[The Telegraph, Patna Edition, Dated January 15, 2017]
[Prabhat Khabar, Patna Edition, Dated January 16, 2017]
Thursday, January 19, 2017
Wednesday, January 18, 2017
MY VIEWS BEHIND THE LAUNCH OF THE WEBSITE, www.forgottenpast.in BY PRABUDDHA BISWAS
Forgotten
Past is a website dedicated to heritage and culture and conceived by freelance
journalist Prabuddha Biswas.
Presently there will be seven pages:
- (1) Home, (2) The Bihar Connection (3)
Beyond Bihar (4) Topics of Interest (5) My Books (6) Events (7) About Me....among
others.
The website is starting its small
journey from the historic city of Patliputra-Patna and will reach globally.
Hence, the ‘Home Page’ has placed five aspects to connect with people as a part
of ‘global branding’: -
1. DIDARGANJ YAKSHI –
THE FACE OF BIHAR
2. CHHATH FESTIVAL –
IDENTITY OF BIHAR
3. GOLGHAR –
THE LANDMARK OF PATNA
4. THE BOOK LAUNCH –
THE STORY ABOUT THE FIRST CANTONMENT OF INDIAN SUBCONTINENT IN PATNA
5. THE PEEPAL LEAF
(LOGO) – THE SYMBOL OF
Though,
it is starting its small journey from ‘Patna – Bihar’, it will also
strive to reach ‘beyond Bihar’.
THIS SITE WILL BE UNIQUE IN MANY RESPECTS: -
1. This website will highlight the integrative and rich
secular tradition of our composite culture.
2. This site will try to present the cultural heritage of
a city or a region from multifaceted angle.
3. The site will promote ‘Heritage and Culture in
totality’ by including Archaeological sites, History, Oral & Folk
traditions, Museums, Tourism, Geological and Geographical monuments, ‘Flora
& Fauna’, ‘National Park and Sanctuaries’ among others.
4. The site will be both ‘traditional and contemporary’
but modern in its outlook and presentation; as it will enroll cultural elements
of both ‘Little and Great Tradition’.
5. The site will try to have balanced approach of ‘content
and visuals’ and will also incorporate audio-visuals and video coverage in due
course to make it more people-friendly.
6. The site will not only give you the information about
the ‘Heritage’ but more than that; it will encourage people to make a journey
to heritage sites and get associated with it and that ‘emotional connect’
is more important.
7. The site will not be Bihar-Centric, but it will
attract and encourage ‘one and all’, beyond Bihar also.
8. The journey of the website will be very dynamic
and in due course, it will reach newer cultural horizons, beyond Bihar also.
9. The website will connect with ‘local communities’,
who are part and parcel, in protecting and preserving our cultural heritage.
10.
This website will be
in the fore-front to promote and popularize ‘Art and Crafts’ and creative
endeavour of indigenous people, local communities and individuals.
11.
In near future, the
website will be bi-lingual by including both ‘English and Hindi’ to have
its maximum reach in Bihar and beyond.
12.
The ultimate
goal of this endeavour is to connect with people through our ‘rich and diverse
Cultural Ethos’.
WHO WILL BE THE AUDIENCE AND USER OF THIS SITE?
1. This website will be of special interest for students
as there will be ‘pro-active approach’ (Quiz, Special Presentations/heritage
lectures in Educational Institutions to start with) to enroll students with a
call – ‘Know and Love Your Heritage’.
2. Encouraging Parents to visit the ‘Heritage and Historical Sites’ along with children during
vacations.
3. This site will try to connect with the authorities
of Government educational institutions, to share with them about ‘local/Regional/All
India Cultural and Heritage Sites’ and for maximising the government schemes
for visiting them along with students.
4. This website will attract people of other states
to visit Bihar.
5. This website will try to have ‘Live and
Special-Connect’ with Biharis, who are staying outside Bihar.
6. This website will definitely arouse people ‘across
the Globe’; whoever loves ‘Heritage and Culture'.
THE WEBSITE LAUNCH FUNCTION OF www.forgottenpast.in ON JANUARY 15, 2017
Forgotten Past is a website dedicated to heritage and culture and conceived by freelance journalist Prabuddha Biswas.
Presently there will be seven pages: - (1) Home, (2) The Bihar Connection (3) Beyond Bihar (4) Topics of Interest (5) My Books (6) Events (7) About Me....among others.
The website is starting its small journey from the historic city of Patliputra-Patna and will reach globally. Hence, the ‘Home Page’ has placed five aspects to connect with people as a part of ‘global branding’: -
1. DIDARGANJ YAKSHI – THE FACE OF BIHAR
2. CHHATH FESTIVAL – IDENTITY OF BIHAR
3. GOLGHAR – THE LANDMARK OF PATNA
4. THE BOOK LAUNCH – THE STORY ABOUT THE FIRST CANTONMENT OF INDIAN SUBCONTINENT IN PATNA
5. THE PEEPAL LEAF (LOGO) – THE SYMBOL OF ENLIGHTENMENT
Presently, the website will work on the Bihar-Page (The Bihar Connection) so that readers can grasp and enjoy the multifaceted identity of Bihar which include marvels of Patliputra-Patna, places associated with Mahavira and Buddha, fascinating discoveries, ancient & medieval town and cities of Bihar, Buddhist Mahaviharas of Bihar, Renowned Buddhist and Brahmanical scholars of Bihar, myths and legends associated with Bihar, folklores and folk traditions, forgotten forts, fairs and festivals, multifaceted religious tradition, the Mughal Connection, famous battles and battle-sites, travellers who visited Bihar, Great exponents of Little Traditions among others.
In the ‘Beyond Bihar’ page, the site will work upon 16 cultural sites in coming months. Presently, the stories on Rajmahal (Jharkhand), Mandu (M.P.) and Goa will flash in its pages.
The website www.forgottenpast was launched today (Sunday, Jan 15, 2017) at Ram Mohan Roy Seminary Auditorium in the simple function under the banner of ‘Behar Herald’, in which the Principal Secretary of Environment and Forest, Mr. Vivek Kumar Singh was the Chief Guest. The meeting was presided by the Chairman of the Bihar Bengalee Association Dr (Capt.) D. K. Sinha.
Mr. Vivek Kumar Singh launched the website: - www.forgottenpast.in
Prabuddha Biswas shared his view point about the website.
The former HOD of History, Patna University; Dr. Sumanta Niyogi also shared his positive observation.
Mr. Bidyut Pal, Editor of Behar Herald gave the vote of thanks.
Sunday, January 1, 2017
THE SOJOURN OF GURU TEGH BAHADUR IN BIHAR By Prabuddha Biswas
The
heavy engagements had kept the Sikh Gurus after Guru Nanak busy at home. It was
his eighth successor, Guru Tegh Bahadur, who forced by circumstances and under
stern necessity had set out on a tour of the distant regions along with his
family. He started towards the east, visiting holy places, making personal
contact with his devotees, giving them spiritual solace, and by stages,
ultimately reached Sasaram.
BATHING IN KARMANASHA RIVER
Before
reaching Sasaram, he had to cross the River Karmanasha, so called because it
was a common belief among the people that whosoever bathed in it lost the fruit
and efficacy of his religious austerities and pilgrimages. The Guru Tegh
Bahadur did not pay any heed to this tradition and bathed in the river, saying
that no water could mar or undo the merits of good actions.
VISITING THE TOWN OF SASARAM
1. In the Sikh chronicles, the name of Sasaram is
associated with the name of Phaggu, a devout and a sincere follower of the
Guru. Phaggu had a long cherished desire that the Guru Tegh Bahadur may enter
into his house. Phaggu’s desire was fulfilled when Guru entered his house,
while riding on a horse. The house was soon transformed into a SANGAT and is
known as CHACHA PHAGGU’S SANGAT or simply CHACHA’S SANGAT. A pair of
sandals and a wooden necklace of Phaggu, a small door of Guru Tegh Bahadur’s
time and the Plum tree of the 9th Guru are still preserved there.
2. Gurdwara Taksal Sangat is very significant. It is said
that the place where the Gurdwara is situated, there was tobacco cultivation
during the visit of Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji. Guru ji’s horse stopped their and was
obstructed. This land belonged to Bhai Achal Ji and Mata Jio Ji. Here Guru Ji
asked Sangat to construct Gurdwara and name it Taksal Sangat. In this Gurdwara,
there is a steel arrow said to be of Guru Tegh Bahadur along with a rare
picture of Guru Gobind Singh Ji and of Mata Jio Jee.
3. The name of the 9th Guru is also associated
with the PURANI SANGAT of Sasaram. Foundation
stone of this Gurdwara is said to be laid by Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji. It is
located in Jaani Bazaar, managed by mixed castes mainly Sonar (who have became
clean shaven after 1984 massacre). This Gurdwara is partially non-functional
now.
4. Some of the cases of the District Court of Shahabad
and the Patna High Court throw a good deal of light on the activity of Guru
Tegh Bahadur. One learns from the Court proceedings that the Guru paid a visit
to Sasaram in former times. Adjacent to this town there were jungles and hills,
affording seclusion to the faqirs, absorbed in prayer. He came to stay at the
place where BAGH GURU JI of Sasaram now stands. Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji
graciously blessed and ensured the success of the Sangat.
5. Then he came to the DHARAMSHALA and inspired a great
enthusiasm for Bhajan. The Guru took his rest (on a bed) and the SANGAT was
thus rewarded with the spiritual satisfaction. The reputation of his perfection
spread which attracted to him a large number of Faqirs, both Hindus and Muslims
as his followers. The then government authorities granted the place, where Guru
Ji was sitting along with the land of 52 bighas, surrounding it, to Guru Tegh
Bahadur for the establishment of Sangat. Then, he established a Dharamshala, and
planted an orchard and a flower garden for the upkeep of Faqirs, travellers and
visitors. He also built a masonry well in the said campus. Guru made arrangements for defraying the cost
of maintaining the DHARAMSHALA, placed his disciple Baba Rajiaji on the Gaddi
and left for the west. Hence Guru Tegh Bahadur Had been to Sasaram during his
onward journey towards east from Punjab and stayed at Sasaram for about 21 days
and also visited Sasaram in his return journey and then left for the west.
6. Besides there is another interesting document in
Persian, which reveals that Guru Tegh Bahadur was granted the Right to Levy
Octroi Tax at different rates on various types of goods and merchandise that
passed by the road, which was quite adjacent to the Sangat of Guru Tegh Bahadur.
The right of levying Octroi duty continued to be enjoyed by succeeding Mahants
till 1802 AD.
THE
FAR-REACHING CONSEQUENCES OF THE GURU TEGH BHADUR’S PREACHING ACTIVITIES IN
SASARAM
Even
today, there is mighty hold of his faith on the AGRAHARIS, who had settled in
Sasaram before Guru Tegh Bahadur visited it. According to them, their present
prosperity was due to the blessings of the Guru Tegh Bahadur. There are about ten Gurdwaras and Udasi Deras in this town. Most of them
are constructed in the memory of Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji.
VISITING GAYA
From
Sasaram, Guru Tegh Bahadur arrived at the sacred place of Gaya. The Brahmanas
urged upon him to offer barley-rolls for the souls of his ancestors and pressed
the Guru to give them some money for going through the rituals. The Guru
advised his Sikhs to be always cautious about the deceitful tactics employed by
the Brahmans and with a view to instruct the Brahmans, he quoted the hymn in
RAG ASA, composed by Guru Nanak at Gaya, the second ASHTAPADI OF SUKHMANI and a
hymn of KABIR.
GURDWARA SRI GURU TEGH BAHADUR JI
- GAYA
Gurdwara Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji near Vishnupad Temple is controlled by Udasi
priests. As in Gurdwara Chacha Phaggu Mal at Sasaram, here too three copies of
Guru Granth Sahib in Gurmukhi and Devnagri script are seated side by side in a
rectangular pavilion on a raised platform.
COMING TO PATNA
From
Gaya, the Guru came to Patna where he was accorded a hearty welcome by his
followers.
1. Guru Tegh Bahadur was accommodated for the time being
by one JAITA SETH, a confectioner and a true devotee of the Guru, in his
spacious building, where now stands the present GURDWARA GAI GHAT.
2. To commemorate his visit, the followers of the 9th
Guru soon engaged themselves with the construction of a magnificent edifice
which came to be known as HARMANDIR and the foundation-stone of which was most
probably laid by the Guru Tegh Bahadur himself.
GURU’S PREPARATION BEFORE LEAVING PATNA
Guru
Tegh Bahadur, had not been in Patna for long when he had to march towards Assam
to help a Rajput general of Emperor Aurangzeb in his expedition against the
turbulent Assamese. After entrusting his mother, NANAKI JI and wife, GUJRI JI,
who was pregnant, to the care of his brother-in-law, BHAI KRIPAL CHAND, Guru
Tegh Bahadur accompanied the said Raja on his eastward journey.
GURU’S MARCH TOWARDS 'FURTHER EAST'
Guru
Tegh Bahadur passed through and also stayed at BARH, MUNGER, BHAGALPUR,
KAHALGAON, RAJMAHAL and MALDA.
GURDWARA PAKKI SANGAT - MUNGER
Gurdwara Pakki Sangat - Munger, a district town, 170 kilometres east of
Patna Sahib by rail, is another place where Guru Tegh Bahadur is known to have
stayed during his eastward journey. It was during his stay here that he got the
news of the birth of Guru Gobind Singh. The commemorative Shrine Gurdwara Pakki
(lit. firm or permanent) Sangat is in Belan Bazar area near the Munger fort.
Its old building also damaged badly by the 1934 earthquake was, however,
rebuilt within a year. It is a rectangular room with a verandah in front and is
served by Brahaman priests. Two relics, a cot and a pillow said to have been
used by the Guru during his stay here, are kept in the same room where Guru
Granth Sahib is seated.
GURDWARA SRI GURU TEGH BAHADUR -
BHAGALPUR
Gurdwara Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur - Bhagalpur, another district town on the
right bank of the Ganges, 63 kilometres east of Monghyr by rail, had two Sikh
Sangats when Guru Tegh Bahadur visited it in 1667. Guru Tegh Bahadur is said to
have stayed at Bari Sangat on Burhanath Ghat of which what is left is a stone
slab, still considered holy. Over it Sardar Inder Singh Atwal got a room built
in 1974. On every amavas, Guru Granth Sahib is brought from Gurdwara Singh
Sabha in the interior of the town and a congregation is held here with the holy
book placed on the old slab called Chauki Sahib. The place itself is named
Gurdwara Bari Sangat Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji Chauki Sahib. An old hand-written
copy of Guru of Guru Granth Sahib acquired from the former Udasi priest of the
Shrine is preserved in Gurdwara Singh Sabha. The other place, Chhoti Sangat,
also on the Ghat a little distance away from Bari Sangat has since been
converted into a Hindu temple
THE
LAST HALT OF GURU TEGH BAHADUR IN THE EASTERN BORDER OF BIHAR
Guru’s
last halt in Bihar was at KANTNAGAR, 12 miles east of Kahalgaon. But now
that area was engulfed by Ganges and the inhabitants were forced to settle down
in a small village of LAKSHIMPORE (near Caragola Railway station), north of
Ganges, presently in Katihar district.
Guru
Tegh Bahadur’s tour of eastern regions extended over a period of about 3 years
at the most, and though the province of Bihar could claim approximately half a
year or so.
RETURN JOURNEY OF GURU TEGH BAHADUR
Guru
Tegh Bahadur travelled back home along with the Raja (whom he accompanied to
Assam), through Gaya and Sasaram, leaving out Patna.
VISITING
GURU KA BAGH, SOUTH OF PATNA SAHIB
Though
Guru Tegh Bahadur didn’t come to Patna in his return journey but the tradition
goes that when Guru Tegh Bahadur returned from Assam, he stayed in a dry
garden, belonging to Nawab Rahim Bakhsh and Karim Bakhsh of Patna. The Nawab
offered the garden to Guru Tegh Bahadur after observing his super-natural
powers. A Gurdwara has been constructed there and is known as GURDWARA GURU
KA BAGH.
(C) Copyright of Prabuddha Biswas
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
(C) Copyright of 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).
(C) Copyright of Prabuddha Biswas
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