5 Places named after Britishers in Jharkhand,India.

Once I was taking a Bus from Raigarh to Tamnar(Both in Chhattisgarh) when I observed a bus headed for a place named Daltonganj.The name obviously showed British origins.Me being a history lover,my curiosity was piqued.Also I have a special kind of interest in the British.So I decided to find out more about the place and also to find more places named after british people.In a first of many posts to come I present here five places named after Britishers in Jharkhand.

1-Daltonganj
Where-172km from Ranchi in Palamu District
Named After-Colonel Edward Tuite Dalton (1815–1880),an anthropologist and the District commissioner of Chota Nagpur in 1861
Short Description:From the blog (britishrajinindia.blogspot.in)
Dalton was the commissioner of Chhotanagpur during the Sepoy Mutiny and for many years thereafter. He initiated several administrative measures. In 1862, he ordered an outright substitution of Hindi written in the Devnagri or Kaithi script for Urdu in the Persian character as the medium of instruction and for court work throughout his commissionerate. In September 1870, Dalton laid the foundation of a permanent church at Ranchi in the presence of a large and assorted gathering. He is best remembered for his magnum opus, The Descriptive Ethnology of Bengal, published in 1872.

2-Hunterganj
Where-182km from Ranchi in Chhatra District
Named After-William Hunter who was the Collector of Ramgarh Hill Tract in 1794.
Short Description-From the blog (britishrajinindia.blogspot.in)
The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Judicature at Fort William had appointed him and other Collectors of the Bengal Presidency Justices of Peace. Hunter’s jurisdiction extended right up to Sherghati in today’s Gaya district. A patch of jungle was cleared to set up his camp during his visits to Sherghati and human habitation slowly grew around it. Soon it was being referred to as Hunterganj and developed as an administrative centre.

3-Lesliganj
Where-210km from Ranchi in Palamu District
Named After-Matthew Leslie, Collector of the Ramgarh Hill Tract in the 1780s.
Short Description-From the blog (britishrajinindia.blogspot.in)
Leslie's revenue jurisdiction included the whole of what later became Palamu and Hazaribag districts and part of Gaya up to Sherghati. The Cheros had been the rulers of Palamu but their internal feuds afforded the British the opportunity to intervene and eventually assume control. As Leslie had to continually camp in Chero territory, he chose a hamlet that soon became known as Lesliganj, dropping an “e” from his name. It appears that Leslie’s good work as Collector of Ramgarh was taken note of and he was transferred as the Collector and Magistrate of Rungpore district in East Bengal (now Bangladesh), a more prestigious charge.

4-McCluskieganj
Where-64km from Ranchi
Named After-
Short Description-From the blog (britishrajinindia.blogspot.in)
McCluskieganj is a sad saga of aspirations gone awry. The Anglo-Indians were, generally speaking, a town-bred community without knowledge of agriculture or experience of village life. They were doled out petty appointments in the Railways and Telegraphs departments while their women worked as teachers in convent schools and as stenos in multinational companies. It was becoming difficult to find employment, whether in government departments or in commercial concerns, for the increasing number of Anglo-Indian youth. Having observed their conditions first-hand, the Indian Statutory Commission made a suggestion, with the concurrence of the government of India, that an attempt be made to bring the Eurasians, chiefly the Anglo-Indians, to the land and open up a wider range of self-employment for them. The Anglo-Indians seized
upon the idea and was thus born in 1933 The Colonization Society of India Limited, registered as a limited company. On behalf of the company, ET McCluskie, a Calcutta-based Anglo-Indian real estate agent and member of the Bengal Legislative Council, discovered a beautiful spot in the Chhotanagpur forests, 60 km from the district headquarters town of Ranchi. The Society bought 10,000 acres of forest land from the local Maharaja in 1932. Plots were allotted as per the layout plan prepared by McCluskie. In a creditable display of grit and determination to conquer the natural difficulties, they made the clearings, dug wells and planted orchards. It was not long before a large number of sprawling bungalows and cottages situated in the midst of several acres of land came up in these sylvan surroundings. The new colony became home to nearly 300 Anglo-Indian and domiciled European families. McCluskie died soon after and, as a fitting tribute to this pioneer, the new settlers named the place McCluskieganj, the putative Tel-Aviv of their homeland. Come Independence and, feeling deprived and insecure, there was a mad rush to migrate to Australia, the USA, Canada and the UK. The Society went into liquidation around 1955. Today there is nothing much to see here but a place gone to seed. One can take long walks through the forest, do some bird watching and listen to their chirping. Not more than 35 Anglo-Indian families now live here and fewer are descendents of the original allottees.

5-Sahibganj
Where-443km from Ranchi in Sahibganj District
Named After-All the sahibs living around the place.
Short Description-Though not exactly named after a person this village was so named because of the number of sahibs(for those of you who dont get it,the britishers were referred to as sahibs) living around here.So much for creativity.The official website of the district states that a municipality was constituted there in 1883. It has a well, constructed in 1915 which was constructed in memory of Edward VII. Residents still use the well for drinking water

I plan to visit McCluskieganj and Daltonganj soon.

Cotton Dora : A British Engineer still loved by the people of Andhra Pradesh

When I was a kid,my father and I used to visit a check dam on the river Godavari nearby our house.Come summer holidays we would definitely make a visit to that dam.Covering our faces with scarves and after a long ride on my dad's bike we used to reach the riverside.Crossing the whole check dam was a kind of achievement for me.Dad early on infected in me a sense of interest in adventure and history.In between our leisurely dips in the river my dad used to tell me about the history of dam.He told me the check dam was constructed by Sir Arthur Cotton.I was fascinated about Sir Arthur Cotton from then.We have all heard or read about the stories of the atrocities of  the British Raj,But here was a man who honestly strived to improve the conditions of the villagers.So much so that Cotton was hated by his administrative superiors—thanks to his loving attitudes towards the people of India.Millions of people of the Krishna and Godavari delta still fondly call him Cotton dora.More about the man now.

He was a  British general and irrigation engineer.He was born in the 1803 and entered the Madras Engineers in 1819.From 1828 he started his irrigation works in India starting from Tanjore.After his successful work in Tanjore he moved on to his next project which was to become one of his most important works.

In 1848 after a series of floods in the Godavari delta Cotton dora suggested that a plan to minimize the impact of the the floods and at the same time increase the productivity of the area.His plan was to build an anicut (The word anicut derives its origin from the tamil words anai cutta) across the Godavari river at Dowleshwaram near Rajamundary.At that time this area was one of the poorest in the Madras Presidency and Cotton dora firmly believed that creating irrigating cum navigating facilities would revive the area and turn into a rich area.He put forward his proposal in front of the East India Company and got their assent.

In 1852 the project was completed and the results of his work showed in the coming years.The region turned into one of the most prosperous in India and the people became well to do.After this work he moved on to the Krishna district where he built another anicut. This too had proved very beneficial for the people of the region.

Alexander John Arbuthnot in 1901 said- 

''The effect of Cotton's works in preventing or in mitigating famines is unquestionable. In the great famine of 1877 four million persons are supposed to have perished in the more or less unprotected districts of the Madras presidency. In the districts protected by the great irrigation works, viz. Godávery, Krishna, and Tanjore, there were no deaths from famine, and it is estimated that the surplus food exported from these districts was sufficient to save the lives of three million persons''

He was knighted in 1861 for his services.He died on July 14, 1899 at Dorking, Surrey, at the age of 97.But people of Andhra Pradesh still remember him.Some of his ideas like the one about interlinking all the rivers of India are still being discussed today.Even today one can see the portraits or photographs of Sir Arthur Cotton in almost all government offices in the East and West Godavari districts.It is said that he is the only Englishman whose statue was installed in India after Independence.There are some 3000 statutes in all.

Once when we were on that check dam my dad asked a man crossing the dam that who had built this dam.Pat came the reply 'Cotton dora'.Thats something that would have made cotton dora more happy than his knighthood,The love of the people even after the passage of almost 150 years.

In 2009 a team from Andhra Pradesh went to London to find Cotton Dora's tomb and they found it in Dorking 50km from London.Here is the link for the full article.

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/andhra-pradesh/article53730.ece

5 Interesting Facts about Chhattisgarh

Chhattisgarh is a state in eastern part of India.It has an image of being backward and being naxal infested.But there are many other facts about it which many people are ignorant about.Here are five facts which people not familiar with with Chhattisgarh may find interesting.

1- Chhattisgarh has huge mineral resources.

        Chhattisgarh is one of the most mineral rich states in India.The mineral wealth in this part of India(along with Chhattisgarh, Orissa,Jharkhand and other eastern states) is still among the most valuable in the world.It has around 28 mineral varieties.Its the only producer of tin in India.One of the best quality Iron ore in the world is found in the mines of Bailadila in Chhattisgarh and is exported to other countries. 

2-It has one of the largest Power and Steel Sectors in India

        Its one of the few states in India which has surplus power production.With powerplants of NTPC,CSEB and Private companies like Jindal Power Limited,Korba West,DB Power,SKS Power and others it is in a enviable situation.It also has Steel Plants in Bhillai operated by SAIL and a plant in Raigarh operated by Jindal Steel and Power Limited among others.Raipur,capital of Chhattisgarh has become the center of Steel Sector in India.

3-It has nearly 44% land area covered by Forests.

        With over 44% of its total area under forests, Chhattisgarh is amongst the greenest states of India.It houses 3 National Parks and 11 Wildlife Sanctuaries.Also Some of the best sal forests in the country are found in this state.It also has around 80 varieties of medicinal plants.

4-It Records the highest Freight loading among 17 zones of Indian Railway.

        South East Central Railway with its headquarters in Chhattisgarh records the highest freight loading every year in India.It is known as the 'Blue Chip of Indian Railway' with 5600 wagons being loaded everyday. 

5- It is one of India'a fastest growing state.

Quiz win at the Mumbai Youth Festival 2007

Representing one's school in a competition is one of the best feelings one can have.I got my chance to represent my school when I was selected to be in our school's(Atomic Energy Central School,Manuguru) Quiz Team for a youth fest that was going to be held in Mumbai.It was one of the best things to have happened in my life.I was part of a large group of students selected for the fest.It was something like Olympics.Only difference that you are representing your school rather than nation.At that age school was our identity.And AECS,our school,was something of which we were very proud of.
       My quizzing journey started back in my 9th class.I got third position in a written quiz conducted by the Library Dept of our school.And there was a big Quiz contest coming organised by 'The Hindu' in Hyderabad. I was hoping to attend the selection trials for that and was upbeat about my chances.But to my dismay I found out that our school had already selected a student and was sending him without conducting proper trials.I moved on and in my 10th there was a intra school Quiz Competition.Our house was conducting selection trials and I attented them.There were four people to be selected to form a team,Many students attended and soon the first three positions got filled up.The fourth was left.I beat many others and finally it was between me and another boy.The selector asked us the tie breaker question.We both couldnt answer.She asked another.Now we both knew the answer.She asked another and this time I answered and was in the team.I was delighted and finally my dream to be on a quiz team finally came true.The day of the tournament came and our house won the first prize with me playing a significant role in our win.After this win I constantly participated in other quiz contests and won a number of them.
       In my Intermediate days I heard about the upcoming Mumbai Youth Fest where a number of competitions would be organised.It was a four day extravaganza and when I heard that quiz was going to be a part of it I was very excited.Soon the expected call up came and I was one of the first team members to selected for Quiz.I was also selected for Debate for which I declined saying I was much better performer in quiz than in Debate.I was given responsibility of the Quiz team being the senior most member and was given a say in the selection of other members.I selected some but due to their participation in other events They couldn't make it in my team.Finally after a lot of deliberations a four member team was formed comprising of Netrav Gupta,Sreenidhi,Venella and myself.All three of my teammates were excellent in studies.I was good at academics but nowhere near to my three teammates but in terms of General Knowledge we all four made a good team.Now with the team in place we were told to practice which we did but in our own way.We never really sat together and practice.All three of them were busy with their other commitments and all I could think was about going to Mumbai.Finally the day of departure came and we were off to Mumbai.My favorites teachers Amulya Ma'am and Hemamalini Ma'am were also accompanying us.It only made my the trip more enjoyable.There were only two members from Intermediate second year.Ananjay and myself.So we had a bit of responsibility on our shoulders.
        Before the events started there was going to be a big display of tableaus from the various participating
schools.Our school was also making one.We had a skit to be performed on the truck.I was given the role of a British Officer.Two funny incidents happend regarding my role.One when I was walking by on the roads of the colony from the hostel where I got my costume on towards the venue of the tableu,many people mocked me and playfully hurled abuses at me.Someone shouted 'angrez ki aulad bharat chhod' someone else shouted 'simon go back' someone even threw some stones at me.I had a good laugh at this.Another thing to happen was to change into my costume my teacher called me to the girls hostel.I changed into my costume and forgot my T-Shirt there.The next day I casually mentioned in front my friends that I forgot my T-shirt at the girls hostel.They were like 'Dude how did your shirt end up in the girls hostel' and I had to start from the
beginning and stop their overworking brains to jump to conclusions.
           By the Second day Our school had participated in almost
all of the events and were still to open our account of wins.Our event was on the second day.First there was a preliminary round.I was expecting the boring written round but to my delight I found out that it was to be a stage round.We were discussing amongst ourselves of clearing the prelims nevermind winning the whole contest.We were in the sixth round of eliminators.In it the first question asked to us was about the origin of names of months of a calendar and collectively we answered it easily.Soon other questions followed and we answered with ease.In this preliminary round my contribution was bit less compared with others.We qualified easily in this round.Having cleared the prelims we were in a relaxed state of mind.There was still time for the main round to start.

        The time for the main round finally came.There were many round each dealing with different fields.There were many tough questions but my reading habit came to my rescue many times.I knew many answers from the novels that I had read.We were competing well.The audience was comprised of two sections of people.One section was supporting the home school,Mumbai.The other was supporting all the teams other than Mumbai.The mumbai crowd was bigger and was much more vocal of their support.Every correct answer was greeted by loud cheers,whistles and claps.Round after round we answered well and slowly we were inching to the top of the points table.Soon the last round came and We were trailing the home team by 2.5 points and the contest was heating up.There was one question left to be asked to the Mumbai team and were hoping that they not answer it and the question get passed to the other teams.In that way if we could answer it we still had a chance to win.Finally the quiz master asked the final question.As soon as I heard the question my heart rate increased cause I knew the answer.I also knew the question was a tough one and the answer was something that couldn't be guessed.What we hoped,happened.Mumbai couldn't answer it and one by one the question got passed by the other teams and was approaching us.With each 'pass' my expectations increased and I was already thinking of our win.After what seemed like an eternity our turn came.I took the mike in my trembling hands and with a shaky voice I answered.I knew the answer was correct and with the QuizMaster's confirmation my heart beat just shot up further.It was over.We won.All the teams supporting us started whistling and clapping.There were handshakes all around.Pats on the back and shouts of congratulations.I was feeling like a hero of a movie.It was a joyous moment for us.Here we were,tagged as no hopers we comprehensively beat all the so called big teams.As I came down the stairs of the stage a strange feeling came over me,I became calm and just a smile appeared on my face.No shouting,no dancing.Perhaps it was the shock of winning an India Level event.Later one of our teacher's told me that I should have been a bit more expressive while the event was going on.Well,I thought I was here to try and win and not put up a show for the audience.But anyway the joy of leading your school to victory comes once in a lifetime and I was truly proud and haapy that I had the fortune of doing it.
       While I was going out of the venue, more good news came.One of our school mates and friend Trisha came hopping around and informed me that her team had also won the first prize in Debate.We high fived and congratulated each other.The campaign of Manuguru was well and truly off.We won a lot of prizes in other events too.After a memorable last dinner party we returned to Manuguru with the trophies in hand.While coming back my school mates started pestering me for a treat celebrating my win.I gave a small treat hoping to give them a big one later.But I couldn't and thats one regret I still have even to this day.Off all the compliments I received I remember Amulya madam's.She said 'you guys smashed them' I was filled with pride and happiness on hearing these words.This win in Mumbai was one of my life's best moments.It changed me in many ways.I made new friends,discovered aspects of myself that I didnt know existed in me and got a lot of confidence.

(Moazzam,Bhuvan,Trisha,Nikhil,Hemant,Yashwant,Ananjay,Sumedha,Niharika,Anjali,Vidhi,Abhijeet,Shahsank,Abhuday,Abhay Prabhu,Abhijeet,Vineet,and my quiz team mates all made this trip memorable for me.Thank you guys!)

Our Team- Team Orange

Watch a short video of the trip here-

Hulagu Khan and the Siege of Baghdad

Imagine this.You are playing 'Age of Empires' and have taken considerable time in building a big city with
farms,monuments,barracks,houses,libraries and other such standard buildings.You develop a civilised society and your city has a high standard of living.Everything seems fine.Now you decide to have some fun.You type in a cheat code.And a car that shoots missiles appears.You keep bringing in more till you have like ten of those cars.Now you use it to destroy the whole city.Within seconds your city is ruined.Reduced to rubbles.The transformation is quick and dramatic.
     Now imagine if something of this type happens in real life.It did happen.It happened when the Mongols decided that they had seen enough of the glory of Persians and their unrivalled city of Baghdad.Hulagu Khan attacked Baghdad and laid siege to it in 1258.He completely destroyed the city and reduced it to an abandoned ruin for years to come.Now if put I myself in the shoes or rather the footwear of Hulagu khan,the one one thing I would have done differently was this-Even if I wanted to conquer the city I would have gone ahead but I would have spared the people of the city and its glory.Baghdad at that time was the most magnificent city on Earth.It had excellent irrigation system,magnificent works of architecture ,and what do I say about the Grand Library of Baghdad.It had volumes and volumes of books in it.All of them destroyed.All the books thrown in the river Tigris.It was said that the river ran black for days because of all the ink it.So much knowledge of the ancient world was lost.In two weeks of looting and massacre,lakhs of people died,the whole city turned to shambles and was left in a situation that it has still not recovered completely from.It directly led to the end of the Golden Age of Islam and there was sharp decline in Arab Science.It was collectively a huge loss to all of humankind.So if given a chance to be Hulagu khan and rewrite history I would definitely spare the city of Baghdad.

This post has been written for 'IndiSpire' for Indiblogger.

Condition Serious hai

Seriousness is something that plaques us Indian society.Of the zillion people who have this condition I happen to have met two in my recent memory.I will list them out.I work at a Power Plant Project site in northern India.The other day I was working on the site commanding a group of workers when amongst them I spotted a telugu guy.We both started off in telugu .Just three sentences later he asks all seriously 'enta istunnaru?' meaning 'how much are you getting in hand' Here he was talking with a stranger and he had to ask this.Like the world would have burned down if he hadnt got to know my pay.On hearing his question I myself  became serious but then I remembered that joke about Satya Nadella and calmed down.For those of you who have been living under a moss covered,worm infested rock I will tell the joke.The first question Indians supposedly asked Satya Nadella when news broke out about his becoming the next CEO of Microsoft was this-'In Hand kitna ata hai?'
#2- Next incident-I have this colleague of mine who once saw me reading my mail.I have this habit of keeping lots of mail unread.He started deleting my mail.I told him to stop.But no he had a duty to this earth and universe to delete my mail and delete he will.I kept helplessly watching as he relieved my overburdened mail which otherwise would have utterly destroyed me.Inki condition to kuch zyada hi serious hai.
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Classical Migraine Attack

It starts off with a blur.A blur in the field of vision.This blur slowly transforms into a geometric pattern.At first its just a tiny formation.Its borders move and there is some kind of motion inside it.Then ever so slowly it grows.It starts spreading.It can go anywhere in the field of vision.To the extreme right or in the middle.Anywhere.All the while it grows, normal vision is blocked by it.As I have had many attacks before, as soon as I see this geometric pattern(technically called Aura) a sense of dread creeps into me.I know I am in for a very painful time for the next 4 or 5 hours.I drop whatever I am doing and rush to my room.The pattern slowly settles down in some area and continues to have that motion inside it.The last time the attack happened it settled down in the left side of my vision and blocked that area off completely.To me it looked like I was bleeding or crying from my left eye.As soon as I reach my room I change clothes and settle down on the bed.I know I wont be getting any sleep,only pain and uneasy restlessness for the next one hour.After exactly an hour I Vomit.I vomit with such intensity it feels as if my very life is being dragged out from the depths of my body.Standing up becomes a difficulty.I grab whatever is around me and go on with it.Whatever I eat in the last three or four hours comes out.Sometimes,If I am lucky it ends with one period of vomiting.But sometimes it takes three or even four.After this is over I feel somewhat relaxed.The worst part is over.Now remains the headache.It has no specific time frame.It may go on for hours or even days.It takes two or three days to completely relax.That is how a Classical Migraine Attack is and I had enough of those to tell you that it is very,very painful.
  I had my first attack back in my Intermediate days 6 years ago.From then on they happen every time some trigger acts up.Weakness is my main trigger.Every migraine sufferer has some triggers.Those should be identified and avoided.I wrote this post for the people who would like to know what exactly happens during a Classical migraine attack.This is it.