Since ancient times cotton was spun in India with matchless skill. It is said that the delicate cotton from India was worn by Roman emperors who referred to it as ‘woven wind’. Mughal emperors fondly called the cotton ‘morning dew’ and ‘running water’.
The original word for chess is the Sanskrit chaturanga, meaning four members of an army, which were most likely elephants, horses, chariots and foot soldiers. According to a German Indologist researching on the origin of chess, in the 6th century, the Maukhari rulers of Kannauj, Uttar Pradesh, used to play chaturanga with 16 cabinet terracotta…
Before the beginning of the Dandi March on 12 March 1930, Kasturba Gandhi, the wife of Gandhiji and Ba to millions of her children, applied the benedictory tilak on Gandhiji’s forehead, garlanded him with khadi and handed him the stick. Tilak, khadi and the stick were respectively the symbols of devotion, simplicity and strength.
In 1792 the weapon suppliers of Tipu Sultan designed and successfully developed the first iron-cased rockets. These were used by Hyder Ali and his son Tipu Sultan, rulers of the kingdom of Mysore, against the East India Company during the Anglo-Mysore Wars. The British then spread this technology around the world.
Indians created history by lifting the World Cup after defeating the mighty West Indies on 25 June 1983. But India made yet another history on another 25 June. It was in 1932 when it played its first ever test match against England.
It was a vicious off-cutter from Balwinder Singh Sandhu. Gordon Greenidge shouldered arms, and the ball turned and knocked off the stump. It marked the beginning of a disaster for West Indies and a significant point for India’s victory in the World Cup final, 1983.
