ADHVAGATI

A trip to understand the life , times and intrigues  in a section of  Maharashtra when Peshwas were riding high .   PESHWAS  When considered in terms of duration in India's long history, the  influence of  Peshwas was  rather short   - from 1713 to 1818 . From Moropant Pingale ( appointed by Shivaji) to Baji Rao II & Nana Saheb . Still, their history is charismatic , filled with action and pizzazz , contributing the crucial "atmosphere" for the history of that amazing band , The Maratha Confederacy ,  and its larger-than-life  central figure , Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj , whose mere name can send the average Marathi Manoos into throes of jingoistic fervor .  A decidedly colourful bunch , these Peshwas . Second only to the Emperor , their clout at times overshadowed  that of The Throne , reducing the Crown to a mere nominal decoration. Mostly from the Brahmin fold , the  Peshwas were not only able administr...

Pic 1. Aihole Durga( Fort) Temple Parashurama washed his bloodied axe in the river after his genocidal agenda of revenge and the waters ran a fiery red. If the Malaprabha is still running red, it is because of the silt and slush washed into it by the recent floods. We did not have time to stop by it and cry out " Ai ! Holey !" ( oh the river !) as a mythical lady is fabled to have done, spooked by the sight of all that blood. But there were ample occasion that day for us to go "ooh ! " and "aah" repeatedly as we visited temple upon temple upon temple.....till we were so "templed" out that even the rolled up Dosa on the dinner table started looking like a fallen dwaja-sthamba ! pic 2 :Dravida Vimana Though the riverbed has fostered settlements from paleolithic times and been a possession of ancient dynasties like Mau...

It is not really anyone's fault that the idea of Goa is limited to images of  Beaches & Churches,  Villas & Vindaloo, Feni & Fado ...and little else beyond or before all that .  Goa was the first Indian State to be Colonised by European Imperialists and the last to gain freedom . 450 years of foreign rule (1510 -1961) , more than the proverbial  "7 Generations" ; long enough to forget that there was actually a very different culture that enriched this region before the ships from the West, looking for "Spice and Souls",  started weighing anchor on its coast .  A recent re-visit to South Goa , with a small group , proved to be an eye-opener jaunt into the "pagan" past , which has now been retrieved and re-established with renewed zeal .  Cross-cultural influences cannot be wiped away easily , nor should such a misguided project be undertaken . Any society is a  product of all forces and influences that ever contributed , in any way , g...