Tribute to Soli Sorabjee - Quintessential Parsee and a Legal Luminary with Diverse interests.

Images : courtesy Wiki and Dr Pheroza Godrej.

The Covid 19 infection  has taken away  life of the nonagenarian legal luminary - Padma Vibhushan, Soli Sorabjee, who has left behind a constitutional legal legacy that will be remembered for generations to come. Providentially he died in a private hospital in south Delhi, on Friday, 30th April, the International Day of Jazz, a western music of which, Sorabjee was a great connoisseur. The tragic news of the demise of Soli Sorabjee was soon followed by a series of flowing tributes that came in thick and fast on tweeter and other social media platforms and so also in the main stream media. The Honourable President of India - Shri Ram Nath Kovind Ji tweeted ‘In passing of Soli Sorabjee, we lost an icon of India’s legal system. He was among select few who deeply influenced the evolution of the constitutional law and justice system. Awarded with Padma Vibhushan, he was among most eminent jurists. Condolences to his family and associates”. The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi Ji, joined the President and wrote his tribute on Twitter: “Shri Soli Sorabjee was an outstanding lawyer and intellectual. Through law, he was at the forefront of helping the poor and downtrodden. He will be remembered for his noteworthy tenures as India’s Attorney General. Saddened by his demise. Condolences to his family and admirers.” The Chief Justice of India - Shri NV Ramana, was joined by his fellow Judges of the Supreme Court - Justices Surya Kant and AS Bopanna, in paying their homage to Sorabjee just before the start of the day’s court proceedings via video conference, where they said, “It’s a very sad news that human rights fighter Soli has passed away this morning. We pray for the gentle soul.” Political leaders - cutting across party lines, legal luminaries, businessmen and innumerable others joined in to pay their homage to Soli Sorabjee. I join them all in paying my humble respect and tribute to Soli Sorabjee. 

Soli Sorabjee was one among many Parsi community leaders who have continued that great tradition of contributing to the city of Mumbai, which is known for its vibrant economic and cultural richness and even more vibrancy in its diversity. Sorabjee’s contributions to the legal fraternity in India is quintessentially as profound as other major contributions and the legacy of the Parsee community to India in general and Mumbai in particular. The contributions of Parsee community have been beautifully evidenced and succinctly summed up in the words of the father of the nation - Mahatma Gandhi ji, who said ; “It is one of the supreme wonders of God that, though the Parsee community does not number more than a hundred thousand in the whole world, it has made a name for itself everywhere by virtue of its many illustrious qualities. It can be said that it is this community, which holds power in India. Bombay is the real capital of India, it owes its prosperity mainly to the Parsees.” Soli Sorabjee embodied the saying of the Mahatma and his legacy will be ever remembered. 

As pointed out by the Mahatma, it is the contributions of the Parsees, among others, that makes the city of Mumbai very special. One such institution among many others, which embody the artistic and cultural vibrancy of the city of Mumbai that also owes its genesis to a great Parsee - Cowasjee Jehangir,  is the National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA, Mumbai) an institution of international repute that functions under the Ministry of Culture, Government of India. I was quite fortunate to have headed this institution - NGMA, Mumbai, from February 2013-October 2018. During this tenure, I also had an honour to  share the platform with Soli Sorabjee on one occasion when he along with Dr Farukh Udwadia and Cyrus Poonawala were invited for the opening of two exhibitions ‘ACROSS OCEANS & FLOWING SILKS: FROM CANTON TO BOMBAY 18th – 20th CENTURIES” and ‘NO PARSI IS AN ISLAND’ at NGMA, Mumbai. The former exhibition was curated by Dr Pheroza Godrej, who incidentally was also the Chairperson of NGMA, Mumbai and the later by Ranjit Hoskote and Nancy Adajania. These exhibitions were inaugurated on 26th December, 2013 at NGMA Mumbai and I had the honour to be holding the additional charge as the Director of NGMA Mumbai  when these two monumental exhibitions were presented. These two exhibitions coincided with the 10th World Zoroastrian Congress, which opened in Mumbai on 27th December, 2013.

It was therefore no wonder that both the two exhibitions at NGMA Mumbai, received an overwhelming response from visitors - particularly Parsees, who thronged every nook and corner of the NGMA premises during the opening ceremony, which was addressed by Soli Sorabjee, and so also all through the Zoroastrian Congress meet in Mumbai. The inaugural address by the two distinguished Parsee luminaries - Dr Farukh Udwadia and Soli Sorabjee, in a way not only paved the way for the success of the NGMA exhibition but also set the ball rolling for the 27th World Zoroastrian Congress, which brought together Parsis from across the world to Mumbai to discuss culture and the issues that Parsee community faces. Speaking at the opening ceremony of the two exhibitions at NGMA, Dr Farukh Udwadia articulated his thoughts on the historical circumstances under which the Parsee community had to endear religious persecution from the Islamic invasion that led to the Parsees fleeing from their Persian land to the unknown territory in the Gujrat coast in India and how the community has, ever since, mixed and mingled so very well with the Indian community. Dr Udwadia also spoke on the genesis of how the pastoral city of Bombay (Mumbai now) was converted into the modern vibrant city, courtesy the Parsees and other leaders who helped build ships and crossed seas to trade with the Chinese, primarily the Opium trade. It was the reference to the Opium trade and so also the theme of the exhibition that enticed Soli Sorabjee to regale his audience with unending episodes of laughter during his inaugural speech. Soli Sorabjee said that Farookh Udwadia’s romanticism of the Opium trade and how it helped the Parsee community to grow wealthy has tempted him to kind of a try tasting Opium and that if he gets addicted to it, like the Chineses, who better to bring him out of the Opium addiction than his fellow Parsee Doctor, Farukh Udwadia - the best Doctor in Mumbai. 

Soli Sorabjee opened his speech by saying that the Parsees as a community in India are ‘contemptible in their low numbers, magnificent in their achievement’. He cited reference of some of the greatest Parsees who contributed to India and to the city of Mumbai. It was a pleasant surprise for me that he first took the name of Homi Bhabha - the scientist, and narrated his monumental contributions in starting the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, which laid the foundations for the Atomic Research in India. He cited several other examples of the multitudes of Parsees and their contributions in diverse fields from shipping ( the Wadias ), business - Tata’s, Godrej and others, Judiciary, Jurist - Dinshah Fardunji Mulla and Karl Khandelwal, Aviation - Aspy Engineer, who won the Aga Khan Cup defeating another Parsi Aviation aficionado - JRD Tata. He highlighted that all the three Engineer brothers - Minor, Aspy and Ronnie,  served the Indian Airforce. Aspy Engineer went on to be the Chief of the IAF and then during his term as MD of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited - HAL, the indigenously designed Marut aircraft took to air. He spoke about other Parsees namely ; Admiral Jal Cursetji, who is remembered as the Chief of Naval Staff in whose tenure the Coast Guard was formed and the Navy took over the responsibility of maritime air reconnaissance. Sorabjee also spoke about the sense of humour that the Parsees have which he embodies. He spoke about Field Marshal Manekshah and the great musician Zubin Mehta. He did not forget to mention the names of the Parsee couple known for their Jazz - Chris Perry and Lorna Cordeiro. Speaking of Jazz, he turned to the lady who introduced him and said ‘ you have told many good things about me while introducing me for which I am very happy and grateful but you missed one of the  most important thing - I am the President of the Capital Jazz, The Jazz India Delhi Chapter. The glow on his face when he spoke about Jazz was emblematic of his love for this western music. It is therefore definitely a providential coincidence that he died on the International Day of Jazz. Sorabjee’s speech was laced with unending humour, which meant that there were spells of laughter all around in the audience all through his inaugural speech. This made the opening ceremony of the exhibition one of the most memorable that I have been a part of and this will remain etched in my memory. Sorabjee even said that Napoleons Cook was a Parsee. He added - tongue in cheek,  May be the British intelligence planted him in the Napoleons army.

Soli Sorabjee was born on 9th March 1930,  in the city of Bombay (Mumbai now) and did his schooling and subsequently joined for his college at St Xavier College, Mumbai. He then completed his Law at the Government Law college in Mumbai in 1952 and was then admitted to the Bar at the Bombay High Court in 1953. Among the several cases for which Sorabjee will be remembered one of them is his association with Nani Palkhivala, who he assisted, in the landmark Keshavananda Bharati case, which was adjudicated by a 13 member bench. In 1971, Sorabjee was designated a senior advocate in the Supreme Court. He subsequently served as the Solicitor General of India from 1977 to 1980

In his seven decades long innings at the Bar, Sorabjee has appeared in several cases, particularly the civil liberties cases. He is famously known for the S R Bommai, former Chief Minister of Karnataka, case which sets out the primacy of the federal structure of our democracy. It was in the year 1994 that Sorabjee argued for SR Bommai against the Union of India against the proclamation of President’s rule. Until then it was generally believed that the office of the Governor of the state - Karnataka, enjoys special protection under the Constitution. This meant that there will be likelihood of the misuse of the office of the Governor of a state by the Centre for proclamation of the Governors rule. This is exactly what had happened with Mr Bommai and Sorabjee won this historic case for his client and thus began a new era of the office of the Governor coming under the subject of judicial review, despite the protection that the office of the Governor enjoys under the constitution. The Bommai case continues to be the guiding factor and is still the operative law for scrutinising actions of Governors. In the Bhopal Gas Tragedy case, which resulted in the loss of many innocent lives, Sorabjee represented the victims, leading the criminal prosecution against Union Carbide which had engaged a battery of stalwart legal,luminaries which included Nani Palkhiwala, Fali Nariman, Anil Divan. Sorabjee successfully defended the gas victims before the 1989 settlement was reached under the Supreme Court’s supervision, clinching a substantial compensation of $470 million.  It must be remembered that Sorabjee too was approached by the Union Carbide Corporation Company to appear on their behalf, which he rejected out rightly. 

Sorabjee’s conviction for protection of the human rights were visible in most cases, which he passionately fought in the courts of law. He also represented the 1984 Sikh riots victims in the Court and that too for free. However, as Attorney General, Sorabjee came in for huge criticism for advising the NDA government not to pursue the extradition of Warren Anderson, which he firmly believed would be a long and arduous protracted legal problem, which the Government would find it too difficult to follow. In another case involving Ms. Maneka Gandhi against the Union of India — known as the passport impounding case — Sorabjee, despite appearing for the government, defended the petitioner’s right to be heard. The court in this case held that ‘due process is substantive and not merely procedural when it comes to personal liberty’.

There is one case which Sorabjee fought and won for the Government, which I have personally referred while dealing with a similar case in our office. This case relates to one of our employee who was a probationer and was completely found to be wanting and therefore his continuance would serve no purpose to the office. However our administration was of the opinion that the probationer must be served with warnings and memorandum, bringing to his notice his drawbacks. Having read a similar case which Sorabjee defended for the Government, I was convinced that Sorabjee’s argument that a probationer has no right of hearing and principles of natural justice do not apply to his termination unless there is some allegation of inefficiency or laziness, I was not inclined to take the advice of our administration much to the consternation of my head quarters. The argument of Sorabjee had appealed to the judge who came down on the probationer’s advocate and asked him if the authorities had called his client a ‘lazy fellow’.

Sorabjee will be remembered for his work on human rights globally. In recognition of his achievements to fight for the civil liberties and human rights, in the year 1997, Sorabjee was appointed by the United Nations as a Special Rapporteur for Nigeria to report on the human rights conditions in that country. Sorabjee also served as the chairman of the UN sub-committee on the Protection and Promotion of Human Rights during the period 1998-2004. Soli Sorabjee has the distinction of serving as the Attorney General for India on two occasions – first for a brief period from 1989 to 1990 and again from 1998 to 2004. 

Sorabjee was very found of Atalji, and said that his personality and popularity transcended borders. In one of his innumerable news paper articles that Sorabjee wrote, he recalls that he had several interactions with Atal Ji the Prime Minister. One such occasion was when Atal Ji wanted Sorabjee’s view on J Jayalalithaa’s persistent pressure on him to impose President’s Rule in Tamil Nadu or issue directions against M  Karunanidhi. Sorabjee advised Atal Ji that such action would be legally untenable. Sorabjee came to the rescue of the government as a gallant attorney general on several occasions. The famous BALCO case is another example of Sorabjee’s legal brilliance, where he was pitted against some of the best legal luminaries in the country, yet he won the case for the government. The case involved an important question of judicial intervention in executive decisions or action. The case was argued for about two weeks and there was a battery of senior counsel challenging the government’s action. Sorabjee represented the Government of India in the Supreme Court and successfully repelled the legal challenge. So pleased was the Prime Minister - Atal Vajpayee Ji, who was actually on an official tour to Japan, that he called up from Japan to congratulate and thank Sorabjee for winning the case for the government. In one of his articles Sorabjee speaks of this incident and says “ I am not aware of any prime minister phoning his law officer from abroad to congratulate him for winning a case for the government”. Sorabjee has shared several such anecdotal experiences that he had in his legal career and one such incident is his experience of getting counselled by Shri Morarji Desai - the Prime Minister, to quit his alcohol habits, which unfortunately Sorabjee could not abide.

Sorabjee continued to be a member of the United Nations Subcommission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities since 1998. He also served as member of the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague from 2000 to 2006. Sorabjee will ever be remembered as a champion of freedom of speech and expression. Whenever there were cases, which pertained to defending of the freedom of press, Sorabjee was always there to fight for such cases and he had been involved in many landmark cases in the Supreme Court of India and has also been successful in revoking censorship orders and bans on publications. It is for his extraordinary service for his defense of freedom of speech and the protection of human rights that Sorabjee was honored with the second most prominent civilian award of the country - Padma Vibhushan award, which was conferred on him in March, 2002.

Sorabjee was also known for his plain speak, even if that was at divergence with the thoughts of his close friends. One such incident is his forthright support to the CJI and other Supreme Court Judges during a time when it had become quite fashionable to level baseless allegations against the CJI. He said “ If we do not trust judges of the Supreme Court, then God save the country. We must put a lid upon the unfortunate controversy and save the institution, the office of the Chief Justice of India, from further damage”. He added in one of his articles “It is unfortunate that some, at lavish dinner parties, are raising fingers for untenable reasons against the three judges of the Supreme Court who gave the report, without understanding the genesis and purpose of the in-house procedure. More unfortunate is my good friend Karan Thapar’s conclusion that it is a sad day for the judiciary. Let me remind him that the in-house procedure is published on the website of the Supreme Court has stood the test of time”.

Sorabjee had other interests too and prime among them was his unending love for Jazz. He was truly a great aficionado of Jazz and played the Clarinet quite well. His vast collections of the Jazz in various formats were a treat for all Jazz lovers, which his neighbour in Delhi, Shri Abhishek Singhvi has written in his obituary note that was published in the Times of India yesterday. Sorabjee recalls that when he met the US President in the Rashtrapati Bhavan - when he was the attorney general of India, Sorabjee spoke to Bill Clinton about jazz musician, Lester Young, who was nicknamed the “President”. Clinton was pleasantly surprised that an Indian attorney general was familiar with an American musician, whose nickname was President. Sorabjee has mentioned that Jazz was his first love and that he loved playing his Clarinet, which he stopped playing because of his breathing problems. Sorabjee was one of the prime organisers of the annual Jazz Yatra, a week-long music festival, which was held every year from 1978 to 2003. Sorabjee believed that jazz deeply influenced the way he practised the law. Sorabjee has said that Jazz helped him improvise, as the situation demanded in court. He was very found of Rudy Cotton and Chic Choclate, exponents of Jazz and he firmly believed that there should be a memorial concert for them which he organised. 

With the passing away of Soli Sorabjee a legal era has ended. However his legacy of freedom will live on in India and Sorabjee will ever be remembered.

Rest in peace Soli Sorabjee.

 Super Pink Moon - 27th April, 2021 : A Celestial Spectacle, a Repeat from Last Year.

The second wave of the Covid 19 pandemic has once again impacted our science centre, which is now closed for the visitors. Last year too we had faced a similar situation in April 2020. But then taking advantage of our stay in the office quarters, we had organised a live Facebook telecast of the Super Pink Moon, which occurred last year on 7th April 2020. One year has passed but unfortunately the Covid situation continues to be quite grim with rapidly increasing numbers adding more than 300,000 numbers each day for the past couple of days. Our Centre is once again closed to the public and we now have another occurrence of the Super Pink Moon, which will appear tomorrow 27th April, 2021. We plan to go live on our Facebook page to telecast the Super Pink moon tomorrow. Therefore four of us - Jhuma, Sheetal,  Rajesh and I tried the test run this evening and I took a couple of photographs from my new Samsung Mobile phone, which my wife gifted me. The accompanying images are taken from my new camera, which was attached to the eye piece of our 8 inch Celestron Telescope through a quintessential Indian Jugad. Last year I had written a blog on the Super Pink moon which I am slightly modifying with information that also pertains to this years Super Pink Moon celestial spectacle, which we will witness tomorrow. 

Like in the previous year this years Super Pink Moon too has come come in pairs of three and back to back. The Super Pink Moon, which I photographed yesterday will be at its peak tomorrow - 27th April, 2021, night and this will be the second in the trilogy of the super moons this year, the first of which appeared on 28th March and was called the Worm Moon and the third in this series again will be a super moon that is called as the Flower Moon, which will be appearing on the the 26th May. Tomorrow’s Super Pink Moon has a special significance for the Hindus since this Super Moon is celebrated as the Hanuman Jayanti - the celebration of the birth of Lord Hanuman, which is celebrated mostly on the full Moon day of the Hindu lunar month of Chaitra, which (in India's time zone) occurs on Tuesday, April 27, 2021. It is well known that Hanuman was an ardent devotee of Lord Ram and he like his Lord Sri Ram, continues to be worshipped across India. In that sense tomorrow’s Super Pink Moon is quite special for Indians. 

The Super Pink Full Moon, which we will be seeing tomorrow, on the occasion of Hanuman Jayanti, will be the first of the two supermoons which will be visible during this year - 2021. Moon, the only natural satellite of our planet Earth, orbits around the Earth in an elliptical orbit and therefore the Moon sometimes comes closest to our Earth and at times remains farthest from the Earth. The closest point when the Moon comes closest to the Earth it is called the perigee, while the furthest point that the moon remains away from Earth is called the apogee. When a full moon falls on the perigee, the moon appears far bigger and brighter in the sky in comparison with other full Moons and therefore such a full moon is called as a ‘supermoon’ This phenomenon is not actually that rare as made out to be by the media. We will have another Super Moon next month on the 28th May.

Like in the previous year, tomorrow’s super moon too is occurring in the month of April and therefore this super moon is once again called ‘Super Pink Moon’. But what then is a Pink Moon? The genesis of the Pink Moon comes from the Native American names for full moons, the almanac of which was first published in the 1930s. According to the Maine Farmer's Almanac, the Pink Moon name is derived from one of the first flowers to bloom in spring; the Wild Ground Phlox, which also went by the name “moss pink.” The colour of these  flowers was given to the full moon, which occurred during the blooming season of these flowers and therefore the full moon falling in the month of April came to be known as the Pink Moon. However, it must be noted that the Pink Moon does not have anything to do with the colour of the Moon, rather in reality the Moon which you will be seeing tomorrow in no way will appear as mystical and awe inspiring as the pink colour that has been associated with the Super Pink Moon with which tomorrow’s moon is known. Since tomorrow’s full moon is happening when the moon is at its perigee it is called as the super moon and since this super moon is happening in the month of April, it is called as the ‘Super Pink Moon’, as it corresponds with the early springtime blooms of a certain wildflower native to eastern North America - Phlox Subulata - commonly called creeping phlox or moss phlox and these flowers are pink in colour and are also called “moss pink.”  Thanks to this seasonal association of the pink colours of the flowers - moss phlox flowers, the full Moon that occurs in the month of April has come to be known as the Super Pink Moon, making the name  trendy and quite appealing to youngsters and all those sky watchers and astronomy enthusiasts. 

The global Covid pandemic, which is now in its second year and so also in its second wave, has compelled us to have a diminishing attention span for any other events other than concentrating on nothing but its perceived monstrous effects, which is getting played out on every media non stop 24x7, seven days a week. Therefore it is no wonder that the ‘Super Pink Moon’ spectacle, which will occur tonight 27th April, 2021, has been hyped up by the skywatchers and planetary scientists to divert our attention from Covid 19 pandemic to the night sky so that we can observe this relatively rare celestial event, forgetting momentarily the Covid pandemic. Owing to the decreasing carbon emissions - the only silver lining among the worst things that Covid 19 Pandemic has caused, the night sky has become that much more clear and this will enable every one of us to have an excellent view of the Super Pink Moon tomorrow evening.

The term Super Moon has come into prominence since March 2011. Back in March 2011, NASA published an article describing a “ Super Full Moon” and the precise time when this ‘Full Moon in March 2011’ occurred was 59 minutes before the perigee - the Moon’s closest approach to Earth as it travels along its elliptical orbit - a near perfect coincidence that happens only every 18 years or so. This was a worthwhile observation to report in 2011. But then even today, ten years later, the ‘Super Moon’ craze has not yet died down. Tonight 27th April, 2021, the Super Pink Moon will arrive at its closest point at a distance of 3,57, 615 kilometres from Earth. Although this distance is closer than the last years Super Pink Moon, it will however not be as close as the next full Moon—the “Super Flower Moon Eclipse”—which will be the biggest and best “supermoon” of 2021, that will be seen next month on 28th May. 

Most of you must have been completely tired and fatigued watching Covid news across the media 24x7. Unfortunately most of the news are only showing gory stories of Covid impact and predicting nothing short of dooms days for us. Therefore I wish to appeal to you all  to please take time out tonight to come to your balconies or such other places, which will give you a clear site, while maintaining that physical distancing and taking all possible precautions like wearing face mask, as are advised by the Ministry of Health and WHO for the Covid conditions, for sighting the relatively rare celestial phenomenon, called the Super Pink Moon, which is also the day when Lord Hanuman was born and therefore it is also called as the Hanuman Jayanti Day.

Wishing you all a very happy Hanuman Jayanthi and a very happy moon sighting with all possible Covid precautions that are mandated. Together we can help our health workers and the local administration to combat the Covid pandemic and win over the SARS COV2 virus, which has brought us to our knees for the past more than a year. Stay Safe Stay Home. 

************************************************************************

 British & their ‘Pervasive Racism’ - A Historical Omissions of WW I, by the British. 

Images - Courtesy Wiki Commons.

Just two days ago - Thursday, 22nd April, a Report of the ‘Special Committee to Review Historical Inequalities in Commonwealth’,  submitted by the  Common Wealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) has been made public. The report unambiguously provides an account of the admission of the British to their atrocious practice of ‘pervasive racism’, against Indian and other coloured soldiers, particularly, during the the First World War (WWI ). This report provides a clinching evidence of racial discrimination practised by the British against their subjects including Indians, who were fighting shoulder to shoulder on their side in the World War that was thrust on us. This disgusting act of the British is very well known to Indians as an absolute truth, which unfortunately has not been very well documented. It is perhaps this pervasive racism coupled with the Britishers disdain for coloured Indians that led to the Jallianwala Bagh massacre which was perpetrated by the British Brigadier General, Reginald Dyer, on that fateful day - 19th April, 1919. The report has brought to focus a hard reality, which the Indians were experiencing all through the colonial rule. The report has therefore compelled the British government  and CWGC to render their apology to the Indians, Africans and Egyptians, their subjects who were at the receiving end of their racism. The report says that the  Indians, Africans and Egyptians soldiers who died fighting for the British Empire during World War I ( WWI) were not appropriately honoured, due to ‘pervasive racism‘. 

This Report, produced by the CWGC ,has found that ‘1,16,000 and potentially as many as 3,50,000 of those who died while serving the forces,  of the then British Empire during World War I, have remained ‘unmemorialised’. The report further adds that nearly 45,000 to 54,000 individuals - including Indians, were deliberately ‘commemorated differently’ from their European combatants. This act of the discrimination of the soldiers who died in service of the British Empire,  based on their colour was in direct contravention of the core principle of equality of treatment in death. Therefore, the CWGC, on Thursday 22nd April 2021, ‘apologised unreservedly’ for treating Black and Indian war dead differently. UK Defence  Secretary,  Ben Wallace,  made a formal apology on behalf of the Government of UK  by stating ‘while we can’t change the past, we can make amends and take action’. The report also makes more shocking revelations that 38,696 Indian soldiers who died during the war and whose memorials have been prepared in UK do not even make a mention of the soldiers on their memorials. Instead, Indian soldiers who died  fighting the British war, thrust on them by the colonial rulers, have been commemorated without any of their names on the memorials, except a numerical number on memorials. The names of these soldiers  have been separately inserted in the registers. Such was the ill treatment that the Britishers perpetrated on Indians during their colonial rule. This report is symptomatic of the ‘pervasive racism’ behaviour, which the British rulers practiced against Indians all through their rule, which unfortunately as been brushed under the carpet by most historians. Yet, there were an estimated over 1.2 million Indian soldiers who took part in World War I with a hope that their support to the British during their hour crisis will be rewarded by the British post the war with some kind of an independence, which was not to be. There were even more soldiers who took part in the Second World War (WWII) to fight for the British cause. 

Speaking of the Indian soldiers participation in the WWI and how they have been racially discriminated, I am reminded of one of deadliest War that was fought during the WWI by the Indian soldiers under the banner of ANZAC in the famous battle of Gallipoli. It was on the 25th April, 1915,  that the ANZACs landed at the Gallipoli peninsula battle site to commence one of the most heralded battles of the WWI at the deadliest of trenches and the worst of conditions at Gallipoli. The Indians fought shoulder to shoulder with their brothers in arm the white Australians and New Zealanders under the banner of the ANZACs directly under the command of the British soldiers. April 25, 2021, marks the 106th  anniversary of the historic landing of the allied troops - the ANZAC (Australian and New Zealand), on the Gallipoli Peninsula, for one of the most treacherous military campaign in the worst of battle conditions in the trenches of death, during WW1. This battle is now legendary and several heroic stories, books, documentaries and films have been told about the Gallipoli battle. Most unfortunately the role of the Indian soldiers in this war was again conspicuously missing from the military records of British. Thus battle lasted for nearly eight months and claimed at least 125,000 lives. 

As stated above, unfortunately for nearly 100 years since this battle, not much was known about the participation of Indian soldiers in the Gallipoli battle, let alone heralding their heroic contributions to the battle. The Indian soldiers participation in the battle was mostly swept under the carpet or at best found some foot note references in most military history books and articles. Fortunately, when the world was preparing to commemorate the centennial of the Gallipoli battle, the vital contributions of Indian soldiers in this battle caught the attention of a well known Australian historian and researcher - Prof Peter Stanley, University of New South Wales, Australia. Prof Stanley, through his intensive research, has written and documented, with extraordinary details, the contributions of Indian soldiers in the Battle of Gallipoli in his book “Die in Battle, Do not Despair, The Indians on Gallipoli 1915”.  While curating an exhibition ‘Cricket Connects : India - Australia Cricket Relations’, as a part of the  ‘Confluence : Festival of India in Australia’, which was presented at the historic Sydney Cricket Grounds, in October 2016, I had an opportunity to read this book, which I used to connect this historicity of relation between the two countries - India and Australia, in one of the sections in the exhibition. It was  heartening to note that of all the ten sections of the exhibition, the ANZAC connect part of the exhibition evoked an extraordinary emotional feeling for most Australian visitors to the exhibition.

The Indian troops were part of the ANZAC - an armed core unit under the command of the British, which consisted of soldiers from Australia, Great Britain, Ireland, France, India, and Newfoundland. The Indian troupes comprised of Gurkha and Sikh battalions and other mule drivers, who literally transported most war materials of the British forces and their allies during this battle. The ANZACs landed on the Gallipoli peninsula on the 25th April 1915 and fought in the deadliest of trenches and on the frontline and that too positioned at a completely disadvantageous position with respect to their enemy - the Turks. Thousands perished in this battle and several thousand more were either wounded or scarred for life. The Australians, New Zealanders and Indian soldiers united fight during this epic battle is something that would not have been countenanced in a “White Australia” during that period. 

The Gallipoli Campaign, also known as the Dardanelles Campaign, the Battle of Gallipoli or the Battle of Çanakkale (Turkish: Çanakkale Savaşı), was a British campaign of World War I fought with the aim of capturing the Ottoman capital of Constantinople (modern day Istanbul). This battle may have been a defeat for the ANZAC, if one looks prismatically with the objectives with which this battle was fought - to push out the Ottoman Empire and to create a new front for the allied forces. However a look at the historical war records and casualty data from World War, reveals  and clearly demonstrates  the Gallipolis campaign value to the Allied cause. The New Zealand government’s historical record documents that the Allies (which included Australians, British, Canadians from Newfoundland, French, Irish, Indians and New Zealanders) sustained 1,41,547 casualties (dead, wounded and missing) at Gallipoli – among those numbers were 44,150 dead. The Ottoman Empire forces sustained a far higher casualties - 2,51,309 including an astonishing 86,692 dead. The casualties on the enemy side almost doubled the ANZACs numbers including the dead and what is more revealing is that the Ottoman forces were strategically at a more vantage position than the ANZAC forces. Looking at the ratio – dividing the impact on the Ottoman side by the input of Allied force casualties – one can notice that the Allied soldiers were relentless in their heroic gallantry and displayed incredible valour, courage and endurance in the most hostile environment in which this battle was fought. 

The  valour with which the Allied forces fought this dreaded Gallipoli battle has led to the ANZAC legend that continues to live on to be celebrated and revered both in Australia and New Zealand, every year.  The ANZAC legend is celebrated as the Anzac Day on April 25, marking the landing of Anzac at Gallipoli in 1915.  Every year, there are ceremonial marches and parades in most Australian and New Zealand cities to mark the sacrifice of those who lost their lives in the line of duty. The Sikh community, who fought alongside the Australians, has proudly joined in this tradition of paying homage to their forefathers  and since 2005, there has been a Sikh contingent in the Anzac Day march in Perth, Australia, comprised of direct descendants of those who fell in Gallipoli and other campaigns.

The Gallipoli battle records have revealed the respect that the Australian soldiers had for the Indian soldiers, which is evidenced in one of the statement; “The [Indians] batteries did so well and gallantly that the Australians have metaphorically taken them to their hearts. All are the greatest pals imaginable, and the political effect of this cordial friendship should be good for both India and Australia.”  Most unfortunately, Indians have forgotten to respect our battle warriors who perished in this epic battle. Through this post, on behalf of my countrymen ( women included) I wish to pay our respect and reverence to those British Indian soldiers who perished not only in this battle but also in both the WWI and WWII.

Incidentally the Battle of Gallipoli is also known for the death of one of the greatest of scientists who died in the battle of Gallipoli. One of those hundreds of thousands of soldiers who made the supreme sacrifice by laying down their life in service of their motherland, during the World War 1, was the genetically gifted genius scientist, Henry Moseley. In the words of Issac Asimov, ‘Moseley’s death is the single most costly death of the war’. Periodic Table is invariably associated with the Russian chemist - Mendeleev, who discovered it in 1869. However, it must be noted that the modern day Periodic Table, which is omnipresent in all schools and colleges and science labs, owes its genesis to the contributions of Henry Moseley, the British Scientist. His findings - rightly called the Moseley’s Law - was primarily responsible for the modern day periodic tables. Moseley was one of those millions of soldiers who volunteered to participate in the WWI and tragically died in the Gallipoli battle on the 10th of August 1915, at a very young age - 27 years. In his untimely death, the whole of humanity was robbed of Moseley’s genius scientific contributions. His death is all the more poignant for what he might have achieved, had it not been for the senseless battle of Gallipoli, which took away his life along with innumerable other Indian soldiers during WWI. 

The best tribute for Henry Moseley, Indian soldiers and other battle heroes, who were martyred during the WWI at Gallipoli, can be witnessed in the words of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk (1881-1938), an army officer who was part of this battle and who founded an independent Republic of Turkey out of the ruins of the Ottoman Empire. He served as Turkey's first president from 1923 until his death in 1938. Mustafa Ataturk Says ; 

 “Those heroes that shed their blood and lost their lives; you are now lying in the soil of a friendly country. Therefore rest in peace. There is no difference between the Johnnies and the Mehmets to us where they lie side by side here in this country of ours. You, the mothers, who sent their sons from far away countries, wipe away your tears; your sons are now lying in our bosom and are in peace. After having lost their lives on this land they have become our sons as well”  - Mustafa Kemal Atatürk

Today as we commemorate the 105th anniversary of the Battle of Gallipoli, it is heartening to note that the Britishers have finally owned up their ‘ pervasive racism ‘ behaviour and have rendered an apology for their inhuman behaviour. May the revered souls of valiant soldiers  rest in eternal peace and may they continue to remain in our hearts and minds.

Jai Hind.

 22nd April 2021:  51st Earth Day - International Mother Earth Day

Every year the world collectively celebrates this day - 22nd April, as the Earth Day, which the United Nations calls it as the “International Mother Earth Day”.  Each Earth Day is assigned a different theme and this year’s theme is “Restore Our Earth.”

In its inimitable style, the Google Doodle highlights ‘how everyone can plant the seed to a brighter future—one sapling at a time’, to help restore our Earth. In the unending cosmos in which our planet earth is an infinitesimally small dot, yet, it is perhaps the only place in the universe, which harbours life in all its diverse and beautiful forms that inspire wonder. Our Mother Earth and its environment - a nature’s miracle, works very hard to sustain us and this mandates that we play our constructive part to sustain a fine balance that our planet  has to play in providing for the needs of the people as against our unending greed, which is majorly impacting our very survival. A time comes when even the Mother Earth has to take a call for how long she can sustain the unending greeds of human beings. Today’s video Doodle shows how we can collectively help restore our earth by planting a variety of trees within our natural habitats. This is one of the many ways we can help our Earth and play our constructive part to keep our Earth healthy for future generations. 

We are also passing through the worst of times when the whole world is plagued by the Covid pandemic and we in India are passing through the deadly second phase of this pandemic. While continuing to be a responsible citizen in contributing to the efforts of the highly stressed, yet more determined, health workers to help us all tide over this pandemic situation, let us all pledge that we will individually be fully and completely responsible in following all the mandated Covid appropriate behaviour and so also to motivate and encourage everyone to find one small act each of us can do to combat the Covid pandemic and so also to help our Earth. This one small step of our individual commitment is definitely bound to take a firm root, which can blossom as a collective mass movement, which will ensure that Covid becomes a thing of the past. This being a Earth Day, we must also commit ourselves to caring for nature, plants, and our environment, which are integral to our own health and that individual responsibility lies with each of us. Each of us collectively can help Earth blossoms into a more beautiful place for all of us to be proud of. 

This year's theme -  Restore Our Earth, takes me back by few years when we celebrated the World Environment day at our centre with tens of hundreds of children taking part in a series of events and programmes which we organised at our centre. The start attraction for the children and the media of course was our chief guest for the day  Mr. Shyam Sunder Paliwal, social campaigner and ex-sarpanch of Piplantri. The Piplantri village in the Rajsamand district of Rajasthan, India, has been a proud advocate and ambassador of eco-feminism. The villagers of Piplantri plant 111 trees every time a girl child is born. The community ensures these trees survive and grow as do the girls. This extraordinary social movement with an even more extraordinary benefit for the planet earth, was initiated by Shri. Shyam Sunder Paliwal ji. He was kind enough to accept our invitation to be with us and to lead a movement of massive plantation in our campus which was graciously supported by many stake holders including the Rotary Clubs. 

One of the best ways to ‘Restore our Earth’ is to plant trees and we planted a very large number of trees on that day and we are so proud that most of them have survived and are so very healthily growing taller and taller. Plantation of trees is among the most effective strategies for climate change mitigation. A recent study in Science has shown that ‘there is room for an extra 0.9 billion hectares of canopy cover, which could store 205 gigatonnes of carbon in areas that would naturally support woodlands and forests’. This highlights global tree restoration as one of the most effective carbon drawdown solutions to date. The study has shown results, which highlight the ‘opportunity of climate change mitigation through global tree restoration and also the urgent need for action’.

So let us love our trees, which capture carbon that we majorly emit, they cool overheated places, benefit agriculture, support pollinators, reduce the risk of disease transmission, and boost local economies. Let us pledge to ‘Restore our Earth’.

 Last year, on the occasion of the Golden Jubilee of Earth Day, I had written a blog on the significance and history of the Earth Day. For those who may be interested, here is a link to that blog. 

https://khened.blogspot.com/2020/04/22nd-april-2020-golden-jubilee-of-world.html

Gol Gumbaz, A Glorious Monument, which influenced two Colonial Buildings in Mumbai.

Commemorating International Day of Monuments and Sites - Gol Gumbaz, A Glorious Monument, which influenced two Colonial Modern Buildings in Mumbai.

Images - Courtesy Wiki Commons.

Every year 18th April is celebrated as the ‘International Day for Monuments and Sites’ with an objective of educating people about the significance of old monuments and sites. It was back in 1982, that UNESCO, during its 22nd General Conference held in Paris from 21-24 June, adopted a resolution to celebrate this day as the ‘International Day for Monuments and Sites’ and each year the international Council of Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) proposes a theme for the commemoration of this day. This year - 2021, the theme is ‘Complex Pasts : Diverse Futures’.  Last year, to commemorate this day, I had posted a Blog on an extraordinary monument from the city of Bijapur ( now Vijaypura) - Ibrahim Roza, and this year my post is once again on another monument - Gol Gumbaj, from Bijapur, which is Internationally acclaimed. My choice for the Gol Gumbaz is because it’s design influenced two well known colonial buildings in Mumbai and also the fact that I spent seven years of my most important and unforgettable part of my early life - 1970-77, at the Sainik School Bijapur.

The city of Mumbai - where I presently live,  is resplendent with a mix of elegant past colonial buildings of the Bombay times with that of the modern day high rise buildings of present times that beautifully coexist to form the economic capital city of India - Mumbai. Two such buildings of the colonial times of Mumbai -  the General Post Office (GPO) and the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya (CSMVS), formerly known as the Prince of Wales Museum, have been inspired and modelled on the famous Gol Gumbaz  monument of Vijayapura in Karnataka, a city with which I have a major tryst with my destiny and therefore this city is very close to my heart.  I spent seven years of my most important and unforgettable part of my early life - 1970-77, at the Sainik School Bijapur, a residential school that is part of a chain of Sainik Schools across India, which was established during the early sixties.

The GPO, modelled on the famous Gol Gumbaz, was designed by the British architect John Begg in 1902. The historians and experts of colonial era architecture say that ‘GPO is among the few structures built in Mumbai with black Kurla basalt stone with a dressing of Malad yellow and white Dhrangdra stones’ which owes its design to the Gol Gumbaz. Similarly the CSMVS building, designed by George Wittel and completed in 1914 and opened in 1922, was also inspired and modelled on the designs of Gol Gumbaz. The CSMVS and its majestic dome built on the Indo-Saracenic architecture style, a synthesis of Muslim designs and Indian materials, dominates the south Mumbai skyline. Therefore, the Gol Gumbaj has a connect with Mumbai. 

Gol Gumbaz is the crown monument among a multitude of several other famed monuments and places of historical significance that are home to the city of Bijapur, which include among others ; the Ibrahim Roza, about which I wrote last year, Upli Burz, Bara Kaman, Mulik I Miadan, Hardar Burz, Taj Bauri, Asar Mahal, Jama Masjid etc. Therefore, Gol Gumbaz and the city of Bijapur are inextricably linked to each other and are hyphenated with each other and a visit to Gol Gumbaz is mandated for every tourist who visits the city. It was built as a mausoleum for the king and is famous for its large dome and an unique whispering gallery inside this dome provides its own trademark aesthetics to the monument. The people in the city believe that Gol Gumbaz is arguably the second largest dome in the world, next only to the St. Peters Bascilica in Vatican City. 

A look at the majestic Gol Gumbaz will reveal to the beholder what a marvellous work of architectural genius it is. The massive dome of the Gol Gumbaz, with an ave inspiring whispering gallery, stands unsupported by any central pillars. Although the city of Vijaypura  has several monuments, each of which have their own remarkable features, the Gol Gumbaz stands out to attract thousands of tourists every year because of its massive sized dome. The city of Bijapur is embellished with quite a few remarkable monuments which were built during the rule of the Adil Shahis. Some of the notable structural, artistic and cultural features of these monuments in Bijapur include the large dome of the Gol Gumbaz, the glittering mehrab found in Jama Masjid, exceedingly delicate chiseling works witnessed in the Mehta Mahal, the exquisite wall paintings evidenced at the Asar Mahal, the great arches of Gagan Mahal and so also a gigantic half built Bara Kaman and lastly the extraordinary artistic embellishments found in the Ibrahim Rauza. In these monuments the Adil Shahi kings  have  left behind a legacy, which continues to be seen and appreciated even today, hundreds of years later.

The Sultanate of Bijapur, known in Bijapur as the Adil Shahi dynasty, ruled parts of southern India from the late 15th to the late 17th century (1490– 1686) with their capital in Bijapur. The Adil Shahi dynasty was founded by the Persian governor of Bijapur, Yusuf Adil Shah, who declared his independence from the declining Bahmani kingdom of the Deccan. Rulers of the Adil Shahi dynasty were great patrons of art and architecture, which is evidenced in the monuments which stand testimony to their patronage. The Adil Shahi kings could not hold on to their citadel when the Mughal ruler looked towards the south and expanded to the Deccan. Bijapur was no longer able to evade confrontation with the Mughals and finally fell to Aurangzeb. After the conquest of the city of Bijapur by Aurangzeb the importance of the city and so also the Adil Shahi kingdom began to loose its lustre and gradually faded from the collective memory of the people writing history and most unfortunately it is also not widely documented.

The history of the city of Bijapur, however, predates the Adil Shahi’s  and goes back to the Palaeolithic times the evidence of which is seen from the archaeological findings that show human settlements. However, the legendary founding of the city of Bijapur, which we know today,  started in the late tenth century (900s) under Tailapa II, who had been the Governor of the Rashtrakutas of Tardavadi. The Bijapur city was then destroyed by the invasion of the Paramara of Malwa, who declared his independence and went on to found the empire of the Chalukyas of Kalyani. It was during this period that the city came to be referred to as Vijayapura ("City of Victory").  By the late 13th century, the city had come under the influence of the Khilji Sultanate. In 1347, the area was conquered by the Bahmani Sultanate of Gulbarga (now Kalaburgi) and the city was referred to as Vijapur, which later became Bijapur. In 1518, the Bahmani Sultanate split into five splinter states known as the Deccan sultanates, one of which was Bijapur that was ruled by the kings of the AdilShahi dynasty. The city of Bijapur owes much of its greatness to Yusuf Adil Shah, the founder of the independent Bijapur Sultanate. The rule of this dynasty ended in 1686, when the city was conquered by the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb. 

Among the monuments which stand testimony to the rule of the Adil Shahi kingdom, by far the largest and most conspicuous building in Bijapur is the mausoleum of Muhammad ( or Mahmud as he is sometimes called) Adil Shah I, which is famously known as the Gol Gumbaz. Like his illustrious father Ibrahim II, who had built the majestic Ibrahim Roza, Muhammad Adil Shah preferred to build his own legacy that he can leave behind. He envisaged that his legacy should be bigger than his fathers legacy. Therefore, as soon as he ascended the throne of the Adil Shahi kingdom, he prioritised his choices and ordered his people to built a mausoleum, which can be used as his own tomb. He envisaged that he will be able to complete his tomb before he died, unfortunately that did not happen. It is interesting to note that the successive kings of the Adil Shahi dynasty had some kind of competitive rivalry, and each monarch wished to leave a tomb or a mark of his own behind which would eclipse those of their predecessors, and leave no room for improvement to their successors. Each of them wished that their name could be singled out conspicuously from the other. To this effect, Muhammad Adil Shah certainly succeeded in building the Gol Gumbaz, which became a landmark beyond anything attempted before or after him. Although the Ibrahim Roza, built by the father of Mohammad Adil Shahi, Ibrahim II, is so extraordinary and majestic, yet the sheer size and magnitude of the Gol Gumbaz has some how managed to dwarf the Ibrahim Roza monument. Most of the people who are not so well versed with history will only remember Gol Gumbaz and the Ibrahim Roza monument has mostly become insignificant and is hardly known to people.

Credit must therefore be given to Mohammad Adil Shah and the architect and men who built the great Gol Gumbaz because surpassing the majestic Ibrahim Roza was no mean a task. The architects and builders had done their very best while constructing the Ibrahim Roza. Therefore, to surpass the Ibrahim Roza, the only thing left for Mohammed Adil Shah was to substitute quantity for quality. If he could not surpass the delicate chiselling and lacelike balustrades of the Ibrahim Rauza, he thought that at least he could build such a tomb as would, by its immense size, dwarf the Ibrahim Roza and every other building in the city. Thus was built the Gol Gumbaz, a tomb which would arrest the eye from every quarter for miles around, and carry with it the name of Muhammad, the great Sultan Muhammad of Adil Shahi into the annals of history. 

The Gol Gumbaz has perhaps derived its name from ‘Gol Gummata’ - from the local Kannada language, meaning ‘circular dome’., which is built in the Deccan style of architecture. The tomb is a giant cube on top of which houses a very large hemispherical dome. Each storey of this massive structure has seven arched windows each of which are crowned by smaller domes. The main hemispherical dome, which forms the genesis of the Gol Gumbaz structure,  is an acoustic wonder and serves as a whispering gallery that can echo the faintest of whispers many times. The diameter of the dome is less than the breadth of the building. A winding staircase ascends in each of the corners of the building, which ultimately leads to the flat roof on top between the corners and the dome. There are passages, which lead from the roof, through the thickness of the dome into the whispering gallery that forms an interior of the large dome.

Gol Gumbaz was constructed by Mohammad Adil Shah during his reign 1626 to 1656. While there is no certainty as to who the designer of this structure was ( some historians say it was one Mr. Gopal) but it certain that the architect for this monument was Yaqut of Dabul. As the name of the structure suggests, the monument is a Circular dome constructed with dark grey basalt and decorated plaster, the plain exterior of Gol Gumbaz is beautiful in its stark simplicity. The main structure of the monument is in the form of of a cube with each side measuring some 47.5 meters (156 ft) on each side, and it is capped by a dome which is about 44 m (144 ft) in external diameter. There are eight intersecting arches, which are  created by two rotated squares which provide an interlocking structural support for the large dome. At each of the four corners of the cube there is a dome-capped octagonal tower, which is seven stories high with a staircase inside. The upper floor of each of these corners opens on to a round open gallery which surrounds the dome. 

The dome is practically a hemisphere of about 38 metres (124  feet and 5 inches) interior diameter. The thickness of the dome is 10 feet at the base and it is 9 feet at the crown top of the dome. Thus the total external diameter of the Gol Gumbaz Dome at its base is approximately 44 metres (145 feet). The curves of the surface of the hemispherical dome are not absolutely perfect and therefore the measurements taken across different diameters of the dome vary by several inches. Notwithstanding  the same, one can safely arrive at an area of the dome which is in excess of 1670 square metres (18,025 sq. ft). When we compare these measurements of the Gol Gumbaz and compare it with other monuments of the world, we can say that Gol Gumbaz can be considered as the second largest space covered by a single dome in the world, the next largest being that of the Pantheon at Rome which measures 15,833 sq. ft. The total exterior height of the Gol Gumbaz building above the platform on which it stands is about 60 metres tall (198 feet and 6 inches) exclusive of the wooden pole at the top, which measured some 8 feet thus the total height of the building measures some 62 metres tall (206 ft. 6 in). The interior height from the level of the floor around the tomb platform to the top of the dome is 54 metres (178 ft). The drop from the gallery to the floor below is about 33 metres (109 ft. 6 in.). 

The most popular feature of the monument, which attracts visitors is the loud echoes that fill the whisper gallery inside the dome. Just a thumping of the feet is enough to create a impactful echo which can resemble the tread of a regiment. When the whispering gallery is filled with children one can listen to a range of sounds and strange and uncanny noises, which fill the gallery to the bemusement of the visitors. Another feature of the inner dome is the specialities of its acoustics, which amplify the slightest whisper from one part of the dome so that it can be heard by the friend standing on the other side of the dome at a considerable distance. The guides will brief the visitors that one can easily start a conversation which can be most easily carried on across the full diameter of the dome in the lowest undertone, when not many visitors are around. One common site at the inner dome is the scene of visitors clapping their hands, which gets echoed over ten times distinctly. 

Although the whispering gallery appears to be the main attraction of the visitors one can say with some certainty that the architect of Gol Gumbaz perhaps did not  have in mind the production of a good echo, when he designed and constructed the dome. After all the Gol Gumbaz dome is no more than a duplicate of many domes that are seen in Bijapur. The only difference however is that it is much larger in scale. It therefore appears that the echoes which now form the main attraction to the visitors was actually not planned for but has been purely a natural result of the large size of the dome. When one looks at the domes and analyses them from acoustics point, we can understand that the smaller domes will produce what is called resonance, primarily because their diameters are not sufficient enough to produce a distinct echo. For a distinctive echo to be produced, the distance between a person and the reflecting surface must be higher than at-least 22 metres (66 feet) so that the sound on return may reach the ear immediately upon the dying out of the original sound so that it can create the impression of a second sound — an echo. If a greater distance intervenes, the echo is more distinct as more time separates the original sound from the reflected sound. If the distance is less, no distinct echo results, as the original and reflected sounds overlap and produce a confused sound or a resonance. 

The Sultan - Muhammad Adil Shah, who painstakingly conceived an idea to build this majestic monument, is buried inside this mausoleum hall, which is a square podium with steps on each side. In the middle of the podium, a cenotaph slab on the ground marks the actual grave below. In all there are five graves in the mausoleum hall and they are ; Muhammad Adil Shah, his youngest wife Arus Bibi, a daughter, a grandson, and his favourite mistress, Rambha. To distinguish the Sultan from others, a wooden baldachin is placed over the Sultan’s cenotaph. The actual graves however are buried underground.

The beauty and technical elegance of this building can be seen and appreciated from the words of James Ferguson. In the History of Indian and Eastern Architecture, he explains the technical wizardry involved in building Gol Gumba; “The most ingenuous and novel part of the construction of this dome is the mode in which its lateral or outward thrust is counteracted. This was accomplished by forming the pendentives so that they not only cut off the angles but that their arches intersect one another and form a very considerable mass of masonry perfectly stable in itself: and, by its weight acting inwards counteracting any thrust that can possibly be brought to bear upon it by the pressure of the dome. If the whole edifice thus balanced has any tendency to move, it is to fall inwards, which from its circular form is impossible: while the action of the weight of the pendentives being in the opposite direction to that of the dome, it acts like a tie, and keeps the whole in equilibrium, without interfering at all with the dome.”

The majesty of the monument can be felt when one looks around the roof of the tomb. It provides a most extensive view of the whole city and one can see the Jama Masjid,  Mustafa Khan’s mosque, the Asar Mahal with its great open front, and the many buildings in the citadel, most prominent among which is the Anand Mahal. One can also sight the domes and minars of the famous Ibrahim Rauza. There is a large boldly cut Persian inscriptions, from which one can understand that the Sultan Mohammad Adil Shah died in 1656 (A. H. 1067). The inscriptions in Persian read : “The end of Muhammad has become laudable.” “Muhammad Sultan whose abode is in paradise.” “The abode of peace became Muhammad Shah.”

On the occasion of this years ‘International Day for Monuments and Sites’, with a theme “Complex Pasts : Diverse Future”,  I earnestly hope that the city of Bijapur and the majestic monument - Gol Gumbaz, will be more prominently visible on the tourists map of India and hopefully it will be visited by more and more tourists - not just Indians but foreign tourists as well. On this occasion let us remind ourselves of how blessed we are to have such a rich heritage that is resplendent with innumerable temples, mosques, churches, monuments and other archeological sites, which are spread all across our vast country. It is our bounded duty to cherish them and help the authorities concerned in maintaining and preserving the temples, archeological sites and monuments for posterity. 

Jai Hind.