‘Dadu,’ I humoured my old
historian neighbour
‘If say this city was named
After a British sahib,
What would you call it?
Bentinck-land? Ripon-nagar? Curzon-abad?
What would it be?’
Dadu smiled,
He looked at this tomes in the
room
‘You stretch my old head,
But if I really had to,
It wouldn’t be something
You people will understand.’
‘Not after the rulers,
I would name it after the man
Who re-found our lost country,
But who remembers old Alexander?
Yet, I would name this place,
Cunnigham’
He read the ignorance
In these eyes, and smiled,
‘I told you,
Real heroes, who remembers them?
At least you may recall
His legacy.
‘Nalanda? He asked
I nodded, ‘His discovery.
And Sanchi?’
I nodded again to his
satisfaction
‘Taxila, Sharavasti, Vaishali,
Kausambhi, Sankisa…’
He went on rattling unheard of
names
I did realise
He was finder, a seeker
The Indiana Jones we forgot
Over time.
‘Cunningham’, I repeated
Dadu smiled,
‘But I am also sure
If Cunnigham Saheb were here,
He would say
Keep the name, Calcutta
What’s in a name?
‘But come, pack your bags
Let us go thither –
Another lost kingdom
From the books of Fa-hien,
Let’s find that ancient temple
Or that forgotten city….’
I can imagine Cunningham Saheb
Scouting the country
Restoring our regal past -
Another university here
A Kushan pillar there,
But real heroes – Who remembers
them….
06th September 2026
Alexander Cunningham was a
British army engineer and archaeologist who made important contributions to the
study of India’s ancient history. He is known as the “Father of Indian
Archaeology.” In 1861, he became the first Archaeological Surveyor of
India and helped establish the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).
Cunningham travelled extensively
across India, studying and recording ancient monuments, temples, stupas,
inscriptions, and coins. He identified several important Buddhist sites,
including Sarnath, Sanchi, and Bodh Gaya. He also used the writings of
Chinese travellers such as Xuanzang to locate ancient cities and
sites.
His research and surveys helped
preserve India’s archaeological heritage and laid the foundation for modern
archaeological studies in the country.
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