1st September 2016
Indian Standard Time (IST)
This day in the year 1947 saw the establishment of Indian Standard Time (IST) as the official time for the entire country. It is the time observed in India and Sri Lanka. It is denoted as E.
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23rd May 2016
India – the birthplace of chess
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 venturing into military campaigns. Historical accounts say that during the later Gupta period there was an Indian army school where cadets were taught about warfare through terracotta pieces on ashtapada, which was again the game of chess in its primitive stage.
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8th March 2016
‘Older than history, older than tradition, older even than legend’
Mark Twain described Varanasi as – ‘Older than history, older than tradition, older even than legend’.
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