Dancing Girl of Moenjodaro

 I was really really excited to see the Dancing Girl of Moenjodaro. 

My first reaction was that she's so tiny! She is 10.8cm. This was in the Harappan Gallery, which has has 3,500 artifacts from the Harappan or Indus Valley Civilisation. 

See this interesting history about the division of artefacts between India and Pakistan: 

When one of the major sites of the Harappan civilization, Mohenjo Daro, was excavated in the 1920s, archaeologists deposited its important finds first in the Lahore Museum, and then these were moved to Delhi by Mortimer Wheeler in anticipation of the construction of a Central Imperial Museum there. At the time of the Partition, the issue of ownership of these objects arose and eventually the two countries agreed to share all the collections equally, although this was sometimes interpreted in literal sense, with several necklaces and girdles taken apart with half the beads sent to Pakistan and half retained in India. In the words of Nayanjot Lahiri, ‘the integrity of these objects were compromised in the name of equitable division’.  Of the two most celebrated sculpted figures found in Mohenjo Daro, Pakistan asked for and received the steatite figure of a bearded male, dubbed the 'Priest King', while the National Museum of India retained the bronze statuette of the 'Dancing Girl', a nude bejeweled female.  Considering that the major sites like Mohenjo Daro and Harappa belonged to Pakistan post-Partition, the collections in this gallery also grew out of the discoveries of the excavations made after the Indian independence in 1947 such as Daimabad, Rakhigarhi, and Dholavira.

National Museum of India 

The secular conversations in Pakistan that ask us to reject a narrow and weird Islamic Arabic national narrative ask us to remember Gandhara, Indus Valley Civilisation , Buddhism, Hinduism and so on. The Dancing Girl often pops up as a metaphor for what was here long before any Empire , modern religion or Pakistan came along. 

Interestingly, Pakistan has asked for the the Dancing Girl to be returned: Sindh seeks return of Moenjodaro’s Dancing Girl from India. Why? Do we have any good museums? Do we have thriving Archaelogical , Cultural or Historical societies? Are our ancient monuments preserved? Do we appropriately educate children of the history of this land ? All I see is evidence of anti Hindu, anti Indian brainwashing at a very young age to justify Communalism, Partition and the ethnic cleansing that ensued. 

I just remembered reading this idiotic column by Rafia Zakaria which ENRAGED me when I read it. She suggests that Tipu Sultan's Tiger should be given to Pakistan because " it is time that the tiger came to Pakistan, which, being the Muslim successor state after colonial India, should have a right to it." She can't invoke the UNESCO Convention here but invokes Pakistan's identity as a Muslim state. You can read it here: The fate of Tipu’s Tiger. 

But what about Lal Qila the mightiest symbol of Islamic India? How about the Taj? How about Tipu Sultan's seat of government? Why don't we bring everything back to Pakistan brick by brick, Ms. Zakaria? 

This modern obsession with claiming, owning, distorting and mutilating history is sick. 

Back to the Dancing Girl, another reason I was excited to see her was recalling some recent articles I read that suggest the Indus Valley Civilisation was egalitarian. There's a hopeful idealistic glow to knowing that human society isn't programmed to be unjust and unequal. 

And the Dancing Girl of Moenjardo will forever be dancing in our collective imaginations. 

I made a video too: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/WcT1WO26hzM. 

Hazrat Nizamuddin Aulia

Visiting or rather paying respects to Hazrat Nizamuddin Aulia Dargah was spellbinding. This is where Amir Khusrau is also buried. Ghalib is also buried close by. This visit and subsequent visit to Humayun's Tomb (and the adjoining world class museum) helped me to understand the spiritual and artistic North Hindustani /Classical culture. That all Indian rulers chose to be buried in this area that was founded by Nizammuddin Aulia , close to the Yamuna River. The legacy of Nizammuddin Aulia , a 14th century Sufi saint, carries on to this day. I was also personally very very happy to have paid respects to Amir Khusrau, the poet scholar artist musician who apparently invented the sitar, the tabla and the qawali. 

"Agar firdaus bar ruh zameen ast, hameen ast o hameen ast o hameen ast!"

The Red Fort, also known as Lal Qila is a historic Mughal fort in Delhi, India, that served as the primary residence of the Mughal emperors. Emperor Shah Jahan commissioned the construction of the Red Fort on 12 May 1639, following his decision to relocate the Mughal capital from Agra to Delhi. Originally adorned in red and white, the fort's design is attributed to Ustad Ahmad Lahori, the architect behind the Taj Mahal. The Red Fort represents the pinnacle of Mughal architecture during Shah Jahan's reign, blending Persian palace influences with indigenous Indian architectural traditions. (Wikipedia)

We entered the Fort through the Lahori Gate which faces Lahore, as told to us by our guide. And, of course, there is a Delhi Gate in Lahore. 

Amir Khusrau's lines, "Agar firdaus bar ruh zameen ast, hameen ast o hameen ast o hameen ast!" (If there be a paradise on earth, this is it, this is it, this is it!), are inscribed on the walls of the Diwan-i-Khas within the Red Fort. 

Lal Qila is massive. (The Red Fort in Delhi covers an area of approximately 255 acres (103 hectares), enclosed by 2.41 kilometers (1.50 miles) of defensive walls. ) The Yamuna River is at the back of the Fort. The Yamuna also flows through the Nizamuddin area. 

We didn't get there until 3 pm but a full tour requires at least a full day. There are so many Mahal, gardens and monuments inside the Fort, not to mention the 5 different museum buildings. We were only able to see the first one and that too only half of it.