01 Jan

Daulatabad Fort – Maharashtra Yatra (Part 10)

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Aurangzeb funded his resting place by knitting caps and copying the Qu’ran, during the last years of his life, works which he sold anonymously in the market place. Here are also buried Azam Shah, Aurangzeb’s son, Nizam-ul-Mulk Asaf Jah, the founder of the Hyderabad dynasty, his second son Nasir Jang, Nizare Shah, king of Ahmednagar, Tana Shah, last of the Golkonda kings and a host of minor celebrities.

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A Brave Queen: Rani Durgawati (Jabalpur, M.P.)

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As it happens, when God takes away something, it gives something to bank upon. The queen also had some of the most trustworthy lieutenants to manage the affairs of the kingdom. I also found an old temple of Mata Sharda near the fort. In fact, it was situated just at the base of the hill. Somehow, I thought that Goddess Sharda gave immense strength to our queen to take up the responsibility while re-building her own life with the growth of her son, who was known as “Veer Narayan”. Due to safety reasons, the queen had also shifted her base to Chauragarh.

Five more years passed under the rule of queen bringing a sense of normalcy in the kingdom. Then, the destiny struck again in 1556 AD, the independent sultan of Malwa (Present day Mandu) crossed the distance of 650 kilometres and attacked the Queen thinking that he would not be met with any resistance. But, he was proved wrong. Even though, our queen was fighting her first battle, she came out victorious. Baz Bahadur had to run away for his life.

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An example of determination: Pisanhari ki Marhiya (Jabalpur)

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The competition gradually became tougher and louder till there was a total din. Amidst the chaos, looking at the prospects of not being able to find a clear-cut winner, the challenge-competition was halted in the middle. In that interlude it was the perfect time for telling the story of an old woman, who lived alone in a hut at Jabalpur about 650 years ago.

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A temple in Nation’s defence: Pat Baba (Jabalpur)

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Next morning, when his men would have assembled to start the construction again, Colonel Smith shared his dream with them. In their collective despair arising from unsuccessful attempts at building the factory, they would have decided take a chance with the dream and started to dig out the ground to retrieve the idol. I have no idea how they would have searched and found the exact place for digging. Either they would have tried at different places all over the premises or would have taken the help of some wise men who could sense the presence of any heavy object beneath the ground.

Next few days, the construction of the factory was stopped. Instead there were hectic activities in search of the idol. Finally, after a massive search and digging below the ground, the idol of Lord Hanuman was found. It must be a joyous moment not only for all the workers but also for the officers, especially Colonel Smith. He must have run to the site from his tent to see the last stages of the recovery of the idol. He must not have believed his eyes on what he would have seen. The dream that he saw was becoming a reality. Standing in front of the trench, he would have gone through the plethora of emotions ranging from disbelief to happiness and further to extreme sense of faith.

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थोल बर्ड सैंक्चुअरी की औचक यात्रा

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हमने लेक के किनारे बने पैदल पथ पर यात्रा शुरू की | मौसम सुहावना हो चला था और हलकी हलकी बयार् बह रही थी जिसने माहौल को खुशनुमा बना दिया था | इतने बड़ी झील को देखकर सुकून महसूस हुआ और ऐसा लगा की मै पहले यहाँ क्यूँ नहीं आया ? हम रास्ते से नीचे उतरकर झील के किनारे तक गये और वहां बैठकर सुबह की बनाई थेर्मोफ्लास्क में रखी गरम चाय (जो अभी तक पर्याप्त गरम थी) का आनंद लिया |

किनारे हमने एक घंटे बिठाये और जीवन के विभिन्न पहलुओं पर चर्चा की | कुछ समय तक शांत बैठकर सबने स्वतः बात चीत बंद कर दी और दूर तक फैले झील और उड़ते पक्षियों को देखते रहे |फिर हम वापस किनारे के रस्ते पर आ बर्ड वाच पॉइंट की ओर बढे | रास्ते में एक मैन-मेड वृक्ष आकार का पॉइंट मिला जिस पर जाने के लिए बच्चे उतावले हो गये | और अभिलाषा जल्दी से जाकर ऊपर चढ़ गई |

रास्ते के किनारे उगे कई नीम के पेड़ में से सबसे आसान पेड़ पर मैंने चढाई का प्लान बनाया ताकि अपनी बचपन की कहानियों को सिध्ध किया जा सके की मे पेड़ पर चढ़ने में माहिर हूँ | सबके मना करने के बाद भी मे पेड़ की सबसे नीचे डाली पर चढ़ा और रों धोकर अभिलाषा भी आ गई थोड़ी देर में |

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Agahiya: A new Sufi Order at Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh

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In despair, when I came out of the inner sanctum sanctorum, my eyes fell on the outer wall of the main dargah. There were two marble plates fixed on the walls on which the life story of the Shaikh was inscribed. Hazrat was born in Lucknow, in a family that had migrated to India from Iran. His grandfather and father were given the positions of responsibilities in the government of those times and they soon had become part of the elite class of Lucknow. Hazrat was born with a fire of longing in his heart to know almighty and was always searching for knowledge by going to one teacher to another. During such exercise, he came to know about a Sufi Shaikh Shah Maqsus Alam residing in the town of Banda. In the tender age of 13 years, he left the comforts of his home surreptitiously and went to Banda and became the disciple of Shaikh Shah Maqsus Alam. There he acquired spiritual and worldly education. After the demise of the shaikh, he went to Bareilly to become the disciple of Hazrat Tajul-Aulia Shah Nizamuddin Hussain (R.A.). Though later he got married and had children, but his life was totally dedicated to the Sufi ways and traditions. During the first war of Independence, Hazrat Meerja Agah came to Jabalpur. There he established his Sufi tradition called “Agahiya Order” and in 1918 AD, he went for his heavenly abode.\

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Ellora caves – The Brahmanical series (Maharashtra Yatra – Part 8)

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It is estimated that the task of quarrying its 3,000,000 cubic feet of rock must have occupied at least one hundred years. It is wonder to see so great a mass in the air which seems so slenderly under-dropped that could hardly forbear to shudder on first entering it. There is no nobler achievement of the Indian architects and sculptors, and no greater marvel of Indian sculpture.

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An evening with River Narmada: Gwari Ghat, Jabalpur

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But deep down in my heart, I knew that I had chosen for that boat ride not because of my friend, but because of the Narmada. And, the Narmada never fails. It was she, who was nursing me while I sat heads down at the Gwari Ghat. It was she, who persuaded me to cross her so as to uplift me from a very deep guilt. If that being so, it was not possible that she would be letting me stand on the other side of the Ghat for the night. While, I was brooding over all that, suddenly we saw a boat crossing past us. We shouted for help, but he did not stop and went past sailing over the water. My friend lost his control and started cursing the boatman, both who had left us stranded and also who had sailed past us.
Half an hour or so more again passed with no means to go to the other side. The fear of being stranded on the dark ghats in the night was started as a test against the patience and the faith towards Narmada. Just in time, when the faith and the impatience started to rumble in the mind, we saw a boatman sailing towards us from the other bank. Gradually, the blurred image of the boatman became crystal clear. He was “our boatman”, with his boat.

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A train journey to Sanskardhani (Jabalpur)

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One of the doyens of Hindi Movies, Prem Nath, also belonged to the Sanskardhani. He had once built a cinema hall in the heart of the city, which was named as “Empire Theatre”. From outdoor screening of the film to cinema halls and now to multiplexes, there is a great history of the growth of Indian cinema. But I still carry a fascination with the old cinema halls. So, after coming out of the Jabalpur Station, I went to a crossing where the old building of that Empire Cinema was situated. It was completely in ruins. I felt much attached with the Empire cinema and climbed up the fallen bricks to see it from inside. I was astonished to find that the speakers were still clinging to those walls. In its heydays, that hall must be the cultural hub of the Sanskardhani, graced by the likes of Raj Kapoor, Nargis and Prem Nath.

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My day in Rashtrapati Bhawan

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This is the location where all the functions (India’s prestigious award given to its citizen) take place. This place is called the Darbar Hall, the celebration hall of the Rastrapati Bhawan. The hall was situated just below the Gombuz (Doom), which we see from the long distance.

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The mystic jungles of Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary, Assam

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Further ahead, the scenery again changed. We were drawn more deep into the actual jungle. The forest cover got dense and our excitement jumped higher. Under the shade of the trees and some swamps, we found a herd of the world renowned one-horn Rhinos. It was not the first time in my life that I encountered them but still, they being the pride of my State, rakes up my pride too.

Our Gypsy driver suddenly had a rush of adrenaline and after few minutes of some sway-and-swanky driving, he brought us into this clearing, which was clearly bang in the middle of the forest. With a few words of prayers, we de-boarded our vehicle for a photo-shoot!!

Now, you must be wondering, why we were having a photo-shoot when we had prayers in our lips. Well, that’s because inspite of the heavy forest cover, the view and the vibes took our breath away.

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