KNOW INDIA

KNOW INDIA is a new passion in this blog which shares knowledge about places I have visited and what I learned from them. A little bit of unusual information, may be which is hard to find in the internet, will not be a boring read I believe. A photograph on the right is available for reference. Any how, if it encourages you to move your feet with a rucksack on, it will be my pleasure.

Inlay work is a form of decorative craft where artisans directed by artists or by themselves cut out grooves on a piece of base and pack-in a similar shaped object of contrast colour to beautify. The surface of the inserted object is so finely flushed that it looks a single piece when glanced at. Pietra dura is a form of inlay work where stones of different colours are packed into cutouts in marble. The outline of the design was first drawn on the polished marble with help of vegetable dye Henna. The photograph on the right is of a wall from Taj Mahal at Agra in India as seen in 2009. It is a piece of onlay work bordered by Pietra dura. In Taj Mahal (universally termed as the 'f'inest' form from the Muslim architecture) the inlays were engraved with precious and semiprecious stones in abundance. Pietra dura can be found in almost all the walls of Taj making it one of the very few monuments where 'symmetry' had been of prime importance while designing. It took twenty-two (1631-1653) years to build Taj with approximately 22000 workers involved in erecting it under the leadership of principal architect Lahouri. And now it is Mr. P.N Oak's turn to disclose that this unique mausoleum contains 22 rooms comprising a Hindu temple below its basement belonging to Raja Jai Singh. Not less than twenty-five types of stones from Cornelian,
Lapis lazuli, Agate, Garnet, Jasper, Sapphire, Chrysolite, Heliotrope were used as a decorative and reflective material. Most of these stones had been removed and stolen by a class of animal called 'Homo sapiens' or human beings. Now, only a few stones reflect light as often demonstrated by tourist-guides at Taj. In last thirty five years or so as I have noticed, Taj has turned its colour from bright white to dull yellow (mostly due to pollution from sulphur). The inlay in the Persian term is called Parchin Kari while the onlay is called Munabbat Kari. While looking at Taj as a whole or at the walls it becomes imminent that much sweat was drained in maintaining extra precision in symmetry. Taj is synonymous with the word 'symmetry'. I am not aware of any other monument of such vast dimension as of Taj Mahal which can boast of calculations made keeping a close eye on every 'yard' of precision. To the students of mathematics, its a mathematical delight to enjoy. Look at the walls, the floor, the garden, the roof, the tomb- its precision and symmetry at every corner. The onlays and the inlays reflect only a part of it. The free flowing nature of the design in inlay is reflective of the serenity prevalent in Paradise while the opalescent, highly polished onlays depicting fruits, flowers etc add to the very meaning of it. It must not be forgotten that each flower here is an uncut one, with many of them carrying even a handful of earth conveying the very meaning that life still exits on the Makrana marble. The flowers, the fruits, the trees chiseled on marble clearly shows that Shah Jahan's court had well versed, educated European  botanists and herbalists. Safavid models as found in15th century miniature paintings are thoughtfully represented while outlining the Munabbat Kari. There is a divine sense of delicacy prevalent in each floral motif as they are laid down on marble from one slab to the other, in every corner of Taj. Tulip, Iris, Lily, Narcissus all seem to be at their height of bloom delivering a sense of  poetic  aura as  found in  Wordsworth's  writings. One very thing tourists do not know that Taj was not wholly built on marble. The basic structure is of brick on which the marble slabs were laid down. Imagine the amount of load it dissipates.

Tagore and Shillong
How abased a poet should be to be pregnant with thoughts others have not even dreamt of? Too small is my imagination to answer this question. But some places remain connected with a litterateur’s  life eternally as Highlands with Keats, Shilaidaha with Tagore, kolkata with Jibanananda. Whereas; there are some places which gave a poet a reclusive insight into life’s innermost domain and the society it has to bear with it. Shillong in Meghalaya, India is one such place of inexhaustible beauty which enthused Rabindranath Tagore to give birth to ‘Raktakarabi’ a play which reflects the life we lead today. The house on the right is one from Bishnupur, a quiet locality in Shillong where Tagore stayed from April to June in 1923 and penned ‘Raktakarabi’ and a collection of poems called ‘Shillong-er chithi’. Next time you visit Shillong, take an oath before you board a train, that you pay a visit to this place, just not to  respect Tagore but for another oath to read ‘Raktakarabi’ to realise how a dog’s  life you are leading in this mechanised world of Information Techonology.

Memories, Mongpoo, Maitreyi and the Maestro 

Maitreyi Devi not having penned “Mongpo-te Rabindranath” (eng. Tagore’s days at Mongpo), I am quite certain the common Bengalee literati would have forgotten Tagore’s memorable days at the Cinchona plantation. This little remembered hamlet is about a fifty- kilometre drive from Siliguri. A place remotely cornered, heavily guarded by foliage in the jungles in district of Darjeeling, Mongpo is unscathed by footfalls, mechanised cars and cigarette packets.  Maitreyi Devi’s husband Dr.Manmohan Sen was in charge of British India’s lucrative cinchona plantation at Mongpo and Maitreyi had invited Tagore more than once (especially between 1938-1940) requesting his thoughts to be bared, some even on the office note books of the factory. Dr. Sen’s official residence lies across factory gates and now an indiscreet bust of Tagore overlooks the beautiful garden. The small, tidy bungalow allows nature to pierce through its innumerable glass panes where Tagore had once rested on a couch that still exist. Just at the end of the portico on the left; lies the very private enclosure restricted by glass walls on two sides, here silence prevails even now as if the bard is still nurturing his imaginations to flow down his pen. This enclosure is adorned by the presence of a writing desk and a chair, designed by the poet himself, his faculty fine crafted by his son Rathindranath. Rathindranath’s mastery in wood work is well known and it enhances the aesthetics of this bungalow. A bamboo work of pen stand is emblazoned with Tagore’s drawings. A heavily purported wooden aisle lies beside Tagore’s medicine box containing some still fresh Homeopathy medicines. Tagore himself had designed his bed whose backrest rises heavily against its frame in a rather odd fashion. This was likely as a remedy towards the respiratory distress he withstood during his last decade. This bed is kept in the adjacent room. A visit to this place whispers that nothing had changed here in spite of the tree just behind the house, which Tagore had lovingly named ‘Saptaparni’, growing enormously spreading its arms for the last fifty years or so. How lucky the present generation is who would plan trips in noisy automobiles to this offbeat destination never even realising how tedious and difficult and time consuming it was in unfurnished palanquins in those days to travel from the plains of Siliguri. Mr Sisir Routh who now upkeeps this house feels proud when he mentions that his father Bhimlal was one of those palanquin bearers who attended Tagore during the trips to Mongpo.

Metamorphosing Superhuman

This carnival in India after goddess Durga is a mega event in last quarter of the year. It was scheduled in second week of October in 2013 while in 2014 this is little ahead from September 30th to the 4th of October. This relief brings in brisk gossips and planning over hot cups of Darjeeling tea even at street corners, Americans can hardly dream of. Durga, her two sons and two daughters, all Goddesses indeed, lay siege to my country for five long days literally closing schools, offices, financial institutions and even kitchens at homes. Those who can’t afford their daily intakes seek shelter in drains and darker areas of city, making them invisible for the fun of the rest.  This festive mood is not that new. Artefacts dating 1^st century B.C. from Chandraketugarh in state of West Bengal, India, enlightens a few rich visitors to Metropolitan Museum (http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/1990.281) at New York. But I am not sure how many from Bengal have experienced this excavated piece of exquisitely crafted terracotta Durga from Shunga period of Indian art. Artefacts of Durga, carbon dated more than 9000 years, are inviting recently more serious fun for full-time researchers. If this worshipping is further linked to epic Mahabharata there may be astronomical work still left to be done by the new age historians and archeologists (http://www.hinduism.co.za/oldest.htm). .

           

            There has been a paradigm shift from individuals worshipping at residences dating thousands of years back, to public interest in praying before idols in open spaces in well decorated, preferably biodegradable makeshift covers, for the last hundred years. The shape, the size and even the mood of this goddess has changed substantially. The carnival is of prime importance these days when business comes up and individual pockets and the exchequer have to be cared. But still, innovations exist. Massive, monumental installation arts flourish undisturbed by extremely disciplined large-volume crowds in tens of thousands who may look very uncanny. At one moment you keep thinking how the hell these people cared less to express anger even when pulled, thrown and jostled. The installations called pandals raise awareness in fundamentals like education, health, socialism and even in common sense. These are masterly, very large, lavish installation arts waiting to be dismantled and destroyed after five days. They are often made by untrained, unknown, ill-fed people, you rarely would imagine of. But each one of them, what little it may be, will make you watch and think in awe. Every piece of art brings you a message, socially agreeable, mutually acceptable, free from vulgarity as you often don't find in Rio’s gatherings with which it was recently compared with. Calcutta still firmly exhibits gentlemanly humane behaviour in public places. It’s astonishing to find so many people in so many places displaying concerted, concerned behaviour in their views through their piece of art that too with great humility. But they care little to bring in more attention and revenue beating their drums in international arenas. 

            But the gist was too sharp to be missed. In a sparsely decorated but not perfunctory platform, I found Durga erected placidly with her ten arms spread and annotated with ten words Siksha (Education), Swanirvar (Independent), Gyan (Knowledge), Subichar (Justice), Suraksha (Safety), Sasthya (Health), Dakshata (Training),  Sanman (Respect), Adhikar (Rights) and Sadhinata (Freedom).

It came out like the last paragraph in a fable. This was the beginning of metamorphosis. More are such meaningful changes away from religiosity, more chances of peaceable coexistence. I could hear a paean in the air.