The Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh recently launched a year-long programme to commemorate the sesquicentennial anniversary of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). On this momentous occasion, Dr Singh expressed his pleasure to be present on this event to commemorate and celebrate the 150th year of the ASI. He said this historic institution has made an outstanding contribution to revealing our country’s rich historical and cultural heritage and protecting it for our posterity.

He further added, “We owe much of our understanding of our pre-modern past to the extensive exploratory works, excavations and careful documentation done by the ASI. The Harappan civilisation would have remained unknown but for the extensive work done by this organisation. The ASI has, over the years, developed high capabilities in exploration, excavation, conservation, environmental upgradation and research and publication. Yet, archaeology today, more than ever before, is expanding its frontiers — both in terms of its philosophy and in terms of methodology.”Releasing a set of 12 books, the prime minister said, “I’m happy that the ASI is implementing some of the recommendations made by the Central Advisory Board of Archaeology relating to epigraphy, archival management and record keeping publications.” He also commended the ASI for reviving its prestigious journal Ancient India after a gap of almost 50 years. The PM also released a set of commemorative postage stamp to mark the occasion in the presence of Minister of Human Resources Development and Telecommunications Kapil Sibal who said that India Post has been happy to do its bit in generating awareness, the stamps released depict some of the images associated with the excavation. The first day cover depicts some of the icons of Indian architecture and cultural heritage. These stamps and first day cover will play the role of paper ambassador. He also unveiled the foundation plaque for ASI’s permanent headquarters, which will come up at 24, Tilak Marg. Five eminent archaeologists were also felicitated on the occasion

The Pioneer, 13th June 2012

Haryana has tightened the water squeeze on Delhi. On Wednesday, it curtailed supply to the capital's Wazirabad pond where the level fell from the mandated 674.5 feet to 672.8 feet. The city has been reeling under shortage of water since two weeks back when Haryana reduced its supply to the Haiderpur water treatment plant. Large parts of the city, including south, southwest, west and NDMC areas, are parched.

The capital has been demanding its fair share of 80 million gallons daily from the newly-constructed Munak canal but Haryana has refused to turn the tap any further, claiming that Delhi is withdrawing more than its allocated share. Delhi officials have taken up the matter with the prime minister and are even contemplating approaching Supreme Court.

If Delhi had only taken the task of reducing its transmission losses seriously, the crisis won't be so grave. An IIT-D report claims that these losses are a massive 40%. By DJB's own admission, the water it loses through leaks and other unaccountable means is 30% of what's available. With a total of 845 MGD available for supply, the city it seems gets just 510-590 MGD.

For now, Delhi can only blame Haryana. "Against the mandated 425 cusec, Haryana has been supplying only 385 cusec for the Haiderpur plant for the past several days. Haryana is right in saying that they are maintaining the canal level but they are actively restricting the water from entering Delhi's system. Production at the plant has dropped by18 MGD and more than a lakh people have been affected. We have approached the Upper Yamuna River Board and ministry of water resources for help," said DJB officials.

Senior DJB officials claim the situation this year is actually better than 2011 and more areas have been brought into the network. "Since 2011, 783 unauthorised colonies with a few lakh people have been covered by the water network. However, there has been no increase in supply during this period," said an official.

Independent experts say Delhi, which is already enjoying an average of 229 litres per capita per day (lpcd) against a standard of 135 lpcd, is not really short of water. "There are undoubtedly huge inequities in the supply system but if all leaks were to be plugged and DJB adopted a more efficient system of supply, a lot of the water worries would be over," said a Central Ground Water Authority official.

IIT Delhi's civil engineering department's analysis of unaccounted for water (UFW) in Delhi says it is as high as 40%. In fact, professor AK Mittal of the IIT team claims the figure is probably higher than 40%. "I would say there is no water shortage in Delhi. The gap between how much water is produced and how much reaches the consumer is huge. More than 40% of the water doesn't reach consumers. Leakage is only one reason. There are many others like tankers, illegal connections, theft, maintenance problems etc," points out Mittal. According to Delhi Jal Board estimates, however, we lose around 30% of the water to leakages and other transmission losses.

Despite severe shortage of water, recycled sewage water which can be extensively used for non-drinking purposes is not utilized. The IIT team is currently working on a research project to asses the potential of using treated sewage water in Delhi. "We don't use even 10% of the sewage we generate. At least institutions like the railways, DMRC and industries can use recycled sewage water. Even if we utilize 50% of sewage water we generate, it will help meet the demand-supply gap," adds Mittal. He add that Delhi's water charges were much lower compared to Chennai, Bangalore or Mumbai which only encourages wastage.

Every summer it's the same story. Swathes of the city go dry, Delhi fights with Haryana and UP for more supplies, but nothing really is done to see that the situation gets better the next year. For starters, we suggest that the Delhi government make rainwater harvesting compulsory for all buildings - commercial and residential. Sheila Dikshit should put her foot down and ensure that this happens. It may not fully solve Delhi's water crisis, but will certainly mitigate the problem. If cities like Chennai and Hyderabad can make rainwater harvesting compulsory, why can't Delhi?

The Times of India, 14th June 2012

How much is 69 billion litres of water? By a rough calculation it is equivalent to nearly 9 million water tankers - the same ones that can be seen trundling about supplying precious water to Delhiites in a swathe of residential colonies.

But, 69 billion litres of water is the amount of water that rains on Delhi's rooftops every year. The calculation is simple - take Delhi's average rainfall at about 490 millimetres, and multiply it with the total rooftop area of about 140 square kilometres as estimated by some experts.

In a city where the search for water, especially this blistering summer, has become an almost life-anddeath struggle for thousands of families, this bounty from the skies almost seems unbelievable. But it is as true and real as the dry taps in Delhi today.

Of course it is not as simple as that. All water cannot be collected from rooftops. Some will be absorbed by the surface, some will evaporate in the heat, some will get contaminated or spill away. But the numbers do give an idea of the immense potential of rainwater harvesting in Delhi.

And this is just harvesting from the rooftops. It is only 10 per cent of the total rain that falls on Delhi in an average monsoon. The total volume of water that comes down as rain is a mind-boggling figure, about 690 billion litres. Even a 25 per cent usage of this would go a long way in recharging the fast depleting groundwater.

With a population of over 138 million at last count Delhi is said to have an average daily demand of about 1100 million gallons or about 5 billion litres. The supply gap this summer is about 465 million gallons or over 2 billion litres per day.

Had all the pronouncements and declarations by Delhi government on making rainwater harvesting mandatory in commercial and residential constructions been implemented, at least some edge would have been taken off this present water scarcity.

Those few who have installed a rainwater harvesting system in their homes vouch for its effectiveness. One such person is Ruchi Singhal, an interior decorator, who got a system installed in 2004 with the help of theCentre for Science and Environment (CSE), a Delhi-based environmental advocacy institution. "I have a 3800 litres capacity tank under the driveway connected to the roof through pipes. There is arrangement to take the overflow from this tank to a discharge well which takes the excess water down to the groundwater table ," says Singhal. She uses the collected water for nondrinking purposes like washing cars and watering the garden.

Apart from rooftop harvesting, rainwater can very effectively be used for recharging precious groundwater, saysSushmita Sengupta of CSE. The total built-up area of Delhi is around 50 per cent according to Sengupta. This could yield a huge amount of water through drainage area recharge or a micro-watershed treatment. In both of these, run-off water (that is, water not absorbed by open ground but runs off and finally ends up in drains and the river or evaporates) is trapped either on the surface through check dams or channeled to well-like structures nearby so that it goes into the groundwater after crude filtering. All this would ease some of the crisis that occurs every summer in the capital. For a long-term solution, there is a need to quickly finish various projects like the Renuka, Kishau and Lakhwar Vyasi dams and the canals linking them to Delhi. This will require sorting out watersharing issues with surrounding states, as with the existing Yamuna, Beas and Ganga water sharing systems, says Dilip Fouzdar, an expert on water resources management. "The capital's water needs have to be treated with priority and this requires cooperation between various states, under the stewardship of the Union government," he says.

The Economic Times, 14th June 2012

Five monuments from Rajasthan have been recommended to UNESCO for world heritage status.

The five monuments are Ranthambore Fort, Gagrone Fort Jhalawar fort, Chittorgarh Fort, Amber Fort and Kumbhalgarh Fort.

"We have forwarded the names of five monuments to the World Heritage Committee," Rajasthan Tourism Minister Bina Kak said here today.

The final decision for the approval of these sites will be taken up at the World Heritage Session to be held at Saint Petersburg from June 24 to July 7.

These nominations will be discussed by the Advisory. Bodies and World Heritage Committee during the session, she said.

The Minister said that some more forts from Rajasthan like Jaisalmer fort will be submitted to the Evaluation Committee for the World Heritage status.

All the five monuments have unique features. While Kumbhalgarh Fort in Rajsamand have the second-longest continuous wall after the Great Wall of China, Gagron Fort in Jhalawar is the only fort which is surrounded by water on four sides.

Amber Fort in Jaipur is known for a distinct architectural style which has both Mughal and Rajput influence.

Chittorgarh Fort is famous for its historicity. And Sawai Madhopur Fort in Ranthambhore is totally surrounded by forests.

The Millennium Post, 14th June 2012

A new conservationist website hopes to make a big difference

Against a backdrop of big cat pictures, conservationist and wildlife filmmaker Shekar Dattatri talks about Conservation India, a one-of-its-kind non-profit and non-commercial portal. The website, with its prowling tiger logo, was recently launched with wildlife photographer and entrepreneur Ramki Sreenivasan.

Conservation India aims to become a one-stop shop for anyone interested in conservation. “This isn’t just a collection of articles on wildlife. If you’re interested in conservation and asking yourself what you can do to help, this site is for you,” says Shekar. “Our motto is ‘enabling conservation action’ and we focus on empowering people with knowledge.” Many people want to help with conservation but typically, they confuse animal welfare with conservation. Also, enthusiasts need to be sensitised to the many wildlife laws that are in place in order to react adequately. This is what the website seeks to do.

After two years of research and preparation, the site went live a few months ago. “Often, people think wildlife conservation is all about getting into a jeep and roaring off into the jungle,” says Shekar, “but it also involves boring things like paperwork.”

A wildlife enthusiast and photographer for many years, Ramki was disillusioned by what he saw. “As a photographer or tourist, you are just a mute spectator,” he says. The team realised that the best way to get conservation practices across is to codify best practices on a public domain. “It becomes accessible and becomes repeatable. We opted for a website that is minimalist and to the point.”

The website has an exhaustive array of articles, essays and interviews. “We’re looking at experts in every domain. For example, if it’s a case study about someone who has fought against roads running through national parks, we will bring them on board to write about it,” says Shekar. Contributors include Dr. Ullas Karanth, Belinda Wright and Praveen Bhargav. “The portal will be a repository of information,” says Shekar, with static content as well as dynamic content like news and pictures.

With 10,000 unique visitors already, most of them Indian, the response has been overwhelming so far, say the two conservationists. The Conservation India team will soon be holding workshops, talks, film screenings and more. Visit Conservation India at www.conservationindia.org

What it has
Featured images – where public can send in images relevant to conservation

Conservation toolkit – with information about conservation, how to start a campaign, handle the media, make videos and constitutional imperatives

Topics – with insights into different aspects of wildlife like tourism or illegal trade

Q&A – where people can pose questions to experts

Publications – where relevant research papers will be edited and uploaded

The Hindu, 14th June 2012

A new conservationist website hopes to make a big difference

Against a backdrop of big cat pictures, conservationist and wildlife filmmaker Shekar Dattatri talks about Conservation India, a one-of-its-kind non-profit and non-commercial portal. The website, with its prowling tiger logo, was recently launched with wildlife photographer and entrepreneur Ramki Sreenivasan.

Conservation India aims to become a one-stop shop for anyone interested in conservation. “This isn’t just a collection of articles on wildlife. If you’re interested in conservation and asking yourself what you can do to help, this site is for you,” says Shekar. “Our motto is ‘enabling conservation action’ and we focus on empowering people with knowledge.” Many people want to help with conservation but typically, they confuse animal welfare with conservation. Also, enthusiasts need to be sensitised to the many wildlife laws that are in place in order to react adequately. This is what the website seeks to do.

After two years of research and preparation, the site went live a few months ago. “Often, people think wildlife conservation is all about getting into a jeep and roaring off into the jungle,” says Shekar, “but it also involves boring things like paperwork.”

A wildlife enthusiast and photographer for many years, Ramki was disillusioned by what he saw. “As a photographer or tourist, you are just a mute spectator,” he says. The team realised that the best way to get conservation practices across is to codify best practices on a public domain. “It becomes accessible and becomes repeatable. We opted for a website that is minimalist and to the point.”

The website has an exhaustive array of articles, essays and interviews. “We’re looking at experts in every domain. For example, if it’s a case study about someone who has fought against roads running through national parks, we will bring them on board to write about it,” says Shekar. Contributors include Dr. Ullas Karanth, Belinda Wright and Praveen Bhargav. “The portal will be a repository of information,” says Shekar, with static content as well as dynamic content like news and pictures.

With 10,000 unique visitors already, most of them Indian, the response has been overwhelming so far, say the two conservationists. The Conservation India team will soon be holding workshops, talks, film screenings and more. Visit Conservation India at www.conservationindia.org

What it has
Featured images – where public can send in images relevant to conservation

Conservation toolkit – with information about conservation, how to start a campaign, handle the media, make videos and constitutional imperatives

Topics – with insights into different aspects of wildlife like tourism or illegal trade

Q&A – where people can pose questions to experts

Publications – where relevant research papers will be edited and uploaded

The Hindu, 14th June 2012

Has a long-lost Shahjahan-era Mughal mosque been found by Delhi Metro diggers? That's what chief minister Sheila Dikshit wants the Archaeological Survey of India to confirm. And her apprehensions are justified as locals have claimed that diggers have unearthed remains of the 17th century Akbarabadi Masjid — a claim that DMRC has denied.

The CM held a meeting with senior officers of DMRC, chief secretary P K Tripathi and Matia Mahal MLA Shoaib Iqbal on Wednesday. "We cannot hurt anyone's feelings. As ASI is the expert on the subject we will request them to confirm it. DMRC will then take action in accordance with ASI findings," Dikshit told TOI.

A senior government officer said ASI experts have been asked to be present at the digging site to ensure that if there are any mosque ruins, those are protected. "No one can deny a mosque stood there and was demolished later," said the officer. The mosque was constructed by Shah Jahan's wife Akbarabadi Begum and was situated in the Netaji Subhash Park area near Jama Masjid. But the British demolished it after the Revolt of 1857.

Iqbal made a presentation to the CM and requested that the site be handed over to ASI and other agencies for further exploration and restoration of the mosque. He also asked the government to tell DMRC to stop work at the site.

Conservationists had earlier raised concerns about the location of Jama Masjid Metro station as it was close to the place where the mosque once stood. Archaeology experts had also said DMRC's excavation would ruin all archaeological evidence of the mosque. Plans to excavate the remains of the mosque and bring it to the surface were initially part of MCD's Jama Masjid redevelopment plan. But the plan never took off.

The Times of India, 14th June 2012

Physical and mechanical properties of rocks before, during and after a quake will be measured

What kind of physical and chemical changes take place in the earth's crust during an earthquake? How does the temperature change and will there be some melting of the rock?

Answers to such fundamental questions are expected from the results of a unique Rs.300-crore project under which scientists will drill a seven-km deep borehole into an earthquake zone for an on-the-spot measurement of various physical and chemical changes.

Under the project — Deep Scientific Drilling into Earthquake zone of Koyna-Warna region (Maharashtra) — seismologists and other scientists from the National Geophysical Research Institute (CSIR-NGRI) plan to establish a deep borehole observatory in the seismically-active intra-plate fault zone in Koyna-Warna region.

Former NGRI Director and currently a member of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), Prof. Harsh K. Gupta is the advisor of the project.

Continuous monitoring of this borehole at seven-km depth would enable measurement of physical and mechanical properties of rocks, hydrology, temperature and other parameters in the near-field of earthquakes before, during and after their occurrence.

“It is expected to lead to a better understanding of the mechanics of earthquake faulting and the physics of reservoir trigger mechanism” said the project leader, Dr. N. Purnachandra Rao.

He said the Koyna-Warna deep drill hole would be the first of its kind in the world to directly investigate earthquakes in a stable continental crust, unlike the deep borehole drilled on a plate boundary fault In San Andreas Fault in California.

Besides, that was up to a depth of three km, “whereas what we are going to get here is the representative earthquakes of the region within a depth of seven kilometres,” Dr. Rao added.

Pointing out that Koyna-Warna region was known for Reservoir Triggered Seismicity (RTS), he said that triggered earthquakes have been occurring regularly in an area of 20 x 30 sq.km ever since the impounding in Koyna reservoir in 1962. While the largest earthquake in that region was of 6.3 magnitude on Richter scale, hundreds of others of varying magnitude have been recorded.

“Since there is no other source of seismic activity within 50 km of the Koyna-Warna region, it forms an excellent natural laboratory for earthquake studies,” Dr. Rao said.

Explaining the importance of the project, he said so far scientists have been drawing indirect inference from measurements on the surface of the earth. “We have been measuring from the surface and trying to understand what is happening inside. But now we will measure right at the spot.”

This would be extremely valuable knowledge for whole world and has the potential to facilitate earthquake forecasts in future.

A seismic network of 15 sensors operating in the region for the last six years helped the scientists to precisely locate the area where the earthquakes are occurring.

“This would help us to plan the exact location for drilling”, Dr. Rao said. While earthquakes normally occur in the crust down to 35 km depth, the drilling could be done only up to a depth of 12 km with the present technology.

Dr. Rao said that most of the earthquakes in that region were occurring within seven km and there was no need to go beyond that depth. Besides, they would be drilling into hard granite rock and the cost of the drilling would go up exponentially as they go down further.

“We are not simply drilling up to seven km. It is going to be a permanent observatory and we will be monitoring for several years,” he said.

Koyna-Warna region was like a laboratory where earthquakes were constantly occurring within a shallow depth range. “It makes it feasible for drilling and setting up an observatory for earthquake studies,” he added.

Dr. Rao said NGRI would be installing seismometers, temperature loggers, strain meters (to measure deformities in the rock) and some instruments to measure physical parameters like density all along the borehole at different depths up to seven km.

He observed that in plate boundary zones where the earthquakes were usually extensive and deeper, it would be difficult to pinpoint an area for drilling.

In a bid to supplement these studies, a new institute, Seismological Research Laboratory was being established by the Ministry of Earth Sciences at Karad, Maharashtra. It is planned to develop into a centre of excellence in earthquake and related studies.

The Hindu, 14th June 2012

Physical and mechanical properties of rocks before, during and after a quake will be measured

What kind of physical and chemical changes take place in the earth's crust during an earthquake? How does the temperature change and will there be some melting of the rock?

Answers to such fundamental questions are expected from the results of a unique Rs.300-crore project under which scientists will drill a seven-km deep borehole into an earthquake zone for an on-the-spot measurement of various physical and chemical changes.

Under the project — Deep Scientific Drilling into Earthquake zone of Koyna-Warna region (Maharashtra) — seismologists and other scientists from the National Geophysical Research Institute (CSIR-NGRI) plan to establish a deep borehole observatory in the seismically-active intra-plate fault zone in Koyna-Warna region.

Former NGRI Director and currently a member of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), Prof. Harsh K. Gupta is the advisor of the project.

Continuous monitoring of this borehole at seven-km depth would enable measurement of physical and mechanical properties of rocks, hydrology, temperature and other parameters in the near-field of earthquakes before, during and after their occurrence.

“It is expected to lead to a better understanding of the mechanics of earthquake faulting and the physics of reservoir trigger mechanism” said the project leader, Dr. N. Purnachandra Rao.

He said the Koyna-Warna deep drill hole would be the first of its kind in the world to directly investigate earthquakes in a stable continental crust, unlike the deep borehole drilled on a plate boundary fault In San Andreas Fault in California.

Besides, that was up to a depth of three km, “whereas what we are going to get here is the representative earthquakes of the region within a depth of seven kilometres,” Dr. Rao added.

Pointing out that Koyna-Warna region was known for Reservoir Triggered Seismicity (RTS), he said that triggered earthquakes have been occurring regularly in an area of 20 x 30 sq.km ever since the impounding in Koyna reservoir in 1962. While the largest earthquake in that region was of 6.3 magnitude on Richter scale, hundreds of others of varying magnitude have been recorded.

“Since there is no other source of seismic activity within 50 km of the Koyna-Warna region, it forms an excellent natural laboratory for earthquake studies,” Dr. Rao said.

Explaining the importance of the project, he said so far scientists have been drawing indirect inference from measurements on the surface of the earth. “We have been measuring from the surface and trying to understand what is happening inside. But now we will measure right at the spot.”

This would be extremely valuable knowledge for whole world and has the potential to facilitate earthquake forecasts in future.

A seismic network of 15 sensors operating in the region for the last six years helped the scientists to precisely locate the area where the earthquakes are occurring.

“This would help us to plan the exact location for drilling”, Dr. Rao said. While earthquakes normally occur in the crust down to 35 km depth, the drilling could be done only up to a depth of 12 km with the present technology.

Dr. Rao said that most of the earthquakes in that region were occurring within seven km and there was no need to go beyond that depth. Besides, they would be drilling into hard granite rock and the cost of the drilling would go up exponentially as they go down further.

“We are not simply drilling up to seven km. It is going to be a permanent observatory and we will be monitoring for several years,” he said.

Koyna-Warna region was like a laboratory where earthquakes were constantly occurring within a shallow depth range. “It makes it feasible for drilling and setting up an observatory for earthquake studies,” he added.

Dr. Rao said NGRI would be installing seismometers, temperature loggers, strain meters (to measure deformities in the rock) and some instruments to measure physical parameters like density all along the borehole at different depths up to seven km.

He observed that in plate boundary zones where the earthquakes were usually extensive and deeper, it would be difficult to pinpoint an area for drilling.

In a bid to supplement these studies, a new institute, Seismological Research Laboratory was being established by the Ministry of Earth Sciences at Karad, Maharashtra. It is planned to develop into a centre of excellence in earthquake and related studies.

The Times of India, 14th June 2012

Delhi is amazing; the only thing more amazing than Delhi is escaping Delhi. A decade of motorcycling across thousands of kilometres tells me that a weekend definitely offers possibilities way beyond our usual rattle.

It could offer a dream come true.

Think about it — curvy forest roads for starters, a main course of mouth-watering mountain roads dancing like snakes, Chalia dancers with bagpipers and intoxicating drums for dessert. To top it all, a post-dessert service could take us swimming in a haunted lake.

James, an architect from UK, left his cushy Gurgaon hotel and took a leap of faith with me and another colleague to experience the rustic roads. At four in the morning on a Saturday, three of us mounted on our Royal Enfield bikes and left the corporate town behind, thumping out a pretty resonance. An elephant retiring from a rich Delhi wedding greeted us on our way.

Now James is an experienced rider but most of his riding has been in Europe. Used to high-speed and lane discipline, he found our random lane changing, blind overtaking love affair with the highway a bit “interesting.” Adding to it, tractors and oxcarts, and drivers of call centre SUVs with hand-on-horn and foot-on-accelerator was daunting, but he soon found his technique flowing through the traffic guided by us.

By late morning, our band of riders had hit the welcome byway of the Jim Corbett National Park. The landscape changed sharply, and heat dissipated with altitude. The efforts of the previous few hours seemed worth it. Our bikes kept up both as a comfortable cruiser on the highway and as a steering and skidding dirt bike. We pressed further on largely empty roads through beautiful jungles. We visited an old friend, a holy man living in the jungle, roamed down the mall road in Nainital, and retired for the day at Surya Goan, a hidden village overlooking a beautiful symphony of seven interconnected lakes.

The next day began with Kayaking in the Haunted Lake amidst flocks of paradise, flycatchers, kingfishers and sunbirds. We rode up a gravel track to Sarghakhet. The evening treated us to a magnificent sunset across the mountains.

The dinner was entirely from produce of the few acres surrounding the homes of my farmer friends, and we all greatly admired such self-reliance. Our return journey on Monday started with a glorious ride swooping through fragrant pine forests and on narrow bridges crossing streams at the bottoms of steep valleys.

The Unexplored Kumaon
Up for some curves on the Himalayan roads? Yes, we heard you — ample pit-stops for photographs, smokes and so many explorations en route. And, sometimes just for the heck of it. So, on the table is peaceful environment, a sense of pride for the lifelong friendships you forge with nature, and its inhabitants, the mountain people, and a harmony to be broken only by a drift of breeze, or a far cry of a hyena from the womb of the jungle.

The Highland Himalayas
Villages invisible to naked eye, yogis that survive on air, yetis, and the snow leopards. We don’t promise, we don’t refuse. Still up for it? Well, come over at your own risk. They are hills that rise over 4,000 metres, immediately north of the Mahabharata Range located at the Main Central Thrust fault zone, where the greater Himalayas begin. However, to the human spirit and the soul, since time immemorial, they have remained a source of inspiration and power to go on.

Ride to unsung Haveli
In 16th century, when the Istimrar-dari (a category higher than Jagirdars of the then Rajputana) constructed a magnificent haveli in Rajasthan, little did they know that this palace would become a tourist spot in future. The haveli offers a relatively small ride from Delhi, and offers you an awesome palette of stuff you can do here — the youngest wildlife sanctuary of India, luxury as per choice, heritage villages in vicinity, bicycle rides, and all of it in an area rarely frequented by tourists.

Road to Manali
Ever heard of Manali? We did too. Then what we did was — we rode to Manali. It was a great group of people who loved riding, and food, and fun, and rivers, and mountains, and all of that, and when they came back, they urged that we share this trip with our guests and visitors, and friends. So, here we are, and here is the circuit we welcome you to: Delhi to Solan to Chail — Chail to Rohru — Rohru to Rampur — Rampur to Tattapani to Chindi — Chindi to Rivalsar — Rivalsar to Manali — Manali to Delhi.

The Golden Triangle
A circuit popular with both ace-riders and novices, the Golden Triangle offers not a lot in terms of the number of kilometres you cover, but is most suited to the weekend-rider. Not much hardship, not many testing stretches, but great fun, food, history, photography and colours are embedded in this short ride. Broadly, but not quite that simply, we start usually in Delhi, ride out to Jaipur, touch Agra, Sikri-de-Fatehpur, and shuttle back to Delhi. Short and sweet, not much to say, not much to ride, but a great trip that you will cherish for years to come.

The Asian age, 15th June 2012

Corbett Tiger Reserve may boast of the world’s highest density of tigers but it is beset by a host of problems that may soon see it lose its premier status. CTR’s director Rajan Mishra admits that CTR has witnessed an intensification of man-animal conflict with as many as eight humans being killed by a man-eater in 2010.

One of the main reasons for this conflict is the massive construction of hotels and luxury villas blocking of the entire eastern boundary with only two passages available for wildlife to approach the Kosi river. Joseph Vattakaven, tiger coordinator for WWF-India pointed out that tigers are constantly spilling over outside tiger reserves and presently 13 tigers are using the Kosi river corridor to cross over to the Ramnagar forests. The WWF has employed 86 traps on either side of this corridor which show the corridor is being used by several animals, including elephants. CTR’s other problems relate to the removal of the villages of Chukam and Sunderbhal which are cutting off the animals access to the Ramnagar forests. The problem is that although these villages are not located in core tiger habitat, the National Tiger Conservation Authority realises only too well that the buffer area is also rich in wildlife. “The entire Sunderkhal area, comprising a 10-km stretch, has been encroached upon and presently has 144 families living there. Former environment minister Jairam Ramesh had made an exception and agreed to grant compensation of `10 lakh per family even though they were not in the core area,” said Mr Mishra. “Removing the villages of Chukam is an easier task since they are inside a territorial division of a tiger reserve area,” Mr Mishra explained. But though villagers from both these villages are clamouring to be relocated, the NTCA has yet to act on the ground. Another major problem facing CTR is that stone and sand quarry is no longer restricted to the Kosi river but is being done in stretches of the Ramganga river as well.

The Asian age, 15th June 2012

Builders in the Hauz Khas area are minting money by constructing buildings on unauthorised lands which come under the periphery of archeological monuments.

Many illegally constructed houses are flourishing, especially in the Hauz Khas area of south Delhi, as a number of ASI protected monuments are based there.

In the latest case reported from the Hauz Khas area, the Archeological Survey of India (ASI) lodged a complaint against three persons for illegally starting the construction of a new house in the periphery of Moth ki Masjid, in Hauz Khas area, which is an ASI protected monument. A three-storey building is being constructed within 30 metres from the Masjid. The offence is punishable as per the AM & ASR Act 1958 I rules 1959 and punishment with imprisonment of two years or fine up to Rs 1,00,000 or both is liable.

A case under monument protection act was registered against Subhash, Sunder and Narender, the owners of house number 117. A senior police official said, “Five persons have been arrested in this regard.”

Police claim that construction work has been stopped after the arrest of the concerned persons. However, on doing a reality check, it was found that construction work was in full swing in the area and the builder had also rented out the apartments, which have already been constructed in the three-storey building.

A resident of the area said, “Police have registered a case against the owner of the house. The construction was stopped for sometime but it has resumed soon after police officials left. The builder has rented out the flats at Rs 15,000 already.”

ASI, in its complaint to the police, said, any unauthorised construction or additions to or alteration of existing building was prohibited or regulated area of the centrally protected monument is an offence as per the AM & ASR Act. Gazette of India, July 4, 1992 declared areas up to 100 metres from the protected limits and further beyond up to 200 metres near or adjoining protected monument as prohibited and regulated areas, respectively for the purpose of both mining operation and construction.

It is a common scene in the Capital to see houses constructed in the periphery of archeological monuments. This, however, is illegal according to the laws of the Archeological Survey of India, but the builder mafias pay no heed to it.

FLOUTING RULES

• Many illegally constructed houses are flourishing, especially in the Hauz Khas area of south Delhi, as a number of ASI protected monuments are based there
• A three-storey building is being constructed within 30 metres from the Masjid
• Police claim that construction work has been stopped after the arrest of the persons concerned. However, on doing a reality check, it was found that construction work was in full swing in the area and the builder had also rented out the apartments, which have already been constructed in the three-storey building

The Pioneer, 15th June 2012

To take visitors to an era gone by, the Indian Steam Railway Society is for the first time hosting a special photo exhibition at the All-India Fine Arts & Cultural Society here on Rafi Marg.

Spanning a period of around two centuries, steam locomotives all over the world have generated huge excitement and remain a matter of national pride and nostalgia for regular rail passengers.

Steam locomotives become a casualty due to the rapid strides made by the Railways. When Railways across the world introduced fast-paced electrical trains, they in a way erased steam locomotives. While the introduction of electrical and diesel locomotives was part of the modernisation process, lovers of steam locomotives were outraged and offended.

Reviving
As a result, the Indian Steam Railway Society was formed by enthusiasts led by Romesh Chandra Sethi in 1999. A non-profit body, it comprises not only railway employees but all those interested in reviving and resurrecting steam locomotives.

According to Society member S. K. Kashyap, the steam locomotives came to a grinding halt when the last steam engine was discontinued on the broad gauge in 1995 and on the metre gauge in 2000. The only silver lining was a limited run of steam locomotives on the hill railways and on commemorative runs.

However, Mr. Kashyap, who ran steam locomotives then and the Delhi Metro Airport Express line now, is not despondent and gloomy over the present scenario. “We still have steam locomotives running between Kalka and Katlighat. The Nilgiri Mountain Railway is also a steam locomotive.”

The revival of the Fairy Queen, the oldest working steam locomotive in the world, in 1997 was a matter of pride and enthusiasm for all steam connoisseurs. It was certified by Guinness World Records to be the oldest operational locomotive. It was the turning point in the second coming of steam locomotives in the country. Its engine was manufactured at Leeds in 1855 by the British and it is a matter of great pride that it continues to run between Delhi and Alwar between October and March..

Titled “Veiled in Vapour”, the exhibition showcases a picture of the majestic Fairy Queen and 39 colour and black-and-white pictures of other steam locomotives. Some pictures are a collector's item -- a steam locomotive chugging and puffing uphill, a passenger train whizzing past a station and how passengers were enthusiastic about them! The exhibition seeks to make visitors understand the emotional bond between passengers and steam locomotives.

One black-and-white picture is of a passenger train with the majestic Taj Mahal in the background. The white marble mausoleum designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site has been superimposed in the picture.

These pictures have been captured by two Indians, Ashok Sharma and Vikas Arya. Berd Seiler, Heinrich Hubbert, Peter Jordan, Guy Brigden, Damsgard Hamen and D. Barry, have also gone out of their way to capture the timeless beauty of steam locomotives across the country on their camera.

The exhibition, which opened on Friday, comes to an end this Sunday.

The Asian age, 17th June 2012

The Purana Quila in Delhi is surrounded by both history and legend, but R.V. Smith extends the reach of its story by finding similarities between the epics of India and Greece

The Purana Quila never ceases to amaze students of history. The Delhi High Court order last week directing the mahant of Kunti Mata temple to vacate the area occupied by him and his family for the past three decades is the latest development in the fort's 3,000-year-old history. Kunti Devi, the mother of the five Pandava brothers, used to worship at this temple when Yudhishtir was ruling in Hastinapur. The quila was a part of his capital of Indraprastha that is supposed to have been an Ilium of sorts (where the Trojan king Priam — who, like Dhiritrashtra, also had 100 sons — ruled). One sometimes wonders at its similarity with the Purana Quila, which was not known by that name then.

The war between the Trojans and the Greeks took place some 3,000 years ago and that too over a woman, Helen of Sparta, just as beautiful as Draupadi whom the Kauravas, the cousins of the Pandavas, had insulted. In the case of Helen, it was her seduction by Paris of Troy that had led her husband Menelaus to form the Greek confederacy for the invasion of Ilium. Helen was finally taken away after a 10-year war in which Paris and nearly all his 100 brothers had been killed. Something akin to the fate of the Kauravas. Aeneas, one of the surviving Trojans, went on to found a principality which later gave birth to Rome. Just as the surviving Pandava descendant (Parikshit) went on to establish a new kingdom. So to draw a comparison between the Purana Quila and Ilium is not far-fetched. The other Greek classic, The Odysseyby Homer, on the wanderings of the hero Ulysses, corresponds with the 14-year the exile of Rama and his return after the rescue of the kidnapped Sita to Ayodhya. Penelope, the wife of Ulysses, was also united with him (after being harassed by several suitors) after a decade.

When one visits the Purana Quila, all these thoughts cross the mind. Kunti built a temple in it to honour her favourite gods and goddesses, but no temple of hers dedicated to Surya, the sun god, exists there. It was Surya who fathered her firstborn, Karna, a child born out of wedlock, whom shame prevented her from publicly acknowledging. But just before the fratricidal Mahabharata war, she did try to draw from him a promise that, fighting on the Kaurava side, he would not harm Arjuna and his brothers, revealing that they were Karna's half brothers. This sad meeting could have taken place at the Purana Quila.

Another mother-son encounter related to this war was when Gandhari tried to make Duryodhana invincible by passing her powerful gaze on all parts of his body. Only the middle portion modestly covered with a cloth remained unprotected. ( The Greek hero of the Trojan War, Achilles, was also made invincible, in his infancy, by his fairy-mother, who dipped him in the river of hell, Styx, except for the heel held in her palm. ) The mahant of Kunti Devi temple claims to be its hereditary priest. The 108th mahant, Pandit Ghasiram Bharadwaj, renovated the temple in 1915. The present pujari is his descendant whose claim of residential rights was rejected by the High Court which, however, allowed him to continue offering daily puja in the mandir as of old..

The Bharadwajs could have been ministering at the temple almost since the time of the Mahabharata. They take their name from Rishi Bharadwaj (son of the planetary ruler Brihaspati) of the Ramayana and Mahabarata times. Isn't it exciting to know that such a long tradition has been continuing at the Purana Quila which, in its present form owes its inception to Humayun, the second Mughal ruler, who named his fort Dinpanah — built at the site of the Pandava citadel. The fort was rebuilt by Sher Shah Suri after he had defeated Humayaun but the ousted ruler returned to recapture Delhi after spending 15 years in exile in Persia. He died a few months later after a fall from the steps of the Sher Mandal in the fort, which continued to remain in the control of his descendants till the time of Akbar Shah II, father of Bahadur Shah Zafar, who unfortunately had control only over the Red Fort.

So when you see the Purana Quila next, try to remember that it is not only linked to the Mahabharata but also in a way to the Iliad and the Odyssey, two epics written at about the very time the fort took shape in brick and mortar. The temple of Kunti and its mahant of course, are there to lend credence to the events of long, long ago. Surely Purana Quila in word and deed.

The Hindu, 18th June 2012

The Purana Quila in Delhi is surrounded by both history and legend, but R.V. Smith extends the reach of its story by finding similarities between the epics of India and Greece

The Purana Quila never ceases to amaze students of history. The Delhi High Court order last week directing the mahant of Kunti Mata temple to vacate the area occupied by him and his family for the past three decades is the latest development in the fort's 3,000-year-old history. Kunti Devi, the mother of the five Pandava brothers, used to worship at this temple when Yudhishtir was ruling in Hastinapur. The quila was a part of his capital of Indraprastha that is supposed to have been an Ilium of sorts (where the Trojan king Priam — who, like Dhiritrashtra, also had 100 sons — ruled). One sometimes wonders at its similarity with the Purana Quila, which was not known by that name then.

The war between the Trojans and the Greeks took place some 3,000 years ago and that too over a woman, Helen of Sparta, just as beautiful as Draupadi whom the Kauravas, the cousins of the Pandavas, had insulted. In the case of Helen, it was her seduction by Paris of Troy that had led her husband Menelaus to form the Greek confederacy for the invasion of Ilium. Helen was finally taken away after a 10-year war in which Paris and nearly all his 100 brothers had been killed. Something akin to the fate of the Kauravas. Aeneas, one of the surviving Trojans, went on to found a principality which later gave birth to Rome. Just as the surviving Pandava descendant (Parikshit) went on to establish a new kingdom. So to draw a comparison between the Purana Quila and Ilium is not far-fetched. The other Greek classic, The Odysseyby Homer, on the wanderings of the hero Ulysses, corresponds with the 14-year the exile of Rama and his return after the rescue of the kidnapped Sita to Ayodhya. Penelope, the wife of Ulysses, was also united with him (after being harassed by several suitors) after a decade.

When one visits the Purana Quila, all these thoughts cross the mind. Kunti built a temple in it to honour her favourite gods and goddesses, but no temple of hers dedicated to Surya, the sun god, exists there. It was Surya who fathered her firstborn, Karna, a child born out of wedlock, whom shame prevented her from publicly acknowledging. But just before the fratricidal Mahabharata war, she did try to draw from him a promise that, fighting on the Kaurava side, he would not harm Arjuna and his brothers, revealing that they were Karna's half brothers. This sad meeting could have taken place at the Purana Quila.

Another mother-son encounter related to this war was when Gandhari tried to make Duryodhana invincible by passing her powerful gaze on all parts of his body. Only the middle portion modestly covered with a cloth remained unprotected. ( The Greek hero of the Trojan War, Achilles, was also made invincible, in his infancy, by his fairy-mother, who dipped him in the river of hell, Styx, except for the heel held in her palm. ) The mahant of Kunti Devi temple claims to be its hereditary priest. The 108th mahant, Pandit Ghasiram Bharadwaj, renovated the temple in 1915. The present pujari is his descendant whose claim of residential rights was rejected by the High Court which, however, allowed him to continue offering daily puja in the mandir as of old..

The Bharadwajs could have been ministering at the temple almost since the time of the Mahabharata. They take their name from Rishi Bharadwaj (son of the planetary ruler Brihaspati) of the Ramayana and Mahabarata times. Isn't it exciting to know that such a long tradition has been continuing at the Purana Quila which, in its present form owes its inception to Humayun, the second Mughal ruler, who named his fort Dinpanah — built at the site of the Pandava citadel. The fort was rebuilt by Sher Shah Suri after he had defeated Humayaun but the ousted ruler returned to recapture Delhi after spending 15 years in exile in Persia. He died a few months later after a fall from the steps of the Sher Mandal in the fort, which continued to remain in the control of his descendants till the time of Akbar Shah II, father of Bahadur Shah Zafar, who unfortunately had control only over the Red Fort.

So when you see the Purana Quila next, try to remember that it is not only linked to the Mahabharata but also in a way to the Iliad and the Odyssey, two epics written at about the very time the fort took shape in brick and mortar. The temple of Kunti and its mahant of course, are there to lend credence to the events of long, long ago. Surely Purana Quila in word and deed.

The Hindu, 18th June 2012

Growing grapes, guavas and pomegranates in polythene bags and having seasonal winter flowers bloom in peak summers, and that too on the terrace of a house in North Delhi may sound outlandish to many, but not to Madan Gopal Kohli

While the idea of growing grapes, guavas and pomegranates on the terrace of a house might seem odd to many, for Madan Gopal Kohli this only marks the fruition of a passion for gardening which has made him innovate and derive results like few could imagine.

While his terrace garden which is spread over nearly 50 square metres at C-8/118A in Keshavpuram is a treat for anyone who loves gardening, the hundreds of plants also speak volumes about the effort that Mr. Kohli puts into nurturing and saving them in the searing heat.

The terrace is a veritable feast for the eyes. Plants in baskets, old bottles and even polythene bags vie for space here. A former defence personnel, Mr. Kohli knows the art of spacing and placing them really well.

His efforts over the past 29 years have also fetched him four recognitions from the Limca Book of Records. In 2008 a two-year-mint (pudina) plant hanging from a pot had reached a length of 2.18 metres; then in 2010 he grew the tallest marigold plant in his terrace garden to a height of 1.96 metres and only this year a cosmos planted by him in April 2011 in a pot reached a height of six feet. Apart from a mango leaf in his garden had grown 16 inches long and six inches wide and fetched him recognition..

So how does he manage to keep the plants healthy and strong in the extreme weather of Delhi? Mr. Kohli insists it requires a lot of discipline and careful tending. “I water and tend to them for two-and-a-half hours in the morning and then again for about two hours in the evening. Apart from the sun and wind, I also have to protect them from monkeys and birds.”

But it is the effort in taking buckets full of water to the plants which is most demanding. Giving a tip, he said: “I have always ensured that the phenyle water that is used in mopping the house is also not wasted and put into the pots. It carries some mud and also keeps pests away.”

Another key to keeping the plants healthy is changing their mud and putting manure every six months..

Mr. Kohli believes in sharing the knowledge of experience he has gathered over the years and this is a reason why for the past 19 years he has been organising a mini-terrace flower show. The show attracts a fair number of visitors who all get to see how over 35 varieties of seasonal flowers, roses, ornamental plants, succulents, palms, cacti, bonsai, creepers, vegetables and fruit can be grown on a small terrace – provided there is a zeal for the job and the dedication and discipline that the hard work demands.

The Hindu, 18th June 2012

So far, we have been looking at the city as a monument. But with the amount of insight we have gained from our research, it has forced us to look at the city as a city" said A.G.K. Menon, convenor of INTACH

The preoccupation to find a compelling argument weighs heavily on the table around which sits A.G.K. Menon, convenor of the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage's Delhi Chapter, and his colleague. Focussed arguments go back and forth between them inside the cool interiors of their office in Lodi Estate.

“Let us concentrate on criteria 4,” Mr. Menon's sharp voice is the only thing breaking the sleepy post-lunch lull. “Criteria 4 refers to excellence in town-planning although you should get the exact definition from UNESCO's website,” he cautions.

It is based on this criterion (to be an outstanding example of a type of building, architectural or technological ensemble or landscape which illustrates (a) significant stage(s) in human history) that INTACH's preparing its final dossier containing the proposal for nominating the Capital as a World Heritage City.

“We need a powerful compelling argument to show that the heritage we have is of universal importance,” says the convenor, about a project that the Delhi Chapter has been dedicated to since August 2008. While earlier four areas were identified – Shahjahanabad, Lutyens' Delhi, Nizamuddin and Mehrauli – now only the first two will be nominated.

The arguments are quite straightforward. “No other city has two such diverse examples of heritage in one place – Mughal and British and both are being used today with almost the same intent as it was initially built for,” he says. “They also prove excellence in town planning. For instance, New Delhi is the fusion of the garden city movement and the city beautiful movement.”

A week ago, at a meeting of stakeholders presided over by Delhi Chief Secretary P. K. Tripathi that included representations from the Delhi Development Authority and the Archaeological Survey of India, there was strong endorsement that Delhi should become a World Heritage City.

After Ahmedabad's nomination to gain heritage city status in 2011, Delhi's nomination, the second in the country, also appears in the ‘tentative list' updated by UNESCO on May 22, 2012..

Yet, for the team at INTACH it has been a struggle to dispel some misconceptions among people where many perceive heritage to be an impediment. “Nominating the city is a celebratory act and this does not mean it needs to be restrictive,” says Mr. Menon.

The Hindu, 18th June 2012

Gandhi's Post

So far, we have been looking at the city as a monument. But with the amount of insight we have gained from our research, it has forced us to look at the city as a city" said A.G.K. Menon, convenor of INTACH

Singing Talent
Sa Re Ga Ma alum Abhilasha Chellam is all set to make a transition into playback singing. She will make her debut with the Marathi film, Dombar i, in which she will sing a duet with singer Anand Shinde. The film is being produced by Bapusaheb Karande and Prakash Orpe, and being directed by Sunil Waikar

The Indian Express, 19th June 2012

The Basilica of Bom Jesus, one of Goa's most revered churches, will soon have an eco-friendly roof -- thanks to the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) which wanted visitors to the over 400-year-old building to have a "healthy" experience.

The massive asbestos roof on the imposing laterite stone building will be replaced by eco-friendly galvanised sheet.

The decision was taken on the recommendations of the ASI to ensure that tourists were not exposed to the risk of cancer due to exposure to asbestos, Savio Barretto of the Basilica of Bom Jesus told IANS.

"Last year, the ASI had done the roof work and replaced a lot of older sheets with new asbestos sheets. But in a recent meeting, officials informed us that people were protesting against the move and demanding that modern galvanised sheets be put up on the Basilica roof. We agreed," Barretto said.

"We were informed that asbestos is not eco-friendly and according to studies it could cause diseases like cancer," he said.

Built in 1604 and located a short distance from the capital Panaji, the Basilica of Bom Jesus attracts thousands of tourists and devotees every year.

Until recently, the roof of the church was covered by clay Mangalore tiles.

A few decades ago, heavy maintenance costs forced the authorities to switch from tiles and rafters to asbestos to cover the 300 sq mt wide roof of the church.

The Basilica contains mortal remains of the Spanish saint St. Francis Xavier who brought Christianity to the region. The Navarra-born saint is now the patron saint of Goa.

The Basilica is also recognised as a Unesco (United Nations Education Scientific and Cultural Organisation) world heritage site.

"We agreed to the idea of galvanised sheets because all such heritage buildings in the world have discarded asbestos as a building material. I believe that the modern material would be of great help as it is eco-friendly too," Barretto said

The Asian Age, 19th June 2012

Here is some good news for nature lovers who want to explore the untouched bounties of city’s Sukhna Wildlife Sanctuary. A digital elevation model of the Sukhna Wildlife Sanctuary would soon be accessible on the web.

The PEC University of Technology, conferred with the task to prepare a digital model of 26 square km Sukhna Wildlife Sanctuary, has completed the work and the digital model or 3-D representation of the terrain’s surface would soon be made available to the general public.

To give a chance to the trekking and adventure lovers to explore the unique terrain, the UT Forest and Wildlife Department will shortly upload the digital model of the Wildlife Sanctuary on the official website of the UT Administration

Aimed at giving boost to the eco-tourism in the city, the move would also assist the Forest and Wildlife Department to conserve the wildlife in the Sanctuary. The department also plans to display the digital model outside the sanctuary to make all the trekking routes, placement of water bodies and gradient of the landscape easily accessible to the adventure lovers.

Confirming the same, the UT Chief Wildlife Warden, Santosh Kumar while talking to The Pioneer said: “The digital model of city’s Sukhna Wildlife Sanctuary has been prepared by the PEC University of Technology.

He said: “A presentation regarding the same was given by the PEC recently and we had requested some changes in the digital elevated model of the Sanctuary. Now, the final digital model of the Sanctuary is complete and would soon be uploaded on the official website of the UT Administration.

“The digital model of the sanctuary would help the trekkers in exploring different trekking routes, water bodies, wildlife habitats and to observe the relative gradient of the landscape. Besides, it would also highlight the habitat of a particular wildlife species or the areas where the fire incidents are recurrent, assisting the authorities in improving the management of the forest area,” he added.
The digitalisation model would also view features like zoom in or out and map users can scan it in any direction and change the nature of information, considering the number of options given.

At present, there are around eight tracks under the ‘nature trails’ initiative of the department in the sanctuary. While seven tracks are from 5 km to 8 km, only one track is of two-and-half km. Maps of these eight ‘nature trails’ created to promote eco-tourism including Nepli inspection Hut to Kansal Log Hut, Kansal Loghut to Nepli gate, Nepli Gate to Nepli Inspection hut etc would also be displayed in the digital model.

Apparently, the administration is pulling out all the stops to make the Sukhna Wildlife Sanctuary easily approachable and a prominent spot in the City Beautiful.

The Sukhna Wildlife Sanctuary forms the part of Sukhna Lake catchment area falling in Shivalik hills. It inhibits nine species of mammals and 63 species of birds.

The sanctuary spreading over an area of 26 sq km is inhabited by a large number of Sambars, peacocks and endangered species like spotted deer, porcupine, pangolin, wild pigs, cheetal.

As per the census report compiled by the Wildlife Institute of India in 2010, the Sanctuary has nearly 1,031 Sambars and 920 peacocks.

The wildlife habitat also houses wide variety of butterflies, moth, honey bee and other micro-organisms in abundance besides a variety of replies including snakes like cobra, rat snake, Common krait, Russell’s viper, Indian python and common monitor (Gho), freshwater turtle.

Last year, over 10,000 people had visited the Sanctuary. In 2008, nearly 10,733 people visited the Sanctuary while in 2009, 10,828 had visited it. In 2010, the statistics had descended to 8,154.

The Pioneer, 19th June 2012

A small artificial lake has been formed in Himachal Pradesh's Spiti with the melting of a glacier and the water inflow into it been increasing, triggering panic among the locals. Officials however ruled out any immediate threat.

Meanwhile, eight foreign tourists, who were stranded in the Pin Valley for over a week, due to formation of the lake and landslides, have been evacuated, an official spokesman said here Monday.

The government said it was monitoring the situation and there was no immediate threat from the lake located on the Pin river in the Spiti region.

Official sources said the size of the lake has been increasing day by day with the thawing of glaciers in its catchment. "If it bursts, it could severely damage the villages located downstream," an official told IANS.

Locals said area of the lake, formed near Shangni village in the Pin Valley, some 300 km from Shimla, has increased to over three square km and the depth increased to more than 20 feet.

Sub-Divisional Magistrate Hemis Negi ruled out any threat.

"There is no immediate threat to the downstream areas," Nagi told IANS over phone from the spot.
He said government choppers have airlifted most of the stranded tourists, including eight foreigners, and provided essential commodities to the locals.

The people were struck for over a week as the lake damaged the nearby highway, he added.

Two foreigners were airlifted Sunday, whereas the remaining six were airlifted Monday.

The Assam Tribune, 19th June 2012

There is no doubt that for every scholar whose talent and work gets recognised, there are many more who have either been forgotten or ignored — not only by posterity but also by their own contemporaries. In the arena of archaeological scholarship, this is something that I am constantly
reminded of when reading Alexander Cunningham’s reports. As the first director general of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) he, more than any other scholar of his day succeeded in imparting a grass-root reality to the literary image of Ancient India by identifying and mapping out archaeological sites on a grand scale. Yet, he remained inexplicably silent about the path breaking discoveries of others who were simultaneously seeking out India’s prehistoric roots. Robert Bruce Foote was among the many scholars who searched out the presence of prehistoric artefacts, although if you read the Cunningham reports, you wouldn’t even know that he existed

One reason for this is that Foote was a geologist with the Geological Survey of India, and his interest in prehistory was not a serious concern of the ASI which then, as now, was the institutional guardian of archaeology in India. Fortunately for us, Foote had a strong sense of his own worth and consequently, his various publications have ensured that his work received the acclaim it deserved, even if the ASI ignored it

There are other instances, though, where individual achievement was compromised by untimely death. The Italian explorer Luigi Pio Tessitori is an example of this. Tessitori’s discovery of Harappan seals at Kalibangan remained practically unknown in part because, before he could publish his findings, he died in his early 30s. That his pioneering trail was eventually recognised owes much to the motivation of a Kanpur businessman, Hazarimal Banthia, who brought back copies of his correspondence from Italy. Haranandan Panday was another promising ASI archaeologist whose work extended from Belwa in Bihar to Sanchi in central India, much of which remains unknown because he too died young. His obituary — written by no less than the famous barrister-historian KP Jayaswal — mentioned that Panday had prepared a Devanagari edition of the Buddhist text Mahaparinibbana Sutta and an archaeological map of Bihar. These remained unpublished and are now untraceable. One can only hope that his grandson Nirmalendu Choubey who has made it his mission to recover whatever is available on the life and work of this forgotten archaeologist, eventually discovers them

A third kind of sidelined scholarship is introduced to us by Virchand Dharamsey’s book Bhagwanlal Indraji —The First Indian Archaeologist (2012). This connects up with mainstream scholarship that is largely English-speaking and which is usually uncomfortable with the Indian languages in which people from small towns and places publish. The subject of the book, Bhagwanlal Indraji, was born in Junagadh in a family of Ayurvedic practitioners. As a 15-year-old, he became seriously interested in ancient inscriptions when the newly-opened Sanskrit pathshala there was presented a chart of characters of the Brahmi script which James Prinsep had deciphered and published. Using a tracing of that chart, he began to study the inscribed rock of Girnar and some years later, he became a masterful decipherer of epigraphs. Initially, Bhagwanlal acted as an assistant to the doctor-cum-Indologist Bhau Daji who extensively used his findings. It was after his benefactor’s death that he came into his own, received credit for his work and a honorary doctorate from Leiden University. This is well-known

What this book has now revealed is that sometimes, Bhagwanlal’s discoveries were ahead of his European contemporaries but remained sidelined because they were written in Gujarati. The handwritten notebooks of Bhagwanlal in the library of the Forbes Gujarati Sabha in Mumbai highlight this as do the letters which Bhagwanlal wrote to his patron, the Nawab of Junagadh, about the progress of his archaeological explorations. These, unlike the diaries, were published in Saurashtra Darpan, a Gujarati weekly from Junagadh, but, like the diaries, are in Gujarati

In a letter written in 1872, he reported his discovery of an Ashokan edict at Bairat in Rajasthan: “On the southern side of Virat is a hillock with ancient Buddhist ruins. Near the ruins once stood an engraved stone inscription of Ashoka, which at present lies in the Asiatic Society Museum in Calcutta. While I was on the northern side of Virat, I discovered a new inscription at the foothill.” Since his letter was published in Saurashtra Darpan and in Gujarati, he never got the credit for it and instead, an assistant of Cunningham who arrived there soon after, came to be considered as its discoverer

Thanks to Dharamsey’s archival digging, many vignettes about the remarkable life of this pioneering Indian archaeologist have come to light. And it all started for Dharamsey when he browsed through the manuscripts catalogue of the library of the Forbes Gujarati Sabha. One can only hope that the newly-launched National Mission on Libraries will pay attention to the holdings of such institutions so that there is an integration of those outside the academy with those within it. Hopefully, this will make it easier for many more individuals like Bhagwanlal’s biographer to find such forgotten scholarship

The Hindustan Times, 19th June 2012

Meera Iyer goes in search of the dargah of Bahadur Khan, the brave soldier who died defending the Bangalore fort one moonlit night two centuries ago. She finds it near the corner where the City’s SJP and Avenue roads meet.

One moonlit night 221 years ago, an old soldier died fighting while defending his fort against an enemy. He was one of thousands killed that night.

Yet something about the venerable old fighter moved even enemy hearts, so much so they buried him with full honours and wrote paeans about his bravery.

The soldier was the commandant or killedar of the fort during the Battle of Bangalore, which culminated on March 21, 1791. And interestingly, he is still remembered today, though in a slightly different role than earlier.

In the late 1700s, the Mysore kingdom was the greatest enemy the British had in India. The British had already fought and lost two wars against Hyder Ali and his son Tipu Sultan, when in 1789, they declared war on Tipu, launching the Third Anglo-Mysore War.

At that time, Bangalore was the second most important city in Mysore. It was a commercial hub for silks and textiles, an important centre for the manufacture of arms and ammunition, and was well-protected and fortified.

A mud fort, a deep ditch and a hedge of bamboo, aloe and other thorny bushes protected the populous commercial and residential part of the City, or pettah. Adjacent to it, a strong stone fort with a deep, wide moat protected the royal establishments along with foundries, magazines and barracks. Some British army officers referred to this as the most important fortress in Mysore.

The Third Anglo-Mysore war reached Bangalore in 1791, when Charles Cornwallis led his Grand Army here. They captured the pettah fort on March 7, 1791. Their next target was the stone fort.

A siege followed, during which there were many skirmishes between Cornwallis’s troops and Tipu’s army, which was camped nearby. Three weeks later, the British batteries trained on the stone fort succeeded in breaching its massive walls. And at 11pm on March 21, the British stormed the Bangalore fort.

The Mysoreans in the fort were caught unawares by the attack – perhaps because of traitors as some suggest, or because, as S K Aruni of the Indian Council of Historical Research points out, it was against the rules of war to attack at night.

Nevertheless, they put up a stiff fight. Rockets, cannon and a constant stream of gunfire assailed the British as they entered the fort. But within an hour, all was lost and Cornwallis had captured the fort. Estimates for Mysoreans killed in the fighting that night range from 300 to 2000.

Bahadur Khan, the brave one
One man in particular stood out – the killedar or commandant of the fort, Bahadur Khan. Tipu had only recently had him transferred from Krishnagiri to Bangalore.

Tall, fair and striking, with a white beard that reached almost to his waist, the seventy-something veteran looked more like a prophet than a fighter. But he fought with all the vigour of a youth.

British accounts recount how he led the fight from the front, urging his men to make a last stand against the enemy. The gallant old soldier battled on till his last breath, dying of a shot in the head and multiple stab wounds.

You can gauge the admiration the British felt for this particular enemy soldier from their encomiums on him.

Roderick Mackenzie, a lieutenant in the British infantry, writes, “Wherever gallantry is recorded, Bahadur Khan, killedar of Bangalore, will hold a conspicuous place among the heroes of our times. True to his trust, he resigned it with life, after receiving almost as many wounds as were inflicted on Caesar in the Capitol.”

After the battle, Cornwallis sent word to Tipu informing him that he could take the mortal remains of Bahadur Khan. Tipu is said to have wept with despair when he learnt of the loss of his trusted killedar.

But to Cornwallis, he responded that the spot where a soldier fell was the most honourable place where he could be interred. Accordingly, the British buried Bahadur Khan with full military honours near where he died. A few weeks ago, a friend and I went in search of Bahadur Khan’s grave. Only a small fraction of the once-great fort of Bangalore remains today, but what of the resting place of the now-forgotten man who had died defending the fort? Does it still exist?

Looking for his dargah
Knowing that he was buried somewhere near the fort, we decided to scour that vicinity. We knew that the grave, if it existed, would be a dargah. My fellow heritage enthusiast Mansoor Ali, who often visits dargahs, explained that in Islam, saints who had died or those who had been killed for a good cause were considered blessed. One could ask them to intercede on your behalf to God.

We began our search at Albert Victor Road, near Tipu’s palace. One interesting dargah followed another and we gathered stories about saints, soldiers and healers. From shrines where we were the only visitors to those like Syedani Bibi’s which had a regular stream of believers, we saw a whole gamut of dargahs, each a distinctively green oasis of calm amidst the chaos of the outside world: no traffic, no noise, no tension, no differences between religious communities.

In each, we asked about the grave of the brave commandant who had died fighting against the British, but though a few dargahs housed graves of people who had lost their lives fighting during Tipu’s times, none was named Bahadur Khan…until we reached the corner of SJP and Avenue Road. There, in the middle of the hubbub of the market and bus stand nearby, stands the Dargah Hazrath Mir Bahadur Shah Al-Maroof Syed Pacha Shaheed.

The dargah is a small one-roomed structure with granite cladding, a dome and four small turrets. In the centre is a grave draped with a red embroidered shawl and festooned with several garlands. As we watch, several men and women come in, touch the grave and fervently but silently pray to the martyr.

The faithful believe that a wish made at this dargah will come true. I learnt later that about 100 people worship at the dargah everyday. The karaga procession, too, makes a stop here.

Bahadur Shah died years ago, but here, near where he died, he is still very much a part of people’s lives

The Deccan Herald, 20th June 2012

While there is no denying that economic growth is important to our country, it is equally critical to understand that there can be no growth without ecological security. We cannot allow our wildlife to be increasingly endangere

In the desolate region of Thar, beyond the bright lights of the tourist circuit of Rajasthan, is the Desert National Park. Few are aware of its existence — fewer know that it supports the Great Indian Bustard. Barely 300 of these endemic birds survive, yet this national park may soon be ‘rationalised’ (the rationale being that much of it is wasted, degraded, largely due to neglect and poor protection and management over the years), reportedly in consideration of the oil interests in the region

A major chunk of another sanctuary in Maharashtra dedicated to the Great Indian Bustard was de-notified recently. Incidentally, the Great Indian Bustard is listed under Schedule-I of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, and is identified as one of the 16 critically endangered species for a recovery programme by the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests

So precarious is the status of the Great Indian Bustard that guidelines were formed, and an ‘emergency plan’ for the bustards’ revival was emphasised. To date, the guidelines and the ‘emergency’ strategy are yet to see the light of day, while we continue to devastate the home range of the Great Indian Bustard

Beyond the tiger, whose fortunes — and misfortunes — are well-documented and reported, there are other species that stare at an uncertain, precarious future. They are the Dugong, Hanguls or Kashmir Stag, Olive Ridley Turtles, vultures, and many more

Endangered wildlife enjoys strict protection in India’s legal, regulatory framework. India has set aside about 4.9 per cent of its geographical area as 'Protected Areas'. To put our protected areas network in a global perspective, the US has protected nearly a third of its land area

Before we plunge into a debate about the US being able to ‘afford’ to do so, our enlightened neighbour, Bhutan, has protected 42 per cent, while Pakistan is reported to have set aside about 10 per cent of its area. Nearly 12 per cent of the world's land surface is protected for nature conservation

Leaving global comparisons aside, the pertinent question that needs to be asked is: Is our Protected Area network effectively, actually five per cent

Unfortunately, no protected areas are not the pristine, sacrosanct havens that they are meant to be. They are criss-crossed by highways, railway lines, electric wires and canals, and submerged and fragmented by reservoirs, degraded by cattle grazing and extraction of forest produce and pillaged by the construction of hydel-dams and mines

Rajaji National Park, the north-westerly limit of the tiger and the elephant in India, is a classic example. The park is heavily fragmented by roads, railway lines and canals

The Marine National Park in Gujarat, which supports myriad eco-systems and oceanic fauna including the critically endangered dugong, has oil pipe lines running through it

Errant vehicles killed two tigers on roads cutting across Corbett and Dudhwa Tiger Reserves last year, while in North Bengal the railway line running through the Buxa-Jaldapara-Mahananda complex continues to take a heavy toll on elephants — after slaughtering seven elephants in one go in 2010

The pristine rainforests of Kudremukh National Park were gouged for iron-ore mining by a public sector company, until this was stopped by an order of the Supreme Court, after a long and courageous battle by local conservation groups

The Olive Ridley Turtles may lose their mass nesting beaches to the proliferation of ports (and ancillary development) along the Orissa coast. Rivers where the Gangetic dolphin and the gharial swim, are no more than toxic, turbid drains — their flow stilled by hydel-projects

What is difficult to digest even more than the wanton destruction is the apathy. The fact that rarely are wildlife concerns factored in, or worse, in fact, usually overlooked, be it in development projects, or urban planning or any such activity

Why is endangered wildlife considered expendable? Why are we willing to sacrifice them for even the most frivolous of causes, as in the case of a Hollywood film shot at a vulture nesting site in Orchha in Madhya Pradesh, even as we protect them by law

Why can’t we seriously consider options, for highways through tiger reserves, and iron ore mines in wildlife parks? Why do we ignore the law of the land when we plough roads through tiger corridors? And why don’t we take punitive action when forest and wildlife laws are clearly circumvented as in the instance of a national highway that brushes past the Nagzira National Park? Why are ecological concerns so easily side-stepped? Why is it considered radical, even anti-national to press for implementation of the law of the land in protection of wildlife

The point is: While there is no denying that economic growth is important to our country, it is equally critical to understand that there can be no economic growth without ecological security. It’s crucial to set aside a part of our country for wild habitats. Our protected areas are tiny islands, and under increasing pressure. We must be categorical in having a hands-off approach at least in our protected areas. We also need to take stock of our effective Protected Area

Huge tracts of forests have been destroyed and many rivers dammed since Independence, in our quest for growth, yet over 300 million Indians continue to live in dire poverty. Will sacrificing the tiny portion of India that is protected, solve our complex problems and take us to the fast road of development? Will we dismember the Taj Mahal to build a housing colony for the homeless

Viewing forests as a ‘hurdle’ to growth is fundamentally flawed. The forests, wetlands, coasts, deserts and grasslands that we seek to destroy, perform vital ecological services on which rest our very survival and livelihood. Hundreds of rivers flow from forests, wetlands recharge groundwater and millions of fishermen depend on the sea for their sustenance. Tigers, dolphins, bustards, cranes etc are symbols of the health of these eco-systems, vital to life on earth. In conserving them, we ensure a future for us

The writer is a member, National Board of Wildlife

The Pioneer, 20th June 2012

Government must harden and secure critical electrical infrastructure from solar flares. These flares can be tremendously destructive

National Geographic has serialised the perils of solar disturbances, which it calls super solar storms. Next year, the sun will be at the most proximate distance from the earth and scientists are predicting the worst

We’ve all become hostage to electricity and electronics — some more than others. A power outage of a few hours leads to frayed nerves, bad temper, rage and riots. You haven’t heard this one — EMP (Electro- Magnetic Pulse) can cause calamitous damage to power grids and electricity infrastructure. To familiarise yourself with the trauma, read William R Forstchen’s thriller, One Second After, which is a novel and not sci-fi, and it could happen any time. One high altitude EMP detonation is all it takes to reduce the US to 25 million people returned to the 18th century. An EMP attack is caused by a nuclear blast as well as by non- nuclear means of a lower (E1) intensity

In India, luckily, 70 per cent of the population lives in villages and yet is increasingly being driven by the power grid. Probably the only facility in the country which is EMP hardened is the country's National Command Post and its alternate site. This means that a malicious EMP attack can bring the nation to a standstill

The other catastrophe will result from a major Geo-Magnetic Disturbance caused by a solar storm — what people call a solar blow — which can cause prolonged power outages. A solar eruption is expected in 2013; so this is an early warning to those who match risk with vulnerability. In the past, North America including Canada, Sweden and even South Africa have experienced severe geo-magnetically induced currents which have cause long power dislocations. The two historic sun storms (1859 and 1921) predate the modern electricity grid. The Canadian power outage occurred in March 1989 and resulted in the collapse of the Quebec grid which includes parts of North America. The longest solar flare happened in October 2003

The sun is being observed minutely all the time for forecasting the likely behaviour of solar flares. While solar storms cannot be predicted, one can be alert to them

The object of defining a malicious EMP and a natural severe space weather event is to get Government, industry and power regulators to harden and secure critical electric infrastructure from EMP and GMD. The insurance industry which is intrinsically involved compares low probability with high cost saying "this may not happen in our lifetime but it could happen next year"

People are more likely to have heard about GMD and not EMP. Experts rate a GMD event as inevitable while EMP has low probability. There is no consensus on worst case scenarios; still action seekers say: Do not wait for the Black Swan. In other words, ‘Stop admiring the problem, do something… make a start.” To which the caution inducers recommend waiting for more data and analyses to nail the problem. In the US and the UK, critical military and nuclear assets are EMP hardened. But 99 per cent of power for defence communication comes from commercial civilian power grid. At present the military is geared to handle a 72-hour outage. And then it’s all dead

The US’s new Mission Assurance Strategy ensures greater redundancies to keep NCR Washington functional. Much of the operational control of strategic assets employed outside the continent of United States like drones are directed from home bases. Between GMD and EMP, the emphasis at present is on GMD. EMP from nuclear blasts is a military responsibility. While some progress has been made in GMD protection, there is none at all against EMP

What is the EMP doomsday scenario? A single nuclear warhead detonated at an ideal height — say 140-400 km above mean sea level — can cause catastrophic electric and power failures, making EMP the ultimate cyber threat. While Russia has super-EMP weapons, some of that technology is likely to have been leaked to North Korea which is making EMP bombs. An EMP attack is inevitably a nuclear assault. The West, especially the US , dreads an Iran-provided nuclear bomb fired by an anonymous terrorist group. This EMP enabled weapon in jihadihands considered 100 per cent shari’ah-compliant, is non-deterrable

Western deterrence scholars have convinced themselves that the Iranian leadership is irrational and that the mullahs would not hesitate to have a go. Iran is known to have practiced in the Caspian Sea, drills for the detonation of a high altitude EMP weapon delivered by the Al Shabab series of ballistic missiles

In One Second After, in 2008 the US is hit by an EMP nuke, detonated over Kansas fired from a container ship (which later blew up) in the Gulf of Mexico. One year later, 25 million Americans were left with New York estimated to be down to 25,000 living “like in the Dark Ages”. The advocates of EMP hardening say that an EMP effect (of E1 intensity) can be created by a non-nuclear EMP simulator suitcase device without creating a nuclear blast. The re-usable device costing $ 100,000 can destroy all database when activated from a distance of 75 feet. The device has been successfully tested against military infrastructure in the US and is commercially sold in the US except in the state of Minnesota which has declared its sale as felony

In the US, estimates for hardening vary from $ 200 m to $ 10 billion. This would entail installing blocking devices on transformers in 100 US cities. Between 2020 and 2030, the US is expected to invest $ 1.85 trillion improving electricity infrastructure

On March 13, 2013, a GMD threat warning (which is E3 on the EMP scale) is likely to come up. On that day the sun is expected to hit a peak eruption period leading to extreme storm conditions and blackouts which could last for weeks and months. As for EMP warning, the suitcase EMP bomb is now available off the shelf in the US and the jihadis are on the prowl

Discounting an EMP attack against India may be a calculated risk. Still a natural GMD could wreak havoc, given our total dependence on electricity. It is time the national security establishment took stock of this challenge. It is also time that the power grid managers prepared for the challenge ahead by shielding and hardening transformers and other equipment which are central to defeating a severe weather disturbance. The time to prepare and protect is now

The Pioneer, 20th June 2012

Inaugurated with much fanfare in February — in the run-up to the municipal polls — the multilevel parking at Parade Ground has not been made operational so far. In fact, sources say, 15% of the work on the parking lot, touted as a solution to the traffic chaos of the Walled City, is pending. Unhappy with the tardy progress on the project, traders of Chandni Chowk say all their pleas to make two levels of the parking operational have fallen on deaf years thus far.

"We have repeatedly been told that the parking will be made operational soon. But given the pace at which work has been progressing for more than two months, we don't see it happening in the near future," said Sanjay Bhargava, general secretary, Chandni Chowk Sarv Vypar Mandal.

The parking has four underground levels but only the ground floor and the upper basement have been completed so far. When it was inaugurated, traders were assured that these two levels, which can accommodate more than 500 cars, will be made operational as an interim facility.

"We have been asking the authorities to allow us to use the two levels but our appeals have been to no avail. We were also promised that no parking fee will be charged till the time a contractoris appointed," added Bhargava. However, the cash-strapped North Delhi Municipal Corporationis still busy identifying a contractor.

"The parking lot is in the tendering stage. Once the contractor is appointed, it will be opened," said Mira Aggarwal, mayor of the corporation. The parking lot can accommodate 1,000 cars and is being built at a cost of Rs 52.8 crore.

Several other multilevel parking lots, under construction for the last five years, are yet to be completed. Work on the Kamla Nagar parking lot began way back in 2008 but 20% of it is still incomplete. Unable to complete parking projects, the corporation blames other civic agencies for delays.

Corporation officials blame agencies like Delhi Jal Board (DJB) and Archeological Survey of India (ASI) of holding up these projects.

"Shifting of DJB pipelines, getting clearances from the forest department, ASI and other agencies, and delays in the tendering process, are responsible. Some projects had to be dropped, as shifting of services was not feasible," said a corporation official

The Times of India, 20th June 2012

Archaeology is a discipline that opens up a comprehensive and scientific perspective as far as understanding the cultural heritage of a country is concerned. Preservation and conservation of the cultural heritage of a country is a national imperative and requires participation from even the average citizen. Understanding this need the archaeology department of Deccan College, Pune, has been conducting several outreach programmes to educate people across the country about the importance of this discipline. “The central and state governments are doing their best to preserve our cultural heritage but they have their own limitations. Our outreach programmes are envisaged to supplement the efforts of the government and our mandate is to enlighten people about the contribution of this discipline with regard to the history of the country and the world at large,” says Dr VS Shinde, professor of archaeology and joint director of the university. Founded by the late Professor H.D. Sankalia, this department is the premier post graduate and research institute for archaeology in South Asia

USP:
Incidentally, this is the only department in the country that carries out research at the all-India level

Infrastructure:
This is the only university department of archaeology in the entire country which boasts of elaborate laboratories for archaeological chemistry, palynology, archaeo-zoology, archaeo-botany, biological anthropology, sedimentology, paleontology, physical chemistry, X-Ray diffraction and computing. The services are extended to other institutions and university departments in the country, including the Archaeological Survey of India and state departments of archaeology

Faculty strength:

It has a sanctioned faculty strength of 28 members

Research focus:
The various fields in which research is carried out include prehistory, protohistory, Harappan age, early iron age and the early historic, mediveal and industrial periods. Numismatics, art and architecture, palaeography, epigraphy, iconography, museology, ethnoarchaelogy, domestication of plants and animals and health and diet of ancient people are other key focus areas in terms of research

Placement record:
The alumni occupies teaching and research positions in universities and research institutions. Archaelogical Survey of India, National Monument Authority, National Mission for Monuments and Archaelogical Sites and museums are some places where the alumni are employed.

Factfile
This department was granted the status of Department of Special Assistance by UGC in 1972. The UGC was also instrumental in upgrading the status of this department as a Centre of Advanced Study in 1985. In 2003, the department assisted the UGC in terms of the implementation of a programme called Assistance for Infrastructure in Humanities and Social Science

Wishlist
“Since we are imparted intensive training in the latest archaeological exploration and excavation methods I want to work independently on more challenging research projects,” says a masters student

The Hindustan Times, 20th June 2012

Four years and an expired Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) later, the state Archaeology department is again drafting a fresh MoU with the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) to conserve the 95 monuments it had listed in October 2008. In the past four years, 17 of the 95 were conserved in the rush ahead of the 2010 Commonwealth Games. But not one of them has been notified as “protected” till date

While the state department of Archaeology is busy “processing” the notifications, many of these monuments have been encroached upon, turned into living mosques and madrassas and renovated beyond recognition

Conservationists have time and again raised an alarm that alterations made to many of the monuments have left them beyond repair. However, the department of Archaeology — responsible for notifying, protecting and conserving heritage structures of prominence — insists that it is waiting for the notification process to be completed. Only after notification will it be in a position to “assert its authority over the monuments and ensure that encroachments are removed and the monuments protected”, said a department official

The Delhi Development Authority, the body that owns a large number of these monuments, has been writing to the Archaeology department to take over the monuments at the earliest, so that once the encroachments are removed, the structures can be protected

In 2008, the department had tied up with INTACH to conserve 95 monuments and notify them as protected

As per the MoU, INTACH was to provide conservation and management of these monuments in two phases

Under phase I, it was to prepare a site plan of the monuments showing all topographical features and structures up to a radius of 150 metres, along with the prohibited and regulated areas in the monument, photo documentation and structural description of the monument

In phase II, it was to carry out structural conservation, chemical preservation and refurbishment. The Archaeology department was to have then notified all the 95 monuments as “protected”

Since then, 17 monuments have been conserved and illuminated but not one has been notified as protected. Officials say the preliminary notification of 48 heritage structures has been done and the paperwork is now being processed for the final notification, which requires the seal of the Lieutenant-Governor

Preliminary notification is the process of making the proposed list of monuments public and inviting objections with regard to the ownership and other legalities of the structure. In the case of 48 monuments, the Wakf Board had raised objections regarding a large number of them but is said to have failed to prove its ownership. The list of 48 monuments has, therefore, finally been forwarded for approval from the Delhi government and then the L-G’s office

This, according to officials of the Archaeology department, is an achievement in itself. Claiming that notifying 48 monuments at one go is an achievement in the history of heritage conservation, an official said that “even the Archaeological Survey of India took a 100 years to notify just 25 monuments” in Delhi

The Archaeology department, which received statutory powers in 2004 — after the enactment of the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act — has notified just six monuments in Badarpur and “hopes” to have another 48 added to the “protected list” by next month

The three-year MoU with INTACH expired in 2011. The department sent out a draft of the new MoU to the heritage body for approval last week

Convenor, Delhi Chapter, INTACH, A G K Menon told Newsline, “We are finalising a fresh MoU and once that comes through work on the monuments will resume. We have already presented a detailed estimate for conservation, illumination and maintenance of another 18 structures out of the list of 95 monuments.

The Indian Express, 21st June 2012

K K Dey, chief loco-inspector in the Northeast Frontier Railway at Lumding, had never considered a speeding train knocking down an elephant as “such a major loss” until he attended a workshop on train-elephant collision organised by the Wildlife Trust of India a few months ago

“I have been a witness to several such elephant deaths in my 32-year career. But it was only recently that I realised why we should also care about the elephant,” said Dey. He is among the 80-odd loco-drivers and other staff of the NF Railway who have undergone training on how to save elephants on the tracks

Elephants getting killed on railway tracks has been commonplace in Assam, given the fact that railway lines pass by five major elephant reserves in the state, often cutting through natural elephant corridors. A study conducted by the WTI has revealed that as many as 187 elephants have been killed by trains in the country between 1987 and 2011, of which Assam accounts for 37 per cent or 69 cases

“While elephants crossing tracks has been a major problem for us, we have launched a vigorous drive to train our loco-drivers to be on the maximum alert especially when passing through or near known elephant reserves and corridors,” said S S Hajong, chief public relations officer, NF Railway.
The campaign mounted by NF Railway includes time-to-time workshops for loco-drivers and other staff, joint patrolling with forest and NGO volunteers, and a vigorous poster campaign in vulnerable sections, said Hajong

“NGOs like WTI and Aaranyak have come out in a big way to train our people, leading to a significant reduction of such cases,” he said

“Elephants need a lot of water and food, while factors like temperature, fodder scarcity, increasing human activity inside their habitats, encroachment and deforestation have prompted the animals to increasingly shift from one place to another,” said Dhanjit Das of the WTI

A series of workshops, jointly organised by the WTI, NF Railway, and the Forest department, have led to joint patrolling in vulnerable sections. Waste food thrown from pantry cars of trains by passengers has also been identified as another reason for elephant deaths

“During 2011 alone, such efforts have led to averting nearly 300 accidents in Assam itself, the highest being 106 in the most vulnerable Diphu-Daldali section, followed by 91 in Daldali-Dhansiri section, and 52 in Deepor Beel area near Guwahati,” Das pointed out

Loco-drivers nowadays remain alert while passing through such sections, and call up the nearest station masters and patrol parties to find out about the movements of elephants

Meanwhile, IIT-Delhi has developed a wireless sensor device called ‘The Wild Animal Protection System’, which will not only help detect the presence of elephants on the track but also activate a signal system to the nearest station to warn trains to slow down or stop

“Similar sensor devices are used by international car companies and in some trains and ships, and have proved useful in avoiding collisions. A pilot project of the sensor device is expected to be developed by 2015 and will be ready for testing in 2016 by the Ministry of Environment and Forests, initially in West Bengal,” said Amruta Ubale of Animal Equality, another NGO working for elephant conservation. West Bengal, in fact, accounts for 27 per cent of the train-hit elephant deaths in the country

The Indian Express, 21st June 2012

The Red list of threatened species, prepared by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), has listed 132 species of plants and animals as Critically Endangered, the most threatened category, from India

Plants seemed to be the most threatened life form with 60 species being listed as Critically Endangered and 141 as Endangered

The Critically Endangered list included 18 species of amphibians, 14 fishes and 10 mammals. There are also 15 bird species in the category. The agency listed 310 species as Endangered ones, including 69 fishes, 38 mammals and 32 amphibians. Two plant species were reported to be extinct in the wild, including the Euphorbia mayuranthanii of Kerala. A leaf frog species and six plants were recorded as extinct, according to the latest assessment

Of the total 63,837 species globally assessed, the IUCN classified 3,947 as Critically Endangered, 81 as Extinct, 63 as Extinct in the Wild. In the lower risk categories, there were 5766 species in Endangered, 10,104 in Vulnerable and 4,467 in Near Threatened categories. Scientific data regarding 10,497 species was not available and hence classified as Data Deficient, the report said

The threat level of as many as seven Indian bird species had increased in the last one year, say experts

According to the latest figures, 15 species of Indian birds, including the great Indian bustard, Siberian crane and sociable lapwing are there in the list of Critically Endangered birds. In the lower risk categories, the agency included 14 bird species as Endangered and 51 as vulnerable ones.
Compared to the previous year, the conservation status of Baer's Pochard had been uplisted to the Critically Endangered from the Endangered and the Long-tailed Duck to Vulnerable from the Least Concerned, said P.O. Nameer, South Asian coordinator, in situ, Conservation Breeding Specialist Group, Species Survival Commission of the IUCN

This year, Saker Falcon has been listed as Endangered against the previous year's rating of Vulnerable. The threat perspective faced by the River Lapwing resulted in its classification as the Near-Threatened from the earlier Least Concerned. River Tern, a wetland-dependent species found in Kerala among other places has been moved to the Near-Threatened category from the Least concern and Black-bellied Tern to the Endangered from the Near-threatened in the latest list, Dr. Nameer said

Sinhoe's Storm-petrel, which was first sighted in India in Chavakad last year, has also been classified as the Near-Threatened. Last year, the species was classified as the Least concerned, he said

Fishes of Kerala
Four fish species from Kerala, including the Pookode Lake Barb and Nilgiri Mystus, are included in the Critically Endangered fishes of India. The agency listed 39 species from Kerala as endangered, including the Periyar Latia, Nilgiri Danio, Cardamom Garra, Periyar Garra and Anamalai Sucker Catfish

The Imperial White Collared Yellow Catfish, Santhampara Loach, Nilgiri Barb, Hump Backed Mahseer, Periyar Barb and Peninsular Hill Trout are among the endangered fish species of Kerala, according to C.P. Shaji, Principal Scientific Officer of the Kerala State Biodiversity Board

The Hindu, 21st June 2012

If your imagination of a hill station is that of a shopping street, many tourist sightseeing spots and a place teeming with tourists, then maybe Chail is not the ideal spot for you

However, if you are looking for something different and peaceful then head to this laidback hill-town in Himachal Pradesh and explore the wonders of nature

Chail has a very interesting history. In 1891, Maharaja Bhupinder Singh of Patiala incurred the rage of Lord Kitchener, the then commander-in-chief after he eloped with the latter’s daughter. He was banished from entering the summer capital of the Raj, Shimla. This enraged the Maharaja and he built his summer capital at Chaamitabha boseil, a little village close to Shimla, which ironically was gifted to him by the British earlier

Surrounded by lush forests with a commanding view of the snow-capped Himalayas, he rebuilt the city and a wonderful palace for himself. The picturesque resort located amidst scented forests of chir pine and gigantic deodars is now a heritage hotel run by the HP Tourism. You can take long quiet walks in the lap of nature almost in any direction from Chail with the sounds of gushing winds and chirping birds as company

Chail is built on three hills, the palace is on Rajgarh Hill, the Residency Snow View once occupied by British resident is on Pandhewa Hill and on the third hill Sadh Tiba where Chail is situated. Overlooking Satluj Valley, Shimla and Kasauli are also visible from here on a clear day and during the night

Just before hitting Chail, a board gives direction to the Cricket Ground and the Sidh Baba temple which actually are the only two places to see in Chail. For those who want to blend some sightseeing, one can go to Shimla (49 km) and Kufri (25 km)

The world’s highest cricket ground at a height of 2,444m is three km from the market, and within the field there are basketball court and football goal posts. It is presently used by the students of the Chail Military School

The market is located on a flat stretch below where there are a few provision stores, some restaurants more in the nature of dhabas, a bank, a post office and also the bus and the taxi stand. It is basically a one street town. The language spoken there has a typical Punjabi flavour and the local residents are very good-looking

The Sidh Baba temple can be visited on way back from the cricket ground. The route is absolutely infested with monkeys, so be careful. There is also a Kali Mata temple about 6km from Chail in a nearby hill. The view of the valley from there is awesome. Do not miss out on visiting the Gurudwara Sahib on the steep road behind the taxi stand. It was set up in 1907 and has an unusual church-like structure with exquisite wooden ceiling

During spring-summer, the rhododendrons are in full bloom and the bright orange hues are a treat to the eyes. So pack your bags and do visit Chail this summe

The Asian Age, 22nd June 2012

Two different shows present rare folk art traditions that are not much known outside of their State

The world of Web can only tell us as much. It holds true for a country like India which still has probably much more hidden and unknown than what has been revealed in terms of its heritage and culture. Customs, traditions and practices abound in this part of the world and though scholars, patrons, art enthusiasts are working to preserve them, we are yet to be privy to so many of them. It’s sheer coincidence that the Capital city is hosting two art exhibitions of such rare folk traditions that they are still largely unknown even in these times. While a collection of Pinguli chitragithi from Maharashtra is on display at Arts of the Earth at Lado Sarai, Arpana Caur’s Academy of Fine Arts and Literature is presenting Godana art of Bihar

Pinguli chitragith

While so many folk art traditions like warli, pabuji ki phad, kalighat paintings and patachitra have survived the brunt of time, this one didn’t. Extinct almost 20 years ago, the areas of Pinguli and Paithan are bereft of the storytellers who roamed around from village to village holding the scrolls that depicted tales from the Ramayana and Mahabharata. Meena Varma, Director of Arts of the Earth, had visited the village 20 years ago and acquired the works, which she is exhibiting now. The tradition, she informs us, was already on its last legs

Straight lines, not very decorative and simplistic imagery drawn from the epics, are the mainstay of this genre. A performing tradition, the hand-made paper paintings provided the visual support as the nomadic puppeteers of the Thakar Adivasi community, doubling up as musicians and singers, regaled the viewers with their show

According to Jyotindra Jain, a renowned scholar, Pingulis are also known as Paithan paintings and the actors narrated not the standard Ramayana stories but the local Marathi Ramayana called “Pandav Pratap.” “The tradition is completely extinct and perhaps its biggest collection can be seen in the Kelkar Museum in Pune. This bunch of singers and musicians would carry these paintings like a placard — two different paintings on each side and they would just turn it with a change in the story. Pinguli puppets bear some kind of similarity to the shadow puppets of Andhra Pradesh.

(The exhibition is on at Arts of The Earth, Lado Sarai, New Delhi, till July 16.Godan)

When paper reached Madhubani village in Bihar, courtesy Pupul Jayakar, womenfolk of the Dusar community felt tempted to shift the unique iconography of tattoos engraved on their bodies, to it. It’s surprising that even though the developments in Madhubani and Godana were taking place simultaneously, one acquired a cult status and another remained hardly known. It was primarily done by women but when the art form reached the market like in the case of Madhubani, men also took to it. Sat Narayan Pandey was one of them. Arpana Caur met him sometime in the ’80s at a craft exposition in Delhi and that’s how began a long association between the two which was cut short by the sudden death of the folk artist. Eight years ago, Pandey fell off a bus and died. Ironically, his paintings touched an aspect that was related to living in the city

“He was doing the typical Godana stuff but I saw a possibility of departure from the typical imagery. So I told him to do trees for me. He got back with those trees and they looked very different. From then on, he just kept on doing trees but each tree looked different from the other. They are quite imaginative. He would play with the intensity of cow dung,” explains Arpana, who is showcasing 50 of his works. A collector of tribal and folk art, Caur concenrates on one folk form every summer. This time, she got the paper painting stitched on to a cloth and mounted on a canvas. “I would tell him to do trees or depict traffic signals as trees so once he did a traffic signal and a tree shown inside the signal. The idea was about how traffic and pollution are choking the environment of the city. We worked together on many canvases and co-signed it. He once made it to the Crafts Museum’s exhibition with great difficulty and that too in the month of June when it hardly gets any visitors.

The Hindu, 22nd June 2012

The hilly and somewhat backward Morni and Pinjore regions of Haryana falling in Panchkula district would be developed on priority basis as the government has approved a special package of Rs. 3 crore and the emphasis would be on projecting them as tourist destinations

Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda announced the package after visiting Tikkar Tal Tourist Complex at Morni

Senior officers disclosed that development works would be carried out in 20 Morni and eight Pinjore villages. Also, a three-km road would be constructed from Belwali village to Sergujran and from Meerpur to Tikkar which would benefit residents of about 50 villages

Instructions were issued to maintain the natural scenic beauty of Morni especially the Tourist Complex by de-silting the water body and constructing a retaining wall to prevent landslides during the rainy season

Officials of the Tourism Department said that the old Thakur Dwar Temple located close to the Tourist Complex would be renovated through Shri Mata Mansa Devi Shrine Board

Meanwhile, the State government has agreed in principle to provide 25 acres of land in the National Capital Region near Delhi to the Union Tourism Ministry for setting up an Indian Culinary Institute

The land would be provided on the condition that 50 per cent seats in the institute would be reserved for the students of Haryana

Moreover, the Haryana Tourism would rebuild the Surkhab Tourist Complex, Sirsa and Bulbul Tourist Complex, Jind. Also, an Integrated Tourism Resort would be developed at Madhogarh Fort in Mahendergarh district under Public Private Partnership mode

The Hindu, 22nd June 2012

The grand pianoforte was ordered for the 10-year-old Victoria by her uncle, King William IV, in 1829

The authorities at Victoria Memorial Hall unveiled a nearly 200-year-old piano that was used by Queen Victoria herself, on the occasion of World Music Day on Thursday

The instrument had been locked up for nearly two decades, ever since the Royal Gallery at the museum was closed for renovation

The grand pianoforte was ordered for the 10-year-old Victoria by her uncle, King William IV, in 1829. It is the instrument on which she learnt how to play from her teacher Mrs. Lucy Anderson, according to records at the memorial hall

During the unveiling at the Queen’s Hall, compositions by J.S. Bach, Frederic Chopin and Franz Schubert were played in a short concert by students of the noted pianist Jyotishka Dasgupta, albeit on a piano far more modern

Made of rosewood with an ivory keyboard, Queen Victoria’s piano has an ornamental wooden harp on its base. “Our research suggests that the piano was probably kept in Windsor Castle before it was brought here,” said Piyasi Bharasa, Education Officer of Victoria Memorial Hall

A certificate from the French manufacturers of the instrument, S & P Erard, that confirms that the piano (N. 69) was made by them in 1829 “for the use of Her Late Majesty Queen Victoria, when a girl” is also on display

Although museum authorities have not been able to dig out any information on Queen Victoria’s abilities as a pianist, it is well known that she was very fond of music. She often accompanied her husband Prince Albert, who was a talented organist, Ms. Bharasa said

The piano, along with the writing desk and chair used by her for her daily correspondence at Windsor Castle, were presented to Victoria Memorial by her son King Edward VII. These personal effects occupied the centre of the Royal Gallery

The famed “Jaipur painting” that depicts the entry of King Edward VII (then Prince of Wales) into Jaipur in 1876, believed to be the largest oil painting in India and the third largest in the World, and Queen Victoria’s last letter to India dated December 14, 1900, are among the exhibits lying in the Royal Gallery that is still closed for renovation

“At the time of the tercentennial celebration of the city [in 1990], several artefacts were moved around to make space in the museum’s galleries and many treasures lie locked up today. Some, like this piano, have been restored and brought back into public display, but there is an urgent need for modernisation of the museum,” said Professor Swapan Chakravorty, Secretary and Curator

The Hindu, 22nd June 2012

In an alliance with scholars and linguists, the Internet powerhouse introduced an Endangered Languages Project website where people can find, share, and store information about dialects in danger of disappearing

"People can share their knowledge and research directly through the site and help keep the content up-to-date," project managers Clara Rivera Rodriguez and Jason Rissman said in a Google blog post.

"A diverse group of collaborators have already begun to contribute content ranging from 18th-century manuscripts to modern teaching tools like video and audio language samples and knowledge-sharing articles."

The website at endangeredlanguages.Com is designed to let users upload video, audio, or text files and encourages them to memorialize recordings of rare dialects.

Only half of the approximately 7,000 languages spoken today are expected to survive past the end of this century, according to an Endangered Languages video posted at Google-owned video-sharing venue YouTube.

"Documenting...Languages that are on the verge of extinction is an important step in preserving cultural diversity, honoring the knowledge of our elders and empowering our youth," Rodriguez and Rissman said.

"Technology can strengthen these efforts, by helping people create high-quality recordings of their elders (often the last speakers of a language), connecting Diaspora communities through social media and facilitating language learning."

Google's philanthropic arm seeded the project, leadership of which will be ceded in coming months to the First People's Cultural Council and the Institute for Language Information and Technology at Eastern Michigan University

The Asian Age, 22nd June 2012

To provide quality services to visitors in and around tourist destinations, the union tourism ministry will Tuesday launch a pilot project under 'Clean India Campaign' at Qutab Minar in the capital

The campaign has been initiated by the tourism ministry to increase tourist arrivals to the country and to improve quality of services and provide a hygienic environment in and around tourist destinations across the country

According to ministry, in the first phase of the campaign, 36 monuments have been identified by the tourism ministry and Archaeological Survey of India (ASI)

Under the pilot project, all issues regarding the heritage site are taken care of including providing drinking water facilities, renovation of toilets, maintenance of parking lots at Qutab Minar, conversion of Qutab Minar complex into friendly zone for physically challenged persons

'Clean India Campaign' is a multi-pronged action and comprehensive strategy to ensure an acceptable level of cleanliness and hygiene practices at tourist destinations for an inclusive and sustainable development of tourism through ownership and involvement of private and public sector stakeholders

"This initiative aims to create a collective mindset that promotes cleanliness and hygiene by a balance of persuasion, education, sensitisation, training, demonstration, regulation and involvement of every individual," the ministry said in a statement

The Times of India, 22nd June 2012

Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit on Thursday expressed “deep concern” over the slow pace of renovation work in Connaught Place (CP), saying it looked unlikely at the moment that the project would be able to meet its December deadline

She said Delhi’s Chief Secretary would meet officials in the petroleum ministry to discuss the issue. “Since project consultants, Engineers India Limited (EIL), comes under the petroleum ministry, the Chief Secretary and the NDMC chairperson are expected to meet officials in the ministry to discuss the delay. We will seek their advice. I have visited CP several times and it does not seem possible that all work will be completed by December 2012, as promised by EIL earlier,” Dikshit said

Stating that CP should be cleared of the mess as the area “is the heart of the city and has historical importance”, she said: “The renovation plan was supposed to be completed by the 2010 Commonwealth Games. Two years on, there has been little progress.

Her statement came amid protests by CP traders, who said the situation could go out of hand once the monsoon hits the city

“The monsoon is approaching. The sewage lines have not been connected in several places. This is going to compound the mess. Electricity lines are lying exposed,” New Delhi Traders Association president Atul Bharghav said

After six years of “digging” in the area, the NDMC has nothing to show but dug-up spaces, exposed electrical wires and pipelines, the traders alleged

NDMC officials, however, said they were hopeful that the majority of work would be completed by December

The Indian Express, 22nd June 2012

Green activists in Delhi mobilize support to breathe fresh life into Hauz-e-Shamsi that has been part of Mehrauli’s heritage

Writing for this column last week, I had wrongly identified an organisation as the initiator for the citizen’s intervention in defence of the Neela Hauz, near Kishangarh. In fact the public interest group before the Delhi High Court was moved by the Neela Hauz Citizen’s Group. I have come to learn that the Citizen’s Group had approached the court once again to draw attention to the slow pace of work in the restoration of the hauz and the court has now fixed a deadline of February 2013 for returning the hauz to its original state

All concerned, including The Citizen’s Group, the Delhi Development Authority and the Delhi Jal Board, meet once a month to monitor the progress. The water hyacinth cover spread over the lake’s surface is likely to be removed towards June-end. There is hope that the Neela Hauz will be saved and if that happens, it will be a rare victory for the forum and all conservationists in the city

The mistake that I made last week has come as a boon for me, because interaction with the Neela Hauz Citizen’s Group made me think of another initiative at the Hauz-e-Shamsi (next on the forum’s list). Though not as organised as the Neela Hauz Citizen’s Group but certainly as well-meaning and as creatively imagined and executed as the Neela Hauz initiative

Abhinandita Mathur, a photographer by profession, and her husband Vishal Rawlley, an artist, live next to the Hauz-e-Shamsi and have over the last three years been running around, contacting various agencies and also trying on their own to prevent their neighbours from throwing their trash in the hauz. They have managed to get the Municipal Corporation of Delhi to build a drain that now carries domestic waste from the surrounding apartments away from the hauz. One of the projects that the couple developed struck a chord with everyone who has heard the story of how the hauz came into being. A recounting of the tale will help in appreciating the project better

The Hauz-e-Shamsi was built on the orders of Shams-ud-Din Iltutmish or Altamash (1211-1236). It is said that one day, he asked his nobles to accompany him to a site. Once there, he pointed to a stone and informed his nobles that the night before, Prophet Mohammad had appeared in his dream; He was astride his horse and the horse’s hoof rested on that stone. Altamash claimed that the Prophet then instructed him to build a hauz on that site in order to improve availability of water for the residents of Mehrauli

It is believed that the lake was then excavated with that very rock as the centre-point. A few rain-fed streams and perhaps now extinct tributaries to the Yamuna were diverted to fill the lake that at one time covered an area of more than five acres. Overflow from the lake was passed through a channel, called the Jharna, to a stream known as the Nau Lakha Nala. The Nala deposited the excess to the Yamuna

During the 16 century, a pavilion was erected above the rock and a pleasure palace known as the Jahaz Mahal was built on the eastern bank of the hauz. Mohammad Bin Tughlaq carried out repairs on the hauz, while additional buildings like a pavilion and a baradari were added near the Jharna by Ghazi-ud-din Ahmad, a commander of Aurangzeb and by Akbar Shah II, the father of Bahadur Shah Zafar. The Jharna and the Hauz are the sites around which the annual Phool Walon Ki Sair is organised

The locals treat the water as sacred and there is a tradition among both the Hindus and Muslims to release live fish in the hauz as thanksgiving for wish fulfilment

Drawing upon all these factors and the tale of the Prophet’s horse, Abhinandita and Vishal floated a talking horse in the hauz. The horse could be called on a mobile number and you could leave your messages about the lake, about pollution and about environment with the horse; the number was circulated through leaflets and the talking horse became a big hit with the youth of this part of Mehrauli, leading to many youngsters becoming protectors of the hauz

The Neela Hauz Citizen’s Group that can be reached at plans to mobilise opinion and support to save and revive the Hauz-e-Shamsi; in the meanwhile, the young couple that lives next to the hauz would certainly be a part of this campaign

The Hindu, 23rd June 2012

The hottest city in India seems unaware of the blistering heat and its vanishing history

Churu, floating on the surface of the sand bowl of Thar, is a modest town with immodest weather. The weather gods speak more for Churu than the townspeople. The twin peaks of searing heat and numbing cold have put this otherwise nondescript town on a map of notoriety year after year for being the hottest place in India, with temperatures dallying in the late forties. It is surrounded by other equally hot districts — Bikaner, Sriganganagar and Hissar, which experience intense solar radiation and sport temperatures northwards of 45 degrees Celsius for most of summer. The peak this summer at Churu was 49 degrees on May 31

Yet, there’s more to Churu than what meets the weathered eye. Under the veil of modesty lies a boiling and parched town containing valuable personal histories of important families — merchant classes that developed trade from a town that was once known as “Ajmer se Kabul ka chauraha”

The doors of Dr Bhanwar Singh Samaur’s house are open to anyone seeking to discover Churu. A local legend himself, Dr Samaur doesn’t waste any time on introductions before retelling Churu’s place in history

According to him, the origin of the town goes back to the Mahabharata. Samaur, the elder, receives us in a room decorated with his history. Here he is joined by his son who supplies Samaur with related threads and dates. At five-minute intervals, the door opens, a head peeks in to add a fact. By the end of the hour, the room is complete with S, the elder, his son, two daughters and three grandchildren with only the wife wedged behind the mesh door. Dr Samaur’s biographical sketch of Churu reveals the importance of merchants and trade. The first trader families to venture out from Rajasthan came from Churu. The town is littered with havelis built by these business families — Oswal, Bhagwandas Bagla, Goenka, Poddar — families that have succeeded and settled elsewhere

Thirty-six kilometer away from Churu, is the village of Dudhwa Khara. From the ramparts of the Nathani family seat, an old man waves at us vigorously. As we get closer, his waving gets more energetic. It’s not a welcome. It’s a get-off-my-property gesture. While we skulk around, the old man’s son appears. We persuade him to let us see the insides of the Nathani Haveli, saying that we’d read a lot on the internet about it. Reluctantly, he lets us in. There were three Nathani brothers — Hazarimal, Sagarlal and Rameshwar — then the viceroys of the region for the British. Three large havelis for each stand as desolate as the tijoris, Rangoon embossed trunks, four-poster beds, their personal histories settled with dust and time. Children from the village play cards outside and the caretaker knows precious little to show us around, comfortable in the white heat

In Churu, the haveli du jour is Malji ka kamara. It’s perhaps the first haveli to have restoration work done to it and will soon open for the benefit of firang tourists. Behind tall fortified doors lies a depressingly restored haveli clad in coats of mint paint. The very thought that this could be Churu’s “Best Exotic Marigold Hotel for the beautiful and elderly” is grotesque. Grander schemes to develop family seats into heritage hotels in Churu have seen some talking but little action, thankfully

In December, 2011, Pratik Agarwala had visited Churu to retrace his family’s footnotes in history. Son of Jyotiprasad Agarwala, the famous Assamese playwright, he left behind a thank you note to Nagarsri Museum, Churu for all the information it provided. Nagarsri is a family run trust, surviving to keep the numerous personal histories of this town alive. The museum-cum-library-cum-haveli has a large collection of photographs of the families, handwritten account books of the city, artefacts from Kalibangan, Ganjifa cards, and a predominantly Hindi library. Of the few English books that survive, Scottish explorer T George Scott’s ominously titled Burma as it was, as it is and as it will be catches the curious eye — a reminder of the trade ties that extended from Churu all the way to Rangoon. Three volumes of guest books are filled with touching testimonies, like Pratik Agrawala’s, some to the trust’s efforts, and some simply to the discovery of this charming place

As Geeta Samaur, the elder so rightly points out, Churu, in all its modesty, is a dwarf among Rajasthan’s historical destinations. It is a town that has benefited from the largesse of families that left its shores, but it has never bothered to preserve these family histories that give Churu its own story, and its own place in time. As the mercury docks another new high for the month of June, this modest town plods on slowly, almost safe in the comfort of heat and unaware of history

Across the Churu district, the dusty landscape is dotted with medieval water conservation structures called joharas to collect and preserve rain water. Locals bring their flocks and 400 litre tanks to these joharas to collect drinking water. The depth of the joharas can go up to 60-70 feet. When water projects fail, these joharas have become a source of constant drinking water, albeit dependent on rainfall. Situated on the shifting sands of the Thar desert, the town is subject to extremes in weather. Despite the burning heat wave conditions, people of Churu have coped with the extremities, even the gadha rehdiwallas don't mind the heat as much as the lack of work

Fifty, sixty years ago, these donkey carts were used for transport. The earlier camel carts were replaced by donkey and horse carts. Grain, metal, bricks and people, any load upto a weight of five quintals, all hitched a ride on this quaint little cart called “minister ki gaadi”. These gadha rehdis run on “hawai jahaaz ke tyres”. Second-hand, but airplane tyres nonetheless. The tyres have been bought in auctions for many years at markets in Delhi by businessmen from Ladnun and stocked by shopkeepers in Churu for the rehdiwallas. These airplane tyres suit the terrain, give good value for money, have longevity and add more bite to the title of “minister ki gaadi”. Still on the streets but no longer in vogue, these minister ki gaadis, like Churu itself, are fighting a tough battle to stay relevant. Upstaged by autos and not helped by the searing heat either, the 500 odd rehdiwallas in Churu have little work. Their days are numbered but they insist that their carts will always be plied, that their trade will continue as friendly shopkeepers call the rehdiwallas to cool their heels in the shade

The Indian Express, 24th June 2012

She was short and pale, yet stunningly beautiful. She danced like a dream and loved like a romantic but what people don’t know about Begum Samru was that she was one nautch girl who rose to be a hardened ruler, a strict administrator and a shrewd politician, managing her estate with an iron hand. Three centuries after her death, this unsung powerhouse of multiple liaisons and intrigue in Indian history is all set to reclaim lost territory in director Tigmanshu Dhulia’s next period film. DEEBASHREE MOHANTY visited her dilapidated haveli in Chandni Chowk to give you a peep into her life & times

At four feet-one inch, Farzana was not just another nautch girl born to a tawaif. She was charming and witty, someone who knew how to spin a web around her men; she was tactful and flirtatious. And, as she rose to become the ruler of Sardhana, a nondescript township near Meerut, she took over like a seasoned master

Rechristened Begum Samru, this 15-year-old ruler knew all the tricks of the trade — she was a perfect administrator, a keen accountant and a ruthless leader. She used brute force against all those who deigned to rise against her

Begum died at age 53, and her tomb is in London, but very little is known about this colourful personality. But now that Kareena Kapoor will be giving her screen life three centuries after her mysterious death, the Begum is back to rule yet again — and this time she has her sights set on public imagination

The Begum had a very long and lasting relationship with the gallis of the Capital. Ruins of her palace in Chandni Chowk bear credence to this. As you meander through the congested bylanes of what is now known as Bhagirath Place, enquiring about her from samosa vendors, furniture shop-owners and kiosk owners selling traditional lamp shades, no one seems to know what we are talking about

We ask around for Begum Samru’s palace which has since been renamed Bhagirath Place since and is now a hub for electronic goods. People have no idea whatsoever who Begum Samru was but they have heard of a haveli of the same name “somewhere”

Situated at the corner of this lane is a two-storeyed dilapidated building in urgent need of repair. The architecture is ageold, replete with traditional jharokas. Our rickshaw pulls to a halt. “Yeh baaki hai haveli ka... iss begum sahiba ka koi naamo nishaan nahin raha...,” he tells you

We find ourselves standing next to a board with very sketchy information about our subject — Begum Samru, a Muslim nautch girl Farzana, born in 1760, brought to Delhi from her birthplace some 50 miles away, by her tawaif mother. The mother died with giving birth but the child survived and was brought up and trained in a kotha in Chawri Bazaar

“A star pupil, Farzana grew into a rare beauty with flashing eyes, pearl complexion and lively wit. She performed at a mehfil and a day later was given away as a concubine to Austrian adventurer Walter Joseph Reinhardt of Luxemburg,” is how author John Lall describes Begum Samru in his book Begum Samru, published by Roli Books way back in 2005

Though Lall is now ailing and cannot remember much about his work, it is his friend and co-author Andrew William tells us how interesting a subject Begum Samru was

“I vividly remember how ecstatic Lall had been to have discovered Ishaa and Kamal Rani, twotawaif girls whose family knew the Begum. They were much younger than Farzana but had heard about her in detail. Lall spent days with these two girls to get the physical description of Samru in place. As for the emotional strains, Lall had to rely on the available background,” William tells you from New York, answering an email query

As history has it, Farzana finally married Reinhardt in 1765 AD and her association with him lasted for 13 years till his death in 1778. Meanwhile, her husband who had assumed the title of Sombre, had been granted a jagir in 1776. After his death, the jagir was transferred to Farzana by the then Mughal emperor Shah Alam in 1779. Ever since, Farzana came to be known as as Begum Samru, a variation of her husband’s title, Sombre

“She was a very complex subject to study. She was beautiful and, being a nautch girl, had mastered the art of using her charm on men. What most people don’t know is that she was equally good at administration. Land tariff had shot up during her period and farmers tell you it turned out to be the most fruitful period for her,” Bollywood director Tigmanshu Dhulia says about his forthcoming period film on Begum Samru. He adds that although nothing much has been decided about the movie thus far, the title is going to remain the same

“Begum Samru needs to be re-discovered because she was an exemplary woman and a great achiever,” he says, explaining why he felt the need to make a film around a subject as unknown as Begum Samru

Although Farzana had spent a good 15 years in her haveli in Chandni Chowk, very little information is there about her. The haveli has since then changed a lot of hands — from the Rajas to the Dhaliwals who have been owners of this property for the last 100 years or more. “Many generations of Dhaliwals have been coming to collect the monthly rent of Rs 1.5 lakh from the Central Bank branch office which operates from the haveli’s premises. Many years ago, the bank acquired this property for a paltry Rs 2 lakh,” Satish Kundu (66-year-old) who sells carbon papers just outside of it, says. Kundu is an old timer in this area having spent most of his days in the galis of Chandni Chowk

“My chacha told us that this haveli, at one time, was surrounded by nine ponds. The dungeon below leads all the way to Agra Fort. No one has ever travelled the length but, at one time, Begumsahiba would use this as her getaway,” Kundu tells you

Begum Samru had a very colourful life something that historians have enjoyed writing about. “Farzana was converted to the Roman Catholic faith in 1781. She was baptised as Joanna. An old church in Sardhana obtained by Reinhardt who wanted to rebuild the premises. After his death, Farzana completed the job and it has remained a monument in her memory,” history professor Asad Alam, who teaches research scholars at Delhi University, tells you

Prof Alam adds that Begum Samru would be an excellent ingredient for a movie. “She is the ideal heroine. She is pretty, smart and had no qualms about her character. She was very good to people of her estate,” he says

There was much more to Farzana than her eclectic kotha performances and her innumerous flings, including a marriage with Le Vasoult, a French cavalier, in 1793. This had led to a revolt by her officers and troops. She was captured and tied to a machine gun for several days before being saved by an old admirer

“She was a passionate queen. When she loved, she would go to any extreme. But the period between 1773-78 took a heavy toll on her. Her own troops turned mutinous and would no longer take her commands. There was a time when Farzana even considered running away from Sardhana with her French lover. However, it was her warrior bent that did not allow her to do so and she soon became the subject of much scorn. Farzana was thrown into a prison in her own estate and denied proper food and water for four months before an old admirer rescued her from that hell,” historian AK Akbar from JNU tells you. Akbar has studied Begum Samru extensively as a part of his thesis

But will the movie do justice to the complex character? “I really don’t know. We will try to bring forth all aspects about Farzana,” Dhulia says, earnestly

The director, who earned a lot of acclaim for his last movie Paan Singh Tomar, is relying heavily on research for this epic. “What I found most fascinating about this lady was the fact that she was a multi-talented persona. We know that the Begum was a good administrator. Her staff was always paid on time. She was interested in agriculture and, under her rule, the land revenue went up from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 10 lakh. She was also known to be a hard taskmaster who dealt severely with rebels,” Dhulia tells you

Author Lall has cited innumerable instances of Farzana unleashing her brutal side too. In a chapter dealing with her administration skills, he writes that Begum once had two of her faithful slaves buried alive for intrigues against her. Then there are other instances of physical violence when she had commanded that her principal officers hand be severed because he had faulted in keeping accounts

“Although it did not gel with the personality we had in mind, it was essential in her times that the warrior be tough. Women did not enjoy a great position in society and when they became rulers, they had to be fighters. Begum Samru was just that — she was a beautiful fighter. Lall had enough evidence from her past to make this conclusion in his novel,” William says

As for Begum’s conversion to Christianity, was it the result of belief? “We learn that the conversion made little difference to her. The court continued to be run in the Muslim style with some changes with respect to Christian rituals on special occasions. She observed all Muslim festivals with fervour and would not take in anything against her original religion. In fact, the church she did up in Sardana is ensconced in Muslim architecture and looks more like a masjid than a church,” Akbar points out

Today, however, all that remains of Begum Samru are two dilapidated palaces and some remnants of a mosque near Sardhana. Very little is known about her later years and death. “It is as if she disappeared into nothingness. Her entire clan is missing from any kind of records. She had only one friend during her nautch girl days but she also finds no mention in history books,” Prof Alam tells you

But one thing is indisputable. The Begum died immensely rich. Her inheritance was assessed at 55.5 Million Gold Marks in 1923 and 18 Billion Deutschmark in 1953. Her inheritance continues to be disputed till this day

An organisation called “Reinhards Erbengemeinschaft” based in London still strives to resolve the inheritance issue. Although officials of this organisation refused to share any details about this hefty inheritance, they did accept in an email that an account in Reinhards’ name exists till today and there have been no claimants so far

Back home and on the silver screen, whether Kareena Kapoor plays the Begum or will the director be able to flesh out history’s most elusive yet colourful woman remains to be seen. Historians though are rejoicing that a forgotten heroine is finally getting her due. And, William is the most excited of the lot. He says on behalf of John Lall: “Begum Samru’s name is not found in many history books. Her life and achievement were relegated to obscure records in archives in India and London. Her kin were scattered in distant lands. Even her great wealth became the subject of a famous law suit which gave it away to a scheming English woman by declaring her heir insane. All was lost and gone. A dark and even tragic legacy,” he tells you. It is believed that after her death her heir was not recognised and were denied the possession of the wealth. “We don’t have conclusive evidence but the Britishers tagged her as a mad woman and also didn’t recognise her heir,” Williams tells you

For those who stream into the church at Sardhana, and the thousands who gather at the adjacent majid as pilgrims for the annual urs on every second Sunday of November, wonder who the marble figure at the entrance represents — a ruler of yore, a forgotten heroine or just a great woman. They will find their answers very soon when Dhulia lifts the curtains on this historical figure, little known and totally unsung

The Pioneer, 24th June 2012

Agatha Christie sits next to Roget’s Thesaurus, and Japuji Saheb is placed next to a translation of the Torah. More than 3,000 books — both old and new — on subjects as diverse as ancient architecture, literature, geography, health, religion, metaphysics, hobbies and even journalism, are neatly stacked in a cosy library that also boasts of some replicas of ancient Indian art

It’s an excellent collection, and the man who manages the library is equally impressive — Dr Janki Ballabh Jha — a medical practitioner fluent in at least three languages has translated the Gita into archaic English verse that the US-based International Gita Society has uploaded on the Net. The most interesting aspect of the library is, however, its setting — an old age home

Godhuli, the senior citizens’ home run by the Servants of the People Society, has become a landmark in Dwarka. Neat and clean with modern amenities, facilities such as gym and parking, and pleasing environs, it is home to around 60 people, who, like 80-year-old Dr Jha, have chosen to stay here post-retirement

The library is located on the first floor of the building, next to a sitting area with comfortable chairs and sofas and overlooking a garden

“While most of the titles are in English, we have around 300 books in Hindi and 150 in Bengali — mostly literary works,” says Jha, who speaks all the three languages. He is self-taught in library science, and in literature his personal favourites are Shakespeare and Arthur Conan Doyle

Using the universal decimal code, he has catalogued the entire collection under various heads, including something as unusual as ‘Death, Funeral & Obituary’

“It is neither unusual nor morbid,” he counters. “It is a biological inevitability and also at a higher plane, the final question,” philosophises Jha, who retired as chief medical officer, CGHS, and practised in his native village in Jharkhand for a while before joining Godhuli. “I was the fifth resident to join this place,” he says while showing us a 1954 second edition Kemsley Manual of Journalism

The voluntary work of a resident-librarian is, however, not without regrets. The well-stocked place gets few visitors. “One of the residents, a PhD in Sanskrit, was a regular reader here, but now with failing health and poor eyesight she is unable to come to the library. A 93-year-old lady borrows books quite regularly. Apart from them, you can say that I am the sole reader and keeper of this place,” he says with a wry smile

Says Alka Mathur, Godhuli’s manager, “Health and interest are the two key factors; it’s up to the residents to use the library.” She adds that a large number of books have been donated by individuals. “We are careful not to accept too many old books as they are difficult to maintain,” she says

Perhaps opening the library to the general public or even local senior citizens, for a nominal fee, would have ensured that people use it. “But the library is meant for residents of this old age home, so that they can read in privacy and peace. Opening the library for others would also mean security and other related issues for Godhuli,” adds Mathur

Jha, meanwhile, is happy spending time in this little library when he is not surfing the Net for the latest medical news

The Indian Express, 24th June 2012

It is the only structure from Babur's era in Delhi and is among the 174 monuments protected by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) in the Capital.

The 16th century structure is an ancient mosque at Palam village and lies in a congested urbanised village. As per an inscription in

mixed Arabic and Persian on one of the three arches in the mosque, Ghazanfar built this mosque in 1528-29 during Babur's reign. The dome went missing during the Partition, local residents said. And over the years, the mosque itself has changed drastically (see box)

"None of the ASI officials come here. We have been living here for decades and carried out the additions with donation," said a person, who did not wish to be identified. The ASI's answer was that the mosque has "lost its antiquity value"

Another structure facing a similar situation is the tomb of Razia Sultan. Squeezed between modern buildings, the tomb of Razia (AD 1211-36), the only woman to have ruled Delhi's throne, can be reached by navigating a narrow lane in Bulbuli Khana mohalla near Turkman Gate.

But nothing can be worse than the fate of Jogabai mound on the banks of the Yamuna. Jamia's Zakir Nagar and Batla House colonies are located right on top of the mound, which had archaeological remains under it

The question that comes to the mind is that why isn't the ASI de-notifying these monuments and removing from the list of protected monuments if they have lost their "antiquity value"

The proposal for de-notification has to go from the circle office. "Our proposal for de-notifying Jogabai Mound is already pending," said DN Dimri, head of ASI's Delhi circle. "But we have not considered anything about Palam Mosque or Tomb of Razia Sultan.

"De-notification becomes an administrative necessity to re-strategise protection policies. The very fact that these have undergone so much of change means the ASI is not protecting them" said conservation architect AGK Menon

The Hindustan Times, 24th June 2012

As Unesco's World Heritage Committee deliberates on 38 nominations for the World Heritage Site status at its fortnight long meeting beginning today in St. Petersburg, Russia, India is most likely to come out of it drawing a blank. The two Indian names that were up for consideration — the natural heritage site of the Western Ghats and the seven hill forts of Rajasthan — had failed to impress the respective evaluation bodies, IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) and the ICOMOS (International Council of Monuments and Sites). While the decision on the former was deferred, the latter was not recommended for inscription in the list.

The heritage fraternity across the country has already begun nit-picking and trying to pin down those responsible for the failure. But then, the truth is that it's a tough call for any heritage site to make it to the list. Each country is allowed only two nominations annually and India already has 34 names in the tentative list. The dossiers for most of those sites are under preparation . Even if two Indian nominations were to be accepted each year, it would still take 17 years for all these sites to make the cut. And to say nothing of the new names jostling for nomination in the prestigious list

The immense international prestige that comes with the World Heritage Site tag cannot be overemphasized. But besides the prestige, what is it about this label that we must rush for it and spend enormous funds and manpower to prepare the detailed dossiers conforming to exacting Unesco standards? It's the guarantee of the preservation of these sites for posterity, argue most heritage experts. But that itself is debatable — can we not guarantee that without an expensive tag, which doesn't come easily any way

Author, filmmaker and heritage conservationist Sohail Hashmi says, "It's crucial to put our sites on the world heritage map as that spurs many people from India and abroad to visit those sites, makes our own people better informed and ensures conservation. It also prevents disfigurement of the site as happened with the Mahabalipuram temples which would have otherwise been disfigured by a flyover." Hashmi's illustration is seminal — it takes more than common sense in India to prevent obvious damages to anything historically important . If a site doesn't have a World Heritage Site label, it is most likely to be blemished by the lawless as well as those on the safe side of the law, often in the name of development

But the World Heritage Site status comes for a heavy price — a figure that none of the people involved with preparing the sites for consideration are willing to reveal. While one can only guess how much funds are needed for such an exercise, Saima Iqbal of INTACH Jammu & Kashmir, who is working on the documentation for the nomination of six Mughal Gardens of the state — Nishat, Shalimar , Achabal, Chashma Shahi, Verinag and Pari Mahal (on the tentative list since December 2010) — says, "Such projects are mostly supported by the government. We've been sending out funding proposals to both the central and state governments for further research and documentation." Often, it's the local government that funds the preparations. It is a heavy drain on the resources considering that when a site gets rejected, the money not only goes waste but more is needed to re-prepare

Abha Narain Lamba, Mumbai-based heritage consultant who was part of the documentation team for the nomination of three Qutb Shahi monuments of Hyderabad — Golconda Fort, Charminar and the Qutb Shahi tomb (on the tentative list since September 2010) — however, argues, "It's is not money wasted but invested. Even as a site is prepared for the nomination, a lot of improvement is undertaken in and around the site, which itself upgrades its status." Lamba has a point, but it's a pity that only a handful of sites that get pitched as potential World Heritage, get this makeover. The rest continue to languish in neglect and abuse

AGK Menon, convenor of the Delhi chapter of INTACH that is undertaking the documentation for Delhi's inclusion in the list as a World Heritage City (on the tentative list since May last year), says, "Of course, we must take care of our heritage even without the tag. But that is asking for a lot in a country where basic civic amenities too are not in order. The heritage status ensures that things improve at least around the site.

The Times of India, 24th June 2012

Settled outside Jaisalmer, in a village called Bhaiya, the Manganiyar community has an age-old tradition of men singing the story of the Ramayana through poetry of saints such as Kabir, Surdas, Mirabai and Tulsidas, which have been passed down orally through generations. In another world, London-based storyteller Vayu Naidu performs Vayu’s Ramayana, a reimagining of the epic in an English setting as a “transcultural experience through storytelling and music”. In Tamil Nadu, Kattaikkuttu Sangam, a residential theatre school in Kanchipuram for Kattaikkuttu performers, a theatre form practised in rural Tamil Nadu only by men, has merged the ancient story with a modern breakthrough. Its production, Ramaravana, for the first time, has women actors and the storyline recreates the epic with characters of Sita, Lakshmana, Ravana, Surpanakha, Hanuman and an absentee Rama

Now, an organisation based in Pune, Open Spaces, is documenting various creative retellings of the Ramayana in a website and an offline location in the city through a project called Kiski Kahani: 300 Ramayanas and Counting. Their documentation includes fine art, theatre, posters, calendars, films and photographs from India and abroad. Imran Ali Khan, the “Ramayanafied” head of the project, says, “Apart from being an archival project, we aim to reclaim the text. We want to open a way for new interpretations and tie-up with people who look at the Ramayana closely to recreate it in a more contemporary way.

A book on the project, with “around 200 pages of stories, essays, commissioned works, cartoon strips and academic writings from authors among others” will be released later this year. The project, which started in November, has on board Arshia Sattar, who translated Valmiki’s Ramayana in the 1990s as an advisor, and Ujwala Samarth as the programme coordinator. The team has dug into archives, libraries, the internet and commissioned works to ensure that the project includes both contemporary and traditional interpretations of the Ramayana. “We also look at folk stories which have a huge demographic and are mostly oral,” says Khan. One interesting story comes from Himachal Pradesh about how Sita was making laddoos in her kitchen when a crow flew away with one. He dropped it in Ravana’s lap in Lanka and, when he tasted it, he resolved to have this woman for himself. That, according to the story, is why she was abducted. “Many of these stories bring forward notions of the spaces of home, women and everyday life. I think that’s what the Ramayana really is, about people,” says Khan

Among the living legends is a Dalit community in Chhattisgarh called Ramnami Samaj who, when barred from the temple, tattooed themselves with the word “Ram” in Hindi. Another section talks about Montpellier (France)-based artist Hita Hirons who has created The Ramayana Clock, with the story painted on a circular sheet of metal. Yet another one comes from a Kolkata-based Kathak dancer, Ashavari Mazumdar, whose piece highlights the character of Surpanakha with several interpretations, from a vindictive demon to a young girl who challenged patriarchy. “At present, we’re trying to acquire material from the huge archive of the Oriental Institute’s library in Baroda,” says Khan, adding, “We have our ears to the ground for more. It’s a very small world, Ramayana’s.

The Indian Express, 25th June 2012

Archaeologists have unearthed what appears to be the foundation of a massive, ancient structure, possibly a bridge leading to an artificial island, in what is now southeast Wales

The strange ruin is unlike anything found before in the UK and possibly all of Europe, said Steve Clarke, chairman of the Monmouth Archaeological Society, who discovered the structural remains recently in Monmouth, Wales - a town known for its rich archaeological features

"It's a real mystery. Whatever it's, there's nothing else like it. It may well be unique," Clarke was quoted as saying by LiveScience. Clarke and his team unearthed the remnants of three giant timber beams placed alongside one another on a floodplain at the edge of an ancient lake that has long since filled with silt. After being set into the ground, the pieces of timber decayed, leaving anaerobic (oxygen-free) clay, which formed after silt filled in the timbers' empty slots, Clarke said

The team initially thought the timber structures were once sleeper beams, or shafts of timber placed in the ground to form the foundations of a house. However, the pieces appear to be too large for that purpose

While a typical sleeper beam would span about one foot across, these timber beams were over three feet wide and at least 50 feet long

The archaeologists are still digging and don't yet know how much longer the timbers are. Clarke said the structure's builders appear to have placed whole trees, cut in half lengthwise, into the ground

"One other thing that is striking that might be relevant is that the timbers seem to be lined up with the middle of the lake," Clarke noted, suggesting that the structures may have been part of a causeway to a crannog, or artificial island, constructed in the middle of the lake

Though they aren't sure when it was built or even if it came before or after the lake formed, the archaeologists said the structure, at its oldest, could date to the Bronze Age around 4,000 years ago

Beneath the beams the researchers also found a burnt mound of rock and charcoal fragments, alongside of which they found a hearth and trough. They believe people in the Bronze Age heated stones in a fire and threw them into a filled trough to boil water

The Indian Express, 25th June 2012

Archaeologists have unearthed what appears to be the foundation of a massive, ancient structure, possibly a bridge leading to an artificial island, in what is now southeast Wales

The strange ruin is unlike anything found before in the UK and possibly all of Europe, said Steve Clarke, chairman of the Monmouth Archaeological Society, who discovered the structural remains recently in Monmouth, Wales - a town known for its rich archaeological features

"It's a real mystery. Whatever it's, there's nothing else like it. It may well be unique," Clarke was quoted as saying by LiveScience. Clarke and his team unearthed the remnants of three giant timber beams placed alongside one another on a floodplain at the edge of an ancient lake that has long since filled with silt. After being set into the ground, the pieces of timber decayed, leaving anaerobic (oxygen-free) clay, which formed after silt filled in the timbers' empty slots, Clarke said

The team initially thought the timber structures were once sleeper beams, or shafts of timber placed in the ground to form the foundations of a house. However, the pieces appear to be too large for that purpose

While a typical sleeper beam would span about one foot across, these timber beams were over three feet wide and at least 50 feet long

The archaeologists are still digging and don't yet know how much longer the timbers are. Clarke said the structure's builders appear to have placed whole trees, cut in half lengthwise, into the ground

"One other thing that is striking that might be relevant is that the timbers seem to be lined up with the middle of the lake," Clarke noted, suggesting that the structures may have been part of a causeway to a crannog, or artificial island, constructed in the middle of the lake

Though they aren't sure when it was built or even if it came before or after the lake formed, the archaeologists said the structure, at its oldest, could date to the Bronze Age around 4,000 years ago

Beneath the beams the researchers also found a burnt mound of rock and charcoal fragments, alongside of which they found a hearth and trough. They believe people in the Bronze Age heated stones in a fire and threw them into a filled trough to boil water

The Indian Express, 22nd June 2012

India’s campaign renewed at the 36th session of the World Heritage Committee at St. Petersburg

Verdict soon:India has been campaigning for the inscription of 39 serial sites of the Western Ghats on the World Heritage List since 2006.— File photo: K. Murali Kuma

The campaign for the nomination of 39 serial sites of the Western Ghats as a world heritage site will be renewed at the 36th session of the World Heritage Committee (WHC) which will begin at St. Petersburg on Sunday

A decision on the nominated sites will be taken by a 21-nation panel including India. The task of the panel will be to “identify the cultural and natural properties of Outstanding Universal Value which are to be protected under the Convention and inscribe them properties on the World Heritage List.

India has been campaigning for the inscription of the sites on the list since 2006. The 35th session of the WHC held in Paris last year had deferred its decision on nomination after considering a report of the International Union for Conservation of Nature, which evaluated the sites

In its report, the IUCN had suggested that India “review and refine the scope and composition” of the sites and consider the recommendations the Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel (WGEEP). It was asked to “further refine the boundaries” of the sites to ensure the “exclusion of disturbed areas” and “enhance the contiguity and buffer zones of the nomination” based on the WGEEP recommendations

India will take the position that the WGEEP recommendations shall not be linked to the evaluation of the ghats as the government has not taken a final decision on the report, which is kept in public domain for consultation. The recommendations on land use and controls on development would be applied to the sites once the decision is taken, according to a dossier to be placed before the WHC

It will be stressed that the panel has not made any recommendation to refine the scope and composition of the nominated sites, which include national parks, wildlife sanctuaries, tiger reserves and reserved forests. Hence the question of compliance with the panel recommendations does not arise, the document said

The Indian delegation to Russia include Jagdish Kishwan, Additional Director General (Wildlife), and S.K. Khanduri, Inspector General (Wildlife) of the Ministry of Environment and Forest, and V.B. Mathur, Dean, Wildlife Institute of India, Dehra Dun

Sans settlement

On the IUCN suggestion for exclusion of disturbed areas from the nominated sites, India will take the stand that “the existing reservoirs, plantations and surrounding agriculture lands are in no way impairing the identified Outstanding Universal Values (OUV) of the nominated property and it continues to be an evolutionary ecotone.

The continuous and purposeful engagement of the local communities and indigenous groups has been ensured at all phases of the nomination. The exclusion of the existing settlements from the nominated property would “lead to their displacement and would work against the bona fide interests of the local communities,” it will be argued

It will be stressed that a “comprehensive three-tier mechanism for the improved coordination, integration and management of sites and safeguarding its OUV” is in place. The mechanism “fully meets the intended requirement of the overarching management framework proposed by IUCN” and “ensures continuous and increased engagement of all stakeholders including the local communities” in the management of the sites, according to the dossier

The Hindu, 25th June 2012

The environment ministry’s bid to seek US $ 30 million from the World Bank to checking poaching in around 600 national parks and sanctuaries could mean making India’s wildlife laws compliant with the bank’s norms.

The Environmental and Social Management Framework (ESMF) for the proposed

project circulated by the ministry speaks about the need to review relevant environmental and land acquisition legislation comply with World Bank’s environmental and social safeguard policies

“Adhering to the principles and procedures and using the checklist of potential environmental and social issues laid out in this ESMF will help the implementing agencies to ensure compliance with the World Bank’s environmental and social safeguard policies,” the ministry has said in the document

India is seeking a loan of US $ 30 million from the World Bank to adopt an integrated national and international approach to checking wildlife poaching, which is now rated as third biggest illegal trade in the world after drugs and weapons. Nepal and Bangladesh have taken funding from the bank for adopting similar approach.

The bank is emphasizing on integrated wildlife protection for entire South Asia, which accounts for 13- 15% of the world's biodiversity and is considered a lucrative target of the trade

Illegal wildlife trade from South Asia is perceived to be on rise. “Victims of the trade include the iconic tiger and elephant, the snow leopard, the common leopard, the one-horn rhino, pangolin, brown bear, several species of deer and reptiles, seahorses, star tortoises, butterflies, peacocks, hornbills, parrots, parakeets and birds of prey, and corals,” the ESMF document prepared joint by the ministry and the bank said

Within south Asia, Nepal has emerged as a hub for illegal wildlife trade destined for China. Myanmar is another important route for transporting wildlife body parts to Laos and Vietnam, two major global transit hubs for illegal wildlife trade.

The ministry is seeking a loan of US $ 30 million from the bank to strengthen wildlife protection measures across 600 national parks and sanctuaries in India, many of which share boundary with neighbouring countries

The funds are likely to be used for cross border landscape management approach between the countries, relocation of people living in parks and sanctuaries to create inviolate wildlife areas and satellite based monitoring approach. India would also use the funds to strengthen Wildlife Crime Control Bureau, setting up of Virtual Regional Center of Excellence (VRCE) for wildlife conservation and research projects in wildlife conservation

“The project will focus on a selected set of country-specific initiatives as well as key mutually agreed regional activities that are crucial to attaining the regional strategic goals,” a ministry official said

The ministry, however, admits that the World Bank funding can impact implementation of environmental laws such as Environment Protection Act of 1986, National Rehabilitation and Resettlement Policy, 2007, Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 with applicability of bank’s five policies on environmental protection, natural habitats, forestry, involuntary resettlement and indigenous people

The Indian Express, 25th June 2012

Northern Railway's plan to build a new bridge near world heritage site Salimgarh Fort will take off after being held up for almost a decade. This will be the first public project in Delhi to get a no objection certificate (NOC) from the National Monuments Authority(NMA).

The authority gave the railways the go-ahead taking into consideration the heritage value of the old iron bridge. It said the rail portion of the old bridge should be preserved as a museum.

The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and the Northern Railway got embroiled in a long-drawn battle as work on the new bridge would have caused damage to portions of the Salimgarh Fort. The project was given approval only after the bridge was realigned to ensure that construction took place outside the 100m prohibited zone.

Railways sought ASI's permission to build a new bridge in place of the 150-year-old iron bridge connecting Shahdara and the Old Delhi railway station. However, ASI refused permission as construction of the proposed bridge involved demolition of a portion of the ancient fort. The railways was asked for a revised plan. In the meantime, the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains (Amendment and Validation) Act, 2010, was passed and National Monuments Authority came into being— which would now grant permission.

By this time, railways had a heritage impact assessment report prepared by Intach, which also proposed an alternative alignment in which the rail track through Salimgarh Fort would be diverted to north, passing over Yamuna through the new bridge. The diversion, which was outside 100m radius of the monument, would have ensured that the new construction was in regulated zone. "The construction will now be carried out 30m upstream, parallel to the existing road-cum-rail bridges over the Yamuna,'' said an official.

"The new plan is in line with the Act as construction would take place outside the 100m prohibited zone; the heritage impact assessment report also supported the plan,'' said an NMA source

The Times of India, 25th June 2012

This book is a collection of 10 essays that aims to provide an understanding of tribal history and narratives.

The chapters are in a sequence from overarching material, such as the possible constructions of the word ‘tribe’, and the implied existence in mainstream texts, to the intricacies of problems, patterns and conflicts that have affected many people of tribal communities.

The essays, by different authors, thus do not seem disjointed. The changes in the topics discussed are rather gradual, with many chapters often containing the same names. For instance, John Hoffmann wrote the detailed and still referred to Encyclopaedia of Mundica (based on his observations of the Munda community) and he is also featured in chapters that concern negotiation with the British government for improvement in agrarian aspects of tribal life as well as the setting up of schools for the Santhal parganas.

While at first it feels repetitive, sometimes with different chapters using the same quote, this form points to the inextricable interweaving of the different issues. Agrarian reforms, education, land rights, conflicts were all connected, influenced, acted upon and suffered/reaped benefits of by the same people.

Given that a topic’s discussion is restricted to a certain geographical area, any other analysis of an issue related to the place follows the same references by and large.

This is history made personal to the reader, often by way of anecdotes. A Christian missionary is asked by an elderly tribal if Christianity permitted one to get drunk twice a week. To this the missionary said no, and the manjhi turned heel and said: “Teach our children, but leave us alone!”
Power relations and absorption of each other’s cultures by the defeated and the victorious are seen in the chapter concerning Rajputs and Bhils. In other places an attempt to understand the point behind the painful logistics involved in large scale migration is made, where the ease of control over an uprooted people is seen as the reason for tea plantation owners preferring migrant workers.

Debunking stereotypes
While it is of essence to mention the constant debunking of stereotypes in the chapters, the authors’ research stays faithful to facts. Adequate mention is made of narrow-mindedness, the ill-advised use of Victorian morality in interpreting a tribal community’s customs, ruptures, fall outs and finally an antipathy that came to exist between groups by way of rebellions and uprisings.

While a large part of the book is dedicated to the colonial era, some of the later chapters examine the same myths that were debunked by the British researchers as now being very prevalent in post-independence India.

Finally, there exists a steadfast self-awareness in the writing that is underscored in the penultimate chapter that tries to create links between the importance of these findings of the past with adivasi movements of the present.

NARRATIVES FROM THE MARGINS: Edited by Sanjukta Das Gupta and Raj Shekhar Basu; Primus Books, Virat Bhavan, Mukherjee Nagar Commercial Complex, New Delhi-110009. Rs. 995.

The Hindu, 26th June 2012

A recently-launched first-of-its-kind Virtual Museum, takes the viewer through aspects of temple architecture and other examples of local heritage. Its director,Vandana Sinha, spoke to Ila Sankrityayan

The Centre for Art and Archaeology, and the Archives and Research Centre for Ethnomusicology, both departments at the American Institute of Indian Studies, recently developed a virtual museum of Indian heritage, music, culture and temple architecture.

“Virtual museums are still new. Their very definition is evolving. But already, the term contains different meanings. The Indian virtual museum is not different from those in parts of the world . While most Indian museums are in the process of digitisation, and many don’t have their own website, several sites have been created to virtually showcase materials of museum collections,” explains Vandana Sinha. She is the director, (academic), at the Centre for Art and Archaeology, AIIS.
The virtual museum includes sculptures, paintings, drawings, sketches, coins, photographs, recordings, video shoots, articles, publications, transcripts and other items.

“It features 10th century material. Like drawings, photographs of monuments, sculptures, architectural fragments and an exhibition on temple architecture. Some materials were contributed by collections from Delhi’s National Museum and UP’s Allahabad Museum, UP.”

She adds, “The Virtual Museum of ‘Images’ has four wings — Exhibition, Collections, Sites (Timeline) and Resources. There is for example, art and architecture from 10th century India. It is exhibited to provide an overview of the artistic and cultural environment of that period. All the wings are connected to each other, though easy navigation paths, designed to provide a sense of virtual walks.”

Exhibition: This wing shows 12 panels on, ‘What Makes a Temple,’ that were digitised for creation of the online version. “Three dimensional models of temple structures are used to describe parts of the building and placement of sculptures on temple walls. A walk through the temple, helps visitors gather interesting details. The visuals and drawings used, are drawn from the CA &A’s collection of a 10th century Ambika temple in Jagat in Udaipur,” she explains.

Collections: This has pieces dating as far back as the10th century, from museums collaboration with the Virtual Museum. “One sees Carmel Berkson’s documentation of Ambika temple for instance.

The section allows visitors access to reserve collections/artifact galleries of the Virtual Museum.

“Each holding is labelled with brief information about its geographical and historical context,” says Vandana.

Sites: These allow one to view monuments and artifacts in chronological, historical and geographical contexts, through interactive maps. “The larger context of world art in the same era is shown within a timeline in ‘sites’. For example, while visiting Sarnath, one will view monuments at the site with sculptures, inscriptions, coins, pottery and textile, preserved in museums across India. Any sculpture taken from Ambika temple at Jagat and housed in a museum in India, or outside, will be accessible to visitors there, through the virtual museum,” she tells us.

Virtual Museum of Sounds: “We plan recordings, accompanied by visuals that show the background of these traditions – with text and images. So its more attractive than when you merely access archival holdings,” states Vandana. She compares the virtual museum with traditional ones,commenting, “While possible to show the actual setting of ceiling sculptures stolen from Bahu temple in Nagada in, Rajasthan, in the virtual museum where both subjects can be juxtaposed virtually, one will not get the same experience one goes through in a traditional museum.”

The Pioneer, 26th June 2012

The government is in intense negotiations with Hermann Kallenbach's family to buy back memorabilia related to Mahatma Gandhi for which auction house Sotheby's London had invited bids for a July 10 auction.

"Negotiations are on and we are very keen to acquire it," Union culture minister Kumari Selja told HT, denying reports that the government has already acquired the items for $3 million (R4.5 crore).
"We won't participate in the auction as the Indian government doesn't enter into bids. We are going in for a buy because of the tremendous national importance of these items. But there is a price ceiling we cannot exceed," she said refusing to name the figure.

Sources said the issue is being dealt with at the PMO level.

Meanwhile, Kallenbach's grand niece Isa Sarid, who wrote a biography of Hermann Kallenbach, passed away on Wednesday in Jerusalem. Isa's son Eli Sarid had led negotiations with the Indian government. Sotheby's had valued the thousands of priceless letters, documents and photographs relating to Gandhi valued at between R4.3 crore to R6.06 crore.

After the auction announcement, the government had sent in a five-member team to London under Mushirul Hasan, director-general, National Archives of India, to examine the genuineness of the items. The team, which included historians and manuscript experts, had submitted a three-page report certifying the items on offer as 'priceless'.

"The documents and pictures, if we can acquire them, will open up another chapter of our history and allow greater access of our heritage to scholars and the public," the minister said.

The memorabilia, arranged in 18 files, also include a previously unpublished body of 13 letters exchanged between Gandhi and Hermann Kallenbach, a successful East Prussian architect settled in Johannesburg. He met Gandhi in 1904 and became fast friends from then on.

The Hindustan Times. 29th June 2012

The fate of the multi-level parking lot on KG Marg will be decided by a heritage impact assessment report. The parking project, which lies within 300 metres of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) protected Ugrasen Ki Baoli, has been pending since 2010. With a planned capacity of 1,500 vehicles, the lot has been touted as essential to take off load from Connaught Place roads.

The National Monument Authority (NMA) has decided to ask the company, which will execute the project, to come up with the heritage impact assessment of the big infrastructure project.

In 2010, the ASI had slapped a stop work notice on the project after an amendment in the act, which mandates permission from the NMA for any construction within 101-300 metres of a protected monument. The 600-year-old Baoli, a step well, shows the traditional method of harvesting rainwater through ground recharge.

“NMA members felt that an assessment needs to be done in view of the heritage structure in the vicinity. Whether or not the increased number of vehicles will affect the heritage ambience of the Ugrasen Ki Baoli, what impact the digging for construction will have on the water table of the area - all such things need to be studied,” said a member, who attended the meeting.

Once the minutes of the meeting are finalised, the NMA will write to the company to get the ‘heritage impact assessment’ done for the project, said a senior NMA official.

The Delhi state level competent authority had cleared the proposal last year, but it is still pending at the NMA level.

The Hindustan Times, 29th June 2012

Government agencies have failed to stop dumping of construction material onthe river bed along Yamuna Pushta Road despite orders from LG Tejinder Khanna and National Green Tribunal. Flimsy barriers and a notice asking people to desist from throwing debris on the river bed have done no good as fresh piles of rubble can be found there even now.

"We cannot imagine what stops agencies from taking action. The barriers put up in the area are so inadequate that they can't even stop a truck. The water body lying behind mounds of rubbish has almost disappeared," said Manoj Mishra of Yamuna Jiye Abhiyaan.

With appeals to the government yielding no result, Mishra filed a plea with NGT. GK Pandey, expert member of the tribunal and Justice A Suryanarayan Naidu, acting chairperson, issued an order to the ministry of environment and forests, Delhi government, DDA, Delhi Pollution Control Committee, UP irrigation department and Yamuna River Development Authority (YRDA) on March 12, 2012 to stop encroachment and dumping of solid waste on the river bed within seven days.

The land in question, even though it is within the territory of Delhi, belongs to the UP irrigation department. Initially, Delhi government had claimed its helplessness to take action as the case was outside their jurisdiction. UP irrigation department officials had said they would look into the appeal once the state elections were over.

"It is absolutely appalling that despite instructions, dumping continues. We will look into the matter and take immediate action. The agency at fault will also be brought to book," said sources in the LG office. In January, the LG wrote to MCD, PWD and irrigation and flood control department to ensure that none of their construction debris is dumped on the river bed.

Farmers living in the area have claimed that each day, hundreds of trucks carrying malba arrive at the Pushta and dump tonnes of waste along the road. A stretch of about 80-100m from the road leading to the river bed has been raised by 6-10 feet. Radhu, a farmer, said that till a couple of years ago, the area would be under water during the floods. When the water receded, the land would be used for rice cultivation.

The Times of India, 30th June 2012

Nearly 70 per cent of the Kaziranga National Park was flooded in the current spell of rains, which claimed the lives of two rhinos and 22 hog deer. Speeding vehicles killed 17 hog deer till Friday. The park authorities have so far rescued and released 56 hog deer and eight swamp deer.

KNP Director Sanjib Kumar Bora told The Hindu that the magnitude of the flood in the park this time was higher than that of 2004, but all efforts were on to protect the wild animals from the flood fury.

The Hindu, 30th June 2012

The Delhi durbar tiara made in 1911 for Queen Mary to wear at the Delhi durbar same year will be shown to the public for the first time as part of a special exhibition of Queen Elizabeth's diamonds at the Buckingham Palace from Saturday. The exhibition — Diamonds: A Jubilee Celebration — will showcase more than 10,000 diamonds, including a number of the Queen's personal jewels and pieces from the Royal Collection . The exhibition runs from June 30 to 8 and from July 31 to October 7.

The Delhi durbar was held in 1877, 1903 and 1911. The 1911 Delhi durbar was held in December to commemorate the coronation in Britain of King George V and Queen Mary, and their proclamation as Emperor and Empress of India. It was attended by almost every ruling prince, nobleman, landed gentry and other persons of note in India.

The Delhi durbar tiara was part of the Queen's parure of emeralds and diamonds made for the occasion by Garrard & Co Ltd. The parure included a necklace, stomacher, brooch and earrings . King George V referred to the Delhi durbar tiara as 'May's best tiara'.

Queen Mary loaned the tiara to Queen Elizabeth I in 1946 for the South African Tour in 1947, and it remained with her until her death in 2002. In 2005, it was loaned by The Queen to The Duchess of Cornwall. Exhibition curator Caroline de Guitaut said, "The exhibition shows how over the past three centuries monarchs have used diamonds to display magnificence or as statement of power ." She added: "Each piece demonstrates breathtaking workmanship and ingenuity in design. Diamonds have of course long been associated with endurance and longevity , so this is a very fitting way to mark Her Majesty's 60 years on the throne."

The Times of India, 30th June 2012