A Journey To Discover Life

The Nagas (symbolically snakes) were a tribe who were well acquainted with life in forests and on rivers. They were said to be the ones who ruled the waters. Historically speaking, the Nagas lived in the northeastern parts of Aryavarta, close to Manipur, and extended their villages up to the land of Burma. The Naga tribe staying in the current state of Nagaland are proof of this. Now, this brings us to the story. The Naga Chief was Kauravya, who ruled the waters of the Ganges. His daughter was Ulupi. Some say she was a widow at a tender age, and some say she was unmarried. The Pandava prince Arjun was roaming around Aryavarta in exile, for he had broken a promise and entered his elder brother's intimate room with their Shared wife. The punishment was this. He roamed all the way from Indraprastha to the mystic lands of Manipur and Nagaland. Ulupi, like any other princess of that time, desired the handsome and brave prince of Hastinapur. On hearing of his arrival in their land, she w...

Shiva - Sati/Parvati:  The Destroyer of the Trinity, the supreme God of Gods, was a loner, vagabond, refusing to settle down and be tied down by earthly relationships. Enters Sati, the daughter of Prajapati Daksha of Kankhal. At such a young age, her love moves everyone except her father. The reluctant Shiva had to answer her calls, and for the first time, somebody wanted to marry him as a boon. What followed was wrath between Shiva and Daksha, a clash of egos that ended the soft maiden Sati's life. She chose death after overhearing her father insult her husband. Shiva's sorrow turned to the angry tandav that destroyed the world. He roamed around as a vagabond again, this time with a broken heart!  A few years passed by in her memory as he roamed the land of Aryavarta, making a Linga at every Sati Peeth beside her. In that way, this time, he will always be there by her side to protect her. Enters Parvati, the daughter of Parvat Raj. She was believed to be Sati reborn by everyo...

A Railway route was being laid by the British Government in parts of West Punjab and Sindh (present-day Pakistan) in India. They came across a mound amidst the plains near the village of Harappa. Digging through the plain, they discovered burnt bricks of the exact shape and size. So many of them, as though there underneath the mound lies a huge wall of some fort. The Railway work was stopped, and ASI took over. A few years before this, an Italian youth had discovered some weird-looking seals at a site at Kalibangan. Unfortunately, before he could report it to the ASI chief, he was taken ill and died. With this discovery, the Indian subcontinent that Britishers believed had flourished only a few years before Alexander (some put the date around 800B.C.) was forced to shift the date of the beginning of this civilisation by almost a million years. The Vedas, Puranas, and local folktales were something the Indians were proud of; now, for the first time, they had proof of the actual historic...

One Individual may die for an idea, but that idea will, after his death, incarnate itself in a thousand lives. Men, money, and materials cannot by themselves bring victory or freedom. We must have the motive power that will inspire us to do brave deeds and heroic exploits.  ~ Subhash Chandra Bose  Subhash Chandra Bose, born on 23rd January 1897 in Cuttack, Orissa, was the son of a famous Advocate, Sri Janakinath Bose and Prabhavati Devi. Ever since his school days, Subhas had witnessed the national freedom movement closely because his elder brother Sarat Chandra Bose was closely associated with the movement in Bengal. After having an urge to find answers to many questions in life, perhaps drawn to the life and work of Swami Vivekananda, Subhas, along with two friends, went across the length and breadth of India. Bose, in his own words, expressed that he was unable to find a single guide or "Guru" to answer his questions. The Vedanta ideology that inspired Bose to ask question...

Note: This piece is a work of fiction based on folklore and the Prithviraj Raso, an epic saga by Chand Bardai, who happened to be the court poet of Prithviraj Chauhan. The dates corresponding to wars, names of people and places are, however, historically fact-checked from various sources, including the works of Todd (semi-historical), The  Amir Khusrau and contemporary sources like R.C.Majumder. The incidents are fictionally woven. Around the year 1140 A.D., Ajmer was ruled by Anangpal of the Tomara Dynasty. Delhi was the seat of power of the Sultanate, which was a constant power struggle for them. He managed to capture most parts of west Rajputana briefly, and present-day Haryana and Punjab were also part of his kingdom. The old king had a son and two daughters. His concern grew as his son Surya was not talented enough to rule Ajmer. His youngest daughter, Princess Karpuri Devi, was married to Someshwar Chauhan of the famous Chauhan clan. Their son, Rai Pithora, helped his materna...

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...