A woman of substance long before the term was even invented, Ahilyabai Holkar single handedly ran her father’s court dealing with Peshwas, and gave much of her time to build and rebuild public infrastructure and cultural heritage sites in 18th century India!

She built around 22 temples and holy spots around the country, and funded the rebuilding and renovation of many others, including the Kashi Vishwanath temple in Varanasi, and the Somnath temple in Gujarat.

She created education funds, and she fought many wars, leading from the front!

Last year, I was fortunate to visit her fort and palace in Maheshwar, in MP, and learn so much about this incredible woman!