# church #northindia #agradiocese #nainital #unitedprovinces #india – Rana Safvi https://ranasafvi.com A blog exploring India's Ganga Jamuni Tehzeeb or its rich multi plural multi cultural heritage via its adab, tehzeeb & tareekh Wed, 26 Apr 2023 07:01:37 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.8.2 https://ranasafvi.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/image-7-75x75.jpg # church #northindia #agradiocese #nainital #unitedprovinces #india – Rana Safvi https://ranasafvi.com 32 32 179612229 St John in the Wilderness Church in Nainital https://ranasafvi.com/st-john-in-the-wilderness-church-in-nainital/ https://ranasafvi.com/st-john-in-the-wilderness-church-in-nainital/#respond Wed, 26 Apr 2023 07:01:37 +0000 https://ranasafvi.com/?p=38376

One of the earliest buildings erected in Naini Tal was the church of “St. John-in-the-wilderness” in 1846.
The site was chosen as early as 1844 and approved by the Bishop of Calcutta, Daniel Wilson. The name appears to have
originated from him; and as Naini Tal had been dis-
covered only in 1841, the reason for its choice is obvious.
Even today there is a vast area around the church and it is very peaceful.
The plans were prepared by Captain Young, Executive
Engineer, and the corner stone was laid in October 1846.
The cost of the original structure was about Rs. 15,000,
and was met by private subscription and pew rents. It
was first opened on April 2, 1848, though it was still incomplete. In 1856, it was taken over by Government as a
public building. Since then the church has been con-
siderably enlarged.
The church opens only on Sundays at 4 pm for service. I could not visit the church from inside though I have made several trips to it. This time it was closed because of the pandemic.
However, from accounts that I have read:
There are several memorials inside the church : aOf these the most important tablet is that which commemorates those who were killed in die land slide of 1880.
I was told that a special service is held on that day.
The second important tablet is dedicated to the members of the Indian Civil Service, who were killed in the First World War (1914-1918)

]]> https://ranasafvi.com/st-john-in-the-wilderness-church-in-nainital/feed/ 0 38376 Folio from the “Qur’an of `Umar Aqta”,late 14th–early 15th century (before 1405) ~ Met Museum https://ranasafvi.com/folio-from-the-quran-of-umar-aqtalate-14th-early-15th-century-before-1405-met-museum/ Tue, 26 Mar 2019 02:53:11 +0000 https://ranasafvi.com/folio-from-the-quran-of-umar-aqtalate-14th-early-15th-century-before-1405-met-museum/

Surah Al_Qasas … This is the abode of the Hereafter! We appoint it unto those who Seek not exaltation in the earth nor corruption; and the happy end is for the God-fearing

Gallery Text :

This fragment of a page comes from one of the largest copies of the Qur’an ever produced. Each line of script, written in the muhaqqaq style, is over three feet long, and each page was originally over seven feet tall. This page probably comes from a gigantic Qur’an that the calligrapher ‘Umar Aqta’ wrote for the ruler Timur (Tamerlane, d. 1405). Apparently Timur was unimpressed after ‘Umar Aqta’ wrote a Qur’an so small that it could fit under a signet ring, so the calligrapher wrote another Qur’an so large it had to be brought to Timur on a cart.

https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/453985

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