Seven Sisters ......enigmatic and beautiful....the First Sister

*    Seven Sisters is a name given to the contiguous states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura in northeastern India. These states cover about 7 % of India's total area and 3.7 % of India's total population. There is great ethnic and religious diversity within the seven states.

*    The region has a predominantly tribal population that speak numerous Tibeto-Burman and Austro-asiatic languages. 

The First Sister- Mizoram

*     The Mizos, as the legend goes, emerged from under a large rock known as Chhinlung. Two people of the Ralte clan  started talking noisily while coming out of the region. They made a great noise which made their god, the Pathian, to throw up his hands in disgust and feel too many people had been allowed to step out and so he closed the door. 

*     Chhinlung, is a Chinese city of Sinlung close on the Sino-Burmese border. The Mizos have songs and stories about the glory of the ancient Chhinlung civilisation handed down from one generation to the next.

*    In China in 210 B.C., the rebellions broke out and chaos reigned throughout the Chinese State. Then the Mizos left China as part of one of waves of migration. They first settled in Shan State in Burma after overcoming the local resistance. The Shans had already been firmly settled in their State when Mizos came there from Chhinlung around 5th century. The Shans did not welcome the new arrivals, but failed to throw the Mizos out. 

*       The Mizos lived happily in Shan for about 300 years before they moved on to the Kabaw Valley around the 8th century. Then they changed settlements several times, moving from Shan State to the Kabaw Valley in Burma. In the Kabaw Valley, the Mizos had unhindered interaction with the local Burmese. The two cultures met and the two tribes influenced each other in clothing, customs, music and sports.

*       In the early 14th century, they settled in the Chin Hills on the Indo-Burmese border. They built villages and called them by their clan names such as Seipui, Saihmun and Bochung. The Lushais were the last of the Mizo tribes to migrate to the Lushai Hills.

*      Mizoram is the land of myth, fables and folklores. Here the lakes, waterfalls and hills have a tale of their own. For some, refer my previous posts and for the rest, pack up your bags and explore the land yourself. I don't want to take the joy away from you by writing more about the place. I've lived here for six long years and the state has been inspiration to many of my short stories, a few novels and paintings. Hope you too find inspiration for something here.

*      Good luck and god bless.........

 ............(to be continued)

It rained last night

Their journeys had come to a brief halt at a ghostly station from where both, after seven hours, were to take connecting trains to their different destinations. They were a woman and a man, who, after initial surprise and subsequent introduction had settled down, in an air of unease, in the lone waiting room at the lone platform. The station in the best of sunlight inspired little optimism, in the night it brought complete gloom. There was a stationmaster, who did almost every job except cleaning the tracks, a clerk who did almost every work except typing letters, a vendor who sold almost everything stale except tea and a coolie who carted around almost every load except passengers. Mostly poor people alighted here.

         When the coolie noticed a lady with some pretence to beauty, clad in a costly sari, get down from the train, his eyes lit up. He sensed a chance to make some money and rushed to her, who asked him to take her to the waiting room. An hour later the next train brought a rich-looking man, whose luggage too he brought to the same room. Two passengers in one single day had been godsend. Both looked stinking rich and their gestures promised him a good tip in addition to his charges. This prospect energised him and he rushed back to the vendor and brought them hot tea, with less sugar and milk. From his previous experiences he knew that the rich people, unlike the poor, didn’t take their tea heavy in milk and sugar.

                           (read complete story in short story section)

Nala Damayanti.......

* Photo credit..Raja Ravi Verma

*       Damayanti, a princess of Vidarbha Kingdom, fell in love with King Nala of Nishad Kingdom, hearing of his virtues and accomplishments from a golden swan.

*      When she had chosen her husband at a swayamvara, where the gods, princes and kings had come to seek her hand. The Gods, Indra, Agni, Varuna and Yama were on their way for attendance when they met Nala. They ordered him to be their messenger and inform Damayanti to choose one of them as her husband. Nala first refused, but finally accepted . Damayanti agreed to pay her respects to the gods, but insisted on choosing only Nala as her husband.

*      The Gods then disguised themselves as Nala in the swayamvara. Damayanti went past them each time, as she knew Nala was a human being and cannot be perfect.The demon Kali, also wanted to marry Damayanti. On his arrival, he learnt that he was late for the swayamvara. He ran into the gods who mocked him. Kali then angrily vowed to cause the fall of Nala’s kingdom through his propensity for gambling.

*      Damayanti and Nala were married and had two children. Kali entered the palace as a servant, and for 12 years kept watch on him. One day, Nala in a rush said his prayers without washing his feet, thereby allowing Kali to bewitch his soul. In games of dice with his brother Pushkara, he lost his kingdom, forcing Nala and Damayanti to live in poverty in the forest.

*     In the forest the birds flew away with the only garment Nala had. He started worrying for Damayanti and resolved to abandon her to protect her from his bad luck. Damayanti found herself alone in the forest. Nala, meanwhile, rescued the Snake King Nāga Karkotaka from a fire. The Nāga bit him. Nala survived the bite, but the venom turned him into an unrecognizable dwarf named Bahuka, who served as a charioteer to the Ayodhya King Rituparna.

*      Damayanti was finally discovered and taken back to her father's house where she was reunited with her children. They searched for Nala, but couldn't find him. Damayanti thought that Nala would only come back if he feared she wouldn't be his wife anymore. Thus she requested a fake second swayamvara. She was still an irresistible beauty and so many kings attended. Nala's master also went to the swayamvara, and Nala accompanied him. On their journey, the king taught the dwarf the techniques of gambling.

*     When King Rituparna revealed him the skill of controlling the dice, finally the poison took effect and Bahuka vomited Kali from his body and imprisoned him to a tree. Damayanti was persuaded that the dwarf was Nala . The pair was reunited and Nala was transformed into his familiar form. He used the knowledge of gambling to regain everything he had lost.

*      She forgave him for having abandoned her in the forest, and he forgave her for another swayamvara.

Hemu.................India's unsung Heroes (2).

*        Hem Chandra (Hemu) was born in a Baniya (trader) family in a village in Alwar, Rajasthan in India in 1501. Apart from learning Sanskrit and Hindi, Hemu was educated in Persian and Arabic languages. He was fond of wrestling and horse-riding.

*        In the sixteenth century, India was socially and politically unstable because the Mughals and the Afghans were fighting for power. Babur's barbaric invasion of North India in 1526 had resulted in large scale destruction, looting and demolition of Hindu temples in the North.

*       Hemu started his career as a supplier of cereals to Sher Shah Suri's army, moving on to more critical supplies like saltpetre (for gunpowder) later. He also developed a cannon foundry and obtained technical assistance for casting cannons, and producing saltpetre from the Portuguese in Goa.

*       After Sher Shah Suri's death in 1545, his son Islam Shah became ruler. Islam Shah recognised Hemu's calibre and administrative skills, and made him his personal adviser. He consulted Hemu in matters relating not only to trade and commerce, but also pertaining to statesmanship, diplomacy and general politics. Islam Shah initially appointed Hemu  as 'market superintendent' to manage commerce throughout the empire.

*      After sometime Hemu rose to become Chief of Intelligence. In 1552 Islam Shah's health deteriorated and he shifted his base from Delhi to Gwalior, a safer place. Hemu was deputed as Governor of Punjab to safeguard the region against the Mughal invasions.

*      Islam Shah was succeeded by his 12 year old son Firoz Khan who was killed within three days by Adil Shah Suri. The new king Adil was an indolent pleasure-seeker and a drunkard. Adil Shah appointed Hemu as his prime minister and army chief . After some time, Adil Shah became insane and Hemu became the de facto king.

*     At that time the Afghans considered themselves natives of India, while the Mughals, were considered foreigners. Hemu was a native ruler leading a native Afghan army to victory, in the battle after battle. His army consisted of infantry, cavalry, artillery and large elephants. He had created a formidable force which included generals and soldiers from various castes of Hindus and Muslims.

*     Hemu launched most of the attacks between 1553-56 from the Gwalior Fort,  and won 22 battle victories.

*      After the victory of Humayun over Adil Shah's brother Sikander Suri in 1555, the Mughals regained the Punjab, Delhi and Agra after a gap of 15 years. Hemu was in Bengal when Humayun died in 1556. Humayun's death gave Hemu an ideal opportunity to defeat the Mughals. He started a rapid march from Bengal through Bihar, UP and Madhya Pradesh. The Mughal fauzdars abandoned their positions and fled in panic . In Agra, a Mughal stronghold, the commander of Mughal forces Iskander Khan Uzbeg fled after hearing about Hemu's invasion, without a fight. 

*      After winning Agra, Hemu moved for the final assault on Delhi. Tardi Beg Khan, the governor of Delhi, wrote to Akbar that Hemu had captured Agra and intended to attack Delhi, which could not be defended without reinforcements. Bairam Khan, realising the gravity of the situation, summoned all the Mughal commanders in the vicinity for the defence of Delhi. 

*     The Mughal army was thus drawn up. Abdullah Uzbeg commanded the Vanguard, Haider Muhammad the right wing, Iskander Beg the left and Tardi Beg himself the centre. In this assault, the Mughals captured 400 elephants and slew 3000 men of the Afghan army. Thinking of victory already gained, several Mughal soldiers dispersed to plunder the enemy and thus the Mughals were left in the field thinly guarded. All this time Hemu had been holding 300 elephants and a force of select horsemen as a reserve in the centre. He promptly seized the opportunity and made a sudden charge upon Tardi Beg with this reserve.

*     In the ensuing confusion, the Mughals were defeated. Hemu thus won Delhi after a day's battle on 6 October 1556. Some 3000 soldiers died in this battle. Hemu entered Delhi, victorious under a royal canopy. At Purana Quila, Delhi Hemu was crowned after defeating Akbar's army. Hemu assumed the royal robes and declared himself the Emperor of India under the title of Vikramaditya.

*      Thus Hemu became the first Hindu emperor of North India in 350 years. 

*      On hearing of Hemu's victories and fall of Agra and Delhi, the Mughal army at Kalanaur lost heart and many commanders refused to fight Hemu. Most of his commanders advised Akbar to retreat to Kabul, which would serve better as a strong-hold. However, Bairam Khan, Akbar's guardian and chief strategist, insisted on fighting Hemu in an effort to regain control of Delhi.

*     On 5 November 1556, the Mughal army met Hemu's army at the historic battlefield of Panipat. Akbar and Bairam Khan stayed in the rear, eight miles from the battleground, with the instructions to leave India in case of defeat. The Mughal army was led by Ali Kuli Khan, Sikandar Khan and Abdulla Khan Uzbeg. 

*     Hemu led his army himself into battle, atop an elephant. His left was led by his sister's son General Ramiya and the right by Shadi Khan Kakkar. He was on the verge of victory, when he was wounded in the eye by an arrow and collapsed unconscious. This led to confusion amongst the soldiers, with no supreme commander to coordinate decisions. He fell unconscious was captured and taken to the Mughal camp for execution. 

*     Bairam Khan asked Akbar to behead Hemu so that he could earn the title of Ghazi. Akbar replied, "He is already dead, if he had any movement or breathing I would have killed him". However, at the insistence of Bairam Khan, Hemu was first struck by Akbar to earn the title of 'Ghazi', then he was beheaded by Bairam Khan. Hemu's head was sent to Kabul in Afghanistan, where it was hanged outside to prove to the Afghans that the great Hindu warrior was dead, while his body was placed in a gibbet outside Purana Quila in Delhi to terrorise the Hindus.

*    After Hemu's death, a massacre of Hemu's community and followers was ordered by Bairam Khan. Thousands were beheaded and towers of skulls built with their heads to instill terror among the Hindus. 

*     Hemu's triumphant march to Delhi can be equated to the campaign of Napoleon. He never saw defeat in the battle throughout his life. And he died in the only battle he lost. His attempts to drive the Mughals out of India and establish the Hindu Raj was a continuation of various Hindu efforts to regain control from the Muslim invaders. 

*   Imagine !! If Hemu had taken lessons from Porus's defeat and prepared better for the Battle of Panipat, history of India could have been different. 

*   Nonetheless,  Hemu remains one of the greatest Indian warriors to have resisted the Mughals but sadly in his homeland, for which he laid down his life, he remains an unsung Hero...........

Quest

                                                     

Everyone’s mood at the dining table was sombre, unlike the other days when they joked and laughed around. The reason for stiffness in the air was due to sudden decision by the eldest Prasad. A few hours ago he had expressed his desire to undertake an arduous journey to an unpronounceable village in Nagaland. What had prompted this, nobody had any clue. Vaibhav, the old man’s son, knew only this much that his father when young had served for some years in that trouble-torn state and perhaps some extraordinary event of that time was calling him. What could that be? He made a few guesses. The outrageous ones he immediately discounted, the plausible ones made his task easier. Perhaps it was the call of the wild drawing him to that place.
              The septuagenarian Ramesh, lately, had become a recluse. His wife of forty years had died a year ago and possibly that could have been the reason for this. At least that was what Vaibhav and Kusum, his daughter-in-law thought about. He had been a diabetic for almost a decade now and developed high blood pressure last year, both of which had restricted his routine activities. Half-dozen pills supplemented his strict diet, which was painstakingly monitored by Kusum. Both Vaibhav and Kusum were doctors; the man a paediatrician and the lady a gynaecologist. Their nursing home was the most sought after in the town. Between them they earned four to five lakhs rupees per month. Sanjiv, their son worked in a multi-national company as a sales executive.

(for complete story, please go on to the Short Stories section)