Tag Archives: gujarat

Painting behind glass in the Palace of Mirrors

Posted on by
Reply

PARTLY DAMAGED BY the great earthquake that struck Kutch (Kachchh) in 2001, what remains of the Aina Mahal in Bhuj contains a fascinating museum. Constructed in about 1750 for Rao Lakhpatji, ruler of Kutch, the palace is named because of the many mirrors (‘aina’) contained within it. Miraculously many of these fragile items survived the earthquake. The same is true for a set of reverse glass paintings.

A reverse glass painting

First developed in Europe, it was introduced to China by an Italian artist Giuseppe Castiglione (1688-1766). During the 18th and 19th centuries, Kutch traders brought them back from China as gifts for the rulers of Kutch. The traders commissioned them from Chinese artists, having first explained what subject matter was to be depicted. Later, glass painting became popular in both Kutch and Saurashtra, where it began to be done.

The technique of reverse glass painting is difficult. Paint is applied to the side of the glass away from the viewer. The artist must begin by painting what will be at the front of the picture. For example, if painting a portrait, the eyebrows, eyelashes, moustache, hair, and beard must be painted first. Then, the rest of the face needs to be created, and then the background. Adding to this difficulty is that the artist is painting on glass as thin as paper.

The reverse glass paintings and the ageing mirrors are but a few of the amazing exhibits on display in the Aina Mahal. We have visited the place several times, each time noticing things we had not seen before.

Feeding the faithful at a Hindu temple in Kutch (Gujarat)

Posted on by
Reply

THE DHRABUDI TRMPLE complex is near the sea about 5 miles east of the town of Mandvi (Kutch, Gujarat). It is located ated next a small Freshwater lake, where pilgrims can bathe. Our driver told us that baby boys are brought to be blessed at the temple when they reach their first birth anniversary. When we visited, we saw a group of people doing a puja in the open air. They were respecting the first death anniversary of one of their relatives.

While wandering around the temple compound, we saw a group of Rabari women seated in the shade, under a large banyan tree. The Rabari are nomadic cattle and camel herders, as well as shepherds. In India, they aremost frequently found in Gujarat, Punjab, and Rajasthan.

Worshippers come from far and wide to do pujas at the mandir. The temple offers free meals to pilgrims. These are served in a large dining hall. One wall of this is lined with numerous portraits of people who have died. We were told that diners pick up a thali and other eating utensils before lining up to be served food.

Pit containing glowing charcoal for cooking

The kitchen, which is next door to the dining hall is vast. It was spotlessly clean. I saw a few gas rings, but what really fascinated me was the other method by which food is heated up. I saw three or four pits sunk into the floor. Each one is shaped like a large spoon. Glowing charcoal is heaped in the bowl of the ‘spoon’, and can ve spread along the stem. Pots are placed above the charcoal. The arrangement reminded me of the Turkish ocakbaşı. I imagine that the cooking speed can be adjusted by varying the amounts of glowing charcoal beneath each of the enormous cooking pots.

We did not stay to join the pilgrims having lunch. Although the temple cooks kindly invited us, we had lunch awaiting us at my wife’s cousin’s home.

I always enjoy visiting place of worship. What made Dhrabudi special for me was being shown its wonderful kitchen.

LOOKING FOR A HEADMASTER IN BHUJ: FURTHER EXPLORATION OF FAMILY HISTORY

Posted on by
Reply

AT THE END OF January 2023, I wrote:


“My wife’s mother’s great grandfather was one Laxmidas Ravji Sapat (aka Sampat), who was born in the mid-19th century, or a bit earlier. Along with Gokaldas Parekh, Laxmidas was one of the first teachers in the Alfred High School in Bhuj (founded by Rao of Cutch, Pragmalji II in 1870). It is likely that he was its headmaster for a time. I have yet to see it, but his portrait hangs in the school. One of my wife’s relatives, also a descendant of Laxmidas, arranged to have it restored a few years ago.
In 1890, Laxmidas left the school. Later, along with his son-in-law, Cullyanji Murarji Thacker, he went to London (UK) to become a barrister. He studied for the Bar at Middle Temple and was called to the Bar on the 27th of June 1900, along with his son-in-law, Mr Thacker, who was my wife’s mother’s grandfather.” (https://adam-yamey-writes.com/2023/02/02/running-in-the-family/)

Laxmidas Ravji Sapat

Today, the 25th of November 2023, we visited the Alfred School in Bhuj in search of the portrait of Laxmidas Ravji Sapat. We were shown a board on which the headmasters of the school were listed. On it we discovered that Laxmidas had been headmaster between 1888 and 1892. He was the school’s eleventh headmaster. It appears that he left the school two years later than I had been told.

As for the portrait of Laxmidas, the officials at the school had no knowledge. They suggested we try the museum next door. Part of this now owns the school’s original building, which was restored after the 2001 earthquake that destroyed much of Bhuj. Despite being part of the museum, the old school building stands disused and being renovated.

At the Bhuj Museum, we asked about the portrait. We were told that it is not in the museum. So where is it? In a few days time we will return to the school to visit its current headmaster. Maybe, he might know where it is. Until then, watch this space!

The house in the desert and a fighter for the independence of India

Posted on by
Reply

A NARROW ROAD LEADS away from the town of Mandvi (in Kachchh, a part of Gujarat) into an arid sandy area close to the seacoast. Scrubby bushes populate most of this flat terrain. After a few miles, a red building can be seen on the horizon. As you approach it, you can see that it resembles no other in the surrounding area, or, for that manner, in any other part of India. However, if you are a Londoner, it would seem familiar, although quite incongruous.

Replica of India House near Mandvi, Kachchh

The house in the desert is an accurate replica of a typical Victorian house, such as can be found in North London. In fact, it is a full-size copy of number 65 Cromwell Avenue in London’s Highgate area. The reproduction near Mandvi was built as part of a complex to commemorate Shyamji Krishnavarma (1857-1930), who was born in the centre of Mandvi.

Krishnavarma, who became a barrister and worked in various Princely States, moved to London, where he lived until about 1907. He moved to Paris, and then to Geneva, where he and his wife lived until they died.

In London, Krishnavarma lived opposite Highgate Woods. He invested wisely, and became interested in the works of English men, who had their doubts about Britain’s domination of India. He became an opponent of British rule in the Indian subcontinent. At first, his interest was mainly intellectual. However, in 1905, following the partition of Bengal, he became an activist.

One of his several activities was to purchase number 65 Cromwell Avenue. He had it adapted to become a ‘home away from home’ for Indians studying in London – they frequently had to endure the racist attitudes of English people. He named the building ‘India House’ (which should not be confused with the present Indian High Commission in London).

Apart from providing Indian food, some accommodation, and some leisure facilities, India House also hosted meetings that discussed the injustice of British rule in India. Soon, India House attracted the attention of the British police. This was because India House was becoming a nucleus or hotbed of anti-British activism. For example, some of the people who frequented the House experimented with bomb making and smuggling firearms to freedom fighters in India.

Krishnavarma left London in 1907, when he feared that he might be arrested. India House continued to be active until mid-1909 when one of its visitors assassinated an important colonial official.

Krishnavarma wrote in his will that after he was cremated, his ashes should be returned to India only after it had become independent of the British.

In the early part of this cemetery, the Chief Minister of Gujarat, then Narendra Modi, decided to bring Krishnavarma’s ashes to India – to Mandvi. Some years later, a complex to commemorate Krishnavarma was built outside Mandvi. Part if this is the replica of Highate’s former India House. The ashes of Krishnavarma and his wife are stored in urns on display in a building next to the replica.

If this story interests you and you want to know much more about India House, its replica, Krishnavarma and his fellow freedom fighters, including the currently influential VD Savarkar, you should read my, dare I say it, very informative book. I have produced two versions of it. One, the latest edition is “Indian Freedom Fighters in London 1905-1910), and is available here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/0244270716/ . The other “Ideas, Bombs, and Bullets”, which can only be delivered to addresses in India in available here: https://store.pothi.com/book/adam-yamey-ideas-bombs-and-bullets/.

By road and by rail through rural Gujarat

Posted on by
Reply

WE HAD DECIDED TO travel to Mandvi (in Kutch, a part of Gujarat) by taking a train to Gandidham, then going by road the 98 kilometres between there and Mandvi.

The Indore to Gandidham Express arrived 30 minutes late on Ahmedabad Junction’s platform 4. Getting on to our carriage was a veritable scrum. The problem was that people, including us, wanted to board before those alighting at Ahmedabad had reached the carriage entrance. Someone behind us shouted “Hurry up and get inside.” When a passenger who was trying to leave the train replied “We want to get off”, the irritating lout behind us shouted “You should have started getting out quicker.” We struggled along the carriage and found our window seats eventually.

We had reserved seats numbers 73 and 76. A man was sitting in seat 76. When we said it was one of ours, he said that he was occupying his alloted seat, namely seat 77. It took some considerable persuasion before he understood that seat 77 did not have the number ‘76’ above it. This incident reminded me when I used to travel by train in Italy during the 1960s.

Whenever we travelled by intercity trains in Italy long ago, my parents always reserved seats – always in the first class carriages – in advance. Invariably, our reserved seats would be occupied by passengers who should not have been in them. It was o lying after the train conductor had been summoned that the people yielded our seats to us. Moments later, these obstinate people would engage in friendly conversation with us.

Returning to the Indore to Gandidham Express, before it started, vendors selling fruit and bottled water roamed along the platform looking for customers. Meanwhile, a hot tea seller moved along the interior of the train. He and others remained on board during the journey, as did a couple of snack vendors.

Once we got going, the train sped along. There was only one intermediate station where we stopped briefly during the 4 and a 1/2 hour journey. As we traversed the flat plains of Gujarat, we saw many neatly cultivated fields and numerous industrial units of varying sizes. In the area where eastern Kutch begins, we passed vast expanses of land being used as salt pans. Every now and then, we saw conical mounds of grayish white harvested salt.

Many trains passed us, travelling in the opposite direction. Almost all of them were freight trains. The line along which were moving leads to and from the busy port of Kandla on the south coast of Kutch. What little we saw of Gandidham and its outskirts was unattractive.

The air temperature at Gandidham station was well over 30 degrees Celsius and there was little shade. To exit the station, we had to use an escalator. Once again it was a scrum trying board it. Some passengers were too frightened to step on it which made using it even more difficult.

Our host in Mandvi had kindly booked us seats in a shared taxi to travel from Gandidham to Mandvi. This vehicle was like a jeep. It had a front row of seats – sofa like – and behind that there was another similar seating arrangement. Behind that, there was a far less comfortable seating space that accommodated any number of people that could be squeezed in. We were booked into the seating behind the front seats and in front of the rear ‘compartment’.

Although the middle seating had been booked for my wife and me, Lopa invited one of the three passengers who had squeezed in the front seat next to the driver to join us. He turned out to be a friendly chap. He and his friends were returning home from several days of a religious pilgrimage. Our new companion was a trader in rice, sugar, etc. He bought commodities and sold them for export. During our journey, he received a telephone call. He told us that soon after getting home, he had to go to Bombay for some urgent work. He and his business partner would have to drive for 11 hours through the night to reach Bombay from near Mandvi.

Our driver decided not use the 4 lane highway between Gandidham and Mandvi because of heavy traffic. Instead – and it made the journey far more interesting – he took us along a “short cut”, using country roads, some of them minor. This added fascination because we passed through rustic villages. At one of these, we were stopped by an elderly lady standing beside the road. She wanted to go to Mandvi, and was invited on board.

At another place, we stopped and the driver picked up a bundle tied in cloth, which he delivered to someone in another village we passed through later. After about an hour, to my great relief because my mouth was parched, we stopped for about 20 minutes at a stall where snacks and cold drinks were available.

At one point early during our journey, someone in the rear compartment asked our new companion to dial a certain number on his phone. Some conversation in Gujarati ensued. It turned out that there were some labourers travelling in the rear compartment. As they had not yet been paid by their employer, they claimed that they did not have the 300 Rupees needed to pay for the ride. Our friendly sugar trader allowed the employer to electronically transfer the required amount to his account. Our neighbour then suggested that he could electronically transfer that fare money to the driver’s account. However, the driver wanted to be paid in cash, which the trader kindly agreed to do.

Most of the way, the driver used one hand to steer, and the other to hold his mobile phone to his ear. Despite this hazardous practice, there were no scary moments along the way. We arrived at our destination safely, but somewhat cramped.

When we sat inside our host’s air-conditioned large saloon car to drive to his house, it felt as if we had moved from a stone seat into a feather bed. Never before has a modern saloon car felt so comfortable.

Despite moments of discomfort, our rail and road trip was enjoyably interesting. By the end of the journey we felt as if we had been truly travelling – a feeling that air travel often fails to provide.

Late night shopping a the Law Garden in Ahmedabad

Posted on by
Reply

THE LAW GARDEN in Ahmedabad was developed into a park in about 1997. Previously, it had been a vast triangular vacant plot in the heart of an affluent residential area. Named after an adjacent college of law, it was an undeveloped, rather disreputable bit of land. In 1997, it was tidied up and turned into what is now a pleasant place for people to relax and ‘take the air’.

Market stalls can be found along the street on one side of the park. After dark, a busy night market springs to life. This existed even before the park was completed.

Many of the stalls sell clothing made using colourful traditional patterned textiles – both embroidered and printed. Several stalls were selling cloths embroidered with small mirrors – work from Kutch.

In addition to clothing, there were hawkers selling toys and balloons. Foodsellers pushed small barrows from which they sold fruit, confectionery, and soft drinks.

This lively market reminded me a little of Fashion Street in Bombay, but it is somewhat smaller and offers less variety. The Law Garden night market is well worth a visit.

Bengali art before it was affected by influences of Europe and the Far East

Posted on by
Reply

THE INDUSTRIALIST KASTURBHAI Lalbhai (1894-1980) filled his Ahmedabad home (built 1905) with works of art. One of his relatives had married a member of the famous Tagore family of Calcutta. When the Tagores decided to sell their fabulous collection of Indian art in the 1940s, Lalbhai purchased it and thereby saved it from being sold to buyers who did not live in India. These works are on display in the house, which is now known as the Kasturbhai Lalbhai Museum.

The Museum houses works of Indian art dating from as early as about the 4th century AD to the 1940s. Visitors to the museum are obliged to go on a prebooked informative guided tour through the rooms of the museum. Although a bit of a speedy experience, one leaves having seen an enlightening cross-section of the history of art in India. Photography in the museum is not allowed.

In the special exhibition

In the beautiful grounds of the museum, there is a recently constructed annex, where temporary exhibitions are held. We were treated to a show entitled “The Babu and The Bazaar”. It is a collaboration with the Delhi Art Gallery.

This fascinating exhibition contains a display of images created by Bengali artists, who painted in traditional styles that prevailed before art in Bengal became influenced by British art schools, Western European art, and the art of China and, especially, Japan. These external influences were most famously introduced by figures such as Rabindranath Tagore and his nephews Gagendranath and Abanendranath.

During my visits to India, I have seen plenty of paintings by Bengali artists who incorporated non-Indian artistic styles into their creations, but I cannot remember having seen such a large collection of Bengali paintings and other works in vernacular styles derived more from tradition than from outside influences. Most, but not all, of the artworks depicted Hindu religious subject matter. Many of the paintings were by artists I had never heard of, or were by unidentified painters. The well-labelled exhibits, which were beautifully displayed, were refreshing eye-openers.

Designed by a disciple of Le Corbusier but it stands disused

Posted on by
Reply

THE BUSTLING KHWAJA Market in the heart of old Ahmedabad (Gujarat, India) stretches from the Bhadra Fort to the three-arched Teen Darwaja – a magnificent medieval gateway. Between the two, on one side of the marketplace, there is a 20th century edifice that is hard to miss. Built in the Brutalist style, this massive concrete building is the Premabhai Hall.

Premabhai Hall in Ahmedabad

It was completed in 1972. Its architect was Le Corbusier’s disciple and collaborator, the late BV Doshi (1927 – 2023). His building – an auditorium -replaced an earlier meeting hall, which had been built during the British occupation of India.

Looking like a giant piece of moder sculpture Doshi’s building hardly clashes with the mediaeval buildings on either side of it. Sadly, because of concerns about fire hazards, the Hall ceased being used in the 1990s. Luckily, it is still standing, but when looked at closely, it is showing signs of deterioration.

I hope that one day, the Premabhai Hall will be restored to its former glory.

Kutch from kingdom to district

Posted on by
3

MY WIFE’S COUSIN lives in a part of the Indian state of Gujarat called Kutch (‘Kachchh’). He and his wife have a lovely farmhouse near the port city of Mandvi, where you can watch huge wooden dhows being constructed along the riverbank. Although Kutch is now a part of the state of Gujarat, it has not always been. The people of Kutch (‘Kutchis’) speak a language quite distinct from Gujarati. The Kutchi language has closer similarity to Sindhi than to any other Indian language (Kutch is bordered to its north by Sindhi speaking people*). It is a spoken language, but not written. Even though Kutchi people can speak and write in Gujarati, they will proudly inform you that they are Kutchis and definitely not Gujaratis. During our several visits to Kutch, my wife’s cousin’s driver, who can speak good Gujarati, insists on speaking to my wife in Kutchi, which she cannot speak as well as Gujarati.

Many people with whom I have discussed my travels, look puzzled when I say that we have been to Kutch. Just in case you are wondering, it is the furthest west part of India. Most of the north of the region is bordered by Pakistan, from which it is separated by the arid Rann of Kutch. To the south and separated from it by the Gulf of Kutch (a part of the Arabian Sea) is the peninsula of Saurashtra – now also a part of Gujarat.

Until 1947, Kutch was a kingdom founded by unifying three separate kingdoms, ruled by branches of the Jadeja family, in the 16th century. In 1819, having suffered a military defeat (at The Battle of Bhuj in March 1819), the Kingdom of Kutch accepted the sovereignty of the British East India Company. Under the watchful eyes of the British, members of the Jadeja family continued to rule Kutch – it became one of India’s many ‘Princely States’. On the 16th of August 1947, one day after India became independent, Kutch voluntarily acceded to the new Indian state.

Kutch became a state of India. In November 1956, as a result of the State Reorganisation Act (1956), Kutch ceased to be a state in its own right, but became a part of the then huge Bombay State. The latter was effectively a bilingual region, most people were either speakers of Marathi or of Gujarati. The Marathis and the Gujaratis began to clash. In 1956, the Mahagujarat Movement began campaigning for a state for Gujaratis, which was separated from that for Marathis. The movement was spearheaded by Indulal Yagnik (1892-1972). His nephew, who lives in Bangalore is a family friend, whom we meet whenever we are in the city. As the Gujaratis clamoured for their own state, so did the Marathis, Blood was shed, and much property was damaged. On the 1st of May 1960, the old Bombay state was divided along linguistic grounds. The states of Maharashtra and Gujarat were formed. The latter includes the Gujarati speaking district of Saurashtra as well as the northern part of the former Bombay State, and also Kutch. And that is how it remains today.

Since 2017, we have made several enjoyable visits to Kutch, from which my wife’s maternal ancestors hail, and enjoyed many fascinating experiences there. Some of these can be found in my new book – a collection of true stories about life in India seen through my eyes. The book (also Kindle) is available from Amazon websites including https://www.amazon.co.uk/HITLER-LOCK-OTHER-TALES-INDIA/dp/B0CFM5JNX5/

*When Lord Napier conquered Sindh *which neighbours Kutch) in 1843, he is reputed to have sent a single word message to London in Latin “Peccavi”, which means ‘I have sinned’.

Anne Boleyn’s bowl

Posted on by
Reply

THE MAJOR AUCTION HOUSES in London, such as Sotheby’s, Christies, and Bonham’s, provide a wonderful service that benefits as well as enticing potential buyers. For several days prior to big auctions, the lots that are about to be sold are beautifully displayed in galleries, which can be viewed by members of the public. What makes these exhibitions so special is that the artworks and other objects on display are usually not viewable by most people because before and after they are sold, they are housed in places, which are completely inaccessible to the general public, such as private collections. Today (5th of June 2023), we paid a visit to Bonham’s in New Bond Street. In addition to seeing a superb display of paintings and prints by contemporary or recent artists from the Indian Subcontinent, there was a fascinating display of – for want of a better word – ‘antiques’ made mostly in India.

One of the lots that will be auctioned is a bowl made of mother-of-pearl. It is described as “Indo-Portuguese” from Gujarat. When it was made, there were already well-established Portuguese settlements in Gujarat – for example, Daman and Diu. Beside the attractive bowl, there was a hand-written note which read as follows:

“Given by Anne Boleyn Queen of Henry the 8th to Sir John Brereton Kt & given in 1839 by Miss Brereton of Brereton Hall Cheshire to Henrietta E Sharpe who has collateral descent from Sir John Brereton”.

Anne Boleyn lived from c1501-1507 until 1536. Brereton Hall, in Brereton, Cheshire, was built after Anne’s beheading in 1536 by Sir William Brereton (1550–1631). So, who was the person to whom Anne gifted the bowl? Before answering that question, I will tell you about William Brereton (c1487-1536) of Cheshire. One of Henry VIII’s courtiers, he was accused of committing adultery with Anne Boleyn, found guilty, and executed. He was a son of William Brereton, who died in 1485. Many historians no doubt that he was guilty. Guilty or not, there was at least some connection between him and Anne Boleyn. If the handwritten label I saw at Bonham’s is accurate, then the recipient of the bowl must have been alive when Boleyn lived.  John might have been William’s brother, Sir John Brereton (c1447 – 1527), but I cannot be certain. As for the ‘Miss Brereton of Brereton Hall’, she is difficult to identify without her first name(s). And Henrietta Sharpe, who was given the bowl is also not readily identifiable.

How exactly the bowl came into Anne Boleyn’s possession is yet another mystery, but during the reign of Henry VIII and his predecessor, England and Portugal were on friendly terms. The bowl is not only attractive but also poses many questions, which I am as yet unable to answer. One of these is: who will become its next owner? If you want to know the answer, the auction is being held on the 7th of June. But often, the buyer is anonymous.