The Southern state of Travancore was one of the first among the princely states to refuse accession to the Indian union. It wanted to remain independent, but things changed after an assassination attempt on the dewan of the state, Sir CP Ramaswamy Aiyer. In this episode, historian Manu Pillai and renowned painter and descendant of the Travancore royal family, Rukmini Varma join us to tell us more about the story of the state’s integration.Hosted by Adrija Roychowdhury and Damini JaimanEdited by Damini JaimanMixed by Suresh PawarEditorial Support: Shashank BhargavaListen to all five episodes on the Indian Express://indianexpress.com/audio/pages-from-the-past/Or download The Indian Express app:iOS link: https://apps.apple.com/in/app/indian-express-news-epaper/id506351833Android link: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.indianexpress.android&hl=en_IN&gl=US&pli=1