The Wings Of Expression

After annexing the Purandar and other major forts of Shivaji Raje , Mirza Raja Jai Singh, the great Rajput king who could assist raje in the mission of achieving Hindavi Swaraj but chose to surrender to the supremacy of the Mughal Rat Aurangzeb and enjoyed the pleasures of being a servant rather than raising tight fists against the Islamic Fanatic , however with the help of Diler Khan ,his massive cavalry, world class artillery and the white beard signifying years of experience on the battlefield lead him to victory over the only force which dared to Rebel against the Mughal imperialism - The Maratha Empire. This conferred upon the Raje a do or die situation where in he had to agree to be under the subservience of Aurangzeb or loose all the leftover forts regardless of the fact that they had  no strategic importance. In order to accept Aurangzeb's hegemony Raje had to send someone with Mirza Raja Jai Singh to give assurance to the emperor at Agra as a Mansab. It was a tough d...

 During the third battle of Panipat, against a triumvirate of King Ahmad Shah Durrani of Afghanistan, the Rohilla Afghans of Doab, and Shuja ud Daula, the Nawab of Awadh, Nanasaheb’s eldest son Vishwasrao led the Maratha Army, while his second son Madhavrao played the chief strategist. Some of his strategies backfired, which led to the killing of Vishwasrao. Holding himself responsible for his elder brother and Peshwa’s death, Madhavrao plunged into depression and later died due to deteriorating health.  Following the death of both Vishwasrao and Madhavrao, their younger brother Narayanrao (only 16-year-old at that time) was appointed as the next Peshwa. And, Raghunathrao was assigned as the regent to take responsibilities of the throne till Narayanrao was minor; this angered Anandibai even more, who by now obsessed to take the power into her own hands Narayanrao was aware of the bitterness of his uncle Raghoba and aunt Anandibai and their ugly fallout with his elder broth...

Having read the history from multiple facets and being an admirer of the Maratha Confederacy, the writer took up the task of bringing the awareness of people to the warrior who was not only kept in dark but was stripped of his due credit due to reasons which were viewed as anti-religious, the warrior who died a death of valour due to superhuman physical exertion in the speedy realisation of his goal of liberating the land from the clutches of the invaders, but unlike other stories this blog intends to only highlight the life of the warrior on the battlefield and not otherwise. Peshwa Bajirao 1 was a warrior of unmatched resilience and foresight had it been that Bajirao did not appear on the scene the Maratha Confederacy would have been just another empire which was crushed in its desire to seek liberation. If one observes. Peshwas were the real rulers who managed the matters of the kingdom. The untimely death of Peshwa Balaji Vishwanath, put forward a matter of serious concern in fro...

If there was ever a warrior who set ablaze the fervor of patriotism and emerged as an emblem of sacrifice it could only be the Rana of Mewar, MaharanaPratap, I'd be lying if ,otherwise.Over 400 years ago, when the glory of the Mughal Empire under Akbar was at its height, a battle was fought near the village of Haldighati in Rajasthan. The mighty Mughal war machine faced the army of the Sisodias of Mewar, a Rajput clan. The Mughals won the battle after a hard-won fight but Rana Pratap, the Mewar King who led the army on the Rajput side, managed to escape. And, for the remaining years of his life, he played a cat and mouse game of great inventiveness with Akbar's armies. It made the most powerful monarch of the world vow to use all the resources at his disposal to destroy Rana Pratap. Akbar failed. And, Mewar was the only Rajput kingdom during his reign, to remain free of Mughal domination.  The Rajput clans owed their origins to foreign races like the Hunas and the Sakas. ...

Shivaji turned out to be an able administrator under the tutelage of Dadaji, training for several hours a day he was becoming a fierce warrior. With a few courtiers and guardsmen in his army, Shivaji raided a small portion of the Bijapur Army, which was moving across the hilly region carrying gold in trunks to pay their due taxes to the imperial government at Delhi. The hills were effectively used by both, the Marathas and Rajputs to fight guerilla warfare. Such subsequent successes instilled worry in the minds of the Bijapur Government as well as the imperial government who cautioned and wanted the provincial government of Bijapur to tackle the rebel effectively. The first few successes of Shivaji caused an uproar in the city of Pune and districts in the vicinity, men from all age groups started joining Shivaji's army which was now 10 thousand in number, surprisingly much of the soldiers were from the Brahmin community. The Sultan of Bijapur at once ordered a messenger to ask Shi...

How often do we come across men of grit and character? How often do we flip the annals of history and come across rulers who could be bestowed with the responsibility of the country? At a point in time when dark clouds of Islamic forces hailed supreme and persecution was at its peak, a cry in the Maharashtrian district of Shivneri, crackled as though it was chosen to rattle the Islamic forces and liberate the land, the  man who fought for the culture and established a Hindu Empire, the pride of Marathas- Chhatrapati Shivaji, not known to many as Shivaji Bhonsle. As mercenaries, the Bhonsles settled in districts of Maharashtra owing their sword and allegiance to the Muslim rulers who ruled there. Much of the Deccan was annexed by the Adil Shahi Dynasty, who too accepted the suzerainty of the Mughals. The Adil Shahi Sultanate ruled majorly over the Bijapur district of the present day Karnataka, Bijapur was earlier a part of the Bahamani Kingdom, which had broken into five compa...

Rama , not just a name ,an emotion , the 7th incarnation  of Sree Vishnu, the sustainer of this world . More often than not he is looked down upon for various reasons but most often he is forgotten for what he stood for, the freedom he had within , he was lord unto himself but why is it that he is remembered just to kill Ravana? What makes him god-like? Why is he reverred in this culture ? This blog follows up with the same. Dashrata, father of Ramachandra , had a kingdom established with riches and glory, he had Political advisors of competence and sages like Vasishta as the guides of ritualistic practices but the void in his life was that of a progeny for which he decided to carry out a yagna which blessed him with 'SONS', of which Rama ,was the eldest. Due to some Political issue and a spill of viciousness in the heart of Kaikey (the second wife of Dashrath),Rama is forced to choose exile for a period of 14 years, though Rama chose to remain in the exile all by himself, his...