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World Radio Day 2020: Theme, origin and everything you need to know - art and culture

It is generally believed that the first radio transmission was made by Guglielmo Marconi in 1895 and radio broadcasting of music and talk that was aimed towards a wider audience came into existence, albeit experimentally, sometimes around 1905-1906.The radio came into existence commercially in the early 1920s. Radio stations came into existence almost three decades later and the radio and broadcasting system became a common commodity around the world by the 1950s.Almost 60 years later, in 2011, Member States of UNESCO proclaimed February 13 as being World Radio Day. It was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 2013 as an International event.One of the most widely consumed medium at the global level, the UN says the radio has the ability to “shape a society’s experience of diversity, stand as an arena for all voices to speak out, be represented and heard.”ALSO READ: This World Radio Day, exploring love in the time of radio that used to beOriginFollowing a proposal from Spain, UNESCO’s Executive Board recommended to the General Conference the proclamation of World Radio Day, based on a consultation process carried out by UNESCO in 2011. Subsequently, the then Director-General of UNESCO proposed the formation of United Nations Radio on February 13, 1946 and subsequently at its 36th session, UNESCO proclaimed February 13 as World Radio Day.The UN General Assembly formally endorsed UNESCO’s proclamation of World Radio Day on January 14, 2013. During its 67th session, the UN adopted a resolution proclaiming February 13 as World Radio Day.ObjectiveAccording to the United Nations, the objective of World Radio Day is to raise greater awareness among the public and media regarding the importance of radio.The day also aims to encourage radio stations to provide access to information through their medium and enhance networking and international cooperation among broadcasters.ThemeThe theme of World Radio Day 2020 is ‘Radio and Diversity’. According to UNESCO, radio stations should serve diverse communities and offer a wide range of programmes.For World Radio Day 2020, UNESCO has called on radio stations to uphold diversity, both in their newsroom and on the airwaves.The theme of World Radio Day can be broadly divided into three main categories, according to UNESCO.Diversity in the radio landscape: The development of policy environments which can lead to transparency and diversity of media ownership is the cornerstone to the radio sector being pluralistic, inclusive and democratic.Diversity in the newsroom: Radio stations could bring multi-cultural teams that offer different perspectives on issues, through equal opportunity and fair treatment policies.Diversity on the airwaves: Radio stations can offer a variety of shows and programmes that range from reportage and documentaries to talk shows and podcasts. Within the programmes themselves, there can be diversity in terms of language, music and mood to reflect the diversity of humanity.(This story has been published from a wire agency feed with a few modifications to the text.)Follow more stories on Facebook and Twitter Read the full article

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Mumbaiwale: An exhibition of rare Air India memorabilia - mumbai news

Maharajah of the Skies – An Indian HeritageWhat: An exhibition of photographs of objects in the Air India archivesWhere: Nehru Center, WorliWhen: Thursday, Feb 13 to Sunday Feb 16. 9.30am to 7pm. Entry is freeMore information: http://bhopalliteraturefestival.com/maharajah_of_the_skies/What will become of Air India? While companies edge close to making bids to buy it, a brighter side of the national carrier goes on display next week. Maharajah of the Skies – An Indian Heritage opens at the Nehru Center in Worli on Wednesday. It’s a collection of photographs of Air India-related memorabilia, amassed over 87 years, stored in an archive at the company’s Nariman Point headquarters, and never shown before.Entry is free. But as with a flight, arrive early and give yourself plenty of time. The show is spread across 125 panels and includes images of Air India’s specially commissioned art works, iconic posters, diaries, in-flight menus, sales letters, coasters, luggage tags and other rare artefacts from a time when flying was glamorous and no one skimped on legroom. Curator Meera Dass and designer Huzoor Choudhry cover the company’s origins; its founder, JRD Tata; engineers; service missions for sports, culture and rescue; branding; and even their cargo division. Here’s what to know before you go.

India’s first international flight, is commemorated on a stamp. ( HT FILE ) Air India is more than an airline. Its history goes back to 1932, when JRD founded Tata Airlines, flying the first single-engine de Havilland Puss Moth, full of mail, from Karachi to the Juhu aerodrome, and then onward to Madras. The airline was incorporated into Air India after World War 2. But Tata was always involved. He was on board the Malabar Princess in 1948, Air India’s first international flight, which flew from Bombay to London via Cairo and Geneva, with 35 passengers. “It landed on time,” says Uttara Parikh, one of the show’s coordinators, who worked for the airline for 32 years and retired in 1999. “Mr Tata was so meticulous about punctuality, he told everyone they could set their watches by the landing time.”

The show is a branding bonanza. With Air India, you couldn’t escape Air India. Motifs, art and design covered every aspect of the company, from local and international posters, envelopes and souvenir calendars, down to themed luggage tags, and matchbooks whose matchstick heads were shaped like the Maharajah. “It was an attempt to showcase what Air India stood for,” says Dass. Bhanu Athaiya styled one calendar as miniature paintings in 1983, just before she went on to collect an Oscar for her costume design on the film, Gandhi.

Posters represented India abroad ( HT FILE ) But it started with art.The company’s unusual art collection – a staggering 8,000 works – came about when in 1956, Air India paid Rs 87.60 for six paintings of Indian women by a young artist called B Prabha. Those images went on menu cards and other promotional material. Foreign travellers were floored by the new visual signage. “Their reaction sparked the idea to create a collection,” says Parikh. Eventually, global offices started displaying contemporary art too. “We also fly,” Bobby Kooka, the company’s commercial director, would often joke. “It showed that Air India thought of itself first as a cultural organisation,” says Parikh.

Bombay was the mothership. The art studio set up on the 18th floor of the Air India building, was the place to be. Calligraphers would hand-paint dates on the calendars, flight attendant uniforms – resplendent Indianwear – would be designed, and decor for the glamorous 747s would be worked out. They even produced a manual on how Maharajah iconography was to be displayed.

Salvador Dali designed an ashtray. The Spanish artist created a shell-shaped green-enamelled porcelain and bisque work, with a serpent around its perimeter and swans at the bottom, in 1967. It was for Air India’s first-class guests. In exchange, Dali asked for a baby elephant. Parkh was tasked with procuring one. The Byculla zoo didn’t have any, so she got one from the Bangalore zoo and flew him to Dali, who named the animal Saras.

Other big names have collaborated too. Among the photos in the show are 12 advertisements that New Yorker cartoonist Peter Arno created for the airline. There are also photographer Margaret Bourke-White’s images of sari-clad Air India flight attendants, which were shot for Life magazine.There’s been an in-flight wedding. In 1994, the family of jewellery baron Lakshman Popley chartered an Air India flight from Bombay to Ahmedabad, so his son Dilip could tie the knot 26,000 feet in the air.

There’s a museum online too. Piyush Khaitan, who maintains the exhaustive memorabilia resource site AirIndiaCollector.com, says Air India was “truly the ambassador of India”. Its legacy now lies in the former employees and collectors who hold on to its history. Khaitan built his collection from the ground up, sourcing from raddiwallas to auction houses abroad, and “pestering Air India old-timers for keepsakes”. His favourite item is a collection of 300 beer coasters dating from 1948 to the present. “Each is a result of painstaking effort by artists in the Air India design studio,” he says. The site sparks joy worldwide. “People send me greetings, reminiscences and artefacts. It is such a wonderful feeling hearing from them.” Read the full article

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Here’s how hot pots helped ancient Siberian hunters survive Ice Age - art and culture

Ancient Siberian hunters created heat-resistant pots so that they could cook hot meals -- surviving the harshest seasons of the last Ice Age by extracting nutritious bone grease, and marrow from meat, according to a study. The research, published in the journal Quaternary Science Reviews, also suggests there was no single point of origin for the world’s oldest pottery. The last Ice Age reached its deepest point between 26,000 and 20,000 years ago, forcing humans to abandon northern regions, including large parts of Siberia. From around 19,000 years ago, temperatures slowly started to warm again, encouraging small bands of hunters to move back into these vast empty landscapes, said researchers, including those from the University of York in the UK. They extracted and analysed ancient fats and lipids that had been preserved in pieces of ancient pottery -- found at a number of sites on the Amur River in Russia -- whose dates ranged between 16,000 and 12,000 years ago. “It is interesting that pottery emerges during these very cold periods, and not during the comparatively warmer interstadials when forest resources, such as game and nuts, were more available,” said Professor Oliver Craig from the University of York. Why these pots were first invented in the final stages of the last Ice Age has long been a mystery, as well as the kinds of food that were being prepared in them, the researchers said. They also examined pottery found from the Osipovka culture on the Amur River. Analysis proved that pottery from there had been used to process fish, most likely migratory salmon, which offered local hunters an alternative food source during periods of major climatic fluctuation. An identical scenario was identified by the same research group in neighbouring islands of Japan. The latest study demonstrates that the world’s oldest clay cooking pots were being made in very different ways in several parts of Northeast Asia. This indicates a “parallel” process of innovation, where separate groups that had no contact with each other started to move towards similar kinds of technological solutions in order to survive, the researchers said. “We are very pleased with these latest results because they close a major gap in our understanding of why the world’s oldest pottery was invented in different parts of Northeast Asia in the Late Glacial Period, and also the contrasting ways in which it was being used by these ancient hunter-gatherers,” said Shinya Shoda, of the National Research Institute for Cultural Properties in Japan. The insights are particularly interesting because they suggest that there was no single “origin point” for the world’s oldest pottery, the researchers said. “We are starting to understand that very different pottery traditions were emerging around the same time but in different places, and that the pots were being used to process very different sets of resources,” said Professor Peter Jordan from the University of Groningen, in the Netherlands. “This appears to be a process of parallel innovation during a period of major climatic uncertainty, with separate communities facing common threats and reaching similar technological solutions,” Jordan said.(This story has been published from a wire agency feed with a few modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.)Follow more stories on Facebook and Twitter Read the full article

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Alyona Alyona, the plus-sized queen of Ukrainian rap - art and culture

Alyona Alyona is turning the macho rules of rap on their head.For a start, the former kindergarten teacher tries never to swear in her songs.She proudly raps in the Ukrainian she grew up speaking in her rustic home village, rather than in English or Russian.And she has become something of a plus-size icon for letting it all hang out in a silver swimming costume in the video for her first big hit, Ribki (Fish).Flanked by two scantily-clad, pencil-thin women of the type that usually people rap videos, the song is a clear metaphor for young women who feel out of place.The rapper, whose real name is Alyona Savranenko, has put body positivity, bullying and female empowerment in songs that defy the stereotype of what hip-hop should be.The hugely popular 28-year-old has become a phenomenon in Europe, tearing it up at the Eurosonic showcase in the Groningen in the Netherlands last month after being picked out as a rising star by the New York Times.  - ‘Such a story’ -“She’s really extraordinary, and hugely charming,” said Jean-Louis Brossard, who booked the charismatic performer for his Trans festival in the French city of Rennes last year.“She brings people together with her smile and her enthusiasm -- and she has such a story,” he told AFP. “She is super-good, technically great, sassy, what can I say?” added music journalist Eloise Bouton, who founded the Madame Rap website.Her videos have scored millions of hits despite their down-to-earth settings like her home village in central Ukraine, where horses and carts were a common sight in her childhood.One clip, which starts with her parents at the kitchen table of their Soviet-era apartment, has had nearly four million views.Ukraine’s biggest rapper began writing poetry when she was six, but discovered hip-hop at 12.At first, she copied or translated American rap before finding her own voice and addressing young women’s place in society.“I wasn’t a gangster, I was a kindergarten teacher,” she said.But Alyona’s life changed when the video for “Fish”, which featured her frolicking on a jet ski, went viral. “At the beginning, I was scared” by all the attention, she told AFP.“The video got so many views that journalists started to come to see me” in the tiny village nursery school near Kiev where she taught.- Facing down sexism -Alyona realised if she was going to get serious about her musical career, she would have to give up her job.“‘Fish’ is about women who have piercings, tattoos or strange coloured hair, or a body that is not seen as normal,” the singer said.“We, these women, are like fish in tank. And behind the glass, we don’t hear the nasty words directed at us,” she added.Another track Pushka, which roughly translates as “the bomb”, also challenges how women are seen. In it, Alyona calls herself a “pishka”, a term of abuse for someone who is overweight.Other lyrics are more poignant: “They may have a fresh view on everything, but they never invite us home...”Hip-hop is hardly known as a hotbed of feminist thinking, and Alyona has had to put up with some zingers.“They have told me that women were made to cook, to look after children, to do their nails, to do their makeup,” she recalled.- Body positive -“But I try to show that women have their place in rap battles,” the off-the-cuff bragging contests that characterise the genre.And Alyona has found her niche, far from the cliches of “drugs and gangs -- because that is not my life. I go to see my parents or go on holiday. “I try to inspire people. I am not just there to say to women that they can be rappers, but to tell them to believe in themselves,” she said. Even though Alyona grew up idolising Eminem -- “He represents everything you should do and not do at the same time,” she quipped -- she prefers not to rap in English or in Russian, which might also bring her a bigger audience.“I taught in Ukrainian and I want to say things in Ukrainian,” she insisted.But she denied that it had anything to do with nationalism. “I don’t like politics. My generation is tired by politics... we want to create new things. There are so many great performers, painters, so many talented people out there.”(This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.)Follow more stories on Facebook and Twitter Read the full article

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Virginia Woolf 138th Birth Anniversary: Why you should read Virginia Woolf; quotes by the author for every 21st-century feminist - books

“Why am I so incredibly and incurably romantic about Cornwall? One’s past, I suppose; I see children running in the garden... The sound of the sea at night... almost forty years of life, all built on that, permeated by that: so much I could never explain,” Virginia Woolf wrote employing the stream-of-consciousness approach best explaining her writing technique.A video by TED-Ed explains why one should read Virginia Woolf, saying that “if William Shakespeare had a female version, it would be Virginia Woolf”. Born in London on January 25, the celebrated author was best known for her novels namely Mrs. Dalloway (1925) and To the Lighthouse (1927). She also wrote essays on artistic theory, literary history, women’s writing, the politics of power and was also popular for the numerous letters she wrote to her family members. While Mrs. Dalloway (1925) and To the Lighthouse (1927) are her most famous books, she is also credited with writing The Voyage Out (1915), Jacob’s Room (1922), Orlando (1928), and The Waves (1931). Her most famous essay was A Room of One’s Own (1929).Woolf’s poignant Reminiscences, a book about her childhood and the loss of her mother was published in 1908. Virginia Woolf suffered from mental health ailments nearly all her life which had begun with the death of some family members she was very close to, including her father. She was constantly nagged by depressive worries feeling she was a failure as a writer and a woman, or that she was despised by her sister and painter Vanessa Bell and unloved by her husband Leonard Woolf. After a provoked a suicide attempt in September 1913, she started on her road to recovery and kept the demons of mania and depression mostly at bay for the rest of her life.Her literary technique: Virginia Woolf’s haunting language, her insights into a wide array of issues including historical, political, feminist, and artistic, and the non-linear approaches to the narrative which she adopted, exerted a major influence on the modernist genre. E.M Forster, Clive Bell, Roger Fry and Leonard Woolf are notable names of modernism and belonged to the same group who came to be known as The Bloomsbury Group. In her diary that she describes people as “splinters & mosaics”. Her essay titled Modern Novels (1919, revised in 1925 as Modern Fiction) attacked the “materialists” who wrote about superficial rather than spiritual experiences. One might opine that Mrs. Dalloway, set in the course of a day, is as patterned as a Post-Impressionist painting but is also an exact representation of the character’s movements through the streets of London on this day in June. Through To the Lighthouse and The Waves, Virginia Woolf became one of the three major English-language Modernist experimenters in stream-of-consciousness writing along with names like James Joyce (Ulysses) and William Faulkner (The Sound and the Fury). Stream-of-consciousness writing was first used by the psychologist William James in The Principles of Psychology (1890). The stream-of-consciousness novel usually uses the narrative techniques of interior monologue, distortions in time and multiple or shifting perspectives. Feminism: Her feminist views spoke of unequal opportunities for women which negatively affect all of society. Through her 1931 talk Professions for Women, she urged women to destroy the “angel in the house,” a reference to Coventry Patmore’s poem of that title, the quintessential Victorian paean to women who sacrifice themselves to men.Her tragic death:She committed suicide by drowning herself in the River Ouse near her home in Sussex. Her body was not found for three weeks. She left a heartbreaking suicide note to her husband which began: “Dearest, I feel certain that I am going mad again. I feel we can’t go through another of those terrible times. And I shan’t recover this time.” Woolf’s quotes stand true most in our times. Here are a few that evoke feminist pride and show what a visionary this celebrated author and important voice was in literary history. “I would venture to guess that Anon, who wrote so many poems without signing them, was often a woman.” - A Room of One’s Own

“Lock up your libraries if you like; but there is no gate, no lock, no bolt that you can set upon the freedom of my mind.” - A Room of One’s Own

“Books are the mirrors of the soul.” - Between the Acts

“Writing is like sex. First you do it for love, then you do it for your friends, and then you do it for money.”

“As a woman I have no country. As a woman I want no country. As a woman, my country is the whole world.”

“I can only note that the past is beautiful because one never realises an emotion at the time. It expands later, and thus we don’t have complete emotions about the present, only about the past.”

“No need to hurry. No need to sparkle. No need to be anybody but oneself.” - A Room of One’s Own / Three Guineas

“How much better is silence; the coffee cup, the table. How much better to sit by myself like the solitary sea-bird that opens its wings on the stake. Let me sit here forever with bare things, this coffee cup, this knife, this fork, things in themselves, myself being myself.” - The Waves

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So you think you can dance? - art and culture

Stefano Fardelli, of his eponymous dance company, is of the opinion that India has a huge dance community but unfortunately, “there are hardly any academies that offer a degree or diploma, which is recognised at the international or a professional level”. He says, “To be a part of an international dance group or platform, you will have to prove that you have a certified degree. It also means that you have to be trained in ballet and contemporary. EurAsia gives a chance to talents to learn and work at such a level. Also, it is an opportunity for these dancers to spread their culture outside their own country.”So, if you have always had the desire to pursue dance at an international level but didn’t know how to go about it, then EurAsia Dance Auditions by Stefano Fardelli Dance Company, supported by the Italian Embassy and Istituto Italiano di Cultura of Delhi and Mumbai, is organising an audition for dancers, who perform contemporary and hip-hop styles. Those who are selected, will get the opportunity to become a part of the EurAsia Network in Italy. They will also be awarded a 50% scholarship for the three to four year-long programme or two-year-long masters course.Born in Italy, Fardelli is a dancer, choreographer, teacher and artistic director of EurAsia Dance Project International Network. Trained at the MAS Academy in Milan, Italy, he then continued his studies in other choreographic centres across Europe. Among his international collaborations are the Berlin Opera, BBC, The Place, Royal Finland Opera, Les Gens d’Uterpan, English National Opera, Cie Twain, to name a few.Fardelli will select aspiring contemporary and hip-hop dance students for a professional course in DanceHaus (Italy), CDSH (Germany), DanceHaus Hip-Hop Department (Italy), and The Danish Talent Academy (Denmark). “We don’t give this kind of scholarship even to our students for all three years. This is a great opportunity for people coming from outside Europe, otherwise it is not possible for many to do justice to their own talents,” Fardelli says, adding that it is difficult for people coming from other countries to bear the costs at European institutes.He goes on to share, “There are also not many teachers here who would be able to teach the correct techniques of contemporary styles. I am not talking about the Indian traditional dance forms. That is your form and you are the best at it. I’m talking about careers in ballet, hip-hop, etc. Dance is not considered a career in many countries, so a lot of talented people do not receive the kind of support they should get. Our attempt is to help these people.” Read the full article

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Love Chris Rock and his angry vibe - art and culture

At a time when smartphones and highspeed internet was taking off, comedian Rohan Joshi’s career was in its nascent stage. He started the All India Bakchod (AIB) YouTube channel in 2013 along with fellow comedians Tanmay Bhat, Gursimran Khamba and Ashish Shakya.Over the years, Rohan has tried to build his own brand of comedy as well. With his new solo stand-up special Wake N Bake, produced by Only Much Louder (OML), the comedian opens up about comedy, Online platforms, and more. Edited excerpts.Could you share some details about your latest show?Wake N Bake is my first ever stand-up special. It has taken me about a year and a half to write it. It is a selection of jokes and thoughts about various topics. It does have a common theme running but it is at the end of the day, a collection of jokes. They are not massively deep or profound. It’s just me on stage for an hour, taking the audience on a journey. It is about things that I am learning as I grow older.Why is it that you thought that this was the right time to come up with a show like this?It’s just something that I wanted to do but I had other priorities. Now, I finally feel like I have time and it also feels like I am ready to do a show by myself. Although I have been in comedy for a decade, it is kind of embarrassing that I hadn’t written an hour-long solo special yet. That is the reason I wanted to get this done.What do you think of the various online streaming platforms that are emerging?It is incredible and a blessing for comedians such as myself. They allow you to host so many different shows that a traditional television format wouldn’t. You can have unlimited content on these platforms. In television, there is the scope of making something theatrical or a typical series. These platforms give you a much larger platform to try different styles and genres, as a creator. In comedy itself, so many sessions are different from one another. But, the biggest boon has been quality content. It doesn’t have to fall into the mediocrity of television. Why do these platforms give comedy so much importance?People live stressful lives. News is so scary these days, so maybe people need that catharsis of laughter. Comedy is also another way of presenting an argument as opposed to shouting at people’s faces. That’s why we need comedy.What genre of comedy is trending right now?There are a bunch of genres. Though the one thing we notice right now is relatability. Earlier, if you kept yourself away from the crowd, it was considered mysterious. But now, if you’re more relatable or humane, the audience is able to see themselves in you. It is evident from the latest crop of internet stars as well, who try to work their way around relatable content, and I’ve heard so many people in the crowd say, ‘oh my god, that is so me!’ to those jokes.What does it take for a stand-up comedian to connect with the audience?On stage, good jokes and interesting stage presence is what sets you apart. Who is your favourite comedian?I love Kanan Gill and Zakir Khan. Internationally, Ali Wong is hilarious. I also like John Mulaney. From the older lot, I like Chris Rock, I love that angry vibe he carries on stage.You were once a journalist and then you became the ‘news’ itself. How do you feel about that? Does it come with a lot of stress?It comes with a little stress because at the end of the day, you’re in front of the public eye, but that’s a very small trade-off. There are other benefits such as people treat you nicely, it pays well, you get to do what you love for a living.Being a journalist has helped me understand what to say, and what not to say. I know what I could get misquoted on, I am aware of how content can be selectively edited against me. There are people with their own agendas waiting for an opportunity to tweak things I say. Coming from a news background, it has helped me be more aware and careful. Could regional comedy ever be mainstream?It was always mainstream. For the simple fact that there are more people who speak and relate to their respective vernacular languages. A Johnny Lever or a Raju Srivastava will have way more viewers than I do. I don’t think it is different, it has always been mainstream for a really long time. Their number and their tickets have been higher. In fact, we are the industry that’s new and are playing catch up with them with our semi-adult and semi-English comedy. We are the ones trying to break into their mainstream. Read the full article

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Aina Mahal, Parag Mahal, Kutch museum: Here’s why Bhuj is a craft lover’s paradise - travel

Bhuj, once the capital of the prosperous princely state of Kutch, was among the richest towns in the region, whose wealth was derived from its sea trade with the East Africa and the Persian Gulf. The bartering of African slaves with India’s textiles, was an important part of the Kutch maritime trade. Many of the families are descendants of these slaves who have settled down in Kutch and are still seen in the area. Bhuj also continues to be a major textile hub attracting millions of people from across the world.Over the years, despite some disastrous earthquakes, decades the city always manages to attract people from all over India and abroad. Bhuj is a real paradise for those who love to shop in the bazaars famous for the region’s beautiful handicrafts and jewellery. The most frequently visited places for tourists on a trip to Bhuj, are the magnificent Aina Mahal, the bell tower at Parag Mahal, the Kutch museum believed to be the oldest museum in the region and Hamirsar Lake. There is also the Sharadbaug Palace, which was the residence of Madan Singh the last ruler of Kutch, till he passed away in 1991.ALSO READ: 2020 will bring 9 long weekends, here’s the full list and how you can plan your holidaysAs in the case of many other heritage sites, there is an interesting legend about its name. It is said that Kutch was ruled by Naga chieftains in the past. Sagai the beautiful queen of Sheshapattana allied and married King Bheria Kumar, and persuaded him to rise up against Bhujang, the last Naga chieftain. Bheria was defeated and in keeping with tradition, Sagai committed sati after the battle. The hill where Bhujang had lived came to be known as Bhujia Dungar and the town at its foothill was named Bhuj.Bhujang was later worshipped by the people as a snake god who called him ‘Bhujanga’. A temple as built in his name that attracts pilgrims who continue to worship him, till today.History tells us that Bhuj the city, was established by Rao Hamirji in 1510 and was made the capital of the State of Kutch by Rao Khengarji in 1549. Its foundation stone as the state capital was formally laid in January 1548. After 1590, when Rao was forced to acknowledge Mughal supremacy, Bhuj was known as Suleiman Nagar’ among Muslims. The Bhujiya Fort was built by Devkaran Seth, around the 1730s while the city walls were built by Rao Godji 1 in 1723. These walls unfortunately were not as effective as they should have been. They were attacked on six occasions, but were able to push back the enemy only on two occasions. The last attack was on 26th March 1819 when the hill fort of Bhujia was captured and went into the hands of the British army.Bhuj, unfortunately, appears prone to earthquakes, the first one being on June 16, 1818 when the town only had a population of 20,000 people. The earthquake destroyed 7,000 houses killing more than 1100, people. About one-third of the buildings that escaped ruin, were heavily damaged, and the north face of the town wall was totally flattened out. The next earthquake, was much more disastrous and shook Kutch in 2001. At the time as capital, Bhuj was considered a fascinating walled city with beautiful palaces, bazaars and havelis.After the earthquake, it was so badly affected, that there were talks of bringing the remaining parts of damaged buildings down, to ensure safety. The Aina Mahal an 18th-century palace, was built by Rao Lakhpatiji in 1761. The chief architect and designer of Aina Mahal was Ram Singh Malam, assisted by local mistris. It was constructed with marble walls adorned with gold filigree and glass. The marble walls of the palace are covered with mirrors and gilded ornaments of Venetian glass. The palace was damaged in the earthquake in 2001, however, a portion of the palace which was not too badly damaged has been restored and houses the museum. This includes the royal bedroom with its walls covered with Venetian glass mirrors, a music room, a courtroom, antique furniture, arms, a palanquin and paintings.Prag Mahal named after Rao Pragmalji II, was commissioned by him and construction work began in 1865. It was designed by Colonel Henry Saint Wilkins in the Italian Gothic style, using Italian Marble and the best variety of sandstone from Rajasthan. Many Italian artisans were involved in its construction and their wages are said to have been paid in gold coins. The construction of the palace, which ultimately cost 3.1 million rupees, was completed in 1879, during the rule of Khengarji III (Pragmalji II’s son) in 1875. ALSO READ: Travel on the cards? Here are a few offbeat destinations for backpackers in and around IndiaThe locally skilled Kutchmmistris were once again involved in this project, helping Colonel Wilkins, to create the elegant Prag Mahal.The Prag Mahal Palace was severely damaged by the earthquake in 2001, but worse was yet to come. Thieves burgled the Palace in 2006, managing to carry away antiques worth million of rupees - and damaging all the items that they could not carry away! These included imported chandeliers and statues from the Durbar Hall and stuffed animal heads from the walls of the Main Hall. While it may not be possible to bring back to its original state, the Palace exterior is more or less restored. The halls in the palace and the tower have also been repaired and are open for public viewing. Visitors can now enter the main palace halls and climb up the stairs of the bell tower, which offers splendid views of the city.Bhuj is a famous destination within India for observing the historic craftsmanship of the Kutch region, including the textile crafts of bandhani (tie-dye), embroidery, and leatherwork. Artists of nearby villages bring their exquisite artwork for sale at the Bhuj Haat, which is situated near the Jubilee Ground.(This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.)Follow more stories on Facebook and Twitter Read the full article

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The 12 Days of Christmas: The meaning of each day after Christmas, decoded - art and culture

On the first day of Christmas my true love sent to meA partridge in a pear tree.On the second day of Christmas my true love sent to meTwo turtle doves,And a partridge in a pear tree... The Twelve Days of Christmas also referred to as Twelvetide, is a festive season celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ and the spread of Christianity around the world. The Twelve Days of Christmas, however became popular because of an eighteenth century song of the same name. Here we explain the importance of each day of the Twelvetide.Day 1: ChristmasChristmas, the festival, celebrates the nativity or the birth of Jesus Christ. Jesus was born to Joseph and Mary in Bethlehem. Day 2: Saint Stephen’s DaySaint Stephen was the Protomartyr or the first martyr of Christianity. According to the Acts of Apostles, which tells about the founding of the Christian Church and the spread of its message to the Roman Empire, he was a deacon in the early church at Jerusalem. He is said to have aroused the enmity of members of various synagogues by his teachings. He was accused of blasphemy at his trial, and in his defense, he made a long speech denouncing the Jewish authorities who were sitting in judgment on him. He was then, stoned to death and thus is referred to as the first martyr. This day is also known as Boxing Day in the UK. Day 3: Dedicated to Saint JohnThis day celebrates Saint John. According to the second biblical canon, the New Testament, he was the youngest of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus. The apostles were his closest followers of Jesus, and they became the primary teachers of the gospel message of Jesus.B07J4LMXH9, B082FXPLR4Day 4: Innocents’ DayThis day is known as Childermas or the Innocents’ Day, and the Feast of the Innocents is a Christian feast held in remembrance of the massacre of young children in Bethlehem by King Herod, who in his quest to kill the infant Jesus ended up murdering several newborns. Day 5: Dedicated to Saint Thomas BecketThis day is dedicated to Saint Thomas Becket, who was Archbishop of Canterbury from 1162 until his murder in 1170. He is also known as Saint Thomas of Canterbury, Thomas of London and Thomas à Becket. He is regarded as a saint and martyr by both the Anglican Communism and the Catholic Church. He had disputes with Henry II, King of England, over the privileges and rights of the Church and was murdered by followers of the king in Canterbury Cathedral. He was later canonised by Pope Alexander III.Day 6: Dedicated to Saint Egwin of EveshamThis day is dedicated to Saint Egwin of Evesham. He was a Benedictine monk, and later became the third Bishop of Church of England Diocese of Worcester in the Province of Canterbury. It is said that he struggled with the local population of the town over the acceptance of Christian morality, especially Christian marriage and clerical celibacy. Day 7: New Year’s EveOn the New Year’s Eve, Pope Sylvester I who was the Bishop of Rome in the 4th century is traditionally celebrated. He was one of the earliest popes and in some eastern and central European countries the day is called Silvester.Day 8: Dedicated to Mother Mary This day is dedicated to Mary, the mother of Jesus. Mother Mary was a Galilean Jewish from Nazareth, according to the New Testament. Mary is also referred to as the Virgin Mary, as it is believed that she conceived Jesus miraculously through the Holy Spirit without her husband’s involvement.Day 9: Dedicated to Saint Basil and Saint Gregory NazianzenThis day is dedicated to Saint Basil and Saint Gregory Nazianzen, two important figures from the 4th century. Both Basil and Gregory are said to have rebuilt the faith during the Arian Movement. The Arian Movement promoted the non-trinitarian Christological doctrine which asserts the belief that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and thus, he is a being subordinate to Him, but the Son is also a God. Day 10: Feast of the Holy Name of JesusThird of January is the day of the Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus. It is a feast of the liturgical year celebrated by several Christian denominations to commemorate the day when Jesus was officially named in a Jewish Temple. 024141119X, 1645940381Day 11: Dedicated to Saint Elizabeth Ann SetonSaint Elizabeth Ann Seton was the first American saint who lived in the 18th and 19th centuries. She was canonised by the Roman Catholic Church. Saint Seton established the first Catholic girls’ school in the nation in Emmitsburg, Maryland. In the school, she also founded the first American congregation of religious sister, the Sisters of Charity. Day 12: Dedicated to Saint John Nepomucene NeumannThe day celebrates Saint John Nepomucene Neumann. He was a Bohemian Catholic priest who immigrated to the United States in 1836. where he was ordained and later joined the Redemptorist order, which is a religious congregation of the Catholic Church dedicated to missionary work. He later became the fourth Bishop of Philadelphia.He is the first American bishop and to date the only male American citizen to be canonised. Follow more stories on Facebook and TwitterAt Hindustan Times, we help you stay up-to-date with latest trends and products. Hindustan Times has affiliate partnership, so we may get a part of the revenue when you make a purchase. Read the full article