Interval: p. P. Pandya: The Forgotten Gujarati Indiana Jones

Lalit Khambhayata

Archaeologists have reached the ruins, which have been silent for six years. Now one step at a time has to be taken carefully, because wherever steps are visible there is danger and suddenly there is a shower of javelins from the wall. Meanwhile, with safety and caution, the archaeologist approaches the precious object in front of him. Gently lifting the object and extracting it safely, avoiding the dangers lurking in the cave, fighting off looting robbers, the archaeologist finally delivers the precious material to the museum. This happened movie story. Now about reality. The young archaeologist and his colleagues set out on a trek from Jasdan to Porbandar. It was the time of navaswa India after independence. They didn't have any villains like the ones in the movie, but there were many other challenges. While crossing it, the advancing party noticed the remains scattered on the river bank. An archeological eye immediately recognized that these were no ordinary stones, nor were they mere clay pots. The warrior, inspired by civilization, immediately pitched his camp there and discovered the ruins of a city buried in the earth. * * * Given at the beginning is an example from the movie 'Indiana Jones'. Presenting the reality is that of Purushottamdas Premshankar (P.P.) Pandya, a passionate but forgotten archaeologist of Gujarat. P. P. The Pandyas went on a walk along the banks of the river Bhadar from Jasdan to Porbandar. It was during this time that he discovered the remains of Rozdi (now Srinathgarh) town near Gondal. Further investigation revealed that Rozdi is four and a half thousand years old and a mysterious town. Basically people lived here during the Harappan era, but the remains of a different culture have also been found there. Unfortunately, it has not been investigated further. Who were the people living here, how were they.. etc. Many questions remain unanswered. P. P. Pandya discovered, excavated Rozdi and put it on the map of the archeology world as a glittering town. But he cannot be called 'Indiana Jones' just because of that. 'Indiana Jones' is a Hollywood film series. Five parts have already arrived. It is a film series, so it has less science of archeology and more entertainment spice of the film. Even so, the series has made an important contribution to the popularization of archeology in the last forty years. The same work as the hero of the film 'Indiana Jones' in Gujarat. P. Pandya did. The biggest and most impressive thing is that P. P. Pandya lived only 39 years. During this time he excavated so many archaeological sites that the entire Archeology Department could not investigate after his death. * * * Seven hundred years ago on November 8, 1920, P. was born in Kotda Sangani. P. Pandya had the opportunity to rise to a higher position such as the deputy archeological regulator of the country. But instead of sitting in Delhi and enjoying power, he was interested in blowing the dust in his homeland. So that opportunity was lost. Instead, the land of Sorath shook. It was decided that the salary would not be increased, but he was also adamant that the excavation should be done in his native land. Archeology is a subject of interest to very few people, but the fact remains that the Kayana Mahabhutas that make up the Panchamahabhutas are associated with archaeology. That is why archaeologists are running all over the world to study the roots of our ancestors. After independence, various fields required research in the country, one of which was archaeology. That is why Pandyaji decided to delve deep into it. It is known that most of the civilizations of the world have developed along the banks of rivers. There were such Harappan sites in Gujarat too, but they were yet to be explored. Pandyaji was mainly interested in the study of three things. One is to find prehistoric sites, the other is to record Harappan tombs and excavate such sites. For that operation, Pandyaji chose to walk along the banks of the river Bhadar. Rozdi and a number of other tombs were examined and prepared notes. Among all those places, the most exciting place is Rozdi (Srinathgarh) near Gondal. In 2016, a Bollywood film called 'Mohenjo Daro' came out. Rozdi Nagar, which presents a similar story, was first excavated in 1957-58, and artifacts such as utensils, earthen ornaments, standing plate, bowl, wheel were found. The remains of the fort around Rozdi, its huge stones.. etc. can be seen there even today. The remaining items are in the possession of the Archeology Department. We may have read about adimanav in books or seen videos and photos about it. That primitive man also lived in our Gujarat. That place was somewhere near today's Jasdan. P. P. There is a note written by Pandyaji in the book 'Madhyahanne Suryaast', which reveals the entire work of Pandya: 'A large city of Harappan civilization was located on the banks of the Bhadar. Its area was bigger than Lothal, but the river's rapids and floods destroyed the settlement during four thousand years. ' It is from these areas that Pandyaji discovered the remains including historical skeletons. During his search, he found twenty sites with tools from the Neolithic age, more than 65 tombs of the Harappan civilization alone, Maitrekkalian temples and even the cave of Khambhalida, which contains the oldest Buddhist sculpture in Western India.. The list goes on and on. P. P. A list of more than 140 tombs discovered by Pandya is found in the Indian Archeology Review. That is an average of twenty tombs uncovered every year. His life expectancy was 39 years, but his active work as an archaeologist was only seven-eight years. In the meantime, the undergrowth was removed and the history buried under it was discovered, paths were made in the desolate places where there were no roads and paved the way for the next generation. Carefully and with great patience, structures dating back thousands of years were cleaned, samples collected and studied. In the meantime, he encountered snakes and scorpions living in the ground, established contact with archeologists from the country and abroad and exchanged information. Barely a dozen new archaeological sites have been studied in Gujarat since independence under government operations. In those circumstances it can be said that P. P. Pandya was a 'one man archeology university'. It is a different matter that the researcher is not taught as taught in a university or school textbook. After leaving at a young age, P. P. Pandya's legacy is maintained by his son Pareshbhai's 'Jayabehan Foundation'. Due to his efforts, the Buddhist caves of Khambhalida have been slightly restored. Tourists who worship Buddhism come in search of such caves and are dismayed to see the desolation. There are many countries in the world, which do not have a history of more than five hundred years. Take the example of America! There are some old forts or palaces, but what is there is well preserved. We have thousands of years of history and much of it plays in the dust. Some p. P. An archaeologist like Pandya will come and shake the earth again. }

Archeology means Ramkaj! For most people, an archaeological site is a pile of stones or an excavated pit. There is not much awareness about archeology in the general public so they don't even know the importance, but a world famous case proving the importance of archaeological remains is right in front of our eyes. That case is the Ram temple of Ayodhya. To prove that there was a temple in Ayodhya, the court used the remains found during excavations there. Those remains are preserved today in the 'Ramayana International Museum' in Ayodhya. Had the remains not been found, the Ram Mandir case might still be languishing in government files.