India is a mystic treasure, where every inch of its land is ripe with legends, mythologies, folklore, and structures with a deep history. Where each temple, masjid, church, and gurudwara is an archive of the land it stands on. Among these houses of worship are a few that become a sanctum of converging legends, mythologies, musical forms, and architectural and spiritual blends—just like the Vaitheeswaran Koil or the residence of Shiva in Tamil Nadu.

In the seventh century, among the ancestors of the Chera Kings, there was a king who became the catalyst for the traditional oath taken by the pre-independence Travancore Princedom of Kerala—"I will keep this sword until the uncle who has gone to Makkah returns." This oath taken in the swearing ceremony kept alive the legend of Makkattupoya Perumal, revoking the stories of the Perumal uncle who went to Mecca and of the first Muslim settlers on the Malabar coast who were granted to build the first masjid of the subcontinent.

Thousands of years ago, from the highlands of West Asia arrived some traders, traversing the Hindukhush mountains in search of silk, spices, and gems. The Armenians settled here, blending their history with this land, testaments of which survive even today in the artefacts and religious structures like the St Mary’s Armenian Church of Chennai.

Imprints of people who lived on a land for a particular period can never be completely wiped out even after their departure from that region. If we pick out just one city like Chennai in the Indian peninsula, one cannot narrate the history of this uber city without gleaning its origins rooted in the first British East India settlements. Edifices like the Victoria Public Town Hall make it impossible to ignore the history of non-indigenous settlers on our subcontinent.

The St. George’s Cathedral in Chennai is a palatial edifice that not only reflects the reverence of its devotees but also encapsulates the tides of history.

There once existed a fort that housed and protected a town within it. But could it fortify itself from the destruction of the clock?

A forgotten woman warrior of India’s anti-colonial struggle against the British, Sivaganga Palace will always nurture the legend of this queen who broke the politically compromising norms of her times.

The story of Indo-European settlements began at South Indian ports and Vasco da Gama's advent. After the Portuguese dominance of the Coromandel lands, the next arrivals were the Dutch, followed by the British and French. Today, the remnants of their history still echo from their silent, ruined forts, records, sites of old factories, and most significantly, their graves.

A tribute to the woman who broke the shackles of patriarchy to chisel a path on the hostile cliff of partition for the rehabilitation of female victims. She braved the odds to pen down the harrowing truths of her experience, and then rightfully claimed membership in the Rajya Sabha.

Get inspired by the story of a young man from Hyderabad who scaled new horizons at the dawn of the Indian Air Force (IAF), soared new heights at wars, and later had an equally impressive administrative career, ambassadorship, humanitarian feats, and so much more. A man irrefutably worthy of the Param Vashisht Seva Medal (PVSM) for his unique blend of indomitable courage and empathy.