`Dharmosmad Kuladaivatam'

No apocalypse yet; Happy New Year 2013!

2013-01-01T17:55:00.002-08:00

If we orient our self to adopt this mindset with determination at the start of the new year, we won't remain far from the zenith of success in our lives. Move out, clasp, spread, expand and give up limits of mine & thine in one limitless flow of love. Life is all about living each and every moment, and gaining experiences with zeal and joy. Every day should be welcomed like a new birth.

St James', New Year's Day 2013

Mr Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, JP and his Abbey of Bliss

2012-06-26T13:31:00.002-07:00

Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, Esq., JP

O plains, O Hills, O rivers of Sweet Bengal,
O land of love and flowers, the spring bird's call
And southern wind are sweet among your tress:
Your poet's words are sweeter far than these.

Your heart was this man's heart. Subtly he knew
The beauty and divinity in you.
His nature kingly was and as a god
In large serenity and light he trod
His daily way,yet beauty,like soft flowers
Wreathing a hero's sword,ruled all his hours.

Thus moving in these iron times and drear,
Barren of bliss and robbed of golden cheer,
He sowed the desert with ruddy-hearted nose,
The sweetest voice that ever spoke in prose.

- Sree Aurobindo

Evoking his memory on his birthday with the words above by a man,equally venerable, Maharshi Aurobindo Ghosh.As Mr Nirad Chandra Chaudhuri, the last gentleman product of the Bengal Renaissance, put it, he was one of the 'best minds' of modern liberal Hinduism;one who first kindled nationalism within the masses of India.

Vande Mataram!

Barrister G P Pillai and the Malayali Memorial 1891

2012-06-18T06:21:00.000-07:00

G. P. Pillai, Esq., Bar-at-law (1864-1903)

Mr Pillai built up a reputation for himself as a journalist of outstanding ability having had a brilliant career as an author, temperance worker and as a moderate parliamentary congressman. He was called to the Bar in 1902 by the Honourable Society of the Middle Temple and was subsequently offered judgeship in Travancore. On arrival, he was given a civic reception at the Jubilee Town Hall by the residents of Trivandrum.

A leading citizen who presided over the civic reception, an immigrant himself, lovingly referred to him as the ''greatest Travancorean since the days of Rajah Kesava Das and Dalawa Velu Thampi''. He then chose to lead a public life, helping many in achieving justice and heralded many pressing causes.His untimely death caused widespread sorrow all over India.

Eardley Norton, Esq., QC, then a crown prosecutor in Madras wrote thus:

•``With Him dies a brave unselfish spirit, not lightly to be deterred from the sense of public duty by threats of social ostracism or the loss of official favour’’

The Malayali Memorial Petition of 1891 heralded by G. P. Pillai was the result of a movement that sprang from the deep resentment of Nair / Nayar youth against the Tamil/ East Coast Brahmin domination in the civil services of Travancore inhabited by speakers of Malayalam. The decline in Nair dominance in Travancore ensured an unfair representation of' 'foreigners' in the court of the Maharajahs. With the Malayali Memorial,we see a resurgence in the identity of Travancoreans, be it the Nayars, Syrina Christians or even to an extent, the Ezhavas.

It was clearly not a petty struggle with speakers of Tamil and should not be taken in that way at all. It was a mere assertion of the newly founded Malayali identity.

Travancore Museum at Rangavilasom Palace re-opens as a Gallery..The Uthradom Thirunal Chitralayam

2012-06-17T18:47:00.003-07:00

HH The Maharajah Uthradom Thirunal Marthanda Varma of Travancore

Click here for the virtual tour

As a befitting startler to the course of cultural pursuit in India, post the abandonment of it by Britain and the lapse of paramountcy over Travancore in 1947, the approach to the memory of that lost age takes a new turn as the reminiscences of a golden age has been rekindled under the patronage of the present Head of the Travancore Royal House, HH The Maharajah Padmanabhadasa Uthradom Thirunal Marthanda Varma.
- A museum that ceased to exist has woken up as a gallery containing some of the best pieces of history that shaped Modern Travancore.

Named after the present Maharajah,who passion is in photography among other things,the Sree Uthradom Tirunal Marthanda Varma Chitralayam aims to provide an authentic perspective on Travancore with a commendable array of historical paintings and photographs. The Maharajah remembers how he continued taking photographs zealously after having 'passed the test' set by his brother, the last ruler of Travancore, Sir Balarama Varma III and his home tutor Mr Stanley Ure. Reproduced from his autobiography-

The young Prince Marthanda Varma preparing to take a shot, Lake Periyar

“My brother (Maharajah Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma) gave me my first camera, a Rolleiflex, in 1934, saying I could keep it if I proved myself. I was sent to Madras, where my tutor, S N Ure, asked me to take a picture of the Seven Pagodas at Mahabalipuram and to develop a 6x4 print, which would be then be shown to expert photographers. I passed the test, and I still have the camera with me''

The Cousins

It was the Maharajah's mother, HH The Amma Maharani, Sethu Parvathi Bayi, who initially decided to set up Rangavilasom Palace as a museum in the 30s.The Queen Mother, appointed Mr J.H. Cousins, the Irish art historian who was an advisor to the crown, as the curator of the new venture that housed personal collections of the Maharajahs, presents to the state ,Travancorean aretfacts, works of indigenous art and so on.The ambience of the palace itself was described thus by Maharajah Ayilyam Thirunal (1860-1880).

'' Its alluring intricacies of pillars, walls and ceilings are instances that herald the native style of architecture- simple, flawless, and attractive''

The writer must add that his opinion that the incorporation of ionic capitols and the Travancorean arch windows add to the quality of this simple yet sublime attraction.

The men behind the curtain has also brought together a wonderful website of the Chitralayam which is www.sutmc.com and provides a spectacular online virtual tour of the gallery.

Click here for the virtual tour

And finally- May the god of Sree prevail upon this new gallery and make it a lasting success for the future generation.

Stanford
18th June

Travancore & Britannia

2012-04-08T11:08:00.001-07:00

Travancore's cordial friendship with Britain,upheld at all times by careful diplomatic moves from both sides is one most profound and in fact singular in the history of the sub-continent.

The Throne can be seen right in the centre, Windsor Castle

Travancore's most well-known creation of art is undoubtedly the 'Travancore Throne' or the ' Indian Chair of State' gifted to Queen Victoria,by Maharajah Marthanda Varma II, popularly known by his titular forename 'Uthram Thirunal'.

The magnificent ivory throne was the center piece in the Great Exhibition of 1851 and advertised the carving skills of Travancore incorporating both native and European motifs.The conch-shell symbol of Travancore formed the crest with supporters being a combined version of the crowned lions from the British Royal Coat of Arms and the Travancorean Assaye elephants or a version of the mythical 'Vyaali',or 'Makara' as popular in the rest of India.Welsh Griffins were also used a great deal.How aptly the The Times in London back in 1851 exclaimed ''It must be seen to be properly appreciated,for no words can do justice to the effect produced by the jeweled eyes of the numerous monsters carved in the framework of the throne''!.

The combination was most striking and done wonderfully well pleached that the incorporation of polar designs weren't apparent,something that the writer specially noticed on his encounter with the throne whilst at the Queen's Gallery of Buckingham Palace during the Victoria-Art & Love Exhibition that focused on the couple's love and patronage of art.The ornate throne was decorated with diamonds,emeralds and rubies.

The writer had the opportunity to discover from the curator Mr Marsden & his team that during the restoration process had the pleasant discovery that the throne was carved in fresh ivory which is a rarity and meant that it shrunk in due course of time. The Yak hair fans that accompanied the throne has succumbed to the fate of time.

A much delighted writer coming out of the Gallery,Winter 2010

Queen Victoria seems to have been immensely pleased with the gesture of the Maharajah when he gifted the prized chair that won great acclaim in the exhibition and Her Majesty wrote back to His Highness thus -

''Your Highness’s chair has occupied a prominent position amongst the wonderful works of art which have been collected in our metropolis and your Highness’s liberality and the workmanship of the natives of Travancore have there received due admiration from the vast multitude of spectators.

We shall find a suitable opportunity of conveying to your Highness some token of our esteem, and we hope that it may please the Almighty to vouchsafe to your Highness the enjoyment of many years of health and prosperity''

She send gifts back through the resident and a public Durbar was arranged to receive them. The Resident delivered a letter from Sir Charles Wood, Secretary of State for India, along with a beautiful case containing the presents. An ornamental cincture with gold embroidery and a buckle set with diamonds and other gemstones cut as many-faceted pyramids and the center of the belt containing a gold watch with the

monogram of the Queen on the reverse and that of the Maharajah on the obverse.

The Resident did the honors and girdled the Maharajah with the new belt.The Durbar was concluded with full military honors.

Travancore was already well known well around the Victorian World for its Ivory Carving. The writer personally has come across a miniature work of art from Travancore, an ivory swizzle stick belonging to his grandfather,last of its kind made in the 40s before the ban.

QUEEN VICTORIA & TRAVANCORE

The Jubilee Library,Trivandrum

The Jubilee Library today

The Victoria Jubilee Town Hall ,Trivandrum

The memory of the Queen ,who always wished to be the affectionate mother to India still lingers in Travancore.

Queen Victoria conferred the honor of the Order of the Crown of India on HH Rani Lakshmi Bayi,the Senior Rani of Travancore and the Order of the Star of India on her consort Kerala Varma 'Valiya Koil Thampuran',after learning about her loyal relationship with her husband resembling that of Her Majesty & Prince Albert. An albumen print photograph of Her Highness,a celebrity in Southern India at the time was acquired by the Queen.(below)

The Victoria Diamond Jubilee Town Hall, the Jubilee Public Library and the Anantha-Victoria-Marthanda Canal stretching from South Travancore to Poovar in Greater Trivandrum bears testimony to the relation between Travancore and Victorian Britain.It also could be inferred to be the order of precedence in a way, 'Anantha' denoting the Temple Deity , 'Victoria' -Britain and its Army & control of international affairs and 'Marthanda'- the Maharajah,the'Padmanabha Dasa' who duly fulfills his duty towards the state,the reins being entrusted in his hands.

View of the Parvathy Puthanar (Canal that connected the State Waterway from Malabar to the AVM Canal in South Travancore)

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Maharajah Rama Varma in red tunic and white-plumed turban by Nicholas Brothers,Madras 1868

The gift this time was to the Prince of Wales Albert Edward who later became King Edward VII from Maharajah ''Ayilyam Thirunal'' Rama Varma who succeeded Maharajah ''Uthram Thirunal''.The exchange occurred at Madras,following the Prince of Wales' proposed trip to Travancore during his India visit, aboard HMS Herapis in 1875, being annulled following a cholera outbreak.

There's a very engaging article on the Prince's entourage in India on Mr Murali Varma's blog, here- http://muralirvarma.blogspot.co.uk/2008/10/travancore-connection-to-prince-of.html

South Indians would be well acquainted with the type of pendant composing of Tiger Claws mounted in Gold,in existence in various forms from cheap charms to expensive pieces even today.

The Pendant that could also be used as a brooch was made of double tiger claw and clambered up in gold with the pattern of Goddess 'Gaja-Lakshmi'- the Muse of prosperity and wealth between two adoring elephants.A buckle on the back could attach it to a chain. The Tip mounts of claws were chased with leaf cups with small finials.

The Maharajah also presented Prince Edward a wooden walking stick, with a circular golden ferrule.

It had gold filigree work of flowers and leaves and a gold wire knob that bore a medallion formed of the crown and collar of the Order of the Star of India.

It is intriguing and open to debate whether the incorporation of the medallion of the Star of India Honor was a suggestion of any kind.It is to be noted that the Maharajah was appointed to The Most Exalted Order of the Star of India, only in 1866.

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That also calls into question the old debate among (and some who claim to have read history!) on the question of British paramountcy; something the writer has been acquainted with since early days in the study of history, under some doyens of Modern Travancore; including the much-loved and much-hated Prof Sreedhara Menon.

Here you have a Kingdom ruled by a deity,'a temple god' with the rulers who took the name 'Padmanabha -Dasa' ,literally the servant of Lord Padmanabha,a tradition owing its origins to the maker of Modern Travancore, Maharajah Marthanda Varma's dedication of the Kingdom to the 'parent deity' in Trivandrum in 1750. And on top of that you have,from the late 1790s,what may best be termed in effect, British Overseeing of Trade and Foreign Policy,with varying degrees of checks,which may be seen as paramount power by some.

The deity of the temple was in fact not just the personal favourite of the King but one that enjoyed the privilege from the people of the entire coast.This may have been even greater at times; facts such as Guru Nanak's visit during a political time,most tumultuous in Northern India attests this fact. Even the Prime Ministers and Officials of the state,quite dominated by east coast Brahmins settlers in Travancore,having an increased role in temple-affairs and even naming themselves or their beloveds after the deity.

The master Asaris (Craftsmen) who created the throne among other marvels were namely Kochu Kunju Achari and his son Neelakantan Achari. The former was honored and named 'Anantha Padmanabhan' Achari after the deity.

More about the Asaris here in the blog of a direct descendant of the craftsmen-

http://www.sharatsunderrajeev.blogspot.co.uk/2008/10/my-great-ancestors.html

You have Dewan Raman-Kesava Pillai,whom on being conferred the title of 'Rajah' which literally means Ruler or King Maker,the great war hero and a contemporary of the writer's ancestors, after the victory over Tipu Sultan(or Tipoo Sultan) ,transmogrified his name to 'Rajah Kesava Das' which being read in Sanskrit would mean King Kesava's servant;Kesava merely being another name of the deity.You have knighthoods being given to the nobility and honours to artisans that bear the same title.

The decoration of the honor 'Kanakku Chempakaramen' which replaced the prefixes of those who have been conferred the title,meant that he was to be known as one belonging to the state(or the deity) than one adhering to his family alone.

The Prefix would be replaced by the title hence making

Govindan Parameswara(n) Pillai into 'Kanakku Chempakaramen' Parameswaran

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Will use this platform to demystify the confusion associated with Malayali Naming convention;it being :

*Prefix+ Given name+ Surname

in Travancore( Southern and Midlands based on sub-caste ) - Uncle's/Father's First name + Given Name + Surname

Madhavan- Chandrasekhara(n) Pillai

and

in North Travancore,State of Cochin and British Malabar(Again, based on sub-caste) -

*Uncle's Name/Mother's Estate + Given Name + Surname.

Alappat- Sreedhara Menon

You could see that it is based on matrilineal succession, primarily in existence among the Nayars (or Nairs) including the Malayala Kshatriyas.

Nambudiris (or Namboodiris/Nampoothiris/Nambutiris) and West Coast Brahmins used the family estate and village names,respectively,as prefixes.

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An appeal-

Thanks to the political climate in India, the AVM Canal is putrid with industrial effluents freely flowing into the canal.If it were still in the state of Kerala rather than in Tamil Nadu following the political re-organisation,it may not have been seen today.

There was, in period of pseudo-reform and progress following the Travancore era and precisely from when the reins slipped off from the first minister Mr Thanu Pillai ('Pattom Thanu Pillai') ,a collective movement by red-leaning leaders that filled up water bodies and wetlands with rubble.The idea is now carried out by unplanned unethical construction on green-belt farm lands by their petro-dinar funded counterparts in power.

What a contrast to Travancore government in the 1940s under the able stewardship of Maharajah 'Chithira Thirunal' Balarama Varma and his Dewan Sir C P Ramaswamy Aiyar! The Prime Minister who ensured that the state spending on Education never went below 40% is the most hated person for politicians!

The gormandizing politicians who have quite literally consumed currency notes, have all their eyes on the temple.A long-kept secret,now broken by the exercising of a citizens' right by a crafty lawyer turned devotee or reverse has brought forth the temple and more importantly(for THEM) the amount of assets of the temple,with suggestions pouring in from all quarters on what to do with the valuables(including the voices of former royal-bashing Communists who have erected sadist memorials in the capital city commemorating violent criminal offences committed by their comrades).

Foreign-funded Media makes it worse by causing irrelevant controversies,just the use of their word' treasure trove' being the finest example.

A similar kind of consortium exists on a different higher plane too- Those who claim India needs to bring back their lost treasures.I do agree with them that some items may have not been gifts but they are kept befitting the standards that need be accorded to the articles. Just remember the fate of Tagore's valuables including his Nobel Medal being stolen and being replaced with paste.going unnoticed until eons passed by.

The state of many monuments and places of historical value is very deplorable.The history that is written by Marxist academia(?) and taught is one that promotes defeatism and overtly irrelevant to the lives of people down in the state.

There should be a collective effort to lobby politicians to do some work in their 5 years before being systematically dethroned in our modern democracy.

Any mention of a Museum to display the treasures of the temple should be met with suspicion.How can a state that paints over heritage see a positive motive behind such a suggestion.Their inability is being advertised in their action every day and its sure that the stone vaults of the temple can stand guard to the items however valuable in worldly measure they may be.

Comments open and welcome! (Views expressed in the last section are the writer's own!)

Brighton, Easter Sunday 2012

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Sincere Thanks to :

The Royal Collection,UK

The Curator and Team,Queen's Gallery for making all of it possible

Sharat Sunder Rajeev,Trivandrum for the history of the making of the ivory state chair

Sources & Bibliography:

The Bhima Club Library(Personal collection of the writer)

Aiya,V.N. - The Travancore State Manual

Verbal Accounts:

Nair,Prof. G -Emeritus Professor of History

Menon,Prof. A. S-Historian

Pillai, Esq.,K.A- Lawyer and ex-Travancore Council Member

Picture Courtesy:

The Royal Collection

Chitra Reliquary (www.travancore.co) and their blog

Time Life Pictures

www.nairs.in(Portrait of Rajah Kesava Das)

2012-03-22T13:34:00.000-07:00

HRH Princess 'Pooyam Thirunal' Gouri Parvathi Bayi of Travancore Royal Family introduce the history of her family -- an illustrious dynasty that governed, using a sacred concept of trusteeship, one of the most progressive princely states of pre-Independence India.

Courtesy : The Asian Art Museum of San Francisco

An Indian Royal Wedding in 1900 : Description of a stately wedding in Travancore.

2012-03-03T17:00:00.004-08:00

The Description of
A TYPICAL WEDDING IN TRAVANCORE : A STATELY CEREMONY AT TRIVANDRUM

On the 3rd of November,1900 the Sphere reported in London about a
Royal Indian Marriage in the Kingdom of Travancore-

''The marriage of the four granddaughters of the Late Sir Rama Varma,
G.C.S.I.,the Maharajah of Travancore ,was celebrated in Trivandrum recently in great style.''

AnantaVilas -The palace of the Maharajah 'Padmanabha Dasa', 'Visakham Thirunal' Sir RamaVarma IV where the ceremony is likely to have taken place. Ananthavilasom Palace Fort,Trivandrum

The first step (of course! in the Indian customary way) was the consultation of the some of the ablest astrologers of the State as to an auspicious day for the ceremony.The day being fixed,some time was lost in the choice of the bridegrooms,as it was not only necessary that they should be eligible as regards their rank and position in life,but that astrologers should,after consulting their horoscopes, raise no objection to the choice.the bridegrooms on the present occasion were scions of some of the aristocratic families in Travancore.

The third step consisted in the erection of a special pavilion in which the marriage was to be performed.The construction of this building at the expense of the State and the furnishing of it in a gorgeous style occupied several days.

And finally the celebration of the marriage was kept up for four days.The actual marriage,which consisted of tying a necklace round the neck of the bride by the bridegroom in the presence of the Brahmin priest and all near relatives and friends,took place on the first day,but the festivities in connection with it lasted four days.

The paraphernalia

The wedding band

There were several grand processions of the married couples through the principal thoroughfares in Trivandrum. The brides and bridegrooms were carried on the back of elephants,specially caparisoned for the occassion.Soem of the most famous musicians in the capital of the State led the procession.Almost all State officials accompanied it on foot.Immediately in front of the elephant marched a large number of Nair women dressed in spotless white,carrying in their hands,gold and silver salvers containing flowers and fruits.

New clothes distributed to Poor Youth at a Mofussil Centre (*Village Community Centre)

All the poor in the town were sumptuously fed on all the four days.

Vintage Indian Coffee Ad

2012-02-27T12:56:00.000-08:00

Vintage Indian Coffee Promotion Advert

Snapped at Shanker's Coffee Shop,Main Road,Trivandrum,South India

The Legacy of a definitive political ideology for India- The greatest contribution of Vinayak Savarkar

2012-02-26T12:42:00.000-08:00

Remembering Vinayak Savarkar today, more than 4 and a half decades after his Samadhi1, what comes first to one's mind is the conclusive ideology of 'Hindutva',the only original ideology that ever came out of India,encompassing the tenets of historical Indianess
in a nutshell with aspects that may also be identified with western concepts of Universalism,Humanism,Positivism,Pragmatism,Utilitarianism and Realism.
It was of course, not one created by him, but it was him who laid it down, codified into document. It imbibed revolutionary ideals that once dominated his mindset.The point will negate itself if it were a personal creation rather than the gist of the culture of the peoples of India-the vibrant,multi-ethnic,pan/polytheistic yet patriotically nationalistic and religiously non-dualistic. The writer believes that even though Savarkar is portrayed as an atheist,he was a spiritual person in his personal capacity,had providential beliefs thought not a god-botherer in the sense of religion as a sub-culture.

He remains less-known to the masses of today,largely because of the vicious propaganda against him and misunderstanding around him that has been created over several decades and the political turmoil underpinned by corruption within the attenuating post-independence Indian Government.A small yet meaningful example is the present unwillingness on the part of the mistress of the Gandhi-Maino Oligarchy to reveal their tax credits.What sort of a politician does not reveal their expenses and what sort of media and people don't hold them to account.

Quoted from Tarun Vijay in the Outlook-

It is significant to note what Gandhi said about him in Bombay in the first week of May 1921: "He is brave. He is clever. He is a patriot. He was, frankly, a revolutionary. The evil in its present form, of the present system of government; he saw much earlier than I did."

His extreme position on various issues didn't earn him mass acceptability in a predominantly Hindu society, reluctant to support such postures. Gandhi, on the other hand, became more acceptable to the masses because of his Vaishnav persona and his all-encompassing message. Savarkar differed with Gandhi like many others and became a suspect following his assassination. The court acquitted him but the denigration still continues.
The only reason behind this vilification campaign being his ideology of Hindutva, much muddied by do-gooders and socialists alike.
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His importance can also be inferred from the value of his stand as the steward of the Hindu Mahasabha, recognised not only by non-partisan nationalists but most importantly by Jinnah and the British Government, who had granted their 'most dangerous political prisoner', clemency, at first place. He was also a source of political opinion or even inspiration to many, significantly, Subhash Chandra Bose and 'Shri Guruji' M.S. Golwalkar of the RSS, whose contributions shaped history that followed.

Sir Richard Stafford Cripps of the Cabinet Mission greeting Savarkar,Delhi 1942

It is significant that we note that he endorsed the war effort when the Congress launched the Quit India rebellion in 1942, Savarkar criticised the rebellion and asked the Hindus not to disobey the government.

Savarkar expressed joy at the recognition of the claim of Jewish people to establish an independent Jewish state, and likened the event to the glorious day on which Moses led them out of Egyptian bondage. He considered that justice demanded restoration of entire Palestine to the Jews, their historical holyland and fatherland. He regretted Congress-run India's vote at the United Nations Organisation against the creation of the Jewish state terming the vote a policy of appeasement of Muslims.

This shows the level to which he may have been disliked by the Congress and how propaganda influences post-colonial Indian Politics.
Mecaulayists,particulary certain self-styled critics of Savarkar who have found his potency unbearable hogtied in their malapropos clothing totally devoid of any consideration for its suitability in India,performing Aarati2 to the despots,are also to blame.Savarkar's influence never deteriorated in his life-time.

His patriotism and commitment was to the cause of Free India,not to the cries for self-rule sans governance,that resulted in power being in the hands of rascals, rogues, freebooters; all leaders of low calibre & men of straw with sweet tongues & silly hearts,ones who fight amongst themselves for power &let India get lost in political squabbles, to paraphrase Sir Winston Churchill, who prophecised the situation.

Internationally significant historical legacy other than that of the espousal of Hindutva-

The first political leader to daringly set Absolute Political Independence as India's goal (1900).

The only Indian leader whose arrest in London caused legal difficulties for British Courts and whose case is still referred to in the interpretations of the Fugitive Offenders Act and Habeas Corpus (R v Governor of Brixton Prison, ex-parte Savarkar)

The first political prisoner whose daring escape and arrest on French soil became a cause celebre in the International Court of Justice at The Hague. This case was mentioned in many International Treaties of the time.

The first political prisoner in the world who was sentenced to Transportation for Life twice, a sentence unparalleled in the history of the British Empire. Guy Aldred's article in the Daily Herald titled “Savarkar the Hindu Patriot whose sentences expire on 24th December 1960” won support for the cause of India in Europe.

The only memorials for him are,apart from his private residence in India,the Blue Plaque erected by the Greater London Council at India House in Highgate (Not to be confused with the Indian High Commission in Aldwych).Please note that the building that was owned by Savarkar's mentor Dr Shyamji Krishna Varma Bhansali is now a private residence(in a very fashionable and expensive neighbourhood!) and no memorial exists there and visitors are advised not to embark on a day-trip. The Government of Gujarat under
Sjt. Narendra Modi has constructed a memorial for Dr Shyamji Krishna Varma Bhanasali that is modelled on the Victorian House.

The writer and poet Vinayak Savarkar wrote more than 10,000 lines,enriching the Marathi language.
'Sagar Pran Talamala' ,an audience with the ocean, was composed by him facing the sea at Brighton
(exactly from where I am writing this now..).

It puts his thoughts and the 'Un-nazi and Un-fascist like' patriotism (as alleged by critics),very succinctly

''Oh Ocean, I am pining for her...

I am like a dove caught in a snare,
as the promise you made was deceptive''

''I cannot suffer the pangs of separation from my motherland anymore, darkness envelopes me from all directions
I accumulated flowers of virtues, in the hope that my mother will be rendered fragrant with their smell

But what use is this burden of knowledge and virtue, if my mother cannot prosper from it ?''

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1- Savarkar ended his life by self-termination,the concept of Samadhi is linked to the Wikipedia article

2- 'Bootlicking' Aarati is a better term since it refers to the worship of gods in Hindu Temples by devotees themselves, waving a lighted lamp.

The term Hindu used in the article has the same meaning as that defined by Savarkar in 'Essentials of Hindutva'. It is synonymous to Indian and seeks to seprate those who live in India,either non-citizens,separatists or those who show their allegiance to other states,the perfect example being the Moplah Muslims taking it out on the people of Malabar when the Caliphate was abolished in Turkey.

Vancheesha Mangalam- Travancore National Anthem

2012-01-29T14:52:00.001-08:00

Vancheesha Mangalam

NATIONAL ANTHEM OF THE KINGDOM OF TRAVANCORE

Happy Makara-Sankranti!

2012-01-14T12:37:00.000-08:00

Wishing all the Dharmic peoples, a Happy Makara Sankranti !

Lets light the divine spark in all of us by welcoming the Sun in Uttarayana,in all his

vibrant glory!

Special greetings to those celebrating Pongal,Makaravilakku,Maghi and so on..

For all of us in the Northern Hemisphere,the days will get longer and warmer and

makeus spring into action; again, like the origins of the Bhangra dance in the

Lohri/Maghi festivities of Punjab :)

Nehru & Nehru Coat,The Ubiquitary- The Indian Mens Dress Code

2012-01-06T18:31:00.000-08:00

This might be slightly going off our usual theme but may prove worthy for those interested in looking respectable yet modest in appearance. It is a universal social tiding that even the realised lot have to accommodate. We may have all heard of isolated events of Jain and Naga*1 sadhus being attacked and the ubiquitous respectability for those that have adapted long whitish garbs of treachery even though their betrayal of peoples' trust now seems clearly to have come out of the confessional. This shows clearly how the majority of the people get carried away by notions of fashion and how sure can the bourgeoisie be sure of their presentiments of assured success.My advice to the bourgeoisie-bashers is to have your own character to everything and escape of their clutches rather than trying to loot and ruin them!

This article traces the history of the Indian Menswear with illustrations wherever possible and aims to institute a Formal Indian dress code.

The Young Nehru in his Sailors' Suit with his parents Motilal Nehru and Swarup Rani Nehru

The Nehrus:
Firstly,we have two subjects one Mr Nehru(the younger) and second-what arguably, people may safely conclude as his greatest legacy other his mackled vision that invented*2 the mangled corpse that independent India is-The Nehru Coat popularised by a long array of celebrity wearers from Sean Connery as James Bond to Eschenbach and the Beatles.The truth however is that Nehru did not create the Jacket as we know of it,nor did he ever wear it!

The Pandit(Kashmiri Brahmin) Barrister

In Formal Evening Dress

Jawaharlal Nehru was an average Joe*3 compared to his father or many statesmen of his times. Infact,he was called Joe Nehru in the days when he wore a boater.Even his love(lust,perhaps!) for striding up the ladder to the pivot of the Crown of India did not make him give up his vagaries.How many average congress workers in India at that time would have known that the young man who would succeed the Mahatma wore a Gandhi Cap that was laced with silk by Lock & Co. of St.James's? I wonder what the half-naked fakir*4 would have said. The same chap while he matriculated grew out of his boaters*5 disliked Cambridge at the fact that it was a bit too much of Indians.(whom he later hoped to rule) and spoke Hindustani with a Raj wife's*6 accent.

His brilliant and equally vain arch adversary ,Mr Mahomet Ali Jinnah had a collection of more than 200 bespoke double-breasted lounge-suits in his wardrobe. He always wore the latest trend as carefully noted by Lady Hicks (née Mountbatten) in her book 'India Remembered' about her days in India.There is a very good article in the Pakistani Tribune http://tribune.com.pk/story/75202/jinnah-as-a-fashion-icon/.I personally may find his choice of co-respondents*7 with a suit a bit misplaced for a gentleman like him but we have to agree to the article which fairly claims that his taste and sense of style made him one of the most well-dressed and sophisticated men in the world.His co-respondents were probably mistaken for Spats in the B&W images but here's a clear one.
Compared to Nehru the amplitude of his brain can be astronomical just by considering the fact about him being Called to the Bar at 19 and setting history by being a Muslim Barrister who enjoyed his pork(the poor piggie!) and glass of whisky every now and then, apart from playing around with his dogs; and all this whilst still managing to run the Muslim League. The dandy in him ensured that he never wore the same silk-tie again. Unlike his only rival, Nehru the elder,whom we do know as equally fashionable gave up all his pomp under the influence of the Mahatma. Jinnah did give up his monocle and double-breasted suits for the Indian Frock Coat and Qaraqul Hat when he felt the need to gather support from his fellowmen as soon as he started feeling the firm ground under his feet being slowly swept away by the power hungry young Mr Nehru.

Sir Chettty in Court Dress

Other statesmen who turned out well in public include Sir Chetty,Subhash Bose & Mr V K K Menon,again a fellow of the high-street and of Malabar Tradition who took a young Khushwant Singh to Kensington High Street and bought him suits that he wears till date. I stressed the Malabar Tradition since whenever he was in Kerala or in the North as long as weather permitted, he wore nothing but the contemporary version of the Malabar Nayar Dress complete with a cotton scarf,a practical tradition it seems now imbibed by Mr Tharoor.

Sir R K Shanmukham Chetty

Mr Vengalil-Krishnan Krishna Menon
Barrister, Labour Councillor and Co-founder of Penguin Books

Smartly-dressed politicians today ,among few others include PM Mr Singh,Mr L K Advani,Mr Shashi Tharoor,Mr Narendra Modi and few other prominent members of the Congress and the BJP.

The Indian Frock Coat or the Maharajahs' Suit which originated as a high-fastening court dress from the Doublet in use in various forms since ancient times(as 'Achkan','Chapkan' etc.).

Swami Vivekananda,Jagdish Bose, Subhash Bose,Tagore and most members of the Jorasanko Manor wore these in recent times.The Nepali National Dress still worn today,if not being the same,is heavily based on the old design.I believe they have even attached philosophical signification to every strand of this piece of clothing.
The design was simple and the cut and stitches were minimal to comply with the Hindu custom of invoking positivity by wearing flowing robes.Black was infact rarely used for social ceremonies and plain white was never used by women except by widows.

Barristers and Pleaders were also permitted to wear flowing robes in court(in fact the Law still binds) with their wigs and gowns as long as the neckbands were in place under the wingtips!

Maharajah Karthika Thirunal Rama Varma of Travancore(1724-'98) can be seen in a very tasteful version in this portrait.

Rabindranath Tagore in Germany seen in his usual long frock coat, 'the flowing robes of Gurudev'

It gave way to a much shorter design just as riding coats denuded to form the English Frock Coat(that was considered a Suit even thought the trousers and waistcoat worn were from different materials) and to the single breasted modern lounge suit(the one popular today).

H E the Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru and HH the Rajyapramukh of the State of Travancore-Cochin and Maharajah of Travancore 'Padmanabha Dasa' 'Chithira Thirunal' Sir Balarama Varma III, in White Frock Suits.
The only notable difference is the better cut and elegance of the latter's coat and the court shoes worn with spats compared to the PM's Oxfords(both of European origin)

Mr Pal is wearing a Cape Overcoat that makes it difficult to determine what he was wearing,Mr Mehta seems to be wearing a Ghillie Collared White Coat with Jodhpurs or White Trousers,Mr Tilak and Mr Kelkar in the Indian Frock Coat,Mr Kharpade in a Morning Dress with a Silk Turban and Mr Patel(The Elder) in a Lounge Suit probably with a bow-tie knowing the person he is!

Conventionally worn with Jodhpurs in silk with the Indian court shoes(with pointy toe-caps)or with silk/cotton Dhotis folded betwixt the legs.It has also been historically worn with trousers(Lokamanya Tilak wore it in London) and more commonly with Jodhpurs.The Indian Frock Coat is traditionally tailored in Black or white or similar conventional colours.Those in vibrant and blazing colours often called Jodhpuri Coat,Bandhgale ka Coat or Sherwani heavily ornamented and embroidered upon, accompanied with a similar scarf are popular for weddings and other social functions among the young and trendy.

Good Contemporary version of the Indian Frock Coat worn by Bollywood Actor Mr Anil Kapoor
Ignore the Design embroidered on!

PM Jawaharlal Nehru with HM the Queen and other of her ministers in White-tie.

This is indeed a very much loved dress that Lord Mountbatten was in the process of commissioning HRH Rukmini Varma of the Travancore Royal Family,a direct descendant of the celebrated painter Rajah Ravi Varma to create a portrait of him wearing the Indian Frock Suit and a Jewelled Turban ,just before his tragic passing away.My personal suggestion is to keep it exclusively for Morning and Evening Dress(always in Black). A high-fastening overcoat in the same design was also in vogue and is similar to earlier versions of the English Frock Coat and those of the Clergy.

Sir Edwin Hardy Amies of 14 Saville Row

Americans discovered it in the early 70s and redesigned it.Sir Hardy Amies,the famous Saville Row Dressmaker for Her Majesty and the godfather of Mens Fashion on whom all the aspiring gentlemen look upon for their ABCs of fashion said that the american creation, 'the so-called Nehru Coat' was a major disaster and did not have 'legitimate descent from Brummell and Edward VII' and hence was 'distinctively bastard'.It must be noted that it came out at a time when the fastening was becoming lower.The modern version that we wear today became two buttons from the three in this period when the stupid Americans launched a high fastening new design of suit which was chintzy(to use their own word).

Not to mention, it didn't catch on.This gained popularity only among the Indian politicians characterised by their lousy dressing which continues till date.There was also a similar popular trend to wear the so-called Safari-Suits that was a sort of military-like shirt with the trousers in the same material as the top suited to hotter climes often worn by Commonwealth Police Men or Rangers not suited to proper workwear.

Typically American Creation

Mr Obama seen wearing one

How about a Flamboyant version...

The waistcoat with the Oriental Collar that Nehru wore on top of his Kurtas or oriental shirts during leisure time has been a choice for the smarter politicans and other sections of the society since those days. It must be noted that even though shirts evolved from underwear as innerwear in Europe,the Indian equivalent are worn as it is in the summer.Indian shirts were initially worn with studs and links before buttons were introduced.

Caps,Hats & Turbans:

Clockwise from top- Sir C P Ramaswami Aiyar,Rajah Ravi Varma,Maharajah Sawai Man Singh III of Jaipur,Sir Visvesvaraya, Maharajah Bhupindra Singh of Patiala & The Nizam of Hyderabad

Courtesy: www.art.co.uk

There has been in every part of Greater India, a local standard Turban or a hat that once differentiated as a tool to identify different sections of society,their culture and so on.I must remain specifically centred on the most common ones and those I can safely comment on.Sree Ramakrishna Paramahamsa,the Guru of Swami Vivekananda called Indian Religion i.e. Hindu Philosophy and Theism, a cap store that had one for every size and shape of people whereas other foreign cults had fixed head sizes and only those who heads fit in may go into them.

The Sikhs have religiously stuck to their turbans called 'puggrees' as prescribed by Sree Guru Gobind Singh the founder of the Khalsa Cult and the Sikh dress code,at war fronts and at times of controversy.They have been exempt from wearing crash-helmets which funnily enough Derek Trotter found to be a business oppurtunity!
There is the colourful Dhakah Topi of the Nepalese,'Jaapi' of the Assameese Tribes,Sehra worn in certain North Indian weddings and the Taqiyah of the Mahomedans.
The flary,colourful & vibrant turbans came into fashion in the 20th century. Chauffeurs,Waiters and Valets had them as part of uniform.Indigenous Police & Army Hats were based on them.It is infact very much in vogue today even tourists taking pictures trying them on.

The common design and cut was originally the Cashmere cap named after the land of Sage Kashyapa's Mountain- Kasyapameru or Kashmir.The cap must have been worn over the ages due to the climatic conditions prevailing in that region.Just as the name it was also usually made from the best Cashmere fabric that was fine and hence different from the Qaraqul made out of Yak Fur and similar coarse materials..
It is slightly shorter and broader than the Fez and had no cord in the centre.

The Cashmere cap in Black colour is used by the voluntary cadets of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh,The National Volunteer Association of Greater India and the biggest pressure group in the world. Their dress initially was adopted from the uniform of the British Indian Police-Khaki Shorts,puttees and boots and has undergone few positive changes such as the timely adoption of cruelty-free vegan belts and shoes.

A journey from Hats to halo!

There is the one called Gandhi Cap that we have discussed earlier popular among Congress workers during the Indian Independence movement.Made in India by the co-operatives affiliated to the party, they came in white and was made of Khadi,hand-spun cotton.Anna Hazare wear one.He is the leader of the Anti-Corruption movement against the ills started by those of the skewed Nehrurivian school of thought and fed by the members of his dynasty.

Popular equally among posers and Gandhian temperance leaders these days. my acquiantance with many serious Gandhians can confirm that they don't own one.

Just as Mr Gandhi took on board many policies and people that didn't suit him,he changed the cap he wore as well suited to time.He wore top-hats with his tailored frock-suits,dress shoes and tippling canes as a bar-student in London, the Gujarati Cap as an attorney in South Africa to assert his identity,a slouch hat whilst serving in the Ambulance Corps during the Boer War and the Zulu Rebellion,in the historic arrival at Bombay in 1915 wore a turban worn by coolies and then for a very brief period,the white cotton cap we discuss here before giving up any headdress adopting his cotton sannyasi-dress misinterpreted as loincloths in the press.In the twentieth century the Gandhi cap gained the status of unchallenged symbolism. Emma Tarlo observed that Gandhi wanted a cap suitable for Indian conditions. He did not realize that it would become a symbol of opposition to the British. In the book, Clothing Matters, Emma Tarlo further quoted Gandhiji: “…thinking over all these various type of headgear, I came to the conclusion that the Kashmiri cap is the best. It is light as well elegent; it is easy to make; it can be folded which makes it easily portable…which colour would be most suitable for the cap? Not a single colour appealed to me. So I fixed upon white… The cap being the folding sort, it would be quite easy to press after washing and iron out a fresh, clean, smooth cap! What could be better or more becoming? So having thought this out I made this cap.”

The Qaraqul hat;a shorteer version of the Turkish fez hat with origins among the Islamic Tribes of Central Asia popularised by the Indians Statesmen, Jinnah,Ayub Khan et al. and popular among Muslim Nobles.Hamid Karzai,the Afghani President wears one and is popular among Russian Communists.

The Travancore Quiff Hat is composed of unbleached cotton laced with handmade silk kasavu(silver yarn dipped in gold) arranged in a quiff in the front edge.This seems to be the last remaining version of a very quaint design since it has been seen in many old Indian Paintings adorning the Maharjahs of the Classical period.It was worn by Kings ,nobles and statesmen alike.
Another version was a kasavu turban tied by hand in a similar fashion.This was already in vogue among east-coast Brahmins the difference being that they used red-silk or designs resembling the borders of the traditional silk Dhotis.The Sachivothama- Sir C P Ramaswami Aiyar ,the Mahatma's conscience keeper Rajaji in his intial days and Sir Radhakrishnan wore turbans in white cotton tied by hand all the time whilst in India.

US President Eisenhower's Visit. The Indian Statesmen can be seen in variations of the Indian Frock Coat
Note Sir Radhakrishnan wearing a Dhoti underneath

Notice the Native Waistcoat

A young CR

The Coorg People's (Kodavas) Dress as worn by Mr Advani on holiday also has a similar silk bordered turban-like rounded hat worn with yet another version of the Frock Coat this with a waistcoat as well.Coorgis are ethnically related to Malabar.

The more orthodox Nambudiri Brahmins, Illathu Nayars and Higher Classes of the Ambalavasis who held cadjan gamps wore nothing above their tufts of hair that already protected the skull from the rays of the sun.The Vishwakarmas and Vaishyas also followed the trend.
It was ceremonial among them to wear Turbans using the indigenous Kasavu lined cotton but remnants of the custom can be seen in the marriage customs of the Nayars.The Head of the families representing the prospective bride and groom exchange the horoscopes on the day of betrothal, wearing the traditional turbans.

Maurice Watts, Esq.,Barrister and Dewan of Travancore who was born and raised in South India and Travancore wore one whilst in office.Even though of English parentage, he blend in well with the status quo and even wore a red-tilak on his temple. I believe,he was also allowed to escort the Maharajah in the Aarat of Sree Padmanabhaswamy,the tutelary Deity and Emperor on whose behalf the King ruled.However as the photo illustrates, Mr Papworth and indeed Mr Pillai seems to not be as Travancorean as HH the Queen Mother who has chosen not to wear a hat since there exists none for the Travancorean Lady.The traditional way of draping a Sari was also in vogue. No islamic conquest meant women enjoyed a high status in society unlike the North where women still have to cover their heads,albeit, not their faces completely! Nirad C.Chaudhuri attributes has pointed this fact out, explicitly and shows us how a custom gets so ingrained that it cannot be rid off. HH Rajmata Gayatri Devi of Jaipur in her lovely french chiffons and pearls, is one person who tried to do so,but to no avail.

HH the Maharajah and Prime-minister Sir C P Ramaswami Aiyar, have chosen not to wear Mortar boards over their Silk laced Travancore Quiff hats.

HH The Queen Mother ,the Pro-Chancellor ,HH The Maharajah of Travancore, the Chancellor ,
HE The Prime Minister Sir C P Ramaswami Aiyar,the Vice Chancellor,Sir Harold Charles Papworth, Esq. the Pro-Vice Chancellor and Parameswaran Pillai, Esq. the Registrar of the newly formed University of Travancore,
1st Convocation ,Trivandrum 1937 (L to R Clockwise)

This Hat is also special in the sense that the Monarchs have been wearing them as Official Dress Under their Diamdems. As the real Emperor of Travancore is Lord Padmanabhaswamy of the Thiruvananathapuram Pagoda,Travancore Kings never wear the Crown.It is preserved in the vaults of Sree Ananthapadmanabhaswamy Temple in Trivandrum along with other crown jewels and ceremonial treasures that are used only in the coronation ceremony involving Vedic Rituals that was last conducted when Sree Mulam Thirunal Rama Varma attained the Musnud.The temple has since recently been subject to unnecessary debates,much resembling the Ayodhya Case.Typical of post 1950 Indian Circumstances,every single person passing by whether he may be a terrorist who came to drop a bomb at some town in India or criminals aiming to become ministers or illiterate and corrupt officials, have attempted to stick their muddy fingers in the pie,albeit the sole aim is not consuming a part of the pie but making sure that it is putrid if they can't manage to gulp it down quickly thereby making it polluted for others.

HH Chithira Thirunal of Travancore,Official Portrait of Investiture

The Kings wears a Diadem on ceremonial occasions and can be seen in all official portraits since the dawn of Modern Travancore.The Diadem is placed over the Kasavu Quiff Hat,a convention probably very ancient just as Travancore represented the most evolved version of the Ancient Indian Government governed by its own Hindu values acclimatizing itself to changes commanded by time.

Subsistence Farmers and often their landlords who took part in Farming( belonging to the Commoner Nayar Community) wore curved hats made of Arecanut Palm leaf which has the added advantage of being waterproof. I have acquired one from a Bunt farming family in South Canara as seen in the picture.(Bunts are closely related to the Nayar race and are believed to be descendents of Nagas as well) There was a larger version, made of Cadjan, used by oarsmen that was could be termed as a contemporary unrelated version of the English boaters now, in use probably only where Nehru initially wore it- at Harrow.

The lower sections of the society,Christians and Moplahs of Malabar also wore headgear, loosely tied with materials they could spare.This also aided them in the menial jobs they performed that involved carrying on their heads.

The privileged Mahomedans and Christians wore Soft Circular Crotchet Caps resembling the Taqiyah,still used by Muslims during prayers.(Without paying any attention to the St.Thomas fairytale! ;this soft crotchet cap is thought to have been brought in by the Moorish traders)

There is the Cochin Round Cap worn by Kings and Nobles of the Kingdom of Cochin gained popularity and was adopted in Travancore as well since it was made in velvet,laced with Kasavu at the edges and embroidered on the top.Here we see the Rajah of Kollengode Royal Family wearing one seen with the Madras Governor(on Hat terms- the one wearing the Elephant Polo Hat) Lord Goscher on his Elephant Shoot(poor,Ellie!) in the Thekkady Game Reserve

The young Highness, Rama Varma (Chithira Thirunal) wearing one with the lounge suit.

Well-liked by members of the Royal Family,the Gentry and the Nobility especially children.Their Royal Highnesses did indeed make many other children in the society envious.There is an interesting article in my friend's blog here- http://www.sharatsunderrajeev.blogspot.com/2010/05/tales-from-capital-city-iv.html

Shoes:

The Formal court shoes with pointed toe caps and those laced with embroidered silk and embedded with jewels varying according to the degree of vanity by the Maharajahs have dominated being the footwear. European Court Shoes worn with Spats or Oxford brogues gained preference among western-educated elite.

An early version of footwear in the Malabar Coast are the wooden clogs(Paduka or Methiyadi ) originally covering the toes made by scrapping out a log resembling the design of the fashionable Croc Company's Clogs.It was supposed to be a creation of the race of Nayars or Nairs,according to 'Sree VidyathiRaja ParamaBhattaraka' Chattampi Swamikal (1853–1924),the great mystic sannyasi and the preceptor of Sree Narayana Guru,the well known saint and social reformer.The version that comprises of a flat sole with just a toe-grip is in vogue today mainly among vagrant monks.A well-known footwear company made a rubber sandal based on this.I have noted that this is what the present head of the Travancore Royal Family His Highness 'Padmanabhadasa' Marthanda Varma III, wears whilst at home.Swami Sivananda of Rishikesh,who was a doctor serving in Southeast Asia during the war before entering sannyas, extols the positive therapeutic effects of wearing one.The subtle centres(as in the school of accupunture) are given adequate pressure when wearing this design.

Accessories

Most modern Indian suits are sometimes worn with pocket squares according to personal preferences.The older version of the Frock Coat had a pocket midway unlike the picture,in which the design is in totum with the modern lounge suits.

Scarves in silk or cotton were used depending on the formality of the occasion and were often in the early days worn resembling a sash. Decorated sashes also worn by recipients of honours and orders of chivalry on formal occasions and dinners.

The use of walking sticks,tippling canes and swordsticks have been prevalent in the past but not in vogue presently.Use of swordsticks and similar personal effects have been in recorded history since ages and mystical powers are accorded to some of them.It was not uncommon among the Nayars of the Malabar Coast to pass on the stick used by the head of the family or the Karanavar.Especially in Nair Homesteads in Travancore,they were worshipped along with items such as antlers and clubs in the 'Thekkathu' altar which were symbols of power for the martial race.Some of the Older Elite use them although generally umbrellas seemed to have gained more universality among gentlemen undoubtedly due to its practicality.So many of us undoubtedly owe so much to this humble device.

My sincere gratitude is expressed to all the gentlemen subjects in the article,Sir Hardy Amies of Saville Row and all the books that have contributed to my understanding of various facets of Clothing.Comments or Queries are welcome.
An article specifically on the dress of the Malabar Coast is underway.Women have not been categorically excluded but lack of experience and express knowledge nullifies the desire to write one out.The Malabar Clothing Article will include that of women as well.

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Glossary & Footnotes on Vernacular Terms and Ambiguous usages:

*1-Naga Sannyassins- are the vagrant monks living along the Ganges River following a minimalistic approach to life.Like the Jains they often wear nothing other than Loin kaupinas(short drawers).They apply ash to their body and carry their customary tridents and water spouts.

*2-invented- a play on words on Nehru's book 'Discovery of India' and the commentary- Shashi Tharoor's 'Invention of India'

*3-Average Joe- American term for an a average person.A stereoptypically India Term would be an average Mr Kumar or something!

*4-Half-naked Fakir- Gandhi who also had a minimalistic approach to life was called so by Churchill.Fakir is the Hindustani term for a vagrant or mendicant monk

*5-Matriculated out of his boaters-Nehru passing out of Harrow School where there is a custom of wearing Boater Hats as part of Uniform to go to Cambridge

*6-Raj wife's accent- a stereoptype of the pretentious accent in which the wives of Englishmen,or those of Indian Officers in India spoke. This was originally just a foreign Hindustani accent.

*7-Co-respondents-a style of low-heeled, oxford, semi-brogue or full brogue constructed from two contrasting colors, typically having the toe and heel cap and sometimes the lace panels in a darker color than the main body of the shoe resembling a shoe worn with Spats.
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2011-10-25T21:26:00.000-07:00

Wishing all the admirers of light and wisdom, a Happy

Deepavali/Diwali ! May all of you get a chance to rejoice

the inner light-the underlying reality of all things...

‎86 years ago on a Deepavali day,this great soul,on his 25th birthday opened the temples of Travancore Kingdom to the disadvantaged 'untouchables' marking the end of an ignorant system in India.Today is The Maharajah's Birthday. Modesty graces the Travancore Royals.HRH Padmanabhadasa Sree Chithira Thirunal was himself an epitome of simplicity and love-'The almighty in Human Form'-'Pratyaksha Padmanabha' to his subjects.The current wealth of the Sree AnanthaPadmanabhaSwamy Temple in Trivandrum,S.India accounts to about $22 billion and still counting...

His Royal Highness Sree PadmanabhaDasa Vanchipala Sir Balarama Varma III,

Kulasekhara Kiritapati, Manney Sultan Maharajahrajah Ramarajah Bahadur, Sham-Sher-Jung, Knight Grand Commander of the Most Exalted Order of the Star of India,Knight Grand Commander of the Most Eminent Order of the Indian Empire,Major General, Maharajah of Travancore

Lord and Lady Erskine at the Party in Madras hosted by HRH The Maharajah with the Queen mother of Travancore and the Prime Minister Sir C P Ramaswami Aiyar,the celebrated statesman.

The proclamation was issued by HRH ''profoundly convinced of the truth and validity of our religion, believing that it is based on divine guidance and on all-comprehending toleration, knowing that in its practice it has through out the centuries, adapted itself to the needs of changing times'' with the able guidance from his Queen Mother and the Prime Minister Dewan Sir C P Ramaswami Aiyar,the celebrated Hindu Statesman

who was himself born on Deepavali Day. Let us spent a moment in silence in honour of their Highness es!

The Story of the Meshan Mani

2011-08-22T14:20:00.000-07:00

In the heart of Trivandrum,next to the Pagoda of Sree AnanthaPadmanabhaswamy stands the turret clock popularly known as the Meshan Mani *1.Its stands as a silent spectator,a veritable witness to changing times ticking away unperturbed,by the tumults around.

Participation in the Annual Satsanga Series by 'Parama Shraddheya' 'Brahmasree'*2 Nochur,Venkataraman held at Abhedashramam Balakrishnaswamy Temple precincts gave the gracious chance for the writer to listen to the chimes of the clock.It once used to be heard from miles away and now goes unnoticed in the hustle and bustle of the city.That indeed prompted this short article which explores the
‘jataka’*3 of this unique piece of work, which has seen Travancore in all its glories from the days of HRH Maharajah Swathi Thirunal Rama Varma to the present day benevolence of HRH Sree Uthradom Thirunal Marthanda Varma; who might be in robes different from those of the former Vanchipalas, but indelibly graced by Sree Padmababhaswamy.

An e-version of this clock incarnated in the cyber world,created by CDIT under the stewardship of Dr Achyutsankar S Nair who is a key academic of Travancore History of that period especially the days of Swathi Thirunal. It is available for download at the said website.

Installed in 1833 during the reign of Maharajah Swathi Thirunal,the Meshan Mani (clock) is ensconced in the middle of the Karuvelappura Palace facing the Padmatheertham Pond towards the North, in front of the Padmanabhaswamy Temple.It has on its dial, a man's face with two goats on either side. The rams
clobber the bearded cheeks when the clock clangs its bell.

HRH the Amma Maharani Sethu Parvathi Bayi, HH the Maharajah of Bikaner General Sir Maharaja Ganga Singh GCSI, GCIE, GCVO, GCStJ, GBE, KCB the famed member of the British Imperial War Cabinet on a state visit to Travancore and HH The Maharajah of Travancore Sree Chithira Thirunal(in temple attire) atop the Karuvelappura Palace beholding the investiture of HRH Uthradom Thirunal Marthanda Varma(The present titular Maharajah of Travancore) almost 75 years ago- Photo by MR G K Vale

The writer on the Northern side of the tank;the long Karuvelappura Palace and the pagoda in the background – Photo by Editor Synonymous

Origins-

A Pandy Craftsmen(Sketch by Sharat Sunder-Courtesy- www.sharatsunderrajeev.blogspot.com)

Crafted from mahogany by an artisan called Kulathooran, every time the clock completes an hour, the man opens his mouth and the goats hit his cheeks.Kulathooran hence came to be known as ‘Soothram Asari’- 'Innovative Architect', for designing this unique vicissitude.

The machine is believed to have come from Madras.Records indicate the purchase of two clocks from Madras.One was fixed in the city and the other at Padmanabhapuram(still seen in the Darpakulangara Palace,Thuckalay,Kalkulam ).The proposal was made by the then commercial agent of Travancore, Mr John Caldecott.

Operation:

Early Turret Clock mechanism
It is an old mechanism which comprises of two boulder weights attached to the needles. They are in turn conjoined to a rod behind the clock. There is a lever mechanism to trigger the goats to collide with the ‘Methan’ every hour, equal to the number of chimes.

Etymological meaning:

The Word Meshan(Or Methan?)could either come from the presence of Two goats- ‘Mesha’ in Sanskrit for goat or according to some it comes from the face of the Muslim Man or ‘Methan’- a word seldom heard today as it may be considered by some as offensive but used by the old-timers.The word clearly has no offensive meanings as the kings even gave honorary titles of ‘Methar’ to Muslim Nobles.

There is also a story that the clock symbolizes Travancore's successful repulsion of the attack of Tipu Sultan, which is of good news to me since my ancestors commanded the war against the ruthless villain from Mysore known for his cruel inhuman ways indicated by the persecution and large scale religious conversion by ordeal,looting and rapes perpetuated by his Moplah *6 forces.People who falsely call him a ‘freedom fighter’ as well as those who spend their lives establishing this lie must remember that he even burned down the Guruvayoor Temple and looted it to an extent that even Sree Guruvayoorappan *4 had to be taken away by the Brahmans to Travancore, later to be re-installed.

The Methan Mani may not be as high as the one overlooking the Lord Kaabalishwara’s Shrine *5 at Mecca surrounded by praying ‘methars’(Mecca,Saudi Arabia around the "Hajre Aswad" or Sanghey Ashweta(non-white stone) which is the largest clock tower in the world) but stands still amazing the traveller as a subtle reminder of Travancore’s past.

The Clocktower,the Karuvelappura Palace and The Padma Theertham Tank overlooking the temple as seen today

The Clock
Titles –Esoteric Titles
Jataka-Horoscope/Life History
The Deity at Guruvayoor Temple/ Lord Krishna
The Hajj/Pilgrimage Site of the Mahomedans
The Adherents of Islamic religion

Humble Pranams to Sree K Aiyappan Pillai,the impeccable nonagenarian lawyer of great repute, the nephew of my great grandfather Mundanad MR. Ry. Sree Narayana Pillai Avl.,both descendants of the valiant Mundanad Kurups, the great Nair madampis & war commanders of Travancore in the Mysore War. He is the 'Rajah of Trivandrum' when it comes to study of history, to historians ; for help with some factual information.

Thank to my dear friend Sharat, who himself is from an illustrious family of master craftsmen and has been a great companion in my study of Travancore History, for the use of his sketch of the Tamil Asari; the best of my knowledge and belief confers that the ‘Soothrakaran’ Craftsman was a Vishwakarma Achari from Pandy(Tamil Nadu)
Thanks to my editor synonymous who wish to be known so,for unflinching help.

Where Nithyananda AND the public went wrong..

2010-04-08T00:27:00.000-07:00

After having read people's directions to Nithyananda and comments by people from various walks of life,I wish to present my view on it even though it may be a bit late.

Nithyananda isn't just the one,there are hundreds of pseudo-sannyasis(renunciaors) not just in India but int he west too draped in saffron and ochre waiting for the next Mind(mine) to dig !

And what about the so called Morality upholders,freethinkers and 'hindus'-They seem to have not ever even glanced at the authentic books on aspects of Hinduism. Readers should have a little more tuition before commenting on such an issue.
Everybody does have choice to either listen to their guru’s instructions or make their own plan of sadhana if they have enough knowledge of do’s and don’ts and nobody would impose anything on them.
Also,we can never comment on any acharya,(by ‘acharya’ I mean reputed teachers of Hinduism well versed in shastras) by our material knowledge level. Some things they do might seem weird to us but remember they are ‘Trikala jnanis’ (Knowers of past-present and future in human time conception) and would do only what benefits humanity.
I recall a speech I heard recently at the Sree Rama Navami Hindu Maha Sammelanam organised by Sree Rama Dasa Mission in Trivandrum.It was a speech on the Ashram’s founder world renowned Jagaduru Swami Sathyananda Saraswathi and his contributions.The speaker,an ex-central minister said that in this age one needs to be an ‘acharya’,avataras are innumerable(In this case he meant that you cannot question somebody who claims to be an avatar but an acharya is expected to know the shastras and practice them in his life!)
Also ‘Sannyasa’ Is 100% renunciation of worldly life. The speaker also quoted Sadguru Mata Amritanandamayi Devi’s comment on Swami Sathyananda Saraswathi. A swami walks with a bundle on his back(metaphorically worldly things) ,throws off the bundle to enter sannyasa and picks up the bundle again for the welfare of the people, the bag now being a burden.
I agree that Christian priests and Imams are married,wears suits and drives around in expensive cars,have girlfriends and enjoy all sense pleasures. Doen’t Indian priets, atleast majority of them do the same.Priests aren’t sannyasis.Priests are those who worship at the temples.And sannyasis are those who have nothing to do for himself with the pleasures of the world.
What Nithyananda has done is completely wrong in the sense that he calls himself ‘Paramahamsa’ which is a level in yoga that cannot be achieved without complete brahmacharya.And he sets up temples,ashrams and conducts geeta classes and ‘rumoured intimate meetings’ accepting 1 Lakh rupees from devotees.He is cheating the public and as there is no controlling organ for the hindus,nobody questions.
What is expected from him is not just an apology.He should not have worn the ‘saffron’ if he is not a sannyasin.If he is just a yoga teacher or a priest nobody would have questioned if he indulged in any kind of pleasure.
Not just him there are hundreds of such pseudo-sannyasis.
And please my dear brothers and sisters,you aren’t even adept in simple true principles ,why talk about bizarre things like Tantric sex and why criticise a particular sampradaya(be it ISKCON, Aghories or Advaitists).You only know what is true when you deeply study the particular path and after 1000 years of subvertion,how true is the materials you get to study?
Hinduism is a store with caps that suit every single person’s head. All paths lead to the ultimate truth.

Why all this fuss about Ayodhya?

2009-11-24T03:18:00.001-08:00

This is NOT a comprehensive article on Ayodhya issue.This is to point out to the public the greatest untruth being propagated to you.
This article is to publicise the truth that:
*What was demolished in Ayodhya is an old temple to build a new one!
*Nobody,including the World Hindu Council-VHP has complained against the temple being demolished (!)and hence, why should this Govt. take action against our leaders –Sri L K Advani,Dr Murli Manohar Joshi and His Excellency Sri Atal Bihari Vajpayee who might have mobilised support for demolishing the structure(see,I wasn’t there to say if they did or not? )

People who are new to this issue,please go to-http://www.ayodhya.com.

I do not wish to explain all what this is about as I know most of the readers will be cognizant of what the background is? But is you view subverted by the sick pseudo-secular media & unworthy yet power-hungry politicians who have exploited the introduction of Adult-franchise into an economically and educationally backward society for making easy money back in 1947.
I wish to add here,the relevant excerpts from the conversation I had with a group of young students who showed interest in my words about a related issue.(Distortion of History)

What happened in Ayodhya on the 6th of December,1992 exactly?
Ans: Well,first of all it wasn’t a great secret terrorist move to demolish the structure at Ayodhya to stress it the way it being done.Kar-sevaks were informed and organised to assemble at Ayodhya to raze down the old structure and built the proposed temple dedicated to Lord Rama.
Why should a temple be built by demolishing a place of worship of another community-The Babri Masjid while the Hindus believe –All religions as true?
Ans:See,what was demolished is a temple,an old one to pave way for a better building as planned.
Ancient History
I’ll be surprised if even a single Indian says he hasn’t heard the name of Lord Rama.Lord Rama was born in Ayodhya and the rest of the story is familiar to everybody including nursery children irrespective of their religion.
History books,Govt. docs & excavations and photos of the structure that was demolished have proved the existence of a Temple.
Please research yourself(keep away from the newspapers and newly written History books and ofcourse,the News media) on the Internet or on reliable History books to find out all about it
(Eg.www.ayodhya.com,
http://www.scribd.com/doc/23038670
http://koenraadelst.bharatvani.org/books/finale/index.html
http://www.bharatvani.org/books/ayodhya/index.html
http://www.flex.com/~jai/articles/ayodhya.html
etc.)
Story after the dispute in the 1930’s:
It wasn’t a Mosque,as no Mussalman even strayed that way.The term Babri Masjid also came up only recently after the hype.
*The Faisabad Civil Court pointed this out on 3rd March 1951 that No Muslims conducted any prayers there since 1937.
* The domes of this disputed building were built by the British in 1934.
*The priest at the Ram Temple(the disputed structure aka the Babri Masjid(!)) is appointed and paid by the Government.
*The Rama Idol consecrated below the central dome of the disputed structure is worshipped very day along with recitation of Hare Rama mantra uninterruptedly since 1949.Do you call such a place a mosque?

How did it suddenly become a Mosque in 1992?

Her Highness Maharani Gayatri Devi, Rajmata of Jaipur

2009-07-29T22:49:00.000-07:00

I don't know how I can describe her or put a message up now describing what she meant to me even though I have never met her personally.It has always been my wish to see her and I had been planning a trip to Lilypool just for a sight of her!
I'll miss you, dear Maharani!

A Test- Who are you?

2009-04-12T06:49:00.000-07:00

If you were the publisher and had to choose a title for your book,what would it be?

*Adventures on the Rhine
*Anatomy Of Friendship
*Power Plays
*Things left Unsaid

>

>

>

>

>

Answer:

If you selected the first title,you're probably an Explorer;

You enjoy risk-taking and novelty-seeking.You are creative,
irreverent and restless.

second,a Builder;

You're calm,sociable,popular,conscientious,dutiful,loyal,
persistent,conventional,traditional and good at management.

third,A Director;

You excel at math and have mechanical and design skills.You
are direct decisive,logical,musical,analytical and not
especially emotionally expressive.

fourth,a Negotiator.

You're imaginative,intuitve,holisitc,nurturing,compassionate
and verbal.You generally see the big picture and have good
people skills.

The Khilafat Movement in British Malabar of 1921

2009-03-06T06:02:00.000-08:00

The British Indian Army Officers,Malabar 1921

The Grave of two British officers- Private ELEY , F M
Private HUTCHINGS , H C
who died of wounds received in action against the moplahs at
Tirurangadi 22.8.1921

Grave of William John Duncan Rowley,
Asst. Supdt. of Police, Palghat,
who was killed at Tirurangadi by a mob of moplahs
at the outbreak of the Mappila Rebellion on August 20, 1921 - aged 28

(Courtesy: www.calicutheritage.blogspot.com)

____________________________________________________________________

The educationally and economically backward Moplahs* of Malabar initially organized the Khilafat Conference in 1920 against the British Government and this had the tacit support of the Indian National Congress too. Later it took criminal overtones with the rebels committing atrocities with mass conversions, murders, arson, looting etc. Destruction of government properties, and attacks on government treasuries and the adoption of guerrilla type war fare by the trouble makers prompted the British Government to suppress the rebellion with severe measures.
During the early months of 1921, multiple events including Khilafat Movement, Karachi resolution, fuelled the fire of rebellion in British Malabar. A conference of Khilafat held at Ponnani paved way for the uprisings in Malabar which became a widespread struggle called the Malabar struggle. The rebellion was triggered when Turkey abolished the caliphate and it quickly gained momentum as the Moplahs were in an organized state owing allegiance to the Khilafat Movement.
The reasons for the Moplah conflict were rooted in part in the religious perceptions:

*In part to the disaffection from British Governance
*Certain anger at the land owning Hindu community.(The same sense of jealousy and anger on the ones enjoying benefits,by the non-able ;which was there from the creation of civilisation)

The immediate cause being the redistribution of land by the Feudal Lords. The 'rebellion' was a result of dissatisfaction of Moplahs with the land owning Hindu community and the British Administration that inevitably supported the land owning community. Events following the Khilafat Movement helped organize the Moplahs for this rebellion.

INCIDENTS BY CHRONOLOGY:

On August 20, the first incident of the rebellion occurred at Tirurangadi when the District Magistrate of Calicut with the help of troops attempted to arrest a few Moplah leaders who were in the possession of illegal arms, and armed incidents followed.
Arsonists took to the street, burning and destroying government property. Initial focus was on the British, but when the limited presence of the British was eliminated, Moplahs turned their attention to the land owning Hindus. Government property was destroyed. Europeans who did not succeed in escaping were murdered and their wives were brutally gang-raped and murdered.

>As soon as the administration was paralyzed,Ali Musaliar was proclaimed Raja of the Moplah Khilafat and Khilafat flags were flown. Ernad and Valluvanad were declared Khilafat kingdoms.
>The main brunt of the Moplah ferocity was borne, not by the govt but by the Hindus were constituted the majority of the population.
>Massacres, forcible conversions, desecration of temples,rape,foul outrages upon woman were perpetuated freely by the trouble- makers.

>By the end of 1921 the situation was under control. The leaders of the rebellion were Ali Musaliar (who had himself assumed the title of the King), Varian kunnath Kunhammad Haji and Chembrasseri Thangal. All had been caught and executed by February 1922.According to official records, the government lost 43 troops with 1256 wounded while the Moplahs lost 3,000, while Moplah accounts put that number at over 10,000.After the suppression of the result, around hundred prisoners, confined in a closed and almost airtight goods van, were transported by rail. When the door was opened, 66 Moplahs were found to be suffocated to death and the remaining 34 were on the verge of collapse.This created an outcry among the Moplahs.

DESCRIPTION OF AN INCIDENT:

On the barren hillside between Thuvoor and Karuvayakandi in north Kerala, there is a well. Beside it, on the barren hilltop, on August 24, 1921 Chambrassery Imbichi Koithangal along with more than 4,000 of his followers had organised a massive rally. Under the solitary tree on the hillside stood Thangal and surveyed the 40 or so people who cowered before him, their hands tied behind their backs. All of them were Hindus. The charge against them was read out. According to the mob, these Hindus had connived with the army against the Muslim extremists who were fighting for an Islamic state in north-Malabar. Thirty three of the Hindus were given death punishment. The first three were shot to death on the spot. The rest were taken to the nearby well one after the other, like lambs in a slaughter-house.

The executioner stood near the well. There, each of the Hindus was made to bend and was held down. Then the axeman started his gruesome task. Most of the Hindus were beheaded and their bodies were thrown into the well. Some of them did not die instantly but were thrown into the well mortally wounded. The well was hewn out of solid rock. There was no wall around it. Those who survived the fall were to die a slow agonising death among the bloody corpses. Three days after the bloodbath people could hear cries from the well but were too terrified to help. Anyone who comes to visit the place can see the horrible remains. The well bottom is filled with the skeletons of the dead.

The massacre at Thuvoor was only one of the incidents of the Moplah Riot of 1921 in north Kerala. More than 2,500 Hindus—men, women and children—perished in this infamous incident. About 30,000 Hindus were forcibly converted to Islam. The conversion ceremony included the mandatory eating of beef by the new converts. Two lakh Hindus had to flee their homes. Abduction and rape of Hindu women were widespread. Gandhiji lamented that his Muslim brothers “had gone mad” in Malabar. Dr B.R. Ambedkar described the Malabar riot as an “inhuman uncontrolled savagery”. A report on the riot brought out by the Kozhikode District Congress Kerala Committee said that “Hindu men, women and children were murdered for the sole reason of being kafirs”.

The Marxist government led by E.M.S. Namboothiripad twisted the history by classifying the Moplah Riot as a part of the freedom movement, and today many of those who participated in the riots receive freedom fighter's pension.

THE ARMY's ACTION:

Initially, the Malabar Special Police and Fraser’s and Charsley’s Companies were dealing with the rebels. It was “decided to bring additional troops of a type accustomed to jungle fighting and the 3/70 Burma Rifles and 2/8th Gurkhas accompanied by a wireless section, a company of Sappers, half the 20th Draught Mule Corps and other transport details arrived in the middle of October 1921.”(Account by Innes ICS). The military commander for Malabar was Major General Burnett Stewart.

Outrages upon a large number of Hindus may be corroborated by independent testimony. It would suffice to refer to a few documents.

1. A statement signed by the Secretary and Treasurer of the Kerala Provincial Congress Committee and Secretary Ernad Khilafat Committee and K.V.Gopala Menon refers to the misdeeds of the Moplahs.

“Their wanton and unprovoked attack on the Hindus, the all but wholesale looting of their houses in Ernad etc, the forcible conversion of Hindus in the beginning of the rebellion and the wholesale conversion of those who stuck to their homes in later stages, the brutal murder of inoffensive Hindus without the slightest reason.Except that they are Kafirs or belonged to the same religion as the policemen, who entered their Tangals or entered their mosques, burning of Hindu temples, the outrage on Hindu woman and their forcible conversion and marriage by the Moplahs”.

2. A report dated Calicut, 7/9/1921 published in the Times of India and another dated 6/12/1921 published in the New India, give detailed accounts of the most horrible outrages on women which cannot be reproduced for the sake of decency.

3. Sir.C Sankaran Nair refers to cases of men who were skinned alive or made to dig their graves before being slaughtered. To read more about the atrocities go to page 362 of the History and Culture of the Indian People published by the Bharitya Vidya Bhavan vol 10.

4. According to the Report of the Enquiry Committee of the Servants of India, the number of Hindus murdered was 1500, the number forcibly converted 20,000 and property looted Rs 3 crs.

5. In a heart-rending petition to Lady Reading, wife of the Viceroy, the Hindu woman of Malabar stated

“Your ladyship is doubtless aware that even though our unhappy district has witnessed many Moplah outbreaks in the last one hundred years, the present rebellion is unexampled in magnitude as well as unprecedented in ferocity, pregnant woman cut to pieces and left on the roadsides and in the jungles. We remember how driven out of our native hamlets we wandered, starving and naked, the jungles and forests”.

6. To those who appealed to the Moplahs in the name of Gandhi they said, “Gandhi is a kafir, how can he be our leader?” So much for Gandhi’s Hindu Muslim unity.

7. Said Mrs Annie Besant, “Malabar has taught what Islamic rule means and we do not want to see another specimen of Khilafat Raj in India”.

There was a silver lining, however. The Arya Samajis through their Suddhi Movement converted over 2000 Hindus who had been converted to Islam by the Moplahs.

Appendice 1-
Excerpts from a heart-rending petition to Lady Reading, the wife of the then Viceroy of India from Rani of Nilambur

'We, the Hindu women of Malabar of varying ranks and stations in life who have recently been overwhelmed by the tremendous catastrophe known as the Moplah rebellion, take the liberty to supplicate your Ladyship for sympathy and succour.'

'Your Ladyship is doubtless aware that though our unhappy district has witnessed many Moplah outbreaks in the course of the last 100 years, the present rebellion is unexampled in its magnitude as well as unprecedented in its ferocity.

But it is possible that your Ladyship is not fully appraised of all the horrors and atrocities perpetrated by the fiendish rebels -

of the many wells and tanks filled up with the mutilated, but often only half dead bodies of our nearest and dearest ones who refused to abandon the faith of our fathers;

of pregnant women cut to pieces and left on the roadsides and in the jungles, with the unborn babies protruding from the mangled corpses;

of our innocent and helpless children torn from our arms and done to death before our eyes and

of our husbands and fathers tortured, flayed and burnt alive;

of our helpless sisters forcibly carried away from the midst of kith and kin and subjected to every shame and outrage which the vile and brutal imagination of these inhuman hellhounds could conceive of;

of thousands of our homesteads reduced to circular mounds out of sheer savagery in a wanton spirit of destruction;

of our places of worship desecrated and destroyed and of the images of the deity shamefully insulted by putting the entrails of slaughtered cows where flower garlands used to lie,or else smashed to pieces;

of the wholesale looting of hard earned wealth of generations reducing many who were formerly rich and prosperous to publicly beg for a pie or two in the streets of Calicut, to buy salt or betal leaf -rice being mercifully provided by the various relief agencies of Government.

These are not fables. The wells full of rotting skeletons, the ruins which once were our dear homes, the heaps of stones which once were our places of worship - these are still here to attest to the truth. The cries of our murdered children in their death agonies are still ringing in our ears and will continue to haunt our memory till our own death brings us peace. '

Appendice 2
Resolution passed in the People’s Conference presided by Zamorin, Maharaja of Malabar, was held in 1921.

'This Conference views with indignation and sorrow the attempts made in various quarters by interested parties to ignore or minimise the crimes committed by the Moplah rebels such as:

a) Brutality dishonouring women

b) Flaying people alive

c) Wholesale slaughter of men, women and children

d) Burning alive entire families

e) Forcibly converting people in thousands and slaying those who refused to get converted

f) Throwing half dead people into wells and leaving the victims for hours to struggle for escape till finally released from their suffering by death

g) Burning a great many and looting practically all Hindu and Christian houses in the disturbed areas in which even Moplah women and children took part and robbing women of even the garments on their bodies, in short, reducing the whole non-Muslim population to abject destitution.

h) Cruelly insulting the religious sentiments of the Hindus by desecrating and destroying numerous temples in the disturbed areas, killing cows within the temple precincts, putting their entrails on the holy image and hanging the skulls on the walls and roofs.

Ms ANNIE BESANT ON MOPLAH MARAUDERS

Annie Besant visited the affected areas of Malabar soon after the Moplah rebellion in 1921 and wrote a series of powerful articles about the carnage let loose by the Moplah Muslims which opened the eyes of the Government of India and that of Britain.

Excerpts from her Article Malabar's Agony

'The Khilafat Raj is established there; on 1 August, 1921, sharp to the date first announced by Gandhi for the beginning of Swaraj and the vanishing of British Rule, a Police Inspector was surrounded by Moplahs, revolting against that Rule. From that date onwards thousands of the forbidden war knives were secretly made and hidden away and on 20 August, the rebellion broke out. Khilafat flags were hoisted on Police Stations and Government Offices. .... Eyes full of appeal, and agonised despair, of hopeless entreaty of helpless anguish, thousands of them camp after camp which I visited.

Annie Besant exposed the atrocities committed by the Moplah rebels in Malabar as a fearless journalist. Let us hear her describe an act and scene of rape in Malabar:

'Words fail to express my feelings of indignation and abhorrence which I experienced when I came to know of an instance of rape, committed by the rebels under Chembrasseri Thangal.

Excerpts from her Article Malabar's Agony

Annie Besant exposed the atrocities committed by the Moplah rebels in Malabar as a fearless journalist. Let us hear her describe an act and scene of rape in Malabar:

'Words fail to express my feelings of indignation and abhorrence which I experienced when I came to know of an instance of rape, committed by the rebels under Chembrasseri Thangal.

A respectable Nair lady at Melathur was stripped naked by the rebels in the presence of her husband and brothers who were made to stand close by with their hands tied behind. When they shut their eyes in abhorrence, they were compelled at the point of a sword to open their eyes and witness the rape committed by the brute in their presence. I loathe even to write of such a mean action. This instance of rape was communicated to me by one of her brothers confidentially. There are several instances of such mean atrocities which are not revealed by people....' !

SPEECH OF THE MOST HONOURABLE- RUFUS DANIEL ISAACS, 1st MARQUESS OF READING,THE VICEROY OF INDIA:

A few Europeans and many Hindus have been murdered, communications have been obstructed. Hindu temples sacked, houses of Europeans and Hindus burnt. According to reports Hindus were forcibly converted to Islam... The result has been the temporary collapse of the Civil Government and offices and courts have ceased to function and ordinary business has been brought to a standstill. European and Hindu refugees of all classes are concentrated at Calicut and it is satisfactory to note that they are safe there. One trembles to think of the consequences if the forces of order had not prevailed for the protection of Calicut. Those who are responsible for causing this grave outbreak of violence and crime must be brought to justice and made to suffer the punishment of the guilty.'

REPORT OF INC(CONGRESS) WORKING COMMITTE:

The shock of the Moplah riots was so widespread that a Committee of Distinguished Citizens was appointed to tour the affected areas. The Committee consisted of K P Keshava Menon, Secretary Kerala Provincial Committee, T V Mohammed, Secretary, Ernad Khilafat Committee, K Madhavan Nair, Secretary, Calicut District Congress Committee and K V Gopal Menon. In their fact-finding report they concluded:

'Truth is infinitely of more paramount importance than Hindu Muslim unity or Swaraj and therefore we tell the Maulana Sahib and his co-religionists and India's revered leader Mahatma Gandhi – if he too is unaware of the events here – that atrocities committed by the Moplahs on the Hindus are unfortunately too true and that there is nothing in the deeds of Moplah rebels which a true non-violent, non-co-operator can congratulate them for.. Their wanton and unprovoked attack on the Hindus, the all but wholesale looting of their houses.. Brutal murder of inoffensive Hindus, men, women and children in cold blood without the slightest reason except that they are Kafirs... Their wholesale conversion through threat of death.'

Aftermath:

Role of Marxist Historians

Due to the irrational reading of our past by the Marxist-Orientalist-Colonialist (MOC) nexus in the last century for their immediate ends, all these historical realities were suppressed or bypassed and these were categorized as mere myths and new dimensions to our age-old labour relations. The result of this wrong reading was that even worst communal riots like Mopla revolt of Malabar (Kerala) in the year1921 C.E were categorized as the outcome of the agrarian tensions, which persisted there for long. The Muslim bigots who were at the helm of affairs were pictured and glorified by the Marxist intellectuals and historiographers as freedom fighters of the first order. Those criminals who involved in the communal riots were exalted as heroes by anti-Hindu forces of the day. Subsequently in the following decades of the Mopla riot of 1921 (Malabar Revolt), the communists for their narrow ends, rather than for the national goals, godfathered the outbreaks staged in the Malabar region of Kerala.

Fabricating Islamic History in Kerala

The Muslim fanatics who were at the front of the Hindu massacre during the course of the Malabar Riot are now christened as freedom fighters and comrades, respectively, by the Right and Left political [ruling] coalitions of Kerala. This is the thumbnail portrait of the contemporary politico-social structure of the Muslim social formations of Kerala.

'Truth is infinitely of more paramount importance than Hindu Muslim unity’

_____________________________________________________________________
* Moplahs are known to be descendants of Arab traders who had settled on the Malabar Coast and married local lower-caste Indian women.They were a band of fanatic Muslims who had over the years acquired an unenviable notoriety for crimes perpetuated under the impulse of religious frenzy.

Platinum Jubilee of Willingdon Water Works..

2009-03-01T23:36:00.000-08:00

HH the Maharajah of Travancore hosts a Dinner Party in London
Guests include Lord Willingdon

The glory of the Travancoreans and British Engineering

The purification plant that still houses Victorian Machinery

It was just thought over tea-time chat with my friend Master Nair,a noble from Malabar,that prompted us to visit the The Travancore Water Works' Tunnel that has been opened to the public, since its Platinum Jubilee celebrations were underway.

The 'Willingdon Water Works' called so after Major Freeman Freeman-Thomas,1st Marquess of Willingdon PC GCSI GCMG GCIE GBE (1866-1941),the then Viceroy of India and a great friend of the Kingdom of Travancore.
The tunnel runs across the Kowdiar- Cantonment Avenue and has inlaid cast iron pipes which brings water to the purification plant from the Dam at Aruvikkara. It was constructed within just 10 days,which is astounding to the present trade-union communist (non)workforce in Kerala who couldn't tighten a bolt in that period.The work was carried out under supervision of British & Travancorean Engineers using materials brought from England,most of them are intact till date.

You could still sense that Raj element as you walk down the gardens to the tunnel and out of it...Clean & Well-maintained gardens to the Rule of Law prevalent in society that seems so far away these days apart from within one's own homesteads.A silver lining to the event was an exhibition of photographs and other documents related to the history of the Water Authority & few of the state of Travancore.
The picture of the roots of a tree against a walls that now adorns as the header for my blog is a photograph taken at the entrance to the tunnel.

Only satisfaction!

2009-02-28T20:06:00.001-08:00

The only answer or what satisfies my conscience is:What more should you expect from illiterate,fickle,anti-social sycophants?

So-called Steve Irwin Park in Kerala

2009-02-28T19:52:00.000-08:00

Wife shock for Irwin croc park- What’s in a name?
JOHN MARY

Thiruvananthapuram, Feb. 27: Steve Irwin’s widow has sent the Keralawildlife department a legal notice for naming a crocodile park afterhim without her permission.The notice, which was received last week, has stunned authorities, whoclaim they had invited Terri Irwin to the park’s inauguration in May2007. She did not come.
Forest minister Binoy Viswam had announced naming the Crocodile Parkat Neyyar, around 30km from here, in honour of the wildlife expert andconservationist shortly after his death in 2006 in a stingray attackwhile shooting a film off the Australia coast.
The Steve Irwin Crocodile Rehabilitation and Research Centre atMarakunneth Agastya Nature Study Centre is within the Neyyar WildlifeSanctuary. Set up on two and a half hectares at a cost of Rs 5 lakh,the centre mostly features crocodiles found in the marshlands of thesubcontinent. The park has been renovated with an image of Irwinengraved on the entrance wall.Law firm Rigby-King Lawyers has sent the notice on behalf of Terri andAustralia Zoo Pty Ltd alleging that the use of the name and images ofSteve for the park was an infringement of intellectual propertyrights, and wants the government to stop it immediately.
Chief conservator of forest (wildlife) K.P. Ouseph said his department
had received the notice and was verifying its authenticity. “We have brought the matter to the notice of the advocate-general and willreply if the notice is found genuine.”But Ouseph wondered why Terri didn’t send her objections earlier, whenshe was invited. “Since our intentions are clear, we will not doanything that Steve’s family reckons is improper,” said Ouseph.The forest department thought Steve’s family was pleased with thenaming and the gesture was seen here as a fitting tribute to thememory of the Australian conservationist.The row is baffling also because there are memorials in his nameelsewhere. The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, an NGO working forthe conservation of marine wildlife, had named one of its vessels, MVSteve Irwin. Terri, who approved the renaming in December 2007, hadsaid then: “If Steve were alive, he’d be aboard with them.”The original crocodile park was started in 1977 as part of a nationalproject for conservation of the reptiles.
The aim was to rear them andrelease adults into their natural habitat. In 1985, the forestdepartment released 25 crocodiles into the Neyyar reservoir but theystarted attacking locals and animals. A few lives were lost and somepeople escaped with severed limbs, forcing the foresters to stopfurther releases.--
http://www.stopelephantpolo.com/
http://www.freewebs.com/azamsiddiqui

KAYAMKULAM WAR & kURUP'S lANE

2009-02-28T01:24:00.000-08:00

''the Nairs of the ancient type* were so many Spartan warriors,
so many knights of a court of love...they learnt to despise fatigue,
to be careless of wounds and to show an indomitable courage..
they drew the bow with such skill that their second shaft often split the first.

Their extraordinary agility made them the terror of every combat.On the smallest provocation they devoted themselves to death,and having done so,one would hold his ground against a hundred.''

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The history of the Mundanad family can be traced back to the Kayamkulam War in 1734, Travancore being under the rule of Maharaja Anizham Thirunal Marthanda Varma.
There were four Nair Feudal Lords called Kurups in Kayamkulam when the Kayamkulam forces abducted the Heir Apparent - the Elaya Raja, the younger brother of the Maharajah.The four feudal manors were 'Valiaveedu' (literally The Big-Manor), 'Panayara Veedu', 'Mundanadu' and 'Vellumoola Veedu'.

The extremists in Kayamkulam had the opinion that the Prince should be executed in order to prompt the Venad Chief, Maharaja Marthanda Varma not to create an empire, particularly not to expand his frontiers further towards the North. The liberal Kurups stood up for the Prince demanding that it would be against the Kshathriya/ Aristrocratic Code of Conduct if they did so.With secret help from their liberal Lordships, the Prince arrived safely back to Travancore. This prince was later to become the famed Dharma Raja of Travancore.

Years passed, Maharajah Sree Padmanabhadasa Veera Vanchi Marthanda Varma passed away and Karthika Thirunal Rama Varma attained the Musnud. It was during the 'Murajapam' festival at the Sree Padmanabha Swamy temple that the new Maharajah caught his eye on a this devout-looking Nair nobleman giving away refreshments (buttermilk etc.) to the Nambudiri Brahmins from the north who had come for the performance of temple service. He could identify him as one of the same Lords who had helped him escape from Kayamkulam.

He invited the Kurup to the palace, offered the equal amount of land and possessions they had in Kayamkulam and invited the Naaluveetil Kurups to reside in Trivandrum. It couldn't have been a better time for the arrival of the martial & knightly barons as the Mysore war soon broke out ,in which Travancore later dilligently won.

The Valiaveetil Kurups settled at Thycaud (who in due course came to be known as Thycauttil Kurups),Panayara Veetil Kurups at Chirayankeezhu Village and the Vellumoola Kurups at Kavalayoor village, while those of Mundanad settled at Valiasala.

Later a member of the Mundanad family,after wedlock built a new manor house and moved out to the Thamarakulam region of Sasthamangalam (which later, with urban expansion came to be known as Kurup's Lane) thereby starting the branch of 'Thekkepevarthala', in late nineteenth century. There is much information about them in their Family Charity Trust website.

The connection of this story to me is that, that my great-grandfather M.R.Ry. Mundanad, Narayana Pillai Avl., Senior Secretary to the Dewan in the Travancore Devaswom (corresponds to Permanent Under-secretary of State) belonged to the Mundanad Family of Valiasala, being the nephew of the last Karanavan of Mundanad, Shri Panapillai Easwara Kurup and cousin to H. H. The Thachudaya Kaimal, Brahmasree Manickyan Keralan Mundanad Bhaskara Kurup .

The un-divided family's residence in Trivandrum was at Melevilla, adjacent to the ancient Mahadevar Temple, regarded to be the site of the great university of yore, Kanthalloor Sala. The abandonment of India by Great Britain after the second-world war brought in democratic changes in many erstwhile Kingdoms, of which Travancore became a victim. Communist rule, land-reforms, land ceiling legislation and so on added to the Government's forceful acquisition of land for their purposes meant that the house had to be razed down. The town house part of it, though a nineteenth-century addition can still be seen, though partially mutilated in the Mundanad Lane.

The dawn of the modern era saw the downfall of the Nayar dominance in the Malabar coast that gradually declined through adaptation, when the Nairs swapped the sword for the guns, then pens and the gamps respectively!

The family, Padmanabha gratia didn't fall into rack and ruin as the fate of many Nair clans,but continued to produce eminent statesmen,educationists,lawyers,artistes and armed forced personnel.

A part two on the Origins and Ancient History of the Family is underway.
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*These days,the surname of Nair or Nayar and other titles is widely being besmirched by people who have forgotten to see their positions in society due to intellectual subversion over the years (Many use these hereditary titles( exclude the generic Nair / Nayar) without consulting the heraldic codes which is erroneous.) and by some who have in pedagogic and hortative disguises usurped certain Clan names for themselves in the hope of social advancement!

2009-02-08T01:04:00.001-08:00

The only answer!

2009-02-08T01:03:00.003-08:00

The only answer!
The only answer or what satisfies my conscience is:What more should you expect from illiterate,fickle,anti-social sycophants?