Everything is divine - a lesson from a Chennai pavement

While walking to Besant Nagar, I saw this by the roadside. Just a regular stone, possibly a milestone marker.

Someone had anointed it, and offered worship. With the drawing of the 3 lines, the Stone became Shiva.

Thus are gods born. And thus I learnt that the divine is everywhere, if only we develop the ability to see it.

I am not particularly religious, but instinctively I can sense the truth, that the essence of everything in the universe is the same. Stone, flower, bird, animal, water, land, air....ultimately as we look deeper and deeper into each of these, the differences melt away.

Local transport, Alleppey style

The waterways of Alleppey are extensive. Boats are the easiest and quickest way to get around and many families have their own boats.

Some boats, like the one in this photo, are fitted with an outboard motor. They are used not only for personal transport, but also to ferry goods.

The Salt-Pan Workers of Tamil Nadu

On our way from Chennai to Pondicherry, we saw sea salt being manufactured. 

Sunny hot days like this are essential for salt production. There is no work in the rains. The majority of people work as wage earners in saltpans and do not have any influence within the salt value chain. 

Tamil Nadu is the largest producer of salt in India, next only to Gujarat. There are around 60,000 salt workers in Tamil Nadu, on which nearly 80% work directly in the salt pans. The remaining 20% work in loading, packing and transport.

The total annual income per household in the range of Rs.10000, with both husband and wife working on the saltpan. Women are paid lower wages than men for the same work. The work is mainly seasonal, with very little options for off-season alternate livelihoods. Usually salt pan workers are neck deep in debt. Interest rates on loans (from informal sources) is around 60% per annum.

The manufacturing processes is very labour intensive, in very hot and windy conditions for most part of the day. Most workers have problems related to eye sight due to reflections of sunlight from the salt crystals. Work begins early in the morning, and children are left behind at home. Most children of the community do not have access to schooling or healthcare.

The industry is also highly disaster-prone, experiencing frequent threats of cyclones and high tidal waves.

Shadow Puppetry of Andhra Pradesh

The shadow puppetry of Andhra Pradesh is a dying performing art. In local language, it is called Tholu Bommalaata, and it is done by traditional clans of puppetters who go from one village to another. Families of puppetters not only perform the show, but also make beautifully decorated puppets. The puppeteers use the epics as the basis for the performance, but also create, compose and insert their own variations. In recent years, they have added songs from Telugu movies, and humorous asides with modern settings. However, like all traditional performing arts, the puppeteers are no match for modern entertainment forms such as television and the movies.

The photo here is of a shadow puppet depicting Hanuman, one of the characters from Ramayana. This puppet dates to the 1930's, and is very beautiful, although it shows some wear and tear. The creator of this puppet has displayed a masterful understanding of colour and form, using red, black and white to create a striking yet beautifully embellished puppet.

Annamayya: The Vaishnavite Song-writer

Annamāchārya (also called Annamayya) is a 15th century Vaishnavite saint, known for his devotional songs (sankeertanas) in Telugu. Written in a very personal and evocative tone, Annamayya's compositions epitomise the feeling of bhakti. In his sankeertanas, he addresses Vishnu as one would a real person. He quarrels affectionately with Vishnu, implores Vishnu, glorifies Vishnu, and surrenders completely to Vishnu. This intensely personal experience of bhakti makes Annamayya's compositions very moving.

Statue of Annamayya at Tallapaka in Andhra Pradesh, his birthplace. Photo taken from Wikipedia.

Annamayya's beautiful compositions lay forgotten for over three centuries, and were discovered concealed in a small room inside the Sri Venkateshwara temple at Tirumala in the mid-1800s. Since then, the Tirumala Devasthana Trust has been preserving these compositions. The well known Dr. Balamuralikrishna has set over 800 compositions of Annamacharya to music, and these are very popular among devotees of Tirupati. The temple trust is also making a lot of efforts to popularize these sankeertanas.

Tirumala Devasthana Temple

In 1997 a Telugu movie was released depicting the life story of Annamayya. In the initial scene, the movie depicts Vishnu and his two consorts (Bhu and Shri) in Vaikuntha, listening to prayers offered on earth in Sanskrit, Tamil and Kannada. Bhu and Shri comment that although Vishnu presides over the Telugu land, there are no songs or prayers in Telugu. In response, Vishnu's sword (Nandaka) is reincarnated as the poet Annamaya. 

Kantha Embroidery of Bengal

- By Deepa Krishnan

Kantha refers to a distinct style of Bengal embroidery applied to the creation of coverlets. Traditionally the Lep kantha of old, involved poor village women sewing together layers of old cloth, mostly saris, with intricate stitches. The thread used for the purpose was pulled out of the sari itself. Their meticulous artistry transformed worn out rags into extraordinarily beautiful creations that could withstand further usage. Till today, this combination of thrift and aesthetics is not mass produced and is usually not for sale. The intricate geometry of their design and the near absence of folk motifs continue to be a notable feature of Muslim kantha-making traditions of Murshidabad.

This photo is of a group of women from Murshidabad, and the beautiful Kantha work that they produce. Murshidabad is around 250 kms north of Calcutta.

Lullaby worthy of a Kerala king.

How can a lullaby be deign to be worthy of a king? When it is composed especially for them, of course. 
This was the case the king of Travancore, Swati Thirunal.

"Swathi Thirunal of Travancore" by Stephen Crening - COMPANY SCHOOL WATERCOLOURS. (From Wikimedia Commons)

The king was considered a good omen even before his birth, with good reason. At the time, under the Doctrine of Lapse, if the king died without a male heir, the kingdom would be annexed by the East India company. 
 Such was the relief in the royal family that the unborn child was anointed king (they didn't know it would surely be a boy).

When the child was born, the Queen requested the composer Irayimman Thampi to compose a lullaby for him. And a beautiful creation was formed.

Sung by KS Chitra (the video has English subtitles), the highlight of the song is that it leaves the plea 'go to sleep' silent. It merely plays soothingly and the baby gets the point.  

 

Coincidentally, Swati Thirunal was a key figure behind the revival of music and art, geographic divides did not matter to him. Fluent in ten languages, he is credited with more than 400 compositions in Carnatic and Hindustani music.

We are told that the child's talents may be created and honed in the womb. Hearing this song, it is easy to agree. 

Gaur sighting at Kanha

It was evening and the sun was setting among the treetops, when we saw a herd of gaur in Kanha. The density of gaur population in Kanha is quite low (it is a very large park, spread over 940 square kilometers). So this was definitely an unexpected sighting for me.

The gaur (Bos gaurus), is the largest bovine in Asia. It is the tallest species of wild cattle and is native to South Asia and Southeast Asia. In India they are usually spotted in south Indian forests; so that's another reason why I didn't really expect to see them in Kanha.

The herd emerged from the bush, and started to graze on the edges of the road. This effectively blocked our road access and we had to wait for a while, until they left the road. So I had a good chance to look at them. There were perhaps 5 or 6 gaur, of which we could see clearly two females and their young. The gaur typically live in maternal herds, led by a matriarch. The herd has juveniles and calves, and during the breeding season (April-May) the herd also has males. Even after the breeding season, the herd may have a large male.

I looked for the largest gaur in the herd - it was a big dark brown one. I was trying to figure out if it was male or female.  Females remain brown all their lives, while males darken and become black as they grow past 5 years. I figured this must be a female, and possibly she was the leader for this herd. (See this great article for information on how to tell the age and gender of gaur). Female horns point inwards and are more closely set, male horns grow out wide and then curve up.

The horns of both males and females start to whiten as they get older. This female has 40% or so white, so she must be around 4 yrs old.

The gaur prefers green grass when available. We could see this family grazing on whatever green grass they could find. When green grass is not available, they eat leaves, buds, shoots and even tree bark. They like bamboo quite a bit. They eat for most of the day, nearly 15 hours or so. After a few minutes, the herd spotted us and I think the young calves got a little alarmed (see photo below). I realised that the gaur in Kanha are not really used to humans and vehicles. Within a few seconds, they all crashed away into the bushes.

As we drove past the area where they were standing, suddenly a female gaur came back again, out of the bushes. She stood there staring straight at us. It's as if she was saying, I'm not scared of *you*! I remembered that the gaur is a pretty dauntless creature, and will even face down a tiger.

In 2011, the forest department relocated some gaur from Kanha to Bandhavgarh (where they had gone extinct around 1996). A total of 19 gaur were translocated in the first phase. A couple of them were killed by tigers but the rest are doing well. Later another 31 gaur were translocated, and they have also managed to survive very well in tiger territory. In fact,  Bandhavgarh now has some 70+ gaurs (there have been several births and the gaur population is thriving). The belief is that gaur do well when their herds are in significant numbers. In the wild, you can see gaur in herds ranging from 2 to 20 individuals. But the smaller units have less ability to protect their calves and juveniles from tigers.

Here's another gaur we saw, in a different part of Kanha. This one is a male (I'm guessing!), based on the shape of the horns. They are broader, they sort of shape outwards and then up. And the center of his head is more pronounced. He is still not very black, and his horns are small, so I would say, not more than 2.5 years old. 

If you go to Kanha, do ask your guide if you are in gaur territory. I think (if i remember right) they frequent only some parts of the park.

The Dancers of Hyderabad

'Nautch' dancers at Hyderabad in the 1860s. See the intricate ornaments - one of the women has a jewelled sheath covering her long plait.

Nautch (Nach) dancers were a widespread form of entertainment in India in the 19th century. They danced in courts, palaces, British bungalows and zamindars' havelis. They danced for men, women and children of all social classes. While travelling between cities, they would hold impromptu performances on the roads and squares to entertain the masses, make some money and secure free lodging.

They reached the height of their popularity in the 1860s, but afterwards declined due the objections of Victorian and Hindu reformers, both of whom considered the dance immoral.

This photograph of the dancers was taken in the 1860s by William Hooper, a British officer and amateur photographer. After the 1857 Rebellion, the British wanted to better understand the diverse people of India. For this they commissioned many photographers. Hooper began as one of these, and eventually set up a commercial partnership with a photographer George Western, to market photos of Anglo-Indian life.

Cochin Magic on Silk Air magazine

Hooray!! This month, Silk Winds (the magazine for Silk Air / Singapore Airlines) features two of our Cochin tours. The Broadway Bazaar Walk (http://cochinmagic.com/broadway-bazaar-walk.html), and the Jewish Heritage Tour (http://cochinmagic.com/jewish-heritage.html).

Zebunnisa - The Hidden Sufi Poetess

- By Aishwarya Pramod

Zebunnisa (1638-1702) is one of the most enigmatic figures from the Mughal period. A highly educated young woman and a poet from the age of 14, she attended secret poetry parties in the court that her puritanical father, Aurangzeb, had no knowledge of.

A painting of Zebunnisa by Pakistani painter Abdur Rahman Chaghtai

When Zebunnisa was younger she was Aurangzeb's favourite child, and even wielded influence over his decisions. But he imprisoned her for the last 20 years of her life - some say for being a poetess, some say for having an affair, while others suggest she was sympathetic to her brother who led a rebellion against their father.

Zebunnia's Palace in Aurangabad, 1880s.

Zebunnisa never married despite having several suitors. She died while Aurangzeb was away on a campaign. Her works were later compiled into a collection, "Diwan-e-Makhfi".

Zebunnisa's pen-name itself was "Makhfi" - the hidden one. Her poetry and ghazals reflect a mystic's inner freedom and express her fierce love for the divine.

Here is one of her poems translated from Persian:

I bow before the image of my Love

No Muslim I 

But an idolater

I bow before the image of my Love

And worship her

No Brahman I

My sacred thread

I cast away, for round my neck I wear

Her plaited hair instead.

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).

Temple at Satuwa Baba Ashram, Manikarnika Ghat

This is the temple at Satuwa Baba Ashram at Manikarnika Ghat. This ashram follows the Vaishnavite Rudra Sampradaya (a philosophy said to have been established by Shri Adi Vishnuswami in 3rd century BC).

Within traditional Vaishnavam there are four main Sampradayas (philosophies with guru-disciple lineages), each of which traces its roots back to a specific Vedic figure (Rudra Sampradaya, Brahma Sampradaya, Lakshmi Sampradaya, Kumara Sampradaya). Of these, Rudra Sampradaya of Vishnuswami is the oldest. The philosophy of Vishnuswami is called Shuddha Advaita, or Pure Advaita. Rudra or Shiva is said to be the foremost and ideal Vaishnavite, who teaches the Shudda Advaita philosophy to humankind.

The Satuwa Baba ashram was established in the 1800s by an ascetic from Bhavnagar in Gujarat who followed the Shudda Advaita philosophy. It is said that here Lord Shiva appeared to the Baba in the form of an old man and taught him the philosophy. The current mahant is Shri Santosh Das, who is the 7th Satuwa Baba. The previous mahant Shri Yamunacharyaji died in 2012 at the age of 99 years. Apart from being the head of the Satuwa Baba Ashram, he was also the head (Acharya) of the Vishnuswami Sampradaya itself, and a highly respected guru.

Many miracles are attributed to Satuwa Baba, such as bringing a dead man back to life, and miraculously finding gold coins in the river. As a result, the Satuwa Baba Ashram has become famous. Processions of dead bodies stop at this ashram and pay their respects before proceeding to the ghat. After the cremation ceremony the sanskar ghada (clay pot) is also broken here.

There are also ancient legends associated with Satuwa Baba Ashram. The ascetic Vishnuswami who founded the Rudra Sampradaya is believed to have visited this place in person (since the name Vishnuswami actually refers to 3 different people within the Rudra sampradaya, this legend probably refers to the second Vishnuswami who lived around 8th or 9th century, or to the third Vishnuswami who lived in the 14th century). Shankaracharya (8th century) is also believed to have visited this place, and it is said that he was tested here by Lord Shiva in the form of a Chandala.

Beautiful Photos of the British Residency, Hyderabad

Earlier this year I visited the British Residency in Hyderabad. It was an opulent mansion, built from 1789 to 1805 by the James Kirkpatrick, the British Resident of Hyderabad state. It was designed like a palladian villa but has some Indian elements to it - like a zenana (women's quarters) for Kirkpatrick's wife Khair-un-Nissa. It had full lenghth mirrors, large chandeliers, beautiful ceilings and winding staircases.

Now, of course, it's a shadow of its former glamour and lavishness. It was used after Independence as a college. After a number of years, the main mansion was abandoned as a college but the old elephant stables and surrounding buildings still have classes going on.

James Kirkpatrick was steeped in Indo-Persian 'Nizami' culture. He wore Indian dress, smoked hookah, chewed paan, and was fluent in Persian and Hindustani (Hindi). He converted to Islam and married a Hyderabadi noblewoman, Khair-un-nissa. They are said to have been truly in love.

James Kirkpatrick (British Resident) and his wife Khair-un-nissa

During the construction of the Residency, Khair-un-Nissa expressed a wish to see the design of the building. But due to the conventions of 'modesty', she couldn't come to the building itself. So Kirkpatrick had a miniature Residency built for her, 100 yards away from the main building. Now she could see what the residency would be like.

The miniature Residency is now broken after a tree fell on it.

Eventually, Kirkpatrick was removed from his position by the Governor-General Lord Wellesley: partly due to his marriage to a non-European and partly due to his closeness to the Nizam.

Here are some pictures from my visit to the Residency:

THE DURBAR HALL / BALLROOM:

The room with the dusty chandeliers and full length mirrors...

The colourful ballroom ceiling 

Close-up of the ceiling

BEAUTIFUL STAIRCASES:

Grand staircase leads to a statue of Gandhi and pictures of Tilak and S. Radhakrishnan

The domed ceiling

Another winding stairwell. At the bottom are chairs from the building's college days.

MISCELLANEOUS:

Kirkpatrick and Khair-un-Nissa's son and daughter

Another reminder of the college!

A room full of old notebooks, exam papers, attendance registers...!

The place is full of pigeons!

In fact, not only pigeons but goats seem to live here. Hope this beautiful building is restored and preserved.

The Paintings of Y. G. Srimati

Y.G. Srimati (1927-2007) was a painter from Madras. She studied graphics in the Art Student League, New York, in 1964-66. She exhibited her works in various shows (single and group shows). A number of her works are in the New York Public Library, the Smithsonian Institute and the Library of Congress. Apart from painting, Srimati was also a talented vocalist, and learnt both Hindustani and Carnatic styles. She played the veena, as well as several other instruments.

Here are some of her watercolours: the figures are tall and slender, and reminiscent of the wall murals at Ajanta.

Shiva Nataraja (1945)

Kali (1990)

Eklavya practicing archery (1945-46)

Parashurama (1946)