According to Hindu Vedic Scriptures the Kayastha trace their genealogy from Lord Chitragupta. It is said that after Lord Brahma had created the four Varnas (Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas and Shudras), Yama (Dharamraj) requested Lord Brahma to help him record the deeds, both good and evil, of men, and administer justice.
According to scriptures, Lord Brahma went into meditation for 11000 years and when he opened his eyes he saw a man holding a pen and ink-pot in his hands, as well as a sword girdled to his waist. Lord Brahma spoke: You have been created from my body (Kaya) and therefore, you shall progeny be known as the Kayasthas. You have been conceived in my mind (Chitra) and in secrecy (gupta) and hence, your name shall also be Chitragupta. Brahma then enjoined him to dispense justice and punish those who violated the dharma. Thus, the Kayasthas were accorded a dual caste, Brahman/Kshatriya.
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Monday, April 21, 2008
Flora Foutain
View-Flora Fountain
Flora Fountain is a stone fountain situated in Fort business district in the heart of South Mumbai. Flora Fountain was built in 1864. The fountain depicts the Roman goddess Flora. It is now a heritage structure. It was built at a total cost of Rs. 47,000, or 9000 pounds sterling, a princely sum in those days.
It was erected by the Agri-Horticultural society of Western India out of a donation of Rs 20,000 by Cursetjee Fardoonjee Parekh. Designed by R. Norman Shaw, it was sculpted in imported Portland stone by James Forsythe. It now wears a white coat of oil paint.
Flora Fountain was originally to be named after Sir Bartle Frere, the governor of Bombay at the time. However, the name was changed before the fountain was unveiled. It stood at the approximate center of town.
It was erected by the Agri-Horticultural society of Western India out of a donation of Rs 20,000 by Cursetjee Fardoonjee Parekh. Designed by R. Norman Shaw, it was sculpted in imported Portland stone by James Forsythe. It now wears a white coat of oil paint.
Flora Fountain was originally to be named after Sir Bartle Frere, the governor of Bombay at the time. However, the name was changed before the fountain was unveiled. It stood at the approximate center of town.
View-Hutatma Chowk
The square in which the fountain stands was officially named in 1960 as Hutatma Chowk( refer to page titled as Sanyukta Maharashtra Samiti) (Martyr's Square).
Sanyukta Maharashtra Samiti
Sanyukta Maharashtra Samiti
Sanyukta Maharashtra Samiti was an organisation that spearheaded the demand, in the 1950s for the creation of a separate Marathi-speaking state out of the (then bilingual) State of Bombay(refer toBombay Presidency) in western India. The organisation was founded on February 6, 1956 under the leadership of Keshavrao Jedhe in Pune. The prominent activists of Sanyukta Maharashtra Samiti were late Mr.Acharya Atre, late Mr. Prabodhankar Thackeray, late Mr. Senapati Bapat and late Mr. Shahir Amar Shaikh among others. Acharya Atre criticised Jawaharlal Nehru, Morarji Desai (then chief minister of Bombay) and S.K. Patil (a prominent MP from Ghodapdev, Mumbai) through his firebrand editorials in Maratha.
The Indian National Congress had pledged to linguistic states prior to Independence. However after Independence, Nehru and Patel were adamantly opposed to linguistic states. They perceived linguistic states as threat to the integrity of India. For the first time and perhaps the only time, RSS and its chief Golwalkar Guruji supported Nehru and Patel against redrawing of the map along linguistic lines. The catalyst to creation of State Re-organization commission was fasting death of Telegu nationalist Sriramlu Potti. In 1956, the SRC (States Re-organisation Committee) under pressure from Nehru/Patel recommended creation of linguistic states of AP, Kerala, Karnataka, but recommended a bi-lingual state for Maharashtra-Gujarat, with Mumbai as its capital. To add insult to injury (for Samyukta Maharashtra Samiti), they recommended creation of Vidharba state to unite the Marathi speaking people of former Hyderabad state with Holkar's Nagpur state. This lead to creation of Sanyukta Maharashtra Samiti which was previously called Samyuka Maharashtra Parishad. Its inauguration on November 1, 1956, caused a great political stir and, under the leadership of Keshavrao Jedhe, an all-party meeting was held in Pune and Samyukta Maharashtra Samiti was founded on February 6, 1956. In the second general election the Samiti defeated the stalwarts of Congress by securing 101 seats out of 133, including 12 from Mumbai. The Congress could form a government only with the support of Gujarat, Marathwada and Vidarbha. Yeshwantrao Chavan replaced Morarji Desai as the Chief Minister of the bi-lingual Bombay State.
S.M. Joshi, S.A. Dange, N.G. Gore and P.K. Atre, Prabodhankar Thakrey fought relentlessly for Samyukta Maharashtra, even at the cost of sacrificing the lives of several people and finally succeeded in convincing Congress leaders that Maharashtra should form a separate state. The resignation of C.D. Deshmukh, the then Finance Minister of the Nehru Cabinet, had its salutary effect.
In January 1956, demonstrators were fired upon by the police at Flora Foutain in the capital city of Mumbai (Bombay). Flora Fountain was subsequently renamed Hutatma Chowk or "Martyr's Crossroads" in their memory. It is estimated that the 105 people were shot dead by security forces. This was then only second to the Jalianwala Bagh shooting in terms of casualties. Morarji Desai, who was the then chief minister of Bombay state was later removed and replaced by Y.B. Chawan as a result of criticism related to this incident.
The Indian National Congress had pledged to linguistic states prior to Independence. However after Independence, Nehru and Patel were adamantly opposed to linguistic states. They perceived linguistic states as threat to the integrity of India. For the first time and perhaps the only time, RSS and its chief Golwalkar Guruji supported Nehru and Patel against redrawing of the map along linguistic lines. The catalyst to creation of State Re-organization commission was fasting death of Telegu nationalist Sriramlu Potti. In 1956, the SRC (States Re-organisation Committee) under pressure from Nehru/Patel recommended creation of linguistic states of AP, Kerala, Karnataka, but recommended a bi-lingual state for Maharashtra-Gujarat, with Mumbai as its capital. To add insult to injury (for Samyukta Maharashtra Samiti), they recommended creation of Vidharba state to unite the Marathi speaking people of former Hyderabad state with Holkar's Nagpur state. This lead to creation of Sanyukta Maharashtra Samiti which was previously called Samyuka Maharashtra Parishad. Its inauguration on November 1, 1956, caused a great political stir and, under the leadership of Keshavrao Jedhe, an all-party meeting was held in Pune and Samyukta Maharashtra Samiti was founded on February 6, 1956. In the second general election the Samiti defeated the stalwarts of Congress by securing 101 seats out of 133, including 12 from Mumbai. The Congress could form a government only with the support of Gujarat, Marathwada and Vidarbha. Yeshwantrao Chavan replaced Morarji Desai as the Chief Minister of the bi-lingual Bombay State.
S.M. Joshi, S.A. Dange, N.G. Gore and P.K. Atre, Prabodhankar Thakrey fought relentlessly for Samyukta Maharashtra, even at the cost of sacrificing the lives of several people and finally succeeded in convincing Congress leaders that Maharashtra should form a separate state. The resignation of C.D. Deshmukh, the then Finance Minister of the Nehru Cabinet, had its salutary effect.
In January 1956, demonstrators were fired upon by the police at Flora Foutain in the capital city of Mumbai (Bombay). Flora Fountain was subsequently renamed Hutatma Chowk or "Martyr's Crossroads" in their memory. It is estimated that the 105 people were shot dead by security forces. This was then only second to the Jalianwala Bagh shooting in terms of casualties. Morarji Desai, who was the then chief minister of Bombay state was later removed and replaced by Y.B. Chawan as a result of criticism related to this incident.
Hutatma Chowk and behind visible is flora fountain
The Samyukta Maharashtra Samiti achieved its goal on May 1, 1960 when the State of Bombay was partitioned into the Marathi-speaking State of Maharashtra. However, Goa (then a Portuguese colony), Belgaum, Karwar and adjoining areas which were also the parts of the Maharashtra envisioned by the Samiti, were not included in Maharashtra state. Belgaum district, which has a majority Marathi population, is still in dispute.
Bombay Presidency
Map & bunglow of the Governor, Bombay Presidency
During British rule portions of the western coast of India under direct British rule were part of the Bombay Presidency. In 1937, the Bombay Presidency became a province of British India. Bombay Presidency was comprised of the three British divisions or commissionerates i. e. the northern, the southern, and the Sindh divisions with the following 24 districts:-- Bombay, Ahmedabad,KairaMahals, Broach, Surat, Tanna, Kolaba, Khandesh, Nasik, Ahmadnagar, Belgaum, Kanara. Dharwar, Kaladgi, Pune, Ratnagiri, Satara, Sholapur, Upper Sindh Frontier, Karachi, Hydarabad, Shikarpur, and Thar Parkar. The Native states were under the supervision of British political officer, and were divided into 16 agencies, viz., Baroda, Kachh, Kathiawar, Kaira, Surat, Sholapur, Satara, Kolhapur, South Marhatha Country, Rewkanta, Mahikanta, Pahlanpur, Sawantwadi, Tanna, Colaba, and Dharwar. The Presidency also included Daman, Diu, and Goa under . Portuguese rule. After Indian independence in 1947, the former princely Gujarat states and the Deccan states were merged with the former Bombay province which was renamed as the State of Bombay.
The State of Bombay was significantly enlarged on November 1, 1956 expanding eastward to incorporate the Marathi-speaking Marathwada region of Hyderabad State, the Marathi-speaking Vidarbha region of southern Madhya Pradesh and Gujarati-speaking Saurashtra & Kutch. The southernmost, Kannada-speaking portion of the state became part of the new linguistic state of Karnataka. The state was being referred to by the local inhabitants as Maha Dwibhashi Rajya, literally, the great bilingual state.
The state was home to both Marathi and Gujarati linguistic movements, both seeking to create separate linguistic states. The Mahagujarat movement in Gujarat was led by Shri Indubhai Yagnik. On May 1, 1960, after a movement for a separate Marathi state turned violent, the State of Bombay was partitioned into the States of Gujarat and Maharashtra.
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Quit India Movement
View:- Quit India Movement
On July 14, 1942, the Indian National Congress passed a resolution demanding complete independence from Britain. The draft proposed that if the British did not accede to the demands, massive civil disobedience would be launched.
However, it proved to be controversial within the party. A prominent Congress national leader Chakravarti Rajgopalachari quit the Congress over this decision, and so did some local and regional level organizers. Jawaharlal Nehru and Maulana Azad were apprehensive and critical of the call, but backed it and stuck with Gandhi's leadership till the end. Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and Dr. Rajendra Prasad were openly and enthusiastically in favor of such a disobedience movement, as were many veteran Gandhians and socialists like Ashok Mehta and JayPrakash Narayan.
The Congress had lesser success in rallying other political forces under a single flag and mast. Smaller parties like the Communist Party of India and the Hindu Mahasabha opposed the call. Muhammad Ali Jinnah's opposition to the call led to large numbers of Muslims cooperating with the British, and the Muslim League obtaining power in the Imperial provincial governments.
On August 8, 1942 the Quit India Resolution was passed at the Bombay session of the All India Congress Committee (AICC). At Gowalia Tank, Bombay (now known as August Kranti Maidan), Gandhi told Indians to follow non-violent civil disobedience. He told the masses to act as an independent nation. His call found support among a large number of Indians.
However, it proved to be controversial within the party. A prominent Congress national leader Chakravarti Rajgopalachari quit the Congress over this decision, and so did some local and regional level organizers. Jawaharlal Nehru and Maulana Azad were apprehensive and critical of the call, but backed it and stuck with Gandhi's leadership till the end. Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and Dr. Rajendra Prasad were openly and enthusiastically in favor of such a disobedience movement, as were many veteran Gandhians and socialists like Ashok Mehta and JayPrakash Narayan.
The Congress had lesser success in rallying other political forces under a single flag and mast. Smaller parties like the Communist Party of India and the Hindu Mahasabha opposed the call. Muhammad Ali Jinnah's opposition to the call led to large numbers of Muslims cooperating with the British, and the Muslim League obtaining power in the Imperial provincial governments.
On August 8, 1942 the Quit India Resolution was passed at the Bombay session of the All India Congress Committee (AICC). At Gowalia Tank, Bombay (now known as August Kranti Maidan), Gandhi told Indians to follow non-violent civil disobedience. He told the masses to act as an independent nation. His call found support among a large number of Indians.
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Hornby Vellard
The Hornby Vellard was a project to build a causeway uniting all seven islands of Bombay into a single island with a deep natural harbour. The project was started by the governor William Hornby in 1782 and all islands were linked by 1838. The word vellard appears to be a local corruption of the Portuguese word vallado meaning fence or embankment.
It was completed in 1784 was one of the first major civil engineering projects which transformed the original seven islands of Bombay into one island. Work on the vellard was started in 1782 by William Hornby, then Governor of Bombay, against the wishes of the directors of the East India Company.
The purpose of this vellard was to block the Worli creek and prevent the low-lying areas of Bombay from being flooded at high tide. The cost was estimated at about Rs. 100,000.
According to some accounts, Hornby ordered the work to be started after the East India Company turned down his proposal; and continued as Governor till the end of his term in 1784, ignoring the suspension notice sent to him.
One story of the origin of the Mahalaxmi Temple links it to a vision of a statue of Laxmi in the sea. The chief engineer dreamed of the statue following multiple collapses of the sea-wall; recovered it, and built the temple as an offering for safe construction of the vellard.
It was completed in 1784 was one of the first major civil engineering projects which transformed the original seven islands of Bombay into one island. Work on the vellard was started in 1782 by William Hornby, then Governor of Bombay, against the wishes of the directors of the East India Company.
The purpose of this vellard was to block the Worli creek and prevent the low-lying areas of Bombay from being flooded at high tide. The cost was estimated at about Rs. 100,000.
According to some accounts, Hornby ordered the work to be started after the East India Company turned down his proposal; and continued as Governor till the end of his term in 1784, ignoring the suspension notice sent to him.
One story of the origin of the Mahalaxmi Temple links it to a vision of a statue of Laxmi in the sea. The chief engineer dreamed of the statue following multiple collapses of the sea-wall; recovered it, and built the temple as an offering for safe construction of the vellard.
Bangaga Tank
view of Banganga Tank
Banganga or Banganga Tank is an ancient water tank which is part of the Walkeshwar Temple Complex in Malabar Hill area of Mumbai.
The Tank was built in the 1127 AD, by Lakshman Prabhu, a minister in the court of Silhara dynasty kings in Thane.The tank was rebuilt in 1715 AD, out of a donation for the Walkeshwar temple by Rama Kamath. The main temple has been reconstructed since then and is at present a reinforced concrete structure of recent construction.
According to local legend, it sprang forth when the Hindu god Ram, the exiled hero of the epic Ramayana, stopped at the spot five thousand years ago in search of his kidnapped wife Sita.
As the legend goes, overcome with fatigue and thirst, Rama asked his brother Laxman to bring him some water. Laxman instantly shot an arrow into the ground, and water gushed forth from the ground, creating a tributary of the Ganges, which flows over a thousand miles away, hence its name, Banganga, the 'Ganga' created out on a 'Baan' (Arrow).
The Banganga also houses the 'Shri Kashi Math' of the Goud Saraswat Brahmins at its banks and samadhis of their various past heads of the Math.
The area also has a Hindu cremation ground which after 2003, received a makeover to house a Gas crematorium.
The area still has an old Hindu cemetery consisting of samadhi shrines of various Advaita gurus, such as Sri Ranjit Maharaj (1913-2000) and his guru Sri Siddarameshwar Maharaj (1888-1936).
As the legend goes, overcome with fatigue and thirst, Rama asked his brother Laxman to bring him some water. Laxman instantly shot an arrow into the ground, and water gushed forth from the ground, creating a tributary of the Ganges, which flows over a thousand miles away, hence its name, Banganga, the 'Ganga' created out on a 'Baan' (Arrow).
The Banganga also houses the 'Shri Kashi Math' of the Goud Saraswat Brahmins at its banks and samadhis of their various past heads of the Math.
The area also has a Hindu cremation ground which after 2003, received a makeover to house a Gas crematorium.
The area still has an old Hindu cemetery consisting of samadhi shrines of various Advaita gurus, such as Sri Ranjit Maharaj (1913-2000) and his guru Sri Siddarameshwar Maharaj (1888-1936).
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