INTACH honorary advisor and former MLA P. Subba Reddy releasing a book ‘Gandikota Charitra’ written by Tavva Obul Reddy. Photo: By Arrangement
INTACH convenor S. Elias Reddy says proposals are forwarded to INTACH central office in New Delhi for development of 43 heritage places in Kadapa district
Eighty nine places of historic, spiritual, religious and heritage importance were identified in Kadapa district and proposals were forwarded to INTACH central office in New Delhi for development of 43 such places, district INTACH convenor S. Elias Reddy said.
Addressing the INTACH meeting in the Sivalayam near Gandi waterworks here, Mr. Elias Reddy said INTACH would strive to preserve the culture and heritage in Kadapa district. Former MLC and INTACH honorary advisor P. Subba Reddy released a book ‘Gandikota Charitra’ written by Tavva Obul Reddy. He called for propagation of INTACH activities in the district.
Inscriptions dating back to 2,000 years surfaced in Vallur mandal, Vallur MPDO M. Suresh said and called for development of Pushpagiri Math and Indranatheswara temple. INTACH members Gangaiah and Ramachandra Reddy wanted forming of INTACH student clubs.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> National / by M. V. Subrahmanyam / Kadapa – July 14th, 2014
Kuchipudi Library-cum-Dance school funded by Challapalli Raja is now in a dilapidated condition. Photo: T. Appala Naidu / The Hindu
Kuchipudi, where almost each house has a classical dancer spreading the Indian classical dance across the globe, is yet to be developed as a major rural tourist spot in Andhra Pradesh.
During the 1977 cyclonic storm, the village has lost valuable literature about the evolution of the art and historical documents and archives related to the dance.
“In the village, only senior dance teachers alive are our source of information on the greatness of Kuchipudi in the absence of availability of literature in any form with us”, Akhila Bharata Kuchipudi Natya Kalamandali Founder Secretary P. Kesava Prasad told The Hindu.
Several proposals made to the Tourism department to turn the village into a tourist spot have fallen on deaf ears. The Kuchipudi Library cum Dance School, where a majority of the Kuchipudi dance teachers in India were trained by renowned maestros, is now in a dilapidated state. In 1935, Challapalli Raja Sivaram Prasad funded the library building that has been later turned into dance school by Vedantam Parvateesam Sarma in 1957.
The library portion of the building is now being protected with bamboo mats.
Speaking to The Hindu, some senior artistes said that Kuchipudi village deserves to be announced as a heritage village and must be adopted by the government of Andhra Pradesh to promote the Indian classical dance form.
Disappointment
“Enthusiastic visitors and scholars eager to have a glimpse of the dance form will return with a great disappointment as it looks like having no cultural history at all,” Mr. Prasad added.
In Kuchipudi, not even a tourist guide was deployed by the government authorities to help visitors and show places like houses of the maestros, Vedantam Raghavayya, Vempati China Satyam and so on.
Proposal of beautification of the four-acre village pond adjacent to Sri Ramalingeswara Swami temple has been languishing in a state of neglect for long.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities / by T. Appala Naidu / Kuchipudi (Krishna Dt.)., July 08th, 2014
The past glory of the Gooty fort returns if the government releases the funds required for its development as proposed two years ago. The fort which has an outer fortification is a shell-shaped one and has grand palaces for the king and queen atop the hillock.
The fort is further known for its ingenious water management by using almost 108 wells dug within the ramparts of fort walls for survival during times of war.
Currently, the fort is in a shambles for lack of funds.
Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has prepared a project seeking funds to the tune of Rs. 8.50 crore which proposes total preservation of the fort and improvement of tourist amenities.
Speaking to The Hindu , the Conservation Assistant of the ASI, Mr. Satyam, has said that the ASI submitted a proposal to that effect to the Ministry of Tourism in 2012. After the jungle clearance, debris from the major breaches at the entrance of the fort will be cleared and the same building material will be used to reconstruct the old fort walls, says Mr. Satyam. He has also said that all the pathways within the fort will be restored so that they can walk from the entrance of the fort to the palaces of the king and queen.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> National> Andhra Pradesh / by Staf Reporter / Anantapur – June 07th, 2014
The Sarvotham Grandhalaya, which has a glorious history. — / PHOTO: V. RAJU / The Hindu
The more than 100-year-old Andhra Pradesh Library Association (APLA) is falling apart, thanks to bifurcation.
Ironically, the Association recently celebrated completion of 100 years of its existence, recalling the hoary past which has witnessed concerted and committed efforts of individuals from across Andhra Pradesh, both Telangana and Seemandhra region, in promoting library movement across the length and breadth of the nation.
The executive committee of the Association met recently in Hyderabad where some of its members from Telangana region expressed their desire to part ways and float their separate Association.
The meeting decided to constitute an ad hoc committee with Boyinapalli Venkata Rama Rao, the now vice-president of the APLA, and a combined meeting would be called to float the new Telangana Library Association.
“The demand for a separate Association came from that side and we did not want to disrespect it. We hope that the two organisations will work with equal enthusiasm for promotion of the principles we have so long adhered to,” Raavi Sarada, secretary of the APLA told The Hindu.
The main aim of the Association was to take the library movement into the public and to establish libraries in every village.
With changing times, a strong need was felt to set up a library in the heart of Vijayawada city and on March 30 in 1987, a library was inaugurated on Ugadi day by the then APLA secretary Pathuri Nagabhushanam and called ‘Sarvotthama Grandhalyama’, named after Mr. Nagabhushanam’s predecessor Gadicherla Harisarvottama Rao.
Since, then the library has grown in leaps and bounds and currently equipped with 22,000 books.
The library is a favourite spot for those pursuing a research in Telugu literature. The collection includes stuff on English literature, history, material on personality development and competitive exams.
The library is fully automated and served, on an average, 200 readers everyday besides providing internet, printing and photocopying services to the readers.
“Government should take note of the services rendered by libraries in disseminating and enhancing knowledge and provide financial assistance for their further improvement,” says Ms. Sarada.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Vijayawada / P. Sujatha Varma / Vijayawada – June 03rd, 2014
Krishna University Registrar D. Suryachandra Rao released the second printed version of ‘Taratarala Bandar Charitra’ book, authored by amateur historian Mohammed Silar, here on Monday at the Town Hall.
Addressing a galaxy of literary personalities and historians of Machilipatnam, Mr. Suryachandra Rao opined that the book would serve as a reference for those who wanted to research in Telugu as well as History.
“A few copies of the book will be made available in the Krishna University Library and given access to the readers”, he added. Krishna District and Sessions Judge G. Chakradhara Rao recollected the glorious past of Machilipatnam and how the port town became key location for all means of administrative and legal services in Coastal Andhra Pradesh during the post-independence period.
A well-known doctor Dhanwanthari Acharya received the first copy and other guests discussed at length about the hardship involved in bringing out of the book, which was based on the ten-year research by Mr. Silar, in 2010.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National> Andhra Pradesh / by Staff Reporter / Machilipatnam – October 08th, 2013
Machilipatnam-based historian Mohammed Silar./ The Hindu
‘Machilipatnam Sarvasvam’, (Encyclopaedia of Bandar), written by Bandar-based modern historian and numismatist Mohammed Silar, is all set to be released by the end of June. The book focuses on the flourishing of Buddhism and Jainism in Krishna district as well as individuals and institutions which brought laurels to the port town.
In 2010, he wrote his first book ‘Tara Tarala Bandar Charitra’, which became a reference guide for history research scholars. It was reprinted in 2013. “My second book has a detailed narration about the rule of several dynasties in Masula – from Mughal, Dutch to British and French. The history of India’s third municipality, Machilipatnam Municipality, is also one of the key chapters of the encyclopaedia,” Mr. Silar said.
Based on Battiprolu inscription in Pulinda script, Mr. Silar is trying to establish the birth of Telugu language in Machilipatnam. As Machilipatnam played an important role in the evolution of education and literature in Andhra Pradesh, the book chronicles the lives of many luminaries including Madras University’s first elected Vice-Chancellor Raghupathi Venkataratnam Naidu of Machilipatnam.
Mr. Silar, a retired Special Grade Tahsildar and a Food Inspector during the cyclonic storm in 1977, has been engaged in documenting the glorious past of the town. “Bandar population was 64,000 in 1865 as against 9,000 of Vijayawada. The demography shows the glorious past and development of the tiny town in those days”, he says.
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Vijayawada / by T. Appala Naidu / Machilipatnam – June 02nd, 2014
Foodies in Hyderabad can loosen their belts to tuck into authentic British curry this summer when seven of the UK’s best chefs will present some 80 dishes, including favourites like British Chicken Tikka Masala.
The 10-day Taste of Britain Curry Festival returns to India from June 12-21 after a successful show last year.
Seven of the UK’s best chefs will produce 80 dishes, many high street favourites, including
Balti and Jalfrezi at the foodathon which takes curry back to its spiritual home.
Prime Minister David Cameron has also lent his weight to the festival, saying he is “delighted to see that more than 200 years after the first curry house opened in Britain, our unique brand of Asian cuisine is now being sought in the countries where it originally came from”.
Cameron said: “In recent years, curry has become part of the British identity – a firm favourite that is enjoyed by more than two million people every week. But it’s so much more than just good food.”
“It’s about talented restaurateurs and chefs; it’s about hard-working families; it’s about enterprising small businesses that provide tens of thousands of jobs and it’s about bringing in billions of pounds into our economy.”
Celebrity chef Dominic Chapman will produce some of his ‘Best of British’ signature dishes, including a selection of fish, meat and vegetarian dishes besides his famous desserts.
Dominic, who will be on his second trip to India, said: “I loved my last visit to India and jumped at the chance to come back. It was a great personal experience and also the chance to work alongside some experts of Indian cuisine.
“British curry chefs have their own unique take on Indian food and public reaction during the last festival was great.”
Lord Karan Bilimoria, founder of Cobra Beer, has also lent support to the festival, saying he is “a proud Hyderabadi myself so am looking forward to the reaction the chefs get”.
He said: “I have every confidence this year’s festival will be the greatest yet.” “Hyderabad is famous for its Biryani so it will be interesting to see what the people of Hyderabad think of it.”
India could prove a lucrative market for Britain’s chefs if public reaction to the dishes proves as popular as it did in Kolkata last year at the festival.
Festival founder and the editor of Curry Life, Syed Belal Ahmed, said: “Taste of Britain Curry Festival promotes the skill and creativity of British curry chefs and this is also a celebration of the amalgamation of two very diverse cultures.”
“The cooking process in the United Kingdom is different from that of India. For example, in India they cook with a big pot like a Nowabi or Mogul style dinner. Here in the UK we follow the completely different style of cooking, like the French. We cook each dish individually with premier quality ingredients.”
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> City> Hyderabad / TNN / May 16th, 2014
The sudden over-enthusiasm of politicians of various parties in developing Bheemilipatnam as a modern town and popular tourist hub has left heritage conservationists and Intach (Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage) members in the city jittery.
As part of their election propaganda, over the last few weeks, several political speakers went overboard talking about developing Bheemilipatnam into a modern town and a tourist destination, which heritage lovers feel, will ruin the old-world charm of the 153-year-old municipality.
Bheemunipatnam, popularly known as ‘Bheemili’, is the second oldest municipality in India established on February 9, 1861. Historical evidence of Buddhist culture dating back to the third century AD has been recorded on the Pavurallakonda hillock in Bheemunipatnam. A Hindu temple dedicated to Lord Narasimha on the eastern side of Pavurallakonda is said to have been constructed around 14th century by Mindi Kings.
Bheemunipatnam was one of the major Dutch settlements in the 17th century and has two Dutch cemeteries with graves dating back to 1671. These are considered among the oldest Christian cemeteries in the country. The quaint old town has several tiled buildings, some of which are still in use, as well as century-old banyan trees.
“While all habitats need to be developed for human needs, one must draw the line between developing the town to cater to the needs of the occupants and killing its intrinsic character by typical ‘out-with-the-old and-in-with-the-new’ approach. Throughout the world and in every civilized society, characteristic and historic towns like these have been given special conservation status. Now with words like ‘development’ and ‘tourism’ being bandied about, we conservationists are afraid that a part of our unique history will disappear forever,” averred heritage activist and Intach member Sohan Hatangadi.
Heritage conservationists feel that politicians shouldn’t take populist development decisions about heritage towns like Bheemunipatnam without consulting specialists in the field, just for the sake of garnering votes. “Even taking up such work with good intentions may result in irrevocable damage to this ancient town. Any development in the town must be whetted by a special conservation committee, which will ensure that the town is not ruined for future generations,” said a heritage conservationist.
“Vuda’s heritage conservation committee should be set up at the earliest. There should be a balance between modernisation or development and heritage conservation and the effort should be to see that the town retains its original character. Vizag has its own conservation specialists who can advise on the matter and they should be consulted before any modernisation work is taken up,” said Edward Paul, renowned historian and heritage conservationist from the city.
However, Intach convener P V Prasad is of the opinion that no major changes will take place in Bheemili after the elections as it is nothing but tall talk by politicians. “Several politicians speak about transforming Vizag into Singapore. Prior to the elections, they are also talking of making Bheemili a modern tourist hub but there wont be any drastic change once the elections are over. If they try to touch the heritage and historic sites, we at Intach will definitely protest,” he said.
source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> City> Visakhapatnam / TNN / May 10th, 2014
Paulus Raveendra Eduri shows how the photographs are digitised.
Hyderabad:
Bruno Jehle arrived in India in 1983, “when India was still taking shape”. Soon after his arrival in Mumbai, the tall Swiss hopped on a train and embarked on a very long, 30-hour trip to what was then, the grand city of Madras.
“I remember the slums around Adyar. People looked at me and immediately assumed that I had lots of money and that I could help them out of their many problems. But I didn’t have a penny and yes, life in the slums was tough, demanding and challenging.”
But Jehle soon started helping out in a business selling eggs, dealt with thugs and made life-long friends. It is that very link with “that true India” that left an indelible mark, which was clearly evident during his meeting with the DC, where he explained what the Switzerland-based BJ Institute is doing in the bylanes of West Marredpally.
The Nizam’s photos
One of the founders of the institute, Jehle, a lithographer by trade, has over the past seven years, managed to train a small team of Hyderabadi photo specialists to restore and digitise some of the first photos taken of the city and beyond.
These photographs, dating back at least a 100 years, were taken by the Hyderabad Department of Archeology — a rag-tag bunch of photographers commissioned by the erstwhile Nizam’s government to shoot and document historical structures, artifacts and excavations across the dominion and the neighbouring regions. What the photographers did then, was the first ever photo survey of the region, taking over 60,000 photographs of structures ranging from the 1,000-pillar temple at Hanamkonda to the Ajanta Elora caves of Maharashtra.
The photographs were stored as negatives, inside crates that piled from floor to roof. When the state of Andhra Pradesh was formed in 1956, the photos moved into the hands of the newly-designated Department of Archae-ology of Museums and the officials then moved the precious photos into a room, where they rested for 99 years, subject to heat, dust and the elements.
That’s until Jehle’s and his Indian partner Paulus Rave-endra Eduri pitched to the government that they had the means and motivation to restore and preserve the photographs, with a 300-year warranty.
Paint and polish
So in the October of 2012 began the task of sorting and cataloguing the thousands of photo negatives. An entire ‘clean room’ was built from the ground up, equipment was brought in, personnel were hired, documents were signed and a small, tight team, along with representatives from the government, went to work.
“We had to guard the room against natural light, clean it up and then take photos of the negatives. But then we knew what the challenges were and this was not the job where we could’ve cut corners,” said Eduri.
The final product is stunning. Printed on the choicest of paper, the collection of restored photographs offer a never-seen-before insight of the monuments and people from an era that’s mandatory study for several experts. The photographs show clothing, modes of transport, trade, layouts of towns and much more.
“This is what I want people to see. Our small team in Hyderabad has managed to bring out the life and times of a forgotten people,” adds Jehle.
And in that little house in West Marredpally is also where the Indo-Swiss collaboration has come full circle. In 1948, just after India’s Indepen-dence, the nation’s leading lights had sent out a sort of SOS to the Swiss government, asking for help in infrastructure development. Jehle and Eduri’s work then is the coming together of a 65-year-old idea, an initiative… that is finally taking form in Hyderabad.
source: http://www.deccanchronicle.com / Deccan Chronicle / Home> Nation> Current Affairs / DC / by Govind Vijaykumar / December 15th, 2014
Scores of villagers visit the Buddhist sites of Bojjannakonda and Lingalametta on Kanuma day
Tourist attraction Bojjannakonda site / PHOTO: k. R. DEEPAK/ The Hindu
Surrounded by lush green fields, the twin hills of Bojjannakonda and Lingalametta are the remains of a monastery that date back to the third century BC. But that is not the only significance of these sites.
The hills are also a crucial link to an era when Buddhism flourished in this part of the country. The site was discovered and excavated by a British civil servant, Alexander Rea, in the year 1909.
Situated at a distance of 40 kilometres from the city, the stones and structures of Bojjannakonda scream to tell a story that lies hidden within it. Bojjannakonda was a place of worship for the monks.
The monastery is located on top of the site and surrounding it are the places where the monks lived. A gold coin belonging to the Samudra Gupta period, copper coins of the Chalukya king Kubja Vishnu Vardhan, coins of Andhra Satavahanas and pottery were discovered at the site.
An interesting feature of the hill is that it has seen all the three forms of Buddhism – the original Theravada, where in Lord Buddha was looked upon as a teacher; Mahayana, where Buddha was treated as a supra natural figure; and finally Vajrayana, where tantrism and a pantheon of gods entered the Buddhist ritual. Buddhism also seems to have seamlessly merged into Hinduism, for there is the image of Ganesha in one of the caves of the hill.
While in Lingalametta, every inch of the site is studded with votive stupas (structures that worshipers would donate and construct after their wishes were fulfilled).
For several years now, a strange ritual takes place on the day of Kanuma, observed on the third day of Sankranti. Lakhs of villagers visit these Buddhist sites on this day as an age-old practice. “While this custom has been observed for many years, today it has taken the form of a picnic and outing in the name tradition and vandalise these structures,” says former covernor of INTACH-Vizag Rani Sarma.
INTACH has been striving to create awareness about this issue from the past couple of years and sought help of the government officials. With the support of the District Collector,
NSS volunteers from different institutions have been instructed to monitor the situation this year and prevent any damage to the heritage structures.
Interestingly, after offering prayers at Bojjannakonda, the villagers proceed to Lingalametta and throw stones on the hill, a practice done to “driving the devil” from the hill. “The damage done to these sites over these years is enormous. At Lingalametta, the votive stupas are all broken,” she says.
NIVEDITA GANGULY
source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Features> Metro Plus / by Nivedita Ganguly / january 11th, 2014
