Eternal India Encyclopedia

A GREAT DESTINATION

ETERNAL INDIA encyclopedia

was once a group of seven islands whose inhabitants, the Kalis, have given the city its Indian name after their goddess Mother Mumba (Mumba Aai) Hanging Gardens: Built on top of reservoirs which supply water to the city, these are located atop Malabar Hill, the posh residen- tial area. Their proper name is Perozeshah Mehta Gardens. The hedges are shaped like animals. A good view of the city can be had from here. Towers of.Silence : Near the Hanging Gardens. Place where the Parsis dispose of their dead -to be picked clean by vultures. Sightseers not allowed. Mahalaxmi Temple : Oldest in Bombay and dedicated to the Goddess of Wealth. AROUND BOMBAY Elephanta caves : The island of Elephanta 10 kms out in the sea from Apollo Bunder h,as nine rock-cut cave Shiva temples dating from 450-750 A.D. There are sculptured.panels featuring Shiva and Parvati. The most impressive is the 18ft high three-headed image of Shiva. Krishnagiri Upavan National Park : Contains a lion Safari Park. Trips are made in a Safari vehicle. Kanheri Caves ; Within the national park, these Buddhist caves date jrom the 2nd - 9th century A.D. Matheran : Nearest hill station (800 metres) to Bombay. 164 kms from Bombay, narrow gauge train from Neral. Karla Caves : Hinayana Buddhist cave temple dating from around 100B.C. Bhaja caves : 18 temple caves dating from around 200 B.C. Lonavla : Regarded as a hill station but its height, is only 625 metres. Pune : The cultural centre of Maharashtra, where the Maratha leader Shivaji was raised and which became the capital of the Peshwas. The Agha Khan Palace where Mahatma Gandhi, Kasturba Gandhi and others were imprisoned during the freedom struggle is located here. There is a Gandhi Museum. Sunwar- wadha is the palace built by the Peshwas. Rajneesh Ashram in Koregaon Park. Raja Kelkar Museum, containing the personal collection of Dinkar Kelkar, is worth a visit. Mahabaleshwar: Popular hill station, (1372m or 4501 ft) was the summer capital of the Bombay Government during the British Raj. Many waterfalls. Veena Lake has boating and fishing facilities. Pratapgarh fort : Built by Shivaji in 1656. This was the scene of Shivaji's encounter with the Bijapur General Afzal Khan which ended in the latter's death. Panchgani : Hill station, (1334 metres) 102 kms from Pune. Lovely spot . Covered with silver oak and firs. Lower in height than Mahabaleshwar. Satara : 57 kms from Mahabaleshwar. The Shivaji Maharaj Mu- seum contains the Maratha leader's apparel, swords and the tiger claws with which he killed Afzal Khan. Kolhapur : Known as the Banares of the South. 9th C temple of Mahalakshmi. There are also other temples; Ahmednagar : 82 kms from Pune. Emperor Aurangzeb died here in 1707 at the age of 97.

Nasik : On the river Godavari. Rama is supposed to have spent part of his forest exile here. There are more than 300 temples in this place of pilgrimage for Hindus. It was here that Ravana's sister Surpanakha saw and wished to marry Lakshmana who was enraged and cut off her nose (Nasika). Shirdi : 90 kms from Nasik. This was where Sai Baba lived for most of his life. The Memorial Temple has his statue in white marble. Sevagram : 5 kms south - east of Wardha, 77kms from Nagpur. Mahatma Gandhi founded the ashram here in 1933. Tadoba National Park : Covers over 116 sq kilometres. Wild animals include leopards, tigers, panthers etc. Nagpur : Situated on the river Nag. Famous for its oranges. Ramtek : So named because Lord Rama was here during his exile. It is said the beauty of Ramtek inspired Kalidasa to write his poem Meghdoot. Aurangabad : Named after Aurangzeb . The Bibi-ka-Maqbara was built by Aurangzeb's son for Aurangzeb's wife. It is a poor imitation of the Taj. Nearest railhead to Ajanta and Ellora. Daulatabad : On the way to Ellora from Aurangabad. The fortress was built by Muhammed Bin Tughlaq, the 14th century ruler of Delhi, who changed the name of the town from Devagiri ("Hill of the Gods") to Daulatabad ("City of Fortune") and moved his cap- ital there from Delhi. Many of his subjects died on the way. 17 years later he moved the capital back to Delhi. The fortress is impressive and worth seeing. Ellora caves : 30 kms from Aurangabad. There are 34 cave temple - 12 Buddhist, 17 Hindu and 5 Jain. The caves are cut into a hillside. The gigantic Kailasa Temple is the central attraction. The cave temples date between 600 and 1000 AD. Ajanta : The 29 caves here date from 200 B.C. to 650 A.D. They are all Buddhist and unlike the Ellora caves which are sculptural masterpieces, the Ajanta caves have paintings on the walls depicting scenes from the life of Buddha. They were discovered in 1819 by a British hunting party. Nanded : 237 kms from Aurangabad. The 10th and last Sikh Guru Govind Singh spent the last years of his life here. Maharajah Ranjit Singh built a Gurudwara where his ashes were laid to rest in 1837. Rauza: 3 kms from Ellora. Also known as Khudabad, the "heav- enly abode" Aurangzeb, the last great Mughal emperor is buried here.

MANIPUR

One of India's border states. On its east lies Burma. The Japanese occupied part of Manipur in the Second World War. The Azad Hind Fauj organised by Subhas Chandra Bose occupied a portion of Manipur. Manipuri dance is a classical dance of India. Imphal is the capital of Manipur. The Imphal war cemetery contains graves of British soldiers who died fighting the Japanese.