The Wings Of Expression

Like every other incident in Raje's life, his Rajya-Abhishek or Coronation was done with great pomp. The coronation was celebrated at Raigad in June 1674 every preparation was made to invest Shivaji's capital with new splendor befitting the occasion. New palaces and room were consecrated by the singing of traditional hymns. In the audience hall, a new throne was raise, surrounded by figures of tigers, lions,elephants and carved around its base with the thirty points of the compass in the symbol of Raje's new imperial claims. From Banaras, the greatest of the Brahmins, Ganga Bhatt came all the way to Raigad to coronate Shivaji. The ceremonies lasted a month . First Raje visited the temple of Mother-Goddess at Pratapgadh, there he presented the shrine with an umbrella of pure gold, forty-two pounds in weight. Then, accompanied by a few followers, he entered the temple and passed many days in prayers. While prostrate in prayer a thin faint voice from his mouth declared the pr...

After the decisive Third Battle of Panipat much had changed in the political , historical and cultural fabric in the Indian History , the rise of regional powers like the Jats,Sikhs and several others was witnessed.  The sacrifice of Shrimant Sadashivrao Bhau and Vishwasrao on the battlefield made them legends, on the other hand Balaji Baji Rao aka Nana Saheb succumbed to the loss of a valiant brother and a righteous heir. In the midst of such a political crisis ,what was the Peshwai to do? Was this the end of the Vision of Chattrapati Shivaji Maharaj and great statesman Bajirao ?The countless sacrifices made by great generals and ministers of the Samrjy seemed to be in vain. The Peshwai was now in the hands of a widow , a greedy brother of the late Peshwa who waited patiently to capture the Gaddi and a young child-like muscular boy of 16, whose face shone like the Kohinoor ,whose grit was yet to be tested verily , by the lord, who mustered the courage to reorganize the disgrun...

Perception Perception it's all a deception... he kept shouting hysterically ,Gopal remained silent for he knew what was it that the mystic was trying to do while the three of them looked at this man in bewilderment but waited for him to calm down and see how things unfolded. After a while of hysteric screams and running the mystic went and sat on a rock folded his legs, closed his eyes and it appeared as if he went into a deep trance, Kiara nudged Z and asked , what is it? Z maintained his composure and did not utter a word. An hour passed by, the moon was shining completely ,with its pearl like reflection on sea. He asked the four of them to sit down near the rock , as soon as they sat, Kiara who could no longer resist her curiosity asked the mystic "What is your name"? "Oh! Me?" said the Mystic , they call me by a variety of names sometimes Mad Man sometimes The Healer , often as the one who knows witch-craft but you can call me Sunira. "Never heard suc...

This begins with a tale of siblings named Rehaan and Kiara. Kiara and Rehaan belonged to an erstwhile family ,their father being a statesman, an erudite scholar, a famous writer and a social worker  in the province of Omala who will be referred to as "Z" , could not devote much time with them but carried off their material needs and managed to mark his presence on Parents-Teachers meetings. Their mother whom we'll call "N" was a professor of mathematics in  one of the state's most preferred universities. N being a professor managed to devote a lot time for their kids. Z and N were married for 17 years, Z would not confess openly but enjoyed the fact merrily that he could spend rest of his life with his junior school sweetheart. Rehaan had recently got into university with an impeccable academic record, sparring what went  in sleep , rest of his time was devoted only in excelling at academic forefront. He followed a strict regime and barely deviated fro...

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...