Did you know that the magnificent Jaisalmer Fort in Rajasthan is a living fort as a quarter of the population of Jaisalmer city lives in it? The fort was built by Rajput ruler Rawal Jaisal in 1156 CE as his capital when he founded Jaisalmer. Incredibly, it housed the city’s entire population till the 17th century CE, when its residents started moving out due to overcrowding.

Did you know that the magnificent Kailashnath Temple at Ellora in Maharashtra was carved out of a cliff face as the sculptors slowly descended vertically? Sculpted in the 8th century CE, it is one of the most remarkable cave temples in the world.

Did you know that the last ruler of Burma, King Thibaw Min and his family, lived and died in Ratnagiri in Maharashtra? The king had been exiled to India by the British after they won the Third Burmese War (1885). Since the war brought Burma under British rule, the deposed King was sent to India, where he lived in Thibaw’s Palace in Ratnagiri till his death in 1916

While the Cellular Jail in the Andaman Islands is a symbol of India’s freedom struggle, there is a second ‘cellular jail’, in Himachal Pradesh. It’s the Dagshai Central Jail and, like the Andaman prison, it too was notorious for its torture techniques. By the way, Mahatma Gandhi spent a night in the Dagshai Jail, visiting Irish soldiers, while his future assassin Nathuram Godse also spent time here before being transferred to Ambala Central Jail, where he was eventually hanged in 1949.

Did you know that the oldest datable representation of India’s beloved Elephant God Ganesha is deep in a cave on a hill in Udayagiri, Madhya Pradesh? It is a 5th century CE, Gupta-era sculpture.

Did you know that the magnificent Jaisalmer Fort in Rajasthan is a living fort as a quarter of the population of Jaisalmer city lives in it? The fort was built by Rajput ruler Rawal Jaisal in 1156 CE as his capital when he founded Jaisalmer. Incredibly, it housed the city’s entire population till the 17th century CE, when its residents started moving out due to overcrowding.

Did you know that the magnificent Kailashnath Temple at Ellora in Maharashtra was carved out of a cliff face as the sculptors slowly descended vertically? Sculpted in the 8th century CE, it is one of the most remarkable cave temples in the world.

Did you know that the last ruler of Burma, King Thibaw Min and his family, lived and died in Ratnagiri in Maharashtra? The king had been exiled to India by the British after they won the Third Burmese War (1885). Since the war brought Burma under British rule, the deposed King was sent to India, where he lived in Thibaw’s Palace in Ratnagiri till his death in 1916

While the Cellular Jail in the Andaman Islands is a symbol of India’s freedom struggle, there is a second ‘cellular jail’, in Himachal Pradesh. It’s the Dagshai Central Jail and, like the Andaman prison, it too was notorious for its torture techniques. By the way, Mahatma Gandhi spent a night in the Dagshai Jail, visiting Irish soldiers, while his future assassin Nathuram Godse also spent time here before being transferred to Ambala Central Jail, where he was eventually hanged in 1949.

Did you know that the oldest datable representation of India’s beloved Elephant God Ganesha is deep in a cave on a hill in Udayagiri, Madhya Pradesh? It is a 5th century CE, Gupta-era sculpture.