Tag Archives: Mohammed Silar

Encyclopaedia of Bandar

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Community Involvement / Social Issues, Travel & Tourism, , , ,

Machilipatnam(Bandar), Krishna District,  ANDHRA PRADESH :

Historian Mohammed Silar with a pot collected from a Buddhist site at Gudivada in Krishna district.
Historian Mohammed Silar with a pot collected from a Buddhist site at Gudivada in Krishna district.

‘Machilipatnam Sarvasvam’, (Encyclopaedia of Bandar), written by Bandar-based modern historian and numismatist Mohammed Silar, is all set to be released by the end of June. The book focuses on the flourishing of Buddhism and Jainism in Krishna district as well as individuals and institutions which brought laurels to the port town.

In 2010, he wrote his first book ‘Tara Tarala Bandar Charitra’, which became a reference guide for history research scholars. It was reprinted in 2013. “My second book has a detailed narration about the rule of several dynasties in Masula – from Mughal, Dutch to British and French. The history of India’s third municipality, Machilipatnam Municipality, is also one of the key chapters of the encyclopaedia,” Mr. Silar said.

Based on Battiprolu inscription in Pulinda script, Mr. Silar is trying to establish the birth of Telugu language in Machilipatnam. As Machilipatnam played an important role in the evolution of education and literature in Andhra Pradesh, the book chronicles the lives of many luminaries including Madras University’s first elected Vice-Chancellor Raghupathi Venkataratnam Naidu of Machilipatnam.

Mr. Silar, a retired Special Grade Tahsildar and a Food Inspector during the cyclonic storm in 1977, has been engaged in documenting the glorious past of the town. “Bandar population was 64,000 in 1865 as against 9,000 of Vijayawada. The demography shows the glorious past and development of the tiny town in those days”, he says.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Andhra Pradesh / by T. Appala Naidu / Machilipatnam – June 05th, 2014

British Prison testimony to sacrifices of freedom fighters

Arts, Culture & Entertainment, Community Involvement / Social Issues, Travel & Tourism, Uncategorized,

Andhra Pradesh :

Built in 1750s, it was used to confine freedom fighters from Krishna and Guntur districts till another jail was built in Vijayawada in 1920s

The remains of the British Prison at Bandarkota village near Machilipatnam in Krishna district.
The remains of the British Prison at Bandarkota village near Machilipatnam in Krishna district.

A British construction here stands as a witness to the bravery and sacrifices of the freedom fighters of Masulipatnam and Krishna district.

The giant building, known as ‘British Prison’, reminds one of the history of freedom struggle in Andhra Pradesh.

“It was built after the Anglo-French war in 1750s. The British required a prison in Machilipatnam to incarcerate the local freedom fighters within the area of Krishna and Guntur districts and Nalgonda in Telangana State during the freedom struggle,” local historian Mohammed Silar toldThe Hindu .

According to available literature on Machilipatnam, it was the only prison to confine the freedom fighters until another prison was built in Vijayawada in early 1920s.

Jaggery unit

‘Masula History’ penned by Chitta Bala Krishna Sastry in 1922 predicts that Machilipatnam would witness rapid industrial activity, by citing the jaggery production unit set up in the British prison by then.

“After the British left the prison by early 1920s, local entrepreneur Jaldu Rama Rao obtained permission from the British to use the prison premises for production of jaggery and sugar,” said Mr. Silar. However, sugar cane production had to be stopped by mid 1940s, owing to various business reasons.

Currently, the British prison is owned by the family of Jaldu Rama Rao.

Now, an old woman resides at the entrance of the site, which is yet to get the heritage status.

Only if it gets the heritage status, any conservatory initiatives by the Archaeological Survey of India could be expected to take place.

Another heritage structure

Ironically, the British prison is located opposite another heritage site which was a hospital during the Nizam’s period.

The efforts made by the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) for the conservation of the British prison as well as the other sites at Bandarkota have not yielded any results so far.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> Andhra Pradesh / Bankarkota(Krishna) / August 15th, 2016

White Mughals’ connection with Masula erased

Community Involvement / Social Issues, Travel & Tourism, , , , ,

Machilipatnam (Krishna District) , ANDHRA PRADESH :

The two-storey mansion where the Hyderabadi noblewoman once stayed is now in ruins.—Photo: T. Appala Naidu
The two-storey mansion where the Hyderabadi noblewoman once stayed is now in ruins.—Photo: T. Appala Naidu

Mansion where noblewoman Khair-Un-Nissa stayed is now a cattle shed

In April 1807, Hyderabadi noblewoman Khair-Un-Nissa was given shelter in a two-storey mansion with a mesmerizing view of palms, fishing canoes and breakers of the Coromandal coast, according to ‘White Mughals; Love and Betrayal in 18th Century India’ by William Dalrymple.

Now, the view of the mansion, which was then residence of East India’s agent in Masulipatam, Alexander, resembles a small jungle, with a cattle shed within the stonewall in the Bandarkota area in Machilipatnam.

Khair-Un-Nissa, most excellent of the women had stayed in the mansion with her mother Sharaf-Un-Nissa for nearly two years during her exile. After Mir Alam, Hyderabad Nizam, died in January 1809, Khair-Un-Nissa and her mother appeared to have returned to Hyderabad.

Outlawed after love affair

Colonel James Achilles Kirkpatrick, the British Resident in Hyderabad (1797-1805), fell in love with Khair-Un-Nissa, and married her in January 1801. Citing disgrace to her family, Khair-Un-Nissa was ordered by Mir Alam that she would not be allowed back to Hyderabad on her way back from Calcutta, where she spent some months, mourning the death of her husband Kirkpatrick. He was 41.

Widowed at 19, Khair-Un-Nissa had to live outside the Nizam’s dominions and thus she had to stay in Masulipatam as suggested by her husband’s assistant, Henry Russel. Nestled between the Dutch fort and an armoury, the mansion has been erased from the memory of the people of Masula and become home for cattle.

The Machilipatnam Municipality’s survey records show that the nearly two-acre site of the mansion is now under the control of private people. “We do not know any history attached to the land. The entire site has been distributed among the 12 members of our family, Vemoori family,” Vemoori Badri toldThe Hindu . Mr. Badri’s family uses this historical site as shelter for their cattle.

“Until 1979, the two-storey British building was in good shape with rooms with spiralling space. It has disappeared on the site over the years. Possession and transfer of right over the site by locals remains a puzzle for me,” local historian and then Masula Revenue Inspector Mohammed Silar told The Hindu . Most of the protection wall and entrance gates to the British site were collapsed. A thatched cattle shed raised on the pillars of the old construction welcomes the visitors.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> National> Andhra Pradesh / T. Appala Naidu / Machilipatnam – July 02nd, 2016