The Great Indian Story

Taj Mahal, considered to be a symbol of love, holds some unsolved mystery put forth by the well known historian Mr. P.N. Oak (2 March 1917 - 4 December 2007). In his book 'Taj Mahal: The True Story', Oak claims that the Taj Mahal was originally a Shiva temple and a Rajput palace named 'Tejo Mahalaya' , seized by Shah Jahan and adopted as a tomb.   He says that 'Mahal' is a word to describe a royal palace and not a tomb and after seizure by Shah Jahan, the name was changed to Taj Mahal. Oak discovered that the Shiva temple palace had been usurped by Shah Jahan from then Maharaja of Jaipur, Jai Singh . Shah Jahan then remodeled the palace into his wife's memorial. In his own court chronicle, Badshahnama , Shah Jahan admits that an exceptionally beautiful grand mansion in Agra was taken from Jai Singh for Mumtaz's burial. The ex-Maharaja of Jaipur is said to retain in his secret collection two orders from Shah Jahan for the surrender of the...

Riddle me this: Where does the boy vanish? The great Indian rope trick, like snake charmers and elephants walking the streets of busy, crowded markets, used to be a part of a list of stereotypes about India during colonial times ( and probably even now!! ) You might see an elephant now and then, but these days there is barely a snake charmer around; and as for the rope trick, it has become extinct now ( even I heard about it recently ). No one seems to practice it these days, but the mystery behind the astonishing ability of men to perform this trick still lingers ( Oh la la!! I love mysteries... ) The rope trick has never been documented in detail, or captured by video cameras, although several people have, over the years, claimed to have seen it being performed. The trick is as follows:- The head magician, with some trademark incantations, sends up a rope till it hangs stiff in mid-air. He then sends his assistant, usually a boy, up the rope till the boy disappears...

Kohinoor isn't the only diamond from India that had stirred the world. The Hope diamond seems to be the exact opposite of its name. Objects have power, whether real or appearing to be real. It is widely accepted that the more precious an object, the more powerful it appears to become. Some objects even carry with themselves an aura of mystery. One such object is the Hope diamond , which brought very bad luck to whoever owned it. It was mined in the famous Golconda diamond mines in India , although the exact date for this is not known. What is known is that it appeared in Europe in 1642, after it was bought by the French traveler Jean-Baptiste Tavernier . In 1668, he sold it to King Louis XIV for a large amount of money, but lost the fortune because he had to pay off his son's debts. Tavernier returned to India to recover his fortune, but was mauled to death by dogs. King Louis XIV , the Sun King, almost from the moment he had the diamond, started losing his emp...

The Vaimanika Shashtra  is a   Sanskrit text on aerospace technology . It makes the claim that the  'vimanas', meaning aircrafts,  mentioned in ancient Sanskrit epics  were advanced aerodynamic flying vehicles.  Flights made by vehicles heavier than air are mentioned in Indian epics, the most famous being Ravana's aerial Pushpaka vimana . But these were in the realm of mythology. Not even archaeological excavations have dug up evidence that ancient Indians were into experiments on flight. The Vaimanika Shashtra appeared in the early 20th century in Madras. It was written by a Sanskrit scholar and contained illustrations on different types of aircraft. The scholar, Pandit Subbaraya Shashtry, had received this knowledge from mental channeling ( apparently ), a process that supposedly helps one receive some wisdom through telepathy and occult methods ( as if an ancient knowledge on aerospace technology was not eno...

 A country is defined by its people; their history, culture and knowledge. The people are nurtured by  'Civilization' and vice-versa. I will talk about one of the oldest civilizations (probably the oldest) of the world that was present in the Indian sub-continent- Indus Valley Civilization . How a complex society like this vanished off the map? The Indus Valley Civilization was not limited to the Indus, although the name stuck ever since the townships of  Harappa  and Mohenjodaro on the Indus basin were discovered. There are other sites around north-west India & Pakistan where ruins and artefacts from that period have been found. The cities which have been excavated show a complex urban culture. The systems of public baths and an unbelievably modern drainage system ( which is a serious problem in many developing countries today ) have been well documented. This civilization even had long standing trade relations with Egypt and Sumer. At the site of ...