Panipat: The First Battle
Some History
Ibrahim Lodi lies buried in this grave, and he lies here with the background of someone’s home. He was the last king of the Lodi Dynasty of North India. The Delhi Sultanate ended with his death.
What was the Delhi Sultanate?
Around 1092 AD, the Afghan chieftain Mohammed Ghori defeated the Rajput chief, Prithviraj Chauhan. Ghori returned to Afghanistan but left his general, Qutb ud-din Aibak to govern the newly conquered territory.
Qutb ud-din Aibak set up the first Dynasty of the Delhi Sultanate. His Dynasty was called the Mamluk Dynasty, or the Slave Dynasty. There were five dynasties in, what has become known as The Delhi Sultanate.
Babur was a young Afghan-Uzbek chieftain who wanted to make his mark in the world. He succeeded. Babur came into India, and on the 21st of April 1526 he faced off against Ibrahim Lodi’s army at the First Battle of Panipat.
In those days, kings and generals led the army. It is quite a far cry from today’s practice of sitting in a War Room, wearing a fancy suit, and pressing a button. Today’s machismo dies if a head of state is required to do anything more than deliver thundering speeches and pressing buttons.
It’s easy to be brave in a War Room.
Ibrahim Lodi died on the 21st of April 1526. The Lodi Dynasty ended, and the Mughal Dynasty was born. Babur’s Dynasty lasted until 1858, but it’s most glorious years ended in 1707.
Far Removed
There were a couple of kids playing around in the park near the grave. I assume that they played there several times a week, and it was nothing more than a grave for them.
I asked them who lay buried there, and they shrugged and said – “Some old king.”
They had no idea and did not give a damn, that a Dynasty changed hands at this very spot almost 500 years ago.
Some men were hanging around, gossiping, farting and picking their noses. I figured that it was no point in asking them if they had any idea.
History is a fascinating subject. I detested it when I was in school, but have grown to appreciate it in recent years. It is also a subject that politicians love to twist, manipulate and colour beyond recognition.
Two Sentences About The Edit
I used Nik Silver Efex-Pro to edit and tone this image. I don’t usually use presets, but I decided to use Nik this time. It saved me a lot of time.
Nik Silver Efex-Pro is probably the only programme that I use if I am not converting an image manually to black & white in Photoshop. I am not an affiliate, so you can trust me when I say that it is an excellent programme if you want to convert your images to black and white, simulate film, and give a finishing tone.
