Through our meandering journey across India one of the recurring themes we have come across are ancient rock cut Buddhist caves. These monuments, which date back (in some cases) thousands of years served as settlements where monks lived and worshiped and can be found strewn all across the country. From Sarnath in Uttar Pradesh to Udaygiri…
Category: History
Allahabad, My Grandfather, and the house that Nehru built
Most Indians of my (Ambika) generation have grown up with stories of the British rule, the valour of many fallen Indians, the freedom struggle and ultimate independence. For those like me, whose grandparents were intimately involved in the struggle and subsequent making of the country, the stories were more personal. My maternal grandfather, grew up…
A Glimpse into the history of Lucknow
As kids who grew up in India, we were taught about the importance of Lucknow during the struggle for independence. It was during the revolt of 1857, India’s first big war of independence, that Lucknow won a prominent place in the history books. As one grew older, many perhaps forgot about this fact, who really remembers…
Gujarat’s Islamic roots
Gujarat, a state rooted in Hindu and Jain mythology and religious history, is home to some of the early forms of Islamic Architecture in India. Like other regions in India, it completely transcends the modern concept of a ‘state,’ reinforcing, once again, that this country is an amazing confluence of cultures and religions. Several buildings…
The Stepwells of Gujarat
Water has always held a central role in civilisations, and these magnificent structures make more explicit the ancient concept of the sanctity of water. Built with great thought and reason, these stepwells are akin to inverted temples, where you walk down to the water surrounded by beauty and tranquility.
Sultans of the South; The Deccan Sultanates of Bidar & Bijapur
Beautiful old monuments and ruins inhabit street corners and stand forlornly in the middle of overgrown fields, many forgotten in the bustle of everyday life. Questions as to their origins elicit vague responses and disinterested shrugs, the locals having lived besides these relics all their lives, simply consider them to be part of the topography of their little town. This however, only serves to enhance their wonder and mystery, and we can’t help but feel that we are exploring lost history, off the beaten path.
Hampi: The 5(ish) Minute Guide
Planning a Hampi trip? We tell you how to get there, where to stay & the top places to visit in Hampi in our comprehensive guide to this ancient city.
In the Lair of the Tiger
Almost as soon as you leave the crowd of the market and the bus stand behind, Srirangapatam starts working its charm on you. For liberally sprinkled in every direction are remnants of a bygone era, waiting to be uncovered.
Storytelling in Stone
Whatever your religious leaning, if any at all even, a visit to these two towns is not the run of the mill ‘temple’ visit. It is journey to time long past and the chance to experience and appreciate what some would consider to be amongst the greatest artistic achievement in South India.
The Old Man and the Dungeon
15 kms from Mysore lies the town of Srirangapatna, the old capital of the legendary warrior king, Tipu Sultan. Despite its past as one of the great capitals of South India, Srirangapatna is today a town in anywhere India. The old fort walls stand cheek to jowl with concrete boxes of the new India, with…
Dhanushkodi and the Bridge of Rama
The dark grey skies and slow drizzle adds to the sense of melancholy as one reflects on the unpredictable fury of nature. What must it have been like to live here, so far from anything else, so close to the edge of land, at the mercy of the ocean. What would have possessed the inhabitants of Dhanushkodi to persist, on this thin sliver of land, surrounded by salt water, braving the elements, with what would surely have been an omnipresent threat of annihilation hanging over their heads? Could it have been the faith that they would be protected by their lord, or was it simply that they had lived there for centuries and it was home.
The Forgotten Chettiars…
But the red dust and eerie silence is quietly watched over by some of the largest, most beautiful, stately mansions one has ever seen. They fill this village, and all the others in the region, reminiscent of a bygone era, when the rich and enterprising Chettiar community, financiers of the royals, lived like kings.