The pond at Surajkund Park is of great historical importance, but has been lying dirty due to absence of proper care. (HT Photo)
Two stones with Persian and Hindi inscriptions dating back to 1854 were found during the cleaning of Surajkund Park in Old City, Lucknow.
Officials supervising the work said the writing in Hindi says that the pond was cleaned and renovated by Rai Tulsi Ram around 161 years back.
However, the Persian inscription on the second stone was not clear. Officials said the script would be readable once the stone is cleaned.
The two stones with Hindi and Persian inscriptions dating back to 1854. (HT Photo)
Four wells in four corners of the kund were also ‘unearthed’ during the cleaning operation, said Rajeev Kumar, OSD, Lucknow Development Authority (LDA).
The pond was cleaned as it was full of polythene bags and filth. However, locals highlighted the historical importance of this water body, stating that the kund was an ancient structure and constructed by Suryavanshi kings.
Historian Yogesh Praveen said Surajkund was mentioned in Mughul era books as ‘Shamsi Talab’.
But the historical aspect of the pond was lost with the passage of time.
“Despite its historical importance, the pond has been lying dirty in the absence of proper care,” said Mahant Sachin Shastri of Surjakund Park and temple.
source: http://www.hindustantimes.com / Hindustan Times / Home> Cities / by Hindustan Times, HT Correspondent / June 17th, 2015
Tourists visiting Taj Mahal will be able to enjoy Internet through Wi-Fi for free for 30 minutes. The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has collaborated with state-run telecom services provider BSNL for the service, which will be launched by Communications and IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on Tuesday.
Post the 30-minute usage, any browsing will be chargeable.
The launch is a part of the Narendra Modi led government’s initiative to provide Wi-Fi hot spots in cities with population of over 10 lakh and in tourist centres, under the Digital India programme. In February, wi-fi facility was launched by BSNL at Dashashwamedh Ghat and Shitala Ghats of Varanasi.
ASI has identified 25 spots, including Fatehpur Sikri, Sarnath Temple, Konark Temple, Khajurao, which are also likely to become public WiFi hotspots.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National / by Staff Reporter / New Delhi – June 15th, 2015
In a “historic” decision, the Samajwadi Party government has renamed the Lucknow Prani Udyan, popularly known as Lucknow zoo, as “Nawab Wajid Ali Shah Prani Udyan, Lucknow,” making it the first official move-since Independence – to name a monument after a Nawab of Oudh, or Avadh (roughly corresponding with Central Uttar Pradesh ). Nawab Wajid Ali Shah was the last Nawab of Oudh before the province was annexed by the British under the policy of Doctrine of Lapse in 1856. He was banished to Matia Burj in Bengal.
Bird sanctuary too renamed
Another first was the decision to rename the Nawabganj Bird Sanctuary in Unnao district after revolutionary freedom fighter Chandra Shekhar Azad. The bird sanctuary will now be known as “ Shaheed Chandra Shekhar Azad Pakshi Vihar, Nawabganj.”
Though Chandra Shekhar Azad was born in Alirajpur district in Madhya Pradesh (July 23, 1906), his father, Sitaram Tiwari, belonged to Badarka village in Unnao district. It was on account of his parental ties with Unnao district that the bird sanctuary has been named after him.
These decisions were taken at a Cabinet meeting presided over by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister, Akhilesh Yadav on Tuesday.
The Lucknow Zoo was established in 1921 and was named after England’s Prince of Wales as “Prince of Wales Zoological Gardens.” It was renamed as Lucknow Prani Udyan on June 4, 2001.
The State Cabinet further approved the cancellation of the agreement for handing over the power distribution in Kanpur city to Messrs. Torrent Power Limited, Ahmedabad. An official spokesman said the deal was called off through mutual understanding.
Laptops for bright students
The proposal to distribute laptops to meritorious students of high school and Intermediate examinations conducted by UP Madhyamik Shiksha Parishad, Central Board of Secondary Education and the Indian Council of Secondary Education in the year 2015 was also approved by the Cabinet.
Another important Cabinet decision pertained to the demolition of three temporary structures on the service road near bungalow Number 13 in Mall Avenue (former Chief Minister Mayawati’s official bungalow).
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National> Other States / by Atiq Khan / Lucknow – June 24th, 2015
A contemporary engraving of the massacre at the Satichura Ghat. Photo: Wikimedia Commons
By surrendering to Nana Sahib, the British thought they would get safe passage. But the evacuation did not go as planned.
By June 27, 1857 the First War of Independence had spread to Cawnpore (Kanpur, as it is known today). Cawnpore was an important garrison town for the East India Company forces. It was ideally located on the Grand Trunk Road. Initially, the sepoys at Cawnpore were not a part of the war. The British General at Cawnpore, at that time, was Hugh Wheeler. He knew the local language, had adopted local customs, and to top it all was married to an Indian woman. So confident was he that his sepoys would not join the fight, he despatched two British companies to besieged Lucknow.
The British in Cawnpore numbered 900, including military men, women and children, merchants, business people, salesmen and engineers. The war was coming closer, and although there was no trouble in Cawnpore, the European families were afraid. They began to shift into the entrenchment (a military position fortified by trenches). The Indian sepoys were asked to collect their pay one by one, to avoid an armed mob.
The sepoys on their part felt threatened by the fortifications and the prepared artillery guns. There was a minor skirmish when a lieutenant fired on his Indian guard when drunk, and was jailed for a night. The next day, however, he was released. There were also rumours that the Indian troops had been summoned to a parade, where they were to be massacred. The sepoys joined the war against the East India Company on June 5.
The besieged Company forces and the civilians were not prepared for such a long siege. After almost three weeks, they surrendered to Nana Sahib, in return for a safe passage to Allahabad. Nana Sahib was the adopted heir to Baji Rao II, the ex-Peshwa of the Maratha Confederacy.
The evacuation did not go as planned. There was confusion on getting into the boats, and misunderstanding causing sepoys to fire at the departing British. This was called the Satichaura Ghat massacre.
Finally, the East India Company forces stationed in Allahabad marched to Cawnpore. Women and children who had been captured by the sepoys were killed and their remains were thrown into a nearby well. After Cawnpore was recaptured, the massacre was discovered. There was outrage and Company forces retaliated with force capturing sepoys and civilians. This came to be known as the Bibighar massacre.
The murders angered and embittered the British and inspired the war cry “Remember Cawnpore”.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> Young World / by Archana Subramanian / June 25th, 2015
Regional Manuscript Library, the lone government manuscript library in the state, has added to its treasure around 300-year-old manuscripts of medical papers and volumes penned by Ayurvedacharyas, who have elaborated symptoms and cure of common and chronic diseases by Himalayan herbs. The medicinal plants described in the manuscripts are now on the verge of extinction.
The original manuscript kept in a dark and damp room lies neglected away from public eyes. Experts have failed to find the authors of couple of letters and date was yet to be ascertained. The first one, which could be for scholars and medicos, is a medical volume ‘Vaidak Granth’ by Ayurvaidacharya Ramvinod Ramchandra Shastri. It describes symptoms and cure of 201 diseases.
The volume comprising 209 papers also has an index of diseases. The medical volume was said to be over 250 years old but experts have failed to use modern technology to find out the actual period to which the papers belongs. In the modern era of pathological tests, the manuscripts also throw light on ways to identify diseases by the colour of urine. Apart from common cold, fever, stomach related ailments, migraine and epilepsy, the letters also suggest treatment of gynecological diseases by certain herbs.
Researchers could benefit from medical letters. The manuscripts originally had 209 letters but two are missing. “‘Yog Chintamani’ is another Ayurvedic manuscript that the library has. It was authored in 1722 and sought by researchers as it is said to be a complete medical guide,” Amit Agnihotri, regional archive officer and in-charge of library said.
The papers are in poor condition. The actual date of the diary and name of scholars were yet to be researched. But by gauging the condition, the date is around 300 years old. Another one is ‘Ayurvedic Nighantu’, which describes medicinal qualities of various herbs and shrubs founds in northern India.
The papers are in Sanskrit and majority of plants mentioned are now endangered and rare. “The manuscripts are being preserved by cleaning with chemicals like chlorobenzene and keeping them away from humid and moist weather,” Agnihotri added.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Allahabad / by Vinod Khanal / June 01st, 2015
In a quiet corner of Uttar Pradesh that sticks into its neighbouring state, amidst lush greenery, is a slice of heritage that few have set eyes on. The Betwa flows nearby, separating the area from Madhya Pradesh. If a visitor enters this tranquil setting, he is startled by the beauty and antiquity of what he witnesses. A short drive from the district headquarters Lalitpur, the forests running on both sides of the road part to give a glimpse of a small shrine on the right. A board put up by the Archaeological SURVEY of India advertises the presence of the Dashavatara Temple.
Time and ignorance have camouflaged this structure well and what looks like a nondescript structure from a distance is striking up close. As the name suggests, the temple is dedicated to the god Vishnu. Created on each of the four external wall faces of this otherwise innocuous temple is a riot in stone. While the front entrance has sculptures of various gods and goddesses in moods varying from contemplation to affection made on it and above them is Vishnu flanked by two of his avatars Narasimha and Vamana, it is the sides of the temple that arrest the viewer. On each of the three sides of the temple is a niche made in the wall and carved into the niche are dramatic representations of Vishnu’s various FORMS. One niche has Vishnu lying in relaxed pose on the coils of Sheshnag, shown here in full glory with seven hoods. At Vishnu’s feet is Laxmi while various gods and goddesses soar around them. Another niche – the one at the back – depicts the concept of Nar Narayana or the fusion of the divine and the human. The third niche brings alive the story of Vishnu coming to the aid of the trapped elephant Gaja. So delicate are the lines made on stone that the elephant’s faith in his god is almost tangible. Sadly, the idol in the inner sanctum is missing and one can only imagine its beauty, on the basis of the rock cuts on the outer walls.
The forested grounds opposite the Dashavatara rises abruptly into a hill. Covered in vegetation, the hill directly overlooks the Betwa on three sides. The fort atop the hill was built at this spot with a view to cement a line of defence on the river, from any attackers coming from the south or west. While the fort is largely ruined, conservation efforts within have seen a set of Jain temples being preserved. The ASI lists as many as 31 Jain temples here, dated into two broad periods of temple-building. Given the wide range of Jain religious craftsmanship displayed here, it seems that the religion thrived here for several centuries. In what is a virtual museum of Jain art, the place has manasthamba votive pillars standing in the courtyard of temples; sahastrakuta pillars each depicting a thousand gods as well as panels showcasing mythological events such as the penance of the various tirthankaras. Both the quality of the rock cuts and the sheer NUMBERS amaze a visitor. The place is a growing pilgrimage center for the Jain faith, but needs greater exploration. Amidst the dense undergrowth that surrounds the Jain complex on the hill, human hands have cut through a walking path which allows visitors to reach further treasures around. In one corner is a ruined Varaha shrine. In three separate spots, steps cut into the cliffs overlooking the river from ghats. Alongside most of these are Hindu rock cuts which predate the Jain temples at the top of the hill. In recent times, fresh archaeological finds in the vicinity have revealed that the site also had a Buddhist past in ancient times.
The obscurity of Deogarh and the startling beauty of its heritage make for a lethal combination. The area has been witness to antique thefts. Visitors are few and density of local population is low. Locals present in the area are pathetically poor and do not have the means to a better lifestyle. At a time when the state government is speaking in terms of the Heritage Arc, Deogarh and the region around it present a great opportunity to extend the arc to include such pockets. Better CONNECTIVITY, especially by way of a road bridge to neighbouring Madhya Pradesh, would help. The place has a ramshackle UP Tourism tourist bungalow whose sole redeeming feature is a hardworking caretaker, but it needs serious investment to become a reasonable place to stay in. There are no other stay options than a dharamshala. Mobile networks in the area are extremely poor. Infrastructure development in this area could transform this backward zone into a cockpit for the development of all of Bundelkhand.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Lucknow / TNN / April 18th, 2015
Sangam City is a proud custodian of rare manuscript of a scripture related to ‘Agamas’ or ‘shastra’ of Jainism based on Lord Mahavir’s teachings
Allahabad :
Sangam City is a proud custodian of rare manuscript of a scripture related to ‘Agamas’ or ‘shastra’ of Jainism based on Lord Mahavir’s teachings. A few of its verses are even coated with gold. The script of this rare invaluable manuscript is yet to be deciphered. Experts believe that the text could be in the oldest spoken language of ‘Prakrit’. However, few others believe that the script could also either be Sanskrit, Oriya or Bengali.
The manuscript, currently in the possession of state’s only Government Manuscript Library, has remained out of public eyes owing to paucity of fund. For record sake, the library has been safeguarding the manuscript for the last 55 years.
Due to lack of proper conservation and preservation technique, several lines of ‘verses in gold’ faded away in 1987. Later, the then officials re-wrote the missing part with yellow ink. Currently, the regional archive officer has the additional charge of the library owing to absence of experts.
Regional archive officer Amit Agnihotri said that since the manuscript kept at library was in Prakrit language prevalent among common masses around 2,000 years ago, its composition in writing started around 10th Century AD. “The minute gold work started in later period so its date could range from 1500 to 1600 AD,” added Agnihotri.
He added, “We are in the process of engaging Lucknow University and IIT-Kanpur in conservation and identifying the language in which the texts are written.”
Highlighting the importance of ‘Agamas’, former dean of Allahabad University and an expert in Jain literature, PC Jain said: “Earlier teachings of Lord Mahavir were passed on by his disciples by word of mouth owing to absence of writing technique. Over 500 years after the Nirvana of Lord Mahavir, some disciples led by seer Pushpdant started compiling Lord’s teachings in taadpatra (palm leaves) at a place, around 35-kms from Mangalore in Karnataka.”
For the last three decades, Jain has been involved in restoring places visited by Lord Mahavir during his life time.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Allahabad / by Vinod Khanal, TNN / April 03rd, 2015
Agra is a home to around 100 centrally protected monuments. Most tourists, however, visit only the Taj Mahal, Agra Fort and the nearby Fathehpur Sikri. Union minister of state in the Human Resources Ministry and Agra MP Ramshankar Katheria has now sought that the Centre take steps to promote Agra’s less popular tourist destinations, so that those arriving in the city are also encouraged to stay longer.
Among the lesser known monuments are the tomb of Mariam-uz-Jamani, Rajput princess who married Mughal emperor Akbar and mother of Jahangir. The structure in which the tomb was laid was built originally by Sikandar Lodi in the late 15th century; the tomb was laid in it by 1623, and a crypt was made below the central compartment by the Mughals, who substantially remodelled the structure.
The Roman Catholic cemetery in the Civil Lines area, considered among the oldest Christian cemeteries in north India, is also a little-visited spot of tourist interest. Many early European adventurers and travellers have been laid to rest here. Many of the gravestones date back to the 17th century.
Chini ka Rauza (chini refers to the colourful tiles; rauza is a funerary monument) is the tomb of Allama Afzal Khan Mullah, who served as prime minister in the court of Shah Jahan. It dates back to the year 1635. The building represents a milestone in Indo-Persian architecture, and is the first building in India to have the glazed tiles that give it its name.
Kanch Mahal at Sikandra, near Akbar’s tomb, was used, some historians say, as a hunting lodge by Jahangir. This monument too is not very well known to visitors to the city.
Just five km from the Taj is Ram Bagh, the oldest of Mughal gardens in India – laid by the founder of the dynasty, Babur. This garden too does not see as many visitors as it might, if it were better promoted.
Mehtab Bagh, an integral part of the gardens around the Taj, also sees few visitors. The Chhatri of Raja Jaswant Singh – which some claim is the only monument built by a Hindu in Agra in the time of Mughal rule – is also a neglected monument.
Katheria pointed out that the website of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) does not offer descriptions of the lesser known monuments. Information and photographs of these too should be uploaded, the minister said, in a letter to Union tourism minister Mahesh Sharma.
Sources said Katheria was raising this issue as Mahesh Sharma is set to visit Agra on April 8.
Rajiv Tiwari, president of the Federation of Travel Agencies, said, “Many less known monuments are dilapidated, many have become a den for anti-social activities. Travel agents cannot risk allowing guests to include them in their itinerary.”
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Agra / by Aditya Dev, TNN / April 04th, 2015
Pandit Mukesh Sharma talks to Anjana Rajan about the special music of his father sarod exponent, Pandit Rasik Behari Lal.
The absence of any chronological predictability shrouds the undeniable fact of our mortality in a haze of mystery. No matter the technical strides made by human beings, the tragedy of an untimely demise is no less today than, say, two centuries ago. The difference, though, is that now we have the means to keep recordings and photographs of those who leave this world. In the case of sarod maestro Mukesh Sharma, it is technology that helped him gain the benefit of the unique musicality of his father, Pandit Rasik Behari Lal, even though death took him away just months before the birth of his son.
Pandit Rasik Behari was employed at All India Radio, Lucknow, and was renowned for his brilliant playing. “His versatile and aesthetic perception of the sarod enabled him to touch most profound depths of this instrument,” says Sharma.
Along with soulful rendering of the raga, purity of style, imagination and a technique that blended the elements of the gayaki ang (a style approximating to vocal rendering) and layakari (instrumental rhythmic patterns), he pioneered a difficult technique of playing two octaves together, says Sharma, who is in possession of a number of concert recordings of his father. “During the 1940s and ’50s, he played in a manner no one else was playing,” he notes. “His recordings are still regularly broadcast over the radio.”
In the coming week, Sharma, a well travelled instrumentalist himself, is presenting a musical evening under the aegis of his organisation, the CommuneGlobus Art Foundation, in memory of his father. Named “Parampara”, the event features a duet by Shubhendra Rao (sitar) and Saskia Rao De Haas (cello) and a sarod recital by Pandit Brij Narayan. Tabla accompaniment will be by Shailendra Mishra and Gyan Singh. To be inaugurated by eminent vocalist Pandit Tejpal Singh, the event also includes an art exhibition by Bhaswati Boruah, Turaeva Shahlohon Tina, Renu Gupta and Mukesh Jwala.
Sharma himself will not be performing. Trained under his grandfather Pandit Ram Gopal, and later under Pandit Suprabhat Paul and Dr. Ramaballabh Mishra, he is best known as a disciple of Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, with whom he studied in the guru-shishya tradition for 12 years, as well as of Kathak maestro Birju Maharaj. As Sharma describes the atmosphere in which his father was nurtured, one gets a sense of the great artistic crucible that was the Lucknow of those days and of the weighty lineage he has inherited through history and his genes.
Pandit Rasik Behari, born on October 12, 1929, was the son of Pandit Ram Gopal, an eminent sitar exponent of Lucknow and a professor at the famous Bhatkhande Music College. A disciple of the great sarod maestro Ustad Sakhawat Hussain Khan Saheb of the Shahjahanpur gharana, Rasik Behari had his initial training under great maestros in varied fields. These included Pandit Ratan Jayankar, renowned vocalist, Pandit Sakha Ram the famous pakhawaj exponent and Pandit Shambhu Maharaj the great Kathak maestro.
“Great artists were living in Lucknow at that time,” recounts Sharma. “My father worked with Pandit Ravi Shankar ji who was a producer at AIR and Ustad Ali Akbar Khan Saheb who was a staff artist.” He adds that iconic violinist Pandit V.G. Jog, who was teaching at Bhatkhande, and Pandit Gajanan Rao Joshi from AIR were also part of his father’s circle, as were Pandit Birju Maharaj, then a young man receiving his training from his uncles, and the celebrated Begum Akhtar, ‘Malika-e-Ghazal’.
“There was also Pandit Dhruv Tara Joshi, who helped train Ustad Vilayat Khan sahib after the death of Ustad Enayat Khan when Vilayat Khan sahib was very young,” adds Sharma.
On December 4, 1960, sarod maestro Pandit Rasik Behari Lal succumbed to a heart attack at the age of 31.
(The programme takes place on March 31, LTG auditorium, Copernicus Marg, Mandi House, New Delhi, 6.30 p.m.)
Great artists were living in Lucknow at that time…my father worked with Pandit Ravi Shankar ji who was a producer
at AIR and Ustad Ali Akbar Khan Saheb who was a staff artist.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> Friday Review / by Anjana Rajan / March 27th, 2015
The Allahabad Police records are a rich repository of British Raj history, dating back to 1896. The department has painstakingly compiled all records, including FIRs against martyrs and investigation sheets, along with the history of each and every case maintained by Britishers systematically in Conviction Registers (CRs).
SSP Deepak Kumar said, “Realizing historical value of British era records, we have written to the DGP to set up a special cell to maintain it. Records available with different police stations, including Colonelganj, Kotwali and Civil Lines, have been compiled with the help of historians.” He further said that they would consult Allahabad Museum officials after seeking seniors’ approval and suggestion.
Meanwhile, Regional Archive Office has already asked the district police authorities to hand over historical records for proper up keep.
Police have preserved all sheets related to cases registered in a CR with its serial number along with the name of the convict and the number of history-sheet, percentage and caste, place and date of conviction, offence category, punishment awarded, place of crime and remarks.
Apart from this, the records have other details like notes on crime in village with special references to fractions, land or water dispute, presence of criminal tribes or gang, occurrence of obstructions or damage to railway line within the village, special outbreak of crime in the village.
Records also revealed that the Britishers keenly compiled village-wise fractions, land or water disputes as well as damage to railway line within a village.
The police record of British era, including sheets on which cases under various sections of the IPC (Indian Penal Code) against martyrs were registered in Village Crime Notebook (VCN), too has been maintained.
Records revealed that the Village Crime Notebook, maintained by British between 1910 and 1947, has a mention of the case registered against martyr Chandra Shekhar Azad with Colonelganj police station under Section 307 of the IPC on February 27, 1931 (crime number 20\1931). The case was registered by Britishers against martyr Azad and one of his companion regarding Alfred Park firing incident, in which sub-inspector Rai Sahib Chaudhary Rishal Singh was the investigation officer.
However, the Britishers had not put any remark on the outcome of the case, whereas they had noted down the result of every case on the sheets.
“Since cases during the British rule were registered in Urdu, the department took assistance of Urdu translators to know about the particular cases registered against martyrs,” said the SSP adding, “These records were preserved technically and scientifically to prevent any further damage.”
As per available records, the first case with Colonelganj police station was registered in 1910 in Urdu under Section 457 of the IPC. The last case in same language was registered in 1949. Besides, Kotwali police too had recovered FIRs lodged in 1896.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Allahabad / by Kapil Dixit, TNN / February 27th, 2015
