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India Builders of the Taj Mahal, Indian History, Mughal Empire, Mughal Harem, Taj Trilogy, The Great Mughals

Maryam’s tomb. Two of Emperor Akbar’s wives: The mysterious Maryam and the elusive Jodha–Part 1

by Indu Sundaresan October 21, 2024 5 Comments

(Part 1 of 3)

On the night before we leave for Agra, I mention to our driver that we’d like to stop at the town prominent in the Mughal Empire, Sikandra.

Deepak gazes at me long and in silence.

I explain. You know, it’s on the road into Agra. Akbar ka rauza aur Maryam ka rauza. Gesticulating. Lamba chauda. Road se dikhega. Vo thai Padshah, aur Maryam unki bibi. (For those of you who don’t understand my, er, abbreviated Hindi: Akbar’s and Maryam’s tombs, imposing monument, can be seen from the road. He was emperor, and Maryam was his wife).

His expression does not change. But, I’m not disheartened. Deepak’s a man of few words.

The Taj Mahal image for my talk on Power Behind the Veil, Life in India's Mughal Harems.

India, Lectures Builders of the Taj Mahal, Indian History, Mughal Empire, Mughal Harem, Taj Trilogy, The Great Mughals

Lecture for the Singapore Museums–Power Behind the Veil–Life in the Harems of India’s Mughal Empire

by Indu Sundaresan May 21, 2024 2 Comments

Inside the Khas Mahal and the harem apartments at Agra Fort

Power Behind the Veil: Life in the harems of India’s Mughal Empire (1526-1857 A.D.)

In a time when women were hidden away, faceless, and for the most part, voiceless, two women rose to become formidable players in the courts of the Mughal Empire. The bestselling author of the Taj Trilogy, Indu Sundaresan, presents an intimate view into the politics, religions, hierarchy, and structure of the Mughal harem.

Part 3 of the 12th Century Airavateshwar Temple blog post

India Ancient India, Ancient Indian History, Chola Dynasty, History, South India

Ancient India–The Airavateshwar Temple–Legacy in Stone–Part 3

by Indu Sundaresan October 29, 2023 8 Comments

Part 1 here; Part 2 here

We just left the thriving Chola dynasty of ancient India extinguished at the end of the 4^th Century CE. All of a sudden, and with no seeming explanation.

And then, for three centuries there was nothing out of southern India. It was as though entire existence had been wiped out. Because there’s nothing to tell us of which dynasties ruled, who they fought, who they married, what they built, or whom they patronized.

By the 6^th Century, one of the other kingdoms of ancient India (who had ruled alongside the Early Cholas) emerged in power, along with another two.

And, still, no Cholas.

Part 2 of the 12th Century Airavateshwar Temple blog post

India Ancient India, Ancient Indian History, Chola Dynasty, History, South India, Temples

Ancient India–The Airavateshwar Temple–Legacy in Stone–Part 2

by Indu Sundaresan October 10, 2023 5 Comments

Part 1 here

We’re on our (somewhat leisurely, I know!) way to the Airavateshwar Temple in Kumbakonam in southern India, built by the Later Cholas who ruled from the ninth to the thirteenth century. Later, because yes, there were the Early Cholas in ancient India from the first to the fourth centuries, and a gap between these two during which the entire dynasty disappears from all historical story line.

In the first post, I introduced the Early Cholas, because their reign—even that far back—is surprisingly well documented in more than two thousand poems written on palm-leaf manuscripts. (This is the oldest known history of south India.)

We visited the Early Chola King Karikala’s capital city at Kaveripattinam in the modern-day state of Tamilnadu, flitted through his palace, wandered down streets, stood at the docks at mouth of the Kaveri River, and marveled at the brisk trade and the mammoth ships from other parts of India and from Egypt.

Part 1 of the 12th Century Airavateshwar Temple blog post

India Ancient India, Ancient Indian History, Chola Dynasty, History, South India, Temples

Ancient India–The Airavateshwar Temple–Legacy in Stone—Part 1

by Indu Sundaresan August 15, 2023 13 Comments

Kumbakonam is a city in southern India where God dwells. In plenty. There are some 200 temples, most dedicated to Shiva, some to Vishnu and one of the very few places of worship to Brahma.

That is not all. Drive outside the city limits, and you will invariably glimpse the gopurams—the entrance stupas—of hundreds more etched against the sky. That is because the city is itself of great antiquity, inhabited since pre-Vedic times in ancient India, although most of the existing temples are either of more recent construct or date back to the 7^th Century or so.