are used to carve the statue further to turn it into the breathtaking beauty it was intended to be.

Processed To Polished Perfection
The process of casting always begins with the making of the wax model based on the measurements given in the Agama Shastra. The wax itself is a mixture of beeswax, resin, and groundnut oil. Once the wax model is dry, a layer of loam or alluvial soil is applied to it, and the statue is left to dry once more. Later, at strategic points in the statue, holes are drilled so that molten metal can be poured into them, and the melting wax and associated vapours can have a way out.

Once it is cool, the second layer of clay and sand is applied and sun-dried for a couple of days. This mould is now bound with metal wires to avoid breakage when it is set on fire to melt the wax collected as it leaves the mould. Once this is accomplished, the bronze is poured into the mould via the holes which have been created earlier in the process.

The pouring of the metal is done when the mould is still hot from the process of losing the wax, as otherwise, the cool mould will break due to the heat of the metal. Once cool, the mould is broken, and the details are chiselled in, and the statue is polished to a shine with emery paper.

The Final Avatar
Traditionally, the statues were religious, such as those of the gods from the Hindu pantheon. However, this trend shows no signs of abating as statues with cultural significance, especially those with connections to the legends, such as those of heroes from the Ramayana and Mahabharata, are in great demand.

Due to the granting of the GI tag, the craftspeople of Swamimalai can rest assured that the consumer is not buying a counterfeit. This is especially true for those who live away from India and want to take back an original craft of the land with them. More information can be had from, Poompuhar, Tamil Nadu’s state emporium, which can be reached at www.tn.gov.in/hhtk/handicrafts/handi-contact.htm.

https://www.outlookindia.com/outlooktraveller/explore/story/72750/the-gi-tagged-swamimalai-bronze-statues-of-tamil-nadu, December 30, 2022