54 03 Look Inside

From t e Genera
Mumbai Diary
Arriving in Mumbai on a comfortably cool early January morning, it was gratifying to
see orderly lines at the immigration counter at Sahar, a much belated but welcome
improvement I thought. As I moved up the queue, there was Mahatma Gandhi looking
down at us from an enlarged photographic reproduction. Did he look a trifle sad I thought
in this the 55th year of his assassination at the hands of a fanatical Hindu? I was only a
dozen years old when he died but I had vivid memories of that tragic occasion when the
prince of peace died a violent death. The famous words ((the light has gone out of our lives"
in Nehru's tremulous voice still resonated in my memory. Flashing across my mind were
words of more recent vintage like Gujarat, Godhra, Modi, and others.
The two-week-long visit to Mumbai was packed with exhilarations and exasperations.
There never was a dull moment. Although there was little tangible improvement since my
last visit a litd~ over six months ago in the mahanagari or megacity's infrastructure or
physical appearance, the cultural life could not have been more vibrant, nor the political
picture more messy. Time and again the city's traffic was disrupted either because of the
Modimania that seems to have eclipsed the Thackeraymania that dominated this commercial
capital of India from at least the early '90s, or because of the rapid change of government in
Maharashtra that catapulted a dalit to power. The godlike adulation of Modi, both literally
and figuratively at Shivaji Park I thought would have made the Mahatma hang his head in
shame. Nor would it have made the great Maharaj after whom the park is named, or Swami
Vivekananda whose statue was presented to the Gujarat leader, proud. The new premier of
Maharashtra however, would have brought joy to the Mahatma's heart. Like all human
beings including V.S. Naipaul, whose characterization as an NRl remains a mystery to this
Indian emigre (though I don't consider myself part of any diaspora), the Mahatma I thought
had both failed and succeeded.
As to the cultural scene, the negative first. A disturbing event that occurred on the
beautiful gardens of the erstwhile Prince of Wales Museum of Western India (now renamed
with a real tongue-twister) in south Mumbai seems to have received no notice from the
press. On the afternoon of January 15 a group of Shiv Sena (acronym SS!!) supporters
marched into the grounds vociferously and aggressively demanding the immediate
dismantling of the statue of the Prince of Wales and replacing it with guess what, yet another
statue of Shivaji! So strong was their threat that the gates of the museum had to be closed
and the police summoned. This was inevitable ever since the Congress-led Maharashtra
government changed the name of the museum almost a year ago with an eye to the polls.
One can understand the removal of a statue of a colonial master from a public spot
but to banish it from the precincts of a museum is troublesome. The next step could be to
expunge all objects from museums that may appear offensive to certain ideologies or
political causes. What is even more disturbing is that in an article in a Marathi language
newspaper, the mouthpiece of the SS, a day or two before the event, it was pointed out that
of the sixteen members of the board of trustees of the museum the majority were ((non-
Maharashtrians'', namely Parsis, Gujaratis, Marvaris, South Indians, et al. C haracterizing
communities who have lived in Mumbai for generations as non-Maharashtrians sounds
ominous as well. Do not the advocates of such short-sighted policies realize that such
attitudes are a blot on the name of Maharashtra and may lead to yet another name change,
in spirit if not in the letter, to Laghurashtra or the Little State?
To end on a positive note, even against such a depressing background, Mumbai's
cultural vibrancy was manifest in dozens of book launches (including one on the
((Masterpieces of the Museum" under attack, whose varied collections are a reflection of the
rich diversity of this state and the country, and one by Marg. on the Jewish H eritage of
India) , the Strand Book Fair, exhibitions of contemporary art galore, music festivals by the
score, and assorted anniversaries, the most flamboyant of which was the centenary of the Taj
Mahal Hotel. The traditional fireworks and laser lighting joined forces to celebrate the
foundation of a hostelry that has become proverbial internationally for hospitality with
elegance. I wondered if its founder Jamsetji Tata would qualify as a Maharashtrian today.
Asok K. Bhattacharya
•
....-
-
'"'
ishnupur is the pride of Bengal, its glory not so much for being the capital of
Mallabhum, an old princely state ruling over the southwestern tract of Bengal, but more for
its contributions to the overall cultural development of the people of the region. The heroic
exploits of the kings of Bishnupur, their desire to remain independent, their patronage of the
arts and education, and their total dedication to the cause of a religion inspired by Sri
Chaitanya's premabhakti marga, «path of love and devotion", are legends cherished with
admiration and affection by all shades of people.
The Land of Wrestlers and Its History

The history of the rulers of Mallabhum, that is, the Land of Wrestlers, is long and
fascinating. But its beginnings, as in the case of most of the ancient dynasties of this
country, are shrouded in mythical mist. The Rajapanji, the official chronicle of the
.
Bishnupur house, records Adimalla, or the First Wrestler, as the first king of the dynasty,
who ascended the throne as early as 694 CE. It is said that he was the son of a Kshatriya
ruler of Jainagar, situated near Brindavan. The king along with his queen and attendants was
passing through the forest tract of southwest Bengal on a pilgrimage to Jagannath Dham in
Orissa. The queen was pregnant, but circumstances compelled the king to leave her behind.
A child was born and he was brought up by one Kasmetia Bagdi in a tribal village.
Eventually, after being m arked by his princely signs, he was appointed a chieftain of
Laugram by the king of nearby Padmapur. Adimalla's actual name was Raghunath and,
according to the chronicle, he was followed on the throne by 55 successors, who reigned
over Mallabhum till 1802 CE, covering a period of over one thousand years.
Though the reliability of the account is a matter of conjecture, the Malia dynasty's status
becam e sufficiently established to identify it with the era beginning from the year of accession
of Adimalla. T he Malia epithet, bearing an ethnic connection, was however given up by Bir
Hambir (1587-1620 CE) and Dhari Hambir (1620-26 CE) . The latter's successor Raghunath
( 1626-56 C E) earned the Kshatriya title Singha from Shah Suja, the Mughal Subedar of
Bengal, by displaying his bravery in taming a turbulent horse. But in public memory the
tribal link remained and the king of Bishnupur was referred to as the Bagdi Raja.
Through successive campaigns Adimalla and his descendants made Mallabhum an
extensive kingdom. At the height of its power, it stretched to the Santhal Parganas in Bihar
in the north, covered the districts of Medinipur and Bardhaman in the east, and included
part of the Chhotanagpur plateau in the west. The core of the kingdom was Bankura
district. It was well protected from external invasions by rapid rivers such as the Damodar,
by the tracts of scrubwood and sal jungles, as well as by numerous tanks and forts like those
of Bishnupur. Besides, agriculturally the kingdom was not so fertile as to invite total
subjugation by greater imperial powers. .
prevwus pages
If we rely on early British accounts, the Mallas ran an efficient government. 1. Surviving panel, Krishna-
Balarama temple, Bishnupur.
John Z . Holwell in his Interesting Historical Events (1765) writes, «In this district are the Photograph: Saryaki Ghosh.
only vestiges of the beauty, purity, regularity, equity and strictness of ancient Indoostan-
2. Shyama-raya temple,
Governm ent. H ere the property as well as the liberty of the people are inviolable, here no
Bishnupur, 1643. Photograph:
robberies are heard of either private or public." But it seems that in earlier days the situation Saryaki Ghosh.

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From t e Genera

The Land of Wrestlers and Its History

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