Category Archives: Arts, Culture & Entertainment

Woman IPS officer scales Europe’s highest peak

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Inspiration / Positive News and Features, Records, All, Sports, Travel

Aparna Kumar, a 2002-batch IPS officer added another feather in her cap on August 4 when she scaled Europe’s highest peak Mount Elbrus (18,510 feet) in Russia. She hoisted the Indian and UP Police flags there.

Aparna Kumar is the first officer of the All India Services (IAS/IPS/ IFS) to scale this summit, according to inspector general of police (law and order) A Satish Ganesh.

No stranger to success as a mountaineer, she received the Rani Laxmi Bai award from chief minister Akhilesh Yadav in March this year after having scaled Mount Aconcagua, the highest peak of South America.

Earlier, she had successfully scaled Carstensz Pyramid in Indonesia and Mount Kilimanjaro i n Tanzania. Recounting her experience, Aparna says, “I was part of the 14-member expedition team that scaled Mount Elbrus. I was afflicted with diarrohea when our team arrived at the base camp for the expedition. The weather also turned inclement when we started climbing. But I did not lose confidence and decided to move ahead. Hoisting the national and state police flags on the highest peak of Europe was a moment to cherish.”

Expressing concern over the dumping of garbage near mountain peaks by tourists, Aparna said it would make an adverse impact on the environment. “We carry bags to pick up plastic bottles and other material left by tourists at the base camp. An Indian Army team visited Nepal to collect the garbage dumped near Mount Everest,” she said.

A graduate of the National Law College-Bengaluru, Aparna said, “My next expedition will be to Antarctica to scale Mount Vison Massif, the highest mountain peak (on the icy continent).”

Aparna was on an expedition to scale Mount Everest in April when an earthquake rocked Nepal. “We had scaled 23,000 feet and were told to return. After completing the Antarctica expedition, I will try to scale Mount Everest again next year.”

source: http://www.hindustantimes.com / Hindustan Times / Home> Cities / HT Correspondent, Hindustan Times,Lucknow / August 13th, 2015

NABOB OF FAIRLIE PLACE – The mysterious European businessman who gave India its iconic railway book stalls

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

WheelerLUCKNOW27aug2015

At a time when booksellers everywhere appear a threatened breed, the life of Emile Edouard Moreau, who set up A H Wheeler and Co, the chain of railway bookstalls that endure to this day, appears as a fascinating example of a man with interests that spanned continents, and yet about whom there remains much that is mysterious. This story tries to piece the gaps in Moreau’s story, locating his life at the most interesting juncture in world history.

In 1877 (though the date is variously given as 1874), when he was a young man of around 20, Moreau set up what would be the first of the A H Wheeler bookstalls at the Allahabad railway station. The East Indian Railways, which had commenced operations from Calcutta northward in 1854, was then expanding its operations from Allahabad to north India. The line from Allahabad to Jabalpur had already been constructed in 1867 and so for the first time Calcutta and Bombay were connected by rail via these two cities.

Moreau was at that time a young employee of the managing agency Bird & Company in Allahabad. His two uncles, Paul and Sam Bird, brothers of Moreau’s mother, were partners in the company. Bird & Company was a leading labour contractor, supplying workmen to the railway company. It would soon have interests in coal, jute and other industrial enterprises.

Moreau had come to India a couple of years before this. His father was a Frenchman named Auguste Moreau, and his mother was Mary Bird. Emile Moreau (not to be confused with a famous French author of the same name) was born in Oise in France, on July 11, 1856. At 15, he enrolled at the boarding school for boys Framlingham in Suffolk, and, when 17, he took a steamship to Calcutta, where his uncles were already established.

The family tradition

Moreau’s grandfather James Bird, who had died in 1839, had also been a bookseller. He was evidently a local poet of some repute in Yoxford, Sussex where he also encouraged other writers such as the Strickland Sisters who later moved to Canada. After the early 1850s, railway bookstalls were no longer a new feature, at least in Europe. As far back as 1852, Louis Hachette (whose name would go on to be used by the famous publishing house) had the idea of a railway library on trains plying from Paris to other regions in France. His railway library used an innovative colour scheme distinguishing books for different clientele and readerships.

Moreau’s familiarity with the railway station in Allahabad, where he lived as an employee of Bird and Co, meant that he soon noticed the demand for reading material, especially from first class passengers. As the story goes, when a friend of his, A H Wheeler, concluded that he had far too many books in his home library, Moreau volunteered to sell them from a wooden almirah at the station.

Encouraged by the results, he set up, with a few others, the A H Wheeler and Co (named after his friend, who had moved to London by then), in Allahabad. According to this report from the London Gazette, the company began as a partnership Moreau set up with Arthur Henry Wheeler and also Arthur Lisle Wheeler, along with two others, W M Rudge and the Armenian Tigran Ratheus David. It had offices in Allahabad and London.

In the late 1880s, A H Wheeler and Co (or Wheeler’s) found fame and controversy in equal measure. Moreau soon developed bigger plans as well, such as publishing. The railways had expanded and Wheeler’s bookstalls were a familiar feature at railway stations across the United Provinces, the North West Provinces and beyond in the very first decade of their existence.

Publishing Rudyard Kipling in India

In 1888, still in Allahabad, Moreau made a business proposal of sorts to Rudyard Kipling, who then wrote for The Pioneer and also the Civil and Military Gazette, or CMG (newspapers published out of the city), contributing stories and narrative sketches for its weekly editions. Kipling’s first novel, a collection of his writings called Plain Tales from The Hills, had already been published by the Calcutta-based Thacker and Sphink & Co, and, as the story goes, it was Moreau who offered to publish his stories in book form.

Over the next couple of years, several of Kipling’s early novels formed part of Wheeler’s Indian Railway Library Series. The other books, beginning with Soldiers Three were Wee Willie Winkie, Under the Deodars, The Story of the Gadsbys, In Black and White, The Phantom Rickshaw and Other Eerie Tales, which has the famous story, The Man who would be King. Later, the Library Series also republished Kipling’s The City of Dreadful Night. These were sold for one rupee each.

In the agreement signed between Wheeler’s and Kipling (March 1889), the books were published by Wheeler’s, with Kipling receiving an “advance” of £200. Other details included the promised royalty of £4 for a thousand copies, accruing after the sale of an initial 1,500 copies. It was with this £200 that Kipling set out on a “world tour” via East Asia and the US.

It was during this time, first in Japan, that he discovered, much to his consternation, some pirated editions of his own work. In New York, he was somewhat distressed to find his early works being published in America (then under the old copyright laws, which would be changed in a few years’ time), which also entailed that an author first published elsewhere (meaning outside the country) received no royalty.

Kipling reached London and found more fame than he had bargained for. As one story goes, Moreau had sent copies of the Indian Railway Library Series publications to the British firm of Sampson Low, whose reader and editor Andrew Lang saw merit in the works. The other version is that Kipling, introduced to publishers through old acquaintances from India such as Stephen Wheeler, former editor of CMG, now had his own ideas regarding the publication of own works.

Soon the agreement between Wheeler’s and Kipling was to be reworked; all publication rights Wheeler’s had on Kipling’s work outside India were sold back to him; Wheeler’s continued to retain the Indian rights. In his memoirs, Kipling apparently mentioned his early encounter with Moreau, describing him as someone who “came of an imaginative race, used to taking chances.”

Kipling’s views on copyright matters also clashed with those of his editors at the CMG and The Pioneer, and their publishers, Sir George Allen and Pioneer Press. A later book from Wheeler’s and Sampson Low, titled Letters from Marque, was suppressed after publication. It included The Smith Administration, a collection of Kipling’s satirical sketches of the government commission’s efforts to find out how “natives” were faring in British India.


The trial of Henry Vizetelly

In 1888, the trial of the publisher Henry Vizetelly in London, according to provisions of the Obscene Publications Act of 1857, also had reverberations in British India. As one of the largest book chains in British India, Wheeler’s found themselves in some unlikely spotlight. By this time, the book trade had picked up impressively in India; around the 1880s book imports from Britain made up, as Deana Heath has written, as much as half of what was sold within India. By 1894-95, book and newspaper imports from Britain numbered nearly five million units, filling up 500 mailbags a week.

Vizetelly, a writer himself and a long-time admirer of Emile Zola, had published English versions of three of Zola’s novels (where the translator’s name appears as “unknown”). This came to the notice of the National Vigilance Association (NVA), a pressure group that took upon itself the responsibility to “purge” literature of anything obscene and prurient. Following the NVA’s allegations, Vizetelly was prosecuted for translating Zola’s La Terre, Piping Hot and Nana. Initially he was fined, but in a second trial, Vizetelly, then aged 74, was sentenced to three months’ imprisonment including hard labour. It was a sentence that broke his health, as his son Ernest Vizetelly (who later translated and published bowdlerised versions of Zola’s novels) said afterwards.

At the time Wheeler’s was already selling many of Zola’s works in its stalls, and though police officials and some educational officials such as the Reverend A Neut, the principal of St Xavier’s College, Calcutta, asked for suppression of sales, other officials in the Indian provinces chose to either disregard this, or else realised the futility of such suppression (since literature, as some said, in the local languages was easily available and more pernicious). When Lord Northbrook, the returning viceroy, asked that booksellers be warned, the officials in the central provinces and elsewhere pleaded that contracts between the government and the railway companies forbade such interference.

The debate, however, was interesting at several levels. In England, the NVA found nothing objectionable in the original French versions of Zola’s novels that were in wide circulation. The NVA and several others evidently believed that French was more a language of the elite, who could be trusted, but with the spread of education guaranteed by Britain’s Education Act of 1870, they were worried about what the public at large in England was reading.

At the turn of the century, Wheeler’s became almost indispensable in the expansion of the railways, winning the sole rights for running advertisements in publications on the railways’ behalf. Publishing in regional languages grew apace—for instance, the Naval Kishore Press was set up in 1858 and published works in Hindustani and Urdu, and there were also a growing numbers of texts relating to religion and mythology in this period—and as railway travel became both popular and necessary, Wheeler’s stalls were a necessary conduit to the pastime of reading.

Moreau and British propaganda during World War I

Once World War I began, Moreau found himself greatly sought by British government, especially by the ministry of munitions, under which the propaganda department functioned. Britain’s war propaganda department was set up around September 1914, only after realisation dawned about the efficacy of the German propaganda department; it operated from London’s Wellington House. The department’s functioning remained largely secret, and its activities would only come to light two decades or so later, in the mid-1930s.

Moreau’s knowledge and experience of the east made him indispensable, and it was Edward E Long, the official in charge of eastern propaganda, who looked him up at Fairlie Place, the home he had built for himself in Brighton, England in 1906. Spread over vast acres, it shared its name with the headquarters of East Indian Railways, later Eastern Railway, in Calcutta. Perhaps by now his interest as publisher had waned after the incident with Kipling, but he remained a partner at Wheeler’s in London and also at Allahabad.

The propaganda department had numerous writers working for it, including Rudyard Kipling, Arthur Conan Doyle, G. K. Chesterton, John Masefield, John Bunyan and others (there seem to have been no women in the list). The department was set up initially to disseminate propaganda to neutral countries and the British Empire, but soon it targeted the enemy too.

By June 1915, the department had distributed 2.5 million books, in at least 17 languages. In particular, the Bryce Report, written around this time, relating to German atrocities on Belgian citizens in late 1914, was translated into at least 30 languages

Though translations into European languages came faster (depending on skills available during the period), the rise of a local bureaucracy in the Indian sub-continent and increased numbers of “natives” in the ICS perhaps helped in multilingual war propaganda in India as well. Propaganda was also effectively done by disseminating newspapers in local languages and making an endeavour to publicise the British war efforts among the more “moderate” newspapers whose editors were invited to London (in an early example of embedded journalism).

Among the first newspapers for the war effort in British India was Al-Hakikat, published in Hindustani, Persian and Arabic. This was chiefly to counteract the powerful German propaganda in west and central Asia, which also targeted India. Later the Al-Hakikat was written in Turkish, too.

Soon after, the Satya Vani began to be published in Bengali, Hindi, Gujarati and Tamil. In still another improvisation, the Jang-i-Akbar was introduced, and this was written in Hindi, Urdu and also in the Gurmukhi script to address readers in the United Provinces and Punjab. It was the Wheeler’s bookstalls and other local distributors that ensured widespread distribution of these papers. Numbers in the space of one year reached 40,000, and soon provincial governments demanded more. It was for his services, and much of it is really not known, that Moreau was also awarded a CBE by the British government.

A global businessman

Towards the end of the war, in 1917, A H Wheeler split into two distinct branches: with Arthur H Wheeler and Co. operating in London and A H Wheeler and Co. in India. Moreau, however had numerous other interests. He travelled widely, and served as director of companies with interests in rubber, in Java and in the Malay states, and also oil (in the Trinidad Oilfields, where a road in the village of Marac is named after Moreau).

His interest in rubber technology even led Moreau to write a book himself during the time he served as director in a rubber company in Java owned by the Netherlands. It was a book published by Arthur H Wheeler (in London), comparing different ways of rubber tapping.

Despite all his travelling, Moreau lived very much in the style of the “nabobs” of old at Fairlie Place, owning, it is believed, several limousines. He lived here till his death 1937. It remained a private residence till well after World War II, after which it became a school offering secretarial and other vocational training for women.

Little is known of his family life, but he remained devoted to this institute, Framlingham College (a residential school), till his death in 1937. Not only did he serve on the governing board for many years, but he was also its most generous individual benefactor—instrumental in setting up sports facilities for its students and instituting scholarships that carry his name and are provided to this day.

This post first appeared on Scroll.in. We welcome your comments at ideas.india@qz.com.\

source: http://www.qz.com / Quartz India / Reuters-Punit Parangpe / by Anu Kumar, Quartz India / August 24th, 2015

Relic of finesse, hub of intellect buried in neglect

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Historical Links / Pre-Independence, Leaders, Travel

Lucknow :

Famous as ‘Shahji ki Deodhi’ or ‘Saat Aangan ki Kothi’ (mansion of seven courtyards), the residence of Amritlal Nagar is now in a dreadful state. Today, the kothi with a significant history is shadowed by past and broken with time. Not just family members, artists, neighbours and culturati want the mansion restored and declared heritage building.

The mansion is facing legal problems over property rights and encroachment issues. Put up for sale, a precious piece of history is on the verge of being lost. Daughter of the writer, Dr Deeksha Nagar said, “Government can transform the mansion into a live cultural museum.” In the maze of Old Lucknow there is a subtle presence of shredded memories woven by Nagar’s writings. “The mansion can be transformed into a place where literature can be created, reworked and performed as theatre,” she added.

When TOI contacted principal secretary culture Anita Meshram, she expressed inability to talk on the issue and said, “I cannot comment on this particular problem.” On tracing the forgotten house that Nagar lived in, it found to be actually a rented part of the kothi which originally belonged to Sharf-ud-Daula. It is said to have been the place where once Shahji had given refuge to Begum Hazrat Mahal, the night before she escaped to Nepal. The part of the kothi in which Nagar lived was the mardana (men’s) area of the Kothi’s original structure.

Saat Aangan ki Kothi may be lying in neglect but has not lost the resonance of beauty. Filmmaker Muzaffar Ali remarked, “Amritlal Nagar’s residence should be protected and marked as heritage of the City of Nawabs.” Some extensions of the kothi which earlier included a Thakurdwara, wooden doors and jharokhas with flawless filigree have slowly worn out over time, added Laavi Tikkha, neighbour of Amritlal Nagar from 1964-89.

Residence of Amritlal Nagar in those times used to attract lots of personalities from the Hindi film industry. “Shashi Kapoor, Shyam Benegal, Raj Babbar and K P Saxena were among the visitors and Junoon (1978) was shot here,” recalled Manoj Kumar Mehrotra, who resided in the house opposite Amritlal Nagar’s.

Though Nagar did not own any property, the kothi used to be an evening attraction of Mirza Mandi till a couple of decades ago. “The evening of courtly entertainment of poetry was part of his life in this kothi,” his neighbour Rahul Seth told TOI. Envisaging the past of 1980’s five and eighty years old Munendra Nath Mehrotra recalls that, “Amritlal Nagar’s kothi used to be a charm of this place but now it is surrounded by buildings on all sides.”

Blended with Lucknowi Tehzeeb and Nazakat, Amritlal Nagar was one of the renowned artistes of Lucknow’s literary repertoire. Former MP of Lucknow Lalji Tandon told TOI, “We tried to restore Nagar ji’s place a few years ago but didn’t make a headway. Government spending crores of rupees on development can easily restore this invaluable piece of history.”

Standing very differently from today’s world the work of Amritlal Nagar have transcended all boundaries compelling the reader to think. Made from ‘lakhauri’ and organic paste with Mughal architecture the mansion exudes an arresting aura of uniqueness. Wild grass growing on the 400-year-old building shrouds this relic of visual and oral arts of Old Lucknow.

(Compiled by Ashutosh Agarwal)

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City> Lucknow / TNN / August 23rd, 2015

Ikka Daud: 200-year-old tradition in Shrawan

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Sports, Travel

Allahabad :

The holy month of Shrawan brings along several traditions unique to a particular area. Sangam City too has a unique tradition of organizing age-old ‘Ghehre Baazi’ (‘Ghehre’ means steps and ‘Baazi’ means bet) or Ikka Daud (horse cart race) on Yamuna Bank Road on every Monday of the holy month.

The race has a 200-year-old history. The tradition was started by pandas of the city and they have continued to patronize it. Around 1940s, zamindars of Allahabad and neighbouring areas started participating in this unique race.

Winner gets accolades and appreciation of the cheering crowd as a reward for winning the strenuous race. No money is given out. “This public appreciation provides an unexplainable satisfaction for the ‘saais’ (horse keeper),” says Badre Alam, who has participated in at least 30 races and won 10 of them.

Alam’s forefathers were zamindars of Katra. He has continued his family tradition of participating in the race, which he feels “is an example of the Ganga-Jamuni tehzeeb of the region. It is held on Monday of Shrawan. Both Hindus and Muslims participate enthusiastically in this race.” Continuing in the same vein he says, “Shiva signifies ‘shakti’ (power). Horse too symbolizes power. Hence, the race is held in Shrawan.”

“The race is unique in many ways. As per the rule, horses used in commercial activities are banned. Only racing horses can canter (movement of horse wherein it moves in fast steps) and not gallop,” says Badre and adds this race helps horse cart owners prepare for the 14-km-long competitive race held in October-November held on the route between Hanumanganj and Shashtri bridge or Sahson and Phaphamau. “This race too is quite prestigious and witnesses participants from Lucknow, Kanpur, Mirzapur, Pratapgarh etc,” he said.

Badre Alam relies on Sindhi horses for Ikka Daud. “Sindhi horses brought from the Sindh province of Pakistan are the best for the purpose. They have inborn talent for moving fast on sand and not gallop. We bring these horses from the famous animal fair of Barmer,” said Alam.

Even the cart of this unique race is equally special and manufactured in Delhi. The huge wooden wheel and the riding platform are made of Shisham wood and best ball bearings are used to give it required speed.

“Two persons sit on a cart. One handles the horse through leash and another, sitting in the rear, navigates the cart by informing the location of other competitors,” he said Alam.

Another regular participant Lalji Yadav, who has named his horse ‘Bhaiya’, said, “It is a pity that no one cares about offering prize money for the horse. Even pigeons are more fortunate as they at least get a prize after winning tournaments held for them.” He also wants proper security during race. “The district administration should see to it that people don’t jump on the road and no vehicles should be allowed on the track,” he demanded.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City> Allahabad / by Rajeev Mani, TNN / August 18th, 2015

World War I weapons on display in centenary year in Allahabad

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

Allahabad :

To mark the centenary year of the World War I, the Allahabad Museum will set up a gallery displaying arms and armours, including light machine guns and pistols, used in both world wars by August end. Renowned poet William Cowper’s quote, “War lays a burden on the reeling state, And peace does nothing to relieve the weight,” will be the theme of the gallery.

Museum director Rajesh Purohit said, “A light machine gun having a number on the outer side as MG 08/15 and manufactured in 1917 was used during the World War I. Another machine gun maxim MG 08/15 manufactured in 1918, pepper box revolver with six barrels and a six cartridge belonging to the 19th Century are prominent displays which were used during the World War-I. Their advanced versions were used in WW II.”

The other weapons to be displayed in the gallery are a muzzle loading, percussion cap firing system pistol and a smooth bore pistol with ram rod having a size 31cm and 1.6 cm belonging to early decades of 19th Century. Apart from the arms used in the two World Wars, the gallery would also exhibit pistols, swords, khukhri, bayonet and chest plates used by freedom fighters. Dumped in museum’s reserve collection along with 3,000 objects and antiquities, these arms and armours were away from public eye till 2011. After four years of classification, cataloguing and preservation, the objects classified under ‘arms and armours’ are ready to be displayed for visitors. These include various types of pistols, rifles and light machine guns. At present the museum has catalogued 211 weapons. However, the rifles that were in vogue during the WW II are yet to be displayed.

Most of these weapons are in good condition and could be used even after 100 years. The museum had roped in Allahabad University’s department of Defence Studies for cataloguing the guns and other arms. “A brigadier was also consulted to ascertain the present condition of the weapon. AU’s RK Tandon and Onkar Wankhede of the museum toiled hard towards restoration and preservation of arms. A total of 211 weapons are in the gallery,” said Purohit.

However, the museum had not documented donors of these weapons. “The museum started functioning with a small collection in 1931. With passage of time, donations started pouring in. We lack accounts of persons who donated various items, including arms and armours to the museum till 1950s,” said Purohit.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City> Allahabad / by Vinod Khanal, TNN / August 20th, 2015

Harvard book chronicles Maha Kumbh success saga

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Records, All, World Opinion

Lucknow :

The success of Maha Kumbh 2013 has now been chronicled in form of a book produced by teachers and scholars of Harvard University. Titled ‘Kumbh Mela, Mapping the Ephermal City’, the 447-page book will be formally released by chief minister Akhilesh Yadav in New Delhi on Monday.

A compilation of contributions from acclaimed writers like Dina L Eck, the book praises the chief minister’s efforts to celebrate the mega event as a “Green Kumbh” by banning the use of plastic materials and other pollutants at the Sangam in Allahabad.

Diana L Eck is a scholar of religious studies and a professor of comparative religion and Indian studies at the Harvard. Her earlier books include ‘Banaras, City of Light’. Among other contributors of the book are renowned architect Rahul Mehrotra and a group of Harvard students who camped at the Sangam during Mahakumbh in 2013 on Akhilesh’s invitation.

Published by the South Asia Institute of the Harvard University, the book in a complete narration of various aspects of the event which attracted millions to one single place. Some bound by intrigue, some drawn by interest, some tied to devotion, some in quest of peace, some for research and others by the simple urge of being part of the momentous event that unfolded between January 14 to March 22, says the book

The book, right from its preamble, lists how the spade work on the mega event started, from laying the grid of the sprawling Mela premises, to the logistics and the massive sanitation, sewage disposal and mass vaccination campaigns that were taken care of by the government agencies.

Referring to the Kumbh Mela project undertaken by the South Asia Institute (SAI) of the Harvard University as a “keystone project” the book goes on to discuss in detail the entire multi-year research project findings. During the period of the project, over 50 Harvard professors, students, administrative staff, doctors and researchers made a pilgrimage to the site, with the duration of stay spanning between two days to several weeks.

Meena Sonea Hewett, executive director of the SAI in the preamble states that the book serves as an “example of sophisticated, interdisciplinary researched and produced a set of teaching tools, useful across the disciplines of public health, data science, architecture, urban planning, business, religion and culture.”

The contributors to the book also call the Kumbh much beyond the media spectacle and details the “sheer human achievement of creating the temporary and yet complex infrastructure of the 24-square-mile Kumbh city, compared to almost 2/3rd of Manhattan. Calling the entire process of making this city with an expiry date as “astonishing”, the team of the SAI also details how this city comes up for 45 days and takes in millions of faithfuls.

In the section on ‘Metrics’, the writers detail how the mela area stretches to 23.5 square km and extends to another 15 km stretch due to the receding river that leaves behind additional flood plains. “The sense of elastic accommodation within the temporary settlement is outstanding and unique” the book observes.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City> Lucknow / by Subhash Mishra, TNN / August 17th, 2015

Panchala Museum plans gallery for freedom fighters

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

Bareilly :

With the 69th Independence Day less than a week away, authorities at Panchala Museum are planning to set up a gallery dedicated to the lives of freedom fighters from the Rohilkhand region.

Officials have started collecting pictures, letters and other memorabilia belonging to those who were a part of the freedom struggle.

Abhay Singh, a professor at MJP and the project coordinator, said, “We are requesting families of these bravehearts to provide photographs and texts related to their lives. We are working on a strategy to gather as many belongings of the freedom fighters as we can and we also plan to appeal to the public through newspapers in this connection.”

“Residents aren’t aware of the kind sacrifices freedom fighters from this region made. With the gallery we plan to highlight their glories in our museum. For instance, FR Rahman alias Chunna Miyan who was known as Gandhi of Bareilly worked for creating communal harmony in the city,” Singh added.

However, setting up of the gallery is subject to the availability of required material.

Shyam Bihari Lal, head of the department of ancient history and culture, said, “The gallery will be set up in the museum only after we receive enough material to put things up on display.”

Many people from the Rohilkhand region, including Bareilly, Shahjahanpur, Pilibhit, Rampur, Badaun, Moradabad, Bijnor and Sambhal played an active role in the freedom struggle.

Bareilly was the headquarter of the Rohilkhand region during the revolt of 1857. In fact, on May 31 that year, freedom fighters killed several British officials including the principal of Bareilly College.

The museum is located on the MJP Rohilkhand University campus. Till now, it was only accessible to varsity students but it will be opened to public from this month.

“There will be no entry fee for outsiders but there will be timings for public visits,” said Singh. He added the final touches are being given to the renovation and beautification work at the museum.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India/ News Home> City> Bareilly / by Priyangi Agarwal, TNN / August 10th, 2015

Making of ‘dhartiputra’ Mulayam to be documented in a feature film

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Leaders

Lucknow :

The struggle of ‘dhartiputra’ Mulayam Singh Yadav – from a schoolteacher to the chief minister of India’s biggest state – is all set to be documented on the celluloid. The full-length biopic, ‘Netaji – Mulayam Singh Yadav, directed by Vivek Dixit, would trace the Samajwadi Party supremo’s journey from the Etawah countryside in 60s to 5, Kalidas Marg in Lucknow in 1989 when he became the chief minister for the first time.

Mulayam’s younger brother and senior minister Shivpal Yadav will launch the film at a mahurat ceremony in Lucknow on Wednesday. Sources closely associated with the film production told TOI that ‘Massey Saheb’ fame thespian Ragubir Yadav has been approached to play the title role.

“Veteran actor Raghbir Yadav is being considered to play the lead role in the film,” says Ashok Yadav, a minister in Akhilesh cabinet who is also the chief of SP’s Etawah unit, the home turf of the SP’s first family. “We are also in talks with Amitabh Bachchan. Who will introduce the film,” he said.

Dixit, who has earlier produced and wrote ‘Sancha’ (Mould) starring Anupam Kher, told TOI : “The film ends with Mulayam’s first address after becoming the chief minister where he says Lohia ka sapna poora ho gaya .. aaj ek kisan ka beta mukhya mantri ban gaya (Lohia dream has come true. A farmer’s son has become a chief minister).”

Asked about Raghubir Yadav’s casting, he said: “Raghubir Yadav is fit to play Mulayam of today. However, playing his younger self will be difficult for him.” A final call would be taken in lead actors after after a final “look” test in make-up before the camera, he said, adding “The film will also have celebrated make-up artist and national award winner Vikram Gaikwad of ‘Mary Kom’ fame.”

On his inspiration behind making the film on Mulayam, Dixit said: “It was the thought that today parents want their children to become doctors, engineers and scientists but not political leaders. It was this urge to change the perspective that gave me the idea of making a film on a political leader.”

The invite sent for the mahurat ceremony mentions Shilpa Motion Works and Godfather Films as the two production houses handling the project which has a tentative budget of Rs 30 crore. The film is slated to be shot in most of the original locations in and around Etawah. “We have a research team working on the project for the past one year. We have visited the original locations and plan to retain them in the 2 hour 10 minute long film,” he said.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City> Lucknow / by Pervez Iqbal Siddique, TNN / August 12th, 2015

At Aligarh village, shrine to British soldiers killed in 1857

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

Shairpur (Aligarh):

In a strange twist of fate, nine British soldiers who died fighting rebels in the 1857 freedom struggle near this village are now worshipped by the descendants of the villagers. The locals, who believe the souls of the nine soldiers protect them from evil spirits, have turned the memorial plaque into a shrine with lit candles, incense sticks and red sacred thread.

Nearly 121 km from Agra, in the Gangiri block of Aligarh district on its border with Kasganj, the memorial plaque at Shairpur village commemorates British cavalrymen from two highly decorated regiments — the 6th Dragoon Guards, also known as the Carabiniers, and the 9th Queen’s Royal Lancers, who for their participation in the events of 1857 came to be called the Delhi Spearmen.

Engraved on the plaque are their names — Captain George Wardlaw, Lieutenant John Hudson, Lieutenant Sydney Vyse, Privates Joseph Barrett, Robert Chapman, Walter Cossar and Allen Eastwood of the Carabiniers, and Privates John Dyson and Henry Frampton of the Delhi Spearmen.

Surrounded by rice fields, tall shrubs and several trees including a peepal, the ramshackle memorial silently narrates the story of a bloody battle fought here on December 14, 1857.

The structure for the nine soldiers, known locally as ‘Kalajar’ since the war was fought near the Kaali river, has shrunk to its current size of 20 sq ft after villagers took up the surrounding land for cultivation.

However, what remains is of occult significance for locals. “On every holy occasion, local villagers, particularly women, worship this stone plaque. They tie sacraments at the peepal tree behind it, light earthen lamps and incense sticks and offer flowers to the dead soldiers’ souls,” said Jai Vir Singh, headmaster of the primary school at the village, just 30m from the grave. “It is certainly ironic that the descendants of the rebels who fought and killed these men offer them prayers today,” Singh added.

Others assign specific powers to the dead men. “We offer prayers here as we believe the souls of these men protect our village from evil spirits. Every year, the families of these soldiers also visit our village from Britain to pay homage to their ancestors who were buried here,” said Pushpender, a local villager.

BD Rana, son of the former local MLA Netram Singh, believes that the place is of historical importance and the government should take steps to conserve it. “During the Raj, this entire area was part of the Gungeree cantonment. Some five kilometres away, there is another tombstone protected by the ASI, but not much information is available on it,” Rana said.

Experts, however, play down the historical significance of the site. “As the tombstone indicates, there must be a graveyard of British soldiers in the area, but that doesn’t mean it is of historical significance. Scores of Britishers were killed by Indians and their bodies were buried at several places during the events of 1857,” remarked MK Pundhir, medieval archaeologist from the Centre of Advance Studies in History, Aligarh Muslim University.

“Worship of the tomb is a mere superstition. Since there is a peepal tree behind it, villagers over the years must have started worshipping the tombstone as well,” he added.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City> Agra / by Arvind Chawhan, TNN / August 09th, 2015

French Artist to work with UP Artisans

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Business & Economy, World Opinion

A French entrepreneur who runs a fashion store has shown his inclination to work with the artisans based in Uttar Pradesh and make zardozi the talking point in the global fashion industry.

Maximiliano Modesti , who runs an export fashion centre in Mumbai, held a meeting with Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, and showed his inclination to work with zardozi artisans of Uttar Pradesh.

A Government official said in a statement issued here on Thursday that Modesti has told Yadav that he wanted to work with zardozi and other artisans and export their work to the international market. “The French entrepreneur made it clear that he wants to make Uttar Pradesh as his work centre,” the spokesman said.

A graduate of IFM (Institut Francais de la Mode), finishing an MBA in Paris, Modesti runs an office in Mumbai. He works with clients like Hermès, Isabel Marant and Bibhu Mohapatra. All of the Hermès embroidery is done in Bombay and leather accessories and garments in Delhi. Now he wants to open embroidery centre in form of zardozi in UP.

Modesti told CM that he already works with a group of 50 artisans in UP as a pilot project. “After the success of this pilot project we want to increase this number to over 1000. We want that the products they make can be sold in the international market. This will not only give these artisans money but also bring UP’s zardozi and other art work to limelight,” he said.

The French entrepreneur had all praises for the skill development schemes launched by the UP Government, He said that such initiatives will help the artisans to hone their skills and if the government can provide them a market this skill will further flourish.

Yadav, on his part assured Modesti of all help. He said that UP being the most populous state of country it is full of opportunity. “The Samajwadi Party Government is trying to improve infrastructure facilities in the state with the result many top industrial houses are now willing to invest I UP,” he said.

source: http://www.dailypioneer.com / The Pioneer / Home> State edition> Lucknow / Pioneer News Service, Lucknow / Friday – August 07th, 2015)