Indian History and Culture | Cultural History of India

A paradise unexplored, northeast India is not just a treasure trove of cultural and natural wonders, it also has an astonishingly rich archaeological heritage. Recently, Indian archaeologists made an exciting discovery in Mizoram – the jungle-clad remains of a lost civilization that may hold the key to hitherto unknown facts about northeast India. Located close to the Myanmar border, the lush forested village of Vangchhia lies nestled in the Champhai-Farkawn mountain range of Mizoram. For years, hundreds of megalithic stone sentinels or menhirs have stood guard in this little village.

A revered site for them, the locals call it the Kawtchhuah Ropuithe or the Great Gateway, a name that was as enigmatic as the engravings on the menhirs.

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Engravings on a menhir at Vangchchia[/caption]

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It was in the summer of 2010 that this rare site finally came into the archaeological spotlight. P Rohmingthanga, the convener of the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH)’s Mizoram chapter, was touring the Mizo countryside to discover and document lesser-known heritage sites. Fascinated by the mysterious menhirs of Vangchhia, Rohmingthanga urged the Archaeological Survey of India to investigate the site. Thanks to this retired IAS officer's consistent efforts, ASI’s director-general Rakesh Tiwari (the first archaeologist to hold the organisation’s top job in over two decades) accepted an invitation to visit Vangchhia. Accompanied by a team of ASI archaeologists and INTACH officials, he visited the remote village in November 2015.

Excited by the discovery of ancient pot shards at one of the sites, the ASI director-general soon dispatched an excavation team to Vangchhia.

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P Rohmingthanga and Rakesh Tiwari with the ASI team[/caption]

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In the excavations that followed, the team discovered as many as 20 cobbled stone structures, reminiscent of ancient graves, fragments of ancient charcoal and several organic remains that were sent to specialized laboratories for radio carbon dating. However, the find that excited the team the most, was a 200-meter long water pavilion(a pool of water surrounded by an elevated platform that acts as a recreational area), a stone structure similar to those found in Mughal cities that was probably used as an entertainment arena.

This was a huge discovery because the archaeologists believed that the existence of a water pavilion indicated the strong likelihood of a prosperous ancient settlement in the region.

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Engraved menhir at Vangchhia[/caption]

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Recalling the expedition, Dr. Sujeet Nayan (Assistant Superintending Archaeologist at ASI Delhi and Director of the Vangchhia excavation) told Northeast Live,

"We were exploring what lay beneath the bushes and thick foliage of the forest. It was amazing to stumble upon so many things. This site could hold traces of a lost city or even a greater lost civilization. Which is why we need more time and research to reach a final conclusion."

The first ASI excavation team camped at Vangchhia for about a month. Their preliminary archaeological excavations suggested that the village could be one of the largest necropolis sites in the world, besides providing clues to an ancient civilization.

Also Read: Forgotten by Time: 8 Legendary Lost Cities of India

Over the following months, other teams came to the area to try to uncover the secrets of the settlement that may have once existed there. Efforts were also made to gain some insight into the unclear and undated origin of menhirs.

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ASI teams at Vangchhia[/caption]

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One of the most fascinating discoveries made at Vangchhia is the Pipute Lamlian. Roughly translating to ancestors’ pathway in Mizo, Pipute Lamlian is the apparent remains of a footpath that travels through Vangchhia before ultimately forking out in three directions, the north, the south and the east. Lined with rocks bearing engravings of bison-heads, flowers and human figures (similar to those at Kawtchhuah Ropui), the pathway looks like a rough staircase had been built into the mountainside. [caption id="attachment_72260" align="aligncenter" width="800"] kawtchhuah_ropui_vangchhia_mapuia_hnamte_1

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A pathway of monolithic menhirs[/caption]

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Similar megalithic stones have also been found near the villages of Farkawn, Lianpui, Khankawn, Khawbung, and Vaphai in Mizoram. In another unique find, remnants of small man-made cave dwellings, topped with menhirs taller than an average full-grown man, have been unearthed at the hilltop village of Dungtlang. [caption id="attachment_72261" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] embossed_figures_kawtchhuah_ropui_mapuia_hnamte_1

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Engraved menhirs of Vangchhia[/caption]

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Locals believe that a historic migration across the Chin Hills of Myanamar was documented for perpetuity in the mysterious engravings on these menhirs. There is even a local folk legend that Kawtchhuah Ropui is the entrance to a secret pathway that runs all the way to the Tiau river on the Indo-Myanmar border. This is why researchers believe that these megalithic stones could finally lift the fog over the history of how the Mizo community came to occupy the lands they do today. [caption id="attachment_72258" align="aligncenter" width="1600"] dscn0169

The entrance to Kawtchhuah Ropui[/caption]

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While the ASI's research teams have gleaned some interesting information about the menhirs and settlements through their excavations, the big questions still remain. How old are these menhirs? Who were the people who erected them and used them as a canvas? How were these huge boulders transported up the steep mountainside from the riverbanks (the only apparent stone quarry) deep down in the valley? With the current interest in Vangchhia, and sites around it, it can only be hoped that further research will help decipher the mystery of Mizoram's fascinating monoliths.

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A country with a long history of vivid storytellers and soulful illustrators, India is a nation that has always been keenly interested in visual storytelling. Many Indians have grown up reading classics like Amar Chitra Katha, Champak, Nandan and Tinkle and harbour a deep love for comic books, a literary genre with an interesting and alternative way of depicting the world. lawtoons_post_copy

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Thanks to the internet and the digital age, this love for comics has today become, perhaps, more relevant than it’s ever been before. While old-school comics are exploring contemporary themes and reinventing themselves to keep pace with modern devices and younger readers, new age graphic novels and Indian web-comics are also gradually coming into their own. In all, it's been a fascinating journey for an industry that continues to thrive, thanks to the efforts of creative people and the love shown to them by dedicated readers.

So, if you are a curious comic book fan who has been wondering how and when it all started, here is a story that traces the rise of comic books in India. Let's turn back the clock!

In 1947, noted Telugu movie producers, B. Nagi Reddy and Aluri Chakrapani, founded and published a children's magazine in a bid to help Indian kids learn more about the country's rich culture. Named Chandamama, the magazine published stories creatively adapted from mythological stories and epics such as Ramayana and Mahabharata.

Much loved for its unique style of storytelling, almost always bound by a common thread of moral values, the richly illustrated Chandamama is widely considered the harbinger of pictorial comic-style story books in India, even though it was not a quintessential comic book.

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Rare Chandamama editions from the year 1948[/caption]

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First published in 1947 in Telugu and Tamil, the magazine's Kannada and Hindi editions were published in 1949, the Marathi (as Chandoba) and Malayalam (as Ambili Ammavan) editions appeared in 1952, followed by Gujarati in 1954, English in 1955, Oriya (as Jahnamamu), Sindhi in 1956, Bengali in 1972, Punjabi in 1975, Assamese in 1976, Sinhala in 1978, Sanskrit in April 1984, and Santali in 2004. Back then, the only other comics available in India were a selection of imported digests and books like Tintin, Asterix and Obelix, Archie and Commando. An expensive buy for the average Indian, the reach of these comics was restricted only to the children of the wealthy. The change came in the mid-60s when a leading Indian newspaper publishing house, Times of India, launched Indrajal comics - the first serious effort directed towards the evolution of comic culture in India.

Well within the buying capacity of middle class Indian families, Indrajal comics made international comic heroes like Phantom, Mandrake, Buz Sawyer, Flash Gordon, and Rip Kirby household names in India.

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Indrajal Comics[/caption]

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By 1966, Indrajal was so popular that it was being published in vernacular languages, with the first regional comic being published in Bengali and eventually in Marathi, Hindi, Malayalam, Gujarati, and Tamil. Later, in 1976, the Indrajal comic series and Aabid Surti introduced one of India's earliest comic heroes, Bahadur, a hero who was not super-human but, rather, a quintessential son of the soil who fought the dreaded dacoits of Chambal, accompanied by his buxom karate-chopping belle, Bela. Around the same time, Pran Kumar Sharma, a young cartoonist working with a Delhi-based newspaper, started a comic strip Daabu that followed the adventures of a precocious teenage boy named Daabu and his mentor, Professor Adhikari. . Clicking immediately with the readers, the comic strip catapulted Pran to instant fame. The legendary cartoonist went on to create umpteen comic strips with the most popular ones being Shrimatiji, Pinki, Billoo, and Chacha Chaudhary.

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With their familiar middle-class backdrop and stories, Chacha Chaudhary comics found ardent fans, not only among children but also among the young adults who identified with the familiar setup of the 1970s and ’80s.

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Pran's Chacha Chaudhary[/caption]

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The immediate success of Indrajal Comics and Pran's comic strips gave a further boost to the blossoming Indian comic industry. In 1967, editor Anant Pai and publishing director H.G. Mirchandani of India Book House, launched Amar Chitra Katha. After ten poor-selling Hindi translations of western illustrated classics like Cinderella and Snow White, Pai finally released Krishna in 1969. It was published in English, not Hindi, as Pai knew that the market for such comic books was the rapidly growing English-speaking middle class of urban India. The first book in the Amar Chitra Katha series, Krishna, established the formula for the series by focusing its narrative on the dramatic tales of one hero (featured on the cover). [caption id="attachment_72550" align="aligncenter" width="500"] 91lyd66scml

Amar Chitra Katha's first Indian comic, 'Krishna'[/caption]

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Conceptualised by Pai, who also wrote the stories for most of them, this series infused India's rich treasure of folklore, mythical tales and legendary characters into comics. A welcome change for Indian readers, it was only a matter of time before Amar Chitra Katha became a household name in India. Today, more than 100 million copies have been sold worldwide and Amar Chitra Katha has become pretty much synonymous with the quintessential Indian comic book. Soon to follow Amar Chitra Katha’s lead was Diamond Comics from New Delhi. In 1978, they introduced India's very own superhero, Fauladi Singh. However, one of India's earliest comic superheroes, Batul the Great, was created during the 1960s by Narayan Debnath for the Bengali children's monthly magazine Shuktara. Interestingly, Narayan Debnath also holds the record for the longest-running comic by an individual artist for his Handa Bhonda series, which has been in circulation for 53 years! [caption id="attachment_72551" align="aligncenter" width="572"] main-qimg-7f2250fa1a57323225a7144b6e258e97-c

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Batul, the Great[/caption]

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In the late 1970s and the early 80s, many indigenous superhero comics were launched, with creators and publishers hoping to benefit from the success of the superhero genre in the West.

For a brief while, even Amitabh Bachchan was the face behind a superhero, Supremo, who wore a mask and fought crime accompanied by his pet dolphin and falcon in a series published by Star Comics, a subsidiary of India Book House.

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Amitabh Bachchan inspired the Supremo comics[/caption]

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However, the 80s also marked the launch of Tinkle, another massively successful comic series by 'Uncle' Pai (as Anant Pai was lovingly called by his young fans). A fortnightly comic magazine for school children, Tinkle's instantly likeable characters, like Suppandi, Shikari Shambu, and Tantri the Mantri, and their hilarious misadventures, were an immediate hit with Indian readers.

A fixture in India since its launch in 1980, Tinkle's unique mix of comics and articles on science, folktales, quizzes and contests has ensured that it receives thousands of letters a week from its large fan base across India.

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Tinkle[/caption]

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Another popular comic magazine in the 80s was Target, a trailblazer in the Indian comic industry for original and interesting artwork; the illustrations were executed by Manjula Padmanabhan, one of the India's earliest female comic authors The magazine's most endearing comic strip characters were Detective Moochwala, by cartoonists Ajit Ninan and Gardhab Das, and the singing donkey, by cartoonist brothers Neelabh and Jayanto.

Also Read: Tinkle Comics’ Newest Superhero Is a 13-Year-Old Girl from Mizoram

The next great leap forward came in 1986 when Raj Comics was launched in 1986. Indian comic book buffs in the late 80s grew with either the snake-shooting Nagraj, or the calm and composed science dude Parmanu, or the hot-headed, gun wielding Doga, as their childhood companions. For a brief while, Raj Comics enjoyed phenomenal popularity, selling thousands of copies each month, but sadly, this waned with the arrival of satellite TV, much to the dismay of their loyal fans. [caption id="attachment_72558" align="aligncenter" width="750"] indiatv8ca6fc_nagraj-dhruva-doga

Raj Comics' superheroes (From Left): Commander Dhruv, Nagraj and Doga[/caption]

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The 90s also saw the shutters closing on Indrajal comics in 1991. This lull in the Indian comic industry lasted until 1998, when Gotham Comics was founded, which licensed many popular Marvel and DC Comics titles for local distribution. In 2004, the Indian version of Spider-Man was created by Gotham Comics in collaboration with Marvel Comics; in this book, a young boy named Pavitr Prabhakar is given the powers of a spider by a yogi. Interestingly, the year 1994 saw the release of what can be considered one of India’s earliest graphic novels - River of Stories, written and illustrated by Orijit Sen. However, it was in 2006 that the Indian comic renaissance began in earnest. Gotham Comics metamorphosed into Virgin Comics and helmed by Gautam Chopra and Sharad Devarajan, started publishing powerful comics infused with Indian mythology and history (much like the manga series in Japanese culture). These comics use myth in the same manner as their American counterparts DC and Marvel do: as a backdrop to modern superhero stories. Their compelling comic series include Devi, The Sadhu, Project: Kalki , Blade of the Warrior: Kshatriya, and the Ramayan 3392 AD, a retelling of the Ramayana in a futuristic setting, where advances in technology explain the strange settings and the powers of the heroes. [caption id="attachment_72560" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] untitled-design-6

Virgin Comics[/caption]

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In 2009, Shreyas Srinivas and Suhas Sundar founded Level 10 Comics, which experimented with unique genres like zombie thrillers; their notable titles include The Rabhas Incident, Manga-Batu Gaiden, Daksh and Odayan. In 2011, another interesting comic series was created by Vivek Goel and Vijayendra Mohanty, and released by Holy Cow Entertainment - Ravanayan, a retelling of Ramayan with Ravana as a protagonist. The same year, Abhijeet Kini and Adhiraj Singh released Uud Bilaw Manus- a comic about a Bhojpuri-speaking hero, and in 2012, Kini released Angry Maushi, a comic that revolves around fighting the evil and corrupt for social and political justice. In another important leap for the Indian comic book industry, in 2012, Chopra and Devarajan of Virgin Comics set up Graphic India, a character entertainment company focused on creating leading characters, comics and stories inspired by Indian themes and issues endemic to contemporary India.

The first of their superheroes was Chakra the Invincible, created by Stan Lee (the comic book legend whose creations include X-Men, the Incredible Hulk and Iron Man).

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Chakra, The Invincible[/caption]

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The year 2013 also saw Abhishek Singh's graphic novel, Krishna - The Journey Within, becoming the first ever Indian work to be published by the internationally renowned Image Comics. Recently, web comics have also become very popular in India. Helmed by talented youngsters who are keen to highlight the current ills of Indian society, these web-comics have the kind of humour that makes its point without offending people. For instance, the Crocodile in Water, Tiger on Land web comic has been covering socio-political-economic issues for the past five years, while the Sanitary Panel gives a humorous feminist take on life.

A unique web comic, the Royal Existentials comic, uses Mughal miniature paintings to brilliant incorporate discussions on caste, feminism and even international events!

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Royal Existentials[/caption]

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For the past few years, comic books have created and illustrated stories that evoke hope and courage in their readers. With the advent of inspiring characters like Super Singh (an Elvis-loving, Taliban-fighting superagent) and Priya (a modern-day female superhero who is also a rape survivor) of Priya's Shakti, it seems that Indian children will finally have a new breed of inspiring comic book heroes to emulate.

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In this excerpt from The Ivory Throne by Manu S. Pallai, published by Harper Collins, we explore the initiation of feminism in Kerala by the last Queen of House of Travancore. Perhaps the simplest indication Sethu Lakshmi Bayi gave of her support to the cause of female education was a plain but unusual incentive. In the mid-1920s, much excitement was aroused in Trivandrum when it was announced that all girls who went to college in the state would automatically be rewarded with an invitation to join their queen at her palace for tea. It was an attractive inducement, one that had its charms in a princely state with a popular Maharani who was perhaps the only ‘celebrity’ available at the time. However, Sethu Lakshmi Bayi backed such symbolic gestures with actual proof of her commitment to female empowerment.

Only months after her succession, the Maharani had elevated Dr Mary Poonen Lukose, Travancore’s first woman graduate and a product of one of the best medical colleges in the West, from being surgeon in charge of the Women and Children’s Hospital and her personal doctor, to the head of the Medical Department of Travancore.

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Maharani Sethu Parvathi Bayi and Maharani Sethu Lakshmi Bayi[/caption]

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The news was printed in the Madras Mail under the heading of ‘Feminism in Travancore,’ not least because at the same time, Dr Mary was also nominated by the Maharani as a member of the Legislative Council, becoming the first woman to a take a seat in the house. It was the first time in India that a woman was being appointed the head of a major department, and also the first instance of a ‘Lady Legislator’. When she took her seat at the next session of the Council, ‘she was accorded an enthusiastic ovation and even after that, there was a chorus of praise about the liberal and wise step’ taken by Sethu Lakshmi Bayi in opening these doors to educated women.

By 1928, the Maharani would nominate another woman to the legislature, one Mrs Elizabeth Kuruvilla, who would champion a motion to give equal chances to women in government appointments, with men by the following year.

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Sethu Lakshmi Bayi with Rama Varma Koil Thampuran on their wedding day[/caption]

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By 1931, the Sri Mulam Popular Assembly, which represented local needs of the various classes of people in Travancore, to the government, saw its rules revised so as to allow women to become members and to vote. As many as five women were immediately nominated into the Assembly, but ‘it is hoped’, announced the Dewan, ‘that at future sessions, elected women will take their place’, fulfilling the Maharani’s ‘solicitude to advance the cause of women and to give them their rightful place in the political life of the country’. It was noteworthy that these five women belonged to various castes, high as well as low, in order to represent the needs of their respective sisters. Earlier, in 1927, the Maharani opened up the study of law to female students, despite adverse comments, so that in a few years, the state had in Miss Anna Chandy ‘the first woman judicial officer not only in Travancore but also in the entire Anglo Saxon world.’ She began practice at Kottayam, stood for elections to the legislature (and lost), and went on to become a criminal lawyer in the High Court in Trivandrum by 1930. The idea of a woman advocate drew much attention and also some scorn; in one amusing incident an ignoramus Brahmin was so astonished that he went around insisting that Chandy had to be a man in women’s clothing ‘since no woman could possibly argue cases with such ruthless vigour!’ Yet there were also jealous remarks that she made use of her femininity to win cases, with one disgruntled colleague claiming: ‘If I also wore a blouse and a sari, I would have won.’

In 1927, Sethu Lakshmi Bayi raised the Women’s College in Trivandrum from second grade, where it taught intermediate and ‘ladylike’ but professionally useless courses, to first grade, obtaining affiliation with the University of Madras and starting classes on history, natural science, languages and mathematics.

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Maharani Sethu Lakshmi Bayi with her consort and daughters,Princess Uthram Tirunal Lalitamba Bayi and Princess Karthika Tirunal Indira Bayi (1928)[/caption]

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Trained lecturers and teachers from Europe were also acquired at considerable expense and brought down to Trivandrum. Not only were salaries high, but these professors were also given a number of other perks so as to induce them to stay on; a Dutch lecturer discovered to great happiness that she was entitled to a large bungalow (‘the bedroom suite has three rooms’), one butler, one cook, one cook’s assistant, two gardeners, one sweeper, one chauffeur, two personal servants, and even an ayah.

Soon there were 232 women going to college in Travancore, with over 9,500 girls in English schools. Two women were undertaking legal studies, and fifteen were studying medicine in Madras.

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Indeed, such was the explosion in women’s education that by 1928, about 450 qualified women were being churned out each year, and the Unemployment Enquiry Committee that the Maharani would constitute had, to the surprise of its members, to carry specific studies on the problem of female unemployment in Travancore. ‘A degree,’ it would note in its report, ‘makes a daughter as valuable in the parents’ eyes as a son,’ also expressing some amazement that women ‘look for employment as eagerly as men do...' Of course, none of this was easy for the Maharani to champion, for there was a great deal of resistance also to progress being made. ‘Our women who have received modern education are usually found negligent,’ ventured a female columnist, ‘in the performance of domestic duties. If a woman who has the fortune to be a wife and the mistress of a home, surrenders the welfare of her spouse and children to servants, and the preparation of food to hired cooks, then the home will itself suffer badly.’ Another critic was even more vociferous: ‘Respected sister! Have you ever contemplated on why we fuss so much over this totally meaningless higher education?’ It was, in the view of this writer, also female, that ‘As women, our god-ordained duty is the care of the home and service towards our husbands. Government service and political activity are beyond its purview.’ It was, again, merely a repetition of the new cultural outlook that women were meant to be devoted little homely creatures, caring for their husbands and children, their minds not meant to tackle any superior intellectual challenges. Officials too, despite the Maharani’s policy, were unprepared when it came to conceding actual space in jobs to women. By the end of her reign, it was universally lamented that ‘the great majority of girls’ regarded their education ‘not as something of cultural value in itself, but as a direct means of securing employment and competing with men in the open market.’ But even the most chauvinist male officers had to quietly adapt to the changes unfolding in their plain view, and affirm how it was ‘quite in the fitness of things that this expansion of the scope of women’s work in the public service should come while the country is being ruled by Her Highness, the Maharani Regent.’ They may have cursed Sethu Lakshmi Bayi behind her back, but as always, once having made up her mind, there was no turning back and the cause of female education and empowerment continued ahead in full steam. (Excerpts from The Ivory Throne: Chronicles of the House of Travancore by Manu S. Pillai; Published by Harper Collins; Pp: 704; Price: Rs 699.)

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If there has been one dish that has been a true ‘game changer’ of the way south Indian food is perceived and eaten in India it has to be the humble and ubiquitous idli sambar. A dish that relies on family traditions, the idli sambar differs across regions, communities and households.

While this south Indian stable is much-loved for its wonderful taste, the fascinating story behind its origin remains unknown to most Indians.

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Idli Sambar[/caption]

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So how and where did idli sambar really originate? According to India's celebrated food historian, K.T. Achaya, idli may have its origins in Indonesia (a country with along tradition of making steamed and fermented food). In his book, A Historical Dictionary of Indian Food, he quotes the famous Chinese traveler Xuan Zang categorically stating that India did not have a steaming vessel in the 7th century. He also suggests that Indonesia's kedli, a similar fluffy steamed cake was the precursor of the Indian idli. Another very similar dish is the Indonesian Bura, a rectangular rice cake cooked in coconut milk that is served with spicy coconut powder. Given the many historical links between the rulers and traders of Southeast Asia and South India. the renown food historian's theory is plausible enough. [caption id="attachment_74111" align="aligncenter" width="800"] 800px-kue_buras

Indonesian Bura[/caption]

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Other historians believe that the word idli may have been derived from ‘iddalige’, mentioned in the Kannada work Vaddaradhane written by Sivakotyacharya in 920 AD, or ‘iddarika’, mentioned in the 12th-century Sanskrit text Manasollasa written by King Someshvara III in 1130 AD. Yet another theory claims that the idli is a version of the idada, a dish that came to the south India during 10th century AD when a community of silk weavers from Saurashtra settled down in Tamil Nadu. Idada is a steamed white dhokla which is made from the same ingredients as idli, rice and urad dal. [caption id="attachment_74112" align="aligncenter" width="2592"] idada

Gujarati Idada[/caption]

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Idli may have originated elsewhere but it was only in south India that the process of making idlis from a painstakingly ground fermented batter of urad dal and rice was perfected. Over the years, a dizzying array of idli versions evolved. Today, an idli aficionado can choose from between the thatte idlis (about the size of a plate), the button idlis (dollop-sized ), the sannas (the Goan version), the Kanchipuram idlis (steamed in baskets with grated carrots on top),the khotigge and mudde idlis (the Mangalore version which is steamed in leaves),the rava idlis (made of semolina instead of rice) and the increasingly popular ragi idlis. As for the delicious medley of lentils and vegetable called sambar, the story goes that the original recipe for this dish can actually be traced to Maratha ruler Shivaji's son, Sambhaji. This how the interesting tale goes. The Marathas were ruling Tanjavur. A cousin of the Maratha ruler Shahuji Bhonsle, Sambhaji was extremely fond of amti, a thin, spicy dal made with a handful of the sour kokum thrown in. Once when the kokum imported from the coast did not reach the king's kitchen, Sambhaji (a great cook himself) decided to experiment by using tamarind pulp instead. The dish he made was served to the court, which declared the dish an outstanding preparation. Sambhaji loved his own concoction too, and gradually the dish came to be referred to as sambar. [caption id="attachment_74113" align="aligncenter" width="780"] katachi_amti_2

Maharashtrian Amti[/caption]

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It's a theory that has its share of proponents and nay sayers but there's no denying that amti and sambar taste remarkably similar. Most food historians, including noted academic Pushpesh Pant, believe this theory to be true, noting there was no mention of sambar before the Tanjavur Maratha era. According to the, Sarabhendra Pakasasthram, a set of two Marathi manuscripts that are now housed at Tanjavur's Saraswati Mahal library, also lend credence to this theory. Another theory about the origins of sambar points to the mention of huli in a Kannada text written by Govinda Vaidya (a poet in the court of Wodeyar king Kanteerva Narasa Rajendra Vijaye) that dates back to the year 1648. Described as toor dal cooked with vegetables, jaggery and coconut, huli is believed to be akin to a precursor of sambar. Over the years, sambar has evolved into numerous variations. The sambar of Tamil Nadu is very different from the one made in Karnataka. While dry powders (podi) are used in Tamil Nadu, wet pastes are preferred in Karnataka. Even the serving protocol in traditional meals differs - in Tamil Nadu, sambar is served first and then rasam, but it is the opposite in Karnataka. The Tulu version of sambar, called koddel, is sweeter and milder while in Andhra style pappu charu is a simple thick sambar prepared with drumstick and shallots. Telangana's kaddu ka dalcha contains meat and chana dal along with tamarind and a sambar-like masala. [caption id="attachment_74114" align="aligncenter" width="1200"]

Udupi Sambar from Karnataka, Tiffin Sambar from Tamil Nadu and Varutharacha Sambar from Kerala[/caption]

Photo Source: Karnataka Sambar, Tamil Sambar, Kerala Sambar

The Palakkad-style varutharacha sambar from Kerala has a distinct taste due to a crucial local ingredient: coconut. In this version. fresh, grated coconut is roasted and ground to a paste along with fenugreek seeds, red chillies, coriander seeds, asafoetida and chana dal. The Kerala sambar is unique for another reason - just about every vegetable, from beans and raw banana to bittergourd and yam, is used in it.

Also Read: TBI Food Secrets: The Fascinating History Behind Rajasthan’s Traditional Dish Dal Baati Churma

However, the most unusual version of the sambar is the milk sambar that evolved in the 1930s as a result of an unusual blend of Maratha and Jain traditions. The Marathas had a dish called tambda rassa which was a kind of sambar made from lamb stock. In an effort to adopt the mouthwatering dish for the Jain palate, the Jains used milk in stead of lamb stock and that was how milk sambar was made. Versatile and healthy, the classic combination of idli and sambar has achieved widespread popularity in the country, Today, no matter which Indian city you're in, you'd be hard-pressed not to come across a plate of idli sambar. However, if reading this story made you crave some idli sambar, we have got you covered. Here's the recipe of Idli Sambar here.

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When Prime Minister Indira Gandhi asked Rakesh Sharma (India's first astronaut) how their country looked from space, he famously replied, "Saare jahan se achcha."

It was 53 years ago, on November 21 1963, that a small rocket took off from Thumba on the outskirts of Thiruvananthapuram, announcing the birth of the modern space age in India. The sleepy palm-fringed village soon came to be known as Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launch Station (TERLS) and later became Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC).

This is the story of the first-ever rocket launch by Indian space scientists, the first milestone in modern India's space odyssey.

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Till 1963, the obscure village of Thumba would not have merited a second look. A quintessential Kerala fishing hamlet with thatched huts, coconut groves and peaceful sea, it was an unlikely setting for a rocket launch station. However, it did have something that caught the interest of Dr Vikram Sarabhai, the father of India's space programme. A small church dedicated to St Mary Magdalene that was located on the Earth's magnetic equator. The magnetic equator is an imaginary line around the planet that connects all the points where a magnetic needle, when freely suspended, is horizontal. It is scientifically important because the magnetic equator is all where the Equatorial Electrojet exists - a stream of electrons whizzing across the sky, about 110-120 km above the Earth’s surface. Sounding rockets, or the first rockets sent out by any space programme, test and study these electrons for research in the fields of physics, astronomy, and meteorology. These rockets are the baby steps taken before the establishment of a full-fledged space programme and Dr Sarabhai felt that Thumba was the best place to launch them. In fact, Thumba's location at 8°32'34" N and 76°51'32" E is ideal for low-altitude, upper atmosphere and ionosphere studies. So, one fine day, Dr Sarabhai and his fellow scientists (including Dr APJ Abdul Kalam) went to Thumba to talk to the then-bishop of Trivandrum who lived in the house adjacent to the church. They were interested in acquiring the church and the nearby land for their first rocket launch. Instead of giving them a definite answer, Reverend Peter Bernard Pereira asked them to attend the Sunday mass that week, where he would put the question to the parishioners. [caption id="attachment_74323" align="aligncenter" width="650"] isro-first-office

The Mary Magdalene Church in Thumba[/caption]

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At the mass, the bishop explained the scientific mission and asked the permission of his congregation to hand over the church to the scientists. In his book Ignited Minds: Unleashing The Power Within India, Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam has described this particular incident beautifully. Thanks to the Reverend's efforts, permission was granted, the paperwork was done and the villagers relocated to a new village with a brand new church in 100 days flat. The bishop’s home was quickly converted into an office, the church became the workshop, and cattle sheds served as storage houses and laboratories. Undeterred by the little funding and few facilities, a handful of enthusiastic young Indian scientists began assembling their first rocket. [caption id="attachment_74319" align="aligncenter" width="555"]

Rockets being brought on bicycles to Thumba[/caption]

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Carefully selected by Dr Sarabhai, the then-chairman of the national committee on space research, these young scientists and engineers had been trained in sounding rocket assembly and launching at NASA's Wallops Island launching facility in Virginia, United States. The early recruits included former President APJ Abdul Kalam, veteran scientist R Aravamudan. In the initial stages, Thumba had no canteen or facilities of any sort, so the scientists would cycle every day to the railway station at Trivandrum for their breakfast and dinner (they would get their lunch packed). In those days, the only jeep was always busy, so the scientists had to either walk or use a cycle to move within the range. While weekdays would be very busy, the scientist would have nothing much to do during holidays or weekends. So, they would either go to the beaches at Kovalam or Shankumukham or catch an old Hollywood movie at Srikumar theatre.

Also Read: Here’s What These Really Cool ISRO Scientists Have to Say about Work, Motivation… And Space!

Back then, even rocket parts and payloads were transported by bullock carts and bicycle to the launch pad. It was in these unassuming settings that India staged its first launch—that of a Nike-Apache rocket supplied by NASA. This is how it happened. [caption id="attachment_74321" align="aligncenter" width="647"] main-qimg-39a8f320336eb019241d7a8007a65569_062216021512

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The Nike-Apache rocket parts being brought to the Thumba launch pad[/caption]

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After six months of labour, on 21 November 1963, India was ready for its very first rocket launch. Many eminent names in science and technology had gathered for the occasion, including Dr Homi Bhabha (the father of Indian nuclear programme) and Dr P R Pirashoty (the founder-director of Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology). The Governor of Kerala was also there along with the district collector and the bishop. thumba3

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When the rocket was rolled out on to the launch pad, the sultry air was thick with tension. And almost immediately the things started going awry. As the rocket was being hoisted onto the launcher, the hydraulic crane developed a leak. Somehow, it was manually shifted into position. Next, remote system of the launcher malfunctioned. Once this was fixed, things finally seemed in order. As the alarm sounded to clear the area around the launch pad, the team of scientist held their breath. [caption id="attachment_74318" align="aligncenter" width="537"]

The Nike-Apache rocket being readied for launch[/caption]

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At 6.25 pm, the world was watching as the rocket streaked away into the gathering dusk. Minutes later, a sodium vapour cloud had emerged in the sky high above, tinted orange by the setting sun. India had successfully put its first signature on space. [caption id="attachment_74324" align="aligncenter" width="334"] 1411481423-162_1-first-rocket-terls-nike-apache-launch

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India's first successful rocket launch at Thumba[/caption]

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An elated Dr. Sarabhai sent a telegram home saying: "Gee whiz wonderful rocket show." Dr Kalam later remembered how the very next day, Dr Sarabhai had congratulated the happy team and spoken to them about his dream of an Indian satellite launch vehicle. And over the years, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has not only fulfilled the visionary leader's dream, but has also made India’s space programme the envy of the world with its ‘success on a shoestring’. [caption id="attachment_74332" align="aligncenter" width="664"] rohini_launch_1

Students watching a ROHINI Sounding Rocket Launch at the Thumba Rocket Station[/caption]

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Fifty three years later, Thumba is the hub of all space programmes helmed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). The Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre at Thumba has given India launch vehicles, geo-stationary satellites (used for telecommunications, television transmission and weather forecasting) and some of the finest remote sensing satellites. As for the little church that helped India reach for the stars, it now houses a space museum replete with a fascinating array of rockets, satellites and other astronomical equipment.

8 Reasons Why India’s Mars Orbiter Mission Mangalyaan Is The Most Amazing Space Mission In The World

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Looking to reduce gluten in your diet and worried that you will be stuck eating brown rice and quinoa for the rest of your life? Fret not, these aren't the only hip and healthy alternative to white rice or pasta. There are plenty of naturally healthy options that people around the world have been enjoying for thousands of years. [caption id="attachment_74466" align="aligncenter" width="553"] od-an948a_grain_g_20120112160915

Ancient Grains[/caption]

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So, what is an "ancient grain?" While there is no exact definition, they’re generally considered to be species that have ancient roots (a cool 5,000 years old in some cases) and that have evaded the industrial grooming of modern crops like rice, wheat and corn. [caption id="attachment_74496" align="aligncenter" width="768"] ancient-grains-shutterstock_357428282-768x576

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Ancient Grains[/caption]

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Deemed the next big superfoods, not only are these grains tasty, but they are also packed with nutrients like vitamins, minerals, iron and fibre. While their nutritional credentials are a healthy perk, their earthy flavors and rugged textures have spurred chefs to experiment with these ingredients in earnest. They're also easier to cook at home than you think - preparing these grains is no more demanding than boiling pasta or steaming rice.

So, if you are sick of brown rice and quinoa, check out these ancient, offbeat options that will add variety to your plate and nutrition to your diet!

1. Spelt

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Spelt[/caption]

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Also known as Dinkel wheat, spelt is a species of wheat that has been cultivated since 5000 BC. An important staple in parts of Europe during the medieval era, this slighly sweet and nutty grain survived for many years as a relict crop in Central Europe and northern Spain before making a comeback as a health food. Spelt's tougher-than-average husk protects the nutrients within, making it higher in minerals, protein, iron, vitamin A and heart-friendly niacin (vitamin B3). Its lesser-than-wheat gluten content also makes it easier to digest.

2. Amaranth

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Amaranth grains[/caption]

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Grown in South America from time immemorial – at least since 4000 BC – amaranth is a gluten free pseudo cereal that trumps the protein content of most other grains. Other than containing lysine (an importnat amino acis missing in most grains), it also contains three times the average amount of calcium and is the only grain documented to contain vitamin C. No wonder, the Aztecs loved this little grain!

3. Farro

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Cooked (left) and dry(right) Farro[/caption]

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An ancient grain that was found buried in the tombs of Egyptian royalty, farro can be traced back further to the Fertile Crescent, a moist and fertile crescent-shaped region in the otherwise arid and semi-arid Middle East. Italians, too, have dined on farro for centuries and it is believed to have fed the Roman Legions. Known for its nutty undertones and satisfying chew, farro is extremely rich in fiber and nutrients like vitamin B3 and zinc.

4. Freekeh

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Freekeh[/caption]

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Pronounced "free-kah", freekeh is young wheat that has been harvested when still green, then fire-threshed to give it a smoky intensity and pliant pop. A nutritional powerhouse derived from Levantine and North African cuisines, freekeh remained popular in many countries of the Mediterranean Basin for many centuries. It has a smoky, nutty flavor and a firm, chewy texture. Richer in protein, fiber, vitamins, minerals and lower in glycemic index than other grains, freekeh is versatile and easy to work with in the kitchen.

You May Like: Super Greens: How to Grow Nature’s Own Super Food at Home

5. Millets

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Types of Millets[/caption]

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Tiny, light-hued grains that have been traditionally consumed in India since ancient times, millets are a nutritional powerhouse. Millet is actually the name given to several small seed grains in the Poaceae grass family. This tiny grain is gluten-free and packed with vitamins and minerals. A versatile grain, millet can be prepared like porridges, mashed like potato or fluffed like rice. Ground into flour, it can also be used to make dough, dosa, pancakes, muffins or bread. Here are 7 millets that you can introduce in your daily diet and reap benefits right away!

Little Millet (Saamai): Highest fat content of all the millets, digestion-friendly
Pearl Millet (Bajra): High calcium, protein, iron and magnesium content, helps reduce bad cholesterol
Finger Millet (Ragi): High protein and calcium content, good for diabetics and anaemics
Foxtail Millet (Thinai):Highest mineral content of all millets, good for immunity
Barnyard Millet (Jhangora): Highest fibre and iron content of all millets, rich in antioxidants
Kodo Millet (Varagu): High fibre, protein and phytochemical content, ideal for diabetics and for weight loss
Sorghum (Jowar): High antioxidant content, commonly eaten with edible hull, thereby retaining most of its nutrients

Here is some more information on how millets can be the future of food and farming in India.

6. Teff

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Teff[/caption]

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An Ethiopian ancient grain, Teff is said to be the tiniest grain on earth; it is 150 times smaller than a single wheat kernel. When ground into a flour, it's used to make the Ethiopian staple injera, a spongy fermented flatbread. Cooked whole (the grain is too small to husk), eating teff ensures that more of the nutrients are eaten rather than left behind. A fibre-rich grain with a sweet, molasse-like falvour, teff melts into gravies and stews as a flavorful, gluten-free thickening agent.

7. Khorasan Wheat (Kamut)

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Kamut[/caption]

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An ancient relative of modern durum wheats, khorasan is belived to have originated in Mesopotamia. Farmers in Turkey call the grain "Camel’s Tooth" because of its shape or the "Prophet’s Wheat", referring to another legend that Noah brought the grain with him on the ark. The sturdy golden-coloured khorasan grains are twice as large as most wheat kernels and have creamy taste. High in protein and rich in minerals, khorasan is also well tolerated by those with wheat allergies, making it a natural alternative to modern wheat products.

8. Chak Hao/ Forbidden Rice

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Chak Hao[/caption]

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Historically reserved for the elite noble class of ancient China, forbidden rice or chak hao is a rare and nutritious grain offering the many health benefits found in blueberries, grapes, and acai. Today, it is grown in the hills of northeast India (especially Manipur), China and Southeast Asia. Although chak hao starts out a deep shade of black, it cooks to a brilliant purple hue. Bursting with heart-healthy anthocyanins (the antioxidant that gives the rice its color), vitamins, iron and fibre, this rice has a sweet, slightly nutty flavour that is exemplified in the Manipuri black rice kheer.

9. Bhutanese Red Rice

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Bhutan Red Rice[/caption]

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A russet-coloured Himalayan heirloom rice, Bhutanese Red Rice has been grown for thousands of years at 8,000 feet in the fertile soil of the Paro Valley. The natural reddish pigment in this nutrient-rich grain is formed by minerals (like magnesium, manganese, molybdenum and phosphorus) in the glacial water-irrigated soil. This gluten-free culinary superstar is ready to be served in about 20 minutes and is great for dishes where its bold, earthy flavours will be the focus.

10. Fonio

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Fonio[/caption]

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A drought-resistant grain rich in amino acids, fonio is thought to be the oldest cereal in West Africa. It starts out looking like a field of green grass, and at its maturity looks like hay, which is harvested and hand processed to separate the seed and the husk. The gluten-free and mineral-rich grain is the smallest in the millet family, with nearly 2000 grains per gram! Ranking lower than other grains on the glycemic index—a measure of how fast a food spikes your blood sugar—fonio is a smart choice to slow digestion to stave off cravings, especially in diabetics.

11. Job's Tears

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Job's Tears[/caption]

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An ancient East Asian grain, the plump, chewy Job's Tears gets its name from its teardrop-like shape. They are also called coix seeds, Chinese barley rice, Chinese pearl barley, or hato mugi. A common ingredient in China, Korea, Vietnam and Thailand, it is used to make tea and soups, and used with other herbs in traditional Chinese medicine. Full of antioxidants and high in fibre, this versatile ingredient has slightly nutty, toasty taste and an unusual texture that lends itself very well to soups and salads.

Also Read: Fortify Yourself Against Pollution by Including These Antioxidant Rich Foods in Your Diet

12. Chia

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Chia Seeds[/caption]

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Another favourite of the ancient Aztecs, chia seeds have long been a staple in Mexico, Guatemala and other parts of Central America. Touted to be the next quinoa, chia seeds are extremely rich in antioxidants, vitamins, minerals and dietary fibre. Chia seeds have a gelatinous texture when soaked in liquid similar to tapioca, which is why they work well as a binder in gluten-free foods and can be used to make a delicious vegan pudding.

13. Buckwheat

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Buckwheat[/caption]

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A grain that has been nourishing people for more than 8,000 years, buckwheat was first cultivated in the Balkan region of Europe about 4,000 B.C and was one of the first crops grown by the early American settlers. Contrary to its name, buckwheat isn’t actually a wheat, but a pyramid-shaped fruit seed. Buckwheat groats, as the seeds are called, are gluten-free, heart-friendly and particularly rich in soluble fiber, which is important when you’re looking to keep blood sugar levels steady.

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For the last few day, air pollution in New Delhi has been truly off the charts. The level of PM 2.5, tiny particles suspended in the air that can lodge in lungs and cause disease, hit a new peak of 999 micrograms per cubic meter -- 40 times what is considered safe and beyond what the scale was designed to measure. While air quality tends to worsen around this time of year as millions of Indians light firecrackers to celebrate the festival of Diwali, winter weather also plays a factor — cooler temperatures and slower winds prevent the smoke from being blown away. However, the problem of air pollution in the country is not limited by season or geography. According to the World Health Organization, India has 13 of the 20 most polluted cities in the world. The study published this week in the journal Geophysical Research Letters, every year, more than half a million people are estimated to die prematurely because of air pollution. As New Delhi grapples with the worst smog in 17 years, a growing public outcry has forced the government to adopt tougher measures. Tougher vehicle emissions standards have been made mandatory by 2020, taxis have been ordered to switch from highly polluting diesel to compressed natural gas, bans on burning garbage and agricultural waste have been put in place, and fines are being levied for spreading construction dust. However, there was a time in India when people didn't wait for a crisis to work towards a clean environment. Governance with a focus on clean environment and wildlife conservation in India dates back to 3rd century BC during the time of Chandragupta Maurya and Ashoka.

Ashokan edicts (stone inscriptions), that date back to the 3rd century, clearly provide the first constitutional check against environment degradation and animal cruelty.

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An Ashokan edict[/caption]

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The Mauryan period is one of the well-documented and well-researched periods in early Indian history. There are already several studies on the stone inscriptions of the time of Asoka, the third Mauryan king. A talented military leader and an extraordinary statesman, Ashoka ruled the whole of Indian sub-continent from 269 BC to 232 BC . Ashoka won a brutal and bloodthirsty war against Kalinga in 261 BC, but the devastation and suffering caused by the war made him renounce violence. He gave up the predatory foreign policy that had characterized the Mauryan empire up till then and replaced it with a policy of peaceful co-existence.

In the post-Kalinga years, not only did Ashoka become a philanthropic administrator, he also became an ardent supporter of forest conservation and wild life preservation.

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Emperor Ashoka and the Ashoka Pillar at Vaishali where Buddha preached his last sermons[/caption]

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Ashoka believed that the state had a responsibility not just to protect and promote the welfare of its people but also its forests, wildlife and environment. Hunting certain species of wild animals was banned, forest and wild life reserves were established and cruelty to domestic and wild animals was prohibited.

You May Like: Modern India Can Learn a Lot from These 20 Traditional Water Conservation Systems

Through his rock edicts, Ashoka had also strictly banned burning chaff after harvest - a practice that has contributed to the thick smog in Delhi and its adjoining region in the last few days. The polluting of water sources was banned.

The Mauryan state also maintained the empire's forests, along with fruit groves, botanical pharmacies and herbal gardens that had been established for the cultivation of medicinal herbs.

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Sanchi Stupa[/caption]

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One of his minor edicts, Ashoka states,

"Wherever medical herbs suitable for humans or animals are not available, I have had them imported and grown. I have planted mango groves, and I have had ponds dug up and shelters erected along the roads at every eight kilometers. I have had banyan trees planted on the roads to give shade to man and beast. Everywhere, I have had wells dug for the benefit of man and beast."

In ancient India, wild animals were considered the property of the emperor. Ashoka banned royal hunting parties and animal sacrifices at a time when these were the norm. Then he took the process one step further. In an act unmatched by even the most progressive modern states, Ashoka established free veterinary hospitals and dispensaries.

Fa Hien, the Chinese traveller who came to India during his reign had written about veterinary hospitals in Pataliputra, which were probably the first in the world.

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An artistic depiction of Fa Hien in India[/caption]

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Even Ashoka's ancestor, Chandragupta Maurya is believed to be a patron of conservation. His mentor and minister, Chanakya's book Arthashastra clearly defined a set of basic rules for protection and conservation of wild animals. It also prescribed severe penalty provisions for those found guilty of cruelty to animals. Chanakya also considered all parts of a tree important and fixed punishments based on the destruction of specific parts of the tree. Ashoka's edicts on stone, replete with reverence for all forms of life, survive even today. One of India's foremost environmentalist, Chipko movement leader and staunch Gandhian, Sunderlal Bahuguna has often reminded the country of Ashoka's protection of plants and trees during his lifelong battle against deforestation. Ashoka's rule is the foremost example of ecologically responsible statehood in India's ancient history. At a time, when the country needs a stronger political will and better coordination to tackle the menace of environmental degradation, Ashoka's green legacy can act as an inspiring example. Here's a petition that urges the PM to put an end to polluting practice of burning chaff after harvest.

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Also Read: 14 Fascinating and Perplexing Unsolved Mysteries of Indian History

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Butter chicken – two simple words to describe one of the richest of Indian dishes. Succulent chicken pieces wrapped in an utterly butterly combination of cream, tomatoes and aromatic spices, this composite dish is a culinary star that tickles palates across the world. Known as murgh makhani in Hindi, it is also one of the most popular Indian dishes recreated around the world. While this iconic dish remains a much-loved favourite on menus across the country, few Indians know about the humble and practical origins of the butter chicken.

So how and where was the decadent delight called butter chicken first created?

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Butter Chicken[/caption]

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The genesis of the original butter chicken is inextricably tied to the evolution of another gastronomical hero, the tandoori chicken. The origins of the latter lie in Gora Bazaar in Peshawar, where nearly 100 years ago, a man named Mokha Singh Lamba started a small restaurant. The restaurant's young chef Kundan Lal Gujral decided to experiment by skewering yoghurt marinated pieces of chicken and sticking them into the tandoor (which was previously used only for breads). Thus, the incredibly popular, ubiquitous tandoori chicken was born. [caption id="attachment_75139" align="aligncenter" width="508"] 709457284

Kundal Lal Gujral (centre) with Indira Gandhi[/caption]

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Cooked in the radiant heat of the clay tandoor, fragrant and flavoured by the smoke rising from the hot coals, the version Gujral made—with crispy skin and a recognizably bright red exterior—became an enormous success until he was forced to flee Pakistan during the 1947 Partition of India. In his new home in Delhi, Gujral founded a new restaurant, Moti Mahal, in Daryaganj. The refrigeration facilities or lack of thereof at that time led to Gujral having to innovate again to avoid wastage, especially that of the unsold tandoori tikkas. He deduced that a tomato gravy, lush in butter and cream, would soften his leftover chicken and served it as such. The combination proved to be a masterstroke and thus, by accident or an act of genius, the butter chicken was born. [caption id="attachment_75135" align="aligncenter" width="4928"]

Coal roasted skewers of chicken in Old Delhi[/caption]

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The trick behind this mildly spiced recipe lay in getting the temperamental combination of tangy tomatoes and rich dairy textures right. And Gujral had got it just right, creating a dish destined for gastronomic glory. Interestingly, buoyed by the fantastic response he got for this dish, Gujral went on create the dal makhni, another gem of a dish that follows similar culinary principles. In its 1950s heyday, Gujral's Moti Mahal was extremely popular with celebrities and world leaders, including Zakir Hussain, Jawahar Lal Nehru, Richard Nixon and John F. Kennedy. Freedom fighter and independent India's first education minister, Maulana Azad reportedly even told the Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, that while in India he must make two visits - to the Taj Mahal in Agra and the Moti Mahal in Delhi. And the Shah followed his advice, adding his name to some of the most renowned patrons of Moti Mahal. In its more recent times, Moti Mahal was visited by none other than renowned master chef Gordon Ramsay, who even went behind the counter in the kitchen of this really old restaurant. [caption id="attachment_75138" align="aligncenter" width="4320"] p1010594

The original Moti Mahal at Daryaganj[/caption]

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Over time, the butter chicken's immense popularity saw many other restaurants coming up with their own versions of this cult classic. This led to evolution of various derivatives such as Chicken Lababdar, Chicken Tikka Masala and the Mumbai-style Murgh Makhanwallah that has spices tempered to that region’s sensibilities. The chicken lababdar is a fusion of the traditional makhni gravy and the textured onion masala used in Mughlai dishes. Ingredients like cashew nuts, poppy seeds, almonds or char magaz (a combination of four seeds/nuts: almonds, pumpkin seeds, cantaloupe Seeds and watermelon seeds) are also used to lend a creamier, richer taste to this dish. [caption id="attachment_75128" align="aligncenter" width="630"] 28tvm_punjabi_1971422g

Chicken Lababdar[/caption]

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A gravy dish containing tikka chunks, cream, a blend of spices and tomatoes, chicken tikka masala is another version that is essentially butter chicken sans bones; tikka (refers to boneless chicken that is marinated in spiced yoghurt, cut into small pieces and baked in a tandoor) is literally means 'bits and pieces'! In 2001, perhaps a little bizarrely, chicken tikka masala was named a ‘British national dish’ by the Foreign Secretary Robin Cook. This led to a fierce debate on the origin of this popular dish. According to one theory, it was supposedly invented by the first Mughal emperor, Babur, who is rumored to have been so afraid of choking on chicken bones that he ordered his chefs to remove them. Zaeemuddin Ahmad, chef at the Karim Hotel in Delhi, on the other hand, claims that the recipe for tikka masala has been passed down through generations of his family and originated during the reign of Bahadur Shah II (1837-1857).

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Yet another oft-quoted tale about the chicken tikka masala goes this way: In the early 1970s, a British man ordered chicken tikka at Sheesh Mahal, an Indian restaurant in Glasgow. When it arrived, he complained that it was too dry and that he would like some sauce with it. Ali Ahmed Aslam, the proprietor of the restaurant claims that tossed a tin of canned tomato soup onto the tikka, added some yoghurt and sprinkled in some spices to appease the gentleman and thus Britain's much loved dish was born. However, while chicken tikka masala's transnational history still remains unclear, there is no doubt that this delicious dish continues to be one of India's most popular, internationally-loved delicacies. [caption id="attachment_75132" align="aligncenter" width="3456"] healthy-chicken-tikka-masala-9443a3

Chicken Tikka Masala[/caption]

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The butter chicken and its many equally-delightful versions are the perfect examples of the fact that the best things in life are often discovered by accident. But don’t take our word for it - here are the recipes of butter chicken (the Moti Mahal version), chicken tikka masala, chicken lababdar and murgh makhanwallah to help you make them at home. After all, tasting is believing!

Also Read: TBI Food Secrets: India’s Favourite South Indian Dish, Idli Sambar, Has Many Fascinating Legends

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The recent announcement about the demonetisation of ₹ 500 and ₹ 1000 currency denominations has caused ripples of excitement about its impact on black money as well as anxiety about what's in store for the common man. Whether the bold move will lead to significant benefits is something that will emerge only with the gradual passage of time, but one immediate impact is already clear - the lives of millions of Indians have been sent into a tizzy. While the sudden decision has received as many brickbats as it has bouquets, it has also reminded many of a medieval monarch who once tried his hand at demonetising in 14th century India - Muhammad Bin Tughlaq. Demonitisation is the act of retiring an old unit of currency and replacing it with a new currency unit. During his reign, Tughlaq had demonetised gold and silver coins and replaced them with copper and brass ones!

Here is the story how Muhammad Bin Tughlaq’s infamous currency change took place in the 14th century India.

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Muhammad Bin Tughlaq[/caption]

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One of the most interesting personalities of medieval Indian history, Muhammad Bin Tughlaq ruled over northern parts of the Indian subcontinent and the Deccan from 1324 to 1351 AD. A learned man with an open mind and a unique streak of intellectual creativity, Tughlaq was well versed in poetry, astronomy, religion and philosophy. A ruler whose real expertise shone in the times of war, Tughlaq took some very bold and strong measures to reform the administration during his chequered reign as the Sultan of Delhi. In 1329 AD, he shifted his capital from Delhi to the more centrally located Devagiri in Maharashtra, which was renamed Daulatabad. He had many motives for doing so - other than saving his capital from recurring Mongol raids, the move would cement his control over the rich fertile lands of the Deccan and ensure access to the busy ports on the Gujarat and the Coromandel coast. While there was nothing fundamentally wrong with Tughlaq's pragmatic decision, his blunder lay in ordering the entire population of Delhi to move to the new capital (instead of just shifting his official court). Despite the many arrangements that were made for the convenience of the travellers, the suffering of the people was terrible and many people died on the way. [caption id="attachment_75456" align="aligncenter" width="941"] 178717xcitefun-daulatabad-fort-02

The ruins of Daulatabad Fort[/caption]

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However, no sooner had the Sultan reached Daulatabad when trouble broke out in Bengal as well as on the northwestern frontier. Tughlaq realized that while his new capital was distant enough to be safe from Mongol invasions, it was also too far away to protect northern India. So, the mercurial ruler re-ordered his people to return to Delhi. Thousands were killed in the punishing 1500 km return march to Delhi. While Tughlaq did try to make amends by abolishing multiple taxes and organizing relief measures, the financial loss had been immense and the consequences for Delhi were grave.

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Not only had the imperial city lost many of its people, it had also lost its former prosperity and grandeur. The widespread public resentment against the Sultan lalso led to revolts and bitterness that rankled the Sultanate for years to come. Though Tughlaq invited many scholars and artistes to settle in the city, the impact of this incident had far-reaching consequences - Ibn Batuta, the famous traveler who came to Delhi in 1334 (during Tughlaq's reign), wrote in his memoirs that he found certain parts of the city still deserted. [caption id="attachment_75454" align="aligncenter" width="360"] ibn-battuta-and-muhammed-ib

Ibn Battuta presenting himself to Muhammad Bin Tughlaq[/caption]

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However, Tughlaq was a ruler who delighted in administrative experiments. When famine like conditions and frequent revolts began straining his coffers, Tughlaq found it difficult to maintain the supply of gold (dinars) and silver (adlis) coins on a large scale. So, he introduced a token currency system and struck vast quantities of copper and brass coins (tankas)that could be exchanged for fixed amounts of gold and silver. While this decision helped the Sultanate's finances initially, it was also a lucrative deal to forgers who began issuing a large number of fake coins. Loopholes like a simple design (the coins just had some inscriptions) and no royal seals made the task easier for forgers. Every house became a mint for copper coins while gold and silver coins were zealously hoarded. Soon, the market was awash with fake coins. As good money was driven out of circulation, the token coins became practically valueless leading to hyperinflation. Foreign traders also refused to accept them, paralyzing trade. Realising that his scheme had failed, Tughlaq withdrew the currency in an attempt to stem the economic chaos. [caption id="attachment_75453" align="aligncenter" width="1000"] gg-d406-mohd-tughlaq-mh02-21

Tughlak's token currency[/caption]

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However, the number of fakes were so large that for a number of years, mounds of worthless copper and brass coins, rejected by the government, remained piled outside the royal fort. This economic chaos and public resentment was also one of the major reasons why by the time Tughlaq died, his kingdom had diminished to a small region around Delhi. Muhammad Bin Tughlaq had the best of intentions and his moves were bold for his time but were poorly implemented. Also, in his hurry to realise his dreams, he severely punished anyone who opposed his hasty moves. This, combined with his habit of acting without assessing risks and without providing for unforeseen difficulties, resulted in his administrative gambles ending in disaster. Its small wonder that historians refer to Tughlaq as the 'wise fool'! However, it was not the only time in ancient history that demonetisation was done. There are other historical examples that highlight the incredible fragility of monetary systems too. In 1735 AD, Nadir Shah had devalued his own currency, making the double paisa coin into a single paisa coin, and ordering money lenders to store no more than 50 mahmoodis (silver coins) in their shops. Unhappy by its economic results, he withdrew the move later and even issued new coins but by then the devaluation had already made common commodities more expensive. Interestingly, there are two other examples of demonetisation, one in 7th century China (that allowed paper notes to be exchanged for gold, silver or silk) and one by the 13th century Persian king Gaykhatu (whose experiment caused so much chaos that he had to withdraw it within eight days)!

Also Read: Delhi Smog: Emperor Ashoka Did Something In 3rd Century BC that Our Modern Day Policymakers Can Learn From

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Indian mythology and folk tales are rich with interesting characters, amazing stories, and valuable lessons. Discover an 11th-century compendium of these incredible narratives that has stood the test of time as one of the world’s finest collection of stories. A few days ago, sitting in a public library in Nagpur, I was flipping through the pages of an enchanting book written by Arshia Sattar in 1994, called Tales from the Kathāsaritsāgara. Sattar is a renowned Indian scholar, translator and writer, known particularly for her interest in South Asian languages. Her body of works includes The Ramayana of Valmiki, Kishkindha Tales, and Pampa Sutra, to name a few. The latest addition to this list is the Ramayana for Children, decorated excellently with illustrations by Sonali Zohra, an artist Sattar found on the internet.

Do grab a copy of the book and indulge in some sound reading.

Image Source: Flickr

What does Kathasaritsagara mean? Kathasaritsagara, meaning Ocean of the Streams of Stories, is an 11th-century collection of Indian legends, fairy tales, and folk tales, retold in Sanskrit by a Kashmiri Saivite Brahmin named Somadeva. What exactly led Somadeva to write the Kathasaritsagara? According to Kalhana’s Rajatarangini (a historical chronicle on the kings of Kashmir), King Anantadeva’s reign was full of political turbulence. Anantadeva’s wife Suryavati was known for supporting the cause of building temples and monasteries. The Kathasaritsagara was retold by Somadeva to divert the queen’s mind from the disturbance around her and help her acquire a state of higher learning. Were the stories conceived by Somadeva or were they borrowed from other sources? A brief background of the Kathasaritsagara is indispensable before answering this question. Gunadhya is the presumed author of a book that goes by the name of Brihatkatha (the Great Story). The book was written by him on a bark using his own blood in the Paisaci language. Paisaci is believed to be one of the many dialects of Prakrit that flourished in India. A Satvahana king rejected the Brihatkatha outright, as it was composed in the most crude and unsophisticated tongue. Books in those days were nothing but barks of trees tied together with a twig, something similar to what we call “manuscripts” these days . The king’s gesture devastated Gunadhya, and he reduced six of his manuscripts to flames. All that remains today of the Brihatkatha is the seventh manuscript containing the adventures of Naravahanadatta, a Vidyadhara prince.

Somadeva supposedly adapted this seventh manuscript into his classic, the Kathasaritsagara.

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Was Somadeva the lone and only compiler of the Brihatkatha? Ksemendra, a Kashmiri poet of the 11th century, compiled the Brihatkatha 30 years prior to Somadeva, but Sanskrit scholars deemed his works “all form and no substance”. Somadeva’s compilation is highly praiseworthy, although it suppresses the Naravahanadatta narrative through a number of Kashmiri legends besides the tales of Nala and Damyanti (a story from the Vana Parva of the Mahabharata), and Vetalpanchavimshati (25 tales of Vetala). What allows Kathasaritsagara to stand out? A peculiarity of this text is its narrative in the first person, unlike the other Sanskrit texts of the same period. Another feature that sets it apart from other Indian classics is its liberal approach towards life where people need not behave as per social standing. It is a celebration of the earthly life sans the diktats of attaining moksha or liberation. The book is most presumably written for the merchant class, for trade ties were at their peak during the time of Somadeva. Is the book secular? Though the book draws heavily from Hinduism and Buddhism, it clearly does not endorse the views of any one religion. The narrative mentions a number of classes such as the Picasas, Brahmans, Kshatriyas, and Vidyadharas. However, Somadeva has neither glorified nor criticized the castes and classes, thus reducing their relevance in his text. A number of gods and goddesses frequently appear in the narrative, but they are merely providers of boons and curses.

More often than not, Yakshas, Yoginis, and ascetics intercede on behalf of the gods to save characters from eternal doom.

Image Source: Flickr

There happens to be an exception here though. There is a class which has been extensively discussed – the dubious Vidyadharas, who are celestial beings with characteristics similar to those of the Gandharvas and the Siddhas. The Vidyadharas are kamarupin (taking shapes at will), khechara (moving in air), and priyamvada (sweet-spoken). However, they are clearly mortal, and have limited powers. What kind of stories will the readers get to enjoy? The orientation of the text is a subject of speculation and research. Finding stories of Indra and Ahalya, Chanakya, formation of Pataliputra (modern-day Patna), and sage Valmiki creating Kusa from a blade of grass is amusing. One story sure to catch everybody’s attention is that of Lohajangha, a character who meets Vibhishana, the crowned king of Lanka after Ravana. Is Kathasaritsagara the source of the Canterbury Tales? The outer frame tightly binds a number of inner frames in Kathasaritsagara – essentially a framed narrative. However, when compared to the epics, it has a relatively simple structure. The Arabian Nights and the Canterbury Tales (also framed narratives themselves) have roots either in the Panchatantra or the Kathasaritsagara. The origin of framed narratives outside the subcontinent has divided scholars. But, they have ascertained that India has long been home to the concept of framed narratives and is the motherland of stories that today have a global dimension. Readers may note that Orientalists never valourised Kathasaritsagara as it subverted their belief that Indian texts were always religious and material life was completely lacking in them. Kathasaritsagara deals primarily with the material aspects of life, and this completely surprised them. What about the Panchatantra? How is it different from the Kathasaritsagara? The Panchatantra is different from the Kathasaritsagara in many forms and ways. It is a collection of stories Pundit Vishnu Sharma narrates to King Amarashakti’s three princes in the 1st century B.C. It abounds in tales of animals dwelling in the tropical forests of India and touches every aspect of human behaviour.

Vishnu Sharma bases the 84 stories on five techniques: Mitra Bheda (loss of friends), Mitra Labha (gaining friends), Suhrudbheda (causing dissension between friends), Vigraha (war and peace), and Sandhi (compromise).

Why should a reader include Somadeva’s classic in his library? Kathasaritsagara is an intersection of pan-Indian classical ideas meeting local and regional forms. It refrains from being preachy, though it is not completely devoid of a moral intent. Sanskrit verses are replete with wisdom and demand contemplation. For example, “Panko hi nabhasi kshiptaha, ksheptuhu murdhani patati” (“Dirt thrown at the sky, falls on the head of the thrower”). This monumental work is a must-read for those hunting for stories that contain the flavour of Indian soil. It is our pride, our gift to the world of story-telling. Get a copy of Sattar’s Tales from the Kathasaritsagara here. You can also read C.H. Tawney’s 1924 translation of the Kathasaritsagara online, for free, here.

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In 1967, when a 29-year-old Nekkanti Subba Rao sowed a semidwarf variety of rice in over 2,000 hectares in Atchanta, West Godavari district in Andhra Pradesh, he had no idea that the grain he was sowing would start the first Green Revolution. The grain was IR8, a rice variety that could produce as much as seven tonnes of rice per hectare, while the traditional seeds could produce only two tonnes per hectare.

This November, International Rice Research Institute is celebrating the 50th anniversary of the official release of the IR8 rice variety to Asia and the world. It was developed by rice scientists working at IRRI in the early 60s that is believed to have saved many regions in India from famine after it was released in November 1966.

[caption id="attachment_76081" align="aligncenter" width="1280"] maxresdefault

IR8 rice variety[/caption]

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In the 1950s, Asia was on the brink of famine. Food was scarce and millions of people were in danger of starvation. India was importing huge quantities of food grains from the US to feed its growing millions in a manner that was famously described as "ship-to-mouth" sustenance. By 1960, the International Rice Research Institute was established with an urgent mission: to develop a high-yielding rice variety that is resistant to attack by major insects and pests.

Peter Jenning and Henry Beachell, who joined as rice breeders at the IRRI, began experiments with rice crossing. The team tried as many as 38 crosses involving rice varieties from China, Taiwan and Indonesia.

It was from the third generation of a cross between two dwarf varieties, China's Dee Geo Woo Gen (DGWG) and Indonesia's Peta, that the seed stock of IR8-288-3 was selected.

[caption id="attachment_76078" align="aligncenter" width="1024"]

IR8 pictured next to its parents, "Peta" a tall variety from Indonesia, and the Chinese dwarf variety "DGWG".[/caption]

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The rice was first tested in 1966 in Philippines, where the agri-research firm was based. The results were amazing. From 88 kg of pure seeds sown, 71 tonnes were harvested. S K Datta, an Indian agronomist of IRRI, played an important role in demonstrating the high yield potential of the variety. On November 28, 1966, the IRRI seed committee re-christened IR8-288-3 as IR8 and officially released it. A ray of hope for people across the continent, IRB was quickly dubbed the "miracle rice".

At around the same time, Agriculture Minister C. Subramaniam had invited Nobel-laureate Norman Borlaug to work on improving the agricultural sector in the country.

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M S Swaminathan (left) and Norman Borlaug[/caption]

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Working in Mexico, Borlaug had developed a special breed of dwarf wheat that resisted a wide spectrum of plant pests and diseases and produced two to three times more grain than the traditional varieties. Subramaniam knew that if successfully applied in India, this new variety wheat would fill its granaries to overflow - as it eventually did, heralding the Green Revolution in India.

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However, India was predominantly a rice-eating nation - rice was cultivated in every region, from the hilly terrains of north and north-east to the coasts of south. With the specter of famine, shortages, and starvation hanging over the sub-continent, IR8 came as a boon to India. Nekkanti Subba Rao was the first farmer who planted and widely shared seeds of IR8 in India in 1967. The next year, IR8 was planted on 1,600 hectares in his village and the rest, as they say, was history. IR8 seeds were soon being distributed throughout the country.

Today, Subba Rao is affectionately called "Mr. IR8" and "Dhaan Pandit" in his community, due to his huge success in multiplying IR8 seeds. Incidentally, this pioneering farmer has also been instrumental in promoting and distributing Swarna-Sub1, a flood-tolerant variety of rice developed in 1979!

[caption id="attachment_76074" align="aligncenter" width="600"] rt14_2rao

Nekkanti Subba Rao with IR8 in 1967 and with Swarna Sub1 in 2001[/caption] Thanks to its short growth duration, pest-resistance and high yield, IR8 quickly became popular with Indian farmers. Being a dwarf variety, it could also withstand wind action unlike the traditional tall paddy. At a recent event to mark the 50th anniversary of the IR8 variety, eminent agricultural scientist Prof M.S. Swaminathan recalled how a farmer in Tamil Nadu's Thiruvannamalai district, K N Ganesan, had named his son Irettu (IR -ettu as 8 is 'ettu' in Tamil) after IR8. The farmer's yields had risen from two tonnes per hectare to 16 tonnes per hectare after using IR8!

Inspired by the success of IR8, Indian scientists began experimenting with IR8. In 1967, IRRI recruited Dr. Gurdev Khush to develop high-yielding rice varieties with short growth duration, resistance to diseases and insects, and superior grain quality. In less than five years, he became head of IRRI's plant breeding department and was well on his way to developing his own new varieties of "miracle rice" such as IR 20, IR 36 and IR 50 The resulting 300-plus improved varieties were distributed to rice-growing countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. In Vietnam, IR8 was was fondly called "Honda rice", as one good harvest of this rice assured farmers enough money to fund a Honda motorcycle! World rice production increased from 257 million tons in 1966 to 686 million tons by 2010, a Green Revolution that feeds more than a billion people every year. One of these varieties, IR36, is the most widely planted food crop ever grown.

Dr. Gurdev Khush shared the 1996 World Food Prize with his mentor, Dr. Henry Beachell, for their unparalleled achievements in enlarging and improving the supply of rice, one of the world’s largest food crops.

[caption id="attachment_76080" align="aligncenter" width="300"] beachell_khush_7abb6c9691ee9

Henry Beachell (left) and Gurdev Khush[/caption]

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This makes it important to invest in research on climate resilient varieties of rice and how they can be used in climate change management. It is also important to formulate strategies for effective extension of technologies to field of the farmer at the farthest point. With this in mind, Odisha has partnered with International Rice Research Institute, Manila to promote climate-resilient varieties in rain-fed areas. Scientists at the Central Rice Research Institute (CRRI) in Cuttack are working on a climate resilient variety of paddy that will singularly be capable of defying both flood and drought. In the coming decades, a climate-smart varity of rice may be the best hope of increasing food production rapidly, at low cost and without adverse environmental consequences in developing countries like India where human populations are increasing most rapidly. As IR8 turns fifty, lets hope that its new varieties stand the test of changing times as well as changing climate. In celebration of IR8's 50th year, IRRI is conducting essay and photo contests. Essay | How will innovations in the global rice sector change the world again? JOIN NOW: irri.org/ir8/essay-con

Photo | A rice farmer's life JOIN NOW: irri.org/ir8/photo-con Who can join: The contest is open to all, except for IRRI employees and their immediate family members. For more details, visit IRRI's FB page.

Also Read: A Tribute to M G K Menon, the Brilliant Physicist who Laid India’s Scientific Foundations

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In 2001, India’s ‘Cultural Capital’ Calcutta was renamed Kolkata “in order to match Bengali pronunciation”. However, the origins of the city’s name are still shrouded in mystery. Here are some of the most popular theories regarding the origins of the name of India’s City of Joys. Since my grandmother’s family hails from Kolkata, my cousins and I grew up with a number of tales about the City of Joy. I can still distinctly remember the story that she had told me about an Englishman asking a grass-cutter the name of the city. The grass-cutter, being ignorant, or perhaps absorbed in his daily chores, hurriedly replied “kal kata” (cut yesterday). Being from a simple rural folk, he felt that the Englishman wanted to know when he had cut his paddy! Fanciful derivations such as this are, unfortunately, commonly accepted and passed on in every nook and corner of India. It was quite natural for me to accept my grandmother’s theory as a child. However, as time passed, I realised that it was difficult to believe, even with a pinch of salt. This led me to seek the truth about the origin of the name ‘Calcutta’. Here are some noteworthy theories behind the origin of the names Calcutta and Kolkata. Happy reading! 1. Due to the high mortality rate among the colonists, the Englishmen called the Cultural Capital of India ‘Gol gotha’ (land of skulls). Some scholars suggest this Biblical phrase was the source for the nomenclature of the city. Another example of fanciful derivations? [caption id="attachment_74825" align="aligncenter" width="500"] kolkatatemple

The Dakshineshwar Temple, Kolkata (Image Source: Wikimedia Commons)[/caption] 2. As per A Short History of Calcutta by A.K. Ray, the name Calcutta was born out of Kilkila (an ancient province around 21 yojanas or 160 miles in extent). Ray says that Kilkila was a province with Saraswati on the west and Jamuna on the East, and contained the towns and villages of Hooghly, Basberia, Bhatpara, Khardaha, Sialdaha, Govindapur, etc. [caption id="attachment_74821" align="aligncenter" width="500"] 6139600045_bbe8d85c49_o

Another bustling day in the City of Joy (Image Source: Flickr)[/caption] 3. Some scholars are of the opinion that the city derives its name from Kol-ka-hata, the territory of the Kols (a Dravidian tribe). But there are no records of the Kols inhabiting the lower Bengal, and the very term Kol seems to be of late origin. [caption id="attachment_74867" align="aligncenter" width="500"] horsetram

Model of a horse-drawn tram in Kolkata (Image Source: Wikimedia Commons)[/caption] 4. The Englishmen faced stiff competition from other European trading powers in India such as the Dutch, Danes, French, and Portuguese. To compete with the cloth exported by the Portuguese from Calicut, the English stamped ‘Kalikat’ on their exports from Bengal, thus giving rise to the name. [caption id="attachment_74873" align="aligncenter" width="500"] © Rajesh Pamnani 2012

Statues in an artisans’ community in Kolkata (Image Source: Flickr)[/caption] 5. Another very popular and celebrated explanation was the existence of a warehouse for burning crustacean shells to prepare unslaked lime in that area. People used the term Kata used for a warehouse or kiln, and kali for unslaked lime, hence the name, ‘Kalikata’. However, we do not know for certain whether such trade flourished in this part of Bengal. [caption id="attachment_74809" align="aligncenter" width="494"] kalighat_temple_1887

An 1887 impression of Kalighat Temple (Image Source: Wikimedia Commons)[/caption] 6. Khal in Bangla, as in other languages of North India, is a canal or a ditch, and kata is cut or excavated. ‘Khal-kata’ thus, as many scholars prescribe, is the source of the English form Calcutta. Though this explanation works well with the Maratha Ditch as well (as pointed out in Calcutta The Living City, Oxford University Press, 2010), the khal of Bengal points clearly to the Beliaghata Canal that once ran west from the Salk Lakes through present day Creek Row and Lenin Sarani (Dharmatala). [caption id="attachment_76361" align="aligncenter" width="500"] metropolitan_building_-_esplanade_-_kolkata_2012-09-19_0013

metropolitan_building_-_esplanade_-_kolkata_2012-09-19_0013

The Metropolitan Building, Esplanade, Kolkata (Image Source: Wikimedia Commons)[/caption] 7. In Ain-i-Akbari (16th century) written by the vizier of Emperor Akbar, Abu’l-Fazl ibn Mubarak, the form ‘Kalkata’ occurs as a variant of a place-name on Raja Todar Mal’s rent-roll. However, the presence of other variants, and the reference to a district (not a village), clearly renders this theory inapplicable. Raja Todar Mal was the finance minister in the court of Akbar. [caption id="attachment_76364" align="aligncenter" width="500"] ain-i-akbari_the_chronicles_of_emperor_akbar_lahore_pakistan_c-_1822_-_royal_ontario_museum_-_dsc09640

ain-i-akbari_the_chronicles_of_emperor_akbar_lahore_pakistan_c-_1822_-_royal_ontario_museum_-_dsc09640

The ‘Ain-i-Akbari’ (The Chronicles of Emperor Akbar) (Image Source: Wikimedia Commons)[/caption] 8. The terms ‘Kalikata’ and ‘Kalighat’ occur side-by-side in early texts, enough evidence to state latter gave rise to the former. History dedicates Kalighat, one of the 51 Shakti-peeths of India, to goddess Kali. Other suggested variants connected with the goddess Kali are Kali-kota (abode of Kali), Kalighatta (North Indian distortion of Kalighat), and the most Sanskritic, Kalikshetra (terrain of Kali). [caption id="attachment_76367" align="aligncenter" width="500"] kalighat_temple_with_bazzar

Kalighat Temple and its bazaar today (Image Source: Wikimedia Commons)[/caption] The area occupied by the present-day City of Processions encompasses the villages of Kalikata, Sutanuti and Gobindapur. The Nawab of Bengal ruled over this province until the power shifted to British hands. Scholars regard the importance of Kalikata, when compared to Sutanuti and Gobindapur, as the primary reason for its subsequent rise as the Capital City of India under British rule. To read more about the etymology of the name Kolkata, check out the Encyclopedia Britannica article on the city, as well as this website.

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India was one of the first countries to recognise Fidel Castro's socialist government after the Cuban revolution. Ever since, both countries have maintained close contacts in various international fora, most importantly the United Nations. However, while the warmth and friendship India and Cuba have shared since the tiny Caribbean nation's revolution serve as a continuing reminder of Castro's affection for India, it was the legendary rebel Che Guevara, who visited New Delhi and Calcutta in July 1959, who laid the ground for that relationship.

This is the fascinating story of how Che Guevara’s historic visit to India in 1959 brought India and Cuba closer.

[caption id="attachment_76383" align="aligncenter" width="1050"] che-in-india

An old villager in Gandhi cap garlanding Che Guevara during the Cuban team’s visit to a Community Project Area in Pilana Block near Delhi.[/caption]

Photo Source: Photo Division, Government of India

The forgotten story of Guevara’s visit to India in 1959 came into the limelight when Om Thanvi, the editor of Hindi daily Jansatta published a series of articles and rare photographs of the visit in 2007. These declassified files revealed an interesting history of India-Cuba relations. Seven months after Fidel Castro overthrew dictator Fulgencio Batista's authoritarian regime, Cuba's newest leader decided that the country needed to build ties with like-minded independent nations, including India. He picked the man who had been his top adviser during the revolution, Argentine revolutionary Ernesto Che Guevara, to travel for three months across 14 countries that followed an independent foreign policy. As the face of new Cuba, Guevara's task was to build confidence and goodwill for the country's new government. [caption id="attachment_76386" align="aligncenter" width="720"] gallery_19370_g71u3wo53a3i27u

Fidel Castro (left) and Che Guevara (right)[/caption]

Photo Source

On the night of June 30, 1959, Che Guevara's plane landed at Delhi's Palam airport. Warmly welcomed by Deputy Chief Protocol Officer DS Khosla, Guevara and his companions – a mathematician, an economist, a party worker, a captain of the rebel army, a radio broadcaster, and a single bodyguard – were taken to the newly built Hotel Ashok in Delhi's Chanakyapuri locality. [caption id="attachment_76380" align="aligncenter" width="446"] che-gu-20

Che Guevara and his colleagues on arrival at Palam Airport on June 30, 1959.[/caption]

Photo Source: Photo Division, Government of India

Next morning, Guevara met Jawaharlal Nehru at Teen Murti Bhavan, the Prime Minister’s residence. In the formal talks that took place before lunch, the two delegations decided to establish diplomatic missions and increase trade as soon as possible.

[caption id="attachment_76382" align="aligncenter" width="600"] che-nehru

Prime Minister Mr Jawaharlal Nehru welcoming Che Guevara in his Teen Murti residential office on July 1, 1959[/caption]

Photo Source: Photo Division, Government of India

An admirer of Nehru and his socialist vision, Guevara later wrote in his report, "Nehru received us with an amiable familiarity of a patriarchal grandfather but with noble interest in the dedication and struggles of the Cuban people." The warmth of their relationship is not just documented in Guevara’s report, it is also reflected in Nehru’s gift to Guevara – an ivory handled khukri in a walnut scabbard. Today, it is carefully preserved at Centro de Estudios Che Guevara in Havana.

[caption id="attachment_76378" align="aligncenter" width="600"] 1-gift-che-001

An official of the Centro de Estudios Che Guevara showing the khukri presented by Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru to Che Guevara on his visit to India in 1959.[/caption]

Photo Source: Om Thanvi, 2007

The Cuban delegation also visited the Cottage Industries Emporium and the Okhla Industrial Area, where they saw lathe machines. They met the Indian Defence Minister VK Krishna Menon, senior defence officers, and members of the Planning Commission. They visited the Agricultural Research Institute and National Physical Laboratory. There is even a famous photo of Guevara checking out a metal detector at the laboratory of the Indian Agricultural Research Institute.

[caption id="attachment_76384" align="aligncenter" width="441"] 1417526396-872_che-metal

Checking out a metal detector at the laboratory of the Indian Agricultural Research Institute.[/caption]

Photo Source: Photo Division, Government of India

A poetry aficionado, Guevara was known to be an introvert who often worried about botching up diplomatic niceties. However, he had an entertaining side too. During a lively discussion at the residence of the Chilean ambassador in New Delhi, he decided to demonstrate an impromptu sheershasana or a headstand by putting his head on the ground and raising his feet towards the sky!

During his time in Delhi, Guevara was also interviewed by journalist KP Bhanumathy for All India Radio. During the famous interview, Bhanumathy bluntly said to Guevara, "You are said to be a communist but communist dogmas won’t be accepted by a multi-religious society." In reply, Che avoided calling himself a communist and asserted instead that he was a socialist who believed in equality and freedom from exploitation. He also mentioned that Gandhi's teachings were noteworthy as they had finally brought freedom to India.

[caption id="attachment_76379" align="aligncenter" width="295"] che-gu-4

Picture of Che Guevara taken in New Delhi by Photo Division photographer Kundan Lal who accompanied him on his India trip.[/caption]

Photo Source: Photo Division, Government of India

Despite Guevara's close ties to violence, he had a deep respect for Gandhi and satyagraha, the method of resistance that was largely responsible for India’s non-violent struggle during the freedom movement. This reveals his broad-minded outlook towards political struggles with a different historical context as well as his recognition of ideas resistant to revolutionary violence. The report Che Guevara wrote on his return to Cuba documents his appreciation for this aspect of India's freedom struggle, saying:

"In India, the word war is so distant from the spirit of the people that they did not use it even in the tensest moments of their struggle for independence. The great demonstrations of collective peaceful discontent forced the English colonialism to leave forever the land that they devastated during one hundred and fifty years."

After his time in Delhi, Guevara left to spend a few days in Kolkata (then Calcutta). However, before he left India at the end of his two-week visit, an earthquake shook Kashmir. In the aftermath of the destruction caused by the natural calamity, Guevara wrote to Nehru, signing off as 'Che':

"Being aware of the terrible havoc in Kashmir, and willing to offer solidarity to the brother people and government of India, we wish to place at your disposal the cooperation of our people, to the extent it is possible for us, in order to alleviate the sufferings of the Kashmir people."

From India, Che went on to Bangladesh and Burma, before travelling on to other countries in South East Asia, Africa and Europe. However, when he began hearing rumours about Castro’s ill health, he immediately returned to Cuba on September 8, 1959.

A man whose vision continues to fire many a revolutionary, Che Guevara's 1959 sojourn to India was the visit that laid the foundations for what we know today as the India-Cuba relationship. In January 1960, soon after Guevara’s visit, India opened its mission in Cuba. The warmth and mutual respect between the two nations has flourished ever since, with both India and Cuba expressing solidarity for each other on not one, but many occasions.

Also Read: Remembering Madam Bhikaji Cama, the Brave Lady to First Hoist India’s Flag on Foreign Soil

In the spring of 1983, Fidel Castro hugged Indira Gandhi at the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) summit while handing over the NAM chairmanship to her in New Delhi. More recently, the meeting between Vice-President Hamid Ansari and Castro in Havana in 2013 was the first time in many years that the Cuban leader met a foreign dignitary.

In another instance of bilateral cooperation, when Cuba was passing through an economic crisis in the early 1990s, India donated 10,000 tonnes of wheat and 10,000 tonnes of rice to the country. Castro personally welcomed the vessel that brought the grain and labelled it the 'Bread of India' as it was sufficient for one loaf of bread for each one of Cuba’s 11 million people. India also granted aid of $2 million in cash as disaster relief assistance to Cuba in the wake of the massive devastation caused by Hurricanes Gustav, Ike and Paloma during August and September 2008.

An interesting yet little-known fact is that Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore is also regarded as an important icon in Cuba. Tagore’s birth anniversary is celebrated every year in the country and there is even a library at Casa de Asia named after Tagore!

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Mathematics is often one of the most dreaded and hated subjects in school. However, the people of ancient India absolutely loved the subject, and made great discoveries and inventions in it that have stood the test of time. Stories of any genre catch my attention. Recently, I found an interesting piece revolving around mathematics. A little bit of research led to the complete story of Bhaskaracharya penning down the legendary Lilavati. Those familiar with Bhaskaracharya would know that he was a distinguished mathematician and astronomer of Ancient India. Lilavati is the first volume of his principal work, the Siddhant Shiromani. It contains numerous word problems on arithmetic and geometry. Lilavati, the daughter of Bhaskaracharya, was destined to die a spinster. To avoid this fate, Bhaskaracharya predicted an auspicious moment for her wedding. To alert her at the right time, he nailed a small hole in a cup and allowed it to float in a vessel filled with water.

Lilavati was told not to go near it, lest it sink at the wrong time.

[caption id="attachment_76919" align="aligncenter" width="500"]

Bhaskar’s Lilavati (Source: Wikimedia Commons[/caption] Curious as she was, she made her way up to the cup. As luck would have it, a pearl from her trousseau fell into the cup and upset its arrangement. The propitious moment thus passed, leaving Lilavati teary-eyed for the rest of her life. To help her come out of her grief, Bhaskaracharya granted her a second life in the form of a book in her name. Little did Lilavati know that the book would inspire generations of mathematicians to carve a niche for themselves in the world of numbers. Ancient India was dotted with excellent mathematicians. There were no clear and distinct water tight compartments as far as knowledge was concerned. Mathematics for the Indians then was part-and-parcel of their everyday curriculum. Here is a list of 17 riveting stories that remind us about the mathematical acumen of our ancestors:

1. It is said that the inhabitants of the land near the Saptah-Sindhu led a highly organized life. The drainage system, granaries, dockyards, and houses of the Harappan Civilization continue to astound archaeologists who find these constructions a geometrical marvel.

[caption id="attachment_73678" align="aligncenter" width="500"] 4557728956_f37f340a50_o

The Great Bath, Mohenjo-daro (Source: Flickr)[/caption] 2. It has now been ascertained that geometry was first studied by ancient Indians – the synthetic approach to geometry can be traced back to the Sulbasutras. 3. Ganita – or mathematics – has been placed at the crest of all sciences as per the Vedanga Jyotisha that even goes to the extent of comparing it to the hood of snakes. 4. It goes without saying that it was Aryabhatta who calculated the value of pi to 3.1416 and the length of a solar year to 365.3586805. 5. Indians gifted the world with the zero, indispensable for our survival today. 6. An inscription from Allahabad is a testimony to the fact that the decimal system was in vogue in India as far ago as the 5th century AD. 7. Sridharacharya, a mathematician, used a rule to accurately determine the value of x from the equation ax²+bx+c=0 – eventually recognized as the quadratic formula – around 1025 A.D.

8. Trigonometry originated in ancient India. Travelling from India to the Middle East, it reached Europe and people everywhere immediately adopted it.

[caption id="attachment_73682" align="aligncenter" width="500"] 4260498576_3709bc9012_o

Source: Flickr[/caption] 10. We revere the siddantas (Sanskrit astronomical works) for their contribution towards the introduction of the sine function. Historians consider Aryabhatta, Brahmagupta, Bhaskara-I, and Bhaskara-II the chief exponents of trigonometry. Bhaskara-I gave the formulae to find values of sine functions for angles more than 90^o (obtuse angles). On the other hand, Bhaskara-II gave accurate expressions to calculate trigonometric ratios of acute angles such as 18^o, 36^o, 54^o, and 72^o. 11. The 24th Tirthanakara of the Jains, Vardhaman Mahavir, was a great mathematician. In his work, the Ganitasara Sangarah, he notes that a negative quantity has no square root. Bhaskara, author of the Bijaganita, seconded this view. 12. Mahavir and other Jain scholars considered the concept of permutations and combinations a distinct branch of mathematics, under the name of Vikalpa. We can also find the subject of permutations and combinations under the name of Anka Pasha in Lilavati, Bhaskaracharya’s scholarly work.

13. Sushruta, the renowned surgeon of ancient India, in his medicinal work, the Sushruta Samhita, gives 63 different combinations of the six primary tastes, namely Amla (sour), Tikta (bitter), Kashay (astringent), Katu (pungent), Lavan (salty), and Madhur (sweet).

[caption id="attachment_76921" align="aligncenter" width="382"]

Source: Wikimedia Commons[/caption] 14. Pascal’s Triangle, studied under the concept of the Binomial Theorem today, is similar to the Meru-Prastara, a diagram provided by Pingla in his book, the Chhanda Shastra. 15. Historians also credit Aryabhatta, Brahmagupta, Mahavir, and Bhaskara with formulating the sum of squares and cubes of numbers. 16. Aryabhatta discovered the formula to find sum of n terms of an arithmetic progression starting with the pth term. 17. As noted by the Greek scholar Megasthanese, Chandragupta Maurya ran an efficient system for administrative statistics about births and deaths. Kautilya’s masterpiece – also identified with Chanakya – Arthashastra also supported this view. Ancient India has always been the subject of great speculation. However, there is no doubt that its people were brilliant mathematicians, and deserve every bit of admiration possible. You can read more about mathematics in Ancient India here, here, and here.

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The first rays of dawn had just illuminated the Vizag harbour on December 5, 1971, when Lieutenant Sridhar More steered the INS Akshay out towards the open sea. The previous day a few local fishermen had visited the Eastern Naval Command with pieces of wreckage and reported the presence of a large oil slick in the area. As a result, the fast moving patrol ship, also called a SDB (Seaward Defense Boat), had been dispatched to investigate the same. As the INS Akshay made its way to the spot mentioned by the fishermen, Lieutenant More saw the reported oil slick immediately, stretching out as far as the eye could see. As soon as the reached the spot, a diver was quickly sent into the water to investigate. Surfacing after a few minutes, the excited diver gasped,

"Sir, it's a submarine."

A second diver was sent in to confirm that first one had not been mistaken. He surfaced half an hour later, bringing back more details and confirming that the source of the oil slick was indeed a sunken submarine. Lieutenant More immediately sent a message that he had located a bottomed submarine to the Maritime Operations Room (MOR) in Vizag. Soon after, the divers could make out the initials on the black shape. With the information they provided, Lieutenant More sent his second message to the operations room,

"Confirmed submarine is Pakistani."

When the divers came back with the information that the submarine's estimated length was over 300 feet, Lieutenant More was stunned. He knew that Pakistan had four submarines and only the largest one in the fleet was longer than 300 feet. After referring to Jane's Fighting Ships (an annual resource book on all the warships in the world) to confirm his suspicion, he sent his last signal to the operations room at Vishakapatnam. The message, which sent ripples through the operations room, said,

"It is the Ghazi."

The sinking of PNS Ghazi during the the Indo-Pak war of 1971 has long been an unsolved mystery. With Karan Johar sharing the first poster of his movie, The Ghazi Attack (India’s first war-at-sea film that is based on the mysterious sinking of PNS Ghazi) yesterday, the debate on what caused the blast on board the Pakistani vessel has been renewed. Let's take a look at the many theories about this enigmatic incident that is believed to have tilted the 1971 war in India's favour. [caption id="attachment_77201" align="aligncenter" width="800"] mixnews1817

First Poster of the movie, The Ghazi Attack[/caption]

Photo Source

In mid-November 1971, millions of refugees were pouring into India to escape the Pakistani Army's genocidal rampage in East Pakistan (now Bangladesh). In an effort to provide shelter to the refugees, the governments of West Bengal, Bihar, Assam, Meghalaya and Tripura had established refugee camps along the border. With the flood of impoverished East Pakistani refugees placing an intolerable strain on India's already overburdened economy, a full scale war only seemed a matter of time. On November 14, 1971, PNS Ghazi, crammed with food and ammunition, quietly sailed out of the Karachi Harbour into the Arabian Sea. While the submarine had been ostensibly dispatched to Chittagong in East Pakistan, its real mission was to target India's aircraft carrier, INS Vikrant. Formerly USS Diablo, PNS Ghazi had been built during World War II. Leased out to Pakistan, it had been renamed 'Ghazi' or 'holy warrior'. South Asia's first submarine, PNS Ghazi was Pakistan's only submarine with a capacity to travel over 11000 nautical miles to reach Bay of Bengal and undertake operations on India's eastern coast. [caption id="attachment_77205" align="aligncenter" width="809"] diablo1945

PNS Ghazi[/caption]

Photo Source

Intercepted transmissions had led the PNS Ghazi to believe that INS Vikrant near Vizag. As a result, the pride of Pakistani Navy was sailing to the eastern coast of India to destroy India's flagship aircraft carrier. What the Pakistani Navy didn't know was that this was a smart wartime ruse planned by Vice-Admiral Krishnan, the Commanding Flag Officer of the Eastern Naval Command.

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Signal intercepts of Pakistani Navy had indicated an imminent deployment of the Ghazi in the Bay of Bengal. So Vice-Admiral Krishnan decided to set a trap by letting Ghazi believe that INS Vikrant was in the area near Vizag. He summoned Lt. Commander Inder Singh, the captain of INS Rajput, and gave him an important mission. [caption id="attachment_77203" align="aligncenter" width="703"] rajputsydney

INS Rajput on a visit to Sydney[/caption]

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INS Rajput, an ageing WWII destroyer had actually been recently sent to Vishakapatnam for decommissioning. As a part of the mission, the ship was to pretend to be INS Vikrant, sail out of the Vizag harbour and generate heavy wireless traffic - leading the PNS Ghazi to believe that it had received the right intel about the aircraft carrier. The wily Vice-Admiral also informed the authorities in Madras (now Chennai) that the aircraft carrier would be arriving shortly. Not leaving anything to chance, he also ordered huge quantities of food rations to indicate that the ship was in harbour near Vizag. As he hoped, the bait was snapped up. In a signal, later recovered from the sunken Ghazi, commodore submarines in Karachi had sent a signal to the Ghazi that "intelligence indicates carrier in port. Occupy Victor Zone (a code name for Vizag) with all dispatch". Reaching Vizag on November 27, 1971, PNS Ghazi prowled perilously close to the Indian coast, searching for its elusive quarry. Unknown to the Ghazi, INS Vikrant and her escorts had already sailed into 'Port X-Ray', a secret anchorage in the Andaman Island, nearly a 1000 miles away! [caption id="attachment_77204" align="aligncenter" width="1575"] 79_full

INS Vikrant[/caption]

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On the night of December 3-4, 1971, an explosion tore through the PNS Ghazi, blowing open its bow, crumpling the hull and cracking open the water-tight compartments. Seawater rushed in, drowning the crew as the submarine crashed to the seabed. On December 6, three days after the sinking of the PNS Ghazi, INS launched its first airstrike. On the same day, the Indian navy’s Soviet-built submarine rescue ship INS Nistar arrived at site of Ghazi's sinking with a specialist underwater salvage team. On exploring the sunken submarine, the team reported that the entire forward part of the submarine had been destroyed and blown outwards on the starboard side. Four bodies had to be removed to access the submarine’s interior, and as per the worldwide naval custom, they were reburied at sea with military honors. Among the objects recovered from the interiors were a chart detailing the voyage from Karachi, the captain’s stationary pad, the ship’s log, radio messages, a Pakistani flag, and the characteristic American "flying bridge" curved windshield. [caption id="attachment_77206" align="aligncenter" width="583"] ghazidebris

Some miscellaneous items recovered by India off PNS Ghazi; a bulkhead frame, a hatch with it’s closure spring, and a section of pneumatic tubing.[/caption]

Photo Source

So, what exactly caused the blast on PNS Ghazi? This is where the debate arises. Indian Navy claims the submarine was destroyed by depth charges fired by its ship INS Rajput. Pakistani authorities say the submarine sank because of either an internal explosion or accidental blast of mines that the submarine itself was laying around Vizag harbour. According to the Indian Navy: At 00:14 on 4 December 1971, INS Rajput's sonar room reported what sounded like a submarine changing depth, about half mile ahead. Captain Inder Singh ordered a sharp turn and immediately fired two depth charges from the the ship's Mk.IV DCTs. Less than a minute later, at 00:15, a massive underwater explosion shook the destroyer. The crewmen of INS Rajput were unsure what had happened; some sailors briefly thought their destroyer had been torpedoed due to the force of the explosion. Lookouts on INS Rajput saw what was possibly an oil slick in the area. Singh felt certain he had sunk a Pakistani submarine and relayed this to Vice Admiral Krishnan at Vizag. Several minutes later, Vice Admiral Krishnan was informed that a beach patrolman in Vizag had also heard a huge explosion at 00:15. INS Rajput then departed the area and proceed to join up with the INS Vikrant battle group. After sunrise, local fishermen saw an oil slick and some floating debris in the area. Included in the debris was an unused submariner life vest labelled "USS DIABLO". According to the Pakistani Navy: PNS Ghazi commenced laying a small minefield east of the Vishakapatnam harbor mouth on the overnight of 2-3 December 1971. Then at daybreak on 3 December, it headed out to deeper water to search for the INS Vikrant battle group. Not finding it, PNS Ghazi returned to the Vishakapatnam harbor mouth area at sunset to resume laying the minefield. As the lights ashore were blacked out, PNS Ghazi may have misjudged her position and doubled back into her own minefield around midnight; about 10-15 minutes before the INS Rajput depth charging. Thus, it was the accidental detonation of its own mines that destroyed the Ghazi and not INS Rajput's depth charges. Over the years, the mystery surrounding the sinking of PNS Ghazi has endured. Today, the submarine lies embedded in the Vizag seabed about 1.5 nautical miles from the breakwaters. Close to the harbour channel, the spot has been marked on navigational maps to help ships avoid the wreck. In 2003, an attempt was made by the Eastern Naval Command to check the condition of the debris. A team of 10 drivers of the Eastern Naval Command was sent down for another look at an old enemy that had come so close and failed. [caption id="attachment_77208" align="aligncenter" width="800"] ussdiablo

PNS Ghazi (formerly USS Diablo)[/caption]

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The images of Ghazi, taken with underwater cameras, revealed that the submarine, in death, was teeming with life. Still sitting on an even keel, the submarine's hull, chipped away to reveal its steel skeleton, was covered with thousands of fishing nets. However, the cause of the blast still remains unclear and the decades-old-puzzle still remains unsolved. As Vice Admiral (retd) G M Hiranandani (whose book, Transition to Triumph, gives a detailed history of the Indian Navy) says,

"The truth about the Ghazi, which remains on what the submarine community calls the 'eternal parole', lies somewhere between the Indian and Pakistani versions of the sinking but no one knows exactly where."

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Most Indians know of only one Shakuntala, the one Kalidasa made famous in his Sanskrit play 'Abhijnana Shakuntalam'. They have not heard of Shakuntala Railways, the only railway in India that is still not owned by the Indian government. The reason as to why this railway line does not come under the Indian Railways is still unclear, but when the entire railways was nationalised in 1952, this line was strangely left alone. [caption id="attachment_77532" align="aligncenter" width="672"] thequint%2f2016-06%2f94f79031-7156-48fb-96b1-ab84c114c405%2fnarrow_gauge_train_at_rajim

thequint%2f2016-06%2f94f79031-7156-48fb-96b1-ab84c114c405%2fnarrow_gauge_train_at_rajim

The Shakuntala Express[/caption]

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At a time when Indian Railways is making plans to introduce high speed bullet trains in the country, Shakuntala Express, one of the last vestiges of the colonial era railways, continues to enthrall train lovers around the world. The antique train runs on India’s only private railway line between Murtazapur and Yavatmal in Maharashtra, chugging along the 190 km stretch at an average speed of 20 km per hour.

Here is the fascinating story of the iconic Shakuntala Railways, the last piece of colonial railway legacy in India.

[caption id="attachment_77536" align="aligncenter" width="600"] shakuntla-express_1470658

Shakuntala Express[/caption]

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The Shakuntala Express, a romantic name by all accounts, is a train not many in the country are aware of. But, in Yavatmal and Achalpur (Amravati district) in Maharashtra, it is the lifeline for poor villagers. It was an era of private railroad companies in 1910 when Shakuntala Railways was founded by a British firm called Killick-Nixon. The private firm floated the Central Province Railway Company (CPRC), a joint venture with the colonial British government in India, for laying railway tracks to be used for transporting cotton from Vidarbha, and finally to Manchester in England. The track had trains running on it by 1916 and soon it was being used to ferry passengers too. The trains on this track were run by Great Indian Peninsular Railway (GIPR) which operated in Central India. This practice continued even after the GIPR became a part of Indian Railways post independence. Shakuntala Railway is still owned by CPRC, presumably because the government of the day simply forgot to nationalise it, and CRPC is still owned by Killick-Nixon, a British firm. Even though Killick-Nixon has since moved from British to Indian hands, it still leaves us with a privately run train running on Indian tracks! [caption id="attachment_77531" align="aligncenter" width="800"]

Old lever from GIPR. Made by McKenzie & Holland, Worcester, England.[/caption]

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A ZD-steam engine, built in 1921 in Manchester, pulled the train for more than 70 long years after being put in service in 1923. It was withdrawn on April 15, 1994, and replaced by a diesel engine that now pulls the carriages. Old-time passengers recall how during the steam engine days, the train used to stop virtually anywhere where passengers hailed it. Today, the track falls under the Bhusawal division of the Central Railways (of the Indian Railways) but CRPC still owns the Murtazapur – Yavatmal (113 km) and the Murtazapur – Achalpur (76 km) railway tracks. Central Railway which runs the trains on the two sections is supposed to pay royalty to its private partner and CPRC, which owns the lines is contracted to maintain them. This contract has been renewed six times since Independence - every 10 years, railways have a chance to exercise the option of taking over the line. Interestingly, the trains running on these tracks are the only ones in the country where the guards double up as ticket clerks, as there are no railway staff at most of the stations on the two routes! [caption id="attachment_77535" align="aligncenter" width="1024"]

Narrow gauge Shakuntala passenger train to Yavatmal at the curve near Murtazapur.[/caption]

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Unlike most railway lines in India that uses broad gauge lines, the Shakuntala Railways still use narrow gauge lines and makes just one return journey every day. At present, the train takes around 20 hours to cover the 190km distance between Yavatmal and Achalpur in Amravati district. According to the locals, while a bus from Murtazapur to Yavatmal takes just a few hours, it costs ₹ 150, which is six times the train fare. The trains, therefore, have become a lifeline for poor people residing in the villages between Yavatmal, Murtazapur and Achalpur. [caption id="attachment_77537" align="aligncenter" width="800"]

Shakuntala Express at Achalpur station[/caption]

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Recently, Union Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu has sanctioned 1,500 crore for converting the narrow gauge Yavatmal-Murtizapur-Achalpur railway line into broad gauge. So, Shakuntala Express is likely to run on the broad gauge line in the near future. Meanwhile, back in Yavatmal, a scene that is reminiscent of another era can still be seen. As the Shakuntala Express prepares to leave the station, 'made in Liverpool' still inscribed on it, a caravan of villagers board the train for Murtazapur. A journey into a piece of history!

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Decades ago, Jamsetji Nusserwanji Tata wrote in a letter to his son, Dorab,

"Be sure to lay wide streets planted with shady trees, every other of a quick-growing variety. Be sure that there is plenty of space for lawns and gardens. Reserve large areas for football, hockey and parks. Earmark areas for Hindu temples, Mohammedan mosques and Christian churches."

These were the instructions he left for the model industrial town that he wanted to be carved out of the jungle for the workers of Tata Steel. The result was Jamshedpur, a place UK Business Secretary Vince Cable (who visited the town in 1965) remembered as a "citadel of steel-making in a country that was only just beginning industrialization". Renowned as India's steel city, Jamshedpur is today a pretty town with tree-lined avenues and a booming economy. However, few know that this industrial city, dubbed the "the Pittsburgh of the east", was once a war zone and played an active role in both the world wars. [caption id="attachment_77979" align="aligncenter" width="600"]

Jamshedpur[/caption]

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Here is the fascinating story behind Jamshedpur's forgotten battle history.

Born in 1839 into a Parsi family, Jamsetji Nusserwanji Tata made his fortune trading cotton, tea, copper, and brass. A well-travelled and astute businessmen, he was fascinated by new inventions. On a trip to the UK, he spotted the potential of the Lancashire cotton mills. A strong believer of the swadeshi concept (made in one's own country), Tata realised India could compete with its colonial masters and decided to set up one of the country's first textile mills in 1877. [caption id="attachment_77980" align="aligncenter" width="453"] jnt_175_inside_bannewr

J N Tata[/caption] Once, when he was in Manchester, J N Tata attended a lecture by philosopher Thomas Carlyle in which he said,

"The nation which gains control of iron soon acquires the control of gold."

Inspired by these words, J N Tata decided to establish India’s first steel plant. A sceptical British official even scoffed that Tata would have to eat every ton of steel his plant produced, but he was undeterred. He selected the village of Sakchi, located amidst the harsh bush land on the banks of river Subarnarekha, as the spot for his steel plant. In 1902, he sailed to America, where the press dubbed him "the J. P. Morgan of the East Indies." There, he hired two key men: one to build his steel mill and the other to run it. He also roped in other geologists and engineers to set up Tata Iron and Steel Company or TISCO. However, he died before he could realise his dream. His son Dorab took on the challenge. When Tata Steel finally began production in 1908, India became the first Asian country with a steel plant of its own. Four years later the first steel ingot was produced. However, it would take another major event to give the town its name. [caption id="attachment_77981" align="aligncenter" width="642"] blast_furnace_3

Tata Steel's first blast furnace in operation[/caption]

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In 1914, when the World War I broke out,Tata’s steel mill proved invaluable.Much of India’s steel output was diverted to construct rails for transporting troops and supplies. Nearly 1,500 miles of rail and 3,00,000 tonnes of steel produced in Jamshedpur were used in military campaigns across Mesopotamia, Egypt and East Africa.

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John Keenan (who worked with TISCO for 25 years, the last eight as general manager), later wrote about how the men worked overtime to produce 8,000 tonnes of five-inch-round steel shells and harnesses for the horses that pulled field guns. After the war, a British parliamentary report also acknowledged the crucial contribution, noting,

"It would have been impossible to carry on the campaign without the iron and steel of India."

After the end of the war, in 1919, the erstwhile Viceroy of India, Lord Chelmsford, personally visited the Tata Steel plant to thank the steel mill for its contribution. He said,

"I can hardly imagine what we would have done if the Tata Company had not given us steel for Mesopotamia, Egypt, Palestine, and East Africa," he gratefully said, before christening the steel city Jamshedpur, in memory of Jamsetji Nusserwanji Tata, and renaming the city's Kalimati railway station as Tatanagar.

When the World War II broke out in 1939, too, steel sheds, water pipes, sleepers, shells and guns streamed out of Jamshedpur. Keenan later wrote that the Japanese would not have been stopped without this steel. Soon, Japan entered the China-Burma-India theatre of war. Realising that Jamshedpur's steel plant was a high-value target, Britishers took several measures to protect the city. Other than 'yellow signals' wired from Calcutta that warned of impending Japanese air raids, several bomb shelters were set up across the city. Anti-aircraft guns were also placed on the outskirts. An additional air base was also built at Kalaikunda, surrounded by several underground bunkers. Interestingly, after Independence, the Indian Air Force used it for training during the 1971 Indo-Pakistan war.

Also Read: The Ghazi Mystery: What Caused the Sinking of the Pakistani Submarine Near Vizag In 1971

Tata Steel also devised ingenious ways to protect itself. Steel ropes were tied to gas balloons and sent up to the sky to prevent Japanese fighter planes from diving down to bomb the mill. In addition, tar boilers were set up across the steel factory to create smokescreens that mingled with the fumes from the factory chimneys. Factory hooters were also set up to serve as air raid sirens. [caption id="attachment_77988" align="aligncenter" width="652"] img_6176_jamshedpur-bw-anurag-priya

Jamshedpur[/caption]

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As the attacks by the Japanese increased in frequency, Allied forces were brought to Jamshedpur. However, back the, there were no proper hotels in the industrial city to lodge the troops. So an enterprising Anglo-Indian, Bartholomew D'Costa, and his son were hastily asked to build one! Using bricks from his kiln and cutlery bought from an Calcutta hotel that was closing down, the duo set up The Boulevard Hotel in Jamshedpur in December 1940. While the British airmen paid 14 annas per head a day and managed their own mess, the Americans preferred paying one rupee 16 annas a day for room and board. The Kalaikunda air strip near Jamshedpur blossomed into a slew of airfields (at Chakulia, Piardoba and Dudhkundi) that became the base for bombers taking off for the first overland bombings of Japan and transport operations in China. With their bellies painted black to evade detection by Japanese searchlights, these aircraft made the 2,261-mile round trip to east Asia. [caption id="attachment_77986" align="aligncenter" width="652"] 40th-bgs-b-29-bomber-42-6310-hump-happy-jr-takes-off-from-chakulia

40th-bgs-b-29-bomber-42-6310-hump-happy-jr-takes-off-from-chakulia

A bomber taking of from the Chakulia air strip[/caption]

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At that time, the Japanese control of China Sea had cut off seaborne supplies, and so pilots had to fly 500 km from India to China over the Himalayas. With its harsh terrain, misty peaks and sudden weather changes, 'the Hump', as it was called, was the world’s most dangerous overland air route at that time. However, Jamshedpur’s finest moment was yet to come. When Britain could not meet the demand for AFVs (Armoured Fighting Vehicles) during the war, Commonwealth countries were asked to start production. Using Ford truck chassis imported from Canada and armour-plated hulls constructed by Tata Steel, India developed a series of Wheeled Armoured Carriers—Indian Pattern, better known as the 'Tatanagar'. Between 1940 and 1944, 4,655 units of Tatanagars were built at the Railway workshop in Jamshedpur. Tata Engineering & Locomotive Company or TELCO (now Tata Motors) completed the last order in 1945 when it took over the railway workshop. So, the first vehicle to roll out of Tata Motors was not a truck, but a tank! The multi-role Tatanagar was widely used for reconnaissance, ferrying personnel, mounting anti-aircraft weapons and as a Forward Observation Officer’s vehicle. Weighing 2,626 kg with 14mm armour, it could seat 3-4 people and touch speeds of 80 km/hr. Impenetrable by ordinary bullets, its hull saved many lives and won the admiration of soldiers. As John Keenan later wrote,

" The Japanese would not have been stopped without Jamshedpur's steel."

After being forgotten for nearly half a century, two Tatanagars were found in the Indian Army scrap yard. Using the working parts of one vehicle, a Tata Motors team from Engineering Research Centre and General Transport were able to rebuild the other one and bring it to working condition. [caption id="attachment_77995" align="aligncenter" width="600"] cdwx_nwvaaaga5m

Tatanagar[/caption]

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For nearly 70 years its legacy lay forgotten until two Tatanagars were found in the Indian Army scrap yard. By cannibalizing the parts of one to help build the other, the Tata Motors team from Engineering Research Centre and General Transport managed to get one to working condition. In 2014, the restored vehicle featured in Jamshedpur's Republic Day celebrations.

Also Read: The Untold Story of a Legendary Band of Men Who Laid the Foundation for the Indian Air Force

Post Independence, Jamshedpur and its steel plant continued to play an important role for India. There was huge demand for construction equipment and road rollers. On April 22,1948, amid shouts of Vande Mataram and Jai Hind, India’s first swadeshi road roller 'City of Delhi' was rolled out of Jamshedpur. This was followed by others named after country's big cities – Calcutta, Bombay, Madras, Jubbulpore and Patna. It wasn’t until 1954 that the first Tata truck was produced in collaboration with Daimler Benz. The large, sprawling wartime airfields, most lie in a state of disrepair, with abandoned hardstands and taxiways visible on aerial images. While some have been adapted for civil and commercial use, the other derelict runways have become village roads, used by bullock carts, auto-rickshaws, cycles, cars, pedestrians and even stray cattle to get to their destinations everyday.

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"If you are cold, tea will warm you; if you are too heated, it will cool you; If you are depressed, it will cheer you; If you are excited, it will calm you."
― William Ewart Gladstone

In India, chai is more than just a cup of tea to start the day - the thick sweet drink is an integral part of the rhythm of life. Everything, from neighbourly gossip to intense political discussions happens over a cup of tea. One of the oldest drinks in history, chai is also India's most popular drink - the country consumes a whopping 837,000 tonnes of tea every year! [caption id="attachment_78298" align="aligncenter" width="640"] 8382597241_9b57d7e406_o

India's most loved beverage, chai.[/caption]

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Given how ubiquitous a cup of chai is across India, and how chai drinking transcends all boundaries, it come as a surprise that not many Indians know about the fascinating history of tea in India.

So, on the 12th International Tea Day, enjoy a beautiful cup of tea and appreciate the origins of your favorite cuppa as we reveal the story of how tea become an inevitable part of Indian lives.

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Chai in kulhads.[/caption]

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Like the history of any famous beverage, the origins of chai are steeped in legend and contradictory accounts. In ancient India, chai was not the term used for the tea we know today, but for a healing concoction made by brewing herbs and spices, much like the traditional kada. In fact, the earliest chai did not contain any tea leaves, and its recipes differed according to the seasons and available ingredients. However, there is a slight difference between a chai and kada - while chai uses herbs and spices associated more with aroma, kada uses herbs, leaves and flowers mainly for their medicinal properties. Also, chai is brewed for a lesser time than kada. There are also many other versions of the story of how the first cup of tea came about in India.

One story goes that chai was developed by accident when a Buddhist monk on his way to China, observed the local ritual of chewing on a few wild leaves and tried it himself. On feeling rejuvenated, he decided to bring it back to India with him. Interestingly, tea is believed to have been first discovered by mistake 5000 years ago when the Emperor of China found tea leaves in his pot of boiling water. Known for his scientific curiosity, he proceeded to taste the drink and loved it. Before long, tea became a staple of Chinese culture. Another legend has it that it was a king in ancient India (most likely Harshavardhana, under whose patronage Nalanda University reached its zenith) who developed chai to remain alert during long court hour. Some historians also believe that Emperor Ashoka too had made it a part of his various peace treaties and court culture, a habit that eventually percolated down to common people. [caption id="attachment_78347" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] tea-anyone

A chaiwallah in Pushkar[/caption]

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Dutch traveller, Jogn Hughen Von Linschoten, who visited India in 1538 AD, corroborated this fact in his account of his visit to India. He wrote:

"Indians ate the leaves as a vegetable with garlic and oil and boiled the leaves to make a brew."

There is a third legend that says Sanjeevani buti (and its concoction), which brought a comatose Lakshman alive in the epic Ramayana, is the first chai. Interestingly, the shrub that finds mention in each of the tales is akin to Camellia sinensis, a tea shrub that was discovered by the British in Assam in 1823. Talking of Assam, the northeastern state has a long historical connection with tea. Since at least the 12th century, leaves of tea shrubs that grew wild were used as medicine by the Singhpo tribe in Assam. The Singphos, believed to be among India’s first tea drinkers, still process tea through the traditional centuries-old method, dhooan chaang. [caption id="attachment_78341" align="aligncenter" width="640"] organic-teas-of-assam-buds-and-leaves

Tea leaves being hand rolled in Assam[/caption]

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The Singphos believe that a cup of their traditionally brewed tea after every meal aids digestion, and credit it with keeping the community relatively free from cancer and diabetes. Even during the reign of the Ahom kings in Assam, Laal Chaa (a brew made of special wild leaves grown in Assam) was a popular welcome drink in the homes of both, royals and commoners.

Also Read: #TravelTales: A Visit to the World’s Highest Organic Tea Estate Where Tea Is Still Made by Hand

It was also the Singhpo chief, Bisa Gam, who introduced tea to Englishman Robert Bruce and his brother Charles in 1823. The Britishers discovered that the assamica variety of tea was much better suited to the region than the Chinese sinensis variety growing at higher elevations and colder climates. Soon, they established tea plantations as an alternative to the expensive Chinese tea they were habituated to consuming. Indian tea production grew significantly under the British who employed native people to work in the fields. [caption id="attachment_78345" align="aligncenter" width="600"] history-of-tea

An Indian tea plantation in the colonial era[/caption]

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As for the question when and where was milk added to tea, tea historians believe that the first iteration of chai with milk was developed by travellers and traders mostly likely from Gujarat, Maharashtra and Bengal, people who had easy access to good quality milk. With growing cross-country trade, sweet milky chai soon became the go-to drink, at least for the office bearers (and workers), to sustain a rather long day. Soon, masala chai (chai favoured by aromatic spices) was born and was usually served with a sweet or savoury toast, a hybrid of Indian and British tradition. [caption id="attachment_78343" align="aligncenter" width="580"] blog2

Masala Chai[/caption]

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Over time, an exchange of customs and cultural ideas led to a growing thirst for tea among all classes, not simply the wealthy. Thanks to the British Raj, the concept of tea time also came into existence. It is also worth noting that tea wasn’t an overnight success in India. Each region and community in India took its own time to adopt and adapt tea to its own tastes. Today, there are a billion possible ways in which this combination can be effected in India, the most popular ones being Mumbai’s cutting chai, the rich Irani chai of Hyderabad, the fragrant Darjeeling chai, the mellow Assam chai, the strong masala chai of Gujarat and the delicate pink Kashmiri chai.

Also Read: 5 Popular Indian Teas With Great Health Benefits

However, it was not until William McKercher invented the CTC (cut, tear, curl) method of making tea, that tea became cheaper and India’s favourite brew became affordable for the masses. With Iranian cafes and Coffee Houses putting it on the menu, chai also became the brew for intellectuals - it soon became a political ally in every meeting, discussion and even strikes. So it was India’s CTCs that turned turned an entire generation (and generations thereafter) of Indians into ritual tea drinkers. Strong, flavoured, aromatic or all three together, the CTC blends made and consumed in India are among the best in the world and can go up to a couple of thousand rupees depending upon the blend of leaves, buds and granules (leaves give the aroma, buds the health, granules and dust the colour and strength). [caption id="attachment_78352" align="aligncenter" width="800"] ctc02

Tea leaves being processed by the CTC method[/caption]

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The fact that chai is now not just a beverage, but woven into the fabric of this nation is hard to dispute. Today, no matter where you are in India, you’re probably not very far from a chai stall, little roadside shacks that go by different names in different parts of the country. Tea sold at these humble outlets is often the cheapest, the most delicious and the ideal refreshment in every kind of weather. And it is impossible to deny that "chai...chai-garam" has woken up several billion more Indians on Indian Railways than "coffee-nescoffee" ever could.

Also Read: A ‘Starbucks’ in Rural Karnataka – Tea Seller Offers Free Internet with a Cup of Chai worth Rs 5!

So the next time you reach sleepily for your morning cup, or share a version of the brew with your colleague or or even stock up on the biscuits you love dunking in your favourite beverage, remember it isn't just chai you are consuming - it is history, diversity and popular culture, all amalgamated into one cup!

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"Hai aur bhi duniya mein sukhanwar bahut ache Kehte hain ke ghalib ka hai andaaz-e-bayaan aur." ("There are many good poets worthy of praise, But it is said that Ghalib has a distinctive style.") - Mirza Ghalib

Down a quiet Ballimaran lane in Delhi's Chandni Chowk stands a haveli like many others in this historic part of the Indian capital. An old dilapidated structure with a semi-circular brick arch as its entrance, this mansion was once home to Mirza Asadullah Khan, better known as Ghalib, one of India's most celebrated and quoted Urdu poets. p1290581

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Ghalib was born to Mirza Abdullah Beg in December 1797 in Agra. His father died when he was hardly five years old and his childhood was spent with his uncle who passed away when Ghalib was eight, and mostly his aunts. Married in 1810 at the age of 13 to Umrao Begum, Ghalib soon left his birth city Agra for Delhi, a city where he lived until his death in 1869.

The haveli was presented to Ghalib by a hakim (traditional physician) who was an ardent fan of his poetry. It was here that Ghalib wrote some of his finest ghazals and recited them to a huge audience every evening. After Ghalib’s death in 1869, the crestfallen hakim who had presented the haveli to Ghalib would go and sit there for hours every evening refusing to let anyone occupy it. The government took possession of the haveli in 1964 but soon auctioned it to one Mohammed Ali Farooqi whose bid was the highest at ₹ 22,400. He rented it out to tenants but a few years later he died without leaving a legal heir to the property. Since then, the haveli has changed multiple hands, from being the poet's abode to a coal store, a small manufacturing unit, to a baraat ghar (wedding hall). In 1999, a part of the haveli was finally acquired and restored by the Delhi government. [caption id="attachment_79742" align="aligncenter" width="800"] 1200px-a_view_of_ghalib_ki_haveli

Ghalib ki Haveli[/caption]

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Now a heritage site under the aegis of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), the memorial museum displays the objects and other things used during those times to make it look like the actual dwelling of the poet. As soon as one enters, a huge portrait of Ghalib's couplets in his own handwriting can be seen hung on the sidewall. Further ahead, the couplets of Ustaad Zauq, Abu Zafar, Momin Khan Momin, and other noted contemporaries of Ghalib have been creatively arranged in the vast collage. Another wall sheds some light on Ghalib's personal favorites. While his trademark 'baalon wali lambi topi' and 'lamba kurta' are listed as among his favorite attire, a chart shows Ghalib's favourite dishes - taley hue kabab, bhuna gosht, sohan halwa, aam ka achaar and dal murabba. There is also list mentioning activities he took an avid interest in like patangbaazi (kite flying), chausar (cross and circle board game that originated in ancient India) and shatranj (chess). [caption id="attachment_79745" align="aligncenter" width="1024"]

Ghalib ki Haveli[/caption]

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The only room with a door, set slightly aside from the rest of the haveli, features a large frame with Ghalib's last ever taken photograph. On either side of the room hung various ageing pictures and portraits of Ghalib during his lifetime. Apart from his hand-written books on display, there are collections of Ghalib's letters, translated couplets, a life-size replica of Ghalib with a hookah and curiously, utensils of Ghalib's time. Other highlights of this haveli include the original sandstone floors, wooden gateway entrance, the Mughal lakhori (kiln-fired) bricks and the chhajjas (overhanging eaves)within the courtyard.

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Ghalib lived during an age of tumult and transformation in Indian history. His diary kept during the revolt of 1857 presents a personal record of the events that shook and ravaged the capital. In a letter (English translation) to a friend on Nov. 13, 1864, Ghalib writes,

"After the wishes, let me state that right from Nov. 1 till Nov. 11, I can’t tell you how perturbed I had remained owing to the turmoil of the Mutiny. I would have myself come to deliver this letter, but for the trying times. I have also not been feeling well besides being harried by these troubling times. Nevertheless, pray to God that you may be safe and sound with the following couplet: You live long for thousands of years Let the days of each year be fifty thousand"

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Mirza Ghalib[/caption]

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Ghalib also witnessed the decline of Mughal Empire and the establishment of British colonial rule in India. This makes his haveli not just a living memory of the poet but a standing testimonial to a bygone era. Renowned poet and lyricist, Gulzar, immortalized the character and life of Ghalib's haveli in his beautifully written verse:

"Isee be-noor andheri see gali qaasim se Ek tarteeb charaghon ki shuru hoti hai Ek quran-e-sukhan ka safa khulta hai Asadullah Khan ‘Ghalib’ ka patha milta hai." (In one such dark, dimly-lit street Where a row of lit lamps starts, Where a new page of poetry begins There, the whereabouts of Asadullah Khan Ghalib can be found).

A heritage site that offers you an insight into the legendary poet's life and times, Ghalib's haveli is open throughout the day, but the best time to visit would be in the morning. Go explore, and read out some verses from the walls to your special one.

Where Gali Qasim Jaan, Ballimaran, Chandni Chowk, Delhi Nearest Metro Stop Chawri bazaar Time 9 am to 5 pm (Monday closed)

Also Read: Experience Medieval Bathing Rituals at This Ancient Hammam, Bhopal’s 300-Year-Old Turkish Bath

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Railway stations are fascinating places. It might be because they have withstood everything from wars to urban development. It might be because of their historic buildings that inspire writers to weave stories around them. It might also be due to the train journey itself, an exciting adventure to foreign lands or a return to familiar settings.

Whatever it is, railway stations aren't just transportation hubs; they are places that take you into another world before your train even leaves the platform.

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Wellington station, India[/caption]

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In India, visiting railway stations can often be a throwback to another era –the nostalgia, the architecture and the interesting history.

Here are 8 Indian railway stations with stories that will leave you fascinated.

1. Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, Maharashtra

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Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus[/caption]

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A UNESCO World Heritage Site, the historic Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus was originally known as the Victoria Terminus when it was built in the 19th century. Its whole design is a combination of Victorian Gothic Revival and traditional Indian architecture shown by three stories of turrets, spires, domes, gables, water-spouting gargoyles and floral and animal patterns. An octagonal ribbed dome atop the structure is its crowning glory. In the past, Bori Bandar station, located in east Mumbai, was the main station for all commercial and trade activities in the city. It was designed by F. W. Stevens during the colonial era, who named it Victoria Terminus (VT), after the then-reigning Queen Victoria. The complete construction of the building took ten years, which was the longest time taken by any building of that era in Bombay. It was opened to the Queen on her Golden Jubilee in 1887 and was the most expensive building in Bombay, which then cost about 260,000 Sterling Pounds. In 1966, this 19th-century masterpiece was renamed Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus in honour of the great Maratha warrior.

2. Kachiguda Station, Telangana

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Kachiguda station[/caption]

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The Kachiguda Railway Station may seem lost in the hustle and bustle of the city that has grown around it but that only belies the station's structural and historical significance. The station was first built in 1916 during the period of Nizam Osman Ali Khan as a part of the Godavari Valley Light Railway to create wider trade connectivity for the state to western cities like Mumbai. Interestingly, other than its eye-catching architecture and 100-year-old wooden staircases, the Kachiguda railway station also had a distinct ladies' area with a purdah wall that allowed women to alight and disembark trains in privacy. The railway museum at the station is also a great way for passengers to learn about the history of the Nizam's State Railway.

3. Charbagh Station, Uttar Pradesh

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Charbagh station[/caption]

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An architectural masterpiece, one glance is enough to fall in love with the the gorgeous red-and-white Charbagh Railway Station. Built in 1914 in the City of Nawabs, Lucknow, the station was designed by J,H Hornimen who used both Mughal and Rajasthani elements in its architecture. The magnificent structure is resplendent with domes, minars and cupolas, and overlooks a sprawling garden located outside its front entrance. While from outside the structure of the station resembles a Rajput palace, from the sky it appears like a chessboard laid out with pieces. A unique quality about the railway station is that while standing on the portico, you cannot not hear the noise coming from incoming and outgoing trains. The station was also the site of the first personal meeting between Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru in 1916. An engraved stone has been placed outside the railway station to mark this special meeting.

4. Royapuram Station, Tamil Nadu

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Royapuram station[/caption]

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A simple red-and white colonial building with grand Corinthian pillars, the Royapuram station is probably the oldest surviving station in the entire sub-continent, as the original structures of Bombay and Thane stations no longer exist. The Royapuram station was inaugurated on July 1, 1856 by the then Governor of Madras Presidency, Lord Harris. The first services to be operated were between Royapuram and Ambur and between Royapuram and Tiruvallur. Built by Madras Railway Company, Royapuram was selected as the site as it was on the edge of a settlement of British traders and locals near Fort St. George. In 2016, the Madras High Court prohibited the Southern Railway from disturbing the 160-year-old heritage building of Royapuram Railway Station even for any expansion works.

5. Howrah Station, West Bengal

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Howrah station[/caption]

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Kolkata's most iconic symbol, the Howrah Bridge which spans the Hooghly river, leads to another iconic landmark-the Howrah station. The huge, brick-red building is the second oldest station and one of the largest railway complexes in India. On December 1 2016, the Howrah station completed 111 years. It was on this day in 1905, that the station with six platforms began functioning. Back then, it was the proverbial feather in the cap for British engineers, representing a new era in the colonial dream of expansion. Today, the terminus is the lifeline for the entire eastern India, with 23 platforms that are used by over one million people every day. A mix of Romanesque and traditional Bengali styles (designed by British engineer Halsey Ricardo), the station built on the banks of the Hoogly river is very much in sync with its surroundings. The station's most familiar fixture is its 'boro ghari' (big clock), a twin faced clock standing back-to-back that was mounted on heavy wooden frames in 1926.

6. Rashidpura Khori Station, Rajasthan

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Rashidpur Khori Station[/caption]

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Rashidpura Khori is small rural junction on the Sikar-Laxmangarh narrow gauge of North Western Railway is one of it's kind. This one-of-a kind railway station is run and operated by the villagers. The station was declared closed by Jaipur division of the North-Western Railway zone of Indian railways in 2005, citing the reason of poor income. As this would have affected nearly 20000 people of Rashidpura Khori and several nearby villages, the villagers wrote to the railways officials but to no avail. In 2009, the railways agreed to open the station again on one condition - the sale of tickets worth 3 lakhs. Villagers came together to crowdfund the revival of the station. Since becoming operational once again in 2009, the station is being run by villagers who take care of the cleanliness and maintenance of the station. The person who has been given the job of selling tickets is given 15% of the sales as salary. Other persons have been appointed to check if someone is travelling without tickets

7. Begunkodor Station, West Bengal

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Begunkodor Station[/caption] Photo Source Famous as the haunted station of Purulia, the Begunkodor railway station was abandoned for 42 years because of fears that it was haunted. Begunkodor village is 43km (26 miles) from the district headquarters in Purulia, the westernmost district of West Bengal. The story goes that in 1967, a railway worker is said to have died days after he saw a "woman ghost" draped in a white sari. Spooked by the rumour, all the employees of the railway station abandoned their posts and refused to be posted to the station. Finally, in 2009, Mamata Bannerjee, the then-railway minister decided to reopen it for the people of the village.

8. Barog Station, Himachal Pradesh

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Barog station[/caption]

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Barog, a quaint little railway station on the Kalka-Shimla train track has a colourful history. Built in 1903, the building of Barog station has Scottish-style gabled roofs and is surrounded by stunning mountain views. According to local folklore, the British railway engineer who developed this tunnel in the Kalka-Shimla railway is said to haunt the very place he helped build. In 1898, Colonel Barog started boring into the Shimla hill from both sides, hoping they would meet in the middle. The British authorities fined Barog Re 1 for wasting government money when a miscalculation resulted in both the ends not meeting each other. Humiliated, the dejected colonel shot himself inside the incomplete tunnel and was buried near it. Not surprisingly, tales of ghosts have haunted the station ever since. A new tunnel was later completed by British engineer H.S. Harrington with the help of a local holy man called Baba Bhalku. Today, the pretty station is a popular stop on this UNESCO heritage route.

Also Read: Railway Stations Across India Are Getting Amazing Makeovers. Here Are 10 Most Spectacular Ones.

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