History. The name itself evokes boredom. Lists of dates and of long-dead people, what good are they for the present day? Alright, maybe history does warn us about the mistakes we have already committed, but how on earth is anyone to read and remember all those lists of dates and long dead people, that too from every part of the globe? How interesting can it be to read about an aspiring Afghan chief who invited members of his family for dinner, excused himself in between and blew up all of his cousins (and rivals for becoming chief) through the hidden sacks of the gunpowder they were sitting on? Or about a certain king in Bukhara who threw a couple of English envoys into a pit full of all sorts of insects, kept them there for more than a year, and then finally killed them?
Nah. Boring History
Thing is, there are countless similar stories in history, all of them more boring than the other. Reading these stories? It's your life after all; so if you're even interested in reading history, you can 'do whatever you want to do'.
India has never been more united than it is now; that's a fact. For almost all of its human history, India has been composed of way too many diverse and divided people; all of these people have such different tales to tell that it's criminal to not know them. Start with this, and get an overview of the different lands of India in almost every main point of history.
Sometimes, the best account of what is happening can be understood from a complete stranger's eyes; this is especially relevant when it comes to history. It is only a person who has never seen the sights before who can give the most detailed description of that specific time in history. Based on this, the book here is a record of what the earliest tourists to India saw.
I know what you are thinking; why would anyone want to read anymore about an event and about a man, both of whom have been a part of every history textbook we have opened? But what IF the event in question is being narrated by someone who experienced all of it, first-hand? And what IF the narrator went on to become the first ever President of India? This is as good as a slice of history in your hands. Have a look.
Even now, history is being created. Be it Trump or the Manipur elections, all of it will leave behind its records and be remembered, for better or worse. Something like that was what happened in Ayodhya. The narratives vary depending on who you ask, but the day it happened, these people created history. In today's times, where the familiar war of religion vs religion is being seen, this might be a refresher on what happens when both sides lose logic.
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