A tall frosted glass of something delicious, clinking with ice – is there anything to beat this on a hot summer’s day in Chennai? Today, it just means a walk to the ‘fridge, but what about the days before refrigeration? Would you believe that there was ice in Chennai much before refrigeration was invented? All thanks to a 19th century businessman from far away Boston. His name was Frederic Tudor. It’s because of him that Chennai has a handsome round building on the Marina beach front – the Ice House, now called Vivekananda House. Let me connect all the dots for […]

The Armenians started coming to Madras (old Chennai) around the 16th century. Most of them migrated from Julfa, a suburb of Isfahan in Persia, because Madras was fast becoming a cosmopolitan trade centre.

When the Mughal Prince, Dara Shikoh was defeated by his brother, Aurangzeb, he had an Italian artilleryman in his employ by the name of Nicolau Manucci. According to Manucci, he was offered the chance to join Aurangzeb’s army but he decided to flee instead. In his memoir, Storia do Mogor (or Story of the Mughal), Manucci paints a fabulous picture of his life and casts himself as the long-suffering hero and Aurangzeb as the evil villain, his arch-nemesis. But can we believe him?

The main base of the Western Naval Command in Mumbai is, like all naval bases, named as a ship would be. It’s called the INS Angre. If you ever have the pleasure of visiting the naval base, you can spot an imposing statue taking pride of place. It is the statue of a fierce warrior of the Maratha Empire, sporting an even fiercer moustache. This is the base’s namesake, Admiral Kanhoji Angre, one of the Indian Navy’s historical heroes.