Eternal India Encyclopedia

ETERNAL INDIA encyclopedia

A GREAT DESTINATION

Lucknow. The Bara or Great Imambara built in 1784 as a famine, relief project has one of the largest vaulted granaries in the world. The Husainabad Imam bara was built by Muhammed Ali Shah in 1837 to serve as his own mausoleum. Thousands of labourers were employed on the project as a measure of famine relief. The Residency built in 1800 for the British Resident became a place of refuge for the Britishers during the 1857 Revolt and is today maintained in exactly the same condition in which it was at the time of the final relief. Lucknow is famed for its hand-woven em- broidery known as chikan. On the outskirts of Lucknow is the Martiniere school. The building was built by the Frenchman Major General Claude Martin in a fantastic style. He died in 1800 before it could be completed. Mathura : On the Delhi-Agra road, 57 kms north of Agra. The birthplace of Lord Krishna. Other places associated with the Krishna legend around Mathura Eire Brindavan (where Krishna stole the clothes of the milkmaids while they were bathing), Govardhan and Mahaban Agra: Home of the Taj Mahal. Agra also has the Agra Fort, com- menced by Akbar in 1565, Moti Masjid built by Shah Jahan between 1656 and 1663, Diwan-a-Am and Diwan - i-Khas (both by Shah Jahan), Jahangir's palace built by Akbar for his son ; Ram Bagh laid out in 1578 by Emperor Babur, first of the Moghuls. Akbar's mausoleum is at Sikandra, 10 kms north of Agra. Fatehpur Sikri : 37 kms west of Agra . Sandstone city built by Akbar. It was his capital from 1570 to 1586. Subsequently Akbar moved the capital back to Agra because of lack of water. Aligarh : Site of the Aligarh Muslim University. Kanpur : Modern industrial city on the banks of the Ganges. Allahabad : 135 kms west of Varanasi . At the confluence of the Ganges and the Jamuna. The invisible Saraswati also joins the Ganga and Jamuna at this point. Ancient name Prayag. It was renamed Allahabad by Akbar who built a fort on the banks of the Jamuna. Anand Bhawan, the family home of the Nehrus is here. Every year at the confluence of the three rivers, Sangam, the Magha Mela bathing festival, is held. The Kumbh Mela, the duo- decennial bathing festival, when a million pilgrims come from all over India, is held once in 12 years. Kaushanbi : 63 kms from Allahabad once the capital of a kingdom during the time of the Buddha. The fort contains an Ashoka pillar. Ayodhya : Birthplace of Lord Rama; numerous temples and ghats. Kushinagara (Kasia) : The site of the Buddha's death. Buddhist temples and a large number of seated and reclining Buddhas. Lumbini : 181 kms from Gorakhpur. Birthplace of Buddha, Lumbini is across the border in Nepal. Major attraction is the 2000-year- old pillar carrying the edicts of Emperor Ashoka. Gorakhpur : 266 kms from Lucknow. Stopover for Nepal-bound tourists. Varanasi (Banaras, Kashi) : The oldest living city in the world contemporary with Babylon, Ninevah and Thebes on the banks of the Ganges. Holiest city for the Hindus.Every devout Hindu's ambition is to visit Varanasi at least once in a lifetime and if possible die there in old age. 2000 temples all dedicated to Shiva. The 365 bathing ghats are spread over 5km. The Kashi Viswanath temple is the most sacred. The old temple was destroyed by Aurangzeb. The present temple was built in 1776 by Ahalyabhai, queen of Indore. In 1835 Maharaja Ranjit Singh of the Punjab

plated the copper spires of the temple with gold. Hence it is known as the Golden Temple. Site of the Banaras Hindu University founded by Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya. Varanasi is famous for silk brocades and Benaras saris. Sarnath : 10 kms from Varanasi. After achieving enlightenment at Bodh Gaya, the Buddha came here. He preached his first sermon to his first five disciples at the Deer Park. The event is known as "The setting in Motion of the Wheel of Truth". About 300 years after the Buddha, Emperor Ashoka came here and raised stupas and a pillar with the famous lion capital which has been adopted by India as her state emblem. The capital is now in the Archaeologi- cal Museum together with many other relics. Dehra Dun : Forestry Research Institute is the biggest in India. Site of the Doon School; exclusive private school. Mussoorie : Popular hill resort, at an altitude of 2000 metres (6580 ft) and 35 kms beyond Dehra Dun. Hardwar ; At the base of the Siwalik Hills where the Ganges enters the plains. Place of pilgrimage. Base for pilgrimage to Badrinath and Kedamath. Rishikesh ; North of Hardwar. Place of pilgrimage. Site of Ma- harishi Mahesh Yogi's Transcendental Meditation centre and the Divine Life Society founded by Swami Shivanand. Corbett National Park : Established in 1935 and later renamed after Jim Corbett who lived in the area and wrote "The Maneaters of Kumaon", this park is famous for its wildlife — tigers, ele- phants, panthers, deer, and birdlife. Almora : Hill station surrounded by mountains. There are temples on top of the mountains. Nainital : Hill station which was once the summer capital of Uttar Pradesh. Ranikhet : North of Nainital and west of Almora, the Himalayas can be seen from this hill station. Kedarnath : High up in the Himalayas, this is a place of pilgrim- age. Shankaracharya who gave new vedic interpretation to Hin- duism is buried near the Shiva temple here. Gangotri : Associated with the legend of the sage Bhagirath who performed penance for centuries, following which the Ganges came down to earth after her mighty fall had been softened by Shiva's massive tangle of hair. The temple of the Goddess Ganga is on the right bank of the Bagirathi River which eventually becomes the Ganges. The Gangotri glacier ends at Gomukh, the source of the Ganges. Gomukh : 19 kms from Gangotri you have to walk the whole distance. The cave from which the Ganges emerges can be seen. Badrinath : 301 kms from Rishikesh. The temple is the main attraction; Hindu pilgrimage centre; nearby is the Valley of Flow- ers.

Calcutta : The capital of West Bengal is Calcutta, India's biggest city and the third largest in the world. It was founded in 1690 by