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...

Tell people you are a doctor, and their eyebrows shoot so high on their foreheads, you’re scared their hair will swallow it. Tell people you’re an engineer, and they have the choicest words of praise for you. Tell them you are an archaeologist, and you’ve hit the goldmine of blank-faces, confused looks and stoned eyes. Hain? You dig graves, beta? Or worse! They mistake it for architecture! (Nope, not kidding!) Archaeologist? Achha achha! So, do you design bridges? Or buildings? My typical reaction to this: What the devil were you doing in Grade 5, when you first came across the words , “Archaeologists are yet to decipher what the Indus Valley Script means!”?   Seriously, sometimes I wonder, whether I was the only one who heard my teacher explain what an archaeologist truly was! However, you’d be surprised, there are other oddballs like me who took the teacher seriously when he added in an encouraging way: “Well who knows? Maybe you can be an archaeologist tomorrow and...

“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...

THE BHULI BHATYARI KA MAHAL An oddly disproportional and red Hanuman stands sternly, ripping his chest open as Delhi wizzes by his feet. Many seem almost oblivious to this grand and grotesque gesture. There is a meeting to get to, a date, an assignment to submit a week after it was due, or in most cases just an air conditioner to find and set up base   in front of. Behind the statue, a thin, unassuming road slithers past all the chaos, ending at a place strikingly different from where it began. It ends in the 14 th century, at a now decrepit Tughlaq era hunting lodge. The bhuli bhatyari ka mahal is conveniently tucked away behind the hanuman statue in busy Karol Bagh. It is a spot like so many others in the capital, where the ancient and the modern live cheek and jowl, and hopefully will continue to do so for a long time to come. It faces a large DMNC water tank, where on most occasions, the water turns a rancid green. Every few minutes, the silence around gets in...

You know what is the good part about being an anthropology student? You can indulge yourself in a surprising array of fields without actually deviating from the main discipline. So while I was out there in the little town of Junga, doing an internship in forensics I did not let my archaeological outlook subside and went to this chief attraction of the town- The Old Junga Palace, what the locals addressed as “Purana Mahal”.  Frontage of the Old Junga Palace What I expected to be a significant monument with huge stone walls actually turned out to be an ancient half-wooden palace falling into gentle ruins. Before getting into the very details of  how the palace looks like? Who ruled the place? etc.., it is first important for the readers to understand that this blog only intends to blow the dust off of the history of the locale and introduce this badly conserved site to the inquisitive minds of explorers and researche rs.   Running through the daily routin...

“The study of the past is the main portal through which culture is acquired.”  ―  Joseph Epstein Harman Singh is a CArch+Workshop Member at Speaking Archaeologically Tourism is one of the most important and effective components of the economy of any country. The employment and marketing opportunities are innumerable and the inflow of money is copious. There are umpteen tourist attractions in India and one of the best examples of this is the State of Rajasthan. Rajasthan is considered an important tourist destination in India because of its rich cultural heritage and diverse scenic beauty. An amalgamation of the desert of Thar and the hills of the Aravalli Range, Rajasthan is notable for its floral and faunal variety. To add to this, the variety in handicrafts, music, dance and sheer vividity of attire is a true treat for a traveller. Last year, I got a chance to visit the Rajasthani cities of Jaipur, Ajmer and Udaipur. The whole state is of extreme significance to t...

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 chills one feels when someone visits a mesmerizing  place! That's how I felt when I went for an Indo-Saracenic Revival and Art competition that Government Degree College, Kandaghat organised in their premises in collaboration with Speaking  Archaeologically.  Kandaghat is an idyllic little sleepy town,  situated near Solan in Himachal Pradesh, so picturesque that it took my heart away. It its very heart, it holds a beautiful building constructed  by Maharaja Patiala that combines Mughal, Rajputana and Mock-Tudor  styles of architecture-something that is defined as Indo Saracenic Architecture, an outcome of the British Rule in India. Maharaja Patiala built this for his ailing Uncle, Maharaja Dhaulpur of Malerkotla, when the latter was detected with tuberculosis. For the last few years, the building was left neglected and was set to be demolished to construct a College in its place but the Principal of the College, Mrs  Navita Gau...