The Unheard Secrets

T he constitution of India —the  longest written constitution of any sovereign country in the world—has always been associated with Dr BR Ambedkar. While Dr Ambedkar, the chairman of the drafting committee , was undoubtedly its architect, little is known about the man who penned the constitution. The first draft of the Indian Constitution, which was completed on 26th November 1949 is no less than a masterpiece. While Nandalal Bose and his students designed the borders of every page and adorned it with beautiful art pieces, it was the singlehanded effort of Prem Behari Narain Raizada (Saxena) that brought the primary contents and the preamble to the Constitution, to life. Shri Prem Behari was born on 17 December 1901 , in a family of traditional calligraphists. He lost his parents when he was very young and was brought up by his grandfather Master Ram Parshadji Saxena and uncle Mahashya Chatur Behari Narayan Saxena. Prem Behari’s grandfather was a scholar in Pers...

In Bengal , every Bengali who lives in the big city can point out his or her ‘ desh-er baari’, the ancestral village from where the family migrated. In Kolkata , one cannot escape the shadow of Bengal’s bravest son, Subhas Chandra Bose – ‘ Netaji ’ to his fellow Bengalis. Subhash Chandra Bose was born on 23rd January 1897 in Cuttack in Odisha to Janakinath Bose and Prabhavati Dutt Bose . In 1909, Janakinath Bose would built a house at Elgin Road in Calcutta , where Netaji lived in his formative years. It was this house that was the center of his political activities and it is from here that Netaji escaped from house arrest in 1940 . As a result, it is this house that is most associated with Subhash Chandra Bose and is now a museum called ‘ Netaji Bhawan ’. While the Elgin road house is thronged by Netaji’s admirers, not many from Kolkata have taken the hour-long drive to Netaji’s ‘ desh-er baari’ , in the village earlier known as Kodalia . Located aro...

Guru Gobind Singh , the tenth guru of Sikhism and founder of Khalsa , was famous for his blue coloured horse. In fact Guru Sahib is sometimes known as  "Neelay ghoray whalla"  or  "one with the blue horse". Just as his grandfather  Guru Hargobind Sahib , Guru Gobind Singh instructed his Sikhs to make offerings of arms and horses in readiness for the turbulent times ahead. In anticipation of this Gobind Singh ji Maharaj learnt the art of horsemanship from an early age under the guidance of his maternal uncle, Bhai Kirpal Chand. As Guru Sahib grew older, he became an accomplished horseman and would spend time travelling the country-side on horseback blessing his people who would inevitably gather wherever he went. Even today the lineage of the stallions continues at Hazoor Saheb, Nanded. The horses are kept in stables and are bred from the original stallion belonging to Guru Sahib. No one is allowed to ride the horses as a mark of respect a...

The astonishment of why some places lies abandoned,and in ruins does not get more perplexing than this. Off the Konkan coast of Maharashtra , lies the impregnable, unassailable and unconquered fort of Janjira . A fascinating history that begins with a pirate keep from which the Ethiopians carved out a stone fortress. It has held back mighty warriors like Shivaji the great Maratha champion. It lends a distinctive colour to the eclectic social fabric of the region. Mumbai ...The city of dreams or we call it as Mayanagari ....The place where we all attach our dreams and aspirations....About 160 kms away...In the midst of its magnificient sea lies a fort, carved out of a stone, which still speaks of its glory. 60 Kms away from Alibaug close to Konkan Coast lies the small village of Murud . Murud is the gateway to the wonders of Murud Janjira , which is lying abandoned in the silence of the sea. Rajapuri , another small village associated to Murud is another significant gateway to this ...

Andaman and Nicobar Islands are more or less scattered like a pearl necklace over the vast waters of Bay of Bengal. ..almost 1200 kilometres away from the Indian Subcontinent. One can estimate that these islands are quite far away from the coastal regions... T he beauty of these islands are world famous. Quite obvious to the fact, people travel from all over the world to enjoy this scenic beauty. In the midst of this beautiful environment lies an unknown history.....The islands which we are talking about was once compared with the beauty of Paris...The Ross Islands. Ross Islands is a tiny little island at the mouth of the Port Blair Harbour . It is in fact, the entry point into the Andaman Islands. At one point in no time, it served as the capital of the British in this part of India. It was a township that had everything one may need to live a lavish life in. But today this island lies forgotten, deserted and totally abandoned.... Ross Island was a great symbol of Br...

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...