Celebrate Cities' Tourism & Shopping

Yes, in the changed Bihar it is not glorification to say The Glorious Capital of Bihar. I placed my foot on the earth of  Bihar’s capital after 2 yrs. I observed tremendous change in city. Just Passing stations towards Patna were sign of great change. Have a look over them

Rajendra Nagar Terminal Station

Patna Saheb Railway Station

Night View of Patna Railway station

When I arrived in Patna,  it was 8PM. The look of city was very attractive. A sense of change could be felt every where …..

The city is full of archaeological, sculpture and great  heritage.

A View-Patna

Patna is the second largest city in Eastern India (in terms of population). It is also one of the oldest continuously inhabited places in the world. Ancient Patna, known as Pataliputra, was the capital of theMagadha Empire under the Haryanka, Nanda, Mauryan, Sunga, Gupta, Pala and. At that time India total area under the capital of Patna was more than modern India. The golden period of India was under the capital coverage of Patna. Hence, city has ancient archaeological heritage.

Kumahar-The Place of Mauryan and Great India Heritage

Maurya Dynasty

With the rise of the Mauryan empire, the place became the seat of power for the sub-continent. The emperor Chandragupta Maurya (a contemporary of Alexander) ruled a vast empire, stretching from the Bay of Bengal to Afghanistan. The early Mauryan city mostly consisted of wooden structures. Emperor Ashoka, the grandson of Chandragupta Maurya, transformed the wooden capital into a stone construction around 273 BCE.  Michael Wood, in The Story of India, describes this city as the greatest city on earth during its heyday.

Guru Gobind Singh (22 December 1666 – 7 October 1708), the tenth Guru of the Sikhs, was born as Gobind Rai in Patna to Teg Bahadur, the ninth Guru of the Sikhs, and his wife Gujri. His birthplace, Patna Sahib, is one of the most sacred pilgrimages for Sikhs.

Guru Gobind Birth Place

Harmandir Sahib

Gurudwara1

The City having incomparable Gurudwaras….

The most remarkable period during Mugal times was under Sher Shah Suri, who revived Patna in the middle of the 16th century. He built a fort and founded a town on the banks of the Ganga. Sher Shah’s fort in Patna does not survive, although the Sher Shah Suri Masjid mosque, built in Afghan architectural style, does.

Sher Shah Suri Mosque

During the 17th century, Patna became a centre of international trade. The British started with a factory in Patna in 1620

Golhar from House Boat

for trading in calicoand silk. People from Patna were involved in the Indian independence movement. Gadhi first movement for Independence started from announcement in Patna”Indigo Movement” in champaran.

Museum- Containing Independence Movement and History in itself

Gandi Museum-The whole life glimpse of Gandhi

Sahid Smarak

Most notable  independent movement were the Champaran movement against the Indigo plantation and the 1942 Quit India Movement. City tried to keep its heritage in best form.

Patna is located on the south bank of the Ganga River. Ganga is joined by four other rivers: Ghaghara, Gandak, Punpun and Sone. Patna is unique in having four large rivers in its vicinity. It is the largest riverine city in the world. The bridge over the river Ganga named Mahatma Gandhi Setu is 5575m long and is the longest river bridge in the India. One can enjoy house boating in open sky and calm infinite water here only.

Ganga collectorate Ghat

Mahatma Gandhi Setu

Ganga Arti really gives an  internal plesure.

Patna Ghat

Ganga Arati

River Ganga during sun set Mahendru Ghat

The city is great in communal harmony. Hanuman Mandir and Masque is jut some feet away from each other and both of these places having great gathering.

The city in modern India  is trying its best to keep up with development. It has turned to establish Taraghar, Library(Khuda Baksh Library-one of worlds’ oldest Library), Zoo..etc.

Tara Ghar

Khuda Baksh Library

Sanjay Gandhi Jabik Udhyan

When I was coming back from Patna, I was eager to see what is level of public discipline. And see yourself that could be observed the best at railway station:

Patna Railway Station

Oh! really I just want to praise the new mindset. Now, I am sure it will take a little time to conquer what we have lost.

Finally one question in my mind whether we will forget our heritage in modern pace. But, I find city is keeping itself in pace with modern education in growth under the excellent leadership which could be revealed from anywhere. Either its for higher education point or development of Infrastructures.

Nift-patna

IIT patna

City View from Golghar

At the same time cities is not forgetting its Heroes”Heroes of Nation”

Kargil Chok

Now I would like to say…..Just don’t forget to visit:

                         Patna- Once upon for a long time The Capital of India now Glorious Capital of Bihar

Now I think you will agree with me…..

So

  Welcome to Patna!!

Trimbakeshwar Temple

I had previleage to visit Nasik this week on a 5 days tour. This is city of temples. Vineyards are worth seeing. Trimbakeshwar Temple gives glimpse of salvation.

 Godavari river originates in this place, its a place of Tri-Sandhya Gayatri, the birth place of Lord Ganesha, a place of the first Nath of Nath Sampradaya consisting of Gorakhnath and others, a place where Nivrittinath was made to imbibe the holy knowledge by his Guru Gahininath, a place where Nivrittinath made his brothers and sister attain the self by his preaching. This is the holiest place to perform Shraddha ceremony.

Shree KalaRam Mandir

Nirnaya Sindhu – a religious book of Hindus, mentions that this place, where Sahyadri mountain and Godavari river exist is very purifying on the whole earth and is therefore very important for performing Shraddha ceremony.

Hindu religion says that Lord Rama, the King of Ayodhya, made Nashik his home during his 14 years in exile. At the same place Lord Laxman, by the blessing of Lord Rama, cut off the nose of Surpanakha and thus this place was named as “Nasik”(From Sanskrit word ‘Nasika’). Several other references to the Ramayan era can be found in Nashik, which includes the Sita Gumpha caves, from where Sita, Lord Rama’s wife, was abducted by Ravana.

One of the most popular and famous event is Maha Kumbh mela which is celebrated every twelve years.Last The last Kumbh Mela was organised in the year 2003 and the next Kumbh Mela is to be held in Nasik in the year 2015.

Shirdi is just 120Km from Nasik which  is best known as the late 19th century home of the popular guru Shirdi Sai Baba. 

BOSCH and Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) such as VIP, Samsonite, CEAT etc. have their plants here and have spawned a huge network of auto component suppliers and engineering ancillary services. It is also a pharmaceutical hub with presence GlaxoSmithKline and Fem. In recent years, Nasik has also carved a niche for itself as India’s “Napa Valley” and locally established wine brands such as “Sula” and “Zampa” have attained international acclaim.

Modern efforts are on to promote the growth of an export-oriented rose farming and wine industry in the district. It is home to an important thermal power plant (Eklahare) and a National Treasury Printing Press (India Security Press at Nashik Road). There are five “Industrial Zones” in the Nashik area and its outskirts (Satpur, Ambad, Sinnar, Igatpuri and Dindori). Nashik has a number of sugar mills. It is also chief exporter of white onions and pomegranates.

After Visting this place I can say any one who loves either ancient sculpture or modern life full of nature presence should visit Nasik.

Kolkata or Calcutta is the capital of Indian states of West Bengal.  Kolkata has long been known for its literary, artistic and revolutionary heritage. As the former capital of India, Kolkata was the birthplace of modern Indian literary and artistic thought. Kolkatans tend to have a special appreciation for art and literature; its tradition of welcoming new talent has made it a City of Furious Creative Energy. For these reasons, Kolkata has often been dubbed as the Cultural Capital of India.

Kolkata has many buildings adorned with Gothic, Baroque, Roman, Oriental and Indo-Islamic (including Mughal) motifs. Several major buildings of the Colonial period are well maintained and have been declared “heritage structures”, while others are in various stages of decay.

Varanasi or Banaras or Benaras or Kashi is the oldest living city in the world in the Indian States of Uttar Pradesh. In the words of celebrated American author Mark Twain, “Benaras is older than history, older than tradition, older even than legend and looks twice as old as all of them put together”. Varanasi is closely associated with origin of Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism. It’s contribution to human evolution & culture remains unparalleled in the history of human civilization across the globe.

Chennai or Madras or Madarasapatinam is the capital city of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Madras – a quiet civilized, elegant and cultured city in the southern part of India. It is the city which has attained the perfect balance between the West and the East. If we scratch the surface, and we will see another face of Madras – a more complete and wholesome picture of this culturally rich city. At present anybody wishing to spend an evening out, can choose between theatre, both Tamil and English, dance recitals or musical concerts.

 Chennai is an important centre for Carnatic music and hosts a large cultural event, the annual Madras Music Season, which includes performances by hundreds of artists. The city has a vibrant theatre scene and is an important centre for the Bharata Natyam, a classical dance form. The Tamil film industry, currently the second largest film industry in India, is based in Chennai

In this contest, which city should be considered as cultural Capital of India-Kolkata, Banarasi or Chennai?

When I was in Patna, it was became difficult to decide where to go first out of three golden points just 15 KM from one other. These three points are Nalanda, Rajgir and Pavapuri. As we choose to visit these places by road so, final decision was Patna-Pavapuri-Nalanda and then night stay at Rajgir and next day visit of Rajgir and in evening final move to Bodhgaya. From Bodhgaya we planned to come back to Delhi.

In this way visit of “ The Golden Triangle of Indian Ruler- Nalanda, Rajgir and Pavapuri” along with Patna and Bodhgaya completed.

From Patna we started for Pavapuri. The road condition was quite good and it taken just 3 Hrs to reach Pavapuri.

Jain Mandir

Samosharan

Jalmandir

 

Nalanda University

The three phase of university –first, one of growth, development and fruition from the sixth century to the ninth, when it was dominated by the liberal cultural traditions inherited from the Gupta age; the second, one of gradual decline and final dissolution from the ninth century to the thirteen–a period when the tantric developments of Buddhism became most pronounced in eastern India in sacked by the Islamic fanatic Bakhtiyar Khilji.

rajgirVulturepeak

VenuviharVenuvihar- A place of spituaility

Tapodarama

ropeway

The added attraction of Rajgir is the Ropeway which takes you uphill to the Shanti Stupa

Shanti Stupa

and Monasteries built by the Japanese Devotees on top of the Ratnagiri hills.