#Travelogue: India Gate in New Delhi

Pictures taken in Feb 2018.

All Pictures (C) Rahul Tiwary

#Travelogue: Amrit Udyan in New Delhi

Here are some pictures taken by me from Amrit Udyan, New Delhi. Amrit Udyan is very near to Indian Parliament building and opens for people at declared duration in February and March every year. During this period it remains open on all days of the week except Mondays. It has several small gardens within the premises: Bonsai Garden, Herbal Garden, Spiritual Garden (consists of plants and trees mentioned in religious scriptures); there is also a musical fountain to add to its glamor.

While walking in the garden, we reach very close to the Parliament building and it feels great to see Indian Flag flying high. 

Mughal Garden remains most beautiful garden I have seen. It is so very well maintained - after all it is situated in the National Capital! Flowers are very healthy and I loved the positive energy this garden has.

All pictures (C) Rahul Tiwary

#Books: Inferno by Dan Brown

Nursery Rhyme "Ring-a-ring o' roses" is related to the Great Plague of England? Shocking!

Out of the blue, a childhood nursery rhyme jumped into Sienna’s mind: Ring around the rosie. A pocketful of posies. Ashes, ashes. We all fall down.

She used to recite the poem as a schoolgirl in England until she heard that it derived from the Great Plague of London in 1665. Allegedly, a ring around the rosie was a reference to a rose-colored pustule on the skin that developed a ring around it and indicated that one was infected. Sufferers would carry a pocketful of posies in an effort to mask the smell of their own decaying bodies as well as the stench of the city itself, where hundreds of plague victims dropped dead daily, their bodies then cremated. Ashes, ashes. We all fall down.

#Society: मिड नाईट कल्चर और युवा वर्ग का भविष्य

मुम्बई के कमला मिल्स अग्निकांड की हृदयविदारक तस्वीरें सामने आ रही हैं। हँसते-खेलते परिवार और बच्चे मिनटों में काल की गोद में समा गए। मृतकों में एक लड़की और उसका परिवार जो बर्थडे सेलिब्रेट कर रहे थे, पर खासी कवरेज है। खबर आते ही दो बातें नोट करने लायक थीं - '1 Above' जहाँ आग लगी वो बस एक रेस्त्रां नहीं एक "पब" है जिसमें 'बार' है और शराब सर्व की जाती है। उसकी निचली फ्लोर पर भी आग फैली और वहाँ 'Mojo's Bistro' नाम का "पब" था। आग रात के साढ़े बारह बजे लगी। बर्थडे सेलिब्रेट करने वाले रात के बारह बजे ही सेलिब्रेट करने गए थे। उन्होंने बारह बजे बर्थडे केक काटा, मोबाइल पर वीडियो बनाया और स्नैपचैट पर शेयर किया। थोड़ी देर में आग लगी और सब खत्म। बर्थडे गर्ल की उस "अंतिम सेलिब्रेशन" के वीडियो को टीवी चैनल्स बार-बार दिखाकर अपनी टीआरपी बढ़ा रहे हैं। जिन चौदह लोगों की मौत हुई उनमें ग्यारह महिलाएँ हैं जो बीस-तीस साल की थीं। 

एक समय था जब अच्छे घरों के बच्चे रात में बाहर नहीं जाते थे - लड़कियाँ पब में नहीं जाती थीं - पार्टी घर पर हुआ करती थी - जन्मदिन पर मंदिर में पूजा होती थी - अगर बर्थडे केक कटता तो घर पर पूरे परिवार के साथ - न की मध्य रात्रि में दूसरों के साथ शराब की दुर्गन्ध के बीच किसी पब में। 

मुंबई जैसे महानगर के लिए लड़के-लड़कियों का रात के साढ़े बारह बजे घर से दूर पब में जाकर दोस्तों के साथ पार्टी करना एक आम बात होगी। मेरे लिए इस एंगल से सोचना आसान होगा - क्योंकि मैं तो बिहार के एक छोटे शहर के ब्राह्मण शिक्षाविद परिवार में पला-बढ़ा जहाँ मुझे "मॉडर्न" बनने की ललक विरासत में नहीं मिली। पर समस्या ये है कि आज हर शहर मुम्बई बनने की कोशिश में है और हर बच्चा पब में मिड नाईट पार्टी करना चाहता है। कोई जरुरी नहीं कि छोटी समस्या को तबतक इग्नोर किया जाये जबतक कि वह एक गंभीर बीमारी न बन जाये। 

आज की युवा पीढ़ी को देखिए - 50% लड़के पढाई के लिए घर से दूर जाते ही शराब सिगरेट शुरू कर देते हैं। 90% के माँ बाप को पता ही नहीं चलता कि बेटा क्या करता है। सरकार भी सिर्फ सिगरेट के पीछे पड़ी है, शराब को डिस्करेज करने का कोई प्लान नहीं। जबकि सिगरेट धीरे-धीरे मारता है पर शराब तुरत मारती है। लोकल न्यूज़पेपर में जितने रोड एक्सीडेंट्स की खबरें आती हैं, कोई नहीं जानता उनमें से कितनी शराब के कारण होती हैं। ऐसे लड़कों के माँ-बाप जब उनके लिए संस्कारी लड़की ढूंढ रहे होते हैं, लड़के किसी दोस्त के घर शराब के नशे में या तो उल्टियां कर रहे होते हैं या गन्दी गालियाँ दे रहे होते हैं। और लड़कियों को अच्छा समझने का भ्रम तो दिल्ली आने के बाद टूटा। लड़कियों की एक बड़ी संख्या शराब पीती हैं, अधिकांश कभी-कभी पीती हैं, और घर में किसी को नहीं बतातीं। 

ऊपर-ऊपर हम युवाओं को दिन प्रतिदिन ज्यादा शिक्षित और बढ़िया से बढ़िया नौकरियों में जाता देख गर्व महसूस करते हैं, पर सतह के नीचे एक दोयम दर्जे के संस्कारहीन समाज का निर्माण होते हुए देख रहे हैं। कम-से-कम आज की पीढ़ी को सही और गलत बताने वाला तो है - उनकी अगली पीढ़ी को शायद वो सुविधा भी न मिले। 

एक ही आग्रह है - गलत को गलत कहें - उसके बाद बच्चों की चाहे जो मर्जी। पर उनकी गलतियों को "सही" न ठहराएँ। बच्चों की उम्र सही हो तो कड़ाई भी करें। उनपर मॉडर्न बनने का 'एक्स्ट्रा प्रेशर' न डालें। आपका सबसे बड़ा कर्त्तव्य उन्हें सही शिक्षा देना ही है। 

जब भी हम किसी विदेशी व्यक्ति से भारतीय समाज और सभ्यता की बात करते हैं तो नोटिस कीजिये कि हम जिस समाज और कल्चर की बात करते हैं - आज की हमारी युवा पीढ़ी ही उनमें कितना विश्वास करती है? 

भारत के छोटे शहरों में अंदर से खोखले होते जा रहे समाज और महानगरों में किसी समाज की ही अनुपस्थिति एक बड़ी चिंता का विषय है। ज्यादा से ज्यादा पैसे कमाने और दूसरों से आगे बढ़ने की ललक में हम अपनी सभ्यता, समाज और संस्कारों से ही कटते चले जा रहे हैं। हम जितनी जल्दी चेतेंगे, हमारा उतना भला होगा। वरना हमारी "भूरे अंग्रेज" बनने की सनक हमें एक दोयम दर्जे की नस्ल बनाकर छोड़ेगी। 

- राहुल तिवारी 

विरूष्का की शादी

डिअर विराट और अनुष्का,

शादी की बिलेटेड शुभकामनाएँ!

इटली से आपकी शादी की पिक्चर्स देखीं। फिर पहाड़ों से आपके हनीमून के सैर की तस्वीरें देखीं। फिर आपके दिल्ली रिसेप्शन की वीडियो देखी। और अभी लेटेस्ट मुंबई रिसेप्शन की तस्वीरें और वीडियो देखी। आपके शादी के फोटोज और वीडियो को इंटरनेट पर इतना शेयर किया गया है कि गूगल को एक नया सर्वर लगाना पड़ा है सिर्फ आपके लिए। इन सब में आपने फ्री में इतना एंटरटेन किया है कि क्या बताऊँ। आप लोग अभी इतने फेमस हो चुके हो कि अगर शादी और रिसेप्शन से ब्रेक लेकर गुजरात इलेक्शन में खड़े हो जाते तो आराम से जीत जाते। फिर ५ साल में एक बार विधानसभा चले जाते और अगर कुछ बोल नहीं पाते तो एक होम-मेड वीडियो बनाकर यू-ट्यूब पर डाल देते! पर ये सब आप रिटायर होने के बाद करेंगे, है ना? तो मुद्दे की बात पर आता हूँ।

१) आपकी शादी की तस्वीरों में लाल रंग गायब था। सारी तस्वीरें 'पिंक-वाश' की हुई लग रही थीं। चाहे 'सव्यसाची' जो कहें दुल्हन 'लाल जोड़े' में ही दुल्हन लगती है।

आपकी तस्वीरों में इतना पिंक मैंने एक बार में देख लिया कि अब पिंक देखने से उबकाई होने लगी है। आँखों को वापस 'बैलेंस' करने के लिए मैं अमिताभ बच्चन की 'ब्लैक' देखने का सोच रहा हूँ, और इफेक्टिव बनाने के लिए देखते समय कमरे में अँधेरा करके ऑंखें भी बंद कर लुँगा।

२) शादी की तस्वीरों में विराट दुल्हन की तरह शर्मा रहे थे और अनुष्का शर्मा दूल्हे की तरह खुश थीं।

विराट हर तस्वीर में शर्माये से, नजरें झुकाये से लग रहे थे। ऑन द कोंट्ररी, अनुष्का खुश ऐसी जैसे हँसी दबाये ना दबे, बार-बार विराट को ऐसे देखतीं जैसे पूछतीं कि "सब ठीक है ना? प्यास तो नहीं लगी? कुछ खाने को लाकर दूँ? म्यूजिक ज्यादा तेज तो नहीं? मम्मा को बुलाऊँ?" एटसेट्रा। थोड़ा तो कंट्रोल करो - ऐसी भी क्या पैम्परिंग?

३) पहाड़ों पर हनीमून के सैर की तस्वीरों में बस 'मंकी कैप' की कमी थी।

इतने स्वेटर, टोपी, मफलर से ढके थे आप दोनों कि उनसब से निकलते-निकलते शायद २ दिन लग गए होंगे। एक बस 'मंकी कैप' नहीं दिख रहा था। फिल्मों में तो बर्फ से ढके पहाड़ों पर हिरोइन बैकलेस साड़ी पहन और हीरो बिना स्वेटर टोपी के 'स्मार्ट' बने फिरते हैं! पर इन तस्वीरों को देखकर आपकी असलियत सामने आयी। अब हम सुपरहीरो कहाँ से लाएँगे?

४) रिसेप्शन में आप ऐसे नाचे जैसे मुन्ना और पिंकी नाचते हैं शादियों में।

फिल्मों में तो क्या 'ग्रैंड सेट' बनाते हो, क्या डांस करते हो! पर रिसेप्शन में हाथ उठाये, कंधे उचकाए, बल्ले-बल्ले करके ऐसे नाचे जैसे एकदम आम इंसान नाचते हैं! कुछ तो आर्टिफिशियल करना था! जब वीडियो बनाया ही तो मूवी जैसा बनाते!

और खबर है कि आप अपने शादी की तस्वीरें बेचकर 'चैरिटी' में देने वाले हैं। ये दूसरों के पैसे से चैरिटी वाला "बीइंग ह्यूमन" टाइप "रॉबिन हुड"आईडिया इग्नोर कीजिये, दान-धर्म अपनी जेब से ही कीजिए।

बस। अब एकदम से माफी। इससे पहले कि विराट के फैंस मुझे दौड़ा-दौड़ा कर पीटें और अनुष्का के फैंस मुझे फेसबुक पर ब्लॉक कर भागें, मुझे माफी माँग लेनी चाहिए। अब इतने दिनों तक टीवी, इंटरनेट हर जगह सिर्फ 'विरूष्का-विरूष्का' गाओगे तो खाली दिमाग कुछ तो सोचेगा ना!

- राहुल तिवारी

[#Photography] Around Me

How does so much light come in the morning, papa? God switches on the lights! Then what are these clouds papa? These are smoke from God's kitchen! How come chanda mama is still visible when it is morning papa? Because he knows you are looking and he wants to see you my love! 

[Picture Taken in Dec 2017 © Rahul N. Tiwary.]

Bird shaped bird's seat.

[Picture Taken in Dec 2017 © Rahul N. Tiwary.]

Wings Win, Legs Lose.

[Picture Taken in Dec 2017 © Rahul N. Tiwary.]

Keeping all your apples and oranges in the same basket.

[Picture Taken in Dec 2017 © Rahul N. Tiwary.]

A bull in the chai shop.

[Picture Taken in Dec 2017 © Rahul N. Tiwary.]

It snowed in Kashmir and hence it rained in Delhi. This phenomenon looked magical. It also brought winter closer than it was. I was born in winter and I love it. But today while we were taking a post lunch walk around our office, what did we see? A small puppy was sleeping in the middle of the road! Two cars passed beside it and they avoided it somehow. What was the kid doing! We wondered. Then the pup stood up and moved a bit away from the middle of the road. It lied again but made sure it was near the middle of the road. While it was walking, we could observe it. Its belly had bones visible from the outside. It was malnourished, very weak and was finding it difficult to even walk. I proposed my theory - this little pup must have strayed from its mother and siblings and hence it was not finding enough food! Perhaps it went to the middle of the road so that it would be easier for its mother to spot it? Who knows. We moved on. On a roadside tea shop, this different pup (in picture) was found. It was sleeping over some discarded ash and coal from the tea vendor's oven, finding it dry and warmer. So heartwarming... And that solved the earlier puppy's middle of the road riddle too. It must have gone there because the middle of the road was dry and warmer! This makes winter a bit difficult to pass. Knowing that stray animals are suffering in winter. May they keep good health and find enough food to survive...

[Picture Taken in Dec 2017 © Rahul N. Tiwary.]

A four legged one was seen waiting for an elevator to reach our office this morning. He was right on time. The difference between him and other occupants of the elevators was not that he had more legs, because we all come down on four legs when needed, or that he had a tail which he wags, for we do more of the same without a tail, but the difference was that he was unstrapped while others had straps around their necks.

[Picture Taken in Dec 2017 © Rahul N. Tiwary.]

The only litter we have here is cute litter.

[Picture Taken in Dec 2017 © Rahul N. Tiwary.]

Sherlock Brothers in action.

Someone dressed up the office stray pups!

[Picture Taken in Dec 2017 © Rahul N. Tiwary.]

Absolute Nirvana.

[Picture Taken in Dec 2017 © Rahul N. Tiwary.]

धूप निकलने के साथ ही आज कोई और भी निकला है बाहर:

#Poems: एक नया अनुभव / हरिवंशराय बच्चन

मैनें चिड़िया से कहा, मैं तुम पर एक 

कविता लिखना चाहता हूँ।

चिड़िया नें मुझ से पूछा, 'तुम्हारे शब्दों में

मेरे परों की रंगीनी है?'

मैंने कहा, 'नहीं'।

'तुम्हारे शब्दों में मेरे कंठ का संगीत है?'

'नहीं।'

'तुम्हारे शब्दों में मेरे डैने की उड़ान है?'

'नहीं।'

'जान है?'

'नहीं।'

'तब तुम मुझ पर कविता क्या लिखोगे?'

मैनें कहा, 'पर तुमसे मुझे प्यार है'

चिड़िया बोली, 'प्यार का शब्दों से क्या सरोकार है?'

एक अनुभव हुआ नया।

मैं मौन हो गया!

[#History] [#Nature] How the Royalty Killed the Cheetah

Do you know that Cheetah is extinct in India? Once upon a time cheetahs roamed freely in Indian forests, but were caught and tamed by Indian royalties to be used in hunting expeditions in so large numbers that not a single cheetah remained now. 

The last sighted cheetah in India was one sighted in Koriya district, MP (now Chhattisgarh) in 1951.

The name "cheetah" is derived from the Hindi word चीता (cītā), which in turn comes from the Sanskrit word चित्रकायः (citrakāyaḥ) meaning "bright" or "variegated".

The book "Wild Cats of the World" by Mel Sunquist & Fiona Sunquist mentions about history of human persecution of cheetahs:

A Mesopotamian seal dating from the 3rd millennium BC depicts a cheetah-like cat on a leash, and tame cheetahs were enshrined on many Egyptian tombs and rock temples. The pharaohs believed that the cheetah, as the fastest animal on land, would carry their spirits away after death. Some of the earliest images of training and using cheetahs for hunting come from the 17th and 18th dynasties in Egypt. Later the cats were widely used in the Middle East, Afghanistan, southern Russia, Pakistan, India and China. Tame cheetahs were used to hunt goitered gazelles, foxes, and hares in Russia and Mongolia, and the sport flourished during the middle ages in Azerbaijan, Armenia and Georgia. In 1474 one Armenian ruler owned 100 hunting cheetahs. In 1555, Akbar was presented with a cheetah named Fatehbaz and thus was first Indian potentate introduced to the hunting with cheetahs. Akbar later devised a new method of capture and training for the cat, and at one time his menagerie held a thousand cheetahs. During his lifetime Akbar reportedly collected over 9000 cheetahs, using them for hunting gazelles and blackbuck.

Painting: The Presentation of a cheetah to Akbar 

Painting: Akbar hunting with cheetah

In Europe, the nobility have been hunting with tame cheetahs for nearly a thousand years. In November 1231, Fredrick III went to Raenna, Italy with an entourage of bodyguards, astrologers, huntsmen and falcons. The court was accompanied by a menagerie that included elephants, camels, cheetahs and falcons. By 14^th and 15^th centuries, the sport of coursing with cheetah had become extremely popular in Italy, France and England. Wealthy landowners and royalty spent large sums of money to acquire and keep these elegant hunting cats which were used to run down hares and roe deer. Cheetah was not native to Europe but was imported from Africa.

A Parisian woman and her Cheetah, 1932 

Coming back to India, even the British officers in India found pleasure in using cheetah for their hunting campaigns. The sport was so well known throughout India that during the British Raj Asiatic cheetahs were known as "hunting-leopards". There are large number of paintings and photographs from that era which show cheetahs in pitiful state.

Cheetah on cart, used for hunting in British India

For taming, adult cheetahs were preferred since they had already perfected their hunting skills in the jungle; as against small cheetahs which were difficult to be taught hunting. Once cheetahs were tamed, they did not breed and hence their population declined severely. There is only one case of a baby cheetah born in captivity, otherwise none of the tamed cheetahs produced any kids.

Cheetahs as hunting assistants during British Raj in India 

Tiger Hunt by Lord Reading, Viceroy of India

The last three Cheetahs killed in India ended with end of the Brtish Raj.

There are about 10000 cheetahs left in the world, majorly in Africa. For Asiatic Cheetah, it is believed that only about 100 such cheetahs remain only in Iran, roaming in the central deserts.

- Rahul Tiwary

History: Story of Rawal Ratnasimha of Chittor (Mewar)

You must know about Amir Khusro (1253-1325). He was a courtier of Jalaluddin Khilji - founder of Khilji dynasty. Amir Khusro had written a book 'Miftah al-Futuh' in 1291 to commemorate the victories of his king Jalaluddin Khilji. Amir Khushrau is known as a Sufi musician, poet and scholar. His real name was Abul Hasan Yaminuddin Khusro.

Jalaluddin Khilji was murdered by his nephew Ali Gurshasp on 19th July, 1296. Ali Gurshasp took the name of Allauddin Khilji after taking the throne; this name rhymed well with his late predecessor's name and his legacy.

Amir Khusro became a courtier of his new ruler Allauddin Khilji and wrote "Khazain ul-Futuh" recording Allauddin's work.

Allauddin Khilji destroyed several Hindu kingdoms in his life, ending several Hindu dynasties. He raided Gujarat (1299), Ranthambore (1301), Chittor (1303), Malwa (1305), Siwana (1308), and Jalore (1311); ending Hindu dynasties of Paramaras, Vaghelas, Chahamanas, and the Rawal branch of the Guhilas. Ratnasimha was the king of Guhila dynasty of Medapata (Mewar), when Allauddin launched an attacked on his kingdom.

Guhila dynasty had ruled the Mewar region of Rajasthan for centuries. After Rawal Ratnasimha’s defeat, who was said to be the 42^nd ruler from the dynasty, the Rawal branch of Guhila dynasty ended.

In 1302, Rawal Ratnasimha had succeeded his father Samarasimha as the Guhila ruler of Medapata (Mewar). He ruled from Chitrakuta fort (now known as Chittorgarh). In a temple in Dariba, a town in Rajsamand district in Rajasthan, his name is inscribed; which mentions that he had gifted 16 coins to the temple. The inscription mentions his title as Maharajakula (Maharawal).

In 1303, very soon after Ratnasimha had become king, Delhi's Alauddin Khilji invaded Chittor (Mewar). Allauddin’s army kept attacking Ratnasimha's Chittor fort but could not break in for 8 months. Finally, on 26th of August, 1303, the invaders managed to enter the fort.

Amir Khusro accompanied Allauddin Khilji during the raid on Rana Ratnasimha's fort and has given several details in his book "Khaza'in ul-Futuh". He does not mention any specific queen called Padmavati or Padmini anywhere.

The fact that Allauddin Khilji's relatively stronger army took 8 months to win over Chittor talks about the Rajput valor.

Inside the fort, thousands of Rajput women were said to have committed 'jauhar'  - self-immolation to avoid capture and dishonor in the enemy's hands.

After winning, Allauddin renamed the city as Khizrabad after his eldest son Khizr Khan.

According to Amir Khusro, 30000 Hindus were killed in cold blood after defeat of Chittor. Amir Khusro mentions "He (Allauddin Khilji) ordered that wherever a green Hindu was found, he was to be cut down like dry grass. Owing to this stern order, thirty thousand Hindus were slain in one day. It seemed that the meadows of Khizrabad had grown men instead of grass."

Amir Khusro mentions that Allauddin Khilji had pardoned and let Rawal Ratnasimha go alive. A lot of historians have corroborated the Muslim chroniclers which mention that Allauddin Khilji had spared Rawal Ratnasimha's life. In several Hindu legends afterwards, Ratnasimha is shown as dying while fighting Khilji. Whatever be the truth, it seems valid that Rawal Ratnasimha and the Rajputs had put up a very brave resistance. Otherwise Allauddin Khilji's army won't have taken 7-8 months to enter their fort. Allauddin’s army was known to be larger and better prepared, but the Rajputs chose death over dishonor.

And if Amir Khusro mentions that 30000 Hindus were killed in Chittor at the order of Allauddin Khilji; it tells how devastating the defeat was. Certainly, if Rawal Ratnasimha lived after losing at Chittor, his life would have been worse than a glorious death.

Actor Shahid Kapoor, son of Pankaj Kapur and Neelima Azeem, plays the character of Rawal Ratnasimha in the upcoming movie "Padmavati". Shahid Kapoor is married to Mira Rajput. Mira's parents are Vikramaditya Rajput and Bela Rajput. Certainly, some 'Rajput' connection.

- Rahul Tiwary

[#History] The Founder of Delhi's Khilji Dynasty

Jalaluddin Khilji was the first ruler of Khilji dynasty of Delhi and ruled from 1290 to 1296. He was an ethnic Turk; his ancestors had migrated from Turkestan to Afghanistan. His family migrated from Afghanistan to India and he along with his brother served the Delhi Sultan Balban for several years; rising in the ranks subsequently. After Balban's death in 1287, his teenage grandson got the throne but died under mysterious circumstances amidst conspiracies. After a short bloodied power struggle, Jalaluddin Khilji got the throne in June 1290. Jalaluddin was initially very unpopular but gradually established himself as a popular ruler.

Jalaluddin had appointed his nephew Ali Gurshasp as the governor of Kara (an old town in UP, about 70 km from Allahabad). Ali's father had died when he was young, and Jalaluddin had brought him and his brother Almas Beg up. Jalaluddin had also got two of his daughters married to Ali and Almas.

By 1296, Jalaluddin was quite old. And Ali decided to start a coup against him. Ali and his brother plotted against him for years, making raids on other kingdoms to raise money for a war while keeping Jalaluddin in the dark. After a raid, Ali asked for a meeting with Jalaluddin, seeking pardon for his act, and expressed to consume poison if he was not pardoned by Jalaluddin.

Jalaluddin Khilji went to meet his nephew Ali crossing a river on a boat. Upon meeting, Ali bent on his feet and Jalaluddin raised him with affection, giving a kiss on his cheek. At that point, Ali signaled to his armed guard who assassinated Jalaluddin Khilji.

Thus died the founder of the famous Khilji dynasty of Delhi!

And his nephew Ali Gurshasp, whom he had raised from childhood and gave power, took to his throne calling himself "Alauddin Khilji".

This Alauddin Khilji is the character our favorite actor Ranveer Singh plays in the upcoming movie "Padmavati"

- Rahul 

(to be continued)

[#History] Rare Image of Mary Queen of Scots Found

You must know about Queen Elizabeth I of England; she was Queen of England and Ireland from 1558 to 1603. She was the last ruler from Tudor Dynasty of England because she did not marry. And hence she is also called the Virgin Queen.

Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots also had a claim on the throne of England. In the eyes of many Catholics, Elizabeth was illegitimate, and Mary Stuart, as the senior descendant of Henry VIII's elder sister, was the rightful queen of England.

Mary was imprisoned by Elizabeth in 1568 where she remained for 19 years. In 1587, she was accused of being part of a plot to murder Queen Elizabeth and executed by beheading. After beheading her, the executioner held her head in his hand and shouted "God save the Queen." Suddenly the head fell on earth while the hair remained in his hand - it turned out to be a wig since Mary had lost her hair due to her travails during imprisonment!

Now, "a rare portrait of Mary, Queen of Scots, as she would have looked as she languished in captivity in England some four-and-a-half centuries ago, has been discovered underneath a later painting of a Scottish nobleman.

In a sense, the newly discovered portrait of her mirrors that tragedy – for the project to paint her was abandoned halfway through, almost certainly as a result of her trial and execution."

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/magazines/panache/rare-ghostly-image-of-mary-queen-of-scots-found-beneath-artwork/articleshow/61280654.cms

- Rahul

History: The Legend of Padmavati and Epic Poem of Malik Muhammad Jayasi

Malik Muhammad Jayasi was a Sufi poet who wrote in Avadhi language. Born in Jayas near Raibareli, UP, he lived during 1477-1542 and wrote an epic poem "Padmavat" in 1540. He wrote it 237 years after the historical event of Alauddin Khilji's conquest of Chittor. Alauddin Khalji (1266-1316) of Khalji dynasty of Delhi Sultanate had invaded Chittor in 1303 which was ruled by Rajput king Ratnasiṃha of Guhila dynasty.

An article by Ruchika Sharma on Scroll.in makes strong points on the actual history. You can read it here.

“I have made up the story and related it,” are the words with which Malik Muhammad Jayasi ends his Awadhi masnavi, Padmavat.

Jayasi’s masnavi, completed in 1540, drew heavily on an earlier source, Nayachandra Suri’s Hammira Mahakavya.

The epic penned by Nayachandra Suri in the 15th century is largely a legendary biography of the 14th-century Chauhana king Hammira Mahadeva. Before Suri committed it to writing, the legend of Hammira’s gallant fight against Khilji’s attack on Chittor was orally transmitted. In the epic, Khilji has to mount a series of three expeditions against Chittor, following Hammira’s refusal to pay tribute to the Delhi sultan, before finally capturing it. The first expedition is inconclusive while the second results in the defeat of the sultanate army by the Rajputs and in the capture of several Muslim women, who are humiliated and forced “to sell buttermilk in every town they pass through”.

Cut to the 16th century, Suri’s dauntless Hammira becomes Jayasi’s Ratan Sen.

Padmavat, however, is not merely a copy of Suri’s work. Jayasi also drew a lot from the current political milieu of his time. For example, Ratan Sen, (1527-’32 AD) who was the rana of Chittor more than 300 years after Khilji’s death, is a contemporary of Jayasi and, hence, his name is borrowed for Padmavat’s hero, a move made perhaps to impress the rana (given the poet’s close association with the Rajputs). Furthermore, captivating tropes employed in the story, such as smuggling Khilji’s army into the Chittor fort through women’s palanquins, was an actual move employed by emperor Sher Shah Suri (Jayasi’s contemporary) in his conquest of Rohtas.

Jayasi quite explicitly mentions that Ratan Sen is an allegory for the human soul, Padmini represents intelligence, Alauddin Khilji is illusion (maya) and Chittor stands for the human body. Thus, the tale is that of the travails that the human soul has to suffer in order to be one with the human mind where both illusion and the human body act as deterrents.

Jayasi’s work is such a marvel of creativity that to claim it as history would be the real “tampering of history”.

Read full article at below link:

https://scroll.in/article/828538/the-epic-poem-padmavat-is-fiction-to-claim-it-as-history-would-be-the-real-tampering-of-history

You can also read the Epic "Padmavat" here on Kavita Kosh. 

- Rahul Tiwary