3-Jul-2022: NMA to submit a report on comprehensive development of Mahuli group of temples to Ministry of Culture

NMA to submit a report on comprehensive development of Mahuli group of temples to Ministry of Culture. The famous group of temples - known as Dakshin Kashi, comprise of five temples belonging to 11th  and 12th  CE in Hemadpanthi style of architecture and are located near Satara.

National Monument Authority chairman Shri Tarun Vijay paid a visit to see status of Samadhis of great Maratha queens Rani Tarabai Bhosle and Rani Yesho Bai Bhosle in Mahuli (Satara) . He was accompanied by senior ASI officers and historians.

He said Maharani Tarabai’s contribution to India’s freedom and her courageous rule to thwart Mughals is immense and her memory must be protected for inspiring coming generations.

He also said that this can be done with state govt and central govt’s joint move at a massive scale. He will try to draw attention of CM and Dy CM Maharashtra in this regard, Shri Tarun Vijay said.

He also visited Ramtek temple group , Ambala Gate, Sindoori bawli, Mansar Buddhist stupa . He said he will submit a comprehensive report to Union  Minister of Culture Shri Kishan Reddy  and recommend including Ramtek  and Mahuli group of temples on banks of Krishna river in Centrally Protected Monuments list and helping samadhis of Maharani Tarabai and Yeshubai develop  in a befitting manner .

25-Jun-2022: National Monuments Authority observes Martyrdom Day of Baba Banda Singh Bahadur at Red Fort

National Monuments Authority observed the Martyrdom Day of the great warrior Baba Banda Singh Bahadurat Red Fort in New Delhi. The Martyrdom Day of the great Sikh ruler falls today by Indian Calendar.

The event at Red Fort Lawns was attended by Minister of state for Culture and External Affairs Smt. Meenakshi Lekhi along with NMA Chairman Shri Tarun Vijay and Baba Jatinder Pal Singh Sodhi, tenth generation descendant of Baba Banda Singh Bahadur.

Speaking on the occasion, Smt Meenakashi Lekhi said that Baba Banda Singh Bahadur defended the honour of his religion by sacrificing his life and his courage should not be forgotten. The Union Minister assured all support for declaring Banda Bahadur martyrdom place a national monument.

Smt Meenakashi Lekhi added that said youth of Punjab should take inspiration from Baba Banda Singh Bahadur Ji.

At the event, Dhadhi Jatha was performed and an exhibition showing the story of Baba Banda Singh Bahadur was displayed.

Baba Banda Singh Bahadur was a great Sikh warrior and a commander of Khalsa army who defeated the Mughals and liberated a large part of North India from oppressive Mughal rule and established the Khalsa rule in Punjab. Banda Singh Bahadur abolished the Zamindari system and granted property rights to the tillers of the land. He was a Noble ruler who introduced the Nanak Shahi coins. He was captured by Mughal ruler Farrukhsiyar and his martyrdom took place in Mehrauli where a monument stands in his memory.

20-Jun-2022: National Monuments Authority to organise Astrophysical study of the movement of the sun around Qutub Minar, on the occasion of International Day of Yoga tomorrow

On the International Day of Yoga tomorrow, National Monuments Authority  will organize an Astro physical analysis of the  movement of the sun around the Qutub Minar with the help of Ministry of Science & Technology.  The study will determine if Qutub Minar is tilted at a certain angle, does it have any astronomical significance, and whether there is a zero shadow of the Minaret at local noon on 21st June. The study begins at 11.30 AM on 21st June and will go on till 1.30 PM.  Some special devices are being used and an App has also been created to help the people to track the event.

Senior Scientists and Surveyors have formed a team as requested by National Monuments Authority for the study that include  Dr. Neruj Mohan Ramanujan, Head of the Scientific Communications  Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Bangalore; Dr. Virendra Yadav, Senior Scientist from Arya Bhatt Research Institute of Observational Sciences and Shri Rajiv Dhyani from Survey of India . They will make a study and submit a report to  Chairman, National Monuments Authority, Shri Tarun Vijay.

Scientists will try to measure the length of the shadow every 10 minutes or so, starting at 11.30 am, going on to about 1.30 pm.  Not only will this tell us if there is zero shadow at local noon, it will also help us track the progression of the shadow length, said Shri Tarun Vijay.

Given the dimensions of the Qutub Minar, it will be possible to calculate the tilt angle from these measurements.  For some angles of the tilt, it is expected that the shadow at local noon will fall on the ground and for some, will fall on the tower itself.  For this purpose,  a device to measure vertical angles, for the latter case, has been requisitioned.

The astronomical event will be preceded by a Yoga event at Vishnu Garud Dhwaj ( Iron Pillar).

17-Jun-2022: NMA to work towards strengthening Rukmini Krishna Yatra between Arunachal Pradesh and Gujarat

A meeting between Deputy CM Arunachal Pradesh Shri Chowna Mein and top National Monumental Authority (NMa) officials led by chairman Shri Tarun Vijay took place to decide about strengthening Arunachal’s age old cultural connect with Gujarat through Rukmini and Bhagwan Krishna story.

NMA Chairperson, Shri Tarun Vijay said that it is planned that people from Gujarat visit Bhishmak Nagar and vice versa to increase cultural tourism between far eastern and far western corners of the nation. It is aimed at promoting  idea of national unity and Ek Bharat Shrestha Bharat envisioned  by the Prime Minister.  

NMA is aiming for  monument preservation and organising  a Rukmini Krishna Yatra between Arunachal Pradesh and Gujarat on a large scale and to promote it at the national level.

The NMA team visited legendary Bhishmak Nagar ruins of Rukmini palace and met several village elders who narrated beautiful saga of Rukmini’s marriage to Shri Krishna that is still sung in Idu Mishmi tribal songs. The teams also met an Idu Mishmi girl who has been named Rukmini by her parents. She sang the local Rukmini Bhishmak song for them which was duly recorded. In Porbandar,  Krishna’s marriage with Arunachal’s Rukmini is also celebrated. 

Shri Tarun Vijay said that he is specially accompanied by Shri Hemraj Kamdar a renowned architect and cultural conceptualiser from Gujarat and Prof Kailash Rao from Andhra Pradesh to help visualise the Mission National Unity through Rukmini- Krishna legend.

Shri Tarun Vijay also said that in the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav year it is important to strengthen threads of national unity through Civilisation connects.

Arunachal Pradesh needs a very special attention for preservation of its cultural memory as the verbal history transferred from one generation to other is fast disappearing since  village elders and Igus (traditional healers and priests) are dwindling in numbers.

NMA visited a number of indigenous archaeological sites and is preparing a detailed report to preserve tangible and intangible cultural heritage of this sensitive border state.

12-Jun-2022: A team of NMA to visit Arunachal Pradesh from 14th June to identify new additions in the list of Centrally Protected Monuments from the state

The full  team of National Monuments Authority will visit  ancient monuments specially those bordering Tibet-China region of  Arunachal Pradesh, between 14th to 18th June, 2022. The team will also meet local tribal leaders to find out places of Indigenous faith which connect Arunachal Pradesh with other parts of the nation through legends and verbal history. The full team of NMA will comprise of the two members Shri Hemraj Kamdar and Prof Kailash Rao , in addition to Chairman Shri Tarun Vijay.

Shri Tarun Vijay said that it goes to the credit of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi who initiated an annual yatra from Arunachal to Porbandar in Gujarat, strengthening the cultural threads woven around the legacy of Rukmani in a most thrilling and enlightening manner. He said that Arunachal Pradesh has lagged behind in the area of Heritage Protection and enlisting of new monuments in Centrally Protected list of national archaeological sites. The stream of the local indigenous faiths and their monuments, tangible and intangible heritage connecting them to the western most coast in Gujarat and other parts of India has remained relatively unnoticed and unrecognized.

The team of  NMA will meet village elders and leaders of various tribes, each of them have fascinating stories about Dharma and cultural connect through ancient monuments with mainland India. A report will be submitted to  Minister of Culture and the Prime Minister, suggesting new additions in the list of Centrally Protected Monuments and identifying cultural tourism sites that strengthen national unity in the context of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, Shri Tarun Vijay disclosed. The Parashuram Kund, Bhishmaknagar, Bhalukpong and Tawang are a few indigenous sites of archaeological importance which connect Arunachal Pradesh with Gujarat, Goa, Kerala and the Yadava community, he said.

19-Apr-2022: National Monuments Authority organises a unique heritage walk around historical Anang Tal in Mehrauli

Celebrating World Heritage Day on 19th April 2022, National Monuments Authority organized a unique Heritage Walk early this morning around the historical Anang Tal, Mehrauli, an 11th Century mini lake built by the founder King of Delhi Anang Pal Tomar in 1052 AD. The Hindu dynasty of Tomars ruled Delhi and the name itself has come from the Dhillikapuri of which several stone inscriptions were found by General Canningham during British ASI period.

The Heritage Walk was led by the known Archaeologist Dr B R Mani, former Addl. DG, ASI and former DG, National Museum and Shri Tarun Vijay, Chairman, National Monuments Authority. The inauguration by flagging off the Heritage Walk was done by the Chief Secretary of Delhi Shri Vijay Kumar Dev, IAS. A special inspirational address was given by Dr. Krishan Gopal, Joint General Secretary of RSS who applauded the efforts and appealed to unearth more such monuments.

Dr. Mani said that he excavated the site between 1993 to 1995 under ASI. There is still some water left in Anang Tal but gradually the mini lake has shrunk over time.  The Heritage walkers included several archaeologists, historians, research fellows from various universities numbering about 150. Shri Bharat Bhushan, Mg Director of Bharat Prakashan, Shri Hitesh Shankar, editor, Panchajanya , Dr Ravindra Kumar, Dean, School of Heritage Research and Management, Dr Ambedkar University also joined. Dr. Mani explained to the Heritage Walkers that unless it is declared as a protected monument there will not be any trace left of it in the coming years.

Shri Tarun Vijay said that Anang Tal is one of the most significant historical monuments that connects us to the beginning of Delhi. We are celebrating World Heritage Day according to the vision of the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi ji and re-establishing the glory of Anang Tal and the monuments related to the great Hindu King of Delhi. Reviving Maharaja Anang Pal Tomar’s monuments is a major movement that NMA has taken up. He said that fortunately our Minister for Culture Smt. Meenakshi Lekhi has taken a deep interest in King Anang Pal and monuments related to him, therefore, we are sure that this great historical mini lake Anang Tal will be revived and will become most visited monument in the capital.

Shri Vijay Kumar Dev, IAS, Chief Secretary of Delhi said that this is most momentous and thrilling Heritage Walk of his life which has given a new insight into the glorious past of Delhi. He assured all help to have the area cleaned up and make it a better place for tourists and researchers. He said that we must take pride in our heritage and complimented Shri Tarun Vijay for organizing this walk.

Shri Tarun Vijay said that he is also planning Heritage Walk to the martyrdom place of Vir Banda Singh Bahadur the great ruler of Punjab who defeated the moguls and avenged  the death of two Sahibjadas. He was later killed barbarically by the Moghuls. A Gurudwara has been built at that place related to his memory in Mehrauli. It is our duty that that the memory of the supreme sacrifice of Vir Banda Singh Bahadur be remembered and monument be kept with the grace and respect it deserves.