Where have all our maps gone ?

Hundreds Of Priceless Antique Prints Have Mysteriously Disappeared Over The Years From The Asiatic Society
Hemali Chhapia TNN
The country has lost a slice of its history, from an institution no less than the Asiatic Society of Mumbai, founded in 1804 to preserve India’s rich antiquity. From the deep recesses of this establishment where even roaches can’t enter, maps circa 18th Century—priceless, irreplaceable, handdrawn and colourful original prints— have been disappearing from its vaults. Almost nothing remains of the entire set of maps that date back to 1803-04: they depict the expanse of Mumbai (then Bombay) in great detail when the first revenue survey was carried out. Called the Dickinson survey, close to 350 rolls had every part of the city painstakingly drawn—its street plan, forts, old tanks, buildings. The 200-year-old guardian of these maps has no clue how they slipped through its fingers. And in what doesn’t seem to be an admirable reflection of the Asiatic Society’s efforts to preserve these precious records of a bygone era, another set of antique rolls last catalogued in 1975 is short of 150 maps. These included admiralty charts of various parts of the world, some drawn by the Portuguese who were considered prolific cartographers. “It appears to be a systematic theft. Of another set of 1,330 maps that were catalogued by an internal committee of the Asiatic, only 1,135 remain now. I have written a letter to the Society regarding these missing maps. Maps have been va n i s h i n g over a period of time,’’ said eminent geographer B Arunachalam. The architect of the University of Mumbai’s geography department, Arunachalam’s expertise is mathematical cartography, and he has worked with professional bodies like the Society of Indian Ocean Studies, the Indian National Cartographic Association as well as the National Geographic, India. The octogenarian has been involved with the Asiatic Society since the ‘50s when the first internal survey of maps was carried out. His theory that an insider is involved in the thefts may not be far from the truth. Every time a survey of the maps was ordered, it was called off before completion. “And in every survey, I noticed that a few maps had disappeared from the time when the previous stocktaking exercise was carried out,’’ said Arunachalam, who is now conducting a fourth survey. Though the on-going fourth survey is so termed, it may actually be the first extensive one, and could well mark the start of map preservation. Arunachalam agreed to chair the job only after an assurance from Asiatic Society president and historian Aroon Tikekar that his work will go on uninterrupted. Tikekar acknowledged that he’d been informed that the maps had gone missing, but he is determined to preserve what’s left with the society. “Most of the maps that went missing were lost years ago. We have not lost anything in the last 15 years. In fact, now we have also received a special grant from the cultural department of the Central government for preserving our maps,’’ said Tikekar. This stock-taking has already led to some surprising discoveries — after some “digging’’, maps belonging to the Asiatic were found in the central library of the state in Fort, South Mumbai. A priceless Peking map dating back to the First Opium War (1839-1842) between China and the British Empire, was found inside a bundle of India's taluka maps. The high point of the Asiatic Society was in 1869 when the Bombay Geographical Society (BGS) was merged with it. Apart from 3,900 rare old maps, the BGS handed over globes, fossils and books dating back to the 17th Century. Through the merger, the Asiatic Society inherited 1,869 maps of the admiralty service of the marine charts, 200-300 strategic maps of the US geological survey and the US topographical survey, maps of the Punjab Revenue Survey, Madras Presidency Revenue Survey and Gujarat Revenue Survey, apart from the village survey maps stretching across the length and breadth of the country. There were also maps of the old Bombay Presidency. While the Asiatic Society never made public all that it inherited, the BGS released the entire list of antiques in the last of its 16 volumes — Transactions of the BGS. There is no clarity on how many maps remain and which ones are beyond repair. “Some rolls lay there, never opened for over 100 years. Many were so brittle that they crumbled even as we tried to flatten them,’’ said a pained Arunachalam. At the heart of the problem was the fact that these prints were not stored correctly. Others were reduced to dust by termites, explained Tikekar. “Lack of finances’’ has always been the Society defence. Now, the Navy has expressed an interest in restoring these maps. A part of the Asiatic Society’s basement presents a grim picture of the many perforated chapters of man’s understanding of the world. Two globes — a celestial and a terrestrial one— made of papier mache received from the BGS were senselessly allowed to go to ruin for years. The terrestrial globe dating to 1835-36 depicted only those pieces of the world that man had discovered. There was no Antarctica in that world. Those irreplaceable globes will now be discarded. And many prized maps beyond repair will meet a similar end. Along with the maps that have vanished from the Asiatic shelves, all the tales associated with them have also been lost. ANCIENT CARTOGRAPHY

India had three distinct mapping flavours Early mediaeval Rajasthani maps focused on holy places and pilgrim routes. Most maps were entirely pictorial with no lettering. Later, native maps from Rajasthan depicted forts, battles and canal lay-outs. Rajasthani maps have a rich tradition of bright colours and miniature figures of humans and animals

Mughal Islamic maps range from simple line drawings and pictorial panoramas to area depiction, with detailed scribework in Persian or Urdu. A coloured Persian paper map scroll of Shahjehanabad at the Indian Post Office library shows the fort on the banks of the Yamuna with a town laid out to its west, centred around Chandni Chowk

Maratha maps come closest to currentday modern cartography. While earlier maps were almost pictorial, later ones are distinctively topographical. A wide range of fort maps from the Maratha tradition have been traced. A colour map of the siege of Panhala, for instance, has details of the fort, gates arsenals, camp positions, etc

Check your sign!

Your behavior By Signing Style
SINGLE UNDERLINE BELOW THE SIGN

These persons are very confident and are good personalities. They are a little bit selfish but believe in "Happiness of human life".

TWO DOTS BELOW THE SIGN

These persons are considered to be Romantic, can easily change their fiances as if they change their clothes. They prefer beauty in other persons & they themselves try to look beautiful. They easily attract others.

SINGLE DOT BELOW THE SIGN

These persons are more inclined towards classical arts, simple & are very cool. If you loose faith with them, then these persons will never look back at you. Hence its always better to be careful with these people.

NO UNDERLINES OR DOTS BELOW THE SIGN

These persons enjoy their life in their own way, never pay attention to others views. These are considered to be good natured but are selfish too.

RANDOM SIGN, NO SIMILARITY BETWEEN NAME & SIGN

These persons try to be very smart, hide each & every matter, never say anything in straight forward manner, never pay attention to the oth er person of what he is talking of.

RANDOM SIGN, SIMILARITY BETWEEN NAME & SIGN

These persons are considered to be intelligent but never think. These people change their ideas & views as fast as the wind changes its direction of flow. They never think whether that particular thing is right or wrong. You can win them just by flattering them.

SIGN IN PRINTED LETTERS

These persons are very kind to us, have a good heart, selfless, are ready to sacrifice their life for the sake of their near & dear. But these seems to think a lot and may get angry very soon.

WRITING COMPLETE NAME AS THEIR SIGN

These persons are very kind hearted, can adjust themselves to any environment & to the person they are talking. These persons are very firm on their views & posses a lot of will power.

The Annular Solar Eclipse

The annular solar eclipse as viewed in Hyderabad on 15 Jan 2010 fri. The photo was published in Times of India on 16 Jan '10 sat.

THE LONG & SHORT OF IT: He Pingping (left) of China and Sultan Kosen of Turkey, in Istanbul. He, standing at 2 feet 5 inches, and Kosen, with a height of 8 feet 1 inch, are listed by the Guinness World Records as the shortest and tallest men respectively. This photo was published in Times of India on 16 Jan '10

DR. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam 's Speech

The President of India DR. A. P. J. Abdul Kalam 's Speech in Hyderabad .

Why is the media here so negative?Why are we in India so embarrassed to recognize our own strengths, our achievements? We are such a great nation. We have so many amazing success stories but we refuse acknowledge them---Why?We are the first in milk production. We are number one in Remote sensing satellites. We are the second largest producer of wheat.We are the second largest producer of rice. Look at Dr. Sudarshan, he has transferred the tribal village into a self-sustaining, self-driving unit. There are millions of such achievements but our media is only obsessed in the bad news and failures and disasters. I was in Tel Aviv once and I was reading the Israeli newspaper. It was the day after a lot of attacks and bombardments and deaths had taken place. The Hamas had struck.. But the front page of the newspaper had the picture of a Jewish gentleman who in five years had transformed his desert into an orchid and a granary. It was this inspiring picture that everyone woke up to. The gory details of killings, bombardments, deaths, were inside in the newspaper, buried among other news. In India we only read about death, sickness, terrorism, crime. Why are we so NEGATIVE? Another question: Why are we, as a nation so obsessed with foreign things? We want foreign T. Vs, we want foreign shirts. We want foreign technology.Why this obsession with everything imported. Do we not realize that self-respect comes with self-reliance? I was in Hyderabad giving this lecture,when a 14 year old girl asked me for my autograph. I asked her what her goal in life is. She replied: I want to live in a developed India. For her, you and I will have to build this developed India. You must proclaim. India is not an under-developed nation; it is a highly developed nation. Do you have 10 minutes? Allow me to come back with a vengeance. Got 10 minutes for your country? If yes, then read; otherwise, choice is yours.YOU say that our government is inefficient.YOU say that our laws are too old. YOU say that the municipality does not pick up the garbage. YOU say that the phones don't work, the railways are a joke, The airline is the worst in the world, mails never reach their destination.. YOU say that our country has been fed to the dogs and is the absolute pits. YOU say, say and say.. What do YOU do about it? Take a person on his way to Singapore. Give him a name - YOURS. Give him aface - YOURS. YOU walk out of the airport and you are at your International best. In Singapore you don't throw cigarette butts on the roads or eat in the stores. YOU are as proud of their Underground links as they are. You pay $5 (approx. Rs. 60) to drive through Orchard Road (equivalent of Mahim Causeway or Pedder Road ) between 5 PM and 8 PM. YOU come back to the parking lot to punch your parking ticket if you have over stayed in a restaurant or a shopping mall irrespective of your status identity... In Singapore you don't say anything, DO YOU? YOU wouldn't dare to eat in public during Ramzan, in Dubai. YOU would not dare to go out without your head covered in Jeddah. YOU would not dare to buy an employee of the telephone exchange in London at 10 pounds (Rs.650) a month to, 'see to it that my STD and ISD calls are billed to someone else..' YOU would not dare to speed beyond 55 mph (88 km/h) in Washington and then tell the traffic cop,'Jaanta hai main kaun hoon (Do you know who I am?). I am so and so's son. Take your two bucks and get lost.' YOU wouldn't chuck an empty coconut shell anywhere other than the garbage pail on the beaches in Australia and New Zealand Why don't YOU spit Paan on the streets of Tokyo? Why don't YOU use examination jockeys or buy fake certificates in Boston??? We are still talking of the same YOU.. YOU who can respect and conform to a foreign system in other countries but cannot in your own. You who will throw papers and cigarettes on the road the moment you touch Indian ground. If you can be an involved and appreciative citizen in an alien country, why cannot you be the same here in India? Once in an interview, the famous Ex-municipal commissioner of Bombay, Mr. Tinaikar, had a point to make.. 'Rich people's dogs are walked on the streets to leave their affluent droppings all over the place,' he said. 'And then the same people turn around to criticize and blame the authorities for inefficiency and dirty pavements. What do they expect the officers to do? Go down with a broom every time their dog feels the pressure in his bowels? In America every dog owner has to clean up after his pet has done the job. Same in Japan . Will the Indian citizen do that here?' He's right. We go to the polls to choose a government and after that forfeit all responsibility. We sit back wanting to be pampered and expect the government to do everything for us whilst our contribution is totally negative. We expect the government to clean up but we are not going to stop chucking garbage all over the place nor are we going to stop to pick up a stray piece of paper and throw it in the bin. We expect the railways to provide clean bathrooms but we are not going to learn the proper use of bathrooms. We want Indian Airlines and Air India to provide the best of food and toiletries but we are not going to stop pilfering at the least opportunity. This applies even to the staff who is known not to pass on the service to the public. When it comes to burning social issues like those related to women, dowry, girl child! and others, we make loud drawing room protestations and continue to do the reverse at home. Our excuse? 'It's the whole system which has to change, how will it matter if I alone forego my sons' rights to a dowry.' So who's going to change the system? What does a system consist of? Very conveniently for us it consists of our neighbor's, other households, other cities, other communities and the government. But definitely not me and YOU. When it comes to us actually making a positive contribution to the system we lock ourselves along with our families into a safe cocoon and look into the distance at countries far away and wait for a Mr.Clean to come along & work miracles for us with a majestic sweep of his hand or we leave the country and run away. Like lazy cowards hounded by our fears we run to America to bask in their glory and praise their system. When New York becomes insecure we run to England. When England experiences unemployment, we take the next flight out to the Gulf. When the Gulf is war struck, we demand to be rescued and brought home by the Indian government. Everybody is out to abuse and rape the country. Nobody thinks of feeding the system. Our conscience is mortgaged to money. Dear Indians, The article is highly thought inductive, calls for a great deal of introspection and pricks one's conscience too.... I am echoing J. F. Kennedy’s words to his fellow Americans to relate to Indians..... 'ASK WHAT WE CAN DO FOR INDIA AND DO WHAT HAS TO BE DONE TO MAKE INDIA WHAT AMERICA AND OTHER WESTERN COUNTRIES ARE TODAY'
Lets do what India needs from us.
Thank you,
Dr. Abdul Kalaam

The Story of Tirupathi Laddu

The Story of Tirupathi Laddu was published in "SAKSHI" on 02 Jan 2010 sat. Read and get informed.

This song published in "Sakshi" about NEW YEAR from the movie "Priya O Priya" (1997) was written by Bhuvana Chandra, music by Koti, sung by S.P. Balasubrahmanyam and Chitra, has so much meaning in it and it is one of my favourites.

Modern calendar was decreed in circa 1582 (Published in Times of India in the first week of Januray 2010)
What is the Gregorian calendar?

The current international calendar and the world’s most widely used one is the Gregorian calendar, first proposed by Italian doctor Aloysius Lilius and decreed on Feb 24, 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII, after whom it was named. It was adopted to rectify the errors in the older Julian calendar. Due to its obvious connotations of Christianity, sometimes it’s used by replacing the traditional era notations AD and BC (Anno Domini and Before Christ) with CE and BCE (Common Era and Before Common Era).

What was the Julian calendar?

Julius Caesar introduced the Julian calendar in 45 BC. The Julian calendar was an improvement on the Roman calendar and was probably designed to approximate the tropical year, or the time taken by the Sun, as seen from the Earth, to return to the same position along its path. It has a regular year of 365 days divided into 12 months, and a leap day is added to February every four years. Hence the Julian year is on average 365.25 days. It was in common use in Europe until the 1500s, when countries in that region started changing to the Gregorian calendar. What was the leap year error? Although the new calendar was much simpler than the pre-Julian calendar, the algorithm for leap years was mistaken. It added a leap day every three years, instead of every four years. According to Roman grammarian and philosopher Macrobius, the error was the result of counting inclusively, so that the four-year cycle was considered as including both the first and fourth years. This resulted in too many leap days. Augustus remedied this discrepancy after 36 years by restoring the correct frequency. He also skipped several leap days in order to realign the year and it earned him a place in the calendar as the eighth month was named after him.

What long-term problems did the use of the Julian calendar cause?

On average, the astronomical solstices (the time when the Sun appears to reach its northernmost and southernmost extremes) and the equinoxes (when the Sun is positioned directly over the Earth’s equator) advance by about 11 minutes per year against the Julian year. As a result, the Julian calendar introduced an error of one day every 128 years. So every 128 years, the year shifted one day backward with respect to the calendar. By 1582, that meant that the world was running 10 days ahead of time. To get rid of inconvenience made by the Julian calender, the Gregorian calendar was introduced.

How are there 97 leap years in 400 years?

Every year divisible by 4 is a leap year, except for most of the years divisible by 100. Among the latter, every year divisible by 400 is a leap year. So, 1700, 1800, 1900, 2100, and 2200 are not leap years. But 1600, 2000, and 2400 are leap years.

Is there a 4,000-year rule?

It has been suggested by the astronomer John Herschel that a better approximation to the length of the tropical year would be 365.24225 days. This would mean 969 leap years every 4000 years, rather than the 970 leap years mandated by Gregorian calendar. This could be achieved by dropping one leap year from Gregorian calendar every 4000 years. This rule, however, has not been officially adopted.

How did countries shift to the Gregorian calendar?

Pope Gregory XIII decreed that 10 days should be dropped from October 1582 so that October 15, 1582 should follow immediately after October 4 of that year. Most catholic countries including Spain, Portugal and most of Italy soon adopted it. But Protestants were a bit reluctant. The British Empire and Sweden adopted it in 1752 and 1753 respectively. Russia, however, remained on the Julian calendar until 1917, after the Russian Revolution (which is thus called the ‘‘Oct Revolution’’ though it occurred in Gregorian Nov) and Greece continued to use it until 1923.

What are the other calendars?

Most Muslims use the Hijri calendar to determine the proper Islamic holy days. It is a lunar calendar with 354 days and hence a year is about 11 days shorter than the solar year. As a result, Islamic holy days usually shift 11 days earlier in the Gregorian year. Similarly, the Saka calendar, which is a lunisolar calendar, was adopted as the official calendar of India. In this calender, the year zero starts in the year 78 of the Christian era. To determine leap years, add 78 to the Saka year — if the result is a leap year in the Gregorian calendar, then the Saka year is also a leap year. The Persian calendar is used in countries such as Iran and Afghanistan.