.....The Diverse Milieu of the Indian Canvas ....

....I  hv  the  advantage  of Eastern India , hvin  roots  thr   , the  Southern India  , hvin  travelled  intensely on  countless  long fmly  trips   tnx  to  my  Father ,   Northern India    .  now  tht  I  am  settled  thr  in  the National capital  region with regular Annual  visits  frm  Maldives Isles....tht  leaves  the West where  I  had  forayed  into  Ajmer sharif  v  frequently  , again  tnx  to  my  Father  , & Jaipur  , Bikaner  ,  Jodhpur  , Jaisalmer ,  all  suitably visited  frm Gurgaon , whr  we  finally settled  .........now  , as Salabat Khan  the  Mir Bakshi( C&C) of the  Imperial Mughal army  engages  the  King of Jaipur  Ishwari  Singh who  is siding Ram  singh , Suraj Mal who is  clinging  on  to Kota ..... to  win  a battle  for  Bhakt  Singh who  is  Eyeing Kota ,  Jodhpur ,  as  a  part  of  their  perennial  internecine warfares  .....towns  of  Haryana .....Narnaul  , Jajjhar  ,  Pataudi , Mewat , Sohna all  r flashing  in  & off  as  Salabat  Khan  moves with Bhakt  singh thru these  to  draw  a  battle  line .....Its  a  deja vu  as it  happened  quite  a  few  pages  back  whn  Alivardi  Khan  the Nawab frm  Murshidabad  is  camped  in familiar  Bihar towns of  Koilwar  , Punpun , Barh  ,  Patna ,  to  engage the  Marauding  Maratthas.....to  me  these   towns all  of a  sudden  has  shot  into  prominence  as I  scent  incredible  battles  which  had  been  fought  thr more  thn  200  yrs back  in  late 18th  Century  .....I  feel  amazed to  find  how  logistically  it was  difficult  for  these  Campaigns  in  those  times  , with  harsh  , untamed terrains  ,  overflowing  rivers  and difficult  & treacherous routes .....despite  this  the  grandeur  of  the  Palaces,  Forts  , Worship  places  ,  Rest  houses  in the  form  of  Serais were  in bloom , whn  thr  was no   semblance of modern scientific  development ....this  forces  me  to  think of the  strength  of  the  ruling  class , who  by  all  descriptions  in  war  or  peace , controlling  huge  swaths  of  territory , managed  with  Elan  &  indefatiguable  energy  defending & Usurping .....Valour  , Chivalry  ,  Intrigue  ,  Deceit  &  Conceit &  Nobility  flowed Copiously frm  these  Kingdoms as  never  before  ....as  India  was  a group  of  Principalities ....wht  held  thm  in  commonality was the  administration , which  was  definitely in  place  whn  it  came  to  enforcing  Law & Order  ,  Revenue  collection  , Trading  &  Philanthropy ....Its  really  a  pleasure  to note the  Evolution  of Modern day  India , whn  u  delve  deep  into the  past.....The Indigenous Hindus  ,  the  foreign Turks  &  Iranis   with  Afghans & Christian missionaries of Portugal , Dutch , French shaped India with  later near  total   British  dominance & involvement  .....Good  or Bad  tru evolution  is  achieved  whn  the  causative  agents  r  multifarious .....hence  the current  stability  of  our  Country  as  a mixed  Race  .....the diverse  milieu of India  is attributed  to  this  ......!!!!

......A Double Pleasure....

.....the  National  Library Of Maldives....more so  my  favorite section of History  &  Geography,  of Travelogues  &  Cartography , look  depleted frm the  very  start of  the yr  du2  to  some obscure  reason  of maintenance which is  taking  too much  of a  time  ....also  a  steady  drone  of  air  circulators  is  a  distraction  now  as  the  better  part  of  the airconditioning appears  stalled,  again  may  be  du2  maintenance....despite  , this  ,..... & after  surrendering Eric Foner's  "Give me  Liberty" a  marathon  text book  on American History,  painstakingly  completed  reading  by  me .....I was  wondering  wht  next....the African section  looked  enticing  but  the  girth  of  the  books were  discouraging  .....for  I  knew  ferrying  thm  for  regular renewal in 3  weeks  time , with  the mercury  slightly high will  be  difficult ...maybe  it  cud wait  ....may  be  something  light  wt  will  suffice  as  the  marathon effort with Eric Foner's " Give  me  Liberty" had sapped  my  energies.....as  I  was  more  or  less  inclined towards  a  short book , I stumbled  on  4  vols  of  ..."The fall of the  Mughal  Empire" by  JADUNATH  SARKAR ...each  volume  being  a  detailed  history  of  the  Mughal  empire over a  shorter  period  post  Aurangzeb ....thus  the  4  vols  appeared  manageable : each  cud be  borrowed  at  peace.....I  had heard of Jadunath  Sarkar the eminent  Historian  , nd was too glad  to  hv attempted  reading  his  works  ....by far  the  best  documentation  nd compilation with  his  stamp of  authority of authenticity as  the  reign  of  Muhammad shah unfolds  &  the Marathha  raids  on  Bengal  against  Nawab  Alivardi  khan .....the  most  interesting  part  were  the raids  where  I  cud  relate  to  names  of many  a  Bihar  town like  Koilwar , Punpun , RaniSarai  , Barh  where  Alivardi  Khan engaged the Marathha  "Bargi".....tht  Alivardi  Khan  was a strong ruler  ,  his  indefatiguable  campaigns  , even  at  his  ripeold  age   .....the  stories  of the  three  subahs of Bengal  , Bihar  & Orissa hv  generated  interest  in me, 

in rediscovering  unprecedented details  , so far  to which I  was  a  Blind  Eye .....the English  of Jadunath Sarkar   is  commanding  as  Commanding  as  the Standard (sword) of Alivardi Khan ......as  the  1st vol  is half  way  thru .....the  very  thought  of  the other  3 vols. lying in  the  National  Library  gives  me  immense   solace ....as  I  had  told earlier....little  borrowing  is  thr  of these  books  here  &  I am nearly a  sole  Patron  to  the  best  of  my  knowledge , a  double  pleasure .....!!!!  

....A Father ....a Friend ....

.....Remembering  Father  on  1st  March  : Birth anniversary  ....Never has  a day passed  since  1998 ,the  yr of his passage  into  the  realms  of The Almighty without remembering  Him , his persona well etched  in  memory .....The  Birthday  of  1st  March  is  a day  of  rededicating  ourselves  to  the  Cause  of  Humanity....Kindness  &  Patience  & deep faith in the Rule  of  Law  which were  the hallmarks  of his  life....as  I  tend  to  emulate ....I find  how his simplistic  approach  to  Life  can  keep  you  healthy & wealthy ...His  approach  towards his  Fmly  , Frnds , colleagues  &  the  Countless Railway workmen were simplistic , caring  & inspiring ....reading his  old letters  sent  to  me regularly  to  my  boarding school , is  still  the Guardian angel , Guiding  me  constantly.....He was my  Umbrella and  sorely  do  I miss  him , whenever  I achieve  anything  meaningful ....!!!....May  His Soul  ever  rest  in  Peace .....