Loss of heritage may push us into dark ages
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The
week gone by saw a frenzy of activity, especially on 12.12.12, the last
sequential date of the century. Enthusiasts the world over rushed to
mark the occasion with weddings, launches and other memorable events
while doomsday prophets remained undecided on whether this really is the
day or the next impending deadline on the 21st of December. At
Hyderabad, the day began with news of two not so rare occurrences which
had made the headlines-one was the thrilling
recovery of antique jewelry and coins, reportedly valued at over Rs 7
crores, from persons who had stumbled upon a cache of hidden treasure
while demolishing a dilapidated building in the Doodhbowli area of Old
City and the other was a report relating to the theft of almost 20,000
rare artifacts from Shamsher Kotha, part of the Khazana Building Museum
of the State Department of Archaeology and Museums. None were amused to
note that after due process of law, the investigating agencies intend to
hand over the recovered coins dating from different periods of history
to the Department of Archaeology and Museums for safe custody.
The State Museum, located within the Public Garden precinct, boasts a collection of over 100,000 coins in different metals and alloys apart from 14,000 gold pieces making it the second largest horde of antique coinage in the world, next only to that in possession of the British Museum. Apart from this renowned collection, the state museum also houses other priceless objects from antiquity and along with numerous other major and minor museums all over the state, forms a chain of repositories for cultural assets which are the most tangible record of our past. Any addition to the unique collection of coins at the State Museum will certainly further enhance its value, however the move will also amount to putting all our eggs in one basket. An alarming prospect to say the least, if one takes into account the past record of treasures lost from this storehouse of antiquities which is yet to recover some of the artifacts that went missing in December 2008.
Losses from museums are not unique to the city. While certain bizarre burglaries like the theft of Charlie Chaplin's coffin or Rabindranath Tagore's Nobel Prize medal have evoked universal condemnation, quite a few of the world's renowned heists have resulted in widespread admiration for the perpetrator. The basis for this approbation obviously lies in a crooks ability to beat the odds by circumventing meticulous security arrangements and beating the system. Alas, no such effort was necessary to pilfer cultural assets from the Shamsher Kotha where the artifacts seem to have been considered unworthy of any security with even the solitary guard posted there being reassigned more than five years back. While there can be no possibility of a heroic sublimation of the crook in this case, there are ample grounds for an unequivocal condemnation of the custodians of our heritage who have time and again failed in their designated duties. As has been aptly stated by the renowned French anthropologist Claude Levi-Strauss, "Objects are what matter. Only they carry the evidence that throughout the centuries something really happened among human beings." For some inexplicable reason, the magnitude of the tragedy in losing almost 20,000 such 'objects which matter' seems to have left the custodians of our heritage unfazed. It is said that the missing artifacts have been declared unimportant; being merely cannon balls and breast-plates. Interestingly, while the recovery of the Doodhbowli treasure trove was prominently displayed to the media as a great triumph of policing by no less a personage than the city Kotwal, the Shamsher Kotha incident failed to elicit a response even from the Thanedar of Golconda Police Station. Little wonder, as the Golconda sleuths have been extremely busy for the past few years; their energies expended largely on safeguarding the Golf Course within the Naya Qila from 'notorious heritage activists'. After all, isn't this dedicated group of 'nefarious brigands' which has been tenaciously resisting attempts of some enterprising gentlemen peacefully engaged in a pursuit of happiness? Surely, this troublesome lot is a graver threat to society than some petty thieves who makes off with 'worthless' old artifacts!
An old lament you may say my friend, but beware that if we do not find a remedy for this wanton destruction of our heritage assets there will soon be nothing to even cry over. For as the bard of Delhi warns us.
The State Museum, located within the Public Garden precinct, boasts a collection of over 100,000 coins in different metals and alloys apart from 14,000 gold pieces making it the second largest horde of antique coinage in the world, next only to that in possession of the British Museum. Apart from this renowned collection, the state museum also houses other priceless objects from antiquity and along with numerous other major and minor museums all over the state, forms a chain of repositories for cultural assets which are the most tangible record of our past. Any addition to the unique collection of coins at the State Museum will certainly further enhance its value, however the move will also amount to putting all our eggs in one basket. An alarming prospect to say the least, if one takes into account the past record of treasures lost from this storehouse of antiquities which is yet to recover some of the artifacts that went missing in December 2008.
Losses from museums are not unique to the city. While certain bizarre burglaries like the theft of Charlie Chaplin's coffin or Rabindranath Tagore's Nobel Prize medal have evoked universal condemnation, quite a few of the world's renowned heists have resulted in widespread admiration for the perpetrator. The basis for this approbation obviously lies in a crooks ability to beat the odds by circumventing meticulous security arrangements and beating the system. Alas, no such effort was necessary to pilfer cultural assets from the Shamsher Kotha where the artifacts seem to have been considered unworthy of any security with even the solitary guard posted there being reassigned more than five years back. While there can be no possibility of a heroic sublimation of the crook in this case, there are ample grounds for an unequivocal condemnation of the custodians of our heritage who have time and again failed in their designated duties. As has been aptly stated by the renowned French anthropologist Claude Levi-Strauss, "Objects are what matter. Only they carry the evidence that throughout the centuries something really happened among human beings." For some inexplicable reason, the magnitude of the tragedy in losing almost 20,000 such 'objects which matter' seems to have left the custodians of our heritage unfazed. It is said that the missing artifacts have been declared unimportant; being merely cannon balls and breast-plates. Interestingly, while the recovery of the Doodhbowli treasure trove was prominently displayed to the media as a great triumph of policing by no less a personage than the city Kotwal, the Shamsher Kotha incident failed to elicit a response even from the Thanedar of Golconda Police Station. Little wonder, as the Golconda sleuths have been extremely busy for the past few years; their energies expended largely on safeguarding the Golf Course within the Naya Qila from 'notorious heritage activists'. After all, isn't this dedicated group of 'nefarious brigands' which has been tenaciously resisting attempts of some enterprising gentlemen peacefully engaged in a pursuit of happiness? Surely, this troublesome lot is a graver threat to society than some petty thieves who makes off with 'worthless' old artifacts!
An old lament you may say my friend, but beware that if we do not find a remedy for this wanton destruction of our heritage assets there will soon be nothing to even cry over. For as the bard of Delhi warns us.
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