Jantar Mantar Observatory in Jaipur

Picture of Jantar Mantar
Photo by: mckaysavage, Creative Commons

The Jantar Mantar is an observatory located in Jaipur City, state of Rajasthan, India.

The Jantar Mantar was built by Jai Singh II (emperor of the Amber dynasty) in between the years 1727 and 1734. There are a total of five Jantar Mantar observatories of the same style built by the emperor at different places. Among the five constructions, the Jantar Mantar observatory at Jaipur is considered as the biggest of the five. In the year 1948, the Jantar Mantar observatory was stated as the National Monument.

The name “Yantra” actual word Jantar means “an instrument” and “Mantra” means “principle”, the people of Rajasthan pronounce the word “Ya” in place of “Ja”.

The Jantar Mantar was built with marble, several stones and bronze sheets; the placement of these materials is very accurate. The Jantar Mantar observatory is also known as “time machine”. It contains 14 numerical devices which are used in time measurement, approaching eclipses, discovering new planets, present condition of the planets and predicting about the outer space altitudes.

Among the devices inside the Jantar Mantar, the biggest instrument is the “Samrat Jantar”, which is about 90 feet high and faced at 27 degree latitudes to Jaipur city. The Shadow of Samrat Mantar is plotted in such a way that the time can be calculated based on the instrument. The Samrat Yantra (sundial) is also the world’s biggest sundial which calculates the accurate time of Jaipur city every two seconds. In addition there is a small dome on the top of the Samrat Jantar which predicts the seasons and eclipses.

In the present days, the Jantar Mantar observatory is a great tourist spot, the people of this city still use the Jantar Mantar for the prediction of weathers. The Jantar Mantar is also filmed in many national and international films and has become a great spot for shooting films.

Traveling to Jantar Mantar observatory
The Jantar Mantar opens at 9:00am in the morning and closes 4:30pm in the evening.
Jaipur being the capital city of Rajasthan state and also second largest tourist spot in India is well connected with all the parts of the country. In addition there are several bus services from all the parts of Rajasthan state. People traveling there can choose their means of transport according to their interest.

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Jama Masjid in Delhi

Gloomy day at the Jama Masjid
Photo by: Saad.Akhtar, Creative Commons

The Jama Masjid is located in Delhi (the capital city of India). Jama Masjid is the biggest mosque in Asia. The construction of the Jama Masjid was ordered by the emperor Shah Jahan in the year 1656, which was also the year the Taj mahal was built (one of the seven wonders in the world). The Jama Masjid courtyard can occupy at least twenty five thousand people at a time. The unique feature of the Jama Masjid is the Quran which is written on Deer’s skin.

About 5,000 workers were involved in the construction of the Jama Masjid, taking about six years. The cost involved in the construction in those times was about 10 million rupees in today’s economy. In addition, several other mosques were built near Ajmer, Agra, Delhi and Lahore.

The mosque has seven domes each having a tower in the middle. In addition, there is a hall where prayers are offered, the length of the hall is about 61 meters, where there are 11 entrances to the prayer hall. The mosque has two huge minarets which are about 41 meters high, and there is 130 steps built with red stone and marble. In addition there are four minor minarets to the back side of the mosque.

There are several different ways to reach the mosque’s courtyard, which includes the north, south, and east directions containing steps which are built of crimson stone. There are 39 steps from the north gate,33 steps from the southern gate and 35 steps from the east gate which is the main entrance to the mosque. In the evening times, the steps of the mosque are converted into stalls, book stalls and eatable places. The western side of the mosque is converted into poultry where birds and meat are sold. In the southern part of the mosque books are sold.

Traveling
The Jama Masjid being located in the heart of the Delhi City. Delhi being the capital city of India is well equipped with all means of transport. People traveling there can choose their way of transport according to their interest.

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Hawa Mahal Palace in Jaipur

Hawa Mahal in gorgeous lighting
Photo by: The Wandering Angel, Creative Commons

The Hawa Mahal Palace is located in Jaipur city (capital of the Rajasthan state), India.

Maharaja Sawai Pratap Singh built the Hawa Mahal Palace in the year 1799; Lal Chand Usta designed the palace in the form of Lord Krishna’s Crown. The Hawa Mahal Palace is a part of the Royal Palace including the women’s chambers. The Hawa Mahal palace was built to examine the day-to-day life of the royal women.

The Hawa Mahal Palace (Palace of the Winds) consists of five floors, which is built of pink and crimson sandstone and white lime. The Hawa Mahal palace has 953 windows, which faces towards the street outside the palace. A huge amount of breeze circulates through these windows even in summer, due to this reason the name was kept as Hawa (breeze) Mahal. The palace was painted with ochre-pink, also known as color of generosity.

The Palace contains a double-floored building on all the three sides and another three floors in the eastern division of the palace. There no are no steps to reach the palace, the only way the palace can be reached is through the ramps.

In the present day, the Hawa Mahal has become a famous tourist spot and one of the spectacular sights in Jaipur. From the palace, the entire Jaipur city can be seen. The palace has become a great spot for the shooting of several Indian and international films.

Traveling to the Hawa Mahal:
Jaipur being the capital city of Rajasthan and the second largest tourist spot in India is well connected by all means of transport.

The nearby airport is the Indira Gandhi international Airport.

Frequent train services are available from the major cities in India. The nearby railway station is the Jaipur station.

In addition, the Rajasthan state government provides several bus services.

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Hampi Village

View of Hampi
Photo by: Vijjugadu, Creative Commons

Hampi is located in the state of Karnataka, India. Hampi was the capital to the Vijayanagar Dynasty during the medieval period. Hampi village is also a religious place, which has the historic Virupaksha Temple belonging to the 7th century. In addition Hampi has several Hindu Temples belonging to the ancient past. UNESCO listed some of Hampi’s monuments as the world heritage site.

Hampi is recognized as the Ramayana (Sanskrit epic), where Hampi was the empire of King Sugriva (belonging to Vanara dynasty). Hampi has the historical settlements since 1 C.E. Hampi is situated close to the Tungabhadra River bounded by the hills on all three sides.

Hampi is famous for its history and ancient architecture, Hampi displays a large number of Hindu idols statues, which were built on a single large stone. These statues are so big that one can still see it from a half kilometer distance. Most of the historical belongings are in ruins, a large number of structures are destroyed.

Hampi has several historical places, among them is the historical Virupaksha Temple. The Virupaksha temple was built in the 7th century, which is devoted to Lord Shiva. The temple is about 49 meters high. In addition there are Pampa and Bhuvaneshwari (Hindu Goddess) sub temples within the Virupaksha temple building.

In the present day, Hampi is a great tourist spot, which is visited by the people from all parts of India. The languages spoken at Hampi are Telugu and Kannada. Hampi is the greatest producer of Manganese and Iron ore. The Karnataka government organizes a festival every year in November known as “Vijayanagar Festival”, which conveys the traditions and life style of the Vijayanagar kings.

There are several sights seeing place in Hampi which are listed below.

* Akka Tangi Gudda

* Kamalapura Archaeological Museum

* Anegondi

* Tiruvengalanatha Temple

* The Underground temple

* Tungabhadra River

Traveling

Hampi can be reached by using the Bellary airport. Only Air Deccan airways operate its services from Bangalore (the capital city of Karnataka state).

The closest railway station to Hampi is the Hospet railway station which is 13 km away. In addition there are several train services available from Goa, Hyderabad (the capital city of Andhra Pradesh state, India), which costs about 700Rs, which is a reasonable price.

The Karnataka road transport operates frequent bus services from Bangalore, Mysore, Hospet and Gokarna cities.

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Golden Temple of Amritsar

View of the Golden Temple in India
Photo by: appaji, Creative Commons

The Golden Temple in India, which is often called the “Darbar Sahib or Harmandar Sahib” by the Indians, is one of the oldest places of worship for the ‘Sikhs’ and is located in Amritsar, Punjab. It is considered one of the holiest, blessed and sacrosanct places in India. It is a symbol of both beauty and peace. The temple is surrounded by a small man-made lake which has tons and tones of fishes in it. This lake is supposed to have holy water. The temple can be entered from four different sides and thus symbolizes openness, acceptance. This concept is based on the old tents which were open from all four sides, welcoming travelers from all directions.

The Golden Temple has three holy trees. There is also a small Sikh Museum near the Ghanta Ghar in Amritsar which is very rich in information, especially for the first time visitors. The entire top of the temple is made of pure gold and thus adds a lot of pride and beauty to the entire temple.

During the earlier days, this place was a huge lake surrounded by a thin line of forests. It is also said that Buddha journeyed to find out the real meaning of life spent some considerable time in this place. The first guru of the Sikh community called the Guru Nank also used to meditate in this peaceful place and years after he passed away, many of his disciples kept coming back to the site and then it finally became a sacred place. It was during the Fifth Guru, Arjana when the Temple was finally built 1604. It was Guru Arjan who installed the “Guru Granth Sahib” in the temple and appointed the first reader in August 1604. The temples architecture is that of both Hindu and Muslims. On many occasions, it was destroyed by a certain set of community and rebuilt by the Sikhs.

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