Have you heard about Chikhaldara or Chikhalda? It's a small hill station some 155 miles from Nagpur to the north-west, in the present-day district of Amaravati. Surrounded by the Satpura range of mountains and located in the Gavilgadh hills, Chikhaldara has a charm of its own. Cool and dry for most of the year, the monsoons are beautiful in this part of India. Chikhakdara is located on latitude 21degrees 29' N. and longitude 77 degrees 22' E. The height of the Chikhaldara hill station above sea level is 118.130 metres (3.666 feet). While leading his troops to Nagpur after finishing off the Marathas in 1803 during the Battle of Assaye, Commander Major General Arthur Wellesley (laterly the Duke of Wellington) must have rode very close to it, when he was visiting the Gavilgad Fort and the town of Ellichpore (now Achalpur). But he miseed it somehow. The honour to discover the beauty of this lovely tiny place in 1823 goes to Captain Robinson of the Hyderabad Regiment. It was the very year in which regular troops were first stationed at Achalpur. But bungalows were not built there, it seems, till 1839. Thereafter, there was a small but continous European presence in Chikhaldara for a long time. The proof of this is the Christian cemetery there, dated 1876. The popularity of the hill station was very soon established and Meadows Taylor mentions its delights as early as 1840 when he was there with the troops. He visited Achalpur again as the Deputy Commissioner on 9th December 1857 and notes "how welcome were the large baskets of delicious peaches from Captain Hamilton's garden at Chikhalda and I wished I could go up there again and revisit the old scenes". Peach is still cultivated in Amzari garden and the Company Bagicha, now popularly known as the Forest Garden, as it is under the management of the Forest Department, though it has degenerated considerably since Meadows Taylor's time. Coffee of the finest quality is grown in the public garden formerly under the municipality, but now taken over by the Forest department and in good many private gardens and especially on the land belonging to the Roman Catholic Mission. At one time a great future was anticipated from coffee and tea plantations at Cikhaldara. But the tea plantation has now entirely disappeared. Now watch this video showing the Chikhaldara Christian cemetery = http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7EC-iOXkqKA --- Harshawardhan_Bosham Nimkhedkar

Hello Les, As a great fan of Liberators, and all things to do with SEAC, it gives me great pleasure to learn that I have in some small way given something back. It must have been very difficult at times, I would image to have worked out where you were, especially given the weather and the extreme ranges you were flying at. I have driven on compass bearings and dead reckoning into the Empty Quarter, and I know just how pleased I was when I found myself coming back to a landmark. It must have been an even greater relief you guys. Thanks. Regards Nick Balmer

> From: [email protected] > To: [email protected] > Date: Sun, 9 May 2010 09:21:23 +0100 > Subject: Re: [INDIA-BRITISH-RAJ] True story of False Point > > Hello Harshawardhan, > > There is quite a bit on the web about other Indian lighthouses. > > I found the following site a few months ago while looking for the history of > Tellicherry Lighthouse. > > > http://www.pharology.eu/Lighthouses/Asia/early_indian_lighthouses.htm > > Here's a site about lighthouses in Orissa and Bengal (with lots of photos) > > http://www.unc.edu/~rowlett/lighthouse/inde.htm > > And here's about Kerala. > > http://www.unc.edu/~rowlett/lighthouse/indsw.htm > > Regards > > Nick Balmer > > Hi Nick, After the passing of sixty four years ,thanks to you and ash, I have learned the name of the lighthouse that we buzzed in a Liberator after leaving the airfield at Cuttack to do a visual spotting run down to Kajamalai (TRICHINOPOLY) Have fond memories of changing gas tanks overnight and then running the gauntlet between the lines of "BIG" black monkies sitting on the top of old buildings which lned the pathway. Regards .Les (200 Sqdn RAF)

Sunday, May 9, 2010 True story of False Point K. J. S. Chatrath visits the first lighthouse on the east coast of India FALSE Point - it was the unusual name that caught my attention. I was fascinated enough by the intriguing name to take a two-hour boat from Paradip Port, on the eastern coast of Orissa, to reach the place. False Point is an old harbour with a lighthouse, about 45 km from Kendrapada in Orissa, on the north of the Mahanadi estuary. The lighthouse is situated on a large island created by the Mahanadi river delta. It takes its name from the fact that it was often mistaken by ships for Point Palmyras (Palmyras is a sort of palm), which lies one degree farther north. Point Palmyras was the spot from where the ships moved towards the Ganga. In fact, many incoming ships used to take sailors from the town of Balasore as guides because they were considered well versed in navigating the tricky mouth of the river. Construction of the lighthouse was started in December, 1836, and finished in October, 1837. A plaque at the lighthouse says that the first light was exhibited on March 1, 1838, by Second Lieutenant H. Righly, Executive Engineer. The stones used were transported from Barabati Fort, Cuttack. The height of the structure is 125 feet. To reach the top, one has to climb 138 steps and a 16-step ladder. The speciality of this lighthouse is that it has remained operational from the date of its lighting. [snip] http://www.tribuneindia.com/2010/20100509/spectrum/main6.htm --- Harshawardhan_Bosham Nimkhedkar

There is already a fictional ghost of Gandamak in our midst. Fans of George MacDonald Fraser's Flashman will remember that the famous Flashy had named his mansion in England after Gandamak. After all, he was a part of the British troops that had fought the First Anglo-Afghan War. And now we are going to have this new book by William Dalrymple on the First Anglo-Afghan War. I wonder if it has any mention of Flashy. :-) May 9, 2010 The Ghosts of Gandamak By William Dalrymple http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/09/opinion/09dalrymple.html?pagewanted=print --- Harshawardhan_Bosham Nimkhedkar

*** So, what does the British legacy mean for Indians today? Psychoanalyst Sudhir Kakar says the legacy is simply a mindset, in which Britain still looms large in the educated imagination. *** Raj to Aaj [today], it's a crowning legacy May 9, 2010 http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/sunday-toi/special-report/Raj-to-Aaj-its-a-crowning-legacy/articleshow/5908182.cms --- Harshawardhan_Bosham Nimkhedkar

Dear Listers, I have come across this remarkable 1934 1-hour film called 'Beyond Bengal' in archive.org. (Enter the title in the search box and look in 'Films'. It also has an entry in IMDb.com.) It has been made by producer/director/actor Harry Schenck, an American, and shows an expedition into the depths of the Malayan jungle. Schenk and a 'scientist' Joan Baldwin undertake a longish 4-month trek through the jungle, supported by hundreds of native beaters, a camera crew, dozens of tamed elephants and mules. At the outset, the expedition is given a benign send-off by the Sultan of Perak, Iskandar Shah. The 4-month sojourn into the jungle, ending with a perilous river-crossing into civilization, is presented in the film. In terms of the commentary and the events filmed, it is politically extremely incorrect by today's standard. Such a film will not be allowed to be filmed today. It has the superior white shikaris lording over the simpering and obedient natives, an obliging Sultan and tigers and other animals being shot down left and right. Some of the scenes are of such an extreme nature that one wonders whether they were real or faked. A man and a monkey are caught in python coils, humans are caught in the jaws of crocodiles and are pulled below water (though they survive as the crocs, in turn, are shot to death), a huge herd of wild elephants chases native beaters through a swamp and attacks the camera crew, striped Bengal tigers attack beaters and are also killed, natives pull out cobras with bare hands from their hiding places and so on... The film ends with a perilous river crossing on the backs of elephants, with dozens of crocodiles snapping from all sides. "Scientist' Joan does not do any science at all. She is more of a damsel in distress for the stoic Harry to save! The movie also has a sequence of a huge herd of ferocious animals called 'sladang'. I had not heard of this name earlier and looked for it in google. A sladang appears to a wild bull, like the Indian 'Gaur' and is believed to have become extinct in recent times. Altogether a remarkable film, the like of which may not made anymore... Arvind Kolhatkar, Toronto, May 09, 2010.

Hello Harshawardhan, There is quite a bit on the web about other Indian lighthouses. I found the following site a few months ago while looking for the history of Tellicherry Lighthouse. http://www.pharology.eu/Lighthouses/Asia/early_indian_lighthouses.htm Here's a site about lighthouses in Orissa and Bengal (with lots of photos) http://www.unc.edu/~rowlett/lighthouse/inde.htm And here's about Kerala. http://www.unc.edu/~rowlett/lighthouse/indsw.htm Regards Nick Balmer

There are some people who would want everything they fancy to themselves. I suppose this is a kind of weakness in a human being. But in a society, it can be troublesome. That is why the Manmohan Singh Government in India, when it took power the first time, had to spend a lot of time and energy to "detoxify" the history textbooks which had been infiltrated with a lot rubbish during an earlier dispensation. Falsification of hisotry is a pastime for many. But often it can land people in most ridiculous situations. During the time when Murli Manohar Joshi was the Human Resources Minister in India, Ddr M G S Narayanan was appointed chairman of the Indian Council for Historical Research. Joshiji, an Allahabad physics professor, was of the view that Indian history was much much older than what the colonial historians did accept. This led to some hilarious moments in the ICHR. The minister felt we need to set right this imbalance. He suggested to Dr Narayanan that we must rewrite history pushing the Vedic period by at least by 10,000 years into the past to make it more respectable. "Well, there may be a problem, ministerji," the historian said," we may also have to push the histories of others like the Persians and Arabs also by 10,000 years..." The minister was left to ponder how to manage at add an extra few thousand years to Indian history without allowing the same benefit to others who had trade and other relations with them! On Fri, May 7, 2010 at 9:30 PM, Arvind Kolhatkar <[email protected]>wrote: > Kerry, > > I must frankly admit at the outset that I have not gone through the volumes > of information and arguments that the link > http://www.stephen-knapp.com/was_the_taj_mahal_a_vedic_temple.htm > provides. Yet, my defence for writing the following is that before we are > invited to invest time and labor needed for fully exploring the link, some > kind of a prima facie case has to exist to say that Taj Mahal was not built > by Shahjehan but was an acquisition from a Hindu ruler. > > Taj Mahal has stood where it stands for over 400 years now. Accounts > survive of persons who saw it being built. Tradition has always associated > it with Shahjehan. When other Hindu temples were converted into mosques, > such as the temples at Mathura, Varanasi, Ayodhya, Somnath and other > places, > the Hindu origin of those sites has remained alive in peoples' minds from > the very first day - that fact did not have to be 'discovery's. Yet we are > now invited to believe that Taj Mahal's Hindu origin has been totally > forgotten and needs to be 'discovery's. How could it have been 'forgotten' > if it was a such a holy site for the Hindus? Besides, in all the long and > recorded history of India of 2500 years, the city of Agra has never been > counted among Hindu holy cities. Could this have been so had a Shiva > temple > stood there as recently as 400 years ago? Ancient cities like Mathura, > Varanasi, Ayodhya, Dwarka and a dozen others considered holy or important > by > Hindus are met frequently in Hindu religious and classical literature. > Agra > does not figure even once. It gains prominence only after Mughals make it > their capital. > > Since a prima facie case cannot be made out in favor of the theory of Hindu > origins of the Taj Mahal, I would think that it will remain as a fad or an > eccentricity. Each person has to decide for himself whether his valuable > time and effort should be devoted to scrutinizing it. > > There is a revivalist school in India which is trying to prove that India > did not have to take anything from the others and that everything good in > India is entirely an Indian (or Hindu) creation. For them, Aryans and > their > ancient language, and the literature in it such as the Vedas, did not come > from the West but are originally from India and spread outwards from India. > They consider that the theory of Aryans migrating from the West is a > mythology built by Western indologists of the colonial days, who, because > of > their colonial mentality, would deny that anything original could be an > Indian creation. Some of the arguments of these revivalists border on the > absurd. For example, they say that Christianity is an Indian creation - it > is nothing but Krishna-niti (teachings of Lord Krishna) and that Taj Mahal > is nothing but the adaptation of the original Hindu name of the temple > 'Tejo-Mahalaya' (great house of light). (Forget the fact that as the name > of a Hindu temple, 'Tejo-Mahalaya' sounds unconvincing!) > > Incidentally, what is a 'Vedic Temple?' Deities and temples as we know > them > are all post-vedic creations. > > Arvind Kolhatkar, Toronto, May 07, 2010. > > > ------------------------------- > 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 >

Hi Nick, Dr Kurup is my old teacher and a friend. Will check it up. I can send you a picture of the sculpture of the Logan's book in a day or two. N P Chekkutty. On Sat, May 8, 2010 at 9:52 AM, Nick Balmer <[email protected]>wrote: > Hello Chekkuty, > > The source of information on his life that I am aware of is in the forward > by Dr. K.K.N. Kurup to the 1950's revised edition of Logan's Malabar > Manual. > > Do you have a picture of the new statue? > > Regards > > Nick Balmer > > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Chekkutty N.P" <[email protected]> > To: <[email protected]> > Sent: Friday, May 07, 2010 3:48 PM > Subject: [INDIA-BRITISH-RAJ] Logan and a sculpture > > > > These are the times of decolonization. Old names and memories with a > > colonial connection being wiped off and new ones replacing them, like > > Bombay converting itself into Mumbai, Calcutta metamorphosing into > Kolkata > > and Madras becoming Chennai. > > > > I have seen this happening even in our own city of Calicut, which used to > > be > > part of the empire. The old huzur kutcheri has been razed down and the > > Robinson Road is now the Kesava Menon Road... > > > > But many things remain the same: The 150-year-old canal, built by H V > > Connolly, the Irish collector who was hacked to death by the rebellious > > Moplahs, is still known by his name and -- though slightly smelly -- it > > remains the artery of the sprawling city. The best motorway in the city > > today goes parallel to the old Connolly's Canal. > > > > But Logan had nothing to keep his memory in this city where he spent > quite > > a > > few years as perhaps the best known collector of Malabar. There is a road > > in > > Thalassery, the town up north, where he had served, carrying his name but > > William Logan's presence was not visble anywhere in Calicut. > > > > Thankfully, not any longer. Last week, the city's Communist mayor > unveiled > > a > > sculpture in the city's centre, depicting this scholar-adminstrator's > best > > known work, the Malabar Manuel. It is a beautiful work of art, a > > befitting > > tribute to the old Scottish highlander who made Malabar his home. > > > > I know there is a big clan of Logans spread all over the world and > > possibly > > there may be some with Logan links in this list also. May I know anything > > more about Logan's personal life, his roots, famly and upbringing? > > > > N P Chekkutty/Calicut, Malabar. > > > > ------------------------------- > > 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 >

Hello Chekkuty, The source of information on his life that I am aware of is in the forward by Dr. K.K.N. Kurup to the 1950's revised edition of Logan's Malabar Manual. Do you have a picture of the new statue? Regards Nick Balmer ----- Original Message ----- From: "Chekkutty N.P" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Friday, May 07, 2010 3:48 PM Subject: [INDIA-BRITISH-RAJ] Logan and a sculpture > These are the times of decolonization. Old names and memories with a > colonial connection being wiped off and new ones replacing them, like > Bombay converting itself into Mumbai, Calcutta metamorphosing into Kolkata > and Madras becoming Chennai. > > I have seen this happening even in our own city of Calicut, which used to > be > part of the empire. The old huzur kutcheri has been razed down and the > Robinson Road is now the Kesava Menon Road... > > But many things remain the same: The 150-year-old canal, built by H V > Connolly, the Irish collector who was hacked to death by the rebellious > Moplahs, is still known by his name and -- though slightly smelly -- it > remains the artery of the sprawling city. The best motorway in the city > today goes parallel to the old Connolly's Canal. > > But Logan had nothing to keep his memory in this city where he spent quite > a > few years as perhaps the best known collector of Malabar. There is a road > in > Thalassery, the town up north, where he had served, carrying his name but > William Logan's presence was not visble anywhere in Calicut. > > Thankfully, not any longer. Last week, the city's Communist mayor unveiled > a > sculpture in the city's centre, depicting this scholar-adminstrator's best > known work, the Malabar Manuel. It is a beautiful work of art, a > befitting > tribute to the old Scottish highlander who made Malabar his home. > > I know there is a big clan of Logans spread all over the world and > possibly > there may be some with Logan links in this list also. May I know anything > more about Logan's personal life, his roots, famly and upbringing? > > N P Chekkutty/Calicut, Malabar. > > ------------------------------- > 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 >

G'day folks, I have just across the archived web site from Cathy Day. You will find it at... http://web.archive.org/web/20070523204957/members.ozemail.com.au/~clday/index.html ooroo

These are the times of decolonization. Old names and memories with a colonial connection being wiped off and new ones replacing them, like Bombay converting itself into Mumbai, Calcutta metamorphosing into Kolkata and Madras becoming Chennai. I have seen this happening even in our own city of Calicut, which used to be part of the empire. The old huzur kutcheri has been razed down and the Robinson Road is now the Kesava Menon Road... But many things remain the same: The 150-year-old canal, built by H V Connolly, the Irish collector who was hacked to death by the rebellious Moplahs, is still known by his name and -- though slightly smelly -- it remains the artery of the sprawling city. The best motorway in the city today goes parallel to the old Connolly's Canal. But Logan had nothing to keep his memory in this city where he spent quite a few years as perhaps the best known collector of Malabar. There is a road in Thalassery, the town up north, where he had served, carrying his name but William Logan's presence was not visble anywhere in Calicut. Thankfully, not any longer. Last week, the city's Communist mayor unveiled a sculpture in the city's centre, depicting this scholar-adminstrator's best known work, the Malabar Manuel. It is a beautiful work of art, a befitting tribute to the old Scottish highlander who made Malabar his home. I know there is a big clan of Logans spread all over the world and possibly there may be some with Logan links in this list also. May I know anything more about Logan's personal life, his roots, famly and upbringing? N P Chekkutty/Calicut, Malabar.

Journalism And Politics In Colonial India Monday, 03 May 2010 http://www.indoindians.com/index.php/2010050317618/Dr.-Usha-Rani-Bansal/journalism-and-politics-in-colonial-india/All-Pages --- Harshawardhan_Bosham Nimkhedkar

Read the text - see the pictures and form your own opinion. http://www.stephen-knapp.com/was_the_taj_mahal_a_vedic_temple.htm

Kerry, I must frankly admit at the outset that I have not gone through the volumes of information and arguments that the link http://www.stephen-knapp.com/was_the_taj_mahal_a_vedic_temple.htm provides. Yet, my defence for writing the following is that before we are invited to invest time and labor needed for fully exploring the link, some kind of a prima facie case has to exist to say that Taj Mahal was not built by Shahjehan but was an acquisition from a Hindu ruler. Taj Mahal has stood where it stands for over 400 years now. Accounts survive of persons who saw it being built. Tradition has always associated it with Shahjehan. When other Hindu temples were converted into mosques, such as the temples at Mathura, Varanasi, Ayodhya, Somnath and other places, the Hindu origin of those sites has remained alive in peoples' minds from the very first day - that fact did not have to be 'discovery's. Yet we are now invited to believe that Taj Mahal's Hindu origin has been totally forgotten and needs to be 'discovery's. How could it have been 'forgotten' if it was a such a holy site for the Hindus? Besides, in all the long and recorded history of India of 2500 years, the city of Agra has never been counted among Hindu holy cities. Could this have been so had a Shiva temple stood there as recently as 400 years ago? Ancient cities like Mathura, Varanasi, Ayodhya, Dwarka and a dozen others considered holy or important by Hindus are met frequently in Hindu religious and classical literature. Agra does not figure even once. It gains prominence only after Mughals make it their capital. Since a prima facie case cannot be made out in favor of the theory of Hindu origins of the Taj Mahal, I would think that it will remain as a fad or an eccentricity. Each person has to decide for himself whether his valuable time and effort should be devoted to scrutinizing it. There is a revivalist school in India which is trying to prove that India did not have to take anything from the others and that everything good in India is entirely an Indian (or Hindu) creation. For them, Aryans and their ancient language, and the literature in it such as the Vedas, did not come from the West but are originally from India and spread outwards from India. They consider that the theory of Aryans migrating from the West is a mythology built by Western indologists of the colonial days, who, because of their colonial mentality, would deny that anything original could be an Indian creation. Some of the arguments of these revivalists border on the absurd. For example, they say that Christianity is an Indian creation - it is nothing but Krishna-niti (teachings of Lord Krishna) and that Taj Mahal is nothing but the adaptation of the original Hindu name of the temple 'Tejo-Mahalaya' (great house of light). (Forget the fact that as the name of a Hindu temple, 'Tejo-Mahalaya' sounds unconvincing!) Incidentally, what is a 'Vedic Temple?' Deities and temples as we know them are all post-vedic creations. Arvind Kolhatkar, Toronto, May 07, 2010.

And on a lighter note, With plenty of water fountains, marble and stone all over, plenty of rooms, multilevel buildings, river front views, courtyards all over, It had to be a 5 star hotel. Right ? Idris. --- On Thu, 5/6/10, Kerry Edwards <[email protected]> wrote: From: Kerry Edwards <[email protected]> Subject: [INDIA-BRITISH-RAJ] The Taj Mahal - Was it a vedic temple? To: [email protected] Date: Thursday, May 6, 2010, 10:01 PM Read the text - see the pictures and form your own opinion. http://www.stephen-knapp.com/was_the_taj_mahal_a_vedic_temple.htm ------------------------------- 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

Fiction, but no facts. Most of the mausoleums were used as centers of education. Hence the large courtyards, prayer halls, buildings and rooms. Nothing secret about the rooms in or around the Taj, just unused and forgotten by history. Idris. --- On Thu, 5/6/10, Kerry Edwards <[email protected]> wrote: From: Kerry Edwards <[email protected]> Subject: [INDIA-BRITISH-RAJ] The Taj Mahal - Was it a vedic temple? To: [email protected] Date: Thursday, May 6, 2010, 10:01 PM Read the text - see the pictures and form your own opinion. http://www.stephen-knapp.com/was_the_taj_mahal_a_vedic_temple.htm ------------------------------- 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

G'day folks, Those who have Australian interests, for example in Family History, can use this web site to search thousands of records that are located in Australia. I entered FELTHAM and was rewarded with nearly four thousand hits. Go to... http://trove.nla.gov.au ooroo

Wednesday, May 5, 2010 >From http://gaiutra.blogspot.com/2010/05/indian-arrival-day.html ** Indian Arrival Day Today, May 5, is Indian Arrival Day, which commemorates the landing in the West Indies of the very first group of "coolies," or indentured servants recruited in India as replacement labor after slaves were freed in the British Empire. Here's an excerpt from my book about that first group of Indians, 396 in total, known as the "Gladstone Coolies." ** --- Harshawardhan_Bosham Nimkhedkar