A Journey To Discover Life

The night of the Bhadra Amavasya saw a funeral pyre in the Pandavas' camp. Wails of the ladies filled the air as the young brave heart was turning into ashes. The ashes lit up a celebration in the Kauravas' camp. Duryodhan, Dushyasan, Shakuni, and Jayadrata all succeeded in their mission. Breaking the Pandavas' backbone, killing their favourite son. Karna joined in the celebrations reluctantly; he had released the boy from the pain. The face kept coming back to him. After all, he was his nephew. He shut his eyes in pain. The air tonight seemed cursed. The pyre burning made the teenage widow run towards it. She had no hope of living without him. Life was already tough; each day, he went to war with a smile on his face. She had already lost her brother. Now she had none to return home to her. "Stop!" His mother pleaded between the wails. "Stop her, someone, please!" None could move. The 13th day of war had turned everyone into stone-cold statues.  "Ut...

Rao Nahar Panwar made Mandore the capital of Marwar, Rajasthan, until Rao Jodha shifted to the Mehrangarh Fort. Mandore, a few km from the blue city of Jodhpur, now stands as a tourist spot with an archaeological park of ancient temples.  Dated back to around the 6th Century and older, these temples are an example of wonderfully curved stone architectural wonders. Amongst them stands a temple to an unusual deity. The King of Lanka, the demon devotee of Shiva, Ravana. Surprised? The Brahmins of this place religiously worship him twice every day. Why? Temples at Mandore During the Puranic times, Maya Danav, the architect among Demons, son of Rishi Kashyap and his wife Aditi, used to rule Mandore, with his consort, the Apsara queen Hema. They had two sons, Mayavi and Dhundhuvi, but yearned for a daughter. Devotees of Shiva prayed to him for a daughter. Once, an Apsara, Madhura, visited Kailash in the absence of Devi Parvati and tried to seduce the Lord. Angered at her action, the Devi...

Bikaner, lying in the western part of the Thar, was a small yet independent state until Raja Kalyanmal surrendered to Akbar's Rajput Policies in 1571 CE. His fourth son, Prithviraj Rathore, being a great warrior and poet, was respected as one of the "Nine Gems" in Emperor Akbar's court. Prithviraj was the son of Kalyanmal's first wife and queen Rani Songaribai Rainawati, a cousin of Maharani Jaiwanta Bai of Mewar. Hence, he was a cousin to the valiant Rana Pratap Singh of Mewar. He was also married to one of  Rana Udai Singh of Mewar's daughters from his other wives, half-sister to Kunwar Pratap, Baisa Jaswande. Many regard Jaswande as Raja Kalyanmal's lesser wife or wife of the crown prince Rai Singh of Bikaner, but Todd's journal mentions the Mewari princess as wife to Prithviraj. In 1572 CE, Prithviraj, along with his wife Jaswande Baisa, had made the Agra Fort his home to serve Akbar, as per the order of his father, rather unwillingly, for the sake...

The Historical fiction is woven mainly from folklore from James Todd's semi-historical book. However, a very vague historical presence is found in Bhojraj, the first king of Mewar. The year was 713AD. The Maurya descendants, the Moris, ruled over the Chitrakut area of western Rajasthan. The areas around Chitrakoot were ruled by many small Chieftains. One of them was Rawal Mahendra II, a Guhilot descendant. (The descendant of Guha and Nagaditya) As most power struggles suggest, one of his ministers betrayed and killed him and made himself Rawal. Once, Kalbhoj was in the forests near Nagda, close to the borders of the Solanki ruler, looking after his herds. The youngest Solankini princess was out in the forest playing with her Sakhis. They were making failed attempts to make a Jhula on a banyan tree. Kalbhoj was watching them try when one of the Sakhis spotted him. Witty and charming, he always grabbed everyone's attention. Mahendra II had two wives, his first being a Paramara pr...

  “Bharat Ka Veer Putra Maharana Pratap jald hi Sony Entertainment Television par” “Maa, see here, another Historical!” I smiled, waving at the TV. “About whom?” She frowned, knowing it would mean one more 30-minute slot to take over the TV. As if Mahabharat was not enough! “Rana Pratap Singh!” I said gleefully. “They are not showing who will play it, though.” The last Historical I truly loved was Veer Shivaji, which ended suddenly.  Two days later…. “Bharat ka veer putra Maharana Pratap Sattais May se Sony Entertainment Television par” 27 th  May 2013: “Dhola maru Dharti ro… laal ayo re….” His brown eyes, that red tika, that run through the sands of Jaisalmer … I was already in love with Kunwar Pratap. Having read the history, I knew Dheerbai’s sweet talks were purposeful, but so what? One needs talent to make the enemy dance to your tunes. And Jaivanta Bai ji. Wow! That aura of grace, I was always a fan of Rajsree ji. And one episode gave me three favourites together, F...

T his is written based on folklore. This is a representative work of fiction and does not claim any historical events in the conversations. This is to show the spirit of the women of Rajputana.  The year 1657.  Shah Jahan had taken ill and was rumoured to be dying in Agra Fort. He was about eighty, and the pressure of having an empire had taken a toll on his body. The seat of power was slowly shifting from Agra to Delhi since the prominence of the Laal Quila had increased, and if the news spread was to be believed, his sons were in a battle for the throne already. It was time each king chose sides once again. Dara Sikhoh was the eldest and the righteous Heir to the throne. He was believed to be a man who held high morals and was hence respected by both enemies and allies as well. Aurangzeb was his sibling and the youngest of the brothers. Short-tempered and cunning, he was always dreaded by the court. As Shah Jahan took ill, Aurangzeb took this as a golden opportunity to wage ...