“Nandi of Bateshwar was waiting for me for 1200 years”: Padma Shri K.K. Muhammed
New Delhi: Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA) to commemorate International Museum Day organised a special lecture on the topic “Temple Conservation: Challenges in Chambal- A Story of Fallen Temples and Human Engineering” which was delivered by Padma Shri K.K. Muhammed former Regional Director of Archaeological Survey of India . The day was also marked by the inauguration of an exhibition of ‘UNESCO POSTERS’ (WORLD HERITAGE SITES): “HERITAGE ACROSS THE WORLD”; to celebrate the completion of 50 years of UNESCO and India hosting the G20 summit for the year 2023. The other guests present on the occasion were Prof. Sanjay Jha, Archivist and former Regional Director, Ranchi, IGNCA Prof. Arun Bhardwaj, Professor and In-charge Academic Unit and Prof. Achal Pandya, HoD, Conservation Division, IGNCA.
It would be noteworthy in this context that IGNCA Archives also houses the 44 UNESCO posters, which are on display to create public awareness and recognition of the protected sites in the G20 countries and special invited countries together with other nations across the globe. The posters represent the cultural, natural and mixed ‘World Heritage’ Sites in different parts of the world. IGNCA has also been identified by UNESCO as the nodal agency for the development of regional databases for South and South East Asian countries on art, cultural heritage and lifestyles through the application of state-of-the-art technologies for standardization, exchange and dissemination of data.
Shri K.K. Mohhamad commenced his lecture and shed light on the architectural aspects of a temple and presented astounding pictures of the disassembled ruins of Bateshwar temple. Bateshwar Hindu temples are a group of nearly 200 sandstone Hindu temples in Madhya Pradesh. He also informed the audience that many dacoits joined the reconstruction of temples. He further expressed how challenging and fraught with danger it was to undertake this work in the dacoit-infested Chambal region. He went on and said he was able to convince the dacoits about the importance of these temples, which are around 1,250 years old. He also shared anecdotes of his experiences and said how through the help of the dacoits he successfully assembled the temple back to its glory. He said that when he was renovating the temples there, there was no idol in one temple. They determined it to be a Shiva temple, according to some classical features. But there was a problem, there is a Shiva temple, so where is its Nandi. Then he looked around the temple and saw a small Nandi. K.K. Muhammad said, “I saw a cute little Nandi and I felt as if they had been waiting for me for 1,200 years.” He concluded by saying that Bhagirath work is a milestone in the reconstruction of the temples of Bateshwar.
Prof. Sanjay Jha during his welcome address welcomed the esteemed guests and talked about UNESCO organizations and its objective to protect World Cultural and Natural Heritage. He further informed the audience that till date India has 32 inscriptions in UNESCO list out of the total inscriptions in the UNESCO list is 1157 from over 167 countries. There is a specific criterion for selection of the World Culture and Natural Heritage of mankind by UNESCO. Prof. Sanjay Jha shared vital information regarding 44 UNESCO posters donated by the UNESCO, Delhi office in 1992. To celebrate the International Museum Day the IGNCA Conservation lab had also organized a workshop on Conservation of Workshop Art to educate and raise awareness about the rich cultural properties of India. The workshop was a part of the Museum Expo hosted in Pragati Maidan by the Govt. of India.
In the beginning of the event Dr. Achal Pandya, HoD, Conservation Division, IGNCA, honored Padma Shri K.K. with a brief description of the works of Muhammad. The special lecture concluded with an address by Prof. Arun Kumar Bhardwaj, during which he praised the works of K. K. Mohammad and compared him to Loknayak Jai Prakash Narayan.