Muddy Loafers

EVA LOMBARD – PIONEER MEDICAL MISSIONARY.

2012-01-05T02:07:00.000-08:00

On the west coast of India and hugging the Arabian Sea, is the temple town of Udupi famous for the Krishna Temple and the eight mutts – a seminary for Brahmin boys.

Into this stronghold of Brahmin orthodoxy, stepped Eva Lombard a young Swiss doctor, diminutive in stature but with a strong spirit and an incredible capacity for work.

Maternal and Infant mortality was very high in these parts as doctors were few, and female doctors were unheard of. Though opposition to missionaries was strong, the town welcomed the missionary doctor. On 15th June 1923, Eva Lombard opened the Basel Mission Hospital in Udupi. It was just a 6-bedded cottage hospital that promised to minister to the needs of women from all sections of society. Most of the work was domiciliary. The brave young doctor travelled to the homes of patients on foot or by bullock cart or boat. A car came many years later. Deliveries were conducted in outhouses or cattle sheds as women were considered unclean for forty days after child birth.

Everyone who mattered turned up for the inauguration. Important men with gilt-edged turbans or colourful headgear drove up in jutkas. They appreciated the fact that at last, medical help would be available to the women and children of the area.

Eva Lombard

Eva Lombard was born in Geneva in1890. Her father a Bank Manager gave up his job to become an evangelist. Her mother worked among women prisoners. From the age of fourteen, Eva was sure that she wanted to pursue a career in Medicine. She graduated from the University of Geneva in 1918, and worked for a couple of years in Basel and Geneva. But her burden was for India, and though she had no inking of her actual place of work, she set out like Abraham ‘not knowing wither.’

In 1921, Eva travelled to Mysore, and spent a year at the Mission Hospital there, getting acquainted with various tropical diseases and learning the local customs and language.

1923 brought her to Udupi. Under her care and guidance, the hospital grew over the years into a multi-specialty hospital with 200 beds, and a nursing school. But this was a Herculean task as money was always in short supply, and most of the patients were too poor to pay or could only pay a pittance. Though the town representatives had promised to contribute towards running costs, they were merely empty promises. The hospital had to rely on subsidies from the Basel Mission in Switzerland.

After World War II and when India became independent, things became tougher. Sometimes there was no money to buy medicines or pay the local staff. It made the good doctor more dependent on God.

TB patients were a sadly neglected lot. So in 1952 a sanatorium was built where patients were cared for with much love and dedication. Outreach work was started simultaneously with the opening of the hospital.

This remarkable woman devoted the best years of her life to service of the poor. They were her friends. Women and children were her special concern, but prayer was her forte. She worked hard and expected the same from her colleagues.

Eva Lombard retired in 1954 and handed over charge to an Indian doctor. She returned to Switzerland in 1957. She lived frugally and in her last years, moved into a Home for the Aged where she lived till her death in 1978. Dr. T. M .A. Pai the founder of Manipal Hospital, who was her good friend, said of her, “There is a spark of divinity in her. Let us have many such people. It does not matter which country they come from. They are angels holding the torch of hope and happiness. Dr. Lombard’s contribution to the healing art has been signal.”

In her was the will to render service. This is what steered her into a life of love, compassion and dedication.

VICTORIA OCAMPO – A POET’S INSPIRATION.

2011-10-31T03:00:00.000-07:00

Buenos Aires the bustling capital of Argentina, spread over the south bank of the Rio de la Plata, is a city of contrasts – of rich superhighways and narrow crooked streets, of plush apartments and suburban shanty towns, of wealth and poverty, of the famous and infamous.

Rapid suburban growth has changed the face of the city. Many historic structures have crumbled with age or demolished. Searching the suburbs of San Isidro to find Villa Milario is quite an adventure. It was the trysting place of Argentina’s distinguished writer Victoria Ocampo and the ageing Indian poet Rabindranath Tagore. For two months (November and December) in 1924 an old man of 63 years and a young lady of 34 mutually fuelled their creativity in each other’s company.

After Tagore won the Nobel Prize for Literature, Victoria took a great interest in his works. Her knowledge of English, Spanish and French gave her access to the best of literary works. She read Tagore’s “Gitanjali” and felt she could relate to the mystical yearnings and deep emotions expressed in his poems, and even said that she derived spiritual comfort from them.

Victoria was born into a rich family belonging to the high society of Buenos Aires. She was brought up in a very conservative atmosphere where women were not allowed to have a formal education. She was tutored by a French governess. But as a young girl, she travelled to Rome with her family and was allowed to attend lectures at the Sorbonne and the College de France, in the company of a chaperone. It made her eager to get better acquainted with the literary world.

By now, Tagore was a famous poet. He was invited to speak in different countries. On his travels to Latin America he fell severely ill on board the ship and had to disembark at Buenos Aires. He checked into the Hotel Plaza with his secretary and traveling companion Leonard Elmhurst. But because of Victoria’s great admiration for the poet, she offered to host them at Villa Milario in San Isidro, very close to her residence Villa Ocampo. It was situated in the middle of a beautiful compound with a cactus garden in the backyard, and a shady Tipa tree in the forecourt, under which Tagore met his visitors. From his balcony he had a view of the river. Victoria sold some of her jewellery to pay the rent for Villa Milario. Her personal servants attended Tagore’s every need.
Victoria herself spent the best part of the day with him. They even had their meals together. Leonard acted as the facilitator of their friendship as Victoria was rather shy. It was a rare friendship that stimulated the creative juices in both of them. Tagore cut short his visits to Peru and Mexico to bask in the ministrations of this lovely, intelligent muse.

Tagore had been a widower since the age of 41. However he had any number of women friends in Europe for his inspiration. But for the last seventeen years of his life Victoria became his muse. He considered her the most distinguished and attractive among all his female friends.

They parted in January 1925 when Tagore returned to Europe. Their epistolary romance was to continue until his death, except for two silent years from 1926 – 1928, when Victoria battled with her own private demons.

Their correspondence which was in English, revealed her devotion to him and his feelings for her. The letters were poignant with longing for emotional fulfilment. He taught her one word in Bengali ‘balobashi’ meaning love. Tagore immortalized her through his poems, never once mentioning her by name but by the Indian name ‘Vijaya’ which means victory. His book of poems ‘Purabi’ was dedicated to her. Yet though he idolized her, he refused to recognize her as an intellectual equal. This was truly frustrating for her.

They met for the last time in Paris in 1930, where she organized his first Art exhibition. He hoped that she would follow him to Shanthiniketan in India. But Victoria could not leave her lover Julian Martinez a diplomat, with whom she had a long standing relationship. Tagore had to be content with the arm chair she had presented him, which he had used in Milario. It had travelled with him through Europe and finally to Shanthiniketan. Many were the poems he was inspired to write from that arm chair.

On Tagore’s death in 1941, Victoria wrote his Obit essay.
“I guard everything I learnt from him,” she wrote, “So that I might live with it as long as my strength permits me.”

Victoria moved on from strength to strength. She was admired by musicians, writers and essayists. Many of them had visited her in San Isidro.
She aired her opinions fearlessly through her writing and essays. During World War II she supported and edited an anti-Nazi magazine ‘Lettres Francaises.’
In 1946, she was the only Argentinean to attend the Nuremberg trials.
In 1953, she was imprisoned for opposing the regime of Juan Domino Peron.
In 1961, on the birth centenary of Tagore, she organized a grand celebration in Buenos Aires. Her book “Tagore in the ravines of San Isidro” was well received.

Though Victoria lacked formal education, she established herself in the world of literature. She became a member of the Argentine Academy of Letters in 1976. Her home Villa Ocampo was used for cultural dialogues under the auspices of UNESCO. Most of her inherited wealth was spent on promoting Argentine’s culture.

She died at the ripe old age of 88, on January 27th 1979. Her remains were interred at La Recoleta, the largest cemetery in Buenos Aires.

JOSEFINA GEURRERO – BRAVEST SPY OF THE MANILA WATERFRONT

2011-09-05T04:08:00.000-07:00

.Manila on the eastern shore of the Manila Bay is the largest and most densely populated city in the Philippines. It was the scene of the bloodiest battle in the Pacific theatre during World War II, and was occupied by the Japanese from 1942-1945. The Philippine Guerilla Movement sabotaged Japanese communication lines, and assisted the American forces by providing information about secret tunnels and air raid shelters.

Among the members of the Resistance, was a young Filipino woman disfigured by leprosy, who shuffled through the streets of Manila. She carried on her ‘cloak and dagger’ activities in favour of the American forces, and was totally ignored by the unsuspecting Japanese.

Josefina Geurrero was once a pretty vivacious belle of Manila society. She was married to a wealthy medical student at St. Tomas University. Their daughter was two years old when Josefina contracted leprosy in 1941, and had to be confined to a leprosarium for treatment.

With the Japanese occupation of the Philippines, men were forced into labour camps, women were sent off to brothels, and the leprosariums were closed. Josefina used her disease as a secret weapon against the enemy. She was an outcaste and an untouchable, isolated from society. The Japanese were repulsed by her appearance and did not suspect her activities. Ragged and ugly, disease did not hamper her activities, and she had the run of the streets. She became a conduit for food, clothing and medicines to the American prisoners of war. As a member of the Resistance Movement, she was responsible for preparing maps of Japanese installations, aircraft batteries and fortifications on the waterfront. From her drawings, American planes were able to pinpoint targets and blast them to smithereens.

When the American troops arrived at Leyte, Joey (as she was fondly called by the Americans) carried a map of Japanese-held territory, showing locations of land mines on the planned route of the invasion. The map was taped to her back between her shoulder blades. Over this, she carried her back pack. Trudging 56 miles through Japanese encampments, Joey reached the 37th Infantry Division of the US army. This enabled them to avoid the mines as they marched towards Manila. She was awarded the Philippine Medal of Freedom for her courage. The US government bestowed on her the highest award given to a civilian – The Medal of Freedom with a silver palm.

Though leprosariums were reopened after the war, the Philippine government had no funds to run them. The US Attorney General Thomas Clarke waived immigration rules to bring Joey to a leprosarium in Carville, La. She was only thirty years old when she arrived in San Francisco. She was greeted by army officials, dignitaries and about 300 war veterans. The veterans’ band played the Philippine national anthem. Joey was overwhelmed by this display of gratitude. Her arms laden with flowers she smiled and said, “This is much more than I expected.”

Then an Air Force plane bore her away to Carville.

ANANDIBAI JOSHI – DOCTOR EXTRAORDINAIRE.

2011-07-12T00:46:00.000-07:00

The Poughkeepsie Rural Cemetery overlooking the Hudson River in the heart of New York is a beautiful place to visit. Great men and women have been laid to rest in this tranquil atmosphere, with its artistically laid out gardens and monuments. Here in Lot 216-A stands an upright rectangular stone adjacent to the plot belonging to an old family – the Carpenters. It is simple and devoid of ornamentation, under which is interred the ashes of the first Indian female Hindu doctor, Dr. Anandibai Joshi, who received her medical education abroad. Why her ashes were transported from India to New York, is a story worth telling.

Born into a wealthy Brahmin family in Kalyan (near Bombay) on March 31st 1835, this little girl was married off at the age of nine, to a widower who was twenty years her senior. Gopal Rao Joshi was a postal clerk. But he was a progressive thinker who supported widow marriage and the education of women. Her name was promptly changed from Yamuna to Anandibai, and he made it his life’s vocation to educate her. He was transferred from Kalyan to Alibagh to Calcutta. He sent her to mission schools whenever possible, but took it on himself to teach her English. Gopal would take his young wife for long walks during which his teaching sessions continued. He was convinced that learning English was more important than learning Sanskrit. But Anandibai confessed that learning from her husband was not easy. He would hit her with pieces of wood or chairs or books. Later, in her correspondence with him from USA, she had the courage to complain against his tyranny.

“I had no recourse but to allow you to hit me with chairs, and bear it with equanimity.”

Anandibai delivered a child at fourteen. The boy lived for only ten days as both of them did not receive proper medical care, because the only doctor available was a Christian. This was the beginning of her ill-health. It made her determined to become a doctor so that she could help other Hindu women. In this, she was fully supported by her husband. Gopal wanted to send her abroad for medical studies, even though they had no money. But here was a woman who believed that whatever the circumstances, nothing or nobody could stand in the way of her achieving her dreams. Her determination coupled with her husband’s encouragement was the first step towards achievement.

Gopal wrote to a missionary friend Royal Wilder in the US, asking for help to admit Anandibai to a medical school, and also find a job for himself. The missionary was willing to help on one condition, that they convert to Christianity. This was unacceptable to the couple. However, Wilder was good enough to publish Gopal’s letter in the Princeton Missionary Review. A woman named Theodosia Carpenter was touched by the earnestness of the letter. She offered to accommodate Anandibai when she came to the US. She struck up a correspondence with the girl, and they became good friends through their epistolary exchanges. They discussed Hindu culture and religion. They exchanged views on early marriages and the effect this had on women’s health, of the status of women in society and various other women’s issues. Anandibai’s clarity of thought on such issues was very mature. She was a feminist and believed that she had a right to live and grow and follow her heart. Theodosia brought out the best in her.

But Anandibai’s health began to deteriorate. While in Calcutta she suffered from fever, breathlessness and general debility. The medicines that Theodosia sent did not do much good. Gopal however, was determined to send her to USA for her medical studies.

There was much opposition from the conservative Hindu community. They were insulted, ostracized and sometimes physically attacked. In a letter to Theodosia she wrote,

“My designs meet with approbation of a few, say one or two thousands. They are probably youth, reformists and patriots. I am not discouraged. I must not fear but show all, what Indian ladies are.”

Anandibai addressed the opponents in her community about the urgent need for female Hindu doctors. She talked convincingly about her son’s death and her own ill-health because there was no Hindu doctor to care for her. She also promised that she would never convert to Christianity. Her speech made an impact on the community. Donations began to pour in. Even the Viceroy made a donation of two hundred rupees.

So in June 1883 at the age of nineteen, a weak but determined Anandibai sailed to USA, chaperoned by two friends of Theodosia. She got admission to the first Women’s Medical Programme offered by the University of Pennsylvania. She even won a scholarship of $ 600/- for three years. Her dissertation was on “Obstetrics among the Hindu Aryans.”

Anandibai in her 9-yard Maharastrian sari must have been something of an oddity. With her arms and calves exposed, the cold was unbearable. In this weak state, she contracted Tuberculosis. But in spite of ill health, she persevered with her studies. She graduated on 11th March 1886. Her husband and a social reformer Pandita Ramabai were present at this function. Even Queen Victoria sent her a congratulatory message. The Philadelphia Post wrote, “Little Mrs. Joshee who graduated with high honours in her class, received quite an ovation.”

Anandibai sailed back to India on October 9, 1886, and received a rousing welcome on arrival. She was made physician in charge of the female ward in Albert Edward Hospital, Kohlapur. But her professional life was short lived. Illness claimed her on February 26th, 1887, at the early age of 22. Gopal sent her ashes back to USA to be laid to rest in Theodosia Carpenter’s family plot at the Poughkeepsie Cemetery.

Here was a brave child woman whose determination empowered her, but her frail body gave out prematurely. Her last words were “I did all that I could.”

THE CLOUD MAIDENS OF SIGIRIYA

2011-06-09T03:09:00.000-07:00

Sigiriya is Sri Lanka’s most famous Lion Rock. From Kandy, it takes about two hours to reach there. The giant rock towering over the surrounding forests and looming into the skies at a height of 200 metres, can be seen from a distance.

In the 5^th Century A.D. the rock resembled a recumbent lion with an artificial head built of bricks, resting on two enormous lion paws hewn out of the rock. Between these paws was a steep stairway that led to the magnificent palace of King Kassapa. Today, all that this left on the flat top are the ruins of this palace.

Sigiriya was later handed over to the Buddhist clergy, who used it as a monastery up till the 14^th century. Then it fell into disuse until rediscovered by the British in the 19^th Century.

The picturesque road leading to the base of the rock is through well laid out gardens, fountains, pools covered with lotuses and birds of bright plumage that dart in and out of the trees.

It is a long climb to the top over boulders linked by limestone stairs. Protective handrails make the ascent easier. But half way up, one encounters a fabulous sheltered gallery covered by rock paintings of beautiful sensuous women, reminiscent of the Ajanta frescoes in India. They are of graceful bare-breasted women with slender necks encased in dangling chains, narrow hips and coiffs decked with flowers. They seem to rise from the clouds in colours of red and gold, singly or in pairs, with expressions that reflect a variety of moods. These figures which are painted on the open surface of the rock were once more than 550 in number. Today, only 23 have survived the onslaught of time.

Beyond the fresco gallery, there are steps clinging to the sides of the rock. They are protected from the elements by a wall three metres high, which is glazed on the inside, and has retained its shine over the last 1000 years. It is called the Mirror Wall and graffiti scribbled on its surface describe the impressions of visitors about these gorgeous damsels painted in the gallery. Only about 685 of these have been deciphered. They are written in Singhalese or Tamil. But for those curious to know what they mean, English translations can be found in any tourist guide book.

“The ladies who wear golden chains on their breasts beckon me. As I have seen these ladies, heaven appears to me not so good.”

“Hail golden coloured one on the mountainside, whose resplendent rosy hand bore a blue water lily, bewitched my heart and tore it from another.”

One from a jealous female scribbler says, “A dew-eyed female from the mountainside arouses anger in my mind. In her hand she has taken a string of pearls and in her looks she has assumed rivalry of us.”

Who were these ‘cloud maidens’ of Sigiriya? Archeologists and historians have voiced their own views. Some suggested that they represent ‘Lightening’ and ‘Clouds.’ Others believe that they are ladies from King Kassapa’s court in a devotional procession to the shrine of Pidurangala. Some call them ‘apsaras’ and others say these are artistic depictions of court life and its expressions of royal shenanigans.

But as Sigiriya was used as a Buddhist monastery, the common belief is that these frescoes are representation of the Goddess Tara, who is worshipped in many centres of Mahayana Buddhism. She is a heavily jewelled deity who dresses in colours of red, yellow, green or blue and holds a water lily or lotus in her hand.

Whoever these frescoes depict and however old they may be, they cast a magic spell on viewers who climb the Sigiriya rock all the way to the top.

BEATRIX POTTER – THE ENVIRONMENTALIST.

2011-03-10T22:13:00.000-08:00

In summer, a trip to the Lake District is reviving. Wordsworth called it the place where ‘God and Nature commune.’ Its rolling hills and placid blue lakes under clouds tinted with empyrean light, give it an ‘other worldly’ ambience. Beatrix Potter author, illustrator and environmentalist lived here for most of her adult life. Though her books – Tales of Peter Rabbit, Tailor of Gloucester, Benjamin Bunny and other stories are now overshadowed by Harry Potter and his exciting antics, there was a time when children who read them were fascinated by her animal characters and even thought they lived with her, especially the much loved Peter Rabbit. People of the district thought of her as a neat and tidy ‘blue eyed bonny woman,’ just like her animal character Mrs. Twiggy Winkle.

Beatrix Potter was born on 28th July 1866, and spent the first 24 years of her life at 2, Bolton Place, London. She was tutored at home by governesses, in a claustrophobic school room on the top floor of her house. Her loneliness led her to create her own indoor animal farm by smuggling in her muffs and voluminous pockets, rabbits, mice and hedgehogs.

But for three months in summer every year, the family moved to Windermere in the Lake District, where she loved to roam over those green open spaces and breathe in the fresh air of the fells. Though Wray Castle where they stayed was a monstrosity, it overlooked the lakes and enjoyed the gentle refreshing breeze that blew inland.

The Reverend Drummond Rawnsley, Vicar of Windermere became her friend and guide, He showed keen interest in the animals which travelled with her in small cages or boxes, and encouraged her to make sketches of them or paint scenes from the countryside. He also stirred up in her a deep concern for preserving the natural beauty of the region. Her activities however were considerably hampered by an autocratic father and the responsibility of caring for her parents.

The royalties from her first book were used to purchase her beloved Hill Top Farm in Sawry. She could only make brief visits to the farm from London. But she used them well. John Cannon her tenant farmer taught her how to plant, hoe and use the farm implements. She also used this time to make sketches of houses, gardens, animals and the countryside, which she later incorporated into her books.

Beatrix’s obsession with preservation of the area in its natural splendour, prompted her to buy pieces of land and property when ever they came up for sale. This was to save them from demolition and commercial enterprise. Her only regret was that she could not spend enough time on her property, as her filial duties kept her in London for the better part of the year.

Beatrix was rescued from boredom and spinsterhood by William Heelis a solicitor, who belonged to the firm which managed her estates. Though her parents opposed her marriage, Bertram her brother argued that at 47, she had the right to marry whom she wanted.

Now she had more freedom to plunge into farming. She moved into larger quarters, and also worked tirelessly in the fields. Her one big obsession was to preserve the environment. She became an active member of Cannon Rawnsley’s National Trust. Acquiring property was not for any personal wealth but to prevent destruction of Nature by new constructions and tarred roads.

The villagers had no idea that she was an author, though her little books were on sale at the “Ginger and Pickles’ store in the village. To them she was an eccentric lady farmer, who wore rough clothes and stomped around in wooden clogs. Anyone who wanted to sell their property for shops, pubs and fancy houses, received a tongue lashing from her.

But she was generous to a fault with newly weds who couldn’t find accommodation or to widows who couldn’t support themselves. She even arranged for a district nurse to make herself available, and gave her a rent free cottage and a car. This was the beginning of the Hawkshead District Nursing Association. Her sympathy for those in need and her frugal life style endeared her to the people. When electricity came to the district in 1934, Beatrix preferred to stay with oil lamps and candles.

Beatrix died on December 22nd, 1943 at the age of 72. She bequeathed her extensive property to the National Trust of Lake District. Her shepherd of twenty years Tom Storey scattered her ashes on the Hill Top pastures, where her presence hovers benevolently over the quiet dales.

Beatrix’s books and personal effects are exhibited at Hill Top Farm. At the Beatrix Potter Gallery in Hawkshead, one can see her original drawings, story books and some of her endearing animal characters. Her whole life was devoted to green cause of the ‘most pleasant countryside in the world.’

SELMA LAGERLOF - FIRST FEMALE NOBEL LAUREATE

2011-01-05T02:57:00.000-08:00

Varmland in western Sweden is not on the usual tourist itinerary. Yet this is a beautiful region extending towards the Norwegian frontier. Driving through this quiet scenic countryside, its green rolling planes, its serene uplands and its placid lakes, makes a traveler feel one with nature. History records that Christianity spread from Norway to Sweden via Varmland.

The little town of Marbacka in this region was the home of Selma Lagerlof, a Swedish author. She was the first woman to receive the Nobel Prize for Literature.

Born on November 26th 1858 at Oster Emterwick, she grew up in Marbacka. Folklore, legends and traditions of this area became an inseparable part of her life. After her father’s illness, the family home had to be sold. Selma was loath to move away, and as soon as she could afford to, she bought it back and lived there till her death. In her book “The Story of the Manor” which was published in 1922, she describes this home at length.

Today Marbacka Manor belongs to a Foundation and is open to visitors in summer. As one wanders through those rooms and looks through her memorabilia, it is easy to visualize her life and times.

Selma was a teacher. She trained at the reputed Teachers’ Training College in Stockholm. She worked as a teacher for ten years. Though she started writing poetry at an early age, she did not get into print until 1890. Her novel Gosta Berlings Saga received wide acclaim especially after it was translated into Danish in 1891. It was the story of a clergyman who was dismissed from his job for his drunkenness.

This novel was followed by Osynliga Lanker (Invisible Links) in 1894. With her success, she decided to quit teaching and become a full time writer. It helped that the Royal family and the Swedish Academy offered to support her financially. She could also afford to travel extensively and visited Italy, Greece, Egypt and Palestine. She used some of these places as backdrops to her stories. Some were romantic; others were religious or touched on the supernatural. In Sicily, she saw a statue of Jesus which seemed more like a caricature of him. It prompted her to write “Miracles of the Antichrist” in 1897. One cannot ignore the blending of social and moral values in her writing.

In 1894, Selma became a friend of Sophie Elkan, another writer. They were fast friends till the end of her life. From their correspondence it was assumed that theirs was a homosexual relationship. Sophie showed signs of jealousy when Selma grew friendly with Valborg Ohlander, who was also her literary agent.

Selma’s knowledge of legends and folklore made her a good writer of children’s stories too. “The Wonderful World of Nils” became a children’s classic.

In 1900, Selma travelled to Jerusalem. This visit inspired her to write her major work “Jerusalem” in two volumes. It was a novel about Swedish peasants who migrated to the Holy Land.

By now the world had recognized her as an excellent writer. In 1904, the Swedish Academy presented her with a gold medal. In 1907, she was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature for her voluminous body of work. She was the first woman to be so honoured.

Selma died in her Manor on March 16th 1940, at the ripe old age of 82. Marbacke’s famous author was buried in the churchyard of Ostra Amterwick, about four miles away for her home.

ABBAKKA MAHADEVI – THE WARRIOR QUEEN.(1540-1625)

2010-10-11T23:03:00.000-07:00

On the west coast of India about 8-10 kms from the port city Mangalore, is a small town called Ullal. Situated on the south bank of the Nethravathy River, it has a scenic coastline along the Arabian Sea. Huge black rocks and treacherous breakers make some parts of the beach unsafe for swimming. But the shady stretches of causarina groves and miles of golden sand make it an ideal place for a holiday.

Way back in the 16th century, Ullal was a small port exporting spices and black pepper. Being a rich and popular trading centre, it was coveted by the Portuguese, British and Dutch. But for almost four decades a young queen called Abbakka, successfully repulsed these intruders, making them beat a hasty retreat. Her main enemy was the Portuguese who tried to capture Ullal on many occasions between 1558 and 1618, by land and by sea. Abbakka had a well trained army drawn from all castes and religions. The Mogaveeras (fisher folk) were sturdy and fearless men who formed the backbone of her army.

In 1568, Portuguese General Joao Peixoto managed to enter her royal court with his men. But Abbakka fled and took shelter in a mosque close by. Here she banded together 200 of her best soldiers and went back to face the enemy. Peixoto and several of his men were killed, and many others taken captive.

Abbakka belonged to the Chowta Dynasty which ruled a part of South Kanara, from the temple town of Moodabidri to Ullal. She had a dusky complexion with sharp attractive features, and though short, carried herself with great dignity. The Chowtas followed the matrilineal system of inheritance. So female members became leaders. Abbakka’s uncle Tirumala Raya trained her in warfare, sword fighting and archery. She was supposed to be the last person who used the fire arrow (Agni Vana) in warfare. She was also an accomplished horse rider.

Tirumala Raya trained her to be a good administrator and business woman. At the age of 15, he made her the Queen of Ullal. But her marriage alliance with Lakkaya the Banga Prince of Mangalore, was disastrous. He was a lackey of the Portuguese, and willingly paid taxes to them hoping to remain in their favour. Abbakka refused to be subservient or to pay taxes to a foreign power. She spurned their terms of trade and preferred to ship commodities directly to the Middle East. Her attitude caused much friction between the couple and she separated from him, returning to Ullal to resume her royal duties.

Even though Abbakka was a queen, she was very simple and always dressed in a cotton sari, with a cloth covering her mouth and upper torso. Her umbrella was made of areca palms. She was also a caring queen who had the best interests of her subjects at heart. She dispensed justice to her people, often working late into the nights.

Abbakka was an astute statesman. She forged alliances with the Zamorin of Calicut, the Sultan of Bijapur Ahmed Nazar, and several Muslim chieftains. Her last war against the Portuguese was in 1618. In the war, she was represented by a General from the Zamorin’s army. Though he was able to capture the Mangalore Fort, he was killed on his way back to Ullal. Abbakka was arrested and jailed soon after. But she revolted and died fighting. She was the first female freedom fighter of India against Colonial powers.

Abbakka belonged to the Jain sect which is so non-violent that it prohibits killing even of an insect. But she had no qualms about vanquishing her enemies through warfare.

After one of the Portuguese defeats, the Emperor of Spain reprimanded his Portuguese commander,
“Are you not ashamed of being defeated again by a black, dwarfish Indian woman named Abbakka? Though she is our enemy, I have great admiration for this heroic woman. Tell me something about her.”

It was the Persian Emperor Shiya Abbas who advised Peitro Della Valle an Italian traveller, to interview Abbakka. “When you go to India, please go to Mangalore without fail. There is a pepper queen named Abbakka, who is the talk of Europe for her victories over the Portuguese. Don’t miss to meet that woman.”

Yet in her own country she was forgotten for centuries, and only remembered in folklore and field dramas. Of late, there has been a resurgence of interest in her. In 2003, the Postal Department issued a stamp to honour her. Bronze statues have been erected in Bangalore and Ullal. There she sits in all her splendour astride a horse, mounted on a high platform at the Abbakka Devi Circle.

Since 1998, the Veera Rani Abbakka Utsava is held annually, when distinguished women are honoured. There is talk of a film on her life in the making.

Visitors to Ullal can see the Somanatheshwar Temple built by the Queen and the remains of her Fort in the vicinity of the temple. The Rudra Rocks (Rudra Shila) close by, is a sight to behold, as it keeps changing colour because of the relentless pounding of the waves. Ullal is well connected by road or train, and a lovely weekend get-away.

SISTERHOOD OF RED AND PURPLE.

2010-08-25T00:14:00.000-07:00

The Tulip Festival in May 2006 at Orange City Iowa, was a crowd puller. Here, 19th century Holland was brought to life by people of Dutch origin, through floats, tableaux, music and plenty of Dutch food. It was a pleasure to watch people dressed in period costumes with wooden clogs and bonnets, representing different areas of Holland.

I saw a motley group of middle aged women wearing red hats and purple dresses, in a glaring mismatch of colours. I presumed that this was all a part of the festival, and that these women would probably be part of the parade. They seemed a friendly lot. So I moved closer, and struck up a conversation.

“Which part of the Netherlands do you come from?”

They guffawed.

“Oh dearie,” one of them said, “We’re all from Iowa. We’ve just come here to have some fun.”

“But the garish costumes?”

“You must be new to the country. Haven’t you heard of the Red Hatters in their red hats and purple dresses?”

“No,” I said, “But perhaps you could fill me in.”

And so over tea and Dutch cookies, I heard about this inspiring social group of women above fifty years of age, who meet every month to talk, laugh, eat and enjoy themselves.”

“What do you do?” I asked.

“Nothing. We just have fun. But it’s more than that. You could call it a Fellowship. We share a deep bond of affection forged by our life experiences, and we do have a zest for living.”

Sometime in the mid-nineties, a woman named Sue Ellen Cooper, who lives in Fullerton California, went on a holiday to Tuscon. She bought a bright red hat at a thrift shop, which she thought looked cute. A couple of years later, she happened to read a poem called “Warning” by a British writer called Jenny Joseph, which was about purple dresses and red hats.

An idea struck her, and on her friend Linda Murphy’s 55th birthday, she presented her with the red hat and a copy of the poem. It was well appreciated, and Linda in turn, bought a similar gift for another friend. And so it spread to a group of five women who possessed red hats. To complete the poem’s image, they all bought purple dresses and went out to tea in their eye catching costumes. On April 25th 1998, the Red Hatters’ Society was born in Fullerton California, with five members.

Then one of them sent a red hat as a gift to her friend in Florida. It was the beginning of a sibling group there. Today there are 40,000 chapters in 30 foreign countries all over the world. Each chapter has about 20-25 members.

Their motto is “Red Hats Matter.” They have also adapted Mike Marline’s music as their theme song.

“All my life I’ve given to you,

Now it’s my turn to do for me.”

Most women dread facing middle age. Not these Red hatters. They come from all walks of life – grandmothers, golfers, teachers, entertainers and housewives. Their spirit of buoyancy is infective. They call themselves a ‘disorganisation’ with no rules or by-laws. This makes them adventurous, ready to try out new things, or even change the course of their lives.

Ageing is something to be welcomed with enthusiasm, and not to be anticipated with fear. They have no time for gloomy, morose people who stifle the joy of living. The vibrant colours they wear are liberating.

This particular group in Iowa has taken up a new interest. They are the Red Hat Quilters. At their meetings, the hostess passes out a large square of fabric coloured red or purple, to each member. Each must make a quilted block out of it. When sufficient blocks are made, a lucky winner is given all the blocks, to make a quilt for herself.

Each chapter has its own activity. For those below fifty who would like to join, the colour schemes are different. They have pink hats and lilac dresses. April 25th is celebrated as the Red Hat Society Day.

Just interacting with this group made me feel twenty years younger. I wonder if there are any similar groups in other copuntries. Such lively groups would change the mind set of many middle aged women, who feel lonely and unwanted.

CHARLOTTE CORDAY- ANGEL OF ASSASSINATION

2010-06-11T02:04:00.000-07:00

.On my travel to France, the beaches of Normandy beckoned. It is just 10 kms from the English Channel and is famous for the Battle of Normandy during WW II, when the British and Allied forces invaded France by land, sea and air, and captured the town of Caen on 9th July 1944. Today, Caen is totally urbanized, and is the capital of lower Normandy.

Caen brought to mind the story of Charlotte Corday, a woman posthumously nicknamed
“Angel of Assassination,” by the painter Alphonse de Lamartine. She was born into an aristocratic family in Orne, Normandy. As she lost her mother early in life, she was sent off to the Holy Trinity Convent in Caen along with her sister, because her father Jacques Francois de Corday could not cope with their care.

Charlotte had a fine education at the convent. She had access to a well stocked library, where she became acquainted with the life and works of Plutarch, Voltaire, Rousseau and others. This might have influenced her political views in later life. After her education, she stayed with a rich cousin and eventually inherited her estates.

Charlotte approved of the French Revolution and supported the Gerondists, a loose group belonging to the Jacobin Club. She called herself a ‘conservative Gerondist.’ This group consisted of lawyers, journalists, and various professionals who shared a common ideology and also nurtured political ambitions. They considered themselves ‘elite’ and were totally out of touch with the needs of the common people.

Among this radical group was a journalist called Jean Paul Marat. Through his articles and newspaper, he incited people to violence. He even had twenty two of his own fellow Gerondists arrested. The irony of it was that he wrote his dangerous missives from a bath tub in which he was perpetually immersed, because of an intractable skin disease.

Charlotte became disillusioned by the group, and held Marat responsible for the September Massacre. He was also indirectly responsible for the execution of Louis XVI. In 1793, when fellow Girondist Jacques Pierre Brissot denounced Marat openly, she decided that something had to be done about it. She hated violence and bloodshed and was afraid that Marat would start a civil war against the Republic.
“I will stop him and end all this violence,” she vowed, “He is nothing but a heartless rabble rouser.”

In July 1793, Charlotte left for Paris with a copy of Plutarch’s “Parallel Lives,” and checked into Hotel de Providence. Then she wrote out her message to the people of France, about the necessity of eliminating Marat. Armed with a kitchen knife having a sharp six inch blade, she set out for Marat’s house. She was denied entry even though she claimed that she had reliable information about a Girondist uprising in Caen.

Undeterred, Charlotte returned that evening. This time she was allowed entry. As usual, Marat lay soaking in his bath tub. Charlotte approached with a list of some Gerondist names. As he took the paper from her, she plunged her knife into his heart. But she least expected that this would make him a martyr.

At her trial Charlotte proudly announced, “I killed one man to save 100,000 lives.”
But the Tribunal would not allow her to be revered for her political idealism. They declared her insane, and four days later, on the 17th of July, 1793, she was guillotined.
As an insult, her decapitated head was slapped by a man called Legros. Legend has it that Charlotte turned her indignant eyes at him and bored into his soul. The man was imprisoned three months later for this act.

But Charlotte was not to be forgotten. Two years later, she was hailed as a heroine who sacrificed her life to kill a monster.
She has been immortalized by poets like Shelley and painters like Alphonse de Lamartine.
An Italian composer even wrote a three-act opera about her, which was staged in Rome in 1989. Her life reminds me of what Shakespeare said, “Cowards die many times before their death; the valiant taste of death but once.”

AMRITHA SHERGILL – PAINTER OF DISTINCTION

2010-04-26T03:08:00.000-07:00

Budapest is one of the many beautiful cities in Europe. Spread out on the banks of the Danube with Buda on the hilly west and Pest on the flat east bank, the two portions are connected by eight impressive bridges. After a guided tour of the imposing buildings like Parliament House, Opera House and the numerous Roman Catholic churches in Baroque or Gothic styles, it is nice to enter a local tavern for a plate of gulyas (meat and vegetable stew) and a glass of wine. My other place of interest was Dunaharasti by the Danube, where Amrita Shergill of mixed descent was born on January 30th, 1913.

Only a few years ago, an Indian HRD Minister had unveiled a plaque on the wall of this house. Ironically, the present occupant a tailor was unaware of its historic importance. I had seen Shergill’s paintings at the National Gallery of Modern Art in New Delhi, and was fascinated by her life and times.

Amrita’s father was a Sikh aristocrat and also a Sanskrit scholar. Her mother was an upper class Hungarian pianist. Her parents were not the best of role models. While her father was grim and orthodox, her mother was a social butterfly with several peccadilloes under her belt. But she was the driving force behind Amrita’s achievements and encouraged her to work hard at her paintings.

Amrita was head strong, opinionated and independent. She came down heavily on her critics though she herself was critical of the work of others. She believed she was a natural painter with ‘a peculiarity that resented outside interference.’ She was drawn towards colour and form just as she was to landscapes and nature.
“I cannot contain my appetite for colour. I wonder if I ever will,” she said.

At the age of eight, she moved with her family from Hungary to Simla, a hill resort in India. But a year later, she and her mother went to Italy, in pursuit of an Italian sculptor with whom her mother had fallen in love.

Though Amrita was exposed to Italian masters of painting while schooling at Santa Anunciata, the regime of the convent was restrictive and she returned to India. Some say she was dismissed for proclaiming that she was an atheist. In India, she studied under Erin Backlay for two years, but didn’t like the way he used live models. So she left.

In 1929, she was sent to Paris for a degree in Fine Arts. At sixteen, she studied at the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris, learnt to read and write French, and also painted vigorously. She was exposed to the best Art Galleries and Museums in the city. Amrita was greatly influenced by the work of Cezanne and to a lesser extent Gauguin. The use of colour, techniques to represent depth of models, the intimate relationship between form and colour, was what she learnt from the work of the great masters. Amrita was the youngest and only Asian to be honoured as Associate of the Grand salon in Paris, for her painting of young girls.

Amrita returned to India in 1934. Human forms were her forte. Her keen powers of observation and deep compassion for people, was evident through her paintings. She combined her knowledge of western art with her Indian sensibilities, to produce her most outstanding work. There was something intrinsically melancholy in the people she portrayed. “They are like moving silhouettes on a landscape,” she said, “No amount of colour can change that melancholy.”
She captured on canvas sad child brides, powerless submissive women, beggars, vagrants and scenes from village life.
“Her art moves from melancholy to tragic,” says Salman Rushdie.

Between 1934 and 1938, Amrita travelled around India, visiting Ajantha and Ellora, Travancore, Cochin and other places. She was critical of Indian Art and dismissed it as “putrid specimens of western academic painting.” However, she had a great admiration for the Ajantha frescoes, and called them ‘inspirational.’

Amrita had a Bohemian lifestyle, was fun loving, glamourous, and like her mother an inveterate flirt. It was said that she even had a crush on Nehru.
“I fall in and out of love or rather I fall in love with someone else before damage is done.”
Flirting was her way of reaching people’s minds through their bodies.

In 1938, she went back to Hungary and married her cousin Dr. Victor Egan, much against her family’s wishes. They thought he was lazy, idle and irresponsible. A year later, she returned to Simla with her husband, who found a job as physician in her uncle’s sugar factory there.

In 1941, this happy wanderer and her husband moved to Lahore, as she had fallen out with her family. But she died prematurely at the age of 29, on December 3rd, 1941. Some said it was due to bacillary dysentery, but many were not convinced. She didn’t live to see the exhibition of her painting which opened at Lahore, two days later.

Amrita Shergill will be remembered for her prodigious collection of paintings and unique style. There are about 147 of them. This young woman paved the way for a contemporary style and freedom of expression in Indian painting.

BEGUM FRANCES JOHNSON – GRAND DAME OF CALCUTTA.

2010-04-15T02:40:00.001-07:00

In the good old days when Calcutta was the capital of British India, foreigners thought it was a nice place to work, live or visit. Whether civilians or military officers, missionaries or infidels, traders or gamblers of English, Scottish, French or Greek descent, they overran the city, until British India was firmly and permanently edged out by Bharat Mata.

A stroll through the numerous graveyards with their ornate tombs that dot the city, transports us back through the archives of Time, conjuring up lives that were sometimes extraordinary.

In the St. John’s Churchyard on Council Street very close to the Hooghly, lie the remains of Begum Frances Johnson, the Grand Dame of 18th century Calcutta – a woman who was born and brought up in India, and chose to die in the country of her adoption. Neither the heat, dust nor noise of the city could drive her out of her beloved Bengal.
However, there was no compromise on her style of living, and like a true English lady she had dinner at 4 p.m, and then entertained till the wee hours of the morning. Always dressed in lace, truffles, buttons or bows, she was extremely popular as a hostess. Only the high and the influential dined at her table. The likes of Warren Hastings and his wife, Lord Cornwallis, Lord Morrington and Arthur Wellesley Duke of Wellington were her regular invitees. Frances lived in style with nine slave girls (Bengali or African) to do her bidding.

But Begum? Where did the English lady acquire such a title? Was she married to an Indian? Her story unfolds like a fairy tale – sometimes amusing, sometimes sad. Her life was an intriguing chiaroscuro of sunlight and shadows.

Frances was a popular socialite with a wide circle of influential friends. The Nawab of Bengal admired and treated her with great respect. His mother Amina Begum became a very dear friend. It was because of this close association that Frances came to be known as Begum Frances Johnson.

Francis was born at Fort St. David on the Coromandel Coast, on April 10th 1728. Her father Edward Croke was the governor of the fort, under the East India Company. Her mother Isabella Beizor was of Portuguese descent.

Frances’ foray into marriage was jinxed from the start. At the age of 13, she was married to Perry Peupler Templar in Calcutta. The marriage ended with his death five years later. She bore him two children who died in infancy.
Her second marriage to a merchant James Altham was cut short in ten days, when he succumbed to small pox.

Two years later, she married William Watts a company agent at Cossimbazaar. It was a long lasting and happy marriage. She bore him three children and was pregnant with the fourth, when the Nawab of Bengal Siraj-ud-daula attacked the fort in 1756. Watts offered no resistance but meekly surrendered. Because of Frances’ close association with his mother, Frances and children were allowed to stay on at the fort. They were then moved to Murshidabad and later to Chandernagore, when Calcutta was seized by the Nawab.

Calcutta was soon reclaimed by Clive, and Frances was able to join her husband. Because the Nawab regarded her so highly, she was sent by the British to negotiate with him after his defeat at the Battle of Plassey in 1757.
Two years later, Walter and his family went back to England. But after his death in 1764, Frances who didn’t like the English weather returned to Calcutta in 1769, and settled down at 12, Clive Street where she stayed till her death. At 36, having outlived three husbands, she was a wealthy woman.

But in 1774, she blundered into a fourth marriage with the Reverend William Johnson, Chaplain of St. John’s Church. He was 16 years her junior who preened himself like a peacock, and was extremely unkind to her. This ill-conceived folly can only be attributed to her midlife insecurities. In spite of her wealth and social life she was lonely. But the man chipped at her self confidence. So in 1787, she had the marriage annulled and he was sent back to England with a handsome annuity from her.

Begum now 59 years old, and was happy and at peace. Of her five grandchildren, four returned to serve in India. One of them was the Earl of Liverpool. Frances lived till the ripe old age of 83. She died on 3rd February 1812, after a series of mini strokes and multiple abscesses. She was buried on the site she had chosen, opposite the ornate mausoleum of Job Charnock, founder of Calcutta, in St. John’s Churchyard. Her funeral was well attended by the bigwigs in town, which included the Governor General and Chief Justice of Calcutta. On her impressive tomb is a lengthy inscription summing up the life of this beloved ‘Grand Dame of Calcutta.’

SAROJINI NAIDU – THE NIGHTINGALE OF INDIA

2010-02-22T02:51:00.000-08:00

Hyderabad the “Pearl City of India” is a fascinating blend of past and present. Here cultures old and new coalesce into a colourful mosaic of architectural marvels, museums, parks and gardens, which transport the spell bound tourist from the forts and tombs of an elite Islamic past to Ramoji’s modern film city, from ancient purana havelis to the magnificent homes of the rich and famous on Jubilee Hills.

I searched in vain for the house where India’s nightingale was born. But like the mysterious veiled Rebecca in the Salar Jung Museum, Hyderabad has drawn a veil over her natal home.
“Sarojini Naidu ? Who?”
A blank look crossed the faces of those whom I asked, “Man, she must belong to Ancient history.”

Sarojini was born on the 13th of February, 1879 to Aghorinath Chattopadya a scientist, philosopher and educator, who founded the Nizam College, and a well known Bengali poetess Varadha Sundari Devi. Sarojini inherited the best genes of both her parents. She was something of a child prodigy, who passed her matriculation exam at the age of 13, and wrote a 1300 line poem on the Lady of the Lake in her early teens. She also wrote a play ‘Maher Muneer’ in Persian with some help from her father, which was well received in the literary world. The Nizam of Hyderabad was so impressed by her genius, that he offered her a scholarship to study abroad.

In 1895, at the age of 15, much against her will, she was sent to England. She studied at Kings College and Girton College Cambridge, rubbing shoulders with Arthur Symonds and Edmund Gausse. At this particular period in her life, she was influenced by the works of Tennyson, Shelley and Elizabeth Barret Browning, and her poems were western oriented. But Symonds and Gausse advised her to write on oriental themes – her own country, its mountains, rivers and people! She took their advice seriously. In her ‘Indian Love Song’ she wrote, “On ripe mango boughs of many coloured fruits, bright parrots cluster like vermilion flowers.” In her ‘Coromandel Fishers,’ she pictured “the wind asleep in the arms of dawn, like a child that has cried all night.”

Rich in imagery, her poems dealt with love and longing, separation and death. In ‘Ecstasy’ she talked of “the burden of love like the grace of a flower that is smitten with rain.”
Someone said that her poems had English words but an Indian soul.
Between 1905 and 1917, she published three volumes of poems – ‘The Golden Threshold,’ ‘Bird of Time,’ and ‘The Broken Wings,’ and won for herself the sobriquet “Nightingale of India.” Unfortunately today, her poems have been consigned to the archives. Modern poets call them “sentimental and mushy.” Others think they are “monotonous and boring.”
Poetry today has no rhyme or rhythm. Poems are mostly prose masquerading as poetry. No wonder Goethe said, “Modern poets mix too much water with their ink.”
Both Nehru and Tagore appreciated her poems.

Under the influence of Mahatma Gandhi, Sarojini channeled her energies into the Freedom Movement. When Gandhi was imprisoned in 1930, she took over the helm of the Movement. In 1931, she attended the Round Table Summit in London with Gandhi. Though she worked closely with him, she was never awed by his presence. In fact, she often teased him about his quirks. Many times she told him that the Freedom Movement lacked humour.
“May I confess privately that at odd intervals, I don’t feel very satyagrahic.”
She nicknamed Gandhi ‘Mickey Mouse’ and called him ‘My Little Man’ or ‘My Mystic Spinner.’ She never failed to remind him that it cost the exchequer a packet to keep him poor.

When Sarojini was sent to South Africa to encourage the Indians to fight against oppression, she wrote to Gandhi, “I cannot sleep in South Africa and its all your fault.”
Sarojini moved with politicians like Nehru, Gokhale, Malaviya and even Jinnah, whom she called ‘Ambassador of Hindu-Muslim Unity.’ Whether joining Gandhi in the Dandi March or participating in the movement against the Rowlett Act, she made her presence felt. In 1942, she was arrested during the Quit India Movement and was imprisoned for several months.

Sarojini was a feminist to the core. Her first defiance of tradition came at the age of 19, when she married a South Indian doctor Govindarajulu Naidu. It was an unacceptable union, as the doctor was a non-Brahmin. They married in 1898 under the Brahmo Samaj Act. This was a happy union, and she bore him four daughters.

Sarojini travelled extensively all over India giving lectures to youth on Dignity of labour, and Women’s Emancipation. She brought women out of their kitchens and championed their rights. She encouraged them to participate in politics. She wanted every woman to be aware of her self worth.
“We want a new breed of men before India can be cleansed of her diseases.”
“We want a deeper sincerity of motive, a greater courage in speech and earnestness in action.”
Oh how the modern day feminists would have embraced her!

Sarojini was the founder of the “Women’s India Association” and worked closely with Annie Besant and Margaret Cousins. She became the first governor of U.P. and died in Lucknow at the age of 70, on 2nd March 1949. On her 61st Death Anniversary, one recalls Nehru’s eulogy to the Nightingale of India.
“Here was a person of great brilliance…….a person vital and vivid…….of so many gifts, some of which made her unique. She infused artistry and poetry into the national struggle.”
One can only salute her indomitable spirit and her capacity to face difficulties “with a light heart and a song on her lips.”

BERTHA VON SUTTNER – “Generalissimo of the Peace Movement.”

2010-01-21T22:01:00.000-08:00

“The streets of Vienna are surfaced with culture as the streets of other cities with asphalt,” said Karl Krause. The city is a veritable gallery of Austrian art, with its artistic palaces and theatres designed by master architects and sponsored by royal patrons and wealthy landlords.

But in the midst of all these buildings is the Memorial Against War and Fascism, built in 1988 on the Albertina Platz. It is in memory of the sufferings of Austrians especially Jews in World War II. Three massive pillars in plaster of paris, stand upright in the Square, on which are engraved the bodies of mutilated men and women, with their aggressors standing above, wielding knives and staves. In between the pillars is the cast iron figure of a man scrubbing the floor. He represents the Jews who were made to scrub the streets clean, during that terrible period.

Even before World War I, Baroness Bertha von Suttner of Austria said, “Europe is one. Uniting it is the only way to prevent world catastrophe.” To this end she worked tirelessly, developing the concept of a society which would achieve peace through its people.

During her visit to Paris in 1887, Bertha heard of the International Peace and Arbitration Movement in London. She flew there to join the Movement and soon became its spokesperson, lecturing, writing and involving people all over the world.

Bertha von Suttner was born posthumously in Prague on June 9th, 1843. Her father Count Joseph Franz Kinsky was a Field Marshall and also the chamberlain to Emperor Franz
Joseph I. The Austrian society in which she grew up was seeped in military tradition. As an adult, Bertha opposed war. Her first book, “Lay Down Your Arms” published in 1889, was an indictment of militarism. In her second book “Machine Age” also published in 1889, she foretold the consequences of extreme nationalism and accumulation of arms. Her predictions came true two months after her death on June 21, 1914, with the outbreak of World War I.

Life was not always easy for Bertha. She tried various jobs to support herself. At the age of 30, she became tutor to the four daughters of Baron von Suttner, in Vienna. But she kept her intellectual life alive by reading and studying books on Science, History and Philosophy. She was also a musician.

Falling in love with the scion of the von Suttner family did not meet with the Baron’s approval. So she took off to Paris and worked as a secretary to Alfred Nobel. But after two years she could no more bear the separation from her lover and returned to Vienna. She was secretly married to Arthur Gundacear von Suttner on June 18, 1876, but had to live in Tiflis, Caucasus for nine years because of stern family opposition. The couple could return to Vienna only after reconciliation with the family in 1885.

In 1891, Bertha published a manifesto that led to the formation of the Austrian Peace Society. She was the only lady in a group of males. She also helped establish the German Peace Association and the International Peace Bureau in Geneva.

In 1899, at the first Peace Conference held in the Netherlands, she along with other peaceniks convinced the delegates of the need for a structure to resolve international conflicts. As a result, the Permanent Court of Arbitration came into existence.

Bertha’s friendship with Alfred Nobel began in 1876 and continued till the end of her life. The latter imbibed his pacifist ideas from her. She wrote, “Mr. Nobel and I exchanged several letters. He wrote soulful and intelligent letters but with a melancholic note. He seemed to be unhappy, misanthropic, highly cultured, and to own a deeply philosophical concept of the world.”
Her communications with Nobel are in the archives of the Nobel Foundation in Stockholm.

In 1905, Bertha was the first woman to receive the Nobel Prize for Peace. Today in a world rocked by violence and wars, Baroness Bertha von Suttner, the “Generalissimo of the Peace Movement” is forgotten, and the most influential book of the 19th century “Lay Down Your Arms,” with its distinct ant-military message, lies tucked away in some mouldy archive.

INKLINKS – NINE WOMEN, NINE VOICES!

2009-10-12T20:58:00.000-07:00

Bangalore, the IT City of India was once the ‘Garden City’ of yester years. Many centuries ago, King Veera Ballala called it a ‘Village of Boiled Beans’ (Bengal-uru) to honour the generosity of an old woman who fed the hungry king with boiled beans, when he was traveling incognito. Today Bangalore is the home of writers of different styles and categories. Many of them have made their mark in the world of literature.

‘INKLINKS’ the latest group of women writers who have declared their love for pen and ink, are a motley group of nine women from different professional backgrounds –teachers, artists, journalists, clinical therapists, counselors and doctors. They have bonded in a very special way to write short stories mostly on contemporary issues, which make the readers want to laugh, cry, fume, fret or take up cudgels against the ills of society.
This is a closely knit group where members encourage, criticize and share useful information with each other. Most of them have had their short stories published in news papers, magazines and on the Net. Some are published authors. They are an ambitious lot, and their first anthology of short stories ‘BHELPURI’ is to be released on the 24th of October at the British Council Library.
Interacting with them is an exciting experience.

URSULA – PATRON SAINT OF YOUNG GIRLS

2009-10-12T04:22:00.000-07:00

Most people who visit Cologne head for the Cologne Cathedral, which is one of the most important works of Gothic architecture in Europe. But the basilica of St. Ursula which is just a few streets away does not attract much attention. The revenues of this church go solely to the Abbess of the Ursuline Order and six other canonesses.

The story of Ursula a British princess is a sad one. She lived in the 5th century A.D. and was the daughter of King Donaut of Dummonia in south west England. Much against her wishes, she was betrothed to Governor Conan Meriodoc of Brittany. Ursula begged her father for a three-month reprieve, with the excuse that she wanted to go to Rome to be baptized.

Ursula sailed with 11 virgins for company. But a storm drove the vessel down to Cologne instead. Here this group of young women was martyred by the Huns in 453 A.D. Ursula was shot with an arrow. But the rest of the virgins were beheaded.

As time went by, a legend grew around Ursula and her band of virgins. She had an assistant called Undecimilla. Someone mistook this to be Undecim Millia meaning 11,000. And so the story spread that Ursula was accompanied by 11,000 virgins. But in 1969, Pope Paul VI called the story a figment of imagination, and removed Ursula from the canon of saints.

The Feast of Ursula is celebrated on the 21st of October. The Basilica dedicated to her is built on an ancient Roman cemetery. In the 16th century, the Romans slaughtered thousands of Christians not sparing even little children.

Attached to the Basilica is a chapel called the Golden Krammer, (Golden Chamber) which was built in the 17th century. This is a weird place of worship and guaranteed to give one goose pimples when one steps into the gloomy interior. Three walls of the chapel are lined by bones of different sizes and shapes – ribs, shoulder blades, femurs and other bones. They are artistically fixed into the walls in whorls, crosses, zigzag and even in the shape of Latin alphabets. Bones of very small children are also incorporated into this work of art. Sculptures of heads and torsos are exhibited in glass cases. Some skulls are encased in silver filigree. Others are covered with caps of gold and velvet. The skulls of the sculptures open up on top like lids, to reveal smaller skulls inside. The torsos are hollow like windows with grills, revealing skulls inside the abdomens.

Ursula’s statue shows her holding an arrow in one hand, (the weapon that killed her) and a pilgrim’s staff surmounted by a white banner with a red cross – the Christian standard of victory. A crown on her head shows that she is a princess. Many pilgrims come here believing that if they touch the bones of these martyrs, miracles would take place in their own lives. The pilgrims always carried back relics that were sold in the chapel.

There is no artificial cooling here. The temperature remains at a constant
18 degrees centigrade. Two stained glass windows on the outer wall let in some light.

There are large concrete sarcophagi both inside and outside the chapel containing millions of bones recovered from the cemetery, over which the church was built. It is said that during World War II, the chapel was protected by a slab of concrete. Though the rest of the Basilica was bombed, the chapel remained untouched.

Ursula is the patron saint of young girls because she and her virgins were young women when they were martyred. The Order of the Ursulines was established in 1535, by a woman called Angela Merci. This Order is devoted to the education of young girls.

LADY GODIVA – THE NAKED CRUSADER.

2009-08-25T23:08:00.000-07:00

The Coventry Cathedral in England rose like a phoenix from the ruins of the bombed out St. Michael’s Church. In 1940, the Luftwaffe in its ‘Operation Moonlight Sonata,’ reduced to rubble the City of Coventry. The Germans reckoned without the faith and resilience of the people, who on the very next day decided that they would rebuild the Cathedral. Though it took fifteen years for this to happen, the Cathedral today stands proudly as a magnificent modern ‘theatre of worship.’

Beside it stand the ruins of the old church, open to the skies and still considered consecrated ground. Its tower and spire 295 feet high, loom into the skies. The Altar of Reconciliation holds pride of place, but there are many other plaques engraved on the walls. The words “Father Forgive” inscribed on the partially burnt out cross, spell the ethos of the Christian Church.

Most people fail to notice the remnants of very old buildings at the entrance to the Visitors’ Centre. These are the ruins of the earliest church in Coventry, which was dedicated to St. Mary. It was founded as a Benedictine Nunnery by Leofric, Earl of Mercia and his wife Godiva in 1043. With the dissolution of monasteries in 1539, the building fell into decay.

Most of us remember Lady Godiva because of the legend associated with her name. Some women strip for a living; some do it for a lark. Some do it for publicity, but the lovely lady of Coventry did it for a worthy cause. In the 11th century, her husband Leofric levied crippling taxes on the people of Coventry. This saintly woman pleaded with her husband to remit his orders. He agreed to do it on one condition – that she ride naked through the streets of Coventry. A decree was sent out to the people to stay indoors during this time, and bolt their windows and doors. But a tailor who was later called ‘Peeping Tom’ couldn’t contain his curiosity. He drilled a hole in his door to catch a glimpse of the naked lady, but was immediately struck blind.
One wonders why a godly man like Leofric wanted to humiliate his wife. Was it a form of sexual sadism? Or did he want to test whether she was genuinely concerned about her subjects? Her readiness to take up the challenge must have convinced him of her sincerity, and the taxes were promptly withdrawn.
The people of Coventry did not forget the goodness of Godiva. She has been immortalized in black marble. Her naked statue astride a horse, covered only by her cascading hair, stands under a canopy at the Cathedral’s Lane Shopping Centre.
Godiva lived between 997 – 1067 A.D. She was a widow when Leofric married her. Both of them were benefactors of religious houses. After Leofric’s death she was the only woman in England with such major land holdings.

A commemoration of Godiva’s legendary ride was instituted on May 31st 1678, and continued till 1960. But in 1980 after a gap of twenty years, a Coventry resident called Pru Porretta took on the role of present day Godiva. She leads a procession through town on Godiva’s birthday, which culminates in a celebration at the Cathedral ruins. Her aim is to bring various ethnic, cultural and religious communities together, through music, dance and story telling. Her band of helpers, are known as the Godiva Sisters.

Pru breathes the spirit of Godiva. She works with schools and communities, and brings the story of Godiva to life. Her conducted tours through the city are interesting and informative. And for those who would like to explore the darker side of Coventry, she conducts ghost tours too.

Katherine von Bora – Mistress Of The Black Cloister

2009-08-03T02:46:00.000-07:00

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A visit to Wittenberg was a pilgrimage long overdue. The town has been immortalized by Martin Luther, the monk who rebelled against the Catholic Church in the 16th century, for selling indulgences to gullible people, as a sacrament of penance. His act of nailing his 95 theses to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg was the beginning of the Protestant Reformation in Germany.

The entire town pays tribute to its hero through its churches, statues, Theological colleges and various other landmarks. But what struck me when I entered the Luther House where he lived and worked for many years, was the imposing sculpture of Katherine von Bora, a woman who defied tradition and shocked the Christian world of the 16th century with her daring-do. Few applauded her courage. Most thought she was a schemer. Her enemies were many, and friends just a handful. But she proved herself a worthy mistress of the Black Cloister, the house given to Martin Luther by the Elector John, as his permanent residence.

Katherine lost her mother at an early age. Her father, who married again, abdicated his parental responsibilities and admitted her into a Benedictine Convent in Brehna as a boarder. Later, at the age of ten, she was inducted into the convent at Nimbschen for her vocation as a nun. She received a good education, but physical labour and limited quantities of food were part of convent discipline. The child in her must have rebelled against such a difficult and Spartan lifestyle. It was also a cloistered existence with hardly any scope for mingling with the public.

By then, Martin Luther’s Reformation was gaining ground. Based on his deep study of the Bible, he refuted many of the restrictions of the Catholic Church. He realized that sexuality was God’s gift to mankind and was an inseparable part of human nature. Therefore priests should be allowed to marry if they so desired.

Luther’s revolutionary statements made their way through the hitherto impenetrable portals of Katherine’s convent. It incited Katherine and eight other fugitive nuns to flee the convent. They hid themselves in the wagon of a wholesaler Leonard Kopp, who brought goods regularly to the institution. Hidden behind his large fish barrels, they fled to Wittenberg, hoping that the great reformer would take care of their future. They were completely without means or plans, but with a ring leader like Katherine, they were sure that things wouldn’t go wrong.

Luther felt responsible for their resettlement. Some were given in marriage to his friends. Others went back to their parental homes. But Katherine remained, as no one would take her for a wife. She lived as a domestic help in the house of Lucas Cranach the painter.

Luther had no intention of marrying Katherine. He thought she was proud and arrogant. But in the end, because of her growing restlessness and lack of other suitors, he was persuaded to take her as his wife. Critics hollered that Martin had started the Reformation merely to satisfy his sexual needs. Katherine the runaway nun had married her pimp Luther after living in sin for over a year, they said. They predicted that the anti-Christ would be born from the union of a sex-starved nun and a degenerate monk. But these rumours were disproved when the couple had six normal children.

There was nothing passionate about their union. He was forty one and she was twenty six years old. Katherine craved for respectability through marriage to a famous man. The thought of presiding over his home excited her. Practical and down to earth, her management skills overrode Luther’s other-worldliness. His monetary status couldn’t put bread on the table for his family. But when Katherine took over, she initiated many money making schemes such as rearing domestic animals for food and milk, planting kitchen gardens for vegetable and fruit, and providing meals for students of theology.

Luther House is now a museum where one can visit the rooms where he worked and lived. His extensive library of books and manuscripts, photographs, paintings and personal belongings are on all display here.

Katherine’s yearning to possess land and property became an obsession. Though there was much criticism, she had the patronage of the Elector. Most of her economic endeavours were done without Luther’s knowledge. Theirs was not an intellectual partnership, and she had no influence whatsoever over his sermons and writings. But Luther did admire her skills in money management, and always took her side against adverse criticism.
“In domestic duties I defer to Kate,” he said, “Otherwise I am led by the Holy Spirit.”

Katherine was ugly with a long nose and stubborn chin, but she had intelligence and personality. Some biographers describe her as a “quick witted Saxon with a ready tongue.”

After Luther’s death, Katherine lived on at the Black Cloister with her children. But in 1546, when Saxony was in a state of war, she fled to Madgeburg for a while. She lost a lot of her money and property. She returned to Wittenberg in 1548, until the Black Plague threatened the area. Now she fled to Torgau with her family. But her carriage met with an accident, and she suffered injuries. She also suffered a chill from which she never recovered. She died on December 20th, 1552, and was buried at the Church of St. Mary in Torgau.

The marriage of the runaway nun and the rebel monk created history and brought about Luther’s break with monasticism and clericalism. Katherine provided him with the means and the privacy to pursue his writing, teaching and preaching activities.

Katherine loved being wealthy and in total control of her fiefdom the Black Cloister. She was a woman who could shake off animosity and criticism with a decisive shrug of her broad shoulders.

HILDA MUNTHE-LONELY MISTRESS OF HILDASHOLM.

2009-06-27T23:29:00.000-07:00

The drive from Stockholm to Dalarna County in the north west of Sweden is about three hundred kms. It winds through miles and miles of conifer forests interspersed with fields of wheat and rye. Here and there among the greenery are clusters of red roofed cottages that paint a pretty picture against the dark green shades of the forest. The roofs have low maintenance as the red paint comes from copper mining debris in the region, mixed with arsenic and other chemicals. It ensures the durability of the wooden constructions and keeps them termite free.

My destination is Leksand on the banks of the Siljan Lake. Three hundred million years ago a meteor fell over Dalarna, and this large lake was born. On its banks are many picturesque villages. Leksand is one of them. The houses here are surrounded by sprawling lawns. Terraces of multicolored flowers and lush green meadows reach down to the water’s edge.

Hildasholm, a 14-roomed mansion overlooking the lake has a very romantic setting. The Nature Park surrounding this mansion has been artistically landscaped into several small colourful gardens, amidst patches of untamed jungle. They are patterned after English gardens, and many of the plants and sculptures have also been imported from England. Wandering through the yellow peacock garden, the evergreen junipers, and the green arch temple makes one feel like Alice in Wonderland. There is a medicinal garden in memory of the famous Swedish doctor and author Axel Munthe. The fountain garden with its fountain surrounded by granite pillars which are topped with iron urns, was opened by Queen Victoria of Sweden in 1924.

This ornamental landscape is the untiring work of Hilda Munthe the second wife of Axel Munthe, who lived in the early 20th century. He was a great nature lover and fell in love with the beauty of Leksand. He built the Hildasholm Mansion earlier known as ‘Stone Court,’ as a wedding present for his young wife Hilda Pennington Mellor. She toiled for ten years to turn this wild park around the mansion into a thing of beauty.

Yet Munthe never lived here. He resided permanently on the Isle of Capri, in his Villa St. Michael, attending to his patients or traveling around Europe on his various errands of mercy. When not preoccupied with his profession, he was in the company of the chronically ill Princess Victoria of Sweden, both as her physician and close friend. She always spent the long winter months in Capri.

Though the Princess was married to Crown Prince Gustav, she found him uncultured and boring. Munthe was her soul mate. She shared his love of Arts, Music and Photography. People gossiped but there was nothing much they could do. The Princess and Munthe traveled together to Venice. The duo even teamed up in concert, she playing the piano and his rich tenor ringing out in song. Though he was pursued by rich and famous women, Munthe was obsessed with the princess. “You are the woman of my heart,” he said.
This relationship was probably the cause of his divorce from his first wife.

But as he aged, he realized the futility of this liaison. They could never marry. He longed for a wife and family. So in 1910, he chose a bride from the English aristocracy, the young Hilda Pennington Mellor. Though she bore him two sons, she hated living in Capri because of his relationship with the Princess. She was jealous not only of Victoria but suspicious of all the other women who fawned over him. They separated in 1919, and Hilda left Capri for good.

Ironically, Munthe’s marriage brought a chill into his relationship with the Princess. Her visits to Capri became less frequent. Even so, when she was crowned queen, she appointed Munthe as her personal physician. They eventually fell out with each other over political differences. But he was by her side when she died in 1930.
Axel Munthe returned to Sweden only when he was old and almost blind. He dedicated his book ‘The Story of St. Michael” to the Princess.

Hilda spent her summers at Hildasholm with her two sons, opening her soul to Nature and allowing the beauty and tranquility of her gardens to bring her peace. If only those gardens could speak, they would tell the story of a sad and neglected wife, who watered the flower beds with her tears as she whispered, ‘With all thy faults I love thee still.’
She died in 1967.

Today Hildasholm and its gardens are owned by the Stifteson Foundation run by the Leksand Church and the Municipality. It was donated to the county by her son Malcolm in 1980.

BERTHE MORISOT – FORGOTTEN IMPRESSIONIST PAINTER

2009-03-21T21:50:00.000-07:00

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Not very far from the Champs Elysees in Paris, is the Cemetery de Passy. It sits in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower, well concealed from the world by thick branches of chestnut trees. No ordinary tourist would like to venture into this overcrowded necropolis. Its confusion of bizarre mausoleums with doors and candelabras is something of a nightmare to negotiate. It was a small area in 1820, But by 1874, it became the final resting place of the rich and the famous. Here in the silent company of Chopin, Oscar Wilde, Debussy and many fellow painters and artists like Manet, lies Berthe Morisot, the artist whom France forgot.
Born on January 14th, 1841 at Bourges, Cher, Berthe was inclined towards painting since her childhood. Perhaps she had inherited these genes from her grand uncle the famous Rococo painter Fragonard. Her parents supported her in her desire to pursue painting, and arranged for painting lessons. She began to copy the old Masters perfectly. Her skills were recognized by the greater artist Corot, under whom she studied from 1860 – 1862. He encouraged her to attend the Auvers-sur-Oise, to learn the technique of Plein Air painting.
Berthe was the first female Impressionist painter. She knew how to capture the effect of light falling on objects. The interplay of light and shadow were beautifully reproduced in her paintings. She drew landscapes directly from Nature and was not studio-bound. In 1864, at the age of 23, she became the youngest painter to exhibit her landscapes at the Salon de Paris. In the next ten years, she exhibited in six salons.

Berthe’s historic meeting with the painter Eduard Manet in 1868 at the Louvre distracted her to some extent. She became his model for six long years, during which time he painted her portrait fifteen times and rose to fame. But the spotlight shifted away from Berthe’s talents and achievements. Through her paintings she had dared to trespass into a man’s domain. This was a blatant breach of convention, and the best way to put her in place was to sideline her.

Berthe became known more for her association with Manet than for her own skills. His portraits of her were an open testimony of his affection for his model. Rumours were rife about her ‘affair’ with this married artist.

But Berthe’s proximity to this great man made her aware of the flaws in his character.Fame was his passion. She wrote to her sister, “I will obtain my independence by persevering and showing that I mean to be free.”
She developed her own distinctive artistic style. Manet could not but approve of it. He even incorporated into his work certain aspects of her technique. However his chauvinism surfaced when he was asked to transport one of her paintings to the Salon. He took the liberty of making corrections in her work, which annoyed her no end.

Berthe married Eduard’s elder brother Eugene. They had a daughter named Julia. Her home in Paris was open to other Impressionists like Degas, Monet, Renoir, Pissaro and Mellarme.

In 1874, she joined the group of ‘rejected’ artists, whose work had been rejected by the Salon. The jury had been overcritical of their paintings. Berthe showed solidarity with them by joining their first exhibition. Her best know painting ‘Cradle’ (a mother looking at her child) was much appreciated. Between 1874 and 1886 Berthe exhibited at all Impressionist shows. Some of her pictures fetched more money than those of Manet or Renoir.

After marriage, she avoided painting street scenes and nudes but used her family and friends as models. She portrayed the serenity and intimacy of family life, garden scenes and nature.

Berthe was widowed in 1892. She outlived her husband by three years and died of a bout of Influenza on 2nd March 1895. She was buried in the Cemetery de Passy. Her Impressionist friends arranged for a grand Memorial service. Then her own country forgot her. Her art was not given due recognition only because she was a woman. Gender discrimination was ingrained in the social fabric of her time, even in the world of Art.

But she has been immortalized by her daughter Julia, in her book “Growing up with the Impressionists – The Diary of Julie Manet”(1987)

LEINI RIEFENSTAHL – MISTRESS OF MAKE-BELIEVE

2009-01-08T21:29:00.000-08:00

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The drive through the northern part of Bavaria, through unspoiled natural woodlands and narrow winding roads, past half-timbered houses and ruined castles, was refreshing. Our destination was Nuremberg, the second largest city in Bavaria. Much of it has been rebuilt after the destruction of war. From the 1st to the 6th century, it was an Imperial City where German kings resided, and held their Imperial Diets. The castle still looms over the city from the north bank of the River Pegnitz, and at a height of 351 metres.

But Nuremberg was made notorious by Hitler’s National Socialist Party activities. His unfinished Congress Hall is now the Documentation Centre, which chronicles the affairs of the Nationalist Socialist Party, and details Hitler’s inhuman and bloody regime. Here one reads the story of Leini Riefenstahl, who helped propagate the ‘Fuhrer myth’ through her propaganda film “Triumph of the Will.” It was later condemned as ‘masterly deceptive.’

Leini Riefenstahl was a German actress, dancer, and film maker. A born artist with a distinctly romantic inclination, her dance movements were said to express the ‘liberation of the soul.’ Born in a rich family in 1902, she was well educated and well informed about Modern Art forms. She was also a good skier. Her film “Blue Light” was a picture of rare beauty and depth. Blue Light was the reflection of the full moon on the houses built on mountain slopes. The film was one of exceptional beauty but it also stirred up confusing emotions.

This innovator of moving pictures met Hitler in 1932 and was hopelessly smitten, after hearing his speech at the National Socialist Party meeting in Berlin. Her infatuation soon turned into an obsession. Hitler capitalized on it. In 1933, after he was elected Chancellor, Leini was commissioned to film the annual NSDAP Conference at Nuremberg. She was given total organizational control, and wielded her clout effectively.

The Rally was literally a political circus, stage managed to perfection with giant size stage structures. The Zeppelin Field designed by Albert Speer, was converted into a fort like structure with ramparts and flag towers. The main grand stand from where Hitler made his speeches was modeled on the Pergamon Altar. The choreographed crowded scenes (supposed to hold half a million NSDAP members and 250,000 guests) had been well rehearsed. Her film ‘Triumph of the Will’ reflected her total admiration for Hitler.
“To me Hitler is the greatest man who has ever lived. He is so faultless, so simple yet so filled with manly power. He is beautiful, he is wise. Radiance streams from him.”

Rene Clair the film critic thought that Hitler’s larger than life image was due to “the suggestive power of Leini’s films.” Writer Lutz Kinkel was even more critical
“This picture was a get up…A beautiful sham with which the Nazis and their helper Riefenstahl tried to delude the public under conditions where a unity never existed.”

A second film “Olympia” followed in 1938, to extol the virtues of Fascism.

Leini’s absolute belief in Hitler and the ideology of the Third Reich enabled her to create a mirage of peace and harmony of the most brutal and barbaric regime in History. When she was arrested after the war, she claimed reprieve on the basis of her naiveté. She swore she was never a member of the Party.

Discredited and ostracized for her collaboration with the Nazis, her career as a film maker was in ruins. But this spunky lady retrieved some credibility in 1960, through her film on the African Nuba Tribals. At the age of 80, she learnt Sea diving, and her last assignment was an under water film.

Leini died on September 8th, 2003 at the ripe old age of 101. Her obsession with Hitler clouded her powers of reasoning. It made her pursue ‘beauty at the expense of reality’ and so ruined her own reputation.

GEORGE ELIOT - VICTORIAN BLUE STOCKING.

2008-11-18T01:24:00.000-08:00

The 166 km drive from London to Nuneaton in the Midlands takes about two hours. It is the largest town in the County of Warwickshire, and has been made famous by its association with George Eliot the Victorian novelist. In her book “Scenes from Clerical Life,” she refers to this town as Milby. Nuneaton got its name from Nonne Eton – the first part after a derelict Benedictine nunnery, and the latter after Etone or water town as it was originally called.

Though Nuneaton today has turned into a modern city with its shopping malls, leisure centres and sports clubs and bears no resemblance to the town in which George Eliot spent the first 21 years of her life, there are streets named after the places and characters mentioned in her books. As one walks down these lanes and avenues, her characters spring to life.

The novelist was born Mary Ann Evans on the Arbury Estates just out of Nuneaton, on November 22nd, 1819. The Estates are open to the public. Arbury hall with its fairy tale loveliness, its Art treasures and antiques, remind us of Cheveral Manor, her noble house of fiction in ‘Mr. Gilfil’s Story.’

Chilver’s Cotton Church where she was christened, was partially destroyed during the war, but the church registry with her baptismal entry was saved, and is now at the County Records Office at Warwick. In 1972, an oval granite plaque was put up to commemorate George Eliot’s association with the church.
Griff House where she lived for sometime is now a hotel on the Nuneaton-Bedworth Road.
The George Eliot Hospital has wards named after the characters in her books – Dorothea, Lydgate, Tulliver, Poyser.

Though Anglican till the age of twenty one, and living a restricted life with a narrow religious upbringing, her move to Coventry exposed her to philosophically inclined friends, and she became a rationalist for life. She called it an escape from the ‘giant bed of dogma,’ and became a free thinker. This was specially due to the influence of Charles Bray a phrenologist, who was more interested in the conformation of her skull, which was large and out of proportion to the rest of her body, than in her soul.
Bray’s house was the centre of intellectual discourse, and political and religious controversy. Her father detested the company she kept. But Mary Ann said, “I wish to be in the ranks of that glorious crusade that is seeking to set Truth’s Holy Sepulchre free from usurped domination.” In this group also called the ‘Rosehill Circle’ was an old man Dr. Rufus Bryant who turned her completely against Christianity, and became the subject of her infatuation. But her angel proved to have feet of clay, when his wife discovered the affair.

After her father’s death, Mary Ann became very lonely. The sight of an unmarried girl mixing freely in male company was scandalous. Her loneliness drove her into imprudent relationships. Some spurned her, but others like the notorious philanderer John Chapman took advantage of her.

Her search for love ended when she moved in with George Lewis a married man. He was ugly to look at but famous for his wit and exuberance. He admired her intelligence and encouraged her to write her novels. Though Victorian England was shocked by their defiance of bourgeois morality, this was a singularly happy union. If there had been no George Lewis that would not have been a George Eliot. Her pen name ‘George’ stood for her lover, and ‘Eliot’ was a mouth filling word. The reason why she hid behind a pseudonym was because the Literati thought lady novelists wrote stories with trivial and ridiculous plots. Mary Ann wanted to do some realistic story telling, and distance herself from other female writers.

Mary Ann a woman of prodigious intelligence and imagination, now churned out book after book, which received praise from literary circles, and acceptance by the reading public. Surprisingly, in spite of her lifestyle, she was more a moralist than a novelist. She portrayed a traditional England in which simple faith prevailed, and ethics and morals were upheld. According to John Tyndale, her achievements were unparalleled in the history of mankind.
She might never have revealed her identity but for the Liggins controversy. A scoundrel called John Liggins claimed that he had written “Scenes from Clerical Life.’ Mary Ann challenged him and exposed him as an imposter.

Now the Victorian world was truly shocked. Here was a novelist with the name of a man, having an intimate knowledge of clerical life yet was an atheist, and who spent the best years of her life as another man’s mistress.

For Mary Ann, life ceased at the death of George Lewis in 1878. Yet two years later, she married a man twenty years her junior. It restored her respectability, but by then it didn’t matter to her. She died on 20th December 1880 and was buried at Highgate cemetery, in an area reserved for religious dissenters. She could not be buried in the Poet’s Corner at Westminster as she was an atheist and an adulteress. In any case, as Thomas Huxley said, she would not have rested easy in such hallowed surroundings.
However, in 1980, her memorial stone was erected in the Poets’ Corner. Ironically it stands next to the grave of a pious Jesuit priest.

In Nuneaton, an obelisk which once stood on the Arbury Farm now graces the George Eliot Gardens. It stands as a mark of respect to the woman who immortalized this town through her novels. Nuneaton Museum exhibits some of her personal possessions, and the Library has a collection of her books and memorabilia.
Nuneaton is George Eliot town. She was the greatest woman libber of the Victorian Era.

QUEEN CHRISTINA WASA – ICON OF THE TRANSGENDER COMMUNITY.

2008-10-02T00:11:00.000-07:00

No trip to Rome is complete without a visit to the Vatican. Though standing in long serpentine queues is daunting, once inside that hallowed building, all is forgotten. It is a long way to the Sistine Chapel via gorgeously painted corridors, galleries, and museums, as the Chapel is not directly accessible from the exterior. Then on to the Basilica, which faces St. Peter’s Square, its silver and blue dome looming into the skies. Under the Basilica is the crypt, where the remains of popes and saints lie in solemn splendour, in their marble tombs.

Here also lies Queen Christina of Sweden, the only woman to be bestowed with such an honour. As in life so in death, she sought exclusivity. One wonders how a woman of her notoriety could have found a place in this hallowed sanctum that houses the tomb of St. Peter.

On the right side of the entrance to the Basilica, is Michael Angelo’s ‘Pieta’ – the famous sculpture of a young mother with a dead son in her arms. Adjacent to this is the monument of Queen Christina of Sweden, between two marble pillars. What irony that the Queen of a Protestant nation is interred in the most famous of Catholic churches! Though she converted to Catholicism in 1655, and was embraced into the faith by Pope Alexander VII himself, it was generally believed that she was skeptical about religion all through her life.

Christina was born to King Gustav II and Maria Eleanora of Brandenburg on December 8th 1626. Even as she was being born, the midwives called out ‘boy’ seeing how hairy she was. She defied the court soothsayers’ predictions that the child would be a boy. Her mother was sorely disappointed. It was probably this maternal rejection that contributed to her erratic behaviour in later life.

Christina was her father’s beloved child. In 1630, he recognized her as his legal heir to the throne. She accompanied him on his journeys, and the sound of gun fir was like music to her ears. She also received a sound education from a select group of tutors, and the subjects she studied ranged from Philosophy to Theology. She mastered a number of European languages in addition to her own mother tongue Swedish. As her father wanted her to be brought up like a prince, she was trained in various sports like horsemanship, and even tactics of war.

Christina was precocious for a young girl. When her father King Gustav died in the Battle of Lutzen, this ‘heir presumptive’ who was only six years old, insisted on being crowned queen, much against the advice of her Regent Axel Oxenstiern. Even while still a minor, she took part in Council meetings and interested herself in the governance of Sweden. In 1644, when she came of age, her status as queen was re-confirmed.

Christina was an intellectual, and engaged herself in dialogue with scholars and philosophers. She was a patron of Arts, Theatre and Ballet, and even considered herself an amateur actress.
But she was head strong and did not heed the advice of her councilors. She was instrumental in ending the 30-year war, before her country could acquire sufficient war booty. The majority of her subjects thought she had acted against the interests of her country. But some considered her an angel of peace.

However, Christina was a poor statesman. Her arbitrary decisions and extravagant ways created discontent in Court as well as among her subjects. She sold off or mortgaged Crown property to cover the expenses of her imprudence. Her foreign policy was flawed. When things spun out of hand, she abdicated, and in 1654, appointed her cousin Charles X Gustav as her successor.

Now she left Sweden donning men’s attire, and riding a white charger through Europe. She called herself Count Dohna. In Rome, Pope Alexander VII gave her a royal welcome, and the festivities lasted for several days. After she converted to Catholicism she became a favourite of the Vatican. Because of her wealth she was welcomed in high society, even though the ladies despised her for her mannish ways. But the men couldn’t stop fawning over her.

As her wealth dwindled, she was seized with a new restlessness. She moved out of Rome to Fontainebleau, and involved herself in political and religious intrigue. She wanted to become Queen of Naples. Betrayed by her servant Rinaldo Monaldachi, she had him promptly murdered. Europe was horrified, but she justified her action claiming judicial right and sovereign authority over members of her Court. When she returned to Rome, the Vatican cold shouldered her. After the death of her cousin, she tried to retrieve her crown in Sweden, but was rejected by her subjects. So she settled permanently in Rome.

Christina never married. She was more masculine than feminine in her ways, and loved cross dressing. She walked and talked like a man. She preferred male company, unless there were exceptionally beautiful women around. Then she shamelessly wooed them.
In her youth, she was in a lesbian relationship with a woman called Ebba Sparre, whom she called her ‘bed fellow.’ Even after Ebba was married, Christina wrote passionate letters to her. People thought she was a hermaphrodite, and the transgender community looked on her as their icon.

Christina died on April 19th, 1689. For many years she had a platonic love affair with Cardinal Decio Azzolino. She named him her heir before she died. Perhaps it was her wealth that bought her a place in the crypt of the Basilica.

In 1965, her body was exhumed to investigate whether she was a hermaphrodite. She had a normal female body. Perhaps her mother’s rejection of her biological sex played havoc with her sexuality and altered her behaviour and attitude towards the world.

EVA BRAUN - PRISONER OF LOVE.

2008-08-13T23:06:00.000-07:00

Almost ten years after the Berlin Wall came tumbling down, I visited the eastern part of the city. The Brandenburg Gate was now the symbol of re-unification. Hectic reconstruction work had taken place at the end of the Unter de Linden. The Reichstag the seat of the German Parliament which had been damaged during the war, had now been beautifully reconstructed, with an impressive glass dome over the Plenary Hall. We could now visit the Bundestag, and even climb up to the dome.

Somewhere in this region there used to be the infamous Berlin bunker, where Adolf Hitler in his last desperate hour, decided to make an honest woman out of Eva Braun his mistress of sixteen years. As Soviet troops closed in on the Reichstag and Chancellery, Walter Wagner a minor official in the Propaganda Ministry, solemnized the marriage, in the presence of his associates Bormann and Goebells. It was April 29th 1945, just a few hours before their suicide. The marriage document that survived bore the proud signature of ‘Eva Hitler.’

Eva Braun was a Bavarian lass belonging to a lower middleclass family. She worked as an assistant to Hitler’s personal photographer Henrich Hoffman. In 1929, when Hitler visited the studio, this 17 year old girl fell madly in love with him. She was the one who initiated the affair through her love letters. She agreed to follow him to his mountain retreat in Obersalzburg, and become his mistress, much to the dismay of her parents.

But though her material needs were provided for, it was a life of isolation and loss of freedom. In a small wooden house near the Buchtesgaden (Hitler’s office), her only companions were his two secretaries and some peasants who spun linen for him. For most of the time they lived apart, as he was mostly preoccupied with his work. Even while at Obersalzburg he was kept busy, and used her only at his convenience. Eva was aware of her dubious position and kept her distance, especially when members of the Third Reich visited. During long periods of separation she wrote long loving letters to him. In turn his phone calls were full of endearments.

Eva was always well groomed, soft spoken and pretty in her own way. She spent her days reading, exercising and brooding around the house. She was prohibited from smoking, dancing or mingling with other men. She loved sports and was a good skier. Occasionally he would give her a week off to go skiing in Zurs with her friends, but she had to travel incognito. Eva kept a secret diary into which she poured out her feelings of neglect and humiliation.

Hitler thought nothing about belittling her before his friends. Once while she was sitting beside him he said, “A highly intelligent man should always choose a stupid woman. Imagine if on top of everything, I had a woman who interfered with my work! In my leisure time I want to have peace….”

But Eva was not a stupid woman. Her’s was a quiet dignity and inner strength that helped her survive. She was not interested in politics, but she would protest and bring to his notice, the abuses of mean men like Bormann. When Goebells wanted party members to eschew luxuries like cosmetics and perfumed hair in 1943, she demanded that the ban be scrapped. Another time when some stupid official forbade women from going into the mountains around Munich for skiing, she had the ban revoked. Without Hitler’s knowledge she helped many women like Mrs. Hess financially, so that they could escape Bormann’s cruelty.

In 1939, she was assigned a bedroom in Hitler’s Berlin residence, adjoining his room. It was literally a prison, with the limited view of a courtyard. She had to steal in and out by a side entrance, and had no access to the area where he entertained his guests. She was glad to go back to Obersalzburg.

Eric Kempka the chauffer was sure that Hitler loved her in his own way and could relax in her company. Hitler had said, “Fraulien Braun is too young to be the wife of an important leader of the Third Reich. But one day when I cease to be Fuhrer, I will retire to Linz and to a house managed by a small staff, and I will marry her.”

In 1945, when the war had tilted against the Germans, friends suggested that Eva leave Germany. But she stubbornly refused, and flew from Munich to the besieged city of Berlin, and drove straight to the Reich Chancellery. Hitler ordered her to go back but she stubbornly refused.
“Do you think I’ll let you die alone?” she asked.

After the marriage formality, the couple retired to their private room. Both bit into glass vials of cyanide. Eva lay on her bed, and looked as though she had fallen asleep. Hitler sat in his chair and shot himself in the head, making doubly sure he died.
According to his wishes, their bodies were wrapped up in blankets and ignited with gasoline flames in the garden of the Chancellery.

Was Eva Braun a sinner or a saint? Or was she just an immature girl who got caught up in a love trap with a megalomaniac?

HILDEGARD VON BINGEN – THE MAVERICK SAINT.

2008-06-04T23:04:00.000-07:00

The drive along the Rhine between Koblenz and Bingen is very picturesque. There are some thirty odd castles in the area, all built in the Middle Ages and each with a legend of its own.

Bingen is situated at the junction of the Nahe (dirty muddy water) and the Rhine. It once held a strategic position, and was destroyed eight times by wars, over the last 1000 years.
Today it is a quiet laid back town on the banks of the Rhine. One a small island on the Rhine is the Mouseturm (Mouse Tower), Bingen’s special landmark, where Hatto II the cruel Archbishop of Mainz was eaten up by mice. It later became a signal tower for shipping, and a custom’s outpost.

Bingen however, has been made famous by a woman called Hildegard, a courageous feminist who dared to oppose the powerful Roman Catholic Church’s teachings about women. She defied the Canon Law which prohibited women from preaching, and evolved into a powerful preacher and teacher. She composed music and attested it with her name, refusing to remain anonymous. She studied Botany and became a herbal physician and a healer. She also excelled as a writer of theological books like “Book of Life’s Merits,” and “Book of Divine Love,” which explained her understanding of Salvation History. She even invented her own coded language.

Born into an aristocratic family in 1098, Hildegard was the last of ten children, and was tithed to the Church at the age of eight. She was entrusted to the care of a hermit woman called Jutta of Sponheim, who ran a hermitage. This was attached to the Monastery of Disibod. Here she was provided with minimal education and two meals a day, served at 3 a.m. and 3 p.m. She was a sickly child, who suffered from asthma and migraine.

The Disibod Hermitage attracted so many young women that it grew into a large Benedictine Community. Hildegard took her vows in her teens (1114) and lived quietly in this community for twenty years. Her view of the outside world was only through a window, and her only male contact was her confessor Monk Volmar, who became her friend, and eventually her scribe.

By now, Hildegard was experiencing apocalyptic visions. But when she realized that no one else had similar experiences, she stopped talking about them. However, realization gradually dawned that these visions were prophetic revelations. It prompted her to write her most famous composition SCIVIAS. It took ten years to complete. Because she had the approval of Pope Eugene III, it was read out at the Synod of Trier (1147-1148.)

When Jatta died in1136 Hildegard became the Superior of the Convent. But as this community grew, she felt the compulsion to step out of the cloister. Taking fifty nuns with her, she opened a new convent at Rupertsberg. In 1165, a sister convent was opened at Eibingen, eight miles away.

Hildegard wrote many papers. She built up a voluminous correspondence with clergy, rulers and even lay people. Her focus was on Renewal of the Church. She travelled to different places on preaching tours, making known her views on Creation of mankind and Redemption of the World. Popes, Emperors, nuns and priests sent people to Rupertsberg to hear her messages.

Hildegard was a natural feminist. She would not allow the Church to relegate women to an inferior role. She argued that woman was for man and man for woman, thus making them both of equal status. She taught that sexual pleasure was not a sin, and therefore should not be tainted by guilt; that menstruation was not unclean, but the shedding of innocent blood in wars was definitely unclean. She also opposed the Church’s teaching that woman was not made in the image of God. Rather she believed that in the inner being of God, there was a feminine and masculine relationship, confirming the complementarity of the sexes.

The atmosphere in the convents which she established was liberal. She encouraged the nuns to develop their spiritual, intellectual and artistic talents. There was no dull, somber atmosphere that prevailed in most convents. Here they could sing, play instruments and grow spiritually by listening to lectures on Theology. The nuns lived as normally as possible. They were allowed the luxury of warm baths, daily exercises and beer to put flesh and redness into their cheeks.

During the forty years she presided over Rupertsberg Convent, thousands of pilgrims came there for healing of their medical ailments. The Church ordered her to stop these miracles.

Even at the age of eighty, this feisty lady defied the Church authority, by burying a young man excommunicated by the Church, in the cemetery at Rupertsberg. The Canons ordered the body to be exhumed, but they couldn’t find the spot, as Hildegard had removed all the markers from the graves. The Canons retaliated by prohibiting mass, sacraments and music in the Abbey. The case dragged on for some time and was finally lifted in 1179. She died six months later, and was buried in the Eibingen church.

The Rupertsberg Convent was completely destroyed during the Thirty Year War. All that is left is a vaulted cellar.

In 1998, on Hildegard’s 900th birth anniversary, the Hildegard Forum was constituted at Rocher’s Hill. Since then there has been a renaissance and renewed interest in her visions and mystical knowledge.
A historical museum was also opened in her honour in 1998, in an old electricity generating station on the Rhine.

This daring polymath – a scholar, theologian, healer, writer – will probably never be elevated to sainthood because of her radical views. But Pope John Paul II finally conceded that this maverick saint was a “Doctor of the Church.”

.Agnes Durer- A Shrewd Businesswoman.

2008-05-01T23:16:00.000-07:00

Motoring along the Romantic Highway in Germany between the Maine River and the Alps, one drives through picturesque villages, churches of Baroque and Rococo splendour, convents, cloisters and luscious fruit orchards. Nuremberg the ancient city of Imperial Diets was my destination. This city was made notorious by Hitler’s National Socialist Party. Once upon a time, the dreaded swastika adorned not only important buildings but was subconsciously embossed on every German heart.

Nuremberg is steeped in history. But my interest took me to the house of Albrecht Durer the most famous inhabitant of Nuremberg, who lived at 39, Albrecht Street from 1509 to 1528. He was a famous painter and engraver, and the house is preserved as it was during his time.

A young woman dressed in a long billowing skirt and a housewife’s bonnet, with a key ring dangling from her waist, greeted visitors at the door. She was a German actress impersonating Agnes, the wife of Albrecht Durer. She blended into the background, weaving her way through many rooms, and smiling and nodding at visitors.

It was the voice of Agnes which made the audio tour interesting. She related the story of the Durer household, of her husband’s work, of his friends, her daily chores, and her bland relationship with her illustrious spouse. Somewhere through the commentary one discovers a pang of loneliness in that voice, and is touched by the candour in which she confessed that she could come into her own only after Albrecht’s death.

Albrecht Durer had a very charismatic personality. He exuded an irresistible animal charm. His curly shoulder length locks, his blue penetrating eyes, his friendly demeanour made him a very popular figure in the society of that day. But he was vain as he was clever, and was the first man to paint a frontal picture of himself, highlighting his uncanny resemblance to the picture of Jesus.

Durer belonged to an artisan family. His friends were artisans, sculptors and painters, who used his workshop on the ground floor during the day, and congregated upstairs in the dining room at night for a pint of beer, a meal and discussions on politics. These were interspersed with loud guffaws and bawdy jokes. One can visualize Agnes as she went about her job of cooking in that dark and dingy kitchen, to fill the belly of Albrecht’s boisterous friends.

Agnes was the daughter of a rich copper merchant. The marriage was an arranged affair which took place in July 1494. But soon after the wedding, Albrecht took off on his travels, leaving his new wife behind. The job of being mistress of such a Bohemian establishment must have been daunting to the young girl. Throughout their life together Albrecht never expressed any tenderness or affection for his wife. In spite of being an artist,he was unromantic, and just could not comprehend her emotional needs. He referred to her as his house mate, who helped in the sale of his paintings and sculptures.

This attitude must have given his cronies a wrong impression. Though they didn’t openly criticize her in his presence, they considered her a mate unworthy of such a great man, an “incorrigible shrew and skinflint.” She was supposed to be a thorn in his side, who brought about his premature death by forcing him to overwork for money, right into his old age.

Agnes had the exacting job of packing and sending his works for sale all over Europe, some in boxes and some in barrels. Some of those barrels have been preserved, and are on display on the ground floor of the house. Agnes maintained her quiet dignity, while toiling for what was best for her husband and his business. This kept him in good humour, and left him free to pursue his artistry. Ironically, her hard work and patience turned her into a shrewd business woman.

After Albrecht’s death on 6th April 1528, Agnes was very generous to his brothers and their families. Agnes was now a rich woman.

Researchers eventually identified the source of Agnes’ vilification. It was a crotchety old man called Willibald Perkheimer, a life long friend of Albrecht, who coveted a pair of antlers that hung in the Durer’s home. Agnes refused to part with it, and he retaliated by comparing her to the notorious wife of Socrates.

But the residents of Nuremberg still laud Agnes Durer for discharging her duties and privileges admirably, and safeguarding the priceless assets of her incomparable artist husband, even in the face of criticism from his friends.

CONSUELO – THE WOMAN WHO SAVED BLENHEIM PALACE

2008-03-07T00:52:00.000-08:00

Ten miles away from the “dreaming spires” of Oxford, is the town of Woodstock, made famous by its Churchilian connections.
Set among 2100 acres of greenery with a landscaped garden and terraced waterfalls, is Blenheim Palace, where Sir Winston Churchill was born prematurely on November 30th, 1874. Blenheim was never his home, though he visited there frequently. He even brought his fiancée Clementina Hozier here in 1900, and proposed to her in the Temple of Diana which overlooks a lake on the property, and has a romantic ambience.

In 1965, he was laid to rest alongside his parents’ grave, in the churchyard at Bladon.
But the story that lingers in my mind is not of Churchill but of Consuelo Vanderbilt, the 9th Duchess of Marlborough, whose enormous dowry saved Blenheim palace from disintegration.
This 17-year old American beauty was forced into a loveless marriage with the 9th Duke – Charles, Richard. John Spencer. She was deeply in love with another young man, but was wrenched away from him by her “socially climbing vulture of a mother.”

In those days, Americans greatly coveted British titles and aristocracy, and were more than willing to part with their millions, for entry into these elite circles. The English dukes and counts were notorious for their high living, philandering ways and sporting pursuits, which left them teetering on the edge of bankruptcy. They welcomed American girls both for their wealth and their charming personalities. Unlike the British women with their Victorian pruderies, these girls were witty, vivacious and attractive.

Consuelo and the Duke were married at St. Thomas Church, New York on 6th November, 1895. They were mismatched from the word ‘Go.’ She was beautiful, elegant and a good six feet tall to his five feet and seven inches. Though he went by the pet name ‘Sunny’ he was apathetic and brooding by nature. Just 23 years old, he too was very much in love with another girl. But due to financial exigencies, he was forced into this marriage.

And so the “dollar princess” crossed the Atlantic in a luxury liner, carrying with her a dowry of 2.5 million dollars for the repair of Blenheim Palace. Her father William K Vanderbilt was one of the wealthiest business magnates in USA. During her stay at the palace, Consuelo spent many more millions to renovate the “decrepit heap” that was Blenheim.

Though they stayed married for many years, it was a loveless existence. Consuelo made her dislike quite apparent in many ways, even to the extent of placing a massive centerpiece of Louis XIV on their dinner table, so that the Duke’s face would be blocked from her sight at mealtimes.
By her estimate, he was an inferior husband. She blamed it on his loveless upbringing first by nannies, and then by strict boarding school masters.
Consuelo’s son was born in 1897, two years after her marriage. Her second son came soon after, and with this, she considered her obligations complete.
“I have borne my husband an heir and a spare,” she said.
They were separated for 12 years from 1907 to 1919, but reunited briefly again, only to start divorce proceedings. The marriage was dissolved in 1921.
Blenheim Palace today owes its splendour to Consuelo, who lived the best years of her life in a ‘gilded cage.’
Though her contribution is rarely spoken about, people who knew her said she was kind and compassionate, and devoted her time and money to worthy causes.

She found true love in her second marriage to Lt. Col. Jacques Balsan, a French aviator, and lived for many years in Normandy. But the last few years of her life were spent in New York. She lived to a ripe old age of 87, during which time she penned her autobiography, “The Glitter and the Gold.”

Consuelo was interred in Bladon churchyard on the Blenheim Estate in 1964, as befitting the 9th Duchess of Marlborough. Forced arranged marriages do have the potential for misery especially when they hinge on the amount of dowry brought in by the brides.

MARGARITA STEIFF – THE TOY WOMAN.

2008-03-07T00:38:00.000-08:00

Along the Schwabian Alp highway, we drove towards Nordilingen, through fertile fruit growing villages and luscious green forests. Ruined castles and rich monasteries added to the serene beauty of the countryside. It was surely a favourite holiday route signposted by little boards showing a silver thimble on a green background.
We stopped briefly at a small town called Gingen on the river Brenz. The people here spoke a dialect called Frisian. A traveller once wrote about a ginger bread church in a bakery window, and we drove around to locate it.
But what was of more interest to me was the story of a woman called Margarita Steiff, who became a rich entrepreneur through her brand of soft animal toys.
Margarita was born in Gingen in1847, and lived there till her death in 1909. In her early childhood she contracted Polio, and spent the rest of her life in a wheel chair. But she was not to be discouraged. Her legs might have failed her. But she had two perfectly normal hands and an agile brain.
“I must go to school,” she told her reluctant parents, and wore down their objections through her persistence.
After her basic education, she learnt tailoring. Now she wanted to become economically independent. She considered her disability not an impediment but a mere inconvenience to be surmounted.
“You are a woman, you are disabled and running a business is not a woman’s job,” said her father.
“My determination will help me leap over these obstacles. You wait and see Papa,” she told her father.
She began to make soft animal toys. Her first bear was christened Teddy Bear after President Theodore Roosevelt, who once went on a bear hunt and rescued a bear cub from being shot. Hence ‘Teddy Bear.”
The soft animals she made were cuddly and attractive, and the first batch was sold out at a Christmas Market in Heidenheim on Brenz. This gave her the idea of manufacturing them on a large scale. She founded her business in 1886, giving employment to many disabled people like herself, living in and around that area. Margarita worked till the end of her life.
Worldwide success came to her when an American ordered 3000 animals at the Frankfurt Fair. Someone even made a film about her life called “Against All Odds.”
Margarita’s toys bear her trade mark – a button in one ear. Hence they are called Knopf toys.
Though she died in 1909, the manufacture of her toys continues to be big business even today. They are sold in major toy shops in Germany and all over the world. Many toy museums exhibit some of her earliest toys. However, they have always been expensive. Even today, they sell at comparatively higher rates than other toys.
Next time you hold a teddy bear with a button in his ear in your hand, think of a feisty woman in a wheel chair, who looked ‘disability’ in the eye and turned it into an opportunity to excel.

SISSY- RELUCTANT EMPRESS OF AUSTRIA

2008-02-26T22:42:00.000-08:00

Vienna is one of the most beautiful and artistic cities in the world. No wonder that Karl Kraus said, “The streets of Vienna are surfaced with culture just as the streets of other cities with asphalt.”
Wherever one turns, the baroque buildings with their ornate facades and voluptuous sculptures, the gardens and fountains, provide a delightful feast to the eyes. Vienna is the home of western classical music. Haydn and Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert and Brahms lived here. In season, it is wonderful to hear the best operas being enacted.
But it is the Schonbrunn Palace – the Imperial summer residence of the Hapsburg Royalty that beckons. One of the greatest of European palaces, its 1500 rooms lavishly decorated in the Rococo style, and the rich velvet embroidery embossed with the logo of the pomegranate, reflect the resplendence of a bygone age.
Like all great palaces, Schonbronn has its own scandals and intrigues. One such story is of Elizabeth, the Empress of Austria and wife of Emperor Franz Joseph II. Her portrait adorns one of the palace walls – a woman of rare beauty, tall and angelic! With a mane of wavy hair cascading down her shoulders, she looks like a bird which has broken out of its gilded cage, only to find that one leg is still tethered to the cage, with a long leash.
“Marriage is a preposterous institution,” she said, “You are sold as a child of fifteen, swear vows you don’t understand, and you regret them for thirty years or so, but you can never break them.”
Popularly known as ‘Sissy’ she was the second daughter of Duke Max of Bavaria. But as he had no duties at the Bavarian Court, his family was not restricted by palace protocol. The children grew up in an atmosphere of freedom.
Sissy was born on Christmas Eve in 1837, with a ‘lucky tooth’ on her upper gum. It showed she was destined for great things. Her elder sister Helene was to be betrothed to Franz. But he fell in love with Sissy instead, and could not be persuaded to marry anyone else. Sissy was just fifteen, a free spirit full of boisterous energy. Marriage was nowhere in her thoughts. But her mother insisted, “You cannot turn down an Emperor.”
So despite her protests and much against the wishes of Franz’s mother Arch Duchess Sophie, she was betrothed to the Emperor who was twenty three years old. Between betrothal and marriage, Sissy was put through a rigorous routine of palace etiquette and protocol, under the hawk-like eyes of the Duchess. The study of French and Italian history was boring. Social graces like etiquette, conversation and dancing seemed so artificial to the 15-year old girl, who missed her siblings and her friends who were the common folks of Bavaria.
Though the Emperor was madly in love with his child bride, State duties and politics left very little time for romance. The Crimean War was looming on the horizon. After the week long wedding festivities, it was back to work. The honeymoon was cancelled. Loneliness and homesickness followed, and depression gradually crept in. The ebullient Bavarian lass turned into a tearful melancholic woman.
Two girls were born in quick succession, but until an heir was produced, Sissy couldn’t relax. Rudolph the Crown prince was born in 1858. The rift between the Arch Duchess and Sissy widened over the upbringing of the boy. Sissy’s ability to provide suitable guidance was questioned.
To make matters worse, Sissy discovered that her husband whom she loved, was involved in an extra marital affair. Now to boredom was added emotional isolation. It was the proverbial ‘last straw.’ Sissy fled to her natal home in Possenhofen, with her children and her personal staff. She could not forgive his infidelity.
This was a turning point in her life. Timidity gave place to a progressive self confidence. She became more demanding, and it eventually led to an idolatrous narcissism. Her self centredness made her immune to the feelings of others. The Emperor continued to be generous financially.
Moving first to the Island of Madeira, and then on to Venice and Corfu, she took charge of Rudolph’s training, and threatened to leave her husband if he or his mother interfered. The boy was not an outdoor type. Sissy wanted him to have a liberal education instead of being forced into excessive physical training and royal duties.
Sissy was in her mid twenties now. She stood 5’8” tall and was very conscious of her incomparable beauty. Her wavy copper coloured hair flowed down to her ankles. It took three hours for her maids to comb and braid it every day. She was so naturally pretty that she needed no cosmetics to enhance her looks. Preserving this beauty became her obsession to the point of narcissism. Foreign diplomats paid her court, and journalists from all over the world followed her around.
In many ways, her story is reminiscent of the life of Princess Diana. But there is one great difference. Sissy’s name was never romantically linked with any other man.
Sissy moved to Hungary in 1866, when Prussia threatened Austria. Here she dabbled in politics, showing a preference to Hungary rather than Vienna, in spite of the fact that Hungary had risen in rebellion against the House of Hapsburg. She even befriended a Hungarian rebel called Gyula Andrassy, who had been condemned to death.
Her final act of treachery was to force the Emperor to concede to the demands of Hungary and divide the Empire of the Hapsburgs into two, with two capitals, one at Budapest and the other at Vienna. The high point of her life was when Franz and she were crowned king and queen of Hungary. Sissy even had another daughter Marie Valerie whom she brought up as a Hungarian. The Viennese hated her. She had neglected the traditional duties of an Empress. She was neither a good wife nor mother. Rudolph and his elder sister reverted to the care of the Arch Duchess Sophie, while Sissy set her sights on new worlds to conquer.
Now she wanted to become the best woman horse rider in the kingdom, and spent a major time in equestrian pursuits. As ‘Queen of the Hunt,’ she travelled frequently to England and Ireland. Yet she was totally dependant on her husband for her flamboyant life style.
At his Silver Jubilee as Emperor, she refused to ride in his carriage through the streets of Vienna, but followed in a closed coach, with face veiled. Even their Silver Wedding celebration was treated with disdain.
But with age came insecurities. The myth of her matchless beauty could not be sustained forever. Thoughts of cloistering herself in Switzerland crossed her mind.
Belatedly, she felt remorse for the loneliness and misery she had caused the husband who loved her. At 58, she brought him a surrogate wife named Katrina Schratt from the Hofsburg Theatre.
Rudolph who craved for his mother’s love received only indifference. He was a sensitive timid soul with no king-like qualities. When he committed suicide with his teenage mistress in Myerling, deep in the Vienna woods, it shook her out of her self-obsession.
Premature ageing due to her punishing exercise schedules and excessive dieting drove her into deep depression. While travelling incognito through Europe, she was stabbed by an Italian anarchist in1898.
“The beautiful things of the world are the most useless,” said John Ruskin.
“Beauty for some brings escape,” was Aldous Huxley’s theory.
Did Sissy find escape for her loneliness and frustration in narcissism one wonders?
Yet Vienna has not forgotten their reluctant Empress. Immortalised in marble, she sits with dignity in the Volksgarten in Vienna.

VOICES

2008-02-26T22:38:00.000-08:00

Travelling through Normandy in France, I arrive at the historical capital Rouen, a city dear to the heart of Victor Hugo, and to many Impressionist painters. From St. Catherine Hill, one has a panoramic view of the city – its buildings, its bridges, its churches and the spire of the Rouen Cathedral looming into the skies. From this vantage point Claude Monet painted 17 different views of the city. He even designed the façade of the Cathedral.
But it was the story of Joan of Arc that got me excited. Little did I dream that I would one day stand on the Square where Joan of Arc was burnt alive at the stakes as a sorceress and a charlatan. She was only 19, a wisp of a girl with the face of an angel. The last words on her lips were “My Jesus!” Legend has it that her heart refused to burn. So it was thrown along with her ashes, into the river Seine, so that no one could erect a monument to her, and turn her into a martyr.
But a quarter of a century later, the Church had to eat humble pie, and declare her trial null and void. She was canonized as a saint in 1920. But it was only in 1979, that a cross was erected on the site of her martyrdom.
On the right of the Square is the Joan of Arc church, built in the shape of a ship. The church’s modern exterior has slate and copper scales, and evokes a picture of the sea. A flight of steps leads down to the worship area, simulating the hold of a ship. The colourful stained glass windows are from St. Vincent’s Church which was destroyed in 1944. In one of the windows, Joan is pictured praying in prison. And in one corner of the church stands a bronze replica of the saint. This church is her memorial. Her feast is commemorated on the Sunday nearest to May 30th. Not only a saint, Joan has become the national heroine, and May 30th is a national holiday.
Opposite the church and across the square, is the Joan of Arc Museum. Here in this vaulted old cellar on the Place du Vieux Marche, her story comes alive through books, engravings, paintings and 50 wax models. Commentaries are in English, German and Italian.
Born on 6th January 1412 at Domremy, Joan grew up to be a humble and deeply religious shepherdess. At the age of 13, she began to hear “voices” of three saints urging her to help the king. Charles VII was a weak man. There were doubts about his legitimacy to the throne. Joan was convinced by the “voices” that he had the right to rule.
Donning men’s clothes and cutting her hair short, she travelled to meet the king, and offer to lead his army against the English. This was an outrageous demand that stirred up a lot of anger in court. The king wanted to test if she was really a mystic. He made one of his courtiers sit on the throne to impersonate the king, and he wore the courtier’s clothes.
But Joan when ushered into the room, went straight up to the king in disguise.
“Give me 10,000 soldiers and I will bring you victory,” she promised.
At the Battle of Orleans which took place on May 8th 1429, she led her troops to victory against the English, and liberated Orleans. In July that year, she stood beside Charles as he was anointed and crowned king, at Rheims.
But the newly crowned king did not appreciate her mission. When Paris came under siege, her request for more soldiers to fight the English, was denied. She was taken prisoner by the enemy, brought to Rouen under military escort, and held in a turret of the Chateau Bouvreuil. Though the chateau is no more, the turret has been preserved as the Joan of Arc Tower, and stands on the street of the same name.
Here she languished for six months and her lament was,
“Oh Rouen, Rouen, It is here that I have to die.”
A visitor to the tower wrote, “The sad history that has occurred in this place still permeates the walls.”
She was judged at the Inquisitorial Tribunal which was presided over by the notorious Bishop Cauchon, under pressure from the English.
Joan was her own advocate. She was fearless in claiming that the “voices” she heard were authentic, and was convinced that Charles was the legitimate ruler of France. She was martyred on May 30th 1431.
One marvels at the courage and conviction of this chit of a girl, who was pitted against a fanatically patriarchal church and State. Though renounced by the church as a charlatan, and ignored by a spineless king who she fought to save, the people were convinced that she was a mystical saint.
Today her memory is consigned to the archives of Time, and the old wooden cross in the Square is merely a tourist attraction. The locals barely give it a second look.

ANGEL OF PRISONS

2008-02-26T22:26:00.000-08:00

Driving through Cumbria one is struck by the natural splendour of the region. Wordsworth described it as ‘the loveliest spot man has ever known.’
Kendal the principal town in the region, is the southern gateway to the Lake District. It is famous for many things especially its wool. The town’s motto is ‘pannus mitu pais’ meaning ‘wool is our bread.’ The special Kendal ‘green cloth’ is famous all over the world.

Kendal is also famous for its ancient medieval market which dates back to the 12th century. It is open for trade six days in the week. From Kendal snuff to Kendal Mint Cake to Kendal shoes, everything is available here. The town is proud of its Market Charter.

More than the museums, art galleries and castles, what fascinated me was the Quaker Tapestry exhibited at the Friends Meeting Home at Stramongate. This tapestry has 77 panels made of specially woven wool cloth. Each panel is about 25” x 21” and is embroidered with crewel work. It chronicles the history of the Quakers through 350 years. It took 4000 men, women and children from 15 countries to ‘have a hand’ in its creation.

Panel E5 highlighted the work a woman called Elizabeth Fry, who lived from 1780 – 1845. She was a staunch Quaker. The Quakers call themselves “The Religious Society of Friends.” They believe in the “Inner Light” which helps them distinguish between right and wrong. They also recognize the value of silence for religious meditation and for promoting fellowship.

As a young woman, Elizabeth Gurney Fry once visited London’s Newgate prison, and was appalled by the inhuman living conditions. In 1817, she formed an “Association for Improvement of Female Prisoners,” and was instrumental in bringing about many prison reforms. She campaigned for segregation of prisoners according to age, sex, seriousness of crime, and insisted that female supervisors should oversee female prisoners. Through her effort, educational and employment programmes were introduced in prisons. She travelled all over Europe and England, to encourage prison reforms. Prisoners were also given access to religious and secular instruction. Elizabeth said her aim was to build up self esteem and develop their skills, rather than focus on punishment. It is any wonder then, that they called her “Angel of Prisons.”

Between 1818 – 1843, when convicts including women and children were sent off to Australia, she visited every ship that set out to Botany Bay, to ensure that women and children had at least minimum requirements of space, food and medicines, until they reached their destination. Altogether there were 106 ships with a passenger list of 12,000.

Elizabeth Fry must have been a woman near to the heart of God. Loving the unlovable doesn’t come easy. It is a choice that can cost us our time, energy and even money. Yet, we have been exhorted to ‘bind up the broken hearted.’ It is our high calling. To be compassionate is to feel the pain of others. As Jack Canfield said, “You let their pain touch your heart and turn it into compassion. What a splendid way to go through life, bringing blessings to all we touch!”

ADELHAID'S SPRING.

2008-02-20T08:12:00.000-08:00

Though crowds make me claustrophobic, I could not miss an evening at the Putzchen’s Market. It was touted as the biggest folk festival in North Rhineland Westphalia. A sprawling fun world had sprung up overnight at a village in Beuel, in the first week of September, and lasted for five days.
The night was a riot of colour and noise. Twinkling lights in rainbow shades had turned this small village into a wonderland. Streams of revelers pushed and jostled their way through narrow streets lined with temporary shops selling trinkets and souvenirs from Asia to Timbuktu. Eateries were stocked with mounds of crunchy hazelnuts coated with sugar and spice, and yellow heaps of pop corn. The place reeked of beer and fried wurst. (sausages.) Disco tents and giddy roundabouts, quaint cartoon characters blown into gigantic balloons, and the beckoning giant wheel looming into the skies, offering a bird’s eye view of this riotous fantasyland, were what brought in the crowds.
At the turn of the first millennium, this was called the Pilgrims’ Market. But the memory of a saintly lady associated with it, has been lost in the mists of Time. There was famine in Germany. People and animals roamed the countryside in search of food and water, slowly gravitating towards the Rhine. When they reached this village they were so bone weary that many were on the verge of death. A young lass among them called Adelhaid, pleaded with God to give them water. Legend has it that Mary appeared to her, and told Adelhaid to strike her rod to the ground at a particular place. Lo and behold, a spring of fresh water sprouted from the ground. It was called Putzchen (Miracle Spring)
The water was also supposed to have healing properties. So every year thereafter, pilgrims came here to ask for favours. Many of them camped there for days. Their requirements of food, wine, water and sundries were provided by hawkers and itinerant tradesmen, who travelled with them. And so, the Pilgrims’ Market was born.
Adelhaid the pious woman was the daughter of Count Grafmegangoz and Gerberga. Her father built a church here, and she became its Abbess. She belonged to the Benedictine Order. She founded a Cloister School for poor children and personally supervised its running. She also opened a hospital for the poor and disadvantaged. She died on February 5th, 1015, and her body was interred in a crypt in the church. A blind man was said to have received his sight thirty days after her death. Pilgrims flocked to this church expecting miracles.
But during the Thirty Year Warm the church was completely destroyed. So another church was built close to the Putzchen. Today however, there are no pilgrims. Merely revelers and fun lovers who flock to Putzchen’s market during the festival. Traditionally the market is declared open by unsealing a barrel of beer on the church premises. Profits made by the market are donated to UNICEF.

JEANNE HATCHET - THE AXE SHE WIELDED

2008-02-20T03:19:00.000-08:00

Many years ago when I was a teenager, someone looked into my palm and said,
“Hey, you’ve got some fantastic travel lines. You’re going to be a globe-trotter some day.”
At that point in time, Travel was so impossible that I laughed it off and said,
“Perhaps I shall be another Jules Verne, an arm chair traveler who voyaged sixty thousand miles under the sea, or journeyed to the centre of the earth, or like his hero Phileas Fogg, circumnavigated the earth in eighty days, in a race against Time.”
“I’m dead serious,” he said, “You mark my words. One day you’ll know I predicted correctly.”
If the lines in my hand could predict my future, then I should have reached the stars by now. It’s just that travelling has become so easy these days, that even Verne could not have envisaged a day when it would be possible to have breakfast in India, lunch at Amsterdam, and dinner in New York.
And yet, it is not that kind of travel that excites me – not the overexposed tourist destinations touted by travel agents. Cities all over the globe have begun to have an uncanny resemblance to each other. It is the towns or villages less frequented, different cultures and life styles, stories of unusual people especially women, who have left their “footprints on the sands of Time, that truly fascinate.” These are the things that enrich minds and broaden horizons.
Travel can be both educative and enlivening. It makes us more tolerant of the values, laws and practices of other societies, and more adaptable to unfamiliar situations. Curiosity, a keen sense of observation, an enquiring mind, and like-minded companions
make travelling enjoyable.
Summer is always the best time to travel through Europe. The race to exploit every sunlit moment creates an incredible frenzy of activity. Colourful costumes against sun-burnt skins provide a gorgeous visual spectacle. As we motored through Picardy in France, we kept away from the bustling cities and drove through shady winding roads and cobbled streets, with quaint half-timbered houses dotting the landscape. We soon arrived at an old Gallo-Roman town called Beauvais. The park in the centre of town was crowded with children playing on swings, or hurtling down chutes or whirling around carousels.
But what caught our attention was the bronze statue of a beautiful young girl towering over the park. Her features were exquisite, her hair cascaded down to her shoulders, and the pleats of her flowing gown swirled daintily around her feet. And yet, she wielded an axe, as though ready to strike.
“Who is she?” we asked a gangling youth slouched against a tree.
“Who knows and who cares?” he said, puffing on his cigarette. “The statue is probably purely decorative.”
An old man resting on a bench hailed us.
“The youth of today have no pride in their history. She is the heroine of Beauvais, and if you had come a week earlier, you could have witnessed the annual ceremony held here, on the “Rue du 27 Juin” to commemorate her bravery. It is held in June.”
“Tell us more,” I said.
The man was eager to fill us in with details. Beauvais was under the Romans from 4th to 10th century. It was a fortified town with ramparts 10 metres high. But in the 11th century, the Roman Catholic Church assumed both military and civilian office, and the people were very happy and contented. The town was famous for its textiles and tapestry industries, which provided employment for many poor women. Among them was a young wool spinner called Jeanne Laisne.
In 1472, Charles le Temeraire the Duke of Burgundy besieged the town with an army of 80,000 soldiers. Jeanne, supported by a few women, threatened the Standard bearer with her axe, and wrested the flag from his hands. This act of courage inspired citizens to take up cudgels against the Duke’s army, forcing him to withdraw his troops. For her bravery, the girl was re-christened Jeanne Hachette (Jeanne of the Axe.)
Such extraordinary women live in many parts of the world. Many are unsung and unhonoured. But they are worth their weight in gold.
“Happy is he who dares courageously to defend what he loves,” says Ovid.
We may not be called to defend ourselves on a battle field. But life itself is an arena of challenges, be it in the home or in society. Do we love ourselves enough to stand up to forces that attempt to rob us of our dignity? Or do we react passively, and turn the other cheek?
Courage has no sex. “You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face,” says Eleanor Roosevelt.
Empowerment must come from within; from confidence in our self worth and self esteem. We need to shed our sense of inertia, overhaul our attitudes, and take up our hatchets against forces that seek to demean and devalue womanhood.
Let it be now!

CONSTANSIA VON COSEL -VICTIM OF ROYAL TURPITUDE

2008-02-20T03:11:00.000-08:00

No trip to Dresden is complete without a cruise down the River Elbe. It was cold on the deck of the steamboat Meissner, and the grumpy captain proved to be a poor tourist guide. But the scenery along the one and half hour long boat ride was something to cherish.
Even at such an early hour, artists had set up their easels on the banks, and were busy at work; hippies lolled about on the sands while sandpipers dodged and darted between their feet and the water; Lovers strolled hand in hand oblivious of the tourists staring at them. Vineyards quilted the hillsides in stripes of green, and high above the level of the river were the three famous castles of Dresden – Albrectburg, Linger Schloss and Schloss Erkberg. From the river, a cable car reached 211 metres high to the castles.
But our destination was the Pilnitz Castle – a beautiful Water Palace that abuts the river. A majestic staircase looms up from the water to the castle, and is decorated with sphinxes. Surrounded by peaceful pavilions, pleasure gardens, lilac courtyards and baroque orangerie, this Water palace was the home of the angelic woman Countess Anna Constansia von Cosel, from 1713 – 1715.
The castle architecture shows a distinct Chinese influence with sloping roofs, decorative chimneys and façade paintings. Behind the Water palace is an exact replica called the Hill Palace, which was built by her son years later. The artifacts, paintings and porcelain displayed in both palaces are priceless.
Constansia loved the gardens. The charmillen that grows there today and stretches on either side of the chestnut avenue, were planted by her. It’s a pity that she could live here only for two years.
Constansia was the youngest mistress of Emperor Freidrich Augustus II. Though he made out that Pilnitz Castle was his gift to his most famous mistress, records show that she had paid 60,000 florins out of her own money for it. She had the misfortune of being the mistress of a whimsical, frivolous megalomaniac, whose unbridled libido and virility earned him the nickname of August the Strong. She fell from grace in 1715, and fled to Brandenberg.
There were several reasons for her banishment. Augustus had taken on a new mistress, and Constansia was cast aside. But a more plausible reason was that she harboured political ambitions. She was critical of his administration, and the ruthless way he imposed burdensome taxes on the common people, to support his extravagances. She also opposed his anti-Protestant stance. The Emperor, who couldn’t brook opposition, soon banished her from his presence.
In certain ways, she resembles Queen Vashti the wife of the Persian king Xerxes, who refused to be treated like a common courtesan. She paid for her strength of character by suffering divorce and banishment.
Countess Cosel was imprisoned in Stolpen Castle from 1716 – 1765. It was a heavy stone prison with no adornments. In the 49 years of her incarceration, all she could see from her windows was Bohemia and a little strip of Switzerland (Sachsische Schweiz) Her tomb in the castle grounds is stark, and reflects the desolation she must have suffered during the best years of her life.
The Countess bore August two children, a son and a daughter. Her son Frederick August Count Cosel built the Hill Palace. Her daughter Augusta Constansia was married at the Pilnitz Castle in 1725, even while Constansia was languishing in the Stolpen prison.
Being mistress to an egocentric temperamental Emperor is surely a very dicey business.

SACAGAWEA - THE CONFIDENT SQUAW

2008-02-12T22:26:00.000-08:00

Along the Pacific Coast in Oregon and Washington States is the Lewis and Clark National Historical Park, which extends on either side of the mouth of the Columbia River. The Bicentennial of the Lewis and Clark Expedition had just been celebrated in December 2005, and there was renewed interest in that important journey they made across North America. Louisiana, then an area covering 830,000 square miles, had been bought by the Americans from the French, and President Thomas Jefferson wanted a route to the Pacific Ocean from the east coast.

The expedition calling themselves the Corps of Discovery, set out along the Missouri River, and then across miles of unchartered territory, negotiating mountain ranges, daring wild animals and hostile native Indians. They covered 4000 miles in a year and half, and their last winter encampment before returning home, was Fort Clatsop. Here they stayed from December 1805 to March 1806.
Fort Clatsop today is a famous tourist attraction. Though the original structure collapsed after the explorers went away, a replica of the log cabin was built in 1955. Unfortunately, it was burnt down in October 2005, and volunteers immediately rebuilt it in time for the Bicentennial. Set in acres of forest land, the smell of cedar wood as one enters the Fort is arresting. It is built of uniform logs placed one over the other, to form a sturdy stockade.
The Visitors’ Centre adjacent to the Fort has a well documented history of the expedition. There is a striking cut-out of an Indian woman carrying a child. Clothed in her native colourful costume, a demure smile on her face, she stands there proudly, the acknowledged heroine of the expedition! She was the only woman in a group of 31 men.
Sacagawea’s story is fascinating. It has been romanticised, fictionalised, and her contribution to the expedition has been debated by doubting Thomases. Yet the records of Lewis and Clark bear ample testimony to the fact that she was an indispensable member of the team.
Sacagawea was born in the Shoshone tribe. At twelve, she was kidnapped by another Indian tribe called Hidatsa. She was bartered several times, and finally sold to a Canadian fur trader called Charbonneau, who made her his squaw. He then offered both their services as interpreters, to the Corps of Discovery. The girl was pregnant at that time, and later in their journey, was delivered of a boy, by Lewis who acted as midwife.
Sacagawea had her work cut out. She pointed to various landmarks in her homeland of Montana and Idaho; she was interpreter between the Corps and the natives; she used diplomacy to negotiate safe travel through hostile Indian territory. Her crucial role was to procure horses for the expedition from the Indians. She also helped them identify edible roots and vegetables for food, and herbs for medicinal purposes. Though the Corps was heavily armed, the locals knew they came in peace, as they had a woman with a child in the group. Sacagawea was their ambassador of peace.
During their travels, there was a sudden squall in which one of their boats capsized. It was carrying important documents, and this girl barely seventeen, retrieved their invaluable cargo from the water. Captains Lewis and Clarke were so grateful that they named a Montana stream after her, calling it Bird Woman River.
When the expedition was about twenty miles from the Pacific Ocean, there was a debate as to whether they should set up camp at a place they named Dismal Nitch, or travel across the Columbia River to find a suitable site nearer the ocean. The matter was put to vote. Sacagawea not only claimed voting rights, she insisted on accompanying the party that would scout for a location. And so Fort Clatsop came into existence.
When the Corps of Discovery finally returned home, Sacagawea and her husband bid them goodbye at North Dakota. Clark later wrote to her husband Charbonneau, “Your woman who accompanied you on that long, dangerous and fatiguing route to the Pacific Ocean and back, deserved a greater reward than we had in our power to give her.”
They say that there are more memorials to Sacagawea than any other woman in American history. Lewis and Clark wrote much about this teenage girl’s courage, fortitude and resourcefulness.
Sacagawea was a super woman though she didn’t know it. An unlettered seventeen year old native Indian girl saddled with a small baby, she felt no sense of inferiority, neither did she lack confidence in herself. Self confidence and self respect are the most desirable qualities in a person, and she had both in no small measure. Everybody however lowly, is ‘Somebody.’ When we become aware of our own potentialities, it is often possible to achieve the impossible. As Norman Vincent Peale said, “You can if you think you can.”

Piro – The Dancing Girl Of Ajantha

2008-02-09T23:45:00.000-08:00

The Ajantha and Ellora caves in Aurangabad are favourite destinations on every tourist’s itinerary. Yet very few people know of the poignant love story that was played out over 27 long years, in the dark, dank Ajantha caves, towards the middle of the 19th century.We travelled by road from Pune to Aurangabad. From there it was a good 106 kms, in the sweltering heat, and through arid planes, until we stood at the rim of a deep semi-circular ravine. In its depths were the 2000 year old Ajantha caves, hewn into the mountainside. The entrance to these twenty nine caves that looked desolate yet spell binding, made a gorgeous spectacle.

The caves were the labour of Buddhist monks, who spent 800 years between the 2nd to 8th century A.D, first creating them, then decorating them with paintings that recounted the life of Buddha, before and after his enlightenment – A vibrant world of princes, princesses, foreign dignitaries, celestial nymphs, dancing apsaras and the presiding presence of the smiling Buddha. Ironically, they were neglected and forgotten after the decline of Buddhism. The chaste and celibate monks would never have imagined that their work of dedication to their Lord would be the scene of a touching love story.

But the caves were rediscovered in 1819 by British soldiers. The discovery was accidental. The cliff face was obscured by overgrown trees and thick foliage. The officers hunting for tigers might have by-passed the ravine had it not been for a wild looking tribal boy grazing his buffalo.

“You want to shoot tigers?” he asked, “Come, I’ll take you to the lairs.” As they hacked their way through the ravines, they came upon these caves with sculptures, gorgeous frescoes and the overpowering presence of Buddha smiling down on them.” Up until 1824, the frescoes in these caves were more or less intact and well preserved, except for small areas of seepage through cracks in the rocks. As news got around, curious British visitors and treasure hunters came to see the caves, leading to much vandalism and destruction of these invaluable frescoes. An ignorant but greedy man called James Bird used a knife to scrape off as many paintings as he could.

So in 1844, Major Robert Gill an artist with a Madras Regiment was sent by the East India Company, to take photographs and make colored drawings of the frescoes before they were completely ruined.

The artist fell under the spell of these enchanting frescoes, and for 27 long years he labored in these dark and forbidding caves, completely isolated from civilization. There he sat, a bearded hatless Englishman clothed in white, bent over his easel, meticulously transcribing each delicate feature on to canvas, in the light of a small magnesium lamp. He was oblivious of the danger from wild animals and hostile Bhils.

And then, there entered into his life a dancing girl called Piro. She had defied her family to befriend this lonely hermit of the caves. Dressed in her traditional finery and bedecked with tribal jewels, she danced like a dream, bringing to life the dances that had been passed down through generations, from the very beginning of the Ajantha civilization. She was his inspiration, the moving force that kept him plodding at his drawings, the fay that brought to life through her dance, those frozen paintings on stone. In the eerie blackness of night, she infused warmth into his bones, and diffused his loneliness. Piro the considerate wife, the ardent lover!

Yet in death, they lie separated, he in a marble tomb at Bhusawal cemetery, wreathed in jasmine and bougainvillae boughs, and she in an unmarked, forgotten grave, somewhere on the edge of this plateau, at a spot overlooking the caves. The locals say that on moonlit nights a wraithlike figure dances on the rim of this crescent rock, and the tinkling of her anklets echoes through the desolate hills.