#Thread
Did you know that Rani Velu Nachiyar was the first Indian queen to wage war with the East India Company (EIC) in India?? She is known by Tamils as Veeramangai ("brave woman")

#InternationalWomensDay

Born in 1730, in Ramanathapuram, Tamil Nadu, Iin the family of Raja Chellamuthu Vijayaragunatha Sethupathy of the Ramnad kingdom and his wife, Rani Sakandhimuthal, as their only child. Post marriage Rani was Queen of Sivaganga estate in South India

Nachiyar was well trained self defence, martial arts, horse riding, and archery. She wasn’t just valourous, She was a scholar too and mastered French, English and Urdu #Inspiration

When her husband, Muthuvaduganathaperiya Udaiya Thevar, was killed in a battle with EIC soldiers, she was drawn into the conflict. She escaped the battlefield with her daughter. She formed an Army and bravely defeated the British in a brilliantly formulated coup

Rani managed to reinherit the kingdom of her husband, and ruled it for ten years

To commemorate her glory a postage stamp in her name was released in 2008 🙏🏻

The Lost Glory of Gandikota
 #Thread
Everyone knows about USA’s Grand Canyon, one of the 7 Natural Wonders of the World. But did you know that there’s a hidden Grand Canyon in India as well?
The forgotten Gorge of Gandikota is situated on the Pennar River in Andhra Pradesh

and is known as the Grand Canyon of India.
 
Gandikota was identified as strategic area and a mud Fort was constructed by Kakatiya Raja in 12th Century, Further developed by Kumara Thimma Naidu of Vijayanagar Empire and made Gandikota his capital.

He developed Gandikota as an impregnable fortress building huge boundary walls and watch towers on three sides with the Pennar river gorge forming the natural boundary wall on the fourth side.
During his reign he constructed a large temple probably Veerabhadra temple,

along with a tank which was fed by spring water which is known as Koleru. The same temple complex has been perhaps demolished to raise a Masjid and a granary has been constructed by Mir Jumla after capturing Gandikota in 1594.
 
The magnificent Gandikota fort,

is built in such a way that the Gorge provides a natural defence on its west and north sides. The Fort got the name from a big gorge formed by the Penna river (through erosional process) between the Erramala range of hills, called Gandikota hills.