Speaking Archaeologically™

“Defaced ruins of architecture and statuary, like the wrinkles of decrepitude of a once beautiful woman, only make one regret that one did not see them when they were enchanting.”                                                                                            - Horace Walpole Rattan Kaur Rainu is a Research Wing member at Speaking Archaeologically since August 2018 This blog doesn’t begin on an adventurous note. Neither does it involve a spontaneous road trip. Rather it is the product of an intrigue that drove me to explore a place  I had never even heard of until a few days ago. Goethe said architecture is music. Well, architecture and music are the two things that have always been my favourite. Be it an an ol...

India has a vital place in world because of diverse reasons. India is the only country got freedom from British by Non-Violence. Mahatama Gandhi and our big freedom fighters fought for us and got freedom from British Government around 60+ years back. People from many cities and states of India participated in freedom fight. Patiala is the one city which got involved completely for liberty. This city is situated in Punjab’s south-eastern part. Patiala City is positioned near the fort Qila Mubarak. Patiala was a Sikh princely state that lasted from 1714 to 1948. Not many know that Patiala state was established in 1763 by Baba Ala Singh, a Jat Sikh chieftain, who laid the foundation of the Patiala fort known as Qila Mubarak, around 'which the present city of Patiala is built. (Qila Mubarak) Quila Mubarak was first built as a mud fortress and later, it was reconstructed in baked bricks. 13 royal chambers with scenes from Hindu mythology painted in the Patiala art styl...

Bust of Ghalib, along with a wine chalice and a reconstructed verse journal Delhi has plenty of monuments that are underrated or simply overlooked by the public. Last week I happened to be at one such site in Old Delhi: Mirza Ghalib ki Haveli, located in the Gali Qasim Jan, Ballimaran. The building which was taken under its wing by ASI, hosted Ghalib for a large part of his later life, after he moved from Agra. On hearing about the monument, the first thing that caught my attention was the preserved artefacts belonging to Ghalib and his family, his clothing and his daily utilities in particular. The thought of getting a good look at these artefacts was enough to get me hunting down the Haveli. I had a lofty image of the Haveli in my mind but on reaching there, I was startled to see a small two room house that housed the entire museum. The artefacts were in a relatively poor condition, but powerful enough to transport one back to the late Mughal era, just like the Hav...