Buried Under Neglect A fetid lake, fringed by
shanties and squalid high-rises. And on the banks, a four-and-a-half feet tall, eighth
century stone sculpture of Brahma lying neglected since the municipal corporation dredged
it up in 1995. This is Siddheshwar lake in Thane, 30 km from Mumbai. Once the capital of
the Shilahar dynasty, rulers of the Konkan kingdom until the 12th century, the ancient
lake city has been overtaken by builders peddling their plots at Rs 2,000 a sq ft.
"There are only four or five statues like this Brahma figure in
the entire country," says Vijay Bedekar, a local doctor. Thane's only self-appointed
conservationist, Bedekar is struggling to preserve a veritable treasure trove of artefacts
recovered from the nearby Masunda lake, in a shabby 450 sq ft "museum" donated
by the municipality. Among his prize finds are an eighth-century idol of Goddess Parvati
and a 2,000-year-old grinding stone.
But most accidental excavations are hushed up because
builders fear their plots will be confiscated under the Protection of Ancient Monuments
Act and while historians blanch, conservation authorities remain indifferent. "The
Brahma statue is not on our list of protected artefacts," says P.N. Kambli,
superintendent archaeologist of the Archaeological Survey of India's Mumbai Antiquity
Branch. "But we will consider it if we get a formal request." As he waits, Thane
gets on with the historic business of survival.
A fetid lake, fringed by
shanties and squalid high-rises. And on the banks, a four-and-a-half feet tall, eighth
century stone sculpture of Brahma lying neglected since the municipal corporation dredged
it up in 1995. This is Siddheshwar lake in Thane, 30 km from Mumbai. Once the capital of
the Shilahar dynasty, rulers of the Konkan kingdom until the 12th century, the ancient
lake city has been overtaken by builders peddling their plots at Rs 2,000 a sq ft.