RIFLE RANGE BOY

Koh-I-Noor The History of the World's Most Infamous Diamond Author: William Dalrymple It is said in Vishnu Purana, an ancient Indian text, of a cursed gemstone, Syamanataka. The King of Dwaraka, Satrajit,  a worshipper of Sun God Surya, was given an audience as he was strolling on the beach one day. The gem that Surya was wearing was so radiant that King Satrajit could see his God. Surya removed his shiny pendant so that his devotee could visualise Him. Surya later gifted the gem, Syamantaka, to the King as a token of affection. The gem turned out to be an albatross around its wearer's neck. Legend had it that it was good only to one with a pure heart. Satrajit's brother, who was gifted with it, was mauled by a lion. The lion was killed by Jambavan, the Bear King. Jambavan gave the Syamantaka to his son as a play toy.  Krishna, Satrajit's son-in-law, was accused of killing off Satrajit's brother to own Syamantaka. So Krishna had to lead a hunting party to track d...

Uncut Gems (2019) Every day we push our boundaries. We test the waters. We want to stretch our luck an extra inch, hoping that it would give better outcomes. When met with resistance, we recoil only to return to repeat the whole imbroglio all over again.    We plead for clemency when our sneaky plan is discovered, knowing very well that it is not for real. Back in our minds, we are aware that it is certainly not the last, even though we say so. We tend to take things for granted.  The only problem is that we realise that the threshold is breached when it is a wee bit too late. By that time, the damage is irreparable, and the point of no return has been reached.  The first Monday of the new year is dubbed as the ‘Divorce Monday’. After months and even years of sweeping the brewing trouble under the proverbial carpet, the events surrounding Christmas and New Year must have had burst the bubble. It is said to be the busiest day for family lawyers when they g...

Thanks to RS for opening my eyes to show me that there are many more things unknown to me... The fascinating tale of Maharaja Daleep Singh who relinquished the Koh-i-Noor to become the most prominent fixture in Queen Victoria’s court. But his Indian past came back to haunt him, writes Ammar Ali Qureshi – A young Maharajah Daleep Singh Maharaja Ranjit Singh is arguably the most remarkable figure in Punjab’s history. His son and last ruler of the Sikh Empire, Daleep Singh, is perhaps the most tragic. Ranjit succeeded his father as head of a small confederacy at the age of ten and, owing to his military genius, became the ruler of Punjab when he was twenty-one. He turned the tide of history by taking the battle to the land of the invaders on the western front, and conquered them; His empire, which lasted for fifty years from 1799 to 1849, stretched from the southern districts of Punjab to Afghanistan in the west Kashmir (which also included Ladakh and Gilgit and Baltistan) in the no...