There are 30 caves at Ajanta – 5 are chaityas (for worship) and the rest are viharas (hostel for monks). They were carved over a 800 year period starting at the turn of first millennium CE. While the nearby Ellora caves are eclectic with Hindu, Jain and Buddhist shrines; the Ajanta caves are exclusively Buddhist. The Ellora caves are more notable for their sculpture while the paintings of Ajanta are unsurpassed. Ajanta was declared a UNESCO world heritage site in 1983.

Picture Credit: S. R. Ramanujam

There are large areas in India, such as Assam and Bengal, which experience violent thunderstorms in the pre-monsoon months of April and May. These are the well known Nor Westers or Kal Baisakhis, meaning a mass of dark clouds in the month of Baisakh. The rainfall is convective and can be as much as 5 cm in an hour but the rainfall is generally of short duration.

Pre monsoon showers in Kerala are known as Coffee Showers. In Karnataka they are called  Mango Showers. These help ripen the crop.

Picture: Monsoon mist and clouds over Beas river at Mandi, Himachal Pradesh

Source: The Monsoons, P.K.Das

Picture Credit: S. R. Ramanujam

The Abyssinian Siddis were based at Janjira and were a threat to the Marathas. From Alibaug southwards, a stretch of 200 kilometers was under the control of Siddis. In 1672, Shivaji blockaded Janjira. Over a period of time, the Siddis changed their allegiance from Bijapur to Mughals to British. The Marathas continued to fight them well into the eighteenth century. In 1732, Bajirao took over the entire Konkan coast from the Siddis except the island of Janjira and a few forts to the south. In 1736, Chimaji Appa and Manaji Angre fought and killed Siddi Sat. From then onwards the Siddi’s hold over Konkan was broken leaving them only with the fort of Janjira.

Picture Credit: Janjira Fort, Himanshu Sarpotdkar, Flickr

From the late 1740s, Ahmed Shah Durrani had been invading the Mughal empire. As the Marathas had agreed to defend the Mughals, this brought them into conflict with Abdali. In 1757, Raghunathrao, along with Scindias and Holkars wrested Delhi from Abdali’s nominee. They marched northwards and took the cities of Lahore and Attock. They then crossed the Indus river and reached Peshawar from where the last vestiges of Afghans were evicted. This victory marked the furthest extent of the Maratha empire. For over a year, the Marathas, with Mughal officers ruled Lahore. Adina Beg Khan, a Mughal officer, was appointed as the Governor of Lahore.

Picture Credit: Attock Fort, Optographer, Wikimedia Commons

Guru Hargobindji is the sixth Guru of Sikhs and is the son of Guru Arjan Ji who was killed by Jehangir. Guru Hargobindji wanted to avenge his father’s death and started building an army. Threatened by this, Jehangir imprisoned him in Gwalior fort. Sikhs protested his imprisonment and forced Jehangir to order the release of the Guru. By a ruse, Guru Hargobindji also secured the release of 52 other Kings who had been imprisoned with him and then marched to Amritsar. The city was supposed to have been lit to welcome him just like it was lit to welcome Lord Rama. Diwali is celebrated as Bandi Chor Diwas to celebrate his release.

Source: Diwali – Festival of Llights, Rina Singh

Picture Credit: http://www.columbia.edu/itc/mealac/pritchett/00routesdata/1500_1599/sikhism/bandichor/bandichor.html

Wikimedia Commons

Surat was the richest Mughal city. It earned several lakh rupees from customs duties alone. Shivaji Raje attacked Surat. His aim was to reduce its importance as a commercial base and hit at the root of the Mughal pride. For three days the city was looted. The Mughal subedar was unable to protect it. Shivaji used the loot to repair and strengthen his forts as well as to build sea forts. Padmadurg near Janjira, Sindhudurg, Suvarnadurg and Vijaydurg were built/ strengthened with this money.

Picture Credit: Bal Krishna

Lichcchavi was a republic centered around Vaishali, north of Patna, across the river Ganga. It formed the Vajji confederacy with Videhas, Mallas and others.

Lichcchavi was ruled by a large body of families. The Jatakas refer to Lichcchavis having 7707 kings, probably a reference to the council of warriors. The Lalitavistara, in an obvious satirical jab, depicts Vesali as being full of Lichcchavi rajans , each one thinking, “I am king, I am king.”

Amrapali was born here and she was beautiful and perfect. It was a law in the Lichcchavi republic that the perfect woman cannot marry and should become common property of the State. Thus she became a courtesan. Bimbisara, king of neighbouring Magadha kingdom is reported to have had an affair with Amrapali. Bimbisara’s elder son Ajatasatru developed enmity with the kingdom and carried out a long-drawn battle. The Lichcchavis were defeated and their power was weakened. They rose again after the fall of the Mauryan empire. They continued till the Gupta era and thus reigned for about 1000 years. The first Gupta emperor rose to power through a marriage alliance with a Lichcchavi princess, Kumaradevi. The republic then slides into oblivion.

Source: A S Altekar, “State & Government in Ancient India”
J. P. Sharma, “Republics in Ancient India”

Picture Credit: Cinestaan

In Lenyadri, Ganesha is worshipped as Girijatmaj. Ganesha is Swayambhu in a cave. The name of the idol ‘Girijatmaj’ comes as ‘Girija’ meaning Devi Parvati and ‘Aatmaj’ meaning Son. It is said that in this particular cave Devi Parvati performed tapascharya for twelve long years for the gain of a son. After this long tapascharya, Lord Ganesh himself came before her. Leni means caves in Marathi. The temple faces the southern direction and is rock cut within the cave. It closely resembles a Buddhist Vihara.

Source: Temples and Legends of Maharashtra, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan.

Shree Lenyadri Ganpati Devsthan Trust, https://lenyadriganpati.com/en/a-homepage-section/

PicureCredit: https://lenyadriganpati.com/en/a-homepage-section/

Ghaffar Khan, also called Baadshah Khan or Bacha Khan, was a leader of Pashtuns who live mostly in what was the North West Frontier Province of Pakistan. A great pacifist like Gandhi, he is sometimes referred as the Frontier Gandhi. He raised the Khudai Khidmatgars (Servants of God) or Red Shirts, a 100,000 strong organization wedded to non violence and strict discipline. Gandhi called it a miracle as the Pashtuns were considered to have a code of revenge of violence.

Along with Gandhi, he was the most inveterate opponent of partition. Unlike Gandhi, he survived partition by 40 years. He spent the post partition years working for the rights of Pashtuns and was viewed with suspicion by the Pakistan government. He boycotted the 1947 referendum in the province since it did not provide an option of independence or joining Afghanistan. He was twice nominated for the Nobel price for peace and was awarded the Bharat Ratna in 1987.

One of his biographers J Bright wrote that he was so wedded to non violence that Gandhi should be called the ‘Indian Khan’ and not the other way round.

Source: The Print, thefrontiergandhimovie.com.

Picture: The Wikimedia image shows Ghafar Khan with Gandhi and Kasturba.

The Nartiang temple is believed to have been constructed in the 16th century by a Jaintia king when he converted to Hinduism. To this day, Durga Puja is celebrated at Nartiang following Bengali rituals. It is said that human sacrifices took place at this temple in ancient times.

The temple priests in Nartiang were brought from Maharashtra in the late 14th century. They were recruited because local Brahmin priests refused to perform animal or human sacrifices. Remarkably, even today, the 29th generation of these priests, known as Deshmukhs, continues to oversee the temple’s rituals.

The residents of Nartiang carried water from the local rivers, Myntdu and Myntang, as well as local soil for the Ayodhya Bhumi Pooja. Their act is a reminder that the cultural heart and geographical boundaries of Bharat are united; and Shakti Peethas are the markers of that unity.

Source: Pyngrope, Bathsheba Goswami, PhD Dissertation
Swarajya Magazine

Picture Credit: IndiaDivine.Org

It is well known that Gandhi and Subhash Bose had their differences. Gandhi did not favour Bose as Cong president and was responsible for him leaving the party. They also differed in their thinking with Bose in favour of revolutionary tactics to get freedom. Nevertheless they retained great affection for each other.

Bose asked for Gandhi’s blessings in a speech on Azad Hind Radio from Rangoon in June 1944 even as he was at war with the British. He said, “………..Nobody would be more happy than ourselves if by any chance our countrymen at home should succeed in liberating themselves through their own efforts or by any chance, the British Government accepts your `Quit India’ resolution and gives effect to it. We are, however proceeding on the assumption that neither of the above is possible and that a struggle is inevitable. Father of our Nation in this holy war for India’s liberation, we ask for your blessings and good wishes.”

Source: mkgandhi.org.

Picture: The Wikimedia picture shows Gandhi, Bose and Patel at the momentous Haripura Congress.

Homai Vyarawalla (1913-2012) was a pioneer in more than one sense of the word. She was India’s first female photojournalist. She documented the overthrow of British colonial rule. Homai spent her earliest years in and around Bombay and studied photography at the JJ School of Art.

Her presence as a woman in a sari managing a Rolleiflex, led many to dismiss her as an amateur. This dismissal seems to have come with some benefits, however, as it granted her unhindered access to her subjects. Her photos were initially published under her husband’s name and then later under a pseudonym she invented for herself, ‘Dalda 13’. It was not long before her work gained national regard.

Source: hundredheroines.org

Picture: The Wikimedia picture shows her photograph of Gandhi’s death procession.

Gangasagar Mela is held at an island in the delta of River Ganga in Bengal every Makar Sankranti. It is said to be the second largest pilgrimage gathering after the Kumbh Mela. It is associated with the story of Kapila muni who systematized Samkhya philosophy. In Puranic stories King Sagara’s sons falsely accused Kapila muni of stealing their sacrificial horses. Kapila muni in anger at the false accusation burnt them to ashes. Many years later, Sagara’s descendant, King Bhagirath came to Kapila muni and requested him to release his ancestors from hell. On Kapila muni’s suggestion, Bhagirath requested Ganga to come down to earth and the touch of her waters released Bhagirath’s ancestors from hell. It is believed that bathing in the Ganga at this spot on Makar Sankranti leads to salvation.

Source: River of Moksha, Pilgrimages along the Ganga. Swami Kailashanand Giri

https://www.gangasagar.in/en/about/mythologicalsignificance

Picture Credit: Avishek Das Flickr