Jaipur: The Pink City

Hello everyone,

Today, I will tell you about my visit to the pink city of India, Jaipur. I visited Jaipur on 16th June 2012. Entering Jaipur I visited the Jaigarh Quilla which was built by Sawai Jai Singh III. The fort was named after king Jaisingh as Jaigarh quilla. This palace was built to protect already existing palace of Amber known as Amber palace.

Amber Palace

The palace of Jaigarh was a real masterpiece and an example of art and culture that prevailed in those times in royal families. One thing that I noted there at the palace was still prevailing dominance of the present king of Jaipur i.e. Sawai Padmanabh Singh. Till now the fort of Jaigarh hosts the flag of the royal family and not the national flag, as you can see in the picture below.

Flag of the royal family

The water needs of the fort were fulfilled by rain water harvesting. The water collected in the huge tanks of fort could be used by 10000 people for 2 years, such a big capacity.

Water was actually collected through the huge canal type structures that were built inside the fort and then they traveled the whole distance thus moving through some narrow paths and thus cleaning of water takes place. After that it is stored in a temporary tank for some time so that water is cleared by sedimentation, than again it is traveled through a narrow sloppy path to the collector tank that is used to store the water for drinking purpose.

A canal type structure of the fort to collect rain water

Water is again traveled through this narrow path to the tank and thus pure
drinking water is collected in the tank

After this the next interesting thing in the fort was the Jaivana Cannon. It is known to be the largest cannon of the world. It is known that it was fired once only and was never used any of the battles. When it was fired it used a 50 kilograms ball and was fired 35 km away from the spot. The explosion was so fierce that it almost deaf-ed the people who fired the cannon. The cannon weighed 2.5 tonnes completely and has a very good carving of tress, an elephant scroll and a pair of birds (ducks).

Jaivana cannon in Jaigarh

Then came the Subhat Niwas of the fort. It was the assembly hall for the warriors. The hall shown below is the main courtroom of the fort. Below where a bedding is placed was the place for the King to sit in the room and behind the window was the place for the queen to sit.

Subhat Niwas courtroom

After subhat niwas there were different rooms for the courtiers and king where they completed their daily chores.

Food room for the king and his courtiers

Royal kitchen of the fort

Then came the place where the armory of the fort was built. The thing that I liked the most was the  preparation room of cannon. It consisted of a outer covering of the cannon in which iron and other materials are filled in liquid form and then they are dried to make the metal which is shaped in the form of cannon, and thus the cannons are prepared.

The cannon room

After the palace I visited the famous place of Jaipur which is known as Chowk Ki Dhani. It is the one and only place there which shows the complete culture of Rajasthan. Everything present there depicts the typical Rajasthani culture, even the dresses of people there are in Rajasthani form as is shown below.

Rajasthani dress 

There are various small-small museum that depicts the culture and tradition of Rajasthan. Various types of utensils and other cultural things were displayed in these museums which were used by people to prepare food and other kind of things there.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Different types of utensils, big pots and patilaas are shown in these pictures. These are used in villages of Rajasthan even today to prepare food.

There were also the models of typical houses that are present in Rajasthan areas other than the desert area. The picture below shows one such house.

A Rajasthani House

Then came the houses of Thar desert of Rajasthan. You can notice a big difference between the houses of normal area of Rajasthan and the desert area. The houses of desert area are built in such a way such that they are fully ventilated and one can easily exist in the hot temperatures and worst atmosphere of the desert.

A house of desert area

Then it was some time for a Rajasthani dance performance. Chowk Ki Dhani gave me a privilege to see and examine a traditional folk dance of Rajasthan. The dance was actually a masterpiece of art and culture prevailing there. You can yourself have a look at the dance in the video below.

After this I did a camel ride there. It was truly a new experience for me sitting on a camel. Now it was time for food. The food was completely prepared and served in the Rajasthani style. It was served in Rajasthani Thalis and had a large variety of dishes such as daal mot, kadi, damaloo, Maalpua etc. It was served in exactly Rajasthani style and was very tasty. Truly I became the fan of Rajasthani food. 

That's all for the day. Now in my next post I will tell you more about my visit to Jaipur.

Thank You

Haridwar - A Holy City

Hello friends,

Today I will tell you about my visits to Haridwar, which is also known as the holy city on earth. I visited Haridwar on 25th of May. The city almost completely astonished me of its religiousness. There were so many pilgrims to the place that is was useless to count them and they appeared just like a very big mass of population at the holy city.

When one is surrounded by the natural beauties of Haridwar with its religious atmosphere, one find himself a loof form the world and its temporal life. Under that peaceful atmosphere, he approaches God and surrenders him for confession to get salvation. The purification of sinful men and women form the holy water of Ganges. When a person reaches the feet of Haridwar, he is purified with holy waters which wash the wretched and the rascals. Roughs and rowdys forget their disturbing activities on the pious land of Haridwar. 

Here at Haridwar, the mighty Ganga hurries down from the hills to the luxurient ridges of the Himalayas. The Ganga is worshiped as the "holy mother" and believed to be the cleanser of all sins. From early morn to late at night, hundreds of pilgrims take the holy dip, worship the sacred Ganga and perform puja.

When you enter the Haridwar city, you will find that Haridwar is out of bound for the drunkards, intoxicants and gamblers. Meat and fish eating is not allowed within the linit of Haridwar city which is strictly a prohibited area in which addition to opium, bhang, charas, hobnobbing, symposium and other in toxications are prohibited. With these, restrictions, the city has its own beauty of peaceful and religious atmosphere. 

I started my day by visiting the temple of Chandi Devi. The temple can be visited both by walking and by ropeway, as I wanted to experience the ropeway so I chose to travel by ropeway.

Travel by ropeway to Chandi maata Temple

On the vertex of the Leel Parbat, a beautiful temple in the name of Goddess Chandi has been built facing towards the city and beyond 6 km. off the city. This temple is on the other side of the Ganges. It is essential for pilgrims, and tourists to carry drinking water with them for there is no drinkingwater available on the top of the hill. A round to Chandi Devi Temple is preffered only before noon. Again photography was prohibited inside the temple so, I just took the photographs from outside the temple.

Chandi Devi Temple

Near Chandi Devi Temple, there is another temple of Anjani Devi built. Several people worship Anajani Devi and their sins are washed off after having worshiped her. Anjani Devi is one of the forms of other prominent Devis, who fulfills the desires of true and sacred souls. This is the specialty of the Anjani Devi temple which is the temple for the fulfillment of your desires and for the emancipation from sins of the human beings. This temple is worth visiting for worshiping and deriving spiritual benefit from Anjani Devi.

Then comes the famous Bharat Mata Mandir of the area. On the ground floor a beautiful statue of Bharatg Mata is visiable. Sant temple is on first floor, In which the statue of Lord Buddha, Mahavir, Guru Nanak, Kabir, Tulsi, Meera and Shankra Acharia are visiable. 

Bharat Mata Mandir in Haridwar where at each storey, idols of Gods and Goddesses in India
are placed, It also has the statues of freedom fighters of India placed in it.

On the second floor Shoor Temple is also visiable, in which the statue of Maha Rana Pratap, Shivaji, Guru Govind Singh, Chander Shekhar Azad, etc are visiable. Third floor is Sati Temple, in which statue of Seeta, Savitri and Laxmi Bai are visiable. Next is Shakti Temple on fourth floor in which Nav Durga, Jagdamba and Meenakshi statue, are visiable. Fifth floor is Vishnu Temple, in which the statue of Radha Krishna, Seeta Ram, Laxmi Narayan and Badri Nath are visiable. Last is the Shiv Temple, in which Natraj, Ardhanreshwar and Uma Mahesh are very beautiful and attractive. Everybody can go to the top of temple by a lift. Again photography was restricted inside the temple so outside photos were only available.

Then came the famous Maata Lal mandir of Haridwar. The Mandir is famous for its architecture and the bountifulness of the idols visiable here.

Maata Lal Devi Mandir

 The Temple is actually a fine piece of artistic and a very peaceful place to visit fro any pilgrim. The temple actually is a model to some of the holy places of Hindus like Vaishno Devi, Amarnath, badrinath etc. These places are modeled in the same way as they are in reality. The gufa part of the temple is actually very interesting and is built in the same way as the original places are built. For a pilgrim it is actually a place where he can get the peace of mind.

After this I went to Pawandham Temple. It is also a very famous temple and is just 3 Km away from Har-Ki-Pauri. It is the main attraction of pilgrims, tourists and visitors, on account of its marble idols of several Gods and Goddesses.

Lord Hanumana idol

Lord Ganesha idol

Shiv ling at Pawandham Temple

Above are the photos of some of the idols present at the Pawandham Temple.

After this I went to Har-ki-Pauri. The main ghat in haridwar where the major aarti take place every dawn. 

Har-ki-Pauri

Besides Har-ki-Pauri Brahmakund is situated. It is said that this is the holy place from where the celestial waters flow into the Ganges. It is general recognised strong belief of all hindus that a dip in this brahma kund is a salvation from all sins and a freedom from the bondage of the world.

Both Brahma Kund and Har-ki-Pauri are surrounded by many temples of Gods and Goddesses. At dawn there was the holy aarti of Ganga.

A priest performing the puja of Ganga before aarti

The major differences in the aarti performed at Rishikesh and Haridwar which I fouynd were that in Rishikesh the aarti is performed after a sacred hawan is done to dip all the sins of devotees in the pure water of Ganga, and in Rishikesh the aarti is done after puja in Vishnu Temple.

In Rishikesh the hawan is daily carried out by three children of the holy family performing the aarti and no such tasks are performed at Haridwar. Moreover at Haridwar a very large number of devotees perform aarti as compared to devotees at Rishikesh.

The main temple of Lord Vishnu at which puja is done before aarti and then the aarti begins

The most religious place that I felt during the trip was Gangotri and Haridwar. Truly they were the most peaceful place for any pilgrim.
That's all for the trip to Uttarkhand. After this day the trip to Uttarakhand ends. I hope you enjoyed my experiences.

Thank You

Rishikesh - The abode of saint and sages

Hello friends,

Today I will tell you about my further visits in Rishikesh after the first day of my visit in Uttarakhand that I told in my second post. I re-entered Rishikesh on 24th of May after visiting Dehradun as I wrote in my previous post.

The most interesting and the exciting thing to do in Rishikesh was the river rafting. That was a thing which was a completely new experience for me. Here the river rafting is counted as the most adventurous thing. The boat is rafted from 18 Km away from Rishikesh i.e from Shivpuri to Laxman Jhula here. Here the boat is not only rafted by the guide present in the boat but by the passengers travelling in the raft.

River rafting at Rishikesh in Ganga river

The guide actually taught us how to raft in Ganga, how to cross the rapids that come in the way and what should be the strategy of a rafter during any miss-happening that occurs.

The people are completely protected by life jackets and helmets so as to avoid
any kind of accident that occurs during rafting.

It was actually a whole set of new experience for me. Moreover as it was an 18 Km rafting so was a very much adventurous and tiring experience, rafting a boat against the mighty waves of Ganga.

It is the main attraction of Rishikesh for the people who come here for the point of tourism. 

A place in Ganga where the rafters are allowed to freely jump in Ganga to
actually overcome the fear of water.

After this I explored some facts about Rishikesh. I came to know that it is a residential Headquarter of saints and sages. The Himalayas has been spread around this town. It is said when Raibhya Rishi did hard penances, God appeared by the name of "Hrishikesh" and this area was henceforth called by the name. Situated on the right bank of river Ganga, Rishikesh has additional significance being the base for commencing journey to the Himalayan shrines of Yamunotri, Gangotri, Kedarnath and Badrinath. The yoga centers of Rishikesh have enhanced the significance of the place, home tourists form all over the world visit this place to have lessons in yoga and meditation.

After this I visited the Laxman Jhula. It is the most artistic bridge hanging across the ganga river which is 3 Km off from Rishikesh. 

The famous Laxman Jhula at the Ganga river

This is a narrow hanging bridge on which only pedestrians mules and ponies are allowed to cross the bridge. It is said that at this place Shri Laxman performed Tapa. According to history the Laxman Jhula was built with jute ropes untill 1889, and then it was rebuilt with iron ropes.

On the side of this famous bridge there is a well-known temple of Shree
Ragunathji, i.e Shri Ram, who is said to have visited this beautiful place.

The newly constructed thirteen storeys temple is also a main attraction in Laxman Jhoola in which a large number of statues of Gods and Goddesses are visible on every storey.

But here also photography was restricted inside the temple so, could not take the photographs of Gods and Goddesses inside the temple.

The thirteen storeys temple

The artistic construction of this noteworthy and praiseworthy hanging bridge is the commendable works of expert engineers who can never be forgotten so long as this bridge remains in the world. This Laxman Jhoola was the main way for the people going to Gita Bhawan and Swarg ashram by turning to the right untill Ram Jhoola was built

Well I traveled about 1 Km to reach Ram Jhoola which was another noteworthy hanging bridge built by the modern technology, this has shorten the way of people going to Gita Bhawan in Rishikesh. It looks like the same Jhoola as Laxman Jhoola but the only difference that I noted was that it looks a bit more strong and larger than the Laxman Jhoola.  

Ram Jhoola in Rishikesh

Besides Ram Jhoola stands the famous Laxmi Narayan temple. The temple is a masterpiece of art and culture and depicts the aastha of people on God here. More than 90% people who visit Rishikesh are known to visit this temple as the atmosphere here is so religious that one cannot stop himself from stopping by the temple.

Laxmi Narayan Temple

Then comes the famous Gita Bhawan. In this Bhawan Chapters of the Gita and Ramayan have been described on its walls.

A pilgrim certainly feels if he is in the heaven because of the pleasureful atmosphere of the area.

Gita Bhawan is managed by a body of trustee, who have been affiliated to the famous Gita Press of Gorakhpur. The mission of this trust has been serving the Hindu society with full realization of moral and spiritual values of human life.

Gita Bhawan in Rishikesh

Statue of Lord Shiva at Gita Bhawan, just feels like Shiva is seeing everyoine
with his eyes, and showering his blessings.

After that I went to see the aarti of Ganga that is done in Rishikesh, at Parmarth Niketan, the famous place in Rishikesh for Ganga aarti. The aarti was so much pleasure giving that I could not stop myself from sitting there from start till end.

This is the video of aarti which is done at Rishikesh Ghat. Here first Hawan is done and then the aarti of Ganga river is done. The aarti is done in avery systematic way here.  

The aarti is done every dawn at 7 pm. This ghat is also visited by many celebrities and not only by common people. Aarti is preceded daily by a hawan that is performed for the peace of all the sins of the people that are present in the hawan. 

That's all for the day. Now in my next post I will tell you about my experiences in Haridwar.

Thank You

                                                                                                                                        

Mussourie And Dehradun - Perfect place for peace

Hello friends,

Today I will tell you about my visits to other places in Mussourie and Dehradun. I visited these places on 23rd of May.

Mussourie is situated at a height of 2005 m from the sea-level and is located beautifully amidst dense forests of bamboo and deodaar. The enchanting scenario in its south, Saharanpur and Haridwar, the Gateway of Uttarakhand provides pleasure beyond description. In the north-east the snow-clad mountain peaks make one completely lost in the lap of mother nature. Administratively Mussourie falls in the Garhwal division of district Dehradun.

First I visited the famous fall of the area which is known as Kempty Fall. It is a famous tourist resort of Mussourie. According to statistics more than 90% of the people visiting Mussourie visit this spot. The place falls in the Jaunpur Development Block of Tehri District and is 14 Km away from Mussourie. The fall derives its name from the proximity to the village Kempty. There is a motorable road right upto the falls.  

The famous Kempty fall at Mussourie. The water was sizzling cold at the falls.

Next famous spot in Mussourie is The Municipal Garden which was previously known as the Company Park. There is also an IAS academy 2Km away from the municipal garden.

The municipal garden is situated in the midst of bamboo and deodar trees in the west, only 4 Km away from the city hubbub. To spend a few moments in the midst of the cluster of shrubs and creepers was really heartening. There is also a children's amusement park, an artificial pond for boating and ample opportunity for photography as the place has a variety of beautiful flowers. Taxis, horses and rikhshaws are available to reach here.

A small fountain at Municipal Garden

A perfect match of beauty at the company park

After this I started from Mussourie towards Dehradun. Travelling about 3/4 of the way I spotted a temple of Prakasheshwar Mahadev. The temple was actually a fine example of art and culture.

The temple of Prakheshwar Mahadev on Dehradun-Mussourie road

The temple is actually situated five Kilometers from Dehradun City. The uniqueness of this temple is the naturally formed Shiv linga and the drops of water making way through the rock spaces and falling exactly on the Shiv linga.

Above is the picture of water falling on shiv ling and below are the naturally formed shiv lings known as sphatic shiv lings. It is a kind of material that is formed when the ice is frozen for lakhs of years. Then the shiv ling is formed.

As it was a private temple so one thing that I liked here was that no kind of donation was allowed. It was infact strictly prohibited and was written everywhere not to give any king=d of donation in the temple or to any of the members in the temple.

A picture of no donation appeal at Prakasheshwar Mahadev Temple

After this I went to Dehradun. The famous spot at Dehradun is the Sahasra Dhara (A Thousand streams). It is separated from Dehradun by 14 Km and is approachable by buses or private vehicles. The natural beauty and the Sulphur water springs of this place have made it the first choice for those touring Dehradun. Sulphur water is well known for curing skin diseases, so most of the people come here to take a bath in the sulphur water of the dhara.

The sahasra Dhara in Dehradun

That's all for the day. In my next post I will tell you about places I visited in Rishikesh.

Thank You

Scenic Beauty At Dhanaulti and Mussourie

Hello friends,

Today I will tell you about my visits at Dhanaulti and Mussourie. I visited Dhanaulti on 22nd of May. The day begins with the visit to temple of Surkanda Maata which is present at 8 Km further down Dhanaulti.

Although, the climb is tiring up the hill (1.5 Km) but the eye pleasing sights all around more than repay the effort. The temple of Sureshwari Devi is situated at 10000 ft. The site is known as one of the Sidh Peeths. The old practice of sacrificial ceremony is now stopped for quite some time now as was told by the temple priests. Local people and tourists mingle together to perform Puja at this sacred spot.

The photo is of the temple of Maata Surkanda Devi. Photography was not
allowed inside the temple so I could not take the photographs of the idol of
maata.

After that I visited Dhanaulti. Dhanaulti is known as a famous satellite town of Mussourie. The area is full of thick bamboo and deodaar trees. It gives a spectacular view of Himalyan range and also the enchanting Doon valley. The peaceful atmosphere of the area also serves as soothing balm to the tired body and a heavy heart.

The most famous site to visit in Dhanaulti is the Eco park. There are two Eco parks in Dhanaulti,  Amber and Dhara. I visited Amber. The Eco park is full of thick vegetation and full of artificial plant management. It is spread in an area of 15 hectares. It has a lot of amusing things for kids and a lot of exploration for me.

Amber Eco park at Dhanaulti. The park is a perfect place for amusement

and exploration of new things.

The park consists of a large variety of fauna. It consists a huge amount of herbal medicines which are also exported to several places from there. Below picture shows the herbal plant that was planted there.

At Dhanaulti Eco park, plants were not only planted by the authorities of the park, but they ere also planted by the tourists and the local people living there. The main aim of the Eco park is to maintain  the Eco-System so that the problems that are arising due to the global warming are reduced and our future can be made secure. So, with this aim many people contribute to the Eco park.

The picture shows the plants that are planted by different people in the Eco

park. The plants are daily watered and taken care of by the authorities of

the park.

The park was not only the place of exploration but a place for amusement of the kids. The picture below shoes the same purpose. There were not only these swings but rock climbing, river crossing, valley crossing and many other activities. As I did all of them in the trip at Jim Corbett National park this year so it was not a new experience for me.

An amusement swing at Dhanaulti Eco park

After this I visited Mussourie. Mussourie is known as the queen of hills. It has an unmatched natural beauty. Its botanical treasures, wildlife, waterfalls, high and low hills, its zigzag roads, the sprawling sights and the colourful buildings through the thick tree line, spread over an area of 64 sq. km. virtually realize the fairy land on the earth.
In Mussourie to house the tourists there are 84 hotels, ten department Holiday homes, six dharamshalas and well connected with different parts of the country.
As it was already dawn so I was left to visit two places there. One was St. Pauls Church and another was the Lal Tibba (the highest point of Mussourie). 

Exteroior of St. Pauls Church. The church is a masterpiece of art and culture

that prevails in Mussourie. It has a deodar wood ceiling and sal wood support

beams rather than the metal ones as is there in other churches. So, it is famous

church of the area. 

After this I went to the Lal Tibba in Landour, a place in Mussourie, which is also known to be the highest point of Mussourie at a height of 2286 meters. It is also known as the perfect sunset point view of Mussourie. The picture below shows a perfect sunset that was taken from Lal Tibba.

Sunset View from Lal Tibba

Lal Tibba is not only known for the sunset view that it provides, but for the scenic view of Mussourie that it provides. From Lal Tibba one can see the Nanda Devi and other high peaks from a telescope that is placed at the premises. The view of Dehradun can also be seen  from here.

Lal Tibba in Landour, Mussourie, the place is highly

popular between the tourists for sightseeing.

Thats all for the day. In my next post I will tell you about more sights of Mussourie that I visited.

Thank You