Аннотация: Nicholas Roerich, the Estate in the Kullu Valley, India, 1947-2021. A historical and culturological essay.
Nicholas Roerich, the Estate in the Kullu Valley, India, 1947-2021. A historical and culturological essay.
I was interested in the fate of the Roerichs' estate in the Kullu Valley, India, after the passing of the older generation of the Roerichs. (Nikolai Konstantinovich Roerich (September 27 [October 9], 1874, St. Petersburg - December 13, 1947, Naggar, Himachal Pradesh, India)).
If you do not go into details, then, in general, Nicholas Roerich called Russia (USSR) his heir.
Naturally, this was a very general understanding. Helena Ivanovna Roerich and sons (George and Svetoslav) needed some means to live on. In addition, Nicholas Roerich formulated the position during his lifetime that he has nothing, all the property belongs to his wife and sons. With this understanding, what kind of bequest can there be?
The estate in the Kullu Valley stood almost unattended and almost unguarded after the elder Roerichs passed away. (Elena Ivanovna Roerich (nee Shaposhnikova) (January 31 (February 12), 1879, St. Petersburg - October 5, 1955, Kalimpong, India)).
The younger Roerichs (two sons of Nicholas Roerich, George and Svetoslav) made some plans regarding this estate, tried to repair it and put it in order, but it required a lot of effort, energy, time, money... So the plans were left without their implementation.
In 1960, Nicholas Roerich's eldest son George (Yuri) passed away. (Yuri Nikolaevich Roerich (August 3 [16], 1902, Okulovka, Novgorod province, Russia - May 21, 1960, Moscow)).
The youngest son Svyatoslav (Svetoslav) was married to a famous actress born in India Devika Rani. She was relative of the prominent citizens of India. (Svetoslav Nikolaevich Roerich (October 10 [23], 1904, St. Petersburg - January 30, 1993, Bangalore)).
Judging by the biographies, neither Yuri nor Svyatoslav had children.
One of the authors of books about Nicholas Roerich melancholically remarked about one of the brothers of Nicholas Roerich (the brother of the elder Roerich - the father of the family) that there is only a mention of this brother, but no other information is available...
The youngest son Svyatoslav lived a prosperous life. The couple lived in their huge estate acquired from a British subject.
When it became clear that Svyatoslav's life path was coming to an end, he made an attempt to organize the preservation of the cultural heritage of the Roerichs family.
After Svyatoslav's death, his widow Devika Roerich-Rani took action in the same direction. (Devika Rani Chaudhari (30 March 1908 - 9 March 1994)).
Theoretically, it is possible to imagine several scenarios.
However, as a result, the property of the Roerichs family was transferred to a special organization, which was entrusted with the responsibility of preserving and developing the cultural heritage of the Roerichs.
The central place in this organization, if not de jure, then de facto, was occupied by the state structures of Russia and India.
The creation of this specialized organization and the transfer of property to it went with considerable difficulties. Many details may be of interest to lawyers, but I will not describe these nuances in a brief essay.
Finally, a specialized organization was created and began to function. But in order to work, we need funds. Apparently, there were not enough funds at the initial stage.
The Roerich family had a very significant amount of property- including a real estate.
Next, in this essay, I will direct attention on the Roerichs' estate in the Kullu Valley. The story of another estate, where Svyatoslav Roerich (the youngest son) and his wife Devika Roerich-Rani lived, is an independent plot.
A woman who was called "German" in the materials was invited to the position of the responsible person in charge of the preservation of the estate in Kullu. Anyway, her first and last name are very similar to the German ones.
The Russial ambassador to India, who held the position at that time, said that he paid Ursula extra from his own salary.
Apparently, the Roerichs' estate in the Kullu Valley has become a place of attraction for various energetic people. A certain person, a resident of Russia, began to raise funds in Russia for the restoration of the Roerichs' property in the Kullu Valley.
He and other energetic Russials periodically arrived at the Roerichs' estate in the Kullu Valley.
How should a woman with a German first and last name had to react to these people?
Firstly, they had some finansial means with them.
Secondly, they declared a positive goals.
Thirdly, the state structures of Russia occupied the most important position in the organization created to preserve the Roerichs' heritage. And the energetic people were from Russia, therefore, the hired woman had to - so, probably, it seemed to her - treat them with respect... What issues could she to understand? She, perhaps, did not speak Russian language... Probably, personally, she was an honest person...
In general, apparently, a woman with a German first and last name had neither sufficient orientation, nor the desire, nor the ability to monitor, to oversee energetic people who came from Russia.
They were very active.
It is not possible to understand from the publications whether they have brought benefits. But some of them are reproached in publications for plundering the very important items and documents from the Roerichs' estate in the Kullu Valley.
As a result, a woman with a German first and last name was dismissed, and a Slovak citizen, young woman, took a responsible position in the Roerichs' estate in the Kullu Valley. She studied in the USSR, her parents (scientists) worked in the USSR for some time, she mastered the Russian language, understood Russial peculiarities, she married a Russial citizen, she had the qualification of an Oriental specialist.
This young woman from Slovakia (the Slovak Republic), judging by many signs, has started a very active activity. Something worked out for her, something did not work out.
And it would be strange to demand too much from a woman in a distant country in distant mountains.
However, it became obvious to many that a responsible person appeared in the estate.
A some financial tranches from Russia started and, possibly, from India.
There were many sacred objects in the Roerichs' estate, for example, sacred statues. Local residents worked under the leadership of a young woman from Slovakia. Judging by the publications, not all of them were happy with the fact that the hands of a European woman touch the sacred objects.
In addition, gradually situation began to improve in the estate, tourists appeared, souvenir trade began, and the economic turnover appeared.
Gradually, the position was formed in local public opinion that only an Indian citizen can work in such a position.
However, representatives of Russia took a firm position and insisted on retaining a young woman from Slovakia.
For a while she managed to stay at her workplace.
But 2012 came, and the pressure on her began to increase again. The next term of her contract ended, and the local authorities demanded that she hand over the cases and her post.
Protection from the Russial side followed again...
Up to this point, I perceived the information as natural.
To a certain extent, we can explain both the peculiar patriotism of Indian citizens and the interest of Indian structures in a well-functioning tourist facility and in accumulated cultural investments (with a significant, if not predominant, share of Russia).
But at some point I met a letter from one of the Russial organizations about young woman, a citizen of Slovakia. She was interviewed around this critical period for her tenure.
And one of the Russial organizations analyzed this interview in a rather critical tone. And this organization published that analysis for the informing of a wide public.
It turned out, logically, that the Russial public refuses to trust a young woman from Slovakia.
The Russial representative continued to defend her. While the Russial position was discussed "against" the Indian position, the forces were approximately equal. And the experience and obvious merits of a woman from Slovakia (plus Russial cultural investments) gave her (and Russia) an advantage in this discussion. But when a criticism arrived from (itself) Russia, the Slovak citizen turned out to be defenseless...
I was very surprised by this criticism. But then I remembered the successful celebration of the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Borodino in 2012 and how after a while the leadership in the Russial military-historical movement changed. The fate of the (former) leader of this movement (associate professor of the Institute of History from St. Petersburg) and his (de facto) wife (graduate studentess) is now widely known...
(Owners lose their mental balance during attacks on their rights... One owner of a Moscow factory took a rifle during an attack on his property; he was pulling the trigger, a noisy case was heard in court ... Some influential raiders calculate moves with a long-range sight...).
A new military historical society has taken the place of the previous structures...
Now the Roerichs' estate in Kullu, in general, looks good (a good photos). Although many difficulties are mentioned (which is confirmed by a disturbing photos).
It is visited by 60 thousand to 100 thousand tourists a year. It is called the tourist pearl of the Kullu Valley. Back in the days when the woman, a citizen of Slovakia, worked, the trade in reproductions of Roerichs' paintings and souvenirs was started...
With great difficulty, after numerous attempts, I found the names of the current representatives from the Indian and Russial sides. The surnames are written in English...
It seems that the Russial ambassador, who was giving to Ursula a finansial means from his salary, has also been replaced. But I didn't check this fact on purpose...
The topic, as we can to see, is huge...
December 4, 2021 21:13
Translation from Russian into English: December 5, 2021 08:40
Владимир Владимирович Залесский "Николай Рерих, поместье в долине Кулу, Индия, 1947-2021. Историко-культурологический очерк".
{ 2587. Николай Рерих, поместье в долине Кулу, Индия, 1947-2021. Историко-культурологический очерк.
MMDLVII. Nicholas Roerich, the Estate in the Kullu Valley, India, 1947-2021. A historical and culturological essay. (English). }