Footprints of Indian Freedom Fighters in London: 1

During a recent visit to London, while looking up something online, I came across some interesting information about Ambedkar House, a building where Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar, the architect of the Constitution of India had lived in 1921-1922. The house comprising a basement and ground plus two floors was purchased by the government of Maharashtra in 2015 to turn it into a museum. Later in 2023, the central government took control of the property. It is being maintained as a memorial to the great crusader, and is open to public for visits. I was thrilled with this information and made a plan to go there soon. 

It materialised on a bright sunny morning. The house is situated at 10 King Henry's Road in north London in a leafy residential neighbourhood. Standing outside the house and looking at the blue plaque (according to Wikipedia, a blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place in the United Kingdom, and certain other countries and territories, to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person, event, or former building on the site, serving as a historical marker) displayed at the entrance, I was filled with awe. 

Ambedkar arrived in London somewhere around 1915 to study at the London School of Economics and Political Science. He also enrolled at the Gray's Inn to study law. In 1922, he was called to the bar by the Gray's Inn and became a barrister-at-law. Later he returned to India and started practising law in Bombay.

His stay in London, his education and his experiences must have certainly played a role in shaping his personality. This house and the well-maintained museum inside offers us a peek into his life and times. The house has a lovely garden at the back which is accessible through the basement. But unfortunately this part was closed due to maintenance work. I noticed from the first floor window that a bronze statue of Ambedkar stood in the garden. Railway tracks run just outside the boundary wall of the house.

An attendant ushers us inside the house on the ground floor. This floor features a bronze bust of Ambedkar against a large window. It is adorned with garlands and flower pots. Pictures from various events in his life are on display on the walls. It is a bright day outside and the sun streaming through the windows fills the house with positive vibes. 

We take the wooden staircase to go to the first floor. The room facing the street outside has a comfortable sofa in it. The walls are lined with shelves where books in blue covers are arranged neatly. The fireplace and more pictures on the walls give a warm and cosy feel to the place.

The other room features a large dining table. It is strewn with bound copies of the Constitution of India and laminated copies of letters written by Ambedkar to friends and associates in English and Marathi. The letters offer us a glimpse into the ideas and thoughts of this stalwart. Going through some of them gave me goosebumps. In a letter written from London on 30th December 1932 in Marathi to someone called Bhaurao, Ambedkar has expressed his deep disappointment and sadness about the fact that back home, people belonging to community A thought that he favoured community B, while people belonging to community B felt that he sided with community A. Another one addressed to the same person and written in English on the 29th October 1930 mentions the upcoming Round Table Conference on November 12. The collection of letters is quite fascinating!

Photos by Lata

The Second floor houses Ambedkar's bedroom and his personal belongings like writing pad, spectacles and clothes. A bed occupies the centre of the room. One of the pictures on the wall mentions a silver ink pot that was presented to Ambedkar by Lord and Lady Mountbatten when they had invited him and his wife for lunch. The ink pot has a portrait of the Queen of England carved on it. The House along with important documents and pictures, contains such interesting trivia giving visitors a well-rounded experience.

We leave the Ambedkar House fully satiated and impressed. 

There are many more blue plaques in London commemorating several Indians who were a part of the freedom movement decades ago. More on them in the next post!

At The Tribal Museum In Bhopal!

I visited the Madhya Pradesh Tribal Museum in Bhopal recently. And I was very happy that I did. Inaugurated on June 6, 2013, this lovely space offers a glimpse into the lives of various tribes of this diverse land. The entire museum is a work of art. The exhibits are simple everyday items used by the tribal people, but each and every one of them exudes beauty.

From the outside, the museum resembles a huge thatched hut. The tall walls are adorned with large wooden murals depicting life along the river Narmada. The museum is divided into six sections: Cultural Diversity, Tribal Life, Tribal Aesthetic, Tribal Spiritual World, Guest States and Exhibition Gallery. Once you buy your ticket and start exploring, you feel as if you were in a tribal wonderland.

Dwellings made with clay, bamboo, mud, grass and leaves are not only pleasing to the eye, but they also tell you about the lives of their inhabitants. One gets a peek into how they keep their cattle, how important their courtyard is to them, how they store their food grains. A mammoth food grain container dominates the view in one of the sections. The array of cooking vessels and accompanying stuff makes for interesting viewing too.

In another section the exhibits focus on their wedding rituals, jewellery, combs, birth and death rituals, farming, singing and dancing, costumes and other things. A gigantic bangle is the centre of attraction in one of the halls. It is a replica of a bangle that is given to the new bride while welcoming her into her marital home. Symbols of productivity like a pair of ploughing bullocks, farmer, field are ingrained on this bangle and the bride is supposed to keep this with her as a lucky charm while preparing seeds.

Music is an important part of tribal life. A mind-boggling variety of drums, string instruments, wind instruments and others occupy pride of place in a hall.

The tribal people have their own belief system, their own deities and their own symbols. A pillar, stone, stick or flag are often their objects of worship. The section showcasing their spiritual world could be called the most abstract amongst all since it is indeed hard to conceptualise.

The guest state featured presently is Chhattisgarh. It was a part of Madhya Pradesh until it was carved out of it on November 1, 2000 to be made a separate state. There is a large tribal presence in this state. The tribal homes featured here are simply awesome because of their pretty lattices made with bamboo and clay.

Photos by Lata

The exhibition gallery opens out before us the world of games played by tribal children. Their games need minimal or no objects, but they are designed cleverly towards making the players physically and mentally strong. It is amazing how many types of games they play inside or outside their homes. This gallery has real photographs as well as models of kids playing a particular game. A short description of the game is displayed too. An interesting and rather unique presentation!

Gond, Bheel, Korku, Baiga, Sahariya, Kol, Bhariya...terms that were just obscure names for us suddenly start making sense once you see--even if fleetingly--how they live their lives in the lap of nature, how well-developed their aesthetic sense is and how intelligently they devise ways to make the best of their minimalist surroundings.

Any downside? Well, the space may look too bright and a bit kitschy to some. That could be because it is still quite new and too many exhibits are on display, crowding the halls and the galleries.  But it does bring together many aspects of tribal life under one roof.

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On a different note...when I was there, a big group of men, women and children had descended on the museum. They were not only loud and indisciplined, they showed utter disregard for the exhibits by touching them, scrambling around them for getting pictures taken, passing comments inanely, running, climbing and in general making a nuisance in the otherwise quiet halls. The museum attendants did request them to be silent or speak softly, but their polite pleas fell on deaf ears. It was only after the group had left that peace returned to the museum.