Speaking Archaeologically™

                                             “ I struck a deal here…                    To walk back in time                 And breathe its air...” Diptarak Datta is a Research  Wing  Member at Speaking Archaeologically As the auto left us on the left side of the road, on a fresh, winter Sunday morning,  my friend and I were baffled and taken aback for a while, wondering, which way, the much read about Purana Qila, stood. The huge poster, directing the travelers towards the zoological park, was all the more distracting. Unknowingly, we crossed the ro...

Hold it right there! Save your breath. Don't expect me Allahabad juxtaposed with Prayagraj  to call it Prayagraj. The blue of a city I share part of my maternal heritage from never responded to that name. Devprayag if you must absolutely insist but it hasn't been that in several centuries. There's not much of Devprayag left, though, to be fair.  Like I said, it's not a city anymore, it's  a blur-a place where past gasps out of the present like a drowning man gasps for air, beating helplessly at the surface of water.  Allahabad (anglicised version of Illahabad) was originally named after the secular religion Mughal Emperor wished to propagate and was named after the  eponymous Illahabad Fort No matter how much you try to saffronise it, Allahabad  is secular, just like the Mughal Emperor,  w ho decided to call it that but its fate is not too different than that of the unorthodox great-grandson, who was a "pestilent infidel" in the eyes o...

“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...

                                                     Quite admittedly , my meeting with Adham Khan was long overdue and any self respecting lover of Delhi’s ruins would look at me with great distaste at this point. But even then, the sheer excess of history just oozing out of this particular section of the city is almost nauseating. Even those that knowingly choose to ignore it can do so for only so long. I, as luck would have it, lived just 10 minutes away.  So after a short detour to the Mughal general  Azim Khan’s much neglected tomb , I headed for the  ancient suburbs of Mehrauli. Qutub Minar all this while, was towering over everything around it and watchfully guiding lost tourists and curious travelers like me.  Behind the Qutub complex, on a road towards the Mehruali bus Depot , it's quite easy to beli...

Let the rooms be filled with shared beliefs and the walls speak of a cultural blend Let the doors open to rediscover and preserve a forgotten heritage. Indo Saracenic or a blend of Indian and Persian art has left its permanence in the history of India. Be it during the period of the greatest dynasty, that is, the Mughals or after its decline, this style continued to flourish in the schools of Deccan, Rajasthan and Punjab Hills even under the British Raj. With the popularity of Miniature paintings and the European influence during the end of Akbar's reign, the detailing, realistic appearance, use of soft or bright colours and embellishments made this form of Art and Architecture stand out. With an aim of reviving the Indo Saracenic art form and letting it highlight one's own culture and heritage, the last Workshop of Speaking Archaeologically proved to be an opportunity for the young artists to showcase their talent. The Government Degree College at Kandaghat, distr...

The mosque inside the Chingus Fort, Rajouri If you're an intrepid traveller like us Speaking Archaeologically lot and ever visit the Indo-Pakistan Border, you will be sure to notice a plenty of things to surprise you as they surprised me. The area of Poonch, in Rajouri District of Jammu, is perhaps the last point that is politically under India. Although under military control, now, this area once thrived with trading activity and fell on the Old Silk Route. Even today, when the roads have fallen into disrepair, you still see the Afghani Workers along the roads, best known for road maintenance. "They are the fastest in their job," our driver tells me as I point towards one. "You will be surprised how many countries hire them." However, I soon lose interest in the workers as an imposing Mughal structure catches my eye. Lesser known but a Mughal Fortress from the times of the Great Mughals, Chingus was built during the reign of Jehangir.  Back in the Mug...

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...