A pepper corn carries with it centuries of history, arduous journeys over land and sea and the growth of economies and empires. It is the spice that launched a thousand ships.
Native to the monsoon rainforests of Kerala, black pepper, a sun-dried berry of the pepper vine, is one of the earliest known, and most widely used, spices in the world. Growing on a climbing evergreen perennial vine supported by host trees such as areca, coconut, mango or jackfruit in home-yards or on a wooden pole in plantations, it is a common feature in the region.

Popularity: 8% [?]

A masterpiece of medieval architecture, the Agra Fort evokes memories of a great heritage. Its visually exciting palaces, mosques, and pavilions reveal the aesthetic sensibilities of the Mughals, reverberating with their royal accounts of life, art and culture.

Every fort has a story to tell which brings to life its architectural spaces. The Agra Fort is a good example. Hidden in the stones of its very foundations, history remains alive. This is perhaps why it would be worth uncovering the past in order to give its physical and aesthetic features a relevance and context.

Popularity: 4% [?]

She was a cult figure and a role model for generations of Indian women who saw her as a person of substance, defying stereotyped notions of womanhood. In the process she gained the admiration of British historians and contemporary British army officers who wrote about her exemplary courage and magnanimity. History has accorded her a special place in the annals of the struggle for Independence

During the first war of Independence in 1857, Rani Laxmibai challenged the domination of the East India Company. In response the Company brought in Major General Sir Hugh Rose to India to face her army. He had proved his superior capability as an army general, in the Syrian and Crimean wars and was known to be a responsible politician and a shrewd diplomat. Landing in the port of Bombay in March 1858 he went straight to Jhansi and camped his massive army outside the city walls.

Popularity: 5% [?]

The Great and Little Rann of Kutch, though seemingly inhospitable are lands rich with a variety of flora and fauna. Changing with the seasons, they have survived centuries of upheavals to persist. These vast and pitiless lands represent the very spirit of the people.

A long time ago, deep in the past, geologists are of the opinion that seismic upheavals pushed the land of  Kutch out of the Arabian Sea. As it emerged it appeared almost like the shell of a tortoise, thus earning the name ‘katchua’ or tortoise (as some believe!). The land remained surrounded by water for some time, before earthquakes lifted and tilted it once more, narrowing the distance from the mainland. The sea’s arm stretched in from the Gulf on the western end, up across the north-western, north, and north-eastern side and emerged at the eastern and south-eastern end.

Popularity: 2% [?]

Beyond caste and creed, beyond the barriers of time and difference, a pilgrimage to Sabrimala to honour the divine Lord Ayyappan celebrates the purity of discipline and devotion.
Every January streams of pilgrims wend their way to Sabrimala atop a tall peak of the Sahyaadris. They brave low-lying fog and the winter chill, crossing rough terrain, covering the final few miles on bare foot. Arriving before dawn they approach the great shrine of Lord Ayyappan, chanting ‘Swamiyee Saranamayyappa’, and climb the final hallowed eighteen steps carrying their Irumudikettu (sacred bundles) on their heads. Tucked inside these bundles they bring the most sacred offering – coconuts filled with ghee.

Popularity: 4% [?]

This region offers a baffling variety of architecture and a rich cultural heritage that has not ceased to delight, keeping alive the curiosity and erudition of archaeologists and historians keen to peel away the layers of time to uncover the past.

The district of Bankura in Bengal presents distinctive historical, cultural and artistic features. From the 4th century A.D. rock inscription of Chandravarman atop Susunia hills in the north to the remains of a capital in Pradmanapur and onto the terracotta temples of Bishnupur, the capital city of Malla kings, this district offers a rich heritage.

Popularity: 2% [?]

Metals and alloys played a significant role in civilization of man. Invention of iron implements led to the emergence of second urbanization world wide. The fabrication and use of iron products began in the Indian subcontinent around the second millennium B.C. It is further established that the origin of iron technology was a product of indigenous development and simultaneous beginning of Iron Age has occurred at more than one centre in the Indian subcontinent. It appears that the direct reduction method of iron extraction continued for a long time in Indian history showing that the ancient Indian metallurgists had mastered this method of iron extraction. The forging of wrought iron seems to have reached its zenith in India in the first millennium A.D. The earliest example of iron forging is the iron pillar at Delhi. Although this pillar has been the focus of several studies, there are other metallurgical monuments of India which are less investigated by scholars and not too many people are aware of the beauty of these objects. We hope to highlight some of these here.

Popularity: 4% [?]

On the very edge of our national imagination is a world where nature exists in all its verdant splendour – providing a home to an amazing variety of ethnic cultures. Here, the rich diversity of identities has been nurtured by the timeless movement of tribes.

Embraced by the eastern Himalayas on its northern border with China, the remote north eastern state of Arunachal Pradesh rises from the Brahmaputra Valley (that it shares with Assam) as an undulating landscape of verdant tropical forests. The elevation varies from 300 metres on the edge of Assam to a staggering 7000 metres on its northern border. It is through the high passes in this region that the first refugees from Tibet entered this part of India, bringing with them their customs and religion. Accustomed to the harshness of the Tibetan Plateau, they chose to populate the higher reaches of Arunachal. Initially isolated, trade compelled them to mingle with people from the plains and this interaction with the Indo-Burmese tribes (who had already inhabited large tracts of Arunachal) created a new sub-group called the Tibeto-Burmese.

Popularity: 2% [?]

The opulent homes of the Chettiar reflect the spirit of a culture and social life now lost in the warps of time. Drawing inspiration from the world they reached out to, they built houses that reflected the age they lived in.

Whilst walking down a street in the heart of Karaikudi, Sivaganga District of Tamil Nadu – part of the area traditionally known as Chettinad, the Land of the Chettiars one notices that the area has an air of settled urbanity and prosperity. The houses, aranmanai or palace, along both sides of the street impart a sense of a long-settled, prosperous neighbourhood. Some of them are huge – rising as they do a couple of storeys off the ground with a vast spread that extends to the parallel street at the back. Others are smaller. However, all of them are notable for their ornate facades of plaster and stucco that feature a tableau of Hindu deities and symbols – predominantly Gajalakshmi the goddess of wealth and prosperity, Poornakumbham the pot of plenty and Krishna – and western kitsch such as winged angels, British soldiers on horseback, animals, ornamentation comprising foliage and a visually crowded frontispiece. A frontal view of the facade offers a mix of various sculptural styles at different levels, varying colours for each grouping and a curious juxtaposition of the highly traditional South Indian with European styles. As the levels climb any other images that take the owner’s fancy are incorporated. Yet, the assemblage strangely does not jar in the least. The Chettinad style has evolved an idiom that borrows elements of interest from all parts of the world resulting in a mix that is it’s own.

Popularity: 2% [?]

This is the king of fruits, the delicious expression of a rich natural heritage. From its beginnings in the mists of time to its status today, the mango has come to enjoy a significant status socially, religiously, culturally and economically. It has a special place in the very ethos of the country.

The story of this fruit goes back four thousand years and more, mentioned as it is in ancient Hindu scriptures. However, the exact place of its origin is debatable. Most researchers agree that wild mango existed as far back as 2,000 B.C. in modern Siam, Burma, Indo-China, and the Malay Peninsula. Wild mango trees bearing small, fibrous fruit with a turpentine-like taste are still found in the forests of these regions. Fossil records indicate that the common Indian mango, Mangifera indica, probably first appeared in present day Assam in the later part of the Quaternary period. In the early stages of evolution the fruit was small, fibrous, and almost acidic in taste but centuries of selecting the best plants and mixing desirable traits through vegetative propagation resulted in the “mango” fruit we know today – large, fleshy, flavour-filled, and central to cuisine during the summer months.

Popularity: 2% [?]