P. C. Sarkar is not a magician. Unlike his late namesake, and the world-famous sorcerer, this Sarkar is a scientist. Even as he chose science as a profession, Sarkar continued to dig deep into the unique history of his home town.
The lush cultural and literary legacy of the city continues to fascinate him and he has written at least three books, including ‘Lucknow - Ode To A City’. This is a tribute to the disappearing goodness of Lucknow, its palaces, gardens and architectural marvels that are reduced today to little more than memories.
This Lucknow boy who was once a chemistry student at St. Francis College, Christian College and the Lucknow University never gave up on his love for the shared heritage of Lucknow. His first book ‘Lucknow: Buildings, Begums and The British’ was published in 2015 and ‘Abode of Fairies’ in 2022.
Now that he is retired, he has returned to Lucknow to make a home here. Together with other lovers of Lucknow, he plans to enjoy whatever is still left of the inclusive lifestyle of a city that was once envied by the world for its gracious way of life. Sarkar, in fact, is a man on a mission. He wants to share with as many citizens as possible what was once so great about Lucknow.
For the same reason he led a group of heritage lovers on a tour of the ancient city of Lucknow. Some 40 people gathered one Sunday morning at the Hussainabad neighbourhood of old Lucknow to follow Sarkar, and to listen to him share his love for every brick and mortar that has gone to make Lucknow the city that it is.
The Hussainabad complex includes a picture gallery, a clock tower and a pond built in a combination of styles that reflect Moorish, European and Indian influences.
It is precisely because the rulers of Lucknow were open to all influences that the city emerged as a cosmopolitan mix of magnificence found in different corners of the world. The interaction between the local dialects and the Persian language had created a most poetic language and an all embracing ethos of a syncretic Indo-Persian composite culture, so unique in the world.
This was followed by the many hued ‘Ganga-Jamuni’ way of life overflowing with Persian aesthetics and Indian cultural values. The freedom of expression and openness of the spirit of opinion makers and those in power had paved the way for a high literary milieu that had affected the music, painting and architecture of the time. In the late 18th Century and early 19th Century, the city had enjoyed a vibrant intellectual and cultural life.
However, today many seem disinterested and almost unaccepting of the multiple influences that have contributed to making the living culture of UP so colourful and special. Under the Right to Information Act when Dr Devashish Bhattacharya, an Agra resident wanted to know from the Archeological Survey of India (ASI) who had built the Agra Fort before Mughal Emperor Akbar renovated it to its present form, the answer was that the office had no such information.
The Agra Fort is on the list of world-historic sites and its history is well known. It is believed that in the 11th Century, Rajput rulers of the Sikarwar dynasty had built a fort called Badalgarh. Mahmud Ghazni captured the fort in 1080 and in 1487, Sikandar Lodhi used it as the headquarters and the centre of power of the Lodhi dynasty.
Sikandar died at this fort and his son Ibrahim had held court here for nearly a decade. The founder of the Mughal dynasty Babar had wrested the fort from Ibrahim. Babar’s son Humayun was crowned the second Mughal Emperor at this fort in 1530.
Nine years later Sher Shah Suri defeated Humayun and parked himself in the fort till his death in 1545. The fort was taken by Mughal Emperor Akbar who made Agra his capital and renovated the fort, giving it the red sand stone look that it keeps to this day.
Jobless in UP
Two more people in Uttar Pradesh have been added to an army of jobless citizens thanks to a Cabinet Minister. The jobs were lost because two journalists were caught doing their job!
Two journalists in district Amethi had dared to ask a visiting cabinet minister for her views on the state of affairs of her parliamentary constituency when the minister wagged a finger at the scribes and threatened them for asking her a question.
The Editors Guild of India (EGI) expressed concern over recent incidents of ‘intimidation’ and ‘harassment of journalists by a cabinet minister.
“This trigger-happy approach to browbeat and harass reporters and news camera persons undermines the freedom of the press”, the EGI said in a statement. DIGIPUB, a platform that represents digital news media organisations condemned the minister’s scolding of a reporter in Amethi. The Mumbai Press Club said that the repeated arrogance of ministers towards reporters is not in sync with democratic norms.
The minister had accused the reporter of trying to force her to speak and which she said amounted to insulting the people she represents in her constituency.
Those who were present on-site report that the senior minister and ruling party leader used the language of a ‘bully’ to interact with local media persons, making Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati speak out against the spread of fear and intimidation across the state, and increasing instances of religious intolerance in the country.
BSP Against Hurting Religious Sentiments
At a meeting in Lucknow with her workers, Mayawati targeted the ruling party that wants to level graveyards in UP and in Uttarakhand saying that it is not right to hurt the religious feelings of people for political gain.
In preparation for elections in the four states of Telangana, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh to be held this year and followed by the general elections in 2024, Mayawati has given added responsibilities to her favourite nephew and the BSP’s national coordinator Akash Anand.
Although in most elections held in recent times, Mayawati’s BSP has failed to make any significant gains at the polls.