Just About Everything

The Taj Mahal, India There is really no introduction required for one of the most beautiful man made creations in the world. But here goes - The Taj Mahal was built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in the memory of his wife Mumtaz Mahal. The construction of Taj Mehal began in 1632, one year after Mumtaz Mahal's death.The mausoleum was completed in 1648. The beautiful monument was designed by Ustad Ahmad Lahauri. The Taj Mahal is located in Agra in the state of Uttar Pradesh (UP) Inida. The best time to visit Taj Mahal is during winters. Summers are too hot and because it is always crowded, it certainly helps if the weather is conducive. You wouldn't want to miss any part of this beautiful monument.It is indeed worth spending hours and hours at The Taj Mahal. I believe The Taj Mahal looks absolutely out of the world on a full moon night. If possible, book yourself for a visit to The Taj Mahal on a full moon night. This is one beautiful monument and the experience is unforgettable! I...

Fatehpur Sikri entrance Our next stop was Fatehpur Sikri (the city of victory). Fatehpur Sikri is one of the world heritage sites. It is around 39 kms from Agra. Yet another marvel of Mughal Architechture, it was constructed by Akbar in the beginning of 1570 in honour of the great renouned Sufi Saint Shaikh Salim Chisti. The buildings at Fatehpur Sikri reflect both Islamic and Hindu elements. When Saint Salim Chisti died, he was buried in the sikri. The tomb now stands in the middle of the courtyard of the Jama Mosque in the Fatehpur Sikri complex. The extensive jaali work on the exterior and interior is beautiful. This world heritage site is a must visit. Make sure you have at least 3-4 hours, if not more, to see the entire complex. You can hire a car for this trip but for the last lap of your journey, you may have to take a local auto. Check out Wikipedia for more on this beautiful heritage site. Courtyard in the Sikri Complex Tomb of Shaikh Salim Chishti

Last year when we did Rathambore, Tonk and Amritsar, we managed to find time for a short trip to see Akbar's tomb in Sikandra, The Taj Mahal, and Fatehpur Sikri. Sikandra falls enroute to Taj Mahal. we stopped over at Sikandra where lies the Tomb of Akbar the Great . I was awe struck at how beautiful it is. It was built in 1605-1613. Akbar started building it. He selected the site for his Tomb. After his death the structure was completed by his son Jahangir. Located in Sikandra in Uttar Pradesh, this monument is a must see. If you are going to see the Taj Mahal, Sikandra will fall on your way.Keep an hour or two to see this amazing architechtural marvel.This beautiful structure has intricate work on the walls and ceilings. The caligraphy over the entrance to the true tomb of Akbar is absolutely amazing. Intricate work on the walls of the Monument. View of inside the tomb. Caligraphy over the entrance to the true tomb of Akbar

Mangalajodi is not one of the most visited places in Orissa. In fact not many people know about it! It really is a small village situated along the banks of Chilka lake. It is a paradise for bird lovers. If yo u enjoy being close to nature, this is a nice getaway. We went to Mangalajodi for a weekend trip from Kolkata. Sharing some pictures from that trip. These are random pictures of migratory birds in Mangalajodi, Orissa, India. Migratory Birds Mangalajodi Mangalajodi Orissa Sunset at Mangalajodi The above picture is quite unusual, A crow trying to feast on a snake!

In this post, I continue with my earlier post on Tonk. Here is where we went to after Tonk.We reached New Delhi in the morning, rested through the day and got ready for another trip. We set off the same day. An overnight train from New Delhi and we reach Amritsar (Punjab) in the morning. In the train we found out that there a bandh was declared in Amritsar the next day. We were very disappointed but we kept hoping that it will turn out to be a normal day. It did not begin very normally though :( The train stopped at "Beas", which is one stop before Amritsar. We were told that the train would not go any further before 12 PM; agitators had blocked the railway lines. We quickly contacted our car driver who was supposed to pick us up from Amritsar station, and arranged for him to pick us up from Beas instead. We quite enjoyed the drive from Beas to Amritsar. It was nice and cool and the roads were good. We reached Amritsar within 45 mins. Thankfully, Amritsar did not look complet...

I am sharing the tiger video taken at Ranthambore National Park, Rajasthan, India. You can check out Ranthambore trip details in my earlier blog entry. I have uploaded this tiger video at YouTube too. I am embedding the link here. For some reason I could not upload the video directly from my blog.

Our next destination was Tonk . Visiting Tonk was an impromptu decision, 'cause we had some time in hand after the day two's morning safari, our train was at 9.30 that night, we had the whole day at our disposal. Tonk is around 86 kms from Ranthambore and 96 kms from Jaipur.We figured that it would take us around 1and a half to 2 hrs to reach Tonk, we could tour the town form 3-4 hours and still be able to catch our train at night. We hired a car, packed up and checked out from the hotel. Tonk may not be the most popular tourist destination. It is dusty, crowded, but it is culturally and architecturally very rich. The magnificent mansions date back to the Mughal era. I had heard of Tonk before, but only in the passing I never guessed that this little town could house such beautiful gems. No wonder its is known as the "Lucknow of Rajasthan". Tonk was an absolute delight. Some of the monuments we saw were Jama Masjid, Sunheri Kothi, Tonk library, Arabic and Persian Inst...