Srirangapatna
History isn’t about dates, my dear. It’s about dreams that refused to die.
Dr. Krishnamurthy has spent 40 years studying Tipu Sultan, and his eyes still light up like a child’s when he talks about the “innovation sultan.” In his cluttered study, surrounded by manuscripts and faded photographs, he guards stories most people will never hear.
“See this sketch?” He shows me Tipu’s personal drawing of a mechanical horse. “200 years before motorcycles existed, this man was dreaming of the rides you take for granted today. Vision doesn’t have an expiration date.”
He lost his wife two years ago to cancer. “She used to say I loved Tipu more than her,” he smiles sadly. “But she understood – when you spend your life with someone from history, they become real. I talk to Tipu every day. I argue with him, I praise him, I wonder what he would think of modern India.”
“Most people remember Tipu as the ‘Tiger of Mysore’ – the warrior. But I knew him as the dreamer, the innovator, the man who wrote love letters to his wife between battles. History books make him a symbol. I try to keep him human.”
“You young people have everything Tipu dreamed of – freedom, technology, the ability to travel anywhere. Use it wisely. The dreams of the past are watching.”
In a world obsessed with the future, Dr. Krishnamurthy reminds us that our ancestors’ dreams deserve to live on.
– Zara