Latest news with #MotilalNehru
Hindustan Times
18 hours ago
- General
- Hindustan Times
Step inside Nehru family's 2 Allahabad homes: Both Swaraj Bhawan and Anand Bhawan mix colonial and Indian architecture
In an August 15, 2024 article, Architectural Digest India captured glimpses of both Anand Bhawan and Swaraj Bhawan, 'the Nehru family's ancestral homes in Allahabad (now known as Prayagraj)' – both were central to India's freedom struggle, with many prominent leaders and activists visiting and meeting there. Also read | Step inside Juhi Chawla husband Jai Mehta's timeless and whimsical ancestral home in Gujarat's Porbandar built in 1920s Anand Bhawan and Swaraj Bhawan are two historic houses in Prayagraj (formerly Allahabad). (Pictures: Instagram/ Architectural Digest India, Simon Watson) Inside photos of Anand Bhawan Anand Bhawan, located in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, was the brainchild of Motilal Nehru, a prominent leader in India's freedom struggle and father of Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first Prime Minister. Alongside inside photos of the home, the publication shared that the first-floor library in Anand Bhawan was the soul of a household full of avid readers and more than any particular architect, the spirit behind the construction of Anand Bhawan was Motilal Nehru himself. The building showcases a mix of Indian and Western architectural styles, with intricate details and ornate features. The magnificent structure with 'onion domes, decorative railings, jalis and rich internal embellishments, such as the plasterwork on this stairwell', served as the residence of the Nehru family and played a significant role in India's independence movement. Inside photos of Swaraj Bhawan The publication shared that 'the older, and more stately, of the two Nehru residences is where the foundations of the Non-cooperation Movement were laid'. It now functions as a museum. The bungalow, with a mix of colonial and Indian architectural elements, features arches framing the veranda, Nandi sculptures at the courtyard entrance, a central courtyard that showcases the blend of architectural styles, and endless corridors leading to different rooms. Did you know Swaraj Bhawan boasts of a colonial-era swimming pool, a rare feature in historic Indian homes? The massive home is a blend of Western and Indian cultural influences, showcasing the cultural exchange and adaptation that occurred during the colonial era.
Hindustan Times
20-06-2025
- General
- Hindustan Times
Delhiwale: Purple prose
Plop! That's the sound these berries make after they fall from the tree, their purple juice sometimes squirting out in all directions on hitting the hard earth. The stains explain that why Walled City hawker Kishore is no longer hawking bananas. He is, instead, carrying a basket of these berries on his head, walking all day from gali to gali, hoarsely crying, 'jamun walla, jamun le lo.' Say hello to Delhi's jamun season. This evening, at a central Delhi roundabout, scores of men have gathered around a jamun tree, violently shaking its branches, causing the berries to fall, one after another. These jamuns will later be gathered for an impromptu feast. Some metres away, street vendor Mahaveer's cart is left with only a tiny pile of neatly arranged jamuns. He gets them every morning from Azadpur Subzi Mandi, where they arrive from Punjab, he says. But our own city-state is full of jamun trees. Crisscrossed with leafy avenues, the beautiful Lutyens' Delhi is rich with eight so-called avenue trees, one of them being jamun. (Others are neem, arjun, imli, sausage tree, baheda, peepal and pilkhan). Each year, the authorities auction the rights to collect the jamuns from these trees. In fact, scores of hawkers are currently conducting business along Ashoka Road, the avenue rich in jamun trees. These men and women line the roadside with baskets and buckets filled with the day's harvest, plucked freshly from the very jamun trees under which they sit, awaiting customers. Other jamun-dense margs in the vicinity are Rajaji, Ferozeshah, Tughlak, Tyagraj, and Motilal Nehru. An exceptionally luxuriant jamun stands in Connaught Place's N-Block. The tree is huge, its shade much appreciated during the hostile sun-drenched summer afternoons. Waiters from a nearby restaurant sit under this tree during their smoking breaks. The nearby Central Park used to have scores of similarly huge jamun trees. They were sacrificed for the greater common good, after the park was taken over by the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation in early 2000s. All the park trees were uprooted, the grounds dug up to make way for an underground rail terminus (Rajiv Chowk!). Whatever, as soon as the jamun season will end next month, aforementioned vendor Mahaveer says he will switch to selling coconut slices. In winter, he will switch to shakarkandi, which he hawks around the India Gate circle. Meanwhile, miles away in Ghaziabad, two men are repeatedly striking a tree branch with a lathi. Finally, something falls on the ground with a thud. It is mango, which, too, is in season.
