Who Discovered America?
What if Europe was really in darkness in comparison to the Far East and India that Columbus set sail to find?

ASIA

UP village offers a fresh clue to solve a Harappan puzzle

The Vedic Harappans in Writing

In the Harappan cities some 4200 seals, many of them duplicates, have been found which carry short inscriptions in an otherwise unknown script. There is not the slightest doubt that this harvest of Harappan writings is but the tip of an iceberg...

By Dr. Koenraad Elst

Full Story

Art History Timelines (external link)
Comprehensive timelines of art history from all over the world. Details of every time period and particular events are given. This is a fantastic site, with many links to related information... Art history timelines

The Rock Art of Central India (external link)

"Despite the excellent work carried out by my Indian colleagues in the past quarter of a century, Indian rock art is not as well known abroad as it should be. And yet it is both extremely abundant and spectacular..." Rock Art

Scientific Verification of Vedic Knowledge
A vast number of statements and materials presented in the ancient Vedic literatures can be shown to agree with modern scientific findings and they also reveal a highly developed scientific content in these literatures

The Heliodorus Column
An archaeological discovery proves that there were western Vaishnavas twenty-two centuries ago and that this worship predates Christianity by several centuries.

Aryan Invasion — History or Politics?
By Dr. N.S. Rajaram
The evidence of science now points to two basic conclusions: first, there was no Aryan invasion, and second, the Rigvedic people were already established in India no later than 4000 BCE.

Underwater Archaeology in the Gulf of Cambay
An innocuous piece of wood along with a slew of artifacts are set to push back Indian antiquity to 7,500 B.C., if material picked up from the sea-bed of the Gulf of Cambay gets scientific verification.

The Harappan Civilization
By Tarini J. Carr
Thousand of years ago there thrived a civilization in the Indus Valley; the earliest known urban culture of the Indian subcontinent.

The Harappan Civilization and Myth of Aryan "Invasion"
By Dr. N.S. Rajaram
Until quite recently, the famous Harappan civilization of the Indus valley has been an enigma. it is now recognized by many scholars that the Aryan invasion theory of India is a myth that owes more to European politics than anything in Indian records or archaeology.

Tsunami Uncovers Ancient City in India
MAHABALIPURAM, India -- Archaeologists have begun underwater excavations of what is believed to be an ancient city and parts of a temple uncovered by the tsunami off the coast of a centuries-old pilgrimage town.

Sculptures of the Indus Valley
The story of Indian art and sculpture dates back to the Indus valley civilization of the 2nd and 3rd millennium BCE. Tiny terra-cotta seals discovered from the valley reveal carvings of peepal leaves, deities and animals. A golden chapter of Indian sculpture opens in the 3rd century BCE, when the Mauryan Emperor Ashoka adopted Buddhism and set out to spread it's teachings far and wide.

A British View of India
During the last three centuries attempts of most Westerners to penetrate the deeper dimensions of Indian culture has at best been doomed to superficiality.
Origins of Iron Ore Working in India

Recent excavations in Uttar Pradesh have turned up iron artefacts, furnaces, tuyeres and slag in layers radiocarbon dated between c. BCE 1800 and 1000. This raises again the question of whether iron working was brought in to India during supposed immigrations of the second millennium BCE, or developed independently.

TRAVEL DIARY

Journey to Nepal
A visit to Nepal in 2004 included flying over the magnificient Himalayan peaks, pony trekking, just a few travel holdups, and some rather unusual pizza.

Somnathpur - Visit to Keshava Temple
A visit to an ancient temple so beautifully and intricately carved, that legend has it the gods wanted it for Themselves.

Visit to Melkote
Today our trip was on to Melkote, a famous pilgrimage spot in Karnataka. A friend from America was visiting, his first time ever to India, so he and a couple of my young Indian friends were along for the ride.

Travels Through Greece and Turkey
A two week tour through some of the most famous sites of the ancient mediterrean world, starting in the busy strees of what used to be Constantinople.

CULTURAL INDIA

Oriental Seeds in Occidental Soil
By Jack Hebner and Steven Rosen

Although worlds apart in terms of geography and culture, no two nations have been so intimately connected as the United States and India. It was Christopher Columbus' fateful error, in his search for a new route to India, that led him to the discovery of America ... East West Article

Vastu Shastra- Sacred Vedic Architecture
By Muktirajsinhji Chauhan

Adherence to Vastu Shastra, the ancient and medieval canons on city planning and architecture, has suddenly assumed tremendous significance, particularly among the well-educated and affluent in urban India. It may be difficult to predict if this is just a fad or if it will be a way of building dwellings, offices, and factories for many years to come ... Vastu Shastra Article

Kumbha Mela

By Jack Hebner and David Osborn

They came by the millions! Some arrived on overcrowded trains carrying five times their normal capacity. Some came by bus, by car, some by ox drawn carts, and others rode on horses, camels, and even elephants....to celebrate the greatest spiritual festival ever held in the history of the world, the Kumbha Mela ... Kumbha Mela Article

Sacred Cow
by Robin Winter

The world over, the term "sacred cow" has come to mean any stubborn loyalty to a long-standing institution which impedes natural progress. The term originates in India, where the cow is said to be literally worshiped, while thousands of humans suffer from undernourishment ... Sacred Cow Article