Eternal India Encyclopedia

Eternal India encyclopedia

A GREAT DESTINATION

dent of India. Built on Raisina Hill it covers 330 acres and domi- nates the city. Completed in 1929, it was originally the residence of the Viceroys of India. It has 360 rooms and an excellent 10- acre Mughal Garden. Red Fort - Delhi; Best Time - Oct-March -*There are air, rail and bus transport facilities from almost all major cities in India; Desc. -The Red Fort (Lai Qila), was built by theMughal Emperor Shah Jahan. So called because of its red sandstone walls. Construction began in 1638 and completed in 1648. Shah Jahan wanted to shift the Mughal Capital from Agra to Delhi and he had designed the Red Fort as his palace. But he was never able to completely shift the capital because his son Aurangzeb deposed him and impris- oned him in Agra Fort. Has the Diwan-i-Am (Hall of public audience) and Diwan-i-Khas (Hall of private audience). The Diwan-i-Khas was of silver Here once was the golden Peacock Throne estimated at the time to be worth 12M pounds sterling. On the walls of the hall there is a Persian couplet in letters of gold. "If there is a paradise on earth it is this!" Bahai Temple — Delhi(Bahapur, Kalkaji); Best Time - All year round; Access - (A) Delhi (R) Delhi; Desc. - White lotus shaped temple of the youngest religion of the World- Bahai. Sansad Bhavan (Parliament House) — Delhi; Best Time - Oct- Mar; Access - (A) Delhi (R) Delhi; Desc. -This circular colon- naded building 171 m in diameter houses the Indian Parliament. Built on 3 levels, it has a red sandstone fondation storey, a buff- coloured storey with 144 pillars and a small attic storey. Specially imported acoustic tiles were used in the walls and sound-absorb- ing plaster on the ceiling; Places of Interest - India Gate, Purana Qila, Jantar Mantar, Firoz Shah Kotla, Hauz Khas, Tughlaqabad, Lodi's Tomb, Safdarjung's Tomb, Humayun's Tomb and Chandni Chowk. Ajmer — Rajasthan;Desc. - Tomb of a Sui saint (1192); foremost Muslim place of piligrimage; Adhai-din-ka-jhonpra ruins of a mosque supposedly built in 2 V 2 days. Nehru Memorial — Delhi; Access - (A) Delhi (R) Delhi; Desc. - The residence of India's first Prime Minister is now a museum devoted to his life and career. Filled with photographs and other interesting memorabilia. Son-et-Lumiere — Delhi (held at the Red Fort); Access - (A) Delhi (R) Delhi Lai Qila; Desc. - A sound & light show depicting events of Indian history, particularly those connected with the Red Fort. Republic Day — Delhi; Access - (A) Delhi (R) Delhi; Desc. - Spectacular military parade held on Jan 26 every year on Republic Day; beating of the Retreat ceremony on Jan 30. Besides a march past by contingents of the army, navy and airforce the Republic Day Parade is a cultural pageant featuring folk dancers from the different regions. There are also colourful floats put up by differ- ent states. Chanakya Puri — Delhi; Desc. - Most embassies are located here. A very beautiful and well laid out area.

Rath Yathra — Orissa; Best Time - Jun-July; Access - (A) Bhubaneswar (B) Puri; Desc. - Unique temple festival; 3 gigantic temple chariots containing deities — Jagannath, Balabhadra - brothfer & sister Subhadra, taken in procession watched by huge number of devotees. Lingaraju Temple — Bhubaneswar, Orissa; Best Time - Oct- March; Access - (A) Bhubansewar (R) Bhubansewar; Desc. - Acclaimed as the finest temple in India. Dates from the year 1000. Entrance is limited to Hindus but there is a platform from which others can see the temple. Jagannath Temple - Puri, Orissa; Best Time - Oct-April; Ac- cess - (A) Bhubaneshwar (R) Puri; Desc. - The temple of Jagannath was built in its present form in 1198. It is the scene of one of India's greatest annual events, the car festival or rath yatra which takes place each June or May. The huge cars or raths set forth from the Jagannath Temple to commemorate the journey of Krishna from Gokul to Mathura. It is from these colossal cars that the word ‘juggernaut' is derived. In the past devotees were known to have thrown themselves under the wheels of the jugger- naut in order to die in the god's sight. Gir National Park — Gujarat; Best Time - Mid-Oct; mid-June; Dec-mid-June; Access - (A) Keshod-90km (R) Season ; Desc. - The sanctuary covers 260 sq km and is home of the Gir(Asiatic) Lion. Other animals like panthers, Indian deer, sambar, chital, nilgai etc. can be spotted here. Best Time - Throughout the year except April-June when the weather is very hot and July-Oct when there are the monsoon rains; Access - (A) Ahmedabad (R) Ahmedabad; Desc. - Shaking Minarets are unique to Gujarat and have no parallel in the world today. The master craftsmen built them in such a way that when one minaret is shaken, the vibrations thus created pass on to the opposite minarets which also starts shaking. The mosque of Siddir Bashir outside Sarangpur Gate, has these shaking minarets. The secret of this unique phenomenon went away with those master crafts- men who had conceived the plan. Shaking Minarets — Gujarat, Ahmedabad; Lothal — Gujarat; Best Time - Throughout the year except April- June; Access - (A)Ahmedabad (R) Bhurki and Ahmedabad- Bhavnagar railway line; Desc. - Recent archaeological excava- tions have led to the discovery of the 4500 year old city of Lothal which was closely related to the Indus Valley cities Mohenja- Daro and Harappa, both now in Pakistan. This was one of the most important ports on the sub-continent and trade was carried on with Masopotamia, Egypt and Persia. Qutub Minar — Delhi 15km south of New Delhi; Best Time - Throughout the year except summer months (A) Delhi (R) Delhi (May-June); Desc. - Tall stone tower built in red sandstone measuring 238 ft (73m) high. Composed of unique permeable iron it lies rust free till date. Example of early Afghan architecture. Tower of victory commenced in 1198 after the defeat of the last Hindu Kingdom in Delhi.

Rashtrapathi Bhavan - Delhi; Best Time - Oct-Mar; Access - (A) Delhil (R) Delhi; Desc. - The official residence of the Presi-