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History is fascinating. It is filled with very interesting stories. Here is one such true story. You might have heard about an Afghan named Shahab-ud-Din Ghuri who invaded Delhi and was defeated by the king of Delhi, Prithvi Raj Chauhan. Shahab-ud-Din retired to Afghanistan and came back next year with another much powerful army. This time, he defeated Prithviraj and sat on the throne of Delhi. But what are the events that led to the defeat of the legendary king Prithviraj Chauhan? How did he become so weak in a year? The answer is love. Love is what made him weak and blind. Here is the story part; King Jaichand (Jayachandra) of Kannauj and Prithviraj Chauhan were not in good terms with each other. Both of them were very powerful kings. Jaichand's daughter Samyogita fell in love with Prithviraj after hearing about his heroic exploits and declared that she would marry only him. Jaichand arranged a swayavra (husband-selection) ceremony for his daughter but did not invite Pr...

Picture 1: Boats lined up at the Triveni Sangam, Prayag, Allahabad with pilgrims and tourists.  I have been to Allahabad last week and saw the site of the famous Kumba Mela at Prayag, also known as the Triveni Sangam. Hundreds of thousands of people come, as their forebears had come for thousands of years from all over India, to bathe at the confluence of Ganga, Yamuna and the mythical river, Saraswathi. Having visited in the winter season, I was fortunate enough to see migratory birds from Siberia playing and feeding in the Yamuna (See Picture 4). A dip at the Triveni Sangam is believed to break the cycle of rebirth and save one's soul. References to these ceremonial baths can be found in the accounts of Chinese Pilgrims who visited India some thirteen hundred years ago and even then these Melas were ancient and lost in an unknown antiquity. When you approach the Sangam from land, what welcomes you is a massive fort built by the great emperor Akbar. T...

Thrikodithanam Mahavishnu Temple  was built during the reign of the second Chera Empire in 800 AD. There is a stone fortress called  Bhoodathan Kotta  around this temple. According to local legends, the fortress was built out of a single stone, overnight, by a spirit ( bhoodam ). There is also a beautiful lake in front of the temple. Devoted to Lord Vishnu, Thrikodithanam Mahavishnu Kshetram, alias Adbhuta Narayanan Temple, is one of the five Pancha-Pandava temples in Kerala and among the 108 Vishnu temples in India. This 9th-century temple is located at Thrikodithanam in Changanacherry, 25 km from Kottayam. Adbhuta Narayanan is the chief deity and his idol along with consort Karpagavalli, in standing posture, is made of an unusual black stone called Aanjana-kallu. The temple also houses the idols of Lord Shiva, Lord Krishna, Ganapathi, Narasimha, Nagadevas, and Kshetrapala.The temple structure is an architectural excellence adorned with beautiful mural paintings....

 It was in 1805 AD, that the famed Diwan of Travancore Veluthampy Dalava made a market place at Changanacherry. The market was inaugurated by the exchange of an elephant. Now this market is one of the largest markets in Kerala and is the best attended in all of North Travancore. The chief trade is in rice, pepper, dry ginger, areca nuts and piece goods. Towards the memory of the centennial celebrations of the place in 1905, the people installed the " Anchu Vilakku" (Five Lamps) seen near the Boat Jetty at Market Road.      The lamp signifies the 'unity in diversity' of the local ethnic and religious sects - a truly fitting tribute to the ethos of Changanacherry.       Anjuvilakk