A mother behind every myth

Mothers, they say, often chart the course of their children’s destiny. Nowhere is it more true than in the plots of our best loved mythological works- like the Ramayana, Mahabharata, Iliad etc. In fact, were it not for the role of the mother in these epic stories, the incidents described in them would either not have happened or occurred completely differently from how we know them.

Click here to read about the role of mothers in mythology.

The forgotten rebel of Bihar

“When the history of the Rebellion of 1857 is written”, wrote a British chronicler of the time, “the name of Jagdispur would be especially remembered for having given the stiffest resistance to British forces.” He wasn’t exaggerating-Jagdispur, located in present day Bihar, has gone down in the annals of 1857 history for having witnessed some of the severest battles fought during the period. The man who gave the British such sleepless nights here was Kunwar Singh- the zamindar of the region and leader of the rebels.

Click here to read about Kunwar Singh and his role in the 1857 Rising.

On the UP Election trail

Uttar Pradesh is considered- politically the most important region in India. As the state went for a massive seven phase polling schedule, I went across a few key constituencies associated with the heavyweights in the fray. These included Mayawati's former parliamentary seat- Akbarpur, the Gandhi bastions- Amethi and Rae Bareli, Mulayam's native village- Saifai and BJP's garh- Ayodhya. The following articles capture the mood of the electorate in these places.

Click here to read about Saifai- Mulayam's ancestral village, with its swanky new buildings- because of which, it is now being referred to as a mini-Noida.


Click here to read about Rae Bareli- Indira Gandhi's former constituency, now represented by her bahu, Sonia and where her granddaughter Priyanka's charm holds sway.


Click here to read about Amethi- another Gandhi family bastion, where party workers do not tire of singing paeans to their MP- Rahul bhaiyya, although the Rani of Amethi-Ameeta Singh is also making her presence felt.


Click here to read about Akbarpur- Mayawati's former constituency, where people remember the development that happened during her time and hope for her to become CM again.

Click here for another story about Akbarpur- on how an old barber is keeping alive Dr Ram Manohar Lohia's memories alive in Lohia's birthplace.


Click here to read about Ayodhya- BJP's Ram Janmabhoomi epicentre, where people now want to move onto other things although mahants here say they will still support the BJP for building the Ram temple.