Speaking Archaeologically™

Abhimanyu Kalsotra is a Research Wing Member at Speaking Archaeologically. Who doesn't like to cherish the rich heritage of a place where one was born? The very same quest led me to take up research on Ornaments of Dogras and what's better than Archives Department of state having files dating back to 300 years? But to my surprise I signed up for a fearful, traumatising and unforgettable experience.  The Department of Archives, Archaeology & Museums of Jammu and Kashmir handles the Dogra Archives Department at the Mubarak Mandi Palace Complex. Mubarak Mandi Complex happens to be a heritage building but unfortunately, declared unsafe by INTACH. Still, the archive section holds more than 10 lakh files with meagre facilities. Records dating back to 1724 AD, land assessment reports, debates from Praja Sabha, proceedings of royal court, financial records, rare manuscripts in Dogri, Urdu, Persian, English, etc are kept here. Few important documents like Agreement on leas...

Collage Courtesy Nimrat   Imagine being told in the scorching month of June that you are the recruitment head of your organisation for that year. I know, sounds morbid and exhausting. Now imagine the organisation to be 'Beyoncé', yes! Thank merciful heavens abode because that's what working for 'Speaking Archaeologically' felt like. If by any chance you don't hold Beyoncé in the same regard as I do, I am sorry, your opinion is invalid. Anyway. Flyer for Workshop Volunteering Little did the day of 3rd June know what it was holding in store for Nimrat and I, two gossip mongers were put together and asked to find people who shared passion for learning and all things archaeology. We are also briefed that with responsibility comes power, hence we were free to screen the recruits before we gave them a thumbs up. We worked tirelessly, from dancing for three hours at a stretch to laughing for another two, we caught up with work whenever divine realization s...

               The Forest Research Institute (FRI) provides for a delightful visit on a sultry afternoon of June. FRI is a premier institute of forestry research in India, located in Dehradun, Uttrakhand. It was founded in 1876 as British Imperial Forest School and later re established in 1908 as the Imperial Forest Research Institute. Styled in the Greeko Roman architecture, the building was inaugurated in 1929 by Viceroy Willingdon and now stands as a National Heriatge Site. The Institute is one of its kind and has six museums within its circumference.  Upon entering the premises, one encounters various housing complexes of the IFS officers as well the students of the university of FRI. The greenscape provided a wave of relief from the summer heat of Dehra. The task of covering the museums soon began. M1 : PATHOLOGY MUSEUM This section dealt with the effects of various rot and fungus on  the trees as well as the diseases ...

“Does anyone here knows History?” the pretty lady wearing red coat asks. “No.” they answer, after couple of minutes of speculation. “To answer or not answer.” This is what came in our mind that moment. As we were there for a sculpture session which automatically means that one’s got to know about history related to different topics. “That’s perfect.” the young lady in red coat says with a smile on her face. We take a sigh of relief and she further explains. “It’s wonderful you guys don’t know about it as sometimes what happens is when we are students of History. We come with a biased opinion and we block our learning area.” I look at her stunned, wondering how can someone give such a optimistic approach to this situation? I smile, and believe me, it got me so excited for the session we were just about to begin with. To Shriya, the founder of Speaking Archeology, is someone, so many people including me are grateful for. I kid you not when I say, in my few months of bein...

Apurva Kohli standing in front of the Former Prince of Wales Museum As someone who has known Shriya Gautam almost all her life as well as one's own, a must do when one visits a new city is to ask Shriya where to go and what to explore. The visit to this Museum was a result of one such inquisitive conversation with Shriya. She told me to visit the Prince of Wales Museum in Mumbai, where I was headed in March 2016. After we arrived at the Gateway of India from the trip to Elephanta Caves(more on that later!), I with two of my friends, Priyanka and Geetanjali went on in search of the Museum. It was only when we reached a certain Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalya, when we realise that our destination was reached.Yes, this was the new name of Prince of Wales Museum. It was already 4pm when we entered the Museum and came to know that it closes at 6pm. We only had a few hours to cover the huge place, so we quickly bought the tickets at a very nominal rate. On...

For my first task with Citizen Archaeology,I was given the most profound and yet intriguing part of Ancient Indian History, the Indus Valley Civilisation. Growing up, I had a fascination for the history of ancient urban civilisations. The magnitude of the cities always drew my interest, and when I was offered to cover the artefacts from one of these civilisations, I was more than happy to put in the extensive research for the task. I live in the vicinity of the National Museum, Delhi and I had already been a frequent visitor. This task gave me another opportunity to explore the museum one more time, this time with a more systematic approach. The museum had tuck loads of IVC artefacts, ranging form pottery to terracotta seals and toys, beside having  casts of the famed dancing girl and priest king. The task drew me closer to my topic. I got the answers to some of my questions, but, the ambiguity regarding the civilisation's rise, the advancement, the grandeur of their...

Shriya, the Recruitment Team and the New Volunteers   Finally the post you've all been waiting for!  The Orientation Event of the Speaking Archeologically Volunteer Wing, the fruit of the efforts of our talented recruiters,  was held on August 13 at the Chandigarh Museum and Art Gallery, Sector 10-C, Chandigarh.Panel member, Shriya Gautam joined in the team at 11 am at the Museum Entrance, with an ethnoarchaeological dress discussion drill for the new hands and a good news for the old one: she won't be alone on the next recruitment drive (but more on that later!) It was tine to show those who had joined the beautiful world of archaeology at the base source itself. Uma Maheshwari Sculpture from the Stone Sculpture Section, Chandigarh Museum As soon as a quick headcount was done, the tickets were  bought and the participants were advised to fasten their seatbelts for a tour in the world of antiquity. The twenty new history enthusiast, along with five...

Which is completely different and totally better than Rakshanda and Vedant's partnership which the Panel has decided to do a feature on. Which doesn't bother us.  At all. Before I, Athira, start writing about the details of my first With Arundhati and Anmol in the Doll's Museum partnership I'd like to explain how the both of us ended up as partners.  Shriya had just organised our first workshop on coinage and provided us with the task of writing a report on the coins we had observed during the workshop. The results were announced and guess what? I had FAILED the task. Yes, FAILED. Not lost the task, FAILED the task. Also, I wasn't the only one FAILING the task, there were others and one amongst them had been her. It was then that the task for the ones who had just FAILED was provided and partners assigned. A tragic start to the beautiful, wonderful, awe-inspiring, totally better than Rakshanda and Vedant's, bond we share now.  A barch o...

Where do I begin about the whole Museum Visit! Okay, so we had a Coinage Workshop. A task was assigned to all of us to present our observation sheets based on our enlightenment on the subject by Shriya. A date was settled for a next SA meet in the Museum of Natural History in Chandigarh. So, we all met met again; this time, better acquainted with each other. Being slightly behind the schedule due to losing the direction, we lost a bit of the wisdom shed by Shriya on the origin and evolution of life on Earth, as we know it today.  The Cyclorama - Evolution of Life is housed on the ground floor of the Natural History Museum. The geological landscape paintings illustrate the origin of earth, evolution of life from unicellular organism to multi cellular plants and animals through the Archeaozoic, Paleaozoic, Permian, Devonian, Triassic, Jurassic, Oligocene, Miocene and Pleistocene periods. The Cyclorama - Evolution of Life International Doll Museum We were divided...