History

A member of Netaji Bose's Indian National Army, Captain Ram Singh Thakuri created the tune of India's national anthem and gave us iconic songs like 'Kadam Kadam Badhaye Ja'. Yet few know his story.

Louis-Benoit Zamor was taken by British slave traders from his birthplace in Bengal and sold to Louis XV, who in turn 'gifted' him to his mistress, Madame du Barry. However, two decades later, Zamor became a participant of the French Revolution. Here's his incredible story.

Gulab Singh Johrimal is a two-century-old perfumery established in 1816 in Dariba Kalan, Delhi. It is now run by seventh and eighth generation entrepreneurs who have taken over the business.

MX Player’s Chhatrasal, starring Jitin Gulati and Ashutosh Rana in the leading roles, tells the story of an unsung warrior king who fought Mughal emperor Aurangzeb for years to ensure Bundelkhand stayed free.

Bela Mitra, also known as Bela Bose, was born in Kodalia in British-ruled India and grew up with a singular goal of freeing her country.

Indian pakoras go by many names across different states — tele bhajas, begunis or vengayam pakoras, but they are an emotion wrapped in layers of spiced besan and fried till golden brown.

The carnelian bead industry in Khambhat exists even today and the town lives on to be one of the largest bead producing centres in the world.

In Patharkatti village in Bihar, artisans have been making decorative, household and prayer items from black granite for generations. There's an interesting folklore behind how this came to be, thanks to Maharani Ahilyabai.

Recently, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar handed over Queen Ketevan's relics to the Georgian government. We trace the story of this queen, and how her remains came to rest in St Augustine Church in Old Goa.

Professor Padmanabhan Balaram talks about his search for Dr Dorothy Hamre, the unsung virologist who was the first to find and isolate a strain of the coronavirus, and how her unknown contributions have shaped our understanding of the COVID-19 pandemic.