New Delhi: fan made of deer hair, nadhaswaram musical instrument, a Pitambaram (the silk cloth is said to be the cloth of God) and the golden ‘sengol’ – these were key elements in the transfer of power from the British to India’s first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, on the eve of independence in August 1947, as described by a described in the article Time magazine.
The article, dated August 25, 1947, breaks down the elaborate ceremony.
It states that on the momentous occasion of becoming India’s first prime minister, “even an agnostic” as Nehru fell into “religious sentiment”.
The ceremony of transfer of power was led by two emissaries of the Sri Ambalavan Desigar of Tanjore (now Thanjavur) – an ascetic order of Hindu ascetics. The envoys were accompanied by the “most famous” nadaswaram (a type of flute) player from South India.
The article said, “Mr. Ambalavana thought that Nehru, as the first Indian head of a truly Indian government, ought, like ancient Hindu kings, to receive symbols of power and authority from Hindu saints.”
On the evening of 14 August, the sanyasis – laden with sacred ashes – proceeded towards Nehru’s house. One of the escorts bore a large silver plate and on it was Pitambaram, The article states that when they finally reached Nehru’s house, the flute player played while the sannyasis waited for Nehru’s invitation.
“Then they entered the house with dignity, two boys wearing special fans of deer hair. A sanyasi held a golden scepter five feet long and two inches thick. He sprinkled Nehru with the holy water of Tanjore and Nehru drew a line of sacred ash on Nehru’s forehead, then wrapped Nehru in Pitambaram And gave him the scepter of gold. He also gave Nehru some cooked rice, which was offered that morning to Nataraja, the dancing god in South India, then flown to Delhi.
In the evening, the future leader of India arrived at the residence of the President of the Constituent Assembly, Rajendra Prasad, for “secular work”.
A miniature shrine was built in the backyard, where “several thousand” women sang hymns, and the founding fathers received holy water from a priest.
They then proceeded to the Constituent Assembly Hall, lit in the colors of India’s new flag, at 11 pm, and Nehru delivered his famous speech marking India’s independence from British rule.
In a similar ceremony on Sunday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the new Parliament House in New Delhi. PM sat at around 7.30 am Offering prayers to God in front of fire — A fire ritual was performed with chants and chants in the presence of Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, involving Hindu priests, and later prostrated himself before the historic scepter, ‘Sengol’.
Modi then took the scepter to the new Lok Sabha chamber and installed it next to the Speaker’s chair. They also showered flower petals on him.
The new parliament can seat 888 members in the Lok Sabha chamber, compared to the previous building’s capacity of 552. The new Rajya Sabha chamber can seat 384 members, which is much higher than the previous building’s capacity of 245.
(Editing by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)