Tourism Department to use the first instalment of Rs. 17 crore in the heritage area

The ever-increasing bustle of tourists combined with urbanisation is posing a greater challenge to the preservation of heritage town.

The recent Central government’s approval of Rs. 85.28 crore tourist circuit projects under Swadesh Darshan Scheme has raised questions as to how this money would be used while the urbanisation has squandered away Puducherry’s heritage. However, the Tourism Department has its plans set to utilise the first instalment of Rs. 17 crore for the development of heritage area in Puducherry.

Puducherry town is designed based on grid layout. It has two distinct characters within the boulevards (within the grid). Close to the beach, there was the White Town with its colonial mansion basically modelled on the Parisian middle class structures. These buildings were well-adapted to the tropical climate with some infusion of local decorations. The Grand Canal divides still the French quarter from Tamil quarter. The Tamil quarter was full of traditional Tamil houses. That was the strange urban landscape of Puducherry where we can see a village and a city juxtapose each other. The Tourism Department is planning to primarily focus and invest the first instalment of money received from the Central Government on French and Tamil quarters.

The Development of Heritage Area in Puducherry under the Swadesh Darsham Scheme will focus on revitalisation of Bharathi Park including illumination of monuments, Triangular Park, parks at beach promenade, Gandhi Thidal, streetscapes in the heritage area of French Quarter, Vysial Street at Tamil Quarter. It also includes restoration of façade of heritage buildings, information signage for heritage area and lighting and illumination of heritage area and monuments.

Tourism Department Director R. Mounissamy said that first they would take the project of beautification and conservation of the French and Tamil quarters.

“The Public Works Department and INTACH would work together for the completion of this project,” he said.

Rampant commercialisation

INTACH Senior Architect A. Arul says, “There is a need to maintain what we have today. There is nothing really to showcase except few places. Many heritage buildings have crumbled down. Hence, we need to focus mainly on restoring the footpaths and restore the facades and streetscapes of areas identified.”

Will restoration and revitalisation of these places bring back the urban heritage of Puducherry? Former Chief Conservator in the Ministry of Culture, France, Robert Dulau had been very critical of the methods used in preserving the urban heritage of Puducherry.

Being instrumental in the restoration of façade at Ishwaran Dharma Raja Koil Street, Mr. Dulau in his book ‘The town…the house…their spirit’ says that Puducherry today has reached a precarious point and any further inroads may profoundly affect the face of the town.

“First, the Tamil house is a part of the living memory in the town that we love and such memories and the heritage they represent out to be preserved,” writes Dulau in his book.

The rampant commercial development in Puducherry has converted Tamil houses into commercial buildings housing office or hotels. In the French quarters too the mansions are changing to heritage hotels, boutiques.

The restoration and revitalisations focusing on the façade and lightning of streets only provides for a cosmetic surgery, making it tourists destination rather than brining in a lived experience of our rich heritage.

Many heritage buildings have crumbled down, says INTACH Senior Architect A. Arul

- The Hindu, February 1, 2016

Fancy playing with a set of cards where guessing the suit is as much a game as winning a hand? Playing with the suits are 55 Indian artists, including four from Tamil Nadu, have given a makeover to the otherwise common clubs, spades, diamonds and hearts.

Keeping them company is a similar pack by British artists in 1976. The original artwork of the two sets of cards is part of a UK-India exhibition titled the 'Deck of Cards/ Taash ke Patte' was inaugurated this weekend at the India Art Fair and will be displayed at the British Council in Delhi for the next three months.

Different mediums like paintings, sculptures and photographs are experimented by leading artists in the country including Anjolie Ela Menon, Jogen Choudhary, K G Subramanyan and Arpita Singh which had the likes of David Hockney from the original group of masters. Among them sculptor S Nandagopal and painters R B Bhaskaran, Rm Palaniappan and C Douglas are representing the city. All of them belonging to the Madras Movement of Art have been selected for their signature contemporary styles ranging from realistic to abstract. "We wanted to show a range of artistic practices integral to India and tried to invite artists from across the country showing the history, diversity and expanse of art here," said Laura Williams curator of the show.

Familiar with the small format, the artists from the city used their signature styles to interpret the cards. For C Douglas the charcoal and water colour jack of clubs resembles a keyhole. Bhaskaran has used an abstract visual showing nature for his diamond card with a number 10 etched in a corner and Palaniappan has painted a rainbow of hues for his card number 7 of diamonds. The only sculptor in the group, Nandagopal has used a profile of his recurrent 'acrobat' figure to show the jack of spades.

The idea originated in 1976, when fifty-four leading British artists were sent a playing card by a London gallery asking them to make a single artwork. The success of the show resulted in a physical pack of artful, playing cards, which are sold at major art institutions worldwide. The present project with the Indian artists, 40 years later, in conjunction with Art 18/21 hopes to be sold to a gallery or museum as a pack and hopes to be photographed and reprinted to be sold to the public.

"The project will help in promoting Indian art worldwide and quirky, fun edge is the mystery of who is the creator of the artwork. So come and play," says Williams.

- The Times of India, February 1, 2016

Fourteen years after archaeologists stumbled upon the nondescript mound at Moghalmari in West Midnapore district, the site has thrown up one of the largest finds of Buddhist history in India.

The site, currently a buzz of activities, has led to the discovery of some 50 relics connected to Buddhism, which was widely practiced in eastern Indian between seventh and 12th Century.

While archeologists from Calcutta University first came across this site in March 2001, the state archaeology department has since taken charge. On January 23 this year they came across around 40 bronze artifacts dating back to fifth and sixth century. Since then, diggers have come across more relics, with chances that digging deeper will lead to further finds.

In 2001, archaeologists first found the structural details of a monastery, an inscribed seal and a broken bust, believed to be of the Buddha. While Moghalmari village, around 180 km from Kolkata, became an important find in understanding history of Buddhism in India, particularly Bengal, the dig emerged a centre of attention since January 23, with archeologists believing the site will provide crucial insights in assessing and understanding spread of Buddhism to eastern India and eventually to other parts of Asia.

Archaeologists involved with the project pointed out that the seal found in 2001 carries an inscription in Sanskrit, which when deciphered, turned out to be the Buddhist Dharmaparyay, a hymn with the message of the Buddha’s teachings on philosophy. Besides the seal that dates back to eighth century, archaeologists also found terracotta tablets. The primary image on them is of the Buddha in meditation, with two rows of miniature figures in the bottom, depicting the five famous transcendent Buddhas.

Asok Datta from Calcutta University, who led the first excavation team, believes the tablets are a clincher in proving the site’s monastic identity.

“The tablets prove the existence of an extensive monastic settlement at the site,” he said. After the initial find in 2001, the mound was first excavated by Calcutta University’s archaeology department between 2003 and 2004 but it took them around two years to substantially establish the site’s monastic identity.

The finds on January 23 include a range of bronze figurines, mostly of the Buddha but some of Saraswati and Avalokiteshwara, with the tallest being around 25 cm and the smallest, seven cm high.

- The Times of India, February 1, 2016

Besides its natural beauty, the City of Lakes is renowned for the only-one-of-its kind plastering technique called 'Ghutai' which even today makes people believe that Udaipur has marble palaces.

The fact is that the only truly marble palace here is Moti Mahal on Fatehsagar Dam which is a private property. Ghutai also known as Sandala, is a unique art of Mewar, which involves combined mill grinding of 'Jhinki' - the sand like marble powder and slacked lime (aaras, burnt lime slaked with water) to produce a fine grained smooth paste that gives a cool eye-appealing, washable and the only one of its kind 'marble finish' to the constructions that have already been plastered with burnt lime-sand mortar.

The plastering makes the surface glossy and not-so-easy to stain, which gives marble touch on walls.

"The burnt lime is obtained by roasting limestone in kilns that were common sites in earlier days but now the wet mixture of Portland cement-sand has replaced the traditional plastering recipe," informed Dr P S Ranawat, an earth scientist. The restoration of heritage palaces like Sajjangarh, Bagore-ki-Haveli and many others, have been done by this plastering art.

"Indoor Ghutai surface were commonly painted too or inlaid with colour glass pieces to create motifs, which is another unique art heritage of Mewar," Ranawat added.

The process of preparing the lime plaster is elaborate and cumbersome. It originally consisted of treating the lime over a period of two years. Since this is now not so practical, the slaking of lime is done in a shorter time period. The application is in three coats. After the first coat is completed, it is left for some time to allow for temperature shrinkages. The second coat is then applied and then left for one month. Then for third coat, a neat cream of lime finish as a thin polishing layer is applied to give a glossy appearance.

After this, it is rubbed with ahareek stone. This is a hard stone whose availability is rare. After the rubbing with the stone, a cloth dipped in coconut oil is applied to the surface which acts as a preservative.

The final surface obtained is very glossy and does not stain easily.

- The Times of India, February 1, 2016

World Wetlands Day on Tuesday: Did anyone celebrate?

Even as the country celebrated World Wetlands Day on February 2, there is a regulatory vacuum around wetlands. This includes Ramsar wetlands, wetlands of national importance as well as interstate wetlands.

The day is celebrated across the world to commemorate the Convention on Wetlands held in Ramsar (Iran) in 1971. It is an intergovernmental treaty which provides the framework for national action and international cooperation for wetlands' conservation.

"We have little to celebrate. When I talked to a member of the Maharashtra State Wetland Authority (MSWA), he had no idea about the status of this authority under the forest department. It has never met and there has been no communication from the government with the members of the authority about its status," said Parineeta Dandekar, co-convener of South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People (SANDRAP), Pune.

On August 22, 2012 TOI was first to report that Maharashtra has identified six wetlands including the ecologically sensitive Navegaon and Lonar lakes in Vidarbha to be listed under the National Wetland Conservation Programme (NWCP). However, nothing has been done in this direction. On March 1, ministry of environment, forests and climate change (MoEFCC) had asked the state to send a list of wetlands for notification under new Wetland Regulatory Rules 2010.

Accordingly, state had decided to include six wetlands — Sewri Creek (Mumbai), Jaikwadi (Aurangabad), Ujni (Solapur), Navegaon Bandh (Gondia), Nandur Madhmeshwar (Nashik), and Lonar (Buldhana) under Ramsar sites. However, these wetlands are facing regulatory vacuum and lack of protection.

Prafulla Bhamburkar of Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) says, "Even as the country is losing its wetlands at an alarming rate of 38%, our wetlands are ungoverned and unprotected. We have not learnt lessons on importance of wetlands, which are flood regulators, even after Chennai and Kashmir deluge."

"After Wetlands Rules 2010 were notified with much fanfare under the Environment Protection Act 1986, it was hoped that there will be clarity and direction in protection of wetlands in the country. However, even 6 years after the notification of Wetlands Rules, there is no National Wetlands Authority," says Himanshu Thakkar, convener of SANDRAP.

Shockingly, Thakkar says the National Wetlands Authority, formed post Wetlands Rules 2010, has never met since April 2012. The term of the authority has ended and new authority has not been constituted.

"When we discussed the issue with MoEFCC, we were told that this is due to integration of National Lake Conservation Program (NLCP) and National Wetlands Conservation Program (NWCP) into a National Program on Conservation of Aquatic Ecosystems (NPCA). However, this integration was announced in 2013, and should have been notified promptly thereafter. New NPCA guidelines mean that the entire Wetland (Protection) Rules will be redrafted but the NPCA guidelines are still not formulated.

"There is no clear road map for wetlands in Vidarbha. We are gifted with so many big water bodies but all these wetlands are neglected. The government is spending crores of rupees on JAL Yukta Shivar scheme but has failed to rejuvenate existing wetlands," said Sawan Bahekar, honorary wildlife warden of Gondia, which has over 100 lakes.

"Our track record of wetlands protection is dismal. There is little effective regulation of wetlands in India. In a changing climate, wetlands play a critical role in achieving better adaptation, besides integral providing goods and services like drinking water supply, flood cushioning, fisheries, carbon sequestering, biodiversity habitat, coastal protection, groundwater recharge, cultural and aesthetic values," said Koustav Chatterjee of Green Vigil.

- The Times of India, February 3, 2016

The city is losing its waterbodies faster than any other metro in India, revealed a study by a green NGO, which also warned that if ponds and lakes are filled up at the current rate, all the remaining ones would be wiped out in the next 10 years.

A GIS survey conducted by South Asian Forum for Environment (SAFE) over a period of eight months showed that Kolkata had lost 46% of its water bodies since 2006. From 3,874 ponds, lakes and canals 10 years ago, the number has dwindled to 1,670. The depletion was probably the biggest for a city in the span of a decade and such a loss would take a toll on the city's environment unless corrective measures were taken immediately, said environmentalists.

Of the surviving 328.9-sq km of water bodies, East Kolkata Wetlands (EKW)-a Ramsar site-alone contributes to almost 5% of the total area covered by water within the Kolkata Metropolitan Area (KMA). Water bodies now account for just 17.3% of the KMA area as the greater part of the 143 sq-km EKW falls outside the metropolitan area.

"Based on our GIS mapping, the rate at which wetland in Kolkata is disappearing is the highest in the nation and happens to be almost 15% above the global average. of wetland loss. This simply means that in the next decade, Kolkata would hardly have any wetland left," said Dipayan De, chairperson, SAFE. The 2006 data had been compiled by National Atlas and Thematic Mapping Organization (NATMO). The study also reveals that 45-52% of the present day metropolitan area was covered with big water bodies, marsh lands, creeks and canals, according to the Kolkata maps of 1893. "These water bodies have disappeared as the city expanded and rampant concretization took place. Today, we only find a few remnants of the wetland in Kolkata. The heritage water bodies, too, are in a poor shape and under threat," said De. According to the SAFE data, just 68.3 sq km is in a "good ecological shape" and this doesn't include the part of EKW that falls within the KMA area.

Two things emerge clearly from the survey, according to SAFE. While in proper Kolkata it is urbanization that has led to the filling up of water bodies, in the fringes, they have been converted into farmland since agriculture is often perceived to be more lucrative than fishing. "Fishing is now largely restricted to some pockets, for it is not rewarding enough. Agricultural produce has a ready and bigger market in Kolkata which has prompted the conversion of water bodies in the fringe areas. But this will have a telling impact on the environment of Kolkata, signs of which are already evident. The city has suffered a drop in its underground watertable. Perhaps more importantly, the loss of water bodies has left Kolkata with very few outlets for water to drain out. A heavy shower could well prove to be as disastrous as the Chennai flood," said De.

Green activist Subhas Datta agreed. "Kolkata's underground water table always recharged itself from the water bodies. With the latter being filled up, the tables have dropped. Water bodies are crucial for Kolkata as the city has a natural west-east gradient despite the river flowing to the west. With the construction of north-south roads, this flow has been affected. So, the EKW as well as every other water body in the city are so important for its environment. Coupled with the loss of water bodies, the city is now left with a grossly inadequate natural drainage system," explained Datta.

He added that the disappearance of the water bodies has also affected the bio-diversity of the areas in and around them. "Every water body is a seat of life. If one goes, you displace or kill hundreds of animals and organisms that survive on it," said Datta. Green activist Sudipto Bhattacharya pointed out that loss of bio-diversity has been the most visible result of shrinking water bodies in Kolkata. "Birds and aquatic creatures nest in and around water bodies. Without lakes and ponds, they have been forced to move out. You hardly see earthworms or kingfishers in Kolkata nowadays. This is indeed worrying," said Bhattacharya. Environment expert Dhrubajyoti Ghosh felt that while water bodies in Kolkata had indeed shrunk, it was not true for the wetland. "It is important to distinguish between water bodies and wetland as their ecologies are different. There has been a drastic reduction in water bodies, but the wetland has remained unchanged in the area," said Ghosh. The livelihood of more than 35% inhabitants of Kolkata still depends directly on the ecosystem services of these urban wetlands and almost 68% of the inhabitants of Kolkata use these ecosystem services still today.

The KMA is 1887 sq km in area

- The Times of India, February 3, 2016

Conservationists working on restoration of the historic Surat castle have stumbled upon foundations of the unique drawbridge that was built to protect the fort from enemy attacks.

The drawbridge was the access to this castle and was built over a moat - a deep canal filled with water surrounding the fort. Built in 16th century, the drawbridge could be lifted with strings as and when required, the main function being to protect the castle whose entrance also had protruding spikes that thwart attacks.

The foundation of the drawbridge was found by a team of conservationists on the left side while entering the fort. They were found after careful digging by 20 people for over two weeks. It was first noticed some 20 days ago during the first phase of fort conservation work.

Measured at 14m, this bridge was built on the moat and operated in three portions. It was built on roughly 40-feet deep canal and one third of the middle portion of the bridge could be lifted with the help of iron ropes.

"In those days, such drawbridges were common on the moats around the forts to restrict unwanted access. We were able to locate these foundations during our conservation work recently," said conservation architect Sumesh Modi.

The Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC) has embarked on a Rs 33crore castle restoration project, which is expected to be completed by 2016 and open for public viewing by October. The conservation project will not only bring alive the past via various galleries but also set up the symbolic moat and have the castle's entrance drawbridge function via a hydraulic system.

This bridge was also most likely built by Khudawant Khan in 1542. First and third part of the bridge had support whereas middle portion of the bridge was lifted in times of emergency.

"Old photographs show one of the main entrance gatehouse to the defence fort made by Khudawant Khan. It includes a drawbridge, a moat and a main gatehouse. It was built in the Sultanate era and has since then undergone alterations over years. The defence fort was then converted to revenue fort around 1850 AD. This nullified the need for the moat and the drawbridge and made them irrelevant. So the moat was filled up and a more direct access to the fort was created. The existence of the moat was confirmed through scientific exploration conducted by People for Heritage Concern," said architects Sarosh Wadia and Azmi Wadia, who are also working on the project.

The KMA is 1887 sq km in area

- The Times of India, February 3, 2016

Worried over complaints of tourists sitting on ancient monuments and inscribing graffiti on them, officials of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) are mulling over a proposal to restrict the entry of visitors from getting close to the preserved structures. “We are receiving complaints from tourists that some persons are sitting on structures, which are already quite old and needed to be preserved with great care. The shore temple at Mamallapuram is one such site and tourists who touch the centuries-old structure and stain the sculptures with sweat,” K. Lourdusamy, Superintending Archaeologist of ASI said.

At present, tourists are allowed to go near the temple, which is also one of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

“They go near these monuments intending to take selfies. It is very difficult for our field workers to keep an eye over all the tourists. If we allow the tourists entry only around the structure and not inside the temple, it would help,” he said. Though this has been an issue for ASI officials in other old sites too, such as the Big Temple at Thanjavur, the shore temple at Mamallapuram needs more protection, as the monument built in the 8th century AD, is located close to the sea, facing strong winds with salt content.

“We are also thinking whether we should cover the structure during the nights to reduce the impact of winds for at least 10 to 12 hours,” he said.

- http://www.eturbonews.com, February 3, 2016

The restoration was taken up by INTACH at a cost of Rs.1 crore

One of the city’s famous heritage structures and residence of Tamil poet and nationalist Subramania Bharati which remained closed for the last seven years is now all set to sport a new look. The renovated Mahakavi Bharathiyar Museum-cum-Research Centre will be inaugurated and be open to public from Friday.

The restoration was taken up by the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) in 2014 at a cost of Rs.1 crore without disturbing the original features of the heritage building.

The Mahakavi Bharathiyar Memorial Museum, a Grade I heritage structure, is a synthesis of French colonial and traditional Tamil-style architecture. The façade is in vernacular architectural style with a ‘thinnai’ and a ‘thazhvaram’.

Traditional materials
The building has been renovated using traditional materials like Madras Terrace roofing with rafter and beams. INTACH said that this part of the Tamil precinct had been identified as a special zone owing to its high concentration of listed heritage buildings.

“The existing main building served as Bharati’s residence. The adjoining building which the government acquired in 2005 would house rare memorabilia including photographs and literary works of the poet during the freedom struggle and would be a museum-cum-research centre. The main building would house a seminar hall with audio visual and wi-fi facilities for research scholars,” A. Arul, senior architect of INTACH, told The Hindu.

Over 17,000 books and journals related to Bharati and rare manuscripts which were temporarily housed in the Subbiah memorial house and library on Vellala Street due to the restoration work have been shifted to the annexe building.

Delays
Though the house was closed to tourists in November 2009, the renovation work was hampered by procedural delays and a tug of war between the Department of Art and Culture and the Public Works Department.

Ultimately, the territorial government recommended restoration by INTACH and the construction of a new building adjacent to it.

The house located on Eswaran Kovil Street in the heart of the town had been the centre of literary activities of the poet during his stay in Puducherry. During his political asylum in Puducherry from 1908 to 1918, he was given full liberty by the French regime and Bharati penned a number of patriotic songs and also published the weekly India .

He had also penned his “Paanjali Sabatham, Kuyil Paatu and Kannan Paatu” here.

The Government acquired the house in 1973 and converted it into a memorial and research centre.

- The Hindu, February 4, 2016

The International Fleet Review (IFR) has brought mini-India to the Port City to woo IFR delegates coming from abroad as well as from different parts of India. An IFR Village showcasing a colourful cultural melange has been set up at AU Engineering College Grounds, which will be accessible to public for the most part (except during VIP visits) between February 4 and 8 from 10 am to almost 10 pm. Since February 3, the IFR village has already started drawing hundreds of public even before its official inauguration on the evening of February 4 by the chief minister of AP N Chandrababu Naidu, who would be accompanied by the chief of naval staff admiral RK Dhowan. The IFR Village has been set up in collaboration with the South Central Zone Cultural Centre (SCZCC), Nagpur, showcasing the rich cultural heritage of India and is co-located on the same grounds where the maritime exhibition is being held. The village has 102 stalls displaying handicrafts from various states of India. Food courts and a daily cultural show would also be part of the village.

Since Khadi fabric is being promoted in IFR, a number of khadi and handloom stalls could be spotted besides a souvenir shop put up by the Indian Navy and stalls by Navy Wives Welfare Association (NWWA). Handicrafts include pottery, jute handicraft, carpets, zari and lace work, cane, lacquerware, bamboo and wrought iron products, traditional masks from Telangana, wood carving and Ettikopaka toys and Kalamkari and Lepakshi stall from Andhra Pradesh, terracotta, bell metal, metal craft, brass work, dhokra, leather toys from Indore, pearl jewellery, palm leaf craft from Odisha, paper mache dolls from Nagpur, kathputli-ghodi stall from Gujarat, Katha embroidery from Chhattisgarh besides kashmiri shawls, fulkari from Punjab, Benarasi and Mangalagiri saris as well as textiles from UP and Maharashtra.

Paintings also occupied an important place in the IFR Village. The famous Madhubani Paintings of Bihar, Warali painting from Maharashtra, cheriyal scroll painting of Hyderabad, charcoal sketches, miniature paintings, egg shell sculpture and so on. "We hope our famous traditional art that uses handcrafted paper, cow-dung base and all herbal and floral colours, will enthrall the foreign delegates and we are proud to showcase our art here. Nowadays, our painting is no longer restricted to scrolls and wall-decors but are also being printed on sarees and dress materials and are exported abroad," said Vijay Kumar Jha from Shilpika, whose mother Shanti Devi is a national award winner for Madhubani paintings.

Y Ramani, another national award winning artist from Nagpur and maker of colourful paper mache dolls, is also hopeful of getting a good response from the public, including the foreign delegates. "Our dasavataram dolls, or those depicting mythological figures, and a set of dolls depicting the various classical and folk dances of India will surely get a big 'wow' from visitors," she said.

- The Times of India, February 4, 2016

The civic body is planning to prepare a registry of biodiversity in the city and suburbs. The project may be completed within six months.

The plan is to use students of various educational institutions in the city for collecting data of flora and fauna in each area. "At first, the proposal was to implement the project with the help of volunteers from each ward. Later, it was decided to collect the data with the help of students. Considering the examinations which are scheduled in the coming months, we may not avail the services of students soon. So, we want to start the project with the help of around 300-strong environmental master trainers we have with us,'' said Rajan Chedambath, secretary, Centre for Heritage and Development (C-HED).

As a preliminary step, data will be collected using these trainers. "We plan to complete the preliminary works within two months. We have decided to make it a mass movement. Councillors and more volunteers will be used for collecting data. Our plan is to prepare a comprehensive registry within six months. Once the registry is prepared, it will help Kochi corporation and other agencies to implement development projects in a sustainable manner,'' Chedambath said. "For ensuring sustainability of development, first we should have an idea about the biodiversity here,'' he said.

Around Rs 2 lakh has been earmarked as a token amount for implementing the project. Besides, there would be assistance from Kerala State Biodiversity Board. More funds would be allocated in the budget for next fiscal. The Biodiversity Board has given a module for preparing the registry. "Experts like Prof M K Prasad had prepared a registry earlier. The data we collect now would be crosschecked with the registry prepared by Prof Prasad. Moreover, we would be using the expertise of others for preparing a comprehensive register,'' Chedambath said.

The registry will have the details of biodiversity in various areas like agricultural sector, forest and domestic. Details will include geography, climate, and utilization of land, history and culture of the city. Information about medicinal plants, fisheries, local festivals, gypsies, etc, will also be collected.

The manual registry will later be transformed into a digital format.

- The Times of India, February 4, 2016

INTACH, PPH, PondyCAN, Department of Art and Culture and Tourism: Pondicherry Heritage Festival 2016, A dialogue with Conservation Experts on our Built Heritage, Chamber of Commerce Conference Hall, 1, Suffren Road, 10 a.m.

INTACH, PPH, PondyCAN, Department of Art and Culture and Tourism: Discussion on The Future of Pondicherry’s Built Heritage – One year after the Mairie’s Collapse, French Institute of Pondicherry, Saint Louis Road, 2 p.m.; iauguration of Children’s Interactive Exhibition and Interactive Mapping, Crafts Bazzar, Gandhi Thidal, 6 p.m.; formal inauguration and Bharatanatyam Performance, Gandhi Thidal, 6.30 p.m.

Directorate of School Education: Inauguration of Newly Constructed Building for Government Higher Secondary School, Karaiyamputhur, 12.30 p.m. Department of Art and Culture: Inauguration of renovated Mahakavi Bharathiar Memorial Museum and Research Centre, Mahakavi Bharathiyar Museum-cum-Research Centre, Eswaran Koil Street, 6 p.m.

Public Works Department: Bhoomi Pooja for Construction of Overhead Tank and Sump at Sudhana Nagar, Mudaliarpet, 12 p.m. Pondicherry University and Phacos Solar Ltd: Solar equipment production and entrepreneurial skill development programme, valedictory session, Hotel Accord, 4.00 p.m.

- The Hindu, February 5, 2016

W etlands nurture life and draw thousands of tourists, but they continue to be neglected, as no serious exercise has been carried out to identify and protect them.

The draft state water policy, put in the public domain for suggestions, fails to mention the important ecosystems that sustain fish, aquatic flora and fauna and recharge groundwater.

"How can a policy on water miss out on nature's most important gifts? It needs to have a holistic look at water and address issues of identification and notification of wetlands," EIA resource and response centre, (eRc) New Delhi, director, Pushp Jain said.

Jain has filed a petition before the National Green Tribunal (NGT), Delhi, alleging that no wetlands have been identified in India in the past five years, despite guidelines laid down under the 'Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Rules, 2010'.

The ministry of environment and forests, in a 2009 initiative, had included Carambolim lake, Chorao island, Anjunem and Salaulim reservoirs in the atlas of important wetlands of Goa. No fresh exercise has been carried out since to list more water bodies for protection, sources said.

Goa, as well as other states, are rich in natural water-harvesting and conservation assets, but there are few studies conducted to gauge the problems plaguing water bodies. Even the central wetland authority that was constituted about five years ago has become non-functional.

Wetlands attract a large number of migratory birds during winter and add to the tourism profile. "Green areas in cities act as lungs. Wetlands have a similar role. They host biodiversity, and migratory birds, like water fowls, prefer wetlands to forests," Goa bird conservation network (GBCN), state co-ordinator, Parag Rangnekar said.

As per Section 1(c) of the Water Act, the state governments can source technical assistance and guidance from the Centre to carry out and sponsor investigations and research related to problems of water pollution and prevention, control or abatement of water pollution.

"Without identification and monitoring of wetlands, they are vulnerable to degradation," said eRc (Goa) field researcher, Terence Jorge.

An official from the environment department said that a proposal to appoint a nodal agency to identify water bodies in Goa has been put up before the government. While WRD had drawn up a list of water bodies, it appears no follow-up has been done to consider measures to prevent pollution or encroachments. The forest department had constituted a task force, as per directives of the Bombay high court at Goa in a PIL related to Carambolim lake, to identify important water bodies and demarcate a buffer around them.

"The task force became defunct and did not complete its task, though it took a few initiatives related only to Carambolim lake," a source said.



Goa has large and medium-sized water bodies in many villages. In Maina-Curtorim, several lakes have been well-maintained while others are facing threats of pollution.

"The important ones should be declared as protected areas and saved ," Jain said.

- The Times of India, February 5, 2016

Youth Central Zone Cultural Centre (SCZCC) has invited project proposal for documentation of tangible and intangible cultural resources of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, and Telangana.

The applicant has to submit a detailed proposal along with his or her bio-data highlighting qualification and experience, samples of their earlier works on or before March 7.

According to Piush Kumar, Director of SCZCC, the idea is to document the heritage sites and traditional culture either in print format or visual or audio documentary.

Open for all
The entry is open to all, either from India or abroad, and there is no age bar. The proposal will be evaluated by a panel comprising Shyam Benegal, Amol Palekar, and Sudhir Kakar.

For more details visit website:www.sczcc.gov.inor email:[email protected]

- The Hindu, February 5, 2016

It’s not against development, says Navin Piplani of INTACH Heritage Academy

Heritage regulation for a city like Puducherry is very important and will make sure that all development required is in tandem with the character of the building, said Navin Piplani, Principal Director of INTACH Heritage Academy.

Speaking on the sidelines of a workshop on Adaptive Reuse of Historic buildings organised by INTACH, he said that contrary to misconception, heritage regulation is not against development and whatever development Puducherry needs will be regulated to make sure that it is in tandem with the listed buildings. The Government should also play a more proactive role and introduce heritage regulation and guidelines to ensure buildings that are over 100 to 150 years old are not demolished.

“Though Puducherry does not have iconic monuments like Taj Mahal, Qutub Minar and the Meenakshi Temple, tourists still visit the city to see the streetscapes, the French and Tamil quarters, the layout, grid plan, seashore and the peaceful life all of which together make Puducherry a heritage place,” Mr. Piplani said. “We can only improve on this by conducting heritage walks, training programmes and workshops for private homeowners like what incentives can be given to them to showcase Puducherry as a heritage town,” he said.

Mr. Piplani said that the use of non-conventional materials like Reinforced Cement Concrete (RCC) for reconstruction of heritage buildings in Puducherry will set a precedent and completely wipe out the historic layers “Everyone who is either for the reconstruction of the Marie or against reconstruction should make their opinion heard or arrive at a consensus. Neither the experts nor the government decides but it is the people of Puducherry who ultimately decide,” he said.

“Govt. should ensure that buildings that are over 100 to 150 years old are not demolished”

- The Hindu, February 6, 2016

The East Coast Railway (ECoR) is planning to beautify railway stations coming under its jurisdiction. Official sources said it would put up paintings on walls of stations. Railway sources said the beautification drive would be on lines of stations in Rajasthan and Mumbai where walls are decorated with paintings. The paintings depict local traditions, culture and heritage.

ECoR chief public relations officer J P Mishra said the railway would involve local people in the process. Women groups, NGOs, local artists and students would be roped in for the drive.

The wall paintings would reflect tales, customs and folklore, ECoR sources said. Sensitization drives on railway safety could also be taken up as the theme of the paintings, he added.

"Things are in preliminary stage. We will seek support of tourism and culture department, municipal bodies, art colleges and organizations working in the area of art and cultural heritage," said Mishra.

- The Times of India, February 7, 2016

Minister for Water Resources and Vijayapura district in-charge Minister M.B. Patil has urged the Centre to set up a new circle of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) at Vijayapura to protect its monuments.

In a letter to Union Minister for Culture Mahesh Sharma, Mr. Patil said the district administration has been involving the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) and the Indian Heritage City Networks (IHCN) for evolving a comprehensive plan for heritage development in the city.

- The Hindu, February 7, 2016

The All India Sanyaasis Conference Committee, Kumbakonam, has appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to take steps to declare Kumbakonam as a heritage town.

A group of office-bearers of the committee led by its organiser ‘Thavathiru’ Marudasala Adigal, chief coordinator Swami Ramananda and Media and Public Relations in-charge V. Sathyanarayanan met Mr. Modi during his visit to Coimbatore recently and submitted a memorandum containing this demand.

The memorandum said temple town Kumbakonam had several shrines which were centuries old, including the globally famed Darasuram Temple besides housing ancient mutts and Veda Patasalas. Kumbakonam was a spiritual town with celebrations organised every year and a culturally rich place where music and art flourished. Taking into account all these aspects, the Centre should declare Kumbakonam as a heritage town, the memorandum further said. The committee members appealed to the Prime Minister to execute the Kumbakonam–Jayamkondam–Vriddhachalam new railway line project.

Kumbakonam was a spiritual and tourist town and a central place for devotees visiting the ‘Navagraha temples’.

If the new line was approved and executed, it would elevate Kumbakonam as a railway junction and reduce the distance to Chennai, Tirupati, and Bengaluru by 40 km, 60 km and 100 km respectively. The new line would prove beneficial to travellers besides helping in boosting trade, tourism, and freight movements, it said. The estimate for the 74.3-km new railway line had been sent and was pending approval from the Railway Board and the Railway Ministry, it further said requesting the Prime Minister to take steps to implement the project.

The committee will be organising an all-India saints’ conference at Govindapuram near Kumbakonam in connection with the forthcoming ‘Mahamaham’ celebration. The conference to be held on February 18, 19,and 20 will see the participation of matathipathis and saints.

- The Hindu, February 7, 2016

after the capital city was accorded the smartest city in the country, experts feel that the world heritage site tag is not a distant dream any longer. The temple city has several national monuments and heritage sructures, which have placed Odisha on the world heritage map.

Last year, the tourism department prepared a preliminary proposal, the first step towards earning the world heritage tag. The proposal contains details about the monuments, temples and other heritages in Ekamra Kshetra (Old Town area) in the city. The proposal is presently with the World Heritage Advisory Committee, New Delhi.

Since the smart city tag is expected to make Bhubaneswar an ideal place to work, live and do business at ease, it will soon attract global attention, said experts. The smart city factor will make the case stronger for the world heritage tag. Notably, Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) included Heritage District as one of the options under Smart District category, during the opinion poll conducted to elicit people's opinion before submitting the final proposal to the Centre. However, people selected Town Centre District as their top priority. Assistant director (tourism) Sunil Patnaik said there is a standard format to file the proposal with the Unesco's office at New Delhi. "After the preliminary proposal is accepted, we will prepare a detailed comprehensive proposal, which may take a year. We will include the heritage sites, which are protected by Archaeological Survey of India and other famous temples. There are 199 temples in Ekamra Kshetra, which may find a place in the proposal," he told TOI.

Tourism minister Ashok Panda said the city boasts of monuments of all faiths and religions. "It has Shiva shrine Lingaraj Temple, Buddhism's Dhauli Hill and Khandagiri and Udayagiri of the Jains. So, there is a confluence of all religions in the city. All these factors make our case very strong to get the world heritage tag," Panda said, adding that his department recently released Rs 1 crore for renovation of some temples.

"Last month, the BMC also made plans to ensure hoarding-free zone in the old town. We will not allow cluttering of hoardings there," a BMC officer said.

Senior architect Sanjib Guru said people might have selected the Town Centre District for development under smart city mission, but Unesco's world heritage tag will change the face of Ekamra Kshetra. "To retain the traditional look of Ekamra Kshetra, the authorities shouldn't allow modern construction near by the heritage sites. The government should make a plan to conserve the some old structures (other than temples and monuments) to maintain the ancient look. This will help us inch towards getting the world heritage tag," Guru said.

- The Times of India, February 7, 2016

2nd season of ‘The Great Grover wine festival’, announced at the Bhartiya City in Bengaluru

South India’s first wine and performing arts annual festival

Event Capital, INvision and Origen are proud to announce the second edition of The Great Grover Wine Festival in association with Grover Zampa Vineyards. After a successful launch in February 2015, this year the festival is slated for 6th February 2016, Saturday at the Bhartiya City, Hebbal in Bengaluru.The Great Grover Wine Festival is the first wine and performing arts festival of South India. The festival promises to offer the party lovers in Bangalore an eclectic mix of wine, music, art and great cuisine.

The Great Grover Wine Festival will provide guests with a wide range of unique experiences. Attendees get a chance to taste the essence of heritage wines from Grover Zampa Vineyards, India’s oldest and most awarded wine company while swinging to the peppy music. The Great Grover Wine Festival is a perfect day out for wine aficionados, food lovers and those seeking quality recreation and live entertainment.

Its not just wine and music, but an experience complete with Stand up acts, Live Karaoke, Art & sculpture gallery, Flea Market and much more! The event will see a line-up of Bangalore’s finest artists including Lagori, Aabha Hanjura – Sufistication, Karthick Iyer Live, Ananth menon & trio, a stand up act by Vamsidhar Bhogaraju, Karaoke by Sabrina and a closing act with the most popular DJ in Bengaluru – DJ Ivan.

Guests also get an exclusive chance to experience the age old tradition of making wines by grape stomping and trying out an array of award winning wines by the brand, including Vijay Amritraj Reserve Collection, La Reserve, Chene Grand Reserve, Art Collection and premium sparkling wines Soirée Brut and Brut Rosé to name a few!

Some of the esteemed partners of Great Grover Wine Festival – Season 2 are Bhartiya City – venue partner, Mahindra & Mahindra – Automobile Partner, Air Asia- Airline partner, Go Cheese- Cheese partner, Adda 52 – Online gaming partner, Kingfisher Ultra – Good times partner, Freego – Offroad partner, Indigo FM – radio partner .

Speaking about this event, Mr. Sumedh Singh Mandla, CEO Grover Zampa Vineyards said, “We are delighted to have created a platform to bring together talent from across the state. The Great Grover Wine Festival not only gives us a chance to present our award winning collection to wine lovers but also celebrate our success with our patrons. The festival is a perfect opportunity for guests to enjoy a relaxed day out with an array of fun filled activities aimed at rejuvenating and providing a learning experience with wines.”

Speaking on the concept of this Festival, Mr. Vikram Shankar, from Event Capital said, “This festival is significant from the point that South of India doesn’t have a Wine & Performing Arts Festival & the fact that, this Event would be the only 2nd such IP in the country in the Wine & Arts festival category. And that Bengaluru knows its Music, Art & Good times.” Speaking on the concept of this Festival, Mr. Gagan Takyar, Director, INvision Entertainment Pvt. Ltd said, “Response to the festival last year was tremendous and we are overjoyed that Bengal gave us so much love and is looking forward to this season. We promise them an even more entertaining experience this year.”\

Mr. Krishnamurthy Naik, Founder, Origen said, “We have tried to create every little activity that would only enrich the entire experience of a wine lover at the festival, right from arts to good food and good music from the lands of South India. We are positive about a great response.” About Organisers:

About Event Capital

Event Capital is a specialized Intellectual Property Events Centric Business Venture. The venture is a joint one between Deepak Choudhary, a veteran in the Event Management business and Laqshya Media Group. Event capital owns, acquires and licenses IPs. Being a two year old company, they already own about 15 IPs in fashion, sports, music, lifestyle, exhibition, comedy and communication. Some of their renowned IPs are India Kids Fashion week, Bike Festival of India, Edutainment show, Big Boys Toys Expo, India football Forum etc. For more information log onto www.eventcapital.in

About INvision:
INvision is one stop all service organization which is not only into event management but also into wedding planning. In the events space, invigorating the event with a personal touch is a critical element. Absolute Personal Involvement (API) – that’s the USP of INvision. With over 18 years of experience the team comprises of professionals from diverse backgrounds. Departmentalized into Client Servicing, Marketing, Creative, Production and Artist Management. Service clients across the country with a strong network of alliances and contacts. Excellent rapport with the best suppliers in the country.

About Origen
Known for their ‘everything is feasible’ attitude in conceptualizing and delivering BTL solutions, they’ve represented their principles as partners, working shoulder to shoulder with brand management teams of corporate houses, families, communities, and other communication seekers; delivering solutions that have been revolutionary, grandiose, timely, cost effective and addressing the situation at hand. Developing their service offering with the evolving consumer preferences in accepting and responding to brand communication, Origen has now Intellectual Properties, Customized Content Solutions, technology enabled communication solutions, digital & mobile driven audience relationship management etc.

About Grover Zampa Vineyards:
Grover Zampa Vineyards is the Pioneer and most prestigious wine producers for India. The company owns wineries and vineyards in both the Nandi Hills in Karnataka and in the Nashik Valley in Maharashtra. Working with limited yields, sustainable viticulture practices and selective hand harvesting, the winemaking is carried out by a team of local oenologists under the direction of international French wine consultant Michel Rolland and French winemaker Mathias Pellisard. A remarkable combination formed as a result of a merger between Grover Vineyards Ltd (GVL) and Vallee De Vin Pvt Ltd (VDV). GZV boasts the most impressive pedigree in the Indian wine industry today and is also largest exporter of wines from India to over 20 countries. Grover Zampa Vineyards, the country’s oldest winemaker, after winning as many as 24 awards in 2014 from two international wine competitions that it participated in, has again created history by winning 21 international wine awards at the Cathay Pacific Hong Kong International Wine and Spirits Competition, New York World Wine and Spirits competition and the Decanter Asia Wine Awards 2015 respectively. For more information visit- www.groverzampa.in

- www.ibcworldnews.com, February 8, 2016

Sitting at a computer in his drawing room, this 75-year-old is busy surfing through various news reports across the globe. While he brushes away most of them, the ones with reference to any archaeological monuments immediately catch his attention. Similarly, magazines on arts and sculptures are on top of his daily reading list.

His eyes glitter, if a familiar sculpture is spotted. And then he begins a meticulous investigation about the sculpture, which ends only when the details about its origin and ownership are shared with Indian and international investigation agencies.

Meet Prof Kirit Mankodi, a retired archaeology teacher, now protector of India's rich heritage. Mankodi has been working to trace stolen sculptures from India for over a decade now. After his retirement as professor of archaeology at Deccan College, Pune, in 2005, Prof Mankodi took it upon himself to trace treasures stolen from India and sold abroad.

Mankodi has been working to trace sculptures stolen from India for over a decade now

"India has the richest archaelogical heritage, which can't be matched by any other country. Thousands of valuable sculptures have been stolen from the country over the ages. I think, as an archaeologist, it's my duty to trace them and facilitate their retrieval," Mankodi says.

The hunt

He embarked upon this "mission" when 2 sculptures were stolen from an ancient temple in Rajasthan in 2009. One of the sculptures was later advertised in an art magazine for sale. "It was a major blow for me, since I was actively involved in the excavation of the temple at Atru in Rajasthan. And the sculptures were stolen from right under my nose! I couldn't have remained silent, so I began tracing it," Mankodi recalls.

It turned out that the sculpture was advertised for sale in an art magazine by a London based businessman. When he came across the advertisement, Mankodi alerted the authorities at the Archaeological Survey of India, who passed on the information to Interpol and the US Department of Homeland Security. "They raided the London showroom, only to find that the sculpture has been moved from there. It was later traced in New York. The government of India has now initiated the process to retrieve the sculpture," Mankodi said.

Mankodi has also traced 2 sculptures stolen from the Atru temple in Rajasthan. "The sculptures of two amorous couples, known in Indian art as Mithunas, were stolen from the ruins we had excavated at Atru. The first theft was on 23 April, 2009 while the second sculpture was stolen 5 months later. Surprisingly, the sculpture was advertised in the Hong Kong based art journal Arts of Asia in March 2010 issue on page 61. A London based businessman had advertised it. The sculptures were valued at US $2 million each. I immediately alerted the ASI authorities and the Indian High Commission in London was also alerted," Mankodi said.

"Both sculptures were recovered with the help of the US Department of Homeland Security and Interpol and handed over to the government of India in January 2014," Mankodi narrates. "It is a matter of immense satisfaction that I could trace and retrieve the sculptures stolen from the temple since I was part of the excavation team," he adds.

What needs to be done?

He feels that there is need for a centralised documentation system for sculptures, paintings and manuscripts of archaeological importance. "This should also include information on stolen objects, such as where it was stolen from, the dimensions and the FIR about the theft. This would alert prospective buyers," he suggests.

After Mankodi began publishing the details about stolen sculptures and artefacts, around 20 of them have been traced to various parts of the world and the process to retrieve them has been initiated. Sitting in his chair close to the window, Mankodi gets engrossed in the information on his computer while talking. But he notices arrival of his avian friends at the window. He checks the bird feeders hanging in the window to ensure there is sufficient food for them. He feeds 'masala sev' to a crow that lands on the feeder with piece of roti in its beak. After the bird picks the sev from his palm, the elated professor gets back to his work.

Mankodi also launched a website www.plunderedpast.in where he regularly puts up alerts about sculpture thefts. "The objective to put these details in public domain is to discourage thefts and smuggling. If the information is freely available, the scholarly community that buys these artefacts and international security agencies would be alerted well in time, so that such stolen artefacts are not sold for millions of dollars," he says.

Narrating how an FIR helped in tracing stolen sculptures, Mankodi said, "A 1873 sculpture was put up on sale in the US. The sculpture was stolen from Satna in Madhya Pradesh. The owner had registered it with the Government of India and had even lodged an FIR about the theft. Since details about the sculpture including its photograph were available, I alerted The US Department of Homeland Security when it was put up for sale. The sculpture, whose value in international market was US $15 million, was traced in New York. Notorious smuggler Subhash Kapoor, who is currently in Chennai jail in connection with theft of a Natraja statue, had smuggled the sculpture. Now the procedure to retrieve the sculpture has been initiated," Mankodi said.

Currently Mankodi is trying to trace 2 sculptures stolen from Patan in Gujarat. "One is Brahma and the other one is Ganesha. Both the sculptures have been stolen from the open air museum at Ranki Vav in Patan in 2001. I have posted the details, including the photographs and the FIR on my website. International investigating agencies, auction houses and scholars have been informed about the theft. I hope the sculptures are traced soon and brought back to India," he says.

When asked how it feels to get sculptures back, his modest reply is, "I can only trace them. It is the job of the government to arrange for its retrieval."

- http://www.catchnews.com/, February 8, 2016

Century-old Victoria Jubilee Museum is now witnessing hectic activity, thanks to the construction of the coastal museum

Or the people of Bezwada and later Vijayawada, the century-old Victoria Jubilee Museum on M.G. Road is a structure that reminds them of the country’s glorious past. It is a place where artefacts were collected, preserved, interpreted and displayed. This heritage structure - a protected monument- was built in 1877 to commemorate the Golden Jubilee celebrations of Queen Victoria (1837-1901).

It was designed according to the Indo-European style and showcases collections from pre-historic times to the 20th century in various forms. The collection is spread over two floors of the heritage building and a building just behind it. The garden displays several sculptures and architectural marvels of the Satavahana and post-Vijayanaganara periods.

The museum came under the control of the zamindars of Nuzvid, District Board and the zilla parishad of Krishna. In the year 1962, the Department of Archaeology and Museums took over the building and converted it into an archaeological museum.

THE SHIFT TO VIZAG

To the Tri-colour, Gandhi added a ‘chakra’ in the middle and declared it the Indian National Congress flag, which was later declared as the National Flag by the Constituent Assembly on July 22, 1947. In fact, Andhra University functioned from the museum for a brief while before it was shifted to Visakhapatnam. While Ayyadevara Kalesarawara Rao wanted the university to continue functioning from Bezwada, it was educationist C.R. Reddy who opposed the move and played an important role in shifting it to Visakhapatnam. It is believed that Mr. Reddy said Bezwada had “only agriculture but not culture”. Among the major attractions at the museum are a huge statue of Buddha made of granite and a white limestone statuette of the standing Buddha. Both statues are from the 3rd to 4th century AD, and they were found at Alluru, a small town, which is an archaeological site.

There are also objects such as the striking sculpture of Lord Siva.

The museum attracts visitors, especially those who are interested in history and archaeology, as it houses a worthy assortment of art and artefacts such as sculpture, paintings, idols, pottery, jewellery, tools and weapons from different periods as well as cutlery and inscriptions on tablets and manuscripts. There are also relics from the Neolithic age. Carefully conserved Buddhist artefacts, which are more than 2000 years old, are also showcased here. In the garden are statues of Hindu gods and goddesses and inscriptions, and also placed in a circle are tombstones of some Dutch people who died here in the 17th century.

The Archaeology Department and the Archaeological Survey of India are responsible for most of the treasures found here.

Makeover in progress

At present, hectic activity is witnessed at the museum, thanks to the construction of a coastal museum to house all preserved monuments from the coastal region. The museum will be named after renowned film personality ‘Bapu’. The century-old Victoria Jubilee Museum will be considered as a protected monument. The open space in the four-acre site will also witness orderliness for the benefit of visitors and students. Several sculptures and monuments strewn over the garden will be aesthetically landscaped.

- The Hindu, February 8, 2016

The Nagpur For Kids (NFK) Club members were mesmerized to see a blanket of plants on hillock, along with a variety of birds and butterflies in the Raj Bhavan premises. They not only got first hand experience of nature but also got some education during the visit to the bio-diversity park over 80 acres. The park has 29,000 plants of hundreds of species.

This was NFK Club's second visit to the park. Welcoming them, assistant director of Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) Sanjay Karkare said over 8,000 students have visited the park over last three years. NFK Club members threw many queries at Karkare, beginning with Siddhesh Tripathi, who wanted to know the difference between Rashtrapati Bhavan, Raj Bhavan and Ravi Bhavan. Karkare explained Rajbhavan is the second official residence of the Governor of Maharashtra. Karkare and his colleague from BNHS Gaurav Kadu took the members to butterfly garden, followed by cacti and succulent species garden, nakshatra garden, herbal garden, bird-attracting species arena and concluded at the rose garden, where kids were awed by 2,000 plants and 233 variety of roses. The kids also learnt about the water harvesting system with around 50 check dams in Raj Bhavan's 121 acres area.

Additional comptroller to governor Ramesh Yewale said, "Lots of kids come here. In every visit, there are at least 5-6 kids who develop an interest in plants or birds and see their future as a researcher, that's when our primary motto of setting up this biodiversity park is achieved. Everything here is a part of their syllabus, which they usually consider very boring," he said.

NFK member Arushi Jadhao said, "Roaming around the place I thought plants are multi-taskers. Once you plant them, they add beauty, purify the ambient air, and attract birds and butterflies. My mom has planted a small lawn at our home. Now, I will plant useful trees in that space."

Alisha Bansod like the rose garden the most, "Even though it was not the right season for roses, we saw a lot of rose variety and sizes." "This greenery is keeping us alive, but we don't take interest in biology at school. A visit here before reading the biology book would help kids develop an interest in it," said Oumar Owais.

Quotes
I love birds and butterflies though I have little knowledge about them. It was always my wish to go for a bird watching session and it came true at Biodiversity Park, where I spotted several birds. I also visited the butterfly garden to spot rare butterflies.

Kanishka Wankhede | student
The atmosphere has so much positivity. It is surprising to see that the park is so huge and so well maintained. I could not spot even a single piece of garbage lying around. Since it is near Sadar, it must be difficult to keep this place pollution free, but the staff is doing their jobs very well.

Anumzehra Qureshy |student
It is my very first activity but fortunately I have made several friends. My interest was mostly in medicinal plants. Luckily, there is an entire garden devoted to medicinal plants of various species. I spent a lot of time there and learnt their scientific names.

Siddhesh Bansod | student
My primary motive in bringing my daughter here was to take her to a place away from the city pollution. Besides, whatever she comes across in the Biodiversity Park is not just going to be for fun. In the coming days, she will have to study these plants and animal species in her school.

Rashmi Buddhadev| Parent
My kids should have knowledge of how much nature is valuable in our lives. I think the knowledge given by schools is theoretical and insufficient. Knowledge is useless without practical exposure. I feel schools should encourage kids to go on such educational tours.

Vijay Godbole | Parent
(Reporting by Shakti Singh)



- The Times of India, February 8, 2016

Catch the evolution of the 19th century mansions built on Chitpur Road in north Kolkata. The colonial history is engrained in the DNA of Kolkata, a city famous for a memorial dedicated to a British queen. While the aforementioned building, the Victoria Memorial, is a distinguishing feature of the city, there are quite a few structures that now lie in different stages of decay.

The 19th century mansions built on Chitpur Road in north Kolkata are a case in point. In 2006, a German photographer named Peter Bialobrzeski came across these mansions while on a tour with conservation architect Manish Chakraborti.

"Manish pointed out that Chitpur was a unique architectural anomaly in our history. The houses in that locality were built by the Bengali elite but influenced by European architecture. Till then, the buildings had never been documented and not even a single book on Chitpur had been written, so Peter decided that it would be a good project to embark upon," says Tanvi Mishra, who has designed the exhibition 'Calcutta: Chitpur Road Neighbourhoods', an evolution of Bialobrzeski's project. Bialobrzeski's project began with him going back to his homeland, bringing 21 of students from the University of Arts Bremen where he taught, and documented the mansions of Chitpur Road.

The students used a large format camera, working under the collective name of 'A Kolkata Heritage Photo Project', and made prints of the photographs in Germany. Other than an odd exhibition or two, nothing much really came of it in India. A couple of years ago, Mishra, herself a documentary photographer, chanced upon a set of these prints at the Goethe-Institut. "The prints were catching mould, she says, adding, "We restored them and did an exhibition in Mumbai with both Peter and I being the curators of the show." After the Mumbai show, the prints were donated to the Alkazi Foundation, which helped Mishra develop the prints beyond its purpose.

I looked at the Alkazi Foundation's archive, trying to find elements in which would help me draw parallels with the 2006 prints. There are three periods of photographs from the archive-images from mid-1800s, images from 1948 taken by an American GI and the images from 2006-which draw parallels on how you look at architecture in the city. It shows how a city evolves over a period of time.

" Catch the evolution of a north Kolkata neighbourhood, at Shridharani Art Gallery, Triveni Kala Sangam, 205 Tansen Marg till February 18.

- http://indiatoday.intoday.in, February 10, 2016

Impact of concretization of lakes, nullahs and water bodies by state agencies under beautification and flood protection schemes needs to be studied, as it adversely affects aquatic life, ecosystems and a natural process of cleaning pollutants in water.

Crores of rupees have been spent on construction of walls along inlets, creeks and lakes by the water resources department (WRD) and public works department (PWD) for flood prevention and bund protection, but officials only consider civil engineering as a science while developing these water bodies, sources said.

"There are other branches of science, zoology, botany, geology, microbiology and a whole biological and life sector that is ignored," K D Sadhale of Nirmal Vishwa, an NGO said.

Concretizing the banks of water bodies blocks not only the trickling springs, but the entire interdependent aquatic ecosystem. "There is lot of aquatic life, fish and crabs and layers of organisms as food for them down below. But concretization affects them," Sadhale said.

Goa coastal zone management authority (GCZMA) has often held back permission to flood protection walls, terming them as unnecessary and unscientific. Mangroves are also known to disappear in concretized areas. Referring to one such proposal on Sal river bank at Ambelim, GCZMA expert member, Antonio Mascarenhas pointed out that the land is at least two metres above the maximum river water level.

"This river is very calm and wave heights are nominal," his report stated.

GCZMA had also urged WRD to closely vet its projects and use eco-friendly materials. Taking cognizance of criticism, WRD had issued a circular in August 2012 endorsing use of earth, lateritic stones, rubble and such materials more often. "This activates the life cycle of the riverine body, whether it is a nallah or a tank, pond or lake," the circular stated. A WRD official said that the department had beautified a small lake near the panchayat in Anjuna with more natural materials. "It was a dumping ground for garbage, but it had lot of springs from the nearby low hills. The polluted spot now attracts a lot of visitors at sunset," the official said.

But, activists demanded that WRD, which is trying to improve upon the draft state water policy, stop pursuing more projects of building concrete protection walls.

"WRD does not have to commit the same mistakes that others in the world are paying dearly to remove the concrete and restore," a Goenchea Xetkareancho Ekvott (GXE), a South Goa NGO member said.

The NGO had after a meeting in January 2013 urged WRD to stop the choking of all forms of life in water bodies and more pollution of water resources by pouring concrete in them.

Says Sadhale, "After passing through a natural water course for a km, polluted water gets naturally treated due to presence of vegetation, which harbours bacteria that absorbs pollutants. But, this process is affected by concretization."

- The Times of India, February 10, 2016

Epochal’ may be a mighty label to stick on it, yet the Make in India Week in Mumbai starting from February 13 to 20 adds to powerful forces of change already sweeping India.

Four heads of state and over 1,000 chieftains of companies from 60 countries join Prime Minister Narendra Modi, starting Saturday, for promoting India’s industry and quality of life on a scale never before tried.

With focus on 25 key industrial sectors (*1), intriguing events like India Design Forum’s ‘Empowering through Design’ conference on February 17, and the San Diego-based telecom major Qualcomm’s $ 350,000 ‘QPrize’, the Make in India Week aims to re-design India’s developmental DNA.

Through design and destiny, Make in India Week could rake in investments of over $100 billion within a year, but that only forms bit player of a greater potential for change.

“The single largest manufacturing initiative undertaken by a nation in recent history,” inform the Make in India Week organizers: the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, the Confederation of Indian Industry and hosts, the Maharashtra state government.

The Make in India initiative, launched in September 2014, was to recharge and re-invent India’s growth (*2) through an economic blue print for the 21st century. From clean cities, clean energy to clean governance, Make in India works only if all such sub-elements in the national machinery work in the next three years and after.

Infrastructure then becomes core priority – better roads, highways, ports, and a $ 89-billion upgrade for the Indian Railways, telecommunications – in pushing the manufacturing sector to contributing 25% of GDP by 2020.

In effect, Make in India fits into and depends on the larger framework of other major developmental initiatives under way: Digital India, 100 Smart Cities and Skill India to train skilled workers for 12 million new jobs a year.

So Make in India evolves more as “a mission, not a slogan”, as India’s compassionately efficient Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu called it.

The mission is quality. India is seeing a generational shift in mindset, and Make in India further induces it.

I grew up as a boy in the 1970s and early 1980s in an India that suffered a fever for foreign goods and an inferiority complex of standards. Anything foreign meant better quality; and so wearing a Seiko or a Casio watch on the wrist was ever so much trendier than a HMT. ‘Made in India’ then was a tag not too prominently displayed.

Now, in my home city Mumbai, I see Make in India projected as a global brand, a helpful tagline for multinationals such as Boeing and Airbus willing to use India as a manufacturing hub.

I see across India, including from smaller cities like Coimbatore, a wave of brave new ideas — from youthful space commerce entrepreneurs to ‘design-epreneurs’ like India Design Forum (IDF) founder Rajshree Pathy and co-founder Aishwarya Pathy. The Coimbatore-based IDF, with its programme-director Suprita Moorthy, is organizing the February 17 ‘Empowering through Design’ conference at the Make in India Week, to explore how design can boost national and global economies – in manufacturing, architecture, 3D Printing, design in public, office and living places for this changing mind-matter phenomenon called ‘I’.

“Businesses across India are recognizing that design plays a very important role in product and corporate identity,” IDF founder Rajshree told Asia Times.

“But design is not only about creating a visual impact, it defines the way we live and create. In manufacturing, design interventions reduce material usage and create more user-friendly products,” she said.

Studies have proved that communities in architecturally well-designed cities live happier, healthier lives, she said. And “as it is IDF’s dream to create more global design thinkers from India,” the Make in India Week provides a special platform for young Indian talent to brainstorm with international experts like 3D printing wiz Joris Van Tubergen, Hong Kong’s Uli Gwinner, Indian American filmmaker Shobhu Yarlagadda, Simran Lal, CEO of Good Earth, the Mumbai-based global retail chain with its unique, wondrously handcrafted heritage home ware, and Prof Ravi Poovaiah from Mumbai’s Indian Institute of Technology Design Centre, among other distinguished designers.

But as the late Steve Jobs famously said in Rob Walker’s New York Times article ‘Guts of a Machine’ in 2003: “Design is not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works”, the real challenge for Make in India is harmoniously fitting the many designed master plans to ground realities.

For all components of the Make in India machinery to work, India has to obviously change the way it works – increasing transparency, improving efficiency, cutting red tape and corruption. And so Make in India and India are designed as an equation that has to feed off each other.

As the equation evolves, India will move to higher growth. Yet, manufacturing in India, to making the country the world’s third largest economy by year 2030, is only a chapter in the deeper story of our fleeting existence. Poverty to go and prosperity to grow goes along the pathway to a crucial self-realization: money is needed for necessities, some comforts and a few luxuries, but it is not everything in life.

Mumbai, South Asia’s wealthiest city, understands this better, with having resident billionaires and corporate chiefs who have discovered, through the strenuous, self-realization process of Vipassana, that wealth is not all packaged happiness (*3).

So incongruously but not surprisingly, the Make in India Week in Mumbai — India’s busiest, time-starved city — has the architectural wonder of the Global Vipassana Pagoda (the world’s largest ever stone dome without supporting pillars) and six Vipassana meditation centres in its suburbs, to enable objective, experiential understanding of life’s practical, deeper realities by taking the free-of-all-cost residential 10-day Vipassana courses. It is a life changer.

From experience across 22 years, I have absolutely no doubt that Vipassana is the single-most powerful force of beneficial change now sweeping India, by enabling the individual to change negative habit patterns of the mind.

‘Make in India’ cannot successfully co-exist with a culture of corruption. And as happened in Burma (Myanmar) of the 1950s, Vipassana is a proven corruption buster that is again taking root in India, after over 2,000 years (see Burma’s Anti-corruption Crusader *4).

This multi-dimensional Make in India Week includes a cultural festival: a daily ‘Mumbai Design Trail’, concerts, art exhibitions and a food fair in the quaint, beautiful Cross Maidan (ground) that casually sees about 20 cricket teams simultaneously playing in a grassy field that nature originally designed for three matches.

It is this crowded, chaotic but safely co-existing Cross Maidan cricket code that works just as simply across the country: “India is a chaos that works”, as a writer famously said.

But with Make in India, chaos has to retire into pavilions of the past, and give way for a more disciplined, methodical work culture to bridge the gap between what is now and promise of what is to be.

With a $1.2 trillion economy by GDP, all right, India still ranks 130 in the latest United Nations Development Index (for year 2014), placed bafflingly below Palestine (113) and Iraq (121). But since China sits at No. 90, far below Palau (60) and Iran (69), questions arise if the U.N methodology has accurately worked out development versus population size ratio. This index or that, India’s economic development — as has been consistently projected in recent years — continues not only as the world’s fastest growing economy, but as a stable economy. It’s a combination of being a steady democracy with a huge, expanding consumer market.

Make in India organizer and Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman pointed out, “Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) in India is growing at 38%, while globally there’s a sharp fall.”

With more FDI or less, Make in India is paving a far-reaching development pathway with the journey depending on strengthening a national culture of honest, hard work.

For me, Make in India appears more a work ethics upgrade for one of the world’s oldest civilizations, the coming of age for a young India. India has the largest youth population, according to the UN, with a stupendous 356 million citizens aged 10-24.

Whenever I interact with 20-year olds like a Sanjay Nekkanti, co-founder of India’s first private satellite manufacturing company Dhruva Space, I sense a generation far removed from the diffident, hesitant country of my school days. I happily see a self-confident young India awakening, far more mature than we were at that age, and fully capable of making Make in India work.

Notes:

1) The 25 Focus Industry Sectors in Make in India Week, Mumbai.

2) Make in India background; Schedule for the Make in India Week, February 13 to 20, 2016.

3) “What is Happiness? Is this all there is?”, talk at the World Economic Forum;Dhamma Pattana Vipassana Centre in Mumbai for corporate, government officials, professionals.

4) Sayagyi U Ba Khin, independent Burma’s first Accountant General: Burma’s Anti-Corruption Crusader.

Raja Murthy is a Mumbai-based journalist writing for the Statesman since 1990 and Asia Times since 2003 – besides having been a long-term contributor to the Times of India, Economic Times, Elle etc. He shuttles between Mumbai and the Himalayas.

- http://atimes.com, February 13, 2016

Hisar's Rakhigarhi village, once a key place in the Indus Valley civilization, will get a museum-cum-interpretation centre to preserve the biggest Harappan site in South Asia. The state government accorded necessary approvals last month for the museum and the centre, which would be completed at a cost of around Rs 23.5 crore. Besides preservation of artefacts or other articles, the department would also provide complete information to visitors about Harappan-era people, she added. During excavations carried in April last year, four human skeletons -two adult males, one female and one child - dating to the 5,000-year-old Harappan era were recovered from a cemetery in Rakhigarhi.Excavations at Rakhigarhi have indicated that the settlement witnessed all phases of the Harappan civilization.Banani Bhattacharyya, deputy director, Haryana department of archaeology and museum, said the centre would entirely be a project of their department. Digging work carried out on several occasions at the site revealed a well-planned city from Indus Valley civilization with wide roads, drainage system, brick houses and cemetery.

Chandigarh: Hisar's Rakhigarhi village, once a key place in the Indus Valley civilization, will get a museum-cum-interpretation centre to preserve the biggest Harappan site in South Asia. The state government accorded necessary approvals last month for the museum and the centre, which would be completed at a cost of around Rs 23.5 crore. The project, to be set up in around five acre area, has been allotted to a specialized agency, which is expected to commence work in March after a formal foundation laying ceremony by chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar.Confirming the development, Haryana's director general of archaeology and museums department Ashok Khemka said the government had accorded administrative approval for the construction of museum-cum-interpretation centre at Rakhigarhi.

He added the centre, to be developed as per international standards, would not only give special recognition to Haryana, but would be helpful for scholars and researchers from across the country and abroad.Spread over an area of around 325 hectares, the site is under Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). Digging work carried out on several occasions at the site revealed a well-planned city from Indus Valley civilization with wide roads, drainage system, brick houses and cemetery. During excavations carried in April last year, four human skeletons -two adult males, one female and one child - dating to the 5,000-year-old Harappan era were recovered from a cemetery in Rakhigarhi.Excavations at Rakhigarhi have indicated that the settlement witnessed all phases of the Harappan civilization.Banani Bhattacharyya, deputy director, Haryana department of archaeology and museum, said the centre would entirely be a project of their department.

- http://www.nyoooz.com, February 13, 2016

Hisar's Rakhigarhi village, once a key place in the Indus Valley civilization, will get a museum-cum-interpretation centre to preserve the biggest Harappan site in South Asia. The state government accorded necessary approvals last month for the museum and the centre, which would be completed at a cost of around Rs 23.5 crore. Besides preservation of artefacts or other articles, the department would also provide complete information to visitors about Harappan-era people, she added. During excavations carried in April last year, four human skeletons -two adult males, one female and one child - dating to the 5,000-year-old Harappan era were recovered from a cemetery in Rakhigarhi.Excavations at Rakhigarhi have indicated that the settlement witnessed all phases of the Harappan civilization.Banani Bhattacharyya, deputy director, Haryana department of archaeology and museum, said the centre would entirely be a project of their department. Digging work carried out on several occasions at the site revealed a well-planned city from Indus Valley civilization with wide roads, drainage system, brick houses and cemetery.

Chandigarh: Hisar's Rakhigarhi village, once a key place in the Indus Valley civilization, will get a museum-cum-interpretation centre to preserve the biggest Harappan site in South Asia. The state government accorded necessary approvals last month for the museum and the centre, which would be completed at a cost of around Rs 23.5 crore. The project, to be set up in around five acre area, has been allotted to a specialized agency, which is expected to commence work in March after a formal foundation laying ceremony by chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar.Confirming the development, Haryana's director general of archaeology and museums department Ashok Khemka said the government had accorded administrative approval for the construction of museum-cum-interpretation centre at Rakhigarhi.

He added the centre, to be developed as per international standards, would not only give special recognition to Haryana, but would be helpful for scholars and researchers from across the country and abroad.Spread over an area of around 325 hectares, the site is under Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). Digging work carried out on several occasions at the site revealed a well-planned city from Indus Valley civilization with wide roads, drainage system, brick houses and cemetery. During excavations carried in April last year, four human skeletons -two adult males, one female and one child - dating to the 5,000-year-old Harappan era were recovered from a cemetery in Rakhigarhi.Excavations at Rakhigarhi have indicated that the settlement witnessed all phases of the Harappan civilization.Banani Bhattacharyya, deputy director, Haryana department of archaeology and museum, said the centre would entirely be a project of their department.

- http://www.nyoooz.com, February 13, 2016

Centuries-old Patna Collectorate buildings, parts of which are said to be original Dutch structures in the city, are facing the wrecking ball again, but heritage body INTACH has opposed the Bihar government's move to replace them with a high-rise complex.

Located on the banks of Ganga and spread over nearly 12 acres in the heart of the city, the Collectorate, containing remnants of Dutch-era architecture to which the British later added on to from 1850s onwards, has been perhaps among the most neglected buildings.

"The government has decided to dismantle the old Collectorate buildings and replace them with a new, state-of-the-art high-rise complex. The main new collectorate building will be five-storied. We are currently considering the design for the complex and once it is finalised, the tendering process will begin," Patna District Magistrate Sanjay Aggarwal told PTI.

He said a New Delhi-based architecture consultancy firm is doing the designs. A team from the company, along with Aggarwal and Patna Division Commissioner Anand Kishor also inspected the site last week.

Incidentally, the Collectorate had faced demolition threat in 2011 also, but after facing protests from some quarters, including employees of the District Board Patna who took the matter to the court, the dismantling decision was stalled.

New Delhi-based Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH), which had opposed the dismantling last time, is up in arms again against the government's move, saying "demolishing it would amount to demolishing the modern history of the city."

"The Collectorate buildings should be preserved as an important signpost of time. It has iconic high ceilings and thick walls and beautiful hanging skylights, emblematic of a part of the architectural history of the city, which must be preserved for posterity," INTACH's Patna Chapter Convener and architect J K Lall said.

"The historic Patna College, founded in 1863, began its glorious journey from this very building and the Collectorate anyway is part of the collective consciousness of generations of people here, who have used its famous Collectorate Ghat, especially during Chhath. How can one even think of destroying something of such great historical and architectural value," he said.

INTACH's Architectural Division head Divay Gupta, expressing surprise over the move, said, "The building has been listed in a couple of government publications as a heritage building and celebrated as an architectural icon by various historians and architects in their works. We had opposed the move in 2011 and we will write to the Bihar government again and also to the chief minister, and urge them to restore it and preserve it as Patna's heritage.

District magistrate Aggarwal has claimed that the buildings are "not in good condition and maintain it is a very costly affair. Also, the Building Construction Department has declared them as condemned. We want to give people a new state-of the-art building complex. Meanwhile, we will operate from Hindi Bhawan as the main makeshift Collectorate campus and few other places in the city". Noted historian Narayani Gupta countering the argument says, "If something is old, it needs to be maintained. The place can be restored to its original glory and the office can move back in or complementary structures can be added around the old buildings. But, why always rush to dismantle."

Among the oldest structures of the Collectorate include the Revenue Record Room with its Doric-column facade and the old district engineer's office, said to be remnants of the buildings built by the Dutch over 200 years ago. On its west is the iconic District Board Patna (DBP) building constructed in 1938, which is endowed with a beautiful conference room with high ceiling and flat Corinthian columns on its inside and charming ventilators.

The Oscar-winning film "Gandhi" starring Ben Kingsley was short partly at the Record Room, which was dressed up as a Motihari Jail, where the characters of Gandhi and C F Andrews are seen interacting in the biopic.

Devendra Kumar, an employee of the DBP, who was nine years old when the film was being shot in the 80s says, "I saw the British director (Richard Attenborough) and his team when they were shooting here.

"The District Magistrate office was also used for the court and corridor scene. I don't understand this demolition move. The government should preserve these buildings and use them to attract tourists."

Incidentally, the Collectorate featured as one of the heritage buildings of the city in Bihar government's Art and Culture Department publication, "Patna: A Monumental History" published a few years ago.

"The government first calls it a heritage building and then instead of maintaining it, decides to dismantle it. Isn't it a joke," Lall said.

INTACH's Divay says the Collectorate buildings also form part of a World Bank-funded report on the assessment of riverfront heritage in Patna, from the Collectorate to the iconic Qila House, a few years ago.

"The problem is the government never bothered to notify these buildings and the heritage listing in a publication thus remain an innocuous identification of such buildings without any provision for protection," he said.

Conservation Architect and faculty at NIT-Patna, Kamini Sinha said, "Why can't these buildings be restored and reused as it is being done in developed countries. We want to ape their mall culture but not the heritage preservation."

Aggarwal, when asked about the design said, "Initially the plan was a modern-looking structure but now we have planned to go for heritage-design architecture, but it is yet to be finalised.

- http://www.business-standard.com/, February 14, 2016

Activities in the 200-old institution include storytelling and interactive programmes Tribal dancers from Odisha regale schoolchildren at the Indian Museum in Kolkata.

Tribal dancers from Odisha regale schoolchildren at the Indian Museum in Kolkata. At a time when malls and video games seem to be the only entertainment for children, the 200-year-old Indian Museum here is attracting school students across all age groups and social strata through interactive programmes, while helping them relate to the exhibits of one of Asia’s oldest institutions.

On an average, 600 students visit the museum every day. They come from private schools, government-aided schools, district schools and schools for special children.

Instead of just taking them round the tall floors on the imposing heritage building, museum officials organise events which encourage the students to make clay models of the exhibits. A storyline is narrated to them to open up a bygone era before them. Recently, a small enclosure in the museum was utilised to recreate a model of a north-eastern State to narrate the history of tattoos there.

“In this high-tech, digital age, with short concentration spans, museums cannot function as passive, laid-back repositories of heritage. The stories that we tell through our objects need to be more attractive, more interactive, and this is the idea that drives the workshops for children, who are perhaps the most important segment of our visitors”, says Jayanta SenGupta, director of the museum.

Also popular are workshops where students are taught modelling and encouraged to recreate an exhibit. “This engages their mind and kindles an interest in them“, says Sayan Bhattacharya, the museum’s Education Officer.

- The Hindu, February 14, 2016

Faced with cold response to its tourism ventures, the AP government has proposed to change its tourism policy to forgo its share of revenue under public-private partnership projects. The government is also planning to reduce the land lease amount to boost the tourism sector in the bifurcated state.

The government has signed tourism projects worth Rs 4,000 crore with private players but none of them has materialised to far. This has forced the government to go in for a re-look at its tourism policy . Incidentally, the AP government has drawn up mega plans to attract an investment of at least Rs 10,000 crore to the tourism sector and increased its contribution to seven per cent of the GDP . It also plans to create five lakh more jobs by 2020. But thus far it has met with little success.

The state is looking mainly at heritage hotels, amusement parks, golf courses, botanical gardens, urbanrural haats, tourism and hospitality training institutes, wayside amenities, spiritual and wellness centres and museums as part of tourism projects.

It has also proposed to reduce the value added tax from five to three per cent. In addition, it will provide 100 per cent exemption of luxury tax for all new tourism infrastructure projects, a senior official in the tourism department told TOI.

- The Times of India, February 14, 2016

Union MoS of civil aviation, Mahesh Sharma during his stay in Jaisalmer agreed that the situation of Sonar Fort was bad. He said that efforts would be made to protect the fort.

"Accessibility to the six hill forts (World Heritage Monuments) and other monuments in India is very bad. Even today there are monuments where tourists do not get complete information, guides are unable to give all the information to tourists. So for such monuments, six-minute slides have been made that would be run at at the entry of the monuments," said Mahesh Sharma.

- The Times of India, February 14, 2016

p>The State unit of INTACH has called for immediate completion of the conservation of ancient tempera paintings in Keonjhar’s Sitabhinji cave as they are in a state of deterioration.

Sitabhinji is the only site in the State to have such ancient paintings which date back to 6th century AD. After making an on-the-spot inspection of the cave, an INTACH team said the paintings will disappear if not conserved at the earliest. Sitabhinji cave is under conservation jurisdiction of Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). However, the beautiful paintings are gradually fading away. State convenor of INTACH AB Tripathy said the conservation taken up by ASI was incomplete and left halfway. If immediate steps are not taken, the paintings will disappear.

The paintings depict a royal procession with a king, perched on an elephant with a sword in hand, leading it. He is followed by women attendants and horsemen. On lower part of the painting are verses inscribed in Sanskrit which describe the scene and its history. A stone engraving points the King to be Maharaja Disabhanja, one of the earliest Bhanja king. The paintings lie between two giant boulders called Ravana Chhaya. The place draws its name from the stream ‘Sita’ which flows nearby. Legend has it that Sita took exile here and Luv and Kush were born in the cave after being deserted by Lord Ram.

According to Anil Dhir, another member of the INTACH team, pre-historic implements and tools have been discovered in abundance in this area. The discovery of a four-faced Mukha Linga confirms early Shaivite influence in the area. Besides, there are many rocks with Pali inscriptions, ancient soapstone figurines and even Kushan coins were excavated from the region.

Dhir said he has been visiting the site every year for a decade and the deterioration of the paintings is fast. “INTACH is taking up the matter with ASI and the State Government and willing to cooperate in conservation of the precious heritage. Proper conservation of the paintings and other archaeological finds needs to be done or we will lose a very valuable and unique heritage site,” Tripathy said.

- The Indian express, February 15, 2016

inent female Pakhawaj percussionist and Odissi dancer, Guru Poushali Mukherjee after performing in Kala Ghoda festival, on her way back, visited the city and held a workshop on 'Taal' in Little Orchid performing arts school in Seawoods on Sunday. As many as 25 students above the age of 6 learnt various notations of taal and laya and their proper applications in performing arts.

She taught the children variety notes on tripadi, jhamp taal, jyoti taal and atha taali. She also imparted knowledge on techniques involved in mixing various beats. "When you have a sense of 'Taal', you can explore music thoroughly. Without proper knowledge of beat no one can be a musician, " Mukherjee said.

She started playing the tabla at the age of 8. After completing her higher education in percussion, she received an opportunity to learn Odissi dance and Pakhawaj from Guru Kelucharan Mahapatra and thus became an acclaimed dancer.

She is probably the only Odissi dancer who can also play pakhawaj. "There are a number of musical instruments used in Odissi dance. This is the same pakhawaj that is used everywhere except for a few small changes. One difference is that the right head is a bit smaller than the usual north Indian pakhawaj." she said.

She also gave the participants a few tips on dance steps to help them perfect their postures.

- The Times of India, February 15, 2016

Artist K.S. Radhakrishnan has installed open air sculptures across the country and abroad

Artist K.S. Radhakrishnan believes that sculptures need breathing space and a sculpture can breathe well only in the open air although most of his works are showcased in museums and in private collections indoors. In his new show “In the Open”, he has on display 30 large-scale outdoor sculptures done over the last three decades. The show also includes an exclusive pictorial documentation of the artist's site specific works installed in various national and international venues.

The artist says “An open air sculpture could be public and private at the same time. My works, irrespective of their size, are always conceived as independent aesthetic entities that demand open air for their existence.” He says open air sculpture does not automatically translate into ‘public sculptures’ that are created for ‘public’ consumption Curatorial Director Anubhav Nath of Ojas Art that is hosting the show says as a city, Delhi has not yet opened to the idea of open air sculptures though we have some public sculptures. K.S. Radhakrishnan’s works are not decorative pieces. They are contemporary works of art with a strong sense of artistic individuality expressed in the enduring medium of bronze. The exhibition is accompanied by a book written by art historian and critic Johny ML focussing on K.S. Radhakrishnan’s open air sculptures who writes that Radhakrishnan belongs to a lineage of ‘classic’ artists when he speaks of sculptures as the embodiment of absent freedom or freedom in absence and the artist’s ultimate aim is to give them air.

Radhakrishnan has installed open air sculptures across the country and abroad including at the India House, London; TMI Foundation, Cotignac and most recently in public areas in Goa and Santiniketan.

The show is on till March 6 at Ojas Art, 1AQ, Qutab Minar Roundabout.

The show ‘In the Open’ by the artist is on till March 6 at Ojas Art, 1AQ, Qutab Minar Roundabout

- The Hindu, February 15, 2016

The 20 places that have been covered by the students include Menawali, Sadar Bazar, Bidar, Talegaon, Dhamdhere, Phaltan, Bhor, Junnar, Ahmednagar, Pandharpur, Goa and Saswad.

DID YOU know that Bhor, which is situated in Western Pune, was one of the Maratha princely states of British India that flourished during the 18th century and that it was the only state belonging to the Poona Agency under the Bombay Presidency, which later became part of the Deccan States Agency?

Facts such as these and more that are related with 20 villages and towns of India, have been studied and documented by the students of Sinhagad College of Architecture and will be showcased at an exhibition “Drishya – Keeping it Alive” that will be held on February 16 and 17 at Smt. Kashibai Navale Medical College auditorium, Narhe.

The 20 places that have been covered by the students include Menawali, Sadar Bazar, Bidar, Talegaon, Dhamdhere, Phaltan, Bhor, Junnar, Ahmednagar, Pandharpur, Goa and Saswad.

“We are showcasing the research after a detailed study. The works on display include research work done by students over the past 10 years. To study one place in detail, the students need to put in at least six months of research. The study highlights the heritage and ways to conserve these places,” Sudhir Chavan, principal of the college.

Talking about the places covered by the students and their findings, Chavan said, the town of Bhor has tremendous heritage potential and is unique in its sense due to the Maratha town planning. The Rajwada (palace) was the political centre at one point, which is also reflected in the town planning. The presence of socio-cultural elements like the bazaars, shops etc. add to the character of the town, he said.

“To cover the town Tera in Kutch, the students of first year masters in architecture course studied the settlements at Tera in Guajrat, which is one of the important pilgrim towns in the Kutch region. The fortified settlements with man-made lakes continue to live with the traditions and cultures of the place. An old haveli was also studied and documented in detail for which adaptive reuse was proposed,” said Chavan.

At Pandharpur, a spiritual centre in the state, the team studied 90 temples. The place, according to Chavan, has both religious and historic importance and is associated with the values. The history of the place, its architecture and cultural practices like wari, the planning, growth of the town and development of the place were then studied and concluded with comprehensive conservation strategies. “We have prepared an elaborate report of our work carried out in Pandharpur and will be sending it to the UNESCO proposing the city to be considered for the World Heritage Site list,” he added.

In Pune, the team studied the Raviwar Peth and Somwar Peth area. Study of Raviwar Peth highlights the evolution, growth of the neighbourhood from historic period till date and saw the students studying the commodities sold in the commercial lane, culture, religion along with the architecture of the place.

- The Indian express, February 15, 2016

Older generation of this state particularly among Meitei community might not be forgotten the taste of Vashak eshei (song of Vashak). Many good breeding families of Meitei communities were breaking up due to bewitch male folk by female singer of Vashak eshei. Before the invention of Matam eshei (popular song of present time) Vashak eshei was the most popular song genre of the state.

Before few decades, to organize a programme of Vashak eshei was the most prestigious event among Meitei community. So, in those days, many well-do families organized many Vashak eshei programmes.

Since Vashak eshei was the most sought after song genre in the state Vashak eshei flourished with much enthusiasm. Many artistes of Vashak eshei lived with prompt and got a living standard in the society. Introduction of modern education system in the state in the early part of the twentieth century and coming up many fast & noisy entertainment programmes produced by modern technologies hampered the growth of many rare forms of the state including Vashak eshei.

Vashak eshei was growing up with religious outlook particularly Vaishnavite sect of Hinduism. All the songs of Vashak eshei are descended from the love story of Lord Shri Krishna and Smt. Radhika. So, the devotee of Vaishnavite sect of Hindu religion considers Vashak eshei is the part of the Nat Sankirtana, the intangible heritage recognized by UNESCO. ‘Vashak’ mean the Radha-Krishna Leela with Sakhis among woods of Vashak Vriksher during the late night as mentioned by the book ‘Saral Aamartha Chandrika in the page 104, 27th Chapter. It mentioned such as ‘Vashak Briksher Naam Shtrilinga Brisha Aruisa Singhaisya, Vashak Bajidantak’.

Rajshri Bhagyachandra, after the inauguration of Shri Shri Govindajee idol, on the Katrik Sukla Dwadasi, Friday, 1979, performed Raas Leela continuously for five days. During those days, Manipuri Sankirtana was renamed as Nat Sankirtana.

Afterwards, Maharaja took up Vashak songs of poet Jayadev, adopted and introduced in Manipur with good consideration with then ojas / gurus. Since, then the descendants of the Maharaja followed the tradition of singing Vashak eshei as Nat Sankirtana.

Both male and female singers could use to sing Vashak. Vashak by male singers and Vashak by female singers have few differences. Male singers performed Vashak eshei in standing position with Astha Vesh (a kind of costume) while female singers are not permitted in standing position. Female singers wear Phanek Mapan Naiba and Lamthang Inaphi.

However, they were free to prepare their own make-up etc. However, there have been changes in mindset and outlook in the society, female singers were also allowed to perform their performance in standing position during the period of Maharaja Chandrakirti.

After that, Vashak eshei has become the most popular song genre in the state.

Vashak has been categorized into two – one is Neimitak and the other one is Nitya Vashakti. Vashak can be used to sing daily. However, Neimitakk Vashak is permitted to sing only once in a year. Vashak is a series of Krishna Leela of late night and it could be sung daily anytime like Brahmins reading / chanting the Bhagwabad by adding the mantra ‘Bhagwan Pita Ratri Saradof Phul’ with a prayer, prior to the starting Bhagwabad reading. Vashak differs from the Raas Leela.

Vashak is a purna (complete) Sankirtana, not a branch of Sankirtana because 64 rasas have been derived from the Vashak. Almost all Nat Sankirtana including the Vashak are to be performed in a Shrine or Mandhap. It is not allowed to perform Vashak or Nat Sankirtana at an open space.

Vashak can be used to sing in all the six seasons of a year. Vashak esheis are not permitted to sing in a marriage or a Shradha ceremony. Now-a-day, Vashak has been on the verge of extinction and it’s use and popularity is diminishing due to many fold reasons. Its status has been degraded.

The Manipuri Vaishnavites performed Vashak as complete Utsav earlier, in which people devoted themselves to the prema rasa of Radha-Govinda. Hence, it needs to rejuvenate and revitalize , as it could build up the peoples mind entertain with prem bhakti which ultimately bring peace, love and harmony in the society.

Considering the above facts, Academy of Indigenous Music (AIM), Keishamthong, Top Lleirak, Imphal organized two days i.e January 20 & 21, 2016 Vashak Festival-2014 under the aegis of Ministry of Culture, Govt. of India at the mandhap of Shri Shri Bijaygovinda, Sagolband Bijaygovinda, Imphal. Three leading groups of Vashak participated during the said festival. On the first day i.e. January 20,2016, after the formal inauguration, the following artistes participated in the first performance – Smt. Heisnam Sanareima Devi (as Esheihanbi), Lairenjam Kunjeshwori Devi (as Duhar), Konjengbam Memcha Devi (as Khonbangbi) and Laishangbam (O) Rita Devi, Khomdram (O) Tombisana Devi, Smt. Haobam Promila Devi, Leichombam Inao Devi & Telem Sushila Devi as Palas. Chingtham Surjakanta Singh and (Pungkok Chatpa) and Sanasam Rojar Singh (Tung-inba) participated as drummers.

In the second performance of the day, the following artistes participated – Smt. Wahengbam Tejpati Devi (as Esheihanbi), Smt. Kongkham Manisana Devi (as Duhar) and Smt. Chingtham Surbala Devi, Smt. Takhellambam Chaoba Devi, Smt. Chongtham Naobi Devi and Smt. Thounaojam Sameli Devi as Palas. Shri Thingbaijam Kanta Singh (Pungkok Chapta) and Shri Laishram Santosh Singh (Tung-inba) participated as drummers. Gurumayum Manidev Sharma was the Mandhap Mapu of the day.

The second and the last day of the festival, i.e. January 21, 2016, the male singers performed the Vashak. The following artistes participated as – Shri Laishram Itomcha Singh (as Esheihanba), Shri Thouchom Nimai Singh (as Duhar) and Shri Sagolshem Mangijao Singh, Shri Akoijam Kiran Singh, Shri Meikam Nabakishor Singh and Shri Thounaojam Kesho Singh as Palas. Shri Seleibam Manglemba Singh (Pungkok Chatpa) and Shri Sanatomba Singh (Tung-inba) participated as drummer (Pung). Anoubam Binodchandra Sharma was the Mandhap Mapu of the day.

- http://www.thesangaiexpress.com, February 15, 2016

after its successful debut in Puducherry in 2012, the Tantidhatri International Festival of Performing Arts begins in the city on Wednesday. Put together by well-known singer Parvathy Baul for Ekathara Kalari, in collaboration with Ranga Shankara, the five-day festival will see performances and talks by women artists from across the globe in theatre, music, dance, visual arts, ritual and spirituality.

Besides environmentalist Vandana Shiva, documentary filmmaker Shabnam Virmani and actor-director Revathi, other noted participants include theatre actors Julia Varley from Denmark, Sandra Pasini from Italy, Geddy Aniksdal from Norway and dancer-choreographer Sin Cha Hong from Korea.

"I'd attended the Transit Festival created by Julia Varley of the Odin Teatret about 10 years ago. For the first time I was seeing a festival entirely put together by women. That experience changed my life; changed the way I expressed myself as an artist. I thought it would be a good idea to bring the concept to India," says Parvathy on what motivated her to organize 'an all-woman festival'. "As women, all of us have such complexes about ourselves; we think we are not good enough. My idea is to get women to attend and get inspired by the performers, all of whom are masters in their fields. The way I see it, it's a festival of love," says Parvathy.

- The Times of India February 17, 2016

The history of Africans who came to India as slaves and rose to lofty heights as princes and generals shows the country's tradition of openness, India's UN Permanent Representative Syed Akbaruddin said here Tuesday. Speaking at the inauguration of an exhibition, "Africans in India: From Slaves to Generals," he said India may have shortcomings, but it has always been and strives to be an open and welcoming society overcoming prejudice. Akbaruddin, who was the chief coordinator of last year's India-Africa Summit in New Delhi, said that the continent's leaders at the meeting who visited the exhibition in India "were as surprised as us" to see how those Africans had achieved positions of power and influence.

Opportunities for the African diaspora to excel continued in India today, he said mentioning Ugochi Latoya Igwilo, a Nigerian who is among India's top models. The exhibition's curator, Sylviane A. Diouf, said it illustrates the richness and diversity of the African diaspora and their contribution around the world to language, culture, literature, diplomacy and the military. India was the only society where slavery was not a barrier to social ascendancy of Africans and it was an inspiration to the diaspora, she said. When the exhibition was shown in Harlem in New York, she recounted that the African-American visitors identified with it and said. "We are so grateful to learn about our ancestors."

School students from the Bronx who saw the exhibition were inspired to go to India for a class trip instead of to Paris, she said. In India they met the Sidhis, the descendants of the Africans who came from the eastern part of the continent as slaves and achieved powerful positions. They figure in the exhibition. Diouf said the exhibition would travel around the world to 25 countries, where it would be shown at UN information centres, and the texts accompanying the exhibits were being translated into Arabic, French, Portuguese and Spanish.

UN Undersecretary General for Communications, Cristina Gallach, called the exhibition "extraordinary" and a "celebration of the culture of the African diaspora." She said their experience was a "tribute to their courage and to the open-mindedness of Indian society at that time." The exhibition is cosponsored by the Indian Mission to the UN and the UN's Department of Public Information in association with the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. Along with Diouf, the director of the the Lapidus Center for the Historical Analysis of Transatlantic Slavery, the exhibition is co-curated by Kenneth X. Robbins, an expert in the history of the Africans in India and co-editor of "Africans Elites in India: Habshi Amarat."

The exhibition features paintings of Africans in India and photographs of their architectural heritage. Some of the remarkable people, whose story is told in the exhibition, include Malik Ambar, an Abyssinian who rose to become the regent of the Nizamshahi dynasty of Ahmednagar in the 17th century; Ikhlas Khan, another Abyssinian who was the regent of the Deccan sultanate of Bijapur in the 16th century, and Sidi Haider Khan, the last ruler of the princely state of Sachin founded by African Sufi Sidis in Gujarat. (Arul Louis can be reached at [email protected])

http://www.sify.com/, February 18, 2016

Experimenting with styles and subjects to create dance compositions that have a contemporary touch, Kuchipudi dancer Meenu Thakur says that audience today likes to see art they can identify with. The disciple of Swapansundari and Guru Jayarama Rao and Vanashree Rao says, "I keep the core traditions in mind and combine them with current issues like girl child to give the audiences a story that they would relate to." She is in the city to perform at the valedictory function of National Academy of Defence Production and also to give lecture demonstrations at schools for Spic-Macay.

Thakur, who also runs a dance institute, says that children these days have greater exposure to western influences and thus enjoy them more. "I am trying to inculcate Indian traditional values in children but the source for learning these are not as accessible as their exposure to western dance and music, so they take to the latter in a bigger way," she says. The dancer also laments the absence of Indian classical dance teachers in schools. "But Spic-Macay is filling that void. In Chandigarh where I was giving a lecture demonstration some boys too expressed a desire to learn Kuchipudi," she says. "Reality shows have done a lot for promotion of Hindustani classical music as now parents are putting their kids for such training. But unfortunately the dance shows are more on western styles so children want to learn those," she says.

Classical dance has to live with the "boring" tag too, feels Thakur. "Gurus in the ancient times stuck to the pure classical forms. Kuchipudi is replete with tales from Telugu literature and I am now trying to mix a bit of past with present to make them more appealing," says the dancer who has a troupe that performs with her. What she also terms as happy tidings for performing arts is the rise in number of dance and music festivals throughout the country. "Audience do come in to watch the performances and like what they see. These festivals are important as they create and nurture our sense for aesthetics."

-The Times of India, February 18, 2016

Since discovering seditious elements in everyday life is en vogue this week, I'd like to join the bandwagon of the righteously outraged. Because, friends, Mumbaikars and expats, there's only so long that one can mutely tolerate such blasphemy. We have suffered quietly for years, but let us now speak out against the gross elements that by visible representation attempt to inspire contempt and excite disaffection towards all that we see before us.

I'm talking about the public art in Mumbai. For a city that boasts of being India's cultural capital, Mumbai has some of the most hideous public art that anyone has ever had the misfortune of beholding. Occasionally, the city's truly talented artists make valiant efforts to redress this situation, like the charming graffiti by Bollywood Art Project or "I Live Under Your Sky Too", the temporary light installation that Shilpa Gupta had put on Carter Road bandstand in 2013. There are a few statues, like the one of RK Laxman's Common Man on Worli seaface, that may inspire a fond smile. But these few examples are fighting a losing battle.

Not that anyone would guess, but the public art in Mumbai is part of BMC's efforts to beautify the city. The municipal corporation encourages private companies to 'adopt' spots, like the 'garden' near a traffic signal. Some adopters choose to install a work of art upon their acquisition. It's not a bad idea. In fact, it's a very good one at a conceptual level. Unfortunately, in practice, it means that when you're in Nariman Point, you're faced with a gigantic, ugly, red baby's head sprouting out of the green grass. Had this sculpture by Chintan Upadhyay been there in 2008, the Oberoi may not have been among the targeted buildings of the 26/11 terror attacks. It's easy to imagine the terrorists seeing that sculpture, yelping in distress and turning tail.

Not as ugly, but still strikingly weird, is Arzan Khambatta's attempt at sculpting metallic dolphins, in Worli. That said, Khambatta's work is actually less of an eyesore than Rouble Nagi's brightly-coloured alien flowers, also in Worli. And who can forget the ineffable 'Child Gives Birth To A Mother' at Mahim Causeway? Aside from its title being biologically impossible and technically incorrect, it is just awe-inspiringly bad as art. Unsurprisingly, the artist has chosen to not let his name be known to the public. Thanks to the Make in India jamboree, public art has mushroomed all over the city over the past few weeks. These include sculptures of one gigantic man wearing a tie and carrying a laptop bag, 16 lions and 21 outsized lamps. They are all, without exception, terrible. As far as I'm concerned, they're just downright provocative. Since their awfulness fills the sensitive viewer with disgust that will naturally be directed at Make in India, a government campaign, this makes the public art practically seditious. They most certainly excite hatred (for those who are responsible for these artworks being showcased) and contempt (for those who made the sculptures). I'm surprised these new additions to the cityscape haven't pushed those who have to see them on a daily basis to violence.

Less facetiously, the fact that we're surrounding ourselves with ugliness is not a trivial matter. Once upon a time, Mumbai was a city that inspired artists and dreamers. It wasn't conventionally pretty, but its architecture, energy, lights and modernity were exhilarating. After the recent construction boom and with all these artistic additions to the cityscape, you've got to wonder what is being imprinted upon the imagination that is nurtured in Mumbai. When beautifying the city means dressing CST in gaudy colours and terrible sculptures, what can we really expect of the art that is birthed in this city? The writer is a critic and author. She lives in Mumbai and can be found lurking in galleries

-The Hindu, February 18, 2016

With Delhi's chance to become the first World Heritage City in India in limbo, efforts are now being made to give the capital a fourth world heritage site in Lotus Temple.

The proposal to make the Baha'i house of worship a world heritage site was pitched in 2015 by the temple trustees, the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of India. They had appointed Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (Intach) to prepare the nomination dossiers.

The site was included in Unesco's tentative list of world heritage sites in April 2014. The Delhi government has supported the move and the tourism department is eager to pitch in. Delhi currently has three world heritage sites - Red Fort, Qutub Minar and Humayun's Tomb. Conservationists said the inclusion of Lotus Temple in Unesco's list would be a matter of a huge pride for the capital. "Though the Lotus Temple is a modern architectural work, its roots can be traced to religious symbolism of ancient India," said a conservation expert.

In terms of footfall, the site has been dubbed one of the most visited sacred buildings in the world, surpassing even Taj Mahal. Experts said there is no other lotus-shaped structure in the world as famous as the Baha'i temple in Delhi. Opened to the public in 1986 following a decade of construction, it has welcomed over 70 million visitors regardless of their religious affiliations.

The nomination process still has a long way to go. The draft nomination dossier is currently under preparation and has to undergo periodic submissions and reviews by Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). It will then be submitted to Unesco for a complete check in September, 2016 and the final dossier will be submitted by February 1, 2017. This will be followed by a site review by International Council on Monuments and Sites in October, 2017.

A final decision will be taken by the world heritage committee in June, 2018. Experts said the chance of Lotus Temple getting the prestigious tag was high due to its unique design and craftsmanship.

- The Times of India, February 18, 2016

eavers -- a herbivorous group of rodents -- are beneficial to the environment, a study says.

With their talent to re-engineer the landscape, beavers can improve biodiversity, minimise pollutants and reduce downstream flooding.

An abundance of plant life was the most noticeable effect of beaver behaviour. The interconnected pools created by beaver dams increased the retention of organic matter by up to seven times and the level of aquatic plant life 20 fold. Multi-pool systems also supported 20 times more aquatic plant life.

Levels of agricultural pollutants were also reduced in areas occupied by beavers. More vegetation translates to cleaner water. Streams hosting beavers featured more than 40 percent lower levels of phosphorous and nitrates.

"Our study found that beaver behaviours have several benefits for the environment. Their dam building skills help restore degraded streams and increase the complexity of the surrounding habitat, consequently increasing the number of species found by 28 percent," said lead researcher Nigel Willby from the University of Stirling in Scotland, Britain. The new findings -- published in the journal Freshwater Biology -- suggest beavers can prove especially valuable to low-quality stream habitats.

Examining headwater streams, which drain water from 13 hectares of Scottish countryside, scientists compared areas where beavers had been active with areas in which they were absent. The study formed part of a programme of research at this site by Stirling scientists that has been ongoing since 2003.

- The Times of India, February 18, 2016

Villagers of Elephanta, totally dependent on tourism for livelihood, have been promised electricity by August 15.

Every time Jamnabai Patil goes to a relative's home outside Elephanta island, or Gharapuri, as locals call it, she says it feels like jail. "The whole island is my home. How do people in the cities live in such cramped places? I cannot stay away from here for more than a day," says the 70-year-old resident of Shetbunder village, a ferry ride from Mumbai's famed Gateway. Patil has been born and brought up on the island that houses the Elephanta caves— a UNESCO world heritage site. Barely 11 kms from Mumbai, the island with a population of around 1,200 has no electricity and the nearest medical help is at least 30 minutes away by boat in Uran, Navi Mumbai.

"We used to have a doctor many years ago. Now, there is nobody. There is no option but go to the city to get any treatment," Patil says. For most residents on the island, it is the tourism industry that keeps them going. For four months during monsoon, when ferry services are suspended, shops set up by locals remain shut. Most rely on their savings to survive this period.

All these challenges should get resolved once the island secures power supply. An announcement by the state about providing power to Elephanta from August 15 this year is greeted with scepticism.

"Only when a bulb is lit here will we believe the promise," says Shubhangi Mayne, a resident of Morebandar on the island. Currently, the island gets electricity through power generators for three hours daily from 7pm-10pm. The residents pay Rs 150 per month for this, she says.

A few years ago, solar lamps were provided to each household and panels were installed to light street lamps, but they functioned only for six months and have been defunct since, because of lack of maintenance. Mayne says this is the primary reason why many do not want to stay in the village.

"I used to live in Thane before I got married 15 years ago. I was very apprehensive about how I would live in a place where there is no electricity. Living on an island has other challenges too. We make weekly trips to Uran and get our supplies through boats," Mayne says.

"Women have to be shifted to homes of relatives during pregnancy. When my daughter was born, I went outside the island in my ninth month on a boat," she recalls. Those living in the island have to depend on wells and natural water reserves inside caves for daily water supply. These apprehensions often come in the way when seeking marriage proposals from outside the island, Mayne says.

The lone school in the village which was for students till Class 7 was upgraded to Class 10 but there are no local teachers and the number of students has dwindled to 45. "The island has been neglected by authorities prompting many citizens to move out. In the next five years, the school too will be shut for lack of students. The Elephanta festival that was held at the caves is being held this year at the Gateway of India. The logistical challenge due to lack of electricity restricts this place," says Siddhant Padte, nephew of sarpanch Sunil Padte.

The Elephanta island gets its name from the Portuguese.

They called it Elephanta because of a huge rock-cut black stone elephant statue installed on it. The statue is placed in Jijamata Udyan in Byculla. The island is 7km in circumference and has seven cave excavations dating back to 6-7th centuries. According to the Archaeological Survey of India, one of the caves represents the rock-cut Hindu architecture. Another group of small caves represents Buddhist monuments with a Stupa made of bricks.

Have a comment or suggestion for Postcard from a Mumbai Village? Write to [email protected] with subject line: Postcard from a Mumbai Village

- The Indian express, February 18, 2016

EDABAD: Sarkhej Roza, the mausoleum of Shaikh Ahmed Khattu Ganj Baksh, spiritual preceptor of Sultan Ahmed Shah (1410-1443 AD), has suffered because of neglect by authorities, says a study by CEPT University.

The study, conducted by the CEPT faculty of management, found that the authorities had not taken proper steps to conserve the 15th century heritage monument that is famous as the `Acropolis of Ahmedabad' because of its resemblance to the famous Acropolis of Athens.

Most importantly , drain water is allowed to flow directly into the Makarba lake which is the sole source of water for the lake in the Roza. This has been responsible for serious problmes of cleanliness and deterioration in the main monument itself."It was observed that the grey and black water is drained directly into the Makarba Lake. There is no proper drainage system and the surface runoff from channels is deteriorating the building fabric.There is need for AMC sewage connection," says the study .

The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is also to blame for the neglect of the Roza."CCTV cameras were installed directly on the structure (a protected monument) and this can cause damage. ASI needs to monitor and provide guidelines to the trust that looks after the Roza," the study says.

Steps needed for cleanliness are not followed in the Roza. "The waste is collected manually by dragging the dustbins weighing around 110 litres towards the entrance. Offerings are disposed into the wells creating unhygienic conditions during monsoon. Littering is seen around the campus," the study says.The study done by four CEPT students Alokita Sharma, Mayank Sara vagi, Parishi Parikh and Siddhant Garg under the guidance of professors Manvita Baradi, Nimitt Karia and Shelly Kulshrestha, says that energy consumption is high at Sarkhej Roza.

"As there is no mechanism for reduction in the electricity consumption, it is proposed to change existing lights to LED lights," the study says. The water that is used for drinking and ablution is unfit for drinking.

Even the president of Sarkhej Roza trus, Abrar Saiyed, accepted that most of the findings are true. "The AMC has not done anything about the drainage water flowing into the Makarba lake. This water is polluting the water of Roza lake and this ultimately is adversely affecting the main monument," said Saiyed. He further said that he has also made representation to the ASI for better conservation of the historic monument but no positive steps had been taken

- The Times of India, February 18, 2016

Ahmedabad: Illegal parking of trucks and auto-rickshaws in from of the three gates of the Sarkhej Roza has made this heritage structure virtually inaccessible to visitors. In particular, people with disabilities find it impossible to reach the complex. Most visitors don't event go to the King's and Queen's pavilions as the area is not maintained. Besides, the physically challenged people find it difficult to visit the monument as there are no ramps in the entry or exit gates to the complex.

"The complex does not have any ramps making it difficult for physically challenged users. The areas which are inaccessible are Saint's tomb, Baradari, Jami Masjid, Roza tank, King's and Queen's Tomb," it said.

- The Times of India, February 18, 2016

It was an eventfully delicious weekend at Hillside School on February 6 and 7 when the first-of-its-kind ‘Junior Master Chef’ competition took off. Young buds from various schools participated enthusiastically in the competition.
The competition was conducted in two categories – cooking without fuel for the juniors (grade I-IV) and cooking with fuel for the seniors (grade V-VIII). The junior participants exhibited their skills with a minimal help from their parents. Twenty well-equipped work stations were set up for almost 400 students, from various schools, who participated in two batches per day. Forty chefs qualified for the final round on February 7. Participants were provided with all the ingredients required by the school.

The little chefs displayed excellent culinary skills in the competition held for two days. Corporate chef Shailesh Verma from the Golconda Hotel and Resorts was invited as the judge. Winners were judged on various parameters like nutrition value, hygiene, presentation and time management. It was definitely a task for the judge to choose the winners as each one was at his/her best in showcasing their culinary skills. Cash prizes of Rs. 10,000, Rs. 5000, and Rs. 3000 were awarded to the winner, first runner up and second runner up respectively in both the categories.

Urvara 3K and 5K run held

The Urvara 3K and 5K run was organised by Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan’s Atmakuri Rama Rao School on February 14.
At 5:45 a.m., the school premises was thronged by adults and students alike. School chairman S. Gopalakrishnan, along with senior principal Rama Devi and principal R.A. Rani flagged off the 5K and 3K runs. The event concluded with the prize distribution ceremony.

Farewell to outgoing students

The students of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan’s Public School (Vidyashram), Jubilee Hills, organised a ‘Farewell’ for class X students under the guidance of their teachers on February 15 on the school premises. Senior principal C. Rama Devi, retired IA&AS and chairman of school managing committee S. Gopalakrishnan, and Sister Praveena Ben from the Brahmakumaris were invited for the programme.

The event began with the school prayer followed by formal welcoming of the guests. Senior principal Rama Devi recalled the memories associated with these students and wished them all the best in all their pursuits.

Mr. Gopalakrishnan, in his address, stressed on the importance of knowledge that will help students in achieving success in life. He added that wisdom helps one to distinguish between good and bad.

He advised the students not to lose faith in themselves and win over laziness and procrastination. He showered blessings on the outgoing batch of class X students and wished them a bright future. The ‘Vidya Jyothi’ was passed on to the prefects of Class IX by the Deputy Head Girl and Deputy Head Boy of the school.

Sister Praveena Ben from the Brahmakumaris spoke on the importance of values and advised the students to nourish their minds with one thought – ‘I am lucky and I have lots of good feelings’, which will help them tide over the most difficult situations that one might confront in the journey of life.

Annual day celebrated

St. Moses High School celebrated its 21st annual day on February 13 in the school grounds. Bipin Mohanty, senior nuclear scientist with the Government of India, was the chief guest while the guest of honour was Raghu Kallur, the director of Kallur Tennis Academy and US certified tennis coach. The school report was presented by Sneha of class X with a multimedia presentation. Students took part in a wide range of programmes such as the fancy dress, drama, dance, skit and demonstration of scientific processes like photosynthesis, inertia, etc.

INTACH Filmit Festival held

INTACH (Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage) organised a film festival at Jubilee Hills Public School, Hyderabad on February 16 to screen the short films made by the students of various schools. Nine schools from Hyderabad participated in the festival. Purnima and Anuradha Reddy, co-convenor, Telangana Chapter and convenor, Hyderabad Chapter, respectively organised the programme.

Pranav Pingle Reddy, the chief guest, gave away the prizes to the winners. The best films made by the students were screened on the occasion and all the students were given certificates. Jubilee Hills Public School won awards in the following categories – Best Film with the Message - ‘Protect Rivers and Lakes’ and Best Story Line - ‘Deepavali Celebrations’.

- The Hindu, February 19, 2016

Hidden behind a blanket of trees at the back of a university in Mumbai lies the dilapidated, but once grand, former home of writer Rudyard Kipling.

Fallen branches, discarded chairs and even empty whisky bottles surround the 19th-century building, while bird droppings mar a bust of Kipling, author of such beloved novels as The Jungle Book and Kim.

“The bungalow is in very bad condition and needs desperate help,” the college’s principal, Rajiv Mishra, tells AFP.

“We feel cheated that such a beautiful monument has been neglected,” he adds, pointing to a rotting wooden post, precariously supporting the historic property in south Mumbai.

The “Kipling Bungalow”, as locals affectionately call it, is one of several mansions in the teeming Indian city, once associated with famous residents but now in ruin.

Nearby stands the former colonial home of Lord Harris, an ex-governor of then-named Bombay, widely credited with making cricket the most popular sport in India.

The gothic building housed school classrooms until four years ago, when pupils were moved out because the crumbling structure had become too weak and hazardous.

A few kilometres away in plush Malabar Hill sits the previously imposing residence of Mohammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan and its first governor-general.

The stately home hosted critical talks between Jinnah and India’s first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru on partition of the subcontinent, but today its downtrodden appearance belies its historical significance.

Red tape

Heritage campaigners lament the demise of such buildings, blaming red tape and claiming politicians and developers are more concerned with constructing sparkly new luxury towers than preserving Mumbai’s architectural history.

“The Kipling Bungalow is just a very sad reflection of bureaucratic hurdles... creating the death of a historic building,” renowned architect Abha Narain Lambah, who specialises in conservation, told AFP.

The wood and stone structure, its green paint peeling, is situated on the grounds of an art school, whose first principal was John Lockwood Kipling, Rudyard’s father.

Built in 1882, 17 years after Rudyard was born, the house was home to Lockwood Kipling and subsequent deans until the early 2000s, by which time it had sunk into such disrepair that it was rendered uninhabitable.

“We feel that Lockwood must have had Rudyard stay here and write so we call it the ‘Kipling Bungalow’,” explains Mishra, who wants the Maharashtra state government to restore it without delay.

He says officials plan to turn the building into a gallery exhibiting students’ work and that of decorated artists, and have issued a tender for the contract.

The building has been caught in a tug-of-war between the college and the government for years over what its restoration should look like, but Mishra hopes renovations will finally start in around six months.

Maharashtra culture and education minister Vinod Tawde failed to respond to repeated AFP requests for comment on the issue.

A short walk away, work has already begun on the former Mumbai residence of batsman and acclaimed cricket administrator George Harris, who was governor of the city from 1890-1895.
Harris captained England and during his tenure on the subcontinent “did much to lay down foundations for the expansion of the game in India”, according to Cricinfo website.
A Mumbai inter-schools cricket tournament called the Harris Shield is testament to his legacy, but his former home was allowed to come close to collapse before long overdue maintenance work started.
The three-storey mansion, part of a public school, was out of use for three years until renovation began in June, and presently stands gutted, surrounded by bamboo scaffolding.
“It was basically falling apart and became too dangerous to be inside,” the school’s principal, Mohan Bhogade, told AFP.
Jinnah dispute
In arty Kala Ghoda district, a 147-year-old mansion, formerly the resplendent Watson’s Hotel, frequented and written about by Mark Twain, is a ramshackle shadow of its former glory.
Now called Esplanade Mansion, it shows no signs of being restored despite 10 years having passed since it was placed on a global list of endangered monuments by the New York-based World Monuments Fund.
Watson’s, completed in 1869, is believed to be India’s oldest caste-iron building and was the hotel of choice for colonialists and visiting dignitaries during the British Raj.
According to legend, the hotel went into decline after Indian industrialist Jamsetji Tata built Mumbai’s iconic Taj Mahal Palace because he was denied entry to Watson’s, which had a “Europeans-only” policy.
Today the crumbling structure houses a medley of dark cubbyhole offices. A lack of funds and arguments between tenants and city authorities have been cited as contributing to its descent into ruin.
“The idea of heritage has just evaporated,” says Naresh Fernandes, author of “City Adrift: A Short Biography of Bombay”.
AFP contacted a number of officials at the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, regarding the Watson’s Hotel and the Harris building, but none were available for comment.
Jinnah’s house has been embroiled in a long-running legal dispute over ownership between his daughter, India and Pakistan. It lies empty in thick forest behind a padlocked gate.
Lambah doesn’t believe the buildings owe their dilapidation to any sort of colonial antipathy, citing well-maintained British-era relics like the Bombay High Court and the former Victoria Terminus train station.
“It’s just sheer neglect and bureaucracy,” she says. — AFP

- www.themalaymailonline.com, February 19, 2016

Sculptures by Akshya Chitragar Jagadeesh, a student of Kuvempu University, Shivamogga, was the cynosure of all eyes on Thursday at the clay modelling competition in the Senate Bhavan as part of a national youth fest here.

Akshya, 18, who is from a family of artists, created a model of Shikaripura wrestlers. "I've sculpted idols of Ganesha and Krishna at my home town. This is my first outdoor performance. I'm glad to showcase the art which is an intrinsic part of my family," said Akshya.

Like him, many students from across India have brought alive warriors of their region through their sculptures. A few participants worked on themes like rhythm, birds and human beings. "A platform is essential for students," said Padam Chand, a judge of the clay modelling competition. Art has no barriers said Gurdeep Singh, a science student of Punjabi University, Patiala. He loves spending more time on sculpting rather than studies. Gurdeep has been interested in painting since childhood. "I spent more time with friends who come from an arts background and that's how I developed interest in sculpture," he said.

Students from Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi; Patna University, Patna; SNDT Women's University, Mumbai; Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University, Aurangabad; Dr BR Ambedkar University, Agra; Punjabi University, Patiala; Kuvempu University, Shivamogga; Gulbura University, Kalaburgi; Indira Kala Sangeet Vshvavidyalaya, Khairagarh and Rani Durgabati University, Jabalpur participated in the competition.

- The Times of India, February 19, 2016

There's something for everyone at Dr Shivarama Karantha Pilikula Nisargadhama on the outskirts of Mangaluru - a perfect weekend getaway set amid greenery, with animals next door, it is also a discovery of science, rural arts and heritage.

Pilikula has a biological park, water park, science centre, arboretum, medicinal plant garden, heritage and artisan villages.

Started in 1996, its main objective was conservation -of biodiversity of the Western Ghats, and heritage and culture of coastal Karnataka - besides awareness about science and technology, and eco-tourism in the Western Ghats and coastal Karnataka. Known as the breeding centre of the King Cobra, the Biological Park is home to severalmammals, reptiles and birds, kept in spacious enclosures.

For those who revel in earthy pleasures, the rural Tulu Nadu in the Artisan Village has many live demonstrations: pottery , blacksmithery, handloom weaving, oil extraction using bullocks, beaten rice made the traditional way . SA Prabhakara Sharma, executive director of Nisargadhama, says tourists are happy with the exposure to these rare rural arts, and foreigners make it a point to visit the village.

Thousands of students visit the Regional Science Centre to get hands-on experience in experiments. Biodiversity Gallery, Frontiers of Technology Gallery, Science Park, Fun Science and Taramandal give an insight to science and technology. Touted as a mid-week stress buster, it is slowly inching up the charts as a top tourist destination of Karnataka.

The project was the brainchild of former DC Bharat Lal Meena, who is now in-charge secretary of the district. Aided by deputy commissioner AB Ibrahim, it also transformed into an arena for cultural festivals in 2015 - a Children's festival, Atidonji Dina in the month of Ashada, and Rain Festival, apart from angling in the lake - giving an opportunity to hundreds of artistes to display their skills.- The Times of India



- The Times of India, February 19, 2016

Chennai has some of the most blatant violations of Coastal Regulation Zone norms and Development Control Rules

Several Indian states have clear rules that prohibit construction within a specified distance from water bodies, ecologically sensitive zones, railway lines, and heritage structures. These rules, however, aren’t being implemented in Tamil Nadu, and this has resulted in a number of illegal buildings sprouting along these zones. Buildings in Mambalam and Nungambakkam along railway lines are obvious examples of such violations, as are Kottivakkam, Saidapet and Thiruvanmiyur along the coastline and Parry’s Corner and Mahabalipuram near ASI-protected structures.

Governing rules

The MMDA, now Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA), was responsible in framing regulations in the1970s and 80s. “These were taken as guides for other southern states. Over time, their lack of implementation has given rise to numerous illegal buildings,” says city-based architect Xavier Benedict. The Ancient Monuments Act (2010) clearly states rules for the development of any new structure or the modification of an existing one: No new building can come up within a 200 metre radius of a heritage structure. Redevelopment and repair of heritage buildings are regulated by the Heritage Conservation Committee. In protected areas, the Archaeological Survey of India prohibits development within a radius of 100 metres. Manuals of the Indian Railways mandate a 30 metre gap between the railway boundary and the nearest edge of a building on any adjacent land.

Along water bodies

In Tamil Nadu, anyone who has an NOC from the commissioner, executive officer, or the executive authority a local body, can construct within 15 metres from the boundary of a water course or water body. “The respective Development Control Rules (DCR) in other States clearly specify the extent of prohibition of constructing near water bodies, but there is no specific mention of this in the DCR of CMDA,” says city-based advocate G. Shyam Sunder.
For new constructions within Aquifer Recharge Zone (ARZ) areas, the minimum plot size should be 440 sq.m. The frontage should be 15m and the maximum FSI permitted is 0.8. The height of the building should not exceed 8.5 m and the maximum plot coverage should be 40 per cent. The low FSI and plot coverage keeps the ground free for recharge and non-compliance leads to the depletion of water sources. It is important to note that a majority of the problems stem from the lack of implementation of these legislations. “It has a lot to do with awareness. Most people know very little about demarcating water bodies and the areas surrounding it. One must realise that we have to protect water bodies just like we protect forests — with tough legislation,” says environmental activist and founder of Environmentalist Foundation of India (EFI), Arun Krishnamurthy.

CRZ norms

The CMDA verifies the dimensions of a building before approving any construction. The maximum height and permitted FSI varies in CRZ areas. The FSI can range from 0.8 to 2.5. Approvals are based on the following conditions: If reconstructing in a CRZ zone, the total number of residential units should not exceed twice the number of existing units, the total area covered on all floors should not exceed nine meters, and not more than two floors (including ground floor) should be constructed. A. Shankar of JLL, says, “Many property owners wish to construct or alter buildings by the sea, but restrictions on CRZ areas and on height and FSI have made such projects unviable. Unfortunately, the CMDA has recently started approving residential projects in CRZ areas. Construction of new buildings is not permitted on the sea-facing side of any beach road but it is being permitted if the roads were laid before 1991.”

Environmental impact

Rampant and unchecked construction within these sensitive zones has not only led to severe degradation of the environment, but has also impacted the city’s growth. Continued illegal construction will only lead to more disasters such as the recent floods in the city. Issues such as water-logging during the monsoon, increasing pollution levels, and shrinking wetlands are due to violations of building norms. Our natural storm water drainage systems still don’t function to full their capacity today as well. Krishnamurthy, however, believes that the recent floods came with a silver lining “The implementation of these rules will become a lot easier because people have understood the heavy price they have had to pay for ignoring such rules earlier. I don’t think officials will be complacent anymore and even citizens will be keen to follow these rules. “Although the stringent implementation of laws is crucial, holding developers accountable for any violation is equally important. Following the development regulations at every stage of construction is vital important and proper inspection of the property must be mandatory. “Any violation of the prescribed regulations should be severely penalised. The Real Estate Bill and land information systems can enable buyers to take informed decisions,” adds Shankar.

- The Hindu, February 19, 2016

he World Heritage Site of Champaner-Pavagadh will eventually feature in the 'Khushbu Gujarat Ki' campaign to promote tourism in the state.

The campaign's highlight has been Amitabh Bachchan, but the superstar was unable to visit Champaner-Pavagadh for a shoot planned in March, 2014, as he was unwell.

While most important tourism places in the state had been covered under the campaign, the first World Heritage site of Champaner-Pavagadh has not been featured in it yet. Till 2014, when Rani Ki Vav at Patan was granted the World Heritage Site status, Champaner-Pavagadh was the only site enjoying the status since 2004. While Bachchan has not shot at Champaner-Pavagadh, he will be seen talking about the monument in the film.

State finance and tourism minister Saurabh Patel said that the advertisement would be aired within a couple of months.

The film was screened recently at an event to launch the Global Expo on Electrical Engineering, Power Generation and Innovation 'Switch-2016' at Vadodara.

The film was also screened at the power sector event ELECRAMA 2016 at Bangalore.

The Champaner-Pavagadh Archaeological Park has monuments and remains that came up during the rule of both Rajput kings and the Gujarat Sultanate.

The Mahakali temple located atop the Pavagadh hill is amongst the Shaktipiths of the goddess and lakhs visit it every year.

- The Times of India, February 19, 2016

For political observers who wish to know more of Manipur and its complex maze of interrelated issues, often not complementary to each other, new encouraging vantages are now available for them. This is especially so for those who by the compulsions of their services land up in the state and are expected to size up the myriad issues this besieged state is confronted with. But there is also much for those already familiar with the place to take away in terms of fresh and different perspectives to problems they have known, many of which have remained either unarticulated or inadequately so.

I refer here to two recent books on Manipur and the Northeast by two wellknown TV journalists – Anubha Bhonsle`s "Mother Where is My Country: Looking for Light in the Darkness of Manipur" (Speaking Tiger Publishing Pvt. Ltd. 2016) and Kishalay Bhattarjee`s Blood on My Hands: Confessions of Staged Encounters (HarperCollins Publishers India, 2015). There are two more books waiting to be released, advanced copies of which are already available with the author The Northeast Question: Conflicts and frontiers (Routledge 2016) which is a study of the evolution of the idea of the geographical, political and cultural entity we know today collectively as Northeast, and the other a coffee table brought out in partnership with the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage, INTACH, Shadow and Light: A Kaleidoscope of Manipur (Hachette India 2016), both of which I have read several times and in minute details, but cannot be part of this review, precisely because I am their author. Hopefully, when they do hit the market in the next few weeks, there will be others who think they are worthwhile to be reviewed. In the meantime, watch your book local stores as online book sellers for their arrival.

Mother Where's My Country Of the two earlier named books, Anubha Bhonsle`s Mother Where is My Country… is creating the bigger splash in the market. It has already made it to the list of top 10 bestselling books released in India in January, in the non-fiction category. Not surprisingly too, for the book comes across as an impassioned portrayal of a forgotten corner of the country, therefore likely to strike a note of concern and empathy in the hearts of the average Indian readers. The reason the book is able to evoke these sentiments is in a way a contagion, for the author herself exudes with them in her treatment of the subject. It is a story told with both the mind and heart, and as often the case with this kind of storytelling, the narrative tends to meander its way delightfully between prose and poetry. I will be dishonest if I said I finished reading the 250 page book in one sitting, but I did do it in three days. But if it was during a leisurely holiday journey for instance, I probably would have finished it in one. It is one of those books. It provokes but also milks empathy.

The author shows no urgency to sermonise. She instead allows the intended moral landscape to emerge out of the narrative as if by what Eliot called the "third voice of poetry". In this case, it this would be akin to a voice of conscience that results out of a dialectics between the outlooks to life of the characters in the book, the author's own voiceovers and the reader's engagements with the ideas as they come along. The overall picture that becomes progressively clear as the reader come to the end of the book, is one of a badly wounded civilisation, licking its wounds, trying to heal itself and move on. It conjures up the evocative image of what the author's well known colleague, Rajdeep Sardesai, once described how Manipur struck him as – a tortured beauty.

The opening chapter "Sorrow is Better Than Fear" sets the tone of what would follow. It tells of two rape victims, morally devastated, who retreat into themselves to overcome and mourn their immense losses, but are not resigned. The story ostensibly is built out of interviews with these victims, but identities of the two women are kept anonymous for obvious reasons, and this in strangely shadowy way, gives the story a touch of eeriness. They move around like ghosts, watching the world outside, detached and distant like outcastes, from their self-exile in a soulless world inhabited only by other unfortunate fugitives like themselves. The brutal and traumatic loss of innocence is their purgatory. It is life in limbo for them, and each day is a tragic struggle against despair. Suicide is an option but they do not recourse to it. They prefer sorrow as their road to redemption. Their personal battle to save themselves from complete spiritual sterility thus becomes their heroism, and indeed on the larger canvas, the heroism of many more in the twilight zone of Manipur.

This inherent sense of tragedy and triumph in extreme adversity is what you encounter in practically every chapter, and this tension borders the sublime in the portraiture of Irom Sharmila, the lady with the iron will, taking on the establishment singlehandedly in her demand for the repeal of the draconian Armed Forces Special Powers Act 1958. She comes across as a person with an indomitable will even when confronted with the prospect of shouldering an impossible mission, and by this awesome quality, pushed on to a public pedestal. The author also discovers Sharmila is a very private person, with human frailties as any ordinary woman, pleading for her private life to be respected. In the agonising pulls of her public and private personas, her sense of responsibility to her cause, compels her to choose the former.

As in the author's portraiture of Sharmila, the broad picture of Manipur that emerges at the end of her book is also an intimate one. It is not a picture that comes out of linear and objective reportage of issues that confront the place, but one that results almost naturally out of a sensual treat of the sights and sounds and smells of the state, therefore much more complete and nuanced. You get to know for instance how Imphal city wakes up, how it retires. You get a sense of the oppression of (draconian) laws as in the chapter "Three Anniversaries", the uneasy insecurity of near complete absence of the law as in the chapter "I Want to Die a Naga", of youth frustration in "Escape to Delhi" and so on. This certainly is a book which, apart from being a delightful reading, is also one from which policy makers can take plenty away from.

Blood on My Hands In Anubha's "Mother Where is my Country" there is a chapter "Everybody Loves a Good Insurgency". Kishalay Bhattacharjee's book "Blood on My Hands" is almost a zoomed-in picture of this scenario. This book is hard hitting and the author fights with gloves removed. Sometimes though you cannot help feeling some punches have been delivered low, but almost hear the author hiss between his teeth, "take that, everything is fair in love and war". Indeed, the subject of the book is how in the ruthless war of counterinsurgency in the Northeast, Kashmir and in the Maoist belt in Central India, criminal brutality has come to be rationalised as fair war strategy. It should not surprise anyone that reportage of such wars too would have borrowed some from the same skewed logic.

The book seldom names sources, although all that are in print are supposed to be straight out confessions of Army and police officers, of the inside stories of their organisation, and how there exist in them very sinister policies of fake encounter killing. This is so even while making the most damaging charges of broad daylight mass murders against those discharging counterinsurgency responsibilities, sometimes making the reader doubt if the incidents described are not mere rehashed hearsay. But then the security forces, or the government establishment, usually very sensitive about such allegations, even in nuanced references and hints, have seemingly not dared complain, much less legally challenge the author. It is therefore reasonable to presume this is because of their foreknowledge that the author is privy to hard proofs of these allegedly widespread crimes, therefore the conclusion that silence is the best policy on the matter. The idea again presumably is to let time take care of the guilt of these unspeakable officially sponsored murders, and leave it to the clichéd brevity of public memory for them all to become irrelevant and forgotten.

Kishalay cites the reasons why these custodial extra judicial executions by the state forces are so rampant. Nowhere is this more dramatically spelled out than in the first chapter of the book titled "Manhunt". An episode in this recounts how a young army officer in Assam, not long after the Bhutan operation by the Royal Bhutan Army with the assistance of the Indian Army, to flush out Indian militants who have made Bhutan's south province their safe haven, rushing into a police officer's office to seek a loan as his balance was depleted. The latter agrees to transfer some from his account by the next day though his own account was also rather low. The shock that follows is inevitable even if the reader sensed the suspense was headed for one. The negotiation had nothing to do with money. The army officer was asking for the loan of a prisoner he could kill in a staged encounter so as to boost up his field performance index, and thus clear up his career promotion routes.

The author says these sinister transactions are common, and indeed many people in insurgency torn states like Assam, Manipur and Nagaland, brutalised under the oppressive AFSPA, would vouch so too. It is not a wonder then that every time I travel air from Imphal, chances have been I would find some passenger or the other glued to the pages of this book. The book also has accounts of many established fake encounter cases. This includes quite prominently, the July 23, 2009 broad daylight gunning down of a former insurgent after capture on Imphal's busy B.T. Road. Although this case has been widely reported in the local as well as in the national media, triggered by an expose in the Tehelka weekly, the blow by blow account in the book still commands outrage, and therefore reader attention too.

Kishalay's many ground zero TV reports from conflict epicentres everywhere in the country, in particular the Northeast is well known. The book in many ways is a collection of his experiences while on duty which went unreported on the TV because they were too gruesome or hurtful to be broadcast. It obviously would have taken him much courage to decide to compile them into this fascinating book. Researchers into the incessant violent insurrections in the Northeast ought to be thankful he decided so.

- http://kanglaonline.com, February 20, 2016

India and Nepal on Saturday inked seven memorandums of understanding (MoU)s. The MoUs were signed in the presence of Nepal Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli, who is on his first visit abroad after assuming office in October last year.

An MoU on utilization of USD 250 million Grant component of GOI's Assistance package for post-earthquake reconstruction assistance was signed the two countries. The signatories for this MoU were External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and her Nepalese counterpart Kamal Thapa.

Under this agreement, four sectors, i.e., housing, health, education and cultural heritage have been identified. In housing, 100 million USD would be utilised for construction of 50,000 houses in 14 severely earthquake affected districts.

50 million USD each would be utilised in health, education and cultural heritage sectors in 31 earthquake affected districts of Nepal.

The second MoU was strengthening of road infrastructure in the Terai area of Nepal, was signed between Ranjit Rae, Ambassador of India and Arjun Kumar Karki, Secretary, Ministry of Physical Transport of Nepal.

This MoU will enable speedy implementation of remaining work on 17 Roads in Package 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 of the Terai Road Phase-I project, totalling 518 kms. Two roads in Package 1 totalling 87 kms have already been completed.

The third MoU was signed between Nepal Academy of Music and Drama and Sangeet Natak Academy, India which aims to enhance relations between India and Nepal in the field of performing arts through exchanges of experts, exponents, dancers, scholars and intellectuals. The signatories for this MoU were Helen Acharya, Secretary, Sangeet Natak Academy and Deep Kumar Upadhyay, Ambassador of Nepal.

Then there were two letters of exchange on Transit Routes, one on transit between Nepal and Bangladesh through Kakarbitta-Banglabandh corridor and the second on operationalization of Vishakhapatnam Port.

The first exchange of letters between would result in simplification of modalities for traffic of goods between Nepal and Bangladesh while transiting through India, through the Kakarbhitta (Nepal) and Banglabandha (Bangladesh) corridor. The second one would provide for transit facilities for Nepal through the Vishakhapatnam port.

There was also letters of exchange on Rail Transport, one on rail transport to/from Vishakhapatnam and the second on rail transit facility through Singhabad for Nepal's Trade with and through Bangladesh.

The first exchange of letters would allow for rail transport to and from Vishakhapatnam to Nepal while the second one would help operationalise rail transit facility through Singabad in India for Nepal's trade with and through Bangladesh.

The sixth MoU, which was the inauguration of Muzaffarpur-Dhalkebar transmission line was done by both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Nepalese counterpart.

The Nepal portion of the 400 KV Muzaffarpur-Dhalkebar transmission line is being implemented by Government of Nepal, under an LoC of USD 13.5 million.

80 MW power would flow immediately through this line, with an initial charge of 132 KV. Thereafter, it will be augmented to 200 MW in October 2016 at 220 KV, and then to 600 MW by December 2017 at 400 KV.

The initial supply of 80 MW would be augmented to 200 MW by October 2016 and 600 MW by December 2017.

The seventh agreement was the establishment of Eminent Persons Group which was decided to be established at the third meeting of the India- Nepal Joint Commission held at Kathmandu in July 2014.

The EPG comprises eight members with each country nominating four members, preferably a parliamentarian, a lawyer, an economist and a civil society activist. The EPG has now been constituted. Its mandate would be to comprehensively review bilateral relations and recommend measures including institutional frameworks to further enhance bilateral ties.

- The Deccan chronicle, February 20, 2016

Look Up Mumbai is both an exhibition and an invocation for Mumbaikars to pay more attention to the beauty surrounding them. How often do we stop to behold the architectural intricacies that permeate our everyday lives, found in homes, offices, places of worship and public institutions in this city? To that end, an art installation has been set up at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya (CSMVS) till the 28th, offering a look at 68 ceilings of Mumbai's heritage and contemporary buildings.

The museum's dome is the epicentre of the project, beneath which a "DomeLab" has been constructed as a portable canvas displaying projected images of ceilings. These include Gateway of India, Siddhivinayak Temple, Bhau Daji Lad Museum, Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport T2, Adishwarji Jain Temple to be viewed while reclining on a couch under the dome.

It's a rare opportunity to see ceilings featuring neo-Gothic, Indo-Saracenic and Art Deco architectures, amongst others, in arresting clarity, captured using a technique called gigapixel photography with a high-end digital camera and a motorized rig. When asked the impetus for this project, led by University of New South Wales professor Sarah Kenderdine and funded by the Australian Research Council, with collaborators across various organizations and museums, Kenderdine said, "The philosopher Villem Flusser wrote: 'We live in two worlds: one that is given and the other that is provoked by the attention we pay to it.' In the course of our daily lives the architectural context and especially its ceilings that we seldom look up to contemplate, tend to belong to the insensible world 'that is given'. Look Up Mumbai sets out to relocate these ceilings in the other world, the one 'that is provoked by the attention that we pay to it', and in so doing focus the multi-cultural richness and diversity of these structures as objects of aesthetic allure, technological wonder and empyrean fascination."

Kenderdine has even paid attention to the transition between images, which deconstructs the pixel structure of each image before blending them, so as to mediate between the perceptual shifts in scale and form with each unfolding image. She says, "This cinematic trompe l'oeil of structural conjunctions and iconographic interpolations creates an aesthetic revisioning of these various sites, and they became remediated as a narrative sequence that focuses their spatial, formal and pictorially associative qualities." Adding, "An underlying symbolic dimension also reveals itself, as the architecture of these ceilings often imply correspondences of cosmological significance."

This is just the beginning, as the artwork can be expanded and the dome moved to different locations.

- The Times of India, February 21, 2016

The walls along the most important roads in the city will soon flaunt art work depicting tribal art, mythology and the state's maritime activities. The Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) has started reviving the lost charm of decorative walls here, an initiative started in 2008 which could not be maintained later.

The civic body, with assistance from private sponsorships, has started a drive to beautify the walls along the major arteries in the city. The government walls along the stretch from AG square to Governor House and on both sides of Forest Park road have been beautified with a variety of paintings that speak of the state's rich culture and heritage. BMC sources said the paintings will not only lend a fresh look to the city because of pictorial representation of different themes connected to the state's rich cultural heritage, but also give a new impression to the people from outside, especially after it was accorded the smartest city tag. "Walls of government quarters and institutions are being painted. In case we need private walls to be painted to maintain continuity, we will seek permission from private individuals," said city mayor Anant Narayan Jena.

BMC environment officer B K Routray said the painting of boundary walls of government establishments and quarters from Governor House square to Jayadev Vihar has been finalized. "We have decorated the walls along the road from AG Square to the Airport Square. In the next phase, we have also plans to beautify the road from Jayadev Vihar to KIIT Square in Patia," Routray said.

The themes of the paintings will primarily be maritime trade and commerce undertaken by legendary Sadhabas, who were doing overseas trading by boat through the sea. Other attractions are tribal dance, Raja festival (which centres on celebration of young girls), Ghoda Nacha (horse dance), Krishna Leela, Idols of Lord Jagannath and scenes of car festival in Puri. The paintings also include scenes of victory of king Gajapati over erstwhile king of Kanchi.

BMC sources said apart from painting the boundary walls, shrubs and low height flower plants will be planted on the medians. On certain stretches, the medians of the roads will have landscape designs. The space beneath the flyover at Rajmahal Square will also get a new look. It has been planned to beautify the space by putting up designer lights, fountains and planting shrubs.

- The Times of India, February 21, 2016

Sotheby’s and Christie often conduct auctions of idols that sell for a few million dollars
For most of recorded history, mankind’s fascination for idols and imagery is well-known. The biblical King Solomon is said to have been fond of idols and had a rich collection of idols made of gold.
In Mahabharata, Lord Krishna saved Bhîma from the crushing embrace of the embittered blind king Dhritharashtra by instructing Bhima to push an iron idol of Bhîma before the king.
People all over the globe have collected or acquired certain items that reflect a lost culture’s history. These commonly include coins, paintings, vintage cars, sometimes even antique weaponry. The tooth of Buddha, the shroud of Turin of the Jesus and the footprint of Lord Rama are images of sacred iconography.

India and imagery

But the antiques which best show off their past and are steeped in an eventful history are statues and idols. India enjoys a rich tradition of idol culture and collection. The richness of Indian ethos is a guarantee of the quality and variety of Indian art.
The images of gods and goddesses dominate the idol collection scene in the country, along with statues of divine animals and scenes from the Puranic lore — such as Demon Ravana trying to lift the holy Mount Kailash.

The Indian scene

With disposable incomes rising in India and devotional fervour keeping pace, there is no dearth of idol collectors in the country. Sotheby’s and Christie often conduct auctions of idols of exquisite charm and workmanship that sell for a few million dollars at the high end.
The statues of Lord Nataraja belonging to the 10{+t}{+h} Century and Chola-age sculptures are the most sought after in the International and Indian markets alike. A gilt-bronze sculpture of Vajrabhairava is to be auctioned in March 2016 for an indicative price of $5,00,000.

The checks

How do collectors ensure that valuations are fair and they get good value? Often, the source from which the idol is procured may indicate possible illegality. For example, the Tamil Nadu Police maintains a list of shady idol brokers. Internationally, there are black-listed idol smugglers. It will be wise to depend only on authenticated sources of integrity.
Often, the sculptures and idols under offer may have been plastered after suffering material damage or may have flaws that are smartly hidden with metal treatment.
While purchasing expensive idols, collectors are known to take experienced idol-makers along with them.
If the seller puts in conditions such as requiring the buyer not to exhibit the item for a period of time and imposing some restrictions on re-sale etc, it should serve as a signal about problems regarding the legality of the sale. India is a party to the UNESCO Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property, 1970.
The framework covers idols and sculptures as cultural property. Sellers and buyers must verify the origin of idols and ensure no prohibited item is bought or sold.
Some countries require export licences if antique idols are to be moved out of the country. Such legal requirements must be enquired before completing the purchase.
If the sellers claim that the price included export or import duties of a considerable sum, they may be asked to provide proof of having paid such duties.
At idol auctions, it may be wise to enquire if local taxes would apply and, if so, the quantum of the tax. This will help in rationalising price bids.
Generally, idols and sculptures which are more than a century old are classified as antiques. Countries have different sets of rules for trading in antiques.
It will be essential to obtain and understand the legal framework concerning such antique idols before venturing to buy them.
The list is incomplete without a physical examination of the idols and sculptures involved. But passion often determines the final price.
There are inveterate idol collectors like Joginder Singh Kahaan who claim to possess 10,000 Ganesha idols. The record is held by P Shekar who owns more than 11,000 idols of Ganesha and has entered the Limca book of records.
He wants to take the figure to one lakh idols. Lord Ganesha is said to be the remover of obstacles. The idol collection scenario in the country is expected to grow by leaps and bounds in the years to come.

From passion to profit

In recent decades, the world has seen the evolution of art collection from a passion-oriented hobby to an outright profitable industry with its own values and mechanics.
However, the passion for idol collection has to be encouraged even as the profit motive can be reined in, though not eschewed.
According to Gita Ram of the Dakshinachitra, the memorable collection of exquisite craft heritage of South India has to be preserved.
“Heritage and culture are not stagnant and are always evolving”, she feels. In her view, the skills of idol-makers need to be nurtured and disseminated so that the culture and heritage can be vibrant.
Ravi Sam, a businessman with love for art, echoes the sentiment. He says his interest in art grew with exposure to South Indian temple architecture that includes a varied range of idols and statues; slowly, he began to appreciate contemporary art.
He makes a telling point that like in Europe, art appreciation has to be taught at the school-stage itself. This will be conducive to the growth and prospects of art collection in the country.

The writer is a student of SRM University. He is an intern with Business Line

- The Hindu, February 21, 2016

In response to a letter from Union Ministry of Culture, the Archaeology Department says that it will shift loose idols and other antiquities found on the premises of the resurfaced temples

Responding to a question listed in Rajya Sabha for the budget session by Rajya Sabha member K.V.P. Ramachandra Rao on the steps taken for preserving and shifting of historical temples that surfaced after some reservoirs went dry recently, Department of Archaeology and Museums has sent a letter to the Union Ministry of Culture informing that they have decided to translocate these submerged temples.

The Hindu carried a report in these columns on the surfacing of a submerged Sri Shambulingeshwara Swamy temple in Udayasamudram reservoir at Panagal in Nalgonda district on February 7. Earlier, a vernacular daily had also carried a news report on surfacing of a submerged Ramalingeshwara Swamy temple in Sri Ram Sagar in Nizamabad district. Mr. Ramachandra Rao had sought for explanation from the Union Ministry of Culture over the measures taken to preserve or translocate these two temples by the government. The Union Ministry of Culture had forwarded the letter to Director of Archaeology and Museums, Telangana through Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) seeking its response on the issue. The Director of Archaeology and Museums, Telanganahad replied them saying that they would immediately shift the loose idols and other antiquities that were found on the premises of these two temples.

The authorities have identified an inscription, a Lord Ganesh idol and other antiquities on the premises of the Shambulingeshwara Swamy temple. The Director has instructed the local officials to shift them to District Archaeology Museum, Panagal immediately.

He further wrote that the process of translocating these two temples is also on.

The question will be put down in the Rajya Sabha on February 24, a day after the budget session commences.

- The Hindu, February 21, 2016

At a time when BJP government in the state is in the forefront in implementing e-governance, the Maharashtra State Biodiversity Board (MSBB) has refused to consider applications sent by aspirants via e-mail for appointment as non-official members and experts. The board has also made graduation mandatory qualification to be eligible to be on the board. Surprisingly, this clause has no mention in the biodiversity rules.

In accordance with the terms and conditions indicated in Maharashtra Biological Diversity Rules, 2008, experts, including five non-official members, on matters related to conservation of biological diversity, sustainable use of biological resources and equitable sharing of benefits arising out of the use of biological resources are nominated by the state government. Interestingly, this is for the first time since MSBB's inception in 2012 that applications from graduates are being invited for nomination of five non-official expert members. Well-known biodiversity experts cautioned that this will end up making at random appointments on the board.

On January 27, MSBB issued an advertisement for nomination of non-official members in the field of biodiversity. The advertisement was issued on forest department website, which is not visited frequently as it has become mostly department's business bids site. Many experts, interested in the field, learnt about it only in February first week.

As the last date to submit applications was February 16, they sent them through e-mail. However, MSBB office said even though the details were sent by e-mail, a hard copy of the application was necessary.

One of the applicants and expert said, "This is tampering of law. When every government activity has become online, what is the problem in accepting applications via e-mail? Besides, why has graduation been made the criteria? It seems government must have pre-decided whom to nominate members."

APCCF & MSBB member-secretary Dilip Singh was not available for comments. MSBB coordinator Dileep Gujar said, "It is a government decision which we are following. It will scrutinize applications and decide."

However, community and biodiversity expert Dilip Gode said, "The Maharashtra Biological Rules, 2008 have no such provision to invite applications from nominees. Graduation is also not an eligible criteria. The MSBB advertisement is completely illegal."

Gode said the MSBB move is against the spirit of biodiversity rules. Those in possession of biodiversity are grassroot people and not highly educated, but they have rich experience and practical knowledge.

"If graduation is the criteria then result-oriented people like Popatrao Pawar, Anna Hazare and Devaji Tofa, who are successfully working with communities, will never make into the board as experts," said Gode.

MSBB coordinator Gujar admits that though there are no rules, government has right to appoint members. "We are just following orders from the top," he added. "Appointments by inviting applications will end up nominating incompetent members who may be highly educated but lack experience and practical knowledge," said a section of senior experts, who feel applying would mean humiliation for them after working for over 35 years.

- The Times of India, February 21, 2016

Experts warn that the mismanagement of the local water bodies will destroy them in a decade and would bring Kolhapur on the verge of chaos.

Kalamba lake in Kolhapur, which was the only source of drinking water for citizens for years, has dried up for the first time in 135 years. This is a classic example of human-made disaster, said experts.

"It will not take many years to convert all the available water bodies into Kalamba-like condition. We have entirely ignored what we have within the villages or cities. None of the lakes in Kolhapur or Maharashtra are protected. Anybody can go and do whatever they want. This should be stopped to save the lakes," said Jay Samant, member of Wetland International-Asia chapter.

According to him, the locals are not bothered about the siltation process that has threatened the entire lake system in Kolhapur. "Desiltation is the immediate requirement of this region. We cannot just be mute spectators.

Lakes and tanks in the district are managed by three independent agencies such as water resource department (WRD), urban local bodies (Municipalities, Councils, grampanchayats) and Zilla Parishad. As many as 61 of the over 100 such water bodies are directly under WRD out of which almost 48 tanks are dried up by February. Usually, these dry during April, according to WRD sources.

"The drying up of water bodies is not unnatural. However, this year, it has been very early compared to the routine cycle. Tanks in Kolhapur starts drying at March-end and becomes almost dry by May," said an official at WRD.

The district administration is ready to assist the locals to clean the lakes, natural water bodies in their areas. The administration has offered free diesel and also free excavator machines for the desiltation work.

"We can provide diesel to the vehicles used to clean the water bodies. Mahatma Phule Jal Abhiyan has such facility. Besides, we are buying two excavators using district planning and development council funds in next two-three weeks. These machines will be made available to the locals at free of cost to clean the water bodies. We will not hesitate to offer any assistance to ensure water bodies remain clean and safe," said district collector Amit Saini.

- The Times of India, February 21, 2016

As couples in France bond over a romantic meal, the three Fs, food, flirting and fashion, will once more be in evidence. While living in France, one realises fairly quickly that food, flirting and fashion form the daily staple of life here. The French "art de vivre" or art of living is inextricably linked to these three Fs and there is no escaping them.

France is, of course, known the world over for its haute cuisine and gastronomy. In 2010, UNESCO even recognised "French gastronomic meals" as a part of humanity's "intangible cultural heritage", thereby, honouring the French tradition of celebrating important life events by a convivial gathering with friends and family around a beautifully set table for a gourmet meal, made from fresh ingredients and local produce, teamed with the right wine and accompanied by sparkling conversation.

The gastronomic experience is above all a social custom that ritualises the joy of getting together. The emphasis is on slowness. It is all about slow food – painstaking selection of ingredients, meticulous care in marrying flavours, slow cooking, artistic presentation and food that is to be eaten and appreciated slowly. It begins with an aperitif, moves on to a four or five course meal including a starter, a main dish of fish/meat with vegetables, a cheese course and dessert and ends with a digestive. Such a meal can easily last for three to four hours, with food, more often than not, being a dominant conversation piece.

The French are proud of this shared, living heritage of good eating and drinking that showcases the diversity of local and regional dishes and wines and that is being passed down from generation to generation. Inevitably, the fast pace, as well as the cost, of modern life is curtailing gourmet meals. But although fast food has its fans among the young and long lunch breaks are typically a thing of the past, a large majority still avoid munching on a sandwich with their eyes on a computer screen or gobbling something on the go. Food is respected. It is to be enjoyed seated at a table, savoured and lingered over. Not for the French the act of balancing a plate on their knees while juggling fork, knife and a glass of wine. Food is a feast for the eyes, nose, tongue; a sensory experience. The French are quite passionate about their food and drink. In fact, it is a bit like a love affair, with some chefs even going so far as to say that tasting a gourmet dish should be like a "gustatory orgasmic experience".

"Food is the ante-chamber to a romantic relationship. It is a kind of foreplay. It titillates the senses, stirs desire," declared Marie-Laure, a French friend recently. "We like refinement in both our food and love," she said emphatically.

And it is true that the country that has given the world the model of the "French lover" has refined its flirting techniques to an art form. In France, random strangers let unknown women know through subtle gestures or words that they are beautiful or alluring and the women appreciate the admiring glances and compliments as long as the requisite distance is kept, no boorishness is involved and there is no element of forcing. The woman decides if she wishes to engage. Consent is key. Men and women of all ages flirt in the street, in shops, in restaurants, in queues, in the metro… Flirting is less about the hooking up and more about the enjoyment.

"It is not enough to conquer, one must learn to seduce," said Voltaire, 18th century French philosopher and writer. "Séduire" or seduce is a word that pops up astonishingly often in French conversations and is not imbued with the overtly sexual connotation that it has in English. It means to charm, attract or win over and does not necessarily involve body contact but rather, verbal wit, skilled banter and wordplay. Here, seduction is a way of being, a way of life, almost a national pastime. In France, the process of charming begins with the intellect. Both sexes learn the beguiling power of words early on: logic and reason but also poetry and flights of fancy. But for all the artful conversations, there's still a lot that remains cloaked in mystery, which is merely hinted at but left unsaid, allowing the imagination to create its own erotic fantasies. For the French, subtlety and suggestiveness are vital for sensuality.

French women adopt a similar approach when it comes to fashion, an important aid in the game of seduction. A whiff of perfume, a glimpse of cleavage, understated elegance, muted colours, the right accessories, all thrown together to achieve a look of effortless chic. Their preferred look is classy yet sexy. They embrace their femininity. Unfortunately however, many dress for men rather than themselves, drawing inspiration from French writer, Françoise Sagan's advice: "A dress makes no sense unless it inspires men to take it off you." These days, as couples in France bond over a romantic meal, the three Fs, food, flirting and fashion, will once more be in evidence.

- The Indian express, February 21, 2016

Unclean tourist areas and garbage around monuments will soon be a thing of the past. On February 22, the Union ministry of tourism will launch the Swachchh Smarak Swachchh Bharat application.

The application will allow tourists and visitors to take pictures of dirty and unclean areas near 25 monuments covered under Adarsh Smarak, and then post them on the application. The Archaeological Survey of India, which has collaborated in the clean monuments initiative, will attend to the complaint.

Nonetheless, to ensure that the complaint has been attended to, the complainant will also be informed about the action taken.

"Just as the campaign Clean India sensitises society on the importance of cleanliness, this campaign takes it further to the tourist spots, particularly monuments. The application will be launched on February 22," tourism ministry secretary Vinod Zutshi said at the inauguration ceremony of the Vibrant Gujarat International Travel Mart at the Mahatma Mandir Convention Centre in Gandhinagar.

With an aim to spruce up India's monuments and heritage sites and provide a hassle-free experience to both domestic and international tourists across the country, the government had launched a tourism campaign that sought to give a new impetus to PM Modi's pet project — the Swachchh Bharat drive.

"The Swachchh Smarak Swachchh Bharat application is one of the initiatives amongst many that are part of the clean monuments campaign," a senior official said.

According to Mr Zutshi, both domestic and international tourism has grown manifold in the last three years with initiatives like the e-visa facility. More tourist-friendly initiatives will further help in the growth of tourism, he said.

"There has been a 15 per cent growth in domestic and 10 per cent growth in foreign tourists in the last three years. We hope that initiatives to make tourism free of hassles will help the sector grow further," he added.

Meanwhile, Gujarat chief minister Anandiben Patel inaugurated the three-day Vibrant Gujarat International Travel Mart late on Friday. The government expects investments worth Rs 3,000 crore.

- The asian age, February 21, 2016

A senior official of the Government of India, B Anand, who is joint secretary, Union Ministry of Urban Development, visited the holy city to review the restoration work at various heritage sites which are to be developed under the Heritage Development and Augmentation Yojna (HRIDAY).

In the first phase, the Central government would release Rs 60 crore for development works. Prior to a review of the various sites, Anand held a meeting with officials of various departments and directed them to expedite and complete the restoration work by March 2017.

Surinder Singh, joint commissioner, Municipal Corporation, said a total of 23 sites were shortlisted for being developed under the HRIDAY scheme.

This included the development of various roads leading to the Golden Temple and Durigana Temple, restoration of the historic Ram Bagh (summer palace of Maharaja Ranjit Singh), Maharaja Ranjit Singh Panorama and the 40 Khuh, among others. He said while detailed project reports of a number of heritage sites were being prepared, development of several others were underway. The Central government has already sanctioned Rs 60 crore for the first phase in Amritsar. Under the project, the administration envisaged a comprehensive road development and upgrade of 21 major roads leading to Darbar Sahib.

The roads would have storm sewer drainage system, street and landscaping by way of constructing of a nearly 300-meter buffer pedestrian zone around the holy Sikh shrine. Around Rs 32 crore would be spent on the project. Rs 7 crore would be spent on the historic Ram Bagh and upgrade of the Panorama.

Similarly, Rs 6 crore would be spent on Gobindgarh Fort and Durgiana Temple. And for developing the 40 Khuh, a sum of Rs 5 crore would be spent.

- The Tribune, February 21, 2016

Silver pepper pot, gemstones, black pepper, cooking pots, coins and Roman amphorae - historian Roberta Tomber chose these six seemingly disparate and unconnected objects to show why and how Indo-Roman trade was conducted in the ancient world.

The 'Empress' pepper pot was part of a large Roman hoard excavated from Hoxne in the east of England. It contained more than 14,000 coins, gold jewellery, cutlery and other pepper pots. "The fact that the "Empress" is made of gilded silver shows the value with which pepper was regarded, and it was spices and particularly black pepper that drove trade between the Mediterranean and India," said Tomber, visiting fellow at the British Museum, who is currently working on Indian Ocean commerce through the study of Roman and non-Roman pottery from ports of the Red Sea and India.

Tomber said the largest finds of black pepper in the Roman world come from Berenike, including an Indian storage jar containing 7.5 kilos of black pepper. In the Roman world, black pepper was a very expensive commodity. One of the few items of similar value that the Romans could exchange with India was gold and silver - which was traded in the form of coinage. "In most cases these coins were not used monetarily, but as bullion. This is supported by the defacing and reuse of Roman coins in India. Coinage was so highly valued that it was imitated, both in metal and clay," she said.

Speaking on "A history of Indo-Roman trade through its objects" as part of the 9th national conference on marine archaeology of Indian Ocean countries at the Tamil University, Thanjavur, Tomber said some gemstones, such as diamonds, garnets and sapphire were available only from India or Sri Lanka, but others including pearls, emeralds and carnelian had other known sources, including Egypt. "The evidence from Pattanam (an ancient site near Ernakulam) clearly shows that cameo blanks were prepared in India, although they might have been finished in the Roman world," she said. But in the case of intaglio (carving of stone or other materials), Tomber said the skills were probably transferred to India from the West.

During her research, she found a very different level of interaction evidenced by the common occurrence of Indian cooking pots at Quseir al-Qadim and Berenike in Egypt. "Unlike the Indian storage jars, the cooking pots are thought to belong to Indian sailors residing on site, enabling them to cook in a manner that was familiar. Only rarely has this pottery been found beyond the Egyptian ports, further supporting that they reflect a resident community rather than trade items," she said. Roman amphorae, according to Tomber, are another type of pottery widely found throughout the Indian Ocean and its distribution, clustering at one or two port sites, suggests that many of the amphorae were for consumption in the ports.

- The Times of India, February 22, 2016

Delhi, which is almost entirely dependent on its neighbours for water supply, probably felt such scarcity for the first time. Other than firefighting a crisis in which 70% of the city was without water, the government has also woken up to the need of having reserves that can last at least two days.

There were two plans on the table for creating a water store for Delhi, both of which have been rejected. The government is now inclined towards reviving large waterbodies to act as natural reservoirs and promoting rainwater harvesting. "Delhi needs a holding system and the best method for that at present is revival of major lakes like Bhalsawa, Sanjay Jheel and Najafgarh. In times of extreme crisis, like the present situation, we need a parallel system that will last at least a couple of days," said a senior government official.

Water activist Manoj Mishra, who supports the plan for revival of waterbodies, has questioned why Delhi's supply from Haryana comes through a canal and not directly through the river. "The problem has started because Delhi's supply is being directed through these canals.

At Hathnikund, Haryana drains the river dry and diverts its water to the Western Yamuna Canal, some of it meant for Delhi and the rest for Haryana. This canal runs parallel to the river. What is its point then? Delhi's supply should be allowed to come through the river while its share in the Satluj water should also be diverted through drain 8 to the river," he said.

Mishra also proposed that instead of creating a reservoir on the river at Palla, which is what the government had originally proposed, it should create reservoirs off the river. "The government has sufficient land at Palla for creation of these lakes and some excess monsoon flow can be diverted to these," he added.

The last proposal for creation of reservoirs which has been rejected by the government involved pumping excess monsoon flow to the Bhatti Mines area where it could be stored in the several pits.

Sources said the high costs involved in pumping this water to the pits made the proposal highly impractical. There was another plan to treat about 40 million gallons per day of water to tertiary level and release it into the raw water at Palla from where it would be taken to treatment plants. However, Haryana and UP raised objections to this plan, threatening to reduce Delhi's supply if any intervention was made at Palla.

- The Times of India, February 22, 2016

Sunday sunrise saw 25 enthusiastic travellers gathering on Beach Road to flag off their motorbike expedition to Telineelapuram Bird Sanctuary in Srikakulam District and back to Vizag by night, traversing a distance of 498 kilometres. It was more than an expedition as historic and heritage places besides the bird sanctuary were included to generate awareness about tourism, heritage and conservation of nature and environment. The group consisted of students, homemakers, working professionals, navy officers and also included five women.

VN Pratap, a Himalayan trekker who participated in the expedition said, "We tried to stop by the places of tourist interest on the way. Therefore, we halted at the 11th century Shiva Temple Sri Mukhalingam, and at Ravivalasa, which houses a stone Shiva lingam that grows every year. Apart from these places, we went to the bird sanctuary at Telineelapuram."

"It was interesting to watch the nesting of the migratory birds such as painted storks and pelicans. Thousands of birds visit every year and go back in March to Siberia, with the hatchlings leading the way," he added.

Organised by the Youth Hostels Association of India (YHAI), Vizag district and Hostelling International Glasgow, the bike expedition was flagged off by assistant commissioner of police K Satyanarayana from Beach Road on Sunday early morning.

- The Times of India, February 22, 2016

Why Udaipur?

With its marble palaces and five lakes encircled by hills, Udaipur is one of India’s most enchanting places. It’s also the site of some of the country’s finest luxury hotels, which vie with each other to pamper their customers.

The grand City Palace Museum, on the shore of the man-made Lake Pichola which was constructed in 1362, houses a superb collection of traditional miniature paintings, many celebrating the triumphs of the Mewar royal house.

This fiercely independent Rajput warrior clan claims to be descended from the Sun. They spurned marital alliances with the Mughal Empire and – alone among the princely states of India – did not deign to attend the 1911 Delhi Durbar, when King George V visited Delhi in his capacity as Emperor of India.

A comfortable bed

The Oberoi Udaivilas – consistently ranked as one of the world’s best hotels – sprawls over 50 acres on the shore of Lake Pichola and includes its own wildlife sanctuary, including roaming deer and wild boar (54,470 rupees [Dh2,923] for a premier double with semi-private pool and breakfast; www.oberoihotels.com).

Located on its own private island, the Taj Lake Palace (www.tajhotels.com), a former royal residence dating back to the 18th century, cossets its guests from the moment they embark to be transported from a private jetty. Rooms vary in size and amenities but it’s worth the splurge for a lake view (60,613 rupees [Dh3,253] for a lake-view double with breakfast).

The boutique Fateh Garh (www.fategarh.in) enjoys stunning views from its hilltop location just outside the city. It has its own excellent on-site restaurant, making it unnecessary to venture into the city to dine (20,180 rupees [Dh1,083] for a heritage double with breakfast).

Find your feet

After founding the city in 1559, Maharana Udai Singh II started construction of the City Palace on the shores of Lake Pichola. His successors extended the complex so it’s now the largest such royal structure in Rajasthan. Start from the Badi Pol (Great Gate) and allow at least half a day for a self-paced ramble through its many buildings, courtyards and gardens, led by the excellent audio guide. Vantage points offer fine views of the city and lake. The palace also houses exquisite collections of miniature paintings and historic photographs that provide glimpses of this royal house’s former grandeur.

From the palace, take a short stroll north to Jagdish Temple, built by Maharana Jagat Singh in 1651. Enter past an immense pair of stone elephants and ascend a steep flight of stairs to admire the ceiling and other sculptures, especially that of Lord Vishnu, carved from a single black stone slab.

Although originally built to view the monsoon clouds, Sajjan Garh Palace, also known as Monsoon Palace, offers a dazzling sunset panorama of Udaipur and its surroundings on any clear day during the year.

Meet the locals

Virasat Experiences (www.virasatexperiences.com) is a community tourism initiative that aims to showcase authentic Rajasthan.

Its heritage walks and fixed or custom itineraries allow visitors to meet artisans or tour surrounding villages.

Book a table

Udaipur’s most exclusive hotels generally restrict their restaurants to residents only. Taj Lake Palace guests should book a table for at least one evening meal at the hotel’s Bhairo rooftop restaurant, for the moonlit view and ambience.

Ambrai at the Amet Haveli (www.amethaveliudaipur.com) is open to all. Try the Rajasthani mutton speciality, laal mas (515 rupees [Dh27]) and dal makhani, a sumptuous black lentil dish (315 rupees [Dh17]). Finding the lakeside restaurant can be a bit tricky, so call ahead for precise directions. Coffee is the main draw at the Udai Art Café (www.udaiartcafe.com), conveniently located near the Jagdish Temple and the City Palace complex. It also features breakfast, English or Greek style (400 rupees [Dh21]) and light fare – crêpes, sandwiches, salads – from 7am onwards.

Shopper’s paradise

Andraab (www.andraab.com) sells exquisite pashmina items – shawls, scarves, blankets – in attractive traditional and contemporary designs. Also check out its unique pashmina scarves, hand-knit in Srinagar by female relatives of the three Kashmiri brothers that run the company. Well-designed but less expensive items made from pashmina mixed with merino wool are also available. Created by a member of Udaipur’s royal family, Aaskha (www.eternalmewar.com) offers an attractive range of contemporary local Mewari crafts.

You can also admire jewellery from Jaipur’s celebrated Amrapali Jewels (www.amrapalijewels.com). Gem Arts Emporium (www.gemartsemp.com) specialises in traditional gem-centric pieces and silver. Bougainvillaea (www.bougainvillea.co.in) also houses the work of some of India’s best contemporary artists and photographers.

What to avoid

Plan your visit to avoid April to June, when day temperatures often top 40°C.

Don’t miss

The Jag Mandir Island Palace (www.hrhhotels.com), one of two palaces on Lake Pichola islands, can be reached by boat from the jetty near the City Palace.

It’s a must-see, particularly for those not staying at the Taj Lake Palace. Ferries depart hourly. Plan on a sunset cruise for the best views or go earlier in the day to stroll through the gardens and enjoy a meal.

Go there

Round-trip flights on Jet Airways (www.jetairways.com) from Dubai connect through either Delhi or Mumbai, and cost from Dh1,409, including taxes.

- http://www.thenational.ae, February 23, 2016

A 43-year-old sculptor has brought laurels by making a memorial of Neerja Bhanot who was murdered while saving passengers from terrorists on board Pan Am flight 73 which was hijacked.

During the last four days more than 2500 people from Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan and Delhi visited the village and paid tributes to her. Neerja had already immortalized the Ashok Chakra awardees who has been credited with saving over 300 lives aboard the pan American flight hijacked on September 5, 1986 .

About a week back only 200 people used to visit the village but when people came to know about the memorial of Neerja people from far off places started visiting the house of sculptures. The village had already immortalized sculptures like that of former president APJ Abdul Kalam, Milkha Singh, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, Shaheed Bhagat Singh and Dr. B R Ambedkar. Now it is Neerjas sculpture that attracted the people to visit the house of sculptures. The village panchayat was also proud that the village remembered Neerja and paid her tributes even before the release of film based on her life.UNI XC ADG AE AS1600

- http://news.webindia123.com, February 23, 2016

Greenpeace analysis of NASA satellite pictures reveals levels of airborne particles are soaring as a result of increase burning of coal, oil and waste Dangerous air quality levels in Indian cities are putting the population’s health at serious risk, as new satellite images reveal pollution concentrations equal to those of China.

Delhi, Agra, Kampur and Patna are among cities experiencing levels of pollution higher than the toxic levels measured in Beijing, according to a Greenpeace analysis of NASA satellite data. Last year was India’s smoggiest ever, said the research. Concentrations of small airborne pollutants from the burning of coal, petrol and waste reached a record high of 153 microgrammes per cubic meter in Delhi, compared to 92.4 in Beijing.

Levels in both cities still far exceed the ‘safe’ level of 25 recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO), posing acute short and long-term health threats.

“The poor, living near busy roads or industrial sites, are disproportionately affected,” warned Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh, Regional Director of WHO South-East Asian Region.

India’s dramatically rising pollution levels during 2000-2012 have been associated with a growing consumption of fossil fuels.

Coal and oil usage have increased 110% and 70% respectively in the twelve-year period. The Greenpeace report lists power generation, transport, industry and agriculture as major polluters.

Delhi has the worst reported air quality in the world and 13 of the top 20 most polluted cities are in India.

High levels of air pollution caused approximately 1,800 deaths daily in India in 2003 and 2.7 million deaths worldwide in 2012, according to WHO.

Poor air quality also increases the risk of lung cancer and chronic respiratory and heart diseases, Lauri Myllyvirta, co-author of the Greenpeace Clean Air Action Plan told Climate Home.

“A particular concern in India, due to relatively high levels of child mortality, is the fact that air pollution increases the risk of low birth weight babies and respiratory infections in children,” he said.

Delhi recently took action to curb pollution by imposing an odd-even traffic rule to reduce the number of private vehicles on the road following ‘toxic’ levels of PM2.5 particles.

Myllyvirta believes that addressing transport, industry and other major polluting sectors is key to solving the city’s pollution problem.

“Delhi does have the potential to drive wider national and regional improvements”, he said, but emphasised that a great extent of North India’s population are often exposed to pollution levels even worse than Delhi.

Outdoor pollution is a major problem for 15 out of 17 Indian cities, said the report. Air quality is so poor that pollution measures exceed national standards by 70% in the majority of monitoring stations across the country.

“It is absolutely key to tackle the problem on the regional and national level”, added Myllyvirta.

- http://www.climatechangenews.com, February 23, 2016

he city on Monday recorded a scorching 35.5 degree Celsius, its highest maximum temperature for February in 10 years, and second all-time high for the month, according to India Meteorological Department.

The weatherman blamed the spike in temperature to concrete skyscrapers, reduced greenery and water bodies, and short winters.

"Monday's temperature was 35.5 degree Celsius, the highest for February since 2006. The all-time high recorded by the city was 35.9 degree Celsius on February 17, 2005," said a weather department official.

"An increase in the number of concrete buildings is triggering this kind of temperature rise," said MB Rajegowda, head of All India Coordinated Research Project on Agro-Meteorology, University of Agricultural Sciences.

The city on Monday recorded a scorching 35.5 degree Celsius, its highest maximum temperature for February in 10 years, and second all-time high for the month, according to India Meteorological Department.

The weatherman blamed the spike in temperature to concrete skyscrapers, reduced greenery and water bodies, and short winters. "Monday's temperature was 35.5 degree Celsius, the highest for February since 2006. The all-time high recorded by the city was 35.9 degree Celsius on February 17, 2005," said a weather department official.

"An increase in the number of concrete buildings is triggering this kind of temperature rise," said MB Rajegowda, head of All India Coordinated Research Project on Agro-Meteorology , University of Agricultural Sciences. The amount of heat held by these concrete buildings is increasing over the years, as a result of multiple reflections of sunlight between buildings, leading to a high quantum of illumination that produces more heat," he added.

He blamed the short winter as another cause behind the scorching temperature. "Last year, the winter was short and the minimum temperature did not reach the normal mark which is 8 degree and below for our city . It got stuck at 12 degree, quite above the normal mini mum temperature level. To reach 35 degree and above in summer, from 8 degree in winter, usually takes over three months. However, the increasing temperature count began at 12 degree this year, due to which we are experiencing abnormally high temperatures by February ," he added.

'No balancing agent'

"Greenery and water bodies, which act as coolants, are reducing at a rapid rate in the city. There is no agent to balance temperatures, so Bengaluru has begun to burn in February itself," Rajegowda pointed out.

-The Times of India, 23 February, 2016

‘Acharya awards’ to recognize achievers In an effort to empower the common man, Nagaland governor P.B. Acharya has asked the responsible agencies to identify the achievers in various fields like agriculture/fisheries, industry & commerce, social workers, those voluntarily providing treatment to people with indigenous herbal medicine and proponent of indigenous games etc, so they could be conferred with awards.

According to a DIPR report, Acharya has proposed to introduce “Acharya awards” for the best performers who have excelled in these fields.

Acharya stated this while interacting with representatives of various institutions and agencies such as Nagaland University, Global Open University, ICFAI, India Red Cross Society (IRCS), Raja Sanik Board (RSB) and Bharat Scouts and Guides (BSG) at Raj Bhavan on February 22, 2016.

Governor, who is also the chairman/rector/visitor of the above institutes/organizations, said implementation of the Centre and state welfare flagship schemes was not only the responsibility of the government agencies but also the responsibility of the empowered agencies/autonomous bodies. He appealed to the institutes/organisations to involve actively in the successful implementation of schemes like Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Jeeva Jyoti Bima Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojna , Pradhan Mantri Sukanya Samriddhi Account, Pradhan Mantri Atal Pension Yojna, Swachh Bharat, Krishi Ambani Bima Yojna etc.

During the meeting, it was also decided that a ten-member committee would be selected from each district for IRCS, RSB and BSG and mentioned above welfare flagship programme to reach the common people while other above institutes and agencies would help implement in their concerned areas. State governor also directed them to submit monthly report on the implementation on the above schemes. ‘Promote mother tongues’

Emphasizing on the need to promote the dissemination of mother tongues, Governor, P.B. Acharya said it would not only encourage linguistic diversity and multilingual education but also to develop awareness of linguistic and cultural traditions throughout the world and to inspire solidarity based on understanding, tolerance and dialogue. On the occasion of “International Mother Tongue Day” observed on February 21 every year, Acharya said languages are the most powerful instruments of preserving and developing our tangible and intangible heritage. Stating that mother tongue was the first and foremost identity of each person, he said all should be proud of their mother language.

“It is through the mother language one learns the basic things and attains the wisdom”, he added. Acharya in this regard urged all to promote and preserve their mother language in order to keep the tradition and heritage alive.

- http://www.nagalandpost.com/, February 23, 2016

Sheo Kumar Lakhotia of Sainik Farm in South Delhi is a vintage car enthusiast and his Austin Seven 1932 model is something he is proud of. He takes the minutest care so that the car is not harmed in any way. Asked about his love and passion for the car, Lakhotia said, "Although it is an expensive hobby, the car provides me unlimited delight. Whenever we go out, people look at it with awe and astonishment.".

Lakhotia said the car provides him with three 'Ps'. "It is my pride, my prestige and my patience," he said. "The vintage car is my second wife in the house," he said in a jovial mood and burst out laughing.

Lakhotia has had the car for 15 years and has so far taken part in many rallies, including The Statesman Vintage & Classic Car Rally. "I have taken part in The Statesman rally for several years. This year too I am waiting to be a part of the rally as it is going to be a memorable one because it's a golden jubilee event. "Even after so many years my car is in perfect state and I enjoy it," said Lakhotia. "Once I took part in Jaipur Vintage Car Rally and won a prize which I received from Maharani Gayatri Devi." He added, "She is no more but the memory associated with the event is still intact with me." According to him, the unique feature of his iconic car is that four passengers can sit comfortably in it and can run up to 35 km per hour. In case of a single person the speed can be as high as 50 km or more. About the car's upkeep he said only minimum maintenance is required at regular intervals.

Lakhotia said, "I take particular care not to alter the original look of my invaluable possession. The maintenance is taken care of only by an experienced person." He also said maintaining a vintage car is not easy because parts are not easily available. Being an auto enthusiast Lakhotia takes enormous interest in cars Rs new and old. "New is good for future and old is something good for heritage. And heritage represents our culture," he added.

Lakhotia vividly recounted his journey to his present position as a tycoon in quality motor steering. Walking down memory lane he said, "I got an engineering degree in 1964 from Government Engineering College, Raipur. After getting my degree, I joined Hindustan Motors in Kolkata where I spent seven years. Although I am not from Bengal I can speak Bengali. Then I got a chance to go abroad for further honing my talent in the sector. I returned to India after two years with lots of experience. Opportunity was also following me and I lapped up one self-employed scheme initiated by former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. I started work with one man, one machine, which has now grown up into a large industry where over 250 workers are employed. I produce good quality steering boxes and these are exported globally." Lakhotia is an active member of the Heritage Motor Car Association. "I hardly find time to attend functions due to my business occupation but I never miss The Statesman rally because it is something special for me.

- The Statesman, February 24, 2016

The Kalapriya Indian Performing Arts Center and the Columbia School of Dance, hosted “Anandam: The Bilssful Dance and Dancing Through Cancer” workshop with Ananda Shankar Jayant Feb. 14-15 at the American Rhythm Center in Chicago IL.

Ananda Shankar Jayant, Padma Shri and Sangeet Natak Akademi award winner, is one of India’s most renowned dancers choreographers and scholars of Bharatanatyam and Kuchipudi.

Jayant talked to students, faculty and community members about her dance and experience with breast cancer.

More than 75 students, faculty and community members attended the two-day workshops and seminar where with unequivocal precision and grace, she performed and taught students the classical dances, and differences in the Indian classical styles of Bharatanatyam and Kuchipudi, explaining the origin of all Indian classical dance styles and the intricate use of gestures in the story-telling which are integral to classical Indian dance recitals.

Among the highlights was her performance of Kuchipudi dance honoring Lord Krishna, which she performed on a brass plate not more than 2.5 feet in diameter.

After the workshops and performances she spoke candidly about her experience the with the big “C” or breast cancer in her talk called “the Dance with the Big C’ and how it impacted her personally and her formative healing from dance.

“Somehow when I was diagnosed, I was not scared to talk about the C word, even though in India it is still a sensitive topic, I just went to my core strength which was dance and continued with my life and scheduled dance, choreography and performances , I guess life as planned, she said. “It was not easy for me to broadcast my condition; however I have learned that it was the only way to overcome it. I would encourage anyone tackling cancer to find their core strength whether it is writing, painting or even sewing. It will take you away from the disease and build your strength to overcome. ”

Today, in addition to continuing dance performances, choreography and numerous conferences Jayant is also helping families with how to deal with cancer. “I have learned a lot about how to overcome cancer and I am grateful that I can help other families. We work with them to teach them basics from diet, rendering emotional support and even helping with wig hoping that we can create a conducive environment to their rehabilitation.”

She is also the founder and artistic director of Shankarananda Kalakshetra and trains the next generation of Bharatanatyam artists.

She recently received world recognition as A TED – Technology, Entertainment, Design – speaker in 2009. Her ted talk is highly ranked as one of 12 incredible TED talks on cancer.

- http://www.newsindiatimes.com, February 24, 2016

Much of Delhi's water woes could be solved if its own reservoirs are put to use. The city's 460 wetlands, along with the Yamuna floodplains and the Ridge, have enough water to help the national capital overcome a supply crisis like the current one, say hydrologists and water activists. Delhi has been facing a supply shortage of about 210 MGD because of the repair work at Munak canal in Haryana for the past few days.

The 40MW Renuka hydropower project, which is likely to supply about 437MGD for nine months (if not shared with other states), got a nod from the National Green Tribunal (NGT) earlier this month. NGT had refused to quash the environmental clearance granted to the project which was challenged by environmentalists. The forest clearance to the project is still awaited.

Water experts have pretty much written off the Renuka dam because they feel it will take a long time to come up. They say it's "sensible" to have one's own resources. "I think there are lots of governance issues. Treated water is not being reused when it should be used immediately to recharge reservoirs. Rainwater is not being harvested either when it should be taken up on a large scale in parks, commercial buildings, bridges, malls, flyovers and schools," said Himanshu Thakkar of South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People (SANDRP).

While rainwater harvesting is mandatory for every new house with a rooftop space of more than 100sqm, most of these norms are only on paper. There is no monitoring to check if RWH systems in residential properties are functioning because a majority of house owners do not apply for completion certificates after getting their building plans approved. When completion certificates are issued, RWH structures can be verified but no agency seems to take this responsibility.

Experts say much more water can be harvested if water bodies and floodplains are tapped immediately. "The floodplains will have to be protected from encroachments. An additional 100 MGD can be extracted from these spots through tube-wells. Water bodies should be revived by setting up a sewage treatment plant close to each one of them. Communities living near the wetlands can utilize the resource because they have a massive recharge potential," said Shashank Shekhar, professor at the department of earth sciences, DU.

Shekhar's recent assessments suggest if 400 wetlands are revived, they can provide a storage space for about 25 MGD of surface water and much more recharge, which can be utilized through groundwater extraction.

Manu Bhatnagar, principal director (natural heritage) of Intach, has recently submitted a report to the irrigation and flood control department mapping 460 water bodies in Delhi. "More than 60% of them don't have water. We have suggested that treated water be used to recharge these water bodies," he said adding that there has to be demand-side management too. "Currently the supply is based on estimates that each person consumes about 172 litres per day. We believe it can be comfortably brought down to 120 litres."

A majority of the water bodies are dry because their catchments have been encroached upon or the water channels feeding them have been stopped.

- The Times of India, February 24, 2016

The National Film Archive of India (NFAI), in association with the Film Heritage Foundation headed by Shivendra Singh Dungarpur, is set to begin a 10-day workshop on film preservation and restoration at the archive's premises from Thursday.

"This would be a first-of-its-kind workshop at NFAI. The first edition was held in Mumbai last year. In our country, there is little awareness about the importance of conservation and restoration of films. There is also a shortage of skilled manpower in the field. We are happy to have teamed up with the best technicians and archivists in the world to help us protect our cinematic heritage," said NFAI director Prakash Magdum at a news conference held here.

The course was specially designed by David Walsh, the head of the technical commission of the International Federation of Film Archives (FIAF). The teaching staff includes experts from FIAF, George Eastman Museum, Selznick School of Film Preservation and Bologna-based L'Immagine Ritrovata. Martin Scorsese's The Film Foundation is also a collaborator for the workshop. Forty-eight students have been short-listed for the workshop, officials said.

Dungarpur said the course will give students a hands-on experience in various techniques and processes involved with the conservation and restoration of films, photographs and relevant documents. "There is no culture of preserving anything in this country. The first edition of the workshop that we organised in the Films Division in Mumbai was to create awareness. This will be an advanced course where we will focus on documentation, cataloguing, projection system and the importance of preserving films in celluloid form and digital," Dungarpur said.

Actor Naseeruddin Shah and Sunil Arora, secretary, ministry of information & broadcasting (I&B), will be the chief guests. As an inaugural event, the organisers have planned a screening of Dadasaheb Phalke's silent film 'Kaliya Mardan' with live musical accompaniment by Kshama Vaidya and her group.

Magdum said the course will help the film archive tap manpower who will be hired under the National Film Heritage Mission, which received the I&B ministry's sanction recently. Under the mission, as many as 1,000 feature-length and short films will be digitized, he said.

- The Times of India, February 24, 2016

The Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC) is looking to interconnect ponds in the city.

It is for the first time that the civic body will make an effort in this direction.

The VMC administrative wing has put up a proposal before the standing committee of the civic body to examine the feasibility of interlinking ponds in the city. The work has been proposed under special projects as a part of the Golden Jubilee Chief Minister's Urban Development Project.

The civic body is eyeing to spend Rs 29.5lakh to get a feasibility and project report prepared for the project.

It has identified Government of India undertaking WAPCOS Ltd as a consultant for the project.

The report will have to be submitted to the civic body within three months. The standing committee is expected to take up the proposal later this week.

The VMC enumerated 22 ponds in the city. It has already begun work to spruce up Sama, Kamlanagar, Harni and Gotri ponds.The development of a couple of these ponds is also nearing completion.

Officials said that besides conservation of water bodies, a major advantage of the interlinking would be flood mitigation. "The project was suggested by officials of the irrigation department during discussions on the Vishwamitri river. A technical feasibility of this will have to be examined," the official said.

Sachin.Sharma

Vadodara: While the Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC) is looking to revive ponds in the city now, a string of ponds in the city were interlinked even during the Gaekwadi rule in the erstwhile Baroda state.

The interlinking is believed to have been done sometime during the nineteenth century or before that. In all, five ponds in the eastern parts of the city were linked by a channel and one of them was also linked to the Sursagar.

City-based architect and Indian National Art and Cultural Herigate (INTACH) co-convener Sanjeev Joshi who had conducted a study 'Vanishing Water Scapes' between 2007 and 2009 on the ponds in the city said that a channel flowing from North to South connected the ponds. The water flowed from one pond to another due to natural flow because of gravity.

The interconnectivity began at Warasiya pond and ended at the Mohammed pond in Wadi. On its way, the Sarasiya, Ajab and Raja-Rani ponds were covered. Joshi said that an aqueduct also connected the Sarasiya pond to the Sursagar. "We were able to spot the opening of the aqueduct at Saraisya pond, but it has been closed now," Joshi said.

Joshi pointed out that while interconnectivity was a good idea, it should also be ensured that all interconnected ponds are clean. "Because of interconnectivity, pollution in one pond can easily spread to another," he said.

- The Times of India, February 25, 2016

Intricate sculptures, beautiful paintings and hidden inscriptions - the 1,300-year-old Kailasanathar Temple in Kancheepuram is an architectural marvel of the Pallava dynasty . The exquisite elegance of this eight century structure has been captured through a series of pictures by city photographer Amar Ramesh. 'Stones & Stories - The Timeless Kanchi Kailasanathar Temple' is a collection of 39 photographs, which are on display at Art Houz, Alwarpet till March 2.

The earthen tones and rough textures framed in the images tell the tales of its patron, King Rajasimha, and his kingdom. While there are volumes of literature on this monument, its photographic records are limited.

"Each time I visited the temple, I felt the stunning architecture, sculptures and paintings demanded documentation. I also wanted to inspire others to visit it. Our future generation must see what our past holds and embrace it with pride," said Ramesh, a wedding photographer, who is passionate about heritage.

The eight-month long project encapsulates the grandeur and nuances of the mighty sandstone structure in equal parts. The pointed focus on a single monument has helped to highlight portions of the temple that are often missed.

Celebrated historian Dr Chithra Madhavan sheds light on the importance of the temple on some of these nitty-gritties at the inauguration of the exhibition on Wednesday. "It is the first temple to have 58 shrines around it and among the first to have a gopuram. Also, it is perhaps the first instance where calligraphy is found on a stone inscription."

The sharp images of prancing lions - characteristic of Rajasimha's reign -- captivate the viewer. Each picture embraces history through unique sculptures that narrate various stories such as when Lord Shiva was disguised as a hunter and in a duel with Arjuna. Other rare pieces captured include Lord Dakshinamurthy sitting under a banyan tree and the extraordinary Somaskanda resting on a wall behind the linga in the main shrine.

But freezing the past on camera was a challenging task. "I agree that the strict rules are indeed for the better preservation of temples. But in cases where artists are trying to document it, a lot can be done with more access and simpler procedures for permission," said Ramesh, whose exhibition is part of the Chennai Photo Biennale (to start from February 26).

He will be bringing out a coffee table book of these pictures this year. Dr Chithra said such photographic documentations are a crucial resource to create awareness. "It is easier to draw people's attention with attractive visuals. More of such books are needed to drive people to visit such historic wonders."

- The Times of India, February 25, 2016

For long, they were dubbed as the villain among vegetation, sucking all the water from ground, spreading rapidly along the coast and degrading the environment. More than a century after Prosopis juliflora, a shrub, was introduced in Indian soil by the British, scientists are now trying to use its genes to engineer rice varieties that can withstand water scarcity.

After coming up with rice grains that are resistant to saline conditions by tapping genes of mangroves, researchers at M S Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF) have now identified genes in P juliflora that help the weed withstand extreme climatic conditions like salinity and drought. This, they say, can help develop transgenic rice grains that can cope with aridity.

A transgene is a gene or genetic material that has been transferred naturally or through genetic engineering techniques from one organism to another. Suja George, principal scientist at MSSRF, has been studying rice and P juliflora at the molecular level for close to 12 years now. In February, she and her team of researchers had a breakthrough of sorts when they identified specific genes in the shrub that react to stressful conditions. "We created an environment of aridity in the lab and isolated ribonucleic acid from the shrub's leaves and roots. The team then found which genes changed their expression under stress," said Suja.

Ribonucleic acid is a molecule implicated in various biological roles in coding, decoding, regulation, and expression of genes. "Analysis of the physiological and molecular mechanism underlying stress tolerance is just the first phase of the research," said Suja. "Now comes the crucial part - characterising the genes and transferring them into rice crops," she said. Abiotic stress - a term scientists use to refer to extreme environmental conditions such as drought, salinity, high temperature, high light intensity and nutrient imbalances -- is the principal cause of crop failure worldwide. P juliflora is a survivor. The evergreen species, native to south and central America and the Caribbean, grows fast and is tolerant to arid conditionsand saline soil. Introduced in India during the 1870s by the British, and in Tamil Nadu in the 1970s to meet firewood shortage, the shrub turned out to be a bane. It spread fast and colonised the ecosystem, creating negative pressure on biodiversity. Scientists are focussing on the weed's trait to withstand extreme conditions.

The research team at MSSRF is also looking at other plants that exhibit similar stress tolerance like Avicennia marina, a halophytic (salt loving) plant and Chrysopogon zizanioides (vetiver), a perennial grass.

- The Times of India, February 25, 2016

Dilapidated, covered by billboards, the structures dating back to 1817 find mention on list of protected monuments.

As one takes the lane on the left that is adjacent to the State Bank of India behind the Commissionerate, one finds a small piece of land that houses various handcarts, a few four-wheelers and a great number of advertising material like hoardings of various sizes, rusted iron rods et al. Amidst all this, one can spot a few elevated structures made with black rocks. Broken from various sides, the structures in reality are tombs that date back as early as 1817 and are of various French soldiers.

However, the ruins of the neglected tombs paint a gloomy picture. They are not only broken but have also been encroached aggressively. One can see remains of the burnt garbage. The stones of some of the tombs have disappeared completely while a few others aren’t visible, covered as they are by huge billboards lying atop them. There is no sign of any inscriptions that could have revealed the name of the soldiers.

What’s surprising is that these European tombs are listed in the monuments list of Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), Mumbai Circle. The website of ASI says, “In and around Pune, there are some old cemeteries and tombs of French officers in Ghorpadi and on the Parvati Hill road… There are more graves of Europeans who fell in the Battle of Kirkee (1817) on the river bank.” It further says, “An old graveyard is near St Paul’s church and another in the East Street.”

Sunil Kamble (40), who stays opposite to the graveyard, says he had heard from his grandfather that the graves are of some “important firangi soldiers”. “Our family has been staying here since long and as long as I can remember, the condition of the these graves has never been good. Instead, they have deteriorated with time,” he says.

One of these tombs, the one which is relatively in a better condition, is a circular structure, nearly 10 feet tall. There is a dome-like structure standing on six pillars.

City-based historian Mandar Lawate says, “It belonged to the wife of one French soldier named Verjis. It is said that after he built a tomb for her, he wanted to place a statue of Mother Mary or Jesus Christ in the centre of the tomb. To find the right kind of statue, he made a visit to Kolkata but unfortunately passed away before he could start for Poona.”

“Unfortunately, despite featuring in the ‘protected monuments’ list, the tombs lie neglected. More than a decade ago, nearly 100 tombs located near COEP were destroyed and dumped in the Mula river to build a six-storey building. The tombs belonged to soldiers who fought in the Battle of Khadki in 1817. It shows apathy of the officials towards historical monuments,” Lawate says.

According to archaeologist Sanjay Deshpande, the European tombs behind the Commissionerate belonged to a few French soldiers as well as a few local Europeans of that era. “However, the grave plaques have withered so badly that it cannot be said with full authority as to which soldiers fought for battle. Even ASI does not have any original papers to substantiate it. In all possibility, the ASI might de-list the tombs in future.”

A few years ago, a report by Comptroller and Auditor General of India had released a list of “missing monuments” that included a set of European tombs in Pune. Later, ASI reported to have “found” them. There are three sets of Europeans tombs in the city. While two of them, in Ghorpadi and near sub-area command office, are intact, the one behind the Commissionerate is in a dilapidated condition. “It’s difficult to say whether ‘missing European tomb’ was a reference to the tombs that once existed near COEP or the ones behind the Commissionerate,” says Deshpande.

When the office of MS Chauhan, the Superintending Arachaeologist of ASI (Mumbai Circle), was contacted for a response, the reporter was told he was on leave for 10 days. Even the Deputy Superintending Arachaeologist was on leave and unavailable for comment.

- The Indian express, February 25, 2016

Based on the life of a prostitute a play - `Mugalatey' - being staged at the Onkar Nath Thakur Auditorium at Banaras Hindu University was stopped in the mid by a professor, who did not find the storyline and theme of the play `suitable' for an institute like BHU.

As a part of on-going centenary year programmes of BHU, a series of cultural activities are taking place in collaboration between Pratibha Sanskritik Sansthan, Delhi and faculty of performing arts of BHU, informed Arpit Shighore, the director of play. He said as a part of same series, the staging of 45-minute play - `Mugalatey' - was scheduled on Saturday afternoon.

The play based on Nikhil Sachan's book `Mugalatey', which is a story of a prostitute's life, started as per its scheduled time. But, after 20 minutes the head of dance department of faculty of Performing Arts BHU, PC Hombal, reached the stage and stopped the play by announcing, "Aisay natak yaha nahi ho sakte" (Such plays can't be staged here). However, when Hombal was contacted later, he claimed, "The play was stopped due to scarcity of time." Though, Hombal mentioned that this play was stopped due to scarcity of time, another play `Matt-Vilas' was staged at the same dais after Shighore's team left.

A shocked lead artist of the play, Smriti Mishra, said, "The same play was performed at Nagari Natak Mandali auditorium two months back when audience had appreciated it. I don't have any grievance against anyone, but if the BHU professor had any objection over the theme or story of the play, we should be asked not to rehearse for over one and half months to stage it." Smriti said that this play was based on a story that reveal why a prostitute can't return to mainstream of society but no vulgarity was added to the play while staging it.

However, no protest was witnessed from the audience during the staging of play.

- The Times of India, February 27, 2016

A villager assisting a Wildlife Institute of India team studying the fauna of the Aravalis recently spotted leopard pugmarks at Mangar village just off the Gurgaon-Faridabad highway. This confirmed the presence of the big cats in the area, a possibility that had been indicated by the frequent cattle kills. However, the locality will probably not be considered as a wildlife habitat under the draft National Wildlife Action Plan (2017 to 2031) because the new policy focuses on areas already declared `protected'.

Like this Haryana region, parts of the scrub forests in Delhi's Ridge or the grasslands along the Yamuna that are rich in wildlife, being outside protected areas, will not come under the purview of the new action plan being envisaged by the Ministry of Forests and Environment.The draft plan does talk of "special recovery projects" for "endemic" and "endangered" species, but says nothing about how common fauna habitats will be managed in the coming years.

Experts fear that any failure to bring these vulnerable ecologies under the protection of the plan will lead to changes being made in land use, perhaps lead to construction activity , all of which will affect wildlife negatively. The provision for identification of new wetlands with biological or ecological significance comes with a similar disincentive of easier land-use categorisation.

A wildlife expert, who declined to be named, was clear that the action plan severely lacked in the need for research outside protected areas to define the interaction between wild animals and human beings. "Most of the ecological studies are done inside protected areas. This handicaps us when we are dealing with regions outside such areas," she said, citing as example he fact that 70% of the elephant ranges in India lie outside the protected network.

There is, therefore, concern among experts that many wild life-rich regions will be deprived of government attention under the new plan. Kartick Sa yanarayan, co-founder of Wild ife SOS, said that problems re ated to shared space in unpro ected areas has to be addressed.He recalled a leopard being sigh ed at an urban market in south Delhi's Saket in 2003, as well as wildlife on the Jawaharlal Nehru University and IGNOU campuses and in areas like Rajokri, Dera Mandi and Chhattarpur in the capital. "There is a lot of wildlife outside protected areas, in sugarcane fields, for instance, or in semi-urban areas," Satyanarayan pointed out.

It's not just the animal habitats that require attention. Ornithologist Pramod Patil said, "The grasslands in the National Capital Region have important bird species such as the Indian Courser, quails, larks, lapwings and francolins. There has to be systematic monitoring of these species and the threats to them." There are records of the critically endangered Great Indian Bustard's presence in the grasslands of UP , he added.

Nachiket Kelkar, wildlife researcher, felt, "The focus still remains strongly terrestrial and forest-based, and requires greater inclusion of issues facing grasslands, scrub forests, rivers, wetlands, and coastal systems...at present, rivers are in the most degraded state in the country ." No wonder, researchers from the South Asia Network of Rivers, Dams and People have said in their submission to the ministry that while the plan mentions endangered aquatic species like mahseer, gangetic dolphins, wild buffalos and the Bengal florican, it hasn't discussed rivers and floodplains as habitats for these species.

Faiyaz A Khudsar, scientist in charge at the Yamuna Biodiversity Park, argued also for the inclusion of community or gram sabha land in the plan. "In the NCR, the unprotected parts of the Aravalis need help. The vulnerable rusty spotted cat, monitor lizard and leopards are important species found there," he said.

- The Times of India, February 27, 2016

Many of us have experienced a walk in the mountains, trekked through forest trails and meadows, loitered through remote villages and braved frozen rivers and lakes. But a feeling beyond reckoning is walking bare feet on the sea bed in Chandipur, Odisha, towards the infinite horizon. With 360-degree view of the watery carpet, the experience of standing in the middle of the sea, literally, is unparalleled. Staring at the horizon, wondering at the blue expanse, witnessing the ever-changing shades of water and the ethereal feeling of walking on the bed of the Bay of Bengal are some of the ‘must do’ things.

Nature’s Magic
Waves recede into the sea for around three miles. The reason is the unique topography of the sea bed which aids the flow of water inwards during low tide and vice versa during high tide. This magical phenomenon is one of its kind in India. Very few places in the world boast of such an occurrence. Due to the difference in water level, one can witness varying colours of blue in neatly stacked parallel lines making it look like a painter’s canvas obsessed with the ‘blue’ paint. Another remarkable visual treat is the army of small waves in the middle of the sea. This unusual positioning and subsequent shifting of waves is due to the peculiar slope of the sea bed. Due to its special contour, the place supports a unique range of bio-diversity, namely the ruby coloured rare Horseshoe crab, often known as the ‘living fossils’ (fossils of these crabs’ ancestors date back to 450 million years which is 200 million years before dinosaurs existed). The beach also has an abundance of sea shells, drift wood and King crabs.

The Surreal Walk
Nature has a strange way of reminding humans how small we are and how fleeting our time is on this earth. Standing in the middle will make one experience that puny feeling. The surroundings speak a silent language which is easy to decipher, but hard to comprehend. Under the vast sky with one’s feet in ankle deep water, it’s a feeling of being submerged in nothingness with no sense of time and space. The occasional fluttering of a Caspian gull, the intermittent calls of fishermen, the sound of distant waves and the isolated giggling of playful kids create a blissful harmony.

The Mirror
During the ebb, the sea bed resembles a stunning silver sheet which reflects the ever-changing cloudscapes, while the sun rays play hide and seek creating contrasting golden sparkles intermittently. It takes time to absorb the euphoric atmosphere. The mirror-like seascape is reminiscent of picture-perfect postcards of high altitude water bodies reflecting the surrounding snow-clad hills. As evening falls, the entire sea bed turns into a collage of shiny orange and yellow. It is a photographer’s delight as the sparse evening crowd forms perfect silhouettes against the setting sun. It is impossible to describe the beach in phrases that aren’t clichés—breathtaking, enchanting and unforgettable.

A Quintessential Ride
Driving a car on a sandy beach is one thing and the experience of riding a bike is another. Splashing sea water on both sides, feeling the taste of the brisk salty breeze and the prospect of riding into the infinite horizon can be an exhilarating experience. The less adventurous can rent a jeep and have a joy ride on the beach during low tide.

Succulent Sea Food
The fishermen have an easy day during low tide and manage to catch aplenty prawns, fish and crabs. Hence local eateries line up the shore serving fresh sea food. After a refreshing walk, one can always tuck up delicious sea food adhering to either Odia or Bengali cuisine. The waves come and go. The thoughts wander. But time stands still in Chandipur. There is something about the beach, its magnificence, its uniqueness, its scale and the glorious loneliness which makes it the ‘Wonder Beach’ of the world.

FACTFILE
Getting there: Chandipur is 16 km from Balasore. And Balasore is 210 km from Bhubaneswar. Best Time to Visit: August to March Transport: Balasore can be reached easily via train from all major cities of the country. Regular bus services from Bhubaneswar.

- The Indian express, February 27, 2016

There is restoration work going on at Fort Dansborg in Tharangambadi (Tranquebar), Tamil Nadu. Piles of rubble line the courtyard, a citadel wall has collapsed, workers stride across the area carrying cement and paint.

A row of rooms found on the ground floor of the two-storey building bearing labels of what they once used to be—soldiers’ quarters, warehouse, poultry room, gunpowder room—appear to be inhabited by these local workers now. Reed

mats and upended steel utensils lie askew in these rooms; ragged clothes flutter on the clothesline outside them; a dish antenna is mounted on one of the stippled, salmon-hued walls. Said to be the second largest Danish fort in the world—the first being Kronborg, also known as Elsinore, where Shakespeare’s Hamlet was set—it was the first thing built by the Danish on Indian soil, when they landed in the early 17th century.

The story begins with Prince Christian IV, who sent five ships to the Coromandel coast to start a trade station.

According to Knub Helles of the Danish Tranquebar Association, a society of private volunteers working to preserve Danish heritage in Tranquebar, “The Danish East India Company was set up in 1616 under Prince Christian. The king of Ceylon (present-day Sri Lanka) asked the king for help against the Portuguese, so he sent three merchant and two navy ships to Ceylon under the command of admiral Ova Gedde.”

It took nearly two years to reach, he says—two long years at sea, by which time much of the crew had perished. The ones who remained managed to reach the kingdom of Kandy in Ceylon, “but the Portuguese influence was too strong”, says Helles. “They could not stay there for too long.”

Instead, Gedde entered an agreement with Raghunatha Nayak, the king of Tanjore. According to the treaty, signed in 1620, which is today preserved in the Royal Archives in Copenhagen, “We order the creation of a port named Tarangampadi here and allow the export of pepper to that country as it is not available there.”

Thus began an association which went all the way till 1845, when the Danish state entered into a contract with the British about taking over both Tranquebar and Serampore in Kolkata, explains Helles. “Though I’m not sure how they could sell something they had simply leased,” he laughs. *** At noon, the quaint, little town located in the Nagapattinam district of Tamil Nadu is calm and tranquil. Fisherfolk sit in little groups on the beach mending their nets; a few young lovers are perched on the rocks bordering the shore, choppy waves beating a slow tattoo against it; a lonely goat meanders woefully across the cobblestone pathways leaving a pile of droppings in its wake.

According to a report on Tranquebar issued by the Bestseller Fund, an independent charitable fund that aims to assist people from economically challenged parts of society, “Tranquebar is a living museum containing more than two centuries of Danish heritage in India. The land of the singing waves, as it is known in Tamil, manages to integrate local Tamil culture with European influences.”

The oldest monument to survive in Tranquebar is the Masilamani Nathar Temple, built by the Pandya king Maravarman Kulasekara Pandyan in 1305 AD, located very close to the seafront. Most of the temple has been destroyed—time and the ferocious tides have ravaged it—but the tottering innermost mandapam has managed to survive.

Other religious monuments are in a better condition: an old mosque, the Zion and New Jerusalem Churches and the Shiva, Vinayakar and Angalamman temples.

Bringing back the glory

“When I see an aristocrat that has fallen on bad times, I feel terrible. I felt that way about Tranquebar,” says A.K. Das of the Indian Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage, or INTACH, a non-profit organization that aims to conserve and preserve India’s heritage.

According to him, Tranquebar was sold to the British in 1845 and then passed to India after Independence. “It was in a very dilapidated condition when I first saw it,” he says. “I was on my way to Karaikal and saw the fort in the distance. So I took a detour and decided to visit.”

“The very scale of the buildings told me that it was the centre of activity at some point,” he continues. “And I knew I wanted to restore it.”

In 1994, Danida, the Danish international development agency, contacted Das asking if it could help them restore the place. “Some headway was made but then the funding was curtailed by the Danish government,” he says, a trifle ruefully.

Then Francis Wacziarg of the Neemrana group of hotels, best known for creating heritage hotels out of crumbling monuments, became interested in Tranquebar. “There is a sea-facing property that belonged to a Nadar family that was brought over by the Tatas—they wanted to construct a boutique hotel there. That project was never implemented,” remembers Das.

So, the Neemrana Group in association with INTACH renovated this building, maintaining the ancient architecture. “We started the work in 2002 and we completed the restoration in 2004. Our soft opening was slated for early January—the flooring hadn’t yet dried when the tsunami hit,” he remembers.

The waves hammered down a compound wall and flooded the hotel, ruining much of the work. However, it was redone and the hotel today is one of the most popular destinations in the town.

Step inside and you will see why. The wooden-floored portico that directly faces the sea is furnished with pristine white cane chairs and blue-frocked tables. The crockery is antique—slightly chipped, thick pottery is a prepossessing shade of blue.

There are artefacts scattered all around that verge on the baroque: curved tables, gilded lamps, mosaic mirrors, carved, weathered chests and four-poster beds. The rooms of the hotel are named after Danish ships; a wooden staircase winds all the way up while ancient watercolours grace the walls.

“This was once the British collector’s office and was the headquarters of the Nagapattinam and Tanjore districts,” says Arun Elagovan, regional manager, Neemrana Group. “We get a lot of foreign tourists here today.”

In addition to this hotel, Bungalow on the Beach, the Neemrana Group has also renovated another property called The Gatehouse.

The Bestseller Fund, a private philanthropic organization that mostly works among underprivileged communities in Africa, China and India, also decided to invest in Tranquebar. They restored several buildings on Goldsmith Street and had, in association with INTACH, drawn plans to create a new access road, better sewage systems, improving the parade grounds and solid waste management.

“Then relations between Bestseller and INTACH soured due to a personal reason and they withdrew funding support,” says Das, candidly.

Rajendran, the manager of the Bestseller Fund, says that while they continue to be actively involved in other development activities in the Nagapattinam district, they no longer support the restoration attempts here, “We have no funds left for this,” she says, declining to comment further.

Of course, there have been other attempts at restoring the former trading port. Historian and archaeologist R. Nagaswamy, who headed the Tamil Nadu archaeology department between 1966 and 1988 recalls: “Sometime in the 1970s when I was the director of archaeology, we declared Fort Dansborg to be a protected monument.”

That was when Danes started visiting Tranquebar, he says, and they in turn attempted to help with its restoration.

Poul Peterson, vice-president of the Danish Tranquebar Association, was one of them. “I first came here in 1889. I was the principal of a boarding school back then and I was invited to Tiruvanamalai in Tamil Nadu as part of a school project,” he says.

The headmaster of the school offered to take him to Tranquebar and he took the night bus there, he recalls. “I saw that the fort was in a really bad condition and decided that I wanted to work on restoring it. We got permission from the government of India and managed to raise money to get this done,” he says, adding that he has invested Rs10 lakh of his own money into it.

This initiative inspired the government of Tamil Nadu to take a more active interest in the place he believes. “They took over and completed the restoration,” he says. “The restored fort was inaugurated in 2002 with both the Indian and Danish flag flying from the top of the tower.”

The Danish Tranquebar Association came into existence at this time, he says, and they went on to complete other restoration projects including the cleaning and restoration of the Danish cemetery in New Street, the restoration of the Danish governor’s bungalow and the Protestant missionary Bartholomaus Ziegenbalg’s prayer house in Admiral Street, and the establishment of the Tranquebar Maritime Museum. Most of these projects were in association with a number of other stakeholders including INTACH, the Tamil Nadu government and Bestseller Fund.

Peterson says that he hopes to be able to keep the Danish governor’s bungalow open for public viewing and convert it to an Indian-Danish history and educational centre. He also wishes to help the convent here start a new college and obtain better education facilities for the people of Tranquebar. “Education is a must,” he says.

Helles chips in: “We are talking about 225 years of shared Indian and Danish history here. I want more people to know about it. This is the only way we will succeed in preserving it.”

- http://mintonsunday.livemint.com, February 28, 2016

When Indian origin twins Poonam and Priyanka Shah decided to combine Bharatanatyam with their daily 'popping' exercises, and post a video of their routine on the internet, it soon went viral.

"We are learning hip-hop and practise our training 'exercises' for popping every day, so we just combined the two forms," says Chicago-based Priyanka, who along with her twin is now in LA trying to pick up hip-hop dance styles.

While the twins may be focusing on dance fusion, there is now a renewed interest in the health benefits of Bharatanatyam. "It gives a wonderful cardio workout, improves blood circulation, tones muscles and is good for bone density as it is a contact exercise," says danseuse Alarmel Valli.

Dancer and choreographer Anita Ratnam says Bharatanatyam has both physical and mental benefits. "The basic stance of araimandi (a squat in which knees are turn ed sideways) and keeping the torso steady while the hands and lower limbs are moving helps with balance," she says, adding that memory and imagination are stimulated as you have to remember long sequences and improvise when you forget on stage.

Practitioners also say the dance form is highly beneficial for the eyes. Dr Amar Agarwal, ophthalmologist, says it gives the eye muscles a good workout. "When you roll your eyes from side to side, you are actually using the muscles of the eye, which help in the movement of the eye," he says. All poses and mudras go a long way in rejuvenating and restoring weak parts of the body, says dancer Roja Kannan. "For instance, the chinhamudra called Hamsasyam in dance, wherein the first finger and the thumb are joined together at the tips and the other three fingers are opened up facilitates the circulation of blood flow from the fingers to the other parts of the body while also having a calming effect on the mind," she says, adding that arthritis, muscle degeneration, nervous disorders, tennis elbow, tendonitis, and knee ailments can be restored by dance therapy.

Dr A V Satyanarayana, director, Shristi Center of Performing Arts and Institute of Dance Therapy, Bangalore, uses Bharatanatyam to keep pregnant women fit. "I design dance sequences that create flexibility and mobility, strengthen the back and pelvic floor and also the respiratory system," he says.

According to Mumbai-based paediatric orthopaedic and spine surgeon Dr Ashok Johari, the lateral gliding movement of the neck, commonly used in Bharatanatyam, helps treat children born with torticollis, in which the head is tilted to one side. "It is now a standard manoeuvre in physiotherapy," says Dr Johari. He has made a presentation on the link between dance and therapy at the Scoliosis Research Society of America.

The dance form also has great impact on mental and emotional well-being. Nalini Prakash, a US based dance/movement therapist for instance, uses dance and movement in her work with individuals who have mental illness. "I have used elements of Bharatanatyam, like the navarasas to work with some of my patients who struggle with impulse control and anger management," she says.

- The Times of India, February 28, 2016

The Munak canal, damaged ub places by Jat protesters, has been fixed. Yet, the city continues to reel under acute water shortage. That's because Gurgaon's water crisis has little to do with the Munak canal.

The real problem lies elsewhere. The two canals that bring water to Gurgaon - NCR water channel and Gurgaon Water Supply (GWS) - are poorly maintained and have been hamstrung by overgrown feeds that are blocking the flow of water. The process to remove the weeds is on, and will take at least another three-foour days, officials said on Saturday.

The officials said damage to Munak canal was not the reason why water supply in the NCR channel - which runs about 70 km from Kakroi village near Sonipat to the Chandu Budhera water treatment plant (WTP) - was hit. "A reason for the shortage is lack of maintenance of the water channels. The irrigation department hasn't cleaned the channels in the last two years. They're overgrown with weeds that obstruct water flow. Supply is, thus, extremely slow," said a Huda official on condition of anonymity.

The city's own water harvesting infrastructure is poor, which meant Huda had nothing to fall back on.

While 30 cusec water was earlier supplied from the NCR canal to the city, it has now fallen to 16 cusec. The supply in GWS is now less than 35 cusec, down from 100 cusec earlier.

Water supply in the GWS channel was hit on January 20, much before the Jat agitation began. Since then, the authorities were dependent on the NCR channel for supply. Huda sub-divisional officer Balbir Piplani explained to TOI why water shortage persists. "Extra water was being pumped from NCR channel due to low supply from GWS. As we were critically dependent on the NCR channel, supply took a hit after agitators sacked the canal. Even now, GWS and NCR channels have not been cleaned by the irrigation department. That is why the city is still facing a water crisis."

Poor storage capacity also contributed to the crisis. There are two water treatment plans where water is stored. While the Basai water treatment plant can store 290 million gallons of water per day (MGD), the Chandu Budhera plant can store 300 MGD. "Existing storage capacity is enough for just 10 days. Add to the fact that even this much was not in store due to supply shortage since January 20," said Piplani.

Reportedly, the irrigation department is still dependent on outdated methods of weeding. "Not much has changed when it comes to cleaning maintenance infrastructure of the water channels. Supply is increasing, but the equipment and strategy to clean the channels remains outdated. For example, the department is still dependent on manual cleaning and weed-eating fish. And manual cleaning, too, is carried out only once a year," said Fawad Ahmed, a hydrologist. As a result of this, Basai WTP had been receiving 17 MGD of water through the GWS channel, whose capacity had already fallen from 94 MGD to 65 MGD due to poor upkeep. On Saturday, both channels together managed to supply 25 MGD.

Currently, the NCR channel is being cleaned near Rod village in Jhajjar over a 30-40 km stretch with the help of two mechanical cleaners. According to irrigation department officials, the machines were deployed rather late. "The machines work fast, but cleaning will take a little longer as there is a lot of weed growth in the bed of the channels," said an official. The speed of water flow has also come down in NCR channel due to garbage dumped in it by the agitators, falling to 1 kmph from 2.5 kmph earlier, further aggravating the problem. "The supply rate has been hit due to clogging in channels. Unless clean-up work is undertaken, the situation will continue," said Hardeep Singh, Huda administrator.

Residents feel lack of coordination between Huda and irrigation officials led to the delay in the cleaning. "We asked authorities to clean the canals every year, as we face water crisis even with a little weed growth, due to proximity of our village (Bass) to the area where weeds grow the most. But they never bothered to do so. Now, when the city's supply is hit, they are working day and night to clean it," said Sukha Singh, a resident of Bass.

The Huda administrator, though, assured the situation will improve within a couple of days. "We supplied water in the night on Friday. The situation is gradually coming under our control. . We hope to normalise supply within two days," said Hardeep Singh, Huda administrator.

- The Times of India, February 28, 2016

Even as the state government proposes to increase tourist footfalls at 200 monuments managed by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) with events and light-and-sound shows, a plan announced in the Union Budget last year to restore parts of the Elephanta Caves is yet to take off. In the Union Budget last year, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had announced a slew of measures for the restoration of world heritage sites in the country. For the Elephanta Caves, Mr Jaitley had talked of landscape restoration, signage and interpretation centres, parking, access for the differently-abled, visitors’ amenities including security and toilets. He had also proposed to provide the resources to start work.

A year later, only a detailed project report (DPR) has been prepared by the Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC). Submitted about three months ago, it awaits clearance from the ASI for work to begin.

“We have included one ropeway from the bottom of the stairs to the top. We will be renovating the (toy) train and will cover the promenade. We have also proposed renovation of the jetty and minimum facilities such as toilets and drinking water,” Parag Jaiin Nainuttia, managing director, MTDC, said. While the Elephanta Caves is under ASI jurisdiction, most of the land is under the forest department, which means two sets of permissions are needed to provide amenities and carry out restoration work. New plans for tourism

Meanwhile, a proposal for more tourist engagement at historical monuments has also been made to the ASI. Mr Jain-Nainuttia said a meeting with ASI officials has been held and necessary changes have been made in the draft MoU that the MTDC will sign with ASI. “Once the ASI approval is in place, MTDC will be the first tourism board to have such detailed inclusions,” he said, adding the MoU includes not just basic facilities at the estimated 200 ASI monuments but also permission to host events.

“The Ellora Festival is held in front of the caves. We have requested for permission to hold events at Raigad and Sindhudurg forts and to hold light-and-sound shows at all monuments,” he said, adding ITDC is the consultant for the light and sound show at Ellora and Daultabad Fort.

Heritage conservation and urban planning activists say they are unimpressed. Abha Narain Lambah, conservation architect and advisor to the Observer Research Foundation, said monuments have to be freed of encroachments before taking any other step.

Architect and urban planner PK Das too pointed out that budgetary allocations are secondary; what is needed is a vision and a plan for conservation and restoration work. “We have never experienced shortage of funds, but their mishandling,” Mr Das said.

- The Hindu, February 28, 2016

On her 112th birth anniversary, Bharatnatyam exponent Rukmini Devi Arundale is honoured by Google, which designed a doodle on the danseuse.

The doodle features a depiction of Rukmani Devi in traditional dance attire with flowers in her hair holding up a mudra amidst trademark lettering of the search giant in trailing pink.

Rukmani Devi, who passed away in 1986, five days before what would have been her 82nd birthday, is considered the most important revivalist of Bharatnatyam from its original 'Sadhir' style prevalent among Devadasis (temple dancers).

Born in Madurai, the danseuse honed her dancing skills under the watchful eyes of 'Mylapore' Gowri Amma and perfected her technique under the guidance of 'Pandanallur' Meenakshi Sundaram Pillai.

In 1935, Rukmini Devi gave her first public performance at the Diamond Jubilee Convention of the Theosophical Society.

Rukmini Devi and her husband established Kalakshetra, an academy of dance and music, at Adyar, Chennai in January, 1936. In 1962, the academy moved its campus to Thiruvanmiyur.

Today, it is a deemed university under the Kalakshetra Foundation, which counts amongst its noted students Radha Burnier, Sarada Hoffman, Anjali Mehr, Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay, Sanjukta Panigrahi, C V Chandrasekhar, Yamini Krishnamurthy and Leela Samson.

Bharatnatyam, an Indian classical dance form, owes its current name to E Krishna Iyer and Rukmini Devi. The latter has been instrumental in modifying the Pandanallur style and removing the extraneous 'sringaar' and erotic elements from the dance, which were the legacy of its Devadasi association.

She is credited with introducing musical instruments such as violin, set and lighting design elements, innovative costumes and jewellery inspired by temple sculptures.

Rukmini Devi also created some of the pioneering dance dramas based on Indian epics such as the Ramayana and Gita Govinda.

She was nominated to Rajya Sabha in 1952 and re-nominated in 1956. As a member of the Rajya Sabha, she was instrumental for the legislation for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act and for setting up of the Animal Welfare Board of India under her chairmanship in 1962. She remained on board until her demise in 1986.

She was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 1956, and Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship in 1967 for her immense contribution to the Indian classical dance.

In January 1994, an Act of the Indian Parliament recognised the Kalakshetra Foundation as an 'Institute of National Importance'.

- http://www.business-standard.com, February 29, 2016

The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has permitted a joint collaboration by Mumbai University and Sathaye College, Vile Parle, to carry out archaeological studies in the island city and in north Mumbai, as a "special case".

The Centre for Archaeology, under the Centre for Extra-Mural Studies of Mumbai University, along with the department of Ancient Indian Culture of Sathaye College, has been carrying out an exploration programme at Kanheri caves, located in Sanjay Gandhi National Park at Borivli (east). In February 2015, a team led by Suraj Pandit, head of the department, Ancient Indian Culture of Sathaye College, had discovered seven Buddhist viharas with one of them showing the remains of a harmika (the top part of a stupa).

In June, Mumbai University and Sathaye College jointly sought permission from ASI to explore and document the caves. On January 17, TOI had reported about the discovery of the caves. After the report, enquiries with ASI over the delay in granting permission revealed that application papers had been misplaced. The university and Sathaye College then took up the issue with the director-general of ASI who gave the permission.

"The letter informs that we have been granted permission to carry out archaeological studies and geological trenching in the island city and in north Mumbai," said Dr Pandit. The permission covering explorations is granted as a special case, he said. "We can now carry out systematic sampling of the caves through geological trenching to understand that era better," he said.

Mugdha Karnik, head of the Centre for Extra-Mural Studies, who helped set up the Archaeological Centre, said it gave an opportunity to explore the city for archaeological objects and record antiquities in context. The centre has been carrying out archaeological studies for two years.

- The Times of India, February 29, 2016

Historic Ram Bagh Palace garden may get vandalised after Urban Haat opens, fear city residents

With the state government’s ambitious Urban Haat project, touted as a replica of Lahore’s famous food street, likely to open on Baisakhi, the civic authorities have planned to construct a parking complex inside the historic Ram Bagh garden near Crystal Chowk here for the vehicles of visitors coming to relish the rich culinary culture of Amritsar.

Nonetheless, the construction of the parking slot would mean yet another act of vandalisation at the historic garden, the summer palace of the legendary Sikh ruler Maharaja Ranjit Singh, which has been declared a protected monument or monument of national importance by the Government of India in October 2004.

As per Section 19 of the Ancient Monuments and Remains Act (Amendment and Violation Act 2010), no person, including the owner or occupier of a protected area, shall construct any building within the protected area or carry on mining, quarrying, excavating, blasting or any such operation in such areas, or utilise the area or any part thereof in any other manner without the permission of the Centre.

However, the unabated construction work inside the premises of the protected monument has saddened the heritage lovers as well as the experts while it has also not gone down well with the Archeological Survey of India (ASI) whose office is located a stone’s throw away from the spot designated for the construction of the parking lot.

Mayor Bakshi Ram Arora said the Rs 2-crore project would be executed by the Punjab Urban Development Authority (PUDA). As part of the project, a basement would also be constructed for the parking of vehicles besides constructing a foot bridge for the visitors to reach the Urban Haat.

Bhanu Partap Singh, senior conservation assistant, ASI, pointed out that they were not aware of the plans. He said if the civic authorities endeavour to construct it, they would follow the legal procedure seeking registration of an FIR in this connection. He said the department had already written to lodge a complaint protesting against the construction and land excavation under the BRTS project near the protected monument.

Ironically, the ASI had written a number of times to the district administration, police officials and municipal authorities against illegal construction inside the heritage garden but no attention was paid to it.

- The Tribune, February 29, 2016