Ma & Koderma

 To Rahul.. nephew...

Great to hear from you again on such a stirring note close to heart... Just now chatted with Nayonmoni.. She spent her childhood in koderma... NanaJi was Divisional Mining Engineer, he was BSc and AMIE(Associate Member of Institute of Engineers India), he used to inspect many a mine there... Nayonmoni (Ma) lived in a quaint Bungalow perched on a hillock with wild animals abound...Watson and Miller sahibs were Nanajis hunting associates.. Maneater Tiger used to abound there.. Ma informed me that often she went on horseback to school.. She observed forest fires too like a ring of lamps in the night...she also had a cub as a pet only until it grew ferocious... The strong smell of Mahua trees and Saal leaves, quaint bungalow and lots of books to read... no wonder her reading and writing habits were strong..which is passed on.. At her ripe age, her crystal clear description even today transported me to the thick jungles of Koderma...

....The Dharwar Craton & a friend....

 ....the discussion with Dr L P Singh , Dy DG GSI was inevitable on my friday holiday , firstly he being a long lost bosom frnd whom I met after 3 decades this Oct2021 & my recently concluded visit to Rockland Hampi & the Tunghabhadra basin...the discussion on Dharwar craton as  this Geological area is so termed was animated...whn u talk to bosom frnds of Intermediate class of science era 80-82 of Science college Patna,. its a great feel...who else wud  have been best  suited  than  my dear friend ,holding a high post in GSI....the 1980-82 era & 2021- 2022 is a yawning 40 yrs , but did we change at all in terms of camaraderie....no ....not a wee  bit ....as he educated  me about the heritage site rockland , I felt satiated , as we are well versed with each other's hearts delight....to find a dear frnd of formative years is God's blessing...!!!

THE HEART OF INDIA.....

.HAMPI....The Heart of INDIA...

..The NEW YEAR wishes are there for all ...as the Heart throbs in a remote heritage township of HAMPI in the Bellary district of Karnataka state...the land of RAMAYANA KISHKINDA...the kingdom of SUGREEWA the Monkey God king & birth place of Lord Hanumana at Anjanadri hills, with RamCharanPaduka at Chintamani overlooking the picterusque Tunghabhadra, whose course is breathtaking ,meandering its way through the mighty granite hillocks,well etching up a history of a mighty HINDU KINGDOM OF VIJAYNAGARA of 14th to 17th century AD.

Every square inch is heritage here , a UNESCO World Heritage Site ,as I am bewildered,  & truly overwhelmed, as site after site unfolds the magnificient saga of Vijaynagar Kingdom controlling the peninsula at the zenith of its glory...pillaged ,ransacked , desecrated ,a telltale evidence of a mighty city & kingdom at par with Roma of its time ...the bazars  still dotting  the  landscape juxtaposed to a temple complex  of Virupaksha , Vittala , Krishna , the Temples at the epicentre of worldly life of those times...the splendour and grandeur of a city sprawling in huge sq kilometers dotted  & protected with monolithic boulders and a rich fertile vale and a gushing mighty  river  Tunghabhadra sustaining  the kingdom...as I touch & feel & witness the mighty boulders drifting in a Coracle, with family, with Surya, the oarsman, singing paens of folklore of its people ,their kingdom ...steeped in Ramayana the Hazara Rama Complex with black granite collonade  in  the  sanctum electrified  our  day...the mythology  since  ingrained  from  childhood fast churning  us into

a  spin ...how  real  it could  be  &  how  evolved  we  had   been  600  yrs ago ..as  Kings  after Kings extended  their  firm  belief in extensions  of mythological  structures saluting the spirits and belief of its citizenry, during  their  respective  reigns  ...the  walls  representing  truly  the  heart  of  India ...!!!! Its as if  India is breathing  thru  its  rock  solid  walls  withstanding  the  ravages  of  time  ....

As,hordes of people throng the sites ,both urbane & the rural alike ,raising the heat & dust ,I can see the peace in their eyes of a direct connect to their rich heritage & culture...Glad I am here with family , my faith & trust in my ancestory well reinforced ,rediscovering & reveling in these revelations truly  a proud moment of our lives.....Long Live my Homeland ....!!! 

k