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Tuesday 31 January 2012

Music maestro Pandit Ravi Shankar, 92, left, is helped by his daughter Anoushka Shankar during a function to launch the 23rd edition of Limca Book of Records in Music, in New Delhi. Photo: AP
Music maestro Pandit Ravi Shankar, 92, left, is helped by his daughter Anoushka Shankar during a function to launch the 23rd edition of Limca Book of Records in Music, in New Delhi. Photo: AP
Paint and win a trip to Santiniketan


Jan 28, 2012, 12.16PM IST


DHARWAD: Dharwad chapter of INTACH will organize an on the spot essay and painting competition for students of class VIII, IX, X and PUC I year on Monday on the occasion of Ravindranath Tagore's 150th birth anniversary.

The competition will be held at RLS High School in Dharwad from 11am to 12.30pm. Topics: Essay: Story on Tagore, his works on travels in India, his contribution to art and culture.

* Painting: Tagore's poetry, story plays, songs and essays or portrait of Tagore or Shanti

* Medium: Water color, crayon, sketch pen; A-3 size paper will be provided. Suitable prizes will be awarded to winners. According to INTACH convener S Bhagawat, first ten winners at national level will be sent on a trip to Santi niketan. All participants will get certificates. Participants should be present at the venue on time
An entrancing finale at Thyagaraja Aradhana celebrations


by Radhika Pillai
Boston Indian Immigrant Community


The day-long Thyagaraja Aradhana celebrations at Chinmaya Mission Boston on Jan. 28 ended with an enchanting solo dance concert by Bharatanatyam performer Deepa Srinath. A relative newcomer to Boston, Deepa Srinath made an impact with well-chosen pieces that conveyed her expertise in the dance form. The concert followed a conventional format that nevertheless revealed an artist who is at ease with the traditional demands of Bharatanatyam while being attuned to the modern day audience.

The concert opened with a pushpanjali and shlokam in praise of Lord Ganapathi. The piece served as an apt introduction to the dancer’s pleasing persona as well as her ability in nritta, demonstrating the grace and clarity of her movements and footwork. This was followed by the presentation of two Thyagaraja compositions – “Naada Thanumanisham” and “Sogasuga Mridanga Taalam”. Srinath conveyed her mastery of abhinaya through each of these pieces; the dancer’s own devotion was palpable as she depicted Thyagaraja’s bhakti towards Lord Shiva and Lord Rama in the krithis. “Sogasuga Mridanga Taalam” proved to be an effective vehicle to showcase her versatility in abhinaya, her face and movements deftly conveying each of the navarasas from Ramayana, from “sringaram”, expressing Rama’s and Sita’s love for each other, to “bheebhatsam”, conveying Sita’s disgust at Ravana.

However, the pièce de résistance of the evening was undoubtedly Srinath’s presentation of the dance drama titled “Sita Swayamvara”. Here, Srinath was in her element as she portrayed the events of the swayamvara and the joyous celebrations surrounding the wedding of Lord Rama and Sita. With the help of simple props, this piece brought out the playfulness of the artist as she portrayed some of the suitors’ disgraceful and comedic attempts at lifting Lord Shiva’s mighty bow to win Sita’s hand. The audience clearly reveled in this performance, breaking into laughter and applause at several junctures. This piece demonstrated Srinath’s skills in choreography and established her ability to connect with the audience.

Even without live musical accompaniments (Srinath performed to pre-recorded music), the concert was effective in allowing Deepa Srinath to make her presence felt among local Indian classical dance enthusiasts. However, it was somewhat disappointing to see that the auditorium was only half full. Solo dance concerts by artists of this caliber are rare in this part of the world. It is a sad commentary indeed that, while one sees packed auditoriums at events involving Indian movie stars in New England, it is uncommon to see large audiences at concerts by talented artists such as Srinath (and even Rama Vaidyanathan, who performed in November).

Deepa Srinath received the title “Sathya Abhinaya Sundaram” in 2010 from the renowned Chennai-based Bharathanjali Trust, and she seems poised for greater achievements. One hopes that the audience in New England will prove to be an ally as she establishes herself outside India.
Sadhus show their identity cards as they wait to cast their votes in Haridwar. Electorate-wise, Haridwar is the largest constituency in Uttarakhand. Photo: PTI
Sadhus show their identity cards as they wait to cast their votes in Haridwar. Electorate-wise, Haridwar is the largest constituency in Uttarakhand. Photo: PTI
Jyoti Pande Lavakare: A new frame for Indian art

A handful of start-ups in the Indian art and cultural heritage space are addressing some of its crucial needs

Jyoti Pande Lavakare / Jan 28, 2012, 00:06 IST


The annual India Art Summit in its shiny, new avatar as the India Art Fair 2012 is in full swing. It’s looking much more professional this year, with curated walks, art projects, a speakers’ forum, special seminars, talks and other collateral events, elevating the conversation on art to a higher level. Opening up of the space has allowed gallerists and curators to display art works and installations much more aesthetically — murmurs among art professionals are comparing it to the Chelsea Art Fair. So I thought this would be a good time to highlight some unusual entrepreneurial activities in the art and cultural heritage space — start-ups like Pramod Kumar KG’s museum management and archiving services company, art restorer Priya Khanna’s restoration studio and edu-prenuers Katherine Rose and Eliza Hilton’s art education company.

What differentiates these start-ups from the usual art funds, galleries, dealers and other businesses is that in addition to addressing specific, crucial needs in the Indian art arena, these are seeding, growing, deepening and educating the nascent art market. Companies such as Eka Archiving Services, Art Life Restoration Studio and Flow India not just create and conserve our cultural capital, but also build and grow our art ecosystem and facilitate our engagement with it.







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The Indian art market exploded into the international imagination a little over a decade ago. But it isn’t enough to have a commercially-thriving art market if it remains shallow — speculators can easily manipulate such markets. For greater sophistication and depth, the Indian art market needs a growing body of genuine art collectors, qualified conservators, curators, critics, restorers and other art professionals. It also needs enduring institutions of learning, galleries to display private and travelling collections, art and design labs, museums and storage infrastructure, in addition to an emphasis on early art education.

In India, the largesse – and intention – needed to create this supporting cast is still missing. Most government funding is directionless – just walk into New Delhi’s National Museum if you want to weep with frustration at the neglect of classical heritage – and private funding is whimsical and uneven. And unlike the West, philanthropy hasn’t quite reached the Indian art world.

Eka’s Pramod set up the Anokhi Museum of Handprinting in Jaipur in 2005. The following year, he consolidated all of Ebrahim Alkazi’s art into the Alkazi Foundation for the Arts. Eka plans to set up a museum on the history of Kalakshetra.

Pramod’s skill lies in transposing Indian art collections from their naturally found old-fashioned state as a store-room of curiosities and contextualising them into something with meaning and theme. Eka tries to creatively interpret and make available a rich learning experience for viewers, going beyond mere visual delight.

“People still don’t understand the value of archiving their collections,” from dating and authenticating to recording and conserving their art works and putting the collections online and making them available to researchers, he says. He has been trying to convince people that museums need to be interactive for the experience to be meaningful and has just set up touchscreen kiosks at the Sanskriti Foundation’s Museum of Textiles in New Delhi. But again, it isn’t just setting up museums, archiving and authenticating that I find attractive about Eka. It’s the founder’s bigger aim to train more people in museology and associated museum sciences — without diverting from the for-profit path. Pramod will set up a dedicated education centre for this, and is currently scouting for space. He also plans to create a conservation cell of photography, painting, textile and paper “that will become the most important conservation centre in India.”

Khanna’s company, The Art Life Restoration Studio, is the one that restored almost all the art at the Taj Hotel that was scarred by the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack — it is now the largest private studio with a full-time trained staff of 18, apart from interns. “We also educate and train students as they apprentice at the studio, helping create meticulous, efficient art restorers to meet the acute shortage of art professionals,” she says as we tour her studio, stepping around priceless works of art.

“We’ve restored paintings, murals, sculptures, ceramics and objects made of glass, wood and metal,” she says. Khanna also prepares condition reports for insurance purposes and advises best care on maintenance. Her studio has restored dozens of the old masters and modern artists such as Manjit Bawa, Tyeb Mehta, Souza, Husain, Raza and Gaitonde, as well as artists of more recent vintage like Bharti Kher and Anju Dodiya.

But the start-up closest to my heart because it addresses a primal, though still unrecognised, need for early art education in India is Flow India. The long-term educational impact it can have, especially on the next generation is invaluable. Unlike the West, Indian school curricula don’t emphasise on art. My kindergartner learnt about Picasso and Van Gogh in his neighbourhood school in California, along with adding numbers and phonetics. By the time he was in first grade, he and his buddies could identify Impressionist art with the same authority that they identified their heart, liver, lungs and kidney. Imagine the repository of art knowledge being created in ordinary people in the West. This adds depths to markets and helps create a body of knowledgeable buyers with the confidence to keep subjective evaluations honest.

Flow India is trying to do something similar by using existing Indian art spaces to teach children how to appreciate art and learn from it. Rose and Hilton leverage their subject knowledge and methodology to teach children the critical ability to recognise colours and styles specific to an era or artist, building reasoning, vocabulary and other life skills in the process.

“We’re seeding the market, building new audiences,” Rose tells me as she explains how they conduct workshops and take parents with children as young as three for guided tours of Indian museums, art galleries, cultural and heritage spaces. But like another Mumbai-based company, Art1st, Flow’s ultimate goal is to develop art and critical thinking modules for schools. “It’s all about transformative learning — properly mediated, structured and modulated edu-tainement,” says Rose.
Centre for Environmental Planning and Technology to use Kankaria design for Bhopal Lake makeover


Dayananda Yumlembam, TNN | Jan 30, 2012, 03.23AM IST


AHMEDABAD: City's Kankaria Lakefront project will lend its design to the country's oldest manmade lake in Bhopal. The Madhya Pradesh government has awarded Centre for Environmental Planning and Technology (Cept) University the project of making a detailed concept plan for the lake.

After studying the present scenario of the lake, experts at Cept University have planned to divide the 25 kilometer-long periphery of the lake into five zones including an 'active recreational zone,' which will resemble the revenue generating model of the Kankaria Lake.

The Bhopal Lake, known as the Upper Lake or 'Bada tal,' was built around a thousand years ago and is perhaps the oldest man-made lake in the country. The lake spans over 31 square km and was built by Raja Bhoj in the 11th century by constructing an earthen dam across the Kolans River.

"The zone-1 of the Bhopal Lake will resemble the Kankaria Lakefront. With eateries, tourist shopping, open plazas and landscaped areas, the zone will be alive with visitors and recreational activities," said Subhrangsu Goswami, faculty of Planning and Public Policy at Cept University, who is handling the project with another faculty Saswat Bandyopadhyay.

"The officials of the municipal corporation at Bhopal have shown keen interest in the model and the design of Kankaria Lakefront project in Ahmedabad, which is one of the most commercially successful models. They asked during various interactions to design the lake along the lines of the existing Kankaria Lake," said Goswami.

Cept University was selected from among 32 consultants, including seven international consultancy firms which applied for the project.

Apart from an 18-hole golf course and a convention centre, the lakefront will also have a "nature trail," which has been inspired by the "heritage walk" of Ahmedabad city. "The plan is to make an interesting walking trail amidst the nature to provide opportunity for visitors to get close to nature."

While a rough plan has been proposed to the Madhya Pradesh Government, Cept University will prepare a detailed plan which is slated for completion in the next 10 months.

A long journey - History of horse domestication traced

R. Prasad
source: the Hindu  
The Kathiyavar breed of horse brought from Gujarat being maintained at the District Livestock Farm in Hosur, Karnataka. Photo: N. Bashkaran
The Hindu The Kathiyavar breed of horse brought from Gujarat being maintained at the District Livestock Farm in Hosur, Karnataka. Photo: N. Bashkaran
A study published today suggests that the common female ancestor of all modern horses lived between 1,30,000 and 1,60,000 years ago.
It appears that at least 17 female horse lines were domesticated from this ancestor. Domestication occurred in many locations across Eurasia.
DNA analyses of sheep, cattle and goat indicate that domestication started from a handful of animals in a few places and took place around 8,000 to 10,000 years ago. Hence, these animals show very limited genetic variation.
Though domestication of horses took place 6,000 to 7,000 years ago, they show high diversity. This is because the branching off from a common ancestor started long ago and many genetic groups called haplogroups underwent domestication in different geographical areas. Scientists found that the male-inherited Y chromosome showed virtually no sequence variation. This has great significance — domestication of wild horses involved only “closely related male horses but allowed more variation in the female lineages,” the authors wrote in the study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Genetic analysis was carried out using 83 mitochondrial genomes collected from modern horse breeds spread across Asia, West Asia, Europe, North America and South America. The study revealed that domesticated horses fell under 18 major genetic groups (haplogroups). Asia displayed the greatest variation, with all the 18 genetic groups detected in animals from here.
Domestication of wild horses played a key role in the rise of larger human settlements and great civilisations.
 
World War II veterans from Sikkim were also felicitated on the day. The surviving veterans who could make it to the Republic Day event were Garjaman Rai [91yrs], Padam Singh Gurung [99 yrs], Ravi Lal Gurung [89yrs], Gyampa Namgyal Kazi [91yrs], Amar Singh Rai[99yrs] and Chandra Bdr Limboo [86yrs].
source: Sikkim Now
 
 
41st episode of Basibiyalo Singtam to be held in 29 Jan

source:Sikkim Now

GANGTOK, 27 Jan: Basibiyalo Singtam has entered its 41st episode which is scheduled to be held at Singtam Nepali Dharamsala on 29 January. IGP Akshay Sachdeva will be attending as the chief guest. Shyam Pradhan, who played the lead role in the film ‘Romeo in Sikkim’ in the 70s, will be felicitated by Basibiyalo Singtam this time.
The film, which was shot in different parts of the state in 1973, was screened here in 1975, a press release informs. Mr Pradhan will be felicitated in a colourful cultural programme, which will include poetry recitals and traditional dance performances. [from SANJAY AGARWAL]
Students supplement classroom learning with field experience

source:Sikkim Now

The Winter Sojourn Programme of Sikkim University was introduced in 2010-11 under the initiative of the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Mahendra P. Lama. One of the major objectives in introducing this programme was to ensure that classroom teaching is supplemented by field experience of the students. At the same time, it was also envisaged as a means of obtaining data relating to the problem under consideration with a view to devising appropriate solutions.
The Winter Sojourn Programme of Sikkim University is organised in such a way as to cover a variety of topics in diverse areas. This year the programme includes topics like Cancer, Tuberculosis, Migrant Labourers, Tibetan Settlements, Fashion, Amliso Broom, Past Time Games, Hydroelectric Projects, Earthquake, Musical Instruments, Human Trafficking, Forests, Medicinal Plants, Oranges, Women Vendors, Monuments and Cultural Heritage, Telephone, etc.
Serialised below are field reports from some the Winter Sojourn teams:

Study on School Dropouts
The team on ‘School Dropouts’ includes three faculty members – Dr Ruma Kundu from the Department of Economic Studies and Planning, who is also the team leader; Dr Shailendra Mishra from the Department of Ethno-Botany & Social Medicine Studies; and Mr Indraneel Mandal from the Department of Management and Commerce. It also has fifteen students from various departments of the university.
As a part of its research methodology the team had planned to carry out surveys in two areas, viz., - West Sikkim and Gangtok during the course of the allotted ten days. Accordingly it first visited Sombarey in West Sikkim on the 16th of January, 2012 to conduct surveys in Sombarey and adjoining villages like Churchgaon, Daramdin, Lungchok, Ambatte, etc. Before starting work members of the team visited the panchayat pradhan and police officials who welcomed this initiative of the university. During the survey the team members were spontaneously received by various households in these villages. After a successful five days in West Sikkim the team returned to Gangtok on the 20th for the second phase of the survey. While there was a noticeable change in the attitude of the urban respondents, the team has nevertheless enjoyed a successful run during the survey, which wrapped up on the 25th. Apart from covering households in different parts of the city and its suburbs the team members also visited institutions like different livelihood schools, the Institute of Tibetology and monasteries, besides undertaking studies of ‘special’ groups like the taxi drivers and vendors.
It has been an enjoyable and fruitful experience for all members of the team, including both students and faculty members, who have learnt a lot during these past ten days.
[from Dr. RUMA KUNDU, Assistant Professor, Department of Economic Studies and Planning, Sikkim University]

MONUMENTS AND CULTURAL HERITAGE
After last year’s grand success of the Winter Sojourn Programme, this year too, Sikkim University is conducting field research on various themes. The team working on the theme ‘Monuments & Cultural Heritage’ is doing an extensive research work on four endangered heritage sites: Sidrapong Hydel Power Project at Darjeeling, MacFarlen Church at Kalimpong, Damsong Gari at Pedong and Dalim Fort at Gorubathan. The team is headed by four faculty members: Dr. Sanjay Singh (Dept. of Music), the team coordinator, Mr Samar Sinha (Dept. of Asian Languages – Nepali), Mr Arnab Datta (Dept. of Asian Languages – Chinese), Ms Chunnu Khawas (Computer Science), and accompanied by 21 students from various disciplines.
The team started with their work at Sidrapong Hydel Power Project, Darjeeling on 21 January, 2012 and did an extensive study on this heritage power project, Asia’s first hydel power project, which is now defunct. The team collected valuable information from the local residents like Mr Jivan Bhandari, Mr Sanu Bhai and Mr Kamal Bhandari. The prime objective was to promote the heritage and create awareness among people and find ways for its preservation and restoration.
The second site was MacFarlen Church at Kalimpong, East India’s very first church. This antique monument is in a very dilapidated state after the 18/9 earthquake last year. The church was established by Scottish missionaries in 1891. The team is now collecting data from reliable sources like senior pastors, evangelists and reverends. They are also receiving perceptions of the local residents about the restoration of the church. Considering its antiquity and the fact that it was instrumental in the socio-economic development of the hilly communities, this church definitely deserves to get attention at national and international level.
The team would be heading for Damsong Gari, Pedong on 27 Jan.
Endangered heritage places like this are not only important for one’s culture but in fact invaluable. They might be scattered around and neglected, just like a wild flowering plant by the roadside; but nonetheless worth to be given a close look for a while. Sikkim University is surely on this track. The research work will definitely reveal many such hidden treasures. They must be preserved because they are integral to our culture.
[from Arnab Datta, Assistant Professor, Department of Asian Languages (Chinese), School of Languages & Linguists, Sikkim University]

UNDERSTANDING THE PREVALENCE OF CANCER IN SIKKIM
Fifteen students from Sikkim University along with three faculty members and two Junior Executives will commence on 27 January 2012 on the winter sojourn programme on the theme ‘Cancer in Sikkim’ to evaluate different risk factors of common cancer prevalent in urban and rural population in east Sikkim (India). The theme would be based on 10 days field study by interacting cancer patients and their family along with the interactions in hospital and PHCs.
The study would be an effort to gain an insight into the prevalence and possible causes of cancer in Sikkim and to study the psychological implications of people affected with cancer. Along with this an effort would be made to explore the risk factors of cancer in Sikkim. Faculty and students would visit hospitals, pathology labs and all the source of registration to collect cancer causes and would visit their places, survey the cause and risk factors of cancer incidence.
This study is taken in Sikkim to provide a base study on cancer etiology and control and to overview the cancer problems in Sikkim. This field study is designed in such a manner which is extensively interdisciplinary, incorporating all major issues related to border for a close study through direct interaction with cancer patients. This field study can bring many important issues into mainstream academic and policy discussions which are yet to get attention from mainstream academics, policy establishments and media.
The team is led by Mr Gagan Chettri, the team coordinator is Dr. Deepti Singh while other members are Dr. Bimala Singh, Dr. Satyananda Panda and Mr Binu Dorjee.
[from DEEPTI SINGH]
Caught in red tape, city misses Unesco deadline

TNN

NEW DELHI: Delhi has missed the bus to be in the race for the prestigious world heritage city tag this year. While the culture ministry may have cleared the tentative nomination dossier for submission to Unesco, Delhi will not file its nomination as the deadline for 2012-13 has been missed.

Sources have revealed that the newly formed world heritage advisory committee has finally approved the 92-page dossier submitted by INTACH Delhi Chapter last year in July. Though the dossier clearance has not been notified officially, sources confirmed that the committee has studied the dossier thoroughly and passed it. Several months ago, the ministry of culture had laid down new norms for India's submissions regarding world heritage status to Unesco. Every nomination now has to be cleared by the newly established advisory committee that includes experts, historians, and archaeologists.

"Only after the committee approval, could the tentative nomination dossier be sent to Unesco's headquarters in Paris. We had hoped Delhi would be nominated in 2012-13 as the tentative dossier was ready much before the submission deadline. However, now that a new process for clearance is in place, we have lost out on this year's submission list and can only make the submission next year,'' said an INTACH official.

Sources said the culture ministry decided to set up the committee after a number of its applications for world heritage status like Shantiniketan, Qutub Shahi Tombs, Majuli Island were rejected by Unesco. It was then decided that a new committee was required to evaluated all future applications.

"Either the applications submitted were incomplete or the designs were inadequate or the nomination dossiers not up to the mark. Whatever be the reason, too many applications were being rejected so now the world heritage advisory committee has been established to scrutinize and evaluate all future proposals,'' said a source.

Work on the thick six-volume final nomination dossier is already under way and INTACH is focusing on more awareness campaigns to spread knowledge about Delhi's potential as a world heritage city. Last year, a number of lectures, walks, seminars were held across the city and more such events are being planned. "While it's a positive sign that a process has been initiated by the culture ministry to expedite world heritage nominations and ensure that the nomination applications are up to the mark, it should have been established much earlier. Due to the delay, Delhi has lost out on a precious year,'' said a heritage conservationist.
'Mushk’ Mahal reeks of neglect

TNN

HYDERABAD: The Mushk Mahal in Attapur may be a structure like none other in Hyderabad, but the treatment meted out to it is not reflective of this uniqueness. The once imposing structure today lies covered in layers of moss and filth and curious souls who attempt to walk in for a dekko of its historic interiors are welcomed by are volting stench.

The construction of Mishk Mahal is attributed to Miyan Mishk Malik, the Absynnian commander of armed forces of the last Qutub Shahi king, Abul Hasan Tana Shah during 1678. Constructed as a getaway for the Golconda royals, the two-storeyed palace was protected by high walls with two prominent gates leading to it from the north and south. The walls long gone, the mahal has been left to fend for itself from the vagaries of nature and the ever narrowing maze of concrete.

The supposedly 10 acres of land it was built on, has shrunk to less than a fraction. The building's visage now sports deep-rooted weed growth and wild shrubs. "Mishk Mahal is a fine example of Qutub Shahi era architecture. It is one of its kind to have survived outside Golconda. Other similar structures were reportedly brought down during Mughal conquests.

Though there were plans to award the heritage structure, we could not do it last time around because the structure is not under protection. A structure of this stature needs to be conserved," said Anuradha Reddy, Intach convenor for Hyderabad chapter. She alleged that local authorities have done little to protect the heritage of the structure.

In an irony of sorts, the name of the palace has been corrupted to 'Mushk' Mahal, but the 17th century monument today actually serves the purpose of urinal for passersby and locals. A local from the area attributes this to growing encroachment around the area. "We have heard that several land grabbers with political backing are eyeing the remaining land and the mahal itself," said an elderly local. He added that a barbed fence recently put up around the monument has deterred passersby from relieving themselves around the structure.

The palace is not under the aegis of ASI or state archaeology department. It is under the patronage of GHMC's heritage wing. An official from the heritage wing admitted that little has been done to conserve the structure. "Though this issue has been brought to the notice of the government, nothing has been done to conserve the structure," he said.

Cyclone unleashed fury on ageing Garden House

byA. V. Ragunathan
Source: The Hindu  
RAVAGED: The heritage building where British General Robert Clive lived and which serves as the camp office of the Cuddalore Collector, was partially damaged in the cyclone. Photo: C. Venkatachalapathy
RAVAGED: The heritage building where British General Robert Clive lived and which serves as the camp office of the Cuddalore Collector, was partially damaged in the cyclone. Photo: C. Venkatachalapathy
INTACH team called to assess damage
A team from the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) has been called to inspect the damage caused by cyclone ‘Thane' to the 18th Century edifice here that was once the home of British General Robert Clive.
Known as the Garden House in colonial parlance, it has been declared a heritage structure and serves as the camp of the District Collector.
Situated in the heart of Cuddalore town, it had famed sylvan surroundings and thick woods. Tucked away from public view, the magnificent building had come up in the midst of gigantic trees.
The mansion, which hosted many a banquet during the heydays of the British, was constructed using bricks and slake lime. Built in 1702 at a cost of Rs.27,500, the building fell into disrepair after the departure of the British.
It is learnt that the roof collapsed in 1984, forcing subsequent Collectors to move to a modest building on the same campus.
It prominently displays a circular plaque stating “This house was occupied by Robert Clive, afterwards created Lord Clive, circa 1756.”
The ground floor of the colonial legacy now serves as the camp office and conference hall where the review meetings, including in-camera ones, are held.
When the cyclone struck Cuddalore, as many as 60 trees on the campus were uprooted, blocking the approach road. The Collector could come out of the building only after removing the trees obstructing the way.
The falling trees damaged the tiles on the roofs and chipped away a portion of the balcony. The ferocious winds broke glass panes and wooden frames of windows.
The once well maintained garden in front of the building is now in tatters.
When contacted, District Collector Rajendra Ratnoo told The Hindu that preliminary estimates showed that the building had suffered damages to the tune of Rs.30 lakh. Since it was a heritage structure renovation work could be entrusted only to experts.
He said that the Superintendent of Police's bungalow, near Silver Beach, was another heritage building that was extensively damaged.
He had asked the INTACH to send a team to assess the damage and prepare an estimate, in coordination with the Public Works Department and the Tamil Nadu Police Housing Corporation, to restore these heritage structures to their pristine glory.
Sikkim’s oldest Bhatti bakery fades into oblivion

source:isikkim

DEVIKA GURUNG

Gangtok: January 30, 2012

A yellow coloured, poorly lit, old, small, two story structure, in a decrepit state from outside to inside are the only words fit for the current state of the oldest bakery of Sikkim that stands there in Chandmari, Gangtok. The bakery once had the Royals of Sikkim as its customers but is now in a desperate need of maintenance. Nothing here looks like a bakery except for the chimney. A poorly made blue wooden gate greets and a glass case displaying a variety of baked stuffs…

“It has been ten years since this bakery shifted here. Earlier we were at Tibet Road, Gangtok at ‘Kumar Saab’s house”, says 60 year old Noor Mohammad (referring to the then prince as ‘Kumar Saab). Mohammad has been baking for last 25- 26 years since it was set up.

The oldest bakery of Sikkim had no branding but a popular local name ‘Bhatti’. Apart from the Royals of Sikkim, the nearly 30 year old bakery’s delicious stuffs has been tasted by lmost all the 1st and 2nd generations of Sikkimese post 70s.

Modern technology has not touched this bakery and old traditional methods are still applied. But Mohammed has a point to defend: “Preparing in machine is faster and easier but making it in the old way has its own flavour. Man made tastes better than machine made.”


Along with one help Mohammad bakes seven varieties of buns, cakes, biscuits, patties and rolls for ‘Baxawallas’ (vendors) who sell it in the town. The work starts at five in the morning till the day ends.

“At a time, four trays fit inside the oven and we are able to bake up to 1500-2000 biscuits, cake, patties etc.”, says Mohammad. But he mourns that the number of customers have dropped dramatically over the years. “Nowadays people prefer products from fancy bakeries. Still, people with real taste of baked goodies come for us.”

Of the many changes that have come to the bakery and its products, one is the smaller size of the cup cake ( called ‘Queen Cake’). “It’s all because of inflation. We need to compromise with size, but the quality is as good as ever. We charge just Rs 2.50 per queen cake. Do you think it’s costly?”

Branding and upgrading might have helped Mohammed to upgrade, serve more customers and remain as popular as ever but change doesn’t take everyone along.

source:Sikkim Mail

Monday 30 January 2012

Listing of Heritage in Sikkim done by INTACH

 
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Govt. to develop pilgrimage tourism in Nagaland





Parliamentary Secretary, Tourism and Law & Justice Yitachu and parliamentary secretary Chotisuh Sazo are seen here during the cultural festival at Phusachodu village.

Phüsachodü | January 28: In a major boost to the state's tourism, the government is contemplating to develop pilgrimage tourism basing on historical importance in Nagaland. As a start, the government is targeting to develop Chesezu in Phek district as a spot for social pilgrimage where the last camp of Netaji Subash Chandra Bose was situated, and has also made request for a religious pilgrimage at Molungyimsen in Mokokchung district, where Dr. E. W. Clark the first missionary to Nagaland set foot there.
Speaking at the 14th cultural festival of Phüsachodümi Youth Society here this morning, the Parliamentary Secretary, Tourism and Law & Justice Yitachu said the government is giving special attention towards cultural tourism in Nagaland. Yitachu, however said that except Hornbill festival, tribal festivals and cultural days, the regular cultural activities are not there where tourists can come during any season to witness the vibrant cultural heritage of the Nagas.
In this respect, he said pilgrimage tourism was required to be developed in Nagaland, which, he said can pull maximum tourists throughout the year. Tourists in the world is about to cross 1 billion, he said and asserted that if we can bring 0.1 % of those tourists to the state, our revenue can be hugely generated. In most of the advanced countries, the economy is mostly run by the revenue generated through tourism activities.
In the context of Nagaland, he said the state is yet to make the fullest use of the tourism activities. “Cultural tourism in Nagaland is readymade but we are not yet ready to use it systematically,” he said.
Asserting that culture is the first learning process of human life, he said that our forefathers performed various rituals and festivals in the past and we have come a long way since then. He said if we look at our present cultural and traditions today “social, cultural and religious transformation is huge today.
The parliamentary secretary maintained that even armed with the highest degree of education, one need to come back to our roots and learn our culture.
Touching on declaration of 2012-13 as the year of Youth- cum- Tribal Festivals, Yitachu said youth festivals and road shows will continue. In this, he asked the Tribal Hohos to take advantage of the platform and plan ahead of time so as to generate publicity and to attract tourists. Yitachu also stressed on the need to adopt peace culture and to cultivate peaceful atmosphere in the state. He said peace has to begin from within the family and people as a whole, adding that that all activities will be possible only through peace. Parliamentary secretary for social welfare & women development Chotisuh Sazo also spoke on the occasion. Social welfare director Khevito Shohe and several other dignitaries present on the occasion.

Madhya Pradesh Chief MInister Shivraj Singh Chouhan offers floral tribute to the statue of Lord Buddha during Second International Buddha Fair for World Peace in Bhopal. Photo: A.M. Faruqui

Madhya Pradesh Chief MInister Shivraj Singh Chouhan offers floral tribute to the statue of Lord Buddha during Second International Buddha Fair for World Peace in Bhopal. Photo: A.M. Faruqui
Caught in red tape, city misses Unesco deadline

TNN | Jan 30, 2012, 02.10AM IST


NEW DELHI: Delhi has missed the bus to be in the race for the prestigious world heritage city tag this year. While the culture ministry may have cleared the tentative nomination dossier for submission to Unesco, Delhi will not file its nomination as the deadline for 2012-13 has been missed.

Sources have revealed that the newly formed world heritage advisory committee has finally approved the 92-page dossier submitted by INTACH Delhi Chapter last year in July. Though the dossier clearance has not been notified officially, sources confirmed that the committee has studied the dossier thoroughly and passed it. Several months ago, the ministry of culture had laid down new norms for India's submissions regarding world heritage status to Unesco. Every nomination now has to be cleared by the newly established advisory committee that includes experts, historians, and archaeologists.

"Only after the committee approval, could the tentative nomination dossier be sent to Unesco's headquarters in Paris. We had hoped Delhi would be nominated in 2012-13 as the tentative dossier was ready much before the submission deadline. However, now that a new process for clearance is in place, we have lost out on this year's submission list and can only make the submission next year,'' said an INTACH official.

Sources said the culture ministry decided to set up the committee after a number of its applications for world heritage status like Shantiniketan, Qutub Shahi Tombs, Majuli Island were rejected by Unesco. It was then decided that a new committee was required to evaluated all future applications.

"Either the applications submitted were incomplete or the designs were inadequate or the nomination dossiers not up to the mark. Whatever be the reason, too many applications were being rejected so now the world heritage advisory committee has been established to scrutinize and evaluate all future proposals,'' said a source.

Work on the thick six-volume final nomination dossier is already under way and INTACH is focusing on more awareness campaigns to spread knowledge about Delhi's potential as a world heritage city. Last year, a number of lectures, walks, seminars were held across the city and more such events are being planned. "While it's a positive sign that a process has been initiated by the culture ministry to expedite world heritage nominations and ensure that the nomination applications are up to the mark, it should have been established much earlier. Due to the delay, Delhi has lost out on a precious year,'' said a heritage conservationist.

Sunday 29 January 2012

Honoring heritage

STEVEN FONDO Times Leader Correspondent

WILKES-BARRE – The Luzerne County Historical Society hosted a series of events on Saturday to culminate its "Polish Heritage" exhibition, which began in October.

The multi-faceted exhibit was organized as a way to honor the many families who immigrated to the area in the late 1800s.

The day began with a children’s program titled, "Smok the Polish Dragon," which featured a Polish-themed story-telling hour, craft making and refreshments. The program continued with an afternoon session which featured a Polish-costume embroidery discussion and demonstration by Alice Rae Kutish of the Embroidery Guild of America.

“We wanted to celebrate the ethnic experience and contribution of the Polish immigrants here in Wyoming Valley," said Mary Ruth Burke, the historical society’s curator.

According to Burke, many Poles came to this country to find work in the coal-mining industry with a plan to return to Poland once they had saved enough money. However, the two world wars and ensuing Russian occupation prevented many of them from returning to their homeland.

“Their community was centered around their neighborhood church," added Burke. "The exhibit demonstrated that once established in the region, home ownership became the goal for many Polish immigrants, as a way to escape the harsh conditions of mining company housing.”

Burke said the historical society plans to publish an ethnic cookbook.



Read more: http://www.timesleader.com/news/Honoring_heritage_01-29-2012.html#ixzz1kqlFmfrS
UNESCO to decide on CST modernisation next month

UNESCO to decide on CST modernisation
by Shalini Nair : Mumbai, Sun Jan 29 2012, 02:10 hrs

The fate of the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST) modernisation proposal will be decided at the next meeting of the World Heritage Committee of UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) in Paris in February.
Officials from Central Railway said they have submitted a proposal asking for the panel’s permission to reduce the buffer zone around the listed World heritage site of CST to 70 per cent of its existing area.

CST is the only railway terminus in the world to enjoy this prestigious tag, which was conferred upon it in July 2004. The Indo-Sarcenic CST building and the three buffer zones — an area where construction is restricted to protect the heritage value of the site — are spread over an area of 90 hectares.

The railway’s plan for CST modernisation involves roping in a private developer to carry out the work and in return allowing him to commercially exploit 9.6 hectares of vacant railway land on the eastern side of the precinct.

However, this land falls in buffer zone 2, which as per the commitment made before UNESCO, is supposed to “avoid commercial, high rise development that shall congest the area, or obstruct or distract the view of CST from a distance or any location and as a result be potential threat to the CST.”

Also, the land itself was proposed to be landscaped and maintained as an public open space.

Following a request made by the Central Railway that the modernisation won’t be financially viable unless done through private participation, the Railway board in Delhi has now submitted a modified proposal to the UNESCO panel.

“Two days ago a proposal was sent to the UNESCO panel for its sanction to reduce a third of the area on the P D’Mello side of the buffer zone. The CST building is not visible from that side of the road,” said a senior official from the Central Railway, adding that the boundary modification won’t affect the heritage value of the precinct in any way.

In the event of UNESCO panel approving the redrawn contours around the Victorian Gothic revival CST building, the railways will launch its project of restoration of the structure, upgradation of passenger facilities and pedestrianisation of the vicinity.

Accordingly a developer, will construct platforms, create underground parking and connect CST to the proposed Metro rail.

The developer will also have to construct a 8,400 sq m two-level underground subway, underneath the existing taxi stand, for housing passenger amenities such as information desk, ATMs, supermarket, waiting lounges, luggage rooms, rest rooms, food stalls, pharmacy, beauty salons, book shops and conference rooms.

Technology takes over tradition

by Ranee Kumar
Source: The Hindu  
TRADITIONAL APPROACH Percussionists and live orchestra not only enhance the performance of music and dance performances, but also help rectify human errors, if any. Photo: S. Thanthoni
TRADITIONAL APPROACH Percussionists and live orchestra not only enhance the performance of music and dance performances, but also help rectify human errors, if any. Photo: S. Thanthoni
 
The entry of electronic tools has transformed the way classical arts have been taught, learnt and performed.
The history of Indian classical music and dance spans a millennia and more. To date, the classical arts are revered by Indians as sources of spiritual experience, cultural expression and pristine entertainment. Till recently the system of teaching and learning as well as performing these arts has been totally different from the western/Occidental path.
For thousands of years, music/dance material travelled along a simple linear path from teacher to disciple, calling for a long-term apprenticeship. Sruti (committed to ear) and Smriti (committed to memory) were the ancient modes of transmitting any learning. Of late, despite the respect for traditional methodology, India has also been swept by the torpedo of electronics in the global village scenario.
Though resistance to change is first reaction, the inevitable TINA (‘There Is No Alternative') factor comes into play. Spurred by the West and our own exposure to rapid technological innovations, the indigenous electronics industry seeped into the arena of music, which has since been christened as an ‘industry'. Indians' respect for tradition has, however, not hindered them from accepting new technologies. New technological tools have been incorporated into the system of teaching and learning and practice too.
This trend has therefore generated electronic drones and rhythms, which are now commonplace, with experimental efforts at creating databases.
As things stand, computer-aided composition and computer-assisted education cannot be far off. Electronic aids to music education have been a major component of the Western pedagogic process for many years. Today applications as diverse as desktop publishing, lectronically-assisted education (audio/video cassettes), radio and TV programmes and a host of electronic gadgets have already entered the educational process.
The most fundamental point in the classical Indian music is that it is a modal system based upon pure tones rather than tempered tones. The drone (sruti) is an essential component of music. It is this which provides the tonal base upon which the modes are developed. This was normally provided by a stringed instrument, the tambura/tanpura or a small hand-pumped reed instrument (Sruti pette in Telugu or Sur peti in Hindi). Today, electronic companies like Radel have replaced the human-hand generated sruti instrument with electronic sruti box which has become a mandatory tool for any student of music. Its popularity in Carnatic music system is not mirrored in equal measure in the Hindustani system as yet; though it is growing among younger learners.
Our Carnatic musicians have gone a step further in opting for the metronome that marks the tempo during practice sessions.
Even in the West, the use of the metronome in classical music has been controversial and has been dubbed by many a maestro as a hindrance to creative musical interpretation.
Also, there is a phenomenal progress in electronic synthesisers in recent times. Its affordability has brought the digital signal processors right to our doorstep. Though the electronic invasion has not killed the conventional instruments market, they have definitely overtaken the former's usage.
The main reason for this replacement is its uniform tonal quality, easy maintenance, convenience of usage and transport thereby giving value for money. Plus they are mass produced, unlike their traditional counterparts. As a result of these changed dynamics, the tambura artist is more or less a rarity in a Carnatic music kutcheri today.
Effect on performances
Technology is taking over in dance too. In a classical dance performance, pre-recorded music has replaced the accompanists on stage. The artist-dancer finds it economical and easier to switch on the hi-fi music player and get on to the stage, especially when the performance is far away from home. It saves the organiser and the artiste the trouble of having to cart an entire team of accompanists for a live orchestra. However, a live orchestra not only enhances the performance by its sheer august presence, but also responds to immediate needs of the dancer and serves to rectify human errors, if any.
Similarly, in the case of the tambura, the original acoustic has much more to offer to the artist. The process of tuning it offer the artist a few moments to withdraw into himself and internalise the sruti. It is close to meditation and allows the musician to retain the contemplative quality of music. Electronic tamburas lack what we call the human stage presence, which goes a long way in making an impressive concert.

India Art Summit

Jyoti Pande Lavakare: A new frame for Indian art

A handful of start-ups in the Indian art and cultural heritage space are addressing some of its crucial needs

by Jyoti Pande Lavakare / Jan 28, 2012, 00:06 IST

The annual India Art Summit in its shiny, new avatar as the India Art Fair 2012 is in full swing. It’s looking much more professional this year, with curated walks, art projects, a speakers’ forum, special seminars, talks and other collateral events, elevating the conversation on art to a higher level. Opening up of the space has allowed gallerists and curators to display art works and installations much more aesthetically — murmurs among art professionals are comparing it to the Chelsea Art Fair. So I thought this would be a good time to highlight some unusual entrepreneurial activities in the art and cultural heritage space — start-ups like Pramod Kumar KG’s museum management and archiving services company, art restorer Priya Khanna’s restoration studio and edu-prenuers Katherine Rose and Eliza Hilton’s art education company.

What differentiates these start-ups from the usual art funds, galleries, dealers and other businesses is that in addition to addressing specific, crucial needs in the Indian art arena, these are seeding, growing, deepening and educating the nascent art market. Companies such as Eka Archiving Services, Art Life Restoration Studio and Flow India not just create and conserve our cultural capital, but also build and grow our art ecosystem and facilitate our engagement with it.

The Indian art market exploded into the international imagination a little over a decade ago. But it isn’t enough to have a commercially-thriving art market if it remains shallow — speculators can easily manipulate such markets. For greater sophistication and depth, the Indian art market needs a growing body of genuine art collectors, qualified conservators, curators, critics, restorers and other art professionals. It also needs enduring institutions of learning, galleries to display private and travelling collections, art and design labs, museums and storage infrastructure, in addition to an emphasis on early art education.

In India, the largesse – and intention – needed to create this supporting cast is still missing. Most government funding is directionless – just walk into New Delhi’s National Museum if you want to weep with frustration at the neglect of classical heritage – and private funding is whimsical and uneven. And unlike the West, philanthropy hasn’t quite reached the Indian art world.

Eka’s Pramod set up the Anokhi Museum of Handprinting in Jaipur in 2005. The following year, he consolidated all of Ebrahim Alkazi’s art into the Alkazi Foundation for the Arts. Eka plans to set up a museum on the history of Kalakshetra.

Pramod’s skill lies in transposing Indian art collections from their naturally found old-fashioned state as a store-room of curiosities and contextualising them into something with meaning and theme. Eka tries to creatively interpret and make available a rich learning experience for viewers, going beyond mere visual delight.

“People still don’t understand the value of archiving their collections,” from dating and authenticating to recording and conserving their art works and putting the collections online and making them available to researchers, he says. He has been trying to convince people that museums need to be interactive for the experience to be meaningful and has just set up touchscreen kiosks at the Sanskriti Foundation’s Museum of Textiles in New Delhi. But again, it isn’t just setting up museums, archiving and authenticating that I find attractive about Eka. It’s the founder’s bigger aim to train more people in museology and associated museum sciences — without diverting from the for-profit path. Pramod will set up a dedicated education centre for this, and is currently scouting for space. He also plans to create a conservation cell of photography, painting, textile and paper “that will become the most important conservation centre in India.”

Khanna’s company, The Art Life Restoration Studio, is the one that restored almost all the art at the Taj Hotel that was scarred by the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack — it is now the largest private studio with a full-time trained staff of 18, apart from interns. “We also educate and train students as they apprentice at the studio, helping create meticulous, efficient art restorers to meet the acute shortage of art professionals,” she says as we tour her studio, stepping around priceless works of art.

“We’ve restored paintings, murals, sculptures, ceramics and objects made of glass, wood and metal,” she says. Khanna also prepares condition reports for insurance purposes and advises best care on maintenance. Her studio has restored dozens of the old masters and modern artists such as Manjit Bawa, Tyeb Mehta, Souza, Husain, Raza and Gaitonde, as well as artists of more recent vintage like Bharti Kher and Anju Dodiya.

But the start-up closest to my heart because it addresses a primal, though still unrecognised, need for early art education in India is Flow India. The long-term educational impact it can have, especially on the next generation is invaluable. Unlike the West, Indian school curricula don’t emphasise on art. My kindergartner learnt about Picasso and Van Gogh in his neighbourhood school in California, along with adding numbers and phonetics. By the time he was in first grade, he and his buddies could identify Impressionist art with the same authority that they identified their heart, liver, lungs and kidney. Imagine the repository of art knowledge being created in ordinary people in the West. This adds depths to markets and helps create a body of knowledgeable buyers with the confidence to keep subjective evaluations honest.

Flow India is trying to do something similar by using existing Indian art spaces to teach children how to appreciate art and learn from it. Rose and Hilton leverage their subject knowledge and methodology to teach children the critical ability to recognise colours and styles specific to an era or artist, building reasoning, vocabulary and other life skills in the process.

“We’re seeding the market, building new audiences,” Rose tells me as she explains how they conduct workshops and take parents with children as young as three for guided tours of Indian museums, art galleries, cultural and heritage spaces. But like another Mumbai-based company, Art1st, Flow’s ultimate goal is to develop art and critical thinking modules for schools. “It’s all about transformative learning — properly mediated, structured and modulated edu-tainement,” says Rose.

Victoria Town Hall stands tall after restoration

by M. Soundariya Preetha
source: Hindu  
The Victoria Town Hall in Coimbatore city, listed by INTACH as a heritage structure. It was restored in 1992. Photo; M. Periasamy
The Hindu The Victoria Town Hall in Coimbatore city, listed by INTACH as a heritage structure. It was restored in 1992. Photo; M. Periasamy
 
This landmark building in Coimbatore, which has stood the test of time, faced threat of demolition in the early 1990s
This landmark building in Coimbatore has stood the test of time. It is rich in history and was once the venue for public meetings, council meetings, civic receptions and banquets in honour of celebrities visiting the city, including Mahatma Gandhi and Rajaji.
The Victoria Town Hall, constructed in 1892 in honour of Queen Victoria, faced the threat of demolition in the early 1990s but has now been restored and hosts Corporation council meetings.
Municipal council meetings were held in the hall till 1953. From 1952 to 1986, a library and reading room existed on the mezzanine floor of the hall. The hall was then used as a godown to store electrical goods.
INTACH role
In 1992, a government order was passed for its demolition, says Shashi Ghulati, who was convenor of the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) - Coimbatore then.
The INTACH took up the matter with the Corporation Commissioner. With the support of the Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Coimbatore, the INTACH launched a campaign to save the structure. An official of the corporation says the structure was restored in 1992 at a cost of Rs.15 lakh.
According to Ms. Ghulati, the municipality granted the land and Rs.3,000 for the construction of the hall in 1892 and the rest of the money was donated by members of the Town Hall Committee (comprising prominent citizens of the city). The Town Hall was the committee's property till 1953. That year, its administration, management and maintenance were handed over to Coimbatore Municipality.
The 6,000 sq.ft structure, which includes the 3,000 sq.ft. council hall, stands on a 48-cent plot.
The entrance porch has Gothic arches and a balcony. The foyer leads to the assembly hall. The mezzanine floor is now used as a visitors' gallery for council meetings. The historical structure has walls made of stone and lime and mortar, panelled shutters for windows, and timber trusses with Mangalore tiles for roofing. A low-roofed corridor, with Tuscan type stumpy columns, runs along three sides of the hall.
According to architect Philip Fowler, who was involved along with INTACH in preparing the report and recommendations for the restoration of the Town Hall, the walls of the hall were strong and the main restoration works were taken up for the roofing and the rafters.
“When the building was used as a godown and was to be demolished, it was in a dilapidated condition. The stone slabs in the corridor were coming out, window panes were broken, and posters pasted on the walls. This was a heritage structure that was more than 100 years old and worthy of being saved for posterity.
So, why should it be ruined? And, we launched a protest to save the structure,” says Ms. Ghulati. The backing of the citizens made a difference and the support of the chamber of commerce came as a boost.
The Trust members collected details of the Town Hall and prepared blueprints for restoration of the Hall and even suggested creating a museum on the lines of New York's Empire State Building. The Victoria Town Hall was listed by INTACH in 1995, she says.

Refurbished Victoria Public Hall likely to be thrown open in June

by Deepa H Ramakrishnan
source:Hindu  
RESURGENCE: The stage of the Victoria Public Hall in Chennai being restored. Photo: M. Vedhan
The Hindu RESURGENCE: The stage of the Victoria Public Hall in Chennai being restored. Photo: M. Vedhan
 
It was here that the first cinema show was held in Chennai 116 years ago. The Victoria Public Hall (VPH), now undergoing restoration, was quite young then. T. Stevenson, proprietor of the Madras Photographic Store, ran some shows that consisted of ten short films.
Since the late 1880s, when the hall was opened to the public, the quaint red structure, adjoining Ripon Building on Poonamallee High Road, witnessed hundreds of theatrical performances and the pioneers of Tamil play, Sankaradoss Swamigal and Pammal Sambanda Mudaliar, staged their plays at the hall. Stalwarts, including Swami Vivekananda, Mahatma Gandhi, Gopal Krishna Gokhale and Sardar Patel, addressed meetings there.
For the last 40 years or so, the hall has ceased to host such events but its historical significance has not been lost sight of. It was featured in a scene in Rajinikanth's blockbuster ‘Sivaji – The Boss' that was released about five years ago.
Designed by Robert Chisholm (1840-1915), the Victoria Public Hall was built by Namberumal Chetty to commemorate the golden jubilee of the reign of Britain's Empress Queen Victoria. Its history can be traced to a meeting in March 1882 at the Pachaiyappa's Hall in George Town when some leading citizens decided to construct a town hall. A sum of Rs.16,425 was mobilised from around 30 persons, who attended the meeting and a trust formed for the project.
On December 17, 1883, Sir Ananda Gajapathi Row, the then Maharajah of Vizianagaram, laid the foundation stone on an extent of 3.14 acres, leased by the Corporation. A plaque on the eastern wall of the hall is a testimony to this event. It took about five years to complete the construction.
An example of Indo-Saracenic architecture, the rectangular structure has two halls, one each on the ground and first floors, which together can seat around 1,200 persons at a time. The hall on the first floor has arcaded verandahs along the northern and southern sides supported on sleek Corinthian stone columns.
The Suguna Vilasa Sabha (SVS), founded in 1891, was most closely associated with the VPH. Among the many firsts of the SVS was the concept of conducting evening drama shows.
In October 1906, the play ‘Kaadalar Kangal' was staged at the VPH, said V. Sriram, historian.
For the next 30 years, the Sabha remained at the VPH and later, built its own theatre on acquisition of 36 grounds next to Christ Church on Anna Salai. It is now only a social club.
The building became a home to two more organisations, the South Indian Athletic Association and the Chennapuri Andhra Maha Sabha, which were also subsequently vacated.
As Chennai grew southward and the medium of cinema acquired greater popularity, the building gradually went out of public attention. After the expiry of the lease between the civic body and the trust in 1985, a legal battle ensued. Eventually, Chennai Corporation took over the building from April 1, 2009.
Since then, it demolished 32 shops situated on the periphery and a building that housed the Chennapuri Andhra Maha Sabha. A few months ago, a private hotel, located on a portion of the 55 grounds belonging to the VPH, was demolished, after which the majestic red brick structure has become visible.
In the last 50 years, efforts were indeed made to restore the building at the initiative of Chief Minister C.N. Annadurai in October 1967.
In 1993, when Suresh Krishna was Sheriff of Madras and an ex-officio Trustee of the Victoria Public Hall Trust, he took steps for the renovation of parts of the building. Former Maharashtra Governor C. Subramanian re-dedicated the building.
Sources in the Chennai Corporation, which is restoring the building at a cost of Rs.3.39 crore, say the work is expected to be completed by June this year.
“We have a team from the ASI, INTACH and School of Architecture and Planning, Anna University to inspect the building regularly. No cement is used. Lime mortar with jaggery and Kadukka is used,” a source said.
Most of the plastering works on the interior walls have been completed and also the wood work. The false ceiling made of wood on the first floor too is nearing completion. Besides, electrical work, flooring and work on the turrets have to be carried out.
S. Suresh, State convenor of INTACH, says the execution of the work is slow because of the complexity of the building. “We give them advice at every stage of the restoration.”
Once the hall is thrown open to the public again, it will make a difference to citizens of Chennai, particularly those in northern parts, in the social and cultural spheres of life.
Heritage lovers blame weak security for museum theft

Paul FernandesPaul Fernandes, TNN | Jan 29, 2012, 06.39AM IST


PANAJI: The daring robbery at the Christian art museum in Old Goa and the loss of priceless antiques has triggered shock among heritage lovers, who blamed it on the "weak security system".

Unidentified persons strangled a 55-year-old lone guard at the museum in St Monica convent at around 6.30pm on Wednesday and committed the theft after grabbing the keys from him, police sources said. Five gold antiques from the museum, once projected by its management as a unique showcase of Indo-Portuguese art, were taken away from a monument of the church complex at the world heritage site.

Heritage lovers and conservationists have raised several queries about the management of the museum, alleging that the lack of strict security may have exposed the artefacts to pilferage.

"The issues of safety and security are of prime importance in the management of a museum as they are prime targets for the heists," says Savia Viegas, a Fullbright scholar who was attached to Smithsonian museum, USA, for almost a year.

The nuns from St Monica convent called the police after they heard the guard's cries as he was apparently being strangled. "Actually, there should have been a device with the watchman, which should have triggered a public scare or woken the whole neighbourhood, especially when museums are located in isolated places like this," Viegas said.

The daring robbery also raises questions about providing security to security personnel. "The best option was to install a CCTV with a recording facility to keep track of persons entering the premises round-the-clock," Damodar Mauzo, a member of the curatorial committee of a new museum at the old Secretariat, said.

Raising another aspect, Victor Hugo Gomes, a former founder curator of the Christian art museum, said it is risky to entrust the keys to security guards in the present set-up. "Should our priceless heritage be left to the mercy of security guards with unknown credentials?" he asked.

Gomes alleged that the thieves knew how the museum's locking systems operated. "Retaining the security personnel for more than seven years, as in the present case, is not a done thing," he said. Agreed Perry Goes, a Bangalore-based Goan collector of vintage items, "The fact that it didn't take much for the thieves to walk away with the antiques shows that the security was weak."

However, a source attached to the museum management explained that the keys were given to the security guard due to frequent short circuits at the museum. "The keys were given in the eventuality of some electrical problem occurring," the source said.

The management has installed CCTVs in the museum, but admitted that it has no recording facility. Regarding the annual allocation of 3 lakh towards the maintenance of security, the source added, "It is utilized to defray the expenditure of the security guard's monthly wages."

The prestigious project aimed at conserving rich Indo-Portuguese art was initiated by the Goa archdiocese around 1988. Supported by Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, Lisbon, Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage, (INTACH), New Delhi, and others in terms of funds, technical guidance and other contributions, the effort finally culminated in setting up of the museum at Rachol in 1994. It was shifted to St Monica convent, Old Goa, a decade ago.

The priceless antiques sourced from churches from various parts of Goa and also loaned from some families' private collections were largely liturgical objects and a collection of paintings and other artefacts.

Questions are being raised by some about the role of a management committee, which comprises prominent citizens, overseeing the affairs of the museum. But a couple of members when contacted said they are only peripherally connected to its running. "The day-to-day administration is looked after by the management through a "12-member trust," a member said. The managing committee is likely to meet early next week to take stock of the situation. "This incident is an eye-opener for all of us," a member said.

Terming the antiques in the museum as world heritage, Viegas said the management should be wary about international buyers of antiques. "There is huge movement of antiques from the third world to the western world," she said.

Mauzo said the Old Goa heist throws up lessons for museum managers. Agreed Prajal Sakhardande, executive member of the Goa Heritage Action Group, "Now museums have become targets of antique robbers as the government failed to nab the culprits who stole antiques and idols from our churches and temples," he said.

The government should launch a massive search for the culprits, said heritage lovers. Gomes added, "The government should not entrust the solving of Goa's biggest heritage robbery to just one police inspector."

Paint and win a trip to Santiniketan

TNN | Jan 28, 2012, 12.16PM

DHARWAD: Dharwad chapter of INTACH will organize an on the spot essay and painting competition for students of class VIII, IX, X and PUC I year on Monday on the occasion of Ravindranath Tagore's 150th birth anniversary.

The competition will be held at RLS High School in Dharwad from 11am to 12.30pm. Topics: Essay: Story on Tagore, his works on travels in India, his contribution to art and culture.

* Painting: Tagore's poetry, story plays, songs and essays or portrait of Tagore or Shanti

* Medium: Water color, crayon, sketch pen; A-3 size paper will be provided. Suitable prizes will be awarded to winners. According to INTACH convener S Bhagawat, first ten winners at national level will be sent on a trip to Santi niketan. All participants will get certificates. Participants should be present at the venue on time

Saturday 28 January 2012

Annamayya Pratibha , a performance by Padma Subrahmanyam at Bharat Kalachar recently Photo: R.Shivaji Rao
Coronation Park: Monument to capital's civic neglect


NEW DELHI: It was to have been ready in time to commemorate the centenary of Delhi becoming the capital, but the historic coronation park, which once held the lavish durbar of King George V and houses stately statues and columns that are testimony to a bygone era, cries for a long-awaited makeover - thanks to bureaucratic lethargy and the incompetence of civic bodies.

The park, called Coronation Memorial, is situated in north Delhi, spread across 49 acres near Burari village. It is here that King George V announced the shifting of the British Indian capital from Calcutta to Delhi Dec 12, 1911.

"The whole expanse is filled with pits and puddles. It is just a dusty open space with some donkeys braying, plants growing on plinths of century-old statues of British nobility. The ground is used for cricket matches by some youngsters in the neighbourhood," lamented Nanditha Gururaj, a heritage walk coordinator.

According to Gururaj, the park has huge tourism potential. "Braving the thorns, rubbish heaps and overgrown grass, tourists still visit the place as they want to see where the durbar was held and where New Delhi was proclaimed capital of British India," Gururaj told IANS.

"It is unfortunate that after several years, the park is yet to be ready and a tourism potential site has been in a state of neglect for decades," says a city-based historian.

The renovation of the park has missed several deadlines. "The park's conservation was first conceived in 2005. With six years left for the capital's 100th birthday, the government was confident about developing 'the junkyard of history' into a cultural centre for north Delhi," said an official at the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (Intach).

"After several hiccups and initial feet dragging by the Central Public Works Department (CPWD), the ownership of the park was shifted to the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) in 2007. Intach and an NGO were asked to prepare a concept proposal," the official said.

Nearly two years after the initial talks, DDA and Intach's Delhi chapter joined together and a contract was signed at the end of 2009 for developing the park costing Rs.16 crore.

DDA set a deadline for the renovation work on Dec 12, 2011. But till date, the park is in shambles. According to DDA authorities, the renovation work will now be completed only until June 2012.

"We submitted a detailed facelift plan in April 2010. But DDA gave contracts for civil work only in July 2011 and they signed us for the conservation work only recently," the Intach official said.

The facelift work was divided in three major components - landscaping, interpretation centre and conservation of the coronation pillar and statues.

"Only 30 percent of the work has been completed. We started the work only in September last year, as the tender process for the project had taken several months. After three months, we were not able to work because of the rains. Since the soil was wet and loose during the rainy season, we had to extend our deadline from April to June 2012," a senior DDA official told media.

"Around 150 labourers are working daily on the park," the official said.

The official also informed that the conservation of statues and pillars takes time as they have to be cleaned with certain chemicals.

"The statues and the pillars have to be chemically cleaned. The renovation programme will take time. Cleaning, repairing and restoring the park which was left untouched for nearly a century is not easy. It takes time," said a DDA official.

The Convener of Intach's Delhi chapter, A.G.K. Menon, said, "It is disappointing that the park was not ready for the centenary, but we all know how the government system works. We cannot blame only the authorities, the whole system is slow."
100 years of Delhi: Focus on heritage in Lutyens zone

NEW DELHI: While the legacy of the capitals of the Mughals, the Lodis, the Tughlaqs right up to the Delhi Sultanate period forms much of the shared heritage of the city, very little is talked about of the heritage aspect of British capital of New Delhi.

As it completes 100 years of being the capital, heritage experts want to bring New Delhi to the centre of the public consciousness by introducing the concept of heritage walks in Lutyens zone.

Heritage conservation group INTACH has been prolific in using the tool of heritage walks, and has conducted guided tours in past months in and around the heritage-rich areas of Lodi gardens, Sultan Garhi, and Mehrauli, among others.

Now, its Delhi chapter is planning to take the concept to the New Delhi, the last capital in present-day Delhi which has been home to seven major capital cities, dating back 3,000 years to the time of Indraprastha.

In a city which dates back to at least three millenia, 100 years is hardly history. Nevertheless, the youngest capital zone of Delhi, does make for a remarkable heritage in itself.

"As 100 years is hardly considered history, no one has looked at New Delhi from the perspective of a heritage area," A G K Menon, convener of Intach's Delhi Chapter says.

"New Delhi is now just nearing the 100-year age mark and we need to focus on it as a centre of rich heritage," he said.

Commensurate to this need, the experts associated with INTACH are preparing the contours of heritage walks in New Delhi.

The British capital, the foundation of which was laid in December, 1911, was planned by two leading 20th century British architects - Edwin Lutyens and Herbert Baker - who embedded it with Victorian style grandeur.

The grandeur is visible in the magnificence of the Rashtrapati Bhawan, the Parliament House, the North and South Blocks - the seats of the Indian government, besides the India Gate, the residential zone of white bungalows and the commercial centre of Connaught Place.

The heritage walk along the Lutyens zone - often associated with the present day power centre - will focus on the significance of this part of Delhi and the facts behind its planning.

"If I tell a lay man that New Delhi's planning was derived from the Garden city movement, he or she not understand much. We will have to tell people what the Garden city movement was and how it influenced the construction of New Delhi.

"This will be our focus, to make people aware of the significance of New Delhi, about the principles that guided its construction," Menon says.

Garden city principles, a method of urban planning where cities were planned as self-contained communities surrounded by greenbelts or parks, greatly influenced the design of colonial and post-colonial capitals during the early part of the 20th century, including New Delhi.

The heritage tour of New Delhi will try to cover the monuments, buildings and residential spaces in the region and given the vastness of the area, tourists might also be taken for a bus ride.

"The monuments of New Delhi have been remarkably preserved. The buildings and the mounments remain largely in good shape and the only thing that is worrisome for now is that the trees are growing old," he says
Centenary plans for Delhi drift as state govt passes buck to centre

NEW DELHI:(TNN) Less than six weeks from now, Delhi will complete 100 years as Capital, a position that has made it the most privileged city in the country with everything from maximum security to the best roads and flyovers, fanciest airport and the largest Metro network. Surprisingly, plans to celebrate the centenary have suddenly lost steam. Sources say senior government functionaries are cagey about being labeled 'imperialist' for celebrating an event bearing the Raj imprint. The proclamation about Delhi, after all, was made at the 1911 'Delhi Durbar' of King George V.

So far, the Delhi government has not announced any plans for the centenary. It seems to be waiting for the Union ministry of culture to draw up guidelines on the proposed celebrations. Chief minister Sheila Dikshit, who holds the culture portfolio at the state level, says, "Government of India's ministry of culture has to draw a plan on what to celebrate and how to celebrate. I feel they don't have a clear direction yet."

Dikshit admits there are "concerns" in officialdom about the centenary celebrations : "Exactly, there are concerns . I would not say that there is any debate. But yes, there is ambivalence on what to celebrate and how to celebrate" . While the government is clearly wary of joining the fanfare, Dikshit says groups of residents, schools and associations will be celebrating the occasion on their own.

Top bureaucrats in the state are unwilling to discuss the celebrations, saying they will merely "implement" the Union ministry's plan. Asked about the centenary, a senior Delhi official sought to ingeniously paint it as a national event. "Delhi alone cannot celebrate 100 years as it is the capital of the entire country. To mark any historical milestone , one would have to take note of other related historical developments, such as the shifting of the Capital from Kolkata," he said.

Sources say some officials have opposed the celebration on historical grounds, as Delhi was the capital city under the Tomars and the Chauhans , the Sultanate, and then again for a part of the Mughal rule. They therefore want the centenary to be observed 'cautiously' in a way that is not misinterpreted as a salute to imperialism.

Former INTACH convener and historian OP Jain says, "The centenary is a landmark year, but the government does not want to link it with the Durbar. Yes, there is a controversy and one has to tread carefully. Delhi was always the capital, be it during the reign of Prithviraj Chauhan or the Mughal era and its status was only restored in 1911. The city has a history dating thousands of years and portraying it as capital for a hundred years would be undermining its importance" .

Prof Aditya Mukherjee, a history professor at JNU, says, "Delhi has been the celebrated capital of many dynasties, and to date it as capital only from 1911 seems artificial. If we highlight only the British crowning of Delhi as capital, then we will be focusing only on the colonial choice of Delhi . The earlier history of Delhi as the country's capital needs to be emphasized more."

Another noted historian adds, "2011 marks 100 years of the decision to restore the traditional Tomar-, Chauhan-, Khalji-, Tughlaq- and Mughal capital as the capital of British India. This decision also resulted in the building of New Delhi, which remains a remarkable and much admired architectural ensemble and is more worthy of celebration ."

On December 12, 1911, King George V declared Delhi the new capital of India at Coronation Park. Facelift of this park by DDA and INTACHDelhi Chapter is also behind schedule. While Delhi Tourism's celebratory events started on October 7, in the absence of clear directions the organizers have been using the 'Delhi Celebrates' tag for all events. The same logo was used for the Commonwealth Games events last year.

Talking of the Games, it's surprising that the authorities did not lose sleep over last year's mega event, as the Commonwealth's link with the Raj is even deeper. It is an organization of erstwhile British dominions , headed by the Queen.

A top official of the tourism department says, "The events were planned for centenary celebrations but to ensure this does not become controversial , they were promoted under the Delhi Celebrates logo. Delhi has been the Indian capital from prehistoric times and not just for a hundred years. We planned the events so that they commence on December 11, when Delhi was crowned capital of British India in 1911.