People Archives - Storytrails

People

Most Popular

Is bhang legal in India? From Holi celebrations to Siva worship, bhang has been consumed in India for centuries in various forms— bhang lassi,
This young sepoy’s sporting achievements are so remarkable that his birthday is celebrated as National Sports Day in India. This is the story of
How did a small town in Bundelkhand become a pilgrimage site for Jains? Deogarh’s Karnali Fort houses a remarkable complex of 31 Jain temples
Kanwar Yatra is one of India’s largest pilgrimages. It sees over 30 million devotees walk barefoot for miles, carrying Ganga water to Siva temples
Filters
A Rajput prince from Bundelkhand named Tej Singh came to Gingee in Tamil Nadu and became a local hero named Raja Desingu. His story is still told in local ballads and street performances like Therukoothu and Poi-Kal-Kuthirai, and even the Burra-Katha tradition of Andhra. It was even made into a Tamil biopic in the 1960s, featuring MGR. Who was Raja Desingu?
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 height of Mount Everest, the tallest peak in the world, and even corroborated Newton’s theory about the shape of the Earth. This is the story of the man who led this massive project – Col. William Lambton.
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, a Viceroy of India whose liberal policies were way ahead of his times – a man who championed the cause of Indians even as his own compatriots plotted his downfall.
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. This was the culmination of a seven-year quest that had taken him to the remotest corners of Tamil Nadu. Read on to know the story of the man who unearthed a treasure mine of ancient classical Tamil literature.