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Bravehearts of Bharat

Vignettes from Indian History

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About this listen

Fifteen Brave Men and Women of Bharat who Never Succumbed to the Challenges of Invaders But were Lost and Forgotten in the Annals of History. These are the stories of those Bravehearts who Fought to Protect their Rights, Faith and Freedom.

History has always been the handmaiden of the victor. 'Until the lions have their own storytellers,' said Chinua Achebe, 'the history of the hunt will always glorify the hunter!' Exploring the lives, times and works of the fifteen long-forgotten and mostly neglected unsung heroes and heroines of our past, this book brings to light the contribution of the warriors who not only donned armour and burst forth into the battlefield but also kept the flame of hope alive under adverse circumstances.

Narrating the tales of valour and success that India, as a nation and civilization, has borne witness to in its long and tumultuous past, the book opens a window to the stories of select men and women who valiantly fought against invaders for their rights, faith and freedom.

Rajarshi Bhagyachandra Jai Singh of Manipur, Lalitaditya Muktapida of Kashmir, Chand Bibi of Ahmednagar, Lachit Barphukan of Assam, Begum Hazrat Mahal of Awadh, Rani Abbakka Chowta of Ullal, Martanda Varma of Travancore, Rani Rudrama Devi of Warangal, Rani Naiki Devi of Gujarat and Banda Singh Bahadur are some of the 'bravehearts' who fought to uphold the tradition and culture of their land.

Pacy and unputdownable, Bravehearts of Bharat chronicles the stories of courage, determination and victory, which largely remained untold and therefore unknown for a long time.

©2022 Vikram Sampath (P)2023 Random House Audio Asia Colonialism & Post-Colonialism Historical India Military Politics & Government South Asia Wars & Conflicts
Most relevant
Hero’s of India came to light through this book. Wonderfully chronicled tales of brave hearts who were in obscurity for most of us. A must read book & revisit our glorious past.

History that was never told in our History books

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A untold part of Indian history. Values and ethical code of conduct has been the backbone of Bhartiya culture

Outstanding

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Great research. Excellent information that we never got to know for decades in a left dominated history writers syndicate. Glad that someone is writing about people we must really know. Hats off to to Vikram Sampath.

However the narrator has done a crappy job. He couldn't pronounce any name correctly. No homework done. Poor editing also. Mistakes done and lines re-read by the narrator are not edited. What a let down for a wonderful book!

Excellent book let down by poor narration

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Happy to hear Indian history with authentic citation. Great job by the author Dr. Vikram Sampath.

Clear & Concise

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Great peek into our past , the omission of which our education system is to blame. However, the narration really disappoints. I have never in all the audiobooks I’ve listened to, heard a single error. This one has so many , it’s a wonder that it was allowed to be published or whatever they say for audiobooks. It comes across like it’s been done in a hurry with no pauses even between chapters. I stopped halfway into the second chapter. It’s a disservice to an otherwise worthy listen

Excellent glimpse of Indian history

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what we have been taught in schools is not the Indian history but the history of invaders. even that ignores all the bad things that they did. this book brings to light the Indian heroes who fought beavely against the invaders and defeated them. a must read for everyone.

Truly the Indian history

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Though a few individuals mentioned in the book, like Rana Kumbha & Kanhoji Angre, are noteworthy, but for the rest -- it seems Mr. Sampat attempted to FORCE greatness upon them. Some of these figures only won one or two battles (not even true wars), yet the terminology used to describe them feels as if "Bhagirath bringing Ganga down" moment! Mr. Sampat's version of historical figure is repetitive and feels more like an imaginative narrative build-up exercise specifically tailored for the radical right and propaganda-mindset audience. The citations are poor and unreliable, and the sources used are far from reality. Take the Rajatarangini for example: the story of Lalitaditya's birth from the mating of a snake and a woman, or the claim that his territory extended to Sri Lanka, is non-sensical. In addition to that, the book "justifies" negative actions committed by some "bravehearts", while using starkly different terms for similar actions committed by those on the opposing side, revealing a hypocritical and biased nature in the author's perspective.

He is clearly not a historian, just an imaginative author -- but until now, I was under the impression that even "authors" adhere to some ethical boundaries at least, however this trio of Sanjeev Sanyal, Bibek Deb Roy, & Vikram Sampat proved me wrong. These 3 keep recommending each other's work, clearly because no actual "historian" is gonna touch this piece of imaginative and hyperbolic narrative of history. This is only reaffirming the claim that their standards will only appeal to extremists, but the historians will always maintain an arm's length distance from their works!

Listeners may themselves notice that, with the exception of one or two rulers, Mr. Sampat appears to lack substantial content on the selected figures. So he focuses on various individuals within the same chapter, to the point where you might mistakenly believe you've opened a different chapter. It happened to me a couple of times while reading this book!

In any case, this is my first interaction with any of Mr. Sampat's work, and I believe I got a decent taste of where he is coming from!

Exaggerated & imaginative storybook!

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I was very excited to read this book, expecting it to be like “Revolutionaries” by Sanjeev Sanyal, which was in the same genre, but super-entertaining and felt so relevant and was engaging throughout.

This one though feels very theoretical unfortunately, and felt translated that way too. I could read very very little of it, which’s a real shame.

It is a relevant topic for Indians interested in our diverse history and our freedom fight beyond what we read in school, but let down by really poor and monotonous, feeling-less narration.

Feels like a history book

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