A Rainy Evening In Mhow

These two pics were clicked with my smartphone on Wednesday 27 June 2018.
It was  rainy evening and ideal for clicking.

The Main Street of Mhow Bazaar, clicked from Methi Provisions (formerly where the Bata shop used to be)

The Mall and Generals' Road going to the right. The triangular Ambedkar Garden (formerly the Prince of Wales Garden) in between. 

An interesting blog...

My Los Angeles based  friend Manisha, who belongs to Mhow and Indore, has just created a blog. It is called Manisha From Mhow  The first post is a very interesting one titled: Itwaari “Haat” – Los Angeles style! Sunday Farmers Market at Hollywood

While describing the Sunday Farmers Market in Los Angeles she shares her childhood memories of the "Shanivar ka haat" (the saturday market) in Mhow with its beautiful rural touch which is still held  not far from the Railway Station. A beautiful read. You can click here to get to it. Manisha has a flair for writing and am sure that in the coming days she will  make her readers happy through a series of excellent, well written posts. 

Memories of Denis Compton in Mhow and Indore

                                           
Denis Compton and other MCC players practice at the nets in Adelaide, 29 October 1954. Ashes Test Series 1954-1955. Sydney Morning Herald Picture by Harry Martin. Public domain. 

The great English cricketer Denis Compton was posted at the Officers' Training School, OTS, Mhow as a PT instructor during the World War II  years. As he was eligible to play in the Ranji Trophy for the Holkar team of Indore the Army would give him leave so he could play.

He was a member of the Holkar team which played against Bombay in the 1945 Ranji Trophy final. Denis had scored 20 and 249 not out in this match but the Holkar team lost this high scoring match. Denis still holds the record for the highest fourth innings score in the Ranji Trophy.
The Bombay team included a Parsi player named Rustom Sorabji Cooper who had scored 52 and 104 in that final - a match which Bombay won by 374 runs.

In 2012 Nick Compton, the grandson of Denis, had visited India as part of  the England team. He met Rustom Sorabji Cooper in Mumbai (formerly Bombay) who shared with him his interaction with Denis and how they had played with and against each other. Click here and read this nostalgia invoking article by Derek Abraham published in DNA Nov 1, 2012.

If I remember correctly Nick had played one match against the Cricket Club of India which had Abbas Ali as a player. Abbas Ali is the grandson of the late Syed Mushtaq Ali who played Test cricket for India from 1934 to 1952 and was known as the Errol Flynn of Indian cricket. Mushtaq Ali and Denis Compton played together in the Ranji Trophy as members of the Holkar team.

Nature Note From Mhow: The Beautiful Maulsari Tree

Nature Note From Mhow: The Beautiful Maulsari Tree
Maulsari (Native to the Western Ghats and Sri Lanka) the beautiful and tasty fruit of a beautiful tree. Clicked at Bungalow 93 Near Swarg Mandir Mhow. Scientific Name: Mimusops elengi. Common names in Hindi: Maulsari, maulshree, bakul. Common Names in English: Indian medlar, Spanish cherry, (Asian) Bulletwood. (Courtesy Trees of Delhi by Pradip Krishen)

                                              
                                             The fruit of the Maulsari clicked on 18 April 2015.

According to Pradip Krishen these are the uses of this tree: Ittar (perfume) from the flowers, the leaves for treating headaches and sore eyes, a decoction of the bark to treat diarrhoea, fevers and gum infections. the unripe fruit to fix loose teeth, the crushed seeds to cure constipation, the seed oil is used in cooking and as a luminant fuel, the reddish heartwood is hard, strong, close grained, and durable and is used for bridge-building, boats, mine props and heavy construction. Impressive list of uses I must say!!!!


                                             

                                         
                                          
                                         The fruit of the Maulsari clicked on 26 Feb 2015.


                                     
                                   The unripe fruit on the Maulsari tree clicked on 5 December 2010.

President Ram Nath Kovind in Mhow on 14 April 2018

President Ram Nath Kovind with Governor Anandibai Patel, CM Shivraj Singh Chauhan at the Ambedkar Janm Sthali (Birth Memorial) on 14 April 2018. Courtesy Mohan Rao Wakode, Secretary of the Ambedkar Janm Sthali.

President of India Shri Ram Nath Kovind made a brief visit to Mhow on 14th April 2018 to pay tribute to Dr B R Ambedkar at his birthplace in Mhow. He visited the Ambedkar Birth Memorial in the Kali Paltan area of Infantry School Mhow. After that he addressed a public gathering on the grounds of Bungalow 88 which was followed by a lunch in the Swarg Mandir premises. He flew to Mhow from Indore and returned to Indore by an IAF helicopter.



According to the Economic Times of 16 April 2018 President Kovind while addressing the gathering said: “Dr Ambedkar emphasised the values of non-violence and compassion in public life. He fought for the welfare of weaker sections of society but his path remained non-violent — stressing on consensus through dialogue. He believed that this was our country, for all of us, and that whatever needed to be done to bring justice to the weaker sections of society could be achieved by adhering to social harmony. In his final speech in the Constituent Assembly, Dr Ambedkar said now that we have constitutional methods of expressing opposition, we should avoid disruptive mechanisms,” 

Click here to read the complete article.

Click here to read the article on the Presidential visit in Central Chronicle.

Click here to read the article on the Presidential visit in Daily Democrat Press.

A Tribute to Lt Gen S L Malhotra AVSM, PVSM (Retd)

                                                 
                                                     Lt. Gen S.L. Malhotra, PVSM, AVSM (Retd.)

15 April 2018, Sunday: A condolence meeting was held at the Signals Vihar Community Hall in Mhow to pay tribute to the late Lt. Gen S.L. Malhotra, PVSM, AVSM (Retd.) who had passed away recently. Many eminent Army officers paid rich tributes to the departed General officer and spoke about his greatness as a military commander and as a noble human being who cared for his subordinates and colleagues.

Among those who paid tribute to him included Lt Gen Rajiv Chopra the Commandant of the Infantry School Mhow and Colonel Commandant of the Madras Regiment, previous Commandant of the Army War College Lt Gen Vijay Madan (Retd) and former Commandant of the Infantry School Mhow Lt Gen Sher Amir Singh (Retd). Besides them the regimental colleagues of Lt Gen Malhotra including Lt Gen MM Walia (Retd), Brig D K Rastogi (Retd), Brig Avtar Singh (Retd) also paid rich tributes to their former Commanding Officer. The Chairman of the Signals Vihar Cooperative Housing Society (where he built his house and settled after retirement) Col P C Ohri (Retd) also paid tributes to him. His daughter Ms Sadhna Pasricha and his grandson Chirag Malhotra also spoke about their father and grandfather respectively and shared with us a very human portrait of Gen Malhotra. The function was conducted with elegance by his grandaughter Anisha Malhotra Singh. 

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The professional and career details of Lt Gen S L Malhotra, PVSM, AVSM (Retd) are as follows. Thanks to the Malhotra family for providing these details. 

Lt Gen S L Malhotra was commissioned in the 4th Battalion of the Madras Regiment (Wallajahbad Light Infantry) June 1950. In his illustrious career of 36 years he had the honour of commanding his battalion in erstwhile East Pakistan during the Bangladesh Liberation War in December 1971. The Battalion performed exceedingly well during the war and many personnel were awarded for bravery.

After commanding a Brigade and a Division he became the Commandant of the Infantry School Mhow. He was the founding father of the Army Marksmanship Unit at Mhow, which has won a large number of medals for India in international competitions including the Olympics, Asian Games and Commonwealth Games. He was the Colonel of the Madras Regiment and was awarded the AVSM in 1979 and the PVSM in 1983.

He was serving as the Director General NCC at the time of his retirement in 1986. As DG NCC he was one of the pioneers for launching the Microlight flying program in India and he was instrumental in starting the NCC World Youth Exchange Programme with several countries.He was also the Colonel of the Madras Regiment. 

After retiring from the Army he served as Dy. Managing Director of TATA Exports and was on the Board of Directors of TATA International. He was the Chairman of the Leather Council of India for 5 years and also served as an advisor to the Punjab Government on Leather Exports.

He is survived by his wife Mrs Pushpa Malhotra, children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

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Tribute published in Nai Dunia (Indore-Mhow edition 16 April 2018)

Mhow Gets Ready to Receive the President of India

Mhow gets ready to receive Shri Ramnath Kovind, the Hon'ble President of India, who will be coming to attend the Ambedkar Jayanti Celebrations here on 14th April. The first such visit by a President. Shri Kovind had visited the Ambedkar Birth Memorial last year in March when he was the Governor of Bihar and was attending a program at the B R Ambedkar University of Social Sciences (BRAUSS) Mhow. See pic below.

                                           

                            Pic courtesy: Mhow media group on WhatsApp.

p.s. There is no official confirmation yet from Rashtrapati Bhavan but the state administration is taking no chances and is preparing for a Presidential visit. 

Pic: The Hon’ble President of India and the Supreme Commander of Indian Armed Forces, Shri Ram Nath Kovind awarded the President’s Colour to the Submarine Arm of the Indian Navy on 08 December 2017. Licence: CC BY 2.5 in

Jitu Rai: From a village lad to a national hero.

10 April 2018: Jitu Rai of the Army Marksmanship Unit (AMU) Mhow is all smiles after having set a new Commonwealth Games record in the 10m Air Pistol event at the XXI Commonwealth Games being held  at Gold Coast Australia. 

Jitu had joined the 11th Gurkha Rifles as a young village lad from Nepal who had lost his father (also a soldier of the Indian Army). He was identified as a potential ace shooter and brought to the AMU Mhow for specialised coaching. He has been undergoing rigorous training there. He was even sent back twice to his parent unit (5th Battalion 11 Gurkha Rifles) when his performance slipped. Since 2014 he has been on a medal winning spree and even though he missed out on an Olympics medal at Rio his best is yet to come. Looking forward to more medals from you Jitu.

L to R: Kerry Bell (Aus) Silver medal, Jitu Rai Gold medal, Om Prakash Mitharval, Bronze medal.

His colleague from AMU Mhow Om Prakash Mitharval won the bronze medal (214.2/261.6) and the Australian shooter Kerry Bell won the silver (235.5/261.6). Om Prakash is also an Infantry man, he belongs to the Rajputana Rifles regiment.

The shooters trained at the Army Marksmanship Unit Mhow have so far won 556 medals in various international competitions and have done the nation proud. 

Pics courtesy Army Marksmanship Unit, Mhow.

Ace Shooter Jitu Rai Gets Ready For The Commonwealth Games

According to an article by Sabi Hussain in the Times of India dated Feb 28, 2018 Jitu Rai is using meditation, swimming and yoga to stay mentally and physically fit. "I am practising at the Army Marksman Unit in Mhow and not at the national camp. The target is to win medals at the CWG, Asian Games and ISSF World Championships in South Korea. I am leaving for Mexico to compete at the first World Cup of the season in Guadalajara in March. There are no injury concerns and I am confident of delivering results,” said Jitu.     More here. 

200 years of Mhow: The Battle of Mahidpur and the Treaty of Mandsaur

Dec 21 2017 was the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Mahidpur (Third Anglo Maratha War) in which the Holkar Army led by their young king Malhar Rao Holkar II lost to the East India Company Army led by Sir Thomas Hislop and Major General John Malcolm.

On 6 January 1818 the Treaty of Mandsaur was signed by Sir John Malcolm on behalf of the East India Company and Minister Tatya Jog on behalf of the ruler Malhar Rao Holkar II. Article 7 of this treaty led to the creation of Mhow Cantonment. This is how it reads: Article 7. In consideration of the cessions made by this Treaty, the British Government binds itself to support a field force to maintain the internal tranquility of the territories of Mulhar Rao Holkar and to defend them from foreign enemies; this force shall be of such strength as shall be judged adequate to the object. It shall be stationed where the British Government determines to be best, and (In; Maharajah Mulhar Rao Holkar agrees to grant some place of security as a depot for its stores. (Source: https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Mandsaur) 

This is how the Wikipedia entry on the same battle reads:

The Battle of Mahidpur was fought during the Third Anglo-Maratha Warbetween the Holkar faction of the Maratha Confederacy and the British East India Company at Mahidpur, a town in the Malwa region, on 21 December 1817.

On 21 December 1817, the British, led by Sir Thomas Hislop, attacked the Holkar army led by 11-year-old Maharaja Malhar Rao Holkar II, 22-year-old Hari Rao Holkar and 20-year-old Bhima Bai Holkar. The Holkar artillery, led by Roshan Beg, attacked them with a long line of 63 cannons. At one point, the British were on the verge of losing the battle. However, they were helped by Gafur Khan, a traitor in the Holkar's camp. Khan deserted the battlefield with the force under his command. After this, the Holkars were decisively defeated.^[1]

Malhar Rao II, Tatya Jog and others escaped to Alot.^[1] A peace treaty was signed on 6 January 1818 at Mandsaur. Holkars accepted all the terms laid down by Britishers in the Treaty of Mandsaur. At the conclusion of this Third Anglo-Maratha War, the Holkars lost much of their territory to the British and were incorporated into the British Raj as a princely state of the Central India Agency.

This battle led to the final destruction of Maratha power. Baji Rao II, who was trying to consolidate Marathas, finally surrendered in June 1818. British abolished the position of Peshwa, and Marathas were limited to the small kingdom of Satarauntil its annexation to Bombay state in 1848.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Mahidpur

A metre gauge train journey which cannot be done any more...

The metre gauge line is functioning between Mhow and Sanawad. A small part of the long journeys it used to traverse till some years ago. On Aug 15 2016 a small group of train enthusiasts took a train journey on this route from Akola to Mhow. Though this was not so long ago it was from a different era if one were to look at it in a 'rail' sense. The railway station still had the old name 'Mhow.'
Soon only memories will remain.

Here is the link and the description as given by Pawan Koppa

On Independence day 2016, we undertook one final journey on the Akola - Mhow Passenger powered by Mhow's YDM-4 #6719. The line was going to be truncated soon to a small portion which remains today : Mhow - Sanawad. My last trip on this line was in 2010 between Akola and Indore. I was raring to do it again and I got one last chance to do it along with Jayasankar Madhavadas, Aditya S Nivarthi and Rajeev Nair. It was one unforgettable journey which will be remembered by us always - from the rustic rural greens to the lovely samosas at Akot, the Dhulghat Spiral, the banker attachement at Kalakund and climbing up the ghats between Kalakund and Patalpani - this was one unforgettable trip! Presenting you a small snapshot of the MG journey omboard the 52974 Akola - Mhow Passenger


Click here to see the video

And for lovers of the Kalakund to Patalpani ghat section there's quite a lot of stuff here.