Monthly Archives: September 2018

Scent per cent: Temple floral waste to be put to fragrant use

Agriculture, Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy, Green Initiatives / Environment, Science & Technology

The Dr Ram Manohar Lohia Avadh University, Faizabad, on Tuesday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the famous Naka Hanuman Garhi temple, Faizabad, for collection of floral waste from the temple for producing exotic itra (traditional, natural perfume), incense sticks and fertilisers.

The university would collect the floral waste for this purpose, said Mahant Ramdas of the temple after signing the MoU.

Prof Manoj Dixit, vice chancellor of Avadh University, said the university will soon help recycle bio degradable refuse into exotic itra (traditional natural perfume), incense sticks and even scented havan ingredients.

Devotees offer about 200 kg flowers and 50 kg tulsi (basil leaves) at the temple every Tuesday and Saturday.

They offer 50 kg flowers on the remaining five days.

Mahant Ramdas said he was delighted that the university had come forward to sign this pact with the temple as it was becoming difficult to dispose of such a large volume of floral waste.

“We are happy that students will collect the floral waste and produce itra out of the flower juice,” he said.

The university had already signed an MoU with the Kannauj-based Fragrance and Flavour Development Centre (FFDC), he added. Production of itra and incense sticks will begin anytime this year, he said.

“We are waiting for the machines to come from Kannauj,” said prof Dixit.

“The students will learn to produce itra from flower juice, incense sticks from dry flowers and fertiliser from leaves. The move will not only help in disposal of floral waste but also generate employment for locals,” said prof Dixit.

The Avadh University has prepared a detailed proposal in association with FFDC, Kannauj, for this purpose. with whom they signed MoU earlier this month.

There were nearly 10,000 big and small temples in Ayodhya that accounted for 10-12 quintal floral waste daily, said Jaswant Singh, professor in environmental sciences department of the university. He is in touch with FFDC for the project.

“The idea is to use discarded flowers and leaves by traditional methods for making fragrance and flavour (itra, incense sticks, etc) with the help of local people and the finished product will be given back to the temples,” he further said.

source:http://www.hindustantimes.com / Hindustan Times / Home> Cities> Lucknow / by Rajeev Mullick, Hindustan Times,Lucknow / August 23rd, 2018

A ‘Taj Mahal’ for a husband

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Historical Links / Pre-Independence, Records, All, Travel, World Opinion

In Agra’s Roman Catholic Cemetery lies a ‘Red Taj’ built for a Dutchman by his wife

The Taj Mahal has unnecessarily become a standard for all tombs in India. Each monument is unique, yet the comparisons continue. The tomb of Shahnawaz Khan, son of Abdur Rahim Khan-e-Khanan, in Burhanpur is called the ‘Black Taj Mahal’. The tomb of Ibrahim Adil Shah II in Bijapur is called the ‘Taj Mahal of the Deccan’. And I discovered recently, much to my horror, that the exquisite tomb of Itmad-ud-Daula in Agra, also made of marble, is called the ‘Baby Taj’!

So, when I was informed of a ‘Red Taj Mahal’ in Agra, I was curious, not because of the comparison, but because it is located in the Roman Catholic Cemetery and was built for a Dutchman, Colonel John William Hessing, by his wife Anne. This seemed like an interesting reversal of the story that we are familiar with, and when I went there, I discovered that it was.

Comparisons with the Taj

Hessing was born in Utrecht, Holland, in 1739, and came to India as a 24-year-old. He served under the Nizam of Hyderabad and the Marathas, and was later given the command of the first two battalions of the newly raised Scindia army. After the death of Maharaja Mahadaji Scindia, he continued to serve under Maharaja Daulat Rao Scindia. When he could no longer actively serve due to ill-health, Hessing was made the Commandant of Agra Fort by Scindia. He died in 1803, and was buried in the Roman Catholic Cemetery in Nehru Nagar, Agra.

I entered the wooden gate of the premises with excitement as I had seen the red dome from afar. To the right of the entrance was a red sandstone tomb. Of course, it is not like the Taj Mahal, but as it is domed, has vaulted doorways, was built in the Mughal style, and is in Agra, the comparisons are inevitable. It has four slender minarets, attached to the main tomb, its cupolas crowned by pinnacles. The dome with its inverted lotus and finial rises from the centre. There are octagonal chabutras attached to the platform on all four corners. There is a fine carved panel running along the edge on the top and around the drum of the dome. Marble plaques at the main entrance have inscriptions in Persian.

As is the case with all Mughal tombs, the actual grave is underneath. There are many other graves in the corridor outside the crypt. Hessing’s monument, said to have been built at a cost of one lakh rupees, is the most prominent. According to Mathura: A District Memoir by F.S. Growse, a French traveller named Victor Jacquemont, who visited Agra in 1829-1830, had said that the Taj, though pretty, was hardly elegant and that the only pure specimen of oriental architecture was the tomb of John Hessing in the Catholic Cemetery. There is no doubt that he was talking of the time when the Taj Mahal had fallen into disrepair. It was mainly due to the efforts of Lord Curzon at the turn of the 20th century that the Taj acquired its current splendour, but I agree with Growse that Jacquemont views are “warped”. Hessing’s tomb is definitely elegant, but it cannot be compared to the Taj Mahal even on the Taj’s worst day.

Fanny Parkes in her journal Begum, Thugs and White Mughals, edited by William Dalrymple, describes the Hessing tomb as “a beautiful mausoleum” which is “well worth a visit”. It was built by a “native architect, by the name Lateef, in imitation of the ancient Mohammedan tombs”. She writes: “The tomb is beautiful, very beautiful and in excellent taste.” Lateef was apparently an expert parchinkar who used to inlay marble with precious stones as well as draw pictures of the Taj Mahal and other monuments in Agra. Parkes bought a few of them.

In the cemetery

The cemetery is well kept, green, and peaceful. Not many people know of it, so I found no visitors there. The caretakers were cooperative and took me around. The cemetery was originally built for the Armenian Christians who came during the reign of Emperor Akbar. The oldest grave belongs to John Mildenhall, an Englishman who died in 1614.

As I wandered around the cemetery, what struck me was the amalgamation of cultures. There was a grave with Allah and the cross carved on it. Many graves had Latin, English and Persian inscriptions on them. A small chapel had petitions to god by the faithful tied to its door, and window screens similar to what we see in dargahs.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Opinion / by Rana Safvi / September 02nd, 2018