College Magazine

182 Pages·2014·29.38 MB·English

Editors' Note……….
Dear Readers,
Welcome to the English section of this Magazine!
As you all know about the purpose of any College Magazine, this issue of “Devika” also provides
platform to many budding writers to “speak their mind” and “exhibit their talent”. We got a tremen-
dous response from the students and found them quite excited to write and publish. But it claimed a
lot of patience and labor on our part. Sitting with the students, motivating them, training them, checking
the drafts, modifying them etc. did bring enviable results. To our satisfaction students could under-
stand what it meant when, while responding to their quarries about the topics, we advised, “Observe
the things and life around you closely and you will not have to hunt for ideas.” Not only this they could
also catch the spirit behind it when we stressed on originality. Dorjey's creations, Rameeta's gospel of
peace, Rohit's search for a lost paradise, Rattan's counsels, Dogra's piece on culture and many more
deserve appreciation, especially poems where ideas and diction complement each other. Dr. Anuradha
Sharma's and Mr. Anil Paba's guest articles added further flavor and grace to this section. Teachers
have also contributed immensely to inspire the students on issues of contemporary importance espe-
cially Prof. Romesh's wake-up call for gender-equilibrium deserves attention. Dr. Bhanoo's discourse
on Mathematics, Prof. Verma's exploration on Sericulture softwares, Prof. Ajay's explanation of Jaina
Ethics, Prof. Sarvar's issue of medicinal plants, Dr. Revika's alarms for sustainable development and
Sudhir's call for a balanced life style patterns teach the students how a string of thought needs to be
developed and weaved into a meaningful pattern. Prof. Tara Nath's interest-claiming translated Dogri
folk tale delineates how rich Dogri literature is and understanding of own culture helps one to be a
complete person. We hope that the students will keep on giving vent to their innermost feelings into
words-may be another Shakespeare or Tagore is discovered.
With a sense of gratitude to our contributors, we request you to go through the section and if
possible, tell us where we need to improve further.
Happy Reading!
Editorially yours
Prof. Sudhir Singh
Prof. Shaveta Gupta
1
THE KING AND THE JACKAL
(A Dogri Folk Tale in Translation)
Sh.Tara Nath
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF DOGRI
Once upon a time there was a King who was very honest, religious
minded and judicious. Every one was very happy in his kingdom. One day a
Jackal howled at noon. The King heard the howling and became thoughtful
and worried. He called one of his Ministers and said, "Some unfortunate hap-
pening may occur in our kingdom. I have heard from the elders that the howl-
ing of a Jackal during the day time and the cawing of a crow at night is omi-
nous. You go and ask the Jackal why he howled". The Minister went and
asked the Jackal, "Why were you howling. What was your problem?"
The Jackal said to the Minister, "Who are you to ask me this?"
The Minister replied, "The King has sent me to enquire why you howled at
noon?"
The Jackal replied, "Ask your King to come to me himself alone. I will tell him the reason of my howling
during the day". The Minister left, went to the King and told him what the Jackal had said. The King heard
the Minister and went to meet the Jackal. On reaching the spot, he said to the Jackal, "Why did you howl
at noon?"
The Jackal replied, "Your Highness, we are very happy in your rule but we will suffer a lot because
after four days a Snake will bite you at noon and you will die. This was the reason of my howling at noon."
When the King heard the Jackal he felt sad. He asked him, "What is the remedy of this calamity?"
The Jackal replied, "Your Highness, I have a remedy. Both the sides of the way through which the
Snake will crawl should be decorated with flowers. Besides, there should be arranged wells and drains of
flavoured milk. The Snake will enjoy the fragrance of flowers and remain busy with the milk. He would
forget to bite you and miss that time. In this way the calamity can be avoided and your life saved.”
The King heard all this patiently. When he went back to his palace he called his Ministers and
courtiers and told them the whole story. He told them about the suggestions given by the Jackal to avoid
the calamity. He ordered them to get the whole work done in two days. Accordingly everything was com-
plete well-in-time. The Snake came out of his hole and went to the palace to bite the King. He saw both the
sides of the way decorated with flowers. There were drains and wells full of flavoured milk. The Snake
remained busy with the milk and enjoyed the fragrance of the flowers. He missed the time and forgot to bite
the King. When the Snake remembered his job he felt sorry. He then called the King. The King went with
fear. He said to the Snake, "Bite me".
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The Snake replied, "I have missed the time. Now I cannot bite you. Don't tell anybody about my
visit. If you tell anybody you will die". The King assured the Snake that he would not disclose the story to
any one. He returned to his palace and the Snake left and entered his hole.
When King reached his palace the Queen asked him, "What did the Snake say to you?"The King
said, "If I tell you I will die".
But the Queen insisted, "Whether you live or die I would like to hear from you what did the Snake
say to you". When the Queen insisted the King to tell her everything, he suggested, "Let us go to the holy
Ganges. I will tell you there what you want to know. There I will get salvation after my death.” The queen
agreed.
A He-goat heard them talking. He at once went home and told the whole story to his wife. The She-
goat said to the He-goat, “ The King is an honest and religious person. Let us try to save him. Think upon a
plan.”
The He-goat replied, “I have a plan if you agree to play a drama". There is a Jujube tree near the well
in the way to the holy Ganges. When the King and the Queen take rest you should ask me to bend the
branch of that tree. I will say that I cannot bend it because I may fall in to the well. You should insist upon
it. Then I will start beating you. I will tell you that I am not like that King who is ready to end his life to keep
his wife happy. You should apologize and then say that you shall not do this in future. The King will get the
hint from our drama. He will hit upon a plan to save his life.”
Next day when the King and the Queen were on their way to the holy Ganges they took rest near the
well. The He-goat and the She-goat enacted their pre-planned drama. She-goat said to He-goat, "Bend the
branch of this tree for I want to eat its leaves. The He -goat refused to do so and said, "I will not bend this
branch. I may fall into the well if I do so".
The She-goat said, "Whether you live or die I have to eat the leaves”. Then the He -goat struck her
with force thrice and said, "I am not like that King who is ready to die to keep his Queen happy". The She-
goat apologized and ran away.
The King watched the He-goat in rapt attention. He felt ashamed. He picked up a stick and started
beating his Queen. The Queen cried, fell upon the feet of the King and said, "My Lord, forgive me. I will not
do so in future". They went back to their palace and lived happily everafter.
This tale has been translated in English from collection of folk tales “Dogri Lok-Kathan
(Manukh to Parmatama)” Part IV P.122 published by J&K Academy of Art Culture and
Languages.
(cid:91)(cid:91)(cid:91)
3
ALUMNI COLUMN
BAILI: DISCOVERY OF A NEW ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE
SH.ANIL PABA
Alumnus, 1984-86 Batch
The present paper seeks to highlight the archaeological importance of
one of the areas situated almost in the interior of the district town Udhampur
viz: Baili having close links with popularly known archaeological site Kirmachi.
Kirmachi is located at 32°.58' Latitude,75° .9' in length has an elevation
of 2500 feet above the sea level. It is a small village, situated 12 K.M. North West
of Udhampur city. Kirmachi was the capital of small ancient principality state
called Bhoti. According to Diwan Narsingh Dass Nargis, the kings who ruled
over Kirmachi were called Bhutials. Later S.D.S. Charak and Anita Billawaria,
provided information on history of Bhoti. At present it is a small village on one
side of the tributary of the river Devak called Buteshwari. The Kirmachi has its
own history as it was an important station on the trade route to Kashmir. Federick
Drew in the 2nd half of the 19th century found Kirmachi well connected with
areas such as Jammu, Dansal, Mir, Lander, Billaut, Ramban, Ramsu,
Devgoi,Verinag,Anantnag,Avantipur and Srinagar. This place at one time was the main business centre
where people from Punjab, Jammu and other nearby places would come to transect their business. It was
also a halting place for the travelers and merchants. This statement is supported by the travelogue of
Frederick Drew which was compiled in 1875A.D. and the travelogue of Richard Garnack Temple. The
village has a cluster of temples popularly known as Pandavas’ temples. It is believed that Keechak of
Mahabharata was the creator of this town and the kingdom around.
It is also suggested that Pandavas while in exile remained there for pretty long period and erected these
temples. The beautiful location of the temples is not visible from the main road and in early days the area was
covered with dense woods and therefore, were missed by the earlier adventurers. R.C. Kak while discussing
the other antiquities of Jammu region has made no mention of these temples. Even Frederick Drew mentions
only fort of Kirmachi and dry tank. However, various other historians like Billawaria Thakur Kahan Singh,
Nargis, Dewan Narsingh Dass,G.N. Ganhar, V.N.Khajuria,Y.B Singh,S.D.S.Charak,Anita Billawaria,Anita
and others, some of whom visited the site give different views about the Kirmachi village and the temple
complex. But none of them had explored the site of the location, reason might be the dense and invisible site
Kirmachi as it was known at once upon a time the main business centre. However, many questions were
raised about the civilization, business, architecture and sculptures of these temples. Even Hutchison and Vogel
have mentioned about the temples and ancient fort but remain silent about the people and the period.
During excavation of conservation work at temple complex by the Archaeological Survey of India
(ASI), a large number of terracotta figurines, copper coins, iron arrow heads, quern and earthen pots were
found. Besides some of the damaged images of various deities found near by are ascribed to this temple
complex. The presence of old fort and the remains of palace in the Kirmachi reveals the fact there was a strong
Kingdom and the town at one time was an important trading centre where the caravans transacted their
business and was ruled by various dynasties from time to time. I have tried to solve the various mysteries like
the use of iron in Kirmachi and how it influenced the course of history? The presence of various sculptures of
many deities tell us about the religion and people's belief. Economic background of the religious thoughts,
source of production, material used and why it attracted large numbers of caravans. Most importantly, the
presence of the palace, the fort. temple complex etc. depicts that it was definitely a very important place.
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With these questions I started the exploration of the site and discovered various ancient remains which
solved so many mysteries. The site is of the present village Baili and some areas of Lanci and Dabraeh in
Udhampur district wherein the ruins of an ancient civilization are scattered over a wide area of more than
400 Kanals of land. I visited the site several times and found an ancient temple made of stone facing to wards
east, built without the use of any mortar to cement it together in the same way as has been done in Kiramachi
temple complex. Some portion of the temple had crumbled and its parts were lying buried in and around the
area. The main doors of the temple were made of stone's slab that could be opened and closed easily. The
temple seems to built prior to 8th ,9th century A.D. Such types of temples were constructed in other regions
also during the same period. The village Baili is situated on the hill side and about 2K.M. right of Salmeri
village well before the Kirmachi temple's complex. As there was no road link, the villagers used the broken
track called “ Dhakki” (pathway) and it takes half an hour to reach the site from the road via, Kirmachi. There
is a big pond that might have been used for water purpose and it is very much existing in a dilapidated
condtion. The village Baili and some portion of village Lanci abd Dabreah will definitely remain a site of
antiquity from where the maximum area of the land is covered with red ware pottery and terracotta objects.
As per the villagers, traditionally it was also famous and known as Multan city. A deep'well' was used for
drinking purposes made of chiseled stone with the use of steps to approach and some carving stones are also
laid on one side of it. Besides grinding stone, okhalies, copper coins, silver coins grey ware pottery were also
found. The discovery of many stone tools of Paleolithic and Neolithic period tell the nature of work in earlier
times and cultural continuity. Such types of multi-cultural sites are also found in other parts of India.
As the most of the area is covered with pottery, it seems that this site was an important centre of trade.
When we examine the artisanal production and the cultural development of Harrapan culture, we take pot-
tery as source of the development. Similarly, the kinds and qualities of the pottery of this region show the
existence of an urban and industrial centre. The items such as diya(lamp) also show that the artisanal produc-
tion were associated with the persons of each section of society and were used on a large scale because of its
importance from working class to the royal family. It is an established fact that lights in the Indian houses
were understood as a good sign from the socio-relgious point of view. One of the most important features of
the site which shows the economic conditions of that time is that iron was also used in large scale the collec-
tion of many pieces of iron slage suggest the possibility of an industrial site as well. It seems that it had been in
occupation for a long period. The discovery of new site in village Baili appears to be on the side of the trade
route from Kannouj to Kashmir and was a popular one and has been made mention of by Alberuni.
The findings like stone tools, chert, hair pin,graftee mark, different kind of pottery ,grey ware pot-
tery, terra cotta figurines,iron slage,shelling stone, weighing stone, semi-precious stone,beads,temple and
other materials evince that it was a popular and flourishing town.
Thus, one can conclude that the discovery of pottery belonging to different periods and terracotta
artifacts scattered in the larger areas shows that once this Baili was either an important centre for the
transaction of pots etc. or it was a centre of pot manufacturing. The discovery of temple, pond, boawli, well
and tools of domestic use show that this area had a settled population. The discovery of iron-slages show
that this area had some kind of industry.
The discovery of various stone tools depict the socio-economic condition of the inhabitants of this
area, who maintained cultural continuity of the area.
All these archaeological findings evince that Kirmachi temple complex was on the trade route, and
was utilized as a rest house or halting station by the traders. The seat of the ruling dynasties was Baili,
which was an important centre of trade and settled-population.
The author is an alumnus of this College and is currently working as Associate Executive in
Jammu & Kashmir Bank Ltd. An M.Phil. in History from Jammu University, he is actively en-
gaged in research of Dogra Culture and Heritage. He also has an enviable treasure of artefacts and
manuscripts in his Museum ‘Amar-Santosh Museum and Library’ Udhampur.
(cid:91)(cid:91)(cid:91)
5
GUEST COLUMN
FORESTS OF JAMMU: AN OVERVIEW
DR. ANURADHA SHARMA
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF GEOGRAPHY
UNIVERSITY OF JAMMU
The forests are one of the major forms of natural landscape. Originally
over two-fifth of the land area of the Earth, exclusive of Polar Regions or about
23 million square miles, is supposed to have been covered with the primeval
forests. About one-third of this once forested area has been robbed by man and
its natural protection cover has been turned into barren desert. Unlike many of
the natural resources, such as minerals, mineral oils and natural gas forests
have the great advantage of being renewable. But this characteristic depends
on a scientific and skilful art of management. With the activities of man, de-
void of scientific and skilful art, large portions of forested areas are thus turned
into barren lands and man has thereby deprived himself of such a valuable
resource, although unknowingly. But man, certainly, has not acted wisely on
this front in the past.
Forests if, properly managed, can enrich human life in variety of ways both material and psycho-
logical. Poorly managed they can be a source of disruption of the environment of an entire region. These
sources of disruption, which man created unknowingly in the past, resulted in the extinction of many well-
developed and flourishing civilizations. It is said that the decline of Roman Empire is a story of deforesta-
tion, soil exhaustion and soil erosion. Similar is stated to be the story of Mohenjo Daro and Harappa. In
these burried cities we find not only evidence of very flourishing cultures but also of human folly in disturb-
ing nature balance. Working on similar lines, F. Engels is of the view that people who rooted out forests in
Mesopotamia, Greece, Asia Minor and other places to get plough land never dreamt that they were thereby
laying ground for the present desolation of these countries by depriving them of centres for collection and
conservation of moisture. Prof.M.Shafi has expressed similar views on the subject when he says, "History
tells us that the decay of a large number of prospering nations in ancient times has been due to deforesta-
tion. In Greece, Anatolia, Spain and Iraq the destruction of forests has seriously interfered with their
climate and with the moisture content of the soil on which, in the ultimate end, every nation depends. It
will not be an exaggeration to say that deforestation has done more damage than any war and has resulted
in the destruction of the greatest empires. In India the excavations of Harappa and Mohanjo-Daro refer to
the great civilizations which flourished in the Indus valley, but gradual destruction of forests, allowed the
rolling sea of sand to engulf the Colony. Thus we see that forests constitute one of the prized assets of man
which not only moderate climate, reduce soil erosion, regulate stream flow but this resource is a backbone
of the modern economy too, as it provides every possible kind of material values as fuel, building material,
industrial raw materials and many by-products. "One of the most important factors of geographic environ-
ment, exerting an immense influence upon the hydrological and climatic conditions, the soil forming pro-
cesses, the growth and yield of agricultural crops in adjoining fields, the health conditions of populated
places and so forth.
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The importance of forests has a special significance for India where forests roughly occupy 23 per-
cent of the total area with still different percentages arrived at by different departments and research orga-
nizations, notwithstanding. India's total forested area is 75,351 thousand hectares out of which the share of
Jammu and Kashmir state is only 4.5 percent. It is significant to note that Ladakh region is totally devoid
of any forest growth. Out of the total area of the state 69 percent is occupied by Ladakh regions. In the
remaining parts of Jammu and Kashmir region, the forests occupy a very important place. In Kashmir
region 56.56 percent of its area is forested. The corresponding figure for Jammu is 45.51 percent. We can
say that more than half of the Kashmir region is occupied by the forests while little less than half of the
Jammu region has forest cover.
Moreover the forests of the state are second to none in quality and value. The calculated per capita
value of forests is the highest in the country which is Rs. 25.3l as compared to Rs. 3.72 for Madhya
Pradesh, Rs. 2.48 for Kerala, Rs. l.69 for Maharashtra and Rs. l.17 for Uttar Pradesh. The physiography
and climate play an important role in growth of forest. Jammu region has a diverse relief. Starting from
plains in the outer fringes in the South, the altitude goes on increasing as we move northwards. Duns and
intermountain valleys are intersecting features of the Himalayas. Pir Panjal as a natural divide stands
out prominently separating Jammu region from Kashmir valley. There are number of parallel ranges
laid latitudinally. The detailed physiography is discussed taking following important physiographic units
into consideration. The climate of Jammu region experiences lot of variation due to its location, and
topography and relief. Apart from the normal factors that influence the climate, altitude and aspect play
a very vital role in shaping the rainfall and temperature conditions. Due to sudden rise of altitude from
350 meters from outer plains to 6000 meters in the Greater Himalayas there is a considerable fall in the
temperature at higher altitudes thereby influencing the distribution of temperatures. In the valley bot-
toms and plains the normal lapse rate is lower than at 600 meters. Outer plains experience hot and moist
tropical climate but with the rise in altitude to 2,000 meters above mean sea level the climate becomes
cool temperature. A further rise in altitude would obviously reduce the temperatures and at 3000 meters
above mean sea level the climate conditions become severely cold. Beyond 3000 meters above mean sea
level the temperature decreases to such an extent that the climate conditions become almost similar to
that of arctic polar regions. In the summer the westerly jet stream moves to the north of the Himalayas
giving way to the easterly jet stream. The easterly jet stream causes the westerly trade winds in the
Indian Ocean south of equator to move at a greater velocity towards the Indian sub continent. These
winds are the monsoon winds which cause rainfall throughout the sub continent and reach the outskirts
of Jammu hills by almost the first week of July. These winds bring rainfall to entire outer plains, outer
hills and even the middle mountain reasons lying south of Pir Panjal range and covering the entire
Jammu region. Forests types identified in Jammu region are:
* Tropical dry deciduous forests * Sub tropical pine forests
* Sub tropical dry evergreen forest. * Himalayan moist-temperate forest
* Himalayan dry temperate forests * Sub-alpine forests.
* Moist alpine scrub
From the above discussion, it can be derived that the existing forest cover of Jammu needs protec-
tion and further enhancement.
The author is a renowned scholar of Geography and is currently working in Jammu
University as Associate Professor of Geography.She has many national and international
publications to her credit.
(cid:91)(cid:91)(cid:91)
7
MATHEMATICS IN THE SERVICE OF MAN
Dr. Udhey Bhanoo
Associate Professor of Mathematics
Mathematics is a systematized, organised and exact Science. The origin
of Mathematics is as old as the man itself. It is believed , rather it is a fact, that
mathematics originates from the counting numbers which the primitive man
used for counting things around his environment. Originally he used various
ways such as fingers, notches, cuts in the trees, lines on ground and pebbles etc
to count objects. The present notation system 1,2,3,… for counting numbers was
given by the Hindus (the Indians) but communicated to the rest of the world by
the Arabs, as a result of which it is called as 'Hindu-Arabic' system of notation or
numerals. Starting from the counting numbers Mathematics today has attained
such a height that even two persons working in same branch of Mathematics
cannot understand each other's work easily.
As Mathematics originated from the use of the counting numbers, in
older days it is considered as the science of quantity and numbers. When the idea of sets was given by
George Cantor in earlier nineteenth century, Mathematics was considered as the study of sets with Alge-
braic and topological (Geometrical) structures. As a result of this George Cantor is known as the Father of
Modern Mathematics. Now-a-days Mathematics is considered as the language of science and technology
which itself explains how important is Mathematics.
We are living in an age of science and technology and it is Mathematics that has pushed and has been
pushing forward the scientific and technical knowledge, discovery and invention. Mathematics has played a
very important role in building us a modern civilization by perfecting all sciences. It is no exaggeration to say
that we cannot live without mathematics. There is hardly anything ever done in Mathematics, which has
proved to be useless. Almost each one of us uses fundamental process of Mathematics in daily life. It is possible
that a man who does not know how to read and write can get on very well but he can never pull on without
learning how to count and calculate. A person who is ignorant of Mathematics can be cheated easily.
Mathematical considerations are uppermost in the human mind in all the major activities of life. All
the agencies like accounting, banking, business, tailoring, carpentry, taxation, insurance, postal jobs, etc.
by which the needs of man are fulfilled depend upon mathematics for their successful functioning. Math-
ematics has become the basis of the entire world's business and commercial system. According to Napolean,
“The progress and the improvement of Mathematics are linked to the prosperity of the Society.”
Ignorance of Mathematics in the people of a country is a formidable obstacle in the way of its
progress. Budgeting is indispensible for an individual, a family, a society and a country as it depends upon
Mathematics. Natural progress like rising and setting of the Sun, appearing of stars and moon etc. the
change of seasons, formation of days and night also follow Mathematics principles. In order to create a
system in life, we have to fix timing, prices, wages, rates, ration fares, targets, exchange, discounts etc. and
that way we depend upon Mathematics.
(cid:91)(cid:91)(cid:91)
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