Category Archives: Historical Links, Pre-Independence

A Royal Interview …..: “It is an arranged , not a love marriage ,” says Yaduveer’s Father-in-Law

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If there was one constant refrain in the last ten days in Mysuru it was “Are you attending the royal wedding, did you get the invitation?” This was to witness a historic wedding after 40 years when the titular head Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar tied the knot on June 27, 2016. The royals from different parts of the country had descended to watch the six-day wedding in all its pomp and glory. Rajmata Pramoda Devi Wadiyar had planned the whole marriage to perfection that was watched by the whole world on their television screens and the lucky few in the opulent, magnificent Mysore Palace. The focus was also on the beautiful bride Trishikha Kumari Singh and her father Maharaja Kumar Harshavardhan Singh of Dungarpur and mother Rajkumari Maheshree Kumari.

After the six-day wedding, Star of Mysore caught up with a relaxed Harshavardhan Singh at Hotel Radisson Blu. The handsome Mr. Harshavardhan Singh, 60, was sitting relaxed in the lobby of the hotel after participating in the six days of hectic wedding rituals of his daughter. He was very articulate, witty and spoke at length about the wedding, the wonderful preparations made by Rajmata Pramoda Devi Wadiyar, about the young, newly-married couple, about whether it was love marriage or an arranged one, his entry into politics as the Rajya Sabha MP and how he has fallen in love with Mysuru. Excerpts.

Harshavardhan Singh being interviewed by N. Niranjan Nikam at Radisson Blu.
Harshavardhan Singh being interviewed by N. Niranjan Nikam at Radisson Blu.

by N. Niranjan Nikam, Senior Journalist

Star of Mysore (SOM): Sir, just as Mysuru is in the Southern-most part of Karnataka, Dungarpur is a city in the Southern-most part of Rajasthan. The coincidence begins from here. You also have a grand legacy like the Wadiyars. How do you feel about the union of the two Princely families?

Harshavardhan Singh: Well, I feel very elated and happy that we are being part of the great Wadiyar dynasty. This is the first time we have come to the South. We had never gone South to find brides or grooms from Dungarpur. Our relations have always been with the Royal families of Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Rajasthan, like the Royalty of Bharathpur.

SOM: The match between Yaduveer and Trishikha, as everyone gushes, is a match made in heaven? As Mysureans we are very proud of our titular head of Wadiyar dynasty. What is the reaction in Dungarpur?

Harshavardhan Singh: Everyone is happy in our city also like they are happy here. I am getting calls from all over India. There is lots of excitement and this marriage is covered in all Rajasthan newspapers and a very prominent national newspaper carried the wedding photograph on their front page in their Delhi edition. I am also happy that Star of Mysore has covered this historic wedding very well.

SOM: Rajmata Pramoda Devi Wadiyar as we all know has planned the whole wedding meticulously and the whole world is a witness to it. What has been your experience in the last seven days?

Harshavardhan Singh: Well, it has really opened our eyes. We also follow the rituals and other ceremonies in our families. But it will last for just two or three days and a couple of hours each day. However, what we saw here was the Wadiyar dynasty culture and tradition being kept alive to the last detail. Madam has planned everything so well that every day the rituals were conducted according to the family traditions and it began in the morning and went on till the evening. That is how it should be; one must maintain our culture and traditions like visiting the temples for puja. I must tell you that both Yaduveer and Trishikha are also fully aware of the traditions and I am sure they will also keep it alive. They are young but still very mature. I have no words to thank Mrs. Wadiyar for all the wonderful arrangements she has made. We are all going back with very fond and ever-lasting memories.

SOM: There is a confusion about whether this is a love marriage or an arranged marriage. As the father of the bride, please clarify once and for all what it is?

Harshavardhan Singh: I am glad you asked me this question because there is so much being written about it. It is not a love marriage. Trishikha’s mother’s younger sister is married to Kamakshi Devi’s (daughter of the late Maharaja Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar) son. Hence, there is already a Mysuru connection among us. Yaduveer and Trishikha would meet on social occasions. When we were looking for a boy for our daughter, she said that she would not mind marrying Yaduveer. We knew Swarup Anand Gopal Raj Urs and Leela Tripurasundari Devi (biological parents of Yaduveer). We approached them. But they said that it was too early as their son was studying in the US.

After a lot of convincing they agreed but still said they had to think about it as the horoscopes (Janampatti) had to match. There are about 34-36 points which have to match and there is the ex-amount of marks for that. Luckily, they matched. However, you must also remember that first Yaduveer had to agree to the match. Again, luckily he also did. Then we have what is called ‘Roka’ which means ok or in other words you have locked it in (laughs loudly). This happened in 2013. The late Highness Srikantadatta Narasimharaja Wadiyar came to the engagement and also hosted a dinner for us at the Bangalore Palace with the band playing. We were just beginning to get to know him. He had attended one of our relative’s wedding in Mount Abu. It was a tragic shock for all of us. But Her Highness has very bravely withstood the shock and then adopted Yaduveer. I came for the adoption ceremony, but I was not able to come to the coronation as we were opening a museum in Dungarpur.

You must remember that my Sambandis (He asked for an equivalent word in Kannada and I told him that it is Beegaru which he then kept repeating) have changed between the engagement and marriage. If it was Swarup and Leela when the engagement took place it is now Her Highness. It must be a very unique occasion that has happened. I reiterate that it is an arranged marriage and not a love marriage.

SOM: Yaduveer has captured the hearts and minds of the younger generation and the people of Mysuru and it is just a matter of time before Trishikha also does. Do you want to give any advice to them?

Harshavardhan Singh: You are sitting on a very high pedestal. People have lots of expectations from you. This is a very huge responsibility. There are lots of problems. I would tell them, keep life simple and be grounded. But, I know that the young couple are very mature and grounded and they will rise to the occasion.

Theirs is more of an intellectual match. He studied economics and she used to lecture on a few subjects in her class. Both read a lot of books. Hence, I don’t think I need to give them any advice at all.

SOM: You have been elected as the Rajya Sabha Member as a BJP candidate. Why did you seek to be a member of the Upper House?

Harshavardhan Singh: I didn’t seek the membership. I have never sought it. It was a pleasant bolt from the blue, so to say. I have been a great supporter of Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje and a great fan of our Prime Minister Narendra Modi and also Amit Shah.

Unlike many who try for the Rajya Sabha membership, I did nothing. My grandfather, the last Princely ruler of Dungarpur, Maharwal Shri Lakshman Singh Bahadur was elected to the Rajya Sabha in 1952. He was also a four-time MLA. He was in State politics and became the Speaker.

Probably because of all this I have been chosen, thanks to the CM. The area I come from is a tribal area. I have been chosen because it is reserved for the tribes. I belong to the Swara Jathi. It is an upper caste. This is my first time in politics. People of Dungarpur have lots of expectations. You must see the interest and the adulation that people accord me.

My grand uncle, Dr. Nagendra Singh was the President of the International Court of Justice, The Hague and also one of the persons involved in framing the Constitution. My uncle the late Raj Singh Dungarpur (my father’s younger brother) was the President of the Board of Control for Cricket in India. We all love sports and I play cricket, squash and tennis.

SOM: That means both your son-in-law and you are charting the same path?

Harshavardhan Singh: Yes, we are on a similar journey. We now have to brace it out and both of us have two responsible postings (smiles).

SOM: Will you influence your son-in-law to enter politics since he has shown his inclination?

Harshavardhan Singh: I will not influence him. I will never do it (he tells very emphatically). I don’t think Yaduveer will enter politics. He has lots of responsibilities and he has to look after many things. Of course, Her Highness is there to guide him through. He may be interested in politics. Being interested and getting into it are two different things. Most Indians are interested in politics and that is why you cannot take the electorate for granted. Even the very poor know how to vote. Hats off to the Election Commission for doing a great job. The corruption and booth rigging have more or less come down.

SOM: The Royalties in the North, especially from Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh and a few other States have always had a better deal from the respective governments, unlike in Karnataka where people feel the Wadiyars have not been treated so kindly. Will this change now?

Harshavardhan Singh: I hope so. In Karnataka, Mysuru is the only State, unlike, in Rajasthan where we have so many States and hence there used to be many rulers.

There is no doubt that the Wadiyars have been treated unkindly in spite of their immense contribution to the State. There are lots of heritage properties in India, which only the Royals know how to maintain. The criticism against the Royals is that all they were interested in is girls, wine and song. Only Princes know how to look after the heritage. It is an inseparable part of their life.

SOM: The kings among hoteliers Maharana Arvind Singh Mewar and Maharajah Gaj Singh of Jodhpur were some of the distinguished guests at the Royal wedding. Have the Dungarpur Royals also been inspired to start hotels?

Harshavardhan Singh: Maharaja Kishangarh is also a big name in the hotel industry, though he was not present at the wedding.

I started the Udai Bilas Palace Hotel in Dungarpur in 1993 and it is doing quite well. It is the only heritage hotel in that part of a 100 km stretch. It is close to Gujarat and however, in Rajasthan, tourism has been given a big boost. The poorest of Rajput has become a tourist guide and is earning well. He also runs a home stay. I only hope that the Mysuru Royal family gets back its properties.

Coming to Mysuru, the more I see of it, I fall in love with it. You have such a nice Race Course and inside it a Golf Course, boulevards built during Nalwadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar’s time, you feel like you are in Europe. It is a clean and green city, a heritage city with lovely gardens and it has a good education system.

SOM: What is the emblem that is carried on your business card?

Harshavardhan Singh: The emblem or the crest depicts two tribals holding the shield with Hanuman inside carrying the Sanjeevini, the chink (antelope) on the top and with the motto inscribed “Nyayam Chirajayam,” meaning Justice for All.

SOM: After the wedding reception in Bengaluru on July 2, will you host a reception in Dungarpur?

Harshavardhan Singh: A few reports have said that I will be hosting a reception in Delhi. It is not true. You can’t go on and on. Her Highness has already done the best in hosting this wedding.

I have got both my daughters married off. My elder daughter Shivatmika is married to Tikka Saheb Jaideepsinhji Mandhattasinhji, the grandson of HH Thakore Saheb Shri Manoharsinhji Pradyumansinhji of Rajkot, last year in January.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Feature Articles /by N. Niranjan Nikam, Sr. Journalist / July 02nd, 2016

A fitting tribute to a Scholar King

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Major-General H.H. Maharaja Sri Sir Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar Bahadur, Maharaja of Mysuru – 18 July 1919 to 23 Sept., 1974

1) The portrait of Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar that was used to sculpt the statue. 2) The life-size Italian marble statue of Sri Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar, sculpted by Arun Yogiraj & team of city, was installed at Hardinge Circle after a 10-hour-long process in the wee hours of June 20, 2016.
1) The portrait of Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar that was used to sculpt the statue.
2) The life-size Italian marble statue of Sri Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar, sculpted by Arun Yogiraj & team of city, was installed at Hardinge Circle after a 10-hour-long process in the wee hours of June 20, 2016.

by R.G. Singh Secretary, Ramsons Kala Pratishtana

Very soon, Hardinge Circle will be known as Jayachamarajendra Circle as the city finally honours the last ruler of the erstwhile Mysuru State with the installation of a full-body portrait statue of the last Maharaja of Mysuru.

Hardinge Circle was named in commemoration of the visit of Viceroy Lord Hardinge to Mysuru. There used to be a flowery hedged circle with a high post with five domed lights in the middle of the crossroads. The circular garden vanished without a trace yet the name remained, ‘Hardinge Circle’, called raucously by bus conductors, ‘Aardinsurkel.’

The location of the Jayachamarajendra Circle at the culmination of the Albert Victor Road is meaningful as we already have the statues of two other iconic rulers of Mysuru in a row. KR Circle, as it is known, is a commemorative statue to His Highness Nalwadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar whose achievements for the well-being and development of Mysuru has been well-documented, likewise the majestic commemorative statue of Chamarajendra Wadiyar in front of the Jayarama and Balarama gate of the Palace.

History seems to have ‘overlooked’ the reign, brief though it was, of Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar. Major-General H.H. Maharaja Sri Sir Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar Bahadur, Maharaja of Mysuru. He was born on 18 July 1919 at the Chamundi Vihar Palace to Yuvarani Kempu Cheluvajammanni Avaru and H.H. Yuvaraja Kanthirava Narasimharaja Wadiyar Bahadur.

Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar had his early schooling at the Lokaranjan Mahal Royal School followed by graduate studies at Maharaja’s College of Mysore University and awarded a BA in 1938.

The death of his father on 11 March 1940 led to the title, ‘Yuvaraja Bahadur’ being conferred on him. The death of his uncle, the Maharaja on 3 August 1940, led to Jayachamarajendra ascending the throne on 29 August 1940 and anointed and installed as the Maharaja of Mysuru on 8 September 1940.

Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar was installed as the ruler of Mysuru at a time when the winds of freedom were blowing across the country. The nascent freedom fighters had already made inroads in various parts of the State. Mysuru was not an exception. Maharaja Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar signed the ‘Instrument of Accession’ on 9 August 1947 and Mysuru became a part of the Dominion of India on 15 August 1947. With an agreement merging Mysuru with Indian Union on 26 January 1950, he ceased to be sovereign.

Later he was installed as ‘Rajapramukh’ of the State of Mysuru and held this post till 31 October 1956. He was made the Governor of Mysuru on 1 November 1956 and continued till 3 May 1964, further he was made the Governor of Madras and he served till 25 June 1966.

The then Maharaja had made certain conditions to the accession of Mysuru to the Republic of India and this assurance made by the then party in power was rudely given a jolt when an Amendment to the Constitution was passed in 28 December 1971 by which the position of countless rulers were deprived of their rights as ‘rulers’ and the privy purse guaranteed under the accession agreement was abolished. Overnight, kings became ‘commoners.’

This betrayal led to an anguished Maharaja forsake the grand Dasara celebrations; placing the royal sword on the throne he retreated to a private forest reserve near Bandipur.

H.H. Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar married twice. The first marriage which took place at the Kalyana Mantapa of the Palace on 15 May 1938 was to Satya Premakumari Devi-ammanni avaru, the daughter of Pratap Singh Deo Bahadur of Jigni. The couple had no children. The Maharaja’s second marriage was to Maharani Tripurasundari Devi Ammanni Avaru, daughter of Balananja Raje Urs, an officer in the Mysuru State Forces. Both Maharanis died at Mysuru in 1983 within a span of fifteen days.

Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar died on 23 September 1974 at the Bangalore Palace leaving behind one son and four daughters (the eldest daughter had predeceased him).

Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar was an accomplished musician in both Karnatak and Western Classical music. He was an excellent pianist and there was a time when he expressed the desire to be a concert pianist and play with the great orchestras of Europe. In 1948, he was elected President of the London Philharmonic Orchestra Society. He was also an Honorary Fellow of Trinity College of Music, London (1946) and a Licentiate of the famed Guildhall School of Music.

Blessed with an ear for music, Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar discovered Russian composer Nikolai Karlovich Medtner. A contemporary of Rachmaninoff and Scriabin, he wrote several compositions, all of which include the piano. Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar discovered Medtner when the latter was living in London and in failing health. The Maharaja founded the Medtner Society with the objective of recording all Medtner’s works and managed to record several concertos with the London Philharmonic Orchestra whose first president was the Maharaja. In gratitude to his patron, Medtner dedicated his Third Piano Concerto to the Maharaja of Mysuru.

The Maharaja was also equally at home in the realm of Karnatak music, both as an instrumentalist and a composer. There are 74 Karnatak compositions by him.

He was also the Vice-Chancellor of Mysore, Madras, Annamalai Universities as well as the Benares Hindu University. Like his forefathers he was a Patron & Chief Scout of Mysuru State between 1940-1956, Chairman of the Wildlife Board of India. He was conferred a Hon LL.D by the Banaras Hindu University (1942), a D.Lit. by the Annamalai University in 1955 and a Hon. D.Lit. from the University of Queensland, Australia.

That he was deeply spiritual can be gauged by his scholarly books: “An Aspect of Indian Aesthetics” (1956), “Dattatreya-the Way and the Goal” (1957), “The Quest for Peace: An Indian Approach” (1959), “The Gita and Indian Culture” (1963) and “Religion and Man” (1965).

It is said that he had visited the ashram of the sage, Ramana Maharishi, in Tiruvannamalai, Tamil Nadu. No Palace diarist has recorded this meeting but what is available is a book published by the ashram, ‘Day by day with Bhagavan’ by one Devaraja Mudaliar. In an entry dated 1945, there is Devaraja Mudaliar and others talking to Ramana Maharishi. Asks Mudaliar: ‘It is said that the Mysuru Maharaja had come to see you.’ Nodding in agreement, the Sage replies: ‘He just sat quietly. He did not ask any questions. After sometime he bowed and took his leave saying that he would like to live here but the call of his people was too strong.’

Maharaja was also a good equestrian and fond of dogs. Regular visitors to the Palace in the late 50s would normally be shocked when they were in the Amba Vilas waiting to see the Maharaja, they would instead be forced into immobility as a pair of giant hounds wandered in and sat flanking the hapless visitor. The Maharaja would arrive, apologise on behalf of the dogs. “They will not hurt a fly” the Maharaja is said to have remarked leading one of the visitors to comment later on, “but I am not a fly.’ The Maharaja was quite accessible to his subjects and visitors.

Those fortunate enough to have met him would unanimously say, ‘A gentleman and a scholar.’

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Feature Articles / by  R.G. Singh, Secretary,  Ramsons Kala Pratishtana  / July 02nd, 2016

Hit the rewind button with Bangalore Storyscapes

About Bangalore(Bengaluru) / Karnataka, Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Historical Links, Pre-Independence, Records, All, Travel
SLICE OF THE PAST:This photo of Bengaluru’s old Town Hall features in the Cantonment walking tour organised by Bangalore Storyscapes, an oral history project by the Centre for Public History.— photo: courtesy of G.G. Welling Photography Studios
SLICE OF THE PAST:This photo of Bengaluru’s old Town Hall features in the Cantonment walking tour organised by Bangalore Storyscapes, an oral history project by the Centre for Public History.— photo: courtesy of G.G. Welling Photography Studios

Oral history project exhibits some of its collections at a conference

When the milkman knocked on the door, one woman was assigned to ensure that he didn’t cheat while milking the cow. In another recording, a woman described the coffee ice-cream at India Coffee House, which was on the menu for the princely sum of six annas. The stories of milkmen, local wrestling legends, entrepreneurs, murderers, and singers finally have a home, thanks to the Bangalore Storyscapes project.

The oral history project, founded four years ago by the Centre for Public History at Srishti Institute of Art, Design and Technology, exhibited some of its work at the International Oral History Association Conference in the city on Wednesday.

“There aren’t very good archives or books on contemporary history,” said Avehi Menon, curator of the Centre for Public History (CPH) and treasurer of the Oral History Association of India. Some of the earliest memories the centre has on record date back to the 1930s, with tales of orchestra pits and silent films.

The project also details how the city felt the tremors of major historical events in their day-to-day lives, said Ms. Menon. For instance, the flour rations distributed during the Second World War resulted in the iconic Koshy’s, which began as a bakery.

How it began

The centre began by collecting stories from residents of the Cantonment area, and the rich oral history they gathered inspired Ms. Menon and her colleagues to create walking tours in the area, featuring audio from their interviews. The walks are designed to bring the stories back to the people of Bengaluru, said Priyanka Seshadri, a tour guide.

“We wanted to allow people to take ownership of public spaces,” said Ms. Menon. “This is history they contribute to.”

The CPH team aims to add to their oral history archive in order to make the collection more representative of the city. Their current sampling features more men than women because of the project’s focus on public spaces. This is something they would like to rectify. “We began by talking to business owners on M.G. Road, and most of them are men,” Ms. Menon said.

As the project gained popularity, the organisers received funding from the India Foundation for the Arts, with the goal of integrating the tradition of oral history with photography, art and cinema.

Even as the centre subsequently shifted focus to cinema in the Cantonment area, women were excluded from the conversation. For instance, one interviewee recalled that his sister was barred from watching Hollywood movies as his grandfather was worried they were too violent.

Domestic matters

To correct this gender bias, the team is now shifting focus to documenting the domestic life in Bengaluru. “Some women tell stories of the milkman coming to their house and cheating them if they didn’t stand and watch him milk the cow,” Ms. Menon said, adding that people like milkmen and plumbers would be invisible to historians without the contributions of women.

One concern is that the project interviews participants only in English, a practice that self-selects those from middle-class or upper middle-class backgrounds.

Keeping these limitations of Bangalore Storyscapes in mind, the organisers are excited to be approached by citizens who contest the version of events showcased in the project. “We ask to interview them also,” Ms. Menon said, explaining that she has created a platform for a multitude of viewpoints. “The way India is moving with the changing of our history books, it helps to remember that there is no single, definitive narrative of what happened,” she said.

We wanted to allow people to take ownership of public spaces. This is history they contribute to.

Avehi Menon,treasurer, Oral History Association of India

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Bengaluru / by Kasturi Pananjady / Bengaluru – June 30th, 2016

70 graves discovered at Iron-Age site

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70gravesBF28jun2016

HIGHLIGHTS

  • Archaeologists have not just discovered 70 burials from the Iron Age in Koppa, Karnataka.
  • Koppa is an early Iron Age megalithic burial site, located on the right bank of the Cauvery in Periyyapatna taluk, Mysuru district.
  • The discovery at Koppa in Mysuru district shows people also grew crops alongside

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Archaeologists have not just discovered 70 burials from the Iron Age in Koppa, Karnataka, they have, for the first time, shown that people also lived near burials and cultivated ragi and paddy crops. Koppa is an early Iron Age megalithic burial site, located on the right bank of the Cauvery in Periyyapatna taluk, Mysuru district.

“Koppa was discovered in 1868 by captain Cole, who was then the superintendent of Coorg (under Madras presidency). In the same year, he opened up 17 megaliths or burials. Later, KK Subbayya excavated a few more burials in Koppa. We, however, had no information about their habitation. My aim was therefore, to ascertain where people lived and I started my investigations from 2013,” Arjun Rao, archaeologist from the department of archaeology, Deccan College Post Graduate and Research Institute, Pune, told Bangalore Mirror.

Though more than 3,000 burial sites have been identified across the Deccan Plateau and burials range from five to 1,000 at these sites, little is known about their habitation and settlement patterns. The current study is an attempt to bridge this gap. The author initiated explorations across five densely spread megalithic sites across the Cauvery river bank, covering Kushalnagar, Kudige, Ramaswamy Kanive, Heggedehalli and Koppa. Intensive and systematic archaeological explorations were conducted during 2013-2015 in a nine square km area, centring the Koppa burial site.

While archaeologists believed that the megaliths had been destroyed, Arjun during his explorations, discovered that around 70 of them existed in the periphery of the villages in Koppa on granitic escarpments. Bunding of field boulders across the agricultural fields helped in locating the site.

“The ongoing surface survey project has gained enough evidences to consider Koppa as a habitation-cum-burial site, with major offsite activities,” said the findings published in the Current Science journal.

Iron Age in Koppa, according to the research paper, was a dispersed settlement and had a strong belief in megalithism or honouring the dead, which was at the “centre of their habitation and overall functioning of the society”. “The significance of this research is that for the first time, we have an understanding of the landscape and their settlement pattern over the upper reaches of the Cauvery river bank. We can now conclude that people had located themselves within the given natural resources under tropical wet climatic condition of Western Ghats and the control of such resource locations might have played a decisive role in the societal and political functioning,” said Rao.

Till recently, experts believed that either the habitational evidences were covered by forest regeneration, or that the society was largely made up of nomadic or semi-nomadic pastoral communities, resulting in flimsy settlement deposits. However, since a decade, experts are getting a better understanding of their habitation and subsistence activities.

The landscape of the site, water availability and a look at the grain evidences from habitational sites or directly from the burials reveal that ragi and paddy cultivation could have been near the habitation and streams. Abundant supply of newly introduced crops like paddy and ragi (continued from southern Neolithic phase) in the burials substantiates large-scale production and practice of both wet and dry cultivation, says the findings. “Koppa burial excavations have given us the abundant supply of such food grains, so that means that they were locally produced crops,” he said.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News Home> City> Bangalore / Mihika Basu, TNN / June 27th, 2016

Mysuru to witness royal marriage of Yaduveer Wodeyar with Trishika

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Maharaja of Mysore duing pre-marriage rituals
Maharaja of Mysore duing pre-marriage rituals

Mysuru:

Maharaja of Mysore Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar will today tie the nuptial knot with Trishika Kumari Singh ,  who belongs to a royal family of Rajasthan.

The iconic Mysore Palace Amba Vilas Palace has been decked up for the royal wedding of Wodeyar family scion Yaduveer.

Trishika is the daughter of Harshvardhan Singh and Maheshri Kumari from the Dungarpur royal family in Rajasthan. The marriage ceremony will take place at the kalyana mandapa at the karkataka lagna and savitra mahurat time between 9.05 a.m. and 9.35 a.m.

The elaborate pre-marriage rituals had commenced on June 24.

The groom took a ‘yenne snana’ or oil bath early on Saturday morning, followed by a ‘pada puja’ of Parakala Mutt’s Abhinava Vagheesha Brahmatantra Swatantra Swamy , who is the family’s rajguru.

As per established custom, the rituals began in the Mysore Palace in the presence of Pramoda Devi, the Queen mother and other family elders.

24-year-old Yaduveer was crowned as the ostensible head of the erstwhile Mysuru royal family in a traditional ceremony held on May 28 last year.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / New Home> City> Bangalore / ANI / June 27th, 2016

Resident Rendezvoyeur : Joining the BandWagon

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Researching historical details can get confusing at times. This story for instance, begins in a Scottish city called Glasgow on a street named after the Saracen people from the Middle Ages. It then gets directed to a Victorian bandstand in a historic park laid out by a military engineer in South India’s tech-hub, Bengaluru. And if you think it’s quite knotted up already, that’s not the end of it. But maybe that’s also the fun of it.

Parks historian and author Paul Rabbitts says that the bandstand (or `band house’ as it was first called) was perhaps inspired by popular 18th century pleasure gardens like Vauxhall in London who also offered music pavilions and exotic entertainment including hot air balloons, tightrope walkers and fireworks. The bandstands were envisioned as a decorative focal point for the park and provided acoustic shelter for the brass, wind and military bands that played there. Their rich decorative elements and curved shapes also seemed to reflect oriental influences like the pagodas and chattri’s from the eastern corners of the empire. The first domed structure was reportedly built in 1861 at the Royal Horticultural Society, South Kensington. The concept soon captured the imagination of 19th century Britain where he says, approximately 1,200 bandstands were built between 1860 and WWII. Though these public parks were primarily designed for relaxation, they were also interpreted as an attempt to `humanise’ the grim townscapes that emerged during the Industrial Revolution.

LalbaghGrandstandBF27jun2016

The Cubbon Park bandstand with its traditional octagonal shape sits on the same axis as the Vidhana Soudha, Attara Kacheri and Government Museum. It is said to have been gifted to the park in 1914 by Nalwadi Krishnaraja Wodeyar IV, the Maharaja of Mysore and initially placed near the Seshadri Iyer Memorial Hall. It was shifted to its current location in 1937, over what was once called the Ringwood Circle.

Iron was strong, durable but light. Molten iron could also be poured into pre-fabricated moulds. This enabled accurate replication and extensive repetition. `Cast’ iron therefore became popular for ornamental and commercial purposes. The framework for Cubbon Park’s cast iron bandstand took shape in the Glasgow based Saracen Foundry, owned by architectural iron casters Walter Macfarlane and Company Ltd. The company was set up in a disused brass foundry on Saracen Street in 1851 and soon became a famous designer-manufacturer of ornamental fountains, park and garden seats, conservatories, flower vases, baths, pipes and fittings right up till WWII.

Bandstands fell out of favour following WWII but iconic Macfarlane and Co. Ltd cast iron designs were still spotted around the world. They included the main (northern side) entrance gates to Lalbagh and the conservatory style Glass House.

The Lalbagh bandstand is believed to have been conceptualised during the tenure of Superintendent Mr. William New (1854-1864). He organised the first few `Lalbagh Shows’ around it in the late 1860’s before the Glass House came up in 1890. Mr. John Cameron who succeeded New in 1874 recorded its repair and renovation; a granite platform was also added and the wooden roof was improved.

Old timers recall orchestras and military bands playing regularly at bandstands in the city, including Cole’s Park, while city chronicler Mrs Maya Jayapal mentions that live music was scheduled for the fourth Thursday of every month in the 1920’s. The bandstands now accommodate deep breathing pranayama practitioners in the morning, sleeping somari’s in the afternoon and performances by local school children and classical musicians on weekends. It’s always fascinating to see how our local history runs alongside, intersects with or unites stories of people and places around the world.

The writer is a cultural documentarian and blogs at aturquoisecloud.wordpress.com

source: http://www.bangaloremirror.com / Bangalore Mirror / Home> Columns> Others / by Aliyeh Rizvi, Bangalore Mirror Bureau / June 26th, 2016

A bite from history

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

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Over the past seven decades, Excelsior bakery has established itself as the place to be for a slice of cakes, puffs and more

In 1926, the bustling Seppings Road was a rather quiet neighbourhood, very different from the bustling marketplace of today. It was in this neighbourhood that baker Sahadevan in a partnership with a British lady, Emery set up Excelsior Bakery.

The bakery has over the years gone on to establish itself as the must go place in the cantonment to head for cakes, milk breads, puffs and much more. The ownership has passed four generations and the bakery is currently being managed by IT professional turned businessman Saipreeth Muralidharan.

He says, “We have a very loyal clientele. In the preparation of the food items in the bakery, we use a lot of secret recipes that have been passed on from one generation to the other. Many of the residents who have moved away from the locality to places like Hebbal and Jayanagar come here regularly to savour our milk breads, Japanese cakes, puffs and spiced breads. I often meet people bringing their children to the bakery and narrating tales about cakes for their birthday parties as children arriving from Excelsior. We have even had instances of people coming from as far as Chennai to sample food from the bakery.” Saipreeth’s father Muralidaran, one of the owners weighs in, “One of our most popular items are the Christmas plum cakes. We add many special spices and essence. We start preparing the plum cakes for Christmas a month and a half in advance. We used to have people knocking the doors of the bakery at six in the morning for a loaf of bread.”

The family takes personal care to ensure the quality of the product. “I check every batch of puffs, breads and sweets that are created at the bakery. We have put systems in place to ensure that only fresh items are served to customers.”

Saipreeth says that over the passage of time, many functions in the bakery have become mechanised. “In the earlier days, we would have to physically knead the dough for the bread. My grandfather used to have army cadets volunteering for the job, in exchange for a loaf of bread. Many of these processes have become mechanised. However, we have still kept some traditional practices alike and most of our baking is done on a firewood oven.”

Once Saipreeth took over operations a few months ago, the bakery underwent changes. “We introduced a new menu with non-vegetarian components such as chicken puffs, rolls and pizzas. We also added sweets to the menu. We try not to use gels and preservatives in our items.”

Talking about the cantonment being a hub for a clutch of family owned bakeries, Saipreeth quips, “I think it was mainly because there was a large British presence in this part of town. They taught us to bake and eat bread.”

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> MetroPlus/ Nikhil Varma / Bangalore – June 22nd, 2016

CITY 360 – Elegy written in a city churchyard

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Historical Links, Pre-Independence, Records, All, World Opinion
Wrapped in history: The Indian Christian Cemetery at Hosur Road in Bengaluru Photo : Sudhakara Jain / The Hindu
Wrapped in history: The Indian Christian Cemetery at Hosur Road in Bengaluru Photo : Sudhakara Jain / The Hindu

Nowhere else can life and death coexist as peacefully as it does in a cemetery, discovers SHAILAJA TRIPATHI

“There! A sari cradle suspended from a tree”. Taken in by the sight, I stop in my tracks. So ironical, I say, to my accompanying colleagues. Sari cradles have always excited me — I consider them sharp pointers towards rural life and a slice of culture we have lost — but not to this extent. In a setting like a cemetery, the cradle becomes a symbol of life. There is no child. Dusk is setting in. The mother may have taken the baby inside, I think aloud. There are a couple of families who live on the premises of the Indian Christian Cemetery and one of them must have put up the cradle. Under the shade of such a huge tree, lush greenery around and a breezy weather, the all-pervading peace would have lulled the baby to sleep. It hasn’t rained that day which makes it easy to walk around in one of the oldest cemeteries in the city. Said to be built in 1857, the 24-acre cemetery is also home to 185 soldiers of the Commonwealth forces who died during the First and Second World Wars and their kith and kin.

“The cemetery is maintained by the British High Commission. They appoint one person to clean it but since there are so many graves, by the time the person reaches the last one, it is again a mess,” says an official from the Indian Christian Cemetery. I see P. Thomas Turner of the 6th Battalion South Lancashire Regiment resting in peace. The tombstone says he was 28 at the time of his death, October 11, 1917.

The cemetery, maintained by 11 major church denominations such as CSI, Mar Thoma, Orthodox, Pentecostal, is enveloped in history. The simple grave of German horticulturist Gustav Hermann Krumbiegel — credited with the city’s green cover — lay forgotten here until historian Suresh Jayaram rediscovered it in 2007. The city woke up to it during the celebrations planned to commemorate Krumbiegel’s 150th birth anniversary last year. Kenneth Anderson’s grave is here too. He was an India-born British writer and a wildlife lover who always set his stories in the jungles of South India.

The official tells me about the most recent discovery — that of Benjamin Rice, the missionary who came to India from London in the late 1830s and stayed here till his death in 1887. He went on to establish the Mitralaya Girls High School on Mission Road. “And I don’t know what stone and what polish have been used but it was in very good condition when we located it last month,” says the official.

Rice, who quickly acquired proficiency in Kannada, called Canarese then, is also believed to have done the first map of Bengaluru.

Shouldn’t this piece of heritage be protected then? “Yes, it should be. There are century-old graves. The sheer size of it makes it unmanageable. There are 20-30 people who come in everyday at 11 a.m. and clean it but it is not possible to do it thoroughly. But All Soul’s Day on November 2 is one day when we ensure a thorough cleaning. That is the only day people visit the cemetery in large numbers. Otherwise they don’t come regularly.”

Aesthetics is an inherent part of human nature and it reflects even in the last leg of our journey. Ornate motifs, angels and Christ carved in stone, a chiselled Bible, beautiful text from the Holy Scripture and granite slabs adorn the cemetery.

Those who couldn’t afford it, have simply used cement and an iron cross. No elaborate tombstones for them.

The day has been relatively easy for 30 year-old Shankar, the grave digger. It is 4 p.m. and no burials have taken place till now. So, he utilises the time for walking his two pet dogs. It has been eight years for him, here. A long time to get used to? I gently ask him. “Yes, that is true but after him, nobody else from the family is going to follow in his footsteps. I want his kids to study and do well in life,” shouts a young woman standing at the threshold of his small one-room house, located at one end of the cemetery.

But there is peace. “Nobody bothers us. It is green and spacious,” says Parvati, whose husband is also a grave digger. She helps out her husband with cleaning. The cemetery has been home to this Nepali family of young men, women and school-going children for 20 years.

The cemetery is filling up fast. “It is almost full. Just one or two months and it will be full. We are looking for a space and it is not easy to find one within the city limits. We are looking at Electronics City and Hoskote,” the official points out. He adds that while family graves are an option, they are not feasible here. “It means reserving a portion of space which is not possible because there is no space and we don’t allow a burial over another before five years. But we get lot of requests from people who like to bury their grandparents next to each other. If we find a little bit of space, we accommodate it. It is an ecumenical cemetery which lets people from different sects and denominations have their last rites here which is why people prefer it and today we have no space.”

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> MetroPlus> City 360 / by Shailaja Tripathi / Bengaluru – June 14th, 2016

Mysuru Memories …

Education, Historical Links, Pre-Independence, Leaders, Records, All, World Opinion

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Sir Brajendranath Seal

The Architect of Mysore University

At the invitation of Maharaja Nalwadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar, he came to Mysuru and took charge as the second Vice-Chancellor of a nascent University in 1920.

Brajendranath Seal was a renowned Bengali humanist-philosopher and a Brahmo-Samaj intellectual.

by Dr. S.N. Bhagirath

In 19th century Bengal, Sir Brajendranath Seal was responsible for the paradigm shift in Brahmo philosophy from liberal Theism to secular humanism. He was a true renaissance man and a polymath. He graduated from the University of Calcutta with a post-graduate degree in philosophy in 1884. He published his first major work “New Essays in Criticism” in 1907. In 1915, Calcutta University conferred a doctorate degree on him for his thesis “The Positive Sciences of the Ancient Hindus.” He taught in several institutions like City College – Calcutta, Morris College – Nagpur, Krishnanath College – Berhampur and Victoria College – Cooch Behar. In 1906, he was invited to address the ‘International Congress of Orientalists’ in Rome. In 1911, he went as a delegate from India for the first ‘Universal Race Congress’ in London.

In 1913, he was offered the King George V Professorship of Philosophy at the University of Calcutta. He also collaborated with Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore in establishing Vishwa Bharati University at Shantinikethan. He was also appointed by national poet Rabindranath Tagore as the first Vice-Chancellor of Vishwa Bharati University. He was at the helm of Mysore University as a Vice-Chancellor for nearly 10 years from 1920 to 1930 and he quit this post because of ill health.

In 1926, the British Government in India honoured him with a Knighthood. During his stay in Mysuru, Sir Brajendranath Seal authored a textbook on Indian philosophy and a definitive biography of Raja Ram Mohan Roy. His further studies on ancient Hindu scientific philosophy led him to contribute a chapter in Prafulla Chandra Roy’s “History of Chemistry in Ancient India.” His publications were noticed abroad and in 1902, his candidacy was seriously considered for a professorship in philosophy at the University of Cambridge.

In 1936, Sir Brajendranath Seal who was bed-ridden and almost blind completed his magnum-opus “Quest Eternal.”

When he was a student at Scottish Church College, Narendra Dutta [Swami Vivekananda] was also pursuing his higher studies there at that time. Sir Brajendranath Seal describes the future Swami Vivekananda as:

“Undeniably a gifted youth, sociable, free and unconventional in manners, a sweet singer, the soul of social circles, a brilliant conversationalist, somewhat bitter and caustic… an inspired Bohemian but possessing what Bohemians lack, an iron will”

On 8th August 1927, Sir Brajendranath Seal laid the foundation stone of Intermediate College, Mysuru. Later this College came to be known as Yuvaraja’s College (under University of Mysore) offering Science courses. This historic occasion was graced by Sir Mirza Ismail, the then Divan of Mysuru State. The most surprising coincidence on this occasion was the presence of Motilal Nehru and Mahamahopadyaya Sidhanti Shivashankar Shastry. Sri Nalwadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar, the Maharaja of Mysuru, conferred upon Sir Brajendranath Seal the title of “Rajatantra Praveena.”

Sir Michael Sadler, former Vice-Chancellor of University of Leeds, declined the Vice-Chancellorship of Mysore University in 1920, but he strongly recommended the name of Sir Brajendranath Seal as a suitable candidate by writing these words:

“I know of no one in respect of the range and depth of scholarship and originality of mind, who can be equal to Brajendranath Seal either in the East or in the West.”

Brajendranath Seal worked very hard for the development of University of Mysore. His health deteriorated and he suffered a paralytic stroke in 1930. He went back to Calcutta to live in retirement. He died in Calcutta on 3rd December 1938. It is only befitting that we remember him in the Centenary year of University of Mysore.

[email: bugs2beatles@gmail.com]

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Feature Articles /  May 09th, 2016

On wrestling: Legacy of Jettys now in a book

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Historical Links, Pre-Independence, Records, All, Sports
A photograph from The Legacy of Jettys depicts a wrestling match. Photo: Special Arrangement
A photograph from The Legacy of Jettys depicts a wrestling match. Photo: Special Arrangement

The book documents the community’s original settlers from Modhera in Gujarat.

“The Jettys community of wrestlers knew the science of wrestling much before the world knew what the art of fighting meant,” says C. Maheshwaran, author of the book Legacy of Jettys to be launched next week by Prince Yaduveer in Bengaluru.

It took Mr. Maheshwaran 10 years of research into this wrestling community to bring about the 188-page book in English, with a host of interesting photos that trace their art.

These originators of martial skills, who came from Gujarat, once depended on royal patronage after their migration, and were mainly associated with the Royal kingdom of Mysore, apart from Thanjavur, Krishnadevaraya, Tipu Sultan, Gaekwads of Baroda and the Rajput King, Prithviraj Chauhan of Ajmer.

Migration to the south

Legacy of Jettys is a 188-page exhaustive addition to the world of books in English with a host of interesting photos that documents the community’s original settlers from Modhera in Gujarat. Nearly 400 families subsequently migrated to the south looking for royal patronage to the art in 1025 A.D., i.e., 991 years ago.

How the Jettys get totally dependent on royal patronage but get intrinsically close and loyal to the kings are points that the Jettys later emotionally contemplate on, both with cherished memories and regret, says the author. “The withdrawal of the privy purse (raja dhana) later to the erstwhile princely States brings in a shadow of economic gloom in the lives of Jettys as they hardly receive any money for their profession. It is in contrast to the bright and bracing days the wrestlers earlier enjoyed in the palace,” he says.

The community of Jettys made their way to the south after entering Andhra Pradesh first. Their language is a curious mix of many vernacular idioms, including Telugu and Kannada, called the Mallabhasha, secretly spoken during war and wrestling. “Nowhere in the world is there a community of wrestlers as the Jettys. They are said to have followed the knowledge recorded in the 5000-year-old text ‘Mallapuraan’ that is believed to have been dictated by Lord Krishna and Balarama in Sanskrit and Devanagiri,” writes Mr. Maheswaran. “It covers scientific wrestling skills, human anatomy, pressure points in the body, nutritional science and body language,” he says.

Several hundreds of Jetty families that the author was in touch with offer distressing narratives of helplessness they go through, because of the absence of alternative professions after the royals were unable to help them, says Maheshwaran, a martial arts practitioner himself and belonging to the section of Jettys who believed in education and entering other professions.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News / by Ranjani Govind / Bengaluru – May 03rd, 2016