ahilyabai holkar

Fearless, brave, and unrelenting, these 12 Indian queens have etched their names in history with their valour and sense of independence.

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.

The Queen of Malwa, apart from being a brave queen and proficient ruler, was also an erudite politician. She observed the bigger picture when the Maratha Peshwa couldn’t pin down the agenda of the British.