Patna or ancient Pataliputra became Magadha’s capital after the Kings realised the importance of Ganges as a mode of transportation. Rajgir, the initial capital was closer to the mines that were located down south. However, with the rise of Pataliputra, it faded away. When modern Bihar was formed, Patna was a natural choice to be […]
My guide picked up a leaf that fell from the Banyan tree and handed it over to me. The very tree (albeit descendant) under which Gautama became the Buddha. The value we ascribe to things is proportional to your beliefs only. I remember that when I was a kid there used to be a bottle […]
There is a place in India for everything. Banaras is where people go to die and attain “Moksh”( salvation). Gaya is where those who couldn’t attain salvation before their death are remembered and sent to Swargalok (heaven). The dead incur expenses for everything here. “South ka log bahut aate ho Kya yahaan pe?” I asked […]
It is said that the fire that engulfed Nalanda raged for six months. Such was the size of the university and the books that it contained. The mammoth structure was built of wood and bricks and both were burnt to the ground. As I stood at the ruins, I could see the burnt mark over […]
Probably the first event in Indian History that had my blood boil was the Jallianwala Bagh massacre. It is probably the one event that shook the conscience of the nation and to this day kept alive in the memory of all across the country. On that fateful day in 1919, General Dyer who came to […]
Anybody who has read Manto would have experienced vicariously the horrors of Partition. The scale of such an artificial displacement very often doesn’t get the treatment it ought to in our history books. Many of them start with the British rule, the resistance to it and lead up to the events that lead to Partition […]
The soldier in the black clad Pathani Uniform beat his feet high. The Indian BSF Soldier raised his feet also high to touch his “pagdi” (headgear) and then spread both his arms wide and increased his presence. Then he adjusted the tips of his moustache as if to display his masculinity. If someone asks me […]
“You replace my car. I don’t want anything else” the owner of the Maruti Alto said. My driver was helpless. He kept negotiating. The next offer was even more ludicrous. “You can keep my car. Leave your car to me” The owner of the alto was telling this genuinely. It was an offer and not […]
Brahmaputra is vast. As a person from the small state of Kerala, my imagination always run wild when I think of the big three rivers of India:- Ganga, Brahmaputra and the Indus. Of these while the Ganga and Indus evoke emotions of Bhakti, Brahmaputra commands a certain respect tinged with fear. It brings forth the […]
Manimalay trudged through the mist filled grasslands in the forest. Four of us were seated atop the cushioned seats fixed to her. The mahout, Tiber, kept on talking to her as if she could understand every word of it. Sometimes, he also got her with the stock that he held in his hand. Manimalay, a […]