The Unheard Secrets

Stories form a very important part of our culture. These small folktales get somewhere hidden beneath the great epics like Ramayana and Mahabharata , which is relived again in those small lanes in the form of folklores. The story of a brave warrior who is considered the pride of Rajasthan . This unsung legend is still worshipped in the town of Nagaur , Rajasthan , who laid down his life for the sake of protecting his villagers. Localites believe Tejaji to be an incarnation of God, who will free them from all troubles and pain. The folkgod of Rajasthan , Tejaji was born in the year 1704 in the family of Dhaulya Gotra Jats . His father Taharji was the chief of Khadnal district and his mother was Sugna who is believed to have conceived Tejaji by the blessings of Naag devta (snake god). Since his sacrifice for life was associated with cows, the people of Nagaur built several cowsheds in his memory, instead of temples. The local folks believe that Nagaur never face...

The story which we are going to relive today, its main character is a fort. This fort has been claimed as ajinkya , meaning invincible. But still...this fort has been conquered thrice...then how it is ajinkya then? Because its story is wrapped around the tales of treachery, deceit and thumping rumours....and a history...which is still unknown...and silent, and unbelievable as usual....the story of ASIRGARH .      At the northern edge of the massive Deccan Plateau lies a forgotten fort that was once the key to open the doors to the Deccan , also called Dakkhani Darwaza . A survey by the British, extolled it as the strongest fort in the country and one that was never taken by force- depending on which version of its many histories you feel should be believed. With an antiquity that only grows older every time it is explored, Asirgarh is a treasure trove of fascinating spell binding stories so fantastic in their bearing that history and myth seem dyed in the...

Far up in the Himalayas , a couple of hours drive from the border town of Kargil , further north from the Grand Srinagar-Leh Highway lie the ruins of what once must have been a majestic fort. Rumoured to be taller and older than its famous cousin, the Leh palace , the Chiktan fortress is shrouded in many mysteries. Legends of its making, numerous sinister and violent events, magical tales of wondrous creations and a heart wrenching tailspin of destruction and apathy encompass the story of this fabulous fortress set in an almost fantastical location. From the ancient times of Vedas and Puranas , or maybe before that, people have always turned up here, in search of antiquity, which lies in the beauty of this bottomland, hidden within the world's largest mountain ranges- Himalayas . The life existing here is quite like the mountains itself.....rough...but beautiful. Opening up our ears to this eerie silence, where the history still echoes of its time... According to the maps, t...