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The Highlights Of India
The Highlights Of India
Delhi the capital city of India is a mixture of the old and the new. It is the home of the India Gate, Jama Masjid, the Parliament buildings and Humayan’s Tomb, which is a World Heritage site. The city of Delhi is the cultural centre of India where one becomes aware of the great diversity existing within India.
The natives call Jaipur, the Pink City and the centre of India’s cultural highlights. Here you find the Amber Fort and the exquisite City Palace and Observatory. The name Jaipur stands for the city of jai or victory and it is the capital of Rajasthan. In 1728, Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh II built the city of Jaipur. In the beginning, the buildings of the city were grey in colour however today the city has the title, the Pink City. In 1883, Prince Albert was coming to city and the people painted the buildings the colour of welcome in his honor. The old wall of the city remains a shade of pink in contrast to the rest of the buildings.
Orissa’s capital city is Bhubaneshwar often called the city of temples. This makes sense since there were 1000 temples crowded into the city. Many of them surround Bindu Saravar, which is a water tank filled with water from the holy rivers of India. The city of Amritsar is the largest of the cities in Punjab. It is here you can visit the revered Golden Temple considered the holiest of all Sikh shrines. There is a long history of religious and political strife caused by the presence of this temple. It is the only temple every attacked by government troops. The attack occurred in 1984 causing extensive damage to the beautiful and much revered shrine.
Agra known locally as the ghost city is the ancient capital of the Mughal Dynasty. Here you and visit the famous white Taj Mahal and experience is colour changes as the sun rises in the morning. The Red Fort and the Itmad-Ud-Daulah stand as symbols of Agra’s past history. In the old part of the city, you will find many local shops selling some of the most beautiful embroidery pieces worldwide. Gold and silver threads form the beautiful, intricate designs in each piece of embroidery. The embroidery work has the appearance of Mughal inlay on marble.
Varanasi offers the Sarnath, the Evening Prayer Ceremonies held at Ganges and other interesting sites. While cruising along on the Holy River Ganges you can see the religious rituals and local people going about their daily activities. Varanasi is among the oldest living cities in the world. Pilgrims visited this city over 2500 years ago.
The streams of the Varuna and Assi flow into the Ganga River. The name of the city comes from combining the names of the two streams. Natives also call Varanasi by the name Kashi believed to be Sankrit meaning a bright appearance or to shine. The belief is light comes from the god Siva who lives in Varanasi. In the midst of the red sandstone buildings of Agra is the Fatehpur Sikri, which was the capital of the imperial city Akbar. This is the location of the palace and the royal Jami Masjid mosque. Agra is the burial site of Shaikh Salim Chishti, the Sufi saint.
In Ajanta and Ellora, there are many historical monuments. Among the sites to see are the hand-hewn caves in Ellora and the 30 Buddhists caves in Ajanta. In these caves, you will see sculptures and many well-preserved frescoes. These monuments from the city’s past remained undiscovered during invasions by the armies of other countries. Ellora cave has 34 rock-cut temples not discovered by invaders because they were so deep in the cave. These are Buddhist, Hindu and Brahmatic monuments well over ten centuries old.
The caves of Ellora and Ajanta are manmade by artisans without the help of scaffolds such as workers use today. The builders began working at top of the tomb and slowly worked their way to the bottom. The now deserted city of Hampi is near Hospet in northern Karnataka on the banks of the Tungabadhra River. Hampi was the capital of the Vijayanagar Empire in the 14th century and today the most important archaeological highlight in India.
Jaiselmer was the home of the Bhatti princes and in 1156 AD the capital city of Rajput. This is where you find the magnificent temples of Jain built between the 12th and 15th centuries. Khajuraho offers the Madhya Pradish temple from 950-1050AD. During reign of the Chandela Dynasty, there were 85 temples in Khajuraho and today 22 temples still stand in majestic beauty. There is no architecture more exquisite than these temples. In the temples of Khajuraho, ornate carvings and sculptures reveal the superior artistic abilities of ancient artisans.
Mysore is a wonderful place to visit, a lovely city buzzing with activity. The Mysore Palace is a breath-taking sight when illuminated in the evenings during the annual 10-day October festival called diwali. Elephants and horses with ornate decorations surrounded by floating incense lead the annual procession through the streets of Mysore. Sanchi is the home of the Buddhist pilgrimage to honor the relics of Gautama Buddha. Mumbai renamed Bombay is India’s commercial centre where the Arabian touches the shore on three sides of the city. Bombay is home to the rich and the poor of India.
Kolkata is one a small trading city where you will see exquisite palaces from the time of Raj. It is one of the key cultural city’s of India. Chennai once the city of Madras is the capital of Tami Nadu one of India’s larger cities. In the city of Chennai, you will discover remnants of the Tamil culture.
