I am trying to contact an old friend who used to be a famous  jazz singer from  Calcutta ( Pam Crain) . It would be awesome if I could get in touch with her as we have  been out of touch for nearly 30 yrs. I am in Canada now so do not have the local advantage of wonderful resources such as your organization. Any help would be appreciated.

I am trying to contact an old friend who used to be a famous  jazz singer from  Calcutta ( Pam Crain) . It would be awesome if I could get in touch with her as we have  been out of touch for nearly 30 yrs. I am in Canada now so do not have the local advantage of wonderful resources such as your organization. Any help would be appreciated.

How do I find birth /death/ marriage registration in India? I believe my friends mum Enid Alice Hall was born in India in 1905,sadly my friends grandmother died during the birth and she was orphaned by the time she was 6 and sent to Loreto Convent School in Darjeeling. Thomas William Hall was prior to his death, an Railway Engine Driver. Any help in tracing these 2 people would be appreciated. Regards Sue

Hello Harshawardhan Mention of Walter Burley Griffin brings to mind a discussion held on his list some years ago and which concerned Griffin's place of burial in Lucknow. I remember thinking at the time, that it was remiss of Australia to have neglected one who was so responsible for establishing the design of our capital city. Can anyone say whether his grave site is now cared for ? Good wishes Sally P.S I have lived in Lucknow and it is indeed, a city with attractive buildings. It is also a city of interesting nooks and crannies and architecture pre-dating colonialism. Bandariabagh where I lived is open and green and expansive. Good memories which always concerned cycling about - the best way to explore !

Thursday, July 08, 2010 Night Train to Lucknow The Canberra Chapter of the Walter Burley Griffin Society was addressed last night by Griffin scholar Associate Professor Christopher Vernon, on 'Night Train to Lucknow: Walter Burley Griffin and Marion Mahony Griffin: creating a modern architecture for India 1935-1937'. Professor Vernon, recounted his visit to India with a class of landscape architecture students, visiting buildings designed by Griffin. There were three phases to Griffin's work: USA, Australia and India (as reflected in "The Magic of America"). Professor Vernon sees Griffin's design for Canberra as part of a British Empire imperial project, along with cities in South Africa and India. He argues that politics influenced the designs of Canberra, Pretoria, and New Delhi. A more direct link is that a copy of Griffin's plan for Canberra was sent to India at the request of the Viceroy. Herbert Baker designed in both Pretoria and New Delhi. In contrast to Canberra, the plan for New Deli proceeded rapidly. Prof Vernon, argued that the British used landscape architecture to erase previous mogul influence and impose their own power on India. I suspect it was simply a matter of the fashion of the time. Lucknow was a centre of culture. "the city of gardens". Griffin was invited design the library at the University of Lucknow. [snip] http://blog.tomw.net.au/2010/07/night-train-to-lucknow.html --- Harshawardhan_Bosham Nimkhedkar

Exactly one hundred years ago today, i.e. on 8th July 1910, one of the greatest - and most certainly unique - champions of India's freedom from the British Rule made history by leaping out of a tiny porthole on the merchant vessel S.S. Morea that was carrying him back to India from England to stand trial for sedition and other serious charges. The ship had developed some mechanical trouble en route and was ''parked'' off the coast of Marseilles (France) for repairs. The prisoner took this chance to escape and managed to squeeze out of the small window. He leapt into the sea and swam ashore but even as he was trying to catch his breath, French cops caught him and handed him back to the British men who had noticed this leap and had come in hot pursuit. His name was Vinyak Damodar Savarkar. A poet and a scholar. A fierce revolutionary. His attempt to escape had failed but the international waves the leap created on that day have made him immortal. Swatantryaveer Savarkar (as he is known today) is not liked by many of India's modern politicians and intellectuals for a number of reasons. This is not the place to discuss them. But whatever the view, nobody can deny his patriotism and his contribution to India's freedom struggle. And the Leap he made one hundred years ago has no parallel in history. You can read about the Great Leap here - 1 THE SAVARKAR CASE between FRANCE and GREAT BRITAIN Decided February 24, 1911 ["The Hague court reports[1st]-2d series: comprising the awards ..., Volume 1" ], online at http://www.archive.org/stream/haguecourtrepor01lawgoog/haguecourtrepor01lawgoog_djvu.txt http://www.archive.org/details/haguecourtrepor01lawgoog (pdf) 2 Savarkar's potted biography http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vinayak_Damodar_Savarkar 3 A Centenary of that marvellous leap to freedom Savarkar made history by his adventurous feat http://www.organiser.org/dynamic/modules.php?name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=351&page=9 --- Harshawardhan_Bosham Nimkhedkar

G'day Susan, On 08/07/2010, at 10:40 AM, [email protected] wrote: << I was wondering if I would be able to find some of my ancestors who were murdered down the well in Cawnpore plus one ancestor who was in the black hole of Calcutta - that ancestor was George Washington Shaw he had a family who were murdered down the well. apparently on boy was not there so the name survived. George Washington Shaw was in the Army. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you >> Check out this web site for the Calcutta List... http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/read/INDIA/2004-05/1083754311

Snipped from http://www.indiaempire.com/v1/2010/July/BOOKS.asp ** Leela Gujadhur Sarup is a historical researcher and author on colonial emigration. Her works are based on hard-to-find documents as they originally appeared in the records of the British Empire. We reproduce, with permission, an extract of an account provided by the Protector of Emigrants in Calcutta to the Government of Bengal. It talks about the remittances by emigrants to India in the early 1860s. From: Captain C. Burbank, Protector of Emigrants, Calcutta To: J. Geoghegan, Esq., Officiating Junior Secretary to the Government of Bengal Dated the 15th May 1866. In obedience to the directions contained in your letter No. 1939 of the 4th ultimo, I have the honor to submit Annual Reports in Duplicates for each colony to which Emigrants were despatched from this Port under Act XIII of 1864 for the year 1865-66 together with the following general Report on Emigration. ** (snip) --- Harshawardhan_Bosham Nimkhedkar

I was wondering if I would be able to find some of my ancestors who were murdered down the well in Cawnpore plus one ancestor who was in the black hole of Calcutta - that ancestor was George Washington Shaw he had a family who were murdered down the well. apparently on boy was not there so the name survived. George Washington Shaw was in the Army. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you Susan Bibo

Goa's liberation in 1961 from Portuguese occupation features in this new book on the UNO. ''No Enchanted Palace: The End of Empire and the Ideological Origins of the United Nations'' by Mark Mazower. Princeton University Press (September 28, 2009). 236 pages. ISBN-10: 0691135215 ISBN-13: 978-0691135212 I reserve my comments as I haven't read it yet. But here is a review by John Gray, dated July 06, 2010. From Harper's Magazine Review (June 2010) http://billtotten.blogspot.com/2010/07/world-wide-web.html --- Harshawardhan_Bosham Nimkhedkar

The Chester Beatty Library of Ireland (www.cbl.ie) has, among other beauties, this painting: Begum Samru's Household, c.1820, Delhi, India. This painting was made for Begum Samru, an Indian who employed and entertained large numbers of Westerners, converted to Catholicism, and had two European husbands. She was powerful and wealthy, and also, it is said, ruthless and cruel. The painting, which includes the name of each individual portrayed, incorporates both Indian and European elements. http://www.cbl.ie/cbl_image_gallery/image.asp?ID=107&Collection=&ImageNumber=T0000323 This is a ''Company School of Painting''. A reference to it can be seen in this write-up - dated Sunday, April 29, 2007 ''In the Company of Art'' at http://www.tribuneindia.com/2007/20070429/spectrum/main1.htm Information on Begum Samru at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Begum_Samru One of her portraits is here - Victoria and Albert Museum http://www.vandaprints.com/image.php?id=377782 She had a palatial house in Delhi, which faced onto Chandni Chauk. Two views (South view and North view) by Mazhar Ali Khan; from the Sir Thomas Theophilus Metcalfe album, Medium: Ink and colours on paper, Date: 1843 http://www.bl.uk/onlinegallery/onlineex/apac/addorimss/s/largeimage55402.html Chandani Chowk - Then and Now (some grand photos) http://www.columbia.edu/itc/mealac/pritchett/00routesdata/1600_1699/shahjahanabad/chandnichauk/chandnichauk.html Begum Samru's House Area as seen by the modern camera - http://www.flickr.com/photos/proxyindian/sets/72157622678935185/ Begum Samru's old home in the 1840s http://www.flickr.com/photos/proxyindian/2516368400/in/set-72157622678935185/ Begum Samru, Basilica of Our Lady of Graces (Sardhana Church), Sardhana, Meerut District, Uttar Pradesh, India http://www.flickr.com/photos/soulofindia/4558176584/ Two reviews of a book on Begum Samru [BEGAM SAMRU by JOHN LALL, ROLI BOOKS, RS 235; PAGES: 192] http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?204004 http://www.rajatchaudhuri.net/assets/ARTICLES/BOOKREVIEWS/scan-16.jpg --- Harshawardhan_Bosham Nimkhedkar

Found this on the webpage of Embassy of India in Ireland, at: http://indianembassy.ie/app/sites/indian_embassy/india_in_ireland/Chester_Beaty_Library_india_in_ireland.htm The Chester Beatty Library This private collection of the remarkable Chester Beatty, housed in the historic precincts of the Dublin Castle, includes several Indian manuscripts and almost a thousand individual paintings. The collection is of notable distinction of the time of the Mughal era -- the great Mughals Babur, Akbar, Jahangir, Shah Jahan and Aurangzeb -- and others. Prominent amongst these are the Akbarnama (History of Akbar) and various portraits of the emperors themselves. Go to www.cbl.ie --- Harshawardhan_Bosham Nimkhedkar

Sunday 4 July 2010 Remains of a lost kingdom A forgotten segment of Burmese history, a crumbling palace in Ratnagiri (on the western coast of India), where the exiled King Thibaw spent his last years longing for his empire. http://www.deccanherald.com/content/79027/remains-lost-kingdom.html --- Harshawardhan_Bosham Nimkhedkar

My mother's ancestors were in India for a couple of generations. I was born in India. I would like to follow my mother's line. Names Shaw.

01 July 2010 Lyle's Golden Syrup - The sun sets on a historic symbol. Like the Empire that symbol of British life no longer flies under the Union Jack. The world's oldest brand is changing hands, The Guardian reports Tate & Lyle has agreed the sale of its historic sugar business to American Sugar Refining (ASR) for £211m. For some with a historical bent nothing quite like it has happened since Napoleon sold Louisiana to the US, or the Russiand did a similar deal with Alaska. http://www.newsroompanama.com/panama/1363-the-sun-sets-on-an-historic-symbol-.html --- Harshawardhan_Bosham Nimkhedkar

Ah yes ! Those were the days my friend, we thought they'd never end  ! Neville ________________________________ From: Carol&PT <[email protected]> To: [email protected] Sent: Tuesday, 29 June, 2010 16:18:10 Subject: Re: [INDIA-BRITISH-RAJ] Twilight comes for India's fadingJewish community Do you remember that - because one perspired nay glowed so much out there - it was quite the latest thing to have a plastic mould made of the shape of the back of your wristwatch so you didn't ruin the works?! For me, that was in the 1950s, in the New Market. Carol T. ----- Original Message ----- From: "karoo" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Tuesday, June 29, 2010 12:49 PM Subject: Re: [INDIA-BRITISH-RAJ] Twilight comes for India's fadingJewish community > Thank you very much Harshawardhan, for this article about yet another > group > of people who thrived and were happy in India, their rich past now faded > away. > It is a bit heart tugging. > > Thank you as well, for the wonderful photographs of old Calcutta lately > posted by you.  Those sights were not quite as I remember them, for the > buildings and streets in those pics were downright 'pristine' ! > > I do remember Calcutta of the 1940s - a little more 'grubby' and lively > and > with promise of a day full of interest and occupation and nights, merry > with > music.  Such a kaleidoscope > of people and sights and colour. > > I remember taking tea in Whiteaway Laidlaw where a small group of > musicians > beneath palm trees, entertained. > > Army and Navy Stores meant palmolive soap rations for army people, khaki > blankets and other good things not available to 'civilians'. > > When I think 'New Market' - entering from the right, I smell fresh flowers > moist and fragrant.  Heaven alone knows where they were grown and how they > arrived in the dark, wee hours of the new morning. > > 'Oh Calcutta' ..... indeed . > > Good wishes > > Sally > > > > Twilight comes for India's fading Jewish community > > Moni Basu reports for CNN from Kolkata (Calcutta) > > March 29, 2010 > > http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/03/29/india.jews/index.html > > > --- Harshawardhan_Bosham Nimkhedkar > > > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without > the quotes in the subject and the body of the message > ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message

Thank you very much Harshawardhan, for this article about yet another group of people who thrived and were happy in India, their rich past now faded away. It is a bit heart tugging. Thank you as well, for the wonderful photographs of old Calcutta lately posted by you. Those sights were not quite as I remember them, for the buildings and streets in those pics were downright 'pristine' ! I do remember Calcutta of the 1940s - a little more 'grubby' and lively and with promise of a day full of interest and occupation and nights, merry with music. Such a kaleidoscope of people and sights and colour. I remember taking tea in Whiteaway Laidlaw where a small group of musicians beneath palm trees, entertained. Army and Navy Stores meant palmolive soap rations for army people, khaki blankets and other good things not available to 'civilians'. When I think 'New Market' - entering from the right, I smell fresh flowers moist and fragrant. Heaven alone knows where they were grown and how they arrived in the dark, wee hours of the new morning. 'Oh Calcutta' ..... indeed . Good wishes Sally Twilight comes for India's fading Jewish community Moni Basu reports for CNN from Kolkata (Calcutta) March 29, 2010 http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/03/29/india.jews/index.html --- Harshawardhan_Bosham Nimkhedkar

Do you remember that - because one perspired nay glowed so much out there - it was quite the latest thing to have a plastic mould made of the shape of the back of your wristwatch so you didn't ruin the works?! For me, that was in the 1950s, in the New Market. Carol T. ----- Original Message ----- From: "karoo" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Tuesday, June 29, 2010 12:49 PM Subject: Re: [INDIA-BRITISH-RAJ] Twilight comes for India's fadingJewish community > Thank you very much Harshawardhan, for this article about yet another > group > of people who thrived and were happy in India, their rich past now faded > away. > It is a bit heart tugging. > > Thank you as well, for the wonderful photographs of old Calcutta lately > posted by you. Those sights were not quite as I remember them, for the > buildings and streets in those pics were downright 'pristine' ! > > I do remember Calcutta of the 1940s - a little more 'grubby' and lively > and > with promise of a day full of interest and occupation and nights, merry > with > music. Such a kaleidoscope > of people and sights and colour. > > I remember taking tea in Whiteaway Laidlaw where a small group of > musicians > beneath palm trees, entertained. > > Army and Navy Stores meant palmolive soap rations for army people, khaki > blankets and other good things not available to 'civilians'. > > When I think 'New Market' - entering from the right, I smell fresh flowers > moist and fragrant. Heaven alone knows where they were grown and how they > arrived in the dark, wee hours of the new morning. > > 'Oh Calcutta' ..... indeed . > > Good wishes > > Sally > > > > Twilight comes for India's fading Jewish community > > Moni Basu reports for CNN from Kolkata (Calcutta) > > March 29, 2010 > > http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/03/29/india.jews/index.html > > > --- Harshawardhan_Bosham Nimkhedkar > > > > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without > the quotes in the subject and the body of the message >

Twilight comes for India's fading Jewish community Moni Basu reports for CNN from Kolkata (Calcutta) March 29, 2010 http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/03/29/india.jews/index.html --- Harshawardhan_Bosham Nimkhedkar

Its really quite sad....J