Ekaant (English meaning "Solitude") is an Indian television Hindi non-fiction series that aired on The EPIC Channel. The show is anchored by Akul Tripathi who takes viewers on a journey across the abandoned historic locations of India. Akul takes you through the abandoned roads and alleys of some of India’s historic places. Travelling through the spread out palaces and deserted forts, the show documents and investigates the eerie processes of abandonment of each site.
Summary
The show highlights the grandeur and mysteries of India's historic monuments with the host Akul Tripathi. Each episode takes viewers to a different part of India, from a fort to a tomb to relive their grandeur. At each location, Akul seeks to uncover the untold stories behind these places by interacting with locals and historians, exploring the ruins that were once flourishing habitats.
The show premiered on 19 November 2014 when the EPIC Channel launched in India. It was one of the driver non-fiction shows of the channel. Season 1 had twenty-six episodes. The first season received great reviews and the channel sanctioned a second season. Season 2 premiered on 9 July 2015 with twelve episodes. Ekaant is now available on EPIC On, EPIC TV's streaming platform.
Episodes
Season 1
Episode 1 - Kuldhara The pilot of season one takes the audience to the abandoned village of Kuldhara, a vast maze-like cluster of roofless homes, bare walls, and a carpet of disjointed bricks are all that remain of what is once said to have been a prosperous village. Sitting quiet in the sand dunes of western Rajasthan, this is just one of eighty-four such abandoned villages dotting the stark landscape. A local myth states that these villages were of the Paliwal Brahmins who fled their homes overnight to uphold their honour because the then prime-minister of the Jaisalmer court, man called Salem Singh wanted to marry the headman’s daughter against her wishes. How true this myth is, no one can tell. Episode 2 - Chiktan Far up in the Himalayas, a couple of hours drive from the border town of Kargil, further north from the grand Srinagar-Leh Highway lie the ruins of what once must have been a majestic fort. Rumoured to be taller and older than its famous cousin – the Leh Palace, the Chiktan fortress is shrouded in many mysteries. Legends of its making, numerous sinister and violent events, magical tales of wondrous creations and a heart-wrenching tailspin of destruction and apathy encompass the story of this fabulous fortress set in an almost fantastical location. Episode 3 - Ross Island Ross Island is a little Island at the mouth of the Port Blair Harbour. It is the entry point into the Andaman islands. At one point in time, it served as the capital of the British in this part of India. It was a township that had everything one may need to live a lavish life in. But today this island lies forgotten, deserted and totally abandoned. Episode 4 - Talakkad There are stories of numerous curses in our ancient land. Many have solid alternate reasonings and Quite a few are plain ludicrous. Yet there stand out some that defy explanations and to whom every rational reasoning sounds hollow. The three pronged curse of Talakkad a once temple town near Mysore, now buried in sand, is one such pronouncement that many believe to have brought this fate on the town. It is also held responsible for the slow but steady eroding of the nearby village of Malingi and the reason why every alternate generation of the ruling Mysore family has not had a male heir. How much is true? Episode 5 - Murud The astonishment of why some places lie abandoned and in ruins does not get more perplexing than this. Off the Konkan coast of Maharastra lies the impregnable, unassailable and unconquered fort of Janjira. A fascinating history that begins with a pirate keep from which the Ethiopians carved out a stone fortress. It has held back mighty warriors of the like of Shivaji the great Maratha champion and lends a distinctive colour to the eclectic social fabric of the region. Episode 6 - Unakoti Unakoti is a place in the North East of India where carvings of Gods and Goddesses lie abandoned on a hill. In numbers these statues are one less than a crore and are in the form of rock cut structures. Nobody knows how and when these carvings were made. With mythological reasoning behind the existence of the statues, Unakoti is a discovery in itself. The episode delves into the possibilities of history that Unakoti has to offer. Episode 7 - Bhangarh A couple of hours drive from Jaipur, in the land of a thousand forts, the fort of Bhangarh has consistently topped the list of the most haunted place in the country. Not much is known about the fort and the entire town the lies sprawled in front of it. Rumours of curses abound and all that meets the eye is a town that appears to have been abandoned at the spur of an instant. Is there a grain of truth in its many creepy stories or can they be explained away through logic? Episode 8 - Orchha A medieval town of palaces and temples, and while the temples still draw pilgrims by the thousands the majestic palaces lie silent. What prompted the Bundelkhandi Kings of Orchha to abandon their capital and move elsewhere? This question throws up a plethora of answers and the most intriguing one tells us of a curse that explains why this town has been abandoned twice in the past and will be abandoned once more in the years to come. Episode 9 - Lakhpat Lives of the human race has long been intertwined with the course of rivers and their mouths on the confluence with the great seas, civilisations flourished. Lakhpat is the setting of the apocalyptic premise were the river to disappear. Situated at the mouth of the Kori Creek from where the Sindhu once met the Arabian Sea, it is all but a fortified ghost town whose walls overlook the desert sands as it preserves within it, with infinite care, the remains of a two century old trading hub blessed by the holy men and the beloved of men of exceptional valour. Episode 10 - Kittur Call it a revolt, mutiny or a revolution, India's First War of Independence was a defining moment in the history of the sub-continent. What followed in its wake is commonly known, yet 20 years before the great upheaval, Chenamma, the brave queen of Kittur in Karnataka, led the charge against the British, even defeating them on one occasion. The episode follows the story of this courageous leader and the indelible but often overlooked mark she left on our history. Episode 11 - Nyarma A thousand years ago, in an age when Buddhism was prominent in Kashmir, Ladakh and Srinagar, an exceptionally visionary scholar and translator, Lochava Rinchen Zangpo, set up a world class university a kilometre away from where the famous Thikse Monastery stands today on the outskirts of Leh town. Lonely walls and silent shrines are what stand today, mute witnesses to the times when a wonder monk walked the land. There are as many contradictions to its disappearance as there are musings about the wonders it held. Episode 12 - Roha In the vast territories of the Kutch, on top of a forlorn hillock stands the fort of Roha. Once the biggest jaagir in the region, it lies neglected and forgotten. A close observer in the tragic death of 120 princesses, the seat of brave rulers, home to famous artists, a once burgeoning and rich principality, this is a story of riches to ruins as tempests of fate took charge of Roha and reduced the stone fortress to whispers in the wind. Episode 13 - Cellular Jail It's a place where freedom fighters were kept before the independence of India. This place has witnessed the torture and pain given to the people imprisoned here after the first war of independence. However, today it lies forgotten and only when one visits can one realise the importance of the freedom fighters and their stories. The episode also talks about the legend of Veer Savarkar and how his grit and determination helped him break free from one of the most dreaded jails in modern Indian history. Episode 14 - Gagron Fort & Vilasgarh The quest for abandoned places and their stories leads to two different places in East Rajasthan. One, an erstwhile king's capital reduced to rubble after being ravaged by war, and the second, an unconquerable fort still standing high and proud after being torn by tragedy. Tying the two are valiant stories of a brave dynasty of Rajputs – the Khinchi Chauhans and their poignant history. Episode 15 - Halebidu In the shadows of the world-renowned ruins of the Vijaynagar Empire lie the scattered remnants of a kingdom that sowed the seeds which led to the fruition of Vijaynagar and its glorious heritage. In the middle of swiftly developing towns and rapidly expanding highways are the ruins - some stately and others vanishing - of what was once the Hoysala Kingdom. Traced is the birth of this realm from a small hamlet to its capital with magnificent structures and grand temples. Episode 16 - Shekhawati The sleepy town of Ramgarh in northern Rajasthan is known by connoisseurs as a unique open art gallery. It is the site of several mansions made at a time when it was on the crossroads of trade routes and wealth streamed in from all directions. The cenotaphs and palatial homes painted on the outside and inside with some fabulous examples of local artwork are visually exceptional as we follow the story of what turned this cosmopolitan trade city into a sleepy unknown town overflowing with vestiges of a splendid era. Episode 17 - Martand Standing majestically on a plateau above the flood plains of Kashmir are the stupendous ruins of the Sun Temple of Martand. Described as "a dream in stone designed by Titans and finished by jewellers", the temple of Martand is part of the legacy of the indomitable Lalitaditya Mukhtapid of the Karkota dynasty of Kashmir which was once the centre of a mighty empire governed from the capital city of Parihaspora. Once the city of smiles, it is today a site of ruined stones. The episode sees the glory of Kashmir through the lens of one of its favourite sons. Episode 18 - Shibsagar A place from where lies the story of a once- powerful Ancient kingdom of the Ahom Rulers. This kingdom shaped the beautiful north eastern state of Assam. However, despite the stories and the 600 year old important rule, Shibsagar today lies only as a hint of the grandeur before. Episode 19 - Champaner Champaner lies in Gujarat, This town has seen three kingdoms and their contribution to several fortifications. At one point of time this place was the capital of Gujarat, but today lies only as a silent witness to past glory. Episode 20 - Hari Parbat Known as the Koh-i-Maran in Persian, the hill of Hari Parbat is crested with a fort of the same name. Originally built by the Mughal Emperor Akbar, the fort has been the silent sentinel watching the winds of change and the many hands eager to grasp the land fabled as heaven on Earth. The team arrives in Kashmir as Akbar wrests control of the land for the Mughal Empire and follows the many tales of the various rulers vying for control over the Hari Parbat and wanting to be masters of Kashmir. Episode 21 - Nalanda There are precious few monuments and artefacts in our ancient land which have survived the vagaries of time. But the ones that do are an insight into a time that was inimitable as it was marvellous. And few would stand in comparison with two jewels of ancient India – the fair mahajanapada of Vaishali, blessed and protected by Buddha and whose legacy led to the formation of amongst the greatest universities that the world has known – the unparalleled learning centre of Nalanda. Episode 22 - Lucknow