The Portuguese Church Bells of Maharashtra

This week I read a story in Hindustan Times about Portuguese church bells, which are being used all over temples in Maharashtra.

Temple bell at Naroshankar, Nashik. Photo Credit: Hindustan Times

The bells were acquired by the Marathas from various churches, during their conflicts with the Portuguese. The 17th and 18th century were full of many conflicts, with the Marathas, Siddis, the French, the English and the Portuguese, all jostling for supremacy on the Western coast of India.

Fr. Francis Correa, a priest based in Vasai (Bassein) says discovering the bells has broadened his view of India. He says: “Seeing the bells for the first time, I initially felt like it was my community’s property and that I should work on restoring them to the church. But over time I’ve realised that in Hindu temples, they’ve been given a new life, with new missions to perform. They are our shared heritage.”

When I read this quote I couldn't help thinking that if more of us had such enlightened views we would be living in a much happier world!

For many years now, we have been sitting on this Ayodhya mandir-masjid controversy. Was it originally a temple or a mosque? Now that the mosque is broken, what should we build there? Whose monument is it now? ... All these questions could be more easily resolved if we thought of it as our country's shared heritage!

Whether we like it or not, we cannot wish away history; nor can we turn back the clock. If more politicians had the guts to celebrate the Ganga-Jamuna tehzeeb (cultural diversity) of this land, India would be a different place. Come to think of it, every time we eat a biryani, it is a Ganga-Jamuna celebration. Every time we wear a salwar-kameez, it is the same celebration. The notion of India as belonging only to only one community is really impractical, not to mention immoral.

Magar yeh ghanti kisi ke dimaag mein bajti hi nahi!
(but this bell does not ring clear to anyone!)

Brahmanical Caves in Ellora

- By Deepa Krishnan

Ellora contains 34 caves adorned by Buddhist, Hindu and Jain art and figures. Caves 14 to 19 belong to the Brahmanical pantheon. Brahmanism is the predecessor of modern day Hinduism; it is primarily Vedic in nature and has several differences with modern Hindu practices.

This panel shows Shiva (large central figure) as the slayer of the demon, Andhaka (you can see the demon, represented in small form, speared on top right). Two hands of Shiva hold up the outstretched skin of the elephant demon Nila, one of Andhaka's allies. You can see the partial elephant head also on the top left corner of the photo. Shiva is in his fierce form as 'Veerabhadra'. In one of his hands, just under Andhaka, there is a cup, it is made of a skull, this is used to catch the blood of Andhaka as it drips (each drop spilt on the ground creates another demon). Parvati sits with her hand on her bosom, conveying either admiration or fear, I am not sure which.

The story goes that one day in a playful mood, Parvati covered Shiva's eyes with her hands. Darkness shrouded the world. From the heat and perspiration of her hands was born a dark child, Andhaka. Andhaka was raised by a demon, Hiranyaksha, who was childless and asked for a child as a boon.

When he grew up, Andhaka terrorized the world. He became the king of Asuras (demons). He tried to acquire or abduct Parvati, which enraged Shiva and led to Andhaka's death. Shiva's wrath is depicted in the panel.

Le Plaisir - A haven for foodies in Pune

- By Aishwarya Javalgekar

Tucked away in a small galli near Fergusson College, Pune, is a haven for the not-so-health-conscious foodies. A petite bistro with European cuisine, Le Plaisir has won the hearts of many localites. “I named it (the restaurant) ‘Le Plaisir’ because that is what I want to do here. I want to give people pleasure through food.” says Siddharth Mahadik, owner and head-chef of Le Plaisir.

This cozy little place, with just enough room for 6 tables, is always bustling with life. Sometimes you might have to wait for 5-10 minutes before you get a free table, but the food is worth the wait. Once you are comfortably seated, you can head over to the counter and give your order. The food takes hardly ten minutes to arrive – scrumptious and piping hot. With the first bite, you transcend to a world of culinary bliss.

Priding itself in being a patisserie, Le Plaisir has some of the best desserts in town. From flavoured macaroon to a variety of cheesecakes and pastries, it has something to soothe every sweet tooth.

Le Plaisir has a unique system of customer review. Customers can write their feedback on small colourful cards, which are then stuck to the wall. Some of the cards sing praises of the food, while others suggesr which dishes to try. Words like amazing and orgasmic can be seen on almost every card.

Siddharth has no plans for commercializing this bistro. "I will expand, but I want to retain the coziness and warmth of Le Plaisir."

Update: Looks like the expansion is finally happening! They're moving to a larger place at Prabhat Road, opposite Kelkar Hospital in June 2015.

Kailash Temple in Ellora

Kailash Temple in Ellora is is the world's largest monolithic structure carved from a single rock.It is noted for its vertical excavation—carvers started at the top of the original rock, and excavated downward. It is nearly one a half times taller than the Parthenon in Athens and occupies almost twice its area. That's not all - it also contains the largest cantilevered rock ceiling in the world.

The construction of this temple was sponsored by King Krishna I of the Rashtrakuta dynasty, and took almost a century to complete.It contains several mythical creatures from the Puranas (Hindu text) and entire panels showing scenes from the epics Ramayana and Mahabharata.

Kailash Temple is a Hindu temple dedicated to Lord Shiva. It has been named after the Kailash mountain, which is the abode of Shiva.

Kailasa temple, according to the UNESCO world heritage site, is remarkable "on account of its striking proportion; elaborate workmanship architectural content and sculptural ornamentation."

Malik Ambar: Jehangir's Obsession

Malik Ambar (1549 – 1626) was an Ethiopian slave in India, who rose to become a minister and then an independent ruler with his capital at Aurangabad. The Mughal emperor Jahangir was obsessed with defeating Malik Ambar and wanted to see him crushed at any cost. Unable to defeat him in reality, Jehangir had to be content with fantasy.

The Mughal artist Abu’l Hasan drew a painting of the Emperor shooting arrows into the severed head of Malik Ambar. There are small inscriptions on the painting, one of them says "The face of the rebel has become the abode of the owl." (the owl is a symbol of bad luck, a bad omen). And the other one says "Thy arrow that lays the enemy low, sent out of the world Ambar, the owl who fled from the light." Two owls are shown in the picture.

The emperor is shown as a just divine ruler of the world. The world is borne upon the fish and bull. A Sufi master named Farid al-Din Attar wrote: “God placed Earth on the back of a bull, the bull on a fish, and the fish dancing on a silver spool of light.”

At the top of the painting are two winged infants, called putti, they were believed to influence human lives (because of contact with Europeans in Jahangir's court, elements such as putti came into the painting).

Buddhist architecture in Ajanta

- By Aishwarya Pramod

Viharas (monasteries) and chaitya-grihas (prayer halls) are the two important structures in early Buddhist architecture in India.

Viharas began as temporary shelters for wandering monks, but were later developed to accommodate the growing and increasingly formalised Buddhist monasticism. Chaitya-grihas (or chaityas) were prayer halls with a stupa at the end. The stupa was the focus of the monks' meditation and prayer.

General structure of a Vihara and Chaitya-Griha

Ajanta caves are prominently Buddhist.

Out of the 30 caves of Ajanta, 9, 10, 19, 26 and 29 are chaitya grihas (places of worship). In the earlier stages the stupas inside the chaitya grihas were plain, with no bodily representation of the Buddha. They were symbolic in nature; with the stupas usually containing a sacred relic. In the later phases, the Buddha began to be featured prominently in the stupas.

Chaitya-griha in Ajanta's cave 26 from the Mahayana period

There are also many Buddhist viharas found in India, such as the one in cave 16 of Ajanta.

Entrance to Ajanta's cave 16 - A vihara

The Holy River Indrayani

- By Deepa Krishnan

The sacred river Indrayani originates a few kilometers from Pune, near Lonavla in the Sahyadri mountains, and flows east to meet the Bhima river, passing through the pilgrimage towns of Dehu and Alandi (both are in Pune District).

Dehu is the birthplace of the poet-saint Tukaram, and Alandi holds the samadhi of the poet-saint Dnyaneshwar. Because of these sacred associations, the Indrayani is revered as a holy river.

Tukaram was born in 1608 in Dehu. He is considered the single most influential figure in the history of Marathi literature. By composing in Marathi, Tukaram incurred the wrath of the Brahmins who believed he had overstepped the bounds of his low caste. The local legend is that the Brahmins compelled Tukaram to throw his manuscripts into the river. Tukaram then commenced a fast-unto-death, and after thirteen days the manuscripts of Tukaram’s poems miraculously reappeared floating in the waters.

Dynaneshwar was born near Paithan, but attained samadhi at Alandi at the age of 21. He wrote Bhavarth Deepika, popularly known as Dynaneshwari. It is a commentary on the Bhagvad Gita, written in Marathi, and is considered a major milestone in Marathi literature.

Bahinabai: The Maharashtrian Poetess

- By Aishwarya Pramod

Bahinabai Chaudhari (1880 - 1951) was a Marathi poet from Jalgaon district (just north of Aurangabad). She composed in Ahirani dialect of Marathi, commonly spoken in the region. Since she herself was illiterate, her son wrote down the poems for her. Her poetry is full of quiet wisdom and observations of nature and rural life around her.

Most of her poems were based on agriculture, nature and the lives of farmers.

Here are two of her many compositions:

Asaa Raajaa shetkari, chaallaare aalvaani,
Dekhaa tyaachyaa paayaakhaale, kaate gele vaakisani

(So royal is the farmer, walking barefooted,
Look under his feet, the thorns are bent)

Aala saas, gela saas, jeeva tujha re tantra
Arey jagna-marna eka sasacha antar

(Breath in, Breath out, life so is your doctrine
Life and death are just a breath apart)

The Maratha alliance with the British

This painting shows the signing of an important treaty between the East India Company and the Marathas in 1790. By signing this treaty, the Marathas agreed to join hands with the British against another Indian ruler, Tipu Sultan of Mysore.

The representative of the East India company was Sir Charles Warre Malet. You can see him seated cross legged in this photo, although frankly, I don't know how he managed it in those tight pants :) Later he was awarded a Baronetcy for the strategic importance of this treaty. It was Malet who commissioned the painting, to commemorate his own role.

Originally, the Scottish artist James Wales was supposed to paint it. But he died in 1795, and eventually this painting was done was done by Thomas Daniell in 1805. Daniell painted it in England, but had previously travelled extensively in India, spending 10 years here.

The painting shows the interior of Shaniwarwada palace. The palace burned down under mysterious circumstances in 1828, but this painting shows us how beautiful the teakwood work was.

The head of the Marathas, the Peshwa at the time (seen seated on the gaddi) is Sawai Madhavrao II and near the Peshwa we can see the powerful advisor Nana Phadnavis, the "Machiavelli of the Deccan", who literally ran the Maratha empire.

According to a letter sent from India to the Board of Directors of the East India Company, the treaty could not be signed without "the spirited and unwearied exertions of your Resident Mr. Malet, the steadiness of the Minister Nana Furnavees, and the good offices of Behroo Punt, the agent of the Durbar for transacting the business of the English, and we must not exclude from the number of their friends the Mahratta Chief Mahdajee Sindia, who contributed by his own representations to forward the alliance"

Tipu sent a large amount of money to the Maratha generals to delay or avert this treaty, but it did not work. The three parties to the treaty, who aligned themselves against Tipu, were the Marathas, the East India Company, and the Nizam Asaf Jah of Hyderabad. Against this triple alliance, Tipu lost the third Anglo-Mysore war and was forced to cede half his territories to the allies, and deliver two of his sons as hostages pending payment of 3.3 crores.

Here is another painting, this one by James Wales. It is portrait of the Peshwa (on the left), with Nana Phadnavis (on the right). 

Nana Phadnavis (1742 - 1800) inherited his position from his grandfather, who was a minister for Chattrapati Shahu. He held the Maratha state together through a period of extreme political turmoil and intrigue, and helped it survive many threats from within and without. Apart from dealing with internal dissension, rivalries and sudden transfers of power, Nana Phadnavis was involved in several battles with the Nizam of Hyderabad, Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan of Mysore, and the English East India Company. The above portrait was commissioned by Madhavrao II in 1792.

Bibi ka Maqbara - The Taj of Deccan

- By Aishwarya Pramod

Bibi ka Maqbara (Mausoleum of the Lady) was built for Dilras Banu Begum, the wife of Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb. It was built after her death by her son, Prince Azam Shah between 1651 and 1661.

Bibi ka Maqbara - also called 'Taj of Deccan'

It was intended to rival the Taj, but eventually ended up with smaller proportions. So what, I say? It's still gorgeous! The symmetry and delicacy of the mausoleum, built in pure marble ox-carted all the way from Jaipur, is as stunning as ever.

The Abode of Nana Phadnavis

- Aishwarya Pramod

Nana Wada is the residence of Nana Phadnavis, who was Prime Minister to the Peshwas in the second half of the 1700's. This was a period of political instability as one Peshwa was rapidly succeeded by another, and there were many controversial transfers of power. Nana Phadnavis played a pivotal role in holding the Maratha Confederacy together in the midst of internal dissension and the growing power of the British East India Company.

Entrance to Nana Wada

At the turn of the twentieth century, the Deccan Education Society began operating the New English School in this Wada. A new building was built for this school. The addition of this new structure with its colonial influences is another interesting layer over the Maratha architecture from Nana Phadnavis' time.

Nana Wada

Malik Amber: Founder of Aurangabad

- By Deepa Krishnan

Have you heard the name of Malik Amber?

He is the founder of the city of Aurangabad.

Painting of Malik Amber by Mughal painter Hashim, currently in Victoria and Albert Museum

Malik Ambar was born in Ethopia in 1548 with the name Chapu and was sold into slavery. He was eventually bought by a leading member of the Nizam Shahi court of Ahmadnagar, one of the Deccan sultanates. He rose through sheer personal capability to became a commander of the Nizam Shahi army. By 1600 he had become Regent of the Kingdom, effectively ruling Ahmadnagar until his death in 1626.

Malik Amber's tomb in Khuldabad

He originally founded the city of Khadki in 1610. After his death in 1626, the name was changed to Fatehpur by his son and heir Fateh Khan. When Aurangzeb, the Mughal Emperor invaded Deccan in the year 1653, he made Fatehpur his capital and renamed it as Aurangabad. Since then it is known as Aurangabad.

Hilltop View of Ajanta Caves, Aurangabad

View of section of Ajanta caves from hilltop opposite. The caves are cut into the rock-face. The river Waghora, not seen in this photo, flows down below. Originally, each cave had steps cut into the rocks, going down to the river below, so the monks could get water and also enter/exit the caves.

When they started excavating these caves, they threw grappling hooks into the stones above and suspended themselves, chiseling away with just basic tools into the hard black mountain.

The Red Palace

Lal Mahal, the Red Palace is where the Maratha hero Shivaji grew up. The original Lal Mahal fell into ruins and the current Lal Mahal is a reconstruction of the original (although it's architectural veracity is not established because very little is known about the original Lal Mahal).

This place has many stories associated with it, mainly the story of Shaista Khan, whose fingers were cut-off by Shivaji. Shaista Khan was a Subhadar of the Mughal army, who occupied Lal Mahal, and Shivaji made a daring guerrilla raid to recapture his childhood home. Shaista Khan escaped by jumping through a window / balcony, but lost four fingers in the process.

Vishrambaug, Pune

Built in 1811, Vishrambaug served as a pleasure palace for the entertainment of the last Peshwa, Baji Rao II. Baji Rao's parents orchestrated the brutal murder of their young nephew Narayanrao, in order to gain the title of Peshwa. When Baji Rao became Peshwa, he was widely despised and reviled by his subjects as being the son of murderers. During his reign, the Maratha Empire came to an end, after nearly 150 years of rule.

Bamboo Crafts at Burud Ali, Pune

Typical products sold at Burud Ali - blinds, baskets of different sizes, brooms, and a flat pan-like kitchen implement used for winnowing rice/wheat or for drying things.