Of Yul Brynner, a Siamese king and the Relics of the Buddha

Sometimes one thing reminds one of another, sometimes the linkages come together to forge a tale.Was listening to the musical, ‘The King and I’ Starring the magnificent Yul Brynner and Deborah Kerr, and was reminded of several connections that tell quite a story.
The musical  is based on the 1944 novel 'Anna and the King of Siam' by Margaret Landon, which is in turn derived from the memoirs of Anna Leonowens, Governess to the children of King Mongkut ( Rama IVth ) of Siam in the early 1860s. (1861-67). The musical's plot relates the experiences of Anna, a British schoolteacher hired as part of the King's drive to modernize his country. The relationship between the King and Anna is marked by conflict through much of the piece, as well as by a love that neither can admit. The musical premiered on March 29, 1951, at Broadway's St. James Theatre. It is one of longest-running Broadway musical in history, and has had many tours and revivals.

The Thai  king featured here, Rama IVth responsible for the modernization of Thailand became ill with malaria in 1867 along with the then 15 year old future king Rama Vth. The ruling monarch passed away, the English teacher ( who falsely attributed the darkness of her complexion to her Irish ancestry, but was actually  Anglo-Indian, it was later discovered), then on a leave of absence for six months was visiting England where her daughter was, she intended to admit her son in a boarding school there and return with her daughter. Learning of the King's death, she never returned to Thailand, though she kept up correspondence with her former pupil Rama Vth, the new King.

This new king received in 1899, the relics discovered in the Piparhawa Stupa by William Pepe, amateur archaeologist and private British owner of Birdpore Estate.located about 60 miles north of the town of Gorakhpur, in north India.The discovery was marked by controversy on account of the fact that William Fuhrer, chief archaeologist of the then government of India, had access to the discoveries within four weeks of the unearthing. It was discovered soon thereafter that Fuhrer was responsible for several  forgeries and was a fraud. When the scandal broke he resigned in disgrace. The British were now faced with the problem of authenticating the relics discovered in Piparhawa about which both Fuhrer and Vincent Smith, the famous historian, and an official of the government of India  were of the opinion that they were of the Sakya Muni, Budha, the one-eighth share of the relics granted to his home clan the Sakas, buried there by them.the original burial would have been a simple one, the grand Stupa was built over the burial site, by Asoka Maurya ( the Mauryan king Asoka the Great), along with the precious offerings of gold and gems discovered there.

Faced with the controversy however, the British quickly sought to get the relics out of the country. William Pepe’s family retained a part of the jewels discovered, the relics were offered to Rama the Vth, Buddhist, King of Siam, in 1899, (Lord Curzon was Viceroy of India then)  who housed them in the Golden Stupa, in Bangkok, Thailand, where they remain. The large stone casket, Ashokan in all probability as well as the urn which originally contained the relics with the Sanskrit inscription in Brahmi script on it, are housed in the National Museum in Calcutta.

It would be a tremendous event if all this could be put together and precise authentication arrived at, all things are interconnected after all...

निज़ामुद्दीन रेल वे स्टेशन

निज़ामुद्दीन रेल वे स्टेशन

उम्र से पहले बूढ़े हो चले
घिसे पिटे से लोग
वक़्त ने रगड़ रगड़ काठी झुका दी है 
ग़ुरबत कन्धों पे ढो रहे लोग
नज़र नीची आवाज़ सुस्त
भीड़ बहुत है
और अकेलापन भी
सीढ़ियों से ऊपर नीचे जाते
कोई किसी का बोझ साँझा नहीं करता
कोई मुस्कुराता भी नहीं
सभी अपने अपने खाँचे में बंद हैं
ट्रेन के डब्बे हों जैसे
जुड़े जुड़े भी कटे कटे भी
जाना सभी को वहीं है
लगाम किसी और के हाथ है
बड़ी बेबसी की बात है ...
-विनी
१३/११/१६

ट्रैफ़िक

 ट्रैफ़िक 
आज फिर पुल पर बहुत ट्रैफ़िक था,
ग़र्म शोले सी हो चली थी गाड़ी,
यूँ लगा मुझे के हम सब बूढ़े हो चले हैं जैसे,
मेरा शहर, उसकी सड़कें, और मैं, 
यूँ हम सब जवान थे कभी,
चमचमाते, तेज़ रफ़्तार, कहीं जाना था, कोई मंज़िल थी ,
जाने ये कब हुआ, कैसे हुआ के,
वक़्त ने चमक छीन ली, रफ़्तार थाम ली,
मंज़िलें भुला दीं,
अब सड़कों के रंग उतर गए हैं, शहर सुस्त है और मैं थक गयी हूँ,
कुछ यूँ के अब कहीं पहुँचने की कोई जल्दी नहीं,
ट्रैफ़िक में फँसी ग़र्म शोले सी हो चली गाड़ी में
बैठे रहना भी,
कोई तिलमिलाहट नहीं पैदा करता,
बस एक इंसानी बेबसी सी है,
पुल के इस पार से उस पार तक के सफ़र की,
और इस पुल पर भी,
ट्रैफ़िक बहुत है...
-विनी ४/११/१६