I was walking last evening in the neighbouring Sankey Lake and the sky was blushing softly, bathed in the hues of sunset and the colours were reflected in the waters. It also reminded me of the dramatic dawn that I had witnessed in Nagin Lake in Srinagar in Kashmir, a few years ago.
And that made me wonder about the fascinating myth that I read in the Bhopal Tribal Museum, about creation. Most of the tribes who live in India, be it the Baigas or the Gonds believe that our divine parents are the Earth and the Sky (Clouds). While many of their Gods like Badadev or Mata are actually the “creators”, life as we know it, they believe has been sustained by Earth and Sky and hence all living beings look upon them as parents.
Their union is brought about during a bout of lightning and the universe was created with divine energy. Standing there, grounded and feeling secure with the earth below my feet and the sky spreading its umbrella over my head, I felt so grateful to be alive.
Hello and welcome to Issue 27 of Journeys and Jottings. Back to travelling and writing and I am not complaining. I have just been penning down my travel experiences of the tribal trail and you can read all about it in my 100 Stories of India. In People Make Places, we meet Dr. Vasant Nirgune, our Experience Architect of the Times Passion Trail, and a walking encyclopedia of tribal life and culture. But before that, do you have a reading ritual?
When was the last time you visited a library ?
“ Google can bring you back 100,000 answers. A librarian can bring you back the right one.
— Neil Gaiman
I always grew up around a library. The school library, the club’s library, the neighbourhood lending library, my father’s library at home. Books and bookstores have been a part of my childhood. I could read anywhere, anytime. But my room was my favourite place. As I set up my home, two things were mandatory - a bookshelf and a diwan where I could curl up and read. The diwan became a floor cushion, then a recliner, a sofa, and now just the bed sometimes. Eventually, as the digital era took over, my habits changed. And now, I am focussing on reviving the reading ritual and that includes also setting up a time and place to read, besides giving my little bookshelf a small makeover.
You know, one of the oldest libraries, according to history was in the ancient Middle East, and it was excavated in Nineveh, located in present-day Iraq. The Assyrian ruler Ashurbanipal had 30,000 cuneiform tablets organised based on different subjects.
In India, one of the oldest and most historic libraries that I have visited is the Saraswati Mahal Library in Thanjavur, which is more of a museum than a library. Located in a silent corner of the palace complex, the 500 year old library is home to over 60,000 ancient and priceless palm leaf manuscripts and volumes written in different languages - Sanskrit, Hindi, Tamil, Marathi, Telugu, Urdu, and Persian among others. The Royal Library of the Thanjavur Nayaks is sadly a desolate monument today.
The National Librarian Day in India is celebrated on August 12 as a tribute to Padmashree, the late SR Ranganathan who was heralded as the Father of Library Science in India and has penned the Five Laws of Library Science.
Once the haunt of the royalty, today, libraries are literally becoming obsolete. Here is a list of some of the iconic libraries in India. How many have you been to?
And on that note, I am going to visit the closest library near my place. When was the last time you visited one?
100 Stories of India
A couple of weeks ago, I experienced one of the most unusual trips of a lifetime - a journey to meet the tribes of Madhya Pradesh. Thirty of us were huddled inside a bus, with the striking face of Chotti Maa, a graceful Baiga woman as our mascot printed on it, and we meandered our way into valleys and villages in remote Madhya Pradesh.
As we drove from Bhopal to Jabalpur, we visited Tamia, Mandla, and Amarkantak and interacted with the Bharias, Baigas, and Gonds , tribes of Madhya Pradesh in villages around Patalkot, Silpidi, and Patangarh. We explored forts and visited temples in Mandla and Ramnagar and even had a glimpse of the supernatural and learnt about exorcism, the tribal way at Chaugan, a village near Mandla. We stepped foot into the gateway to mythical Patallok but also saw the stairway to heaven. And we were grateful to have had Dr. Vasanth Nirgune Sir as our “Experience Architect, ” who is a walking encyclopedia on the tribal way of life and has spent years living with the tribes of Madhya Pradesh
The story of the tribes of Madhya Pradesh revolves around the River Narmada as she flows along with us, like a motif through the destinations we visit. The course of River Narmada which originates in a little khund in Amarkantak is a tragic love story too. A mythical tale of lost love and friendship, betrayal and sorrow, and yet the strong-willed, beautiful river changes her course from East to West and rebels against the gods and mortals who denied her the destiny that she wanted. Stories inspire Art and Art has been inspired by Nature.
This is the mural painted by Artist Durga Vyam along with others, right at the entrance of the ethereal and mysterious tribal museum in Bhopal. This is where the narrative begins. The story of the tribes of Madhya Pradesh, their cultures, their myths and legends, their beliefs, and their lives. And their love for the river.
People Make Places
It was his interaction with the tribes that got my attention - be it the Gond artists or the Bharia dancers or the beautiful Baiga women. Every time he spoke to them, I could feel the warmth and the respect they had for him. They greeted him affectionately, revered him by touching his feet, laughed with him over a personal anecdote and patted them gently on their backs. It was the cameraderie and his youthful exuberance that fascinated me. There was a cherished connect, a deep bond between the tribals and him that was inexplicable. Meet Dr Vasant Nirgune Sir, who was the Experience Architect on the Times Passion Trails to tribal heartland in Madhya Pradesh.
At 82 years, he was the youngest of us all, with a passionate zeal and zest for travel. He was a walking enclyclopaedia on the lives of the tribals as he had spent years living with them, understanding their ways of life, exploring their cultures and traditions. He was brimming with stories. He overwhelmed us with his knowledge of the land and the people. He would at one moment, be academic and scholarly, sharing insights into their lives and cultures and at the next moment, he would become a gifted storyteller, narrating myths and legends and spinning fascinating tales out of symbols and tokens. A stone or a flower would have a deeper significance as he took us into the mystical worlds of the tribals.
We were humbled in the presence of the Sahitya Academy winner who was with us in the bus, travelling to remote hinterlands. Dr Nirgune would pick a chunk of dry roots from the soil and chat with the Bharia healers and discuss their health benefits. In another village, he explained to us the significance of the tattoos of the Baiga women who were inked from head to toe. He appreciated arts, crafts and music and patted a Gond artist on his back fondly while narrating the story behind the painting.
Dr Nirgune has been a champion to conserve tribal traditions and he has penned several books. He was awarded the Janjati Bhasha Samman by Sahitya Akademi Award in 2015 for research in relation to the Bhili language. He has done extensive research on the lives of tribals and has assisted in making short films and has helped in the conceptualisation and creation of the Bhopal Tribal Museum.
The recipient of several awards, Dr Nirgune has been conferred the Tagore National Fellowship. His books on tribal life and culture have been penned in Hindi and some of them include Rituals of Bheel Tribes , Madhya Pradesh ki Lokkathayein and Lok Sankriti among others.
He was sitting pensively for a moment at the Moti Mahal,a 17th century fort built by the Gondwana king Hriday Shah when I took this photograph. As I expressed my gratitude for all the learnings on the trip, he smiled and thanked me and said, “ I am still learning, “ It was such a humbling and an overwhelming experience for me. Thank you Sir again.
Feedback
I do hope that you enjoyed reading this issue. Looking forward to your feedback as always. We are going to keep the flow of conversations going and I would really appreciate it if you will share my newsletter with your friends and family.
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