Not a tiger in the forest, not a star in the sky

Last time in Ranathambore, it was, “the tiger just dragged its kill towards the lake and we will go there now". And five jeeps full of eager tourists rushed to the “site" for a glimpse of the elusive predator.

This time in Sariska, “there is the warning call. The tiger may come here now.” And three jeeps full of talkative travellers parked beside a pond, expecting the yellow-and-black striped beast to just strut in front of them like a ramp model.

Neither then, nor now, I or any other “jungle safari" tourists saw even the tail of a tiger. Despite the insistence or persistence of the guides and the drivers who follow their trail patiently through the uneven reddish dirt tracks of the reserve forests.

Think about that rationally. Will you eat your food in front of scores of compulsive picture-clickers like me or in peace in the corner of some cave? And if you know a group of determined people are looking for your pug marks, stalking you like obsessed lovers and now waiting for you at a spot, will you not turn away and go somewhere else? I think the tigers are brainy enough to do that. I wonder then who are those people who, during the small window of a two-hour safari, find a tiger along with cubs strolling lazily beside their vehicle and upload photos in social media? Why don’t they buy lottery tickets?

I also wonder how sad the scores of spotted deer, or sambhar, or nilgai must be feeling when they hear people talking excitedly about “sightings" and never meaning them. May be that’s why they always look straight into your eyes, probably asking, “are we not good-looking too? Why do you search for the big guy only, instead of seeing the trees, the birds, us, or the fine web of the spider atop the shrubs, glittering in sunshine?”

Before you mutter “grapes are sour”, let me say that I not only had the experience of a tiger-less tour in Sariska this time, but also had the misfortune of encountering a cloudy sky after checking into a resort which specialises in astronomy and star-gazing. But I rarely feel unhappy during travel. I always find something to take home. Like a new interest in stars and planets, triggered by the education officer of that resort who taught us how to use planisphere, a map-like device to know the night sky. Or like the information that deep inside Sariska, there is a fort called Kankwari where Aurangzeb had once  imprisoned Dara (plan to see it next time).

If only, I had the same positive attitude towards office work!

Chand Baori, a well extraordinaire

Coming from a rain-rich part of the world, I had no idea about Baolis or Baoris, water pools deep inside the ground with flights of stairs leading down to them, before I came to Delhi. The capital has quite a few famous stepwells such as Ugrasen Ki Baoli or Rajon Ki Baoli, the beautiful designs of which attract tourists and heritage enthusiasts alike. I was told by many that the arid regions in the north and west, such as Rajasthan and Gujarat, boasts of stepwells which are even more aesthetically pleasing and absolute architectural wonders, being not only sources of water or rain harvesting units, but places of worship with elaborate columns and pavilions displaying intricate carvings and sculptures of deities. These stepwells served as a spot for social interaction and shelter for pilgrims, often built near popular religious destinations.

Friends with similar interests are not easy to find, but I am lucky enough to have a few, two of whom planned and executed a Diwali day trip to see the 9th Century Chand Baori, one of such ancient stepwells and counted by many travellers amongst the “hidden secrets” of India. Located in Abhaneri village of Rajasthan, it has been described as a “magical maze” and one of the world’s deepest and “most spectacular” stepwells by various writers.

However, neither the narrations, nor the thousands of Google photos do justice to the feeling of amazement it offers to a visitor who walks through a seemingly ordinary village street full of tea shops, fruit-sellers and souvenir-peddlers to suddenly enter into an world of exquisitely symmetrical geometric patterns of steps and stairs, built in a style of an inverted pyramid. The baori, named so because it was built by Raja Chandra of Nikumbha Dynasty, has 3500 steps, 13 levels, and several pavilions and arched galleries, a few of which were later Mughal additions. Two huge pillars with fine carvings can be seen coming up majestically from the square-shaped pool of green slush, but iron railings on all sides prevent visitors from going down. This measure, taken to prevent any possible mishap, is in place since 2012, said Mr. Meena, the ASI guy managing the entry.

The site is a huge draw for foreign travellers, but there were very few Indians.
Hundreds of pieces of sculpture can be seen all over the compound, recovered from the adjacent Harshat Mata temple complex, which was built around the same time but was damaged (by Mahmud of Ghazni, some articles said) and is at present undergoing, what looked like, a massive and painstaking reconstruction effort. Harshat Mata is the goddess of happiness who spread glow of joy (abha), in the village, which thus earned the name of Abhanagri or Abhaneri.

Diwali night was a quiet affair. We lighted a few sparklers standing near the gate of our hotel (we stayed in the Haveli-style Abhaneri Niwas, offering modern amenities and simple food) and I was, inexplicably, somehow missing the sound and light show of Delhi.

However, this morning, as I opened my eyes to see a blue-and-white sky instead of a thick layer of smog, I felt better. The visit to Chand Baori was all the more worth it, as geometry,  for the first time, wasn’t a source of pain for me.

(Source: Articles in Lonely Planet and Encyclopedia Britannica)

Mathematical precision 

 

Harshat Mata temple

Abhaneri Niwas hotel 

Phoolwalon ki Sair: An Afternoon of Stories

It started in 1812, as a thanksgiving gesture by a Mughal queen whose son returned from exile by the British; turned into a celebration of harmony and togetherness over the years; and Phoolwalon Ki Sair or Sair e Gul Faroshan (the festival of flower-sellers) is still being held every year in Mehrauli, amongst the monuments and heritage structures in the oldest city of Delhi.

I traced the route of the festival quite a few times (https://trailoftwocities.blogspot.com/2019/02/exploring-mehrauli-part-1-google-map.html?m=1) (https://trailoftwocities.blogspot.com/2019/02/exploring-mehrauli-ii-tracing-route-of.html?m=1)  but never got the opportunity to go there during the course of the event. The wish came true yesterday, during a heritage walk led by Asif Khan Delhvi of Delhi Karavan, which covered the traditional spots associated with the annual extravaganza, and offered the participants a chance to re-live the history of Phoolwalon Ki Sair, sharing tales of its former glory, its significance and its sights and sounds in minute details.

Phoolwalon Ki Sair traces its origin to the reign of Badshah Akbar Shah II, one of those unknown later Mughal rulers and  father of Bahadur Shah Zafar. His Queen Mumtaz Mahal, fulfilling a vow, offered a chadar of flowers at the dargah of Khwaja Qutbuddin Bakhtiyar Kaki in Mehrauli and floral “pankhas" at the nearby Yogmaya temple in gratitude after her young son Mirza Jahangir, imprisoned by the British, was freed. The festival then turned into an annual celebration of amity which reached its pinnacle of glory during the time of Zafar, the last Mughal, who is known better in history for his poetic abilities and his role as a patron of the arts rather than his military prowess. We were told that the festival did not happen in the tumultuous year of 1857, but was revived again. In 1942, during the Quit India movement, the British, like any government following the principle of divide and rule, targeted symbols of harmony and banned it. The event was restarted again in 1962 and is being held every year since then. Floral chadars and pankhas are still offered at the dargah and the temple, while Qawwali, musical storytelling and other cultural programmes are organized in the backdrop of the Lodhi-era Jahaz Mahal.

I have visited these historical sites several times in recent months, but it was still a memorable experience to listen to the stories of pomp and show, fun, frolic, food and festivities, kite-flying and horse-riding during the fading years of Mughal rule, sitting at the Zafar Mahal around the time of sunset, in front of the grave of Akbar Shah II and the sad empty space kept by Bahadur Shah Zafar for his own burial, which is still awaiting the remains of the emperor who died in exile in Rangoon.

I did not attend the cultural evening at Jahaz Mahal, but took some pictures quickly, amidst irritated gestures by a posse of hassled policemen trying to keep a large number of curious onlookers away from the gate of the monument which at other times remain largely empty except by a few localites resting here and there.

Cultural programme at Jahaz Mahal

Yogmaya temple, decked up for the festival

Entrance gate of dargah of Bakhtiyar Kaki, decorated in a similar manner

A glimpse of the dargah

Grave of Akbar Shah II

Grave of Akbar Shah II and space kept for the last Mughal

City of Palaces-Part I

Much before Calcutta was given the somewhat-mocking sobriquet of the “City of Joy”, There was a time when it was known as the “City of Palaces”, because of the sprawling mansions built by the British as well as wealthy Indian landlords. The latter preferred to combine native architectural traditions with European neo-classical styles. Marble sculptures were used often as decorative pieces while Corinthian columns were popular. A walk in Pathuriaghata area during the Puja holidays offered me an opportunity to click the pictures of a few remnants of a bygone era. The photo of the temple is from Baghbazar in north Calcutta.

Temple Run: "Pandav Kalin" Mandir in Delhi

When someone asks them about famous temples of their city, most Delhiites mention Akshardham, Jhandewala and Chhattarpur. But there are quite a few other temples in Delhi that are believed to be much older, and the phrase used here to describe them is “Pandav Kalin Mandir” -- the legend being that the Pandavas founded these, either during their rule in Indraprastha or during their exile period. If you ask people in these temples, they just say “hazaroon saalon se yeh yahan hai” or “5000 saal purana hai”, thus making it a bit difficult to arrive at a specific date.

Yogmaya temple in Mehrauli is regarded among such “pracheen mandir” in Delhi. It is an Adishakti Peeth dedicated to Devi Jogmaya (the story here refers to the girl child who was kept in place of Lord Krishna, was thrown into the wall by the cruel King Kansa, and who vanished after predicting his death). The temple was said to have been destroyed by Mahmood of Ghazni and has been reconstructed several times. The gateway of the present temple is situated on Kalka Dass Road, near Qutab Minar complex. The temple itself is a marbled one, with intricate carvings on the outer wall. Floral fans offered during the annual Phoolwalon-Ki-Sair procession of harmony add to its serene ambience.

Kalka Ji Mandir, dedicated to goddess Kali or Kalika in the form of destroyer of demon “”Raktabeeja” (the asura, who regenerated in hundreds from droplets of his blood, ‘Matrix’-style), witnesses huge rush of devotees during Navaratri. A long pathway lined up with small shops displaying puja samagri, idols, photos, mounds of vermilion, toys and knick-knacks lead to the Octagonal temple. There are signboards warning that cellphones will be confiscated if pictures are taken, so I did not try to. Both these temples have been sketched and described by Sayyid Ahmad Khan in his seminal 1847 work on Delhi, Asar-us-Sanadid, which has been translated into English by Rana Safvi. Khan mentions that Kalka temple's pinnacle was built by Mirza Raja Kedarnath, the accountant in the administration of Mughal king Akbar Shah.

A floral pankha offered at Yogmaya temple during Phoolwalon-Ki-Sair procession of harmony

Sketch of Kalka Ji temple in Asar-us-Sanadid

At a shop near Kalka Ji Mandir

Behind the Old Fort, on Bhairon Marg, you can see two temples some 400 metres apart – Shri Kilkari Baba Bhairon Nath Ji Pandavon Kalin Mandir and Shri Dudhiya Baba Bhairon Nath Ji Pandavon Kalin Mandir. It is said that there is option to offer alcohol at Kilkari temple to Baba Bhairon Nath Ji, who is a Tantrik deity, though in Dudhiya temple, only milk is offered. Dudhiya Baba temple pathway runs parallel to the walls of the fort and the structure is not visible from main road like Kilkari temple. The former has a nice gateway, though architecture-wise I found the latter better.

The Neeli Chatri Shiv Mandir in Kashmere Gate and Shri Batuk Bhairav Mandir inside Nehru Park are two other temples in Delhi which are generally described as “Pandav Kalin”, though there may be many other temples where this epithet is used to claim that they belonged to ancient times.

             Kilkari temple gateway

The pathway of Dudhiya Baba temple was deserted in the morning barring a few dogs who came towards me menacingly, but a helpful priest told them off

Dudhiya Baba temple

Well near Batuk Bhairav temple, Nehru Park