Eight years before the Wright Brothers flew what would be known as the first aircraft, an Indian scholar had reportedly taken to the skies, making history before the world noticed.
When it comes to innovation in science and technology, the West often gets all the credit. But the truth is, India too has had its fair share of groundbreaking ideas, many of which slipped under the radar. You may have heard of Jagadish Chandra Bose, the brilliant mind who invented the radio but never bothered to patent it. As a result, the credit went elsewhere. At least in Bose’s case, the story is documented, and we Indians know what he achieved. However, there are multiple other stories too that were never written down, and hence eventually went far away from the limelight. One such story is about the invention of the aircraft. While the Wright Brothers are officially remembered as the pioneers of flight, some believe that an Indian scholar actually flew a plane eight years before them, in 1895. No one paid attention, and you know how things work in such cases. So in this article, we dig into this forgotten chapter.
Born in 1864, Shivkar Bapuji Talpade wasn’t an inventor in the traditional sense. He worked as a technical instructor at the Sir JJ School of Art and was deeply immersed in Sanskrit and Vedic literature, influenced by the Arya Samaj reformist movement. But his curiosity stretched beyond academics, as he was fascinated by the ancient concept of flight found in Indian scriptures.
Talpade is said to have built an unmanned flying machine called Marutsakhā, meaning “Friend of the Wind.” According to accounts, the aircraft rose to a modest height above Chowpatty Beach in 1895 in front of an audience that may have included social reformer Mahadev Govind Ranade and possibly even the Maharaja of Baroda, Sayajirao Gaekwad III. The aircraft, reportedly powered by a mercury-based propulsion system, didn’t fly for long, but it may have lifted off the ground, even if only briefly.
There are no surviving photographs or scientific documentation of the flight, which is why most historians remain skeptical.
Talpade’s work was heavily inspired by Vedic texts, particularly the Vaimanika Shastra, a Sanskrit treatise attributed to the sage Bharadwaja. Though the text gained attention in the early 20th century and was later revealed to have been written by Pandit Subbaraya Shastry (Talpade’s reported mentor), it described elaborate flying machines known as vimanas. These mythical crafts were said to run on solar power and mercury-based engines.
Talpade studied not only the Vaimanika Shastra but also other Sanskrit treatises like the Samarangana Sutradhara, which dealt with ancient engineering concepts. He is believed to have combined this textual knowledge with practical experiments to construct Marutsakhā. The design, as per later descriptions, included bamboo for the frame and metals like copper. Mercury, considered to have mystical and energetic properties in traditional texts, was reportedly part of the propulsion system.
Though the science behind these ancient claims has largely been debunked, particularly by a 1974 Indian Institute of Science study, which found the Vaimanika Shastra to be aeronautically unviable, Talpade’s attempt was still significant for its ambition. Whether or not the aircraft truly flew, his effort to blend ancient knowledge with experimental curiosity stands out in a time when very few dared to imagine such things.
Unlike the Wright Brothers, who documented their work meticulously and secured patents, Talpade left behind little evidence. There are no official records or scientific papers to validate this claim. One of the few mentions of the event came from a 1952 article in the Marathi daily Kesari, but even that was later dismissed by the publication’s editor due to lack of verifiable sources.
Some say Talpade had sent his designs to Indian institutions like Hindustan Aeronautics years later, but there is no proof they were preserved. Funding, too, was a major obstacle. Though the Maharaja of Baroda initially supported Talpade’s experiments, reports suggest British authorities may have discouraged the association, leading to the withdrawal of financial help. Eventually, Talpade is said to have taken loans from relatives to continue his work.
This absence of credible documentation leaves historians divided. Was Talpade’s experiment ignored due to colonial apathy, or was it simply an experimental failure? Well, as Nana Patekar said in 'Welcome': "Ye raaz bhi usi ke saath chala gaya!"
This is where the story gets murky. The Vaimanika Shastra, which inspired Talpade’s design, was critically studied in the 1970s by a team of scientists at the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore. Their findings concluded that the aircraft described in the text were “poor concoctions,” with designs that were structurally unsound and aerodynamically flawed. Furthermore, the text itself was shown to have originated around 1904, nearly a decade after Talpade’s alleged flight, raising doubts about whether it could have influenced him.
Subbaraya Shastry, the man credited with writing the Vaimanika Shastra, claimed he received the text through divine revelations, making scientists and scholars even more skeptical. Historian Pratap Velkar, who has written about Talpade, believes the aircraft may have lifted off briefly but never flew as some claims suggest. Others think the whole story was exaggerated in retrospect, especially during the surge of nationalist pride in post-independence India.
Still, the event, if it happened, was said to have been witnessed by prominent figures. A 1985 book by Sanskrit scholar D.K. Kanjilal referenced Talpade’s work and flight, but again, the lack of any contemporaneous account makes verification difficult. It's possible Talpade’s attempt was a basic lift-off that later took on the shape of legend, enhanced by patriotic sentiment and cultural memory.
But there’s no denying that the Wright Brothers’ 1903 flight was a turning point in aviation. It was manned, sustained, and well-documented with photographs and patents. They worked with wind tunnels, built multiple prototypes, and were supported by a network of engineers and government institutions.
Talpade, on the other hand, was a solitary scholar working in a colonized nation with little access to resources or platforms to showcase his work. His aircraft was unmanned, likely experimental, and not documented in any formal way. So, the contrast between the two reflects the larger power imbalance of the time.
While the Wrights were celebrated and remembered, Talpade’s story was left to be revived much later, mostly through speculation. See, it's not about competing with the Wright Brothers; it's about recognizing the limitations that silenced innovators in colonial India and asking what might have been had Talpade received the same support and visibility.
Talpade’s story finally got a mainstream retelling through Bollywood’s 2015 film 'Hawaizaada', starring Ayushmann Khurrana. Directed by Vibhu Puri, the film was a highly dramatized take on Talpade’s life, mixing science, romance, and steampunk aesthetics. While it introduced Talpade’s name to a wider audience, it took considerable creative liberties and was criticized for stretching historical accuracy.
Ayushmann Khurrana himself acknowledged in interviews that the film was based on unverified history and more of a fictional tribute than a biopic. While the movie didn’t perform well at the box office, it did prompt some public curiosity, and the Uttar Pradesh government made it tax-free in an effort to promote interest in forgotten Indian inventors.
Shivkar Bapuji Talpade’s story sits at the crossroads of myth and history. Did he really fly a plane in 1895? Maybe. Maybe not. But what matters is the spirit of exploration he embodied.
