BENGALURU | March 03, 2016: Grit and Gold, a book on one of the deepest gold mines -- 11,000 feet -- gives an impetus to the hopes and aspirations to the people of Kolar Gold Fields (KGF).
Authored by city-based television journalist and well-known Carnatic musician Gayatri Chandrashekar, it comes at a time when prices of the precious metal are skyrocketing and there is talk of revival of Bharat Gold Mines Ltd (BGML), with some companies evincing a keen interest in the auction of gold-bearing areas and processing of cyanide dumps (mill tailings).
After putting in 18 months of research, Gayatri has come out with an interesting account of its glorious years, its closure and impact on society at large. Weaving in unknown incidents, anecdotes and details, she brings to life the history of gold mining with a collection of black and white pictures from a bygone era, and how people from different nations prospected and prospered in a pioneering spirit.
“A lot of research was done in KGF that included the latest findings, perusal of existing journals, old papers, research papers and 60- to 70-year-old photos,” she explains. “I spoke to engineers, managerial staff of BGML, its mid- and lower-level staff, common people and labour leaders over a period of time.”
At present, every mine has been closed and the place been secured, but people have kept their hopes alive that it will one day restart. Gayatri visited the place six or seven times in 2014-15.
“After the closure of mines in 2001, thousands of workers lost their jobs. More than 10,000 people travel to Bengaluru daily, a journey of two-and-a-half hours. They are employed in menial jobs as they are not trained for any other work.”
While India mines many metals for its domestic needs, the consumption of gold is enormous at 880 tonnes or more a year, the author says. “However, the production is only about 2 to 3.5 tonnes, a mere 0.4 per cent of the consumption. The appetite for gold is insatiable. I felt it was a good time to look at how a British company ran a successful, profitable mining enterprise in India for 76 years, setting standards and creating pioneering technologies for deep mining in the world.”
Her late father-in-law, V M Sunder Rajan, was associated with this company. So Gayatri also looked towards family for information. “Working in 1940-50s, he discovered a new reef, the West Reef, with his mathematical background and intuition, and even calculated where an entire stretch of gold could be found,” she says. “All this inspired me to write about a company that once employed 30,000 to 60,000 workers in the 1930s. I also wanted to write a global story that would have a resonance across the world.”
The book not only highlights the history of the gold mining industry and its impact on the local population, but also includes the talk of auctioning and processing of tailings, besides the grand old 270-bed KGF hospital, in ruins today.
Gayatri is now planning a political fiction. “What is going to happen in India 20 years from now will be the focus,” she says.
(Source: http://www.newindianexpress.com/)