Travelogue

Myself , My wife and my son started our trip to Delhi on 19th Oct 06. We boarded an early morning flight at 6.00 AM to Delhi . We were all excited but at the same time worried about the climate , Dengue fever and also overcome with guilt for missing the Diwali celebrations at home. We had a smooth flight and were able to catch up on the sleep during the flight. We reached Delhi at around 9.00 AM. The climate was very cool , since it had rained on the previous day in Delhi. On arriving at the Airport , we immediately contacted the travel agents and came to know the Sight seeing bus had left its location. We decided to catch the bus at Qutub Minar , which was the first stop for the sight seeing tour.

Something about the Qutub Minar.
Qutub Minar is the most recognised landmark of Delhi. In 1199 AD, Qutbuddin erected the Qutub Minar either as a victory tower or as a minaret to the adjacent mosque. From a base of 14.32 mtrs. it tapers to 2.75 mtrs. at a height of 72.5 mtrs. Even today, it is the highest stone and one of the finest stone towers in India. Completed by the Sultan's successor and son-in-law, Iltutmish, Qutub MInar is the finest Islamic structures ever raised. The tomb of Iltutmish, which he himself built in 1235 AD, is located nearby.

There is also an iron pillar which is more than 1300 years old. It shows no signs of rusting and it is a metallurgical miracle. It is a proof that the people at those times were advanced in the craft of metallurgy.

Our next visit was a Rajasthani emporium having Handicrafts , sarees , rajais , and other materials. All of them had detailed embroideries and had typical bright Rajasthanis colours . We had a look at a Quilt weighing about 100 gms amd can be folded like a handkerchief. When spread out , it is having a size of a typical bedsheet with the width a little more. We did some purchasings there.

Our next stop was at the Lotus temple. It is also called the Bahai temple. It is surrounded by pools and Gardens. Lotus temple does not depict any faith or religion . People from all religions visit the temple. There is a big prayer hall in the middle . We spent some time inside sitting quietly . Absolute silence is expected inside. The volunteers greet us with one folded hand.
The greenery in the vast surrounding land of the temple is a good sight to watch and acts like a balm to our stressed urban souls.

We visited India gate next
Something about India gate
India Gate is a 42 mtrs high stone arch of triumph. It bears the name of the 85,000 Indian Army Soldiers who died in the campaigns of World War I. Below the arch is the memorial to the unknown soldier. India Gate is surrounded by green grass lawns and trees. The Aamir Khan starrer Rang De Basanti had one of its scenes shot on the green lawns.

Our next stop was at Teen Murti Bhavan . It was the residence of our first prime minister Pandit Jawahar lal Nehru. After his death , the house has been converted to a museum . It houses all the things used by Nehru and the gifts he received from all over the world during his travel as a prime minister. Going through the house which is huge and two storeyed is like taking a nostalgic trip back on the earlier days after India ‘s freedom..

We visited next Indira Gandhi ‘s residence , which is now a museum . It was nice to see all the photos of Indira Gandhi during her various life stages. Lot of photos of Rajiv Gandhi are also exhibited . Some of Rajiv Gandhi ‘s attires and shoes after he was assassinated by a suicide bomber are also displayed. My Wife became emotional and could not control her tears.

We saw the location at which Indiraji fell victim to the assasin’s bullet. The location is on the front walkway from her home.

We next visited Rashtrapati Bhavan and the parliament house. It was a drive through. We could alight and look at it from a far distance since the entire area comes under heavy security. The parliament house and the Rashtrapati Bhavan looks majestic from far.

Our next item on the itenary was Red fort. Something about Red fort.

Built in Red Sand stone between 1639 - 1648 AD, this imposing fort is 3 kms in perimeter with the height of the wall fluctuating from 18 to 30 m at places. In the evening the Delhi Tourism Department organises a light and sound show which narrates the history of Delhi in context of the Red Fort. We had no time for seeing the light and sound show.

We also saw the location at Redfort from where the Prime minister addresses the nation on Independence day.

Walking inside the Redfort , we saw lot of shops selling artifacts and other collector items . In the olden days it was called Meena Bazaar . Beatiful damsels from other countires used to come and set shop and sell things.

We saw Chandni Chowk from a distance . It is located opposite to Redfort. It is part of Old Delhi and you can find shops selling any items , that you can think of.

We next visited Rajghat which is along the banks of river Yamuna. Here the father of the nation was cremated, A simple square platform of black marble is the place where Gandhi was cremated. There is a flame which is continuosly burning all the 24 hours. We payed our respect to the father of the nation.



On 19th October 06 night , we had to travel to Varanasi by train. Varanasi is a good 700 kilometers away from Delhi. The train started late . We got delayed all along the way. We reached Varanasi at about 2.00 pm next day. We were supposed to reach at 8.45am in the morning. We immediately caught an auto and went into the city searching for a temporary accomadation. We were lucky to get a decent place . We also got a guide and gave him instructions that we have about 3 hours to complete looking at ghats and temples. We hired a motor boat to save time and started our journey on the Ganga . We went on the other side of Ganga the opposite banks facing the ghats. We had a dip in the holy Ganges. After that we continued our journey in the Motor boat and had a look at the various ghats .

We visited Kedar ghat where we alighted and visited Vereeshwara temple.

We once again cruised on the motor boat to another ghat where we visited Kashi Vishweshwara , Annapurna and Vishalakshi temple. We went through alleys and small roads to visit the temples. It is an altogether different experience walking through the alleys . The city is one of the oldest in the world. You can find lot of foreigners walking through and trying to savor the old city and its different charm .

At about 5.45 pm we reach the railway station in a hurry to catch the train to Agra which is supposed to start at 6.15 pm. We come to know at the station that the train is delayed by 3 hours. We were lucky to get some rest in the dormitory rooms available in the Varanasi railway station. We take a bath in the normal water and take some rest. We have our dinner in the restaurant of the railway station. We finally get into the train and the train chugs it ways to Agra at its own speed. We reach Agra the next day at about 2.00pm . ( 2.00 pm seems to be the god willed time for reaching destinations for us ) .

We take an auto and are lucky to get a decent room in one of the hotels. We take bath and then grab some food . We then hire a Taxi ( Indica car ) .

We go to Fatehpur Sikhri which is about 40 kilometers from Agra. Fatehpur is a huge palace with lot of open space thrown inside. We are marveled at the imposing architecture . The guide explains us all the history of the place. Akbar constructed this palace for his Hindu Queen Jodhabai. We saw the open air location from where Tansen used to give his concerts. We also saw the place where Akbar used to play dice with his queen . There is also a place specially constructed to play hide and seek.




We then move on to Sikhri which is just an half kilomete From Fatehpur. Here we have a look at the Bulund Darwaza one of the biggest in the world. Inside there is a Dargha of Salim Chisti from whose blessings , Jodhabai gave birth to Salim ( later called as Jehangir ). We also offered a chaddar in the Dargha.

Our next visit was to the great Taj mahal. It was around 6.00pm we reached Taj mahal and it had become a little dark. We hurriedly went inside to look at the Taj Mahal. It is one of the finest monuments in the world. It took about 22 years for its construction. It is an exquisite piece made out of marble. You feel like a dwarf in front of the imposing edifice of marble. It is one of the greatest monument of love.

We came back to the Hotel feeling we did not have enough of Taj mahal . We could not see it in the day time.

Next day ( 22nd October 06 ) morning at 6.00am we boarded the Intercity express and reached Delhi back at around 10.30 am. We checked into a hotel at Karol Bagh .

We visited Jantar Mantar an observatory

About Jantar mantar from a google search

At first sight, the Jantar Mantar appears like a gallery of modern art. It is, however, an observatory. Sawai Jia Singh II of Jaipur (1699-1743), a keen astronomer and a noble in the Mughal court, was dissatisfied by the errors of brass and metal astronomical instruments. Under patronage from the emperor, he set on himself the task of correcting the existing astronomical tables and updating the almanac with more reliable instruments. Delhi's Jantar Mantar is the first of the five observatories that he built with large masonary instruments. The observatory has the Samrat Yantra, a simple equal hour sun dial, the Ram yantra for reading altitudinal angles; Jai Prakash for ascertaining the position of the sun and other celestial bodies, and the Misra Yantra which is a combination of four scientific gadgets.
We visited Palika bazaar in the Connaught place . It is an underground shopping mall , fully airconditioned. We had our lunch in one of the restaurants in the Connaught place.

We finally traveled in the Delhi Metro to get a taste of the modern Delhi.

We came back to hotel after visiting Lakshmi Narayana temple built by Birla.
The idols are made of marble and well decorated.

After relaxing in the hotel for few hours , we then boarded Karnataka express at 9.15 pm in the night and reached Bangalore on 24th Oct 06 in the afternoon.

Thus our sojourn to Delhi , Varanasi and Agra ended.

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