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I completed reading the Bravehearts of Bharat: Vignettes from Indian History by Vikram Sampath. It has 15 chapter covering the lives of our Kings & Queens and covering a large time period. It begins with Lalitaditya Muktapida of Kashmir from the 8th century. I had zero knowledge about this King so it was a fascinating read, especially how we had connections with China in terms of trade & military cooperation too. The same is observed in the chapter on Rajaraja Chola and his son that they too had established excellent trade relations with the Song dynasty of China as well as many other countries in SE Asia & dominated the sea routes. Then we have Rani Naiki Devi who gave a bloody nose to Ghori, but whose successes are unfortunately credited to her young son as she was just his regent. Rani Rudramma Devi was raised as a boy & ruled like a King which raised many eyebrows but she created history! Another brave Queen was Rani Abbakka Chowta whose reign is mentioned in an Italian travelers book but is as usual forgotten by her own people. Other women included are Rani Ahilya Bai Holkar who was fortunate enough to not be forgotten, Velu Nachiyar, Chand Bibi & Begum Hazrat Mahal. We also have stories of the more popular Rana Kumbha, Kanhoji Angre, Banda Singh Bahadur, Martanda Varma. And I was glad to note the author hasn't forgotten the North East & has included the stories of Lachit Borpukhan of Assam & Rajarshi Bhagyachandra Jai Singh of Manipur, a King who single-handedly introduced Vaishavism in his Kingdom of Manipur & brought about a cultural revolution in his Kingdom by inventing the raas which is done till today & integrating the local tribal religion with Vaishnavism.

Needless to say many of these names I read in this book for the first time, a few I just knew the names of. This can prove a good starting point for anyone wishing to delve into Indian history. It also clears a very common misconception that the Muslim & British invaders just came & conquered everything while Hindus sat, watched & did nothing. Their life stories tell us about our ancestor's struggles, their bravery & the fact that all over Bharat everyone was fighting for their dignity & freedom for over a 1000 years. I would recommend it to everyone. I wish he writes more about our heroes.

Originally posted by: The.Lannister

I completed reading the Bravehearts of Bharat: Vignettes from Indian History by Vikram Sampath. It has 15 chapter covering the lives of our Kings & Queens and covering a large time period. It begins with Lalitaditya Muktapida of Kashmir from the 8th century. I had zero knowledge about this King so it was a fascinating read, especially how we had connections with China in terms of trade & military cooperation too. The same is observed in the chapter on Rajaraja Chola and his son that they too had established excellent trade relations with the Song dynasty of China as well as many other countries in SE Asia & dominated the sea routes. Then we have Rani Naiki Devi who gave a bloody nose to Ghori, but whose successes are unfortunately credited to her young son as she was just his regent. Rani Rudramma Devi was raised as a boy & ruled like a King which raised many eyebrows but she created history! Another brave Queen was Rani Abbakka Chowta whose reign is mentioned in an Italian travelers book but is as usual forgotten by her own people. Other women included are Rani Ahilya Bai Holkar who was fortunate enough to not be forgotten, Velu Nachiyar, Chand Bibi & Begum Hazrat Mahal. We also have stories of the more popular Rana Kumbha, Kanhoji Angre, Banda Singh Bahadur, Martanda Varma. And I was glad to note the author hasn't forgotten the North East & has included the stories of Lachit Borpukhan of Assam & Rajarshi Bhagyachandra Jai Singh of Manipur, a King who single-handedly introduced Vaishavism in his Kingdom of Manipur & brought about a cultural revolution in his Kingdom by inventing the raas which is done till today & integrating the local tribal religion with Vaishnavism.

Needless to say many of these names I read in this book for the first time, a few I just knew the names of. This can prove a good starting point for anyone wishing to delve into Indian history. It also clears a very common misconception that the Muslim & British invaders just came & conquered everything while Hindus sat, watched & did nothing. Their life stories tell us about our ancestor's struggles, their bravery & the fact that all over Bharat everyone was fighting for their dignity & freedom for over a 1000 years. I would recommend it to everyone. I wish he writes more about our heroes.

Thank you for posting your book review.

Yes, almost all the names you have mentioned with the exception of a couple, I learned for the first time. Trade relations with other countrie, our trade/military convoys visiting other Asian countries, and our naval advancement was never taught in school. And all that we learned was how other voyagers from European and Asian countries visited Bharat. Women oppression, Sati ritual and child marriage is highlighted but all the brave women warriors and there valour is never brought to our attention or appreciated.

I am happy that real and factual history books are now written for the future generations to learn from.

Originally posted by: The.Lannister

I completed reading the Bravehearts of Bharat: Vignettes from Indian History by Vikram Sampath. It has 15 chapter covering the lives of our Kings & Queens and covering a large time period. It begins with Lalitaditya Muktapida of Kashmir from the 8th century. I had zero knowledge about this King so it was a fascinating read, especially how we had connections with China in terms of trade & military cooperation too. The same is observed in the chapter on Rajaraja Chola and his son that they too had established excellent trade relations with the Song dynasty of China as well as many other countries in SE Asia & dominated the sea routes. Then we have Rani Naiki Devi who gave a bloody nose to Ghori, but whose successes are unfortunately credited to her young son as she was just his regent. Rani Rudramma Devi was raised as a boy & ruled like a King which raised many eyebrows but she created history! Another brave Queen was Rani Abbakka Chowta whose reign is mentioned in an Italian travelers book but is as usual forgotten by her own people. Other women included are Rani Ahilya Bai Holkar who was fortunate enough to not be forgotten, Velu Nachiyar, Chand Bibi & Begum Hazrat Mahal. We also have stories of the more popular Rana Kumbha, Kanhoji Angre, Banda Singh Bahadur, Martanda Varma. And I was glad to note the author hasn't forgotten the North East & has included the stories of Lachit Borpukhan of Assam & Rajarshi Bhagyachandra Jai Singh of Manipur, a King who single-handedly introduced Vaishavism in his Kingdom of Manipur & brought about a cultural revolution in his Kingdom by inventing the raas which is done till today & integrating the local tribal religion with Vaishnavism.

Needless to say many of these names I read in this book for the first time, a few I just knew the names of. This can prove a good starting point for anyone wishing to delve into Indian history. It also clears a very common misconception that the Muslim & British invaders just came & conquered everything while Hindus sat, watched & did nothing. Their life stories tell us about our ancestor's struggles, their bravery & the fact that all over Bharat everyone was fighting for their dignity & freedom for over a 1000 years. I would recommend it to everyone. I wish he writes more about our heroes.

Thanks to your fantastic review I am putting it on my to be read list, TFS 👍🏼

Originally posted by: The.Lannister

I completed reading the Bravehearts of Bharat: Vignettes from Indian History by Vikram Sampath. It has 15 chapter covering the lives of our Kings & Queens and covering a large time period. It begins with Lalitaditya Muktapida of Kashmir from the 8th century. I had zero knowledge about this King so it was a fascinating read, especially how we had connections with China in terms of trade & military cooperation too. The same is observed in the chapter on Rajaraja Chola and his son that they too had established excellent trade relations with the Song dynasty of China as well as many other countries in SE Asia & dominated the sea routes. Then we have Rani Naiki Devi who gave a bloody nose to Ghori, but whose successes are unfortunately credited to her young son as she was just his regent. Rani Rudramma Devi was raised as a boy & ruled like a King which raised many eyebrows but she created history! Another brave Queen was Rani Abbakka Chowta whose reign is mentioned in an Italian travelers book but is as usual forgotten by her own people. Other women included are Rani Ahilya Bai Holkar who was fortunate enough to not be forgotten, Velu Nachiyar, Chand Bibi & Begum Hazrat Mahal. We also have stories of the more popular Rana Kumbha, Kanhoji Angre, Banda Singh Bahadur, Martanda Varma. And I was glad to note the author hasn't forgotten the North East & has included the stories of Lachit Borpukhan of Assam & Rajarshi Bhagyachandra Jai Singh of Manipur, a King who single-handedly introduced Vaishavism in his Kingdom of Manipur & brought about a cultural revolution in his Kingdom by inventing the raas which is done till today & integrating the local tribal religion with Vaishnavism.

Needless to say many of these names I read in this book for the first time, a few I just knew the names of. This can prove a good starting point for anyone wishing to delve into Indian history. It also clears a very common misconception that the Muslim & British invaders just came & conquered everything while Hindus sat, watched & did nothing. Their life stories tell us about our ancestor's struggles, their bravery & the fact that all over Bharat everyone was fighting for their dignity & freedom for over a 1000 years. I would recommend it to everyone. I wish he writes more about our heroes.

Thank you for sharing your views about the book, it seems like a very interesting read. Barring Rajarshi Bhagyachandra Jai Singh of Manipur, I have heard about most of the Kings and queens though I do not have indepth knowledge about them.

There seemed to be a misconception that Indians were not good seafarers and cartographers, but that would not have been possible because Vasco-Da-Gama came to India with the help of an Indian sea trader. India had trade relations as far as Africa and without being good sailors it would not have been possible. So many things about Indian History have not been included in History textbooks.

Originally posted by: surajhere

Thank you for sharing your views about the book, it seems like a very interesting read. Barring Rajarshi Bhagyachandra Jai Singh of Manipur, I have heard about most of the Kings and queens though I do not have indepth knowledge about them.

There seemed to be a misconception that Indians were not good seafarers and cartographers, but that would not have been possible because Vasco-Da-Gama came to India with the help of an Indian sea trader. India had trade relations as far as Africa and without being good sailors it would not have been possible. So many things about Indian History have not been included in History textbooks.

@bold: ho maza hi tasach hota, naava kadhitari kuthetari aikli hoti pan tyapeksha jasta kahich mahit navhta.

And yes India had merchants sailing to Arabia, SE Asia, Africa, Europe. We didn't grow rich just by sitting at home. We were traveling far & wide, using our own ships built by our own folks, selling our spices, cloth, gems, etc to many countries far & wide.

Hello Suraj sir, Suggest me a good book on Robotics and Automation 👍🏼

Originally posted by: BhetuPunha

Hello Suraj sir, Suggest me a good book on Robotics and Automation 👍🏼

PM'ed you, check it out and let me know.

I finished reading The Tattooist Of Auschwitz by Heather Morris. It tells the story of Lale, a Slovakian Jew who landed in Auschwitz in 1942 where he was eventually given the task of tattooing the prisoners who were ending up in endless numbers at the concentration camp. First there were only men, the old & handicapped among them shot dead on arrival. Later started coming in women & children. He met the love of his life Gita at the camp. They fell in love while he was tattooing her number on her hand. From there begins the story of Lale's eternal hope that they will make out of this hell-hole & live a happy life together. His perseverance, his unshakable faith in his hope, how living at the camp changes him forever, doing what is necessary to survive rather than what is right, etc make the book unputdownable! While reading I did not know that Lale and Gita were true characters who had lived at Auschwitz. A good read if you can bring yourself to read about the extent of human cruelty. It did make me restless but that just forced me to read it more quickly so Lale's & Gita's & my ordeal could end & I could find out how it all ended for them.

Originally posted by: surajhere

PM'ed you, check it out and let me know.

TY for the recommendations sir👍🏼, I will check out Peter Corke books and the MIT course

Originally posted by: BhetuPunha

TY for the recommendations sir👍🏼, I will check out Peter Corke books and the MIT course

You should checkout that MIT course