31st July 2010 - The Scindia School

Old Boys' News
It is a matter of pride for all Scindians that Mr. Bharat Patel (Ex Md ’61) Board
Member and Madhav Awardee (2005), has been appointed Advisor to the
Chairman, Indian Premier League. We are certain that with Mr. Patel’s intervention
the tournament will bring glory to the game of cricket in future.
Rain water harvesting
on Gwalior Fort
Not many are aware of the engineering foresight that was shown by the rulers and military
leaders of early 15th century when they conceived of and built the Gwalior Fort.
Mr Bharat Patel (Ex Md ’61)
HH Maharaja Jyotiraditya Scindia flagging
off the car rally
SOBA-North America Get together at New York
09
OLD BOYS'
NEWS
VOL 8 | Jul 2010
A SOBA car rally took place from 2nd to 4th
April, 2010. On the 2nd, all the participants
assembled at the National Sports Club of
India, New Delhi. Car numbers, stickers, T-shirts,
caps and rally kits were distributed. The rally
was flagged off by HH Maharaja Jyotiraditya
Scindia, Lt Gen SPS Dhillon, Mr. SK Rungta
- Chairman SAIL, Mr. Bajoria (Ex-Scindian) -
Director JK Tyres and in charge of motor sports,
and Tutu Dhawan- President FMSCI.
All 62 cars reached Tarangi resorts at 5:30
pm after a 345 Kms run through villages, dirt
tracks and off beaten tracks. In the evening,
the lawns of Tarangi witnessed a party where
the results of the first day were announced.
On the 3rd, the rally was flagged off from
Tarangi at 9:00 am for a 99 Kms run in the
hills with loops and teasers. It flagged down at
Tarangi at 1:00 pm. The second day’s results
were announced during the evening party. The
final results and prize distribution took place
over drinks, dinner, music and dancing beside
the river Kosi.
Participants came from Gwalior, Jhansi,
Dholpur, Agra, Jaipur, Moradabad, Kanpur and
the NCR and were from the batches of 1955
to 2009!
Winners
1st Mr. Rajeshwar Tyagi, Ex Ravindra ’65
2nd Mr. Harmit Singh, Ex Md ’98
3rd Mr. Pawan Bansal, Ex Je’73
__________________________________
SOBA- NA planned a Happy Hour Get Together
on May 19th at the K Lounge in New York.
Being close to a long weekend vacation, the
turnout was modest. What made the evening
more interesting was presence of Alumni of
Daly College and Mayo College also.
Just before breaking for the evening, SOBA
Golf enthusiasts A Khanna and A Mandhle
expressed keen interest to help host a SOBA/
Pan Public Golf Outing in the summer in the
New York / New Jersey area. Looking at the
keen response to Golf in SOBA community in
Delhi and also as a stir to keep the Pan Public
Alumni mingling alive, this is an idea whose
time is not too far off in the future!!
__________________________________
Yatin Singhal(Ex Rn’07) who went on a
100% scholarship to Westminster University,
London to pursue a course in Biotechnology
has passed out with a first class degree.
He is now joining the internationally
renowned pharmaceutical company Novartis
Pharmaceuticals in Liverpool, U.K.
__________________________________
Yatin Singhal (Ex Rn ’07)
Not many are aware of the engineering
foresight that was shown by the rulers and
military leaders of early 15th century when
they conceived of and built the Gwalior Fort.
The location of the Fort is unique in that it is
located on a 100 metre high hill that overlooks
and dominates the main route from the North
Indian plains to Central India and further South
to the Deccan Plateau.
Interestingly enough Gwalior Fort was not
built where there was a river, like the Forts at
Agra or Delhi or elsewhere, but where military
needs dictated. It is also clear that water is
one commodity that cannot be created and
humanity cannot live without it. A Fort would
need water to sustain its troops and other
people. The then rulers were well aware of the
existence of Suraj Kund, an 8th century water
tank on top of this strategically located hill.
It was after drinking the water from this tank
that the Rajput chieftain, Suraj Sen or Suraj
Pal, is believed to have been cured of a deadly
disease on the advice of Saint Gwalipa, after
whom Gwalior city is named. The presence
of Suraj Kund, with its perennial supply of
water, may have encouraged the then rulers
to consider the construction of Gwalior Fort
on top of this hill with its location providing a
strategic advantage.
The beloved Fort- we want to keep it green
Numerous water tanks of the Fort were
built of a size and at a location that they
remained perennial sources of water. The water
availability in these ‘taals’ was estimated to
cater to 15,000 persons living inside the Fort.
I still recall with nostalgia names of the various
‘taals’ on the Fort – Suraj Kund, Singhara Taal,
Khamba Taal, Jauhar Tank near Gurjari Mahal,
Gangola Taal, Rani Taal, Cheri Taal and Dhobi
Taal, to name a few!
The designers of these ‘taals’ simply used the
ancient wisdom of collecting rainwater during
the monsoons and using it for the entire
year. It should be remembered that it is not
feasible for armies to be located inside any
Fort for taking up defence and yet to remain
dependent on water from outside sources.
At Gwalior Fort the problem was even more
acute due to its height above the surrounding
areas. There was no ground water that one
could turn to. One was entirely dependent on
collection, storage and judicious use of the
rain water that fell during the rainy season. The
‘taals’ have been designed to hold water and
not charge the aquifer, as happens in case of
check dams or ‘johads’.
Gwalior has an average of 88-90 cm of rain
every year. The skill lies in making sure that
this rain water does not run off and get wasted.
Thus one needed to have well prepared
catchments which would funnel the water into
the tanks made at selected sites. Unfortunately,
at present many of these catchments around
the ‘taals’ have been encroached upon thus
reducing the catchment surface areas. The
preservation and use of this water was the
second problem. Note how the ‘taals’ in the
Fort are all lined water tanks. These lined tanks
prevent loss of water due to seepage and are
easy to clean during the dry season just before
the monsoons.
Gwalior Fort provides the
very best example of what
the country can emulate
for enriching their water
availability through rain
water harvesting.
By Atul Dev
Ex Md ’55
(Atul Dev is currently a very active Rotarian who
is involved with a series of water harvesting
projects in Rajasthan.)
10 Alumni
VOL 8 | Jul 2010