My trip to Amarkantak

My trip to Amarkantak:

                                                           (View of Amarkantak) 

I got in the Bus of Pawandoot Trawel at old Bus Stand in Jabalpur for Amarkantak at 9.15 am on 11^th March,2015. Like other Buses in MP, this Bus was also acting as postman to drop and pick up passengers at every villages on this route. However in this way one can understand the geography of this area. Kundam is the last Tahseel of Jabalpur on this route and then the bus moved on ward to villages-Majhgaon,Chourai,BadarGaon,Sahepura,MudakiBaki,karoundi,Bargaon,Amkhera,Badjhar,Amera,Malpur-Jhuriya,Aanakheda,Vikrampur (Here is Saheed Sthal of Rani Avanti Bai), Gunkhan,Nariya,Sadpur,Jogi tikariya,Dindori , Ghanaghat,Samriya Tiraha(Samariya on right side of the road),Kuda,Geedha,Harra,Khar Gahena,Bisori,Bondar Tiraha ( on left side of this State Highway),Sunepuri,Sagar tola,Bargaon,Gadha Sari,Sikas Talab,Ratna,Mahotra, Kanak Dhara, Rampur, PinjrahaTola, Gorakhpur, Patangadh, Mahangi Road cut, then Roosa,AmalDheeha,Ramnagar,kanranjiya,Bondar,Kabir Choraha(which is the last village of Dindori District on this route) and then reached Balko at 5.30 pm the gate of Amarkantak.

I got accommodation to stay in Mratunjay Ashram due to my social skill which God has bestowed me. In the evening Dr. Udai Singh Rajput along with Dr.Jena Bahera of IGNTU, came to Ashram to invite me to shift to his residence tomorrow. Two students of IGNTU were also already present at the entrance of the Ashram, they did Namaste( hello with regards an Indian style) to their teachers and once they saw their teachers are paying me regards, they also did Namaste to me. 

                                       ( Central Lawn of Mratunjay Ashram)

In reply I did sheikh hands with them friendly and as their teachers left the Ashram, they offered me to have a cup of tea with them. Mr.Amit Tiwari who is President and Lokesh Sahu is Secretary of AVBP in IGNTU.

They discussed with me about my purpose of the visit and they became very happy and asked me to settle  in Amarkantak as the villages of this place need a person like me to improve education of their children. Next day the 12^th March, I got up early in the morning and reached Udgam of Narmada the holy river.

                                          Enterance of the Narmada Udgam campus

                                                          Narmada Udgam temple

                          Maha Arti on the occasion of Narmada Jayanti, Amarkantak

 Adjecent to the Narmada temple, there are monuments of 11^th  century ADof Kalturi period.

(Karndev temple campus, Amarkantak)

                                          Karndev temples ( kalturi Period)
  

(Pataleshwar Mahadev  Temple)

                                                    (   Shivalinga in Palaleshwar Temple) 

                                           ( Vishnu Temple at Karndev temple campus)

(Pond in the temple campus)

On returning from the temples, I was searching a place on the Ashrams road where I could get good tea, I observed number of Aadiwasi people mainly women keeping logs of wood on their heads and selling to the tea stall and Dhabas, each log @ Rs.50. This is the means of their livilyhood along with their seasonal agricultural produce.

(Main road market in Amarkantak)

 At 9.15 am Amit and Lokesh came to Ashram and  they took me to Sharda Mandir School where I met with Mr. Sarkar the founder/organizer and Principal of that school. On sharing my thought, he invited me to come in the summer vocation for teaching to the children of his school to give them basic learning to make them capable to study –read and understand the text of their books which is the common problem in the Govt. schools of  MP. I accepted his request happily. After that we moved with them on their motor bike for Indira Gandhi National Tribal University (IGNTU) to attend the inauguration of International tribal Mela. IGANTU is about 22 km from Amarkantak. After covering 10 km, we reached to Jaleshwar Mode. From here we took right turn and moved about a km we reached Jaleshwar Mahadev temple

                                                              Jaleshwar temple

(From here the  border of Chattisgarh starts.). From Jaleshwar we took right turn for Amreshwar Mahadev Temple. The Shivalinga is of huge size.

Amreshwar temple

After doing worship in these temples we moved back for the Amarkantak Saidol  State High Way to reach IGNTU. After covering another 10 km we reached the village Lalpur and here we took tea. Actually the university area is known as Lalpur , the university is 1 km from here.

                                                                   Entrance of I G N T U

 I met Facebook friends. One is B.A. student (Aman Jaswal) and one professor Dr.Manohar Lal Chddhar. Aman got a stall in the Mela. The university has started this type of International tribal mela first time (from  12 to 20 March,2015)

 Luckily the former Deputy finance officer of ICSSR, New Delhi ( from where I have retired in the year 2011)and my good friend Me.Jana is Finance officer of IGNTU for last few years. He became very happy to see me. I enjoyed the stalls of the Mela as well as cultural programs of tribal of different states with the  students/  friends in the University.

Forest Villages of BAJAG Taheseel. District Dindori.MP

 Forest Villages of BAJAG Taheseel. District Dindori. MP

On 13^th March,2015, Mr. Lokesh Sahu the student of IGANTU whose home is in BAJAG Taheseel, District
 Dindori, requested me to visit the forest villages in surrounding his home and the people of that region badly needs a person like me for which I also came to Amarkantak. I happily accepted his thought and the motor bike was with me. Both of us started at 8.30 in the morning from Amarkantak. We hardly gone few km. the rain started gradually but we did not stop as I wanted to reach our destination earliest but we could not defeat the rain and it compelled us to stop at KABIR CHUBOOTRA( which is in Dindori District). We taken shelter at a tea stall and took tea and enjoyed the weather. The Air was chilly cold , penetrating our skin. As we finished our tea the rain was also stopped and so we also started for our journey via KARANJIA,  and reached GADHA SARAI.  This Gram Panchayat GADHA SARI is on the Jabalpur –Amarkantak State Highway. We entered in this village as here the road to BAJAG Taheseel is better in condition. We reached BAJAG  from GADHA SARAI covering a distance of 18 Kms by crossing the villages Atariya,Patpara,Lalpur, Baghteli,, Banauli,Sringar Shakti, Mis Tola by 11 AM after covering a distance of 95 km. from Amarkantak. The social structure of this Adivasi area has totally changed and Sahu (Teli- who traditionally working to produce edible oil) are in majority and the 2nd strenghth is of Kol tribe. .We took lunch at the home of my student friend. His grandmother was so happy and his whole family welcomed me with traditional hospitality. Just after the lunch we moved for the CHADHA forest village of Schedule tribe via Bhanpur village.It is about 20 km from BAJAG Taheseel . On reaching this forest village we reached the Panchayat Ghar. No one was there. Then we I shouted “anybody is here”. A worker of the Panchayat and a teacher(Prabhari) of the Primary school of another village SILAPIDI  came  then I asked them that I wanted to meet SARPANCH of the village. The SARPANCH came within 5 minutes. Meanwhile I introduced myself and the purpose of my visit. I discussed in details about the problems of the villages and offer my services to teach children as well as to the teachers to improve the teaching standard if some minimum arrangement of my stay is done. As I get information, I will come over here. Then I wanted to cover SILAPIDI ( which was 3 km from this place)and lucky the teacher of that village was with us as a guide and so, it became very easy to reach that place. He took me to his school. This primary school (from I to V class) has the student strength of 71 but only 13 students of different classes were sitting in one room. Their books were open without any teacher. One more teacher also came very soon as we reached the school. It was looking on seeing the faces of the children that they are sitting in a Jail forcefully. The poor attendances of the children have many reasons. How can one expect that two teachers can teach the students of five different classes? This is fun of Education or the system is playing with the life of the children of these remote areas giving the bribe of mid day meal. Only two children could read Hindi book and about English the question does not arise. However the class was decorated with the charts of English alphabets.

From this forest village of Silapidi we moved towards TANTAR village  which was about 10 km . We met with the husaband of newly elected SARPANCH. In the villages the husbands are the active SARPANCH of the reserved seats for women i.e. empowerment to women is still a fun in this form too. But Mr. Govind Sing the husband of the SARPANCH was quite gentle

(Govind Singh -husband of SARPANCH of  forest villageTANTAR)

again met  me at the HAT(Saturday market at DAMEHDI , District Anoop Pur on the way in 

returning to BAJAG, appears a commited person and committed person . He told me no one has come here so for, like you , I would be glad if you come here and guide me where any letters are to be sent for the development of this area ,I will put my signature on that. I have given my contact numbers to all of them and waiting for their call . Most likey I will go next month as I receive their phone call.

The social structure of the tribal cast vise of these regions are as under:

At the Saturday HAT at DAMEHDI,District Anoop Pur(MP), I was sitting in his open shop , few tribal women came and put colours of  Festival HOLI on my face and in return some money as a gift on this occasion. The feeling of happiness which I felt cannot be expressed in words. I observed the beautiful Godna(Tutu) on their legs and taken their photographs.

I also met Mr. Arjun Singh Maravi, the Head Master of the Folk Dance of that tribal region.

Shri Arjun Singh Maravi sitting at right corner at the shop of Shri BudhDev Singh Maravi

He made me aware that the teachers of tribal language (Bega) have been removed from the school. I asked me to give details  of the scheme so that I could find out the reason of their suspension from the Anganwadi/school. Anyway, it is not good as the new generation in many tribal areas (viz.Patalkot,Chindwada District) are not speaking their language and so their language is diminishing. It should be revived and for that tribal teachers should continue to teach their tribal language. The Directorate of Education as well as Department of Tribal welfare should give attention on this issue. 

In retraining, we took another rout from Bajag to Amarkantak via villages Bilai Khar,Pathariya,Sailwara ( here I found Muslim population in large extent on this rout), Musanda, Manikpur and then Gorakhpur and then we taken the Jabalpur Amarkantak Highway. We saved about 20 km short, however the rode is in very bad condition.
We reached near Kabir Chaubotra about 5.00pm and it was almost evening  in its forest. We stopped here for few minutes and then moved to Amarkantak which only fe km. from here.

 

(Forest near Kabir Chaubotra)

Vijay Nath Sondhi (Retired from ICSSR,New Delhi)

Baigad Nala, District Anoop Pur,MP

My visit to Amarkantak & its surroundings from March 11th to March 14th 2015:

This time my purpose to visit Amarkantak was to see the historical monuments as well as to do survey of the educational standard of the children of remote area in its surrounding. I start my trip in the dark and find out my way on reaching the beginning point of my destination in case the tentative plan is disturbed by one reason or the other. The same happened this time also.

On reaching Amarkantak I talked with the manager of Mratunjaay Ashram Mr.Yogesh Dubey. He was so impressed with my thought that he has accommodated me  with the  employee of the Ashram without any charges/payment. Two Professors of Indira Gandhi National Tribal University Dr.Udai Singh Rajput and Dr.Jena Behra came Ashram to meet me and told me that tomorrow they would take me to their place. Meanwhile two students  Mr. Amit Tiwari (President of ABVP) and Mr.Kokesh Sahu( Secretary ABVP)of the University also came and Dr. Rajput introduced me with them. Both of them did hello with lots of respect and I did sheikh hand friendly and they became my best friends in few hours .I came in touch with one of the tribal student of Archeology doing B.A.,in from the IGANTU . I thought he must be the right person for me. I presented my objective of my visit then he told me that a historical temple in deserted form is at  BAIGAD NALA  in Dharhar( District Anoopur) on Amarkantak Shaidol  road. He took me on motor bike ( taken from Dr.Rajput) from Amarkantak-Podki village,Mejary,Jonedhoti, and then reached Dharhar from where taken left turn for BAIGAD  NALA . It is about 30 km from Amarkantak.

At BAIGAD NALA  there is a rainy river which mostly flows in the rainy season and at its surroundings there is a dilapidated small temple of Shiva, one KUND and a pond. The temple appears of Kaltury peiod of 11^th Century AD. This monument is not in the notice of Archeological Survey of India.

                                                                    (Shiva temple)

                                                            ( Kund at Baugad Nala)

                                                             (   Pond at Baigad Nala  )

There is another temple of Lord Ganesha at the bottom of Shiva Temple which appears few years old but the idol is quite old.

                                                ( Ganesh temple at baigad Nala )

The ASI should visit this place and take care of this monument.

Vijay Nath Sondhi

15.03.2015

A LONG WAY TO GO---------SUMA CHITNIS

This book is still relevant as the guidelines for the policy makers.

V.N.Sondhi

Decedents of Royal family of Datia(in brief),MP

Decedents of Datiya State(MP):

Father of Late Shri Kishan Singh of Royal Family of Datiya was married with the princes of Raja Balrampur,UP and he also had one more inter-cast/inter-religion wife. The queen left the Datiya as the king had 2^nd wife and migrated to Khursaidbag Kothi of Lucknow with his all four sons. Her daughter was married with the Yuvraj of royal state of Jambugoda,Gujrat. However the eldest son(Shri Kishan Singh) was staying  mostly in Datiya being the Yuvaraj. I know all this as this royal family members were frequently coming in my childhood, to our house in Sondhi Tola ,Lucknow regarding sale purchase of jewelry etc.and my father was assisting in these deals as he was basically SARRAF.( My father died in January 1966.).In November 2014 I visited Datia first time on my way to Jabalpur by car as I wanted to recall my memories and wanted to meet Shri Kishan Singh ji Maharaj but I could not meet as he expired few moths before which I came to know from his eldest son (in the picture below).

The palace in which the family of Late Shri Kishan Singh Ji living in Datita city is as under

    The eldest son of late shri Kishan Singh .
We met Shri Ram Singh Ji when we were in teen age, years before.

And the family of the step mother of late Shri Kishan Singh Ji is living in another palace in outer Datiya  is as under

The beauty of the both the two streams of the royal families is that they never criticize each others publicly inspite of having no family relationship.