While the devas pursued by the asuras were fleeing heavenwards with the ‘nectar of immortality’, a few drops fell to earth and forever sanctified the places at which they fell. The places were Haridwar, Prayag, Nasik and Ujjain which was once regarded as the geographical centre of the earth. Ujjain has been a pilgrim centre from times immemorial but in the days gone by it was also the prosperous capital of powerful dynasties.
It was the legendary Vikramaditya who first established Ujjain as a capital city. Though the Gupta capital was Pataliputra, Vikramaditya preferred the pleasures and comforts of Ujjain. Vikramaditya, whom historians know as Chandra Gupta II, ruled from about A.D. 380 to 413. The poet Kalidasa graced his court. Kalidasa has praised Ujjain, describing it as “a brilliant portion of heaven brought down by the surplus merit of those who had lived in heaven”. Kalidasa may have found the intellectual ambience of the city stimulating as Ujjain was a centre of learning during his time and for centuries afterwards, but the city was also a hub of commercial activity, drawing traders and merchants from all over the sub-continent. Another of Ujjain’s legendary rulers is Raja Bhoja who is said to have discovered Vikramaditya’s throne. The story of the discovery and the stories associated with the throne itself are all part of the folklore of middle and northern India.
Ujjain began to decline after the 8th century, mainly because of political instability. It showed signs of recovery when Maharaja Jai Singh became governor towards the end of Mughal rule. With Jai Singh’s demise, Ujjain experienced another period of turmoil until the Scindias took it in 1750. When the Scindia capital was moved to Gwalior in 1810, Ujjain’s commercial importance declined rapidly. Today it is a part of Madhya Pradesh. It has a university named after Vikramaditya. Every year a cultural festival known as kalidas festival is held here.

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Man & Animal

Four-legged War Heroes

The unsung heroes of the recent war were the army mules, who supplied arms and ammunition to our soldiers fighting at Drass and Kargil.
Over 700 mules braved trackless, mountainous terrain, some carrying 50 kg of general supplies and others, 90-kg mountain artillery.
Most casualties occurred not because the path up the mountain was slippery, but because of the heavy Pakistani shelling. While 18 mules lost their lives, nearly 130 were injured. The injured were given medical treatment in Srinagar.
The dog unit also covered itself with glory. The canines detected mines and explosives hidden under the ground and thus helped to keep the supply lines open.

John Simpson was an Australian who served in the First World War. In 1915 his unit was posted at Gallipoli, Turkey, where fierce fighting was going on. Simpson found a stray donkey that he named Duffy. Everyday the two of them would go into the battlefield, and dodging bullets and bombs, pick up wounded soldiers and carry them away to medical centres. They saved the lives of many soldiers in this way.
Simpson died on duty one day, shot through the heart. Duffy survived the campaign and was evacuated along with other pack animals when the Allied forces withdrew from the region.
A statue of Simpson and his donkey was erected at Melbourne some years after the war.

Out of the ordinary
Paganini’s Genius

Italian violin virtuoso, Niccolo Paganini’s music had a touch of the divine. He played the violin so well that audiences often burst into tears. People said it was not possible for an ordinary mortal to produce such ethereal music and a rumour began to circulate that the musician had made a pact with the devil—the gift of music in exchange for his soul.
Paganini was at first flattered by such stories about him and openly pursued a decadent lifestyle, gambling and chasing women, to make it look as if he were really in league with Satan.
But he had a change of heart in his mid-40’s when he began to disclaim all stories of a pact with demonic forces. He said if he could play beautiful music it was because he had nurtured his talent through years of hard work. But by then it was too late. Nobody was prepared to believe him: he stood condemned both by his reputation and his appearance—he looked wild.
When he died at the age of 58 in 1840, the Church refused to allow his burial in the local cemetery and the body was stored in a cellar for 5 years before he could be given a proper burial.
The clue to Paganini’s genius was uncovered more than a century later, when scientists discovered that the musician was probably a victim of Marfan’s syndrome, a disease characterised by a tall, thin body with underdeveloped muscles but with unusually long and mobile fingers. These abnormally long digits coupled with his talent, enabled him to play the violin in a way no ordinary man could.

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