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A State-by-State Guide

Anita Vachharajani
Amit Vachharajan i

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 A State-by-State Guide

Written by
Anita Vachharajani

Illustrated and designed by

Amit Vachharajani

SCHOLASTIC
New York Toronto London Auckland Sydney
Mexico City NewDelhi HongKong BuenosAires
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se

In memory of Sriram, who knew so much

Anita Vachharajani enjoys writing stories and books for

children. She has a keen interest in places, people and art,
and loves books of all shapes and sizes.
Amit Vachharajani juggles two loves—film-making and
illustrating books. He is a compulsive doodler and a
passionate collector of children’s picture books.
Anita and Amit live in Mumbai with their daughter .
Maps by Aditya Menon

Many thanks to everyone who was with us on this journey of

discovery: to Amma, who has helped us cheerfully in
countless ways and at all times; to Nayana, without whose
relentless questioning this book wouldn't have been as much
fun; and to everyone who carefully sifted through the
text—Tina Narang, Sachin Balwalli, Sudha Raghavendran, and
especially Akhila Naik, for her careful and thorough reading.

Every effort has been made to get the latest and most
accurate information about each Indian state. The author and
publishers would be grateful if any inadvertent errors are
brought to their notice.

Copyright © 2009 Anita Vachharajani

Published by Scholastic India Pvt. Ltd.

A subsidiary of Scholastic Inc., New York, 10012 (USA).
Publishers since 1920, with international operations in Canada,
Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Mexico, India,
Argentina, and Hong Kong.

All rights reserved.

No part ofthis publication may be reproduced in whole or in part, or

stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any
means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording,
or otherwise without the written permission ofthe publisher.

For information regarding permission, write to:

Scholastic India Pvt. Ltd.
Golf View Corporate Tower-A, 3rd Floor,
DLF Phase-V, Gurgaon-122002 (India)

First edition: June 2009

ISBN 10: 81-8477-328-5

ISBN 13: 978-81-8477-328-6

Printed at Rave India, New Delhi

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 Introduction
Se in the snowy desert of Ladakh, or sweat in the hot, sandy desert of the Rann of
Kutchch. Walk among models of prehistoric animals in the fossil park of Saketi, or take a living
root bridge across a river in Meghalaya. Watch butterfly fish flit in and out of atolls—the coral
islands of Lakshadweep—or explore a haunted fort inside one of Rajasthan’s tiger reserves.
See the many ways in which prehistoric man left his mark in the ancient caves of Madhya
Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Kerala; or walk through the snaking corridors of underground
caves in Andhra Pradesh, where a rock formation looks like a banyan tree.

Cee with us and explore the cultural, artistic, historic and geographic diversity of
India, the seventh largest country of the world. India is dotted with mountain ranges, snowy
deserts, sandy deserts, plains, marshes, coral islands, coasts and grasslands. Each of these
geographical features has a unique ecosystem, with an astonishing variety of animals, birds,
plants and flowers.

i Amazing India, you can meet a few of them. Read about the binturong of Northeast
India which isn’t a bear or a cat—but is sometimes called a ‘bearcat’. Or the hoolock
gibbon—the subcontinent’s only ape—which swings from tree to tree and ‘sings’ to its mate!
Lion-tailed macaques (no relations of the big cats), dancing deer, clouded leopards, dugongs,
hornbills, sooty terns, kaleej pheasants, tragopans and pitcher plants—all await you inside
these pages!

Ney India’s geographical diversity is also reflected in its

regional art forms as well. The birds, insects, animals, flowers, soil
or trees found in each region influence its dances, arts
and crafts. Clothes, music, food and religious practices
also seem to magically change with the changing
landscape.

Say a lot of India’s beauty and diversity are at risk today.

Many languages and art forms are being forgotten slowly. People
are being forced to give up ways of living which protected their forests
and their land. Tigers, red pandas, giant squirrels, Olive Ridley turtles and
binturongs are just a few of the many species that are dying out
because their habitats are being destroyed.

I, Amazing India we share and celebrate the joy of being a

part of India’s dazzling diversity. Come with us to take a peek into
the lives of the different people who live here—along with the
birds, plants and insects whose songs they have sung and
drawn for centuries.

Here is Amazing India, yours to protect, preserve and treasure!

There are some words in this book that you may not have read before.
When you see this sign@so to page 69 and 70. You will find a detailed
explanation there.

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North South
Jammu and Kashmir.................. 6. GOB ic. aioe tee ee 52
Himachal Pradesh ................... 8 Andhra Pradesh................... 54
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MALVONA ees ee on. ah ace 2. Kerilas......... 2 eee 58
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NESTS UT Ag 18 Union Territories
Map ius. acces... See eee 62
East Deli. 5.35... ...<< eee eee 63
Mindiaten dove Setiorg Ce be, ee 20 Chandigarh... ...: open 63
1s 4. eae ee 22 Daman and Diu..................... 64
‘en 7 aimee “7 pg Dadra and Nagar Haveli... .......0...65
Dascsneninend wtsicwann
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Lakshadweep... ..0+-. 1.008ae 66
Neriheast Andaman and Nicobar Islands ........ 67

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Pemaohal Pruishe |...) soccole: gore MY Amazing Indie oe us
PavaInndes ae... . eS Pe ee 54
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INTZOVA Ns rate ochtnnc'sdell oct cece eee 40 Abbreviations used:
IhCL is ees 2 atonal Part

Central
Madhya Pradesh . <-24............. 44
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West
(COUNRIVE Gc = oS ge Genre eee 48
PWANSEASNIPAP ES, .:.«lees
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 e The name Kashmir probably
U & Kashmir comes from two words—‘ka’
is a vast and meaning water, and ‘shmir’ meaning
spectacularly beautiful region. It is, however, marked by various border desiccated or dried. According to
disputes, A ‘Line of Control’ defined in 1972 divides it into Indian- and legend, it was created when Sage
Pakistani-administered parts, China controls parts of the Aksai Chin region Kashyapa drained a lake. Locals
of Ladakh. These divisions are not recognised by the Indian government. call it Kashir.
* Buddhist, Hindu and Sufi-lslamic philosophies
* mingled here to form a blend of Kashmir was an important centre of
* religions which brought people Hinduism, and later, of Buddhism,
e together. In the isolated Kargil which was brought here by Ashoka
region of Ladakh, many in 300 BC. He also founded the
Buddhist and Islamic practices ancient city of Srinagar. In 1349,
have merged. Shah Mirza founded the Salatin-i-
Kashmir dynasty. The Sikhs took
over in 1819, followed by the Dogras
who ruled under the British from
1846.

Ranging from 5500 to 14,000 ft,

: the 141-sq-km Dachigam NP@
Kashmir is marked by high lies in the Zabarwan range. It is
mountains, deep valleys and lofty, enclosed by two steep ridges,
inhospitable plateaus. It is separated has upper and lower sectors,
) from Jammu by the Himalayan and varied habitats. Migratory
foothills and the Pir Panjal range. ducks, wild goats, ibexes, snow
The Kashmir Valley, 1600 m high, is leopards, monal pheasants and
very fertile. The Ladakh plateau lies hanguls live here.
e to the northeast. It is made :
e
up of two districts: Leh
e
Kashmiri food is a blend of c ;
e Kargil.
e Buddhist, Pandit, Central Asian, ‘ and hard
e
e
Persian, Afghan and Punjabi ee ee ee ee
e cuisines. Traditionally, Kashmiri
9
Pandits eat meat, but avoid
The hangul or Kashmir stag is
e
e the only species of European red
onions and garlic. The wazwan_ *
e
deer found in India. It has
e
or traditional feast of Kashmiri :
e majestic antlers. In the 1940s,
e Muslims is spread over 36
there were about 5000 left. Only
e
courses. A team of chefs led by
e
150 remained in 1970. With
e the Vasta Waza or head chef
e conservation, their numbers rose by
e cooks the food.
°
1980, but dropped again by 2008.
e
e
e
’

ma

ie The 18-sq-“km Dal take tt

inn Srinagar is divided into four

~ Along its shores are beautiful Mughal gardens. Its 500:

wooden houseboats were once summer homes 2
for British officers. Shikaras or smaller wooden boats x
are a means of transport and fishing. :
~ = + + == 3 @ 0 @ © 0:0 6 6 0 0 0 © 106 6. 6 © 6 0 0 @ ¢ 6) 06610) 0 ene enele e616 ele eels erenn

6
 AS
Ladakh, or the ‘land of high
passes’, lies between the Arts & Crafts
' Great Himalayas and the d
Karakoram ranges, and across
*.. the Ladakh and the Zanskar
ranges. One of the world’s
/highest motorable passes goes
rom Leh to Nubra Valley
-across the Khardung La pass
at 18,380 ft.

To survive Ladakh’s nine months of

In Ladakh they believe in Bon, an animistic bitterly cold winter, animals here In the Chiling village of
religion in which the forces of nature are hibernate, migrate, have more red blood Ladakh, exquisite silver,
worshipped. Many of its ancient rituals were cells, or grow shaggy, warm coats.
brass and copper teapots,
later merged with Buddhism. Here Gompas Annually, many red foxes, snow leopards
and stone martens are slaughtered for bowls and hookah bases are
or Buddhist monasteries are storehouses of
their fur. In Aksai Chin, the chiru deer is made by metal workers.
icons, murals and scrolls.
killed to make Shahtoosh shawls. Garas or blacksmiths make
large ornate iron stoves.
Once on the Silk Route between China and Fabrics like pure Pashmina
the Mediterranean, Ladakh had diverse Wild horses, red foxes, ibexes, Tibetan shawls and pattu or woollen
communities: Indo-Aryan Dards, Buddhist wolves, lynxes, Bactrian camels, brown clothing are spun by women
Mons, Tibetans, Central Asian Baltis and the and black bears, stone martens, wild on drop-spindles.
yaks, snow leopards and Tibetan sand
nomadic Changpas. The Namgyal dynasty
ruled the region from Leh. foxes live in Ladakh. The Hemis High
Altitude NP has tibetan wolves, Kar-i-kalamdan, or the art of
shapus, bharals or blue sheep, nyans making lacquered pen cases
or the world’s largest sheep, and urials, out of paper pulp, grew in the
the world’s smallest sheep. 1400s under Sultan Zain-ul-
Abideen. In the 1800s,
French agents exported
In Ladakh, tea is shawls in these delicately
first boiled and painted boxes, and later sold
then shaken with the boxes separately.
fresh butter and
salt to make butter
tea. Butter keeps
the body warm,
gives energy and
prevents chapped
lips. The Kashmiri
nun or shir chai is
a pinkish, salted
tea. It is served
) from a samovar.
Kashmir’s famous
embroidery or Kashida has
FactFile chinar and grape leaves,
cypress cones, flowers and
: Date of formation: October 26,1947 Languages: Urdu, Hindi, Punjabi, almonds as motifs. Phirans,
° Size: 2,22,236 sq km ; Dogri, Kashmiri, Balti, Ladakhi, Purig, cloaks, rugs, shawls, linen
4 Population: 10,143,700 Gurji, Dadri
Capital: Srinagar (in summer) and and bags are covered with
Neighbours: Himachal Pradesh,
Jammu (in winter) Punjab; International: Pakistan,
chain, buttonhole and cross-
Rivers: Chenab, Jhelum, Indus, Afghanistan, China filling stitches. Crewel work or
Zanskar, Suru, Nubra, Shyok State Animal: Hangul wool embroidery is done
Forests and NPs: Dachigam NP, State Bird: Black-necked crane using hooks on thick namda
Hemis High Altitude NP eee
yley
ie
eee
fey
cee)
Verh
ioen
i
State Tree: Chinar carpets.
State Flower: Lotus
 The first settlers here were F
ULAG
: chal P r adesh lies in the high, snow-clad ae pene! er eel :
> mountains of the Western Himalayas, Known as the ‘snow-mountain state’, aurea nye ia mee
: Himachal Pradesh (HP) was once on the Silk Route, with an old road connecting ——_jixe Bhotias and Kiratas. Last °
* Shimla to the Tibetan border. Work to re-build the ancient Hindustan-Tibet Road of all, came the CentralAsian :
° began in 1850 under Lord Dalhousie and Sir Charles Napier. Aryans. Later, the regionhad °
cs Janapads or republics like °
am: the Audumbara republic, 5
Se which Chandragupta,
: and °°
rs:
° After the Guptas, Harshavardhan later still, Ashoka took over.
e took over. When he died in AD 647, ee ee ee e
~\: Rajputs ruled here, followed by the 5
* Mughals. Maharaj Sansar Chand In and around Manali, the :
= ° came into power here after that. starting point for the ancient e
—=* The Gorkhas of Nepal conquered trade route to Ladakh, are .
ma: some parts after 1768. Lahaul places of amazing beauty. 5
e was ruled by Ladakh and Kulu till Rakshas, or nomadic hunters, .-
; the 1840s. Sikhs ruled here once lived here. Manali has 3
° briefly. After winning the Anglo- many Buddhist monasteries °
: Sikh wars, the British established or Gompas. :
* their rule over the region.

. The Kullu Valley, on either ¢

e One of Punjab’s important side of River Beas, has pine 5
; rivers, the Beas, originates in and deodar forests, fruit ‘
* the 4631-m-high Rohtang Pass Shimla lies 7100 ft above sea level. It was the orchards, glens or deep °
e inthe Beas Kund. It flows summer capital of British India. Kullu Valley, Manali valleys with water running :
: through the Kullu and Kangra and Dalhousie are popular tourist spots. through them, and beautiful
* valleys to join the Suueiinaes. j= . ~ eaSwcogiedlveesg, 2? sce meadows. Kullu also has °
e Punjab. It was probably called many ancient temples andis
* Hyphasis by Alexander's tired The Pin Valley NP in Spiti is a cold, trans- famous for its Dussehra °
° army, who refused to go any Himalayan desert where ibexes, blue sheep or bharal, _—_celebrations. :
: further east from this point. snowcocks, snow partridges and Tibetan snow :
° finches survive. The region, though barren, has lots of °
4 fossils. Its many medicinal herbs are used in the woe ea eee ee 7s
a Tibetan Amchi form of medicine. °
z Dharamsala, in the Kangra valley of the Dhauladhar °
° Mountains, has an old history of Hinduism and Buddhism. %
3 Tenzin Gyatso—the Dalai Lama—and his followers fled :
. here following Chinese occupation of Tibet in 1959. Upper °
& Dharamsala or McLeodganj is called ‘Little Lhasa’. x

(e

: The boiling hot Manikaran springs well up in h

* clusters near the River Parvati in Kullu. Important : |°
e for religious reasons to both Hindus and Sikhs, a
; the spring water is hot enough to cook rice, dal bj :
* and vegetables. Vashist village near the Rohtang e
e Pass also has hot sulphur springs. E

8
 HP’s 32 wildlife sanctuaries and two national parks A & C
have 64 mammal, 463 bird and 3240 plant species rts rafts
* among them. The Great Himalayan NP has a rich
: | biodiversity—gorals, tahrs, snow leopards, LE, i
: serows, brown and black bears, and birds like Pahari i
; » western tragopans are found here. painting is :
: enn e een ewe eee doneinthe .:

e HP has three mountain Basohli and °

3 ranges within the Himalayan Kangra ;
: system—the Shivalik Hills styles. The 4
: : (5000 ft), the Lower Himalayas Basohli style, °

; The world’s oldest democracy is believed to be a oe Maes sa ets se =a pia ibis ;

* tiny, isolated village called Malana. Its houses, Zanskar Mountains (22,000 ft) bright colours ,
* Kanashi language, customs and governmental which lie further still. With trees and strong lines. It originated
e Structure are all unique, as are the motifs carved _ being cut at an alarming rate, the in Jammu and Kashmir and = °
; _into its wooden buildings. Malanis say they were _Shivalik range is slowly losing its later spread to HP, where it -
* taught their ways by a sage called Jamlu Rishi. soil and ecological diversity. grew as the Kangra style. i
Popular from the 1700s, it
was refined and used lighter,
calmer colours.

Kinnauri
shawls
are
intricately
woven
with
geometrical
ioq
motifs. They are usually
white, black, grey or brown,
with colourful patterns. Kullu
shawls are popular, as are
Samuel Stokes (later
Bone aeahanaaNinas Nicholas Roerich, a Russian the woollen caps with
Rea Amencantovbe painter, travelled with his family geometric-patterned borders,
npr enedialrimaine through Central Asia and finally are worn on special
which
settled down in Kullu. He occasions.
Indian freedom
campaigned for the Roerich Pact,
movement. He came to
under which countries agreed not
Shimla in 1904. The Red
to bomb each others’ cultural The Chamba
and Golden Delicious apple
monuments. His first son Rumal has
saplings he later brought
George was a Tibetologist, Kangra style
from America gave HP’s
O}
.%
B.A
O
OO
6
©
8
eoeovoevenen7e2e2028088088 while the second, Svetoslav, paintings
economy a huge boost.
was an arlist. pelea ties
Though apples grew in
on clo
HP before this, they

tee—— factle © se
using the

’ double satin stitch

LC Languages: Hindi, Punebr ‘kK nnauri,, _ or do-rukha which makes the
(4 Pahari embroidery look the same on
_* Neighbours: National: Jammuand —_ both sides. Colourful raw silk
“Kashmir, Punjab, Haryana, eis ee threads are stitched on white
« International: China — oe _____khadi or muslin ‘rumals’.
‘State Animal: Snow leopard : Krishna and Shiva stories,
Nestern tragopan oo
“Giate Tree: Deodar. and hunts were popular
idetpae
|Nef

+ State Flower: Pink rhododendron Subjects.

CCC OCC OOH ETE EE CECT CCC TEC Ce Tee e Oo ep emer moreno.
reeererereeceeeC
e@eeeoeeeqaeensweosovewe
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© st CCC CCC

9
 eooeoeceoeeoeoeoee eee eww eee eee eee woe eoew eee eoew eee eee eeeee eee ee ee ee 8 oe oe Oe

Five rivers once flowed through Punjab,

@ giving the region its name—‘punj’ or five,
and ‘ab’ or waters. But after the creation of
Jab was a part of the Indus Valley Civilisation Pakistan and the separation of Haryana,
which grew around the River Sindhu or the Indus. Harappa and just two remain—the Beas and the Sutlej.
The Shivalik Hills are an important part of
Mohenjodaro—now in Pakistan—were two of the many places
the state’s geography, as are its foothills
where traces of the ancient civilisation were found. Sufism thrived and flat alluvial plains. .
in Punjab and Sikhism was born here. The Rig Veda was probably
written here.
Throughout early history, different
Sikhism, founded by Guru Nanak,
armies swooped into Punjab.
was influenced by Hinduism (the
Darius | of Persia conquered it,
Bhakti, Sant and Nath
and around 327 BC, Alexander
movements), Islam and
defeated Raja Paurava (Porus).
Sufism. The word ‘Sikh’

||
The Mauryas, Sungas, Guptas
means a ‘learner’. The Sikh
and Pushpabhutis also ruled
holy book, Adi Granth,
here. Later, Central Asian
has around 6000
tribes like Ghoris, Ghaznavids
hymns by the 10
and Mongols attacked Punjab.
Sikh gurus,
and saints
from all
religions
and castes.
Sikh Gurus built many water
The hymns,
tanks. Guru Ram Das, the fourth
set to different guru built Amrita Sarovar or the
ragas, are in ‘pool of nectar’ on land given to him
Punjabi or Hindi. by Akbar. The town of Amritsar
grew around it. The fifth
Guru, Arjan Sahib,
designed and built the
Guru Nanak (1469-1539), born in
Harmandir Sahib temple
Lahore, composed hymns and
on an island in the
travelled extensively—reaching
Amrita Sarovar.
even Mecca by some accounts.
Influenced by many great writer-
saints (especially Kabir) he founded
Sikhism. He was succeeded by A blend of Hindu and
nine Gurus. After the tenth, the Ad/ Muslim architecture,
Granth was worshipped as the
Harmandir Sahib’s
Guru, or the Granth Sahib.
foundation was laid by
Mian Mir, a Muslim
saint, and it was
completed in 1604.
Unlike Hindu temples, it is open on all four sides as a symbol of equality.
A gold-foil-covered copper dome was made during Ranjit Singh’s rule
(giving it its other name: the Golden Temple).

The first person to give Punjab its Most of Punjab’s forests were cleared
independence was Banda Singh Bahadur. for farming and industrial growth. But
Sikhs ruled from 1710 to 1849, after which there are protected areas and
the East India Company took over. sanctuaries like Bir Moti Bagh, Bir
Maharaja Ranjit Singh (1780-1839) Bhunerhari, Bir Dosanjh, Bir
took over his father’s ‘mis!’ or territory at Bhadson, Bir Mehas, Bir Gurdialpura
12. He unified Punjab, stopped capital and Takhni Rehmapur. They have
punishment, formed a powerful army blackbucks, leopards, jungle cats,
and ran a secular government. The nilgais and rhesus macaques.
kingdom collapsed after his death.

10
 om

Punjabi dances are energetic

and graceful. The bhangra, luddi, Arts & Crafts
julli, jaago, dhamal and jhumar are
eeeoeeee28e8ee0e0 performed by men; while women
dance the gidda and the sammi. The
Gidda, accompanied by ‘bolis’ or
funny songs, was supposedly
taught to women by Giddho, a
fairy. The Sammi is still
performed by some tribes.

Sufism, a mystical form of

Islam, believes in a philosophy of
love and universal oneness.
Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti, a Sufi, came
here in the 1100s. Later, Sufi poets like Phuikari or ‘flower
Baba Farid, Shah Hussain, Sultan Bahu, Waris embroidery’ was done on
Shah and others wrote in Punjabi. In the brick-red coarse hand-spun
1700s, Bulle Shah wrote poetry full of love for cloth. Chinese or Afghan silk
humanity and Punjab. yarn that was dyed in Jammu
or Amritsar was used for the
The Non-Cooperation Movement of 1920- 1922 was stitches. Women did the
Spurred on by a horrifying massacre on April 13, 1919, darning stitch to fill the fabric
Baisakhi day, at Jallianwala Bagh in Amritsar. General with profuse embroidery in
Dyer fired on an unarmed group of protestors, killing and bright yellow, orange,
injuring thousands. A memorial stands at the site today. crimson and white. While
most phulkari shawls have
embroidered sides, the bagh
or ‘garden’ shawl is entirely
covered with the jewel-bright
Punjabi music has khayal, thumri, stitch.
ghazal, qawwali and Sikh hymns. The
Patiala Gharana was started by Ustad
Jasae Khan in the 1800s, followed by
Ditae Khan and Kalu Khan. Among its
famous exponents are Bade Ghulam Ali
Khan, Ghulam Ali, Farida Knanum,
Lakshmi Shankar, Nirmala Devi and Ajoy . Encouraged
Chakravorty. . by the sixth
Ore iets ese Ree eet | . Sikh Guru Hargobind, wrestling was
= seen as a way to prepare the body for
@ Wetlands or marshes are protected for their =
, battle. Cart-racing, tent-pegging, archery,
biodiversity. Harike wetland has rare - fencing, gymnastics and acrobatics by
testudine turtles, smooth Indian otters, * the Nihangs (an armed order of Sikhs)
diving ducks and falcated teals. With their and kabaddi and khido khoondi are
rich ecosystems, the Harike, Kanjli and popular at rural Punjab’ s sports meets. Punjab’s many wood-work
Ropar wetlands here are called Wetlands of centres like Jalandhar,
International Importance, or Ramsar Sites. @ fact File Amritsar and Bhera are
known for their dexterous
carving. The wood inlay of
Date of formation: 20, 1950 | _ Neighbours: National: Jammu and
Size: 50,362 sq km Hoshiarpur on black shisham
» Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana,
oe Population: 2,43,58,999 * Rajasthan; International: Pakistan wood is famous for its
Capita : Chandigarh | _ _ State Animal: Blackbuck detailed Mughal, animal,
Rivers: Beas,ui)
s » Ravi_ ss. State Bird: Eastern goshawk floral and geometrical
. State Tree: Shisham designs. Traditionally, ivory
was used in the inlay, but
: - tingge: Punjabi
now plastic, old piano keys
and even zinc are used.
a aes oe ba tet ees kk ke se
se se

il
 wooo eee oo eee eee eo eee eeweeeeeseeeneeeee ee ee 8 6 8
eoeoeoeo nooo ooo eee eo eee oo

Haryana has four major

aha geographical regions: the plain
shares its capital—Chandigarh—with Punjab. formed by the Rivers Yamuna and
Parts of it are highly fertile and though rain is scanty, it is well-irrigated with Ghaggar; the Shivalik hills in the
canals,
Ape
An inscription
git ere
in Sanskrit
:
dating from AD 1328 found here calls the "0" the semi-desert plain on ihe
Rajasthan border; and the Aravalli
region Hariana or gods abode. range to the south.

Lying on the route that most invading tribes Haryana used to be a part of
took to enter India, Haryana was the Punjab, but when Indian states
birthplace of early Hinduism. Aryan were divided on linguistic grounds,
settlers wrote and formulated Vedic hymns both Sikhs and Hindus demanded
and manuscripts here. Kurukshetra single-language states. Actually,
here was the site of the mythical demands for Haryana’s statehood
Mahabharata war, where Krishna were made even before 1947, by
revealed the Bhagavad Gita to his freedom fighters like Asaf Ali and
friend, Arjuna. Lala Lajpat Rai.

Many invaders like the Huns and Haryana is highly industrialised, with
Alexander’s army swept through
a network of agriculture-based industries
Haryana. The three historic battles of
like those involved in making farm
Panipat were fought here: in 1526
machinery, processing farm products
between Babur and Ibrahim Lodi, in
and the bicycle industry. Gurgaon and
1556 between Akbar and Hemu, and in
Faridabad are commercial and industrial
1761 between Ahmad Shah Durrani and
centres.
the Marathas.

Jats are Haryana’s farming

community. Fertile Haryana was
aggressively cultivated during the
Green Revolution with canal irrigation,
high-yield seeds and fertilisers. It has
many wealthy farmers and contributes
greatly to India’s food and milk
production.

Legend has it that Panipat was once full of flies which

Saint Bu Ali Shah Qalandar got rid of. Ibrahim Lodi was
defeated here by Babur. Lodi’s tomb, Bu Ali Shah’s tomb,
the Kabuli Shah Mosque, and the Salar Jung Gate are
important landmarks.

Fossils of prehistoric mammals from the

Plio-pleistocene period 2.5 million years
ago were found near the Shivaliks,
in an area now known as the Saketi
Fossil Park. The Geographical
Survey of India has made fibre-glass
cer
reese
EHEC
HOSEL
EOC
ever
HOE
TOOL
EHO
EES
OSOHO
HOH
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EEL
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models of the extinct giant land = ae Gone ed, SS SA

fs

tortoises and four-horned = ae SSS —<—

giraffes that once roamed here. —_ = £ ue

8ome’
80
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e
e
e

Arts & Crafts

e Haryanvi dances are
e
energetic. Among others are
e
e the girls-only Loor performed
e
e during Holi; the pre-harvest,
e
moonlight Ahir dance called In Haryana and Punjab,
e

e Dhamal; the women-only women and entire families

e
e
Jhumar; the Phag (set to make shoes called tilla or
e instruments like the kasuri juttis from buffalo
e
e tasha and nagada); and and goat hide. Traditionally,
e
the Ghoomar by women the shoes came in colours
e

e along the Rajasthan like deep red, black and tan.

o

e border. Nowadays gold, silk and

e metal threads, beads and
°
e coloured leather strips are
e
also added.
e
A dense sal forest in the foothills
e

e of the Shivaliks, Kalesar forest

e
e was formally declared an NP in 2003.
e Kalesar has leopards, panthers, hares,
e
e sambhars, red junglefowls, chitals,
e
° porcupines, brahminy ducks, mallards
e and elephants. Holi is celebrated here in spring,
e Lohri in winter, Baisakhi in
e
e summer, Teej in monsoon, and
°
e Sanjhi in October. Gugga
e
e
Naumi is observed by both
e Faridabad was named after Emperor Hindus and Muslims. It honours
e
3
Jahangir’s treasurer, Sheikh Farid, who Gugga Pir who could cure snake
° built it in 1607. Lake Badhkal in the a bites. Devotees dance in a
° eo
eeeee
eee
ee
oo
eeee

e Aravallis, is now mostly dry because of FEL) SS procession with instruments

e blockages by mines. Lake Surajkund ae like thalis and chimtas.
°
e was a reservoir built by the Tomar
e
King Surajpal.
e In villages bordering
°
e Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh
e
e
and Punjab, many women
° weave panja dhurries. A
e
e The 359-acre Sultanpur NP and frame is made on a traditional
e Bird Sanctuary near Gurgaon cot. The warp yarns
e

° has nearly 250 resident bird (lengthwise) are stretched on

e
e
species and about 100 migratory it, and the weaver works in
e ones. Lake Sultanpur’s potential the weft yarns (horizontal). A
e
e as a sanctuary was spotted by the claw-like ‘panja’ is used to
e
e
ornithologist Peter Jackson. Purple tighten the yarns after each
e sunbirds, Eurasian thick-knees, weft yarn is woven in.
e
Indian crested larks, red-vented bulbuls

pai i
e
e
e
and black francolins are found here. ——- ~~

°
°
e

fact File.
aa
e
e

°
°
°
o Date of formation: November 1,1966 Neighbours: Punjab, Chandigarh,
o Size: 44,212 sq km ‘ Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh,
Population: 21,144,564 : Uttarakhand, Delhi, Rajasthan
@

o
*a Capital: Chandigarh : State Animal: Blackbuck
e
Rivers: Yamuna, Ghaggar 5 State Bird: Black francolin
o Forests and NPs: Sultanpur NP, Kalesar - State Tree: Peepal
eo
NP, Simbalawara WS i State Flower: Lotus
°
e Languages: Hindi, Punjabi, Urdu if
e
o
°

° eC
eooeoee
CHOCO
HCHO
HCHOC
CHCOCH
CHC
OCC
e eee 6 6 8 Se ee ee ee ee OOO TOO OOO OT OOOO OOOO OCHO ESEEE HCHO TCETHE OTHE OHTEECSCHTCHOHHOHOCHCSCHOCHE EEE OO

13
 @eeveveeveeoeeeeeeeveeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeewe
ee ee ee eee eee eee eee eee Ce

é To ancient Hindus, Garhwal and Kumaon

akhand were known as Kedarkhand and
or the ‘northern section’, has Manaskhand. The demand for a
high mountains and glaciers, which are the sources of great rivers. Many SeParate state of Uttarakhand (the
H ;: U ’ ti d Puranic name for the central Himalayas)
indu epics were either written or set here. Uttarakhand s vegetation an began in the 1950s. The state was
climate vary at different heights—it has icy glaciers in the north and carved out of Uttar Pradesh in 2000 and
tropical forests in the south. Two important rivers originate here: the called ‘Uttaranchal’ against popular
=
opinion. It was renamed ‘Uttarakhand’ in
G d the Yamuna
2007.
paca
The Kol-Munds (a Dravidian Garhwal and Kumaon were traditional
people) were probably the first to enemies. A lot of Hindu mythology is set in
live here; the Nagas, Khasas,
Garhwal. Garhwal was once part of the
Hunas, Kiratas, Gujars and
Mauryan Empire and had 52 small
Aryans came in later.
kingdoms with garhs or forts.
Dynasties like the Pauravas,
miteKushanas, Kunindas, Guptas,
King Ajai Pal is credited with
having unified it in the 1300s.
Katyuris, Palas, Chands and
Parmaras ruled here.
Badrinath, dedicated to Vishnu, sits
Dehradun was set up when between the Nar and Narayan
Aurangzeb gave Baba Ram mountain ranges. It is at the source of
Rai—the seventh Sikh
the River Alaknanda and wild berries or
Guru’s son who founded a
‘padri’ once lined its floor. The temple was
breakaway sect—a jagir or
gift of land in a ‘Dun’ or ‘small
built in the 8" century AD by Adi
valley’. ‘Dehra’, another word Shankaracharya, the reformer from Kerala.
for a camp, took its name
Stone Age man lived in Kumaon and left
from Ram Rai’s settlement.
@ Mesolithic era paintings in the rock
Glaciers or bomaks—large, shelters of Lakhu Udyar. The Katyuri
frozen, slow-moving masses kings who ruled here (7" to 11"
of ice—are often the sources centuries AD) built the 900-year-
of rivers. Gangotri, Gaumukh, Old Katarmal Sun Temple.
the Nanda Devi group, They used stone instead of
Pindari, Tipra, Satopanth and bricks to build. Later, the
Milam glaciers are awe- Chands of Pithoragarh 9
inspiring and ecologically built a complex of 124
important. temples in Jageshwar.
P In Kumaon, pre-Hindu folk deities
like village, land, snake, family gods,
and Veers or heroes are worshiped
and poems or Jagars praise them.
Naina Devi, Nanda Devi, Bholanath
(the ghost of a Chand prince), Haru (a
_ Veer), Gangnath (a murdered lover),
Airy and Chamu are among them.

Kedarnath temple, at a height of

3584 m, is devoted to Shiva. It is at the
source of River Mandakini. The
original temple is said to have been
built by the Pandavas. It was probably
re-built by Adi Shankaracharya in the
8” century AD.
 . : =| ae “6 f The Ganga originates at A & C
. Gaumukh in the Gangotri rts rafts
glacier 10,300 ft above
sea level. It travels down
253 km to enter the Indo-
Gangetic plain of north
India at Haridwar. The
Magh Melas are held here
every year, the Ardha
Kumbh Mela every six
years, and the Kumbh
’ Mela every 12.

Three sanctuaries near the Shivaliks were merged to

create Rajaji NP in 1983. It has 400 bird species, wild
elephants, tigers, leopards, sambhars, chitals and fossils
of prehistoric animals and plants. Traginonelly, Hots = uci
Uttarakhand had beautifully
carved wooden doors and
Contractors cut trees in Chamoli causing panels. Flowers, hills, fish,
deforestation and depriving villagers of their fruits, people and birds were
income. In 1973, village women hugged trees to carved into the wood. Known
protect them from axes in a movement called as kholi, the resplendent
Chipko. Sundarlal Bahuguna, a Gandhian woodcarving at the doorway
activist, campaigned with Chipko to preserve showed how prosperous the
forests and rivers. He walked 5000 km across the family was.
Himalayas and gave Chipko its slogan: Ecology is
permanent economy.

lo
ee
8
88
eee
eee
ee
eoeo
Corbett NP in the Terai region was
named after Jim Corbett, a
hunter-conservationist who shot
man-eating tigers but also
understood the need to conserve
them and their habitats. The Valley
of Flowers NP has meadows with
300 species of tall wild flowers. It
is a part of the Nanda Devi
® Biosphere Reserve. The Reserve
and the Valley are World Heritage
Sites.
@
©
¢
@eoeeoeeoeeoeeoeeeeeeeee#eete

Aipan, or rangoli, has great

Fact File religious significance, with
specific designs being used
for different occasions.
Date of formation: November 9, Languages: : Hindi,
Hindi Garhwali, Naming3 r
ceremonies, thread
| 2000 Kumaoni f
Size: 53,484 sq km Neighbours: National: Himachal ceremonies, weddings—all
| Population: 84,89,349 Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh have the distinct white-on-
| Capital: Dehradun International: China red aipans being drawn at
| Rivers: Ganga, Yamuna, Ramganga, State Animal: Himalayan musk deer the main door or in the
Kali State Bird: Himalayan monal courtyard.
Forests and NPs: Nanda Devi NP, State Tree: Burans
Rajaji NP, Corbett Tiger Reserve State Flower: Brahm kamal

ae a a a ee a a et Dae a ee a at ee a a eee a et ee ae a ee a
©2 Ser er on Jem Jem ee ec Jnr en on a
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ege
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15
 eoeoeoeveeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaeee7eeeeeeee
ee @ ee

d h UP’s history had five major periods:

the prehistoric (till 600 BC), the
la CS is where Buddhist sculpture, Mughal Buddhist-Hindu (600 BC to AD 1200),
art and architecture, and the kathak dance form developed. Aryans settled the Muslim and Mughal (1200-1775),
in the Doab region and called it Aryavarta or Bharatavarsha, after Bharata, the British (1775-1947), and the post-
one of their powerful kings. Uttar Pradesh (UP) was given its current name independence period. The Ramayana
was Set in Ayodhya, in the
by Govind Vallabh Pant, its first chief minister. Mahajanapad or republic of Kosala.
The Mahabharata was set in
Hastinapur in western UP.

The ancient Dhamek Stupa marks @ By the end of the 1100s, Muhammed of Ghur defeated the Gahadavalas. Many
sepa were ee leiGavewnis first Muslim dynasties ruled UP, but the Mughal dynasty, set up by Babur
Serroent loti aie power when he defeated Ibrahim Lodi in 1526, was the most vibrant.
N SUVS” During its 200-year rule, music, art,
CUO dance and architecture flowered.
Kushan (AD ae are a's
ae as Hindi and Urdu are forms of
320-415) Khariboli. Urdu developed when
empires local dialects merged with Arabic,
controlled UP. Persian and Turkish. The Turkish
The four-lion word ‘ordu’ meant ‘army’, and since the
dialect was used by soldiers, it was called
neil ee ‘Urdu’ or Lashkari Zubaan. Urdu slowly
ater the In 3 replaced Persian as the official language
governments
of Lucknow’s court.
emblem, was
installed here
Beginning in south India, the Bhakti or
to mark
devotional movement reached the north.
Ashoka’s visit.
Ramananda (1400-1470), its founder there, felt
that a person’s caste or class did not matter. He
By 2000 BC, Varanasi was an important Aryan wrote in Hindi, so that his work could be read by
centre of commerce and religion. The Rivers everyone. His student, Kabir, believed in a
Varuna and Asi flowing nearby probably gave the formless god and in the unity of all religions.
city its name. ‘Benares’ to the British, it was also Kabir’s dohas (rhymed couplets) were collected in
called Kashi (City of Light), Avimukta, or the Granth Sahib.
Rudravasa (Shiva’s abode). Its Vishwanath
temple and Manikarnika Ghat are famous.
@
e@eeeoeoeoeeeemtpeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

Soldiers of the Bengal army revolted in

Meerut on May 10, 1857, sparking off
India’s first war of independence. Most of
the rebels—Muslims and Hindus—were from
UP. The Maratha queen Rani Lakshmi bai
of Jhansi fought bravely alongside warriors
like Gulam Ghaus Khan, Moti bai, Wa
ee
eee
eee
e@
Z

1 oe ___ Jhalkari bai, Lala Bhau

= a Bakshi and others.
 Jallaluddin Akbar (1542-1605) was a wise
emperor. His philosophy, Din-i-llahi,
brought together different religions. When
Arts & Crafts
he had a son, he built a magnificent red-
sandstone city in the town of Sikri to thank
Sheikh Salim Chisti who had blessed
him. Called Fatehpur Sikri, it was
the Mughal capital for about 10 years,
after which it was abandoned. It is
now a World Heritage Site.

Allahabad or ancient Prayag |

was an Aryan settlement at the =~
meeting point of Rivers Ganga,
When Mumtaz Mahal died in 1631, the Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati.
heart-broken Emperor Shah Jahan built the Lucknow is famous for
Akbar founded it in 1583 as ‘Al-llahabad’
hauntingly beautiful Taj Mahal. The tomb Chikankari, a craft that the
or the City of God. The Kumbh Mela is
took 22 years, 20,000 labourers and many Nawabs loved. In Persian,
held here every 12 years.
experts to build. It is a World Heritage Site. Chikan means ‘cloth made of
needle-work’. Chikan, also
The River Ganga is frighteningly polluted,
called shadow-work
endangering the people who live by it,
embroidery, is done on fine
and its small, nearly-blind gangetic muslin. Murri, bakhia, jaali,
dolphins. The Sankat tepchi, dhum and kato are
Mochan Foundation—led by among the 36 different
Dr Veer Bhadra Mishra, an Chikan stitches.
engineer and a priest—tries to clean the
river and educate people. Banarasi brocades are
woven with different coloured
silk threads. Sometimes zari
With the decline of the Mughals, South of Nepal and north or silver and gold threads are
Sadat Khan of Avadh took over of UP is a marshy also used. There are three
as the Nawab. Under the grassland stretching from kinds of brocades: zari
Nawabs, art, poetry, music, the Yamuna in the west to (kimkhabs and potthans),
embroidery and cooking the Brahmaputra in the amru (tanchois) and abrawan
flourished. Wajid Ali, east. Called Terai, or (tarbana). Naqshabandhs
Lucknow’s last Nawab, was a ‘moist land’, the area has drew the designs which were
poet, singer, playwright, Savannah type woven into these rich fabrics.
gourmet, dancer and a grasslands which are
ye lover of embroidery. among the tallest in the
> When the British world. Terai is also linked
Sm annexed Avadh, to the Duars and
A he was sent off stretches into Nepal.
to Kolkata. Above the marshy
One of his stretches are bhabars or
wives, Begum stretches of gravel and
Hazrat Mahal, pebbles.
fought bravely
in the revolt of
1857.
Fact File Sanjhi, the 17” century art of
cutting paper stencils, was a
Date of formation: January 26, 1950 Neighbours: National: Uttarakhand,
form of worship. While men
Size: 2,40,928 km Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Delhi,
practised the art in temples,
Population: 1,66,052,859 Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh,
Capital: Lucknow Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Bihar the folk version was done by
Rivers: Ganga, Yamuna, Gomti, International: Nepal girls. The motifs usually came
Ghaghra, Ramganga, Betwa State Animal: Swamp deer from the Ras Leela. Later
Forests and NPs: Dudhwa NP, State Bird: Sarus crane Mughal motifs like the jaali or
Corbett NP, Kedarnath WS, State Tree: Ashok lattice, animals and flowers
Govind WS State Flower: Brahm kamal were used.
Languages: Hindi, Urdu oes
eT
et
ey
oeeer,
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@6©©@ *eéceeneeeeeeeeeeese *

17
 Traces of the ancient Harappan
than civilisation were found in parts of
is full of surprising contrasts, It is Rajasthan. From around 200 BC,
divided diagonally by the Aravalli Mountains, so that the northwest is a Bactrian Grek Sake igen:
Guptas, Huns and Harshavardhan
stark desert, while the southeast is fertile and hilly. People wear bright, ruled here. Between AD 600 and
cheerful colours, creating a stunning contrast with the arid brown desert. ae seed Ree aeeey like
In fact, entire Rajasthani cities are painted in bright, unique colours. a hone Keck eee a hatieend
Rathods were in power here.

In the older parts of Jaipur, the ‘pink Rajput power rose to its peak in the
city’, buildings are actually painted 1500s under Rana Sangram
pink! Jaipur was built in 1727 by Singh, who was later vanquished
Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh Il, a by Babur. By the end of the 1500s,
passionate astronomer. Of the five Akbar, who fought the Rajputs,
observatories he built, the largest was also forged ties of marriage with
Jaipur’s Jantar Mantar. them. After Aurangazeb died in
1707, the Jats and then the
Marathas took over. The British
ruled here from the 1800s.

Keoladeo Ghana NP, a World

Heritage Site, has saras cranes, egrets, herons,
kingfishers and geese. A bund or dam was made here in
1726. Later, more water was diverted here to draw birds
for shooting. It was declared an NP in 1981. Rare
Siberian cranes used to fly down for winters, and once
200 were spotted. Their numbers have dropped now.

The Sariska Tiger Reserve was established in 1978 under

Tucked away between the Aravalli and the Vindhya
Project Tiger.
mountains, Ranthambore NP has tigers, 300 bird
Inside Sariska is
species, a dense forest, ancient temples, mosques,
a fort, and at its
and a 10” century fort. It is one of Project Tiger’s most
edge is
challenging and successful reserves.
Bhangarh, a
ghost town, m"
@
@e

uninhabited
since the 1600s!
Though it was
said that there
were 18 tigers in
| Sariska, in 2005
- conservationists
_ found that there
were probably
none left here.

Rajasthan has many religious, festive and animal fairs with

dances, strange competitions and fireworks. Fairs in Pushkar,
Nagaur, Gangaur, Jaipur, Bikaner and Baneshwar’s tribal fair
are famous. Jaipur’s Elephant Festival has a tug-of-war
between
humans and
elephants.

18
 @ee2e 0 @ © @ @ | mate _¢ ee eooeeoeeeeoeeeeeeeeeeeeeseeeoeee

Arts & Crafts

Rajasthani miniature
paintings were made using
gold and stone colours, and
squirrel-hair brushes on cloth,
6 : paper or silk. Kangra, Jodhpur,
Shekhawati was on the trade route Jaipur, Mewar and Mughal are
between coastal towns and the interior the different ‘schools’ or styles.
of the country. Its rich traders built
havelis and painted huge frescoes on
the wails, depicting gods, historical
events or huge animals.
Ranakpur, a complex of Jain temples, lies in
a valley of the Aravallis. The entire complex is
carved out of marble, and has 1444 distinctly
carved pillars. No two are alike.

Sonar Qila, a fort made of yellow sandstone,

was built by Rawal Jaisal in 1156, when he
founded Jaisalmer, the ‘yellow city’. Because An Hae and Udaipur
too many core live inside the fort, it has Pichhvai paintings were
: become an endangered done on cloth and hung
monument. behind temple idols. In
Bhilwara, Phad or large,
Jodhpur, founded in 1459 by vibrant scroll paintings tell
Rao Jodha, has some stories of local heroes like
beautiful cenotaphs or Pabuji. Minstrels called
memorial chhatris. The Kathputlis bhopas sing of their valour.
indigo blue colour of the — or string
houses here is said to repel puppets are
mosquitoes. Dnawa WS nearby made by the
has the most number of Indian Bhat community,
antelopes. __who travel and
perform with them. They have
wooden heads with big, ane =e
expressive features. The rest The hand-block printing of
of the body is made Rajasthan uses motifs like
up of a loose, scorpions, centipedes,
pleated skirt. Only creepers, chillies, birds,
horse-rider puppets leaves, ladders and
have legs. elephants. Colours, motifs
and methods change with
Se towns and communities.
Bikaner was founded by Rao Bika in 1488. It has
red sandstone havelis and Jain temples. In the Eee ee In Rajasthan—the only Indian
Karni Mata temple here, rats are worshipped. fact File state with a desert—water is
precious. Panihari music is
=~ made up of the folksongs
Date of formation: November 1,1956 Languages: Rajasthani, Hindi
Size: 3,42,239 sq km Neighbours: National: Gujarat, sung by women as they walk
Population: 56,473,122 s Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, to wells to draw and bring
Capital: Jaipur “Delhi, Haryana, Punjab water home.
Rivers: Luni, Banas, Kali Sindh, E International: Pakistan
Chambal : State Animal: Chinkara
Forests and NPs: Sariska Tiger State Bird: Great Indian bustard
Reserve, Keoladeo Ghana NP, State Tree: Khejri _
Ranthambore NP, Dhawa WS State Flower: Rohira
S ee Yee ae ~hee
Soe Se See oe Se ee eee eee.
- ur JonSem Yo YonJom YerJowcJenc eucYow YoucJomcJetDuet mtTa aT

19
bse
One of the world’s oldest capitals,
Patna was called Kusumpura,
gets its name from the Sanskrit word ‘vihara or Pushpapura, Pataliputra and
‘abode’, referring to the many Buddhist monasteries found here. pocvenlln 2packet: lege oe in an
: P : * arch along the Ganga, its history begins
Gautama Buddha achieved enlightenment here, as did Mahavira, the with Aiaiachatru wits bujika (oiealieg
founder of Jainism. Bihar has witnessed many changes—religious, Pataligram here in the 5" century BC.
artistic and imperial—that swept through India. His soni Udaya may Gaile: Copia ere
from the older Rajgir.

Between 600 BC and 321 BC, in the late

Vedic period, Bihar had 16 states or
republics called Mahajanapadas which
were ruled by a council of kings or elders.
The Buddha probably based the working
of the Sangha or monastic order on that of
Vrijji, one of the world’s first republics. One
state, Magadha, grew powerful. The
Mauryas, its rulers, conquered much of
India.

Later, between the 4" and the 5” century

AD, the Guptas ruled Magadha. Pala
rule followed from 775 till 1200. From
about 1200 to 1765, it was under Muslim rulers,
like Sher Shah Suri. The British ruled here from
1765.

Boricua an Prince Vardhamana, born in Vaishali into the

Kapilavatsu, Nepal, the Nata clan around 599 BC, gave up worldly life at
Sakya prince Siddhartha 30, and became known as Mahavira. The last
lived a sheltered life. At 29, of the 24 Tirthankaras or Jain gurus, Mahavira
on four chariot rides, he systematised Jain beliefs, laying down rules for
saw suffering due to old ordinary people, monks and nuns.
age, illness, death, anda
peaceful mendicant. He left ; :
home to wander for six Nalanda University—a Mahavihara or seat of
years, till he became Buddhist learning—was founded around the 5"
‘Buddha’, meaning awake century AD. Hsuan-Tsang, the Chinese scholar,
or enlightened. He was also Studied here in the 7” century. Nalanda
called ‘Sakyamuni’ or the blossomed under the Palas, between the 8" and
sage of the Sakya clan. 12" centuries. Indian scientific and cultural
knowledge was also taught here.
ai

iy”

A peepal or Bodhi tree in Bodh Gaya marks the

spot where the Buddha achieved enlightenment.
Near it stands a small shrine built by Emperor
Ashoka. The 180-ft-high, lean, pyramid-like
Mahabodhi temple—a World Heritage Site
today—was built in the 2" century AD during
Kushan rule.
 a
7

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|4

Sher Shah Suri (1486-1545), born in

Sasaram in Bihar, was of Afghan descent. An Arts & Crafts
enlightened ruler, he introduced a postal
system, custom duties and a uniform system of
coinage with coins like Rupiya, Mohur and Dam Mithila or Madhubani
minted to exact weight specifications. He built painting was
the Grand Trunk road from Kolkata to Peshawar. done on
His tomb is a striking example of Afghan auspicious
architecture in India. occasions
Ponte OA ee by women
Bihar is divided by the Ganga into north and. on Wats
south plains. Gandak, Ghaghara, Baghmati (bhitti) or
Mahananda and Kosi in the north, and the Og
Son in the south are its tributaries. A flooded (ania)
Kosi caused much destruction in 2008. vein gun,
bamboo
= epee sp5nreesees s@'s eeesa slivers or

Rajgir WS, located amidst small hills, has matchsticks.

hot sulphur springs, wild bears, peafowls, William and
quails, hornbills and partridges. It was the Mildred Archer first
ancient capital of Bihar. King Bimbisara gave documented the art in the
Venuvana—a bamboo grove—to the 1930s. When a drought hit
Buddha, making it the first Buddhist In Bihar they speak languages like Mithila in the 1960s, Pupul
monastery ever. King Bimbisara was Bhojpuri, Maithili, Magadhi, Hindi and Jayakar and Bhaskar
imprisoned here by his son Ajatashatru. Urdu. Maithili is an ancient language Kulkarni suggested that
with literature of its own, written using paintings be made on paper
a script called Tirhuta or Mithilakshar. 2nd sold.
The Valmiki WS, India’s 18" tiger reserve, is | Munda, Santhal and Ho tribes speak
Madhubani’s marsh grass is
544 sq km. It borders Nepal’s Chitwan NP. languages from the Austroasiatic
used to make baskets,
Often animals like the one-horned rhinoceros family, while the Oraons speak Kurukh,
boxes, toys, dolls, deities and
and Indian bison migrate from one NP into the a Dravidian language.
bangles. The golden sikki
other. Also to be found here is the Valmiki
grass is cut, dried, sliced,
ashram, where Sage Valmiki is believed to oP ay elie ater ih ate eee? ee
shaved and coiled tightly
have composed the Ramayana.
onto a base made of the
Shaped like a stupa and meant to store nearly stronger and cheaper munj
14,000 tons of grain, the Golghar of Patna is 29 grass or raffia.
m in height and pillarless, with a 125 m base.
It was the first silo or storehouse of its kind
in Asia. Captain John Garstin
built it in 1786.
Porters climbed the
145-step spiral
staircase along one
side and dumped
grains in through the
hole at the top.

Fact File The Sujini kantha

embroidery of Bihar was
Date of formation: January 26, 1950 Languages: Hindi, Urdu, Santhali done by women. They would
Size: 94,163 sq km Neighbours: National: Jharkhand,
fold old saris and dhotis
Population: 82,998,509 Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal
Capital: Patna International: Nepal together and embroider them
Rivers: Kosi, Ganga, Saryu, Gandak, State Animal: Gaur into quilts for their children.
Kamla, Panar, Saura, Pun-pun State Bird: Indian roller Sujini uses the running stitch
_ Forests and NPs: Valmiki NP, Rajgir State Tree: Peepal to fill up its motifs. The
WS, Bhimbandh WS, Gautam State Flower: Kachnar outline is done using the
Buddha WS, Udayapur WS chain stitch.

21
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eoocVeo eee eee eC eC CCC ORC OO HOO

4
Legend has it that the Orissan Raja
' khand Jai Singh Deo ruled Jharkhand
g gets its name from the Sanskrit around the 13” century. For
word ‘jharikhanda’, meaning a thick forest. Located in the Chhota Nagpur centuries, Munda Rajas or tribal
ah
* has dense forests full of sal trees. Nearly 40%9 of India’s PE . kings also ruled here. When the
plateau, it mineral Mughals ruled. Herenthtroniaanee
wealth— iron ore, coal, manganese, bauxite and lime—is found here. called Kukara. It came to be known
as Jharkhand when the British took
over in 1765.

North Jharkhand was once part

3 of the ancient Magadha Empire, The first voice for a separate
while the south was under tribal state to be formed in
Kalinga or Orissa. Jharkhand’s southern Bihar was raised by
rich iron deposits were prized Jaipal Singh, the Oxford-
even then for making weapons. educated captain of the Indian
¢ Though traditionally considered hockey team to the 1928 Olympics.
a part of Bihar, Jnarkhand has After years of struggle, the Parliament
had a distinct cultural identity passed the Bihar Reorganisation Bill
from around the time of Bihar’s (2000) to carve out 18 districts of Bihar
ancient Mahajanapadas or great and form Jharkhand, the
republics. 28" state of the
Indian Republic.

Jharkhand’s original inhabitants, the

adivasis, revolted against British
exploitation of their forests from 1772.
Paharias, Tamars, Santhals, Bhumjis
and Khewars were led by heroes like Tilka Santhals, the largest z
Manjhi, Dubai Gosai, Sidho and Kanhu tribal group here, are a casteless
Murmu, and Birsa Munda. - society with a form of self-
“governance called Manjhi-
« Pargana. Santhal music is
The Ho (1820-1827) and * distinctive with instruments like
Munda (1831-1832) uprisings | the tamak and tumdak drums,
were important revolts * flutes, dhodro banam or a
against the British. The : one-stringed bowed lute, and
massive Tana Bhagat * phet banam or a multi-
Movement of 1914 merged: stringed, bowed lute.
with Mahatma Gandhi's Civil
Disobedience Movement.

Betla or Palamau NP is home to 170 bird

species, 39 mammals, 17 bamboo
species and two ancient Chero
dynasty forts. It also has bisons,
langurs, rhesus monkeys, blue bulls
or nilgai, honey badgers,
pangolins, tigers and
elephants. The world’s first
tiger census was done here
in 1932 by counting
pugmarks. Betla became
part of Project Tiger in 1974.

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22
 Dhanbad, the third largest city
in Jharkhand, is also known as
India’s coal capital. The first
mine was set up here in
1910 to provide coal for Chaitra parab is
Jamshedpur’s steel plant. celebrated with the
The district's economy is Chhau Nach in
dependent on coal and Seraikella.
coal-related industries. Practised in
The Indian School of Jharkhand,
Mines is located here. Chhattisgarh,
West Bengal and
Ne \ Orissa, Chhau is
eet ee a eee ee ees y \ accompanied by
No gr wordless music.
In Jharkhand they celebrate farming and Dancers wear large,
nature. Cattle are washed and worshipped colourful masks which
during Sohrai; the sal tree is worshipped during are made using dark clay
Sarhul; Bhagta parab celebrates spring; Hal punhya from the banks of the
marks the beginning of ploughing; and Tusu River Kharkai. They are
celebrates the winter harvest. painted with bold lines to give
ee ae each character a set,
symbolic expression.
Jharkhand’s 30 or so tribes speak languages from three
different families: Indo-Aryan languages like Bhojpuri,
Nagpuri, Sadri, Hindi, Urdu, Oriya and Bengali; Munda
~ languages like Kurmali, Santhali, Mundari,
= Bhumij and Ho; and Dravidian languages like
Korwa, Kurukh and Paharia.

* 8 e@ es ® © owe ee ll

When Jamshedji Tata was looking for a

site for India’s first steel plant, geologists
identified a village here called Sakchi. The
steel plant was opened in 1911. Later the
site was developed into a
township with a tinplate mill, a
brick-making plant, a hospital,
homes for workers, wide streets,
playgrounds and places of
worship. Lord Chelmsford named
the city ‘Jamshedpur’ in 1919 in
honour of its founder.

Fact File Jadu patua is a form of scroll

painting. A story-teller, who is
Date of
See 6 formation:
eid ca oe November 15, 2000 We pee eae.nad also a painter and magician,
ize: 79, ‘ ar Pradesh, Bengal, Orissa i ;
Population: 36,909,428 * State Animal: Elephant Havers ee veLe et a oe
Capital: Ranchi * State Bird: Asian koel scrolls’, describing to his
Rivers: Damodar, Subarnarekha . State Tree: Sal audience the torment their
Forests and NPs: Betla (Palamau) NP, - State Flower: Palash dead relatives are going
Hazaribagh WS 5 through. When they give him
Languages: Hindi, Urdu, Santhali a money and gifts, the ‘troubles’
vanish.

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ZS
 Bengal was part of the Maurya kingdom in the
* d the 4" century AD, it was
engal stretches all the way fromthe
;
>part
Century BC.
of Samudra
Around
Gupta’s
theempire, andry later,
: P
Himalayas down to the Bay of Bengal. It is nearly 320 km wide at came under Pala rule. From the 1200s till 1757,
some parts, and barely 16 km at others. It has a variety of climate | Bengal was under independent Muslim rulers
types, flora and fauna: the dense marshes of the Sunderbans in the heba ph sareheteee cae ee sa
south, paddy fields in the centre, and the cold Himalay an his French allies were defeated in the battle of
Darjeeling in the north. What it also has, are an array of arts,
crafts, literature, music—and sweets!

Bengal was partitioned in 1947. West Bengal stayed

with India, while the eastern part went to Pakistan. There
was a massive flow of refugees on both sides. Later, in
1971, East Pakistan fought for freedom from West
Pakistan and became ‘Bangladesh’.

An artist, poet,
novelist, playwright,
composer, and
writer of short
stories, Kolkata was once the capital of British
Rabindranath India. It grew from three villages
Tagore (1861- identified by Job Charnok in 1690. Set
1941) hada by the River Hooghly, it was an
deep sympathy for important port. It has large annual
the poor. He was book fairs, monuments like the
the first Asian to Victoria Memorial, and grand annual
win the Nobel Durga Puja celebrations.
Prize for Literature in 1913. He
composed the anthems of =
Bangladesh and India, and songs Baul, a
called Rabindra Sangeet. musical tradition
Bengali literature developed
and a religion, is
early, thanks to the cultural
a blend of Hindu,
awakening brought about by the
Islamic, Buddhist and
Brahmo Samaj. Upendrakishore
Tantric philosophies.
Roy (1863-1915) collected folklore,
Lalon Fakir (1774-1890)
wrote on science, pioneered
was a famous Baul. Baul
engraving in India and composed
music was declared a
music. His son, Sukumar Ray,
Masterpiece of the Oral
wrote witty poems (his Abol-Tabol is
and Intangible
famous), and started Sandesh, a
Heritage of Humanity
children’s magazine.
by UNESCO. It has
> aaa eee mao ae influenced writers like a
Though he was trained as a Rabindranath Tagore, .
fine artist in the Western style, Kazi Nazrul Islam and :
by the late 1920s Jamini Roy Alan Ginsberg. :
(1887-1972) created an Peta set 5 2
original and truly independent Ram Mohan Roy (1772-1833) spoke Sanskrit,
Indian style of painting. He Arabic, Persian, Hebrew, English and Greek.
made vegetable colours and Influenced by Islam and Christianity, he tried to rid :
used elements from Bengal’s Hinduism of superstition, casteism, idol worship and .
folk art like Santhal, Tantric and _ child marriage. He founded the Brahmo Samaj in s
Kalighat paintings to recapture 1828, merging Hindu spirituality with Islamic and °
the energy of India’s folk Christian beliefs. He tried to abolish Sati, the practice :
. traditions. of burning widows for their property. ¥

24
 The Sunderbans in the Ganga’s
delta is one of the world’s largest Arts & Crafts
mangrove forests. This World
Heritage Site has crocodiles, hawksbill ~
Vishnupur in
turtles, dolphins, river terrapins and
Bankura district is
man-eating tigers. Dakshinroy, the
famous for its
tiger-god, and Ma Bonobibi, a forest
terracotta
goddess, are worshipped here.
temples and
Because tigers rarely attack when its classical
watched, honey-gatherers and music. Its
fishermen wear masks behind their long-necked
heads. Jaldapara WS, made up of tall Bankura
Savannah type grasses, is in the Duars. horses are a
Duar means ‘door’, and the 8800-sq-km It is a habitat for the endangered one- symbol for Indian
lowland Duar belt in northern Bengal horned Indian rhinoceroses, different handicrafts.
and Assam links the plains with the deer species, leopards, tigers, elephants, Bamboo and
Himalayas. Passes here form the entry eight species of fresh water turtles; and
stone tools are used to make
or ‘duar’ into Bhutan. The region has them. Each part is made
birds like the Bengal florican, crested
grasslands, forests, tea plantations, separately and then joined,
eagle and pied hornbill. Near the WS is a
sanctuaries and national parks. It is part smoothened, dried and baked.
village where the Toto tribe lives.
of the Terai grassland belt.

Shantiniketan ashram was founded by Debendranath Modern

Tagore, Rabindranath’s father, in 1863. Rabindranath Indian
established an experimental school here in 1901, which art
grew into the Visva Bharati University by 1921, with really
subjects as varied as fine arts, languages, technology and began
teacher training. with the
rough,
bold and
fresh
Darjeeling grew as a hill Kalighat
station after the monastery of style of painting that
Dorje Ling was spotted by a grew around Kolkata’s Kali
temple from the mid-1900s to
British officer in 1828. Set at
the 1920s. Initially, patua or
6982 ft, it once had fir and wild
scroll artists painted quick
flower forests. It faces
watercolours of deities on
deforestation now. Four of the
handmade paper. But soon
Satyajit Ray, world’s highest peaks, funny scenes from everyday
Ritwik Ghatak and including Kanchenjunga life were also painted.
Mrinal Sen directed (28,208 ft), are here. The
some great films. Ray Darjeeling Himalayan Railway,
made Pather Panchali (based on Bibhutibhusan built in 1881, is a World
Bandopadhyay’s 1928 novel) and Goopy Gyne Heritage Site.
Bagha Byne (based on Upendrakishore’s story).
Ghatak’s films—like Meghe Dhaka Tara—influenced
many young filmmakers. Mrinal Sen’s Bhuvan Shome
(1969) is considered a landmark in Indian cinema.

fact File Bengal’s woven textiles are

famous. Hand-woven Baluchari
silk saris have designs from
Date of formation: January 26, 1950 Neighbours: National: Sikkim,
miniature paintings. The body
Size: 88,752 sq km Assam, Bihar, Jharkhand, Orissa
of the Jamdani is woven from
Population: 80,176,197 International: Bangladesh, Nepal,
delicate muslin or cotton, while
Capital: Kolkata Bhutan
Rivers: Hooghly, Teesta, Torsa, its geometric or floral designs
State Animal: Fishing cat
are woven using coarser
Subarnarekha, Joldhara _ State Bird: White-throated kingfisher
Forests and NPs: Sunderbans Tiger State Tree: Devil tree or chatian threads to give it a ‘raised’
Reserve, Jaldapara WS State Flower: Shephali look. A Jamdani sari takes
Languages: Bengali, Hindi, Urdu months to weave.

OCC OCC CCC eO TCC CTC CCC CSCC CCE OTTO wwe eee ecw Ce Tnee et 8
eae 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 C6 CC CCC

25
 A ‘sh

Emperor Kharavela ruled Kalinga

in the 1° century BC. The Bhauma
0; l Sd was called Utkala, Kalinga and Odra Desa after the Karas, Somavamshis, Gangas and
conquered
Okkala, i
Kalinga and Odra i
tribes who ruled it. Around the 1°atcentury AD, and ER Afghans
1 int 06followed.
Suryas BrORMED ANCE
Kalinga was a great sea-faring kingdom, and traded with Greece. The Greeks over between 1590 and 1592. In the
called the tribes Kalingai and Oretes. Later, Odra desa became ‘Odissa’, and mid-1700s, the Bengal Nawabs and
under the British, came to be called ‘Orissa’. the Marathas ruled here, while the
British took over in 1803.

Ancient Buddhist texts refer to Kalinga

4 around the time of the Buddha’s death.
Mahapadma Nanda conquered it around Orissa has 62 tribes, like
the 4” century BC. In the 3° century BC, the Santhals, Savaras,
Ashoka, the Mauryan emperor, fought Juangs, Gonds, Bondas,
the battle of Kalinga to conquer it. Oraons and Bhuinas. Like
Afterwards, he repented the bloodshed tribal societies elsewhere,
he had caused and converted to they are known for their
Buddhism. equality. Dormitories—like the
Juang’s Majang—taught young
people life skills like art and
dancing.

The spectacular Sun temple or

| Surya Deul of Konark was built
| by Narasimha | (1238-1264) of the
. Ganga dynasty. Shaped like a
chariot, the massive, richly-carved
temple has seven galloping horses
which could symbolise the days of
the week. The 24 intricately-
worked wheels probably represent
the hours of the day.

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ss
4=}

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The Jagannatha temple of Puri was built by King Anantavarman

Chodagangadeva (1078-1147) of the Ganga dynasty. During the annual Rath
Yatra, idols of Krishna, Balabhadra and Subhadra are taken out in massive
chariots called Nandighosa, Taladhwaja and Deviratha. The English word
‘juggernaut’ comes
from the sight of these
towering chariots.

eee

The 33 sandstone caves on the Udaygiri and

Khandagiri hills in Bhubaneshwar were probably
carved under Kharavela. Though small, they have
detailed inscriptions and carvings of royal
processions and daily life. Udaygiri’s double-
storied Rani Gumpha and Khandagiri’s Tatowa
Gumpha or parrot cave are famous.
eeoeeoeeoeeeoe0eeeeeee @
@
@®C

26
The only lake with partly salty water
in India is coastal Orissa’s
endangered Lake Chilika, a
Arts & Crafts
Ramsar Site. The Chilika Lake Bird
Sanctuary attracts the most i F ae ee = oes
migratory waterbird species in India = X= 4 < : intricate,
every winter. It has 321 fish and crab" bright and
species, a rare limbless lizard and === cheerful
the Irrawaddy dolphin. Apart from a few other Indian beaches, pattachitras -
Olive Ridley turtles come to the OF Paresh, -
Gahirmatha, Devi and Rushikulya beaches eS
in Orissa to lay their eggs. The turtles t arapbiaek
have olive green, heart-shaped
and crushed :
shells and lay many eggs. But
and boiled shells are used to -
few hatchlings survive.
make the colours. i
Pollution, nets, bright industrial
lights and the building of the
$) Dhamra port near the beaches endanger Many
their future. tribes in
Orissa
Bhitarkanika Sanctuary, near like the
Gahirmatha, is set in India’s Juangs,
second largest mangrove forest. Dangaria :
Bite trematodes. This Ramsar Site protects giant Kandhs, Kutia Kandhs, Desia '
Mecedhi Odiesi dance salt-water crocodiles and 62 Kandhs, Duruas, Koyas and
Signa es mangrove species. It is home to Lanjia Saoras craft intricate ~°
originated in temples. 215 species of birds, with eight combs using bamboo, lac_ -
Most Odissi . kinds of kingfisher alone. and fabric. They are prized =:
Beane aera ale and gifted as tokens oflove. °
Ranitie Simlipal NP, a part of Project :
Gitagovindam, Tiger, has around 1000 plant :
a Sanskrit poem species, over 200 bird species,
written in the 12” reptiles and large mammals. It has
century by Jayadeva.
sal forests, grasslands, meadows,
Tribhangi is a unique and valleys, moist forests and dry
complex Odissi
deciduous ones. It takes its name
from the semul or red silk-cotton
movement,
where the tree.
head, chest ; é ] ey | : | J a)
nd pelvis move uangs perform the Changu dance, oe
Bee cnt and bear and pigeon dances. Gadabas The bright applique work of
perform the Demsa during festivals, Pipili village is used in
while Gonds dance regularly. Paraja rituals, especially during the
girls dance holding a bunch of peacock Rath Yatra. Pieces of cloth
feathers, accompanied by instruments are cut, arranged and
like the dudunga. stitched on to larger fabric.
cee Parrots, ducks, peacocks,
Fact File elephants, crescents, the sun
: Pees : and Rahu are popular motifs.
Date of formation: August 15, 1947 - Language: Oriya
Size: 1,55,707 sq km . Neighbours: Andhra Pradesh, Bomkai, Sambalpur and
Population: 36,804,660 * Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Sonepur are famous weaving
Capital: Bhubaneshwar _ _ West Bengal villages. The smooth
Rivers: Mahanadi, Baitarni, . State Animal: Sambar Sambalpuri double ikat has
Brahmani, Tel, Pushikulya, Sabari 5 State Bird: Blue jay / fish and conch-shell patterns.
Forests and NPs: Chilika Lake * State Tree: Ashwatha or peepal Some tribes still weave using
Saneialy, Siniipal NF, oo ee wooden looms and bamboo
Bhitarkanika WS a :
‘ fibre.
 ® Lepchas, Naongs,
Changs and Mons were
Im is tucked away near India’s tallest mountain among the early settlers
range. It has enchanting monasteries and an amazing variety of floraand here. Bhutias came here
P from Tibet and Bhutan
fauna. It is also home to beautiful crafts, masked dances and the endangered aroundahan dicen)
red panda. British rule in Sikkim
began in 1817.

Tiny, thumb-shaped Sikkim is

known by different names.
Lepchas call it Nye-Mayel-Lyang
or ‘heavenly hidden paradise’;
Bhutias call it Denzong or ‘the
valley of rice’; and it was Beyul-
Demojong or the ‘hidden valley
of rice and fruits’ to Guru
Nepalis came
Rimpoche. ‘Sikkim’ could have
come from the Limbu word ‘su in much after
“ ° him’ meaning ‘new house’. the Bhutias,
Sei ewes On, #6 ik ee and brought
“—a° The Nyingmapa and Kagyupa with them
sects of Buddhism are practised in cardamom
LD Sikkim. But before that the older, and methods
animistic religion of Bon thrived of bs ae
farming.
here. Many Bon practices and
beliefs were absorbed into Limbus live in stone houses, at a height
Buddhism. Some Lepchas still of 4000 ft above sea level. They grow their
follow Bon. own food and keep domestic animals.

Sikkim has around 200 monasteries or

Gompas where red-robed lamas chant to
Crowned in 1642, Chogyal Phuntsog
Namgyal was Sikkim’s first king. His
drums, horns and trumpets. Gompas have
dynasty ruled till 1975, when a large
wall murals and frescos of Buddhist myths,
majority voted to merge with India.
manuscripts,
thangkas and Chogyal Palden Thondup
spinning prayer Namgyal was Sikkim’s last king.
wheels. The The Namgyal Institute of
pagoda-shaped Tibetology was started in
Enchey _ 1958. It is in Gangtok and
monastery, built in 1909, has rare books, thangkas,
is famous, as is
Pemayangtse which was
built in the 1600s. At 5800 ft above sea level, Rumtek Gompa houses the
Kagyupa sect of Buddhism. Its leader Karmapa Rangjung
Rigpe Dorje came here in 1959. Rumtek, an old Kagyupa
monastery, was re-built as the Karmapa’s home in exile.

The altitude in Sikkim varies dramatically from 300 m to

5000 m above sea level, leading to a rich biodiversity. It
has different ecological zones which merge into one
another: tropical, sub-tropical, temperate and alpine, and
trans-Himalayan. Sal trees and orchids grow in the lower,
sub-tropical zone; oaks, chestnuts and magnolias in the
temperate; and junipers, cypresses and 35 rhododendron
species in the alpine region. The trans-Himalayan region is a
cold desert.

28
Though the red panda is said to live in
six protected areas in Sikkim, in the wild
it is highly endangered. The loss of its
habitat, which happens when trees are
cut, is the main reason for its
disappearance. Road-building and over-
grazing by cattle are other reasons.

The Khangchendzonga NP set

up in 1977, has been declared a
Biosphere Reserve. It ranges from
1829 m to 8550 m above sea level.
Thangkas or religious scroll
Shy animals like the snow leopard, the
paintings depict scenes from
Himalayan tahr and the yak live within this ecosystem.
the Buddha’s life, illustrate
Buddhist beliefs or help
people meditate. While
Fambong La WS in the sub-tropical zone has
drawing thangkas, artists
oaks, bamboos, ferns, wild orchids and
have to stick to ancient rules
rhododendrons. Kyongnosla Alpine Sanctuary,
of proportion and purity.
3292 m above sea level, has soaring silver firs,
junipers and rare ground orchids. Musk deer
and the endangered red panda roam here.
The world’s third highest ee
ey
ee
e

mountain (8586 m) is
On festivals, lamas or monks
>» Kanchenjunga or
perform the Chaam, a masked
\ §=3=Khangchendzonga as
; dance, accompanied by the
the Sikkimese
call it. tt droning trumpet-like kangling,
is worshipped as
copper horns or radong, cymbals, —-
Dzonga, the chief
gongs and drums. They wear ~
deity of Sikkim. richly-coloured robes
Pang Lhabsol is
and painted masks. A
celebrated to give Asand mandala is made
io favourite character is
it thanks. During and destroyed as a symbol of
~N Mahakala, the Great
the Chaam the Buddhist belief that
) Protector. Jesters or
Dzonga is worldly things are not
atchars make
represented as red- permanent. A group of monks
people laugh.
faced and creates an intricate, perfectly
riding the geometric design. They take
mythical weeks to fill it up with
snow lion. coloured sand. It is then
wiped out ceremonially.

ome Fact Alle Bhutia women use wooden

frame-looms and coloured
Neighbours: National: West Bengal wool to weave hand-knotted
Date of formation: May 16, 1975
Size: 7096 sq km International: China, Nepal, Bhutan carpets. This method is the
- Population: 5,40,851 State Animal: Red panda world’s oldest form of carpet
Capital: Gangtok State Bird: Blood pheasant weaving. The dazzlingly
Rivers: Teesta, Rangit State Tree: Nobile orchid colourful carpets have
Forests and NPs: Khangchendzonga State Flower: Rhododendron flowers, geometric designs,
NP and Fambong La WS Buddhist figures, dragons
Languages: Lepcha, Bhutia, Limbu,
and mythical birds known as
Nepali, Hindi
dak and jira.

29
 The ancient kingdom of Kamarupa, as
Asom was known, stretched to Bhutan,
0 'U used to be known as Assam. Most Northeastern Bangladesh and Cooch Behar in West
states were once part of this state and were carved out after Bengal. Many dynasties ruled here, like the
independence. Asom has forests, hills and is a rich source of oil, Pala, Koch, Kachari and Chutiya. But the
Ahoms who came from Myanmar were the
gas and tea. It is also home to the one-horned rhinoceros and strongest. After repeated attacks by
Majuli, a large river island. Myanmar, the British signed the Treaty of
Yandabo with them in 1826, making
Assam a part of the British
empire in India.

Asom has three main

geographical
regions: the
Brahmaputra valley to
the north, the Karbi
Anglong and North
Cachar Hills in between,
and the Barak valley to the south.

Hajo, on the northern bank of

Though Dispur is its capital, Guwahati is one of the Brahmaputra, is a
Asom’s most important cities. It was the capital of centre of pilgrimage for &
the Kamrupa kingdom and was called Pragjyotishpur Muslims, Buddhists elt
or the ‘city of eastern astrology’. It has a and Hindus. The 124 @
»,-

Hayagriva-Madhab Ag a
Navagraha temple devoted to the nine planets.
temple in the village
draws Buddhists and isa

Nameri NP near the Arunachal border has Hindus, while Muslims

elephants, sloth bears and Indian soft-shelled pray at Poa-Mecca, which was
turtles. The rare atlas moth which has a wing- built by Pir Giasuddin Aulia. It is called ‘poa’ or ‘one-
span of 10 inches has been spotted here. fourth’ because it is believed to have a quarter of the
sanctity of Mecca. e
e
Manas NP, in the Himalayan foothills, is a World
Tezpur, a tea centre, is in Sonitpur district. It was called the e

Heritage Site and a tiger sanctuary. Its other rare °

‘city of blood’ after a mythical battle between Shiva and °
inmates are the hispid hare, e
Vishnu filled it with blood. It has a 9" century temple complex
pigmy hog, golden in the Bamuni Hills.
°
e
langur and the e
rhinoceros. e
e
Majuli Island, on the River Brahmaputra, is one of the e
world’s largest river islands. Some parts are inhabited by e
e
tribes like the Mishing, the Deoris and the Sonowal Kachari. e

The 880-sq-km island is becoming smaller because of °

Sasa cr °
erosion by the Brahmaputra. °
)
e
e
°
°
_@
.
sata

Kaziranga NP is home to the famous one-

horned rhinoceros. It is the oldest NP in
Asom and is a World Heritage Site. It has
forests, elephant grass and marshes. Apart
from other animals, it has hog badgers,
capped langurs and the subcontinent’s
only ape, the hoolock gibbon.

gone
<<,
= °
SS 3
ae
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30
 e@eeeeoeeoere e Se > pereas te emieh ene S800) © OTe 10116) \6: 01166! 66/6; 10561056) (0)0 0.0:0:0) 616 100
loan 6:ep ese. 6 oubcc-6 elaine nia aetae
ya? ae

ce ‘ £ The Ahom dynasty ruled

Arts & Crafts
e@oeec¢ee

F i ¢ here for nearly 600 years. In

Bhomoraguri, a huge stone
inscription says that the
Ahom general Kalia Bhomora Sankaradeva, a 15" century
~-
0
20
7.07
Phukan had planned to saint-poet, was part of the
construct a bridge across the Bhakti movement. He set up
Brahmaputra. About 200 satras or monasteries that
years later, a bridge was built would also preserve art and
. at the spot and named after culture. There are around
Se him.
20 satras in Majuli,
each devoted to a
different art
form, ranging
from jewellery
Asom has large reserves of oil, natural gas and coal. Oil to mask-
was discovered in Digboi in the late 1800s. The first oil well making. He
in India was drilled here in 1889, and the first modern created a form
refinery started production in 1901. of classical
dance called
Sattriya Nrittya.

Asom produces half of India’s tea

and about one-sixth of the world’s.
Robert Bruce, a British officer, learned
about tea grown by the Singpho tribe in
Asom in 1823. He befriended the chief,
Bessa Gam, and was gifted plants and
seeds. He felt that Asom tea could one
Asom makes three unique silks—the
day bring in as much revenue for the
golden Muga, the white Pat and the warm
British as China tea.
Eri. The entire village of Sualkuchi near
Guwahati is involved with weaving Muga
silks. Silks grown everywhere in Asom
find their way here. Muga is special
because it actually glows more after each
wash.
Toys in Asom were
traditionally made of clay, pith
(or cork), wood, bamboo,
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Every community here has its own cloth and a combination of
distinctive design and style of cloth-and-mud. Each kind of
weaving. Borders have stylised material is used to make a
creepers, animals, people, flowers different type of toy. Birds,
and even stars. Traditional animals, gods, and brides
garments like the mekhela- and grooms are the most
aE os
Ls

chador and the gamosa (towel) popular figures.

have beautiful borders.
AF,
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Fact File
Date of formation: January 26, 1950 Neighbours: National: Meghalaya,
Size: 78,438 sq km Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland,
Population: 26,655,528 Manipur, Tripura, Mizoram, West Cane and bamboo were once
Capital: Dispur Bengal; International: Bhutan, used to make everything from
Rivers: Brahmaputra, Manas, Bangladesh houses to musical instruments,
- Subansiri, Sonai _ _ State Animal: One-horned rhinoceros sieves, baskets and hats. The
Forests and NPs: Kaziranga NP, State Bird: White winged wood duck Jappi is the traditional hat or
Manas NP, Orang Sanctuary State Flower: Foxtail orchid sunshade made out of
Languages: Assamese, Bodo, Karbi, State Tree: Hollong bamboo. It is used by people
Bengali working in the fields.
0.2
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<2
 In AP, climate varies with elevation
ehal radesh (AP) is a lush green or height. In the Himalayas, it is cold
eae 0 : and alpine, while a little lower, the
state, which is still around 80% forest. It has different kinds of forests: climate is teriperate "Pane Athat
tropical, subtropical, pine, temperate and alpine. Bamboo forests, degraded are closer to the sea, are subtropical
forests and grasslands are also found here. Most of the forests are and hot. Every year, AP gets about
3500 mm of rain.
evergreen—so they stay green and leafy all year round.
The first people to live in Arunachal Pradesh
The Brahmaputra is known as the Siang in AP. were probably of Tibetan and Myanmari descent.
The Siang and its tributaries divide AP into five AP became a part of British India in 1826. Once
river valleys: the Kameng, the Subansiri, the Siang, known as the North East Frontier Agency, it
the Lohit and the Tirap. The tributaries have became a union territory in 1972, and was
rivulets large and small, which get their waters called Arunachal Pradesh. It became a state
from snow melted off the Himalayas. in 1987. China disputes the 890-km-long
northern boundary of the state, called
the McMahon Line.

Festivals like Losar, Si-Donyi and

Reh, among others, are closely
linked to the phases of farming. All
year round, one tribe or the other
celebrates a festival. Spring, for
example, is celebrated between
January and April by different tribes.
Festivals draw together tribe
members who live far away.

Adis and Apatanis used to follow shifting

AP has about 26 major tribes
cultivation or jhum, which has now
which are divided by
been discontinued. Adis have
geography, religion and
split-level granaries made of
cultural practices. The
bamboo which are cleverly
Monpas, Sherdukpens
built to keep away rats.
and many others are
Buddhists; the Adis, The Idu tribe is divided
into clans, each
Akas, Apatanis and
named after the
others worship the Sun
river which flows
and the Moon Gods;
while the Wanchos and by the place
Noctes live in Tirap, near
where they live.
Nagaland. Noctes
worship Vishnu.

Because it ranges between 200 m to 4500 m,

Namdapha NP has a variety of climate types
and perhaps the widest diversity of habitats
among South Asia’s protected areas.
The Dihang Dibang Biosphere Reserve is a Unusually, it has four large cats—tigers,
global biodiversity hotspot. Apart from this, AP leopards, clouded leopards and snow
has eight WSs and two MPs. Its forests have leopards—uwithin its limits.
three kinds of leopards, seven kinds of primates
(for example, macaques, gibbons and langurs),
three types of goat-antelopes, and birds like
Temminck’s tragopan and the white-winged duck.

32
eoaeoeeeveeeeeeeeeaweeeeeeeeee
we fe eee eee eee GC e2eeeoeaeegeeoeoeveoeeseee

Dances are a part of most S i * - : ts £y . \ < A & C

festivals, and each tribe has its 4d - we a VS ‘ rts rafts
own dance—like the Chalo dance
(Noctes), the Lion and Peacock
dance (Monpas), Ponung (Adis), and the Objects of everyday use are
Roppi (Nishing). Most dances are often made out of cane,
performed by both men and women. bamboo, wood and fabric. .
Monpas are especially good
woodcarvers and make
ceremonial masks, cups and
dishes out of wood. They
make paper from the pulp of
the Sukso or the paper tree.

: ia
Monpas, who are Buddhists, live in the mountains of
;
Women in AP are expert
AP has around 600 rare western AP. The famous Tawang Gompa here is the weavers, with a great sense
species: of orchids like the second largest Buddhist monastery in Asia. Built like a :
Sark : of colour and design. They
foxtail orchid. The town of walled city, it has homes for the monks, a library and a use black, yellow, blue,
Tipi has an Orchid Research § Museum. Some of its Bios a Nest 350 years old. green and red in their
and Development Station. po aN . - geometric weaves. Idu-
Sessa has a large Orchid Mishmi women weave
Sanctuary as well. different kinds of diamond
patterns into their fabrics.

ZiCz Seeoee
re 2eee
ee
Cattle known as mithun are
an important part of the
social, religious and cultural
life of many tribes. The
mithun is considered a unit
of wealth and is allowed to
roam free till it is sacrificed
and eaten on special FE is
OCCASIONS. _ gues :

: .‘ Fact File _ Bamboo, beads, feathers and

Se 4 : " wings of insects like green
Date of formation: February 20, ,_ Languages: Monpa, Miji, Aka,
1987 » oe
Sherdukpen, SED ER ne
Apatani, Adi, Hill Miri
beetles are used to make
kl Aon
Size: 83,743 sq km » Neighbours: National: Assam, NECN ees cane
Population: 10,97,968 ‘Nagaland; International: China, Bhutan, _ omaments tere. Some tribes
Capital: Itanagar Myanmar a use hornbill beaks to
Rivers: Siang and its tributaries: * State bird: Great Indian hornbill decorate their tightly-wound
Lohit, Kameg, Dikrong, Tirap, Dibang, ‘ State animal: Mithun cane helmets. Of late, real
Subansiri, Noa-Dihing, Kamlang . State flower: Foxtail orchid : beaks are replaced by
Forests and NPs: Namdapha NP, iy ; artificial ones.
Monling NP_

33
 Ahom records of the many Naga
tribes tell us about Nagaland’s
and. is hilly, rugged and beautiful. The Aos, a Naga history and practices. In 1819 it
by Myanmar and
tribe, believeD that a magician called Changkichanglangba had told his? people that c-mo under dBritien ruc in 1896
a surprise awaited them if they opened his grave on the sixth day after he died. it ent Nene Ne eee "
The people found basketry designs there and copied them to create many useful, soak away from India,
ingenious and delightful objects.
Geologically, the hills of Nagaland are °
a part of the Burma group. They join i
the sub-Himalayan ranges in the .
north and stretch as far as Manipur. °
There are tall mountains, bottomless
gorges and lush valleys full of fs
amazing natural life. Saramati, °
3826 m above sea level, is ;
Nagaland’s highest peak; Japfu, at °
3048 m, is the second highest. °

; Dimapur has an elaborately-carved gateway,

; Kachari ruins and monolithic sites. It used to be the
° Capital of the ancient Kachari kings and was once known
; as Hidimbapur. Bhima, the Pandava, is supposed to have
* married a Kachari princess called Hidimba. The River
e Dimasa flows here. ‘

* Naga languages belong to the Tibeto-Burman

e language group. Each tribe is distinct, with its own
: dialect, cultural practices and beliefs, and methods of .
* weaving baskets and shawls. °
‘ Nacaifestival Men eueNaed The Angami festival of Sekrenyi is celebrated after :
: Tw Hemet Fee anes tied ro harvest. Young men wear new white shawls called ‘
the Enningeecmeien Mhoushus and black ones called Lohe. Among the rituals i
° .. : j are Thekra chi, when young people gather together to sing
3 Tsiingrem Mong is songs and drink rice beer. The interesting ritual of gate- ®
: celebrated just before harvest. pulling takes place on the eighth day. :
: é Nagaland’s capital, Kohima, is 1444 m above sea-level. The .
x ee pepe i Catholic Cathedral at Aradurah Hill is the largest in the Northeast. 2
° y Kohima probably grew from an °
é Konyak, Ao, Chang, Angami village called Barra -
° Phom and Lotha live in Basti, now believed to :
: Nagaland, while others), ihe second °
- like the Nocte and jargest village in °
Wancho live In Asia. Like P
neighbouring many other e
Arunachal Pradesh. Naga villages, 4
With changing it has an F
times, their rich cultural elaborately e
practices and =Garved &
beliefs are wooden gate. P
slowly e
dying out. 7

eoeoeeeeoeoe eee oe eee eee eee ee eee eee eee d es oar a ores

34
 Forests here have elephants, primates,
northern tree shrews, wild dogs or dholes, Arts & Crafts
sun bears, binturongs and Malayan tree
squirrels. Binturongs belong to the civet
family, though they are sometimes called Naga
‘bearcats’. Their long, bushy tails are baskets are yee
ee
eee
te

prehensile—they can be used to hold on usually of

to things by curling around them. two kinds:
baskets for
storage and
.®” An amazing 360 orchid species
baskets for
are found on peaks like Saramati and
Carrying.
in low-lying areas. They are adaptable,
Some are
and manage to grow in soil
woven so
(terrestrials), on trees (epiphytes), on
Malabar pied hornbills, blue rock pigeons, tightly, they
rocks and in thin soil (lithophytes), and
spotted doves, hoopoes, common babblers, can even hold liquids. Aos
on decaying matter (saprophytes). The
great horned owls and spotted owlets make weave conical baskets,
smallest are 1 cm to 2 cm, and the
up the many bird species here. The rarer while Angamis prefer
largest are more than 2 m.
species are white-bellied herons, Blyth’s cylindrical ones. The
tragopans, Mrs Hume's bartailed pheasants, Chakhesangs, Angami
brown-backed hornbills, rufous-necked Nagas share a close relationship with Nagas and Changs also
hornbills, wreathed hornbills and green bamboo groves because each weave baskets in different
peafowls. species of bamboo has a different use designs.
for them. Houses, utensils, torches, fuel,
pickles, mats, furniture, pokerwork
Reptiles and different species of turtles are mugs, pipes, hats, shields and cradles
endangered by poaching and habitat loss are all made with bamboo.
caused by the cutting down of forests.
Poaching and habitat loss also threaten
tigers, binturongs, leopards and clouded
leopards. The four WSs here—Intanki,
Fakim, Pulie Badge and Rangapahar—are Aos use a hard kind of
bamboo and a gourd to make
small.
the cup violin or the midnight
violin. It has a thin, long
The most common species of orchid in
bamboo bow. Its strings are
Nagaland is the dendrobium. The made of bamboo fibre cut
bamboo orchid, red using a dao or sharp axe. Aos
vanda, red chimney say they learned to play it by
orchid and foxtail watching the way a crab
orchid are the rare moves!
ones. While
Mount Japfu has
\ the most number Some tribes weave necklaces and arm The bamboo trumpet,
considered the king of
of orchids, bands using red-coloured cane strips,
@ Juensang yellow orchid stems and shells. Rain hats, musical instruments, is made
out of a bamboo shoot which
hes has the bowls, mugs, coarse baskets and even
mos haversacks made of cane are common.
is about 4 ft to 5 ft long. At
threatened and six inches, the bamboo
rare species.
fact file mouth organ is much
smaller. It is one of the oldest
Naga musical instruments.
Date of formation: December 1,1963 Neighbours: National: Arunachal
Size: 16,579 sq km Pradesh, Assam, Manipur
Population: 19,88,636 International: Myanmar
Capital: Kohima State Animal: Mithun
Rivers: Milak, Barak, Dhansiri, State Bird: Blyth’s tragopan
Doyang, Dikhu, Zungki, Tizu . State Tree: Alder
Forests and NPs: Intanki NP State Flower: Rhododendron
Languages: Ao, Sema, Konyak,
Angami, Chakhesang, Chang,
Khiamniungan, Kuki
a a a a at aa aa a a ea a a eet a a a ee a ae a a a a a a a ee a a a a ee
eee
eee
eoo
eeeewmem
0 or Jom Yor Sur Der on ee Jem Jeet Ieee er De ee ae iat et et a
0.0
Ome
2
0
© eC ea ea at eat eat et a

39
 Khasis and Jaintias follow the
matrilineal system.
a or ‘the abode of clouds’ This means that women
inherit land, social rank
has many unique tribes, forests, animals and art forms. It is
and name. The youngest
also the home of a tiny carnivorous plant called the ‘basket of daughter or the ‘Ka
the devil’, a butterfly called the Bhutan glory, and a fruit Khadduh’ inherits the
called the ‘orange of the spirits’. family’s fortunes.
Khasis live in the
eastern part of
The Jaintias, Khasis, Garos, Koch, Meghalaya.
Hajong, Dimasa, Hmar, Kuki, Lakhar,
Mikir, Rabha and other tribes live
here. Garos call themseves Achik- Walknousabans
Mande or ‘hill people’. Khasis, Jaintias, Meghalaya’s early history
Bhois and Wars are together known from Ahom and Kachari
as the Hynniew Trep people. records of Khasi kings. The
British ruled here from the
1830s. Though Meghalaya
was a part of Assam after
Shillong 1947, Jawaharlal Nehru
ensured that its tribal
(e) traditions and practices were
protected.

The Lum Sohpetbneng peak has

a sacred forest. Khasis call it ‘heavenly
peak’ and believe that it used to be a golden Garos celebrate a good harvest with
ee saieat eau ae ai sae t Wangala, or the Dance of Hundred Drums
ne eee oh ae CON. Seven CNOSe 1p in November. People dress in feathered
stay back and were called the Hynniew Trep. headtdresecetand dancaione
beat of long drums in honour
of Satyong, the god of fertility.

Nartiang in the Jaintia Hills y

has a cluster of megaliths~ #
and monoliths. The Meghalaya’s many stunning cave
biggest monolith here is 26 ft systems like Krem Liatprah (25 km),
tall and 6.5 ft wide. The Umlawan, Mawsynram and Siju, among others,
|, cluster is a Monument of are long and deep. Most have huge limestone
National Importance. « formations inside. Krem Liatprah is in danger
because of the limestone and coal
mining operations nearby.

Cherrapunjee,
now Called
Sohra, was the
capital of the
' British state of
At Laitlynglot, near Shillong, there is a ® Assam. The
cluster or collection of 60 huge menhirs @ British found it too \

and 20 dolmens. The rainy and shifted

biggest menhir is 16 ft tall : the capital to Shillong,
and 4.9 ft wide, while the which was 1496 m
largest dolmen is above sea level. Sohra
30 ft long and gets an average annual
10.6 ft wide. rainfall of 11,430 mm.

bs Nea 2. Os OE i ee ae)
eo
of
Cee
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y'

36
 Arts & Crafts -
Laitkynsew village near Sohra
has sturdy living root
bridges. Khasi tribes built them
by stretching the secondary
roots of a single rubber tree Traditionally, only women
and planting them on the other used to spin and weave
side of a stream or river. A here. They would weave only
living root bridge in Nongriat after the harvest of new rice
village has two levels—almost ee & ) Pn . was eaten. Khasis and
as if one bridge had been % Garos make colourful wraps,
placed on the other. shawls, waistcloths, scarves,
skirts, aprons and lungis.
About 300 orchid species grow here, on Meghalaya is also famous for
The rare trees, the ground and mossy rocks. Mawsmai ts Endi silk
pitcher and Mawmluh forests in Sohra have the most. ‘
plant is Forests and everything in them were once
called considered sacred by tribes and protected.
, memang- Nowadays, orchids are protected in orchidaria
Fr koksi or the and orchid sanctuaries. :

\ (eee 2 f'/e ‘basket of the 5

\\\Seeees £7’ devil’ by the
ae fj Garos. It has
—a « asmall leaf
that looks :
eet
and acts like
a lid and traps insects, which it then
‘eats’. It is protected in the Baghmara
Pitcher Plant Sanctuary.
The blue peacock, karserhed, orange oak leaf,
dipper and Bhutan glory are all names of
Meghalaya’s beautiful and famous butterfly Khasis and Garos weave
species. cane baskets and sieves.
Baskets called khok and
Nongkhyllem WS in Ri Bhoi is thugis are common, but the ;
part of the Eastern Himalayan Garos also weave more r
Endemic Bird Area. It has intricate ones called meghum
endangered bird species like the khoks to hold clothes and
swamp partridge, brown valuables. The Khasis weave
— _hornbill, rufous-necked hornbill a cone-shaped bamboo rain-
a and the Manipur bush quail shield called knup.

Nokrek NP and Biosphere

Balpakram NP has hoolock gibbons, great Reserve is on Nokrek, the highest
Indian hornbills, tigers and leopards. Called ‘the peak in the Garo Hills. It has
: land of eternal wind’, it is sacred to the Garos villages, rare plants, wild elephants
- because they believe that dead spirits rest here. and rare birds as well. Me-mang
Ground orchids and a citrus fruit called me-mang _ parang trees grow here.
narang or ‘the orange of the spirits’ grow here. The a senescence
narang is considered the ancestor of the orange. Fact File :

Languages: Khasi, Garo, Jaintia,

Size: 22,429 sq km Bengali, Assamese, English
, - Population: 23,18,822 Neighbours: National: Assam
Capital: Shillong International: Bangladesh
ree Rivers: Simsang, Manda, Darming, State Animal: Clouded leopard
> Ringge, Gamol, Bugi, State Bird: Hill myna
4 Forests and NPs: Nokrek NP, State Tree: Gamhar
Balpakram NP, Nongkhyllem WS, _ State Flower: Lady slipper orchid
Nokrek Biosphere Reserve, Siju Bird
Sanctuary og
oe
ee
Bg
we
ee

so 6 6 6 6 6 6 © 6 6 6 Gee ee ele eg eo
 ®

l or the ‘jewelled land’ is like a bright green

emerald surrounded by mountain ranges. The state has two parts—the outer
hilly area and the inner Manipur River valley. Much of Manipur is still
heavily forested, making it a treaswre-house of rare orchids, birds and animals.

Manipur’s earliest recorded history goes as far

back as AD 900. Following constant attacks from
Myanmar, Raja Jai Singh signed a treaty with
the British in 1762. They took over the kingdom
after 1891.

Manipur has 29 or more tribes, like

The 312-sq-km Lake Loktak near Imphal, is the
the Meitei, Naga, Kuki, Meitei
largest lake in eastern India and has small floating
masses of
Pangal and others. The tribes’
cultural practices, beliefs, folklore,
vegetation
dances, games, martial arts, music,
called
weaving styles and crafts are
phumdis.
different from each other.
The lake is a
source of
livelihood The Keibul Lamjao NP is set on
for the a large phumdi on Lake Loktak, and
many is the only floating NP in the world. It
people who live on and around it. This Ramsar stretches over 40 sq km. It has
Site also protects the people who live near it from otters, water birds and migratory
* floods and droughts. _™ birds.

\. Keibul Lamjao also has the

® endangered sangai, or the
Imphal has an all- “ Manipur brow-antlered deer. Sangai
women’s market or live in small herds and hide during
Ima keithel. The stalls are run the day. They are also called
by 3000 Imas or mothers. The ‘dancing deer’ because of their delicate
market has two parts: vegetables, walk through the wetlands.
fruits, fish and groceries are sold .
in one, and exquisite handlooms
and household tools are sold in
the other. The Samban-
Lei Sekpil, grown by
Moirangthem Okendra
Kumbi, is a 61-ft-tall
The rare and endangered Siroi topiary or shaped shrub.
Lily found in the Shirui hills of the It is so tall that you need
Ukhrul district is terrestrial or grows on ladder to reach the
the ground. It was first documented top. Trimmed into
by Frank Kingdon-Ward in 1946. | umbrella and disc
shapes, it holds the
@
©
0
ee
GS-eeeee Guinness and the
Limca records for
being the tallest
topiary in the world.

38
 Manipur has a variety of animal and bird species like A & C
hoolock gibbon, slow loris, clouded leopard, rts r afts
spotted linshang, Mrs Hume’s barbacked pheasant,
Blyth’s tragopan, and the Burmese pea-fowl. Its
hornbill species are: the brown-backed, the rufous- Fish traps in Manipur vary
necked, the wreathed, the Indian pied or the lesser pied with regions, tribes and even
and the great Indian hornbill. genders. Women from the
valley use bowl-shaped
fishing baskets called Long,
while their men use the Long-
oop. Hill people use Kaijara
fish-baskets and people living
near Lake Loktak use the
Ngathok.
During the festivalof Lai
Haraoba, Meiteis have a
dance in which their
priestesses or Maibis
re-live the past, x‘

starting with the

process of creation, the The Khonghampat Orchidarium near Imphal in
construction of houses and Manipur has about 110 rare orchids. These beautiful
the growth of different and rare plants are endangered because of
pce ouons: deforestation and trade in orchids.
Manipur’s dances are famous. The RNC eetss Cae aera °
Ras Lila describes the love of The Pung is the ;
Krishna and Radha, and is performed Manipuri version of the 4
all night long on auspicious occasions. — Mridanga, an ancient °
The cymbal dance, known as Nupa drum. It is played during Bamboo is used to make :
Pala or Kartal Cholom, __ the Ras Lila. It is also many things of daily use like
is usually important enough to baskets, fish traps, mats, °
performed before —_be worshipped roofs, cooking huts, E
the Ras Lila. through a dance granaries, musical :
called the Pung instruments, headgear, lo
Cholom. The umbrellas, totem poles and °
dancers leap © even small bridges. °
as they play Bamboo musical s
the Pung. instruments differ from tribe P
Drumbeats to tribe. °
vary from soft to E
thunderous. i

Re Fact File
Date of formation: January 21, 1972 Neighbours: National: Assam,
Size: 22,327 sq km Mizoram, Nagaland
Population: 22,93,896 International: Myanmar
Capital: Imphal State Animal: Sangai deer
Rivers: Manipur, Barak State Bird: Nongyeen
Forests and Nps: Keibul Lamjao NP, State Flower: Siroi lily
Khonghampat Orchidarium
Languages: Manipuri, Thado, @

Tangkhul @
°
@
i e
Li a a a eae ee ae de eel et et a a a ea a ee a ee a ee a a ee ee ee ee eS et tt St

39
 4 The first Mizo tribes probably migrated to
India from Shinlung or Chhinlungsan in
or the land of the hill people’ has 21 China via Myanmar. The first to come here
: . were the Kukis, and the last to do so in the
hill ranges. Nestled between Bangladesh and Myanmar, ithasa722- —jate 1700s were the Lushais.
km-long international boundary. Many Mizos live by the codes of Rerene i shez . ;snes J .
took over nearby Assam in
Tlawmngaihna
i and Hnatlang which tell them to be kind, hospitable, 4556 maliy Mize ‘Chiat atackecrines
3 ‘ en the British

cooperative and helpful. territories. From 1890, when the British began
to rule here, to 1972, Mizoram was a part of
Assam. It became a state after much agitation
Phawngpui NP lies close to the a ;
under the Mizoram Peace Accord in 1987.
Myanmar border. Mizoram’s tallest
peak, the Phawngpui or Blue Mountain,
is inside the park and stands 2360 m Mizoram’s capital, Aizawl, lies just north of the
above sea level. The park has gorals, Tropic of Cancer. The city is a little over 100
@e@
@
©
serows, stump-tail macaques, langurs,
@eeeoeoeaeeeeeoeeenpeeenpeeeeeeeeeeee years old and is built like a fortress. It has timber
: barking deer and leopards. houses and stands about 2950 ft above sea level,
° with river valleys to its east and west.

= Most Mizos still farm the land. Their festivals like

e Mim, Pawl and Chapchar Kuts are linked to the
——a° farming year. Chapchar Kut celebrates spring, while
Mim Kut gives thanks for a good harvest of maize.
There is much singing, dancing and drinking of zu, the
home-brewed rice beer. Pawl Kut, also a harvest festival,
is celebrated during December and January.

Mizoram has
many lakes like
Palak, Tamdil,
Rungdil and
Rengdil. J
= = !
Tamdil orthe
‘lake of the The main social unit of Mizo life was the village, usually set on
mustard plant a hill-top with the chief's house in the middle. Young Mizo men
mee lived in a large dormitory called the Zawlbuk, where they
Soe were trained to be responsible adults.

25m, Purzing
f .. according to

D0 mustard plant cave near

once grew Aizawl, is the
p
there. When it largest of the
was chopped off, many caves in
water spurted out, Mizoram.
creating the lake. Legends say
that
Mualzavata, a
very strong man,
carved it out with a
hair pin.

0)
m0:
0.0,
9.
S181050i'*
#ia)
ents,
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9.0
28

40
 aS TSS! 616 OC O10! (66) 6 0 6 0 6 One © 0: 6 6) 0 OT ONO) 006.6 6 0. 6 6 6.0 6.6.6.6..0. 6. 6.0 el ete elele elelerete

Mizo folk stories tell us that they first A & C

came out from under a huge rock called rts rafts
Chhinlung. Pathian (the Mizo word for
god) was annoyed by the loud voices
ie | of two very talkative people. Mizo men and
Fed up of their noisy women wore the
chatter, he shut off the puan, which was
entrance with a rock. traditionally
woven by
women. The
puan’s woven
designs and
colours are
distinctive and
bright. Some of
these designs
Cheraw or the bamboo dance is are now an
colourful and popular. Men sit on integral part of
the ground and rhythmically tap the Mizo
long pairs of bamboo heritage.
©,”
0\e
Oo
0
ee
eoeeeeee
Yy,ii>\
sticks open and shut,
while women dance in
and out of them. Many
Using cane and bamboo,
Indonesian, Philippine
} Mizos make an amazing
and Thai tribes have The hoolock gibbon is the only range of beautiful, sturdy
, Similar dances, = | _ape found in the Indian baskets, pipes, weapons and
Suggesting that - subcontinent. It lives on trees, rain wear. Their traps cleverly
, the Cheraw _ @ats fruits, mates for life and lives ge the natural elasticity of
probably = _ in small family units. Hoolocks bamboo to spring shut when
came with ==_ protect their territory and scare the prey touches it. They also
Mizos from =. ~—_enemies with loud hooting noises. se this elasticity to make
Southeast Asia. = Sometimes mates ‘sing’ together toys like pop guns.
as they swing across the forest.

Lengteng WS’s height ranges

between 400 m and 2300 m
above sea level. It has the
second highest peak of
Mizoram and animals like tigers,
sambars, serows, gorals, barking
deer, wild boars, hoolock gibbons
and rhesus macaques; apart from
birds like the Hume’s bartailed pheasant
and the kaleej pheasant.
Thorangtlang WS in the west is a
corridor for elephants migrating

pou algiadesh, Fact File Some fish traps are bottle-

ote oe —— s . ae shaped with a spike at the
Date of formation: February 20, 1987 Languages: Lushai, Mizo, Bengali, mouth, which stops the fish
Size: 21,081sq km Lakher from escaping. Fishing
Population: 8,91,058 Neighbours: National: Manipur, baskets are oval or square
Capital: Aizawl ae Assam, Tripura; International: i ehece Gnd come with Gy
Rivers: Tlwang, Tlau, Chhimtuipui, Bangladesh, Myanmar ees,
Tuichang, Tuirial State Animal: Serow without lids. They are used
Forests and NPs: Lengteng WS, State Bird: Hume’s bartailed for tasks like trapping fish
Murlen NP, Phawngpui NP, pheasant and carrying it.
Thorangtlang WS e State Tree: Nag kesar
State Flower: Dancing girl orchid
OCHO
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Patt
tea
PC
FCCC
CFCC
CCSC
ECO
COC
OC
Oi
Ot
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tO
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CC
CCC
CC®
Ce ee ee ee ee ee a a ee ee ee ee ee a a ee a ee ee ee ee ee ee ee et ee lee

4}
 From the mid-1400s, Tripura
was ruled by kings who held
d ura is one of the smallest states in India the title of ‘Manikya’. Tripura
came under Mughal rule
and juts into Bangladesh like a finger. Tripurans have many
from the 1600s, and the
unique games like matham, where children jump into a pond and British took over in the
behave like otters! Of the state's 19 tribes, the Tripuri tribe is the late 1700s. Tripura’s
largest in number. Tripuris call themselves Borok, and speak capital was Udaipur, till
Maharaja Krishna
Kok-borok or ‘the language of people’. Kishore Manikya shifted it
to new Agartala in 1849.
Different tribes like the King Bir Chandra
Halams, Jamatias, Reangs, The word Manikya
Noatias, Mogs, Mundas and ‘Tripura’ could Bahadur
Lushais live here. Nature have come from the Debbarma
deities like Khulu- name of the powerful introduced
ma, the goddess King Tripur, or from many
of the cotton the state’s main reforms
plant; Mailu- goddess, Tripura when he
ma, the Sundari. Some came to
goddess of historians believe the throne
corn; Lam- _that ‘Tripura’ comes in 1862.
Pra, the twin from two Kok-borok
gods of the sky words: ‘twi’ or water,
and the sea; and and ‘pra’ or near.
Burha-cha, the , » rae
ae as Udaipur is known for its many ancient
god of healing are
worshipped here. Aarea
‘ iY
:
We. d
temples and its large ponds or dighis.
The most famous is the Tripura
my 6
5 * ght Sundari temple built by
Maharaja Dhanya Manikya
Debbarma in 1501. It is one
The town of Pilak has terracotta, bronze, | of the 51 Shakti temples in
and rock-cut sculptures which were made | the Indian subcontinent. It
between the 8" and the was built on a hillock and
10” centuries. They has a square-shaped
have a mix of Buddhist | sanctum.
and Hindu themes,
with influences
ranging from the
Bengali to the According to Tripuran folklore, the earth rests on
Myanmarese. They Kaiching, a tortoise who feeds on human excreta
are scattered over brought to it by Khebok, a black beetle.
an area of 10 sq km. Once, to avoid work, Khebok told
Kaiching that the humans had
all died. Kaiching shook his
shell, causing an
earthquake. When
the people cried
out, Kaiching hit
Khebok on the
Lake Rudrsagar is the only lake in eastern head with a
India with a palace on it. Neermahal was stone, leaving
built by Maharaja Bir Bikram Kishore him flat-headed
Manikya Bahadur as a summer resort in forever!
1930. Its domes are a blend of Hindu and
Mughal styles. Rudrasagar is home to many
migratory birds.

42,
 eeoeoeoeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee 8 @ e©eeeeee@eeeeeoeoeeeoeeeeeeeoeeeda

Sports are called Thwngmung as a

group. Games like Swkwi, Fan Solaimung boo a) ge 9es ae
and Kaldong are a test of strength, skill
and alertness. In Wah Sotonmung, a one-
le
metre-long bamboo pole is held by two Thin
groups. Both pull at it, till one wins by pulling bamboo
the other for more than one metre. splits are
ee eee g sometimes
The Gumti WS draws many water birds to its large reservoir. woven with
Apart from barking deer, bisons, elephants, and wild goats, cotton to
Gumti has medicinal plants. Trishna WS has wild cats, make mats
leopards, spectacled langurs, capped langurs, golden which are almost as pliable
langurs and the hoolock gibbon. as fabric. Coloured yarn and
dyed bamboo splits make
them attractive.
Unakoti,
4 _@
—
3 meaning Kuki women used to weave
one-less- clothes with snakeskin
than-a-crore,
' designs on them called
» Ponmongvom, Khamtang
r é is a collection
In Sepahijala WS, civets, of hundreds and Saipi-khup. No one was
barking deer and clouded of bas-relief allowed to cross water
leopards roam among the sculptures bodies wearing these fabrics,
sal, agar, amlaki and bamboo stone carvings, for fear that the designs
trees. Primates like temple ruins and would attract snakes.
the capped langur, sandstone sculptures on the banks of River Gomti.
the spectacled Tripuri women use the loin-
Unakotiswara Kal Bhairava is a 30-ft-high
langur and the pigtailed loom to weave garments
head of Shiva. Work on the sculptures
macaque live here. The called the risa and the rignai.
_ probably went on from the 7” to the 9” The Lasingphee is made into
green imperial » centuries AD. a quilt at the time of weaving
pigeon, white ibis,
itself with the help of a thin
and whistling teal are
lining of cotton.
among its bird
In Tripura, singers
oy gage are accompanied
by instruments
like the
sarinda,
eeoeeeoeeoeoeoeeoeee
e828
Het
sh
©8&eee
ee Chakmas perform the Bijhu chongpreng,
dance, while Reangs perform dangdoo, lebang,
Hojagiri, a graceful dance kham, uakhrap
done on pots. In the Lebang and the Because bamboo is strong
Boomani dance women chase _amboo flute or enough to resist
insects called lebangs, which sumui. earthquakes and strong
arrive in hoards to eat the winds, it is also used for
freshly-sown seeds. Men use at making granaries, shops and
bamboo chips as clappers to \\ houses here. Bamboo splits
make a noise which will draw out = are made into screens and
the lebangs. 7 a | A partitions. Finely-cut splits
fact File that look like ivory are used to
: oS make jewellery.
Date of formation: January 21,1972. Neighbours: National: Arunachal ~

Size: 10,491 sq km Pradesh, Assam, Manipur

Population: 31,99,203 International: Myanmar
Capital: Agartala State Animal: Phayre’s langur or
River: Gomti spectacled langur
Forests and NPs: Shepahijala WS, * State Bird: Green imperial pigeon
_ Trishna WS, Rowa WS State Tree: Agar
Languages: Kok-borok, Bengali, State Flower: Nageshwar
~ Manipuri
OCHOCOCH
HOC
OETCOH
SCE
FOOFC
COHFCO
COCOC
ST
6SOTHO
TS
OHS
OTH
ETOH
CHT
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CTO
CCC
eeeoecoeoeeeeceeeeeecseeeeeeeveeeeeeeee
ee eeeaeememewmemememewmemememeeoenenee ee
0.29.9
oeoee
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©@

43
 After the Maurya rule, the Sungas
ruled MP from 185 BC to 73 BC. They
Mad ya P r adesh stretches across central were followed by the Satavahanas,
India. It has hk, sanctuaries, cave paintings and ancient Stupas. But Kshatrapas, Nagas, Guptas, Hunas,
Kalachuris, Tomars and Gonds. In 1231
its greatest treasures are its dense forests which inspired everyone from
Sultan Shamsuddin IItutmish took over,
prehistoric artists to the author Rudyard Kipling! followed by the Khaljis and the
Mughals. By the 1760s, different
Maratha clans ruled here. In 1818, the
Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book has British defeated them and took over.
stories set in the forests of the Seoni
district. One of them is about After 1947, the
Mowgli, a boy raised by Central India
wolves. It was probably Agency was divided
into Madhya Bharat,
inspired by Sir William
Vindhya Pradesh and
Sleeman’s description of a
Bhopal. Later the
wolf-boy found in 1831 Central Provinces and
near the Pench forest. Berar were named
‘Madhya Pradesh’. In 1956,
Madhya Bharat, Vindhya
MP’s sprawling mountain Pradesh and Bhopal were
ranges—the Vindhyas and merged with Madhya Pradesh.
Satpuras—have always been thought of
as a natural line that divides India into
Of the 700 or so rock shelters in Bhimbetka, 400
north and south. The River Narmada flows
have prehistoric paintings done with natural red
in the valley of the two ranges.
and white colours. The 10,000-year-old shelters
oe @ eo oe oc ft
were discovered by Prof. Wakankar in 1957.
Animals like tigers, lions, wild boars, antelopes,
“a =Pench and dogs, lizards and crocodiles; and activities like
' i Kanha forests hunting, dancing, playing music, collecting honey,
in the Satpura decorating bodies and making masks are all
ranges, and depicted. It is a World Heritage Site.
Bandhavgarh in the
PENCH: Vindhyas, are all
p) BANDHAVGARH: 50 tiger reserves.
Though official tiger
numbers are high,
conservationists fear
there are far
“iL!Iu, fewer tigers
=a" actually.

In 1857, the British explorer Captain James Forsyth

- spotted Panchmarhi, a green, saucer-shaped valley
in the Satpura range. The rock shelters of Mahadeo
Hill here have cave paintings, the earliest of which
are 10,000 years old. There are five ancient rock
shelters here which are known as the Pandava
Caves.

The rounded Sanchi Hill near Bhopal has the

Great Stupa, one of the oldest Stupas in the
world. It was built by Emperor Ashoka. It has four
gateways called toranas carved with stories from
the Jatakas. The Stupa was forgotten till General
Taylor stumbled upon it in 1818. It is now a World
Heritage Site.

~ »-eoeooeooeoeeoeoeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeseeee
eeeeee
ee

44
 e@oeoeoeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
eee eee eee eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeoeeeeeoeeeeoeeeeese

Kaliadeh Palace, or the water palace of

Ujjain, is located on an island on the River Arts Crafts
Shipra. It was built in 1458 by Nasir-ud-
din Khilji. In this ingenious palace, river
water was diverted in and out of the
building to generate cool breezes.

An 8" century Rajput chieftain called

Suraj Sen was cured of leprosy when f
028
Doge
0©Oe
ee
eee
Gwalipa, a hermit, asked him to
drink water from a pond. In gratitude, |
Suraj Sen built a fort-city there and
named it ‘Gwalior’ after the hermit.
Communities like the Gonds
and Pradhans have a rich
Bhopal is situated on the site of an 11” century tradition of making wall
city called ‘Bhojapal’ built by Raja Bhoj. He is paintings or bhittichitras.
said to have built the lakes around which the Bhils paint bright Pithora
city grew. In 1723, Dost Mohammed, an Afghan paintings related to creation
commander of the Mughals, built parts of the myths. Korkus and Seherias
RAJASTHAN | PRADESH present city. Bhopal was ruled by four brave and also paint in unique and
wise queens or Begums from 1819 to 1926.
mad | distinctive styles.

The singer Tansen was one of the nine gems of Emperor The Chippas or hand-block
Akbar’s court. A tamarind tree grows near his tomb in printers of Bagh use
Gwalior. People believe that eating its leaves vegetable colours and
will make their voices sweeter! Legend intricately carved blocks with
geometric and floral patterns.
has it that K L Saigal, the famous
The block printers of Javad
singer, chewed a few.
use blocks with the amba
butti or mango motif.

One half of Bhawani

Mandi station on the
Mumbai-Delhi railway line
lies in MP and the other
half lies in Rajasthan!

eeeeoeoeeeeeeeeeeeeee
©@ os

Fact File
Date of formation: November 1, 1956 Language: Hindi |
Size: 3,08,000 sq km Neighbours: Maharashtra, Gujarat, Gwalior has a special tradition
Population: 60,348,023 Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, of making battubai dolls,
Capital: Bhopal Chhattisgarh which are dressed in
Rivers: Narmada, Tapti, Betwa, Son, State Animal: Swamp deer traditional clothes made of
Chambal State Bird: Paradise fly-catcher paper, with tin-foil, beads and
Forests and NPs: Bandhavgarh NP,
spangles as decorations.
Kanha NP, Pench NP, Indrawati Tiger
Reserve, Kheoni WS

er eer eer oer Joe Je Joe Jere oe oe on Jee ee ee ee a ee a ee ee ee ee ee a ae ee a a ee eee ee ee et a

45
 @ The region around present-day
tus arh Chhattisgarh was ruled by the
was once tucked into the Haihaya dynasty till they split
southeastern corner of Madhya Pradesh. It has a proud tribal tradition sous 14" century. By about the
and around 40% of India’s forests, : There are ancient underground caves 16" century, ney el ee
Mughals. The Kakatiyas established
and many waterfalls like Chitrakot, which is an awesome 100 ft deep and their kingdom in Bastar from the
1000 ft wide. Chhattisgarh lies near the Maikala and Dandakaranya 1320s. Marathas attacked
4
mountain ranges. The River Mahanadi flows through the state. Chhattsca i ieee
Haihaya rule. The British ruled
here from 1818.

Chhattisgarh’s tribes fought

outsiders vigorously. Bastar’s Halba Known as Dakshin
rebellion (1774-1779) resisted the Kosala in ancient
British and the Marathas. About texts, it was
eight more rebellions followed, till Ratanpur to the
the Bhumkal rebellion of Mughals. The term
1910, which protested against ‘Chhattisgarh’ was first
the way the tribals’ used in a Maratha
traditional forest rights document in 1795. Some
\) were being snatched believe the region had 36
from them. forts, while others say it was
named for the Chedi dynasty’s
‘garh’ or fort. People also think it
was named for the 36 leather-
working families who moved here
and set up ‘chhattis ghar’ or 36
houses.

Gonds call themselves Koitor—the

Oe
6
e
@
©
ee
@eeeoeoeeveeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeteeee word ‘Gond’ probably came from the
Nearly 32.5% of Chhattisgarh’s Telugu word ‘konda’ or hill. Apart from
population is tribal. Marias, Gonds, the Bastar region, they also live in other
Bison-horn Marias, Baigas, places like central Madhya Pradesh.
Halbas, Kanars, Abhujmarias Murias, Marias and Dorlas are also
and others live here. Gonds. They farm, craft metal, fish and
Tribal haats or markets hunt. Children are trained in various
see produce like ‘sal’ skills like art and are guided towards
butter, combs, landa or adulthood in dormitories called Ghotul.
rice beer, salt, live red
ants, jewellery and sulphi,
or sago-palm sap.

Bastar in southern Chhattisgarh has tribes which were living

here much before the Aryans came. Around 1320, King Annam
Deo of Andhra Pradesh, from the Kakatiya dynasty (a distant
branch of the Chalukyas), established a princely state here.
More than 70% of Bastar is tribal. Perhaps because of this,
Bastar has some amazing arts and crafts.

@eeoeoeeoeaeoaeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee
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e

46
 The Kosa fabric of the Bastar tribals comes
\i from the Kosa worm cocoons that grow Arts & Crafts
¢ wild here. The yarn is woven into soft saris

¢ and shawls using ancient looms. Later the

fabrics are hand-printed using a natural dye Iron crafting is done by
called aal. Kosa is also woven in Madhya Lohars of Kondagoan and
}
43
Parts
Gog
- Pradesh and Orissa. other parts of Bastar. The
Seek
in
aer
aCFE?
SS
scrap that is left
over while making
farming tools and
household goods
is heated and
crafted into deities,
Of the
tribal soldiers,
approximately
horses, pigs and
Verrier Elwin, an Oxford-educated 90 languages different birds using
missionary, was inspired by Rabindranath and dialects that the hammer. No nails or :
Tagore, Gandhiji and tribal ways of living. used to be spoken joints are used. The figurines -
Working among Murias and Baigas, he here, many are dying are stark and elegant.
admired their practices and the wisdom of out for lack of speakers.
the Ghotul system. He worked with Chhattisgarh’s
The lost wax
Chhattisgarh’s tribes along with his languages
: are from
method of
colleague Shamrao Hivale. Later, he was three important
metal casting is
the advisor on Northeast tribal affairs to language families:
common in
Jawaharlal Nehru. Chhattisgarhi, Hindi,
Orissa,
Marathi, Oriya, Sadri and
Jharkhand,
Halbi are Indo-Aryan Bengal and
languages; Korku, Kharia
The Kanger Valley is a 34-km-long Andhra
and Korba are Munda Pradesh. In
transition zone where the sal forests of the
languages; and Kurukh and Chhattisgarh,
north meet the teak forests of the south,
Gondi are Dravidian languages. Ghadwas use it
with both kinds of trees growing here. Set
near the River Kanger, it is one of the last to craft bell
patches of untouched forest left in India. metal into
é oe os
The Kanger Ghati NP has tigers, flying objects like
a * ‘ .
squirrels, water birds, hill mynas, rhesus nose-pins and
"8
macaques, insects, butterflies, fungi and anklets.
algae. Statues of
deities like Danteshwari (a
Bastar goddess) and detailed
The ancient caves of Kotamsar, Kailash figurines of birds and horses
and Dandak in the Kanger forest have are also made.
stunning limestone formations or
stalagmites and stalactites. The 200-m- Many Bastar tribes like
long, 55-m-deep Kailash has huge the Gonds, Rajwars
formations, while the pitch dark Kotamsar and Satnamis paint
caves also have blind fish. The large, beautiful bhittichitras
smooth-floored Dandak cave is set in a or murals with small
hillock. dots, lines or waves.
Natural dyes like aal,
mud, leaves and hibiscus
flowers are used. The
paintings are of three kinds:
brown-coloured Jagar or
religious paintings;
colourful, imaginative
Ghotul paintings; and the
vivid Madia Khamba, or the
painted biography of a
dead person.

47
 & & & & Oo @
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Gujarat was ruled at different times by the

Mauryas, Kshatrapas, Guptas, Maitrakas,
at probably got its name from the Gurjaras Gurjaras, Solankis, Vaghelas and Alauddin
Khalji, a Delhi Sultan. Mughal rule began
(possibly a Hun tribe) who lived here between the 8° and the 9" towards the late 1500s and continued till the
centuries AD. Many peoples and cultures have blended here—the mid-1700s, when the Marathas took over. The
Ahirs, Mutwas and the nomadic Rabaris, Parsis and perhaps even British ruled here from 1818.

Greeks, who called the port of Bharuch ‘Barygaza’.

When the Sassanid Empire
The Harappan Civilisation prospered at ended in Persia (modern Iran),
Lothal or ‘the mound of the dead’ and many Zoroastrians or Parsis
Dholavira in Kutchch. Lothal was populated fled to India between AD 700
around 2400 BC, and had a port, a to 900. According to the
<=
dockyard, good drainage, streets, an acropolis Qissa-i-Sanjan, Jadi Rana, a
(a high walled city), warehouses and a bead- local ruler agreed to shelter
making industry. Dholavira was occupied them if they adopted local
from 2900 BC to 2100 BC. It had an excellent ways and gave up arms. Fire is
rainwater harvesting system. sacred to Parsis and is
worshipped in a fire temple or
agiary. Udvada, Surat and
You can climb down into Navsari have Atash Behrams,
the richly-carved step the most sacred ritual fires.
wells or vavs of Gujarat.
Found only in the water- In 1299, Alauddin Khalji made
starved parts of northwest Gujarat a part of the Delhi Sultanate.
India, vavs offered shelter Later, Gujarat’s governor, Zafar Khan Muzaffar set up
from the heat, while the Muzaffarid dynasty here. Sultan Ahmed Shah of
storing water. Rani-ki-vav, the Muzaffarids built the city of Anmedabad in 1411. It
a World Heritage Site, was is believed that he chose the spot for his capital
built by Queen Udayamati because he saw a fearless hare chase a dog here.
in Patan, around the 11”
century AD. Adalaj vav, Sultan Ahmed Shah built beautiful monuments like
near Ahmedabad, was the Teen Darwaja and the Jama Masjid.
built in 1499 by Queen Ahmedabad’s other monuments like the Shaking
Rudabai. Minarets of the Siddi Bashir mosque, and the Siddi
Sayyed mosque with its 10 semi-circular, intricately-
carved windows, are also remarkable.

Junagadh, a historical city near the Girnar range, has an ancient

fort called Uparkot which was first built by the Mauryas. It has
step wells and two massive Egyptian guns. There are three
groups of rock-cut caves nearby, excavated between the 1“ and
f —. 4" centuries AD. Ashoka’s moral rules were inscribed on a boulder
= here around 250 BC.

ft

The Girnar range has five ria eaks

stretches of dry deciduous forest. The Gir
forest here has lions, leopards, sambar deer,
nilgais, four-horned antelopes, paradise fly-
catchers, eagles and woodpeckers. Outside
Africa, it is the only place where the lion still
roams. The Nawab of Junagadh protected
the lions here from the early 1900s.

eooeoeovneeoeeoeoe eee eae eee eee eee eee eee ee eee

48
 a nV! Ce ee ee ee ee ee

The dry, salt desert of the Little Rann of A & C

Kutchch turns into a wetland after the rains. rts rafts
It has a fragile ecosystem, with many species
of plankton, spiders, molluscs and reptiles.
Greater flamingos nest here. The khud or wild The Muslim
ass is a fast animal, sturdy enough to Khatri
withstand heat and drought. It is protected community of
in the Wild Ass Sanctuary here. Kutchch
ae : makes the
1 aaa = delightful
The Marine NP in the Gulf of Kutchch handnant
preserves a unique marine ecosystem or tie-and-
across its 30 to 40 islands. It has coral 9) dye fabric.
reefs, mudflats, many mangrove Numerous little
species, sea grasses, seaweeds, knots called bheendi are tied
sponges, turtles, sea snakes, birds, and on cloth using wax thread,
108 kinds of green and red algae. forming patterns of squares,
circles and waves. The cloth
: is dipped in vats of dark,
Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948), who natural dyes. When the knots
was born in Porbandar, believed in are opened, the tied parts
non-violent civil disobedience as a form of are left uncoloured.
~ protest. In 1930, he marched to the salt pans
The colourful and rhythmic Garba is of Dandi in Navsari, Surat. There, on April 6,
performed by a circle of clapping women. he broke the Salt Act and made illegal salt. Patan’s weavers use a
Raas is performed by men and women This brought international attention to India’s complicated double ikat
holding sticks. There are nearly 36 demands and sparked off a massive civil weave to create the
varieties of both the dances. Gujarat also disobedience movement. gorgeous Patola fabric.
has tribal dances like the Siddi Dhamal, ern eye eee Traditionally, there were
different designs for Muslim
the Dang and the Mer dances. Bhavai, the folk theatre of Gujarat, was
Voras, Marathi brahmins,
started in the 1300s by Asait Thakore, a
Indonesian royals, and a
brahmin who had been ostracised. He wrote
common one for Jains and
360 veshas or playlets. Bhavai uses music,
Hindus. It takes a day to
dance, stories and humour to discuss social
weave eight inches of patola
problems. Copper pipes called bhungal,
and six months to weave an
pakhawaja drums, cymbals, sarangi and the
entire sari.
harmonium accompany the performance.

Young Koli, Charan, Rabari, Kanbi,

Kathi, Khant and Bharwad tribals come
to the Tarnetar fair to find themselves
brides and grooms every year. Men
embroider jackets and umbrellas to
carry to the fair. A girl who likes a man’s
needlework well enough to marry him
will stand under his umbrella!
Gujarat’s Rabari tribals
create artistic, rich
Fact File embroidery. Ahirs sew
peacocks and elephants,
; Date of formation: May 1, 1960 Language: Gujarati
with the kanta or thorn stitch
° Size: 1,96,024 sq km Neighbours: National: Rajasthan,
and mirrors. Soof embroidery
‘ Population: 50,671,017 Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh,
° Capital: Gandhinagar Daman and Diu, Dadra and Nagar of the Sodhas, Rajputs and
1 Rivers: Sabarmati, Mahi, Narmada, Haveli; International: Pakistan Megwars is geometric.
Tapti, Banas, Saraswati, Damanganga State Animal: Asiatic lion Mutwas work the mukko and
Forests and NPs: Gir NP, Wild Ass State Bird: Greater flamingo chopat. The Jat Garasiya
Sanctuary Kutchch, Nal Sarovar Bird and Fakirani styles are also
Sanctuary, Velavadhar NP, Vansda NP Nistinciva,
os
Bp
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2

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49
 Hsuan-Tsang, the Chinese traveller-pilgrim,
passed through the region around AD 640
ashtr a has starkly beautiful and called it Maholeska. ‘Maharashtra’
geography which lends itself to many man-made and natural probably came from the Maharashtri
language spoken here (from which Marathi
wonders, The volcanic basaltic rocks in the Sahayadri Hills, for evolved); or from the tribe of great chariot
example, were softer when dug out and carved, but hardened after builders and riders or ‘maharathis’ who
being exposed to the wind and the sun. They were perfect for the settled down here.
breathtaking rock sculpture carved here. Of the 1200 or so rock-cut
The Satavahanas who spoke Maharashtri,
temples in the state, 900 are Buddhist. Vakatakas, Kalachuris, Rashtrakutas,
Chalukyas and Yadavas ruled here. From
The cave chaityas and@ 1307, different Muslim dynasties like the
viharas carved into a Khaljis, Tughlaqs,
horseshoe-shaped - Bahmanis and the
gorge near Shahs ruled the region.
Ajanta village
were forgotten
OWECEE
EE RSS
with time. They Karla, Bhaja and
were spotted in Bedsa caves lie close
1819. The 30 to one another and were
caves were probably dug out between the
excavated 3” century BC and the 2”
Yyeeeooamoeoeoesc
Ce
@
6
©
ee
oceoeeeeepeeeoeeeseeeeeeneeeeeeee
between the century AD. Karla has a 37-m-
2™ century BC long chaitya and Bhaja
and the 6" has a 17-m-long one.
century AD. The i Kanheri has the most
murals or ~ cave structures on one
paintings mostly hill. Uniquely, it also
“depict the has podhis or water
cisterns to store
rainwater.

On an ancient trade route lay Verul, a mountain

village. Between the 6" and the 12” centuries Gharapuri, just outside Mumbai, has
AD, Buddhist, Brahmin and Jain caves were seven beautiful rock-cut caves,
carved out of the mountainside. Today we know carved between the 6" and the 7”
the cave temples of Verul Leni as Ellora. The centuries AD. A World Heritage Site,
Kalachuris, Chalukyas and the Rashtrakutas it has a 6-m-high bust of Shiva as
were the patrons of Ellora’s rock art. Both Trimurti. When the Portuguese
Ajanta and Ellora are World Heritage Sites. landed here, they saw a huge
monolithic elephant statue and
named it Ilha Elefante or the
eLb 5
Reeeseeeeeweeeeeeeeeeee Elephanta Island.

Shivaji Bhonsle, born

in 1627, used a small
band of men and
guerrilla tactics to beat
large powerful armies.
He built the Maratha
Empire which would ru le
over much of central
and western India by )

the 1700s. He was the Aurangzeb’s son Azam Shah built a tomb for Rabia-ud-
first Indian ruler to Durrani, his mother, in Aurangabad. Called Bibi-Ka-
build a strong navy. Maqbara, it was built between 1651 and 1661, with the help
of Ataullah, an architect, and Harispat Rai, an engineer. Its
dome has exquisite trellis wor'. and floral panels.

50
Spree ee) SUSU CCF eens) Crereireriece)ie 6 e\\e- 0)66% 60:68 60. 6%
Hi OOO O..O. O_O... 9 © © 9. © © © 6 8 © ©

The Sahyadri Hills or the Western Ghats rise from

Gujarat and go as far as Tamil Nadu. They lie parallel
to the coast and divide Maharashtra into the Konkan Arts Ce Crafts
to
the west, and ‘desh’ to the east. Many rivers originate
from the Western Ghats.

The Dhangari Gaja of

ie
Dhangars, or
shepherds;
the Koli Forests
dance; like Chandoli, is
povadas or Gugamal, Navegaon,
ballets about Tadoba and Pench cover
bravery; Kala and Dindi about 15% of Maharashtra. Women of the Warli tribe
are among Maharashtra’s The Melghat Tiger Reserve has create striking ritualistic
folk dances. Tamasha, a bamboo groves, teak trees, paintings on cowdung-
form of folk-theatre, has a tigers, sloth bears, and deer. The plastered walls, using white
devotional song, a ecology of Bhimashankar WS is rice powder and bamboo
dramatic sequence, a play threatened by the many tourists twigs. These paintings are
and a love song or lavani. and pilgrims who visit it. It is full of movement. Motifs like
home to the Indian giant squirrel. people, trees, peacocks,
animals and social activities
Pioneers like Harishchandra RiCad shea ated | RA) sie
Bhatvadekar made short fill them. Jivya Soma Mashe,
The world’s largest national park within a city a Warli, first brought the form
films on monkeys and is Mumbai's Sanjay Gandhi NP. It is to the outside world.
wrestlers in Mumbai. Others seriously threatened by urban growth. The park eeecee
Se
=ee
CC
CCS
CC
ee

filmed whole plays. Dhundiraj has many insects, animals and birds, and acts
Govind (Dadasaheb) Phalke made 2S Mumbai's lung.
India’s first feature film—Raja
Harishchandra (1913). He made more
than a 100 films in his lifetime. Mumbai
today has a thriving film industry. XM ee wa BE Ei p> ayaill :

Paithani saris are a blend of °

gold and silk, and come in °
splashy magenta, purple and :
blue. Vines, flowers, Z
sees peacocks, parrots, lotuses, e
Kolis were among the first residents of the gold coins, mangoes and :
archipelago or arc of seven islands that coconuts are popular motifs. °
later became Mumbai. Kolbhat or Colaba, The Peshwas loved the 5
Old Woman’s Island, Bombay, Mazagaon, fabric, as did the Hyderabad °
Worli, Parel and Mahim were joined Nizam and his daughter-in- >
between 1784 and 1845. Called ‘Bombaim’ law, Begum Niloufer, who :
by the Portuguese, and Bombay by the brought in new designs for r
British, the city was finally named for borders. °
Mumbadevi, a Koli goddess. g
\ Fact File Paithan and Aurangabad are:
woe famous for Mashru and :
Date of formation: May 1, 1960 Language: Marathi Himroo fabrics as well. i
Size: 3,07,713 sq km Neighbours: Gujarat, Madhya Mashru ee MOVE of °
Population: 96,752,247 Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, striped cotton and silk. 3
Capital: Mumbai Goa, Chhattisgarh, Dadra and Nagar Himroo, also a mix, is as °
Rivers: Godavari, Penganga, Bhima, Haveli thin as muslin, with fine a
Varna, Parvara, Mula State Animal: Giant squirrel silver and gold threads. It .
Forests and NPs: Pench NP, Tadoba State Bird: Green imperial pigeon was used by royalty i
NP, Nagzira NP, Nawegoan NP, State Tree: Mango especially as veils. °
Deviagaon NP, Gugamal NP State Flower: Jarul ,

51
 Though the Satavahanas were the first
ly
to rule here, Goa was also ruled by the
Goins first mentioned by the Sumerian King Gudea who Abhiras, Batpuras, Bhojas, Chalukyas
and Rashtrakutas. Goa prospered under
called it ‘Gubio’ around 2200 BC. Gopakapatana to the Kadambas, it was
Kadamba rule from 1006 to 1356. This
Gove or Govapuri to ancient Hindus, Sindabur to Arabs, Sibo to Greeks,
was followed by Bahmani rule, the
Guvah-Sindabur to Turks, and Goa to the Portuguese. The Sanskrit Vijayanagara Empire, and finally, in
‘Gomantak’ or ‘fertile, well-watered land’ probably best suits the 1492, by Sultan Adil Shah of Bijapur.
emerald-green state, with its bright-red soil and its many rivers.

—~ While Arabs had traded spices and silks freely with

SS ~
, : India for centuries, European merchants tried
S SS SS
to control the trade. Vasco da Gama was
the first Portuguese trader to land in north
Kerala in 1498. Alfonso de
Albuquerque conquered Goa in 1510. He
made it a trade centre for Arab horses, and built
churches and hospitals. He also tried to end Sati.

From 1948, India demanded that

Portugal give up its colonies here. The
United Front of Goans, led by
Francis Mascarenhas, the Azad
Gomantak Dal, Goan People’s Party,
satyagrahis and other Goan groups
fought for liberation. Finally, Goa,
Daman and Diu were liberated in
1961. Goa officially became a part of
India in 1962.

Old Goa was founded by the Bahmani and Vijayanagara

kings as a port town. It was the Portuguese capital in the Performances like
east. But it was abandoned after epidemics struck it in the the Dekhni, Zagor,
late 1700s. The Basilica of Bom Jesus here holds the Ghode Modni, Fugdi,
tomb of St Francis Xavier. The Basilica, the Se Cathedral Dhalo, Goph,
and a few other churches here are World Heritage Sites. Morulem Khel,
Shigmo Khel, dances
of Hindu and Christian
Kunbis, and others,
reflect Goa’s history.
Muslam Khel or the
pestle dance was
performed by the
Kshatriyas of Chandore
eee
eee
24@@@8@8eeee
“—
eeeeeeee
, under Kadamba rule.
_ Their descendants still
_ perform the dance every
» February.

@eeeoeeoeeeeeeeeeeeeevee
wee
w= w= eoeee ee tee 8 0 6 6 6 6 6 eC 6 6'e 6's 0 6 6 6 6 6 6G 6 oe 6 6 6 6 66 66 6 ele ere el erele te

52
 In the 1960s,
many young
;
Arts be Crafts
people from
:
the West
as
set off on
road trips to
the East. On
the way, they
discovered Goa, with
its unspoiled beaches
and villages. Since then,
many tourists have flooded in,
putting a great strain on both the
environment and the social fabric of Goa.

Goa has a 105-km-long coast. It lies The Tiatr tradition of Goa is more than a eee
between the Rivers Mandovi and Zuari. . hundred years old. Performed by _ The red laterite soil of Goa is —
Some of the other rivers here are * Catholics, the sharply satirical Tiatr plays worked into attractive pots,
Terekhol, Chapora, Baga, Sal and - helped preserve Konkani. They are divided utensils, lamps, figurines and
Talpona. They form waterways to "into six or seven acts called podd’dde. panels in terracotta or baked
transport people and goods. On the - Though Lucasinho Ribeiro translated and clay. Though pottery is
Konkan coast, the Mormugao Harbour is " _ performed the first Tiatr in 1892, it was commonly made all over Goa,
one of the best, apart from the harbours . Agostinho Fernandes who wrote the first the potters of Borde and
* at Mumbai and Kozhikode. "original Konkani Tiatr. Bicholim are well-known for
their craftsmanship. 3
Chorao Island’s 1.8-sq-km Dr Salim Ali Bird Sanctuary has a network of waterways, i
a mangrove ecosystem, local and migratory birds, flying foxes, jackals and crocodiles.
Bondla WS's moist deciduous forests have many birds, panthers, jungle cats, gaurs, With the Portuguese came |
and porcupines. _ the craft of crochet. In
crochet, yarn or thread is
_knotted using a hook and
Panaji was originally a
_ made into a net-like fabric.
suburb of Old or Velha Goa.
Tablecloths, curtains, _
It officially became Nova
_cushion covers, hankies and —
Goa, the new capital, in
clothes are made with the
~ 1843, after Old Goa was
fabric that is patterned with
- abandoned. Built on the
web-like lace.
_ banks of River Mandovi, it
_ was called Ponnji, the ‘land
that never got flooded’.
_ Fontainhas, an old pocket
in the city, has narrow streets
» and Latin-style houses
_ painted in colours like red,
blue and yellow. The houses
have clay-tiled roofs.

The knowledge of working

with cane and bamboo is
Saidtohave been brought to
Goa by the Mahar :
community. Bamboo and
cane are used to make
useful things like patlo
(baskets), cane fish traps,
mats for drying fish, and
varli, to wash rice in.
 The Satavahanas were an

A d : r a P lradesh has been influenced in its Andhra dynasty. They ruled here
from the 1° century AD. They were
practices, beliefs, art and language by religions as diverse as Buddhism, tolerant of different religions, and
Hinduism and Islam. So when in Andhra Pradesh, don’t be surprised if you encouraged architecture and
run into ancient Buddhist monuments, painted Hindu scrolls and graceful literature. LS Chalukyas,
: * ral Kakatiyas, Bahmanis,
Muslim architecture all at the same time! Vilayanagara kings; QutGShanis
The poet-king Mohammed Quli Mughals and the Asaf Jahis also
Qutb Shah was also a great builder. "uled here. Bis:
He built Hyderabad in 1591 with good
roads and remarkable monuments. At
its centre was the beautiful, square-
shaped Charminar, with four roads
radiating outwards. It has four tall
minarets and 45 covered prayer
spaces. Close to it, stands the
impressive Mecca Masjid which was

The Salar
Jung Museum
3 was created out of
e just one man’s yo
collection of antiques ¢—
; and artifacts. Mir
The 3500-sq-km
° Yousuf Ali Khan
Nagarjunasagar-Srisailam
: Salar Jung III (1889-1949) collected
* rare art objects from the West, China, Japan WS was declared a tiger reserve
° and India. His Indian collection includes in 1983. It is one of the largest
South Indian bronze statues, Mughal tiger reserves. River Krishna, the
* miniatures, carpets, daggers and rare oldest river in the country, flows
e manuscripts. The collection is spread over through it. It has pythons, sloth
; 38 galleries in the museum. owe bears, panthers, tigers, leopards,
= ese eepeeeeseepeeeese —<
= blackbucks, mouse deer and
pangolins.
The Nehru Zoological Park, established in 1959 across 300 acres
of land, is the biggest zoo in India. Its 250 animal species are kept in see ee
as natural an environment as Nagarjuna Sagar Dam, built on the River
possible. Tigers, rhinos, Krishna in 1960, is one of the largest
Asian and African lions, masonry dams in the world. The fertile valley
otters, chimpanzees, has had people from ancient times.
orangutans, Remains of an old Buddhist university and
x antelopes viharas were found there. Before the dam
and deer could drown the ruins, archaeologists
live here. worked for six years to save them. They
were reconstructed on Nagarjunakonda, an
island. The ruins of the Buddhist university
were shifted to Anupu nearby.

A shepherd found an idol on the granite

Mangalavaram hill, inspiring the Kakatiyas to
build a mud fort here around 1143.
Golconda got its name from the Telugu
words ‘golla konda’ or the shepherd’s hill. The
ay Qutb Shahis rebuilt it over 62 years. It had
~<a | vom woe = ' "> strong fortifications, diamond mines, and
a Te ingenious systems of ventilation, water supply,
signalling and acoustics.
@eeeoeeaeeoeeeeeeeeeeeee. peli -e@eoeeoeeoeeeeoeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee8e @

54
 AP has fascinating cave networks.
The limestone Borra Caves are 150 million
years old. Documented in 1807 by William
King George, the caves have a 300-ft-thick
roof and are spread over 1 sq km
underground. They are called ‘borra’ or
‘brain’ in Telugu.

The 3.5 km Belum cave system lies under a flat» Pochampalli village has a long Many Andhra villages make
field. Robert Bruce Foote was the first to document ‘tradition of Ikat weaving. Here toys. In Kondapalli, toys depict
itin 1884. In 1982, the German speleologist . either the warp or the weft is dyed village life; in Tiruchanur they
Herbert Daniel Gebauer explored it with the help of “ before it is woven. Cooperatives are religious figures. In Nirmal
local people. Belum has large halls with amazing : help weavers make and market village people make animals
rock formations. In one hall the rock looks like the * the fabric. and birds; while in Ettikoppaka,
: aerial root system of a banyan tree. they make different kinds of
toys. They are painted by
pressing a stick of lac
son the toy while
turning itona
Warangal was the capital of
lathe, and are
the Kakatiya dynasty, which
called ‘turned
patronised architecture. toys’.
The Ramappa temple
was built by them. Rudra Deva built the
thousand-pillar temple in 1163. Apart
from the 1000 intricately carved
pillars, it also has a 6-ft-tall Nandi
bull carved out of a single rock.

In Shivaram WS

CoA el we eat ; Cured and dried goatskin Kalamkari cotton is either

odavari, wa “i 3 = is coloured with vegetable block-printed or else painted

Peete dlecielinrech 2 eon komma iolarhseons Veeoe aie:

water. Shivaram was established Bommalatta or leather The craft probably grew out of
in 1987 mainly to protect them. puppets. They are part of contact with Persian traders.
\ Unlike their salt-water the Chaya Natak (shadow Sri Kalahasti in AP has been
cousins, muggers can theatre) tradition. The six- producing kalamkari cloth for
to-eight-hour performances centuries.
crawl long distances.
are accompanied by music
The 37-sq-km
and sound effects.
sanctuary has
tigers, panthers,
nilgais, pythons
and monkeys.

- fact File kK ee
Date of formation: November 1,1956 . Languages: Telugu, Urdu - aTraceas
Size: 2,75,069 sq km . Neighbours: Maharashtra, _ The Nakashis of Cheriyal
Population: 76,210,007 * Chhattisgarh, Orissa, Karnataka, Tamil village used to paint vibrantly-
Capital: Hyderabad "Nadu, Yanam (Puducherry) coloured scrolls. A storytelling
Rivers: Godavari, Krishna, Wainganga, . State Animal: Blackbuck community called Kaki
Tungabhadra, Chitravati, Musi, Banda, ~ State Bird: Indian roller Padagollu used to take these
Papagni . State Tree: Neem long, beautiful scrolls from
Forests and NPs: Shivaram WS, village to village to help them
Manjira WS, Nagarjunasagar-Srisailam narrate stories from the epics.
WS ees
-sx usr ox Ya DekJumJum SmttomeJeuxJoefom DentDome te nc ae Dec eetet at a a a a a a ee ee

59
 The Chalukyas experimented with
temple-building styles in Aihole, their
taka or Karunadu—the high land—was first capital. They combined the
ruled by dynasties like the Mauwryas, Kadambas, Western Gangas, Pallavas, southern or Dravida style of temple-
building with the northern Nagara
Chalukyas, Rashtrakutas, Hoysalas, Bahmanis, Vijayanagaras, Mughals, style, to create the new Vesara style.
Wodeyars and Tipu Sultan. Each built splendid monuments which stand They built many temples between the
even today like markers of history. 6" and 12" centuries.

The Hoysalas ruled a little after the

Pattadakal—the second Chalukyan
Chalukyas. Under their chieftain Bittiga,
capital—was where their art was
later called Vishnuvardhan, they built low,
perfected. The complex of 10 temples
intricate, star-shaped temples. The
here is a World Heritage Site. The
Hoysaleshwara temple in their capital
Virupaksha temple built by Queen
Halebidu was built around AD 1121.
Trilokyamahadevi around AD 740 is most
beautiful.
In Belur, another Hoysala city,
Vishnuvardhan built the large and Bengaluru
carefully detailed Chennakeshava temple
in the 12” century probably to celebrate
his victory over the Cholas.

In Badami, the
With the end of the Hoysala Empire, Chalukyas carved
the Delhi sultans took over briefly. A cave temples out of the soft
chieftain called Sangama and his red local sandstone. They
sons, Harihara and Bukka, built freestanding temples
fought them and built the here too. Of the four cave
say, Vijayanagara Empire temples in Badami, the
: (1336-1614). Their last first is devoted to Shiva as
capital, Hampi, has the 18-armed Nataraja in
beautiful temples and is different dance poses. The
a World Heritage Site. other three are devoted to
The Bahmani Sultanate Vishnu and Jain
of Bidar, founded by Tirthankaras.
Ala-al-Din Bahman
Shah in 1347, reached
its peak between 1466
and 1481.

In Sravanabelagola, or
‘the white lake of the
monks’, there is a 17.5-
m-high granite statue of
Lord Bahubali or | si i
@
-2@e0eee@erteeee8e? Gomateshwara.
The Gol Gumbaz of Bijapur was Muhammad Adil Shah's
Commissioned by
(ruled from 1627-1656) tomb. It took 20 years to build. At
Chamundaraya, a writer
37.92 m, its central dome is the second largest in the
and a commander of
world. It has a whispering gallery and a huge central hall.
the Western Ganga
dynasty, it was begun
in AD 981 by the The fiercely independent Haider Ali interrupted Wodeyar
sculptor Arishtanemii. It rule over the region. He organised the first Indian-
is the world’s tallest controlled army of 30 armed European soldiers and rose in
freestanding power within the Mysore government. In 1761, he made
monolithic statue. himself king. Both he and his son Tipu Sultan resisted
British expansion in South India.
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Haider’s son, Fateh Ali

Tipu (1750-1799), was
called the ‘Tiger of
Mysore’. He was
brave, tolerant and
farsighted. He built
roads, dams and ports; and developed
Karnataka’s silk industry by getting silkworms from Bengal and
starting 21 silk centres. He had a collection of unique objects
like ‘Tipu’s Tiger’ an automatic musical organ which showed
a tiger attacking a British soldier. In 1881, the British gave the
kingdom of Mysore to the Wodeyars.

Ibrahim Adil Shah II (1580-1627) built

Ibrahim Rauza, a tomb for his wife Taj
Sultana. The tomb’s graceful and delicately-
carved minarets may have inspired those of the
Taj Mahal.

Bandipur NP became a part of Project Tiger

in 1973. It falls in the Niligiri Biosphere
Reserve (NBR) which covers seven forests in Nagarhole NP, also a part of the NBR,
South India. Bandipur has evergreen forests, has swamps and snake-like streams. It
grasslands, tigers, elephants, bison, barking also has flying foxes, jungle cats, bonnet
deer and the nocturnal porcupine. macaques, black-naped hares, panthers
and 250 bird species.

Tuluvas and the Kodavas of Coorg have

distinctive practices and dress.
Karnataka is also home to
tribes like the Bedars, Jenu
Kurubas, Todas, Soligas,
Yeravas, Siddis, Kadu
Kurubas and others. Tibetan
refugees have lived here
since 1961.

Yakshagana, or the
‘celebration of celestial
beings’ is a form of folk
theatre. Travelling troupes
combine song, dance and
drama to retell epics. They are
accompanied by drums called

Y
chande and tala or cymbals.
FactFile
Date of formation: November 1, 1973 Neighbours: Goa, Kerala, Andhra
Size: 1,91,791 sq km u Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu
Population: 52,850,562 * §tate Animal: Elephant
Capital: Bangalore ‘ State Bird: Indian roller
Rivers: Krishna, Tungabhadra, ‘ State Tree: Sandal
Cauvery, Kabini 2 State Flower: Lotus
Forests and NPs: Bandipur WS,
Nagarhole NP, Mudumalai NP
Languages: Kannada, Kodava, Tulu
: dyes ar d then lacquered.
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 Kerala was ruled by Tamil dynasties like
the Pandyas, Cholas and Cheras, till the
a was known in the ancient world for its pepper Kulashekhara dynasty took over. It
and its ports, An Ashokan rock inscription from the 3" century BC first developed a distinct regional identity
from Tamil Nadu between the 8” and 14”
mentions ites as Keralaputra., Kathiayana, Patanjali and Megasthenes also oot ries aD. Maldyalant Ore aee
wrote about it, Traders from Egypt, Asia Minor, China, Greece, Rome, from Tamil around the same time.
Philippines, Java, Sumatra and West Asia came here, creating a blend of Joo ie
religions, languages and cultures. St Thomas, an Apostle of Jesus, probably
travelled on a trading boat from Alexandria
Jews settled in Kerala as early as the 1° century AD. to Kerala in AD 52. Many people converted
Some fled here to escape persecution, while others to Christianity under him. Since their
came as traders. The Mattancherry or Kochi or Paradesi prayers used Syriac words, they were
Synagogue was built in 1568 by King Raja Rama Varma called ‘Syrian Christians’.
after the Portuguese destroyed an older one. Built next
to the palace temple, it has beautiful glass chandeliers With around 44 rivers, Kerala has a
and a clock tower. 900-km network of lakes and
lagoons. They are a means of
King Cheraman Perumal learnt about
transport, farming and fishing.
Prophet Mohammed from Malik Ibn
Estuaries are formed wherever
Dinar, an Arab trader, in the 7”
river water meets the salty Arabian
century AD. He travelled to
Sea. This mix of waters has created
2 Jeddah to meet the Prophet.
_ aunique ecosystem.
|
ioe
OOOO

lW The Cheraman Malik

——

Masjid in Kodangalluris Thi

aan
=
~ the oldest mosque in
= India. It was built
in AD 629 by Dinar
with help from
* local rulers.

Wayanad WS is made up of two

forests and is part of the Nilgiri
Biosphere Reserve (NBR).
Many of NBR’s
tribals—Paniyans,
Kattunayakans, Kurichyas, Adiyas
and Uralikurumbars—live here. The People and goods were ferried through the waterways in
Kurichyas are great archers and grain barges called kettuvallams or ‘tied boats’. Made
helped the rebel Pazhassi Raja with sturdy anjili wood, they were tied so tightly with coir
wage a guerilla war against the that they did not need nails.
British in the 1800s. sia as i oe
ee ee ee Chundan vallams, or the unsinkable, lip-shaped,
snake boats, can be more than 100 ft long. Each boat is about 20 ft
Edakkal caves in Ambukutty
high at the back, making it look like a snake with a raised hood. A
“YY
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Mountain, Wayanad, have

chundan vallam belongs to a village and is worshipped. During boat
~ petroglyphs or rock
races, oarsmen sit in pairs, singing zestfully and rowing in rhythm.
mms Carvings believed to be
jdm made by Neolithic man.
Edakkal means ‘a stone le
oe
&©
8
ee
e

in between’ and was

actually a cleft created
by an earthquake. Fred
Fawcett first spotted the
EN two-level caves in 1890.

58
 i) The energetic and vibrant Theyyam
"is performed by the Panan, Velan and Arts & Crafts
Vannan communities. Dance, music
and pre-brahminical rites make up the
12-hour performances held in sacred
groves or kavus. The Mother
Goddess, ancestors, heroes, animals
and snakes are worshipped.

Unlike most forests, noisy

cicadas don’t buzz in the
Eravikulam NP has a Silent Valley NP. Part of
large population of the the NBR, it has the
endangered Nilgiri endangered lion-tailed
tahr. It has the In Kalamezhuthu, ritual
macaque. Since 1928, pictures or kalams of deities
shola-grassland
there have been plans are drawn on temple floors or
type of
to convert it into a site in sacred groves, using only
ecosystem. The
for a hydroelectric five vegetable colours. Artists
neelakurunji project. It was finally sing songs and follow fixed
shrub flowers once in declared an NP in steps while drawing a kalam.
12 years covering the 1984, thanks to Finally it is worshipped and
hills in a blue blaze. - efforts by erased.
' conservationists.
Recognised by UNESCO as a
Masterpiece of the Oral and Murals in Kerala’s temples
Intangible Heritage of Humanity, the and churches were painted
Kathakali is a form of between the 9" and 15”
2000-year-old Koodiyattam is
dance that tells stories. centuries AD. In keeping with
performed by members of the
Performers use elaborate the ancient text
Chakyar caste in a koothambalam,
make up, costumes, Silparatnam, only ‘pure’
or special part of the temple.
facial movements and colours like white, ochre,
vigorous steps. Make red, black and green
up varies according were used.
to the character’s
nature: green signifies Raja Ravi Varma (1848-
nobility; black is for 1906) was trained by his
demonesses and uncle, Raja Raja Varma,
hunters; minuku, the and by Rama Swamy Naidu,
‘pretty’ look, is for Arumugham Pillai and
women; villains have Thomas Jenson. His
the katti or ‘knife’ look. paintings were very popular
and even inspired the
filmmaker Dadasaheb
Phalke. Varma’s sister
ae ye eS P
Mangalabai was also a
Believed to be the oldest of all martial forms, painter and sometimes
Kalaripayattu gets its name from ‘kalari’ meaning assisted him.
‘school’ and ‘payattu’ meaning ‘practice’. Kalari fighters
are trained in four steps: flexibility, fighting with sticks,
Bell metal, an alloy of copper,
then metal weapons, and finally, fighting with bare hands. Fact File
brass and tin, is used to make
Date of formation: November 1, Language: Malayalam idols, nilavillakkus or standing
1956 Neighbours: Tamil Nadu, lamps and thookavillakkus or
Size: 38,863 sq km Karnataka, Mahe, Lakshwadweep hanging lamps. Bell-metal
Population: 31,841,374 State Animal: Elephant vessels or ‘urlis’ can be up to
Capital: Thiruvananthapuram State Bird: Great Indian hornbill 6 ft wide. In Aranmula,
Rivers: Periyar, Bharathapuzha State Tree: Coconut exquisite mirrors are made
Forests and Nps: Periyar NP, State Flower: Kanikonna or Indian using an alloy of copper and
Wayanad NP, Silent Valley NP laburnum or amaltas tin.

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The land of Tamilakam (which included

parts of present-day Kerala) was ruled by
N adu has a history that goes far back, to three powerful dynasties: the Cheras,
powerful dynasties, ancient literary academies, rock-cut monuments, Cholas and Pandyas. Around the 6”
temples and churches. In 1640, the East India Company built a trading century AD, other dynasties like the
post in Madraspattanam, a fishing village. It grew to become the Pallavas emerged. From the late 14”
century, the Vijayanagara Empire took
Madras Presidency, from which modern Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, over, and ruled here for 300 years.
Karnataka and Tamil Nadu were carved out after 1953.
Tamil is a classical language like Sanskrit. Many Silappathikaram or The Jewelled Anklet,
Tamil poems and plays were written during the was a long epic love poem written by the
Sangams or literary academies, probably held Chera saint-prince llango Adigal between
between the 1“ and the 4” centuries AD. the 5" and 6" centuries AD. Its dramatic
Sangam literature has collections of story was probably based on an older
secular, non-religious poetry like folktale. It describes town planning, cities,
Tolkappiyam and Ettuttokai. The Alvar dance, music and the mingling of Greeks,
and Nayanar saint-poets of the 7" to Arabs and Tamils on city streets.
the 10" centuries began the Bhakti
movement by writing passionate poetry
about gods. The movement slowly spread Influenced by the 11” century AD Tamil
to north India. version of the Ramayana by Kamban,
Umaru Pulavar, a 17” century poet,
wrote Cira puranam, a poetic life of Prophet
Mohammed in Tamil. Pulavar’s descriptions
of Arabia mirror TN’s beauty,
with its lush paddy fields and
heavy rains.
Bharatanatyam was
first described in
Bharata Muni's Natya TN has many folk dances
Shastra, probably like karagattam, mayilattam,
written before the 1° oyilattam, poykkal
century AD. Called
kuthiraiyattam, kummi,
dasi-attam, it was
kavadi attam and maanattam.
traditionally performed
In mayilattam, dancers dress like
by temple dancers or
peacocks; in maanattam, they
devadasis. In the late
mimic deer; while in poykkal
1800s, four
kuthiraiyattam, they mimic horses.
brothers who
were
dancers—Chinniyah,
Ponniah,
\ Sivanandam and
Vadivelu—revived the
form by studying it in
ancient texts and on
temple sculptures.
Rukmini Devi Arundale
was the first to perform
the dance on stage in
the 1930s.

Mamallapuram is a group of rock-cut monuments and temples carved between

the 7" and 8" centuries AD in Mahabalipuram. It was named after the Pallava king
Narasimhavarman whose title was ‘Mamalla’. Its cave shelters (mandapas),
monolithic chariot-temples and a relief sculpture known as the ‘Descent of Ganga’
are remarkable. It is now a World Heritage Site.

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60
 Entire towns have grown around magnificent Tamil
temples like the Meenakshi temple at Madurai, which Arts & Crafts
was built by the Pandyas. The Brihadeeshwara,
Airavateshwara, Chidambaram and Rameshwaram
temples are also spectacular. The Maratha general Venkoji
conquered Thanjavur in 1676.
The Thanjavur or Tanjore
Chennai’s film industry is style of painting developed
prolific. Fan clubs and temples during the 200 years of
are dedicated to actors. Maratha rule that followed. It
Chief Ministers like was done on wooden board
M G Ramachandran with gold leaf, tamarind paste
and J Jayalalithaa were and gemstones. Popular
once actors. Rajinikanth subjects were baby Krishna’s
is currently one of pranks or Rama’s coronation.
_....., the most popular
ie: stars.

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Vailankanni town has the church of Our Lady

of Good Health, a place of pilgrimage for
Catholics. Mother Mary is supposed to have
appeared here miraculously in the 1500s. A
small chapel was built here then. Later, a
grander, Gothic-style church was built.
In 1986, forests of the Nilgiri mountain
range in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and
Kerala became a part of a network called
the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve. It
covers 5520 sq km and has
seven NPs within it. The
largest portion is in TN. Its The thick, colourful, mulberry
shola-grassland ecosystem silks of Kanchipuram are
has dense evergreen forests considered family heirlooms.
separated by grassy hills. Todas, The border, the body and the
lrulas, Paniyas, Mullukurumbas, pallu of the sari are woven
Kattunaikans, Badagas and Kotas live separately, and then joined
here. with an extra-strong weave.
The 400-year-old industry
Romulus Whitaker set up the Madras
traditionally uses designs like
Crocodile Bank in 1976 to save the three
checks, parrots, swans,
endangered Indian crocodile species:
peacocks, the sun and the
muggers, saltwater crocodiles and gharials.
moon.
Inspired by the Irulas’ knowledge of
snakes, he helped them form a
cooperative to preserve it. He won the
Whitley Award for Leadership in Nature Conservation. Fact File Toda women of the Nilgiris
embroider geometrical
Date of formation: August 15, 1947 : Language: Tamil patterns on long shawls
Size: 1,30,058 sq km © * Neighbours: Kerala, Karnataka, called poothkuli. The
Population: 62,405,679 a Andhra Pradesh embroidery, called ‘pugar’ or
Capital: Chennai s State Animal: Nilgiri tahr ‘flower’, is so closely-done
Rivers: Kaveri, Palar, Pniyar, Bhavani s, State Bird: Emerald dove that it resembles a weave.
Forests and NPs: Mudumalai NP, : State Tree: Palmera palm
Flowers are a common motif,
Mukurthi NP, Annamalai NP : State Flower: Glory lily or Kandhal
and so are buffalo-horns,
since the buffalo is sacred to
the Todas.
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61
cares
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(Puducherry)
UNION
INDIA
TERRITORIES

Andaman and Nicobar Islands

é
,
;
 It is believed that Delhi was destroyed and re- °
built at least seven times within a triangular °
: set near the rocky Aravalli range and probably
name from its 1° century BC ruler Raja Dhilu. It became the capitalgotofits area of about 180 sq km. Shah Jahan began
to re-build it in 1639 as Shahjahanabad.
¥
:
British India in 1912. Because it was part of many kingdoms, Delhi has Called Old Delhi now, it had defences like °
amazing monuments and ruins, The Pandavas’ legendary capital, the Ajmeri, Delhi and Kashmiri Gates. :
Indraprastha, supposedly stood here in 1400 BC, But actual Mauryan ruins
found here date only as far back as 300 BC.
Distinct from Old Delhi’s small lanes and blind
Delhi’s awe-inspiring monuments include a 22-ft-tall iron pillar (AD 375-
alleys, are New Delhi’s wide, tree-lined
415); Jama Masjid, India’s largest mosque (1655); the Purana Qila;
Jantar Mantar and the India Gate. Delhi has three World Heritage Sites:
roads. Set on Raisina Hill, it was planned by
Edwin Lutyens and built between 1912 and Tr,
w
3
1931. The Rashtrapati Bhavan was one of the 5
the Qutub Minar begun by Qutbuddin Aybak in 1193, Humayun’s many administrative buildings designed by .=
tomb built in 1570, and the Red Fort built by Shah Jahan in 1639. Lutyens. Herbert Baker designed the °
Humayun’s tomb was the first to be built with a garden in India. It Parliament House. —
inspired many more such monuments, including the Taj Mahal.
x

aan To the Mughals, a garden was a piece of

ation paradise. Delhi has the Lodi Gardens around *
Wa the Lodi kings’ tombs, Roshanara Bagh built °°
iikiane) by Aurangzeb’s sister, Shalimar Gardens and £
Ti gat Talkatora Gardens. Lutyens designed the :
‘| Mughal Gardens. One of them, the Circular :
* Garden, is also called the Butterfly Garden
because it attracts many butterflies.

Delhi is a state that is also administered by

the centre. Known as the National Capital
Territory, it is part of the National Capital
Region which includes a few districts from
Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan. It was
planned in 1962 to reduce Delhi’s congestion.
It is one of the world’s largest urban clusters.

4
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With Lahore, the capital of undivided Punjab,

arh is the capital of both Punjab going to Pakistan, an area of 114 sq km in the
foothills of the Shivaliks was identified as the site
and Haryana. It was planned and built from scratch as an example for a new capital. One of the villages in the area
of the clean and green cities that India aspired to have. had a temple to Goddess Chandi, and lent its
Chandigarh has many small, large and medium scale industries, name—Chandigarh—to the new capital.

Punjab’s capital was officially shifted from Shimla

Jawaharlal Nehru commissioned Albert Mayer to build a new city to Chandigarh in September 1953. When
as a symbol of modern India. Later the French architect Charles- Haryana split from Punjab in 1966, the states
Edouard Jeanneret or Le Corbusier took over, planning the city continued to share a capital. Chandigarh then
with tree-lined streets, large open spaces, terraced houses, became a Union Territory.
Official buildings and flower gardens.
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63
 Around 1965, Nek Chand, a Roads Inspector,
cleared a small patch of jungle and began making
whimsical statues using scrap—rocks, stones,
broken bangles, sockets, pottery, forks, industrial
waste and cycle parts. Soon his ‘scrapture’ was
< Nhe discovered, and though it went against the rules of
the planned city, authorities decided to let him
\ Ise ‘ 4 he al

hy Wait AW Ne ONC
expand his Rock Garden to its current 40 acres.
«. (|

FactFile
The Shivalik foothills where Chandigarh stands once had fruit Date of formation: Declared a Union
groves and two powerful seasonal streams—Sukhna Choe and Territory in 1966
Patialiki Rao. The Sukhna was dammed and an artificial Size: 114sqkm
Population: 9,00,635
rainwater-fed lake was built. Sukhna WS has about 30 species of Capital: Chandigarh
local and migratory birds. Unchecked construction around the lake Forests and NPs: Sukhna Lake WS
has led to silting in the water. Fewer birds visit it now. Languages: Hindi, Punjabi, English

é e King Jallandhar of Diu, a just ruler, was said to

have been killed by Vishnu. The king is still
& D 1U are in fact two districts worshipped here. The Mauryas ruled here
clubbed together under one Union Territory, and are far from one between 322 BC and 320 BC, followed by the
another. Daman is located near Gujarat and Dadra; while Diu is an Kshatrapas, Guptas, Maitrakas, Chavdas,
island off the Kathiawar Peninsula. Important for sea trade, both Chalukyas, Rajputs, Delhi Sultans and the
Shahs of Gujarat. The Portuguese captured this
were ruled by old Indian empires, local rulers, Sultans and Shahs, important naval base in 1535.
and the Portuguese.
Sandy, marshy Diu is an island off the southern coast of the Kathiawar
Daman was once a part of the Peninsula in Gujarat. A creek separates the peninsula from Diu. It has
Kushana Empire. It was also ruled beautiful beaches like Jallandhar and Nagoa, and an ancient fort called
by Kshatrapas, Satavahanas and Panikot. The Cathedral of St Matriz here was built in the late 1600s.
Rashtrakutas. A Rajput prince
called Ramsingh defeated the Koli
ruler and made it a part of the
Ramnagar kingdom in 1262. From
the 1400s, the Shahs of Gujarat
ruled it. The Portuguese
conquered it in 1559. Daman and
Diu were both liberated in 1961.
cr - Re
es
F g:t aes e

Fact File j
ae

Daman lies on Gujarat’s southern

coast. It has a large tribal The ancient River Damanganga
Date of formation: May 30, 1987
population. Farming and fishing lends its name to the region of Size: 112sqkm >
are the main occupations. It has Daman. It was Damao to the Population: 1,58,204
the twin cities of Nani and Moti Portuguese. Diu gets its name Capital: Daman
from the Sanskrit word dvipa or Rivers: Damanganga, Kolak, Kalai
Daman, a fort, a lighthouse and Languages: Gujarati, Hindi, Marathi
Portuguese-style buildings. ‘island’. Neighbours: Gujarat

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64
 & N H li Not much is known about this region’s

border of Maharashtra and Gujarat.

AGAL TLAVELL aren ne sncerisin,TeKolchieftainsno
The region is made up largely of hilly Nagar Haveli remained in Rajput control till
forests, River Damanganga and its tributaries Varna, Pipri and Sakartond —_the mid-1700s, when the Marathas took
flow from here to nearby Daman and into the Arabian Sea. over. It was given to the Portuguese in 1783
as a compensation for a warship which the
Marathas had destroyed.

Gujarat lies to the north of the Carles da Cruz, a Goan teacher and
region, while Maharashtra lies to freedom fighter, began a movement to free
its south. Dadra and Nagar the region with the encouragement of other
Haveli are actually separated Goan nationalists like T B Cunha and the
from each other by a 3 km
portion of Gujarat. Together
Gujarati kings. The United Front of Goans
led by Francis Mascarenhas was
ee
they have 70 or so villages. supported by tribal groups. Together they
drove out Portuguese officers in July 1954.
The larger Nagar Haveli was freed a few
days later.

The ghangal is a musical Many tribes like the Warlis, Kokanas,

instrument made with a Bhils, Dhodias, Kathodis, Nayakas, Kolgas
gourd, bamboo and iron and Dublas live here. Most are farmers who
strings. It is a part of Warli grow rice, wheat, sugarcane, catechew or
religious rituals. Dances like kattha, oilseeds, fruits, pulses and
Tarpha, Gherria, Tur, Thali, vegetables. They speak languages and
the acrobatic Dhol and the dialects like Bhili and Bhilodi.
masked Bhawada are
performed during rituals and
festivals.

ma
Pe
-)

| er ‘ =e E Being on the coast, Puducherry had ancient

or the new settlement in Tamil, trade links with the world. Arikamedu town
was once known as Pondicherry, and used to be the capital of French nearby traded pottery, beads, precious stones,
India. After 1962. it was merged with other French enclaves like shell bangles and textiles with Romans in
Karaikal and Yanam (on the east coast), and Mahe (on the west coast) exchange for wine, olive oil and garum or fish

to form Puducherry, a Union Territory. sooner leet IMEI TA

The Pallavas, Cholas, Pandyas and the Vijayanagara The French, who had trading centres in Madras, Mahe
Empire ruled Puducherry. From 1638 the Sultan of and the north, were first invited here to oppose the Dutch.
Bijapur took over Gingee. The Portuguese set up a From 1674, Puducherry changed hands between the Dutch,
factory here in the early 1500s, but were chased the French and the English. The French ruled here from
away by the Sultan, only to be replaced by the Danes 1816. Built in the 1700s on a grid pattern, Puducherry has
and the Dutch. houses built in the Franco-Tamil architectural style.

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65
: Karaikal is just 135 km from Puducherry on
* the east coast. Once ruled by Cholas, the In 1910, Sri Aurobindo,
e Vijaynagara Empire, Marathas and Muslim freedom fighter and
* rulers, it came under French rule in 1739. spiritualist, came to French
* Karaikal lies in River Kaveri's fertile delta and Pondicherry. The Aurobindo
e grows rice. It has coastal fishing villages and Ashram, founded in 1926,
; exports fish and shells. The Tsunami of 2004 — wags looked after by his
hit Karaikal badly. French disciple, Mirra
Fl roa Se pene ears ed Alfassa, also known as
The Mother.
Mahe is about 650 km away from Puducherry
on the west coast in Kerala. Known as
Mayyazhi or the ‘sea’s eyebrow’, the French
took it over officially in 1725. It has two parts:
Mahe town on the left bank of the River
Mayyazhi, and on the right, Naluthara, made
up of villages like Chambara, Chalakara,
Palour and Pandakkal.

Yanam lies about 850 km away in northeast Andhra Pradesh near the
River Godavari. Once part of the Chola Empire, it was fought over by
Indian rulers, the British and the French. Finally, in 1731, the French
took over. In 1954, Yanam was freed by local nationalists with the help
of Dadala Raphael Ramanayya, a freedom fighter.

Lakshadweep was ruled by Kerala

S weep lies to the southwest of Indiain Aynasties like the Kulasekharas, Chirakkal
the Arabian Sea. It is an archipelago or arc of 12 atolls, three reefs and Ralahs. the Kolathiris and the Arakkals of
Kannur in Kerala. The Portuguese came here
five submerged banks. It is about 300 km from Kerala. Only 10 of its inthe late 1400e) drawn iby tie anna ine
36 islands are inhabited. coir. In the 1700s, Tipu Sultan took over. When
he died in 1799, the British seized Aminidivi
Amini, Kadmat, Kiltan, Chetlat and Bitra islands and let the Bibi or Queen rule in exchange of
are together called the Aminidivi Islands. The an annual tribute.
other inhabited islands are Kavaratti, Agatti,
Andrott, Kalpeni and Minicoy. The Aminidivis lie
to the north; Minicoy or Milaku, the southernmost
island, is closer to the Maldives. There are many
uninhabited islands, islets and reefs.

Bananas, jackfruit, colocasia, wild almonds,

different kinds of coconuts and shrubs like
kanni grow here. Sea-grasses growing on the
beaches prevent erosion. The islands are
home to water birds like tharathasi and
karifettu or the sooty tern. Crabs and fishes
like parrot fish, butterfly fish and surgeon
fish are abundant.

—? I a
66 a “ a 5 oases ao
 Most Aminidivi islanders were Though the territory is only 32 sq km A lagoon is an area of sea water
Mapillahs or Muslims from Kerala. in size, Lakshadweep’s lagoons surrounded by coral reefs or islands.
They followed marumakkathayam, cover an area of 4200 sq km. With its These coral reefs or islands are called
the Malayali tradition of descent islands, islets, reefs and banks atolls. Corals are the hard shells of
from the mother’s line. The islands spread out, Lakshadweep has 20,000 micro-organisms called polyps, which
were ruled by Bibis or queens. sq km of territorial waters. build the atolls. The English word ‘atoll’
Kolkali, Parichakali, Lava, ‘Lakshadweep’ means ‘a hundred comes from the Dhivehi ‘atholhu’. It
Kattuvili and Oppana are popular thousand islands’ in Malayalam. The is illegal to pick up any coral found
folk dances here. British used to call it ‘Laccadives’. lying around in Lakshadweep.
P
Malayalam is spoken on most Fishing, growing coconuts and
islands. But on Minicoy they speak making coir (fibre made of coconut
Mahl, a dialect of Dhivehi, the husk) are the main activities here. el
national language of Maldives. Coir-making is a cottage
Dhivehi is related to Sinhala, and industry, though there are
has Malayalam, Hindi, French, government mills as well.
English, Arabic and Portuguese Traditional boats called odams are
words. It is the only Indo-Aryan still built and used. Tuna is
language found so far south. processed on Minicoy.

be N icobar islands lie in an arc to

the southeast of India. They lie between Myanmar and Sumatra in Indonesia. The we
PC
VI
islands were a naval base for Kanhoji Angre, the Maratha Admiral, in the 1700s. The
British ruled it from the late 1700s. They were interrupted by Japanese rule here from
1942 to 1945. Apart from tribes or indigenous people, the islands are home to many Jo
people from the Indian subcontinent.

Port Blair, the Andamans’ capital, was Few of Andaman’s tribes survive. The
first colonised by the British in 1789. The Great Andamanese of Strait Island, Ong
attempt failed and it was re-established as of Little Andaman, Jarawas of South ¢
a penal colony in 1858. Freedom fighters Middle Andaman, the Sentinelese of the
and convicts were sent here to be isolated Sentinel Islands (probably the only
and tortured. They were made to build surviving Paleolithic or Old Stone Age
roads, prisons and harbours. people), and the Shompens of Grea
Nicobar are some of them. In northe
Andaman some tribes of the Yerew#
The Cellular Jail was built here between
group survive.
1896 and 1906. It has three storeys and
seven wings that spread outwards from a
central tower. There were 698 cells which
were designed so that the prisoners would id

stay isolated from one another. RS

ea
AS
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St

The 300 or more islands of Andaman are

divided into the Great and the Little
Andamans. The islands of North, Middle
and South Andaman make up the Great
Andamans. Landfall, Interview, Sentinel,
Rutland Islands and Ritchie’s Archipelago
are some of the other islands. Little
Andaman lies to the south. The terrain is
mostly hilly, with very little flat land or fresh
water. About 30 of the islands are inhabited.

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67
; Nicobar has a more varied terrain. Among its 22 Great Nicobar island has the large Great Nicobar
* islands, only about 12—like Car, Camorta, Katchall, Biosphere Reserve. It has birds and animals like
e Nancowry and Great Nicobar—are occupied. Great the Nicobar scrubfowl, Malayan box turtle, giant
; Nicobar, which is near Sumatra, is among the few leatherback sea turtle, giant robber crab or the
: islands which have fresh water. coconut crab and the Nicobar long-tailed macaque or
° ee ee the crab-eating macaque. The Reserve includes the
: Campbell Bay NP and the Galathea NP.
Andamanese languages can be divided into two
sub-groups: the Great Andamanese group and the
Ongan group. Onge and Jarawa in the Ongan group The Shompens and the Nicobaris are the
have about 100 to 300 speakers. Most Great people who lived on Nicobar originally. The
Andamanese languages are now dead or extinct. ‘Shompens were probably here first. They are
Only Aka-Jero is still spoken by a few. Sentinelese isolated, semi-nomadic and live in the Great Nicobar
has about 50 speakers, but since they have never Biosphere Reserve. Nicobaris live on other islands as
been in contact with outsiders, their language is well. They enjoy music, dance and football. Nicobari
unknown. languages belong to the Mon-khmer family, while the
Shompen language is probably an ‘isolate’, or a
language that shows no links to other language
families.

The dugong is a vegetarian mammal that lives in the sea and eats
sea grasses. It belongs to the Sirenia family. In the olden days,
sailors often thought that dugongs and other Sirenias were
mermaids. Dugongs are highly endangered by fishing nets,
poaching, disappearing sea-grasses, speeding boats and the
blasting of coral reefs near their habitats.

An earthquake in the Indian Ocean off Sumatra in December 2004

led to huge Tsunami waves. Being closest to Sumatra, Andaman
and Nicobar were among the worst hit, with some of the waves
reaching a height of 15 m. Thousands of people died or went
missing. Entire Nicobari Islands were swept away. Some tribes
survived because they lived inland and on higher ground.

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68
 Are you curious ®
The earth’s biodiversity—or the variety of life on With so many human beings on earth, more and more
it—is reducing at an alarming rate. Biosphere forests are being cut down. To preserve the earth’s
Reserves work to maintain a balance between the biodiversity, governments the world over have set
people who have been living in forests for aside forests which will be kept in a natural state,
centuries, and the forest creatures. where animals, birds, trees and land will be left
They were first created by UNESCO or the United unharmed. These spaces can be of different kinds,
Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural called National Parks, Wildlife Sanctuaries or
Organization under the Man and Biosphere Reserves. Not only do they preserve rare species, they
program in 1971. There are 531 Biosphere also purify the air we breathe and act as the earth’s
lungs.
Reserve sites across 105 countries in the world.
They are part of a large network and exchange
information with each other.

Tigers are important because they show us how Swamps, marshes and bogs make up
healthy and diverse an ecosystem is. From an wetlands—places that are filled with water in some
estimated 45,000 tigers at the beginning of this seasons or at all times of the year. The water in a
century, India probably has less than 1500 tigers wetland can be moving or it may stand in one place;
today. Tigers are hunted and poached for sport, and it can be salty, or fresh or even brackish (a mix of
for their skin and bones which are used as salt and fresh waters). Wetlands are often found
medicines. With forests being cut, their homes and between a water body like a sea and the land, and
habitats are also disappearing. are also known as ‘boundary ecosystems’.
A tiger census in 1972 showed that few tigers Wetlands have a lot of biodiversity or variety of life
remained. Alarmed by this, the Indian government in them, starting with plants like mangroves and
began a program called Project Tiger in 1973. The water lilies, to reptiles, birds and amphibians. Many
tiger was declared the national animal to ensure that delicate and unique wetland ecosystems have been
Tiger Reserves would get special attention and drained to make way for houses or farms.
stronger conservation efforts.

Wetlands are ecologically important. To think of A mangrove is a plant that is specially equipped to
ways to protect them, a meeting or Convention on grow and thrive in the salty water of a wetland. The
Wetlands of International Importance was held in roots of mangrove trees are good habitats for small
Ramsar, Iran, on February 2, 1971. The Ramsar marine creatures like crabs, algae, oysters and
Convention, as it is called, named about 1838 sponges. Mangrove roots slow down the flow of
wetlands in the world as being of international water, thus preventing erosion and floods. The
importance. February 2 is celebrated as World Sundarbans Mangrove Forest, at the mouth of
Wetlands Day. About 25 Indian wetlands are on the the Ganga and between India and
Ramsar list as Wetlands of International Bangladesh, is one of the largest in the
Importance. They are known as Ramsar Sites. world. It is a World Heritage Site.

69
Primates are mammals with five-fingered hands, a Megaliths are large stones which stand in a group.
poor sense of smell, nails instead of claws on their They were used for social or religious reasons.
feet and a large brain. Monkeys, apes and humans They were sometimes places where people buried
are primates. Unlike a monkey, an ape does not their dead. Monoliths are large stones which
have a tail. It has a more complex brain and an usually stand alone. A statue or a sculpture carved
appendix. Chimpanzees, bonobos, orangutans, out of a single piece of rock is also called a
humans and gorillas are apes. Gibbons are the monolithic statue. The statue of Gomateshwara is
apes found in Southeast Asia. They have longer the tallest freestanding monolithic statue in the
arms, thicker fur and can make loud hooting calls world.
which are heard over great distances. The hoolock Menhirs are single, upright prehistoric monoliths.
gibbon is the only ape found in India. Dolmens have a horizontal stone slab supported
by two or more vertical stones—like a table.

Some monuments and forests are so beautiful and

A Stupa is a dome-shaped structure where relics of
valuable that they belong to not just the country
the Buddha were buried. The rounded shape was
where they are, but to all the people of the world.
probably inspired by the pre-Buddhist burial
They are a part of humanity’s common heritage.
mounds. Ancient Stupas in India were found in
The word ‘heritage’ means a gift from the past.
places like Dnamek, Sanchi and Sopara near
UNESCO has identified many sites in the world that
Mumbai.
are a part of our shared heritage. The Ancient City
of Sigiriya in Sri Lanka, the Imperial Palaces of
China, the wilds of Serengeti in Kenya, Egyptian
pyramids, and 27 places in India are on this
prestigious list.
A chaitya is a large prayer hall made of rack and
teak wood, with an apse or a half-dome-shaped
gap at one end. Karla and Bhaja caves, in
Maharashtra, have large and elaborate chaityas.

Prehistoric human culture is divided into Stone Age,

Bronze Age and Iron Age, depending on the kinds
of tools that human beings were using during the
time. The Stone Age is the first period. During this ‘Vihara’ is a Sanskrit and Pali word that means a
time, humans used tools made of stones to cut and shelter. Originally, a vihara was a place where
carve things. wandering Buddhist monks would take shelter
The Paleolithic or the Old Stone Age is the first during the rainy season. They were located on
period of the Stone Age. At this time, very basic trade routes. Most of them were rock-cut and had
stone tools were used. cells for monks to sleep in, with beds and pillows
During the Mesolithic or Middle Stone Age, more cut out of rocks. Slowly, viharas became places of
advanced stone tools called microliths were made. worship, meditation and learning—like the
The Neolithic or New Stone Age was the last part of Mahaviharas at Nalanda and Nagarjunakonda.
the Stone Age. Stone tools were made by grinding
or polishing them. It was around this time that
people began weaving, making pottery, living in
villages and keeping domestic animals.
A Union Territory is an administrative division of
India which does not have its own elected
government, but is ruled directly by the central
government. Delhi and Puducherry have been
given partial statehood with legislative assemblies
and councils of ministers that have limited power.

70
VVVVVV
My Amazing India
Have you travelled to any part of India?
Make your own Amazing India pages
by sticking a few pictures
of the place and writing about it.
Use the blank spaces here
or make your own scrapbook.

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72
55, Warren St., London W1T SNW
Ph. : (020) 7380 0622 |
E-mail: indbooks @aol.com
> Just what is so amazing
about India, the seventh (4%
largest country in the world? ~~ {
ASAIMIE spar {

With 28 states, 7 Union Territories, more than 400 languages,

prehistoric art, historic monuments,
varied geography, fragile ecosystems,
beautiful music, dance,
art and craft forms,
- India is a treasure trove of wonders.

Pr ccover a chariot-shaped temple to the sun.

one of the world’s oldest mosques, Buddhist Stupas,
_ Monolithic statues and rock-cut cave temples.
Meet the rare dugong and
the endangered Olive Ridley turtle.
Find out about
one of the world’s tallest grasslands
and one of its largest mangrove forests.
Discover Amazing India!

Filled with interesting facts and figures, maps,

and more than 250 hand-drawn illustrations,
takes you on a fascinating journey
through this large and diverse country.
Get set to be amazed!

Cover design & illustrations by Amit Vachharajani

Reference Rs 350
; aoe 1“AS ee pags :

768184 77328

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