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Cont: 9419101229, 94191-76665 ENTRUST REALTORS & CONSULTANTS SUNDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2013 INTERNET EDITION : www.dailyexcelsior.com/magazine www.jammuproperty.com ARCHITECT OF AN EMPIRE Col J P Singh, Retd to join the ranks at Hoshiarpur immediately. It is mentioned in Gulabnama that while the Maharaja was mounted on the majestic elephant and was inspecting prepara- Maharaja was born on 21st October 1792 at Smailpur, . His tions for assault on the fort, Gulab Singh surfaced in front of the Emperor and per- father, Mian Kishore Singh did not put books in his hands. Instead he gave him a formed the formalities of Royal Salutations. After that Gulab Singh pulled up his bow and arrows. Like any privileged youth, he would go out riding and watch mon- horse swiftly like wind and put a handful of Ashrafis in the King's 'hawdali' as a token soon clouds and the fast flowing streams. The thunders of the clouds and serenity of obeisance. The horse rested his hoofs on the forehead of the regal elephant. It of streams stirred the inner of his heart and kindled in him the desire of doing some- astonished the spectators. A loud note of approbation arose. Maharaja was so thing remarkable. Mian Zorawar Singh, his grandfather sent him to Mian Mota, pleased of this act of chivalry that he asked Mahoot to receive the 'nazrana' which Madar-ul-Maham of Jit Singh, the last hereditary ruler of Jammu. Gulab Singh the Mahoot did. When Maharaja diverted his attention towards storming the fort, learnt the art of warfare and manners of courtiers from his granduncle. Gulab Singh being anxious to lead the attack on the enemy and storm the fort, Meteoric rise of Gulab Singh as the founder of Jammu and Kashmir dates back exhorted the Maharaja to watch his feats. Gulab Singh pulled the reins of his horse to 1808 when 16, he distinguished himself in the battle of Gumat. He blunted the and all alone fell upon the enemy as a lion. In the twinkling of an eye, he had crossed successes of Sikh Army and forced them into treaty with Raja Jit Singh. Impressed the moat (deep water channel) of the fort and got a top the coveted castle and dug by his bravery and swordsmanship, the invading Sikh Chief, narrated the story of down his spear like a flag on the wall of the fort. By this heroic deed he made his- his prowess to Maharaja . Ranjit Singh enrolled Gulab Singh him as tory in the splendour of dash and gallantry. On witnessing this rare dash, valiant cavalryman and soon elevated him to the command of a cavalry unit. Imbued with warriors, blood thirsty Khalsas got inspired and assaulted the fort from all sides. the spirit of adventure and gallantry, Gulab Singh rose to be an astute strategist of Soon the contest became a bloody affair. After sometime the resistance broke at Ranjit Singh. the entrance of the gate. The royal force marched in. Maharaja amazed at such an History of Jammu and Kashmir is practically the history of one man, a Dogra unexpected and instantaneous victory, prostrated himself in sincere gratitude at the Rajput, Gulab Singh. The barren hills of Duggarland had not attracted Mughal threshold of the Almighty. He bestowed untold honours and favours upon Gulab was to the credit of this great genius that by the time he was 55, he extended the invaders. Here lived a number of small and it appears that from the very ear- Singh and gave him Jagirs of Lala - Chobara and Ramgarh with authority to raise borders of his empire touching China in the North, Tibet in the North East, Uzbek- ly times the little kingdom of Jammu was of no importance to invaders. By the end 200 horsemen. istan and Afghanistan in the North West & NWFP in the West. of 18th century, the power of Jammu rulers had extended East upto Ravi and West As a military commander he rendered meritorious services especially in Multan, Death of Maharaja Ranjit Singh in 1839 followed the death of Maharaja Kharak upto Chenab. East of Ravi were independent Rajput Kingdom of Basoli & Kishtwar Attock, Kabul, Kandhar, Manerka, Dera Gazi Khan, Reasi, Kishtwar and Kashmir. By Singh & his son prince (on the same day) a year later. It led to the war of succession. Gulab Singh favoured Mai Chand Kour, widow of . and to the West, and Rajouri were ruled by Mohammdans, the descen- a rare bold strategy he captured Raja Agha Khan of Rajouri & neutralized Mian Dido. She was dislodged by , who was also killed in the factional fight in which dents of Rajputs. Up the Jhelum the country was held by small Mohammdan Chiefs With his similar other remarkable contributions, conscientious and loyal services, Gulab Singh lost two brothers, two sons and a nephew. whose title of Rajas suggests their Hindu origin. Hence Jammu and Kashmir was Maharaja Ranjit Singh could easily expand and consolidate his Empire. His wisdom When the Sikh armies were routed in the Anglo- Sikh war in 1846, Raja Gulab fragmented from very early times. It goes to the credit of Gulab Singh to have con- in enlisting services of able was prudent. The country side was disturbed. Singh as Prime Minister negotiated the ''. In recognition of his auda- solidated these fragments into a single empire. Each chieftain plundered his neighbour. Gulab Singh's abilities were over taxed in cious leadership and superb diplomacy, the Governor General of India, extended In 1815 Maharaja Ranjit Singh led an expedition to invest Garh Damala Fort restoring order. Hence Maharaja made a prudent decision to make him ruler of trou- his rule to entire Jammu and Kashmir on 15 March 1846 and elevated him to the which was a lofty castle in Jallandar Doab. This strong mud fort was once the head- bled Duggarland. Gulab Singh received striking recognition when Maharaja Ranjit status of Maharaja. By the 'Treaty of Amritsar' Gulab Singh got control of Kashmir quarters of Hoshiarpur Principality. Maharaja Ranjit Singh therefore prepared well Singh personally installed him Raja of Jammu on 17 June 1822 at Jeo Pota Akhnoor. empire for which he paid Rs.75 Lac as war indemnity. for the siege. He was not happy about Gulab Singh's overstay at Jammu. On being Gulab Singh extended his rule far and wide by capturing Ladakh, Baltistan, Gilgit Maharaja changed the geography of India. He was a symbol of nationhood and informed of the impending attack on the fort and seeing it as an opportunity to win and 500 sq miles of Western Tibet. No Indian ruler in the past, not even Chandragupt secularism. He is one of the few historical legacies that India can be genuinely proud Maharaja's favours, Dhian Singh (younger brother) sent a message to Gualb Singh Maurya or Mughals had attempted to invade Tibet but Gulab Singh did it in 1841. It of. He left for his heavenly abode on 30th August 1858. BOLLYWOOD BECKONS JK GEN NEXT Anil Raina The Jammu and Kashmir State shares a special bond with Indian Cinema especially Bollywood right from the early years of its existence. History of Bol- lywood will be incomplete if it does not mention the name of the State in its annals. This is largely due to the fact that many movies have been shot in the breathtaking beauty of the State-whether it is Ladakh, Jammu or Kashmir, though Kashmir surfaces at the top slot. The picturesque places of the state captivated not only the hearts of bollywood crew, but also lured poets and painters as well. The cinegoers love to relish this beauty while being ensconsed in the Cinema Hall seats. The special bond however got temporarily snapped with the rise of militancy in the State. Finding it unsafe to shoot in the State, Bollywood explored foreign des- Vidyut Jammwal Umar Wani Neeraj Sharma Praneet Bhatt Nasir Ali Khan Hina Khan Iqbal Khan tinations like Switzerland, America, Canada, Newzealand, Australia, Thailand etc. Not only shooting stopped, but cinema halls too put curtains on screens. The cinema halls were either bombed or were occupied by security forces for staying purposes. But when the militancy ebbed, efforts were made to revive the Bolly- wood bond. The shooting of movies started once again but on a lower level. Mis- sion Kashmir, a film by Vidhu Vinod Chopra was one of them. In 1996, the Nation- al Conference government revived cinema culture with the screening of "Kareeb" in presence of the State Chief Minister Dr Farooq Abdullah. Since then big movies have been shot in the three provinces of the State. Besides providing sets and locales to the Bollywood, the State gave it some stars and singers. Before militancy, there were a handful of stars who were a part Khawar Jamsheed Danish Bhat Anjali Abrol Priya Raina Sanjeev Koul Mohit Raina Muzamil Ibrahim of Bollywood. Presently there are nearly 1500 artistes working in Bollywood or are without a body double or cables, he fits into the definition of India's Next Gen action Anjali Abrol is an actress. She was born and brought up in Jammu and Kash- associated with Idiot Box. hero without a hitch. He's a fine actor too, although it's the action that takes prece- mir. Anjali's most famous role is as servant who falls in love with a prince in the The youth from Jammu and Kashmir were not allowed to join cinema but now dence over histrionics here." Jammwal is a vegetarian and appeared in an ad for series Raja Ki Aayegi Baraat (TV series). She is also featuring in upcoming movie they are making their future in Indian Cinema. Out of them there are 650 males PETA with the caption "Powered by Veggies! Go Vegetarian". Singh Saab The Great. and 850 females. Some are into acting, direction, editing etc. Now State youth have (Continued on page 3) choosen Bollywood as another career option. With Bollywood revival in Kashmir Valley, it has also signalled that it will open doors for oth- er youngsters to make their career out of this and in turn will strength- en Jammu and Kashmir's Bollywood connection. Yashodhara Katju the younger niece of Pandit Nehru became the first Kashmiri heroine of silver screen in 1941. It was a remartable episode at that time becoz working in silver screen especially for a Kashmiri girls was considered a taboo, but the trend has changed now. "Kashmiris have so much talent and are doing good in the Bolly- wood. We want that our own people should watch us back home ," said Tariq from Apple Town of Sopore and presently working in Direc- tion field with big production companies in Mumbai. Even the people from hospitality and tourism industry of the val- ley are part of Bollywood. Every person who is directly or indirect- ly involved with Bollywood is busy discussing his future projects and his Bollywood connection. Though Bollywood is considered the ulti- mate goal of the upcoming actors, you can kick start your career in acting by getting a break on TV channels. These channels are grow- ing in numbers and exploding with mega serials, reality shows, game shows and various count downs. All this brings in a lot of opportuni- ties for upcoming actors to showcase their acting talent. You can also become a stage artist for which you need to complete an academic stint at the National School of Drama. There are many institutions offering acting courses all over India. Here are some of the stars who are working day and night and due to these efforts they have carved a space for themselves in the World of Cinema and Television Vidyut Jammwal actor, model and martial artist. Popularly known as a contemporary action hero, he has worked in Bollywood,Kolly- wood and Tollywood films. He is also a practitioner of kalaripayattu. Jamwal made his acting debut in the 2011 Hindi film Force, a remake of the Tamil filmKaakha Kaakha, alongside John Abraham. His per- formance as the antagonist earned him the Filmfare Award for Best Male Debut. He subsequently played supporting roles in the Telugu films Shakti and Oosaravelli, both starring NTR. In 2012, Jamwal made his debut in Tamil cinema with Billa II, as the antagonist opposite Ajith Kumar. For his role, he received critical appreciation. He recently worked on another Tamil film Thuppakki, opposite actor Vijay which became a blockbuster. He recently was seen in Vipul Shah's action film Commando opposite Pooja Chopra, where he appeared in his first lead role. Although the film received a mixed critical reception, Jamw- al gained appreciation for his portrayal of a commando in the Indian army, with noted critic Taran Adarsh mentioning that "COMMANDO clearly belongs to Vidyut and the liberty of watching him crushing every- thing and everyone in sight leaves you tongue-tied. By doing the stunts