Another old baoli (bawdi) at Naranul.

I don’t know whether we actually know the history of our cities or we just pretend about knowing it.  I feel great, whenever I come across a well preserved monument and my happiness increases when i find it having an introduction (however brief it may be) near its entrance and I begin to think that we indeed, do know something about our history.

On the other hand, I have seen several equally remarkable monuments which seem to have so much information about the past but they are in a completely neglected state. Instead of having a much deserved introductory board, they don’t even have the trespassers warning sign board. The situation becomes even more ugly when you visit the building and see it covered with the writings from 17^th century and when you try to search this building on official websites and in local books, you end up finding absolutely nothing about it.

This forces me to believe that we actually know very less about our local history and adding to that, we are deliberately trying to ignore and destroying much more. One such monument is situated on the outskirts of city of Naranul, inside the premises of its famous Baba Kheta Nath Government Polytechnic College.

There are actually two monuments inside this college. One is an unknown tomb (near its water tank).

Unknown old monument inside college

Other one is a Bawdi(Baoli) situated at the centre.

Entry of the Bawdi(Baoli)

Bawdi from inside

This three story monument is actually a step-well, with one floor at sub-ground level. There are stairs at one side that goes all the way to the bottom of it and are perhaps separated by a wall from a well on its other end.

The most remarkable thing about this monument are the writings on its walls, seems to have been written by people who had perhaps stayed here, during their journeys. These writings go back all the way from 21^st century to 17^th century. They are in Hindi, Urdu, Persian, Old broken Hindi (?) and even in English.

Writing on the wall

Another wall writing

Another writing in Urdu  Persian 

(as pointed out in comments section by Tarun Pant ji )

Thanks to dirt, webs and ignorance of our restoration departments (which perhaps would have plastered over these walls, without even bothering to chronicle these writings before doing so), these writings are still visible today. I have taken photographs of as many as I could find there and some of them I am posting here.

At least the oldest year mentioned in these would help us with a probable time of the construction of this building and also we would be able to find out, what kind of people used to visit the city and from where and with what purpose. So, in my opinion these writings are an important source of our history and deserve to be studied carefully.

About Narnaul :- Naranul city is a part of Mohindergarh district. It is situated at a distance of 28 Km from Mohindergarh, 50 Km from Rewari and 150 Kms from Delhi and Jaipur.

About the Monument :- Both these monuments are situated inside the premises of BKN Govt. Polytechnic College which is situated on the outskirts of Naranul. It's better to take Narnaul- Nizampur road for reaching there. You have to take a link road on the left side after around 1-2 Km from Naranul, which would again be taking you back towards the city. You can ask anybody there about this college.

Co-ordinates of the monument :- 28°02’08.30” N and 76°06’01.40” E (for bawdi) and 

                                                  28°02’12.00” N and 76°06’05.33” E (for the unknown monument) 

Col.James Skinner and his connection with Hansi

Col. James Skinner was one of the  most interesting figures of early 19th Century north  India. He was born to an Indian mother and a British father and because of this mixed heritage he could  not secure any job with the East India Company during the early stages of his life. Later he joined the Schindia Army (Gwalior State) and served under the French officers and was the part of Maratha campaign against George Thomas, an Irishman who had taken control over a large part of present day Haryana. Last of the battles against George Thomas was fought in Hansi (now a part of District Hisar) in December 1801,in which Thomas had agreed to surrender the fort of Hansi to Marathas.

James Skinner

(Source:-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Skinner_(East_India_Company_officer)

British East India Company was also trying to take this territory under their control at around the same time and hence the clash between the Marathas and the Company was inevitable. Situation was even more tough for those few Englishmen who were the part of Maratha army and James was one of them. These Englishmen had decided not to fight against their own countrymen and because of which they had to leave the Maratha army in 1803. Later they joined the English company army, under Lord Lake and went on to fight several battles for them. Battle of Bharatpur was one of them.

James had raised a regiment of irregular cavalry known as “Skinner’s Horse” which later became a part of regular army. As a part of company army this regiment went on to fight in the first Anglo-Afghan war (1839-1842). Even after more than 200 years, it is still a part of Indian Army (but the difference now is that the Tanks have replaced the horses but it is still Skinner's Horse Regiment).

James was granted a jagir of Hansi and a few nearby villages by the company for his loyal services  in 1818. In 1828, he was given the rank of Col. and was conferred with the Companion of the order of the Bath (C.B.). 

Several buildings were commissioned by him in and around Hansi apart from the famous St.James Church and his nearby situated Haveli in Delhi (Near Kashmere Gate).

Skinner's Residence at Hansi

Skinner had built his residence in Hansi which is still there used to be there till few months back but has now become a history just like Col. James Skinner himself. The place where this was once situated is known as “Maim ka Bagh”. Some of his descendants used to live there till few years back. 

The only thing that is (perhaps) still surviving is a large, beautiful white colored gate at the entrance.(Next to the Jat Dharamshala, Hansi)

Entrance to Maim ka Bagh

(situated on NH-10)

In the book of William Dalrymple,"City of Djinns", several letters are mentioned which were written by Mr. William Fraser from the residence of Col. Skinner in Hansi. Perhaps it was the same place. William Fraser was a close friend and a business partner of Col.Skinner and later became the Commissioner of Delhi Territory.
 
This residence had also found its mention in another famous book of William Dalrymple, The last Mughal.

"The Skinners' sprawling Georgian House at Hansi was the mansion her (Elizabeth Wagentrieber) father had built at his principal country seat, and from where in happier days Sikandar had run both his irregular cavalry regiment and his stud"

-p233, The Last Mughal

Now this 'sprawling Georgian House' is completely gone. Only the entrance gate is standing now and that too only for the time being.

(Our question is not whether we want development in the form of new malls or complexes or we just want to restrict ourselves to some old building which by the way is of no use to anybody, but our question is Can we? or Can we not, do both things simultaneously?. In simple language just make that old building a part of the shopping complex. We have so many examples in our India itself where old forts, Havelis etc have been converted into hotels and in the long run they are generating much more profit and attraction in comparison with the short term gains. Alas! we are too busy and also in hurry.) 

Sir Theophilus Metcalfe-'Theo' had stayed here after escaping from Delhi (via Jhajjar) on the outbreak of the revolt of 1857.

Small fort like structure in Village Dhana, near Hansi

Col. Skinner had also built a small fort like structure in the village Dhana, 5-6 Km from Hansi, on NH-10, towards Delhi.

I got the chance to visit Dhana on 14^th July 2012 and found that whatever he might have built, it was nearly gone now. Except a small arched gateway(see below photograph) and a tiny section of wall inside, there was nothing left there. This small fortification was built in the year 1841 (as per the inscription on it). 
Skinner died later that year on 4^th December 1841. He was initially buried at Hansi graveyard(situated near his residence in Hansi) but later on his remains were moved to St. James’ Church in Delhi, which too was built by him.

Entrance of the fort

Entrance from inside

Corridors alongside the entrance

Side View of the entrance 

This monument is situated at the end of a street besides Govt. Girls School of the village and its Co-ordinates are - 29°05’14.64”N  76°01’23.00”E

In the National Army Museum of London, there is a painting by an Indian Artisit Ghulam Ali Khan (commissioned by James Skinner) of the year 1828 which shows Col. James Skinner riding in his carriage, at his estate in Dhana. This fortification is also visible in the background (which confirms that it was built prior to 1828).

1828 painting by Ghulam Ali Khan (with Dhana fortification visible in the background)

(Courtesy:- National Army Museum, London)

This fortification is not the only thing left in the village, bearing the name of Col. James Skinner. Through Sh.Jagdish Saini (Author and Historian), i came to know about a small pond situated close to this fortification and also having an inscription related to James Skinner.

Nearby pond at village Dhana (Hansi)

Inscription near the pond. 

It reads

"Built by Colonel J Skinner C.B.1840"

Same lines are written below in Persian (perhaps)

Other structures associated with Col.James Skinner

It is believed that the two beautiful mausoleums, situated on one end inside Hansi's famous Dargah Char Qutub complex belong to two of his wives who were the followers of Islam.

(Source:- Hansi:Ek Etihaasik Dharohar by Sh.Jagdish Saini)

There are few villages nearby which were named after him and his children. For example- Sikandarpura (after Skinner himself, who was used to be called by natives as Sikandar, instead of Skinner), Alakhpura (after his son Alex) and Enipura (after his daughter Annie).

Skinner was so much native in his ways that when he wrote his two books, he opted for Persian. It was believed that he was more proficient in native tongues than in English.

I have collected the above information from the following sources:-

from “Hansi:Ek Etihaasik Dharohar” (History of Hansi) written by Sh.Jagdish Saini (an author and Historian) and from “Military Memoir of Lieut-Col. James Skinner, C. B.” by James Baillie Fraser.

About Hansi :- It is one of the oldest cities of Haryana and it situated in district Hisar. It is at 130 Km from Delhi and 27 Km from Hisar (on NH-10)

Rai Bal Mukund Dass ka Chatta, Narnaul

This is by far the most beautiful and the most ignored monument, I have come across. This magnificent haveli is situated at the heart of Narnaul city and has been around for more than 350 years now.

             

What I have read in local history books and have heard from people, is that this haveli was the residence of a rich man named Rai Bal Mukund Dass. He was holding a very high and reputable post in this area during the reign of Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan. 

This haveli is popularly known as "Birbal ka Chatta". How and why this building came to be associated with this famous courtier of emperor Akbar, is still unknown.

              One can only imagine what this monument would have looked like when it was at its prime. 

View from top floor

View from Ground floor

Today its condition is so pathetic that I doubt even the architect of the original building would perhaps fail to recognize it (if he could come back). I know, I am exaggerating the things here, but once you visit this monument and look at its beautiful corridors, halls and rooms then perhaps you too, would start wondering at what our conservation department is doing in this regard.

I know that certain sections have got deteriorated even beyond the scope of repairing and it would be a challenging task for restorers to look after the remaining portion but that doesn't mean that this beautiful monument should stay in this current pathetic state. Still a lot can be preserved. Perhaps there is no other better place for highlighting the architectural advancement of this region.

Broken roof

            Once a five storied structure, it is now left with only three. Only a small section of the remaining two underground levels is accessible today, rest is buried under rubble which no one has bothered to clear. 

Only accessible portion of  the basement

Only part with its wooden pillars and roof still intact

(on first floor)

It seems that the original area of this building would have been much larger than what it is currently left with. I visited this monument in March 2012 and took more than 100 pictures of its different sections which I am trying to arrange in a better way. Some of them i have shared here.

There are several writings on walls here, written both in old Hindi and Urdu. Many of these seem to have been written more than 200 years ago. I doubt if someone has even bothered to decipher them or even cared to look at them closely.They might prove to be an important source for understanding the environment of those days. Below is the photograph of one such writing

Writing on the wall

(Seems to have been written around Samvat 1849 i.e. around 1781-82 AD, 

Writer has written the year at the bottom of this note)

About Narnaul:- Narnaul city is a part of district Mohindergarh of Haryana State. It is situated at a distance of 50 Km from Rewari and 150 Km from Delhi and Jaipur. 

About this monument :- This monument is situated at the center of the city, near Mohalla Nalapur. You can ask anyone there, for directions. It is popularly known as - "Birbal ka Chatta" and is generally kept closed to avoid damage and other activities in it. You can request monument keepers who reside in the outer section of the same monument, alongside the street, for opening it and showing you around. 

Co-ordinates of the monument : - 28°02’43.00” N  76°06’30.70” E

Baradari at Tosham (Bhiwani)

Sometimes, when you come across a monument which is so strategically built and which has been one of the most visible landmarks of a city for  more than  5-6 centuries, you go there and decide to have a  closer look   and then you  see  the  results of  negligence of the  responsible  departments  plus  the  modern art , it clears Whatever  little  doubts you have in your mind about how much importance we give to our history and to our local  monuments. I am  going  to  post  pictures  of one  such  monument  today  which  i  visited  last month (July).

This unknown monument is standing on top of a very small hill in the town of Tosham of Bhiwani district. It is situated very near to Government ITI Building and Police Station. Local people call this monument  'Baradari'.

Baradari at Tosham

(Statue in front of it belongs to former Haryana minister Mr. Surender Singh)

                                                          

There are no visible steps leading to the monument so one has to do a bit of rock climbing. This monument is situated at one end of the City (towards Hansi) and is clearly visible from Tosham hill. It has four extended rooms connected to a central dome. Each of these four rooms have 3 doors on outside while the fourth one leads to the dome. So there are 12 doors in total for entering and it may be the reason behind it's name 'Baradari' which means Twelve passages. Central dome is provided with air passage shafts in corners which opens at the roof.

There is no concrete information through which a timeline can be added to this monument. Some associate this to Islamic era (esp to Tughlaq dynasty) on the basis of its architecture while other believes that it belongs to the Rajput period and was modified by later dynasties.

Closer look at Baradari

Closer look at the gates

Central dome

(Air passage shaft is at the bottom of the pic)

About Tosham :- Tosham  is one of the oldest town of district Bhiwani. It is situated at the base of a large hill which is famous for its temple dedicated to Mungipa Baba. It is situated at a distance of 25 Km from Bhiwani, at 28 Km from Hansi (on State Highway 12) and at 40 Km from Hisar.

About Monument :- This monument is located very close to the Govt ITI Building and Police station.

Co-ordinates of the monument :- 28°52’47.71” N  and 75°54’ 52.86” E

1857 memorial at Hisar

Perhaps the year 1857  is the second  most  important year of Indian  History after 1947. For the first time a major part  of native  population, came  together in a  series of  events which  almost threw the Company off the power from this subcontinent.  A very large section of present day Haryana had been the witness to many of the events of  this movement. Hisar is one  such place. It has seen the  uprising closely from  as early as  29^th May 1857 when  the central Jail  here was broken, 40 prisoners were released  and  several  Company officers were  killed. This unrest continued  for more than 7-8 months. People from both the sides lost their lives and many of them hardly had  any active role in this  uprising. Thousands (this could even be in millions) died during this period.

Around 44 British nationals lost their lives here at Hisar and Hansi. Later a monument was erected by the British authorities here in their memory.  The location of this monument was then in the Company Bagh, which is now known as Krantiman Park. This park is situated opposite to the St. Thomas Church.

This stone carved monument is situated at one side of the park surrounded by large trees. Names of the European people, who had lost their lives then, are etched on the four sides of this memorial pillar under the heading  “Sacred to the Memory of the Europeans Murdered at Hissar and Hansee” .

There is an another interesting story related to this monument which can be read at http://www.tribuneindia.com/2003/20030126/haryana.htm (Read the article with heading "Tau defied in the park")

This story has also been mentioned in the book ‘The great uprising, untold stories Indian and British’ by Rosie Llewellyn-Jones.

Memorial at Krantiman Park

Closer look at the memorial

About Hisar :- Hisar is one of 21 districts of State Haryana. Hisar city is situated at a distance of 170 Km from Delhi on NH-10. 

About memorial :- This memorial is located in Krantiman Park, opposite to St.Thomas Church. 

Co-ordinates of the memorial :- 29°08’53.33”N 75°43’ 22.29” E

Thakhte wali baoli (bawdi), Narnaul (Mohindergarh, Haryana)

Narnaul, perhaps is the only place in Haryana where you can find more monuments, built during Islamic period than anywhere else. Many of them like Jal Mahal, Tomb of Ibrahim Shah Suri, Chor Gumbaj are in very good condition but remaining others are not so lucky. These include a 13th century Dargah (Peer Turkman Dargah), 17th Century Serai (Old Court), 17th century haveli of Rai Bal Mukund, 15th Century Bawdi (Thakhte wali Bawdi) and many more. Some of these were intentionally demolished for modernization while others are crumbling under sheer negligence and encroachment. One such unlucky monument is a beautiful Bwadi known as Thakhte wali Bawdi.

A Bawdi is more like a stepwell surrounded by rooms and resting place. In modern terms its like a hotel with swimming pool in it (I may be wrong here but this is the closest modern analogy i could think of).

This Bawdi is a 5 story building with 2 below the ground level. Each floor is having long corridors on 3 sides and stairs on one side. There is an inscription on the top floor which says that it was built by some Mirza Ali Jaan. Some believes that the present building was built upon the remains of a much older building.  

Here are some of the photographs of this Bawdi-

Tank in front of Bawdi

Closer look at the Bawdi

(Inscription is on red tiles of the top floor)

Ground and sub ground floors of the Bawdi  

Sub ground floor with corridors on 3 sides

Another look at sub ground levels

View from backside

(All these photographs were taken by me while visiting this monument on 29th April 2012)

About Narnaul:- Narnaul is the district headquarter of Mohindergarh District of State Haryana. It is situated at 50 KMs from Rewari, 150 KMs from Delhi and Jaipur. 

About Monument:- This monument is located near Chotta-Bada Talab (Narnaul) just 100 meters off Narnaul-Nizampur Road.

Co-ordinates of the Monument : - 28°02’48.42” N and 76°05’56.52” E

Remains of an unknown building on hilltop at Dhani Kirarod (Near Narnaul, Mohindergarh, Haryana)

Last month I was at Nasibpur (near Narnaul), looking for the ground of a battle fought here during the uprising of 1857. I had already seen the ground from Nasibpur hills and this time I wanted to see it from  the opposite side so i decided to have a look from the hills near village Dhani Kirarod (This village was known as "Kirarod Afghan" prior to 47 and still old people call it by that name).

These hills are relatively smaller than their neighbouring counterparts at Nasibpur and at Raghunathpura. As I was approaching these hills from the canal side, I noticed this small stone made building on one side of the hill.

About the Monument: - This building is situated on the smaller side of the hill. It is built on a raised stone-built platform. It is square in shape with walls slightly tapering inwards. It has four arc shaped doorways opening in one large room. On one side, stairs are there on both sides of the entrance for reaching the roof of this building.

one of the four entrances

From the entrance

From the roof

I couldn’t collect much information about this monument but it seems like its design is influenced by Islamic architecture. This area(Narnaul) came under Islamic influence in as early as 13^th Century. There are several monuments in the area which were built during the Islamic era. These include Peer Turkman Dargah, Chor Gumbaj, Jal Mahal, Old Court and Tomb of Ibrahim Shah etc. 

Recently (July 2013) I got the chance to meet somebody from this village but only thing that gentleman could tell was that it was indeed a very old building as they had been seeing it since their childhood.(He was around 70 years and was guessing that it was perhaps built after the reign of Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb (i.e. early 18th century), but it was only a guess)

About the village: - Dhani Kirarod is situated at a distance of 5 kilometer from Narnaul. For reaching this village you have to take the link road from village Nasibpur (2 Km from Narnaul on State Highway No.17). It is the first village on this link road at 2-3 Km from Nasibpur.

Coordinates of the monument: - 28°05’05.48” N and 76°05’28.31” E

Old Havelis at Nangal Sirohi (Mohindergarh)

Village Nangal Sirohi lies between Mohindergarh and Narnaul. It may appear like another ordinary Haryana village at first look but if you get a chance to explore this village closely, you will be amazed to see the beautiful old residences (havelis) and their equally more beautiful paintings.

I too have passed through this village many a times but i still remember how surprised i was when i first noticed  a familliar face on an old painting on a building alongside the road. It was the picture of an old man with grey beards and i am pretty sure that it was of our first nobel laureate Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore. I was not expecting to see his painting other than on some government offices or on schools, which too is very rare in case of Tagore. Not far from this building on the left side (if you are coming from Mohindergarh), you will see another old building, decorated with the drawings of cavalries on both sides of its gate. I have taken some pictures of this haveli and also came to know that there are much more magnificent havelis in this village, which i will try to cover on my next visit (along with the painting of Tagore).

Haveli at Nangal Sirohi

Cavalry painting on left side

Painting on right side

This Haveli is more than 80 years old. It appears that the cavalry on left side is showing British officers while cavalry on right side shows native army officers.

There is another article on these havelis of Nangal Sirohi at http://www.tribuneindia.com/2002/20020622/windows/main2.htm

and also check http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nangal_Sirohi

About Nangal Sirohi :- Nangal Sirohi village is situated at around 17 km from Narnaul and 11 Km from Mohindergarh, on State Highway no. 17. 

Co-ordinates 28°11’26” N 76°07’52”E will help you in reaching there

Fort at Mohindergarh

This old fort was being used as a Court complex until recently and despite its continuous use as a government office for so many years in the past, its present condition is very sad.

This fort is a square shaped complex surrounded by high walls.Two story residential structures are there, inside the fort along its perimeter. Few of these are still in good condition and are in use while other sections have fallen apart or in the middle of this process.There is also an old well inside the complex.

I could not find much about the history of this fort except a few passing references in certain sources like Gazetteer of Punjab State published in 1908. There is a brief note on page 306 about this fort, which reads as ,"The fort at Kanaud in Patiala state, was so named in 1861 by Maharaja Narinder Singh, in honor of his son Mohinder Singh. The fort contains public offices of Mohindergarh nizamat and tahsil and the treasury, jail etc".

Old name of Mohindergarh was Kanaud (prior to 1860s, before it became a part of Patiala state).

Fort is also mentioned, several times in the book "Military memoirs of Mr.George Thomas" by William Francklin (1805). According to this, Marathas had a very strong hold in this region and this fort was under the command of their chief Appakanderow and later of his successor Vavon Row.

It is also believed that the fort has also seen the passive action during the uprising of 1857. Company armies under the command of Lt.Col. J.G. Gerrard had camped here before starting their march towards the battlefield of Nasibpur (Near Narnaul, around 25 Km from Mohindergarh), on the early morning on 16th November 1857.

It is also believed that prior to the arrival of Company and their supporters, this fort was under native control(Forces of Rewari) and they had evacuated it in order to assemble as a much stronger army at Nasibpur.

Front gate of the fort

Front gate from Inside

2-story quarters along side the fort wall (inside the fort)

Condition of the fort

 well inside the fort complex

About Mohindergarh:- Mohindergarh is a district in Haryana and is situated at a distance of 25 Km from Narnaul, 45 Km from Rewari and 65 km from Bhiwani. 

Co-ordinates of the fort :- 28°16’10” N and 76°08’48”E.

Other places at Mohindergarh city:- There are many old Havelis in the city and some of them are really amazing which i would try to cover during my next visit.

Official Website of Mohindergarh district is http://mahendragarh.nic.in

I am thankful of my friend Naveen for accompanying me there.