कांगड़े दा टीला ओ माता, गर्वे सिंघे घेरिया। अकबर कांगड़े चढ़ आया ओ मेरी माँ। सुत्ती ऐ की जाग दी तू, जाग अम्बे रानिये। गर्वे ने पाई लिया घेरा ओ मेरी माँ। A very famous bhajan from Kangra of Mata Bajreshwari Devi, remembered often across north-west India today, talks of the Kangre da Tilla or the Mound of Kangra, referring to the place where Bajreswari Devi is present. She is popularly also know as Kangra Mata, and the legend is that the place was set up by burying the kaan or ear of an asura who was killed by the Pandavas on the orders of the Devi. There are such bhajans for other major temples in the region as well, but as a history enthusiast, this one often draws my attention. The story of Kangra is as much the story of the civilizational wounds that the plains experienced; or perhaps it was worse, given how many times temple desecrations were made a conscious strategy. This song, at some level, seems to pass on the memory of one such gory experience that was witnessed by the peopl...
Painting of Mola Ram showing a girl approaching a black buck and playing a sitar (Courtesy: Victoria and Albert Museum Collection Just a few days ago I was going through a fascinating book written by Mukandi Lal about the Garhwal school of Pahari painting. Though the school, which took off in Raja Prithipat Shah’s reign around 1658, the school became associated with one man and his family - the legendary Mola Ram. Mola Ram was born in 1743, and went on to live for a whole 90 years. He was essentially a painter as part of the family profession that was goldsmith ( Sunar ) by caste, and was based out of Srinagar, which used to be the capital of Garhwal state till Tehri (which now lies submerged) came up due to a malevolent move by the British East India Company. Mola Ram stands out as a painter as per art historians as he managed to create his own signature style that took elements of the Kangra school of art and brought in interesting layers to the art form from other school...