The growing India-Australia bonhomie under PM Narendra Modi and his counterpart Tony Abbott is set to bring an end to an international art scandal which saw the surfacing of a Kushan Buddha statue in Canberra's National Gallery of Art (NGA) seven years ago.The Buddha statue of the Kushan period dating back to 2nd century BC is made of red sandstone and is from Mathura [Credit: Times of India]
Australia has informed Indian authorities that it will soon return the sculpture, dating back to second century BC, realizing that it had been stolen from an archaeological site in India. Abbott has on several occasions stated that improving relations with India was high on his priority list and one of the ways he has reached out to the Modi government is by returning stolen artifacts illegally taken out of India.
During his summit meet with Modi last year in September, Abbott returned statues of 11th century Shiva Nataraja and Ardhanariswara to India. According to a report in The Australian earlier this year, the artifact was purchased by billionaire philanthropist Ros Packer for NGA. After Indian authorities took up the issue with Australia, NGA launched a probe into how the statue was bought from a New York antiquities dealer and found that the dealer had tricked Australian authorities into believing that the red sandstone marvel had been purchased from a British collector in Hong Kong. The investigations revealed that the New York based dealer had travelled to India and acquired two Kushan Buddhas from a trafficker.
"The Department of Culture and the Archaeological Survey of India are working with the National Museum in Delhi to affect the handover. The Buddha statue of the Kushan period dating back to 2nd century BC is made of red sandstone and is from the Mathura region of Uttar Pradesh," said a senior government official.
Government sources here claimed there was a growing personal bonhomie between Modi and Abbott following their bilateral meetings last year. Modi last year became the first Indian PM to visit Australia after Rajiv Gandhi in 1985.
Author: Sachin Parashar | Source: Times of India [January 01, 2015]
India's white marvel, the Taj Mahal, is slowly turning brownish-yellow because of air pollution, says an Indo-US study which also identifies the pollutants responsible for the effect.
Smog enveloping the Taj Mahal [Credit: Scott Burdick/Susan Lyon]
It says Taj is changing colour due to deposition of dust and carbon-containing particles emitted in the burning of fossil fuels, biomass and garbage. The study confirms what has been suspected for long — that Agra's poor air quality is impacting India's most celebrated monument.
The research was conducted by experts from US universities — Georgia Institute of Technology and University of Wisconsin — as well as Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur and Archaeological Survey of India. The paper was published in the Environmental Science & Technology journal in December.
The findings can lead to targeted strategies to curb air pollution in and around Agra and more effective ways to cleanse the marble surface of the 366-year-old mausoleum, which remains by far the most visited man-made structure in the country with footfalls of more than 6 million in 2013.
The researchers first analysed air samples at the site for roughly a year using filters and found high concentrations of suspended particles that could potentially discolour Taj's surface.
Clean marble samples were then placed at various points on the monument accessible only to ASI staff. After two months of exposure, the samples were analysed using electron microscope and X-ray spectroscope.
The pollutants deposited on the marble were identified through these investigations. Researchers found 3% of the deposits to be black carbon, around 30% organic carbon (or brown carbon) and most of the rest dust. Black carbon is emitted by vehicles and other machines that burn fossil fuels. Brown carbon is typically released through burning of biomass and garbage, a common practice in the region.
S N Tripathi of IIT Kanpur, one of the authors, said the team then used a novel approach to estimate how these deposited particles would impact light reflecting off the marble surface. "We found that black carbon gives a greyish colour to the surface while the presence of brown carbon and dust results in yellowish-brown hues," he said.
"Results indicate that deposited light absorbing dust and carbonaceous particles are responsible for the surface discolouration of the Taj Mahal," the study concludes.
Since 2008, ASI has been trying to fight the yellowing of the monument by giving it a clay pack treatment using the lime-rich Fuller's earth (Multani mitti) to clean the marble surface. Researchers are now keen on studying the efficacy of this method and finding ways of improving it.
"Now that we know what's causing the yellowing, the focus should now shift to undoing the effect," Tripathi said.
Author: Amit Bhattacharya | Source: The Times of India [January 02, 2015]
An international investigation into antiquities looted from India and smuggled into the United States has taken authorities to the Honolulu Museum of Art.One of the seven stolen artifacts on display at the Honolulu Museum of Art [Credit: AP/Caleb Jones]
The museum on Wednesday handed over seven rare artifacts that it acquired without museum officials realizing they were ill-gotten items. Agents from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement will take the items back to New York and, from there, eventually return them to the government of India.
U.S. customs agents say the items were taken from religious temples and ancient Buddhist sites, and then allegedly smuggled to the United States by an art dealer. The dealer, Subhash Kapoor, was arrested in 2011 and is awaiting trial in India. Officials say Kapoor created false provenances for the illicit antiquities.
Someone on vacation visiting the museum last year recognized the name of Kapoor's New York gallery as the source of a 2,000-year-old terra cotta rattle and contacted authorities, said Stephan Jost, the museum's director. Museum officials then pored over their records and determined six other Indian items had ties to Kapoor.
Kapoor donated one of the items and sold five to the museum, Jost said. One was a gift from someone else.
Agents are hailing the Honolulu museum for being the first U.S. institution to publicly and easily cooperate with the investigation, dubbed "Operation Hidden Idol," involving four arrests and the recovery of thousands of pieces worth a total of $150 million.
"Owning stolen stuff is not part of our mission," Jost said. "I'm not sure we've done anything heroic. We just want to do the right thing."
Jost watched as agents inspected the items — the rattle, figurines, architectural fragments and tiles — and them hauled them in packed crates into a truck.
Martinez stressed there's no culpability on the museum's part, as it wasn't aware of the items' provenance when it acquired them between 1991 and 2003.
American art museums are becoming more rigorous in vetting the history of objects they acquire, Jost said. "Could we have done a better job? Sure," he said. "Were we a victim? Yes."
It's not uncommon for unsavory dealers to donate ill-gotten items for tax benefits and other reasons, said Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent Brenton Easter. He's part of a group of agents in New York that focus on cultural property crime whose work includes dismantling the organizations behind the crimes and repatriating the seized pieces.
Some institutions are reluctant to come forward, partly because of the financial loss involved, Easter said.
It's very rare for evidence to come to light to show a museum has items that were illegally obtained, said James Cuno, president and CEO of the J. Paul Getty Trust.
"Claims might come from time to time. But most often those claims are based on just interest or the construction of national identity," he said. "If evidence is provided that's convincing, no museum will resist."
He cited an example from about 10 years ago when Italian police uncovered evidence revealing a number of items that were improperly removed from Italy. The U.S. museums where some of the items ended up returned them, he said.
Repatriation has become more common in the past couple of decades, said Malcom Bell, a professor of Greek and Roman art and archaeology at the University of Virginia. As a general rule of thumb, museums and art collectors avoid purchasing items exported without clear and valid documentation before 1970 — the year of a United Nations cultural agreement targeting trafficking in antiquities, he said.
"Transparency is important, and if the Honolulu museum has been open, that's probably to be applauded," Bell said.
Author: Jennifer Sinco Kelleher | Source: The Associated Press [April 02, 2015]
The Ezhuthala cave paintings, said to be one of the most beautiful depictions in red ochre of the prehistoric era in the country, are being ruined by the ravages of time in the absence of scientific preservation and protection.The Ezhuthala cave, inside forests in the Marayur sandalwood division, has one of the four cave paintings in the Great Migration Corridor with human and animal motifs [Credit: Giji K. Raman]
The Ezhuthala cave is situated inside forests in the Marayur sandalwood division and has one of the four cave paintings in the Great Migration Corridor with human and animal motifs in a single cave.
An official of the sandalwood division told The Hindu that the paintings have faded over the years and the sandy rocks are facing degeneration.
“Normal weathering, in addition to percolation of water during the rainy season, is posing a threat. At present, visitors are not permitted to see the cave paintings,” he says.
The opening of the historical site without proper protection would be disastrous, he warns.
ASI proposal
The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) has reportedly proposed taking over the cave paintings in the Marayur sandalwood division and the Chinnar wildlife sanctuary for scientific preservation in view of their importance. However, as the areas are under the Forest Department, they need to be handed over to the ASI.
21 documented
The cave paintings came to the notice of archaeologists when Padmanabhan Thampi, as part of his research, found and documented them in 1974.
Later, archaeological investigator Benny Kurien and social worker K. Dhanushkodi documented 21 cave paintings spread over the eastern slope of the Western Ghats at Marayur and Chinnar .
50 caves
Studies have found as many as 50 caves that are important for their prehistoric dwellings. Human and goat motifs reflect a cultural link.
The Ezhuthala cave has not been a subject of serious study by the ASI despite it being part of the second largest conglomerate of prehistoric cave paintings in south India.
Mr. Kurien, who is instrumental in sending a proposal for the protection of the cave to the ASI, says the agency has informed him that it could do so only if the cave is handed over to it by the Kerala government.
There is apathy with regard to the cave paintings, and it has not been taken over by either the Culture or the Archaeological departments, Mr. Kurien, a member of the Indira Gandhi National Centre for Culture, says.
The centre for culture would take up a multidisciplinary study on life in the pre-historic era which is reflected in the cave motifs. The paintings, he says, are in need of immediate attention.
Author: Giji K. Raman | Source: The Hindu [March 20, 2015]
The rock paintings in the Marayur-Chinnar forest belt of Kerala, the second largest concentration of cave paintings in south India, are at high risk of degeneration.
Rock art in the Marayur-Chinnar forest belt [Credit: The Hindu]
As per isolated studies conducted so far, there are 21 cave paintings of red ochre in this Kerala-Tamil Nadu region, a senior official of the Kerala Forest Department told The Hindu. Over 50 caves, situated in the forest belt, are believed to be of the prehistoric period. The cave paintings in Ezhuthala and Attala in Marayur sandal division, the most noted ones, were in more danger.
The official said the rock paintings were in the eastern slope of the Western Ghats, at around 3,000 metres above sea level. The sandy rocks were highly prone to degeneration, he said, adding that they needed new methods of protection. Without assured protection, visitors could not be allowed entry there, he added. Rocks were in bad shape in the Madathala cave at Alampertty in the Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary, which was accessible to visitors.
The first cave painting in Marayur was identified in Ezhuthala Madi on the Tamil Nadu border by Padmanabhan Thampi as part of his research paper in 1974. In 2009-10, archaeological researchers Benny Kurien and Dhanushkody documented the paintings in Ezhuthala, where the largest number of paintings was identified.
Author: Giji K. Raman | Source: The Hindu [January 07, 2015]
Irreversible damage to two of the finest pieces of Indian art at the Indian Museum, renowned for its collection of rare artefacts, here has made the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) write to the Union Culture Ministry.ASI has referred to the damage to a unique Mauryan lion (left) and the Yakshi sculpture (right) at the Indian Museum in Kolkata [Credit: Sushanta Patronobish]
Expressing outrage at the damage to the precious artefacts dating back to the 2nd and 3rd century BC, the ASI warned the Ministry that the Museum would cease to exist “in the near future” if such a callous attitude continued.
While the damage to the right foot of the 2nd century BC figure of a Yakshi was noticed a few weeks ago, chips on the chest and belly of the “Lion Capital of Rampurva”, a unique specimen of Mauryan sculpture, were discovered last year. Two inspection reports, accessed by The Hindu, suspect the damage was caused by mishandling. “There is a definite damage above the right foot of the sculpture near the ankle. Though the museum staff are of the opinion it was caused by flaking, we did not feel so,” says the report on the Yakshi statue. “The dent is quite deep and abrasive as per standard norms of flaking.” A thorough investigation, it says, “is justifiable under the circumstances.”
The damage to the “Lion Capital of Rampurva”, unearthed by archaeologist Dayaram Sahni in 1907-08, was definitely due to faulty shifting, the report says. The experts who prepared the report were told that the authorities decided to shift this heavy sculpture in two pieces as was done earlier.
Sources said copies of the reports had been sent to West Bengal Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi. The damage came to public notice at a time when the Supreme Court is hearing a petition by the family of Sunil Kumar Upadhyay, preservation officer at the museum, who mysteriously disappeared from his rented apartment in the city on July 3, 2014, and been has remained untraced since.
Author: Shiv Sahay Singh | Source: The Hindu [March 26, 2015]
It has been over a month since rust and decay uprooted a massive wooden door, Moti Darwaza, of the historic Golconda Fort.
When Moti Darwaza almost came off in 2006, the officials had repositioned it within a few days. But this time, the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) sub-circle office at Golconda is yet to act.
The ASI has chalked out big plans for restoration of all the doors at as many as eight entrances to the fort.
According to ASI superintending archaeologist R Krishnaiah, plans are afoot for complete restoration and repositioning of the door by this month-end.
“After an inspection, we have decided to take measures to prevent any such incident in the future. Estimates are ready and work will start soon,” he said.
As of now, the ASI has decided to tie down the doors onto the fort walls using iron cables so that they do not fall down.
“The mechanism for operating these old doors is different. Since none of them is operational anymore, we have decided to tie them to the original position using flat iron cables at two places using L-angle and an iron U-channel from the top portion on to the masonry wall,” said N Ch Peddintlu, assistant superintending archaeological engineer, ASI-Hyderabad circle.
Regarding the damaged right door of Moti Darwaza that has been lying at the ASI sub-circle office in Golconda, he said, “We are going to add a wooden plank of teakwood and embed it to the old door using the ancient techniques. Also, we are going to apply wood preservatives to prevent any further deterioration of wood. This will be done for all the doors at eight different darwazas,” he added.
He said the ASI has also decided to restore the merlons of the fort walls that have either been damaged or have collapsed. This work is expected to start soon and would be completed by June 2015.
During an inspection, it was also noted that land close to the inner fort walls was being misused for parking purposes.
“We are going to enhance greenery by planting vegetation close to the walls so as to prevent littering or defecation or even unauthorised vehicle parking,” Peddintlu explained.
Golconda Fort is over 900 years old. Built by the Kakatiyas, it rose to prominence during the Qutb Shahi era. There are eight darwazas on the outer wall of the fort. All these gateways lead to important urban centres.
Author: Rahul V Pisharody | Source: Indian Express News [January 12, 2015]
Last week Ali asked us to step outside our comfort zone and go in search of blogs that were different from ones we usually hang out in -- different in terms of:
race and/or ethnicity, religion, cultural background, age, etc. from you
Live the farthest from you
Have entirely different tastes in books from you (but you love their blog anyway)
And if we were unable to come up with a blog that fit and of the descriptions, we were to write a "personals ad" on our blog looking for Mr or Ms Outside our Norm.
Ali also suggested that if we felt our blogs were somehow in the minority, to blog about that experience.
There were only a handful of participants for this challenge - I won't begin to analyze what that means!
Maree opted for a personal ad - and you'd better like cats to make it into her inner circle!
At Mysteries in Paradise, Kerrie has some really interesting pie charts on her post showing the percentages of English speaking readers vs other languages (for which she provides Google translation). Though English is the highest by far, a wide range of countries is represented. (Nice charts, Kerrie!)
Gautami invited us all to visit her in New Delhi, India! She knows of only a few other book bloggers in India. She listed several blogs she likes to visit that focus on very different books than what she generally reads. And you must read her personal ad! I learned a lot about her from that bit.
Sarah joined Weekly Geeks for the first time this week - welcome Sarah! She highlighted a couple of blogs that have inspired her to give genre fiction another try.
Puss Reboots combined the Weekly Geek assignment with doling out awards to several blogs she thought fit the theme.
Nice job, all you participants and commenters! And thanks, Ali, for introducing us to the CORA Diversity Roll Call over at Color Online. Check out this blog that "focuses on women writers of color for adults YA and children."
by Frances Hodgson Burnett is my first book for Booking Mama's Shelf Discovery Challenge. The novel takes place in 19th Century London. Sarah Crewe is taken from her home in India to attend Miss Minchin's boarding school for girls. She is rich and her father showers her with every extravagance, until he dies and she is tossed into the attic to live with the scullery maid. Sarah never loses heart though, and still thinks of herself as a princess when she is wearing rags. She has a wild imagination which is tested by continuous hunger. When new neighbors move in she is fascinated by their Indian furniture and grows fond of watching them. Sarah adopts them as her friends even though she never speaks to them, but she finds out they are closer to her than she realized.
I had never read A Little Princess before, but I watched the 1995 version of the movie several times as a child. The movie changes a lot of things that I was a little surprised by, it really changed the meaning of the novel. I loved how in depth the book goes into what Sarah is thinking when Miss Minchin yells at her, even as an adult I wish that I could think the way she does.
When you will not fly into a passion people know you are stronger than they are, because you are strong enough to hold in your rage, and they are not, and they say stupid things they wish they hadn't said afterward.
I was interested to read that the book was possibly inspired by Charlotte Bronte's unfinished novel Emma. Charlotte Bronte is my favorite author now so it was interesting to see yet again how my taste in childrens books are so similar to my taste in books now. My favorite part of the book was definitely the relationship between Sarah and the Indian lascar. It really captures the obsession with the Eastern mystique; everything he does is seen as magic. At the end you find out, of course, that it was not magic at all but that he was just sneaky. I felt like this really questioned the perception of India, almost in the vein of Virginia Woolf.
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I am going to preface this review of The Moonstone
by acknowledging the fact that I read this book for class. By the time I read this book, I had already read four other sensation fiction novels and I had pretty much had my fill of them at this point. So while my overall experience with this book was not so great, I think if I would have read this book at a different time I might have enjoyed it more. Therefore, I gave it a little more lenient of a grade than my actual feelings about it and my review will probably be largely negative because my experience was not the best.
A beautiful and mysterious diamond called the Moonstone has been stolen from India and ended up on Rachel Verinder's neck by the hands of her crush, Franklin Blake. Even though she is warned that if she wore the diamond in India her life would be worth nothing (yeah that's right, those Indians would kill her), Rachel still flaunts her new diamond at a party. And even though everyone tells her she should lock the diamond up, she puts it in her Indian cabinet because it's the perfect spot. The next morning it is discovered that the diamond has been stolen, but who stole it? Rachel stubbornly refuses to talk to anyone about it. This makes a detective wonder if she stole the diamond or if she knows more information.
The storyline is pretty good, and it begs the question who should end up with the diamond? Rachel, who loves the diamond and received it as a gift, or the Indians who it rightfully belonged to in the first place? Modern day reader probably don't have to consider that question too much, but in the Victorian era it was a little more complicated than that. What makes this dynamic even more interesting is the three Indian jugglers that show up on the night the Moonstone is stolen. Hmmmm?
My favorite part of this story, however, was Rosanna Spearman, the disfigured maid who is also in love with Franklin Blake. She has a shady past and was once a thief, although now it is clear she should be trusted. She loves to go out to the quicksand and she follows Franklin Blake like a puppy even though he never notices her. Rosanna is sad, but also kind of entertaining. She has such a good heart but no one trusts her. Betteredge, one of the narrators of the novel who is a butler of sorts, thinks of her like his daughter. His real daughter Penelope thinks Rosanna is weird though. Do people think she is weird because she was a thief? Because she is disfigured? Because she is in love with Franklin Blake who is way, way out of her league? Who knows, probably some combination of the three, but I have a sinking feeling that was kind of a Rosanna Spearman when I was sixteen. I pitied her.
Okay, so this wasn't as negative as I thought it would be. Here is my burst of negativity: After reading five sensation fiction novels in a little over three months I can assure you that, yeah, they're all pretty much the same. I wouldn't suggest reading five in such a short time span unless you really, really like mysteries. Also, Wilkie Collins does this thing that frustrates me to no end. He always says things like, "A normal man would do this, but such and such character did not do this, he did this instead." I don't know why this bothers me but after reading three of his books and seeing this appear on every third page I really started to get fed up. Can he not think of any way to describe a person other than he did something a normal man or most men would not. Argh! Sorry, but I wanted to say that in class all semester and now I've finally gotten it out of my system.
So I suppose this book is really up to you. I think I would probably suggest it over Armadale (another Collins novel) if for no other reason than it is shorter and the twist to the story is about as engrossing. Armadale has better characters though, I will admit that.
For me, this novel was more of a C, but I'm giving it the benefit of the doubt for you and giving it a B.
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I really did not like Gemma Doyle at the beginning of A Great and Terrible Beauty. She bitched about everything, but in all honesty I bitched about everything when I was a teenager too. I kept that in mind when I was reading it, considering that I read this for my 19 Going on 20 Challenge. And she did grow, quite a bit really. So I was glad when I reached the end.
This is the first novel in the Gemma Doyle trilogy. Gemma is living in India with her mother and opium addicted father. She is sixteen and dying to go to school in London like a normal girl. What Gemma doesn't know is that she is not a normal girl, and her mother is not a normal woman. Her mother is keeping her in India for a very good reason. Of course, since she is a teenager none of this occurs to her and she just thinks her mother is out to get her. This is why she runs away from her in the market at the beginning of novel. She quickly becomes lost and when she looks to find her mother she has a painful vision. There is a man and her mother, and they are are both dying. This is when Gemma meets Kartik, a boy who cautions Emma against these visions she is having.
After her mother's death Gemma does go to school in London. It is 1895 and the school is Spence. The popular girls have their place, and Emma does not belong there. That is until she shows that she can play the game as well as any of them. She becomes friends with the rich and fashionable Felicity and Pippa, but only spends time with them if they will include Ann, Gemma's orphan roommate. I thought the friendship between the girls happened a little too quickly and a little too easily, but I did like how Felicity's character grew as the novel went on. It keeps you wondering if Felicity is really good or evil as she is obsessed with the idea of power.
My favorite aspect of this novel was how trapped the girls felt by the confines of marriage and society. I liked the idea of magic as an escape to this, even if I don't read a lot of fantasy novels (besides Harry Potter). I thought it was interesting to think that women or girls might dream of other realms or magic to save them from their doomed lives. I could definitely see Marianne from Sense and Sensibility coming up with something like this.
This novel earned a B.
Pub. Date: March 2005 Publisher: Random House Childrens Books Format: Paperback, 432 pp
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Treasures from Afghanistan's largely forgotten Buddhist past are buried beneath sandy hills surrounding the ancient Silk Road town of Mes Aynak - along with enough copper to make the land glow green in the morning light.In this Sunday, Jan. 18, 2015 photo, Abdul Qadir Timor, director of archaeology at the Ministry of Information and Culture, left, looks at the view of Mes Aynak valley, some 40 kilometers (25 miles) southwest of Kabul, Afghanistan. The hills overlooking this ancient trade-route city, where the buried treasures of Afghanistan’s Buddhist history hide beneath sandy soil, are so rich in copper that they gleam green in the morning sun [Credit: AP/Rahmat Gul]
An estimated 5.5 million tons of copper, one of the biggest deposits in the world, could provide a major export for a war-ravaged country desperately in need of jobs and cash. But the hoped-for bonanza also could endanger rare artifacts that survived the rule of the Taliban and offer a window into Afghanistan's rich pre-Islamic history.
"The copper mine and its extraction are very important. But more important is our national culture," said Abdul Qadir Timor, director of archaeology at Afghanistan's Culture Ministry. "Copper is a temporary source of income. Afghanistan might benefit for five or six years after mining begins, and then the resource comes to an end."
The government is determined to develop Afghanistan's estimated $3 trillion worth of minerals and petroleum, an untapped source of revenue that could transform the country. The withdrawal of U.S.-led combat forces at the end of 2014 and a parallel drop in foreign aid have left the government strapped for cash. It hopes to attract global firms to exploit oil, natural gas and minerals, ranging from gold and silver to the blue lapis lazuli for which the country has been known since ancient times.
Beijing's state-run China Metallurgical Group struck a $3 billion deal in 2008 to develop a mining town at Mes Aynak with power generators, road and rail links, and smelting facilities. Workers built a residential compound, but were pulled out two years ago because of security concerns. Nazifullah Salarzai, a spokesman for President Ashraf Ghani, said the government is determined to finish that project.
Archaeologists are scrambling to uncover a trove of artifacts at the site dating back nearly 2,000 years which shed light on a Buddhist civilization that stretched across India and China, reaching all the way to Japan.
"The more we look, the more we find," archaeologist Aziz Wafa said as he scanned hilltops pock-marked with bowl-shaped hollows where copper powder once was melted down and painted onto ceramics. Excavators have found silver platters, gold jewelry and a human skeleton as they have uncovered the contours of a long-lost town that once hosted elaborate homes, monasteries, workshops and smelters.
Behind Wafa is a cave in which three Buddhas are seated around a dome-shaped shrine known as a stupa. Two are headless; one was decapitated by looters who entered through a tunnel. The other head was removed by archaeologists and placed in storage along with thousands of other items.
Movable objects, including sculptures, coins and ceramics, are stored at the National Museum in Kabul. Larger objects, including stupas measuring eight meters (26 feet) across and statues of robed monks 7 meters (23 feet) tall remain at the sprawling site, which is closed off and protected by a special security force. The roads are lined with armed guards and the archaeologists have no telephone or Internet access.
Experts believe that proselytizing Buddhist monks from India settled here in the 2nd Century A.D. Like today's miners, they were enticed by the copper, which they fashioned into jewelry and other products to trade on the Silk Road linking China to Europe.
The site was discovered in 1942 and first explored in 1963, but the excavations ground to a halt for two decades during the Soviet invasion, the civil war and the brutal rule of the Taliban in the late 1990s. Osama bin Laden ran a training camp at Mes Aynak in the years leading up to the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and the subsequent U.S.-led invasion.
Until the giant Buddhas of Bamiyan were dynamited by the Taliban in 2001, few knew that Afghanistan was once a wealthy, powerful Buddhist empire. It still does not feature on the local education curriculum, which ignores the country's pre-Islamic past. But at Mes Aynak the eroded remains of enormous feet testify to the colossal Buddhas that once towered over the valley.
Low world copper prices and a slowing Chinese economy have bought time for the archaeologists to uncover more artifacts, while the government seeks to find a way to unearth the copper without ruining relics.
The government has asked the U.N. cultural agency to survey mining sites and draw up plans to protect and preserve cultural heritage, said Masanori Nagaoka, UNESCO's head of cultural affairs in Afghanistan.
The request is rooted in hope for better days, when tourists might replace the tense guards scanning the valley.
The archaeological value of the site "will outlast the life cycle of the Aynak mine," an anti-corruption group called Integrity Watch Afghanistan said in a report. "The relics found could be a perpetual tourist attraction and would provide a new symbol of the historical foundation of the region and people."
Isha Tilak and her husband, Nikhil, have just discovered that the child they are expecting is a girl. What would be wonderful news to just about any couple is a curse to the young couple. Young Isha and Nikhil live in India, in a society where male heirs are sought out above all else; female children are viewed as burdens. When their doctor, Dr. Larnick, along with Nikhil’s parents, suggests they have an illegal abortion, Isha and Nikhil are furious and adamantly refuse. Soon after, Nikhil is found brutally murdered. Isha decides that living with her oppressive in-laws is detrimental to the life and safety of her young daughter, Priya, and her unborn daughter. She leaves with a small amount of money and just a few belongings. Born into a privileged class, Isha hasn’t ever had to fend for herself. She soon learns. Isha and Priya seek refuge at a local convent. Isha gives birth to young Diya, and meets Harish Salvi, a doctor that treats the children at the convent. Isha ultimately receives the life insurance money that she and Nikhil kept hidden from his parents and is then able to purchase a more appropriate residence for her and her young girls. She discovers that her husband has left her with evidence of the selective abortion trade, and suddenly her life, and the life of her children, is in danger. THE FORBIDDEN DAUGHTER tells a difficult story of the treatment and value of women in India. The characters were very compelling, as was the storyline. It has it all: love, bribery, murder, blackmail, kidnapping. Isha is an amazingly strong woman who will stop at nothing to protect the lives of her daughters.
*Note: My apologies to the author. This was scheduled to post in September and for some reason it did not.
Illegally exported ancient artefacts from Egypt which were discovered in Australia have been returned to the country's ambassador at a special ceremony in Canberra.A range of Egyptian artefacts which were illegally taken out of the country were returned to the ambassador [Credit: ABC News/Liz Foschia]
The items were seized by Australian Federal Police (AFP) officers and Federal Arts Department representatives from an auction house and private home in Sydney under laws designed to protect cultural objects.
Local authorities were tipped off by Interpol about the historic items including a Coptic textile fragment and large saucer lamp.
Macquarie University's Ancient Cultures Research Centre director Naguib Kanawati was one of several examiners who was asked to assess the cultural significance of the artefacts.
"While the provenance is unknown, the objects are all funerary in nature and would have been found in a cemetery or multiple cemeteries," he said.
They include a wooden hand belonging to an anthropoid coffin, small statuettes of a man and woman to serve the deceased in the afterlife, as well as a number of amulets.
A preliminary examination by Australian Egyptologists suggested the items date from the New Kingdom to Coptic periods and that some pieces may be over 3,000-years-old.
"As sites were used for burials by successive generations at different stratigraphic levels it is not unusual to find objects belonging to different periods at the same site," Professor Kanawati said.
Ancient Egyptian statue of a woman seized by police in Sydney after a tip off from Interpol [Credit: ABC News/Liz Foschia]
Federal Arts Minister George Brandis handed the artefacts back at a formal ceremony at the Egyptian Embassy in Yarralumla.
"This is a splendid and significant occasion because it is not often that one government has the opportunity to return to another government, artefacts that are precious not only to Egypt but significant to the history of civilisation itself," he said.
Egypt's ambassador Dr Hassan El-Laithy welcomed the return of the significant items.
"One of the pieces that the Honourable Minister handed back over was a piece that witnessed the Coptic history and Christianity in Egypt... something we are very proud of," he said.
"Egypt was not only privileged by having its old civilisation of the Pharaohs, but also having prophets Moses and Jesus living in Egypt."
Last year Prime Minister Tony Abbott returned a 900-year-old bronze statue of the god Shiva to India that was found to have been looted from a temple in Tamil Nadu.
The statue had been purchased by the National Gallery of Australia in 2008 from a New York art dealer who became embroiled in a stolen art trafficking scandal.
Many of us have had an opportunity to interview an author, mostly through email, but perhaps even on the phone or in person. In fact, many of you have become experts at author interviews. So this week, let's pretend that we can get in contact with one of our favorite characters and interview them. What would you ask Mr. Darcy if you could send him an email. What would his answers be like? What would you say if you could just call up Liesel or Rudy from The Book Thief and ask them anything? How would they answer your questions? What if you could invite Jo March or Anne Shirley to lunch, what would the conversation be like?
This has been a slow geek week, but don't forget you can answer this at any time! Personally, I had a blast. So don't be shy...call up a character and invite them over for coffee. Or lunch. Or heck, have a dinner party and invite a whole book over.
Children's characters turned out to be popular interview subjects. In fact some of them (like Pigeon) practically forced themselves on the interviewer (in this case, pussreboots). Others, like the Gruffalo, were a bit shy. We're hoping Farm Lane Books can finagle a second, in-depth interview.
Meanwhile, over in the mystery section, Kerrie was lucky enough to interview the ever-so-gracious (but slightly green) Monsieur Poirot, while Margot spent some time knitting and chatting with Miss Marple. J.C. Montgomery tried to crack the enigmatic Raven. And gautami tripathy happened upon Mr. Paul Drake in India, of all places! Rumor has it he might be moving...
A couple of bloggers were adventurous and travelled to meet with their subjects. Between the Covers travelled very far indeed to interview Ned Henry, while Gavin journeyed to Shiraz to talk to Sheherazade.
To represent the classics, Jo talked with a reflective Tess and Rebecca pulled a James Lipton with Owen Meany.
And Erika Lynn went a different route and linked to Sue Grafton's interviews with her own character, Kinsey Millhone.
Then there was the group of intrepid bloggers who went above and beyond. Bookworm interviewed the vampire Lestat (or does he prefer the capitalized The Vampire Lestat?) and Ariel faced Death (who actually looks like a nice Goth girl). Even Cthulhu generously consented to an interview. The brave blogger at It's Dark in the Dark (Cthulhu must've felt right at home) faced the evil one and came out unscathed. We think.
Congratulations to all of this week's geeks for their impressive round-up of interviewees!
After much delay, work has finally begun on restoration of two ancient temples of the Kakatiya era in Kusumanchi mandal headquarters in the district.The historical Mukkanteshwaralayam being restored at Kusumanchi in Khammam district [Credit: G.N. Rao]
The Department of Archaeology has sanctioned Rs. 60 lakh under 13th Finance Commission to restore Sri Ganapeshwaralayam and Mukkanteshwaralayam in Kusumanchi to revive their lost glory.
The two ancient temples, reportedly dating back to the 12th century, were built during the reign of Kakatiya dynasty.
Although declared as protected monuments by the Department of Archaeology several decades ago, the two historical shrines have been lying in utter neglect due to apathy of the departments and agencies concerned.
The Mukkanteshwaralayam had become a target of treasure hunters over the past couple of years.
Though presently lying in a dilapidated condition, the historical Mukkanteshwaralayam bears testimony to the rich architecture that flourished during the Kakatiya regime.
Thanks to the initiative of some local devotees including philanthropists, the Ganapeshwaralaym had undergone minor renovation over a decade ago.
The temple attracts hordes of devotees during Sivaratri festivities every year.
The statue of Nandi at Sri Ganapeshwaralayam [Credit: G.N. Rao]
The area surrounding the two temples is dotted with some archaeological monuments including a megalithic menhir (a vertical standing stone).
The entire stretch of the area known for its archaeological significance has been left in shambles due to lack of proper protection, rued V Sagar of Kusumanchi.
The departments entrusted with the task of protection of the monuments should earmark adequate funds for their conservation and appoint a watchman to protect the historical structures of archaeological heritage, he said.
The ongoing restoration works will help revive the lost glory of the two historical temples, said S Rangacharyulu, consultant, Department of Archaeology.
The works are being carried out under the supervision of the engineers of the Telangana State Tourism Development Corporation.
The works include strengthening of the foundations of the structures and reassembling of disturbed stones to restore the temples to their original glory, he noted.
The Circumambulation Path (Pradakshina Path) will be restored at Mukkanteshwaralayam encompassing three small shrines in a single complex with a common mandapa.
He said a plan is on the anvil to lay a pathway between Ganapeshwaralaym and Mukkanteshwaralayam for the benefit of devotees.
A proposal has been mooted to appoint a temple development committee to ensure proper maintenance of the two shrines after completion of the ongoing restoration works.
Author: P Sridhar | Source: The Hindu [March 19, 2015]
These pictures were leaked onto the net the other day. They are two pictures from a set of on-set pictures from "The Dark Knight Rises" shoot in India. The images shows us a pit, which is been rumored (by fans) to be the Lazarus Pit from the "Batman" comics. Supposedly the young Ra's Al Ghul has something to do with it, as Josh Pence (who's playing the younger version of the character) was spotted near by the site.
Miss Brazil Mariana Notarangelo da Fonseca is the winner of the Miss Global Beauty Queen pageant held in Seoul, Korea, on May 10th.
Miss Global Beauty Queen 2011, Mariana Notarangelo da Fonseca (Brazil)
The 1st runner-up was Miss Korea (Haemy Chung); 2nd runner-up was Australia (Danielle Byrnes); 3rd runner-up was Miss Russia (Natalia Chirkova) and the 4th runner-up was Caylene Marais of South Africa.
1st runner-up, Miss Korea (Haemy Chung)
2nd runner-up, Australia (Danielle Byrnes)
The beauties from Greece, India, Serbia, Vietnam, Indonesia, Estonia, Albania and Thailand completed the semifinalists. This is the 2nd international title for Mariana Notarangelo. In 2010, she was crowned International Queen of Coffee in Manizales, Colombia. Special thanks and credits to GlobalBeauties
Not Your Average Retelling By Marissa Meyer Fairy tales and folk tales have been around for hundreds of years, being re-shaped, re-twisted, and re-told again and again. And yet readers continue to hunger for more, as is evidenced by not only the deluge of fairy-tale retellings in the book market, but also Hollywood’s current obsession with them. (Have you heard of the three Snow White movies coming out in the next few years?) How do writers continue to work with the same material, yet give us such vastly different renditions?
Here are some ways that today’s writers are keeping our beloved tales alive and new.
Lesser Known Tales There are some tales that pop up again and again. How many Cinderella remakes can you list off the top of your head? How many Beauty and the Beasts come to mind? While there are good reasons these tales have stood the test of time and popularity, there are also a lot of great stories that, in the past, went ignored in our Disney culture. Not the case anymore! As the market for fairy tales becomes more saturated, more writers are delving deeper into the works of Grimm, Andersen, and even non-European cultures, and seeking out stories that haven’t yet received their due.
Tales that once would have been considered fringe (such as “The Twelve Dancing Princesses” or “East of the Sun, West of the Moon”) have received more attention lately with books such as Entwined by Heather Dixon and East by Edith Pattou, and I have a feeling we’ll be seeing more and more non-Disnified tales on the rise. After all, the Grimm brothers alone had over 300 tales collected, so writers have plenty of material to choose from.
Examples of Lesser Known Tales Retold: Matchless by Gregory Maguire (based on “The Little Match Girl”) The Swan Kingdom by Zoë Marriott (based on “The Wild Swans”) A Curse Dark as Gold by Elizabeth C. Bunce (based on “Rumpelstiltskin”)
Original Settings Another way authors are setting apart their fairy-tale retellings is by choosing interesting times and locations for them to take place in. Writers are no longer trapped in fantastical, make-believe worlds just because they lend themselves so easily to the original stories. From ancient Greece to futuristic space colonies, the options are endless, and (lucky us) writers are taking advantage of that! Will we soon be watching Puss in Boots in the court of Louis XVI? Will the next Frog Prince hop out of Cleopatra’s Nile? We’ll just have to wait and see where authors are willing to take us.
Examples of Retellings with Original Settings: Briar Rose by Jane Yolen (“Sleeping Beauty” set during the Holocaust) Toads and Diamonds by Heather Tomlinson (“Diamonds and Toads” set in pre-colonial India) Mirror, Mirror by Gregory Maguire (“Snow White” set in 16th-century Tuscany)
Unique Twists No matter how rare (or common) a tale is, or what fascinating time and place it’s set in, the best retellings still have one thing in common: the author has made it strictly their own. There is still something that sets that story apart from the Grimm Brothers’ or Hans Christian Andersen’s or any other author who may choose to re-spin the same tale.
Gregory Maguire is renowned for telling fairy tales from the villain’s perspective (see Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister). Gail Carson Levine turned the classic Cinderella story upside-down in Ella Enchanted, when she gave Ella an unusual curse—she must do whatever she is told to do. These “retellings” are almost more like “re-envisionings”—they may use the bones of the classic tale for inspiration, but then the author took the story in a new direction that we’d never seen before.
I believe it’s these new twists on the old stories that keep readers hungry for more retellings, because you just never know what an author is going to do next. How will tomorrow’s fairy tales differ from today’s? I, for one, can’t wait to find out!
Examples of Retellings with a Unique Twist: Ash by Malinda Lo (“Cinderella” with an LGBT romance) Sisters Red by Jackson Pearce (a modern “Little Red Riding Hood,” in which two sisters become werewolf hunters) A Tale Dark and Grimm by Adam Gidwitz (a collection of tales, including “Hansel and Gretel,” strung together into one continuous storyline)
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Marissa Meyer’s debut novel, Cinder (“Cinderella” set in the future), re-imagines our princess as a teenage cyborg faced with the task of saving the world. It’s scheduled for release in early 2012. You can find her online at: Blog | Facebook | Goodreads | Twitter | Youtube
Four surviving original copies of the Magna Carta are on display in London as Britain begins 800th anniversary celebrations of the globally significant contract.The Magna Carta has been revered as the "birth certificate of freedom" for centuries [Credit: Reuters]
Considered the cornerstone of modern democracy, liberty, justice and the rule of law, the 1215 English charter forms the basis for legal systems around the world, such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the US Constitution.
About 1,200 people, drawn from a ballot, have won the chance to see the unification event at the British Library, which brings together its two originals with those of Lincoln and Salisbury cathedrals.
The four parchments will then be on private display in the UK parliament, marking the start of a year of celebrations for a document that still has resonance eight centuries later.
"No free man shall be taken or imprisoned or disseized or outlawed or exiled or in any way ruined, nor will we go and send against him except by the lawful judgement of his peers by the law of the land," the document states in Latin.
"To no one will we sell, to no one will we deny or delay right or justice."
Charter made after rebel barons challenged king
In June 1215, the wayward King John agreed to the demands of rebellious barons to curb his powers and sealed the charter at Runnymede, a meadow by the River Thames west of London.
Although nearly a third of the text was dropped or substantially rewritten within 10 years and almost all the 63 clauses have been repealed, Magna Carta principles have become "a potent, international rallying cry against the arbitrary use of power", the British Library said.
One of Britain's Supreme Court judges, Anthony Clarke, said it was still important for governments seeking a balance between issues of security, individual rights, the rule of law and the "principles of justice that lie at the foundation of society".
The four surviving copies of the Magna Carta being prepared for display at the British Library [Credit: Clare Kendall/British Library/PA]
He said the principles that justice should be available to all, the law applies to all equally and leaders can only exercise power in accordance with the law continue to be fought for in many parts of the world.
Magna Carta Trust, which looks after the memorial site in Runnymede, said the charter's importance was growing.
"800 years on, Magna Carta's best days lie ahead," it said.
"As an idea of freedom, democracy and the rule of law, it is lapping against the shores of despotism.
"The principles set out in Magna Carta have driven the Arab Spring and the continuing protests against despotism around the world."
Magna Carta 'linked to prosperity'
The principles of the Magna Carta extend well beyond the world's common law jurisdictions such as the United States, India and Australia which inherited England's legal system.
Lawyer David Wootton, a former lord mayor of London, said English law was the "common currency" of global business deals precisely due to the protections derived from Magna Carta.
"Investors regard their money as safe here (in London) because of the protections in the legal system," he said.
"There is a close relationship between economic development, societal development and the quality of a country's legal system."
Events are being staged across Britain throughout 2015 to mark the anniversary, including a major international commemoration event at Runnymede on June 15.
Exhibitions, debates, conferences, church services, lectures, charity dinners, theatre performances, tourist trails, village fetes, and even a national peal of bells are being staged.
There will also be a mock trial of the barons who forced the creation of the charter in parliament's Westminster Hall to debate whether they were guilty of treason.
