The year was 1290 . A crowd had gathered around a clearing, where broken down pillars marked the presence of an ancient temple, now long gone. A young boy, just 14 years old, leaned against one of those pillars, deep in thought. Then, he began speaking, and the crowd fell silent, listening to his every word. He spoke without any notes, translating the Bhagavat Gita, from Sanskrit, which only the pundits knew, to the language everyone in the village knew and spoke – a variety of Prakrit which developed into the Marathi language. Even as he spoke, one of the men in the audience realized how momentous this event was, and how important this composition would be. He began writing down the words the young boy spoke, and this composition was named by its author and composer, the Bhavartha Deepika – the enlightening meaning (of the Bhagavat Gita). Now, the ancient, holy text, was no longer restricted to the pundits, but accessible to all, understood easily by them, composed as it was, in their...
He was among the last of the powerful Mughal Emperors. He might not have been among the most popular, but for 49 years, he ruled over the bulk of the Indian Subcontinent. We remember him more today for the temples he razed and the mosques he built over them. And yet, we cannot but help lift an eyebrow in surprise and admiration when we learn that he refused to use the royal treasury at his disposal, choosing instead to knit caps and copy the Quran anonymously and use the proceeds from the sales for his personal expenses. Aurangzeb stands out from among the Mughal emperors in many ways – his fanatical zeal for Islam, his intolerance for all other religions, and above all, the simplicity of his lifestyle, which is reflected in his last resting place. The board informing us of the Emperor's tomb is mounted on a wall with peeling paint and old posters