Ekaant

The legend of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and his heroic deeds is so vivid and overpowering in our minds, that the place from where he created an empire is lost in the haze of his personal glories. The capital hill fort of Raigad in the Sahyadris is a stellar example of hill forts in Maharastra and its story has drama befitting that of the conqueror who went about defining the course of history from this flat hill top.

Rajasthan is replete with forts that are seeped in the royal tradition of valour and sacrifice. Amongst the hundreds that dot the martial land of brave warriors is an exceptional one that is its dark knight - the extravagantly large fort of Kumbhagarh. Designed and created by Rana Kumbha, it holds the distinction of having the second longest wall in the world - next only to the Great Wall of China - that charts a serpentine course of 36 kms across the Aravalis! A keeper and witness of key events in the history of Mewar, the soul of Rajasthan is incomplete without the reassuring countenance of Kumbhalgarh.

At the northern edge of the massive Deccan plateau lies a forgotten fort that was once the key to open the doors to the Deccan. A survey by the British, extolled it as the strongest fort in the country and one that was never taken by force - depending on which version of its many histories you feel should be believed. With an antiquity that only grows older every time it is explored, Asirgarh is a treasure trove of fascinating spell binding stories so fantastic in their bearing that history and myth seem dyed in the same vat of riotous emotions.

Roll back a century and visit India's new capital, Daulatabad, declared by Muhammad Tughlaq. Visit the destination to feel the magantism which continues to enthrall tourists and locals alike.

Akul Tripathi visits the incredible city of Bijapur in this episode of Ekaant. Bursting with nuances of bravery, skill, diplomacy, patronage and an overbearing hangover of pathos, Bijapur is a sieve of memories that are destined to be treasured.

At the meeting of the southern tip of India and the Deccan plateau lies the town of Burhanpur. Centuries ago, it was a stronghold for the Mughals with tasty cuisines, treasures and unlikely love stories.

Visit the oldest fort with references dating back to Mahabharata. Built from rock, it is on a mountain overlooking the confluence of Banging and Majhi rivers, it was once formidable yet lies alone today.

The ousting from memory of a place once considered the ‘paanchva dhaam’ and an unmissable pitstop in the pilgrimage circuit of Uttarakhand. Visit Jageshwar on this episode to know why it turned Ekaant.

It takes many rivers to make a sea and rivulets for a river. Ramnagar is one such rivulet. Ignored and devalued in a corner of Jammu-Kashmir, it holds the story of antiquities that define the region.

The Leh palace, Ladakh is a picture postcard. 9 stories high, it rests as the world around changes. A change caused by the will of a man who shaped the folds of geography in this Himalayan desert-scape.

Once the frontier of Hindustan, this fort was the host of Mohammad Ghori, Prithviraj Chauhan and imprisoned Sultan Raziya. Qila Mubarak of Bathinda is in a quicksand of time, fast sinking into oblivion.

Mehrauli is a 100 acre archaeological park that has monuments over a 1000 years old. From a remnant of the Lal Kot to the time of the British Raj, the park resonates like an island of Indian history.