The Mystery of Dholavira
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A lot remains untold about Dholavira, 5000 years old city..Remarkably well planned with spacious dwelling and sophisticated water harvesting system. Our Ancients were well capable of planning the city with great amenities

The studies further show that the city was divided into 3 parts and each part had an underground water tank which further connected to the water channels. And this was the only reason why Dholavirians not only thrived but harvested

Trade flourished during Dholavirian times and they were experts terracotta pottery, beads, gold and copper ornaments, animal figurines, tools, urns, and vessels. The most interesting aspect of Dholavira is the inscriptions, mainly, ten large signs that are the

the first ever evidence of a written Signboard. The mystery of the oldest Signboard in the world or what it suggests still remains unsolved. But despite having such brilliant techniques the city also faced its collapse. Some theories suggest that it was due to climate change

caused by tectonic movements that destroyed this beautiful town.

Did the place turn dryer day by day and the residents were left with no other choice than to move??

Where did those Dholavirians move into...

The Lost Tale of Vellayi Gopuram, Srirangam | TN

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Vellayi means white in Tamil and named after Devadasi  by the name of Vellayi . She had, centuries ago,  sacrificed her precious life with the sole intent to protect  the sacred Murti of Namperumal in the Garbhagraha

from the Delhi Sultanate forces who had invaded the temple town to loot the treasures. The forces had their eyes focused on the idol of Namperumal, which they believed was made of pure ‘Abaranji' gold. Fearing that the forces would capture Acharya and grab the Murti, Vellayi,

being smart  as she was,  performed a dance before the commander of the forces, thus allowing more time for Pillai Lokacharya to escape with the idol. After the dance, she told the commander that she knew where the Murti was kept and took the commander to the top of the goupram .

There she asked him to look down at a particular place where it was kept and before he could blink his eyes,  she pushed him down from the tower and k!lled him. To avoid being caught 
and  humiliated by the Muslim forces, chanting the name  of  Ranganathar, she jumped to death

from the goupuram. Thus the Temple is named after her and till date it’s painted White!! Her timely sacrifice went down  in the history of this  famous Hindu temple and thus pious and valiant Vellayi, a devotee of Ranganathar  has become an immortal figure!

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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
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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.