amandeepm

Freed, in the 19th century there was a panel on the right hand side that contained an english translation of the Gurumukhi veriosn (embellished with lots of flowery language directed at the Queen). There are barely a couple of photographs that captured this panel - one of which is just readbale.

I attach some text from our forthcoming book on Sikh photographs (please dont hold your breath!)

Pilgrims and tourists wishing to enter the

Harimandir Sahib first passed through a grand

gateway known as the darshan deorhi.

Placed in prominent positions either side were

two copper gilt plaques containing notices

written in English and Punjabi (in the Gurmukhi

script). These were fixed in place in 1879 shortly

after the death of the second British-nominated

sarbarah, Mangal Singh Ramgarhia, the greatgrand

nephew of the famous warrior-statesman,

Jassa Singh Ramgarhia, and a prominent

soldier-administrator under Ranjit Singh.

Both of the notices commemorated the same

miraculous incident that occurred early one

morning in April 1877: a bolt of lightning

appeared to fall from the sky and move through

the Harimandir Sahib before returning to the

heavens. With Queen Victoria having been

proclaimed Empress of India only a few months

earlier, it offered the perfect opportunity for the

administration to impress the power of the

British Empire on the minds of superstitious

masses. As they thronged each day through the

gateway, they read of a miracle ascribed to both

their Guru and their Queen. Although the

plaques are no longer extant, the full text of the

English version read as follows:

"It should be generally known that a wonderful

event took place lately in the Golden Temple. This

building was erected by the great Guru Ram Dass

King of Kings and incarnation of Ram who gives

blessings and receives worship from all creatures.

The following is an account of what occurred on

the 30th of April 1877 at 4.30 a.m. about 400

persons according to ancient custom were praying

in this Sri Durbar Sahib and listening to psalms

whose music was almost drowned by the roar of

thunder. Suddenly a flash of lightning fell from

heaven and entered the holy place by the northern

door close to the singers and musicians a ball of

fire of about two seers in weight burst in the

temple shining with dazzling terrible brightness.

Then immediately after shining before the holy

book it returned to the sky through the southern

entrance and although it fell with such awful

violence and so loud a report yet there was no

injury caused to the durbar Sahib or to human life.

Therefore all who were assembled joined in

ascribing this miracle to Ram Dass who dedicated

this temple to Hari. We think it is also a sign of the

great prosperity of the British rule also we are

thankful to the Empress of India we pray to the

creator of all things for a daily increase in their

happy influence and for the destruction of all the

enemies of her Imperial Majesty. The government

inspector waited on the Comr. [Commissioner of

Punjab] and informed him of this remarkable

event. The following gentlemen viz the

Commissioner Rajah Surat Singh Sardar General

Gulab Singh Bhagowalia Sardar Mangal Singh

Ramgharia and all the worshippers agreed:—That

money being collected by friends of the Golden

Temple half should be given towards the support

of the sacred edifice and half to pay for a dinner to

the poor Sufficient money was gathered to pay for

seven readings of the Granth Sahib and to feed

some thousands of poor people who all expressed

their gratitude. This notice is also intended as a

memorial of the superintendent Sardar Mangal

Singh over the Sri Darbar Sahib of Hari and as a

remembrance of the miracle of Guru Ram Dass

and the prosperity of our rulers which we pray may

last to the end of time "

The eulogy to British imperialism in the final

sentence was intended to serve as a potent

reminder of the permanency of the Empire’s writ.

Yet neither the prosperity of the British Raj in

Punjab nor the plaques themselves were to last

forever. Shortly after the English notice was

removed in the early part of the 20th century, the

sunset of the Raj soon followed.

Freed, a couple of random bits of information that I have picked up over the years that need some verification but point to some historical links between Ethiopia/Rasta and Sikhs.

HAille Sallasie's close friend and personal photographer was a Sikh man . This Singh took some of the most iconic pictures of the emperor and died a few years ago. I remember reading an obituary but didn’t keep it.

Sant Singh Chattwal (NY hotelier, friend of Hillary Clinton and father of Vikram Chattwal) was Sellasie's bridge partner !

The Maharaja of Faridkot had Sikh troops stationed in Ethiopia as part of the British Indian Army during the second world war (presumably as part of the force that kicked out the Italians). As a result Sellassie was sufficiently impressed by the Sikh troops for the Ethiopian Emperor to offer the Maharaja a Sikh homeland within Ethiopia

Does anyone have any information on these stories, I hate to post things unless they are verifiable and these are somewhat soft.

[left:883e99bc69]http://www.punjabheritage.org/images/20060214_11.jpg[/left:883e99bc69]In recognition of the one-year anniversary of the launch of our daily news site Punjab Heritage News we have added six stunning galleries of photography of some of the most important heritage locations in the Punjab.

http://www.punjabheritage.org/editorials--...ction-0705.html

A new location will be added each month. Access is available to those who have registered and logged into the Punjab Heritage website. Registration is simple and free. Log in and then click on the "Gallery" option.

The first picture galleries that are launched are :

The Royal City of Patiala

The Tomb of Jehangir

The Samadhi of Ranjit Singh

Badshahi Masjid

Kapurthala's Built Heritage

Dera Sahib Gurdwara in Lahore.

Dear Vinegar,

This isn't about opposing everything that the SGPC do. This is about them making interventions into the building when they dont understand the implications.

The electrification of the building and indeed the more recent cabling to support the broadcasts from the Darbar Sahib are positive but their implemetnation has been far from positive.

PLease see the images below taken in 2006 by Taran Singh of how the electrification has been carried out. By looking at these I think we have a legitimate right to question very strongly the exact need for this intervention becuase there is no going back once they start.

http://www.punjabheritage.org/material-her...emple-2704.html

Friends

The SGPC is now at an advanced level of planning to install air conditioning units in the Harimandir Sahib (Golden Temple). This move demands holes to be punched through the ancient walls of the structure.

The sub-committee leading this plan has been influenced by a single political "VVIP" who is apparently visiting the site on a monthly basis and finds it uncomfortable. Please visit the story and leave your comments.

http://www.punjabheritage.org/material-her...emple-2704.html

The pressure applied by advocacy groups like Punjab Heritage News over the last few months on the authorities at Nanded have assured that the Ranjit Singh Baradari were conserved instead of destroyed. Please keep up the good work.

Amandeep Madra

Freed

Another great posting and a really entertaining one.

Freed, I was struck by the use of modern western instruments in that Gurdas Mann clip; an accordian, guitar, bongos and even a mandolin !

It's a typically Punjabi reaction to something modern or seemingly better to abandon the traditional ways. I wonder if you can comment on the folk-instruments of old and. I was wondering if in the folk tradition the instruments have always just been devices to attract the listeners, therfore they've always needed to be eye-catching and modern?

Freed,

Thanks for posting these. Menpes also published a book called "india" and there is a oil paiting of the Harimandir in there as wella some more Paintings of veterens.

The painting of the Tailor was carried out in Amritsar, there is a limited edition drypoint print of this titled "Tailor Amritsar". These are remarkably similar to JOhn Lockwwod Kipling's sketches around the old city of Amritsar and the Amritsar Jail.

Another nerdy point; Menpes published all his books (including Durbar and India) in two first editions. There was a limited edition of 1000 books that were published with superior binding and each one was numbered and signed by Menpes. These sometimes come up for sale.

Most of the original paintnigs are now in various museums and galleries in Australia, where Menpes is considered an old-master for that country since he ended his days there.

Peter BAnce (who wrote the book "The Duleep Singhs" ) is working on another illustyrated book called "Sikhs in Britain" he has identified over 70% of the people in this picture, including the author and journalist Khushwant Singh, who was a young law student in London and is pictured (somewhere) in that group

The latest story on www.punjabheritage.org in the Hidden Heritage series is about a remarkable order of merit instituted by the flamboyant Maharaja of Patiala, Bhupindar Singh. The Nishan-i-Phul is a striking piece and something that speaks volumes about Sikh symbolism of the turn of the 20th century.

One of the Maharaja's personal pieces and something that he considered the highest order of merit, the Nishan-i-Phul is a window into the extravagant world of Bhupindar's Patiala court.

This weekend will see an explosion of coverage about the Battle of the Somme, commemorating the 90th anniversary and remembering the 1 million men who were killed during the campaign.

The role of the Sikh soldier is often forgotten during the First World War. The latest in the "Hidden Heritage" series goes some way to remember these forgotten heroes during this commemorative weekend.

Please visit www.punjabheritage.org for the latest story with rare and unpublished pictures and a remarkable story using the words of the men who fought the battle

Amandeep

Punjab Heritage News

I just found Hazur Sahib on Google Earth. I have an ever growing list of google earth sites realted to Punjab and Sikh History. Anyone interested in getting a copy of the kmz file can PM me

Dear Friends

Please do visit Punjab Heritage News today and see the latest story in the Hidden Heritage series. This takes a view of some of Punjab's most important heritage sites, from the air vie Google Earth which has just released high definition pictures of parts of the region. These are accompanied with photos, from the ground.

Amandeep

The Harimandir Sahib complex from the air, please see www.punjabheritage.org for more views from the air.

Banda

If you're talking about the British Indian Army then pop down to the National Army Museum in Chelsea armed with as much data that you have about your relatives. You will need to know exactly which regiments/batallions they were in and what years and ideally the naem of a commanding officer.

At the NAM, you can get the role calls so you can see which unit they were in and start to build a picture of what that unit did by looking in the regimental histories.

If you're lucky you may find pictures in either th NAM's archives (which are organsied by regiment) or the Imperial War Museum photo archives (a lot f whcih I've catalogued). Pictures were geenrally taken of officers and NCOs rather than the common soldier so its really hit and miss.

If you were talking of the indian army post 1947 then I have no idea

aman

Take a look at the latest story on www.punjabheritage.org which reports the very latest discovery of a tomb of one of the Prophet's descendants in East Punjab. Forgotten since the partition in 1947 it became the property of the Buddha Dal who have some kind of guardianship ever since.

It was discovered only recently, almost by chance, and has been creating a great deal of interest in the muslim world.

Click onto the home page of Punjab heritage news on www.punjabheritage.org or straight to the news story

http://www.punjabheritage.org/index.php?op...56&Itemid=1

aman

dear "unbreakable"

Thanks for your support. I do hope that you have visited the punjabheritage site and that you can encourage others to do so.

Those of us who care about culture and heritage are in a tiny minority. I have high hopes that the punjabheritage web site will bring with it some sense of community and together we can exert some force against the Tsunami of destruction that the authorities and the sangat are engaged in.

Some practical steps to preserve Sikh heritage are :

1. Stop giving the people whop destroy heritage any money. You can decide for yourself whether this includes the SGPC, Kar Seva babas, Building fund collections etc

2. When the Kar sevaks come asking for money , bend their ear and tell them of the destruction that they are causing.

3. Document what you do see now. Take pictures of even the most modest historical structure or material heritage. There is little guarantee that it will survive.

4. Take an interest and visit places of heritage in Punjab. Local communities will feel a sense of pride / ownership about places where foreign visitors come to see them.

5. Educate those around you. Buy good quality books as presents, encourage people onto websites like punjabheritage.org. Please sign up to the website because then I can send you details of any campaigns or really important stories.

6. Start openly discussing the heritage destruction that the SGPC and Kar Sevaks are engaged in. This isn’t a dirty secret. All Sikhs that I talk to will nod in agreement and wring their hands at the state of our heriateg and are concerned about the damage that is being done. But, typically, no one does anything particularly practical and they continue to fill the gholaks of the worst offenders. We need an educated, engaged and vocal sangat. Once the sense of outrage hits that tipping point we will be able to stop this thing.

Please take a look at www.punjabheritage.org where there are a number of stories on the state of Punjabs heritage in Pakistan

A couple of points in response to your dilemma N30 Singh

Firstly, the "restoration" work at the Samadh wasnt whitewashing (they als did that on the upper floors) it was the destruction of the actualy samadhi itself. These were the lotus flower shaped urns that contained the ashes of the Maharajah. These were broken off and thrown away.

The second point is that whilst you (and others) may see the samadh as something that goes against sikh values, the Maharajah's family clearly didnt. They wanted to build something that was dedicated to the Maharajah and they did so. It's not the place of anyone to desecrate that place simply becusae they dont agree with it today. The most direct comparison is the Taliban blowingup the Bhumian BUddhas. The Taliban could not reconcile the fact that these "idols" were i their muslim country so they blew them up. One could argue that the Emperor Jehangir, a pious and strict Muslim, couldnt reconcile the path of Naam that Guru Arjan preached with his own belief in Islam and therefore had him killed. This act of desecration is much the same.

I'm not asking anyone to bow at a samadh, just please dont destroy them in the naem of religious cleansing.

Are you still on the fence about this?

aman

The proposed bus services from Amritsar to Pakistan is great news but is very likely to be a Trojan Horse for Sikh Heritage in West Punjab. The by-product of the really encouraging news that was reported this morning on the BBC is that it will bring Kar Sevaks to Pakistan.

The Kar Sevaks are determined to "beautify" Sikh shrines in Pakistan that have been largely untouched since Independence. In India after 1947 the Sikhs took control of the important Sikh shrines in Punjab from the British and over a single generation have wiped out virtually all historical monuments and replaced them with modern structures (see www.karsewa.org) . In Pakistan this has not happened to the same extent but the fear amongst conservators, architects and historians is that the same will take place.

I want to illustrate this point with a couple of pictures. These are from within the samadh (funerary monument) of the great Sikh leader Maharaja Ranjit Singh. For 150 years a portion of his ashes (and those of the 11 wives and courtesans that performed Sati on his funeral pyre) were preserved in lotus-flower shaped urns embedded on a marble platform under a beautifully pietre dure canopy in an impressive monument in Lahore. In 1999 in preparation for a visit of Sikh priests from India the Sikh guardians of the shrine whipped off the offending reminders of both the maharajah and his wives. This is just one simple illustration of the devastation that we fear will happen. Please do try to take a look at www.punjabheritage.org which documents many many other cases of neglect, destruction and religious vandalism.

With regards

Amandeep Madra

A picture taken in 1992 of the Samadh of Ranjit Singh which shows the central samadhi built by his son Kharack Singh and completed by Duleep Singh where a portion of the maharajahs ashes were inturned.

A picture taken in 2005 where all the samadhis have been flattened in preparation for a visit of SGPC heads in 1999.

We have to be careful not to completely demonize the SGPC. I have littel time for them and so I say this through gritted teeth.

On a practical level whilst they may be part of the problem of heritage destruction they are also part of the conservation solution.

Like it or not, they are the guardians of the most important historical sikh shrines in Punjab. Any solution for consrvation or preservation will have to include them. There is no point in making enemies of them. Somehow they need to understand that heritage conservation is in their interest.

THeir vassals in destroying heritage are the kar seva Babas (see www.karsewa.org for a frightening example of this). Again, rather than make enemies of these people we need to educate them on how to do things properly. Kar Sewa could be areally powerful tool in preserving heritage if it is chanelled and well managed. If we simply make two opposing camps nothing at all changes.

aman

Dear Ranjit Singh

I did ask for pictures of the kachhi garhi and I am really grateful for your response. I am writing a series of articles that will be published on www.punjabheritage.org (my new site that documents the sate of Sikh heritage). The articles are titled "The Lost Heritage of Punjab" and whilst I dont wish to depress anyone I do want to highlight the steady destruction of all kinds of heritage (architectural, material, cultural and even religious) in the name of progress. Thes eimages are really fascinating and the article is a perfect addition to the databse of stories in www.punjabheritage.org

aman

Hello again drawrof - great to see you on this site again.

Your idea is a really good one. It is something that is certainly "doable" but requires political will - this is unfortunately lacking right now.

Unfortunatly most of the energy & resources from conservators, activists and experts is spent on stopping sikhs from destroying their own heritage rather than presenting heritage in an engaging and educational way to increase the enjoyment of one of our most unique assets.

The SGPC are a group of political yahoos with absolutely no interest in heritage - ats all about the golak and the sho-sha !

aman

I had hoped that the reaction to this scandalous proposal by the SGPC would have been that they would have quickly backed down. It doesn’t seem that this is the case. I have tried to get the BBC in India to take the story as well as a few national newspapers in India and the UK. Pressure from foreign media outlets is (sadly) much more influential than what many thousands of Sikhs in the UK/US are asking for.

I am drafting a letter to the SGPC president, with similar letters to the Badal office and also to Mr Darshan Dhaliwal (who is funding this project). I will send these by the weekend. I would encourage all others to do the same. The SGPC do not respond to emails, so it is vital that those of you who want to do something write a letter and send that by post (addresses are below)

Letters should be short, to the point and courteous. For example, welcome the principal of the museum but insist that the site should not be the sacred Guru-ka-bagh site. The more letters that the SGPC get, the more chance that they will respond.

The minute that I have any kind of official or unofficial response from the SGPC I will post on sikhawareness.com and copy in some of the other boards

PLease address your letters to :

Jathedar Avtar Singh,

President SGPC.

Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee

Teja Singh Samundri Hall

Amritsar - Punjab 143006 (India)

cc. S.Sukhdev Singh Bhaur

General Secretary, SGPC,

Last week the SGPC announced the intention to build a Hi-Tech Museum in Amritsar. This week it has emerged that the likely site for this venture is the sacred Guru-ka-Bagh in the Harimandir complex that was the garden of Guru Arjan Dev ji and the place within which "Barah Mah" was composed.

This sacred space is to be replaced by concrete, killing off the last green area in the complex and causing irreversible damage. The small shrine that commemorates the place that Guru Arjan Dev ji composed "Barah Mah" would also be lost forever.

This is not the first historically important site to be bulldozed and concreted in recent years. The SGPC have previously demonstrated their utter disregard for Sikh Heritage in all its forms by whitewashing, replacing and concreting all manner of sacred monuments and sites.

Please visit www.punjabheritage.org for the full report and for the latest news on this ongoing campaign for the SGPC to reconsider location of this museum.

Amandeep Madra

www.punjabheritage.org

Dear Jungee

Thanks for your note. The situation is wrose than you describe, Not only are sikh groups not doing anything constructive they are positively doing things that are destructive. There are a tiny band of activists and practitioners who are passionately concerned about the state of Punjab's heritage and I hope taht this website grows to become a place where we can find a voice and rally our collective thoughts on important issues.

Thanks also for your offer of help, I hope in the future to present positive projects that can be undertaken to preserve heritage.

One thing that you all may be able to help in is to help me find pictures documenting sites that are now long gone. I am writing a series of articels that will be published on the site titled "Lost Heritage of teh Punjab" This will document items of materila heritage that have been destroyed through negligence, vandalism , religious vandalism or through the ongoing cancer of "modernisation".

I am finding this very difficult to illustrate for obvious reasons ! do you have any images of the kacchighri (the mud fort) of Chamkaur before it was torn down by kar sevaks to make a ubiquitous white marble gurdwara ?

Aman

Introducing Punjab Heritage News : The very latest news and commentary on a heritage under threat.

The Punjab has played host some of the world’s greatest civilisations. Each has left a interminable mark on the country; sumptuous palaces, imposing forts, havelis and courtyard residences and the unique mud built houses of the rural peasantry inimitably identify the region.

Within Punjab the rich and diverse traditions of different communities have clashed over the centuries and spawned a multitude of hybrids. Cultural fusions of musical traditions, religious expression, linguistic oddities, and even culinary styles abound in its fertile plains. A powerful combination of robust colour, strong narrative and brutal honesty distinguish Punjabi art in all its forms prompting one nineteenth century observer to describe the unique colour palette of the Punjab as “warm and rich and fearlessâ€

Today, that unique and rich heritage is under threat. It is being torn down in the name of modernisation and ripped apart in acts of cultural vandalism. Neglect and ignorance of the importance of Punjab’s material heritage are a huge contributor to the persistent destruction of buildings, artworks, manuscripts and other items of material heritage.

Today the United Kingdom Punjab Heritage Association (UKPHA) launches a new website called Punjab Heritage News to act as a daily news source for those who share our interest in the heritage of the Punjab.

Commenting on the launch of the new website, Gurinder Chadha, Director and writer of the films ‘Bend it Like Beckham’ and ‘Bride and Prejudice’ said today “I learned about my own past and my family's history on BBC 1's 'Who do you think you are?' At Punjab Heritage News I learned how much of that history is in danger of disappearingâ€

This site collects all the very latest news stories on Punjab's material heritage; architecture, arts, historical monuments and cultural traditions. These stories are augmented with reviews and editorials from leading writers, journalists, conservators and activists who write specifically for this new site. This makes Punjab Heritage News the primary place for the latest news and commentary from the world’s experts on the state of Punjab’s rich heritage.

We hope that this site promotes the conservation efforts that are taking place as well as giving a voice to the activist and practitioners who are working tirelessly to preserve Punjab's heritage in all its forms.