Amrapali of Vaishali and Ajatshatru of Magadh

 

Long back during school days, I had read a book from my grandfather’s book collection, whose title I have forgotten now. But, most probably, it was वैशाली की नगरवधू (‘Vaishali Ki Nagar Vadhu’), by Acharya Chatursen. I remember some pages from the book now. Then, I happened to find this movie Amrapali (1966) on Netflix and watched it. They have done a great job by converting the movie it in color now.

At the beginning of the movie, the map of India is shown. Whenever I see this map, I get goosebumps. We have been often taught that India was but a set of small kingdoms in history. So what? Time to time, some great kings used to unify all areas into their great kingdoms. In those days, means of communication were very difficult and it was almost impossible to have large kingdoms. Still, we had kingdoms like Magadh (Present day Bihar) which was huge.

The main character of the movie is Ajatshatru, played by Sunil Dutt. Ajatashatru (492 to 460 BCE) was a king of the Haryanka dynasty of Magadha in East India (present day Bihar). He was the son of King Bimbisara and was a contemporary of both Mahavira and Gautama Buddha. He fought a war against Vajji, ruled by the Lichchhavis, and conquered the republic of Vesali. The city of Pataliputra was formed by by Ajatashatru. Ajatashatru followed policies of conquest and expansion. He defeated his neighbours including the king of Kosala. Ajatashatru occupied Kashi and captured the smaller kingdoms. Magadha under Ajatashatru became the most powerful kingdom in North India.

The movie begins with a war scene. The war scenes are very well shot, given that those days there were not many technologies available. There was a whole row of elephants involved in the war. It must have been challenging to shoot the war sequence without any injuries.

The movie shows a few novelties. Ajatshatru was fighting multiple soldiers single handedly, rotating his sword in the manner in which they have shown Bajirao Peshwa doing it in the recent movie Bajirao Mastani.

The chariot had this weapon, which was also shown in the famous movie Bahubali! I read that Ajatshatru is the inventor of two weapons used in war: the rathamusala (scythed chariot) and the mahashilakantaka (engine to eject big stones).

Using these machines, they were throwing rolls of fire on the enemy army. This has been shown in so many Hollywood movies too.

 Now coming to Vaishali. Vaishali which is near present day Muzaffarpur in Bihar, is known to have one of the most ancient democracies. It is called world’s first Republic.

The movie shows Vyjayanthi Mala in the role of Amrapali. She has given an immortal performance in the movie. Not for a moment she appears as an actress; it seems we are seeing real Amrapali. 

Amrapali is the Chief Dancer of Vaishali. When Ajatshatru, the king of Magadh attacks Vaishali, she asks her friend to bring his head to her as a gift. Amrapali is known to have developed one of the strongest bonds of patriotism.

Ajatshatru falls in love with Amrapali. He says, “An emperor is also a human being”, justifying his love for a dancer who was below his status. 

Ajatshatru attacks Vaishali in order to save and marry Amrapali.

People accuse Amrapali of treachery and she is publicly shamed. To my surprise, this was very similar to Game of Throne’s “Walk of Shame” except its nudity and vulgarity.

Ajatshatru comes to meet Amrapali. Look at the excellent set that is shown in the background. They made this in 1966!

Amrapali is devastated that her kingdom was destroyed indirectly because of her! Look at the dialogues, those are so powerful. She accuses Ajatshatru of murdering so many women just for one woman! So powerful.

 

Ajatshatru is devastated at seeing only hatred in Amrapali despite the fact that he defeated Vaishali’s army only to save Amrapali’s life. She can’t tolerate “hatred” in her eyes and Sunil Dutt has given such a touching performance. He says, “Do not look at me with so much hatred”. It was such a touching moment. The cruelest thing in this world is for a lover to receive hatred in return for his love.

Sunil Dutt and Vyjayanthimala have given an immortal performance. This movie and this story will remain in the classic pieces of arts and literature from India.

Blessed to have watched it.

- Rahul Tiwary 

History: American Presidents, Watergate Scandal and Vietnam War

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History: World's Biggest Dictators

Inspired by National Geography documentaries, I watched some YouTube videos on world’s biggest dictators. Here are a few: 

Alexander Lukashenko of Belarus:

Ramzan Kadyrov of Chechen Republic:

Muammar Gaddafi of Libya:

Muammar Gaddafi shot dead: 

These videos help us understand important part of these countries’ history as well as world history. If we see something happening now, many times their explanation lies in the history. I am a big fan of history and reading more and more about it fascinates me.

- Rahul Tiwary

#History: Game of Thrones: Bairam Khan and Rahim

History is full of mesmerizing and horrifying events. The Mughals established the Mughal Empire in India and some people appreciate them for being settlers rather than invaders. But the legacy they have left behind all through their timeline reeks of such a culture of treachery and blood-bath that even the TV series Game of Thrones would appear gentle in their comparison. Let us see the story of the family of Rahim - one of the Nav Ratnas from Akbar's court.

It all started for us with Bairam Khan. Bairam Khan was a Turk, born in Badakhshan in Central Asia. His grandfather and father had served Babur. Even his great grandfather was related to Babur's wife as brother. So the family ties of Bairam Khan to the Mughals were very strong. Bairam Khan entered into Babur's service at the age of 16. When Humayun became the king, Bairam Khan played key role in his military quests. He was the commander of his army. After Humayun's death in 1556, Bairam Khan was appointed regent over the young monarch Akbar. He served as the guardian, teacher and adviser of Akbar. Bairam Khan also had Salima Sultan, one of the cousins of Akbar as his second wife.

In the second Battle of Panipat between Akbar and Hemu, Bairam Khan defeated Hemu while Akbar was still a young man. When Akbar turned old and experienced enough, he found Bairam Khan at cross to his own opinions. Due to the differences in opinion between them and due to conspiracy against Bairam Khan (he was a Shia Muslim while Mughals were dominated by Sunnis) in the Mughal court, he was ordered by Akbar to either retire or else go on Haj pilgrimage. That must be an emotional moment for him, because it was Bairam Khan who had helped build the Mughal empire, defeated Hemu and virtually raised and trained Akbar. He chose to go on Haj. While passing through Gujarat, he and his men were attacked and killed by a Pathan General loyal to Hindu king Hemu, as a revenge for the killing Hemu. Thus unfortunately ended the otherwise splendid life of this warrior general.

After Bairam Khan was dead, his second wife, Salima Sultan was re-married to Akbar, her cousin. But the story of Bairam Khan's family tree does not end here.

Rahim was Bairam Khan's son. Yes, the same Abdul Rahim Khan-e-Khana, the famous poet and one of Akbar's nine prominent ministers - the Navaratnas. It might look weird that after getting rid of Bairam Khan, Akbar appointed his son Rahim as one of the Navratnas in his court. Since Akbar had married Salima Sultan, step-mother of Rahim, in this way, Rahim had also become Akbar's step-son. Rahim was a devotee of Lord Krishna and wrote many poems in his devotion. Rahim was a contemporary of Tulsidas and had some interesting conversations with him.

Rahim has written a lot of poems which we have read in our school text books. A sample is as follows, to help you recall:

रहिमन वे नर मर चुके, जे कहू मंगन जाही,

उनते पहेले वे मुए, जिन मुख निकसत नहीं.

“Rahim says - he who has to ask something from another is no longer a man/ human being. But those who refuse to give were never men/ humans to begin with.”

रहिमन धागा प्रेम का, मत तोड़ो चटकाय,

टूटे से फिर न जुड़े, जुड़े गाँठ पड़ जाये.

“Rahim says - do not break the thread of love/ friendship in a haste. Once it snaps, it cannot be rejoined and if you do try to rejoin it, it will always have a knot in it.”

So, what is the next phase in this story?

Near the end of Akbar's life, his son Jahangir tried to snatch power from him. Jahangir was a fanatic and did not shared the religious tolerance of his father. He rebelled against Akbar and made a march to Agra with his army. In retaliation, Akbar declared his grandson Khushru Mirza (Jahangir's son) as his own successor instead of Jahangir. But when Akbar died of dysentery in 1605, a struggle for succession broke between his prominent and legitimate sons. Finally, Jahangir captured the power and became the Fourth Mughal ruler of Delhi. In the meanwhile, Khusrau Mirza revolted against Jahangir; was defeated in 1606 and confined in the fort of Agra. As a punishment Khusrau Mirza was partially blinded and died or killed in custody.

During the power struggle, Rahim had stood with Khusrau Mirza. After all, that was the "will" of Akbar before he died! When we look at the long history of Bairam Khan's family serving the Mughals, it only appears normal that Rahim tried to do what his master and stepfather Akbar wanted. But he paid heavily for his decision.

After Jahangir became king, he got both sons of Rahim killed for standing against Jahangir in his quest for power. They were executed at a gate now famously called "Khooni Darwaja" in Delhi. Their bodies were left to rot.The gate still stands today, on the Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg opposite the Feroz Shah Kotla Cricket Ground.

With both sons killed, no one remained in the family of Bairam Khan after Rahim's death at the age of 70.

The unfortunate story of this family does not end there.

Rahim had built a tomb for his wife in 1598 in Delhi. But after Rahim's death, he was buried in this very tomb in 1627. That means, no one cared to build a new tomb for him. Still, the tomb was beautiful. After all, it was built by Rahim - one of the poet gems from Akbar's court. The tomb was decorated with stucco work on red sandstone, Delhi quartzite and marble. Its structure was similar to that of Humayun's tomb.

Then, in 1753, the Nawab of Awadh Shuja-ud-Daula constructed a tomb in Delhi for his father - Mirza Mukin Abul Mansur Khan 'Safdarjung'. He stripped Rahim's Tomb of its precious stones and marbles and used that to build Safdarjung's tomb! The Safdarjang's Tomb is situated next to the Safdarjang Airport in Delhi.

The picture with this post shows the tomb in Nizamuddin, Delhi, where Rahim is buried. You can see its walls and dome from where all the marble and precious stones are gone! In the background you would see Humayun's tomb, standing beautifully.

I have found that most of the Mughal architecture in Delhi have been 'restored' beautifully by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) using tax payer's money. I wonder if they would some day look at Rahim's Tomb too. Or if they would let it remained robbed off its marble and stand disgraced, in true identification with the history and becoming of this famous personality who is buried there.

Thus ended this part of history from the time of the Mughal Empire.

- Rahul Tiwary

#Travelogue: Lal Quila in Delhi

There is no other structure as magnificent as Lal Quila of Delhi. Even after hundreds of years, the Red Fort has maintained its charms. It is partly also due to the fact that it is situated in national capital of India and is the venue of 15 August Independence Day celebrations.

Currently in Feb 2018, when I visited Red Fort, a massive restoration work was in progress. New buildings were being constructed inside the fort, in exact replica to old buildings which are now virtually non-existent. Almost every structure was being repaird.

If you start from Chandni Chowk towards Lal Quilla, you would come across wonderful Gurudwara Sisganj Sahib:

After going a little more further towards Lal Quilla, you would come across Sri Digambar Jain Lal Mandir (appearing in red here) and Sri Gauri Shankar Mandir (Shiva Temple) - appearing in white in the following pictures:

Gauri Shankar Temple dedicated to Lord Shiva was built by a Maratha General named Appa Gangadhar in 1761. This temple marks the era of Maratha dominance over Delhi and symbolically gives a glimpse of that part of history.

  

Here is Lal Quila / Red Fort:

15 August Ground near Red Fort:

Coming closer to Lal Quilla:

Museum inside Red Fort on China items being used in old times:

Buildings inside Red Fort:

You can notice the massive repair and restoration work is in progress.

Below is the famous Peacock Throne of Shah Jahan:

The gardens inside Red Fort also have some beautiful flowers:

And here is a weird tree inside Red Fort for which the stem and branches are all covered by roots!

I hope you enjoyed the pictures. This should encourage you to go visit Red Fort if you have never been there and if you have been there, then also a second visit is not a bad idea. In the day time, around 12pm, the queue to get inside the Red Fort becomes very long. I could see especially small children getting troubled in the sun, since it takes around 30-40 minutes in the queue to be able to get inside. So plan a visit earlier in the morning, or else near the end in the late afternoon. When I left the premises at around 4pm, there was virtually no queue any more.

There is a drinking water facility inside the Red Fort, so do not worry too much about buying water from outside. They do not allow you to carry food and other items, which you have to deposit in a cloak room. The entry fee is Rs 35 for entry + museum (of course everyone goes to the museum). Do check out my two subsequent blog posts on the museums.

All pictures (C) Rahul Tiwary