The man who tells ASI where to dig

Dreams, prophecies and promises of dazzling caches of gold aside, Haji Syed Jamal Hasan, director (excavations and explorations) at the Archaeological Survey of India, or ASI, is a busy man in the light of the excavation, apparently for gold, at Unnao, near Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh. With the world's glare on ASI for conducting a dig based on un-scientific reasoning such as the dreams of a seer, the man is in a spot answering calls from journalists and higher authorities. Nonetheless, there is an abundant supply of chai and bread pakora to accompany 'important' conversations. A gentleman dressed in a blue kurta-pyjama keeps dialling numbers of numerous people on his mobile phone, including someone from Aligarh Muslim University who wishes to speak to the director for something as small as a token assalam-alaykum. The director patiently handles all calls and meetings, while allaying fears among the staff of any delay when he tells his assistant that he will leave his office at 6 in the evening, as usual.

As for ASI's excavations, he says that only digs in need of a big research grant and manpower go through the Central Advisory Board for Archaeology, or CABA, which meets every year to consider excavation proposals. The CABA standing committee met this year on September 25 and 26 to discuss the 147 proposals before it, some of them requiring a budget as high as Rs 10 lakh. He adds that not all excavations are expensive, and something like the ongoing one at Unnao only costs about Rs 2,000 per day.

His conversations are interrupted frequently, in one particular case by a gentleman who introduces himself as a descendant of General Shah Nawaz Khan of the Indian National Army. He claims to be in possession of original artefacts belonging to Subhas Chandra Bose and wonders what he could do with them. When Hasan tells him that he could sign up as a donor for the National Museum, he visibly loses interest. While leaving Hasan's office, he asks about valuations, to which the excavations director politely replies that only a museum curator would be able to give him correct values. One of the other gentlemen in Hasan's office later remarks that the man clearly had no interest in the historical value of his objects. Hasan chuckles, waves his hand and comes back to the subject of all things archaeological.

A request for an excavation outside of CABA is usually made through "contacts" at the ministry, and depending on who is sending out the request, ASI deploys a team of archaeologists from the local circle for a "surface inspection". They report back with pictures and findings, after which a "trial excavation" is carried out by ASI. Based on the findings of this trial excavation, Hasan then sends his recommendations to the director-general of ASI, who then signs off on it. On the question of the rejection of proposals, he says that some digs may be rejected due to budget shortages, though he'd rather not talk about it. He says that for ASI, the Unnao dig is very "routine", and it was only the Geological Survey of India's report which spoke of the possibility of gold there. Which is why, it is only a trial excavation, where the team from the head office isn't even present. The speed at which the dig has taken place clearly hints at the pressure from higher authorities, like the culture ministry.

People gather around any dig out of curiosity and there is an element of hope that some hidden treasure will be unearthed. This is common at all excavation sites where ASI carries out work. But Hasan avers he has never in his experience heard of prophecies or requests to dig for hidden gold. And with the unprecedented attention and excitement, the crowds at both the excavation site and his office are yet to thin even when the clock strikes 6.