This is mid-March in the Ganga basin, and the spring is bursting into colours around Prayag Raj. On the Allahabad- Lucknow highway, we are heading towards a site of cultural relics nearby. Settlements get sparse and scantier, and the vegetation flanking the road creates a dusty-grey ambiance, typically sketched by some Europeans in the past centuries. Things have not changed much here.
As we proceed, a massive structure suddenly rises on the horizon, which beckons to a bygone era. A three-storey villa built in the Indo-European style stands out magnificently, overlooking a rural expanse. A white temple and a few dilapidated structures popup from the surrounding wilderness. This is Anapur, our destination.
Anapur was once a Zamindari Estate; I am told of the presence of a few more such estates in the vicinity, like Kalakankar, which actively espoused the cause of Independence and participated in the intellectual resurgence of the time. One of its scions, Brijesh Singh (uncle of Dinesh Singh), married Svetlana, daughter of Josef Stalin of Russia. Another estate, Manda gave one of India’s Prime Ministers in V. P. Singh.
The Palace
Anapur Estate has a history of three hundred years behind it. Founded by Chintaman Singh, it was raised to prominence by Deokinandan Singh. Their descendants carried forward the legacy into the colonial period. The manson before us was built in 1932 by Bhagwati Saran Singh (1884-1945), who rose to become the Secretary of the Gaya District Landholders’ Association, and also served as MLC in the Bihar Legislative Assembly in the 1930s. His association with Bihar came through a matrilineal endowment (tadka) from Bihar’s Tikari and Maksudpur estates of Gaya district. The present inheritors of the Anapur Estate, the Sahi Family of Tamkuhi, a descendent of the legendry Maharaja Fateh Bahadur Sahi of Huseypur Raj, likewise, have received it through a similar matrilineal endowment.
Bhagwati Saran Singh was little educated when he accepted the responsibilities of the estate, and his wife none at all; but they endeavoured and became profoundly equipped to deal with the colonial government, and enlightened enough to be generous to their people. By early 1920s, Singh joined the freedom movement, and worked for social awakening in his region. This was the time when Baba Ram Chandra, Sahajanand Saraswati, and Rahul Sankrityayan were taking up the cause of the peasants in the Gangetic heartland.
From amongst the zamindars, Bhagwati Saran Singh issued, in 1931, an ‘Appeal to Zamindars’ for self-introspection, and for enlightening themselves to be liberal, kind and responsible towards their subject. He took several welfare measures to ameliorate their condition in his area: wells were dug, and schools and hospital were established. He also initiated measures to improve crop and animal husbandry, in consultation with stalwart expert Samuel Higginbottom (1874-1958). Improvement of agriculture, education and health were Singh’s driving concerns. Of his many accomplishments, the library at Anapur is a sterling legacy.
The Library
Bhagwati Saran Singh had abiding faith in the power of education, about which he spoke from various platforms and took specific measures. He created a library in his palace at Anapur that has survived to this day. I find several classics and encyclopaedias, proceedings of organisations like the Landlords Association, old journals, press-cuttings, and myriads of other publications. Not for the number of its collections, the library is valuable for their variety in English, Hindi, Sanskrit, Urdu, and Persian, which open up a panorama into the past centuries.
The library contains antique furniture, chandeliers, and varieties of souvenirs, and its walls are decorated with rare pictures of dignitaries and some of the great names of Indian history. Muhamad Iqbal and Akbar Illahabadi are some of them who were in touch with the Anapur Rajas. A forgotten chapter of the Ganga-Yamuni tahzeeb! Incidentally, the present owners of the Anapur eastate, the Tamkuhi family, too, are book lovers.
A Heritage Sanctuary
How this palace and its library have survived till now in this remote area is surprising. But once you look into its history, the region has much more to offer: River Ganga, Yamuna flowing across the region, and the mythical Saraswati, believed to be flowing underground, have hosted successive cultures over centuries. Close by, I find a 12th – century BCE archaeological site at Shringverpur, revealing a large and intricate water-treatment plant connected with the Ganges, indicating it was part of a system supplying water to the local city in the post-Harappan period.
In ancient times, Shringverpur was a centre of Sun-worship; nearby, sculptures of Sun have been found at Surya-Bhita, which is strewn with brickbats of ancient origin. According to the Ramayana, Shringverpur was once the abode of Shringi Rishi who married Sita’s sister Shanta.
Even in the later centuries, this Gangetic heartland experienced waves of social awakening and cultural renaissance, and finally, of the freedom movement. They are still resonant in the local folklore. But why this region remains underdeveloped today!
The writer has taught history at the University of Delhi, who occasionally writes on lesser-known aspects of history. Email: jnsinha@rediffmail.com Mob: 9810949638
