Indian History

Christianity has quite a good presence in India. Ever since its early years, Christianity has had its roots in India. If we are to rely on a tradition, India came in contact with Christianity very early. In fact tradition credits the Disciple Thomas himself with evangelizing India.  Christian tradition has it that India’s first brush with Christianity took place during the reign of  Gondophares (founder of the Indo-Parthian Kingdom) by the efforts of the Christian apostle St. Thomas who is said to have visited his empire. According to Roman Catholics, tomb of St. Thomas was buried in the cathedral at Mailapur or Mylapore in the southern part of Chennai. If we have to put aside the legend, the first definite historical evidence to the Christian activity can be found in the Topografia Christiana (Christian Topography) of Cosmas Indicopleustes, an adventurous Alexendrian monk of the 6th century AD. Cosmas Indicopleustes, literally meaning who sailed to India, left a voluminous ac...

Built by Nur Jahan, wife of fourth Mughal emperor Jahangir, for her father, Itmad- ud- Daulah’s tomb in Agra in Uttar Pradesh is one of the earliest buildings in which pietra dura, a method of decorating the walls with floral designs studded with semi-precious stones, was used.   Also known as mini Taj, the structure is the first Mughal buildings built entirely from marble. Built between 1622 and 1628 it is also the first tomb to be built on the banks of the Yamuna. Nur Jahan’s father Mirza Ghiyas Beg was given the title of Itmad- ud- Daulah (pillar of the state). He was the wazir (chief minister) of the Mughal empire under Jehangir.  Itmad- ud- Daulah’s tomb was built by Nur Jahan ,  Pietra dura is also used on a large scale in the Taj Mahal.

When it comes to the concentration of Buddhist sites in Indian states, the eastern state of Odisha does not lag far behind the likes of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. With over two millennia of history in Buddhism, Odisha is what one would call a heaven of the Buddhist. Visit the below mentioned predominant places of Buddhist pilgrimage in the state in 2026.  Ratnagiri  Ratnagiri, Odisha The excavations at Ratnagiri have unearthed important Buddhist sites and artifacts including two large Buddhist monasteries, 10 meter high stupa surrounded by small votive stupas and a statue of Buddha. According to the Chinese monk and scholar Hieun Tsang who visited the site in the 7th century AD, Ratnagiri was an important entre of Buddhism. The Ratnagiri museum under the Archeological Survey of India is an invaluable introduction to the history of Buddhism in the area and the galleries have some interesting finds including sculptures found in the area. Lalitgiri Complete view of the chaityagri...

Hawa Mahal Jaipur Your lasting impression of Jaipur will be of the impressive the Palace of Winds or Hawa Mahal. One of the most written-about and photographed of the monuments in the world, the Hawa Mahal was built in 1799 by Maharaja Sawai Pratap Singh, grandson of Maharaj Sawai Jai Singh (the founder of Jaipur). Made of sandstone plastered pink encrusted with fine trelliswork and elaborate balconies, this iconic landmark is a five-storey ornamental facade of 953 niches and windows latticed-stone screened windows. Behind these windows the women could view the city street below without being seen.