The Aga Khan Trust for Culture is restoring this unusually structured tomb in Nizamuddin Basti, dome by dome.

Tucked in the narrow lanes of Nizamuddin Basti, a seventeenth-century monument — Chaunsath Khambha — is in the process of regaining its lost glory.

Under the careful ministrations of a group of engineers, architects and craftsmen, this unusually structured tomb is gradually ridding itself of its many “wounds” sustained in the course of four centuries.

Built around 1623-24 AD, the building houses the tomb of Mirza Aziz Kokaltash — son of Shamshuddin Atagh Khan, Prime Minister of Emperor Akbar. Mirza Aziz Kokaltash was also the governor of Gujarat, during the reign of Jahangir.

“Since it is considered auspicious to be buried near a saint’s grave, seven centuries of tomb building in the vicinity of Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya’s dargah have made this area the densest ensemble of medieval Islamic buildings in India,” Ratish Nanda, Project Director, Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC), said.

The trust is carrying out the restoration at Chaunsath Khambha, which is being co-funded by the Embassy of Germany, following an agreement between the two in 2011.

With 64 pillars supporting 25 domes, the monument has been constructed entirely in marble. Conservation experts said the building plan may have been inspired by that of Iranian garden pavilions such as Chihil Sutun (Hall of 40 Pillars), which also influenced the design of Diwan-i-Aam and Diwan-i-Khas at the Red Fort.

Conservation experts involved in the project said the monument had suffered severe damages because of excessive water seepage..

The funding of the project is a precursor to the Indo-German Mela, which is being held across the country this year.

In 2009, a team of AKTC’s conservation architects did a condition assessment study here, which revealed that the building needed complicated conservation to prevent the collapse of certain sections. Each stone was documented in the process using a 3D laser scanning technology introduced to India as part of this project.

Experts said an intensive craft-based approach was being adopted for conservation of the site. Each of the 25 domes is being dismantled and the stones are being repaired by craftsmen using techniques and tools used during the construction of the monument in the seventeenth century. “Once, the stones are repaired, the domes will be reset, ” one of the engineers working on the project said..

“The first dome alone required eight months of work as we were trying to develop the most appropriate conservation method as there is a risk that the structure could collapse,” Rajpal Singh, chief engineer, AKTC, said.

“The pieces of marble in the structure had been held together using iron dowels. So the water seepage led to rusting, corrosion and expansion of the iron dowels. The monument was further damaged due to the “patch work” carried out some time ago — white cement was used to cover areas where the stone had broken off because of the pressure exerted by the iron dowels,” he said..

Elaborating on the work, Neetipal Brar, Project Conservation Architect, AKTC, said, “Once the first dome was fixed, it was important to ensure that no further damage occurred due to rainwater penetration. So the entire roof was relaid using traditional materials. All iron dowels are being replaced with non-corrosive stainless-steel ones.”

Craftsmen selected for the renovation work were given a year’s intensive training. They were then divided into three groups and are currently working simultaneously on three domes. These master craftsmen will take at least six years to complete the restoration work, Brar said.

K K Muhammed, former Chief Superintending Archaeologist of Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) (Delhi Circle), said the work at the site has been quite challenging. “When the initial plan was put in front of me, I had expressed my reservations about the feasibility of the project.”

AKTC — along with the ASI and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi — has been working on a major urban renewal project in the Nizamuddin area since 2007.

By linking conservation with socio-economic development, the project includes sanitation, health, education and vocational training initiatives..

As part of the urban conservation effort, urban housing improvement programmes are also being implemented in the area.

The pillars of history

Dating back to 1623-24 AD, Chaunsath Khambha is the tomb of Mirza Aziz Kokaltash, son of Shamshuddin Atagh Khan, the Prime Minister of Mughal Emperor Akbar and Ji Ji Anagh, the emperor’s nurse.

The monument derives its name from the 64 pillars which support the building’s roof. The 64 pillars divide the building internally into 25 bays — each bay surmounted with a dome. However, the tomb, when viewed from the outside, appears flat-roofed..

Located behind Mirza Ghalib’s tomb, it contains graves of Kokaltash and his wife which carry Quranic inscriptions.

While the other graves present in the building are uninscribed, they are believed to belong to the members of the Kokaltash family.

Mirza Aziz served as Jahangir’s governor of Gujarat and built Chaunsath Khambha, his own mausoleum, during his lifetime.

He died in Gujarat and was temporarily buried at Sarkhej, Gujarat. His remains were shifted to this site.

Catherine Asher, a specialist in Islamic and Indian art from 1200 to the present, has written about Chaunsath Khambha. “This tomb, perhaps more than any other surviving example of late Jahangir-period architecture, serves as a transition to the style associated with Shahjahan’s period.”

The Indian Express, 1st November 2012

Even a mention of its name portrays the rugged terrain of the Himalayas with thin air, sparse vegetation and hardly enough water. Leh, however, was far removed from its stereotype this Monday. The high altitude cold desert was the site of a huge plantation drive, massive enough to set a new world record.

On October 29, Leh became witness to an event in which 9,814 volunteers planted 99,103 saplings of Ladakhi willow within the stipulated time of one hour. Although short of the targeted 1 lakh trees, the number was enough to set a world record. It bettered the previous record of planting 66,000 trees set in the Philippines in January last year.

The event was organised by Live to Love International, an NGO founded by His Holiness the Gyalwang Drukpa, the supreme spiritual head of the Drukpa lineage of Mahayana Buddhism. Among the three main lineages of Himalayan Buddhism practiced in the region, the Drukpa lineage has the largest number of followers.

Initially, the organisers were expecting 10,250 volunteers who were supposed to form 205 groups of 50 people each. Each person had a target of planting 10 saplings. Although the actual turnout was a bit lower, gathering even 9,814 volunteers in a district where the population density is three persons per square kilometre is a tricky task.

The event started at 11:36 after the arrival of His Holiness at the Thunkay Latto plantation site. It was adjudicated by Kimberly Dennis representing Guinness World Records. The site, which is located between Hemis, Ladakh's largest monastery, and the Indus River, witnessed volunteers braving the chilly wind, dust and burning sunlight to plant the saplings.

Many of them had travelled several kilometres to participate in the record breaking event. Chhewang Spalwar, who was the leader of one of the groups, had come from Nubra, about 150 km from Leh. Tanzi Mongo had come from Phukte, 30 km from the plantation site while Rigzin had come from a village located 35 km away from the Hemis monastery. These people who live in remote villages scattered around the barren granite mountains of Ladakh were informed about the event by radio.

The event also coincided with the ongoing fourth Annual Drupka Council (ADC) and hence there were volunteers from countries like Bhutan, Malaysia, Taiwan and Singapore. Started on October 26, the council, which will end on November 2, is the largest gathering of the followers of the lineage, which is also Bhutan's state religion.

Sixty-seven year old Rizzi Tsering, a Tibetan living in Taiwan, had come all the way to attend the council. "Ladakh resembles old Tibet and that's why I keep coming" he said.

The event concluded with cries of 'gyospa' (hurry up) and 'kikisoso largayallo'. The facilitating ceremony was celebrated with the traditional Zabra dance and a performance by the Ladakh Scouts regiment.

The Times of India, 1st November 2012

Public Works Department (PWD) is lowering part of the road under the British-period Mangey bridge to protect it from further damage. The move comes after Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) requested the agency to reduce the height of the road as commercial vehicles keep knocking against the overhead arch of the bridge, leaving it damaged.PWD is lowering a portion of the road under the bridge, which connects Salimgarh Fort with Red Fort, by more than one metre (almost four feet).

"The work, which started in July, is nearly complete. We are relaying the road with concrete, which lasts longer than bituminous material. Frequent relaying of road tends to increase its height. With concerete, this should not %happen. Currently, only the road under the middle arch is being lowered. The road underneath one more arch may also be lowered in future if ASI sends a request," said a senior PWD official.

There are three arches with two lanes of the road underneath each arch.The bridge has been extensively damaged by heavy vehicles passing under it. Large portions of the bridge had fallen off and a major part of the arches was also hit.

Over 100 years old, the bridge was constructed by the British to connect the two ancient forts and is under the care of ASI. Officials had observed that the road level under the bridge had risen considerably in recent years due to constant relaying. This, they said, was the root of the problem. The bridge is located on a highway that is used by a large number of heavy vehicles regularly. Earlier, ASI had requested that the traffic police to change the route taken by heavy vehicles, but that could not happen.

Two years ago, a British firm was roped in by ASI to help in conservation and repair of the bridge. A team of 15 engineers from UK-based firm Cintec, known the world over for its patented anchoring system, had been specially brought in from Newport along with four expert drillers.

The event also coincided with the ongoing fourth Annual Drupka Council (ADC) and hence there were volunteers from countries like Bhutan, Malaysia, Taiwan and Singapore. Started on October 26, the council, which will end on November 2, is the largest gathering of the followers of the lineage, which is also Bhutan's state religion.

Sixty-seven year old Rizzi Tsering, a Tibetan living in Taiwan, had come all the way to attend the council. "Ladakh resembles old Tibet and that's why I keep coming" he said.

The event concluded with cries of 'gyospa' (hurry up) and 'kikisoso largayallo'. The facilitating ceremony was celebrated with the traditional Zabra dance and a performance by the Ladakh Scouts regiment.

The Times of India, 1st November 20122

The National Zoological Park has grand plans for the future that promise to create a green lung for the city amid all the din and bustle over the next 20 years. The zoo has drawn up a new master plan and proposes to set up a new aviary that will not only house birds, but also amphibians and reptiles.

"This new space will give them a natural environment to live, and will be called a rain forest. It will be designed in such a way so that visitors can just walk in," said Amitabh Agnihotri, director, Delhi zoo. He was speaking at the 54th foundation day celebrations of the Delhi zoo, where the master plan was released.

Based on the "immersion concept", the plan was unveiled by director general of forests P J Dilip Kumar; B S Bonal, chief of Central Zoo Authority; and ADG A K Bansal. While unveiling the plan, the director said the main focus would be to reduce artificial surroundings and increase the natural experience for the animal and the visitor. The master plan proposes a 65% increase in woodland, water bodies and maintained green areas and an elaborate visitors' centre among others. "One of the things on our priority list is to work on the visitors' area to enhance the overall experience of the people. On crowded days, the visitors usually have a waiting period of at least 30 minutes before they get a ticket. So we plan to revamp the area to make it more interactive," said the director.

He added, "For this the revamped visitors' centre shall be equipped with an education centre that will hold awareness programmes on conservation for the public, an auditorium, food court, fine dining and a play area for kids." The new visiting area is slated to be operational before the nextWorld Association of Zoos and Aquariums conference to be hosted by Central Zoo Authority and Delhi zoo in November, 2014.

The Times of India, 2nd November 20122

The Capital's trees will soon get a special status. Delhi's tree authority has formed a committee to prepare a list of trees that can be considered as heritage properties. The committee - set up in 2007 for the protection of trees - will submit its list in two weeks for the authority to take a call on notification.

"Heritage trees will get a treatment similar to that accorded to protected monuments. In case of a conflict, building plans will have to be altered. It will be really difficult for a person or an agency to harm the special-status trees," said a member of the authority.

So which are the front-runners? "We're basically looking at species that have withstood the pressures and pollution of Delhi and are best suited for the local climate. They have to be bird-friendly, conducive to nesting and fruit-bearing."

Aesthetics is not a criterion. "Trees such as ashok and palm are not the contenders. Pilkhan, maulshree, kusum, kadam and some others may make the cut," he said.

"Around 200 trees die every year due to lack of proper upkeep. Such a special status will go a long way in improving the green protection," said a senior forest department official.

The Hindustan Times, 2nd November 2012

 

What would be the ultimate leisure pursuit for urban dwellers? Probably a getaway far from the madding crowd, some place undiscovered, unexplored and not marked on the tourist radar. Preferred activities would be breathing in fresh mountain air, lazy walks, bonfires, and playing antakshari under starry skies. Uttrakhand has little towns and villages, you will love these places for the way they have remained — untouched. Bhowali, 11 kms from Nainital, charming and understated, is a wonderful getaway for the archetypal dwellers of the cosmopolitan plains. No malls, no crowds, no fancy cappuccinos and no noise. Crystalline mornings, spectacular views, fragrant fruit laden orchards, and birdsong coursing through your being, Bhowali is like a step into a haven of tranquility. Because of its salubrious climate and invigorating environ, a TB sanatorium was built here in 1912 and it came to be prized as a health resort. The journey is as reverential as the destination; the drive to Gagar, through lands of unfettered blue and greens, is a pleasure.
Located at 7000ft, it has enthralling views of the Kumaon hills and the endless stretch of the famous peaks such as Nanda Devi, Panchachuli, Nandakot, Bhartoli and Nandaghunti. This area is known as the Karambhumi of Maharishi Garg, Narayan Swami, Rabindranath Tagore and Mahadevi Verma. As per local legend, Bhagwan Krishna visited the Vedic Muni 4,500 years ago atop the mountain of Gagar, the point from where you can see the city lights of Delhi on a clear night. The mountains in winter are white, interspaced by the evergreens, nature’s artistry at its magnificent best. Gagar also offers some of the most amazing mountain trails and river crossings for trekkers, photographers, and nature lovers. There is little tourist traffic here due to its remote location, and the scenery is bucolic. Ramgaragh is located 26 kms from Nainital and divided in two areas: Malla is on an elevated location and Talla is in the basin. The natural beauty here is said to have inspired great poets and artists. Guru Rabindranath Tagore spent many summers here and initiated work on Gitanjali and our national anthem Jana Gana Mana. You can visit Tagore Point, the house where Gurudev lived. Though the house is in ruins, an aura of poetry and peace prevails. Close by is Devisthan, the home of poet Mahadevi Verma, author of the famous story Lachma. The Himalayan centre of Sri Aurobindo Ashram, Madhuban, at Talla Ramgargh, offers a sanctuary of peace and serenity. Ramgarh was an army cantonment in the days of the Raj. The Old Bungalow and the Writers Bungalow built in the 1800’s are summons of another era. These heritage structures were once hosts to the British and Indian officers who trotted the hilly tracks on horseback and palanquins. Every traveller takes back his own special memories, with sincere promises made to the mountains for a return trip one day.

The writer is an avid traveller  

The Asian Age, 2nd November 2012

Visitors to Qutub Minar will soon have access to a new interpretation centre, right opposite the 13th century monument. ASI had been requesting the agency to hand over the British-era building, previously a PWD guesthouse, adjacent to the monument for a long time.

The transfer came through about two years ago, and the guesthouse — after the renovation — will be open to the visitors as an interpretation centre-cum-museum. The new interpretation centre, ASI officials said, is likely to be openedby early next year.

The building functioned as a guesthouse for Lord Curzon and has been under the control of Delhi government for years, till ASI formally requested that it be transferred to them. Though the process took much longer than anticipated, it was handed over to ASI in 2010, just after the Commonwealth Games. "The interpretation centre is a requirement according to world heritage guidelines. Renovations are on in full swing to make the building ready for tourists. It requires a complete revamp and we plan to make it function as a museum also,'' said an official. Similar interpretation centres are being planned in other world heritage sites also, along with a plan for one at Humayun's Tomb.

ASI's one-month trial of e-ticketing at Qutub Minar also ended this week and the heritage body is looking to expand the e-ticketing system to other monuments also. . The e-ticketing system was on operation, as a trial, at Qutub Minar in October.

Designed by the National Institute for Smart Government (NISG) , the idea of the system is to introduce e-ticketing for entry to monuments for better accounting of revenue collection, store data on visitors and to minimise malpractices in the current manual system, officials said. ASI has reverted to the manual ticket system from November 1, till they study the report of the trial period.

The Times of India, 3rd November 20122

Imagine if you had a say in redesigning the heart of the city - Connaught Place. If you could tell planners that you want more trees lining the thoroughfares, more pedestrian paths that make walking a pleasant experience, and just about anything on your wish list. Architecture students from the School of Planning and Architecture (SPA) and Space Bonding, a German urban planning company, have joined hands to make it possible. In a first, residents were asked to redesign CP - on a touch pad - as part of an interactive urban planning experiment.

Around 50% of the respondents - 500 in number - said they visited CP for leisure and an overwhelming majority felt that more dustbins could improve their experience of roaming around the area. Addition of water fountains, more green cover and reducing traffic chaos also scored high on their list. While visitors said they would prefer less traffic, traders said that it didn't bother them much. For traders, cleanliness was a priority. Safety was the biggest concern for both men and women, in equal numbers. Other ideas that respondents suggested were making CP a 'no-spitting' and a 'no-beggar' zone..

The survey, which was launched on Saturday at the Indo-German Urban Mela, can be answered at www.connaughtplace2020.org. People's feedback will be analyzed by the team and forwarded to NDMC. CP used to be a place for the elite British but underwent frequent changes leading to a complete change in its structure. Director of SPA, Chetan Vaidya, said a lot of people prefer to spend time in malls instead of open areas like CP. "Priya market used to be a popular hangout a few years ago. Now, most people opt for malls, probably because they are air-conditioned and safe," he said. Professor Shrivatsa from Institute of Economic Change said, "Delhi is a masculine city. Even our urban spaces are not women-friendly. Hence, women feel safer in malls."

INTACH head, AGK Menon, said that idea of a public space in Delhi is still not clear. "The culture of public spaces does not exist in our society. Just because architects study Piazza San Marco, we cannot expect a similar place to come upIndiaGate is a very democratic space, for instance," he said.

Many women said they chose to go to malls because of the parking facility and safer environment. Most speakers reminisced that the Coffee House was a great place to visit. in Delhi where 500 people were asked to redesign CP. They were asked to give their responses on a touch pad, when researchers interviewed them recently at CP..
 

The raw energy of the elements mingles with imposing structures to create an ecosystem symbolic of world peace

The Soka Bodhi Tree Garden, an hour’s drive from Delhi, is perhaps the best kept secret of the Capital. Here around 3,000 peepal trees, scores of ducks, geese, peacocks, squirrels, flowers and ponds blend with energetic architecture in a green spread of 170 acres.

Conceived as a centre for peace and friendship and a gift to India from Dr. Daisaku Ikeda, the president of the Buddhist organisation Soka Gakkai International (SGI), the tree garden was unveiled in 2011. Today Bodhi trees (the peepal tree under which the Buddha gained enlightenment) tower the landscape in various stages of growth – some still saplings while others full grown, shading a carpet of grass below and providing sustenance to the interdependent ecosystem.

Though the garden is dotted with symbolic peace structures, the landscaping is so close to the natural that in no way does it take away from the raw energy of the elements and the lightness of being that the garden exudes..

Keeping close to the vision of the SGI president of “a large stretch where thousand of Bodhi saplings would be nurtured into tall trees” embodying “the dreams, hopes and future of humanity”, the landscaping has been executed by Prof Mohammad Shaheer, then head of the landscaping department at the School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi. To promote serenity and encourage visitors to use the tree garden for meditation and thought, between the trees grass clearings have been created where stone benches and pathways are embedded in beds of green grass.

When the garden was conceived in 1993, Dr Ikeda had said, “I am positive that from among those who will come to visit this garden in the future –when the Bodhi trees that are saplings now, have grown tall and robust and are luxuriant with fresh green leaves – there will emerge great leaders…. It will be a place where leaders from various fields around the world will come to meet in order to cultivate and develop themselves, inspiring and stimulating each other’s growth”.

Last Sunday saw a glimpse of this vision of the tree garden when it became the venue of a peace symposium. Director General of the National Archives of India Professor Mushirul Hasan, journalist and writer Mark Tully, and Director of India International Centre Dr Kavita Sharma spoke to a large audience on the 40 anniversary of a dialogue for world peace that had taken place between British historian Arnold J Toynbee and Dr Ikeda.

The dialogue, that discussed a whole range of subjects — from the personal to the international and the political to the philosophical — was captured in a book titled ‘Choose Life’, which since then has been translated into 28 languages..

While the three speakers held eloquent on the subject of peace, pluralism and a respect for all humankind, the Soka Bodhi Tree Garden provided the befitting venue. Architect Achyut P Kanvinde who visualised its built up area and gave structure to the vision, first set up the Renaissance Hall which can accommodate around 100 people. Later, an open air bird house and a pond for geese and pigeons were added close by. He then designed a friendship centre that envelopes the environs and brings them right into the exhibition hall.

The most imposing of structures is the World Peace Monument that gently merges into the landscape, but stands solid beneath the vast sky — embodying the determination to achieve lasting world peace.

The garden also sports four pavilions that symbolise the four elements — Earth, Water, Fire and Air — with benches and shelters for visitors to imbibe the environment. “The softness of grass merges with the hardness of rock, qualities that forge a person’s inner being,” explains a handbook just brought out on the garden, while it explains the presence of so many lotuses in the ponds, quoting from the Buddha’s philosophy about the flower and how it rises above the water unsoiled just like human beings should.

“We plant a mustard crop here along with the trees and give the produce to the villagers in the vicinity so that it can add to their income,” says Hardayal Sharma, in charge of the Soka Bodhi Tree Committee who has nurtured the garden since 1993. A volunteer with the Indian arm of the Buddhist organisation, Bharat Soka Gakkai, he drives here all the way from Delhi (the garden is situated in Bilaspur, Haryana) to tend to the garden’s details. He recalls how the garden, its trees, flora and fauna grew from year to year, with Bodhi trees from several nations being added periodically.

“The garden has many moods, and in each season it looks different, with every nook and corner taking on a varied hue,” says another volunteer as she points out the blue, yellow and red Soka Gakkai flag that rests within a leafy grove. It flutters unfazed in the hope of world peace.

The Hindu, 4th November 2012

Behind the purdah, in the strictly-guarded women’s quarter, or Zenana Deodi (Palace of the Queens) at the majestic Mehrangarh Fort, queens and princesses would often write about their lives in the palace in bahis, or diary-like records.

Behind the purdah, in the strictly-guarded women’s quarter, or Zenana Deodi (Palace of the Queens) at the majestic Mehrangarh Fort, queens and princesses would often write about their lives in the palace in bahis, or diary-like records. The bahis are now being researched and translated from Marwari into Hindi by Mahendra Singh Naggar, director-general (culture), Mehrangarh Museum Trust, and his team. In about three years, the researchers plan to present the stories of the lives of the maharanis, collated from the bahis, at an “interpretation centre” in the Zenana Deodi.

The planned centre follows the restoration of the Zenana Deodi, which began in 1997 by Indian and German architects, conservationists, art historians and technical specialists, as part of a grant from the German government and the Mehrangarh Museum Trust. Restoration is near-complete now, and the researchers are busy piecing together the best-kept secret of the famous fort — the diaries of its queens. They are cataloguing the loose pages according to which queen/princess wrote them and arranging them chronologically so as to “construct a narrative”. “The lives of the women in the Zenana Deodi will be showcased through sound and visual projections. Objects recovered from the women’s chambers will be placed back to recreate the original look of the palace,” says Karni Singh Jasol, director, Mehrangarh Museum Trust.

Of course, the key to the grand project are the bahis, says Naggar, as he shows us crumbling, yellowed sheets of paper, written in Devanagari script. The diaries, which date 17th century onwards, were used as ledgers, with the ranis listing out their possessions such as jewellery and land, and a record of their social lives. “Each rani had a bahi, and made entries of her jewellery, teej-teohar (festivals), jagirs (landed property), and purchases in it. She also wrote about the festivals and rituals observed in the palace, as well as the temples, if any, she built, and maintained a log of her visitors,” says Naggar. The bahis reveal that some of the queens were educated — they composed bhajans and wrote letters to their relatives, friends and even to the kings (one queen wrote a letter to the king, requesting permission to go on a pilgrimising, which is part of her bahi).

The bahis also subtly reveal the power struggles among the queens, over the husband they shared. The 30 maharanis of Maharaja Takht Singh, for example, had a hierarchical order, and each maharani had a distinct status — trivia Naggar discovered through “indirect references in the bahis to the influence of a queen over the king”. “There are accounts of the patrani (the first queen), other maharanis, paswans (women who were not married to the king but stayed with him) and the purdayat (mistresses). Every queen had her own administrative system and a kaamdaar to execute orders,” says Naggar.

Despite, or perhaps because of such a system in place, three was no competitive spirit among the maharanis. They, in fact, lived as “one big happy family”, says Naggar. And when a maharaja died, they would “volunteer to perform sati” — a particularly revealing fact offered by the bahis, says Naggar, as it shows that the crude practice was “not an imposition, but a choice”. He recounts from the bahis that of the 24 wives of Maharaja Man Singh, it was Rani Anjan Kanwar (recorded in bahis as the daughter of Jawahar Singh from Sirohi) who volunteered to perform sati upon his death.

Maharaja Man Singh recovered 5,000 manuscripts from the Zenana Deodi and set up archives as long ago as 1802. Until about 1890, the fort was the residence and seat of government for the rulers of Jodhpur. It was re-established in 1940 as a royal residence, and a number of structures were demolished in order to build new facilities. But the tradition of bahis carried on. And now several decades down the line, the public may finally get a glimpse of the lives of the queens and princesses.

The Indian Express, 4th November 2012

An hour’s drive from Shillong, and right out of a chapter from JRR Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings lies one of Meghalaya’s 79 “sacred groves”. The Mawphlang forest, in the East Khasi Hills, has a verdant “sacred grove” spread over 70 acres. Wrapped in folklore and myths, the grove rises amidst expanses of undulating hills and yellowing grasslands. Our Khasi guide Rosanna gives us clear instructions before we enter the grove: “Don’t pick up anything — stones, flowers, leaves”, but if you do, “never carry it outside the sacred grove, for illness and misfortune will follow”.

A cluster of megaliths rises from the earth around the grove’s periphery. Inside, more megaliths dot the forest floor. Some lie horizontally, others stand erect. “The erect megaliths stand over the bones of men buried here, the horizontal ones represent women,’’ says Rosanna. Groups of megaliths represent entire families. The legend is that the stones were never brought from outside the forest but sprang from the earth to guard over the dead. The megaliths are believed to be over 500 years old.

The sacred grove has been protected by the Khasi tribal community for centuries. Even the water from Mawphlang’s meandering clear streams and ponds is prohibited to be drawn and taken out. Legend aside, the sacred grove has played an important role in the protection of Mawphlang’s natural ecosystem and habitat, ensuring that the water table never recedes.

The grove has, over centuries, become a conservatory of wild orchids indigenous to the area and is said to be home to centuries-old trees and native plants, many of which are medicinal in value. The forest floor is covered by a carpet of chestnuts, and a large variety of mushrooms grow here — some rare and found only in this region. Botanists believe that at least 514 species representing 340 genera and 131 families are present in these sacred forests.

The Indian Express, 4th November 2012

For the car-loving Delhiites, ‘Barapulla’ evokes images of a smooth ride from the eastern areas across to New Delhi or south Delhi. But very few know what ‘Barapulla’ actually stands for. A stone bridge parallel to the bridge on the way towards Nizamuddin railway station is hardly noticed by the commuters. Barapulla — still solid, but showing signs of deterioration — got its name from the 11 arches and 12 piers. Built in 1621-22 by Mihr Banu Agha, chief eunuch at Jahangir’s court, the almost four-lane wide road has several minars on each of the side walls.

It has become a local subzi mandi and scores of vendors squat on the bridge with their wares. “Earlier Barapulla was used to reach Nizamuddin station. The modern one came up about 30 years ago. The subzi mandi started on the bridge much later,” said SL Sabarwal, 80, who has been staying in the neighbourhood for 60 years.

No doubt the setting has changed, especially during last two decades. Parallel to the Barapulla is its modern counterpart taking people and vehicles to Nizamuddin railway station’s main entry side. Almost perpendicular to it, but running several metres above it, is the elevated road, which has hijacked the original’s name.

And few metres to the north of it is the latest addition, the road under-bridge connecting Nizamuddin to Sarai Kale Khan.

Farhad Suri, former Mayor and municipal councilor from Nizamuddin, said: “Unfortunately, because of urbanisation, it seems to have lost significance.”

The Hindustan Times, 4th November 2012

The beginning of India’s history has been pushed back by more than 2,000 years, making it older than that of Egypt and Babylon. Latest research has put the date of the origin of the Indus Valley Civilisation at 6,000 years before Christ, which contests the current theory that the settlements around the Indus began around 3750 BC.

Ever since the excavations at Harappa and Mohenjo-daro in the early 1920s, the civilisation was considered almost as old as those of Egypt and Mesopotamia.

The finding was announced at the “International Conference on Harappan Archaeology”, recently organised by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) in Chandigarh.

Based on their research, BR Mani, ASI joint director general, and KN Dikshit, former ASI joint director general, said in a presentation: “The preliminary results of the data from early sites of the Indo-Pak subcontinent suggest that the Indian civilisation emerged in the 8th millennium BC in the Ghaggar-Hakra and Baluchistan area.”

“On the basis of radio-metric dates from Bhirrana (Haryana), the cultural remains of the pre-early Harappan horizon go back to 7380 BC to 6201 BC.” Excavations had been carried out at two sites in Pakistan and Bhirrana, Kunal, Rakhigarhi and Baror in India.

The Hindustan Times, 4th November 2012

R. V. Smith tries to trace the descendants of famous Dilliwallahs of yore

This is the Dussehra-Diwali season and one’s thoughts go back to old times when Ramlila processions went past the northern wall of Shahjahanabad, giving a wide berth to the Jama Masjid. That was prior to 1857, but after the Uprising, processions did pass by the mosque, with welcome gates being erected between the Jama Masjid and Chandni Chowk. However to quote Dr Narayani Gupta, clashes occurred in 1886 at “Delhi, Turkman and Kashmiri gates” and Ramlila processions were allegedly attacked by Tazia processionists. An incident of desecration too took place at the Jama Masjid. The haveli of Lala Ram Kishen Dass was also attacked. The historian, in her “Delhi Between Two Empires”, mentions that by “the turn of the century”, when the 19th ended and the 20th began, the Arya Samaj gained a strong foothold in the city, so much so that the Urdu writer, “Sri Ram Mathur gave up his Muslim Taqqalus (pseudonym) and took up a Hindu one”.

In 1908 Lala Hardayal Singh, Lala Pyarelal and Pundit Janki Nath were among the prominent organisers of Bharat Dharam Mahamandal. The Tar Mela, held after Id-ul-Fitr in the garden of Sri Kishen Das Gurwala since the 1860s, was discontinued in 1885. However, subsequently communal harmony prevailed in general (though one still found Hindu and Muslim waterat railway stations) so that Ramlila and Tazia processions could to be taken out without much hindrance and during Id, Moharrum, Diwali, Dusshera and Holi observed as of old. One fact of the late 1920s is that allegations of irregularities in the Jama Masjid and Fatehpuri Masjid committees, which Obeidullah Sindhi, a shoe merchant and his shoe-seller friends, Abdul Wahab and Choudhury Mohammad Din said amounted to embezzlement, created a furore, much like the present one by the India Against Corruption. That seems like history repeating itself. The earlier allegations however proved to be unjustified.

The prominent personages of those times, and the preceding two decades were listed by Imdad Sabri in his Dilli-ki-Yaadgar Hastian. That makes one wonder where most of their descendants disappeared over the years, migration and mortality notwithstanding. Here are the names of some of them: Mirza Illahi Bux (the samdhi of Bahadur Shah Zafar, as his daughter was married to a son of the emperor), and his sons, Mirza Sulaiman Shah and Mirza Surayya Jah. The latter met the Prince of Wales regarding his properties confiscated in Punjab (of which Delhi was then a part). The intervention of the British heir apparent resulted in Surayya Jah getting back his estates, a fact reported by The Statesman of Calcutta 100 years ago. Then there was Mirza Hairat, editor of Curzon Gazette — probably started during the viceroyalty of Lord Curzon. The hakims of Ballimaran, among whom were the father and elder brothers of the celebrated Hakim Ajmal Khan, Munshi Turab Ali, Mutwalli (trustee) of the Jama Masjid, who, besides others, got the mosque back from British possession after 1857. The descendants of the hakims, the Munshi and the first Imam of Jama Masjid are however still around. So also Narain Prasad, grandson of Lala Jugal Kishore who set up Indraprastha Girls’ School and the college of that name in the haveli of Rai Balkrishan, a wealthy businessman. Lala Chunna Mal’s grandson lives partly in Chandni Chowk and partly at his new home in posh New Delhi. Rai Bahadur Sultan Singh, who gave land in Kashmere Gate to St. Stephen’s College and later helped to set up Modern School in Barakhamba Road, too probably has no heirs. His grandson having died lately. But Deshbandhu Gupta’s family is still there, as also that of Lala Shri Ram. The Birlas and Dalmias of course came later, after the Johns of Greek descent.

Many others are not traceable. Among them are the descendants of Nawab Buddhan, said to have been one of the best-dressed men of Delhi in his time, the cut of whose sherwanis set the trend for fashion lovers. Nawab Dojana’s haveli has made way for Dojana House flats in Matia Mahal locality and Sadr Sadur’s haveli has become a rabbit warren in the same area. The Nawab of Basai is remembered in the name of Basai Darapur which is now better known for its ESI Hospital.

One is also at a loss to trace the heirs of Lala Saligram, Mohammad Ikramullah, Haji Kutubuddin, Hakim Ahmed Syed Khan and Hakim Ghulam Raza Khan. Maybe they are still in Ballimaran and its neighbourhood. The sons of Hakim Abdul Hamid, founder of Hamdard University, Abdul Moid and Hammad Ahmed, are there to carry on the legacy of their grandfather, Hakim Abdul Majid. And the descendants of Dr. Shroff and Dr. Jeyna are still practicing doctors. One, however, cannot say the same for Dr. M. A. Ansari. Ram Kishan Das Chandiwala’s heirs are in New Delhi but what about Jagannath Neharwala, Radha Mohan, Madho Prasad, Satnarain Gurwala, Lala Ramkishan Dass and Rev. J.C.Chatterji — all big names at one time?

The Skinners, one of the rich families of Delhi, had their most famous modern face in the person of Brigadier Michael Skinner, who died a few years ago. His wife, also a Skinner, probably still lives at the estates in Hansi and Mussoorie. Of course, Skinner’s Horse today exists as a mechanized unit of the Indian Army. The rest of the “Old Mortality” has quietly disappeared. That’s how, to quote Ernest Hemingway, “One generation passes after another, but the earth remains the same and the sun also rises”. Though not so above the nobility that was!

The Hindu, 5th November 2012

Budding naturalist spots the two birds foraging in a field

Two Great Indian Bustard (GIB) (Ardeotis nigriceps) were sighted on Friday, foraging in a field in Chelugurki village, 25 km from Bellary, by budding naturalist Preeth Khona (17). It was Preeth’s lucky day as he spotted the birds, not while on a search mission, but while heading to Bangalore.

The news of fresh sighting of the Great Indian Bustard, which is critically endangered, has brought cheer to ornithologists, birdwatchers and wildlife activists.

Chellaguri is located 60 km south of Siruguppa taluk, where the bird was spotted in 2006 and sighted again in 2008. It was also found that they were breeding.

In addition to Siruguppa taluk, situated on the banks of the Tungabhadra in Bellary district, Bellary taluk has emerged as one among the few pockets in the country where the Great Indian Bustard survives.

Santosh Martin and Samad Kottur have been documenting and researching these birds since 2006, and Preeth, Shruthi Punyamurthy and Sunaina Martin are members of a search team that they lead.

The team had earlier combed Chelugurki village and had interacted with the residents while searching for the Great Indian Bustards and caracal (a cat species).

LAST SIGHTING

GIBs were last sighted in Chelugurki 10 years ago by Vijay Mohan Raj, Director, BRT Tiger Reserve. But after that, several searches did not yield any results. Mr. Martin, who is also District Wildlife warden, told The Hindu.

According to him, these birds migrate between the black buck habitats of Rollapadu and Adoni in Andhra Pradesh and Siruguppa, Chelugurki, Koppal, Gadag and Rannebennur in Karnataka. However, the Ranebennur Blackbuck Sanctuary has not had any sightings in the last 15 years.

“Karnataka has a good breeding population of GIBs and their conservation has to be taken up by the government. No significant effort has been made so far,” Mr. Martin said.

The Hindu, 5th November 2012

The endangered Asiatic wild water buffaloes largely found in Central India are now on the radar of conservationists from across the world. The international and national experts in their four-day meet from Monday in Maharashtra is to draw up an action plan for their protection.

According to experts, the global population is estimated to be around 3,400 of which 3,100 or 91% are in India, mostly in Assam and few in Chattisgarh and Maharashtra. Wild buffaloes are presently facing the threat of extinction in central India.

The workshop will be organized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) SSC Asian Wild Cattle Specialist Group, (IUCN sub-Committee for Species Conservation Planning), Satpuda Foundation and Wildlife Trust of India under the aegis of Forest Department of Maharashtra.

Dr James Burton, who is chair of Species Survival Commission (SSC) of Asian Wild Cattle Specialist Group in IUCN and also worings for Earthwatch Institute in UK, is expected to attend the workshop. Other international experts including Dr Helen Senn a research Scientist, WildGenes Laboratory of Royal Zoological Society of Scotland,Edinburgh, UK, would also attend the meet to discuss the means of protection of these species

The species is Endangered (IUCN Red List) and is threatened by poaching, loss of habitat and genetic pollution by hybridizing with domestic stock. The latter also makes population estimates of wild buffalo difficult.

The event aims at bringing together the wildlife managers as well as the wildlife experts to discuss, design and implement an action plan for conservation of wild water buffaloes in central India. said Mr. S. W. H. Naqvi, Chief Wildlife Warden of Maharashtra state.

The participants would deliberate and exchange strategies that can protect the species in various states particularly in Chattisgarh, Maharashtra amongst others said Kishor Rithe, President of Satpuda Foundation and member of National Board for Wildlife who is instrumental to co-ordinate different agencies for organising this workshop.

The experts from Wildlife Trust of India, Wildlife Conservation Society, WWF ,Ministry of Environment and Forest, National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) would also attend the meet.

The Pioneer, 5th November 2012

 

India took the lead in highlighting endangered sea sites as one of the five top-level themes at the Hyderabad CBD. It is odd therefore, that the country does not have any comprehensive law that deals with this important subject

What does 50 million U.S. dollars get you? The eleventh Conference of Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) has just concluded in Hyderabad this October. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has made the “Hyderabad Pledge” of $50 million for biodiversity conservation, and enhancing “human and technical capacity” for conservation. For the next two years, India is president of the CBD and is expected, both normatively and administratively, to take a lead in seeing through decisions taken at the CBD. Most significantly, India now has a serious chance at reimagining its conservation policies.

MANY FIRSTS FOR COP 11

There are several firsts at this CBD. This was the first conference of parties for the implementation of the time-bound Aichi targets, set to root out biodiversity loss. These targets, decided at the last CBD conference of parties in Nagoya, relate to planning, ecosystem services, invasive species, food security and climate change among others. They are a serious departure from the sort of myopic, single department-centred approach that conservation has had in our country. The 20 Aichi targets set out to establish that biodiversity conservation has to do with nearly every aspect of our life, and subsequent well-being. Crucially, the Aichi targets are wholly dependent on national action plans made by parties as per their national circumstances.

Several decisions have been made at the CBD which set the tone for domestic action plans. I would like to emphasise some of the decisions most relevant for the Indian context: on marine and coastal biodiversity, invasive alien species and protected areas. Crucially, these decisions have to be looked at through the time frame provided for the Aichi Targets — from this year to 2020, which is also two years into the United Nations Decade of Biodiversity. Equally, while this is the closest biodiversity targets have ever got to a deadline-oriented framework, this entire framework also runs the risk of never getting implemented, being wholly contingent on domestic action.

EXISTING POLICIES

“I really don’t know what’s down there,” a forest department official remarked once, referring to the rich coral reefs of Gujarat’s Marine National Park. I have encountered other officials who believe that coral reefs are inanimate rock, rather than the sensitive, connected, and alive polyps they really are. But the concern of the official who doesn’t really know what’s “down there” is a valid one and should not be discarded. India has almost 8,000 kilometres of coastline, including its islands. India is also the country that took the lead in declaring marine conservation as one of the five themes for the high-level segment for this CBD meeting. It was decided in Hyderabad that marine areas which are ecologically and biologically sensitive will begin to get identified.

Is this a turning point? For India, it certainly can be. We have accepted voluntary guidelines for keeping biodiversity in perspective while conducting Environment Impact Assessments related to coastal and marine projects; it was India that mooted an “open and evolving” process at the CBD to begin identifying marine areas of significance through robust, scientific processes.

But the real question to ask is the one posed by the forest official: do our policy implementers know what is “down there,” and what will they do, since they do know? Is our forest department, historically set up to manage forests, curtail grazing, make plantations and fell timber, equipped to deal with marine conservation? The answer, clearly, is a no. While we have available science at our disposal for marine conservation, it is not an applied science for our forest department, who have been made the custodians of protecting all manner of wildlife. And that leads us to an even more significant question: are our present conservation policies capable of dealing with marine conservation? What we have in our kitty today is the Wildlife Protection Act, Tree Preservation Acts (at State level) and Environment Protection Act, none of which deal in any comprehensive way with marine conservation. Coral reefs are often referred to as the rainforests of the sea, and sea grass beds are no less life-giving than terrestrial grasslands, which form a primary food base for many species. But it is clear that a “tree” of the sea, or a grassland of a sea, cannot be protected by terrestrial policies, which have so far shaped our conservation policy landscape.

Just one example is that of dugongs, large marine mammals which feed on sea grass meadows. Nicknamed “sea-cows,” they are rapidly disappearing from their ranges in Gujarat and the Andamans. The sea “cow” nickname is testimony to how we familiarise ourselves with new concepts through terms we know already: here, that of a cow. But the sea-cow, for all the familiarity its name evokes, is fast disappearing, prey to poaching on land and threats in the sea.

What we need today are separate laws for marine conservation. At the cusp of finding new marine Ecologically and Biologically Significant Areas (EBSAs) for India and implementing targets for marine conservation, what will truly benefit marine conservation is taking marine conservation out of the box it presently is in: protection accorded to just familiar groups of marine species, and protection through marine protected areas, legally imagined as analogous to terrestrial protected areas.

ALIEN SPECIES AND PROTECTED AREAS

On the question of protected areas (PA), the new text makes an important point: it calls for “other effective area-based conservation measures.” This marks a departure from the heavily guarded and enforced PAs which dot the country and coastline, and, in a majority of cases, have alienated traditional dwellers in and around PAs. “Other effective systems” can mean biodiversity heritage areas, community reserves and important bird areas, which should call for a management regime approach (seasonal or otherwise), rather than strict protection. Invasive alien species, like the omnipresent Lantana, have caused considerable economic and ecological damage, sweeping over natural habitats, as well as city-forests. But India has never felt the need to have a policy for alien species, despite the risk they pose to the mainland and the biodiversity hot spot of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The new text on invasive alien species calls on countries to address threats from these species, check pathways and spread. This is especially important for a country as massive and megadiverse as ours: where even native species can be “alien” — the House Crow, for example, is a serious threat to the biodiversity of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

Post-CBD, the money is where the mouth is; now comes the all-important question of creating responsible domestic policy and action plans for it. As a host country and as CBD president, this is a chance for India to ensure CBD decisions and recommendations don’t remain paper tigers. Or just paper.

(Neha Sinha is with the Bombay Natural History Society. The views expressed are personal. E-mail:[email protected])

- The Hindu, 6th January 2013

Kalidas was here. So was an ancient, anonymous poet. In a cave in Chhatisgarh's Ramgiri Hills, two millenniums of literary history come together.

He was a sculptor, she a court dancer. They climbed up an old cave in Ramgiri hills of central India and on its walls he etched a couplet, not knowing it would be the oldest specimen of love verses inscribed in the Brahmi script.

Centuries later, a Sanskrit poet mused in the cave and composed Meghdoot, probably the greatest love poem ever written, in which a Yaksha sends a message to his beloved through a cloud. With time, other artists also settled in the verdant hills and the frescos they made were India's first "historical record of art". An adjoining cave was perhaps the nation's oldest amphitheatre.

Two millenniums flowed through.

Quietly.

Ramgiri became Ramgarh, a small town in Surguja district in Chhattisgarh. The caves remained tucked away in remote woods. In the late 1950s, Hindi playwright Mohan Rakesh wrote Ashad Ka Ek Din, depicting the inner struggle of poet Kalidas, caught between love and fame. Local artistes later built an auditorium at the foothill and began the yearly Ramgarh Mahotsava on the first day of the month of Ashad — the day Meghdoot's Yaksha spotted the cloud.

And then India's biggest civil strife came to the region, and tribal-dominated Surguja was declared Naxal-affected.

The caves survived. The couplets and paintings inscribed on their walls and roofs did not fade. India has had a vibrant tradition of cultural centres, gharanas and srijan peeths patronised by kings. That they flourished despite frequent changes in dynasties confirms the triumph of art over civilisational turbulence. The Ramgiri caves are even more surprising. The artistic stream here remained isolated, it flowed beneath the surface and emerged only occasionally.

Writing on the wall

The Ramgiri hills have two main caves, Sita Bengra and Jogimaran. On the walls of the latter are the earliest love verses in Brahmi script. The language, curiously, is not Sanskrit but Prakrit, which was spoken by the masses then. The translation reads: "Roopdaksh Devdin is enamoured by Devdasi Sutunuka." Roopdaksh is a sculptor, Devdasi a dancer.

Brahmi is the one of the oldest scripts of the Asian subcontinent. Contemporary of the Mauryan dynasty, its specimens are visible on several rock-cut structures that date back to the 3rd and 4th century BC. The Ramgiri inscriptions date back to around 2nd century BC. Little is known about the origins of Devdin or Sutunuka, except a probability that the sculptor belonged to Varanasi, around 350 km away. The Jogimara cave also has multi-coloured paintings, which eminent cultural critic Anand Coomaraswamy dated back to 1st century. "Coomaraswamy called these the oldest historical paintings of India. These are older than the Ajanta paintings," Raipur museum director and noted archaeologist Rahul Singh says.

British art scholar Percy Brown spotted in these paintings the "specimens of the early culture of India and the first actual historic record of the art". "What may be considered the most ancient concrete example of dateable painting is to be found on the walls of the Jogimaran cave of the Ramgarh Hill in Sirguja, a small and remotely situated state in the Central Provinces. These frescos are presumed to have been executed about the first century before the Christian era," he wrote.

The Sita Bengra cave resembles an amphitheatre, a natyashala. It has a huge hall, an enclosed space behind and a space for the audience in front. Some historians doubt it was ever used as a stage as the height of the roof is just six feet, which makes it difficult for a dance or theatre performance. "Its structure, excellent acoustics and a green-room like structure behind suggests it was probably a centre of art," says Singh.

The cave also has a Brahmi inscription: "Poets enlighten the audience's hearts by their creations." Legend also goes that Ram spent a few days in these caves during his vanvaas, hence the name Ramgiri hill. Meghdoot describes Sita bathing in a nearby stream.

The Ramgarh hills challenge VS Naipaul's contention that the continuity in Indian culture signifies a lack of intellectual enquiry. In An Area of Darkness, he quotes Camus to differentiate between the "literature of consent" (classical Indian texts) in which tradition is never questioned, and the "literature of rebellion" (Western novel). Naipaul could not comprehend that a consenting art could not have sustained and nourished the classical legends. Kalidas, for example, has been interpreted in various ways, much like the Ramayana, each version a significant departure from the original. The Sanskrit author of Meghdoot becomes a fractured, fragmented being and a fallen poet in Rakesh's Hindi play. The caves where he composed his legendary poem host a yearly festival to simultaneously uphold and question his life and poetry. Naipaul missed this rebellion.

Kalidas and Meghdoot

Kalidas visited the hills in the 4th century and during his stay here composed Meghdoot, a poem of 111 shlokas or stanzas. The Yaksha, in fact, is an impersonation of Kalidas. Yaksha worked at the court of Kuber, the ruler of Alka, a mythical city said to be located in the Himalayas. To punish him for neglecting his duties, Kuber exiled him for a year.

For some reasons not yet recorded by historians, poet Kalidas was also forced to leave Ujjain, a kingdom located in adjoining Madhya Pradesh, then ruled by Chandragupta Vikramaditya. Living in exile, the poet created a hero in Yaksha and asked the Megha to carry his message to his beloved. The route Megha takes is on the map even today.

Smitten by love, Yaksha chooses Megha, a non-living being to carry his message. "How can a cloud so moving, mixed and got/ Of water vapour, fire and wind be used/By Yaksha as messenger? But he in eagerness and grief confused/ Mistakes as sentient a thing that's not".

Translated into many languages, the poem inspired several works, and the Cloud Messenger became a recurring motif in art.

For Ramgarh town, the inscriptions barely exist. The nearest settlement is nearly 3 km away, just a few kirana shops on the road. An occasional tourist stirs them up for a moment before the surroundings tranquilise them again. "If she be sweetly sleeping, Cloud, then stop/ And wait the night watch passing: quiet, no thunder/ She feels my creepers clasp around her neck:/ From such or other bliss she may be under/ Don't wake her suddenly or arms will drop.

Like Yaksha's wife, the hills are in deep slumber and need a compassionate invocation to make them come alive.

The Hindu, 6th November 2012

Rajasthan is a treasure trove of rare arts and crafts that represent the state’s rich history and culture — from the phad paintings on cloth that depict the tales of folk heroes, to thewa jewellery that has intricate Mughal motifs engraved on stone, and blue pottery. While many artisans have been able to carry forward their family legacy, others have given up owing to a lack of financial and infrastructural support. Now, with an aim to bring alive the dying crafts of Rajasthan, Princess Diya Kumari of Jaipur — under the aegis of the Maharaja Sawai Man Singh II Museum Trust — has put together a two-day exhibition in the Capital, which started on Monday. The exhibition titled “The Treasures of Rajasthan”, being held at the Egyptian Embassy, has brought together artisans and craftsmen to showcase jewellery, saris, blue pottery, miniature paintings and block-printed fabric. Kumari says that the exhibition is her way of continuing a family tradition of promoting arts and crafts, which was initiated by Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II in the 18th century.

A Different Debut

The fact that Katrina Kaif’s sister, Isabelle, and Anil Kapoor’s son Harshvardhan Kapoor are making their acting debut soon is not news. But what is surprising is that they aren’t doing so in a Bollywood film. According to reliable sources, they will be seen in a yet-untitled short crossover film directed by Steven Roy Thomas. The film, written by Erica Stair Reddy and Melanie Easton, will feature the two young actors in non-glamourous roles. Few months ago, there was a rumour that Isabelle would be launched in a Bollywood project helmed by Ayan Mukerji and Harshvardhan, in a home production. But like most youngsters, these two also seem to believe in carving their own niche.

The Indian Express, 6th November 2012

Following strong protest by India, the UNESCO World Heritage Committee has agreed to revisit India's proposal seeking nomination of five hill forts — Ranthambore Fort, Gagron Fort, Jhalawar Fort, Chittorgarh Fort, Amber Fort and Kumbhalgarh Fort in Rajasthan — for according world heritage status.

A senior official in the Culture Ministry said that a new team from International Convention of Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), an advisor to the UNESCO would evaluate the condition of the forts from November 23-26 and submit a report to the world heritage body to take a final decision in the matter. "We hope the forts would make it to the world heritage list this time," the official said.

Much to the embarrassment of India, a few months back the UN technical committee (UNESCO) had rejected its nominations for the forts saying, "The selection is wrong and a broader selection of forts should have been chosen ( in particular the nomination covers only hill forts, while there are also desert, forest and water forts)".

The World Heritage Committee had also observed that the proposal lacked the complete narrative about the universal value of the sites.

However, India argued that the negative observations were based on the factual inaccuracy and some communication gap occurring in the report forwarded by the ICMOS expert who had not much knowledge about India's culture and monuments.

After detailed deliberations backed by hard-canvassing by India, the global heritage panel has agreed to reconsider its decision, brightening the chances of getting the UNESCO tags for the monuments and in turn, making them international tourist hotspots. All the forts, which are situated on the Aravalli range of mountains, showcase India's history as well architecture of different era.

Hoping for a positive outcome, New Culture Minister Chandresh Kumari Katoch, who assumed office on Monday, said her Ministry would also strive for a similar tag for the magnificent Jaisalmer Fort which is presently in a dilapidated state.

The Pioneer, 6th November 2012

It’s official. Delhi’s wait for getting into the ‘World Heritage City’ list has been extended till 2015, at the least.The city’s final proposal will now be considered only at the June 2015 meeting of Unesco. If Ahmedabad — in the tentative list since March 2011 — manages to send the final dossier on time, it would be considered by Unesco in June 2013. If approved, the Gujarat city would be India’s first World Heritage City.

After delays in sending the proposal to the world heritage agency before March 31, officials in Delhi and at the Centre had said that Delhi’s proposal for inclusion in the tentative list was a matter of formality.

Unesco uploaded Delhi’s dossier on its list of tentative sites only in May 2012.

However, the Centre’s Advisory Committee on World Heritage Matters conveyed to the Indian National Trust for Arts and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) — the nodal body representing the Delhi government — that the final dossier can be sent only in January 2014.

“They wanted a specific format, which we received very late,” said Shikha Jain, member secretary of the committee.

From May 2012, it includes a compulsory gap of at least one year. “They (Unesco) introduced this rule in November 2011 to restrict the number of proposals,” Jain added.

“It was just 8-10 days ago that we got an official communication,” said AGK Menon, who heads INTACH’s Delhi chapter.

But rather than delay, Menon preferred to call it as a “blessing in disguise” as “Delhi would get more time to put up a more considered, better dossier with so much time at hand”.

The procedure for the final notification is indeed tough and preparation of the detailed dossier is a long drawn process.

After the January 31 deadline for a given year (January 2014 in case of Delhi), Unesco generally takes 18 months before it considers the proposal in its annual meeting in June.

The Hindustan Times, 6th November 2012

Delhi's hope for getting a world heritage city tag by 2014 has been delayed by another year. The Archaeological Survey of India said the final nomination dossier for Delhi's world heritage tag cannot be submitted to Unesco before January-February, 2014 as the tentative nomination dossier, which was put up on the Unesco website in May this year, has to remain on the website for at least a year before the final dossier is submitted.

"When the final dossier is submitted by a state party, Unesco takes about a year before making the final announcement around May-June . We were hoping that Delhi's final dossier would be submitted by January-February , 2013.

But now Delhi's earliest chances of getting a world heritage city tag has been stretched till 2015," said a senior official from Intach Delhi Chapter, which is preparing the final dossier.

Though the one-year delay is disappointing, Intach convener A G K Menon said they were taking full advantage of the extra time. "Now that we have one more year to perfect our nomination dossier, we are working hard to improve our documents. In addition, the tourism ministry has granted a substantial sum to the Delhi government for tourism and a large part of the grant will go towards showcasing Delhi's potential as a rich, historical city," he said.

The grant given by the ministry is approximately Rs 250 crore. The final nomination dossier will also have to be cleared by the recently established world heritage advisory committee before it is submitted to Unesco.

The final nomination dossier is likely to be re-named "capital cities of Delhi" , from the earlier "imperial cities of Delhi" , and will feature Lutyens Bungalow Zone and Shahjahanabad. With Delhi out of next years' race to be one of the two sites nominated by the country for inscription under natural, cultural or mixed categories, it paves the way for cities like Ahmedabad or Mumbai who are also pitching for the tag.

The Times of India, 6th November 2012

In protecting the big cat, we protect the forest and all those that live within it. We protect our rivers and the groundwater. We protect the life-cycle of this planet itself. If we can’t do that, we can write off our future, and the future of coming generations

Forty years after the inception of Project Tiger, the population graph of the big cat looks more like a graph at the daily stock exchange! Somehow, in spite of the best intentions and efforts from the Government, non-Government organisations and even individuals, the tiger’s future still remains a question mark, with more than a few opinions out there predicting total extinction within the next 10 to 20 years. This is of course, after all, only an opinion, but one which could become frighteningly true. It’s not really a matter of getting the date right of when the tiger will go extinct, but the fact that it will be wiped out eventually — unless we do something now. With hugely popular campaigns that went viral like Save the Tiger, the word most certainly is ‘out’ there, but that’s just it — word out there. The action is missing still.

Thanks to years of constant broadcasting of the issue, the challenges of tiger conservation are public knowledge. Poaching, habitat destruction, poisoning are what we’ve all heard quite often. Awareness is at an all time high and everyone knows the Jungle bachao, sher bachao (save the forest, save the tiger) chant. But there still remains that elusive gap between information and action.

Since the last tiger census in 2011, India has already lost over a 100 tigers to poaching. Maharashtra, which has 169 resident tigers (2011 census), went on high alert earlier this year when a tip-off of a poaching contract was received. There was literally a price put on the head of 25 tigers and many lakh rupees had exchanged hands as advance payment. The scale and the audacity just goes to show what the tiger is up against. Just a few months ago, a tigress was poached in the Itanagar zoo. The poachers tranquilised her and then hacked her to pieces. What is even more shocking is that this not the first incident in the zoo. In 2006, three tigers and a leopard were poisoned. One tiger died, while the other two other animals survived. A special tiger task force, shoot on sight orders and a Schedule I status for the tiger have not been a good enough deterrent. (Schedule I is the highest protected status for an animal in India under the Wildlife protection act of 1972.)

The ‘value’ of an apex predator like the tiger goes far beyond what is obvious to our eye. Sure, we’ve all had the life- cycle image from our school textbooks imprinted on our brains, but what is so simply illustrated is multi-layered and complex. The water cycle is at the very centre of all of this. Without it, everything as it is would cease to exist. As humans, we’ve taken far beyond our fair share of the planet, and the delicate balance of nature we often speak about won’t just tip — it will spiral. We’ve already witnessed three sub-species of the tiger lost to extinction; others are on the brink.

In 2010, I had the opportunity to attend the Tiger Summit in St Petersburg ,and it was really a coming together of all the tiger nations. Ministers, tiger experts, celebrities and individuals who cared or worked for the tiger, were there. Each country made a presentation and announced its commitment to doubling the tiger population by 2020. It was a huge event covered internationally, with celebrities like Leonardo DiCaprio adding glitter to it. It was at this event where I met a local activist who was campaigning to save the forests in Russia that were threatened by logging, mining and oil exploration. She was desperate to get this information to President Vladimir Putin, and kept saying: “It’s not only the tiger, we have to save the forest”. She is right. We need to save the forest to save the tiger. It’s a beautifully simple plan that will take all the positive intention on the planet to execute.

Unfortunately, we already have examples of what happens when the tiger disappears. The island of Bali, which was home to the Balinese Tiger, stands as evidence. Being an island, Bali only had a local population of tigers with no migrating animals coming in or going out. The last recorded tiger was shot in September 1937, and after that Bali lost its forests to agriculture. All that remains now are fields and an economy that is floating on tourism. Fresh water is a huge issue in Bali. Extensive deforestation and over-consumption of water by huge resorts have drained the fresh water resources of the island. With the majority of the forests gone, the rivers and the groundwater are drying up. This has happened to many small islands and isolated communities in human history and the most well-known example is that of Easter Island in the south-eastern Pacific Ocean.

The forests of Easter Island were almost completely deforested by its people. What followed was complete destruction and degradation of the eco-system over a period of time. Agriculture was reduced because of soil erosion and fishing wasn’t possible as there weren’t any large trees left to build boats. The lessons of history are quite clear in what we can expect if things continue the way they are. To protect the forests and all those that live within it, it is crucial for a ‘happy human buffer’ to exist around such forests. Communities that live close to the forests have to be given special benefits and the support to move beyond the basic levels of existence. With a huge tourism industry around the ‘tiger’, (which we witnessed recently when tourism was banned in all tiger national parks), the benefits of this economy barely trickle down. There are people and NGOs who are doing great work at the ground level and have made a difference. These have been important but small victories, with individuals and groups doing the best they can, and quite often being driven by their own passion and their own resources.

The crisis of the vanishing tigers is far from over, and it will need a change in perspective and the collective will of the entire nation to turn the situation around. That’s not impossible by any means, but it’s still a task that needs to become our mission. This is an excerpt from the Mahabharata, which was written around 400 BC:

“Do not cut down the forest with its tigers and do not banish the tigers from the forest. The tiger perishes without the forest and the forest perishes without its tigers. Therefore, the tigers should stand guard over the forest and the forest should protect all its tigers.” Are we paying any heed to the advice. Unfortunately, the answer is a big “No”.

The Pioneer, 7th November 2012

Exiled by the British to Rangoon for fighting for his land, Bahadur Shah II died lamenting the fact that he could not be buried in his own country. Today, 150 years after the last Mughal died in the country of his exile, his last wish remains unfulfilled.

Zafar Mahal, a Mughal monument that stands in present-day Mehrauli, holds the tombs of the predecessors of Bahadur Shah II, more widely known with his pen name appended to his given name - Bahadur Shah Zafar. It was here, thatBahadur Shah Zafar marked a spot for himself, wishing to be buried there. But that was not to be. "Kitna hai badnaseeb Zafar dafn ke liye/ Do gaz zameen bhi na mili koo-e-yaar mein" (How unlucky is Zafar, to not even find two yards to be buried in the land of his beloved) - is how he concluded the ghazal he wrote as a British captive in what is now Myanmar.

It is said that when Subhash Chandra Bose launched his INA campaign from Rangoon (now Yangon), he invoked Bahadur Shah Zafar. His grave in Yangon is frequently visited by Indian dignitaries.

However, his descendants today live in obscurity, with some even struggling to make ends meet. Columnist Firoz Bakht Ahmed met Bahadur Shah Zafar's granddaughter-in-law Sultana Begum in 1988 living in what he calls "a dingy tenement" in Kolkata's Howrah area. The 60-year-old runs a tea stall. Speaking to TOI over phone, Sultana appeared bitter and even furious about the government's failure to have the remains of the last Mughal brought back to India. She cited the example of Udham Singh, who assassinated the Lieutenant Governor of undivided Punjab, and was hanged in 1940. Singh's remains were brought back to India from England in 1974.

"Indira Gandhi was alive then. She welcomed this move. Was Bahadur Shah Zafar a traitor that the government has done nothing to bring his remains back?" she asks, her voice quavering. Her current living conditions notwithstanding, she is concerned about keeping the dignity of the Mughals intact. "If I am called to any event, I cannot go without verifying who the people are. I don't care how rich or influential they may be. I am concerned about the esteem of Bahadur Shah Zafar," she says.

Bakht Ahmed, while congratulating the efforts of the government for acknowledging Bahadur Shah Zafar's contribution in the cultural space, says the Mughal emperor's descendants deserve better. "They lead a piecemeal life. The government should protect the family of those who fought for India's freedom," he says.

In May 1857, soldiers from Meerut marched into the Red Fort. They appealed to Bahadur Shah Zafar, who became the Mughal emperor in 1837, to lead their rebellion against the British. Opinion is divided on how readily he agreed to the soldiers' demands. But he was declared Shahenshah-e-Hind, following which a bloody war for control began. The rebellion was soon quelled and contained. In September of the same year, the Mughal emperor, then 82, was taken prisoner and was subjected to what is often viewed as an unfair trial. After being exiled to Burma, then a newly acquired colony of the British, his health worsened towards a slow and certain death on November 7, 1862.

One can't be entirely blamed for the historical date. Assuming that there have been efforts to revive his memory, there has been very little visibility of the same, at least in the capital.

Six volunteer organizations working in the field of communal harmony have planned a march in the evening from the Red Fort to Khooni Darwaza in old Delhi, in remembrance of the ruler. "People like Bahadur Shah Zafar who could bind religious communities together need to be more prominent in public consciousness," says Faisal Khan, one of the organizers of the march.

There is a cultural event lined up too. After all, it was under the poet emperor that the Delhi saw the rise of iconic literary figures like Ghalib, Zauq and Momin. A play featuring noted theatre actor Tom Alter as the late emperor is in the offing near the Red Fort. Besides this, there is little buzz around the anniversary. "He has been written out of historical records, he is 'nobody's hero'. He was a remarkably athletic man. Few 82 year olds can jump over barricades and lead a movement like he did," says William Darlymple, author of 'The Last Mughal'.

The Times of India, 7th November 2012

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Wednesday ruled that it cannot hear appeals against forest clearances given to projects by the Ministry of Environment and Forests. But it kept open a window for aggrieved citizens to challenge the projects at a later stage — by making it mandatory for the states to pass a final order notifying the diversion of the forest land immediately after the Centre’s clearance.

This order by the state government can be challenged at the tribunal, effectively bringing the ball back in the NGT’s court.

The order could give a breather to project proposals entangled in environmental litigation across the country as most of the major environment cases at present are regarding Centre’s clearances.

The NGT’s ruling came during the hearing of an appeal against an Uttarakhand project. The environment ministry had argued that as per provisions in the Forest Conservation Act and NGT Act, the tribunal did not have the authority to hear appeals against Centre’s orders. It said NGT can hear appeals against only orders passed by states and other authorities.

“It is incumbent upon the state government to pass a reasoned order transferring and/ or allowing the land in question for being used for non-forest purpose,” said the order by a bench headed by Justice A S Naidu, acting chairperson of NGT, in a case challenging the Centre’s clearance to diversion of 60.51 hectares of forest land for a hydroelectric project by GMR in Uttarakhand.

The bench said it was surprised to find that most of the state governments do not pass separate orders thereby “creating an embargo and depriving a person aggrieved from filing an appeal”.

For green activists, the “victory” is bittersweet because by the time the two stages of forest clearances by the Centre are over, the project proponent has already complied with conditions relating to compensation. Environmental lawyers said it creates some kind of fait accompli about the proposal, making quashing of the project somewhat difficult by courts.

HOW IT WORKS

Environment Ministry first gives an “in-principle” approval to diversion of forest land after its Forest Advisory Committee has recommended it with certain riders on the project developers.

ONLY after the project developer satisfactorily complies with the riders, the Centre issues a clearance. This clearance goes to the states concerned, which allow the projects to proceed.

NOW states will have to pass a formal order stating this, making room for an appeal at the NGT.

After rampant illegal mining and destruction, there is some good news from Bellary. After a long gap of 10 years, two endangered Great Indian Bustards (Ardeotis nigriceps) were sighted while foraging in an agricultural field at Chelugurki village on the river bank of Tungabhadra, 20 kilometres from Bellary.

A team of budding naturalists, led by Preeth Khona, found these GIBs, which many thought had vanished from Bellary. Other members of the team are Shruthi Punyamurthy and Sunaina Martin. This is the first ever sighting of this rare bird since 2006. Bellary in Karnataka has a history of hosting GIBs and their sighting has enthused many ornithologists to believe that reconstruction of ecological degradation might help revive many endangered species in the area.

This team had earlier combed Chelugurki village and interacted with the locals while searching for the Great Indian Bustards and caracal (a desert cat species and a relative of the lynx).

The GIBs were last sighted in Chelugurki village by Vijay Mohan Raj, director, BRT Tiger Reserve. Several searches after that did not yield any result. This time, these birds were sighted not during a search mission, but while Preeth Khona was driving from Bellary to Bangalore. Most of the wastelands in and around Chelugurki village are now being taken for agriculture, squeezing the habitat of the GIBs, which need large tracts of wasteland to forage and to nest.

According to Santosh Martin, wildlife warden of Bellary, these birds migrate locally between the black buck habitats of Rollapadu and Adoni in Andhra Pradesh and Siruguppa, Chelugurki, Koppal, Gadag and Ranebennur in Karnataka.

According to him, the Ranebennur Bustard sanctuary did not have any bird sightings in the last 15 years. “Karnataka has a good breeding population of GIBs and their conservation has to be taken up by the Government. The forest department over the years has been indifferent in conserving these birds,” said Martin.

The GIB is a large ground bird with a height of about a metre, and its black cap contrasting with the pale head and neck. The body is brownish with a black patch spotted in white. The male is deep sandy buff coloured and during the breeding season has a black breast band. In the female, which are smaller than the male, the head and neck are not pure white and the breast band is either rudimentary, broken or absent.

The GIB is a bustard found in India and the adjoining regions of Pakistan. A large bird with a horizontal body and long bare legs giving it an ostrich like appearance, this bird is among the heaviest of the flying birds. Once common on the dry plains of the Indian subcontinent, today perhaps as few as 250 individuals survive and the species is on the brink of extinction, being critically endangered by hunting and loss of its habitat, which consists of large expanses of dry grassland and scrub. These birds are often found associated in the same habitat as black buck.

In 2011, Birdlife International listed this species Endangered to Critically Endangered. The main threats are hunting and habitat loss. In the past they were heavily hunted for their meat and for sport and, today, poaching of the species is rampant.

The Pioneer, 8th November 2012

After mining has been banned in the Aravalli Biodiversity Park near Vasant Vihar area, the Delhi Development Authority has succeeded in having a fleet of 190 species of birds, about 91 species of butterflies, over 900 species of plant and 23 species of reptiles in the park. Spread over 693 acres, the park now has its own medicinal plant observatory, butterfly observatory and an orchidarium. The DDA has also created a natural forest. The flora and fauna that were the part of the city’s vegetation about a hundred years ago is being retrieved at the Biodiversity Park. In the next one year, the DDA plans to open the park to the public.

After having succeeded in bringing the forest in order, the DDA now plans to divide the park into four different zones — Nature Reserve Zone, which will have the natural forest, Nature Education Zone, Visitors Zone and Rangeland.

The Biodiversity Park has over 100 pits which were deep mines a few years ago. In the first of its kind attempt in India, the DDA has created an orchidarium in one of these pits. Ones a mine, the orchidarium has more than 300 varieties of plant and over 70 species of ferns. The pits and the caves are also been utilised to breed the Bats. “We are also working on using the deep mines as water reservoirs. In the next few years all the storm water drains of the adjoining areas — including Vasant Vihar and Vasant Kunj — will open into some of these mines,” said scientist Dr M Shah Husain of the park.

The Natural Reserve Zone of the park houses the natural cover of deciduous forest planted by the DDA in the past five to seven years. A butterfly conservatory, cactus forest, rock garden, a tropical rain forest and conservatory for plants — including bulbous and tuberous that were ones a part of the Delhi ridge.

To house the fauna including Nilgai, Indian Hare, porcupines, Sparrows and Grasshopper, the animals that were the resident of the ridge area before it went out to the miners, a 100 acre of area in being developed. Dotted with the grassland and the native Savannah trees a shallow valley inside the ridge area is being developed to a rangeland. After having nurtured the forest for over five years, the DDA now plans to open a portion of the park for public.

“Since it is not possible for everyone to go around and visit the 69 acres we are trying to develop one part of it as a forest which will have walkways allowing people to enjoy walking in the nature. The Aravalli vegetation grown across Delhi, Rajasthan and Gujarat are being planted in an area inside the park which will showcase the entire Aravalli vegetation,” added Husain. To ensure that the walking in the nature in educational and not damaging the beauty of the park, the visitors will always be accompanied by a guide into the park.

The Pioneer, 8th November 2012

The city will soon have a special committee on biodiversity for 10,000 hectares designated for the purpose. In a meeting held recently, LG Tejendra Khanna announced the creation of the Delhi Biodiversity Foundation Society that will function as a registered body under the Delhi Development Authority. Officials said that four biodiversity parks in addition to the Yamuna and Aravalli BDPs will be developed.

Of these, Tilpat Valley, which is contiguous to the Asola and Bhatti sanctuaries, will be used for compensatory plantation to be carried out by the DMRC. "The land is on Haryana border and will provide a direct corridor for the wildlife of both states. Plantation by DMRC will not be in the usual order of 10 trees to one but will be in keeping with the local biodiversity," said Prof. CR Babu, project in-charge of the BDPs.

Phase Two of the Yamuna BDP has commenced while work is on to develop the Aravalli BDP as a nature reserve. In a few years, the Aravalli BDP will welcome visitors to a specially designated zone that will function as a park within the park. The 70-acre area will have over 200 species of threatened plants and trees native to the Aravalli areas of Delhi, Haryana and Rajasthan. The remaining park will be designated a nature reserve.

Scientist in-charge of the park, M Shah Hussain, said plantation on the identified site, entry to which would be from Nelson Mandela Marg, has begun with species that can no longer be found in Delhi. So far visits to the park are restricted with only education trips and groups of more than 30 permitted in guided tours. "Plant species like Kullu, Karaya Gum, Salai, Dhaba, Palash and Gurjan are being planted at present," he said.

The biodiversity park is being planted with native species, though even now about 30% of the park is covered with a dense growth of Prosopis juliflora or the vilayati kikar, a plant that was introduced by the British and which did not allow any other species to prosper. "We started with 85% coverage of Prosopis juliflora, but in the past 5 years we have re-introduced native species," said Hussain.

The park, being developed by DU's Centre for Environment Management and Degraded Ecosystem, will be divided into 4 zones eventually. The major part will be occupied by the nature reserve while the other three sections will include the visitor's area, a nature educational zone and a rangeland.

The land is on Haryana border and will provide a direct corridor for the wildlife of both states, said Prof C R Babu, project in-charge of the BDPs.

The Times of India, 8th November 2012

Named Ramu and Jambu by locals, they have become a tourist attraction

A wild bear ‘couple’ have taken to frequenting a Bhairav temple on the outskirts of this town attracting visitors from neighbouring Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh.

Named Ramu and Jambu by the locals, the wild bears visit the temple compound after sunset and wait for passersby to feed them bananas, biscuits and coconuts. The pujaris of the temple, located about 5 km from here, keep the grill gates closed for safety.

“I am here for the past five years. Ramu started visiting our temple three years ago. Since he was quite friendly, passersby considered him an envoy sent by God and worshipped him and fed him. A year later, he found his mate, Jambu. For the past few days, either of the two or both make an appearance at the temple regularly,” said Lakshman Pradhan, the head priest, told The Hindu.

Sloth bears are spotted in large numbers in the Malkangiri forest division, known for its rich flora and fauna. Spread over 3,364 hectares, the dense forest area is also home to leopards, spotted and barking deer, wolves and wild pigs.

“We have thousands of wild bears in the district, which very often attack people and damage crops. I recently wrote to the State Wildlife Warden to send a team from Nandankanan zoo near Bhubaneswar and tranquillise Ramu and Jambu and release them into the interior reserve forest,” said Divisional Forest Officer T. Ashok Kumar.

The Forest Department believes that the two wild bears have become lazy and frequent the temple area from the nearby hillock only to get food. They fear that speeding vehicles may hit them. Under the Wildlife Act, feeding and teasing wild bears are prohibited.

“While going to Jeypore I noticed a bear near the temple immediately after my posting here. Anticipating a risk to the life of the endangered species, I immediately erected a board in front of the temple cautioning the public,” Mr. Ashok Kumar said.

This year alone, 11 attacks by wild boars have been reported in various parts of the district. A tribal named Arjun Kemurudu, 29, an agriculture worker from Old Chitapalle near Balimela, was killed. The Forest Department has got the sanction to pay Kemurudu’s dependents — wife and three children — a compensation of Rs. 2 lakh under the Wildlife Protection Amended Rule, 2002.

The Hindu, 9th November 2012

The Delhi Heritage Photography Club has a large membership of enthusiasts who visit a monument a week. Its exhibition at Delhi’s India Habitat Centre is a must see

No matter what efforts are made by ASI, INTACH or other agencies like the Agha Khan Foundation to document, preserve, conserve and protect our built heritage, there is little that they can do as long as the rest of us do not begin to treat this heritage as ours. Visit any monument and you see candy wrappers, empty potato wafer bags, water bottles, tetra packs strewn across lawns and path ways. Graffiti and other efforts to deface monuments and betel leaf stains in all corners complete the picture.

Fortunately there are little rays of hope. Several individuals and organisations have started heritage walks in Delhi, many schools and colleges have woken to the idea of heritage and environment conservation, small groups have started meeting and going on heritage walks or organising cycling tours of Delhi. Percival Spear, who taught History at St. Stephens College, used to take his students on such bicycle rides. One of his books “Delhi, its Monuments and History”, is actually woven around these bicycle rides, a new version updated and annotated by Prof. Narayani Gupta and Laura Sykes was brought out by Oxford in 2010. The book should be acquired by all those who want to explore the city on their own.

The small groups that have begun exploring this most fascinating city have drawn upon a wide variety of enthusiasts and one of these groups, called the Delhi Heritage Photography Club, was started a little over three years ago by Vikramjit Singh Rooprai with a handful of friends and family members. The club that now has its own website “monumentsofdelhi.com” has grown to have more than 1350 members. Members meet almost every week and go to photograph one monument. The first open photo walk was organised in October 2010 and the members have now covered 80 monuments, this roughly means that they have been out photographing 40 out of the 52 weekends for the last two years. This is most certainly an enviable record.

Over this period a group of young artists has begun to join them. While Vikramjit and his band of avid amateurs with all kinds of cameras go shooting or discussing merits of various lenses and the best time to capture a monument, the artists sit in their chosen spots sketching or doing a water colour. The Delhi Heritage Photography Club is occasionally joined by a band of cyclists who bicycle from Noida to be part of the photo walk.

An exhibition called “Monuments of Delhi” showcasing 100 photographs chosen from virtually thousands of photographs taken by these armature photographers has been mounted inside the lobbies of Core 4A, 4B, 5A and 6A at the India Habitat Centre. The space has been provided free of charge by IHC to encourage both amateur photographers and conservation enthusiasts. The exhibition is on till the end of November, the photographs are on sale and part of the proceeds will go to the Ashish Foundation, an organisation working with differently abled children. The exhibition was inaugurated by two differently abled children, some children from Ashish Foundation are learning photography from members of DHPC.

Go see the exhibition, these photographs document our heritage, they are also works of art. Go if you care for differently abled children and neglected heritage. Both need you.

Before winding up I need to own up to two mistakes in my last piece. I had expressed my gratitude for the book “Trees of Delhi” and its author Pradip Krishen but had mis-spelt his name as Pradeep and while describing the red flower Calliandra I wrote Calindra. I plead guilty.

The Hindu, 10th November 2012

With some never-seen-before images, Raghu Rai’s latest show captures the rich tapestry of life in the capital.

Delhi has been a constantly shifting landscape from the very beginning, witnessing transformations big and small, accommodating changes that transform it from an aesthetically charming city to the urban jungle it is today.

Acclaimed photographer Raghu Rai’s latest exhibition — India Images: Delhi…That Was — captures the Delhi that no longer exists with iconic images portraying the city as it was when Rai began his career.

The exhibition, put together by Ojas Art, is special also because it includes photographs that have never been published before.

With as many as 40 images from Rai’s archive, the images on display span various subjects through which Rai captures the rich tapestry of life in Delhi. So from the early morning view of the Yamuna to the Jantar Mantar in the afternoon; a silent Qutab Minar to the majestic Humayun’s tomb, Rai’s never-seen-before images are a visual treat.

Rai says that Delhi has changed dramatically, with the early city completely gone. “The pictures are undoubtedly important because they are historical images. They can be used for reference by those who want to study changes in the landscape, demographics and social contours of Delhi.”

Rai’s own discomfort with the changes in the name of development is clearly visible. The photographer believes that powerful builders have been allowed to run wild, with nary a thought about aesthetics. “This is nothing but directionless urbanisation. Delhi has seen exponential growth in recent times but our precious heritage edifices, greenery and forest areas should not have been tampered with.” The images date back to the 1960s and give art collectors a chance to not just glimpse but also acquire some of Raghu Rai’s most important works. This entire solo exhibition is an extended edition, a big first in the evolving field of Indian photography.

Striking a balance between limited editions and open editions, an extended edition is Ojas Art’s way of keeping the collection limited but not too small and bringing down the prices significantly.

Simply put, it will allow the collection process to be more democratic while also enriching collectors with the best images, which they may have not acquired otherwise.

Bottomline: They are historical images and can be used by those who want to study changes in the landscape, demographics and social contours of Delhi.

India Images: Delhi… that was

Where: Ojas Art, 1AQ, Qutab Minar Main Roundabout,

When: Till December 9 (closed on Mondays).

The Hindu, 10th November 2012

The graceful flamingo is falling victim to electrocution by high-tension cables at its breeding ground in west Gujarat

A flock of flamingos are the most beautiful birds with their flaming shades of rosy pink. Collectively wading in blue lagoons, the pink birds make a profound statement for any casual onlooker. However, for the birdwatcher, they are a thrilling sight to behold when viewed through binoculars. It is not just because they are tall and slim but they also have gorgeous contours. Above all, they are not easy to find because of their rarity in the Indian sub-continent.

When on the wing, the flamingos’ flamboyance is even more fascinating as they light up the azure sky with pleasing plumage. Their extra long necks and lanky legs make them look like flying sticks attached with feathers. These fragile birds are presently in trouble in their favourite feeding and breeding grounds at the Rann of Kutch in the hinterlands of western Gujarat. Here they often either accidentally collide with or get electrocuted by high-tension cables. Ornithologists from the region lament that they witness falling flamingos across the region, as they virtually drop dead in dozens.

Though no authentic figures are available to substantiate the death numbers, the Gujarat Forest Department admits it has recorded accident fatalities, especially in west Gujarat. The death zone is mostly concentrated in areas where there are power lines to and fro from the grid.

Though no systemic study has been done to estimate the number of flamingo deaths taking place, a sample survey by ornithologists Anika Tere and B.M. Parasharya mapped seven sites in Kutch, Bhavnagar and Jamnagar where high tension cables run close to flamingo breeding sites. With very few flamingo breeding grounds across the world, the necessity of taking steps to save them is paramount.

Ms. Tere, who is with Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, says, “During my studies on flamingos, I discovered that collusion with power lines occurs regularly and so it is prudent that power cables should be laid underground even if it involves more money and effort. This can be taken up not only in Gujarat but across the country so that other big birds like cranes, vultures and storks are also saved from collisions and electrocutions.”

India hosts 1,250 bird species of which there are seed-eaters, insect-eaters, flesh-eaters, fruit-eaters, nectar-suckers and the array of beaks they deploy in feeding is astounding. But the flamingo has the weirdest beak of all that is large and crooked as they are niche filter feeders. Extraordinarily structured, the beak is for specialised eating habits as it feeds on microscopic water plants and animals. While feeding, the bird lowers its beak upside down in the gooey mud to sweep and seep to separate organic microbes with comb filters in its voluminous bill. Strangely, even blue whales, the largest creatures on earth, have similar oral features and also feed on tiny organisms. While the food, in the form of miniature crustaceans, worms, algae, plankton and aquatic insects is retained and absorbed, the brine and grime is filtered out. Hence, the flamingos devote long sessions for breakfast, lunch, dinner as they truly have a beak to fit the bill.

Of the six species of flamingos in the world, only two dwell in our country — the greater and lesser flamingos. Both species are choosy in selecting feeding areas as they prefer shallow water bodies. On October 20 while at Aurangabad with a fellow birdwatcher, we learnt that flamingos had arrived at Jayakwadi dam on the Godavari. We scurried to the site at dawn to find flamingos frolicking in the backwaters unmindful of our close presence. There were sixty gangly flamingos sharing shore space with 5,000 terns and other water birds.

The word ‘flamingo’ comes from the Spanish and Latin word ‘flamenco’ which means fire, and obviously refers to the colour of the feathers. A group of flamingos is called a ‘stand’ as they gregariously rest on one leg or ‘flamboyance’ as they flutter gracefully in the air. I witnessed thousands of them enacting the same in the Nal Sarovar sanctuary, situated 77 away from Ahmedabad.

Unfortunately, insufficient rains, inadequate water bodies and polluted lakes are some of the many problems faced by flamingos today. Hence, they desperately roam the countryside in search of undisturbed shallow waters filled with their favourite food.

The Hindu, 11th November 2012

Mentions of Gujarat always bring to mind visions of an industrial powerhouse. Not so well-known, however, is the incredible diversity of wildlife in the State and its unique avian population. If at all, we are told about the Asiatic lions in Gir, but as we discovered to our delight, there is so much more to Gujarat than its lions. In our bid to discover this less well-known side, we travelled not to the ubiquitous Gir, but the Velavadar National Park and, of course, the Little Rann of Kutch. Neither draws the kind of crowds that Gir does, but as we realised to our excitement, they are no less significant in the wildlife riches they possess, and hold their own as far as diversity of flora and fauna is concerned.

The Velavadar National Park is one of the country’s lesser known wildlife hotspots. Declared a national park in 1976 with the intention of securing the blackbuck population, the park today is one of the best places to see not only the ubiquitous blackbucks, but also the elusive wolves, the hyenas and a range of birds. The small size of the park helps in traversing the length and breadth of it.

Also known as the Blackbuck National Park, it was formed — as the name suggests — to protect the blackbucks. The protection has obviously benefitted the animal inasmuch as it can be spotted all over the park in large herds. Despite large numbers, the blackbucks withdrew on seeing the vehicles approaching them. Clearly, they will require more time to become used to the human presence. We were lucky enough to spot the wolves, but the hyenas eluded us. All we saw were some abandoned holes where the hyenas stayed, and some bones of animals devoured by them. However common the cat may be in cities, the jungle cat is rarely seen, but we managed to witness one.

The highlight of the trip was a pack of wolves stalking a bunch of cows, hoping to snatch the calves amongst them. The cows, noticing the wolves, quickly closed ranks and walked away from the predators keeping the calves in the middle of a tightly-covered group at all times. Velavadar, because of its small size, is one of the best places to see the wolves; to actually see it strategise and stalk its prey was an unusual experience. It was fascinating to witness this great game of survival between the hunter and the hunted, both relying on years of lessons evolution taught them.

Equally spectacular is Velavadar’s bird count. Unknown to many, the park is believed to contain the world’s largest roosting grounds for harriers. Though almost 6,000-7,000 harriers were counted roosting in these grounds in the past years, the numbers, according to our guide, had dwindled over time. We did see a handful of them on the ground as the evening wore on, but these were nowhere close to the numbers the park once had. The Greater Spotted Eagle, the Steppe Eagle and Short-toed Snake Eagle could be easily spotted, but were viewed only from a distance, perched on the tallest branches of trees. We also spotted a solitary Osprey, which the guide could not identify because that was the first time he said he had seen one in the park. The pelicans were there in large numbers, as were the cranes, sightings which were the result of a great deal of luck as we realised later.

Velavadar is a paradoxical tale of how tourism affects wildlife in a protected forest. The park apparently has periods when there is a heavy rush of visitors, but this does not happen throughout year. On a visit to the park early morning, we noticed a group of pelicans in the wetlands which were missing the evening before. As we looked on in surprise, the guide explained that the park had seen a large influx of tourists in the three to four days before we arrived. The presence of tourists seemed to have disturbed the pelicans enough to relocate themselves to other places and they returned after most people had left. Sporadic crowds mean that the wildlife is not used to human presence and tends to move away from crowded areas. The blackbuck, found in large numbers in the grasslands, the Short-toed Snake Eagle and the Steppe Eagle all moved even as our vehicle approached them. Contrast this with the Corbett National Park where even the normally skittish spotted deer stays its course and does not move from the tracks, even as the safari jeeps get close to it. The way to go probably is to achieve a balance between allowing tourism in these areas but ensuring it is never intrusive, by actively monitoring and controlling, for example, the number of tourist vehicles allowed into the park at any given time, and also regulating the extent to which they approach wildlife. Those urged to exercise restraint will ultimately benefit from this as the wildlife experience improves.

Little Rann of Kutch

The Little Rann of Kutch is a typical desert territory, with large tracts of scrub land followed by miles of barren plains and no vegetation in sight. Though it was cold in the early mornings and in the evenings, the afternoons ranged from the hot to warm temperatures. While one expects that such extreme terrain and climatic conditions would not be conducive to supporting life, it was surprising how many different kinds of birds and animals we managed to see in a short period of two days. The Little Rann of Kutch is, of course, home to the wild ass, which can be frequently found across the vast plains in large herds. Also, plentiful are the nilgais. The wolves, on the other hand, are more difficult to get, as are the foxes. Unlike in Velavadar, we did not see any wolves whatsoever, and adult foxes zipped by before we could photograph them. The guides, however, managed to locate a den of foxes occupied by four cubs. Our long hours of wait for the parents bore no fruit, and this marred our exciting discovery somewhat.

Our disappointments, however, got alleviated somewhat by the bird life at the Rann. A visit to the nearby wetlands yielded flamingos in the thousands, a sea of pink foraging for their food among the blue waters. The Desert Wheatear and the larks were everywhere, but so well camouflaged that they were difficult to spot until they flew on our approach. Another bird which did a spectacular job of camouflaging itself, and was seen only due to the ability of our guide-cum-driver, was the Short-eared Owl. We could not initially locate the owl even as it sat at a distance of just 10 m from us among the shrubbery. The other two finds by our driver guide were the Peregrine Falcon and the Merlin. The eagles in the Rann were more plentiful, and allowed human beings to approach them much more closer than at Velavadar. The Greater Spotted Eagle and the Steppe Eagle stood their ground for much longer, allowing for much longer times for viewing and photography.

The most sought after bird in the Little Rann must be the Houbara or the Macqueen’s bustard. Mostly solitary or in small groups of two to four, the bustards are difficult to spot as they rarely come out in the open plains. They are typically found among the scrubs and bushes, their body colour allowing them to blend in seamlessly with the surroundings. Extremely skittish, it starts to move away at the slightest hint of human approach. We were lucky enough to spot the bustards more than once. The Macqueen’s bustards are in great need of conservation, as their numbers are apparently under threat and dropping due to habitat destruction. One only hopes these remain in large numbers for future generations to see and enjoy.

Photography is often a lonely activity and one frequently spends hours in solitude, in pursuit of the one perfect ‘shot’. This time at the Rann, we were privileged to find ourselves in the company of Dr BP Sinha. A doctor by profession and a photographer par excellence, he was a treasure trove of advice, explaining patiently my questions ranging from photographic technique to the effects of Diamox on high altitude sickness. The other person without whose guidance this trip would not have been complete is the conservationist-photographer from Gujarat, Yogendra Shah. It is not for nothing that most of the photographic community relies on his enormous knowledge and experience of the area for planning their trips.

The writer is a Delhi-based wildlife enthusiast

The Times of India, 11th November 2012

The Delhi government and Intach Delhi Chapter are likely to sign by mid next week their second memorandum of understanding to protect and conserve the city's smaller and less-known monuments. The first MoU expired in October last year. The project was conceived in 2008 to restore several relatively obscure monuments before the Commonwealth Games. These monuments were turned into prime tourist attractions and another list of such monuments was drawn. Bringing these monuments under government protection would ensure that these receive attention like the 174 centrally-protected monuments under the Archaeological Survey of India.

At least 16 monuments have been identified for conservation and upkeep in phase II. "The cabinet has already approved renewing the MoU with Intach and the process is likely to be completed soon," said an official. Archaeology department officials said they were looking at a five-year MoU this time. "Currently, maintenance of 17 monuments is with Intach, and 16 more will be taken up after the cabinet notification," said a senior official. The list of monuments preserved under phase I still awaits final notification. The list has been sent to the lieutenant-governor's office for preliminary notification.

The Times of India, 11th November 2012

While some responsible citizens were making an attempt to improve women’s education, the impact of colonialism was felt in changing communal interactions, says R.V. Smith

Delhi 100 years ago was not the hectic metropolis it now is, though it was slowly changing from medieval to pre-modernistic, as evident from the following stanza published in “Stree Darpan” by Rameshwari Nehru, a pioneer in women’s education and uplift: “Vida ka abhushan pehno, seva maang baro ri / Deshbhakti ki sari odho, phir Bharat gaan karo ri”. Titled “Sachhi Holi”, it was an exhortation to celebrate the festival in the true spirit of the revolutionary times before the achievement of Independence. Visalakshi Menon has quoted the verse in “The Quest for Women’s Education”, the memoirs published to mark the centenary of Indraprastha Girls’ School, established in the haveli of Lala Balkrishan behind the Jama Masjid. She goes on to say that Vijayalakshmi Pandit confessed in her autobiography that her father (Motilal Nehru), though championing women’s rights, did not bother much about her formal education and that of her sister, Krishna Hutheesingh. “He thought it was the correct thing (for them) to have lessons in grandeur with a governess.” The result was that both girls longed for classes in a regular school, where they could study with other children.

According to Narain Prasad, 90-year-old grandson of the founder of the Indraprastha school and college, the philanthropist Jugal Kishore attended weddings and parties and other get-togethers more to seek funds for his venture than to enjoy them himself with his son Lala Jagdish Prasad and friends. He and the others also started collecting one-rupee and 100-rupee funds from all and sundry. Then there was the “Atta fund” for which housewives set aside a handful of flour for the cause of girls’ education every day. The atta was collected in the ‘Dharm Pot’. Those were the times when Lala Munshi Ram, Syed Karamat Husain and Babu Sangam Lal were making herculean efforts for the promotion of women’s education. Side by side, the Arya Samajists had started competing with Christian missionaries in opening schools for girls. Karamat Husain’s student, Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah, carried on his mission in Aligarh, on behalf of Muslim girls, whose benefactors later became the Raja of Mahmudabad and the Nawab of Rampur.

According to Swapna Liddle, in 1902 the population of Delhi was 2,08,000, which comprised 1,14,000 Hindus, 88,000 Muslims, 2,000 Christians and 4,000 others. “There was a property boom and land prices increased significantly at the turn of the century.” The expansion was most noticeable to the west of the Walled City, with the ruins of earlier times still littering the south. One could go to Mehrauli in an ekka at a rupee per head. But before 1857 Mehrauli and its suburbs were more of health-cum-picnic resorts for the residents of Shahjahanabad and British officials, the example being set by the last of the Mughals, who generally went there during and after the rains for Sawan swing fairs and occasions like Phool Walon-ki-Sair. Delhi also boasted a purdah garden, exclusively for women, except for the chowkidars.

In the late 19th Century, she says, the canal that divided Chandni Chowk into two halves was practically closed and its path covered up to make a pathway for pedestrians to walk below shady trees (mostly neem, shisham, imli and pipal). Architecture also began to take on Western characteristics in the Chowk, whose streets on either side of the closed canal were used by horse-drawn carriages, carts and wagons — there being no motor cars until Lala Chunna Mal bought one and people thronged to see it wide-eyed.

Still, to quote Liddle, Delhi’s cultural diversities had survived “the upheavals of the Mutiny and the impact of colonialism to a great extent”. People still met on the steps of the Jama Masjid and at Edward Park (now renamed after Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose). “Here one could listen to the wa’iz preaching on a topic of Islamic doctrine; to the dastangoh, entertaining listeners for a small fee; and to poetry of a sophisticated nature.” Those employed in the workshops also congregated there, though the illiterate or semi-literate sometimes recited Hali’s Mussadas or the Masnavi of Mir Hasan extempore. Delhi was still a centre of Islamic learning and students from all over the country and Afghanistan and Central Asia came to it, eager to imbibe and practise what they had learnt. Deputy Nazir Ahmad was the one who taught many students after retirement from Government service. But he continued to remain a busy man and a prolific writer. Khari Boli was the spoken lingo, a medium between the Persian and Sanskritised languages “that came to occupy the high ground between Urdu and Hindi.” Events like the Id mela in Maldhar Khan’s bagh and the melas on Nauroz and Akhiri Chahar Shambeh, along with the Sunday fair near the Calcutta gate, had ceased to exist, while Ramlila changed location from the river bank to the parade ground in front of the fort, then Tis Hazari bagh and finally Shahji-ka Talab (now Ramlila ground). The changes were remarked upon by Munshi Zakaullah (born in the 1830s). Diwali and Holi became less extravagant because of sophistication and the urge to save money. Muslims and Hindus did not play Holi together anymore but sweets were still sent by Hindu patients to Muslim hakims though friends of the other community were now excluded under the impact of communalism.

Indraprastha Girls’ School had a famous Australian principal, Miss Leonara G’meiner, because of whose participation in the Freedom Movement, influenced by Annie Besant, the school was delisted by the Government for some time. There were two other Australian teachers, one of whom (Miss James) died. The other, Miss Priest, went back to her country. All this and more is beautifully brought out in the centennial publication which brings the hauntingly impressive haveli in which it is housed alive to the nostalgic words, “Shabeh tehnai me, kuchh der pahle neend se/ Ghuzri hui sad garmiyan, bitey huye din aash ke.” (The night’s solitude prior to rest was spent recapitulating the passionate indulgence and days of gay abandon). But now girls studying there use computers to complete their lessons. The changes in 100 years have indeed been immense.

The Hindu, 12th November 2012

The country's vulture population has increased for the first time in two decades, after a catastrophic decline in their numbers by more than 99%. A research paper by scientists from the Bombay Natural History Society(BHNS) shows that the number of vultures, once found across the country, increased marginally between 2011 and 2012.

The vulture population in India started to fall dramatically in the early '90s. Around 95% of the big scavenging birds were wiped out by 2003 and more than 99% by 2008, and their numbers decreased from 4 crore in the early '80s to less than 1 lakh in 2011. The study also warned that while the stabilization in vulture numbers is encouraging, only a small number of the birds remain and they are still extremely vulnerable.

Diclofenac, a painkilling drug administered to cattle, was the culprit. Vultures, which have a digestive system robust enough to even digest disease-causing pathogens found in rotting meat of dead, do not have a critical enzyme that breaks down diclofenac and die of renal failure after eating carcasses of cattle administered the drug.

"It's lethal for vultures if they eat an animal within 72 hours of it being given diclofenac," said Vibhu Prakash, lead researcher of the study and the deputy director of BNHS.

'Numbers offer hope'

Environmentalists said the increase in vulture numbers offered signs of hope for the critically endangered species once believed to be close to extinction.

A ban on the use of diclofenac across South Asia in 2006 led to a drop-off, between 2007 and 2011, in the numbers of birds being killed by the use of the drug on livestock. Ornithologists said the vulture population had stabilized by 2011, when the numbers remained roughly the same as the previous year.

A ban on the use of diclofenac across South Asia in 2006 led to a drop-off, between 2007 and 2011, in the numbers of birds being killed by the use of the drug on livestock. Ornithologists said the vulture population had stabilized by 2011, when the numbers remained roughly the same as the previous year.

"Between 2011 and 2012, there has been a slight increase in the population," said Vibhu Prakash, deputy director of Bombay Natural History Society and lead researcher of a recent study on the subject.

He said getting a fix on the actual numbers was not immediately possible but the numbers are slightly higher than in 2011, when there were only 1,000 slender-billed vultures (Gyps tenuirostris), 11,000 white-backed vultures (Gyps africanus) and 44,000 Long-billed vultures (Gyps indicus) remaining in the country.

The decline prompted the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) to put vultures on its list of 'critically endangered' species.

The three most common species of vultures in the country are the long-billed vulture (Gyps indicus), also known as the Indian vulture, the white-backed vulture (Gyps africanus) and theslender-billed vulture (Gyps tenuirostris).

The Times 0f India, 12th November 2012

The Delhi government and various greening and land-owning agencies plant lakhs of trees every year in the Capital. Yet, the government's target of 30% greenery has for years remained unfulfilled by a good margin. For the first time, the government is trying to know where the problem lies. Delhi's tree authority, set up in 2007 for the protection of trees, has started a process of third-party verification to know the survival rate of saplings planted by various agencies in the name of much-hyped drives. "About 20 lakh saplings are said to be planted in the Capital every year. Survival of even half the saplings should have turned Delhi into a dense forest by now," said a member of the authority.

"The verification plan we're working on can be done by anyone outside the government. We have prepared draft guidelines to verify compensatory afforestation done by government agencies," he said. Tree activists have for long been complaining that saplings are not cared for after plantation drives.

With 20 per cent green cover, Delhi is one of greenest cities in the country. But the Capital also has the highest population density -11,297 persons per sqkm. While the Planning Commission's target is 33% forest and tree cover, Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit had promised a 30% green cover by 2011.

Yet, the green belt has not gone up. According to a latest report of Forest Survey of India (FSI), it has in fact come down by a good 0.38 sqkm in recent years. "We don't go by the FSI report but we will find out the number of trees felled for Metro and road projects," he said.

"We want to know if the mandatory 10 times afforestation has been done in all cases," he added. Members of the tree authority proposed that at development project sites, information on the number of trees felled and the quantum, locations and executing agencies of afforestation should be provided.

The Planning Commission recently asked the Delhi government to explain a decline in the forest cover. The government claims the forest survey has not mentioned the correct figures of afforestation done by Delhi.

The Hindustan Times, 12th November 2012

The recent sighting of two Great Indian Bustards (GIB) may have brought cheers to wildlife experts, but it has also raised concern on their conservation strategies. At a time when it figures amongst hundred most endangered species in the world as per IUCN list, these protected species are largely moving out to unprotected land causing worry to the conservationists.

According to experts, the bustards are now being largely seen in farmlands as in case of the recent sighting at Chelgurki village in Karnataka. Since their movements are no longer confined to isolated patches of inviolate areas or traditional habitats declared as protected sites, the need of the hour is to frame landscape based strategies combining both grassland and farmlands where local communities have a large role to play.

Citing example of the changing scenario, Dr Pramod S Patil, working on bustard conservation in the country said Ranibennur sanctuary in north Karnataka, was once a safe haven for GIB’s where the birds were breeding till a decade ago. “But it no longer has any sighting records. The reason being that despite of the declaration of the sanctuary, grasslands were replaced with tree plantations. This has resulted in total landscape change and habitat loss for the Great Indian Bustard. Similar is the case of Nannaj sanctuary in Solapur in Maharashtra, where bustards once flourished but are now extinct.

Dr Asad Rahman, ornithologist and member of National Board For Wildlife, stressed that “If we want to save these existing few hundred bustards, we must ensure incentive based local support. He admitted that there has been a lack of community support considering the stringent policies that restricted villagers from using their land freely generating bitterness.

Further, lack of effective grassland management and the general consideration of grasslands as “wasteland” and the policy of converting them into “forests” has resulted in crucial habitat loss.

The bustards prefer a mosaic of grasslands and farmlands, feeding on insects and various seeds of the cereals. The present sightings in fields, farm lands etc are clear indications of the same, he pointed out. Most of such lands are private lands or owned by community, he added. The situation thus calls for a more holistic landscape based conservation strategies, rather than simply limiting it to traditional inviolate habitats.

The sources in Environment Ministry informed that the national and State-level recovery plans are in the final stages, which lays stress on community participation.

The Pioneer, 13th November 2012

A long-forgotten corner of the vast premises of the Rashtrapati Bhavan has been abuzz with activity for the last one month. The Rashtrapati Bhavan library, which was till a few months ago used as a dumping ground for books and was stuffed with furniture and people, is now being restored to its old glory. The President's office has discovered a treasure-trove of rare books, some of them dating back to the nineteenth century.

Plans are afoot not just to open the library to the public as part of the tour of the Rashtrapati Bhavan but also create new spaces for the rare collection of artworks, statues and other memorabilia that have come to the President's estate as gifts from dignitaries across the globe. Another piece of the historical legacy that President Pranab Mukherjee has desired to be documented is the historical moments that the building has witnessed.

Mukherjee's press secretary Venu Rajamony said, "The President has desired to archive the historical moments that have taken place in the Rashtrapati Bhavan over the years."

The President's office has also appointed Saroj Ghosh as consultant to advise them on giving the existing museum a facelift. Ghosh, the Kolkata-based former chairman of the International Council of Museums, was instrumental in putting in place the Parliament library. The President's office is also exploring the possibility of creating additional space for the museum besides the existing galleries.

Work on restoring the library to showcase the rare books is almost complete. "There are about 4,000 rare books in the President's library. The total collection in the Rashtrapati Bhawan is 23,000 books. While some are gifts, many are purchases by the library, which is diligent in stocking biographies and updated copies of the Constitution, besides speeches of past Presidents,'' said SNS Prakash, librarian at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.

The President has already announced that the collection of Punch magazines — published from 1843 to 1927 — is being restored and would be made available for cartoonists and scholars of modern history soon.

The oldest book is an account of the war between the British government and Mysore's Tipu Sultan in 1800. 'A view of the origin and conduct of the war with Tippoo Sultaun by Lieutenant Col Alexander Beatson, late aid de camp to the Marquis Wellesley, Governor General of India and Surveyor General to the army in the field' speaks about the origin and conduct of the war.

The Times of India, 13th November 2012

In what may be termed a setback to the initiative to protect the Nethrani islands near Bhatkal, the Karnataka Biodiversity Board (KBB) has submitted before the High Court of Karnataka that the decision to declare the island a biodiversity heritage site has been kept in abeyance, while the Navy submitted that the Board has dropped its plan to declare the islands a heritage site.

In an affidavit — filed in response to a public interest litigation by A N Karthik and P Manjunath seeking directions to prevent Indian Navy from using the island for its target practice — the KBB?said that though the preliminary notification was published on January 15, 2010, the State government has not issued the final notification.

The letter by Chief Secretary to Secretary, Union Ministry for Defence, a copy of which is with Deccan Herald says any firing activity on the island will have an adverse impact on the biodiversity.

The letter further says, “The Central Marine Research Institute (CMRI), Cochin, has discovered rare corals and other marine life having rich biodiversity in and around the island. This island is home to several rare species of birds and plants.

WIt is also an active fishing zone and regular firing activity will pose a threat to the life of fishermen. Since the State has identified this island as a heritage site as per the Biological Diversity Act, 2002, I will be grateful if you could kindly issue necessary directions to the naval authorities not to take up firing on this island and request them to find any other suitable land for this purpose in consultation with district magistrate, the rich biodiversity can be preserved.”

Surprisingly the KBB, which had issued a preliminary notification declaring it a biodiversity heritage site has also said in its affidavit no land records were available pertaining to the island. “It is not clear as to under which village, gram panchayat this island falls.”

Stating that even a communication to the deputy commissioner, Uttara Kannada, seeking details of this island was not helpful, the KBB observed that the island would be safe in the hands of government agencies including naval authorities as it has no staff to look after the security of the island as it is opposed to any project like tourism there. However, contrary to this submission, the Jungle Lodges and Resorts has planned some tourism activities there.

In another affidavit dated August 29, 2012, the Indian Navy submitted that the KBB has dropped its plan to declare Nethrani as biodiversity heritage site, and that the firing exercise has not affected life on the island.

The island, situated nine nautical miles from Bhatkal and 19 km from Murudeshwar, is home to rare birds like white bellied sea eagle and edible nest swiftlets. Several species found here are protected under Schedule One of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.

The heart-shaped island, according to a survey conducted by KBB?in early 2000, was covered with hard coral (14.7 per cent), sponges (2.7 per cent), algae (63.2 per cent), boring polychaetes (13.3 per cent) and mussel (0.3 per cent). This is the first report on the existence of small giant clams from the West coast of India.

The Deccan Herald, 14th November 2012

Cracks have developed in the building on the madrasa gardens, ASI says pillars damaged, stone blocks missing

After a range of conservation work during the Commonwealth Games 2010, monuments in the Hauz Khas area will undergo further renovation by the Archaeological Survey of India over the next few months.

The Hauz Khas complex is dotted with several 13th century structures, and ASI officials have been drawing an estimate for work on the three-domed building on the madrasa gardens.

“A lot of work needs to be done on the domes of the structure as well as other portions. The plaster that was on the dome is pulverised and some stone blocks have come out,” Superintending Archaeologist, ASI (Delhi circle), D N Dimri said.

Comprising a long and colonnaded hall stretching from north to the south, which measures 24.7 metres, the building has an unusual T-shape. Another section has an eight-metre projection from the centre towards the west. Made mostly of hard quartzite, which is very difficult to carve, the building has minimal decoration. Apart from carvings on the capitals of the pillars, some remnants of decoration can be seen on the plastered tombs — finials, kanguras and calligraphy in incised plaster.

Owing to wear and tear due to weather, water seepage and damage due to human actions, cracks have developed in the building, officials said. “There were plants growing on the structure and this caused severe damage. While we have been able to cut the plants, the roots have led to cracks,” an ASI official working at the site said.

Elaborating on the renovation work, ASI’s Conservation Assistant Ajay Kumar said, “Several stones from the eaves of the building are missing and there are at least four pillars that have been damaged and cracks can be seen on them. These pillars need to be replaced and blocks of stones put in place of the missing ones.”

Even though a major portion of the pathway in the complex was re-constructed during the Commonwealth Games, work on a section of floor, close to the three-domed structure, is still to be completed.

The function of the buildings is not known. According to experts, it was a tomb and had a number of graves. But an INTACH publication said no traces of graves are visible at the site now. On the basis of the shape and size of the building, it could have also been a meeting place or an assembly hall for large gatherings.

After the building fell into disuse, following the decline of the Tughlaq dynasty, villagers moved in here, a plaque at the site said. Much-needed facelift

THE STRUCTURE

T-shaped building has long, colonnaded hall measuring 24.7 metres Made mostly of hard quartzite, the building has minimal decoration Remnants of decoration can be seen on the plastered tombs

THE DAMAGE

Wear and tear due to weather, water seepage, damage due to human actions led to cracks

Roots of plants weaken walls

Stones fall out, leaving gaps in eaves of the building

THE USE

The function of the buildings is not known, but some experts say it was a tomb and contained many graves

INTACH publication says no traces of graves are visible at the site now

Building could have been a meeting place or an assembly hall

The Indian Express, 15th November 2012

Barapullah and Supplementary drains were to be cleaned by the method, no formal proposal yet

At a time when even the Supreme Court has expressed concern over the condition of the Yamuna, after being told that the river is “merely a drain (that) does not have fresh water after Wazirabad”, the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) is still sitting on its enzyme treatment project to clean two main drains in the city.

In a recent meeting, chaired by Chief Secretary P K Tripathi, heritage panel INTACH proposed using enzyme treatment to clean Barapullah and Supplementary drains.

In the treatment, bacteria is introduced into the drain. They consume all the build-up in the drain, bringing down biological oxygen demand in the water.

“This process also allows root zone treatment by planting select trees that give oxygen. At a later stage, a particular variety of fish is put in the drains to eat up the remaining organic matter,” a senior DJB official said.

DJB CEO Debashree Mukherjee said: “INTACH has proposed enzyme treatment for two drains. Najafgarh drain has not been included as it is very big. INTACH is yet to come up with a formal proposal and the cost analysis, so nothing has been finalised so far.”

According to DJB, the interceptor sewer project — with four major components — is an integrated approach towards ensuring that zero sewage flows in to the Yamuna. The project was initiated with a 2012 deadline, but only 26 per cent of it is complete so far.

The first, and the most important part, of the project is the laying of interceptor sewers to tap minor drains carrying sewage to the three main drains in the city — Najafgarh, Supplementary and Shahdara.

According to the detailed project report prepared by the consultants hired by DJB, 60 km sewers will be laid parallel to the three main drains to tap nearly 135 minor drains. The interceptors would tap sewage from 40 per cent of the city and the sewage will be diverted to the treatment plants.

At a later stage, the interceptors will also function as additional trunk sewer and cater to the flow from the existing sewer network.

The Indian Express, 15th November 2012

Delhi’s unauthorised colonies and urban villages are proving to be the bane of Yamuna. Making this revelation is a report prepared by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) which found that 45 per cent of Delhi’s population residing in its villages and unauthorised colonies (recently regularised) have no sewerage disposal system.

With no drainage system to link these areas with the 18 main drains meant to transport wastewater to the sewage treatment plants (STP), the waste from these colonies/villages is virtually finding its way through open fields and other waterways getting dumped straight into the river.

The CPCB finding has come as a blow to Supreme Court’s “Clean Yamuna” efforts since providing drainage connectivity and repair of existing pipelines would take at least 15 years. While Delhi Jal Board has claimed that the networking of pipes has completed, CPCB report suggested a different picture.

“Growth in sewerage facilities has not been commensurate with the sewage generation. Even today, only about 60 per cent of the population of Delhi is served by the sewerage system,” said the report.

This is the second in the series of roadblocks reported by the CPCB in the recent past. Last week, the Board had informed the Court that almost 37 per cent of the existing STPs are under-utilised causing wastewater escaping untreated into the river. In addition, it was also reported that some supplementary drains were directly discharging waste into the river. The combination of both these factors was responsible for converting Yamuna into a big drain, the Board said, with no trace of fresh water located on inspection by the team of CPCB experts.

The interim findings of CPCB held open drains in villages and resettlement colonies of Delhi to be a problem. “Almost 45 per cent of the population in villages/unapproved colonies (recently regularised) is not covered by sewerage system.” When the bench of Justices Swatanter Kumar and SJ Mukhpadhaya asked CPCB counsel Vijay Panjwani how many years it would require to fix the problem, he conceded that the process would require about 15-20 years.

A total of 1,642 unauthorised colonies currently fall under the jurisdiction of Delhi Government. In addition, Delhi’s villages have become contiguous with urban limits that includes newly developed areas such as Narela, Pappan Kalan, Najafgarh, Ghittorni, Vasant Kunj, Mehrauli and Sarita Vihar.

As remedial steps, the CPCB proposed conventional and non-conventional methods. “The conventional measures will focus on rehabilitation of the sewerage system including desilting, laying of new sewer lines, strengthening the pumping capacity and establishment of tertiary treatment system.”

The non-conventional measures were proposed as short-term remedial steps that would include aeration of water, bioremediation of drains, decentralized treatment and augmenting the self-purification capacity of the river by releasing adequate flow of fresh water.

The Pioneer, 16th November 2012

With the reopening of the Dhikala zone from Thursday as per schedule, the tourism activities have fully resumed in the Corbett Tiger Reserve (CTR), Ramnagar.

Though Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is also believed to be in Corbett with her children even before it opened to the public, the CTR officials are not commenting on her visit, citing security reasons.

Now, night stay facility will also be available for enthusiastic visitors in important zones of the CTR, including Dhikala and Bijrani, to name a few. Though some other tourists zones of the CTR, including Bijrani, Sonanadi, Jhirna, Domunda, had been opened earlier by the last week of October, night stay facility was started only from Thursday in the CTR.

However, as officials concerned of the CTR maintained, occupancy has been reported to be full in all the accommodations that the CTR administration has to offer in the tiger reserve. Though officials of the CTR refused to speak on this matter, it is believed that Priyanka Gandhi was among those who had booked accommodation in CTR on the day of Dhikala zone being reopened to tourists.

“Since this is a matter of high security, we cannot say anything on this issue,” said SC Upadhyay, park warden of CTR while talking to The Pioneer.

“These high security visits are kept very secret. So officially, we can’t say anything at this point of time,” Upadhyay added. He, however, maintained that now all the important tourist zones of the CTR are open for the general visitors with opening of the Dhikala zone on Thursday. Now, the visitors can also have the facility of night stay in the zones like Dhikala and Bijrani.

When asked about online booking facility, the park warden maintained that online booking facility for day visit to the CTR had already been introduced. But efforts are on to make online booking facility for the visitors for night stay also.

Except the Jhirna zone, all other tourist zones of the CTR remain closed for public during the rainy season. Tourism activities resumed in the aforesaid park partially from October 15.

The Pioneer, 16th November 2012

Saffronart’s new section will have rare collectibles on offer for a limited period

What is common between some rare weaves from Kashmir, a set of Mithila paintings from the ’70s, some 16th and 17th century maps of the Indian subcontinent, and a range of limited edition Montblanc writing equipment? Well, they all make for great collectibles. Perhaps, this is one of the reasons why all these items find place on Saffronart’s website, www.saffronart.com. These items, however, are not up for auction, rather they fall under the newly-launched section called ‘The Story by Saffronart’. This is an initiative earlier this month where rare collectibles are available for sale every day for a limited period. The website will keep adding to the collection from time to time.

Dinesh Vazirani, CEO and co-founder of Saffronart, explains the idea behind this new category. He emphasises that the section will help a larger audience — beyond its existing base of auction bidders — have access to rare and significant objects. “Why consume something that is gone in a moment when you can collect something of lasting value? ‘The Story’ will offer people extraordinary objects from the past and present, backed by unique insight into their stories,” Vazirani says. Though the market for collectibles in our country is in its nascent stage, India has a rich culture and heritage that we can draw from, feels Nish Bhutani, Saffronart’s chief operating officer. “The online shopping boom in India along with our personal experience with online auctions has encouraged us to launch this service,” he states.

The product range is wide — from art, jewellery, watches, stamps and coins, vintage interiors, carpets and textiles, tribal objects, early-edition books, regional craft, home accessories to historical, film and sports memorabilia. Each piece in the section is accompanied by notes on its historic, aesthetic and cultural value. Moreover, the collections will boast of an expert’s perspective, as some of the stuff will be put together by well-known tastemakers — including the likes of Simran Lal of the luxury lifestyle store Good Earth, Rajeev Samant, founder of Sula Vineyards, Charu Sachdev of TSG International Marketing, Mumbai-based curator and art critic Girish Shahane and Aishwarya Pathy, co-founder of India Design Forum.

Bhutani adds that at any given time, the section will have eight to 12 collections live on the website, spanning various categories, and each collection will comprise 10-30 objects. This apart, the prices will range from as low as Rs 3,700 (for a set of rare books) to a few lakhs (for watches and artwork). Not surprisingly, the initial response has been very encouraging. “Some of the Mithila folk art as well as signed prints by masters such as S H Raza, M F Husain and Thota Vaikuntam have seen excellent interest, but it is stil too early to tell as we launched only a few days ago,” says Bhutani.

The Indian Express, 16th November 2012

The Delhi Development Authority is looking to restore the Neela Hauz lake located off the Aruna Asif Ali Marg.

The Delhi Development Authority is looking to restore the Neela Hauz lake located off the Aruna Asif Ali Marg.

The lake had been filled up when a bridge was constructed over it before the Commonwealth Games in 2010. With the intervention of the Supreme Court and the Delhi Lieutenant Governor, the DDA initiated the process of revamping the lost glory of the lake. Besides revamping the lake, the DDA will also be creating a biodiversity park which will then be merged with the Sanjay Van.

Neela Hauz is a natural water body of the Delhi Ridge located near Vasant Kunj. However, over the years the storm water drains and the sewerage drains of several unauthorised colonies made its way into the lake. The worst for the lake came in the year 2008, when the Public Works Department proposed creating a flyover over the lake, for the Commonwealth Games, 2010.

In order to make the drive on the Aruna Asif Ali Marg safer while coming from the Ber Sarai side, a flyover was proposed over the lake. “It was only after we saw bulldozers working on the area and after the PWD having managed to cover almost one-third of the lake, did we get to know that a bridge was being made over the lake,” said activist Jyoti Sharma of FORCE, an NGO that works for water conservation.

A group of residents then moved the court against the authority demanding a stay in the construction of the bridge which would have destroyed the natural body. “When the DDA refused to hear our plea we had to move court demanding restoration of the lake,” said Nitya Jacob, convener, Neela Hauz Citizen Group. While the construction of the flyover was inevitable, the court had then directed the PWD to remove the debris from the construction site after the construction and then hand it over to the DDA to restore the lake and improve the quality of water in it. “The PWD was supposed to hand over the site to the DDA in May 2011, however it did so in February this year. The DDA is now ready with its restoration plan,” added Jecob.

The Neela Hauz, that otherwise was spread over three hectares, has now shrunk to two and a half acres after the construction of the flyover. The DDA has now started restoring the lake. As per the plan, the DDA will be deepening the hauz, fill it with quality water and will also create a walking track and plant trees.

As the DDA carries out the restoration work, the Delhi Jal Board, which so far has been pumping untreated water and sewerage into lake will stop the activity. Only treated water of the sewerage will now be allowed to be drained into the lake.

“Besides restoring the lake a biodiversity park will also be created. It will be on the lines of Yamuna and Aravalli Biodiversity Park and will be merged to the Sanjay Van after restoration,” said a DDA official.

The Pioneer, 16th November 2012br>

Though Delhi’s quest for getting “World Heritage City” tag has been extended till 2015, the Indian National Trust for Art & Cultural Heritage’s Delhi Chapter, which is spearheading the campaign, sees this as a fortuitous opportunity. With the Union Ministry of Tourism granting a substantial sum to the Delhi Government to improve tourism infrastructure, INTACH members feel many pending heritage projects will be completed by the time the UNESCO team comes around for an inspection.

“We see it as fortuitous since it enables us to make a much better document,” said INTACH Delhi Chapter convenor A. G. K. Menon about the final nomination dossier that is being prepared. “Since the funds available with the Government are time-bound, money will be released immediately for certain projects.”

The projects are chosen strategically so as to strengthen Delhi’s nomination, he added.

For instance, since the final dossier will promote both Shahjahanabad and Interior New Delhi (Lutyens’ Delhi) as World Heritage cities, INTACH plans to use part of the funds for installing signs, lighting and streetscape parts of Shahjahanabad. “Lanes and gullies will be surveyed and cables will be placed underground. Similarly, lighting and street furniture will be fixed,” said Mr. Menon. In addition, an interpretation centre is being planned either in the Town Hall or the Dara Shikoh Library so visitors can appreciate the history of Shahjahanabad.

With the available funds, INTACH has also persuaded the Archaeological Survey of India to set up an interpretation centre at the Qutub Minar, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

“Though it is a World Heritage site, it is very disorganised outside the monument with a need to re-design the entire area surrounding it,” said Mr. Menon.

Also in line for re-designing will be areas surrounding Feroze Shah Kotla, Purana Qila and Hauz Khas. “Many years ago INTACH began a project called the ‘Heritage Route’ with the aim of linking heritage sites. The idea was to make the surroundings more organised for visitors. While we cannot touch the monuments, we can improve the access to these monuments,” he added.

The funds will also help ASI go beyond conservation and help restore two monuments in Mehrauli: Zafar Mahal and Jahaz Mahal. “Some monuments need to be restored rather than conserved. Even though ruins can be appreciated as ruins, it will be interesting to see how it originally looked.”

Perhaps the most fascinating project that INTACH plans to venture into is recreating the Mughal Gardens at Safdarjung Tomb, Shalimar Bagh and Roshanara Garden. “The gardens will be recreated based on evidence available. This will be tested against scholars who have studied these monuments,” said Mr. Menon.

The Pioneer, 16th November 2012

Ropeways for humans are well-known, but those being used for the conservation of rare and endangered primates as lion-tailed macaques and golden langurs have not been heard in the past.

The cutting of trees and loss of canopies posing major threats to these arboreal primates, bamboo bridges and ropeways are being placed strategically between canopies of trees for their safe passage. This novel practice has been adopted in Chakrasila Wildlife Sanctuary in Assam and in the Anamalais Tamil Nadu in the country with much success.

Listed under schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. the lion tailed macaques are endemic to the Nilgiris in the states of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala. The golden langurs are confined to small patches of forest in western Assam and Bhutan. Chakrashila Wildlife Sanctuary in Assam is the only protected habitat for the golden langur in the country.

According to primatologist, Mayukh Chatterjee, these species essentially move from tree to tree and lack agility on ground. Along with their fragmenting habitat, major threat to them comes from the highways and their expansion or widening to cater to the growing tourist population. This has led to a sharp increase in the number of vehicles speeding through such roads, leading to a growing number of road kills

Sources in the Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF) informed that nearly half a dozen of such bamboo bridges have been put up in Annamalais with the help of NGO Conservation India and State forest department for the safe passage of the lion-tailed macaques.

In case of Chakrasila sanctuary, a stretch of 500-m road separates the northern part of the sanctuary from plantation forests that are used by the resident langurs as an extension of their habitat. As a result they are compelled to descend on the ground and cross the road risking accidents, attacks by feral dogs or even poaching. The killer stretch had claimed numerous golden langurs earlier. But with the installation of ropeways a few months back, deaths due to accidents have been checked, informed experts. These ropeways in Assam have been initiated under Rapid Action Project to help save the langurs with the help of International Fund for Animal Welfare — Wildlife Trust of India (IFAW-WTI).

“These ropeways are being erected at a height of 60m from the ground, across the frequently traversed canopies. Initially, the langurs hesitated to use these bridges.

But now they appear to have

been habituated and are frequently seen to use them,” said Dr Panjit Basumatary, veterinarian IFAW-WTI. Since the past few months there have not been any case of deaths due to road mishaps, he added.

The Pioneer, 17th November 2012

Amritsar will soon have a heritage village to showcase its culture, cuisine and lifestyle

A goldsmith working intricate patterns on the metal, a potter gently shaping his earthenware while a mini-mela (village fair) is in progress; a jolly ride on the tonga; artists performing nukkad natak and bhangra and delectable Punjabi cuisine to be savoured! If everything goes as planned, Amritsar will have all this and much more in its very own heritage village by mid next year.

Work’s on in full swing to complete the project offering people a flavour of the quintessential Punjabi village with its traditional lifestyle, culture, food, artifacts, jewellery, crockery and even dwellings with an aim to prolong tourists’ stay in the holy city.

The 12-crore project which started in 2010 is a result of a MoU between Punjab Heritage and Tourism Promotion Board and the city-based Guru Nanak Dev University. The Central and the State governments have provided the funds.

Since Amritsar is widely regarded the focal point of tourism in Punjab, with the Golden Temple and the flag-lowering ceremony at Wagah Border attracting thousands every day, it is hoped this heritage village -- located on the bypass road on the outskirts of the city for the convenience of visitors returning from Wagah -- will prove to be an added attraction.

“The purpose is to retain a tourist for at least three nights in Amritsar. We are trying to bring alive a village of the 1950s. It will not be a lived-in village. However, we will have blacksmiths, goldsmiths, carpenters, paranda (hair accessory)-makers going about their work, even as women are engrossed in their household chores and the men wrestle it out in the akhara (wrestling arena). We will also recreate a chaupal (community space), barat ghar, dak ghar (post office) and a sarpanch’s (village headman) house in a typical village,” says local tourism officer Balraj Singh.

The University that has provided the 10-acre land has decided to set up a research centre within the heritage village for promotion of studies on Punjabi culture. While the tourism department is constructing the buildings and dealing with the civil work, and its officials along with the University professors comprise the monitoring committee tasked to oversee the overall functioning, a private operator will run the complex.

“We will try and complete the structure, comprising 16 big buildings including the ‘houses’ of people from different communities (farmer, potter, carpenter), and ticketing and administration block by January 2013. Thereafter, a tender will be floated to select a private operator who will then complete the interiors in the next six months. We are hoping the village will be fully functional by June-July 2013,” informs a senior tourism official. “A block of 21 guest rooms will also be built for those wishing to spend a night,” he adds.
The Hindu, 17th November 2012

A visit to Thoor Ballylee, the castle where Yeats wrote ‘The Tower’ poem collection and achieved a perfection of technique widely considered without parallel in English poetry.

The palette of autumn hues colours the hill tops and the October air carries the scent and warmth of a peat fire. We are in the Irish countryside. Narrow snake-like roads slither under the shade of tall sycamore trees. Lush elderberry and blackberry bushes line the roadsides and are bent with plump fruit. Passing the banks of the Cloon, we are heading towards Thoor Ballylee, in County Galway near the town of Gort. Herein lies the 16 century Norman castle resurrected by the renowned poet W.B. Yeats.

The castle has a connection with the Irish Literary Renaissance. In close proximity lies Coole Park, an estate owned by Lady Gregory, where she hosted the likes of Douglas Hyde, W.B. Yeats and J.M. Synge and revived the Irish literary past also known as the “Celtic Dawn.” This carried enormous significance for the Irish politico-cultural movement.

The castle pops out of the wilderness like a magic fairy abode flanked by a stone bridge and an ancient mill. The rumble of the river, the shades of lush green, the deep tranquility and seclusion lends the place a sense of peace and protection from the noisy intrusions of the outside world.

The year 1917 onwards, Thoor Ballylee became Yeats’ retreat and haven for a decade. It was perhaps a much-needed home too. The poet was no more young. He had spent 27 long years on passionate but unrequited love for Maud Gonne, a ravishing beauty and an ardent nationalist. Now he longed to have a home and family. In the summer of 1916, he proposed to Maud Gonne one final time. After her refusal, he asked her daughter, Iseult, who, after some deliberation, also declined. Then he married Georgina Hyde-Lees. He first met her in 1913 through their mutual friends Ezra and Dorothy Pound.

At 25, Georgina was 27 years her husband’s junior but shared many of his interests including a keen interest in philosophy and a fascination with the occult and the esoteric. The castle was purchased for 35 pounds in 1917.

Beyond beautiful

In naming the property Yeats dropped the term “castle” and replaced it with “Thoor”, the Irish word for tower, and the place became known as Thoor Ballylee. He found the place surpassing all beauty he had seen elsewhere: “everything is so beautiful that to go elsewhere is to leave beauty behind.”

It was at Thoor Ballylee that Yeats wrote ‘The Tower’ poem collection and achieved a perfection of technique that is widely considered by critics as almost without parallel in the history of English poetry. ‘The Tower’ (1928), named after the castle he owned and had restored, is the work of a fully accomplished artist.

An ancient bridge, and a more ancient tower,

A farm-house that is sheltered by its wall,

An acre of stony ground,

Where the symbolic rose can break in flower,

Old ragged elms, old thorns innumerable,

The sound of the rain or sound

Of every wind that blows,

The stilted water-hen

That plunged in stream again

Scarred by the splashing of a hundred cows.

Yeats’ poetry collections of this period touch upon themes that are, at once, local and general, personal and public, Irish and universal. The energy of the poems written in response to the turbulent times gave astonishing power to ‘Tower’, ‘The winding stair’ and ‘The wild swans of Coole’, all written during his stay at Thoor Ballylee.

On the first floor of the tower a steep spiral stone-cut staircase winds to the upper floors. In Yeats’ metaphysical contemplations, the winding stair became the symbol of the soul’s upward but spiral progress. The poet feels the turning of time, a poignant sense of life’s passing, a reminder of his ancestors.

I declare this tower is my symbol; I declare

This winding, gyring, spiring treadmill of a stair is my ancestral stair;

We come down the winding staircase. The dusk has begun to fold the surroundings in its dark embrace. Far away in Galway hills, the sun is setting and its last glow covers the hills with a halo. A mystical charisma envelops the place.

One can imagine Yeats, the poetic genius, the dreamer, the romantic infatuated with lake sides, hawthorn, spooks and faeries, sitting atop the tower, lost in the enchantment of the Celtic twilight or walking on the crunchy carpet of red copper and bronze leaves, Yeats in the autumnal years of his life, reconciling to the loss of love that never was his, and looking ahead to a new life with Georgina.

As he walks by the riverside, he anticipates the ravages of time, of lives transient, and can see his splendid home falling into ruin.

How should he preserve the legacy he had inherited — be known as the restorer of Thoor Ballylee, as the poet who lived and wrote there and left his mark in the legacy of this place?

Yeats found an answer readily. He had a slate slab carved with a short verse. All who pass by can read the words and touch the letters with their fingers.

I, the poet William Yeats,

With old mill boards and sea-green slates,

And smithy work from the Gort forge,

Restored this tower for my wife George;

And may these characters remain

When all is ruin once again.

Perhaps another poet or artist will collect the fallen remnants, and, dreamy-eyed, piece them together, and live amid surroundings that will nurture his creativity. He will climb the winding stair, get into “a dialogue of self and soul”, reflect upon matters lofty and sublime, mundane and quotidian, transitory and eternal. And time will keep circling.

The Hindu, 18th November 2012

Salisbury Cathedral is much more than a historical monument.

Nice and sunny, just after a shower, London to Salisbury was quick. Didn’t seem like 90 minutes. That’s because the talkative guide engaged us in conversation. Wanted to know if we had seen the Taj Mahal, and all the standard questions about India.

There it stood, the grand Salisbury Cathedral, one of the finest medieval churches in England. This grand structure with its elegant and imposing spire (Britain’s tallest) has inspired many an artist, John Constable being the foremost among them. Its impressive architectural style in Early English Gothic was possible because it was built in just 38 years (1220-1258). The tower and spire were added after more than 50 years.

The Cloister and Chapter House were included subsequently. British history is closely woven into the story of this creation. Starting as part of the Catholic Church, it later became an inspiration to the Church of England when Henry VIII split from the Church of Rome in 1534.

Salisbury Cathedral is much more than a historical monument. Earlier known as The Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary, it attracts a large number of visitors every year. As the Cathedral Church of the Salisbury diocese, it is the Mother Church of several hundred parishes in Wiltshire and Dorset. In 2008, the cathedral celebrated the 750th anniversary of its consecration in 1258.

The faceless clock

To me, the medieval clock looked like half a dozen wheels assembled together with some pulleys and weights. The clock has no face because all clocks of that date rang out the hours on a bell. It was originally located in a bell tower and when it was demolished, the clock was shifted to the Cathedral Tower. The clock was then placed in storage and forgotten until it was discovered in 1929, in an attic of the cathedral. It was repaired and restored to working order in 1956. Again in 2007, remedial work and repairs were carried out. Its unappealing look certainly eclipsed its impressive background.

I saw the tombs of bishops, saints, wealthy and influential people.

The cloister, supposed to be the largest in England, looked splendid with arcades all around. Added in the late 13th century, it was a rectangular open space surrounded by covered walks. With open arcades on the inner side running along the walls of buildings, it formed a courtyard. This place looked ideal for the cloistered lives of the monks.

The Magna Carta, with a heavy history behind its awe-inspiring presence, was enclosed in a glass case in the Chapter House. This parchment had altered the rule of law in England, protecting the rights of the individual, and its fundamental principles were adopted later by many other countries in their constitutions.

The West Front was striking with its tall turrets, niched buttresses, spirelets and gables. It was highly ornamental with motifs, columns and bands. The five levels of niches had statues of angels, archangels, old testament patriarchs, apostles, evangelists, martyrs, doctors and philosophers. On the lower level stood the royalty, priests and worthy people connected with the cathedral. The wide and tall façade was almost 100 ft high.

The Choral Evensong began, encompassing the whole place with a soft music, lifting the soul. It was like being carried on the wings of an angel. The huge cathedral, filled with peace, looked heavenly.
The Hindu, 18th November 2012

A makeover of Neermahal, the palace set in the midst of the Rudrasagar Lake in Tripura, is set to change the fortunes of the community in the vicinity

The only two lake palaces of India are a picture in contrast. While the Lake Palace at Lake Pichola in Udaipur in West India is now being run as a luxury hotel and the lake surrounding it has brought immense prosperity to the entire area, at the other end of the country Neermahal or the water palace in Tripura with a lake drained of precious water and weeds all around it, tells a tale of gross neglect.

In fact, few in the country even know that Neermahal, which is set in the midst of the Rudrasagar Lake about 50 kilometres from Agartala, the capital of Tripura, is only the second such lake palace in the country.

But now times for this palace, which was built by King Bir Bikram Kishore Debbarman of the erstwhile Kingdom of Tripura in 1930 as his summer palace, may change yet again.

A grandiose plan has been drawn up for it restoration and revival. With this the fortunes of the majestic lake that surrounds it as also the communities who live off the lake are expected to take a turn for the better.

Secretary (Tourism and Urban Development) in the Government of Tripura, Ashutosh Jindal said the “State Government has decided to develop Neermahal as a mega destination. A consultant is being engaged for preparing a detailed report for sending to Ministry of Tourism and for development of this tourist property.”

“The State Government is also taking initiative to reclaim the water area as far as possible -- the district magistrate of the area has been assigned the responsibility of carrying out a detailed demarcation of the water area and making efforts to reclaim it, he added

A technical committee has also been constituted to assess if the palace (Neermahal) needs retrofitting and renovation. Based on the assessment of the committee, work will be taken up by Public Works Department, the official said.

But why is it that Neermahal, despite being so beautifully located, could not become like its counterpart in the western end of the country? The palace can be accessed through a boat. But everything in the area appears run down. The boats are rickety and appear unsafe; the 5.3 square km Rudrasagar Lake is shallow and full of silt, the 24-room Neermahal itself is surrounded by weeds on all sides and its dilapidated building shows that much needs to be improved.

Piecemeal initiatives in the past have not yielded the desired results. Subhash Devnath, in-charge of Neermahal Palace, said about one lakh tourists visit the palace each year. A light and sound show was installed here in 2003 by a Finnish company at a cost of Rs 1.20 crore, but the system has been lying disused for the past nine months now. It developed some fault and there was no one to repair it.

The Neermahal had boasted of three generators way back in the 1930s as the king wanted his summer palace to be well lit. However, now only the platforms on which they stood remain and so is the case with the walls which have been stripped off the precious stones which once bedecked them.

It was the untimely death of King Debbarman, the locals insist, which prevented Neermahal, in which the Hindu and Muslim architectural styles were assimilated, from finding a pride of place in the annals of history.

In the past five decades, the administration’s compulsion to keep the local farming communities happy has also led to a degradation of the area since much of the water collected in the Rudrasagar Lake is drained off after every rainy season to enable paddy cultivation.

As secretary of the Rudrasagar Udbasti Fishermen Samabye Samity Limited, Melaghar, Satyaban Das said: “It was in 1960 that a decision was taken to have agriculture around the lake along with fishing. The agricultural land was distributed among 600 families but it was not a permanent decision and now we believe it was not right.’’

The reason, as Mr. Das puts it, is that while the earning from tourism (primarily from boat rides) during 2011-12 was Rs 24 lakh, only about Rs 18 lakh was earned through fishing. As for agriculture, he said rice farming is done on an area of 1465 acre around the lake, which reduces to a mere 360 acres in the dry season. In all, paddy worth nearly Rs 2 crore is cultivated, but the loss on account of tourism is huge when the potential is considered on the whole.

While planning a road around the Rudrasagar Lake, which would provide a defined boundary to it, the Tripura Government has also taken to development of two resorts on its banks with a total capacity of around 180 rooms.

As Tapas Kanti, manager of Sagar Mahal Tourist Lodge, who has spent 15 years in the area said, “Neermahal was given its name by none other than Rabindranath Tagore. Its tranquil ambience in the lap of nature appeals to people all around. But it has been sacrificed at the altar of populism. Time has come to restore it to its old glory as that would also help the impoverished masses in the area.’’

The Hindu, 18th November 2012

The historical Colosseum takes on a completely different allure after sunset, discovers Sukanya Ramanujam

The moment had finally arrived. This was to be the crowning point of my entire visit to Italy. It was 9:00 pm in Rome but the last rays of the sun continued to illuminate the monuments on either side of the Via Dei Fori Imperiali (so called because of the public spaces or fora built by different Roman emperors on either side of the road). I made my way anxiously to the Colosseum, afraid I might somehow miss my narrow window of time. I had to be at the gates at exactly 9.05 pm, 15 minutes before my group’s allotted time. We were going to visit the Colosseum, Rome’s most famous and recognised monument, by night.

The Colosseum is a popular tourist spot in Rome with an estimated four million people visiting it each year. Visits during the day to the amphitheatre normally mean long waiting lines and crowded passages inside. However, every year, the Colosseum is opened on a limited number of nights between April and October for tourists to visit in four or five groups, guided by an archaeologist. This is not exactly the world’s best-kept secret but very few tourists plot their itinerary to include a night visit to the Colosseum.

On arrival at the entrance gate, the scene I witnessed was more akin to that outside a popular night club with bouncers. Only people with confirmed reservations are allowed inside directly while those outside are allowed to try their luck with the wardens. A few anxious moments ensued, as there seemed to be a problem with my reservation but this was attributed to an internal error and I was finally allowed to join the 9.20 pm group.

What can I say? To visit the Colosseum at any time of day is an awe-inspiring experience. The skill and the prowess of the Roman engineers who could build an amphitheatre that could accommodate over 50,000 people at one time, and the design of the building, with the three levels of arches, its rows of seats, and the imposing central arena, is a true marvel. Add to this the hush of night and the absence of the crowds, and the experience you get is truly one of a kind.

Place of entertainment

Amelia, our tour guide, was extremely knowledgeable and gave us a brief history of the Colosseum, originally called the Flavian Amphitheatre because of the dynasty of Flavian emperors who built it. The land was originally part of Emperor Nero’s sprawling golden house but the emperor Vespasian, wanting to build some good PR, built a public space of entertainment for the thronging population of Roman citizens. The amphitheatre got the nickname of Colosseum because of the colossal statue of the emperor Nero that used to stand next to it.

Originally, the Amphitheatre could be flooded and naval battles would be re-enacted. We were taken to the Hypogeum or the underground space beneath the Colosseum to show where the water originally came from and how it was a later Flavian emperor who put an end to the practice. We were also shown how trap doors would have been fitted at many points underground just below the central arena. An expert ring master — in some manners a choreographer — could give commands in sequence to the slaves underneath who would open the trapdoors, to release animals or gladiators, all of whom met in bloody combat.

We then moved to the central stage, the arena where we could get a complete view of the amphitheatre. The Colosseum looks skeletal, not because it is old or because it was built that way, but because it was regularly raided for material to be used in constructions elsewhere in Rome. It was only after the consecration of the place as a holy site by Pope Benedict XIV in 1749 did the pilfering of material come to an end.

We were taken to see the seating, the Cavea. Every entrance to the Colosseum is marked with a number in Roman numerals (can be seen to this day) and people could enter their seating area according to the number on their tickets, which were pottery fragments. The seating was dictated by social hierarchy, with the wealthiest and most important people getting the lower seats while the poorer ones sat higher up. Women and children sat right at the top of the amphitheatre.

None of us spoke during the tour. The solemn nature of the monument and the wonderful history that we had soaked in during the past hour had somehow made us quiet. It was only the appearance of Nero, the Colosseum’s very own feline, which finally brought the laughter back to the group. Apparently, the black cat is not frightened by the thousands of daily visitors and prowls the grounds day and night.

I made my way back from the Colosseum to the bus stop to return to my hotel. The area was still crowded with tourists taking pictures and people selling souvenirs. I imagined that the scene nearly 2000 years ago in 80 AD may not have been too different — people lingering around the amphitheatre after a full day of spectacle and entertainment. Some things never change.

Quick Tips

The Colosseum is open for night tours on Thursdays and Saturdays from 5 May to 6 Oct. Tours depart regularly from 8:20 pm to 10:45 pm, but the English tours are at 8:40 pm, 9:20 pm, and 9:45 pm (the last one is an extended tour that includes a visit to the subterranean passages). You can reserve the tour ahead of time at www.selectitaly.com.

Arm yourself with a Roma Pass (30 euros from any tourist office in Rome). It gives access to the first two monuments free of charge. The Colosseum has a separate entry for Roma Pass holders (if it is the first or second monument you are visiting), which means you avoid the long queues. The Roma Pass also gives access to free public transport in Rome for three days.

Tourist information booths or PITs are to be found in Rome’s main tourist hubs. They have multilingual staff and they distribute promotional and informative material. At the PIT booths, you can reserve tickets and tourist passes, book walking tours and so on.

You can choose to do all of Rome by night. Start with an Italian aperitivo (wine and hors d’oevres) and combine walks with bus rides to the popular spots through a calmer but also more dazzling city. Check out sites such as www.darkrome.com for more info.

The Hindu, 19th November 2012

With heritage week starting from Monday, Intach Delhi Chapter announced a series of seminars and events that are lined up for whole week in an attempt to spread awareness about the city's rich heritage. With Delhi in the queue for world heritage city tag from Unesco, the events are all aimed at involving as many citizens as possible in the nomination process.

While a theater workshop will be held on Monday, a quiz will be organized on Tuesday to test the awareness of students on Delhi's history. The quiz will be an inter-college/university quiz and the special theme will be Delhi's rich heritage. There will also be a panel discussion — titled 'the socio-economic imperative impact of preserving Delhi's heritage' — on the thousand plus monuments in the city, alongwith an exhibition on the last maharajah of Punjab later in the week.

The Times of India, 19th November 2012

The Ridge — Delhi's green lungs — is the northernmost extension of the Aravali mountain range, considered one of the oldest geographical features in the country. But it has hardly received the attention it deserves. It is 2.5 billion years old, much older than the Ganges and the Himalayas, which are kids in comparison -- merely 600 million years old. Simply put, if the Himalayas are nine years old, then the Aravalis are 90 years old.

Traditionally for Delhi, the ridge —spread over northern, central, south central and southern area — was the western extreme. However, over the last 100 years, as the population increased exponentially, the ridge fell to development. Cost of development

It started with chunks of what today is the central ridge being drawn for the new capital city by the British after 1912.

As city planners merrily continue with further destruction (see graphic), environmentalists cry hoarse about tearing of the green lungs. A case in point is the long legal battle that activists fought to save the southern ridge, which the planners had earmarked for 13 international star hotels.

This portion of the ridge, spread over Vasant Kunj and Mahipalpur, totalled 640 hectares — 315ha belong to the DDA and 325ha to the Army — much of which has been concretised. This despite the fact that the Central Ground Water Board has advocated the ridge as a potential ground water recharge medium.

Pradip Krishen, an active votary of trees, pointed out an instance of the army's activities at the ridge.
"There is this President Bodyguards' Polo ground right in the middle of the central ridge. They also have a club house there. The area for the polo ground plus the clubhouse has been given to them on lease long ago. But they treat the entire central ridge as their own," he said.

Ravi Agrawal of Toxics Link, an environmental organisation, said, "The norms are quite well laid out. The DDA, army or whatever agency, they have to put their increasing land requirement aside. The various authorities can't see the ridge as a land for development."

There is a Ridge Management Board — Agrawal is a member — whose job is to take care of issues related to the betterment and management of the ridge. "This board is toothless; it needs to have power, otherwise what's the point?" said Krishen.

Diwan Singh of the Ridge Bachao Andolan said, "The authorities need to immediately carry out a survey for what comprises ridge (and) what is happening on the ground."

Wherever there is no demarcation, or areas left out, these should be properly demarcated along with notifications, Singh said. He suggested involving local communities in conservation of ridge ecology.

"There should also be legal and environmental awareness but environment should be an equally important stakeholder in planning," he added.

One more road, trees be damned
It has been two years since a road to join the Mahipalpur-Vasant Kunj road with National Highway 8 has been under construction. The existing Mahipalpur road is too narrow to accommodate the increase in vehicular traffic coming from Mehrauli and Gurgaon and headed towards Dwarka and the Delhi airport.

The solution? Build another road, a bypass for the village. In this case, the existing road has been widened. But the fact that the road passes through the ridge is completely ignored.

"It was a gram sabha land, taken over by the government for the road. The road is flanked by the village on one side and an army area on the south," said Colonel Devender Sehrawat, a Mahipalpur resident.

The hitch is that land for the road does not fall into the 'notified' area of the ridge, though Mahipalpur village sits very much on the ridge.

Dinesh Sehravat, a youth from the village, said, "Just half a kilometre of the almost 4-km road remains due to land acquisition issue."

The question is: Is the road really necessary? "Already, there is lot of construction in the area in total violation of the Master Plan provisions. While the DDA has gone ahead and engaged in senseless construction, the army has carried out a lot of work,” said Diwan Singh of Ridge Bachao Andolan.

The Hindustan Times, 20th November 2012

The Supreme Court on Monday gave the go-ahead for felling of 4,313 trees on the 76-km Taj Trapezium Zone stretch in Uttar Pradesh for the Dedicated Freight Corridor project by the railways, funded by the World Bank.

A bench of Justices D.K. Jain and Madan B. Lokur allowed the plea of the Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India (DFCCI) after deliberations over the Forest Department’s definition of trees, as the bench had earlier sought clarification on whether saplings and trunks measuring four to five inches in diameter can be called trees.

The apex court allowed the felling of the thousands of trees in the Taj Trapezium Zone, a defined area of 10,400 sq km around the Taj Mahal to protect the monument from pollution, after going through recommendations of the Central Empowered Committee (CEC).

The CEC had told the court that 25,000 trees would be planted in lieu felling of 4,313 trees in the Taj Trapezium Zone for the Dedicated Freight Corridor project.

The DFCCI has proposed to pay the Uttar Pradesh Forest Department `100 for cutting one tree and `200 for planting two trees.

The CEC also said that the freight corridor project is of national importance and in public interest.

Out of 351 km of the first phase of the project, 76 km falls within the Taj Trapezium area.

The Supreme Court is monitoring the safety and environmental issues related to protection of the Taj Mahal from pollution.

The Asian Age, 20th November 2012

He was the last leader who could have changed the destiny of Punjab, yet his end came in a hotel room in Paris at the age of 55. He was known by various titles: the ‘First British Sikh’, the ‘Black Prince of Perthshire’ or the ‘Last Maharaja of the Sikh Empire’. While such was the reputation of Maharaja Duleep Singh (1838-1893), the youngest son of the legendary Maharaja Ranjit Singh and Maharani Jind Kaur, he never managed to return from his exile in England to reclaim his lost kingdom.

More than 100 years after his passing, Bassian Kothi which is about 50 km from Ludhiana has been restored as a memorial for the late Maharaja and will be home to a permanent exhibition about his life. Fortunately for the city’s residents, a preview of the exhibition opened on Monday at the Indian National Trust for Art & Cultural Heritage premises here as part of its Heritage Week celebrations. Titled ‘The Last Maharaja of Punjab’, it showcases replicas and paintings from various sources. “The exhibits were commissioned by the Government of Punjab and will be preserved at Bassian Kothi,” said INTACH Architectural Heritage Division Principal Director Divay Gupta. Last year, INTACH was engaged by the Government of Punjab to restore the colonial building at Bassian Kothi. “This exhibition will hopefully encourage people to drive out there to see the larger exhibit.”

The exhibition provides information about Maharaja Duleep Singh, his early childhood, his years in exile, his marriage to Bamba Muller whom he met in Egypt on his return to England after scattering his mother’s ashes in India, his attempts to re-learn Punjabi and information about all his children -- ‘His last descendant, Princess Bamba (88) like his other seven children died childless in Lahore, Pakistan, ending the lineage of the great Sikh rulers’.

Among the exhibits is a replica of the Kohinoor Diamond, a cartoon of the Maharaja that appeared in the 1871 issue of Vanity Fair, his Coat of Arms and several replicas of paintings commissioned of him and his family. A visitor can even see the replica of the Maharaja’s grave at St. Patrick in Elveden, England. Since the early ‘90s the graves of the Maharaja’s family have been tourist sites for thousands of Sikhs, so this should be an interesting exhibit for many.

The exhibition is open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. till this Friday at 71 Lodhi Estate.

The Hindu, 20th November 2012

"There were lots of winter birds. There was this private, cordoned-off area with a number of donkeys carrying sand. They were called gadhewale," recalled Rakshanda Jalil, author and heritage lover, as she got nostalgic about her annual childhood family picnics to the Yamuna bank in the early 1970s.

From Nizamuddin (East), her family would drive up to Okhla. "It used to be a day-long adventure. It was a clean, open area with mostly farming activity. On this huge mound of sand, we would go up and come rolling down," she said.

Most Delhiites born after 1970s, or migrants who came later, will find it hard to believe but the Yamuna waterfront was once a place to visit. Swimming, fishing and farming were regular activities.

Dangals (traditional wrestling), kite flying and even boating activities were also prevalent till the 1970s. Sailing and yachting happened too. But as the population grew exponentially, the pressure on the river and its resources increased.

The river was already bearing the load of untreated sewage. And over the years, the authorities completely stopped the flow of fresh water beyond Wazirabad; all the water is diverted from here for drinking purposes. What remains downstream of Wazirabad now is a channel of untreated sewage.

As if that was not enough, the flood plains, which are vital for the recharge of ground water, have been encroached upon. One of the culprits is government agencies. (See graphic).

"A river is called so when it has aviral (continuous flow) and nirmal (clean water) flow. Aviral is sine qua non for nirmal," said Manoj Misra of Yamuna Jiye Abhiyan.

The Yamuna today is neither 'continuous' because there is no water left after being diverted for potable use -the city's own quota of water as per the inter- state water sharing act - nor it is 'clean' what with more than a dozen nullahs releasing untreated sewage into it.

Rishi Dev, an architect and an ekistician (holistic planner), said, "While pollution is one of prime factors for Yamuna's death, the other factors are ignorance towards a larger river system network, water carriage system of sewage disposal and improper planning of barrages and drains."

"A biodiversity zone can be created along the major drains so most of the waste is self-cleaned. Revenue too can be generated from these biodiversity zones to maintain the river systems. The hydrology of the Yamuna, which extends up to these drains, should be preserved under the same programme," he says.

Dev also suggested, "Delhi should follow a mixed system of sewage disposal - a combination of the conventional water carriage system where water is used to carry sewage quickly for disposal and the conservancy system of sanitation where sewage or garbage is collected and disposed of separately. Up to the neighbourhood, it should follow the water carriage system, after which it should be converted to the conservancy system."

Misra said, "Time is ripe for change. The existing agreement of 1994 is immoral. It should be revisited and renegotiated. In that process, first allotment should be for the river."

How others have managed - Singapore's hotspot
After Singapore emerged as a British trading outpost after 1819, Singapore river went on to become the main commercial lifeline for more than a century. But the transformation brought in congestion and pollution.

The city's heart lacked piped water and sewerage and water went directly to the river.

In the 1960s, the Singapore government embarked on a massive urban renewal and reform process but by the 1970s, the river was unable to bear increased shipping traffic.

A new Master Plan for the island's development took steps to mitigate the environmental damage.

The programme started in 1977 and by 1983, dredging the river, rebuilding the river walls along the entire stretch and construction of a 6-km promenade on both banks were completed with over 200 species.

The riverfront is now a happening recreational hotspot.
(www.singapore-river.com/history-singapore-river)

The Hindustan Times, 21st November 2012

Kaziranga National Park once nurtured back to existence the famed Indian Rhinoceros. But now an international poaching racket supported by Chinese smugglers threatens to push the vulnerable animal into the endangered zone

Each year the entire country comes under the fold of the monsoons. An extremely important season in India, the monsoons are probably the most awaited. After a harsh summer, the sun-baked earth is ready to soak up the volumes of water that rains down and fills her belly. Each year, as part of this natural cycle, rivers swell and flood — spreading their sediment and performing a crucial role. Rivers like the Brahmaputra, one of the widest rivers in Asia which runs through the entire length of Assam, would in fact die without the floods.

But during an unprecedented monsoon this year, the Brahmaputra swelled to proportions not seen before. Flooding a large area, it displaced an estimated six million people. Also, almost 80 per cent of the Kaziranga National Park was flooded. The reasons for the massive floods that occurred were many. Deforestation, bank erosion, siltation and dams on the river have been highlighted as some of the top reasons. But it is the widespread and uninhibited encroachment on wetlands which has possibly caused the greatest damage.

One example is that of the Sola Beel wetland area — once a prime urban wetland, it has now been reduced to nothing more than a shrunken and polluted lake. Due to sheer lack of foresight and education, the Government allotted land and soon enough people settled on the banks and construction and encroachment began. Prominent colleges and a hospital also sprung up on this encroached land.

Wetlands are like reservoirs for rain water but with nothing to hold the water. The direct impact of this can result in ‘artificial’ floods even with a small downpour.

This year hundreds of animals came out of the Kaziranga forest to try and migrate to higher, dry land. To say ‘come out’ of the forest is however incorrect. It would be more accurate to say that the animals had to cross a busy national highway, which runs along the fringes of Kaziranga and the higher grounds of the Karbi hills, to get to safety. The forest is fragmented and animals often stray into villages during this time. Many get run over by cars and trucks, many drown and, this year many got poached as well.

During the floods, poaching is a constant threat espeically in Kaziranga where the rhino has come back literally from the brink of extinction. From a few hundred rhinos in the 60s, today there are an estimated at 2,290 rhinos (pre-floods, 2012 Census) in the national park.

But poaching is happening in Kaziranga on a large scale. And it goes beyond the wire-snares and the jaw-traps which poachers use to catch smaller animals like deer and sometimes bigger ones like tigers and leopards. Instead, in Kaziranga, the poachers are after the rhino and are using fully automatic AK 47’s to kill. The money is big and it is the main lure, but it is the extent of the poaching threat that is mind boggling.

Kaziranga is one of the few national parks where forest personnel have guns and the luxury of kill-on-sight orders, if they spot poachers within park boundaries. While the protection is strong and constant, it hasn’t proved to be the deterrent it should have.

Hog deer, wild boar, leopards, tigers are all on the poachers’ hit list, but it is the rhino’s horn which is the big prize that they are after. The horn is considered to be an aphrodisiac and sells for a huge sum of money. This year alone, 14 rhinos have been poached.

In October, local police in Diphu, Assam, apprehended a suspected rhino horn smuggler in Guwahati and conducted raids in areas inhabited by Bangladeshi settlers near the Kaziranga National Park, believing the poachers might be hiding there. Unfortunately, all the poachers escaped and are now in hiding.

Police sources claim that Chinese nationals are purchasing rhino horns in Shillong and Dimapur, and then smuggling them across the border through Burma. The arrested smugglers who are the middlemen in this nexus have confessed and revealed the entire operation. They claim the poachers are professionals who live around the national park in immigrant settlements. Once the rhino is killed and the horn procured, the smugglers make the purchase which runs into many lakhs and transport the horns to Shillong or Dimapur where they meet with Chinese buyers. Besides the poachers, militant outfits are also behind many poaching incidents as the big money funds them.

The situation is made more complicated with fragmented forests, immigrant issues, lack of political will, porous borders and corrupt Government departments. Unfortunately amid all this, it is the animals that are at the losing end.

This year it was heartening to see the general public protest against gruesome rhino killings. Perhaps, it was the cruelty with which the horn was hacked off a rhino while it was still alive which moved the public. What is clear is that as long as the people who live around park get benefits and are taken care of, the situation might still be controlled.

Manas National Park which re-opened a few years back after the Bodoland movement, once had all it’s rhinos poached. Indeed, logging, and poaching of animals — not just rhinos — went on for years. Giant silk cotton trees which stood for hundreds of years were torn down, turning a pristine forest into a ravaged resource for the militants.

That forest is now slowly healing and the animals are coming back. A rhino re-introduction programme is being conducted and over 20 rhinos have already been translocated through the Indian Rhino Vision 2020 programme.The programme was setup by the Assam Government in partnership with the International Rhino Foundation, the World Wide Fund, the Bodoland Territorial Council, and the US Fish and Wildlife Service, with the aim to get the wild rhino population in Assam to 3,000 by the year 2020.

The best news in recent times is that of the birth a baby rhino in Manas. The newborn was spotted with its mother by the patrolling staff and it stands as a symbol for the future. It really goes to show that given a chance nature will revive and bounce back. All she needs is to be left alone.

The Pioneer, 21st November 2012

A small temple constructed by the side of, and abutting on, one of the four minarets of the 420-year-old Charminar has been at the root of the recent troubles in Hyderabad.

What started as objections to erecting a temporary structure over the shrine has now grown into a violent protest that questions its legality.

Over the past 10 days, vehicles have been burnt, people attacked and shops in this busy hub shut down. The Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM), which is at the forefront of the protest, has withdrawn its support to the Congress, both in the State and at the Centre, over the issue.

But the fight in the name of the Charminar is not a warning flare about the condition of just one heritage structure; it is a reflection of persisting state apathy, the dismal performance of institutions that manage the city’s heritage, and the misuse of history for political gains.

The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), responsible for protecting the Charminar, a national monument since 1951, is blamed for failing to protect Hyderabad’s heritage. Contrary to the claims by Hindu groups, an old photograph available with The Hindu shows that the contentious temple dedicated to goddess Bhagyalakshmi is not as old as the Charminar. There is no date stamp on the photograph of the Charminar, but from the cars visible, it can be inferred that the photograph was taken over 60 years ago. No temple structure is visible. This lends credence to reports that the temple is only a few decades old, and that what started as a tiny structure surreptitiously expanded into a shrine of significant size. There may not have…

The Hindu, 21st November 2012

To keep the charm of horse-drawn carriages alive in city, the South Municipal Corporation is looking to revise its policy for grant of licence to buggy owners. The civic agency decided to reconsider the policy after the Ghora-Baggi Welfare Association protested that the existing policy was “too stringent”.

The existing policy requires an owner to have parking space for the buggy in their home.

“The association argued that if trucks and buses can be parked on roads and the government can take one-time parking charge from them, why can’t this be done with buggies. They (owners) agree to pay one-time charge to park their buggies on roads,” Director of Veterinary department R B S Tyagi said.

The proposal to revise the policy was put on hold by the Standing Committee on Tuesday to review the rate charged from buggy-owners.

The buggies in South Municipal Corporation areas are used for ceremonial purposes such as marriages and religious processions.

“In order to have proper record of all horse buggies plying in area and ensure that guidelines are followed, a policy for grant of licences to buggies and horses, used for ceremonial and tourist purposes, was approved by the erstwhile corporation in 2011,” an official said.

But the Ghora-Baggi Welfare Association said a few terms of the policy were too strict and, therefore, no buggy owner had come for fresh licence or renewal since the policy was approved.

“After examination of their representation, we have made necessary modifications in the policy to be approved by the Standing Committee,” the official said.

The corporation has proposed Rs 4,000 as one-time parking charge from buggy owners. Under this proposed policy, licences for horses would be issued separately.

Licensed buggy owners can ferry tourists to monuments such as Red Fort, Jama Masjid, Old Fort, Humayun’s Tomb, Hazrat Nizamuddin Dargah, Safdarjung Tomb, Lodhi Tomb, India Gate, Qutub Minar, Tughlaq Fort, etc.

The modalities of the routes, fare structure and the passenger limit will be decided by the Department of Tourism.

The Indian Express, 21st November 2012

43rd International Film Festival declared open in Panaji

The government was taking a number of steps to nurture the film industry and promote India as a destination for filmmaking, said Minister for Information and Broadcasting (I&B) Manish Tewari here on Tuesday. He was speaking at the inaugural function of the 43rd International Film Festival of India (IFFI), 2012.

Mr. Tewari said the government would embark on an ambitious National Film Heritage Mission during the 12th Five Year Plan to preserve India’s film heritage. India had entered into co-production agreements with various countries, he noted.

Earlier, the 43rd IFFI was declared open after the chief guest, actor Akshay Kumar, lit the traditional lamp. Goa Governor Bharat Vir Wanchoo, Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar, Secretary, I&B Uday Kumar Varma, among others, were present.

Mr. Akshay Kumar said he felt proud that the festival was taking place in the centenary year of Indian cinema.

Mr. Parrikar said the process of making Goa an international film destination, which he had begun eight years ago, had yielded positive results and the State had been awarded for being the best film destination. He said a collective endeavour would be made to take this festival to greater heights and to make it truly international.

Gautam Ghosh, chairman of the international jury, as well as all the jury members were felicitated by the IFFI organisers. The IFFI had, Mr. Ghosh said, gone through many ups and downs but was “still glowing” and called for more autonomy for the film body to function in an efficient way.

Hosted by actors Kabir Bedi and Perizaad Zorabian, the event showcased the evolution of 100 years of Indian Cinema through a combination of music, dance and videos conceived and directed by film director Jahnu Barua, choreographer Saroj Khan and singer-actor-director Sajjad Ali. Singer Kailesh Kher’s performance rounded off the nearly two-hour-long show.

Renowned Polish filmmaker Krzysztof Zanussi was conferred the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award, which carries a cash prize of Rs.10 lakh, a scroll, a shawl and a certificate.

The festival will come to a close on November 30 with the screening of Mira Nair’s The Reluctant Fundamentalist.

The Hindu, 21st November 2012

There is demand to give it the status of a national park in view of the number of birds it attracts

The early winter birds have arrived to their favourite winter home close to Delhi, Bhindawas Lake, which carries the status of a bird sanctuary. Bhindawas is the biggest wetland in Haryana. It draws a sizeable population of bird watchers in winters. For the last few years, the Delhi Bird team visiting the area, on Big Bird Day, has been logging the highest number of bird species from Bhindawas.

The lake was notified as a bird sanctuary in 1981. Now the bird lovers are trying to get the sanctuary the status of a national park. The credentials of Bhindawas to get a national park status are strong. At 1,014 acres, the Bhindawas Lake is three times bigger than Sultanpur Lake and has a total of 300 species sighted on record.

The lake was found as a birding site by bird watchers in the late 1970s. The irrigation department had diverted excess water from the Jawaharlal Nehru Canal at this place. “This was just a place to dump water by the irrigation department. But we saw that the water was attracting a lot of birds, including migratory ones. So, we took up the matter with the Haryana Government to turn it into a protected bird sanctuary. Soon, fishing here was stopped, a bund was created and things improved,” says Suresh C Sharma, from Sonepat. He has been instrumental in getting the lake notified as a bird sanctuary.

The lake has a bund made all around it having a diameter of 12 km. The best thing is that one can drive on the bund. But there are a number of concerns with regard to the present status of the bird sanctuary. In the absence of any fencing around, stray cattle enter the place. Even the locals use the road around the lake as an approach to their villages, children play cricket in the dry parts of the lake and women cutting grass in the sanctuary are other problems. A grill was installed in some parts but it has vanished.

Says Devender Hooda, wild-wildlife inspector, Bhinda was Lake, “We have recently cleaned the large lake area of water hycinth to prepare for the winter arrivals. We have also sent estimate sates for fencing around the lake. In the absence of fencing, it is very difficult to control infiltrationtion since I have only one guard and one sub inspector."

The lake administration has also sent a proposal to provide alternate roads to the villagers so that they can be stopped from using the lake roads. Some years ears ago, a nature interpretation ion centre was set up here butut it was never used. The lake also has a two-room guest house but it is poorly maintained and getting it booked is no easy task as it is mired in red tapism. “This lake has the potential to become as big as Bharatpur National Park, in Rajasthan. All it needs is the right attention from the authorities. I have been visiting this site regularly for the last few years and the number of water birds this place gets is amazing. The number of migratory water foul here reaches up to 90,000, which is very impressive,” says Sachin Seth, a resident of Janakpuri.

The Hindustan Times, 22nd November 2012

That a picture is worth a thousand words has been proved by the two photographs of Charminar at different times (Nov. 21). It is only because institutions like the Archaeological Survey of India fail to maintain heritage structures that vested interests distort history to their advantage.

N. Azgar Ali,
Bangalore

The report “As protests roil Charminar, no one to speak for Hyderabad’s vanishing heritage” bears testimony to the high ethical standards set by The Hindu in journalism. All social activists, cutting across religion and party lines, should fight to restore the glory of protected monuments.

S.M. Basha,
Kurnool

The author has used a photograph that he claims may be 60 years old, and alleges that the claims of Hindu groups on the Bhagyalakshmi temple’s historicity are false. The recent unrest in Hyderabad was triggered over not the historicity of the temple but allegations of its expansion.

The Andhra Pradesh High Court has directed that the status quo be maintained on the temple issue, and the situation in the Old City is limping back to normality. At such a critical juncture, such a report accompanied by photographs need not have been published.

M.S. Suraj Krishna,
Hyderabad

The photographs and the report seem to be prematurely conclusive. One should attempt an in-depth study into the possible presence of a temple or an equivalent structure on the site — even before Charminar was built — from other information sources. Only then can we arrive at an informed conclusion.

K. Maruthi,
Hyderabad

The Hindu, 22nd November 2012

Over the last 100 years, Delhi's population has increased from 2.5 lakh to 170 lakh. In contrast, the number of small and large water bodies decreased from about 1,000 to 700. But one thing that hasn't changed during the period is Delhi's average rainfall: about 670 mm annually. As the population increased, several water bodies were encroached upon, many shrank due to catchment loss and few actually dried up.

"This is akin to removing the bucket from under the tap. Water is bound to flood the bathroom first and then other rooms next. With Delhi getting as much rainfall as 100 years ago, the lesser number of water bodies means only one thing — flooding," said environmentalist Anupam Mishra.

The city that once hardly drew Yamuna waters was dependent on the de-centralised water system by way of water bodies spread across its length and breadth.

The population explosion resulted in a direct threat to the existence of traditional baolis (step wells), water bodies, johads and tanks/ponds.

In the plans for the 'development' of colonies and the city areas, these water bodies that withstood a millennium were ignored. Not only the catchments were damaged, apartments were raised and roads were cut across them.

For instance, the Sheikh Sarai DDA apartments came up on a water body. The Jehangirpuri lake was reduced to marshes and a national highway was cut across a large lake.

Vinod Jain from NGO Tapas filed a PIL in the High Court in June 2000; the court directed the government and civic bodies to collect information about water bodies in Delhi.

Later, a survey was carried out and a court monitoring committee appointed. The court regularly keeps a tab on developments.

Over a decade after the case was filed, for the past two years the Delhi government is in the process of forming a 'water bodies authority', which is yet to see the light of day.

"Delhi being the political capital, the powers that be would not allow it to die of thirst. But if the water bodies are gone, then how would we save Delhi from flooding?" asks Mishra. Water bodies help in recharge of ground water.

Jain said, "Today, most of the remaining water bodies are in rural areas with less pressure of urbanisation. Population explosion is mostly happening in urbanised, city centric areas."

Mishra, who wrote 'Aaj Bhi Khare Hai Talaab', a famous documentation of traditional water bodies across India, suggested: "We can continue with the central supply and simultaneously revive and increase de-centralised supply.

Later, this can augment the centralised supply. This would be good governance, this would be good politics."

Naini Lake: A favourite tourist hangout
Early 19th century Nainital, at little over 6,000 feet, attracted Europeans. Many of them built their summer residences there, followed by high-profile residential schools.

Post-independence, the place became a huge draw for tourists.

The kidney-shaped Naini lake is 1,432 metres long and 42 metres wide with water spread over 48.76 hectares to a maximum depth of 42 m.

Catering to the tourist inflow, unregulated construction damaged the lake's ecology. Eateries surrounded the lake, open defecation and untreated sewage also did some damage along with horse manure.

In 2007-08, judicial activism and a proactive civil society brought about a change.

Steps included formation of a Lake Development Authority to remove encroachments, relocating horses and the horse stand, improving sanitation condition and aeration programme at the lake with heavy fine for violators.

The lake was revived in less than two years.

Case studies
Centuries old dam a picture of neglect today. Metres away from the posh malls on Press Enclave Road near Saket are the remains of a 14th century wonder called Satpula.

It was a wier (a low dam built across a river to raise the level of water upstream or regulate its flow), about 65 metres high, built by Mohammad bin Tughlaq in 1323.

This was built into the southern wall of Jahanpanah, Tughlaq's city for himself. The wall extended to enclose Qila Raipithora, Siri and Tughlaqabad, the earlier settlements.

It was a solid stone dam with a wooden sluice gate to regulate the flow of water from the reservoir.
The remains of the weir, mainly the seven arched openings and the sturdy surrounding walls, were restored by the Archaeological Survey of India ahead of the Commonwealth Games in 2010.

The area where water was impounded is now Saket District Centre, Push Vihar and Khanpur.

Downstream was — and still is — a lake that is now ruined with haphazard planning, flow of sewage into naturally collected water and encroachment on the catchments.

"I still remember we used to swim in the lake there. The upper portion was reserved for drinking and the lower for all other purposes," said Naresh Chauhan, a Khirkee resident.

The DDA now plans to convert the lake's bed into a waterfront complete with landscaping, etc. The high fortress wall running east-west parallel of today's Press Enclave Road is hidden due to rapid urbanisation and only a few patches can be seen near the dam.

Unauthorised construction a threat to Sanjay Lake
There was a time most Delhiites feared visiting 'Jumna paar', as the area on the other side of Yamuna is colloquially called, after sunset.

There was the pushta bund, floodplains and acres and acres of farmland dotted with several villages with a number of water bodies.

Around 1970s, the DDA to develop residential colonies for the middle-class in trans-Yamuna areas.

What is known as Sanjay Lake was a large natural low-lying area, akin to a depression, collecting rainwater.

When DDA planned Mayur Vihar in the early 1980s and later Indraprastha Extension in the late 1980s, yet another approach road bridge in the form of Nizamuddin bridge came up.

"NH 24 went tearing right into Sanjay lake, which was named so only later," said Jagat Swarup Upadhyay, a resident of Patparganj village.

"It was fed by the excess run-off coming from the Hindon cut," the septuagenarian recalled.

Whatever remained comprised a good 178 acres of park and a water body. The lake stretched over 89 acres.

But over the decades, even this has been threatened by unauthorised construction near the lake's bed, untreated sewage from nearby slums, and dumping of debris and construction on the catchment. This has resulted in further shrinking of the lake.

For quite some years, the DDA had been planning tourism and adventure activities but nothing has materialised.

'We are strict on encroachments, have taken action' Grill session: SD Singh, CEO, Delhi Parks and Garden Society

What are the reasons for the delay in setting up of the proposed Water Bodies Authority?
We are discussing the technical issues and modalities of various related aspects to avoid repetition or overlapping of works. This will lead us to take a call whether a Water Bodies Authority should be formed or include this in the existing water authority.

What are the efforts made by the government to prevent/remove encroachments from the catchments, in some cases from the bed, of the water bodies?
Wherever there are clear water bodies, we have already started the work for fencing/putting up a wall around them. In case of encroachments, there are two issues depending on what kind of encroachment we come across. Some buildings that have come up on the catchments are part of the master plan. We are studying how to remove them or come up with an alternative. Second, wherever there is encroachment for no reasons, we are strict and have removed these at several places, for instance at Mahipalpur.

For over a decade now a case regarding saving Delhi's water bodies is in the high court. Why isn't there a policy for conservation of water bodies?
Maintenance and conservation is the responsibility of the respective authorities that own it, be it the DDA or any other agency. Our basic policy is to ensure that the catchments should be green as far as possible. Second, in case a water body is dry for whatever reasons, the area should be maintained as green belt.

The Hindustan Times, 23rd November 2012

The carcass of yet another rhino, with its horn missing, has been found inside the Kaziranga National Park, officials said on Thursday.

Despite the high security in the park, stepped up after a large number of poaching incidents were reported in the wake of the monsoon flooding of the area, poachers seem to continue to act with impunity.

NK Vasu, director of the Kaziranga National Park, a Unesco world heritage site, said that a female rhino was found killed at the Kukurakata range inside the park, with its horn chopped off by suspected poachers.

"We have launched a massive manhunt along with the police in and around the national park to nab culprits," Vasu said, expressing concern that incidents of poaching have continued.

Located about 240km from Guwahati, the park hit headlines last month after several poaching incidents were reported, leaving at least 12 rhinos dead since January this year.

The park, famous also for the highest density of tigers in the world, is recognised as an important bird area by Birdlife International.

"There have been continuous attempts by poachers to kill rhinos. Our men and the additional security forces have been working hard to prevent attempts by poachers," said Vasu, adding that the joint operation by the forest department and police had led to the arrest of over 50 poachers in the past two months.

After the spate of rhino killings last month, security at the park had been heightened.

There are now about 235 security personnel, including the CRPF and the elite Assam Forest Protection Force (AFPF), deployed in the park, Vasu said.

The Asian Age, 23rd November 2012

Is there any possibility that we will ever be able to evolve a comprehensive policy to protect our ecological heritage?

I am sure you will not be surprised if I told you that a large number of the usually well informed and knowledgeable residents of Delhi do not know that well over 14 million human beings who live in Delhi have occupied land that actually does not belong to them.

Aside from the old villages, most of which have been around from at least the early Sultanate period if not from earlier times, the other original stake holders, I believe that is the term currently in fashion, are the trees and animals and birds and insects and shrubs, endemic to the semi arid climate of Delhi. All of them can, if they could, justifiably stake a claim that most residents of Delhi are in adverse possession of land that actually belongs to them.

It is a fact that we have driven them out from almost all areas that were originally inhabited by them. It was not too long ago that the entire area surrounding Tughlaqabad and extending well into Haryana towards Surajkund in one direction and towards Mehrauli, Ghitorni, Andheria Bagh and what is now JNU and Vasant Kunj in another, was open scrubland and was home to chinkara, blackbuck, neelgai, jackals, hare, porcupines, hedgehogs, kraits, mongoose, occasional foxes and also to a few larger cats, notably the leopards. The scrub land also spread across what is the cantonment now, Dhaula Kuan, the Central Delhi Ridge and the North Delhi Ridge.

We have now carved out little patches from the large forested tracks and have styled them as reserve forests or wild life sanctuaries. It is only inside the sanctuary that wild life has permission to live. There are places that have been declared village common or pastureland, the wild animals do not understand these distinctions, nor do the stray cattle, and so the strays graze in the reserve forest and the wild animals graze in the pasture-land. The strays carry their infections into the forests and no one knows the toll that these take year after year.

Even in the reserved forest the wild animals are exposed to all our interference, our constant encroachments, our illegal chopping and felling of the few trees that survive, our dumping of plastic and of our untreated sewage in the nalas that pass through these forests. The nalas were once tributaries of the Jamuna and natural aquifers for our sub soil water but are now drains that are constantly being built over and hidden under Dilli Haats, four lane roads or flyovers to put a lid on what we have been doing to this city.

The Asola wild life sanctuary, located about two kilometres from Tughlaqabad fort on the Tughlaqabad-Surajkund Road, next to the Karni Singh shooting range, has come up at a site where illegal stone quarrying was going on till the courts put a stop to it. The area where the sanctuary has been created is one of the last surviving bits of the semi-arid Arravalis in Delhi, the rest having been eaten up by the rapacious builders.

We will talk about the sanctuary on another occasion, this piece would, however, like you to think of the greens that have been left out of the sanctuary and there is a little bit of the green that abuts the Tughlaqabad fort as you approach it from Batra Hospital and Hamdard University. From the broken down wall, pieces of green painted iron frames holding on to bits of iron mesh you can see that an attempt was made some time in the past to fence-in the area.

I walked in to this bit of green a few days ago, I was threatened by several rather large monkeys, and almost gored by a feral cow that did not take too kindly to my pointing the camera in her direction, but the worst of it all was the sight of one, obviously malnourished and probably rather unwell, juvenile neelgai feeding itself on all manner of leftovers within touching distance of a fence, erected many years ago to limit the forest and to broaden the road.

The fence is now just a notion. Monkeys brought from all over the city and released in Asola, the cattle of all of Tughlaqabad, Sangam Vihar, Govindpuri, Dakshin Puri etc, the large number of pie dogs and those humans who gather here every morning to feed the monkeys and the plastic that they leave behind, all combine together in a conspiracy against the neelgai – the largest Asian antelope.

Is there any possibility that we will ever be able to evolve a comprehensive policy to protect our ecological heritage or will we forever continue to lurch from one knee jerk reaction to another, mostly occasioned by piecemeal solutions suggested on the spur of the moment in response to public interest litigations.

The Hindu, 24th November 2012

Kaziranga park is no longer safe for rhinos

A brief one month lull and the world-famous Kaziranga National Park is back in the news — once again for all the wrong reasons. On Thursday, poachers notched another successful hit, taking the number of one-horned rhinos falling prey to their bullets this year to 20. They sawed off the pachyderm's horn and melted away into the nearby Karbi Anglong hills with their prized picking, which will be pawned for its supposed aphrodisiac qualities and medicinal worth in curing cancer. The killing is not just shocking but alarming because of the increasing precision of strikes by the rustlers, who despite the much-vaunted enhanced security, have been running amok at the park, killing at will and escaping with ease. Down from 2,290 in the beginning of this year to 2,191 in October, the one-horned rhinos at the Unesco World Heritage Park, said to be home to the largest population of these species, are now facing the possibility of an extinction — if not now, soon enough, assuming things continue as they are. The rhino in this high-security habitat faces a dual threat to its life — from the flood and, the more feared one, from the poachers. Altogether, 65 rhinos have died during this year so far in Kaziranga — 22 due to natural causes, 23 during floods and 20 felled by poachers’ bullets.

A spurt in ruthless rhino killings in the park during July-September this year, and a huge public outcry, resulted in the State Government detailing three companies of the elite Assam Forest Protection Force to boost security at Kaziranga. This is one of the few national parks in the country where forest personnel are equipped with guns and shoot-at-sight orders if they spot poachers within the boundaries of the park. But intensified patrolling and an increase in the number of anti-poaching camps and other safeguards have apparently failed to be the deterrent they should have, as the recent killing exposes. Also, another cause for alarm is the use of AK series rifles by poachers, reinforcing intelligence inputs that militants that are said to be active in the Karbi Anglong hills, could be involved in poaching.

This has given the entire issue of rhino poaching in Kaziranga a new dimension. No longer can the authorities deal with the matter as one of mere poaching — although, poaching in itself is serious enough. The money is big and it is the main lure, but it is the extent of the threat that boggles the mind. Rhino poaching is an organised crime, and once a rhino is killed and de-horned, the horn is quickly taken out of the country through two known routes for illicit rhino horn trade: The India-Burma border through Nagaland or via the India-Nepal border through Siliguri. Though there have been arrests and deaths of some poachers in encounters, poaching has continued unabated, highlighting the loopholes in the existing security mechanism and the failure of the State Government to plug them. A strong intelligence network encompassing the locals is necessary to keep tabs on the movement of poachers. It is alleged that several illegal immigrants, who have merged with the local population, are involved in poaching. Had there been an effective mechanism to identify and isolate such elements, deaths and maiming due to poaching could have been prevented.

The Pioneer, 24th November 2012

The Delhi government on Friday finally signed a new MoU with Intach Delhi Chapter for conservation and protection of 155 unprotected monuments in the city.

The last MoU had expired over a year ago and included only 95 monuments out of the 250 structures identified in 2008. The new agreement is for five years.

Fifteen monuments that were conserved in Phase I of the agreement are still waiting for the final notification to protect them under Delhi Ancient and Historical Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 2004. These include Badarpur gateways, Gol Gumbad, Darwesh Shah ki Masjid.

The Times of India, 24th November 2012

For all their access, political journalists in the capital are often the ultimate outsiders in Lutyens’ Delhi.

Few of them have social intercourse with the stately homes and grand drawing rooms of the permanent power elite who live in the heart of the old imperial city. This is where the Indian establishment, as opposed to the itinerant and temporary member of Parliament, resides. For political journalists, there is an inherent and voyeuristic curiosity about what happens in these homes and what motivates those who live, party and network there to take and push decisions that end up deciding the fate of millions.

Tavleen Singh likes to call this cosy ecosystem the “durbar”, and has used that word to title her book. To extend the imagery, the world she describes is the diwan-i-khas of the Republic of India. She knows this world well, having being born into it and lived there all her life. However, she also escaped the cocoon of Lutyens’ Delhi when she became a journalist and began to explore and travel to the rest of India, from small towns to far-off villages.

This is what makes her book so riveting. It has the stories, the anecdotes and the sheer gossip that only a Lutyens’ Zone natural can provide. It has also the sharp opinions, the political insights and the assessments of India’s social and economic problems, and policy failures that it takes a watchful journalist to provide. These can only be experienced and understood if you leave the familiar and incestuous cocoon of south and central Delhi.

Tavleen has been a journalist for some 35 years. Her memoir covers, however, only the first 15 odd years of her career — from 1975 and the Emergency, when she started off at the Statesman, to 1991 and Rajiv Gandhi’s death. While there are references to the years following that assassination, these are sparse. The meat of the book is in describing the decline, resilience and tragedy of Indira Gandhi, the star-crossed destinies of her sons — and the 1980s, a turbulent, forgettable decade that, to Tavleen’s mind, cost India so much.

Tavleen and Sonia and Rajiv Gandhi had several common friends. They got to know each other well during the Emergency and just afterwards. Singh was very much part of the social ring when Rajiv became Prime Minister in 1984. Exactly two years later, in December 1986, she co-authored a profile of Sonia for India Today. It didn’t go down well with the family: “Some weeks later I wrote to her to offer condolences on her father’s death and got a polite handwritten reply in her neat, carefully formed handwriting. My New Year’s card in January 1987 was not written by hand and signed by both of them as it was the year before. It came from the Prime Minister’s Office and was formally signed by Rajiv Gandhi. I had been dropped.”

It was hard and sudden. As the book tells us, Sonia’s relationship with Tavleen ran the gamut: from a caring and considerate friend who dropped in at Tavleen’s Golf Links flat, shared a laugh and brought gifts for her young son Aatish to a distant figure who looked past Tavleen when she visited her following the horrific night of May 21, 1991. Why did this happen? Few in New Delhi, or even the Congress, know Sonia well enough to truly answer that question and to explain what makes her tick, her inner thoughts and closest fears and concerns. Those who do know her well rarely speak or write about it. Depending on how you see it, this maintains the secrecy or the mystique of 10 Janpath.

Tavleen’s book helps us breach it somewhat. It offers a window not only to the life of a few individuals but also to a power matrix that seduces or seeks to seduce even the non-initiated and the unwilling. It converts a perfectly ordinary and everyday couple into practitioners of a siege mentality, of conspiracies and conspiracy theories, including a bizarre rogue operation to implicate Rajiv and Sonia’s social friends in the Indira Gandhi assassination case — and of an environment of thick and impenetrable sycophancy that cuts off reality from those at the centre of the durbar.

Early in the book, Tavleen interviews Indira Gandhi and asks her what she regrets about the Emergency: “‘Censorship’, she said with a sweet smile, ‘if there had not been press censorship, I would have known from you people what my officials were doing.’” Yet a decade later, history repeats itself, as Rajiv and his so-called Camelot box themselves in.

To Tavleen, this was not always innocent: “To those of us who still saw Rajiv and Sonia’s friends in the drawing rooms of Delhi it was instantly obvious that they suddenly had a lot of money. No longer did they travel economy when they went abroad and no longer did they stay with friends in London and New York… I remember on a trip to Washington being astounded to discover that one of Rajiv’s poorest friends spent a month occupying two suites in the Watergate hotel. Friends of Rajiv who had lived on salaries that barely enabled them to afford a small Indian car now drove around in foreign cars and in their drawing rooms suddenly appeared expensive works of art and antiques.”

Inevitably, those who benefit from this system only speak or hear (or do) what they choose to: “There were stories, spread by the Prime Minister’s security guards, that when one of them had tried to use a metal detector on Mrs Quattrocchi, during a routine security check, she had kicked him and thrown a tantrum.” One friend of the family called in prominent Sikhs of Delhi, including war veterans, in the first week of November 1984 and got into “a hysterical fit”. “Shaking with rage”, he said: “The Sikhs are on trial. They have to prove their loyalty to this country.”

The most delicious anecdote comes from 1987, shortly after Rajiv impetuously sacked foreign secretary A.P. Venkateswaran. This earned him much criticism but a flunkey explained it away to Tavleen: “The Prime Minister is a man of some style and sophistication and Venkat had this habit of sitting with his leg crossed over his knee. This used to upset the Prime Minister.”

Venkateswaran lost only his job. In another era and another durbar, he may have lost his head. Thank god for small mercies.

The Asian Age, 25th November 2012

This is a book which you can finish in one go. It is easy on the eyes as well as mind as there is a single theme that runs like a strong thread throughout the chapters — the history of the dak bungalows established by the British in India in the 19th century.

Built around this theme, Rajika Bhandari’s book has a novelty as there has probably been no detailed work on the subject. The narrative works on two levels. At one level it moves seamlessly in today’s times as the author and her mother are travelling to various parts of the country to study the dak bungalows and their history. At the other level, it describes the past of these buildings. They move parallel to each other and weave an interesting tale full of humour, romance and mystery.

The British travelled across the country for work, pleasure and adventure. The “memsahibs” accompanied the “sahibs” and recounted their experiences of the dak bungalow in writing. The book, in familiarising us with these writings, gives us a rare insight into the psychology of the British civil servants and their better halves. While some of them found the country beautiful and worth seeing, others were terrified of the wilderness and the natives.

The book has anecdotes about various khansamas of present and past, giving us stories about the way hens were caught on the spot and quickly turned into a meal for the guest. “The khansama’s innocent question — ‘What shall I prepare?’ — was always misleading since what it really meant was, ‘How shall I prepare it? Shall the bird of the bungalow be roasted, boiled, grilled, stewed or curried?’”

Such tales make the book extremely amusing and colourful. “The chase of the doomed fowl by knife-wielding cook became a dak bungalow legend, though often they were reports of brave birds managing to hide beneath the chair of the guest who was soon to consume it.” It was in the 1840s that dak bungalows were set up by the British to relay the post in stages. These bungalows also served as rest stops for travellers for a small fee. Their history, their location in even the remotest corner of India, and their architecture make them a heritage of unique value.

The author also stresses on the fact that even today some of these bungalows retain that ethos while others have adapted themselves to the times. The best part is that circuit houses and PWD guest houses where civil servants still stay when they are on official or personal travel also have many a feature associated with the old dak bungalows. Bhandari takes us to dak bungalows in Madhya Pradesh, in and around Mumbai, Bilaspur, Chennai and Bangalore, which she describes as the city of “cantonments, clubs and churches”. Besides giving details of these bungalows, the book also speaks of the changes that have come about after the departure of the British. Tinged with nostalgia for things old and lost, the book is a great record of little details that need to be preserved for posterity. It has a strong personal touch which endears it to the reader who is quite a part of the emotional journey from the dak bungalows of the mid-19th century to the circuit houses of today.

The Pioneer, 25th November 2012

Madhulika and Swapna Liddle walk around Shah Jahan’s Dilli, recreating the past and revisiting old haunts

“Ibrahim Hussain’s haveli had a restrained, sophisticated beauty to it. The dalaan was an elegant plastered chamber, its walls polished to an alabaster-like sheen. The carpets were Persian; the porcelain, flower vases and lamps understated and fine.”

— The Missing Corpse, The Eighth Guest & Other Muzaffar Jang Mysteries.

His haveli had retained its restrained beauty. The dalaan was still as elegant and the alabaster-like sheen had lingered on. But the haveli wore an air of abandonment, not the chill of a murder that might have happened centuries ago.

The lanes that once housed Shah Jahan’s nobility had become a paradise for hawkers and historians. The spacious haathikhanas outside Red Fort had given way to cemented roads, chipped away at many places. When coffee was introduced to Shah Jahan’s Dilli, qahwe khane sprung up everywhere in Chandni Chowk serving the hot bitter brew, much like the coffee chains of today. On a wintry November morning, Madhulika Liddle and sister Swapna, walked these lanes conjuring up life in the time of Shah Jahan and Muzaffar Jang.

One is a crime-fiction writer, creator of Muzaffar Jang — the 16th century detective, weeks away from her third Jang novel Engraved in Stone, set in Agra and the other is a Delhi historian with a penchant for heritage walks. As Swapna weaves through Dariba Kalan, pointing to the street of jewellers — 18 of them in Shah Jahan’s time, Madhulika recounts the first time she visited Chandni Chowk in 1994. “I was working at Habitat World, and was sent out to research a historical walk in the area. We walked past the Digambar Jain Lal Mandir — there used to be a flower market outside the temple back then — and through Dariba Kalan, right till the end, where there stands an attar shop which is 200 years old. I remember walking down the stretch in front of the Jama Masjid and seeing vendors selling everything from strengthening oil derived from lizards, to old coins.”

As the Sunehri Masjid looms into view, Swapna says, “In 1739, Nadir Shah came to loot Delhi. When some people protested, it was on the stairs of Sunehri Mosque that he sat and ordered a messy massacre.” Madhulika’s Jang is a young, curious, coffee-drinking, bird-loving, bibliophilic omrah with friends in unlikely places and classes — his best friends are a poor boatman and a jeweller’s assistant. His love-life has always been shrouded in a mystery, which Madhulika promises to clear up in the next book, while his powers of deduction get better. “He’s growing up. In the first outing, his approach was more trial and error, now he’s observing and thinking more,” she says. And the problems are getting more complex too. Madhulika says: “Back then, you could get away with murder if you had enough money.”

Swapna then tells us of Lala Chunnamal, who was the only man to profit from the 1857 revolt. The British even auctioned off Fatehpuri Masjid to him. In the morning din of the chowk, the spice market to our right and Chunnamal’s haveli across, we gazed at the long well-preserved corridors, losing count of the number of windows.

“Swapna is a mine of information”, Madhulika laughs, “she loves crime fiction too and she has great suggestions. The next Muzaffar Jang book has an important plot element that was originally suggested by her.” Both agree that availability of historical documents and chronicles of this period made it easier for them to fall in love with this period.

The fourth Jang novel, Madhulika says, is more political when Aurangzeb starts to get ideas of ascension. With a possible love-life, murders and perhaps an arch-enemy, the 16th century detective promises to take us places.

The Pioneer, 25th November 2012

Starting Thursday, the Hazrat Nizamuddin basti will be in the spotlight for three days as part of a mela showcasing aspects of its culture and built heritage accumulated over seven centuries. The mela will start with L-G Tejendra Khanna joining in a heritage walk through the basti.

At the nearby DDA park, traditional crafts such as sanjhi (paper-cutting), embroidery, perfumery and calligraphy will be displayed by local women. Traditional dishes and cooking lessons will also be offered. The mela has been organized as part of the Aga Khan Development Network's Urban Renewal initiative which is supported by the ministry of culture, ASI, municipal corporations and DDA.

The cultural highlights of the mela include sufiana kalaam by the Niazi Brothers at Chausath Khamba on November 30, and storytelling or dastangoi by Danish Husain and Mahmood Farooqui on December 1 evening.

"The mela will instill a sense of pride in the local community and also provide much needed economic opportunities," said Farhad Suri, councillor from Nizamuddin.

Shakeel Hossain of the Aga Khan Trust for Culture, said, "Working in the basti has enriched our life and the mela is an opportunity for us to share this incredible heritage and culture."
- The Pioneer, 23rd January 2013

The Town Hall auditorium that has been vacant since municipal councillors bid adieu to the building in September 2011 will soon be available on rent for private conferences and events.

The municipal corporation has decided to rent out the auditorium for a year. Officials said the move will help the corporation raise additional revenue. "It will be first in the line (among other buildings lying vacant) to be rented out to generate revenue," an official said.

It has been decided that the auditorium will be given to corporates or organisation for conferences or meetings for a year. The corporation will soon begin the tender process.

"The auditorium has a history attached to it and has seen some of the most revered politicians. Keeping its historical significance in mind, we have decided to rent it out for conferences and meetings. We will do it by not tinkering with its originality," a senior official of the North corporation said.

The corporation has decided to turn the Town Hall in to a museum cum recreational centre cum tourist destination with a touch of pre-Independence era. "We are working on every element that will go in making it a heritage spot, which will be internationally acclaimed for its originality and uniqueness. We will achieve this without touching the original structure of the Town Hall. Meanwhile, we need to earn from it as the project will take a year to be finalised with details. That is why we are deciding to rent it out for a year," the official said.

Planned in 1857 to serve as an office for the municipality, chamber of commerce, a literary society and a museum, the Town Hall acted as a platform for interaction between Europeans and Indians. Built between 1860 and 1865, it was modelled on city centres in Victorian England.

The Times of India, 25th November 2012

HERITAGE R. V. SMITH recounts colourful tales of erstwhile patrons of Delhi’s gun shops

After the ban on hunting, it is surprising that some gun shops still exist in the Capital. The oldest of them is believed to be Delhi Gun House in Kashmere Gate, perhaps older than Singh Brothers and Garg Arms Dealers. There is one shop opposite the Fire Brigade office in Connaught Place too. An old colleague remembers some more shops in the mart, near which the late Cyril Flory, fond of fishing and shikar, used to work at The Statesman.

Prof. Sydney Rebeiro, ex-dean of Student Welfare, Delhi University, recalls that his father used to buy guns and cartridges from a shop in Fatehpuri, though he lived in Kashmere Gate, as he found it to be cheaper. There is another shop in the Link Road-Jhandewalan area, bordering Paharganj. Asaf Ali Road also had a shop and there was one at Scindia House too, owned by a German company, which had guns made in its own country and England and than exported to India in the pre-World War years.

Among the buyers at this shop was Frank Anthony, whose guns were also kept for maintenance by the Menton Company and taken out by the late Anglo-Indian leader whenever he needed them in the hunting season. Like his mentor, Sir Henry Gidney, Anthony too was fond of big game hunting. Among the Kashmere Gate regular gun buyers was George Heatherley who later migrated to Perth.

Pre-Christmas and pre-New Year hunting were popular, but shikaris also went out for shoots before birthdays of near and dear ones, and besides choice pieces of venison, they also presented them roses as a sign of affection. But now fishing is the only substitute left and guns are bought more for self-defence than shikar — whenever or wherever it is permitted by State governments, like culling of rampaging blue-bull herds, threatening standing crops and harassing farmers. Incidentally, blue-bull roast used to be a Christmas delicacy. But now those days are long past, though guns and roses remain.

George Heatherley used to reminisce on how he and some other Anglo-Indian friends, like Melville De Mellow and the lawyer Manuel Aaron used to go shooting even on freezing winter nights. Game was plentiful in Gurgaon and even hunters from places like Mathura, Agra and Panipat used to come there. The noted shikari, Cyril Thomas, however, preferred to shoot alone with his old muzzle-loader unless he borrowed a rifle from the Nawabzadas of Ghattia. Their father and grandfather were the nawabs of Datoli in Aligarh district, before Partition, and owned a gun shop too.

Cyril once shot a blackbuck and while he was taking it with him, he was attacked by a wild boar. Though he managed to kill the marauder, the attack left him with three broken ribs, a fractured hand, a twisted ankle and a strained neck. The buck was supposed to be served as venison to Christmas guests. They came all right and found him in bed. But his mother was there to take care of them; and an extra delicacy was ham (because of the fierce boar that could not escape the injured hunter’s gun).

Harrison was another keen shikari who used to come from Farah, where British officers enjoyed their favourite game of pig-sticking. The magistrate was among the enthusiasts who bought guns at Agra and Delhi — the latter, naturally being a bigger and better arms market, from which Paliwal and Sons also bought supplies for their shop on the road to the Taj. The Rao Sahib of Dhirpura and his son who patronised the shop, came in their Army-discarded weapon-carrier all the way to the outskirts of Delhi for a shoot sometimes. Mathura then boasted a Masonic lodge which attracted the British bureaucracy as much as the Qudsia Garden one in Delhi. The missionaries of Clency School were also known to be great shikaris and where do you think they bought their guns? At the German Menton shop at Scindia House.

However, it was from Kashmere Gate that an American doctor, attached to a U.S. missionary organisation hospital in Vrindavan, got his arms and ammunition. Once he fired a shot at a blue-bull in a field that was still to be harvested. He missed the bull and hit a villager instead. Full of remorse, he carried the injured man on his shoulders right up to the hospital, where he operated on him. There was no AIIMS then in the Capital. The irate villagers of Vrindavan wanted to take their man to Delhi for treatment, but when the doctor told them that he would not survive the journey, they took his word for it since they regarded him as a sort of messiah who had cured many village folks of all sorts of ailments. This time too, their faith in him was not belied. All these stories come to mind when one sees the gun shops at Delhi, for which hunters made a beeline to buy the best imported arms before and after World War II. There were instances when the guns were misused for criminal activities. However, the revolver Godse shot Gandhiji with was actually stolen from a gun shop in Gwalior, where it had been given for repairs by Sir Augustine Filose, last of the (Colonel) Sirdars of Maharaja Scindia. Some of the Delhi shops closed long ago, but the ones that have survived have as their proprietors grandsons or great grandsons of the original owners. They can spin a thrilling yarn or two while selling a gun, provided you have an arms licence — something not easily obtainable those days.

The Hindu, 26th November 2012

Deep in the forests of BR Hills, we lose our heart to a 1,000-year-old Champaka tree

I was curious about a 1,000-year-old Champaka tree they said was still flowering. I wanted to see it and touch it. It needed special permission to go into the core area of the forest but the manager of Jungle Lodges and Resorts at K. Gudi (where I was staying) enthusiastically organised it. We passed through the most beautiful evergreen forest, 6,000 feet above sea level. Forest so thick, green and impenetrable, it felt like a different world. Countless butterflies kept us company, fluttering alongside the safari jeep, as if taking us in procession.

Called Dodda Sampige Mara or Big Champaka tree, it is worshipped by the Soliga tribe who inhabit these hills and in whose sacred grove it grows. The valley reverberated with singing cicadas. Tall trees, some more than a century old, vied with each other to reach the sky. The Soligas worship the tree as Mahadeshwar and celebrate the annual festival Jatra every April when they perform the fire dance around it. Their settlements are all over and I saw them cooking and going about domestic chores. They collect forest produce like gooseberries, honey, and lichens that are used as a spice. During coffee harvesting season, they work on the bushes to earn extra money. Some own small pieces of land where they grow their own coffee.

The tree was huge, filled with green and abundant foliage. Having witnessed a 1000 years, it had a mystical aura and was simply overwhelming to behold. The base was gnarled and enormous. Thousands of birds sheltered here, millions of champaka flowers blossomed in its branches, and it had witnessed endless cycles of life. It stood there, proud and wise with age, enormously tall, next to Bhargavi, a tributary of the Kaveri. Parasurama is said to have washed his axe in this river after slaying the Kshatriya rulers who had strayed from the path of dharma. Soligas believe the tree was planted by sage Agastya 3,000 years ago and that Bhargavi is actually Renuka, Parasuram’s mother and the wife of sage Jamadagni. The legends add to its aura.

The resort manager described the flowers, which appear in April — yellowish-orange and fragrant. Its botanical name, Michaelia Champaca, and other statistics did not matter. It stood there, magnificent and imperial. I imagined it covered with hundreds of blooms and heady with scent.

The beautiful and scented Champaka is often grown in temple precincts and is considered sacred to Krishna. It forms one of the five flower-darts of Manmadha, the Indian Cupid. Poets have celebrated its beauty over the ages. Kalidasa addressed a beautiful woman thus, “O Beauteous One! Maha-Brahma has formed thy eyes with lilies, thy face with lotus… thy limbs with the petals of the champaka. How is it that thy heart alone is cast in stone?”

At the foot of the tree were several small lingams, most smeared with holy ash. Some tridents with lemons pierced on them and bunches of brass bells also stood about. I went around the tree, peeping into the huge hollows that looked like homes for elves.

Dodde Sampige Mara has a younger sister nearby called Chik Sampige Mara (small Champak tree). The path to this sibling was narrow and unused. We had to stop a couple of times to clear the way but it was worth it. The younger sister is another splendid specimen, maybe 800 years old, with an impressive trunk and still flowering.

Yes, I will wait for spring and come back, passing through the lovely, deeply wooded forest, and feast my eyes on the grand dame when she is bejewelled with countless flowers, and I will carry back the fragrance and the joy.

The Hindu, 26th November 2012

The pattern of migratory birds at the Okhla Bird Sanctuary is rapidly changing. The number of the winged visitors is also coming down. And all this can be attributed to climatic changes and local disturbances. Only 15 species of winter migratory water birds have so far arrived at the sanctuary. Birdwatchers say arrival of many species -- such as Greater Flamingo, Wollynecked Stork, Ferruginous Pochard, Blacktailed Godwit and Tufted Duck -- has been delayed.

The sanctuary -- spread over an area of 3.5 sqkm on the Yamuna -- has been a heaven for waterbirds and a favourite among birdwatchers with more than 300 species spotted so far. After the construction of a barrage and the resulting lake in 1986, birdwatching activity increased.

T K Roy, ecologist and conservationist, said, "The temperature is not as low as it used to be around this time of the year a few years ago. Winter birds used to come here by early November and stay till February -- sometimes March. But now they come late and leave early."

"Yamuna has also become extremely polluted. Plus, there's noise pollution because of vehicles and the annual Diwali blitzkrieg. High-tension electric wires run through the sanctuary. There are mobile towers in the vicinity that affect movement of birds," he said.

"During the last summer, winter migratory birds -- Greater Flamingo, Great White Pelican and Cotton Pygmy Goose -- were spotted at the sanctuary. This was again unusual. These birds had deserted the sanctuary. But they reappeared in the scorching heat. This was because of changing climatic conditions globally," said another birdwatcher. JM Banarjee, range officer at the sanctuary, however, said, "High-tension wires are every where. We have rare migratory birds visiting the sanctuary but we don't have powerful cameras to capture them. We're satisfied with the pattern and numbers."
The Hindustan Times, 26th November 2012

Workers digging the underground section of the Bangalore Metro rail were surprised to discover a 12 feet 18th century cannon as well as a 10 kg cannonball which is believed to be from the era of Tipu Sultan. The site of construction in Bangalore lies between the summer palace of Tipu Sultan and Bangalore Fort. This is the rarest discovery in the capital of Karnataka linked to that time period.

The iron cannon weighs over a ton while the cannonball weighs 10kg. Muzzle is approximately 3/4th the size of cannon. After the discovery, officials from the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) rushed to the site immediately and secured it. The cannon has survived rough weather conditions as well because of being buried in ground for so many years.

Metro Rail workers were directed to dig in the site carefully because there was a possibility of more materials which are archeologically important. ASI has also assured to help Metro in this matter. After the discovery, details such as quantum of gun powder, muzzle molding, length of the fuse point as well as other details will be found out. The discoveries like these are collected as well as placed in museums. The cannon will first be cleaned chemically before being shifted to the museum.

The Times of India, 26th November 2012

The Mumbai Heritage Conservation Committee has denied permission for a ‘chatri’ or decorative cover over the Cooperage Babasaheb Ambedkar statue.

City district collector, through the assistant municipal commissioner of ‘A’ ward, had sought permission to instal the ‘chatri’, to be funded by the district planning committee, ahead of the Ambedkar death anniversary function at the site on December 6.

The cover needs a no-objection certificate from the heritage committee since the statue is within 100 metres of Oval Maidan, a Grade-I heritage site, and in the ‘Oval sub-precinct of Fort precinct’.

In denying the permission, the committee said a ‘chatri’ was generally associated with royalty and was considered royal insignia. It is provided “only for statues of gods and/or kings and especially for statues in a sitting position”.

The committee also said the umbrella with a supporting pole would “hamper visibility of the statue from some angles”.

It also noted the application received from the ‘A’ ward office did not include location plan and ‘chatri’ design.

Collector C V Oak said, “I received the suggestion (for the ‘chatri’) and forwarded it to the ‘A’ ward officer for necessary permissions. It was denied approval because we did not submit the entire plan. We have now sent the full plan for scrutiny.”

A heritage committee member present at the meeting said, “We refused permission and asked for more details. The issue may be discussed in our December meeting.”

The Indian Express, 26th November 2012

The Pushkar fair has now become a must-see on the itinerary of every tourist.

Located in Ajmer district of Rajasthan, the city plays host to the biggest camel fair in Asia. Pushkar is one of the oldest cities in India and is situated on the shores of the Pushkar Lake. According to legend Lord Brahma is the creator of this city and is said to have performed penance for 60,000 years.

This fair is the region's central cattle market for local herdsmen and farmers to buy and sell camels, horses and cattle.

The villagers take this opportunity to deck up in their finery. It is a common sight to see tall men in bright coloured turbans, well kept moustaches, gold and silver rings in their ears. The women, on the other hand, are dressed in colourful gagra cholis and have their heads covered with odhnis. Their ears and feet are decked with chunky silver and gold jewellery. Even the animals are all dressed for the occasion.

Giant ferris wheels and open air theatres offer entertainment. There are also camel, horse and donkey races. When the sun has set, people huddle around campfires listening to Rajasthani folk ballads.

The fair reaches its peak on the full moon night, when pilgrims take a dip in the lake. As dusk begins to fall, clay lamps on leaf boats are lit and set afloat. This is the night the pilgrims are waiting for – it is believed to be auspicious to take a dip in the waters at this time.

On a hot air balloon

Imagine a flying machine without wings, without a propeller. Actually, it is not even a machine. It is a balloon made of 6,500 metres of cloth. Its total space: 180, 000 cubic ft. The fabric: Nomex, an anti-flammable material that is used to make suits for car race drivers. The fuel: Propane.

Now imagine standing in a wicker basket without seat belts and soaring 1,000 ft in the sky. There is no runway, just a patch of land. There is no fixed landing spot. You can land anywhere close to the pilot marker depending on the wind speed/direction.

Sounds thrilling? Well, it sure is. And what better way to have a bird's eye view of the Pushkar Fair than a hot air balloon ride. Not only can you count the camels and the cattle scrubbed and groomed for sale, you can also have a bird's eye view of the 52 ghats, the country's only temple dedicated to Lord Brahma and the millions who partake in the festivities.
The Hindu, 27th November 2012

A three-day 'Apni Basti Mela' in the Capital's Hazrat Nizamuddin Basti is being organised by the Aga Khan Trust for Culture in association with the Union Cultural Ministry starting this Thursday.

According to Ratish Nanda of Aga Khan Trust, it is time those living outside thebasti experienced the rich cultural heritage of the place.

"Encouraging outsiders to participate in events such as this one is the key to integrate them with the locals. They need to understand and respect the 700-year-old living cultural heritage of the basti. We have put up posters in neighbouring colonies, sent 4,000 invitation cards, reached youngsters on Facebook and tried to popularise the event through word of mouth. Qawwali, craft demonstrations and theatre will showcase the heritage of the place. We want to demonstrate how culture can be used as a tool for development and to improve the quality of life of the residents."

The second edition of the mela aims to forge a link between local participants and visitors, especially those living in other parts of Delhi. A series of interesting events including conservation and craft demonstrations by master craftsmen, music, theatre, Dastangoi performances, cuisine and cooking classes by master chefs have been lined up.

A heritage walk will be flagged off by Lieutenant-Governor Tejendra Khanna on Thursday. Led by the younger residents of the basti, the walk will be undertaken in its narrow, labyrinthine lanes. The idea is to transport participants to another era.

On Friday, the Niazi Brothers will perform sufiana kalaam in the forecourt of the grand 16 Century monument popularly known as Chausath Khambha. The famed duo of Danish Husain and Mahmood Farooqui will perform Dastangoi on Saturday, also at Chausath Khamba.

Activities are spread across the basti but most will be held in the recently landscaped park on Lala Lajpat Rai Marg. An interactive exhibit will display craft products by women of the basti, includingsanjhi, traditional embroidery, Mughal glazed tiles, traditional perfumes and calligraphies will be put up in the park.

A cleanliness drive has also been planned in response to the community's demands for cleaner streets. It is a major issue since the basti attracts millions of pilgrims from across the country as well as the Islamic world attracted to the Sufi teachings of Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya who espoused tolerance, love and pluralism.

The Hindu, 27th November 2012

The five-day International Conference on Bear Research & Management (IBA) kick started on Monday with the release of national plan for the conservation and welfare of bears across the country. Such a conference being held for the first time in South Asia will focus on all the eight species of bears found in the world..

It has brought together experts from 35 bear range countries to present the latest findings and experiences in bear conservation and welfare.

The national bear plan released by Environment Minister Jayanthi Natarajan on Monday, summarises the threats faced by bears in India. It outlines management actions to be undertaken by the 26 bear range States for the conservation and welfare of the four species of bears found here.

The conference has been organised by the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) in collaboration with Wildlife Institute of India (WII), Wildlife Trust of India (WTI), the World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA) and the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW).

Among the themes in IBA this year include, Distribution and Conservation status of the bears of the world, Bear-Human conflicts, Trade in bear and bear parts, Bear rescue and rehabilitation; Bears and climate change, Bear conservation & community participation; Ex-situ conservation & management of bears in captivity; among others.

India is one of the two countries in the world with China that has four of the eight species of bears in the world. The Indian bears include the sloth bear (Melursus ursinus), the Asiatic black bear (Ursus thibetanus), the Himalayan brown bear (Ursus arctos) and the Malayan sun bear (Helarctos malayanus). Sloth bears are endemic to the Indian sub-continent and have gone extinct fairly recently from Pakistan and Bangladesh, underscoring the threats to the species of habitat loss and increasing human interface.

"Despite their wide distribution, there exists little specific information on bear population and (population) trend in India. Unlike other large mammals like the tiger, rhino and the elephant, bears have been largely left out as flagships so far," said Dr S Sathyakumar, Wildlife Institute of India (WII).

Conflict with people and the fate of young bear cubs are among the pressing issues in bear conservation and welfare in the country. Hence, IBA this year will have two side-events — one in Kashmir to discuss conflict mitigation, and the other in Kaziranga, Assam to discuss rescue and rehabilitation of orphaned bear cubs.


The Pioneer, 27th November 2012

A coming together of different religious cultures when the world was experiencing an early edition of globalisation.

Most historians do not address with finesse or sophistication the problem of one culture making sense of another. They generally see it either in terms of crude differences or naïve similarities, and the readers too get indoctrinated into accepting them. But in historical analysis, as it is in our lives, the problem keeps teasing us. Do we or can we really understand another culture? Or, for that matter, do we understand our own? Here Sanjay Subrahmanyam makes a refreshing intervention by taking up 'courtly encounters' that involved various cultural forces of early modern Islam, the European currents of Catholicism and Protestantism and the representations of Hindu politico-cultural sphere when the world was experiencing an early edition of globalisation. The result is a splendid book of felicitous erudition and critical inquiry, which should make the readers think afresh.

Sanjay Subrahmanyam shows how the idea of "incommensurability" rendered famous by Thomas Kuhn and Paul Feyerabend in their discussion of scientific paradigms and of "indeterminacy of translation" by W.V.O. Quine impacted the attitude and practice of anthropologists and historians to believe in "largely impermeable cultural zones, perfectly coherent in and of themselves but largely inaccessible to those who look in from the outside." But the book intends to demonstrate that commensurability had to be made by agents, and bridges between cultures had to be built rather than naturally existing in a state of nature. And similarly, translations are a two-way process, and "only an impoverished history will seek to ignore this fact." The book brings out three instances of exchange as 'Courtly Insults', 'Courtly Martyrdom' and 'Courtly Representations', negotiating myriad literary texts and visual images and traversing a vast geographical and cultural canvas from Europe to India or even to Aceh.

Exchange of insults

The exchange of 'courtly insults' is linked to the much-advertised battle of Talikota of 1565, in which the confederate forces of five Deccani sultanates routed Vijayanagara army, killed its de facto ruler Rama Raya and put an end to the halcyon days of the Hindu empire. Going beyond the familiar terrain of historiography which variously fleshed out Robert Sewell's thesis on Vijayanagara, Sanjay Subrahmanyam goes back to the contemporary or near contemporary sources such as Firishta, Ali bin Azizullah Tabataba, Hasan Shauqi and Aftabi and the Portuguese letters or works of Dom Antao de Noronha and Diogo do Couto to show how exchange of insults, "wide-ranging and non-sectarian," particularly between Rama Raya and Husain Nizam Shah had precipitated the conflict. For all the invectives and perceived sense of insult, they are shown as suggestive of a deep sense of intimacy that existed among these courts, transcending the religious divide, and that Rama Raya was anything but a stranger to the sultans.

The 'courtly martyrdom' is prised out of the 17th century Portuguese work of Manuel Godinho de Eredia, who wrote on the services and martyrdom of Luis Monteiro Coutinho. A valorous sailor and a zealous Christian, Coutinho is shown as fighting Islam in its various manifestations: the Mapillas off the Kerala coast, the Mughals in northern India or the Acehnese off Singapore. The reckless valour of Coutinho, the intolerable travails he underwent in prison and his steadfastness in martyrdom which transformed him into the Soldier of Christ are brought out not only in words but also in reinforcing illustrations. Juxtaposing Eredia's work with a few others, Sanjay Subrahmanyam argues that the work was intended to be a moral work to proclaim the ways of a good Christian in the face of polluting and seducing influences of Islam. It was also meant as a warning against too much truck with the enemy.

The third site of courtly encounter is one of 'courtly representations' in which the author explores the mutual artistic curiosities and indebtedness in Europe as well as the Safavid and Mughal domains. If the Archbishop of Canterbury received a collection of ragamala paintings, Rembrandt was not impervious to foreign influences. In fact, many Dutch painters like Hendrik van Schuylenburgh, Andries Beeckman, Willem Schellinks and others had absorbed the eastern cultures visually. Shellinks' works on the Mughal court sought to rework Mughal miniatures into the vocabulary of Dutch naturalism of the 17th century.

Courtly Encounters does not give a naïve picture of cultural assimilation. Nor does it suggest that cultural encounters and transactions should only be located in courtly high culture. Instead, it provides certain historical contexts, in which cultures meet, collide, coalesce, growl at each other and negotiate with one another at the same time, and with easy conscience. Courtly culture is, historically, a more visible culture. The literary or the artistic productions which it sponsors or attracts, however, can unveil many contexts and tensions in which cultures are expressed or encountered. In the colonial framework encounters between cultures are often posited on their mutual incommensurability, and as defined by colonial arrogance, and Kipling's oft-quoted assertion, "never the twain shall meet" has become its unfailing footnote. But, as Subrahmanyam rightly points out, one need not look for bridge-building initiatives to European agents alone. History playfully provides many instances of cultural encounters and dialogues. That history defies a single, simple narrative indeed constitutes its richness. This book decants it in full measure.

The Hindu, 27th November 2012

If you are worried about trees facing a hostile environment in the city, here is some more grim news. Many old trees across the city are struggling to survive as their roots are being choked by concrete. One such stretch is on Press Enclave Road where a number of Alstonia or Saptaparni trees are getting choked with concrete and cement tiles as part of Delhi government's pavement construction project, undertaken by PWD.

In complete violation of a 2009 Delhi high court order that a 'breathing space' of 6ft circumference must be left around a tree, PWD workers had sealed the entire space with cement and tiles. Alert members of an NGO, Compassionate Living, intervened and demanded that the workers dig out the concrete immediatel.

On Tuesday, when a TOI team visited the spot, many trees were still choked by cement and tiles. "Choking the earth with cement and topping with badarpur and tiles is an unsustainable practice that must be stopped immediately. It is a threat to groundwater recharge and survival of trees besides being a sheer waste of public funds. Porous tiles must be used if tiling is unavoidable," said Padmavati Dwivedi of the NGO. Dwivedi has also found many trees - including that of Neem, Arjun and Pilkhan - in front of a school in Saket that are choking because of very less space around them. A pavement project by MCD has left hardly a 2ft circumference space for large trees.

The forest department agreed that the project had violated the HC order. "We will not allow them to continue with the laying of concrete around these trees. Delhi Tree Authority will also circulate the rule of leaving a 6ft breathing space among agencies involved in development works in Delhi," said Sanjiv Kumar, secretary, environment and forests. PWD officials have been alerted. "We are digging out the concrete. Now a space of 6 by 6 ft will be made around the trees," said a PWD official. However, the space that has been created for some trees on Tuesday seemed far smaller than 6ft.

Concrete pavements don't just put a strain on trees but can be bad news for groundwater recharge. The rain water is not able to seep in through the concrete pavement, leading to gradual death of the trees and drying up of underground aquifers. "There is a clear correlation between porosity of soil and groundwater recharge. When it rains, the water permeates to the underground aquifers and the excess rain goes away as run-off to the stormwater drains and later to the river. But, concretization across NCR has gone up and a huge amount of recharge zone is lost. A lot of low-lying areas have also encroached on water bodies. This creates a flooding mess every monsoon," said Bharat Lal Seth, deputy programme manager, water policy, at Centre for Science and Environment.

The Times of India, 28th November 2012

With storytelling, heritage walks, movie screenings, plays and puppet shows, the Hazrat Nizamuddin Basti is all set to come alive from Thursday.

The Basti, one of the oldest in Delhi, is celebrating and showcasing seven centuries of its living and cultural legacy during a three-day "Apni Basti Mela".

The mela will open with a heritage walk, conducted by the basti youth, on Thursday morning. It will be attended by Lt-Governor Tejendra Khanna, organisers said.

Apart from guiding visitors through the narrow lanes of the basti, the residents will also put on display a variety of craft products produced by them — from traditional embroidery and Mughal glazed tiles to traditional perfumes and calligraphy.

Local master chefs will also teach visitors how to cook food indigenous to the area. The basti children will perform plays and qawwali. The forecourt of the sixteenth century monument Chaunsath Khambha, located next to Mirza Ghalib's tomb, will be the venue for a Sufiana Kalaam performance by the Niazi brothers.

It will also witness the unfolding of a Rajasthani folk tale in the Dastangoi tradition — the sixteenth century method of Urdu storytelling — with Mamood Farooqui and Danish Husain.

Keeping in mind the fact that the Sufi teachings of Nizamuddin Auliya — who espoused tolerance, love and pluralism — attracts pilgrims from across the world to the basti, a need for greater cleanliness in the streets has been felt.

Addressing this need, a cleanliness drive will be flagged off by the South Municipal Commissioner.

The Indian Express, 29th November 2012

Marble or lime plaster? A debate over this has hampered and delayed the work for 'functional restoration' of the 18th-century astronomical observatory Jantar Mantar.

Years after documentation work for the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) protected monument was completed, the agency was embroiled in a legal case over the use of material for all instruments' surfaces. Misra Yantra would now be the first one to undergo pilot work

The Jantar Mantar (apparently a variation of the word Yantra Mantra, yantra for instrument and mantra for formula) is a set of masonry instruments that form an observatory, one of the five created by Maharaja Sawai Jaisingh II of Jaipur in the early 18th century.

Taking the bonafide of petitioner Ravindra Nath Sharma into account, the Delhi High Court had two years ago ordered ASI to "work really hard towards making the observatory work again considering that it was a masterpiece of Indian architecture displaying scientific acumen of the era".

Making the observatory work again — or functional restoration — meant beyond conservation, people should be able to use all the instruments for taking readings such as time or finding positions of planets.

When the ASI dilly-dallied the matter, Nath filed a contempt petition, prompting the ASI to take faster steps. The issue was whether or not to have marble on the surface of the instruments. The ASI has now formed a special committee comprising N Ratnashree, director of Nehru Planetarium and representative of Science Popularisation Association of Communicators and Educators (both from Delhi) and astronomy experts from Bengaluru and Chennai.

"The texture is important as sub-surface reflection will differ in case of lime plaster and marble. Originally, Jantar Mantar had lime plaster but over the years, there have been several recommendations for use of marble. (But) we will stick to what is original," Ratnashree said.

DN Dimri, ASI's Delhi circle chief said, "The meeting of these experts would be held soon and as per their recommendation, the work for conservation would begin."

The Hindustan Times, 29th November 2012

There's finally good news for office-goers in Connaught Place. India National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (Intach) has recently submitted heritage bylaws for 13th century Agrasen ki Baoli to the ASI and recommended that the NDMC multi-storey parking project in KG Marg will not affect the monument. The recommendation is expected to go a long way in helping NDMC and concessionaire DS Constructions get the coveted nod from National Monuments Authority for the much delayed project.

The bylaws, which have been submitted to the Archaeological Survey of India, will now be forwarded to the NMA alongwith ASI's recommendations for the project. Though the final decision will lie solely with NMA based on their own internal scrutiny and expert discussions, the bylaws are expected to play an influencing role in determining the project's future. According to sources, Intach has said that the parking project will not have any impact on the baoli or any negative heritage impact as the distance is over 200m and in a relatively 'safe zone'.

Intach has also added in their report that while ground water recharge will be very difficult for the stepwell as the water table has gone very low, the baoli could become an important site for rainwater harvesting. The bylaws also stress upon the need for landscaping and improving the surroundings around the monument.

The bylaws are the second that have been submitted to ASI, after Sher Shah Gate. Intach is currently working on the bylaws of half-a-dozen more monuments in south Delhi where most of the information is already available with them through local area plans. While the costs for preparing the bylaws for each monument is ranged at approximately Rs 3.5 lakh, Intach is trying to work out an agreement with ASI to work out the costs.

KG Marg parking is located 216m from Agrasen ki Baoli, and Intach has been entrusted with the task of making the bylaws. In order to give an NOC to NDMC and DS Constructions for the project, NMA had asked that a heritage impact assessment report be prepared. Officials from Intach said the bylaws would incorporate findings by environment experts also.

The Times of India, 29th November 2012

The second edition of Apni Basti Mela is bigger and more varied..

Chicken samosas and shahi tukdas, calligraphy and aari work, qawwali performances and heritage walks — the three-day Apni Basti Mela at the DDA Park in the Hazrat Nizamuddin Basti is a blend of colours and culture. Organised by the Aga Khan Foundation in collaboration with the Aga Khan Trust for Culture, the second edition of the fair, which started on November 29, is bigger and better. Ratish Nanda, project director at the Aga Khan Trust, says, "Last year, it was a small local event with just five stalls. Since it was much appreciated, we decided to do it on a larger scale. There are about 40 stalls this time."

Showcasing local arts, artefacts and food, the event has been planned in such a way that no visitor misses out on any of the stalls. Be it the diaries and lampshades made using paper cut work (called sanji), or the traditional miswak, everything that is on display bears a close association to the 700-year-old heritage of the area. Hafiz Mohammad, who has put up the calligraphy stall, says, "This kind of writing is being done here for ages."

Then there are stalls where the process of restoration of heritage buildings, such as the Humayun's Tomb and the Nila Gumbad, including the efforts that local people have made in the direction, is explained. "Building appreciation towards your heritage is essential," says Archana, an arts designer who works with the trust.

Aromas guide visitors towards the food stalls, where fresh chicken samosas and puri bhaji is being prepared on huge tawas. Some of the favourite items from the "Nizamuddin cuisine" include mutton and beef biryanis, chicken korma, sheer mal and shahi tukda. There are cooking classes on the side, where visitors are taught how to prepare these recipes.

There are added attractions such as Sufi walks, musical performances and magic shows.

Nanda adds, "There is no one highlight — the fair is for everybody and anybody."
The Indian Express, 30th November 2012

Large stones with intricate motifs engraved on them dot the beautiful landscapes of interior Bastar of Chhattisgarh. Called megaliths in archaeological terminology — the art of erecting stone pillars in memory of the dead by the local aborigines — dates back to Stone Age. The Stone Age burial practice, however, has however disappeared in Europe, Latin America and many parts of Asia. But, the "grave art" continues to flourish in tribal pockets of Chhattisgarh's Bastar region.

Adivasis converging at the village burial ground, performing cremation or burial rituals for the dead clan member amidst recital of "hanal pata" (burial song in tribal Gondi dialect), beating of drums in a melancholic rhythm, and then raising memorials to "preserve the soul of the dead" is still a common sight in remote tribal areas of Bastar.

The architectural designs of the memorial structures found in different places in Bastar are as varied from each other as is possible. As the Stone Age legacy, dating back to the Iron Age in India, passed on to the successive generations, the Bastar tribals have continued the tradition.

The megaliths are broadly classified into four categories — Menhir, Cist, Cairn Circle, and Cap Stone. In Bastar, basically menhir type (large standing stones) of megaliths are noticed.

"I have surveyed extensively and found more than 100 megalithic sites in Bastar region— from Antagarh to Narayanpur, from Narayanpur to Kondagaon, from Jagdalpur to Bijapur, from Jagdalpur to Bailadila and from Dantewada to Sukma," said Niranjan Mahawar, eminent ethnologist and president of Chhattisgarh art foundation.

Currently three tribe groups — Marias, Dorlas and Murias — practice the megalithic culture. Earlier, Gond tribals of Kanker in Bastar also observed this tradition, but they discontinued it since long. "Megalithic culture survives today only in Bastar and its adjoining areas in Andhra Pradesh and Orissa. The tradition also continues in very few pockets of northeastern states of India, but not as profusely as seen in Bastar. In the rest of the world, megalithic culture has become extinct," said archaeologist Atul Kumar Pradhan.

The tradition, according to anthropologists, has come to Bastar from the Indonesian archipelago and to the northeastern region of India and Orissa through Burma.

"Bastar is almost insulated from the rest of the world in the ancient and medieval periods for various reasons. This has helped the local tribes preserve their culture and in the process, saved megalithic culture from total extinction," explains Mr Mahawar.

Stone slabs used for building the tombs are engraved with what is the depiction of the culture of the clan to which the dead belonged, along with the deceased's own life and achievements. Figurines of animals, birds, men and women are also found in the engravings. The motifs also illustrate the dead person reaching heaven riding on an elephant.

The articles used by the deceased are also buried under the memorial along with an iron ring, in which the local priest "entraps" the departed person's soul by performing some complex rituals.

The rituals associated with the burial ceremony are very expensive, as it involves a feast for the clan members and even slaughtering a cow. However, in many cases, tribals, who cannot afford the practice, are forced to postpone it to a later period.

"I came across a case in which some families built the megaliths for their ancestors 30 years after their deaths. In Binzli village in Narayanpur district in south Bastar, eight families had migrated to Maharashtra in the 70s. Their clan members returned to the village in 2001 to establish the megaliths for their ancestors," Mr Mahawar said.

Interestingly, of late, megalithic culture in Bastar has witnessed an evolution. It is being observed that tribals have started using wooden pillars in place of stone slabs to build memorials at some places. Such megaliths have been discovered in Jagdalpur in Bastar district recently. Huge tree trunks cut in a definite shape are used for the purpose.

Stones are scarce in some areas, but wood is found in abundance in the forested Bastar region, thus prompting the shift in tradition while mainiting the sanctity of the idea.

However, only affluent families can afford to build the wooden megaliths as of now. In another recent development, it was found that some tribal groups are using slated stones, available in their localities, to erect megaliths.

Every clan has artists, who specialise in the art of engraving, but keeping in line with the times, lately artists have also started using oil paints to draw motifs in megaliths made of slated stones. Two such grave painters, who attended an art camp organised by the Chhattisgarh Art Foundation at Jagdalpur recently, brought to light the undergoing evolution of Bastar's megalithic culture.

The artists revealed the elephants, depicted in the motifs as the mode of transportation to carry the dead to heaven, has been replaced by cars and aeroplanes, indicating the growing influence of modernity on Bastar's megalithic culture.

The Asian Age, 30th November 2012

If there be a word for the most fantastic story in the world – a story so big in proportion that one is struck by its simplicity, a story so sophisticated in its outlook that one is aghast at the crudity of its villain, a story so old and yet so young that its time can never be measured, a story written without a pause – then it is the story of the Mahabharat.

This story has made countless people wonder very many things such as "Did it really happen?", "Was Delhi really once the fabled Indraprastha?", "Can such characters be real?" or "Did the war really happen?" to name a few. In this slot is the Draupadi Trust that has put up an exhibition "Step into the Mahabharat" at Asiad Village here to satisfy a few curiosities of the epic as well as to add to them.

Archaeological findings and historical researches that have clues to the ancient cities of the epic and installations and games from different episodes as well as art inspired by the story through the ages are all on display here.

"In those days, the map of Bharata was divided into Janapadas," says Draupadi Trust chairperson Neera Misra, standing at the entrance that has huge hoardings of blown up pictures depicting scenes as well as verses from the Mahabharat.

Inside, there is the Kuru, Panchala and Sursena Janapada and there is detailed information about archaeological excavations in each of these Janapadas. "See here the picture of the dice found at Hastinapur," says Ms. Mishra, adding that it could be "The Dice". Other treasures include an installation that depicts that most famous episode in which Arjuna, the best archer in the world, wins his bride by piercing his arrow through the eye of a revolving fish by looking into its reflection in a pond. There is also the "Speaking Tree" in computerised form, a game that asks you questions from the Mahabharat and if you are right leads you to the next step.

The timeline or art through the ages based on the Mahabharata is as splendid as can be, considering the vastness of the subject. Reproductions of treasures like Raja Ravi Varma, Nandlal Bose, A. Ramachandran and Arup Das have been sourced from different museums. There is also a lot of Mughal art based on the epic that was commissioned by greats like Emperor Akbar himself. A special section is dedicated to photographs of ancient ruins from South East Asia, which surprisingly has more monuments dedicated to the epic than India.

A special mention is the "Did you know" section where you are informed of certain fascinating facts like how the war formations of the Kurukshetra were used in recent modern combat or how big the size of the Kurukshetra armies were and the debate on the age of the Mahabharata.

"Draupadi" has special status in the exhibition, with an entire wall dedicated to her life. "She was the ultimate woman, an example to all other women. She managed her five husbands, her household and troubles of life with dignity. Being a queen, she was the hair-dresser to another queen and she was never willing to take any ill-treatment, however, she was also a victim and not the cause of the Kurukshetra war as she is unkindly made out to be," adds Ms. Mishra, explaining that the trust which works for women's empowerment among a host of other things was named after this heroine as her problems were the problems of most women and that the way men thought of Draupadi reflected the way men treated women.

The exhibition is open till December 22.

The Hindu, 30th November 2012