Dehradun, July 27
The 200-year-old wall paintings at the Radha Krishna temple located in Old Rajpur town have received a new lease of life after being restored by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).

A canopy of the Radha-Krahna Temple. Tribune photo: Vinod Pundir

Located in a nondescript corner of Old Rajpur, which was once part of the “donkey trail” leading to Mussoorie, the beautiful frescos of the community temple would have been lost for ever but for the intervention of a local resident, who did not wish to be named, even as others were ready to whitewash them.

They were instead informed about the historical importance of the paintings and then galvanised to protect them.

Albeit the temple is not under ASI protection, in a unique gesture, paintings of historical importance were restored while maintaining their originality. 

“In the spirit of true conservation, nothing was added so as to maintain originality. “The existing frescos were consolidated so that they can face adversaries of time, weather and human intervention. There are a lot of houses that have frescos and they should not be destroyed. We are ready to restore them,” said KS Rana, director, ASI, Chemist Branch.

The ASI extended technical expertise along with financial help from the Culture Department, which provided Rs 5,30,000 towards the work that was carried out under the stewardship of Manager Singh, archaeological chemist, and a private restorer from Delhi, Sharan Bhooi.

“In fact, an informal women’s committee has been donating towards the upkeep of the temple from time to time,” said Ram Kishore Bhatt, the temple priest.

In keeping with the traditions of conservation, the restorers injected lime into two paintings to provide strength and used chemicals to arrest flaking. The existing frescos were cleansed, dusted and years of soot that had accumulated due to burning of incense, was removed.

“No acrylics or colours were used to highlight the paintings as has been at the Guru Ram Rai temple, where we have carried out restoration work,” said Rana.

The historians informed that the paintings are a blend of Rajasthani and Pahari schools; there is less flamboyance in the use of colours; and the striking feature is the theme devoted to Radha and Krishna.

“The artists may have come from Delhi and were well-versed with Pahari and Rajasthani themes. Although attired in beautiful jewellery, especially the nose ring, Radha’s elegance is understated in keeping with the Pahari tradition. Even the ceiling of the temple has been decorated with symmetrical designs,” added Rana.

Although fresco art is extremely rare, in Dehradun the Darbar Sahib paintings are in fresco and Tempera style. But at the Radha Krishna temple, the style is distinctively fresco, in which pigments are mixed with water without the use of binding agent and then applied on freshly laid plaster or lime.

At that time, the artists only used vegetables and mineral extracts or dyes for paintings. Inside the sanctum sanctorum of the temple, the idols of Krishna and Radha are believed to be very old.

“The idol of Krishna is made of black granite while that of Radha is of marble. They are probably around 200 years old,” informed the temple priest. 

Mussoorie, July 27
A coniferous tree indigenous to the mountains is the Cypress or the “Mayurpankhi”, called so because of the resemblance of its hairy leaves and cones to that of peacock feathers.

The evergreen Cypress, found in abundance in the hills, is also known as ‘Saru’ in the Jaupur-Jaunsaar region. It has a reddish-brown trunk with bushy branches, which are adorned by sticky green cones in May and June. The leaves and cones are highly aromatic and are recommended for various therapies.

The cones tear up into fragments when dried and are the favourite food of mountain squirrels and flying foxes. The green cones, with its sticky sap, have been used by the hill folk as a sedative in case of mild to heavy cough.

The crushed cones when boiled in water release a thick oily syrup, which has been used as a blood circulation enhancer and stimulator for the veins.

The same syrup is also used in acute cases of haemorrhoids.

In some western countries, the Cypress is considered as the tree of the “god of death” and is planted widely in and around cemeteries.

On the other hand, according to Tibetan beliefs, the Cypress fumes have the power to influence holy spirits. Tibetans collect the green leaves of tree and let them dry up in confined places inside their houses. These are then burnt, amidst chants, in specially made ovens on hilltops, so that the fumes reach high and far.

Children often use the green cones for various games and the dried ones are used to adorn interiors of the houses. The fresh leaves and the cones, both green and dry, are in high demand in the floriculture industry worldwide. Cypress cones are also used by various spas.

Since the tree is a fast-growing variety, it is used extensively in plantation drives. An Eco-Task Force of the Army and the students from Mussoorie had planted Cypress trees in large numbers along the slopes of Mussoorie-Dehradun highway two decades ago. Today, those trees have grown healthy and tall.

Such plantations, which are not happening anymore, should be encouraged more by the state forest and horticulture departments and by groups who are concerned about the welfare of forests as well as the ecology as a whole.

Dehradun, July 27
Uttarakhand continues to excel in the implementation of the Right to Information (RTI) Act. In its three years of existence, the Uttarakhand Information Commission (UIC), while espousing the cause of RTI, has not only succeeded in sensitising the masses vis-à-vis the Act, it has also penalised offenders.

The UIC’s work have been recognised not only in the state but across the country. An NGO, Participatory Research in Asia, rated Uttarakhand’s UIC as one of the best in the country.

In its judgements, the Uttarakhand Information Commission has made the ‘babus’ sit up and have created new benchmarks of governance. The UIC, headed by Dr RS Tolia, has an excellent track record in disposing of appeals and complaints. By July 21, the commission had a disposal rate of 97.4 per cent that is quite high by national standards.

For the first time in the country, the UIC set up an External Review Committee to keep a tab on implementation of RTI across various departments. The committee looked at all departments and other bodies individually and even accorded them performance-based ranking.

In an ‘one of its kind’ judgement, the UIC directed the state government to document all government orders and Cabinet decisions.

It also directed the documentation of detailed information regarding the status of implementation of Cabinet decisions and even reasons behind its implementation. This is to ensure the availability of these government orders.

It was also due to the UIC’s intervention that new areas had been included within the urban bodies area across the state after shifting it from the Revenue Department.

The commission also launched a website taking the RTI close to the people. Now, the commission has started updating the website themselves, no more depending on the NIC.The commission also succeeded in sensitising society towards the importance of exercising the powers vested in the RTI Act. While only 1,385 RTI applications were received by Public Information Officers in 2005-06, the figures jumped to 9,691 in 2006-07 and to 15,640 in 2007-08.

In 2008-09, Public Information Officers received a staggering 27,148 RTI applications at various departments.