Category Archives: Historical Links, Pre-Independence

Royal Family wins case in SC against MUDA

Historical Links, Pre-Independence, Leaders, Records, All

• MUDA asked to return unused 16 acres land and pay compensation for 78 acres.

• JSS Mahavidyapeetha to lose 15 acres at SJCE campus.

Chaduranga Kanthraj Urs & Aerial view of land to be returned.
Chaduranga Kanthraj Urs & Aerial view of land to be returned.

Mysuru :

The Supreme Court (SC) today ruled in favour of the legal heirs of late Sirdar K.B. Ramachandra Raje Urs, who had accused the MUDA of illegally acquiring 94 acres of his property during 1985-88. The 94 acres of land is question is the area next to the Premier Studio and the SJCE campus.

Speaking to Star of Mysore this morning after the judgement, son of late Ramachandra Raje Urs, Chaduranga Kanthraj Urs said that in 1984 the MUDA had acquired their lands by simply sending preliminary notices and never the final notice. He also said that the MUDA did not even pay them any compensation.

Continuing, Kanthraj said that, suddenly they noticed that fencing work had begun on their properties and it was only then they realised that the MUDA had acquired 94 acres of their family land and had allotted 55 acres of it to the JSS Mahavidyapeetha. In the remaining 30 acres, 22 acres was illegally acquired and houses were built by many Government officials and the remaining 16 acres next to the Premier Studio now lies vacant.

Kanthraj added saying that the 16 acres was left vacant because by the time illegal houses cropped up, his father late Ramachandra Raje Urs filed a case in 1994 and brought a stay.

In 2001, a Single Judge Bench passed a ruling in favour of late Ramachandra Raje Urs and his legal heirs. Immediately, MUDA and JSS went in appeal before a Division Bench of the High Court in 2001 and the appeal was allowed.

After this, Kanthraj Urs moved the Supreme Court in 2004.

This morning the Supreme Court ruled that in the 55 acres that MUDA had allotted to JSS on which SJCE is established, the unused 15 acres be taken back by MUDA.

It also ruled that MUDA should pay the legal heirs of late Ramachandra Raje Urs compensation for 78 acres as per the market value that was prevailing on Jan. 1, 2001 and also return the unused 16 acres of vacant land next to the Premier Studio to them.

The legal heirs of Ramachandra Raje Urs are his son Chaduranga Kanthraj Urs, daughters Tripurasundari Devi (biological mother of Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar), Deepa Malini Devi and Kirti Malini Devi.

When Star of Mysore spoke to the MUDA Commissioner in this regard this morning, he also confirmed that the case was ruled in favour of the legal heirs of late Ramachandra Raje Urs.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> General News / Wednesday – December 16th, 2015

The Bengaluru connection

Amazing Feats, Historical Links, Pre-Independence, Records, All, World Opinion

Photographs depicting the Madras Sappers, who designed the Bangalore Torpedo were part of an exhibition exploring India’s role in the First World War

Over a million Indian soldiers fought in World War I of which 60,000 were killed in the fighting.

First encounter, Bangalore Digging deep, Crossing far
First encounter, Bangalore Digging deep, Crossing far

Elke Falat and Julia Tieke put together Digging deep, Crossing far, a series of workshops and exhibitions to throw light on hitherto unexplored aspects of the war.

“The objective is to start a discussion on topics in the first World World that are often neglected in the writing of history, such as the German perspective on the prisoner of war camps or how the non-European world was involved,” says Julia. “This is the first part of a long-term project we will continue in other countries. Through questions and archives, we will get into conversation with artists and through them, the audience on topics like war, nation building, propaganda and recognition.”

First encounter, Bangalore Digging deep, Crossing far
First encounter, Bangalore Digging deep, Crossing far

Their stopover in Bengaluru, titled ‘First encounter, Bangalore’, was on display at the Max Mueller Bhavan and the Bangalore Literature Festival.

They will also be taking their work to Pakistan, Morocco Tunisia, Algeria, the village of Wunsdorf and Berlin.

“It is not as though we are revealing something new. Everybody knows what we are talking about, but it is not in their collective consciousness,” says Elke.

One of the focal points of the exhibition is the German Prisoner of War camps near Berlin, on which Julia was conducting research for a radio programme.

“I stumbled upon the image of a postcard showing the first mosque built in Germany which was in the camp. Then I found articles by academic institutions which were involved in research on the type and history of sound archives in the prisoner of war camps,” she recalls.

“I thought it was a contemporary topic, it can relate to so many things like the German call for jihad or the relationship between the so-called Western world and Islam. The idea was to involve artists so they would work with the material in different ways and try to get into conversation about what it means.”

These camps, explains Elke, hosted a constellation of Colonial soldiers from North Africa and British India, even Bangalore. And so the exhibition in Bangalore featured four artists who each explored different perspectives of the war in the context of India.

Surekha, a Bangalore-based artist, explored the city’s connection with the war through ‘Black Pepper & Red Pepper’, a series of photographs depicting the role of the Madras Sappers, who designed the Bangalore Torpedo war weapon and the Mysore Imperial Army. The artist captured the bravery and skill of the Indian soldiers; the socio-political context of the war, through the code words ‘Red pepper’ for British soldiers and ‘Black pepper’ for the Indian soldiers; and depictions of the Indian soldiers in the war.

“The photographs printed on aluminium are quite uncanny. They are clear yet capture the passage of time. The people in the photographs appear like ghosts. Viewers will be able to understand what happened just by looking at the photographs, it is almost like a history lesson,” says Elke.

The exhibition featured yet another Bengaluru-based artist, Ayisha Abraham, whose grandfather fought in the war. Through a deconstructed photograph, Ayisha explored the consequences of a self-transformation of identity on his heritage.

Artist-author Sarnath Banerjee offered a national perspective through his notice boards titled The reduced history of the First World War, 2015. Through his series of black and white drawings, he captured scenes from the war featuring the Indian independence as well as the racial contexts.

While Gilles Aubry, a Berlin-based Swiss artist, known for his research on the history of sound, explored the Indian prisoners’ recordings in the German prisoner of war camps. He presented two tuning forks, of the note ‘A’ and the sound ‘Om’ which play in between the recording of a Hindi song sung by an Indian prisoner. He also presented the recording of a voice reciting a translated list of words recorded in the camps.

“His work is a reflection on what these techniques of recording tell us about science, the grammar of power and the knowledge of Colonial practices. He presents a link between Berlin and India,” explains Elke.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> MetroPlus / by Harshini Vakkalanka / Bengaluru – December 07th, 2015

Pages from History : A Visionary from Nanjangud Kunigal Ramaswamy Mohan Kumar

Business & Economy, Historical Links, Pre-Independence, Leaders

by Prof. A.V. Narasimha Murthy, former Head, Department of Ancient History & Archaeology, University of Mysore

Nanjangud is famous for two reasons: The first and the most important one is the temple of Najundeshwara who gulped poison to save humanity. Hundreds of visitors throng this temple to worship and hence it is one of the most prosperous temples in Karnataka. The second reason is that it is the place of the famous B.V. Pandith whose salt and sweet toothpowder, Soubhagya Shunti and Kasturi pills were famous all over Karnataka. In addition, we may add gulkan, a preparation of rose petals soaked in sugar syrup. In fact, B.V. Pandith grew roses in vast lands in Nanjangud for this purpose.

Such a family has produced illustrious persons who are now serving in different professions in Karnataka. One such person whom I had the good fortune to meet was K.R. Mohan Kumar (Kunigal Ramaswamy Mohan Kumar), the present Chairman of Mysuru Urban Development Authority (MUDA). I had an occasion to talk to him and found his views interesting and I am writing them here for the benefit of the readers.

Mohan Kumar is the son of Kunigal Ramaswamy and Jayalakshamma, a pious couple. It is by accident that he joined politics. In fact, none of his forefathers had even thought of it as a profession. However, from his early days he had an inclination to join politics as he was influenced by Indira Gandhi.

Hejjige Linganna, who was an MLA, recognised his merit and made him Party General Secretary. After two years, he came under the influence of V. Sreenivasa Prasad, who is now a Minister. Mohan Kumar took up the responsibility as the chief of his election campaign. Though he was admired by the members of the party for his useful leadership in Youth Congress, he was not given the ticket to contest the elections. Perhaps to compensate this injustice, he was made the Chairman of Dryland Development Board and in that capacity he did an admirable job. Everybody, who mattered, appreciated his hard work but did not give him a position on the pretext that he was too young. But nobody could prevent him from becoming the KPCC member and Executive member. They wanted to make him Director of Canara Bank and Mohan Kumar politely declined it.

Again a proposal for making him an MLC came up but it was felt that it was meant for a Scheduled Caste candidate and it becomes difficult if an upper caste person is given this coveted post. He met Narasimha Rao, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi and all of them sang the same tune that ‘You are too young, please wait till you get your chance.’ Mohan Kumar, being a native of Nanjangud, wanted to contest from that place only but he was told that Nanjangud is a Constituency where a Brahmin cannot win.

Now he has got an opportunity of serving the society by becoming the Chairman of MUDA. It was originally called City Improvement Trust Board (CITB) and was started in 1904 by Nalwadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar. It became MUDA in 1988. Mohan Kumar felt that this is a good opportunity to serve the poorer section of the society by providing them a site to build a house of their own.

After he became MUDA Chairman, he planned the activities for his tenure. On realising that people with huge amounts of money purchased lands in bulk from villagers at a paltry price, developed sites and sold them at exorbitant rates, he thought ‘Why not the Government do it’ and immediately swung into action. He developed Ballahalli Layout of 485 acres with 6,150 sites and as per the Court directions, began distributing them to 1,30,000 applicants. He also introduced Group Housing Scheme where people should live there for ten years and should have seniority.

Out of turn allotment would be done only in exceptional deserving cases as approved by the Committee.

The case of CA sites is another vexed problem. They get the allotment made by influence but have no resources to construct buildings and after years of neglect they become a burden. These sites are allotted for schools, colleges, temples, mosques, etc. Mohan Kumar has promised to wait for years and if it is not used for the purpose for which it was allotted, it will be taken back. This caution has made many organisations to pool resources and take up construction.

Khata is a big problem and people have to walk to the offices hundred times without any tangible results. Literally people used to curse the MUDA. The middlemen used to take advantage of this situation and extracted large amount of money from people. Realising this MUDA introduced e-Khata. Even 300 Khatas were not being finalised then; now it has jumped to about 3,000 a month and people are happy and this has practically ended the bribery. The computer system has made the allotment of Khata, sites etc., highly transparent. Officers cannot keep anything pending when all the rules and regulations are followed in allotment. This has made the officers alert. He requests people to meet him directly and bring to his notice any delay or irregularity which he promises to rectify.

It is gratifying to note that MUDA is not just an allotting body but an organisation to care for the development of the city, which Mohan Kumar is determined to do.

It is not possible to describe all his achievements in this article. As an elderly person I hope Mohan Kumar will see new heights in his career and do more service to Mysuru in particular and Karnataka in general.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Feature Articles / Saturday – December 05th, 2015

Hinkal villagers pledge to save centuries old ‘ Kalyani ’

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Historical Links, Pre-Independence, Records, All, Travel
The centuries old Kayani at Hinka village which is being renovated by the Yuva Brigade and the villagers.
The centuries old Kayani at Hinka village which is being renovated by the Yuva Brigade and the villagers.

Mysuru :

Villagers of Hinkal on Hunsur road in the city have pledged to save the centuries old Kalyani (water pond), a portion of which was about to become the property of someone else due to the negligence of MUDA authorities.

The historical Nanneshwara Temple of the village originally had an area of 42 acres, out of which only about 3 acres is now remaining with the temple. The MUDA after acquiring a portion of this land, sanctioned it to an educational institution. The land sanctioned by MUDA included centuries old Kalyani (water pond) measuring 100ft x 100ft.

The Kalyani had shrunk to a large extent as time went by, with mud and shrubs covering more than half of the pond, posing a threat to the very existence of the Kalyani. The villagers drew the attention of the people representatives about the status of the pond. But the people’s representatives including the MLA, MP and other local leaders did not pay much attention to saving the Kalyani then.

The Yuva Brigade along with Hinkal villagers taking keen interest in saving the pond, visited almost every household in the village seeking co-operation.

A few days later, the villagers led by Yuva Brigade leader Lohit Urs, started a voluntary Shramadan to save the pond.

MP Pratap Simha who came to know of the villagers resolve to save the pond, visited the spot and summoned MUDA officials, who later took up works on cleaning the pond of weeds, mud and filth by deploying excavating machines.

But the MUDA which began renovation works with great enthusiasm a few days ago, stopped the works all of a sudden yesterday, which angered Hinkal residents.

Strongly condemning the MUDA’s action of abruptly stopping the renovation works, thousands of Hinkal residents staged a demonstration at the site yesterday.

MUDA member Rakesh Papanna, who hails from Hinkal, held talks with MUDA officials and asked them to resume renovation works immediately, it is learnt.

MUDA Commissioner Dr. N. Mahesh reacting to the protest, admitted that the CA site allotted to the education institution included a portion of the Kalyani and added that the confusion arose as the Kalyani’ appeared to be a small water pond.

Meanwhile, MUDA Chairman K.R. Mohan Kumar speaking to SOM said that “As soon as we came to know of the existence of the Kalyani, we cancelled the allotment of sites around the pond and took possession of the Kalyani. The MUDA sent a JCB to excavate the pond for development and added that measures are taken to develop the Kalyani.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> General News / November 29th, 2015

Mahabhishekha : Nandi bathed in colours atop Chamundi Hill

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

NandiBF29nov2015

Mysuru :

The more than 360-year-old monolith of Nandi, located mid-way on Mysuru-Chamundi Hill Road, was today, bathed in more than 30 items like milk, honey, curds, kumkum, ghee, dry fruits, tender coconut, sandal, turmeric, rice flour, etc., as devotees performed ‘Mahabhishekha’ to it.

It may be recalled that the event is being jointly organised annually by the members of ‘Bettada Balaga’ (a group of regular morning walkers to the hill) and ‘Srikshethra Chamundi Bettada Sri Nandiya Puja Mahotsava Samiti’ since 2006.

Legend has it that performing the ritual on third Sunday of Kartikamasa of the Hindu calendar enhances the life of the stone statue. It is also said that the practice of performing Mahasbhishekha to the monolith existed during the reigns of Wadiyars.

Prior to the Mahabhishekha, the statue was cleaned with water before a group of over a dozen priests conducted the abhishekha, which was witnessed by thousands of devotees and tourists.

The ritual, which began at around 10.30 am with Suttur Seer Sri Shivaratri Deshikendra Swamiji performing the ‘abhishekha’ in the presence of Pramoda Devi Wadiyar, Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar, Datta Vijayananda Swamiji, Junior Pontiff of Ganapathy Ashram, Chidananda Swamiji of Hosamutt, Jamanagiri Swamiji, Vyaghramukharudrapada Cave in Nandi premises and others, continued for more than four hours.

Interestingly, both Pramoda Devi and Yaduveer also performed abhishekhas.

It is said that this is the 10th Mahabhishekha being performed by the ‘Bettada Balaga’ which spends more than Rs. 2 lakh for the ‘Mahabhishekha’ annually.

Organisers had arranged lunch for more than 5,000 devotees and visitors while the employees of JSS Hospital have organised a Deepotsava at the Nandi premises on Nov.30 at 6.30 pm.

Samiti Convenor S. Shivakumar, Balaga President S. Prakashan, Working President N. Govinda, Secretary H.S. Jagannath, Treasurer V.N. Sundhar were among those present.

Scenes of foreign tourists and locals clicking pictures of the celebrations on their mobile phones and cameras were common at the venue which had been provided tight security with vehicular traffic being restricted.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> General News / November 29th, 2015

Package for runners and history buffs

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Historical Links, Pre-Independence, Sports

The Bidar Heritage Marathon organised by GoUnesco is an interesting package for runners and history buffs.

It included a 100-km cycling trip from Hyderabad to Bidar and a visit to ‘karez’ or ‘surang bavi’, the under ground drinking water aquaduct network of the Behmani era, on Saturday and the run on Sunday. On Saturday, resource persons V. Govindan Kutty, groundwater expert and Anuradha Reddy of INTACH, Hyderabad, spoke on the cultural significance of the ‘surang bavi’.

Around 40 people attended the talk in Saharda guest house in Naubad, near the mouth of the ‘surang bavi’ in Bidar on Saturday.

“We don’t aim at making the Bidar marathon a competitive event. It is a fun run for families, young runners and heritage and archaeology lovers,” Ajay Reddy, founder of GoUnesco, said.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National> Karnataka / by Special Correspondent / Bidar – November 23rd, 2015

Kittur Chennamma’s victory over British celebrated

Historical Links, Pre-Independence, Inspiration/ Positive News and Features, Leaders, Records, All

The 192nd anniversary of the victory of Kittur queen Chennamma against the British was celebrated in a simple manner in view of farm suicides and drought, here on Friday.

The programme was organised by Veerashaiva Sanghatana Samiti. Gurusiddha Rajayogindra Swami of Moorusavir Mutt and others garlanded a statue of Rani Chennamma.

Recalling the fight of the queen against the British, the swami said that the courage and valour of Rani Chennamma should motivate us to face any odds in our life and called on farmers not to lose hope. President of the samiti, Viranna Kallur, Channabasappa Dharawadshettra, C.H. Gobbi, and P.M. Hooli were present.

In a programme held by the Basava Parisara Samrakshana Samiti, tributes were paid to the Kittur queen. Releasing pamphlets against the use of crackers during the forthcoming Deepavali festival, president of Karnatak Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Ramesh Patil, said that the State government should take steps to celebrate the occasion annually.

President of Basava Parisara Samrakshana Samiti S.V. Pattanashetti, and secretary Suresh D. Horakeri were present.

Meanwhile, in a programme related to Dasara celebrations by Moorusavir Mutt, Gurusiddha Rajayogindra Swami and the former Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar gave away compensation cheques to the family members of six farmers who committed suicide in Hubballi taluk.

The mutt had decided to celebrate Dasara in a simple manner this year in the wake of farmers’ suicides and utilise the amount saved by cancelling the grand procession to give compensation to the farmers’ families.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National> Karnataka / by Special Correspondent / Hubballi – October 24th, 2015

Pages from History : Dasara through the ages

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

DasaraBF180ct2015

by Prof. A.V. Narasimha Murthy, former Head, Department of Ancient History and Archaeology, University of Mysore

Navaratri or Dasara is one of the most popular festivals in our country but it is celebrated in a variety of ways in different parts. Actually it is a festival symbolising the destruction of evil and establishment of good (dushta sikshana and shista rakshana). This festival has a hoary antiquity going back to the time of the puranas and epics. The word Dasara is derived from the Sanskrit Dashahara meaning ten days. Basically, Navaratri is a festival of Mother Goddess who received power from no less than Vishnu, Shiva and Agni. Each one of the Gods gave different powers to Her so that She could free the world from the tormentors of different types. Thus was born the indomitable energy personified in the form of Goddess and people heaved a sigh of relief. Navaratri means paying respects and showing gratitude to Mother Goddess.

As the demons had obtained various boons from Shiva or Vishnu, the Goddess had to assume different forms to achieve her goal. She is worshipped in the following nine forms namely, Mahakali, the destroyer of Madhu Kaitabha; Mahishamardhini, the destroyer of Mahishasura; Chamundi, the vanquisher of chanda-munda; Kali, the killer of Raktabija; Durga, the harbinger of destruction of Kamsa; Raktadantri, the great destroyer; Shakambari, the destroyer of famines; Durga, the destroyer of demon Durga; Bhramari, the killer of demon Aruna. Thus Devi assumed these forms to accomplish her task. In course of time, the worship of Saraswati and Lakshmi were also added.

Another significant aspect of this ritual is the exalted position of unmarried girls (kannikas) who are supposed to personify the great Goddess. These unmarried girls are worshipped as Kumari, Trimurti Kalyani, Rohini, Chandike, Sambhavi, Durga, Subhadra and Kali. Each one of them is worshipped during the nine days; they are fed and given gifts too.

It has been our unique tradition that these festivals are recommended to human beings only after they are tested by the Gods. The Gods themselves did this after vanquishing the demons. It is said that Sri Rama invoked the Goddess and achieved great victory over Ravana on the day of Vijayadashami. Thus even Sri Rama worshipped her before taking up a major fight. Even the great epic Mahabharata extols the greatness of this festival.

The Pandavas, who had hidden their weapons under the Shami tree (banni mara) worshipped the Goddess, took out the weapons and started their Digvijaya or Victory March and consequently achieved great success over the Kauravas. It has to be noted that in all these instances, the great Goddess is invoked and worshipped not for any personal gains but for the annihilation of the wicked people, upholding of dharma and to save the good people.

Thus when it was useful to the Gods, the human beings felt that it should be useful to themselves also and hence began celebrating Navaratri. No dobut, it was celebrated in the ancient period but it has not been recorded either in literature or in inscriptions till we come to the medieval period. It was believed that Samudragupta, Harsha, Vikramaditya VI, Ballala II, Singhana and a host of others started their Digvijaya on the Vijayadashami Day.

However, with the dawn of Vijayanagar period, historical records are available in plenty. Particularly, the writings of the foreign travelers who stayed for a short period in Vijayanagar empire have given graphic description of the various rituals and durbar during this period. The earliest reference to Dasara festival during the Vijayanagar period is seen at the time of King Devaraya II (1424-1446). Abdul Razzak, a Persian traveler, who was invited as a guest for Dasara, was greatly impressed by the festival and has given a long description. The infidels of this country who are endowed with great power are fond of displaying their pomp and glory. Navaratri was celebrated at Mahanavami platform (dibba) in Hampi. All the subordinate kings assembled here and made gifts to the emperor. Elephants played an important role besides horses. There were many pavilions and some of them revolved around. The King sat on the gold throne kept on the ninth storey. Acrobatics displayed were of high order and people enjoyed it. The King gave prizes to the participants who included men and women. The last three days, namely Durgashtami, Mahanavami and Vijayadashami were spectacular. Krishnadevaraya’s Dasara was held from morning till night and thousands of lamps were lit during the night. Wrestling was a great attraction. Fire works were of high order.

On the Vijayadashami Day, the King held a review of the forces. Another traveler by name Nuinz has also given a similar description, besides Barbara, Nikitin and others. From all these features, it becomes clear that Vijayanagar Kings laid the firm foundation for the pompous but religious celebration of Dasara.

The Wadiyars of Mysore can easily be regarded as the cultural successors of Vijayanagar empire. They improved upon the Dasara of Vijayanagar period to suit their own needs and requirements in such a manner that it became more pompous and dazzling than Vijayanagar Dasara. In fact, Dasara has become synonymous with Mysore Wadiyars.

The earliest reference to Wadiyar Dasara is found during the period of Raja Wadiyar, who ruled from 1578 to 1617. Not only did he celebrate it at Srirangapatna but codified the rules and regulations for its celebrations. Though his son Narasaraja died a day earlier (7.9.1610) to Dasara, he celebrated the Mahanavami festival and further ordained that the death of a close relative of the royal household should not become a cause to stop or postpone Dasara. Dasara of this period was celebrated in three stages: The first one was the celebration of first eight days; the second is the Mahanavami festival and the third is the Vijayadashami. This has become more or less standardised from the period of Raja Wadiyar. He took up diksha by wearing a separate dress and kankana and worship of the Navagrahas, worshipped the throne and ascended it. The relatives, brahmanas and officials paid respects to the King. On the moola nakshatra day, Saraswathi Puja was performed. The Mahanavami Day was reserved for the worship of Royal Sword (Pattada Katti). Then the homa at Chamundi Hill concluded with poornahuti. In the evening, the durbar took place. On the Vijayadashami Day, he sent the weapons to the Banni tree with royal honour. In the evening he went in a procession to that place, worshipped the Banni tree and returned in the night with lights.

During the period of Kanteerava Narasaraja Wadiyar, the festival was celebrated with traditional grandeur. Special worship was offered to the images of Ranganatha and Narasimha. During the durbar, the chiefs, feudatories and others would pay respects. The tenth day was reserved for public procession of the King to conduct Sami puja.

Krishnaraja Wadiyar III (Mummadi) performed Dasara in the traditional manner. Queen Mother Lakshmammanni also worshipped the throne and blessed the King. The Maharaja used to come from the Palace in Nazarbad and return after the function. British Durbar was an added attraction. One particular day was specially reserved for them from 1814.

In the meantime, the present Palace was completed in 1912 and it became the venue of Dasara durbar. Krishnaraja Wadiyar IV (1895-1940), who won the admiration from Mahatma Gandhi and generally referred to as Rajarishi, conducted Dasara in a pompous and meaningful manner. On the very first day of Dasara, he worshipped Goddess Chamundeshwari on the hillock. The evening durbar was meant for officers and invitees. They had to come in a special dress of white trousers, black long coat, uttariya and a laced turban to be in the durbar. All the invitees were garlanded according to their status. On the ninth day, he performed Ayudha Puja which included worship of Lakshmi, Royal sword, royal horse, royal elephant, royal chariot etc. On Vijayadashami Day the Maharaja used to go to Bannimantap sitting on a howdah mounted on an elephant. Maharaja, Yuvaraja Kanteerava Narasaraja and Jayachamaraja Wadiyar were seated in the howdah. The same procedure was followed during the rule of Jayachamaraja Wadiyar. As Ashoka road was too narrow, the procession passed through Sayyaji Rao road and the whole route was illuminated. This type of Dasara was held till 1969.

In the year 1970, Dasara was not held publicly. The Karnataka Government decided to hold Dasara as Nada Habba or the festival of the people. However, religious ceremonies were performed in private at the Palace. Cultural events, poets meet, cultural and industrial exhibition were conducted. On Vijayadashami Day, an idol of Goddess Chamundeshwari in the golden howdah was taken in procession. At Bannimantap, the Governor took the salute at the torch-light parade. Thus Dasara or Navaratri became a cultural event and a festival of the people and not of the royalty. This festival not only reminds us of our past glory but is a symbol of our unity and strength to move towards our democratic goal. Whatever may be its form, we pray to Goddess Chamundeshwari to shower her blessings on all of us for a better tomorrow.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Feature Articles / October 17th, 2015

‘Mysore Memories’ : Mysore in the 1920S

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

by Girija Madhavan

Mysuru has a tradition of holding concerts for festive occasions like Ramanavami and Vinayaka Chathurthi. Lovers of music eagerly look forward to these events. The concerts held at 8th Cross in Vani Vilasa Mohalla have been going on for decades. Even earlier there were recitals in Bidaram Krishnappa Prasanna Sri Rama Mandira in the heart of the city. A temple as well as a venue for “kacheris,” it is the confluence of two streams of art. As music swirls around the room, the walls display precious paintings in elaborately carved frames. Some of them are in the Mysore tradition of art, depicting themes like Durga’s victory or Rama’s coronation. Some are adorned with gold leaf and some are in the style of Raja Ravi Varma.

MysorePaintingBF12oct2015

In a folder of sketches by my mother, Mukta Venkatesh, I found two water-colours. The first depicts a Karnatak concert (kacheri) with the musicians seated on a striped durrie. The small picture hanging above the door is the ‘Ala-ele Krishna’ (the infant Krishna on a peepul leaf), a theme favoured by both Tanjore and Mysore style artists. The paintings of Goddesses Lakshmi and Saraswati in traditional style flank a larger picture of Rama Pattabhisheka. Mukta depicts herself and two sisters in the audience. This is a sketch of Bidaram Krishnappa Prasanna Sitarama Mandira, a personal portrayal of a heritage landmark of Mysuru.

The second picture is set in Lakshmipuram of those days. The architecture is drawn with care. The people on the street belong to different classes of society. The vendor woman, accompanied by her small child, is dressed in a crumpled cotton sari, the head covered with the end of the sari or “seragu.” In contrast, the ladies in silk saris worn in the “kachche” style (perhaps of Madhwa origin), flowers adorning their hair, have returned from a puja, holding coconuts and betel leaves in their hands.

Just beyond these figures is a mendicant with a white beard. A toddler rides on his shoulders. This poor man and his child “Vasuki” occasionally visited my mother, had a meal and left with a present of money, clothes or toys. She was attached to Vasuki and was distressed when the visits suddenly stopped. Perhaps that is why she painted them as pale, ghostly figures.

In the Tonga, a dignified, Muslim gentleman travels to his appointment. Another older man in a three-piece suit wearing a Mysore Peta is walking down the pavement. A young man lounges against the wall. This picture was a microcosm of life in suburbia.

Old photographs capture past reality in their sepia tints. But drawings like these can be even more evocative, bringing up a flavour of a bygone time through the eyes of a person who lived then and translated these perceptions into art.

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Feature Articles / Monday – October 12th, 2015

Khadi as symbol of Swaraj

Business & Economy, Historical Links, Pre-Independence, Records, All

Thoughts from the Diary of a Gandhian

On the occasion of 147th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, here we publish an article titled ‘Khadi as Symbol of Swaraj: Thoughts from the Diary of a Gandhian’ by T. R. Dwarakanath of Srirampura 2nd Stage, Mysuru, highlighting how Khadi had shot to importance and was a means of livelihood in the run-up to freedom, from the diary notes of this correspondent’s father late T. K. Ramakrishna

T. R. Dwarakanath & Late T. K. Ramakrishna
T. R. Dwarakanath & Late T. K. Ramakrishna

by T. R. Dwarakanath

In the second and final article as a sequel to ‘Badanavalu Movement: A Nostalgic Perspective’ (SOM dated May 17, 2015), I wish to share with the esteemed readers some of the thoughts captured as diary notes in 1946 by my father late T. K. Ramakrishna, who was the Manager of Badanavalu Spinning Circle between 1957-61. The 70-year-old manuscript (see photo) throws light on the connotations attached to khadi as symbol of Swaraj that Gandhiji championed in the run up to freedom. It also gives a kaleidoscopic view of life and times in a world that was grappling with the fallout of the Second World War.

The central role of khadi in the lives of people just before independence is indeed noteworthy. To quote from Nehru’s An Autobiography (pp. 61, Allied Publications) “… (The British) Government had decided to crush the movement. Hand-spinning on the charaka was then spreading among the peasantry at the instance of the Congress. A charaka therefore became the symbol of sedition and its owner got into trouble, the charaka itself being often burnt….” It is commemorative and significant that we are revisiting sustainable means of livelihood through the Badanavalu movement spearheaded by Prasanna and other social activists. The English translation of the article follows:

Khadi for forty crore people: Late T. K. Ramakrishna Circa 1946

About forty crore people live in our motherland ‘Bharata Bhoomi.’ Many of them have been haunted by the question, “Is it possible to provide khadi for all the forty crore people of our country?” Despite the many mills in existence in the country, the textile production capacity does not fulfill the needs of our people and such being the situation, the obvious question in the mind of common man is whether mere hand-spinning and hand- weaving is able to cater to the demand. Further, it is natural to ask: What is khadi’s relevance and stature in the present world? What are its basic principles? We should examine these aspects in the right perspective one by one.

Before World War II, it was estimated that the quantity of cloth produced per person in the country was just about twenty yards and apart from domestic production, clothes worth sixty crore rupees were supplied from outside. How do we bridge the deficit by spinning charaka and weaving in handlooms and be self-reliant with it was food for thought. In the year 1940, prior to World War II, there were one crore handlooms in the country. As a consequence of the war, many mills stopped producing textiles for the common man for over five years. Indeed, clothes to fulfill needs of military personnel gained precedence and were produced abundantly.

Further, in the wartime years of 1940-42, the number of handlooms also reduced for the reason that the cost of clothes had escalated significantly and the supply of yarn coming out of mills decreased somewhat. Additionally, market conditions were exploited by unscrupulous businessmen to their advantage by hoarding yarn to create scarcity that had a cascading effect on the prices of essential clothes. People experienced immense difficulties without actually being aware of the ill effects of war.

The situation eased a bit with the intervention of the government. Over a few years later the number of handlooms gradually increased to about 1.5 crores, partially also due to decrease in industrial textile mills resulting in an overall increase in handwoven cloth. Even so its progress was diminished as it became difficult to source sufficient yarn. The prices of clothes continued to remain high. This made us think how to improve the helpless situation in the post-war years.

When Sabaramati Ashram was opened by Gandhiji in 1918, yarn was used to be bought locally and khadi clothes were produced in the ashram although the difficulty in getting yarn locally quite persisted due to invasion from vested interests. Knowing fully well of this circumstance the only option then was to get hanji (sliver) from the mills and spin yarn with charaka by hand. Realising the danger in excessive dependence on mill owners Gandhiji got even the hanji done in the ashram itself. As an offshoot of all these turn of events, the Akhila Bharata Charaka Sangha came into existence with its initial capital of forty lakhs.

Over the years, Akhila Bharata Charaka Sanghas provided employment opportunities to about 4.5 crore people in about fifty thousand villages across the country. Wages to the extent of seven crore rupees were distributed. There is not a single cooperative institution in the world that provided employment at such a scale. We need to encourage such institutions in India as our country is not as economically strong as England. We have to provide more employment with least capital investment. Unlike America, we are a country with large human capital and therefore our dependence on machines could be minimal. In the circumstances as ours, unemployment due to mechanisation of textile production is dangerous for it robs of an opportunity to keep people employed and help sustainable living with other essential things.

Our country’s total requirement of cloth is about 800 crore yards. It is not difficult for a weaver to weave 800 yards a year. This translates to a requirement of one crore handloom weavers to fulfill the country’s needs. Now we do have as much handlooms but there is still a need to increase them. Secondly, around 55 lakh bales of cotton is required to produce as much cloth. India’s production volume of cotton currently is about 60 lakh bales. Therefore, we are self-sufficient with respect to cotton production.

Let us examine how we are positioned in spinning. For the targeted quantity of cloth, about 3,200 crore spun yarn is required. At about two hours a hank to spin a total of 6,400 crore hours would be required in a year. That amounts to about 20 crore man hours a day. Therefore, theoretically it is just sufficient if everyone in the country commits to spin for half-an-hour. Assuming that out of the whole population of about 40 crores, there are 11 crore farmers and about five crore people are involved in other forms of employment. Farmers typically have no agricultural activity for about three months a year. Should they all be able to contribute to spinning at two hours per day, the nation already gets about 22 crore man hours of spinning effort.

Further, realistically assuming that of the remaining population, about half of them contribute to spinning at one hour per day we would end up having an additional effort of 12 crore man hours. Going by an extra margin to about 32 crore man hours a day instead of twenty crore, we are still comfortably placed with 44 crore man hours to produce the desired quantity of cloth and by doing so khadi can be supplied to whole of India. By spinning for about half-an-hour a day and making clothes ourselves, we would save at least Rs. 20 from what would have otherwise been expended.

During the pre-war period, China was importing cloth from Japan that has stopped now. Due to scarcity of cloth, China is following the Indian model. In fact, it is interesting to note that the Chinese have named their looms the Gandhi Loom. “Khadi is not a symbol of slavery but a symbol of Swaraj,” the truth that Gandhiji spelled should be understood well by people. In order to maintain peace and harmony in our country we must be self-sufficient in all respects. The present ad hoc government is moving in this direction. As an example, let us consider the Madras province khadi industry that has been setup in twenty five hoblis (village clusters) at a cost of three crores. In a year or two, most textile mills will be out of business or there’s a chance that people will themselves reject machine-produced cloth. This is what will lead to Village Republic as Gandhiji has propounded. Our government should achieve all these objectives in totality.

2nd October 1946 Bapu’s 78th Birthday

[T. R. Dwarakanath can be contacted on Mob: 9448363395]

source: http://www.starofmysore.com / Star of Mysore / Home> Feature Articles / Friday – October 02nd, 2015