Press Conference of farmer leaders begins.

Folks. Ever heard of a temple with a Shiva Lingam so tall that it is worshipped on two floors?
And a Shaktipeeth where the Goddess so furious that Adi Sankaracharya changed her pose to face away from devotees?

No? A thread on the Draksharamam Bhimeswara Manikyamba Temple

Draksharamam is a quaint little town located in the Godavari Delta, in the East Godavari district of Andhra. This otherwise sleepy little place hosts a temple with a history as old as our civilisation itself. Shiva worshipped as Bheemeswara and Parvati worshipped as Manikyamba.

Legend has it that the Daksha Yagnya took place here, where Sati immolated herself after being insulted by her father, and the rampage by Lord Virabhadra ensued on the orders of an enraged Shiva.
Thus the name for the town as Draksharamam.

Another version for the name is the numerous grape plantations which proliferated in the area during ancient times. So the word "Draksha" (Sanskrit and Telugu for grapes) was used to christen the town.

Draksharama is a part of the legendary Pancha Rama Kshetras. These are the five holy places where the Shiva Lingam worn by the demon Tarakasura was broken and installed in temples by Lord Karthikeya. Only after the ShivLing broke, could Karthikeya slay Tarakasura.

A long but must read thread. Udaybhan Rathore and myth making in Maratha history: An analysis. This is the thread on Udaybhan Rathore, who he was and how over the time period, his life was portrayed in maratha chronicles and pseudo history. (1/n)

Udaybhan rathore was the head of Bhinai thikana (84 villages) in Ajmer. He was the direct descendant of the famous Rao Chandrasen, Raja of Marwar (4th generation) who resisted Akbar all his life and never made any alliance with mughals like Maharana Pratap. (2/n)

Later in 1783, Maharaja of Jodhpur gave title of Raja to Bhinai family for their military service. Bhinai family and their direct descendant Raja Sh Mayuraj Singh still lives in Ajmer. Anyway coming to Udaybhan Rathore and story of Tanaji. (3/n)

Jai Singh's march on Shivaji and treaty of Purandar (1665) is a well known episode to repeat here. After getting the hill forts from Shivaji under the treaty, Jai Singh didn't have enough man-power to man every one of the small forts because of his next (4/n)

campaign against Bijapur. Jai Singh personally took over a couple of important forts like Kondhana (Sinhgarh), Purandar etc. Others were given to some mughals or their fortification walls destroyed. Jai Singh died in 1667 near Burhanpur while enroute to the north. (5/n)

#KnowYourHistory - 001

#AsalBharat - How Sanatan Dharma brings out heroes even Avengers may not match up with -

Today is the day when in 1923, a braveheart took birth in the home of Dr. Amarnath Sharma, an officer in the Armed Medical Corps of the then British Indian Army. He was not extremely studious, but was brilliant at sports and other physical activities.

He followed into the footsteps of his illustrious family, and joined the British Indian Army as a 2nd Lieutenant, right into the middle of World War II. Later on, he would gain name by fighting against all odds at Badgam in November 1947, getting martyred when he was only 24.

This was Major Somnath Sharma, the first recipient of India's highest gallantry award, the Param Vir Chakra. But did you know that the medal was designed by his own brother's mother in law? -

Yes, call it a twist of irony, or sheer coincidence, but the Param Vir Chakra was actually designed by the mother in law of Major Somnath Sharma's brother, whose name was Savitri Bai Khanolkar. Even more interesting is the fact she was not a Bharatiya by birth either -

[QT: INDIA, THE GOLD STANDARD OF CLASS]
1/28
Some time last week, an American shared this on LinkedIn. A neutral (note the 3rd-person verbiage) observation of the goings-on in our capital with a legit @AP thumbnail. Of course India had to descend on him like an avalanche of poop.

2/28
This is a quick thread of some of the worst responses out there, just to illustrate the obvious, which in one way makes the exercise pointless. At the same time, such loss of a demography's class must never be out of the spotlight. So am doing it anyway.

3/28
Just before we start, here's a small bummer: I've redacted all identifying information even though it's all in public domain. This is to avoid any inadvertent code violation; Twitter doesn't seem to like doxing and neither do I.

So here we go.

4/28
1. Corporate affairs general manager at a Japanese auto heavyweight.
2. DB architect with a Silicon Valley giant. Sum total of his argument? Farmer leaders lean Left. Interestingly, also disses the IAC shindig the biggest benefactor of which was the party in power today.

5/28
Here's another, this time no less than the COO of one of the biggest electronics retail chains in India. From his English, to his demeanor, to his self-entitlement, tweet naming one thing that isn't oozing class.