LATEST ARTICLES
The Great Trigonometrical Survey of India was the largest measurement of the Earth’s surface ever attempted. Apart from mapping the country, the project measured the...
How did a British administrator come to be known as the ‘father of local self-government in India’? Read on for the story of Lord Ripon,...
Dr. U.V. Swaminatha Iyer was only 32 when he published an edition of the great Tamil epic, Jeevaka Chintamani, on paper for the first time....
Different communities across the world celebrate their New Year’s Day on different days of the year, based on the calendars they follow. The Parsis celebrate...
A lot of what we know of Mughal history has been pieced together from royal chronicles – and travellers’ accounts. Niccolao Manucci was an Italian...
Why is Robert Bruce Foote, an Englishman, considered to be the ‘father of Indian prehistory’? What is the significance of ‘Madrasian Culture’? Read on for...
The Mongols were infamous for their remarkable conquests that spanned a vast expanse of the world. Yet, they were never able to conquer Delhi, despite...
One of the many ways in which the British East India Company gained control over various regions of India was by forging advantageous friendships with...
His face can be seen on Portuguese bank notes. There are gardens in Lisbon and in Goa that are named after him. He wrote one...
Once a thriving Dutch colony, Sadras is an obscure town lost in the annals of history. Today, the echoes of its captivating past linger amidst...
Latest Videos
Burial sites are among the most important sources of information for archaeologists. The excavations at Keeladi, Adichanallur, Korkai and other places in Tamil Nadu have thrown up a host of burial urns, skeletal remains and other grave goods. These finds reveal much about the oldest settlements in south India through the ways in which they dealt with death. This video, the latest in our series around the Keeladi excavations, explores the different burial rites and practices of ancient Tamils and how they help us understand our history and cultures of the past better.
How old are the oldest settlements in south India? This video explores the story of the recent excavations at Keeladi, which revealed the existence of a sophisticated Tamil civilisation dating back at least to the 6th century BCE. But did you know that archaeological digs carried out over a 100 years earlier at sites like Adichanallur and Pallavaram had already hinted at human habitation sites in Tamil Nadu dating back thousands of years? How have these path-breaking excavations changed our understanding of ancient south Indian history?
What can a few fragments of pottery tell us about how people wrote 5000 years ago? Quite a lot, as it turns out. The Keeladi excavations of 2015 pointed to the existence of a literate ancient Tamil civilisation that could go as far back as 800 BCE. Among the most significant finds was a series of potshards with different inscriptions, which offered many fascinating insights about the evolution of scripts in India.
Which are the oldest languages and scripts in India? Is there a mother of all scripts, in a land that is as diverse and variegated as India? What similarities or differences exist between the south Indian scripts, and do they have anything in common with the ones used in north India? The first of this two-part video story explores these fascinating questions and more as it traces the evolution of Indian scripts over the last 2500 years.
What can a popular icon tell us about the religious landscape of the territories ruled by the Pallava dynasty 1400 years ago? This video explores the story of the Somaskanda, a divine family portrait that seems to be missing an important member.
The Varaha Mandapa, a 7th century rock-cut cave temple in Mamallapuram, is home to many fascinating tales set in stone. One of the most spectacular panels in the cave features the Trivikrama or Vamana avatar of Vishnu, in which he defeats the demon king Mahabali. This epic tale also happens to be the origin story of Onam, the harvest festival of Kerala.
Picture Stories
- Picture A Story
Devanagari
- Every Place Has a Story
Bheema Pul
- Every Place Has a Story
Golghar
- Every Place Has a Story
Open Hand Monument
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