The Kaali Effect

The shopping mall echoed with a noise. The buzz grew silent. Fear crept in. Until somebody shouted, " It's just a Balloon!" The buzz grew again, the shopping continued, the romantic couples continued their walks, and the food court filled up with the aroma of the orders...

A few decades back, people used to laugh carefree at a balloon bursting or a tyre booming in the streets or in various crowded areas. Now, in the back of everyone's head, a loud noise always brings the same thoughts... Another year, another city, another crowded place, Several innocent lives. They don't spare religious places either. For the sake of mankind? Religion? Politics? Power? They only know. Who are they? Nobody knows.

It is said that the demon Kaali, who ushered in KaliYug, decided to reside in a few things. Addiction, Wealth, Desire, and Anger are some such things he resides in. This is KaliYug, where an innocent child's balloon makes adults fear the extremes. What is dharma here? Well, it's synonymous with Bhakti. What is Bhakti here? A short bow of the head while crossing by your local temple, a small prayer when you need something badly, a Puja at home when you achieve something you wanted to for a long time. The days of Puja are usually excuses for holidays, new clothes, and meeting your friends and relatives. Bhakti is actually how much Daan you give, or you are forced to give to the person who always comes late and skips a few mantras to be at the next venue on time. Punya is feeding him and gifting him clothes. A child comes seeking alms on the road, and you move away, uttering a small "sorry" under your breath.

The people who are the most enthusiastic in your neighbourhood pujas to fetch donations from your homes and argue about how much you should give them, they kill innocent dogs on the road. Why? Because they chased his children, His teenage boy. Why? Because he threw stones at them. The poor animals could not say that and hence got killed by this man who helps perform your neighbourhood festivities. Dharma, where are you?

A lady falls down, she is bleeding and hurt. You reluctantly walk away from the gathered crowd, away from this problem. If that is your mother, you blame the city for turning insensitive. Yet when you face problems, you ask god, " Why Me?" God smiles. He knows why. He had hoped you would, too.

KaliYug took away the humanity in humans. Humans formed races, tribes, religions and castes. Humans divided nations and states. Humans fight in the name of these false barriers. Who loses? Humanity. The Mahabharat was narrated to Janmejaya with the hope that he would spare the Nagas who murdered his father. It was told to teach him and us what hatred could cause, and how lives can be miserable. Yet all we are deprived of is mere stories. Stories to tell children. Do we understand them? No.

The ancient texts were all written and taught at ashrams. The Rishis had Gurukuls. The idea of knowledge and learning was understanding the world and human life, the science, history, geography and knowledge attached to it. Everything from Astronomy to medicine, to weapons, to Politics, is in these books. Why did we stop reading them? Because our purposes changed. People don't need knowledge now; they don't need understanding. All people need is Marks. A good college. Value added to the resume. A job. A future. Kaali transformed our society into this.

What is a puja? It's sitting with a huge list of things we need: milk, ghee, curd, sweets, fruits, rice, flowers, candles, holy waters, new clothes, the list continues... so do the bills. But years ago, it just meant meditating once a day with whatever grew in your gardens. Nowadays, there are only bricks and concrete. The gardens are erased by Kaali.

What is important in life? Money, Power, Dreams. Dwapar gave more importance to Morals, Rules, Principles, Families and Self-respect. Nowadays, people sell their morals in search of happiness. Kaali had taken over all virtues, values and human ethics.

Even a few years back, people used to come to our houses at odd hours; they were welcomed with happy smiles and good food. Now, if somebody comes without informing people frown. They had ruined their day's plan. The guests are extra heads to feed. Nobody seems happy. Kaali has deprived us of our warmth and love. People find perfect partners in bank balances, social statuses and how many cars and homes they have. What about the person? Who cares as long as they hand you over their credit cards?! Love has been taken over by money and want. Desire reigns supreme. Kaali wins the brain, which acts over the heart.

Yes, the end is near. The cycle will complete, and Kalki, in his white horse and shining sword ( which some predict as symbols), will lead a few chosen ones away from the Kaali and into the Satya Yug again, where the truth will reign supreme. No power or money can suppress it. The MahaYug will end, and Vishnu will sleep in peace, his work done. Rudra will dance to destroy Kaali. Kalki will show the way. Who is he? What is he? An angel in disguise? Or the doom of Earth? Nobody knows yet, but he is one of the most fascinating characters of the future. The last of the Mahaavatars.

We wait for you, Kalki. We wait for new beginnings and a better world. Where humans will be humans and not animals in disguise, where peace will reign, and love will follow, where truth reigns supreme, and people will be happy. We await the bright future Kalki promises. He will destroy all Kaali demons of Adharma and establish true Dharma.

Demon Kali

Chandra's Choice: The Story of Dhruvasvamini

More often than not, the private lives of kings and the existence of their queens remain in the words of bards rather than those of chroniclers. Dhruvasvamini is no different, even after being the queen of the golden age of the Indian Subcontinent. She appears in the Basarh Clay Seal as the mother of Govinda Gupta (attributed as a sibling of Kumara Gupta I) and the queen wife of Chandra Gupta II or Vikramaditya. Except for one mention of Dhruva Devi, as she is popularly known, she remains a mysterious character in the Gupta lineage, with a side mention in the dynasty’s history. Visakhadatta, a famous poet and playwright, who later wrote DeviChandraGuptam as the play capturing the life of Chandra Gupta II, captured Dhruva Devi as one of the protagonists of his story. Although some scholars attribute Visakhadatta to be under the patronage of Chandra Gupta II himself when he wrote this story, many historians debate the literary work as a historical fiction written much after his time. Tru...

Battle of Haldighati

There have been a lot of talks going on regarding who won the Battle of Haldighati. While some want to change what we read and say that the Maharana won it, many oppose the point with a Mughal victory. Here, I compile every account I found of the Battle and its Aftermath and make my unbiased conclusion on the topic. PS. The dates vary from book to book; I gave the ones I found in most sources. The Background: Relation with Mughals Mewar was one of Rajputana's strongest individual kingdoms, along with the likes of Marwar and Kacchawar (Jaipur). Long before the Mughals under Akbar, Mewar under Rana Sangram Singh had successfully managed to keep the "Turk Invaders" under Babar at bay, fighting 17 wars, big and small. The relationship was further questioned when, during the invasion from Saurashtra, Sanga's widow, Rani Karnavati, had written to Mughal Emperor Humayun for help, sending him a rakhi. Contrary to popular belief, Humayun had rested on his way from Gaur (Beng...

Etched In Stone

This historical short story is a fictitious account of Ashoka, the Mauryan Emperor and his first wife Devi, who finds no place in Magadhan History. There is another fiction about her in the blog as well. This story stemmed from a merge of two ideas, one was to mention the cave inscription found in Saru Maru that mentions Asoka spending some days there with his lover (presumed to be Devi), the other idea of how if words did not immortalise a lot of battles and achievements, the names of many great men would be lost in time. The prince stood on the edge of the cliff, looking at the horizon. Dawn arrived as the birds started leaving their nests, wings fluttering, eager to discover the world. He looked up at them, the thought of once again going back to exploring the length and breadth of his state making him feel a little restless as he eyed his healing wounds. He was left to die; his enemies wished so. Yet by some miracle of fate, as if his purposes were yet to be fulfilled, here he was ...

The Timurid Empress

Ruqaiya Sultana Begum was born to Babur's second surviving son, Hindal Mirza, and his wife, Sultanam Begum, in 1542 C.E., merely a few months after Hamida Banu gave birth to the heir Jalaluddin Mohammad Akbar. She was well-versed in Persian, Urdu and Arabic and was attracted to poetry and music. Being a proud descendant of the Timurid clan, most of Rukaiya's childhood was spent in Kabul, near the Bagh E Babur, built by Babur himself. From early childhood, she had seen the struggle of her family to regain their lost power in Hind. Miniature of Rukaiya Begum as Empress In 1551 C.E., just after her father died young at a battle for Humayun, leaving her and her mother in the harem of the emperor, it was Hamida Banu who wanted the marriage of Rukaiya to her first cousin, Akbar. Theirs was the first in-house marriage of the Mughals, soon to be followed by many more in the generations to come. At the mere age of nine, she had married the crown prince, and when Humayun won back Lahore...

Brothers and Sisters of Mahabharata

The Mahabharata, one of the greatest epics of Hindu mythology, not only recounts tales of valour, destiny, and dharma but also reveals intricate relationships between siblings whose lives shaped the moral and political fabric of the narrative. The bonds between brothers and sisters in the epic are diverse: marked by affection, rivalry, loyalty, and sacrifice. These relationships, though complex, embody the human emotions that transcend divine lineage and royal blood. Satyavati and Her Lineage Satyavati and her brother Matsya were born from a miraculous union between a Cursed Nymph in the form of a fish, Adrika and the King Uparichara Vasu, whose semen the fish had consumed when it fell in the river. They were discovered by their adoptive father, King Dusharaj, the ruler of the fishermen, and thus came to be known as Matsya Santan , meaning “children of the fish.” When the king found out about the twins, he claimed the male child as his heir and gave the girl, Satyavati, to the fis...

Kumbhalgarh Gogunda: Witness to Turmoil

Okay, so picture this: you’re winding your way up into the Aravallis, just 6km from Kelwara, and suddenly, perched on a cliff, there is a long, invincible wall in sight, that of Kumbhalgarh. I don’t just mean “oh, that’s an old fort, I mean, this is huge. Built by Rana Kumbha (that’s short for Kumbhakarna Singh of Mewar), you can actually see why it’s the second most important fort in all of Mewar. It’s got drama, secrets, heartbreak… basically, if these ancient stones could talk, they’d have more stories than your grandma. Let’s start from the beginning. After his father, Mokal, was killed, young Kumbha and his mother hid out on this very hill, plotting their comeback. But every time they tried to build here, the walls just wouldn’t stand. The king was stressed, "Do I need a new architect?!" he wondered. Cue the local priests, who sent him off to a saint in Ranakpur. The advice? Not what Kumbha wanted to hear. “You need a human sacrifice to build your fort. I’ll do it. But ...

The Buddhist Empress of India

Many historians believe that although Devi was the first wife of Asoka, his Buddhist queen, Asandhimitra, was not the same person. However, some also theorise based on Buddhist and Jain stories that they were in fact the same person, and the reason for that is that they don't seem to appear in the timeline together. Devi disappears when Asandhimitra arrives at the scene rather abruptly to do her charitable work. This story, however, is a retelling of folklore and not history. Please do not consider this piece of fiction as history. The whole village of Vidisha Nagari was buzzing with activity. Every home was being cleaned, and cooking preparations were underway. The youngest prince of Magadha was coming to a halt at their village on his way to Ujjain. Great unrest was reported at Ujjain, and the youngest prince, as the general of this region, was being sent by the emperor to solve the issue. The villagers were scared as the whole country knew of the Prince's arrogance and mood....

Shikhandi: A Tale of Identity and Revenge

Hastinapur was the most powerful empire in the north of the Vindyas, in the subcontinent once ruled by King Bharata. When its long-reigning and prosperous king Shantanu passed away in old age, he left behind his ambitious wife Satyabati, her two sons, Chitrangad and Bichitravirjaya and his first surviving son from his first wife Ganga, Devabrata, who took the lifelong oath of not being king nor marrying or having any progeny and hence earned the name Bhishma. When Chitrangad was about to ascend the throne, he died in an unfortunate accident, leaving the minor Bichitravirjaya as the only contender on the throne. Bhishma almost outspokenly took over the role of guardian to the throne of Hastinapur upon this event. However, the rules suggested that the young prince must marry before he could be crowned. Upon hearing of this, Bhishma sent his spies around the subcontinent to find eligible princesses who would not only marry the heir apparent but also be the future queen and queen mother of...

Rani Padmini: The Valiant Queen

This story is a retelling of some parts of Malik Mohammad Jayasi's Padmavat, which was a historical fiction poem written in 1540, about 200 years after the siege of Chittorgarh by Allauddin Khilji. Historically, the Rajputs of Mewar didn't keep accounts of their queens, even by name, so the name Padmini or Padmavati was made up by Jayasi to represent the women of Chittor who chose the Jauhar. Historically speaking, Allauddin Khilji wanted the trade route to Surat for himself, which went through Mewar and Rana Ratan Singh, a patron of art, was not known for his military skills. So when Khilji surrounded the fort, the only way out was the Saka and Jauhar. Rani Padmini's Jauhar, as it is now popularly called, is also not the first Jauhar Khilji witnessed. The Jauhars of Ranthambore and Jaisalmer happened before he attacked Chittorgarh. Also, the act of Jauhar happened as early as the Greek invasions of Porus's state, when it is described as the "Mass immolation of Sat...

Haldighati: The Battlefield

The year was 1576 CE. Four years had passed since Maharana Pratap’s coronation as the ruler of Mewar in 1572 CE. In those years, the land simmered not just with heat but with tension. The Timurid emperor Akbar, determined to fulfil his imperial vision, had sent not one, but three peace emissaries with Man Singh and Bhagwan Das leading them, between 1573 and 1575 CE, offering reconciliation in carefully worded treaties. But the wounds of Chittorgarh’s fall in 1568 CE were fresh for Pratap. With the blood and tears of Jauhar and Saka still alive, with the thousands mercilessly killed, there would be no peace without freedom. Pratap was no ordinary king, to be driven just by his zeal. He was a strategist, steeped as much in statecraft as in pride. When Man Singh came in 1575 CE with yet another offer, he was quick to realise that Akbar was reluctant to an out-and-out battle with Mewar. Pratap chose not to appear himself, sending his heir, Amar Singh, instead, stating that kings met kings...

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