Himachal Archives

Raja Ajmer Chand of Kahlur (Potrait at Brookings Museum) The more one reads about the nature of the ruling dynasties of the Hill states of the Western Himalayas, the more fascinating it gets. The realization that the Hill states indeed became a repository for a culture that literally vanished from the North and Centre of India starts to weigh in on the mind, and makes you wonder whether there can be any recreation as part of a cultural project, though it may be a near impossibility. I have talked about the nature of origins of Kullu, Suket and Mandi, particularly their links to Bengal’s old Gaudiya and Pala dynasties. However, another important state of the region came up from the central Indian heartland, which does not seem to get highlighted enough. The state of Bilaspur (of Himachal, not to be confused with Chhattisgarh), or Kahlur as it was also known, was set up by an offshoot from the ruling family of Chandela Rajputs of Bundelkhand. This has been interestingly captured by Hutc...

I have written previously about the BrijRaj Swami temple of Nurpur, which has its own tale of protection from iconoclasm. The temple that stands today was actually the palace of Raja Jagat Singh Pathania, after the original temple as destroyed by forces of Shah Jahan in 1641. However, the present temple has unfortunately been coated with a horrendous blue paint, and neither the Himachal Pradesh government nor the Government of India and their archaeological bodies have made any efforts to restore the paintings of this temple. The painting frescoes of this temple are a classic example of the emergent Pahari art style, one sub-branch of which transformed into the Nurpur shaili  . The red backdrop, the perspective laden fine detailing among others are still visible in whatever is left of the temple's frescoes. I can only hope that it is revived soon. That would be true justice to the history of the region. For now, some pictures of frescoes that I had captured a couple of years ago. E...

Sansar Chand With O'Brien (Source: Chandigarh Museum and Art Gallery) Going through some Kangra paintings, I was a little surprised to see a man dressed like a British soldier serving the great monarch of Kangra Maharaja Sansar Chand Katoch. This was quite surprising, given the period’s turbulence and the ongoing tussles of the Lahore Darbar, to which he was also a feudatory, and the British East India Company (EIC). The painting, on prominent display in the Chandigarh Museum and Art Gallery, actually turned up in my searches as a result of their official handle’s tweet that mentioned briefly his contribution (on a side note, do follow for some wonderful material they tweet out time to time).  'Sansar Chand and O'Brien',Kangra,c.1810(240) O’Brien was described as “a European adventurer...who established a factory of small arms and raised a disciplined force of 1400 men” for the raja #kangra #portrait #painting #pahari #arthistory #indianart #history #royalty #...

Bhimsen Thapa's troops, right, at Sugauli, 1816, with India Pattern Brown Bess muskets and chupi bayonets (Source: Wikimedia Commons) While many would feel that the India-Nepal dispute is something new, detailed examination would tell that the problem actually goes back to the British East India Company's days. In the 1799, the Ranas of Nepal, having united under a single banner and undertook an expansionist policy. One must commend the strength, maneuverability and the resilience of the Gorkha forces who managed to expand on both sides of the country, crossing Sikkim on the east and reaching upto the watershed of the Beas river on the west. Several forts of the Gorkhas still mark the memory of their presence, identifiable by their distinct style of construction. One particular fort, which was in fact the largest Gurkha fortification can still be seen in Parwanoo in the Kasauli region.  Doorway of Gurkha Fort in Parwanoo  The period of the Gurkhas is remembered not with much p...