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| Karewa Feb 2014 view from next to a patrol pump between Avantipur and Srinagar. Tree are being felled as part of road widening and multi-laning process |
Karewa
Serious Union/Gambhira Sangam
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| Feb. 2014. Overlooking the old bridge |
Serious Union/Gambhira Sangam= Vitasta + (Vishav + Rembyar, Stein’s Gambhira). Gambhira Sangani of Rajatarangini. Sangam at Kakapora. Between Bijbehara and Avantipur.
Something about the bridge from updated Rājataraṅgiṇī:
“It may be noted that this crossing has a certain strategic impotence. On occasion of a rising in 1930 in parts of Jammu territory, sympathizers in the Kasmir valley took care to burn the wooden bridge by which the modern motor road from Srinagar to Banhal pass crosses here the river. It has been since replaced by an iron one duly guarded.” ~ Luther Obrock (ed.) Marc Aurel Stein – Illustrated Rājataraṅgiṇī (2013)
Burzahom Pit Sleepers
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Burial pit. Burzahom. A decade long digging and study by T.N. Khazanchi that stated in early 1960s. From ‘Indian Archaeology – A Review, 1962-63’.
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Migrant da Dabba, Delhi, 1992
A scene from early 90s. “On a makeshift fire, Kashmiri migrants run a kitchen in Delhi to support themselves.” Since there in not single work in early 90s on this specific tribe, these pieces come from multiple sources. This one is from the book, “The Kashmir Tangle : Issues and Options” (1992) by Rajesh Kadian.
The story of Delhi Migrants that I remember from this era involves an unnamed Pandit who became a bus conductor in Noida. The man, a misfit in the big bad city, was murdered, it was said by fellow conductors over petty professional rivalry. I waited, but no one wrote his story.
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Kanakavatsa, the Bihari Monk in Kashmir
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| 14th century Thangka painting via: British Museum |
Kanakavatsa, the legendary figure from Buddhism, one among the sixteen Arahat of Indian origin from Buddha’s time, is believed to have been born in Bihar and lived with his 500 Arahats on the “Saffon Hill” in Kashmir under the patronage of the local King. In the the iconography of Kanakavatsa, a barbarian King is often shown kneeling before him worshipping. In the above image, an “an Indian adorant offers coral” while the ethnicity of Kanakavatsa by his color.
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Boat Life in Kashmir by Brunhilde Chesney, 1918
From ‘Asia – Journal of the American Asiatic Association’ (Volume v.18 n.04), April, 1918.
Miss Brunhilde Chesney, who was born and lived in India, offers a glimpse into the life of Hanjis.
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Winter Walkers
In the furnace of summer, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible winter.
~ Alkheyakh Kemmu
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Untitled Post
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Portrait of Pandit Shakyashribhadra
Kashmiri Pandit Monk Shakyashribhadra (1145-1244), about 1300, Shakya Monastery, Tibet. He went there in about 1204 after destruction of Nalanda, and returned after a decade to live another three decades in Kashmir. This is one of the rare portraits in which ‘Kashmiriness’ of his features is prominent. Came across it in the book “The Arts of Kashmir” Ed. by Pratapaditya Pal.
In Tibet he is known as Kha-che-Pan-chen (‘The Great Kashmiri Pandit’)…where Kha-Che, the synonym for Kashmiris in Tibet, means ‘big mouth’.
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Previously: Shakyashri Raw Data in Hypertext
Seda Khan’s Tomb Inscription
Tomb inscription of one Seda Khan – who died in a battle in the reign of Mummad Shah (1484-1537). It is in the cemetery next to Ziarat of Bahauddin at Hariparbat. The inscription is in Sharda as well as Arabic script. Photograph by Kakori Lewis.
Came across it in the book “The Arts of Kashmir” Ed. by Pratapaditya Pal.
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#tovisitinfuture
