J. Devika
Brahmin-Christian Krupabai Satthianadhan is recognised as a pioneer woman author of Indian writing in English, celebrated for her style as well as the content of her novels which opens up the world of women’s struggles and inner lives in nineteenth-century India. We train the spotlight on the…
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V.K. Cherian
Many say Ritwik Ghatak, often hailed as one of Bengali cinema’s three maestros along with Satyajit Ray and Mrinal Sen, found the appreciation he deserved only after his death. His genius was not restricted to his films and scripts alone, but went on to influence a generation of film-makers whom he…
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Shreya Gupta
Living through the carnage of the 1857 Revolt, Urdu poet Mirza Ghalib’s was most pained at the ruin of his beloved city, Delhi. Interestingly, we find that while in his ‘official and published’ diary, ‘Dastanbuy’, he writes in support of the British (his then patrons), some personal letters…
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Shreya Gupta
In Baburnama, the Mughal Emperor’s memoirs, Babur expresses his most intimate emotions, among which is the yearning for his homeland. Even in victory of the great land of Hindustan, Babur is lonely and desolate, as he expresses his pain through ghazals and rubais. Here, we present the vulnerable…
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Aparna Andhare
Gift-giving has always played an importance role in cementing relationships. Here, we look at relationships of the political kind. The extravagant presentation by Maharaja Sawai Ram Singh II of Jaipur to the visiting Prince of Wales in February 1876 was as much a portrayal of Dhundaar as an…
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J. Devika
In the nineteenth century, there was a generation of privileged women contributing to the traditional genres of Malayalam literature. Among them, Kuttykkunhu Thangkachi leads the list as the first dramatist and first-known female music composer from Kerala. While early historians may have tried to…
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Tiggy Allen
Seemingly out of place in the durbar hall of the Junagarh Fort Museum in Bikaner, the DH.9 (de Havilland) bomber from World War I takes pride of place. Tracing the journey of how this war relic made its way to India, we take a ride with the camel cavalry of Maharaja Ganga Singh, a deep dive into…
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Urmila Pawar and Meenakshi Moon
Originally published in Marathi in 1989, We Also Made History: Women in the Ambedkarite Movement, a contemporary classic, details for the first time, the history of women’s participation in the Dalit movement led by Dr B.R. Ambedkar. The first part outlines the involvement of women in various Dalit…
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Abhilasha Ojha
A man of many firsts, Khemchand Prakash’s unparalleled contribution to the music of Hindi film industry pioneered a legacy that should never be forgotten. We train the spotlight on the life and work of the musical genius ‘whose contribution to Hindi film music was far greater than just the songs he…
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Chandni Chowdhary
The chhatris of Rajasthan, especially the precinct in Gaitore, are well-known tourist attractions. But not many know that the origin of this integral Rajput tradition has Mughal influences, and that the unique complex close to Jaipur is dedicated solely to the queens of Rajasthan. Sahapedia finds…
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