Speaking Archaeologically™

Nanded is a heavenly town in state of Maharashtra, India. It is 650 kms east of Mumbai by road: approximately an 11 hour drive and 250km from Hyderabad, Telangana. Sachkhand Express is a special superfast train which starts from Amritsar, Punjab and reaches Nanded in 34 hours 10 minutes roughly. Nanded is connected to all major airports in India, like Mumbai, Hyderabad, Chandigarh, Delhi to name a few. Medieval Miniature Painting showing Guru Gobind Singh, Himachal State Museum, Shimla Sri Hazur Sahib is the principle Sikh shrine, and a part of five Takhts (throne). It marks the site where Sri Guru Gobind Singh Ji (The last Sikh Guru) had his camp in 1708 and left for his heavenly abode (Parlok Gaman). It was here in first week of September in 1708, when Guru Ji baptized Bairagi Sadhu Madho Das to Sikhism and named him Banda Singh Bahadur (Gurudwara Banda Singh Ji marks this event). “The Eternal Father willed and I raised the Panth. All my Sikhs are hereby ordered to accep...

The view from Daandi The temple at Daandi is placed inside the dense forests of Kotkhai and Balsan tehsils of district Shimla . It can easily be reached by vehicle from Shimla and is approximately  60 k.m. from the main city. The forest belt of Daandi with adjoining villages of Kotkhai This temple has been constructed amidst the deep forests and can be reached by vehicle. The main temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva and is built in a ground. The main temple is made up of stone and cement as it was reconstructed in late 1970’s. Earlier it was made up of stone and wood. According to the locals the temple has its origin since early 1900’s. On festivals like Nag Panchami , Shivratri , Dusshera and beginning on the Monsoon season which according to Hindu religion is dedicated to Lord Shiva the temple is lit up with diyas and lights . The Daandi Temple of Lord Shiva About 50 meters from   Daandi  in the adjoining forest is a shrine built ...

You'd think one won't be covering a Temple when one's first cousin is  getting   married !  Wrong! In the heart of my heart, I always knew that I took an off from supervising SAV India for this wedding, only because it was being held 10 minutes away from the Ancient Temple of Baijnath. You'd think a ten hour long drive on a topsy-turvy road, that included meandering our way through many village roads would be enough to exhaust anyone! The Baijnath Temple, Kangra,Himachal Pradesh, North India Oh, so wrong, again! There we were, in a hotel overlooking Binwa River, appropriately named Hotel Binwa View, and while my family was busy reuniting for the wedding, congratulating the groom, trying dresses on and discussing the events, but more importantly, resting, yours truly spent the better half of the night, talking to the man at the concierge, to the devout Aunt, to the encyclopaediac Uncle, gathering information on the site, which I was determined to visit t...

There's always a picture, no matter how tired we are! Or as I like to call it — Our first official road trip. We started bright and early at noon. Or maybe we were supposed to reach at noon. Much of the details evade me. What I do distinctly remember is that we got lost. Three of us were driving down together, we were consulting Google Maps, and we got lost. Insert sexist joke about women, directions and maps. But before you do, know this, we found our way and made it to the site in one piece. All that can truly be demanded, if you ask me. That's not actually true, but I digress. We reached, and the first thing we did was stock up on supplies (re: junk food). Then we found a lovely tree under which we sat and spent some quality time with Ishan, Sharad, Shiv and Varun. It was, after all, Valentine's Day. That Plan drawing. Before you reach the conclusion that Speaking Archaeologically is actually an organisation devoted to setting you up on date...

Guru Ram Rai Darbar in 1858 From the very early years of my life, I have been exposed to all the diverse cultures of India. However, Sikhism has always, somehow, formed a greater part of the influence. Be it my ancestral village, my paternal house or even my current abode in Dehra, I've always been surrounded by a Gurudwara with the blessings of the Guru upon me. My December task (which if I recall correctly, was on regional archaeology) was to write on the Guru Ram Rai Darbar from a historical point of view and archaeological observations. Now the beauty of living in Dehra lies in the fact that once you start exploring the winding lanes, you cannot escape from leaving any place undiscovered. This served me well when I had to pen down my essay for this holy place.   Shri Guru Ram Rai Darbar Sahib in Dehradun is a philanthropic organization of the Udaseen sect . Sri Guru Ram Rai ji, the eldest son of the seventh Guru of the Sikhs- Sri Har Rai ji, had established ...

Top:  The Svetambara Temple at Zira, Bottom Left: The Newly Renovated Svetamabar Temple, Lehra Bottom Right : The Digambara Temple, Zira This one is to be a jumbled up post because I am late with this. My memory shouldn't,  but might, fail.  So, here's what happened on the day we went to Zira to see the Jain Temples .  Now, there were conflicting opinions on the temple and how old it was. Also, there's very limited record of it anywhere so, it was nothing short of surprising that I found out about it at all. Sitting at the dinner table, I wondered out loud that if it was indeed 1200 years old, it would be an ancient temple,  very very significant for SA and me because that would place it between circa 800-1000AD. We drove to Zira with the music playing and the sky a beautiful blue in front of us.   Zira is about 35 kms away from Ferozepur Cantonment and was a disputed territory during the Partition of 1947.  On reaching, I was surpris...

The Main Temple Premise The week following the Diwali break was all about books, delicacies, long drives and visiting sites! Being a Doonite, I had very enthusiastically offered to cover one of the most auspicious sites in the town: The temple of Tapkeshwar Mahadev. The temple holds significance as one of the oldest Shiva ling is in the cave nearby where the river enters and water drops drip down on the Shiva ling (there by its name "Tap-keshwar"). The water that drops down vanishes underground and can be seen only few yards away in the form of a stream. The temple premises hold many cool sulphur-water springs where devoted pilgrims take bath before entering the temple. The small cave with this splendid scenery is said to be once resided by Dronacharya- the teacher of Pandavas and Kauravas in Hindu holy epic Mahabharata written by Ved Vyas. The cave is named Drona Cave after him. Drona Cave There is a saying that "If the stars and deities wish it, you are l...