The Tilak-Thibaw Connect
Along with walking
the streets of Ratnagiri in the rains, sometimes you take rides in the friendly
auto rickshaws here. And one of these short auto rickshaw trips brings you to
another Ratnagiri surprise.
And this surprise
blows you out of the monsoon waters!
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| Lokmanya Gangadhar Birthplace in Ratnagiri |
Ratnagiri is hometown
of Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar (1856 – 1920) Tilak. Tilak was one of the first assertive
nationalist leaders of Indian Independence Movement who coined the slogan “Swaraj
is my birthright, and I shall have it.” Lokmanya’s house where he was born has
now been turned into a good looking museum. For a change there are signs,
personnel and the complex looks well maintained and pleasing.
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| Display depicting the freedom struggle - at Tilak Museum Ratnagiri |
The architecture
is traditional Konkani with sloping roofs and wooden elements and open spaces all around.
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| Entrance to the Museum |
Inside you can see
some of Tilak’s belongings along with his signature turban. Photos and
newspaper clippings give an insight into his contribution to the freedom
struggle. You walk around the small and pretty looking house where the kitchen is and where the family lived and the open verandahs in the front and rear and this wood stairway going up to the floor above.
Now this house unlike the Thibaw Palace has a nice vibe to it. The little house is cheerful and you can actually imagine sun streaming through the windows even as it rains outside. This house feels like home; your own little refuge in this indifferent world. Who says houses are inert walls and ceilings? Homes, houses or palaces are living beings that watch and feel. They mirror the feelings of people who inhabit them - when the inhabitants are happy they are happy and when they see suffering they suffer themselves. And while the happy and suffering people are long gone to someplace special, the walls and the mantle and the window continue to smile and cry, telling their stories who have seen it all.
Now this house unlike the Thibaw Palace has a nice vibe to it. The little house is cheerful and you can actually imagine sun streaming through the windows even as it rains outside. This house feels like home; your own little refuge in this indifferent world. Who says houses are inert walls and ceilings? Homes, houses or palaces are living beings that watch and feel. They mirror the feelings of people who inhabit them - when the inhabitants are happy they are happy and when they see suffering they suffer themselves. And while the happy and suffering people are long gone to someplace special, the walls and the mantle and the window continue to smile and cry, telling their stories who have seen it all.
The British had
named Tilak as the ‘Father of the Indian Unrest’ because of his propensity to write
inflammatory articles in newspapers founded by him – ‘Mahratta’ in English and ‘Kesari’
in Marathi. In another instance, Tilak in his paper Kesari, defended the
revolutionaries Khudiram Bose and Prafulla Chaki who attempted to kill the
Chief Presidency Magistrate of Calcutta and called for immediate self-rule or
swaraj.
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| Rear View |
British patience
was running low and Tilak was arrested for sedition. In the ensuing trial,
Tilak was convicted by a jury and sentenced to a jail term of six years (1908 -
1914) and sent to – hold your breath – to Mandalay! Same Mandalay capital of Burma
from where the King of Burma was exiled to Ratnagiri, birth place of Tilak! And
in overlapping time frames!
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| Mahratta announcing Tilak's return to to India - Teen Murti Museum, New Delhi |
Tilak spent six
years imprisoned in Mandalay in the company of a fellow Marathi gentleman named
Kulkarni who would cook for him. It was here that Tilak composed his famous commentary
on Gita called Gitarahasya (Mystery of Gita).
The British after
plundering the Mandalay Palace had converted it into a garrison called Fort
Dufferin. Was Tilak imprisoned here in the palace – this is something that can
be looked into?
The British really
had some wicked sense of humour.
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| Harshringar Flowers paying homage to Lokmanya Tilak - Mimosa |
Still recovering
from the Mandalay surprise you walk to the rear of the house where an endearing
garden is laid out. Coconut trees create a canopy. It is calm and soothing and surreal here. You spend some time soaking
it up all.
Thibaw and Tilak -
two different lives intertwining inexplicably and unexpectedly in Ratnagiri and
Mandalay. This is what makes history so powerful and interesting.
Surprises are
coming in fast here in Ratnagiri. It is time to go visit Ratnadurg and the
lighthouse.
Getting There: Ratnagiri lies on the south west coast of
Maharashtra on the Mumbai-Goa highway and is well connected by trains from
Mumbai. Ratnagiri is about about 350 kms from Mumbai and 300 kms from Pune. In
Ratnagiri you can hire auto rickshaws to take you around the town and to the
fort. The Jijamata Garden will offer you spectacular views of Arabian Sea and
Bhatye Beach. Other attractions are the Ratnadurg with its Lighthouse and ThibawPalace, now turned into a museum. Take the bus to Ganpatipule Beach to see mist
envelope the hills and sun create scintillating light effects on the water.
Photography is not allowed inside the house.
Photography is not allowed inside the house.
References:
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