Chandralalat

The seventh queen of the king of Bengal gave birth to twins – a boy and a girl. The boy, as predicted, had a moon on his forehead and stars on the palm of his hands. But the six older queens, were filled with jealousy and had the children spirited away by an evil midwife. Based on a folktale from Bengal, Chandralalat is a story that has been popular for generations.

The Adventures of Agad Datta tells of the courage and presence of mind of a young man. This story speaks of justice in ancient India, which was swift and fair.

Children love to hear stories - so do adults, if the story has relevance to their lives. It is this love which has kept alive for generations stories that have been handed down by an oral tradition. Every time a story is retold it acquires a new colour an

Ramanuja (AD 1017-1137) lived for 120 years, traversing the land from Tamil Nadu to Kashmir. People flocked to him to understand his unusual message: the path to ultimate bliss. High caste or low, wealthy or poor, Ramanuja turned no one away. The great Acharya who wrote scholarly commentaries on sacred texts like the Bhagavad Gita was first and foremost a simple-hearted devotee. He inspired the Bhakti movement that spread throughout the country.

Pareekshit, grandson of Arjuna, ascended the throne of Hastinapura the year in which Krishna left the earth for Vaikuntha. It was said to be the beginning of kali Yuga. This Amar Chitra Katha tells the story of the curse which dooms Pareekshit to die at the hands of the Serpent King, Takshaka, and how his son, Janamejaya, avenges his death.

He outwitted the Vindhya mountain when, in its pride, it tried to obstruct the natural path of the sun. He drank all the waters of the ocean to expose the wicked Kalkeyas, who hid there after challenging the Gods to battle. Agastya is the most well-known among the Saptarshi. His stories are found not just in the Vedas but are scattered through the Brahmanas and the Puranas as well. These stories are known not only in India but are also a part of S.E. Asian mythology.

The British were ruthless – they drained away the wealth of Bengal to fill their own coffers. In Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay’s 19th-century tale, holy men take up arms, loving husbands abandon their families, and demure housewives become wily spies to fight the reign of terror. Ananda Math, particularly its theme song, ‘Vande Mataram’, inspired an entire generation of idealistic young men and women to revolt against the British rule in India.

A jealous brother robbed him of his kingdom; his own courage won it back. Chandragupta Vikramaditya has a special place in history because he proved that the love of power is not all that is needed to create an empire. Also needed are the love of a wise w

Megasthenes was the ambassador of the Greek general Seleucus Nicator, at the court of Emperor Chandragupta Maurya, in 4th century B.C. He put his stay to good use by travelling widely and minutely documenting one of the most prosperous and enlightened periods of Indian history. Be it the customs and traditions of the people or the administrative skills of the king – Megasthenes wrote it all down in his four-volume travelogue, Indica.

The life of Durgadas was one of the most extraordinary in the history of Rajasthan. Women of Marwar were often blessed with the words, "May you have a son like Durgadas".Durgadas staked his all to preserve the throne of Jodhpur after the death of King Jaswant Singh.Durgadas was a model Rajput, as wise as he was brave and a saviour of his land.