FORGOTTEN PAST (A SITE DEDICATED TO HERITAGE AND CULTURE): 2016

Monday, December 12, 2016

REMEMBERING BHARATENDU HARISHCHANDRA BY PRABUDDHA BISWAS

(c) Copyright of Prabuddha Biswas

FOR INDIANS AND THE WORLD COMMUNITY – BHARATENDU HARISHCHANDRA WAS THE FATHER OF THE MODERN HINDI LITERATURE, HINDI THEATRE AND REPRESENTATIVE OF ‘ALL LANGUAGES’ OF THE WORLD.

FOR THE PEOPLE OF BIHAR – MOST OF THE WORKS OF BHARATENDU HARISCHANDRA HAD BEEN PUBLISHED FROM KHADGVILAS PRESS, BANKIPORE, IN PATNA AND THE CONNECTING LINK WAS SRI CHAITANYA MANDIR AND CHAITANYA PUSTAKALAYA, GAI GHAT, PATNA. AND HIS ‘TREASURE TROVE’ AT PATNA HAS PRESERVED ALL THE WORKS OF BHARATENDU AND OTHER WRITERS OF HIIS TIME.

The unforgettable quote of Bharatendu Harishchandra about the ‘MOTHER TONGUE’ written by him reflects his progressive world view, devoid of conservatism of the time, and puts him as the REPRESENTATIVE OF ALL LANGUAGES OF THE WORLD -

“निज भाषा उन्नति अहै, सब उन्नति को मूल ।

बिन निज भाषा-ज्ञान के, मिटत न हिय को सूल ।।

विविध कला शिक्षा अमित, ज्ञान अनेक प्रकार।

सब देसन से लै करहू, भाषा माहि प्रचार ।।“

[“Progress is made in one's own language (the mother tongue), as it the foundation of all progress.

Without the knowledge of the mother tongue, there is no cure for the pain of heart.

Many arts and education infinite, knowledge of various kinds.

Should be taken from all countries, but propagated in the mother tongue.”]

- Bharatendu Harishchandra, ‘Taken from his famous poem, मातृ-भाषा के प्रति (For the Sake of Mother-Tongue or Towards Mother-Tongue)’

BRIEF LIFE SKETCH OF BHARATENDU HARISHCHANDRA – FATHER OF THE MODERN HINDI LITERATURE, HINDI THEATRE AND REPRESENTATIVE OF ‘ALL LANGUAGES’ OF THE WORLD

Baratendu Haris literature and the Hindi theatre, was born in the Benares at 9th September in the year 1850. After serving a lot for the modern Hindi literature for 35 years, he died at 6th January in the year 1885. He was a recognized poet for his great works and renowned as one of the supreme Hindi writers, novelists and playwrights of the modern India. He was a trendsetter in Hindi prose-writing. He was an author of several dramas, biographical sketches and travelogues; he used new media like reports, publications, letters to the editor, books on history and antiquities, translations and literary works to shape public opinion. He was an influential Hindu "traditionalist", using Vaishnava devotionalism to define a coherent Hindu religion.

He wrote some 3,000 devotional songs and was possibly the first Hindi poet to practice his craft in ‘KHARIBOLI’, which later swept BRAJA BHASA out of existence.

He was the master in the several languages like Bengali, Gujarati, Marathi, Marwari, Punjabi etc. It is considered that he had started composing poetry, when he was five years old.

He always tried to represent the India’s poverty, sufferings of the people, human need and dependency, cruel exploitation and the middle class conflictions through his great writings such as the journalism, several dramas, essays, poetry and short stories. He also sketched his thoughts for the development of the country. He has created new literature by focusing on the old literatures. He always wrote by his pen name, the ‘Rasa’.

BHARATENDU HARISHCHANDRA WAS THE FATHER OF THE MODERN HINDI LITERATURE, HINDI THEATRE AND REPRESENTATIVE OF ‘ALL LANGUAGES’ OF THE WORLD

1. Born in Banaras, Bharatendu Harishchandra's father Gopal Chandra was a poet. He wrote under the pseudonym Girdhar Das. Bharatendu's parents died when he was young but they seem to have had an influence on him.

2. Acharya Ramchandra Shukla has described how Bharatendu went to the Jagannath temple in Puri, Orissa with his family in 1865, when he was merely 15 years of age. During this trip he was influenced by the Bengal Renaissance and decided to bring the genres of social, historical, and Puranic plays and novels into Hindi. This influence reflected in his Hindi translation of the Bengali drama Vidyasundar, three years later, in 1868.

3. Bharatendu devoted his life to the development of Hindi literature.

4. In recognition of his services as a writer, patron and moderniser, the title of "Bharatendu" was conferred on him at a public meeting by scholars of Kashi in 1880.

5. Reputed literary critic Ram Vilas Sharma refers to the "great literary awakening ushered in under Bharatendu's leadership" as the "second storey of the edifice of renascent Hindi", the first being the Indian Rebellion of 1857.

6. Bharatendu Harishchandra made major contributions in the fields of journalism, drama, and poetry.

7. He edited the magazines Kavi Vachan Sudha in 1868 into this magazine he requested Indian people first to use Indian made products or Swadeshi Apnao in March 1874, in 1873 Harishchandra Magazine , Harishchandra Patrika and Bal Vodhini.

8. He was a member of the Chowdhury family of Varanasi belonging to the Agrawal community and his home there is still in use. His ancestors were landlords in Bengal.

9. He had one daughter. He wrote the widely mentioned history of the Agrawal community.

The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting of India gives Bharatendu Harishchandra Awards since 1983 to promote original writings in Hindi mass communication.

THE CONFLICT BETWEEN HINDU RADICALISTS AND HINDU TRADITIONALISTS VIS-A-VIS BHARATENDU’S PHILOSOPHY AND WORLD VIEW

1. According to Barbara and Thomas R. Metcalf, Bharatendu Harishchandra is considered an influential example of Hindu "traditionalist" in north India, typifying continuity with received tradition and self-conscious participation with the modern world.

2. He was typical of those Indians who engaged with Western institutions and learning: They refused to leave authority over religion to Brahmans who were traditionally educated. He used new media, especially publications to shape public opinion.

3. Harishchandra was also typical of revivalists of Hindi Literature which were closely connected with Hindu revivalist movements. He "combined pleas for use of Swadeshi articles with demands for replacement of Urdu by Hindi in courts and a ban on cow slaughter".

4. He used Vaishnava devotionalism to define a coherent Hindu religion, with a base in the Kashi Dharma Sabha, started in the 1860s by the Maharaja of Benares as a response to more radical Hindu reformist movements.

5. Harishchandra insisted on the value of image worship and interpreted Bhakti as devotion to a single god; this was in response to Orientalist and Christian critiques of Hinduism.

Hence, Bharatendu Harishchandra was midway between Radicalists and Puritans within the Hindu ideologue and tried to usher western ideas and thoughts through Vaishnavite devotionalism. Though, Bharatendu identified himself with Hindu revivalist movement but his direct involvement with the progressive literature of the time and his continuous experimentation within the society has made him ‘A CLASS APART’ from other personalities of the time and he developed a progressive mindset, much ahead of his time.

SOME OF HIS MAJOR WORKS

Drama

Bharatendu Harishchandra entered theatre activity as an actor and soon become director, manager, and playwright. He used theatre as a tool to shape public opinion. His major plays are:

Drama:

1. Vaidik Hinsa Hinsa Na Bhavati in 1873.

2. Sahitya Harishchandra in 1876.

3. Bharat durdasha in 1875.

4. Satya Harishchandra.

5. Chandrawali in 1881.

6. Shri Chandrawali in 1876.

7. Prem Yogini.

8. Dhananjay Vijay.

9. Mudra Rakshas.

10. Neeldevi in 1881.

11. Andher nagari (City of Darkness) in 1881 (अंधेर नगरी): A popular play of modern Hindi drama and a political satire. Translated and performed in many Indian languages by prominent Indian directors like B. V. Karanth, Prasanna, Arvind Gaur and Sanjay Upadyaye.

Poetry

1. Bhagat sarvagya

2. Prem malika (1872)

3. Prem Maduri (1875)

4. Prem Tarang (1877), Prem Pralap, Prem fuhalwari (1883) and Prem Srowar

5. Holi (होली)(1874)

6. Madhu Mukul (मधुमुकुल) (1881)

7. Raag Sangraah (राग-संग्रह, 1880)

8. Varsha Vinod (वर्षा-1950 5455विनोद, 1880)

9. Vinya Prem Pachassa (विनय प्रेम पचासा, 1881)

10. Pholo ka Guchha (फूलों का गुच्छा, 1882)

11. Chandravali in 1876, and Krishan Charitra (कृष्णचरित्र, 1883)

12. Utraradh Bhagat Mal (उत्तरार्द्ध भक्तमाल, 1876–77)

Translations:

1. Karpoor Manjari from Prakrat.

2. Harsha Ratnavali, Visakhadattas Mudra Rakshasa and Vidya Sundar from Bengali.

3. Durlabh Bandhu from Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice.

Journals:

1. Kavivachan Sudha

2. Balabodhini Patrika

3. Harish Chandra Chandrika

4. Hagwadbhaktitoshini

Essay:

Bharatendu Granthawali in 1885

REFERENCES AND EXCERPTS

1. Modern India by, 1885 – 1947 by Sumit Sarkar (1983, Macmillan)

2. Wikepedia

3. A concise History of India, Barbara and Thomas Metcalf (2002, Cambridge University Press)

4. Records taken from ‘KashiBanarasVaranasi.com’

5. HT Patna Live, March 14, 2002

(c) Copyright of Prabuddha Biswas

ALEXANDER CUNNINGHAM - THE FATHER OF INDIAN ARCHAEOLOGY BY PRABUDDHA BISWAS

FOR INDIANS: - Alexander pursued and provided the concept to the colonial masters about the significance of the ‘Archaeological Survey’ for a country and it was conceived in a small scale in 1860s. In 1871, the Survey was revived as a separate department and Alexander Cunningham was appointed as its first Director-General. To this day, Alexander Cunningham is revered as the "Father of Indian Archaeology".

FOR THE PEOPLE OF BIHAR: - Apart from exploring Bodh Gaya and Rajgir, Cunningham had crisscrossed the whole terrain of Bihar to explore the archaeological sites which included Patna, Kurkihar, Parvati, Aphsar,Shahpur,Sheikhpura, Rajjana, Munger, Bhimbandh, Singi-Rikhi, Jahngira, Bhagalpur, Kahalgaon, Patharghatta, Kankjol, Tirhut, Hajipur, Vaishali, Bakhra, Kesariya, Sagar-dih, Sita Kund,Deokalli, Sitamarhi, Kako, Dharawat, Kauwa-dol, Pret-sila, Konch, Deo-Markendeya, Deo-Barunark, Sugauli, Lauriya Nandangarh, Rampurva, Padaraona, Gaya, Bodh Gaya and many more.......

Today, Mahabodhi Temple site is the UNESCO's ‘WORLD HERITAGE SITE’, whose one of the pioneer was Alexandar Cunningham.

BRIEF LIFE SKETCH OF ALEXANDER CUNNIGHAM – THE ‘FATHER OF INDIAN ARCHAEOLOGY’

Sir Alexander Cunningham KCIE CSI (23 January 1814 – 28 November 1893) was a British army engineer with the Bengal Engineer Group who later took an interest in the history and archaeology of India which led to his appointment in 1861 to the newly created position of archaeological surveyor to the government of India. In 1871, the Survey was revived as a separate department and Cunningham was appointed as its first Director-General. To this day, Alexander Cunningham is revered as the "Father of Indian Archaeology". He wrote numerous books and monographs and made massive collections of artefacts. Some of his collections were lost but most of the gold and silver coins and a fine group of Buddhist sculptures and jewellery were bought by the British Museum in 1894.

EARLY LIFE

1. He was born in London to the Scottish poet Allan Cunningham (1784–1842) and his wife Jean née Walker (1791–1864).

2. Along with his older brother Joseph Cunningham, he received his early education at Christ's Hospital, London.

3. Allan and Alexander obtained cadetships through the influence of Sir Walter Scott and went to study at the East India Company's Addiscombe Seminary (1829–31), and at the Royal Engineers Estate at Chatham.

4. He joined the Bengal Engineers at the age of 19 in 1833; as a Second Lieutenant and spent the next 28 years in the service of British Government of India.

5. He was ADC to Lord Auckland, the Governor-General of India from 1836 to 1840.

6. During this period he visited Kashmir, which was then not well explored. He finds mention by initials in Up the Country by Emily Eden.

7. On 30 March 1840, he married Alicia Maria Whish, daughter of Martin Whish B.C.S.

8. He was appointed Colonel of the Royal Engineers in 1860. Cunningham retired on 30th June, 1861, having attained the rank of Major General.

LIFE OF AN ARCHAEOLOGICAL EXPLORER

1. Soon after arriving in India on 9 June 1833, Cunningham met James Prinsep. He was in daily communication with Prinsep during 1837 and 1838 and became his intimate friend, confidant and pupil.[3]

2. James Prinsep had passed on to Cunningham, his lifelong interest in Indian archaeology and antiquity and that is why; Cunningham had taken a keen interest in antiquities early in his career.

3. In 1834 he wrote to the Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, an appendix to James Prinsep's article on the relics in the Manikyala Tope. He had conducted excavations at Sarnath in 1837 along with Colonel F.C. Maisey and made careful drawings of the sculptures.

4. The works of two Chinese monks, Fa-hien and Hiuen-Tsang (Zuang Zang) had become available to the British in the 1840s and 1850s through French translations, and they were quickly seen as India’s version of the work of the Greek author Pausanias

5. As Cunningham belonged to that period; the core of his archaeological career was to identify the places mentioned by the two Chinese monks, Fa-hien and Hiuen-Tsang (Zuang Zang).

6. In the Indian context, following Jean-Baptiste Ventura, general of Ranjit Singh, who inspired by the French explorers in Egypt had excavated the bases of pillars to discover large stashes of Bactrian and Roman coins, excavations became a regular activity among British antiquarians since then and Cunningham also followed suite.

7. In 1842 he excavated at Sankissa and at Sanchi in 1851.

8. In 1848, he identified some of the places mentioned in the travels of Hiuen Tsang (Zuang Zang).

9. In 1854 he published The Bhilsa Topes, an attempt to establish the history of Buddhism based on architectural evidence.

10. Cunningham visited Rajgir for the first time in 1861-62 and again in 1872-4 But he had prefigured it as specifically ‘Buddhist’ from at least 1843, when he first announced his programme for utilizing the Chinese records to locate Buddhism's most significant sites, including Rajagrha.

11. In 1848 he published his proposal for systematic archaeological investigation in India, most of which is devoted to a justification of the study of Buddhist remains. Hindu ruins are mentioned once, its texts are dismissed as useless, and Islam is referred to only as the force that destroyed Buddhism. When he arrived at Rajgir, he therefore spent his energies identifying as many Buddhist structures as he could.

12. By 1851 he also began to communicate to William Henry Sykes and the East India Company on the value of an archaeological survey.

13. In 1851, he explored the Buddhist monuments of Central India along with Lieutenant Maisey, and wrote an account of these.[10]

14. In 1861, Charles John Canning, then the viceroy of India appointed Cunningham as archaeological surveyor to the government of India.] This position was held from 1861 to 1865 but this was terminated due to lack of funds.

15. Cunningham returned to England and wrote the first part of his Ancient Geography of India (1871) to cover the Buddhist period but failed to complete the second part to cover the Muslim period. During this period in London he worked as director of the Delhi and London Bank.

BRITISH APPROACH TO INDIA’S PAST: - TUSSLE BETWEEN MODERNISTS AND HARDLINERS VIS-A-VIS CUNNINGHAM’S POSITION

1. Since the mid-eighteenth century, several scholars, of whom Sir William Jones (1746-94) was the most famous, developed

i. The concept of an India that had more or less declined from a golden age. They defined this golden age as the period in which Hinduism's Vedic texts, which were just being discovered and translated, were composed.

ii. If India was to progress, it needed to do so by rediscovering this past and learning from Europe through the medium of its own languages.

2. A counter movement, developing from the late eighteenth century and represented in the nineteenth by commentators on the condition of India (most notably James Mill and Thomas Babington Macaulay) rejected this view of Indian history.

i. Instead, India had never had a past that could be valued and it had been held back in particular by the brahman priesthood.

ii. Progress (which included the spread of Christianity) could be made only through separating the country from its past and by Anglicizing its language and society.

The two camps were in conflict in the early part of the nineteenth century, but the modernizers won the day, well before the Indian Mutiny of 1857 hardened British opinion even further. Strangely, accounts of this debate have tended to underplay both the role of archaeology and the place of Buddhist studies in it.

3. In Cunningham's early writings, one sees a position distinct from both. Alexander Cunningham had come from an antiquarian and Romantic background.

i. His father was Allan Cunningham, who collected folk songs of the Scottish Highlands and who was an associate of Sir Waiter Scott (the man responsible for gaining Alexander his India commission).

ii. Once in India, Cunningham came under the wing of James Prinsep (1799-1840), the leader of the local antiquarian community there, who helped develop his interest in the Indian past.

iii. But the modernizing camp was already strong, and Cunningham's position represents a blending of the two.

iv. Cunningham’s perception: - He believed that India had indeed enjoyed a golden age, but a Buddhist one, the era in which Buddhism had been the dominant faith. That religion had fallen and India was now in the grip of Hinduism and Islam. However, archaeology had a role to play in the recovery of this Buddhist past, and therefore in India's future.

ARCHAEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF INDIA

1. In 1870, Lord Mayo re-established the Archaeological Survey of India with Cunningham as its director-general from 1 January 1871.

2. Cunningham returned to India and made field explorations each winter, conducting excavations and surveys from Taxila to Gaur.

3. He produced twenty-four reports, thirteen as author and the rest under his supervision by others such as J. D. Beglar.

4. Other major works included the first volume of Corpus inscriptionum Indicarum (1877) which included copies of the edicts of Asoka, the Stupa of Bharhut (1879) and the Book of Indian Eras (1883) which allowed dating of Indian antiquities. He retired from the Archaeological Survey on 30 September 1885 and returned to London to continue his research and writing.

5. Cunningham made a large numismatic collection, but much of this was lost when the steamship he was travelling in, the Indus, was wrecked off the coast of Sri Lanka in November 1884.

6. The British Museum however obtained most of the gold and silver coins.

7. He had suggested to the British Museum that they should use the arch from the Sanchi Stupa to mark the entrance of a new section on Indian history.

8. He also published numerous papers in the Journal of the Asiatic Society and the Numismatic Chronicle.

AWARDS AND MEMORIALS

1. He was awarded the CSI on 20 May 1870 and CIE in 1878.

2. In 1887, he was made a Knight Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire.[4]

3. Cunningham died on 28 November 1893 at his home in South Kensington and was buried at Kensal Green cemetery, London.

PUBLICATIONS

Some Books written by him include:

1. LADĀK: Physical, Statistical, and Historical with Notices of the Surrounding Countries (1854).

2. Bhilsa Topes (1854), a history of Buddhism

3. The Ancient Geography of India (1871)

4. Corpus Inscriptionum Indicarum. Volume 1. (1877)

5. The Stupa of Bharhut: A Buddhist Monument Ornamented with Numerous Sculptures Illustrative of Buddhist Legend and History in the Third Century B.C.(1879)

6. The Book of Indian Eras (1883)

7. Coins of Ancient India (1891)

8. Mahâbodhi, or the great Buddhist temple under the Bodhi tree at Buddha-Gaya (1892)

CUNNINGHAM’S PLACE IN HISTORY

Cunningham might have his limitations due to his upbringing in the Victorian age where colonial arrogance and Christian religious perception had its influence in his mindset but his progressive outlook for the love of antiquarian remains and love for exploring the historical past has made him very special and he is rightly figured as the pioneer of the Indian Archaeology.

REFERENCES AND EXCERPTS

1. Sir Alexander Cunningham and the beginnings of Indian Archaeology by Iman, Abu (1966) (Asiatic Society of Pakistan, Dacca)

2. The Buddhists landscapes of Rajgir, Northern India by Robert Harding (Archeology International)

3. Wikepedia

4. Report of a tour in Bihar and Bengal in 1879-80 from Patna to Sonargaon (Archaeological Survey of India)

5. Report of a tour in North and South Bihar in 1880-81 (Archaeological Survey of India).

Friday, December 9, 2016

PANDIT HAVALDAR TRIPATHY, 'SAHRIDAY' BY PRABUDDHA BISWAS

Thought for the day: -

REMEMBERING HAVALDAR TRIPATHY ‘SAHRIDAY’

FOR THE PEOPLE OF INDIA

1. HAVALDHAR TRIPATHY ‘SAHRIDAY’ WAS NO GEOGRAPHER BUT A GREAT SCHOLAR, AUTHOR AND POET BUT HE HAD WRITTEN A PIONEERING BOOK ON ‘CULTURAL GEOGRAPHY’ IN INDIA IN 1970s WHEN THIS STREAM WAS AT ITS INFANCY.

2. SECONDLY, THIS PIONEERING BOOK ON ‘RIVERS OF BIHAR’ WAS WRITTEN IN ‘HINDI LANGUAGE’ AND TILL DATE IT REMAINS ‘ONE OF THE CLASSICS IN INDIAN LITERATURE BUT IT CAN ALSO ACCOMODATE ITSELF IN THE WORLD LITERATURE’.

FOR THE PEOPLE OF BIHAR

1. HIS NAME WILL BE REMEMBERED IN GOLDEN WORDS IN THE FIELD OF CULTURAL GEOGRAPHY and HINDI LITERATURE FOR HIS ‘BOOK ON RIVERS (IN THREE VOLUMES)’ WHICH HAVE BECOME CLASSICS OF ALL TIME: -

i. BIHAR KI NADIYAN (AITIHASIK EVAM SANSKRITIK SARBEEKSHAN),

ii. DAKSHIN BIHAR KI NADIYAN: DHAR AUR KACHAR,

iii. CHOTONAGPUR KI NADIYAN.

2. IT TOOK HIM MORE THAN TEN YEARS TO COMPLETE THIS MONUMENTAL WORKS IN APPROXIMATELY 1500 PAGES IN WHICH HE HAS DEALT WITH ALL THE RIVERS (BIG OR SMALL) OF BIHAR HISTORICALLY, MYTHOLOGICALLY, CULTURALLY, GEOGRAPHICALLY AND ALSO UNDERTOOK COSTLY AND PAINSTAKING TRAVEL THROUGHOUT THE THEN BIHAR TO STUDY MOVEMENTS OF THE RIVERS.

3. “THE BOOK ON RIVERS OF BIHAR (IN THREE VOLUMES) WAS NOT ONLY THE RESEARCH-BOOK BUT IT WAS MY CREATIVE WORK OF PASSION,” ACCORDING TO HAVALDAR TRIPATHY.

4. HE COULD UNDERSTAND THE IMPORTANCE OF THE CULTURAL GEOGRAPHY, MUCH BEFORE THAN OTHERS. HE WAS AHEAD OF HIS TIME.

BRIEF REVIEW OF THE WORK OF PANDIT HAVALDAR TRIPATHY, SAHRIDAY

1. Late Sri Havaldar Tripathy was Hindi and Bhojpuri author, Poet, Great Scholar and freedom fighter and had written several books.
2. He has written a book ‘Boudh Dharm Aur Bihar’, in which he has dwell on the rise and fall of Buddhism for the last 2500 years, in the state of Bihar from historical, religious, social and local perspective and discussed the significance of Bihar.
3. He has successfully translated ‘MEGHDOOT’ OF POET KALIDASA in Bhojpuri language.
4. But the name of Havaldar Tripathy would be remembered in golden words in the field of CULTURAL GEOGRAPHY and HINDI LITERATURE FOR HIS ‘BOOK ON RIVERS (IN THREE VOLUMES)’ which have become classics of all time: -
iv. Bihar Ki Nadiyan (Aitihasik Evam Sanskritik Sarbekshan),
v. Dakshin Bihar Ki Nadiyan: Dhar Aur Kachar
vi. Chotanagpur Ki Nadiyan.

5. It took more than ten years for Mr. Havaldar Tripathy to complete this monumental work for which he had collected historical materials, mythological stories, and geographical documentation and also undertook ‘costly and painstaking travel’ throughout the then Bihar to study the movement of Rivers from one end to the other.

6. The author had admitted in his own words that “The Book on Rivers of Bihar (in three volumes) was not only the research-book but it was my creative work of passion.”

7. (i) When Havaldar Tripathy Ji had completed his manuscripts on ‘Rivers of Bihar’, there were 4 divisions and 17 districts in Bihar.
(ii) In the year 1977, when the first edition of the first volume was published; the state of Bihar was divided into 7 divisions and 31 districts.
(iii) Unfortunately, Tripathy Ji could not see his publication of other two volumes as he breathed his last.
(iv) The manuscript of the second volume was kept for 15 years and then it was published in 1998. First two volumes were published by ‘Bihar Hindi Granth Academy, Patna’.
(v) The third volume (rivers of Chotanagpur) was published in the year 2015.
8. He was hardcore Socialist and was follower of Ram Manohar Lohia and was emotionally attached with Jana Nayak Karpoori Thakur.

SIGNIFICANCE OF HAVALDARS BOOK ON ‘RIVERS OF BIHAR’

1. In the 20th Century, the mutual relation between Geography and Geological Sciences came into light in the study of Wales University, U.K.
2. In reality, ‘Mother Nature, Cultural Traditions and Human Beings’ are so intrinsically connected and enmeshed with each other that they can be hardly separated from each other.
3. This is the reason that Geological Sciences and Cultural Geography are so intimately attached.
4. That is why the significance of Human Civilization and Geographical Linkage of Human Cultures came to light in this century.
5. Now the study of the evolution of Human History has become a necessity in the context of Geography.
6. From 1960, the Cultural Geography has become part of the ‘Geography’ curriculum in American Universities.
7. Since, 1970s; Indian Universities also adopted the ‘Cultural Geography’ as a part of course.
8. Mr. Tripathy had already submitted the manuscripts of his first Volume (on Rivers of North Bihar) and was published in 1977.

HERE LIES THE SIGNIFICANCE OF PANDIT HAVALDAR TRIPATHY BECAUSE HE COULD UNDERSTAND THE IMPORTANCE OF THE CULTURAL GEOGRAPHY, MUCH BEFORE THAN OTHERS. HE WAS AHEAD OF HIS TIME.

MOST WIDELY HELD WORKS BY HAVALDAR

1. Bauddhadharma aura Bihāra ( Book, Study of Buddhism in Bihar, India (6 editions published between 1960 and 1998 in Hindi).

2. Bihāra kī nadiyām̐ : aitihāsika evaṃ sāṃskr̥tika sarvekshaṇa (in Hindi and English, 3 editions since 1977)

3. Mahākavi Bāṇa aura usakā kathā-gadya-bandha (3 editions published in 1995 in Hindi. Study of the works of Bāṇa, 7th century Sanskrit author)

4. Dakshiṇa Bihāra kī nadiyām̐ : dhāra aura kachāra (2 editions published in 1998 in Hindi, Rivers of south Bihar; a study; based on Sanskrit and Vedic literature)

5. Sana sattāvana aura Vīravara Kum̐vara Siṃha : smārikā( Book, 2 editions published in 1984 in Hindi, Souvenir published on the occasion of the 126th anniversary of the victory of Kum̐vara Siṃha, 1782-1858, hero of the 1857 Indian freedom movement, over the British forces in Bihar; comprises articles on his life and heroism)

6. Choṭānāgapura kī nadiyām̐ (1 edition published in 2015 in Hindi,
On various rivers of Chotanagpur, India)

7. Bhojapurī Meghadūta : (Kālidāsa ke amara kāvya M̀eghadūtam' ke samaślokī padyānuvāda : [mūla ke sātha]( Book , 1 edition published in 1979 in Hindi)

Sunday, November 20, 2016

BOOK LAUNCH FUNCTION OF THE MONOGRAPH: THE MAKING OF THE FIRST CANTONMENT OF THE INDIAN SUBCONTINENT IN PATNA, 1757-1768 AUTHORED BY PRABUDDHA BISWAS ON NOVEMBER 20, 2016; SUNDAY

(C) Copy Right of Prabuddha Biswas

(COVER PAGE)

(BACK COVER)

Venue: The Patna Museum Auditorium (Sri Karpoori Thakur Sabhagar)

Date: - November 20, 2016

Time: - 11 A. M. onwards....

THE PROGRAMME WAS AS FOLLOWS: -

1. Inviting dignitaries to dais / Formal Welcome

WELCOMING N. R. MOHANTY

WELCOMING PRABUDDHA BISWAS

LIGHTING THE LAMP

Book Launch was done by Sri N. R. Mohanty

BOOK LAUNCH OF THE "MONOGRAPH: THE MAKING OF THE FIRST CANTONMENT OF THE INDIAN SUBCONTINENT IN PATNA, 1757-1768"

FIRST SESSION

3. Key Note Address: - Dr. (Prof.) Sumanta Niyogi, Former HOD History, Patna University

DR. SUMANTA NIYOGI DELIVERING KEY-NOTE ADDRESS

4. PPT Presentation on the Book by Prabuddha Biswas (Author)

PRABUDDHA BISWAS, AUTHOR SPEAKING ABOUT HIS BOOK

5. Observation / comment (if any) from the audience

DR. RATNESHWAR MISHRA SHARING HIS OBSERVATION REGARDING THE BOOK AND THE AUTHOR

6. Special Comment / Address and Concluding the first session by the Guest of Honour, Mr. N. R. Mohanty, Director, Jagran Institute of Management of Mass Communication, Noida.

MR. N. R. MOHANTY ADDRESSING THE AUDIENCE

SECOND SESSION

7. Address by the Chief Guest: - Honourable Education Minister Dr. Ashok Choudhary

MR. RAKESH SINGH, PRESIDENT EXTRA C* READING OUT THE MESSAGE OF THE EDUCATION MINISTER, DR. ASHOK CHOUDHARY

8. Presidential Address by Mr. Vivek Kumar Singh, IAS; Principal Secretary, Department of Environment and Forest

MR. VIVEK KUMAR SINGH, IAS; PRINCIPAL SECRETARY, ENVIRONMENT AND FOREST; DELIVERING HIS PRESIDENTIAL SPEECH

DIGNITARIES AND AUGUST AUDIENCE: - BEFORE, DURING AND AFTER..........

DR. MALA GHOSH (TEACHER OF TEACHERS)

DR. SANDHYA NIYOGI, DR. SUMANTA NIYOGI, DR. RATNESHWAR MISHRA AND MITHILESH KUMAR, IAS (RETD.)

9. Vote of Thanks by Dr. Arvind Mahajan, Regional Deputy Director, Directorate of Museums

DR. ARVIND MAHAJAN

The Stage Coordination and welcome address to guests was done by Dr. Arvind Mahajan.

SHORT SUMMARY OF THE BOOK LAUNCH FUNCTION

The Book Launch Function of Monograph: The Making of the First Cantonment of the Indian Subcontinent in Patna” was inaugurated by the Director of the Jagran Institute of Management of Mass Communication (Noida), Mr. N.R. Mohanty and presided by Mr. Vivek Kumar Singh, Principal Secretary of the Department of Environment and Forest.

The Monograph was formally launched by Mr. N. R. Mohanty.

The key-note address about the 18^th Century background of the book was given by the former HOD of History of Patna University, Dr. (Prof.) Sumanta Niyogi; while the author Prabuddha Biswas gave a brief description about the content of the book.

This 400 page - pioneering book describes the initial twelve (1757 – 68) years; which led to the (i) establishment of the Military Barrack in Bankipur in 1757 (ii) followed by its upgradation as ‘Cantonment’ in 5^th August, 1765 and (iii) later, the relocation of Bankipur Cantonment to 12 Km west at Danapur during 1767-68. The Principal Secretary of Art, Culture and Youth, Mr. Vivek Kumar Singh has written the ‘Foreword’ of the book.

The dignitaries who attended the meeting include Dr. (Prof.) Mala Ghosh (former Principal Magadh Mahila College) , Mr. Mithilesh Kumar, IAS (Retd.), Dr. Ratneshwar Mishra (former HOD History, L.N. Mithila University, Darbhanga), Dr. C. P. Sinha (former Director, K. P. Jayaswal Research Institute, Patna), Dr. Sandhya Niyogi, Dr (Prof.) Shankar Ashis Dutt (English Dept., Patna University), Dr (Prof.) Muniba Sami (English Dept., Patna University), Dr. Bijay Kumar Chaudhary (Director, K. P. Jayaswal Research Institute, Patna), Dr. Imtiyaz Ahmad (Ex-Director, Khuda Bakhsh Oriental Public Library, Patna), Dr. Satyendra Kumar Jha (Conservation Officer, Directorate of Archaeology, Govt. of Bihar), Prof. Rakesh Kumar (Magadh University), Mr. Sanjiv Kumar (Educationist), Mr. B. Vinod (Principal, DPS, Patna), Dr. Anil Kumar, Dr. Sanjeev Kumar Sinha, Dr. Kumari Lalita, Dr. Atia Begum (all from KPJRI) Dr. Shankar Suman (Assistant Curator, Patna Museum), Dr. Shiv Kumar Mishra (Bihar Research Society), Mr. Pranav K. Chaudhary (Times of India), Kaushalendra Mishra (Hindustan), Madam Shweta Sinha, Mr. Tejkar Jha (both from 'Vigyapan') among others.

The function was organised under the banner of ‘Extra C* - A No-profit organisation’, who organise quiz, crossword and cryptic crossword puzzles among students and others. In the end, the Regional Director of the Directorate of Museums Arvind Mahajan, gave the vote of thanks.

BRIEF HISTORY, BEHIND THE MAKING OF THE PATNA CANTONMENT

In the year 2015, the oldest British Cantonment of the Indian Sub-continent in Patna had become 250 years old. It was way back on August 5, 1765 that the old barrack of Bankipur was elevated to the rank of ‘Cantonment’ which was later re-located 12 km west of Patna i.e. in Danapur from 1767 – 68.

After the reorganization of the then Bengal Army by Robert Clive dated August 5, 1765; the headquarters of the three newly formed Brigades were at following places: -

(a) The First Brigade was stationed at Munger Fort; and which was also made the headquarter of the ‘Commander-in-Chief’ of the then Bengal Army.

(b) The Second Brigade was stationed at Allahabad Fort

Though ‘Munger, Allahabad and Bankipore’ were three initial cantonments of the Indian subcontinent but

(i) Munger Cantonment was dismantled and shifted to Berhampur (Murshidabad) and

(ii) Allahabad Cantonment was discontinued and shifted more than once before it stabilized as permanent cantonment in later period.

(iii) But, the Patna Cantonment at Bankipore (Bankipur) followed by its relocation at Danapur continued uninterruptedly from 1765 till today, making it the oldest cantonment in the Indian subcontinent , which completes 250 years on August 5, 2015.

THE THREE NEWLY FORMED CANTONMENTS AND THEIR RE-LOCATED PLACES

Some of the Government documents quote that Barrackpore (Barrackpur) Cantonment is the oldest cantonment in the Indian sub-continent but it is not correct as it was established in 1772 AD, according to Bengal District Gazetteers of 24 – Parganas of L.S.S. O’Malley, I.C.S. (1908) which quotes as follows: - “The name of the town (Barrackpore or Barrackpur) is due to the fact that troops have been stationed here since 1772”.