Speaking Archaeologically™

The Manauli Fort, Mohali The morning of August , the day of the season’s first site visit carried with it a wave of familiarity. In the car, on the way to the site, as we were seated alongside a bunch of eager new recruits, memories from Batch 2018’s first site visit last year dropped by to say hello. The Manauli fort, located in a tiny hamlet in Punjab, approximately 15.5 Km from Chandigarh, was once a symbol of bolstering defence and Sikh pride. Several local testaments reveal that the fort was built sometime in the 17th Century, by a certain Mughal ruler. A century later, as the Sikh-Muslim enmity took shape in the form of several battles and Misls came to power in the state of Punjab, Nawab Kapoor Singh of the Singhpuria Misl clinched the fort from the Mughal ruler and encouraged his fellow Sikhs to settle in the area. Today, akin to an old man with several afflictions, it’s a desolate piece of history crumbling away amid state apathy The present state...

“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...

Member Anubhav Preet Kuaur Nirankari sums up the forgotten history of the Nirankari Movement In the late 15 th century, Guru Nanak embarked on a road to propagate an  ideology of fruitful living, not another religion of blind faith. He linked the spiritual salvation of man with that of social salvation. It was an ideology, which if followed in its entirety, would not only lead to personal well being but also well being of the society as a whole. Nanak had established a third Panth. Panth does not mean a religious system, but a ‘way’ for the society to prosper. This ideology created a sense of a social responsibility in man which involved that he has to create a society with which he could solve the problems of socio political oppression, aggression, discrimination and conflict. Guru Nanak died in 1539; however his ideology survived him. The three centuries that followed marked an era of prosperity for Sikh ideology. The number of followers increased manifold. Compilation a...

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...

“On a dark moonless night in autumn, I see a nation adhere to its ancient custom. to celebrate the deity of success and prosperity, by thanking their almighty.” - Sulaiman Sait Year in and year out, every year Diwali becomes the most anticipated festival in a country where people get together in order to celebrate the victory of light(brightness) over the dark. A festival where people of all cultures in this secular country get together and share happiness under a dark sky lit up with happiness and celebrations. Diwali is predominantly a Hindu festival but it also finds extreme importance in Sikhism. Historically, Sikhism struggled under the regime of Mughal rulers due to various reasons. On the day of Diwali, the Sixth Guru, Guru Hargobind Ji and 52 other kings were released from the prison of Gwalior. After Jahangir found out that Guru Hargobind Ji was innocent and harmless, he ordered his release. 52 Rajas who were also imprisoned in the fort as hostages for opposing th...

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...