Showing posts with label History-Indian. Show all posts
Showing posts with label History-Indian. Show all posts

Thursday, December 14, 2023

The Achaleswar temple at Mt Abu and the fascinating story of the attacking bees

 6th December 2023

Mt Abu

As usual, I was confused, I had understood that we were going walking to Guru Shikhar, which is the highest point on the Aravallis near Mt Abu, but instead we were here.  

The colourful elephants at the entrance did not raise my enthusiasm to go in.

I peered through the covered tunnel passage to see this.  Still not enthused enough to remove shoes and go in, I hung around outside initially until Arjun hurried back out and said that we were being given a history talk of the place by Mr Daivat Singh of Sirohi!  


And so in I went and was so glad I did, as we were enthralled with some great storytelling  of legend and history of the Achaleswar temple, told with humour, personality and objectivity.

The previous night at dinner, Nino,  had shared some legends of Mount Abu - Arbuda the serpent who saved Nandi over here, and another one about how Devi Parvati's lips (arbuda) fell here, and hence Arbuda, became Abu....
And now, we heard of the legends related to this temple.  The region was prone to tremors and instability and the local chieftains prayed to Kashi Vishwanath, who stabilised the hills by placing one toe...and so it moved from chal  to achal or stability.  (The deity within is not a typical lingam but a toe like protrusion in a hollow. The hollow is the hole caused by the toe if I got it right, and goes all the way to naraka)

The legendary bees of Mount Abu

Another Alauddin Khilji story.  As he was making his way from Ahmedadabd, his henchmen mentioned about the riches of  the temples of Mount Abu, and so up he came with his 1200 plus horsemen, looted Delawara temples and set his sight on Achaleswar.  The local warriors were only 100 strong, and decided that rather than dying and causing bloodshed at the temple, to go and meet the incoming troops head on, and so off they went, fighting ferociously - and miraculously the angry bees of Abu came buzzing along and attacked and stung the Khilji forces, and only them...making them turn tail, surrender arms and basically leave the place.

I mulled and pondered and decided those must have been those rock bees - Apis dorsata - the "rajput" bees - aggressive defenders of their territory!

The surrendered arms and other weapons were melted into a Trishul and offered at the temple, the account goes.  



Re-discovering the beautiful marble carvings

These marble carvings seen below were hidden behind chunaam and plaster and revealed only in 1979 by accident!  Mr Daivat and even Priya remember the chunaam pillars and facades.  Some "damage" accidentally displaying what was under.  Since then, they have been slowly and carefully cleaned and the beauty revealed.

Whether this was done to protect the pillars from harm or it was an act of careless beautification was unclear.  It's quite astonishing how there is so little documentation at institutional level...everything is word of mouth.  Quite contrary to the British obsession with classifying and documenting?

I admired the delicate filigree-like rosettes, monkeys, Devis, apsaras and assorted figures around the doorway.  Marble slabs, whittled away with perfect artistry.

There are two new restored figurines - find them.

And these delicate drawings, with bricks underneath

I was fascinated with this lovely couple - welcoming smiles - a Very Greek beard (according to me).  Is this Agni, and is that a lightning bolt in his hand, I wondered... hmm but no potbelly of Agni, the ears look like that of a Learned man...so anyways I do not know who he or the beautiful lady are.

I loved the aesthetics of this.  The arms of the dancers bring a movement, and made my eye travel upwards.

OK, now this waist is unreal.


There was a crooked house...In today's context...Koteswar would be appropriate.







Achalgarh fort..way up there.

And so we emerged out from the 13th century again, back to 21st century India, greeted by a different kind of Nandi, 

and Lucky's Wax Museum! 

Anyways, the moral of this story for me was never judge a temple by the well meaning beautifications outside.

We wound our way up some beautiful Aravali landscapes - scrubby, with small lakes in the valleys.

We shared a ride with Arjun and Gapi in their little chariot that Arjun hustled around the hill curves with skill and casual ease (while I kind of hung on) - we were now up on our way to Guru Shikar - the highest point in the vicinity, where we encountered further 21st century Indian architecture and garbage (lack of) management.


It was advisable to keep one's eyes on the distant vistas and admire the spectacular views.

In averting my gaze from the foreground muck, I almost missed the Brown Rock Chat sitting on the rock and posing this way and that.  She cheered me up, but also made me feel so shameful...how we spoil things for every creature on this planet, uff!

The delightful Wordsworth Lodge was where we headed for lunch.  The website has the Wordsworth story in a nutshell.  Some lovely pictures too.
There is a romantic history behind this lovely Boutique Hotel, hidden on a forested foothill of Gurushikar, the tallest mountain in the Aravali Range. In 1965, an English woman named Diana Wordsworth, a collateral descendant of the poet William Wordsworth, travelled to India to work on a film about the Ganga and fell in love with the country and with a colonel in the Indian Army, Buddha Sen. The couple resolved to retire together and began a search for a likely spot in one hill station or another. At a chance meeting with Fateh Singh Rathore, who would one day become India’s best-known defender of the tiger but was then a young game ranger stationed at Mount Abu, he suggested they consider Rajasthan’s best-known hill station, instead.
​He helped them find the perfect spot on which to build their home. It was designed to complement the unique landscape by a rising young Mumbai architect named Rumy Shroff, but Fateh helped with every aspect of its construction. Sadly, the colonel passed away before the house was finished and when Diana Wordsworth died in 1984 she left it to Fateh whom she had come to see as her surrogate son.​
Now, Fateh’s son, Dr. Goverdhan Singh Rathore, has lovingly restored and renovated Wordsworth Lodge so that visitors can experience for themselves the spectacular views and serene natural surroundings just as they were more than half a century ago.

I sunk into a chair on the verandah surrounded by trees, breathed the foresty air and watched.

I was also being watched.  A grey langur mother and baby stared, alert to danger.

A Treepie watched, hoping for some morsels.


And it was on to lunch - and then much confusion about walking or driving to Trevor Tal, or back to the hotel etc etc.


 

Tuesday, December 12, 2023

The history of Mount Abu as told by Mr Daivat Singh Deora


I wondered how Mount Abu had all those princely houses clustered together, and I discovered this video with an explanation.

We met Mr Daivat Singh and his lovely wife Kirti, and enjoyed their gracious hospitality and tremendous food on our visit to Kesar Bhawan as well.  What an enchanting evening that was - a gracious setting that is Kesar Bhawan.

"Kesar Bhawan Palace was built in the year 1868 A.D. by His Highness Maharajadhiraj Maharao Umed Singhji of Sirohi. It has been converted into an eco-friendly heritage hotel by Maharaj Daivat Singh of Sirohi whose ancestor Maharao Lumbha conquered the hill of Abu in the year 1311 A.D. and brought the area in the domain of the princely State of Sirohi, which was founded in the year 1206 A.D. by Rao Manning Rai."

I was so busy savouring the delicious fare that I did not photograph the evidence of those lovely fresh green puris whose name I don't remember, the unique smoky khadi, hot missi rotis....and the large array of desserts not eaten.

 

Sunday, October 23, 2022

Visiting the RIWATCH museum at Roing - Day 5

5th October 2022

RIWATCH - Research Institute of World’s Ancient Traditions Cultures and Heritage - is a not for profit, community-based cultural organisation trying to empower local ethnic communities and involve them in sustainable development.

One rainy evening, several of us (following the earlier visit of Yuvan) headed to this museum, around closing time, located in the village of Khinjili, 10 kms from Roing.  It was a charming little place, opened in 2009, with artefacts from the community.

To me, it felt a bit like Dakshinchitra, preserving some not-so-old but vanishing cultural artefacts and ways of living of the local communities. 

The following is text that was up on the walls of the museum - converted to text by the scan function on the 'phone. 

“ Bhismak Nagar
A Major Archaeological Site
Archaelogical artifacts throw interesting insights into our past, life style of our ancestors and traditions. It helps us to peep into their living times and the historical, social, political and cultural conditions of the people. The descriptions & motifs found on artifacts have often helped historians to make valuable discoveries about the lives of societies. They also link us to various aspects of oral history, myths and descriptions in tolklores that have come down to us from generations. 

Using carbon dating techniques, scientists are today in a position to determine the age of an artefact and thus help fix the timeline of events and communities. These are from the fort of the Chutia kings and his people who lived during 8' to 10' century at Bhismaknagar and near the river Kundil, between Roing & Tezu. These were obtained during excavations done in 1950 to 80s.


The household items, displayed belong to Amunad tribes. They highlight the wide use of bamboo plant-products and expertise by the communities, to make utensils and household articles. The versatility of bamboo, cane and herbal gums is beautifully visible in the 'Yakhana bamboo basket made waterproof for holding rice ber Mud pots, even when used are cleverly fitted into bamboo structures, to prevent breakage. The use of metal utensils is of a later times, i.e, early decades of 20th century indicating increasing acceptance of household items from the plains of Assam. It also marks the shift in trade-link from Tibetan markets to those of British Indian market: like Sadiya in Eastern Arunachal and Chaiduar in Kameng of artistic and aesthetic sense of the people, even while using bamboo to make artefacts. The butter-tea vessel by Monpas, a community living in high mountains, is not found among any other tribes living across foothills and indicate their instristic skill and need based approach.









"ORNAMENTS
In any society, the ornaments reflect the artisitic advancement attained by its members. eg., the Wancho ornaments are marked by crisp designs with brilliant red and black beads, while blue beads occur prominently in Idu Mishmi and Apatani necklaces. The embellishments and sophistication reflected in the ornaments also enable us to understand the social and trade links developed by that society with the world outside, a valuable clue in historical research. (eg., the presence of a variety of rare stones in
Arunachali ornaments could be traced to their procurement from Tibet during the past centuries.) Unlike in the plains, gold is wholly absent, with silver appearing only from the early decades of 20th century as threading wire and medallions. Metal coins are a prominent item in Digaru & Miju Mishmi necklaces. At an individual level, an onament its features and size, could indicate the rank of a wearer, or his/her status in the society. In the pre-independent days, bracelets and ear rings were huge and heavy, but over the decades, they have shrunk to a shape, currently seen across India.  The once common large colourful waist bands too have vanished from daily use, with the arrival of modern education and changes in life style.”





The mural in the outer space

What lovely baskets!  Sadly, I did not find anything like this in the markets. 


Those are teeth of tiger and wild board



It was Ayudha Pooja/Durga Pooja day

"HEADGEAR
Originally evolved as a cover for head against sun and cold, the headgear for many communities also served as an important shield against enemy attack (Idu Mishmi Hat). This resulted in the discovery and use of a variety of very durable bamboo, cane, plant varieties and herbal dyes, and in turn their conservation by each community. 

These hats also demonstrate different seasoning techniques of these plant parts, a traditional knowledge, which is under threat of vanishing from the people's memories today. Over centuries, the headgears have emerged into unique entities, with characteristic artistic designs distinct for each tribe. The head gears foundoften decorated with colorful beads (Wagchoos and Notes) and wild boar teeth."


Before leaving the place, we chatted with girls from various ethnic tribes of the region - Mishmi, Add, Nishi and Apatani, who were studying there.  

Gapi and I each bought one of these baskets, which came safely back, and I loved the weave of it, and in a few minutes with borrowed material, created this (what I thought) was a joyful exuberance of wild countryside.

 On my return to Chennai, I mulled over what this museum meant, what the loss of these cultures meant. Left to themselves, communities should be allowed to move on, choose what to keep and what to leave behind isn't it? 


Thursday, December 6, 2018

Louvre Abu Dhabi again

Continued from here.  

The marble bust of a bedouin chief stared gravely down upon me.  I loved the careless folds of his shawl
And Da Vinci's La Belle Ferroniere fixed me with an even more piercing stare.
I stared back, no hurry, no  jostling crowds, trying to figure what makes a Da Vinci so special.
This is the only one of his 15 paintings outside of Europe.
This museum has bought Salvatore Mundi as well.
What are the odds of coming across 9,000 year old neolithic statues from Ain Ghazal in
two museums in two different countries?  I had just beaten those odds. I had seen
them at the antiquities museum at Jordan and now here again I was face-to-face
with the two-headed beauties.

A museum is a wonderful place, in general, and so too the Louvre at Abu Dhabi.  It is not crammed to the gills with stuff, and some of it is quirky and odd. Like this statuette of female fertility from the early villages gallery.  There was
one of a Bactrian princess which is also ancient.

The influence of the French museum collection was evident in the presence of these two paintings.


Portrait of King Louis XIV, Rene-Antoine Houasse, oil on canvas, 1674
Napolean crossing the Alps.  by Jacques-Louis David.  He painted five versions of this,
believe it or not - a precursor to today's clients requiring colour options - the versions
differing in colour of horse, sash, as also the look on his face.  I gathered that is the Second
Versailles version.
A Chinese dragon, A Chola beauty and a prince from Lagash


This bronzed winged dragon from the 3rd century BC was a beauty


... as was this Chola bronze, 
and this black stone carving of Gudea, the prince of the
Kingdom of Lagash, south of Mesopotamia, (modern
Iraq)  Dated at 2120BCE, the diorite stone is
believed to have been imported from the Oman
peninsula.
The floor was cross-crossed with a place-names map



"Young Emir Studying" - Osman Hamdy bey, from Istanbul in 1878


On loan from the Musée d’Orsay:​​​​Vincent Van Gogh’s Self Portrait, 1887


Edouard Manet - one of his Gyspy series

Hans Holbein's portrait of Sir Thomas Wyatt

And the Picassos!



Matisse































Kandinsky




Piet Mondrian caught my eye because of my aunt



"The Residence of  a Sugarcane planter in Brazil" - by the Dutch painter Frans Post, reminded me of home.



And the three W's - Walden, Warhol and the Whistler


The Docks of Cardiff - Lionel Walden.  I loved this one.

"Big Electric Hair" - Warhol, again this is a series, in many colours.
Whistler's Mother

A Koran and a Tora sat close to each other.











































Chinese screens

And Japanese ones too
























Egyptian frieze
An Islamic frieze of Quranic verses  in sandstone , from the Ghazni empire, about AD 1200


And Durga, Krishna and Maithreya too

The description read, "Between the 5th and 15th centuries, India was a leading creative centre in the domain of religious sculpture.  The lives of venerated individuals were illustrated in works produced to accompany the spread of Buddhism and Hinduism into Central Asia, and from South-East Asia, into China, Korea and Japan.  Their purpose was to encourage meditation by devotees and their encounter with the divine."

A Chola dynasty granite Durga, 12th century
A Krishna painting - supposedly they have a 150 Krishna paintings, which they will display in rotation!!
Maithreya, from the Gandhara period.



So much more - The Horses of the Sun, Cy Twombly's series in blue, Alexander the Great's bust (what's remaining of it actually), cuneiform, Isis, Chinese pottery, Japanese Edo paintings of Mt Fuji.....

I would love to go back, potter around the Cosmology gallery a bit more maybe, see the Bactrian princess again, and my little female statuette from south America  ...  and probably Salvatore Mundi will be displayed.










Andamans Day 5 - The Andaman teals, and Daurian Starling show and other sidelights

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