Jaipur: the Pink City
Jaipur: the Pink City
The 'Pink City' and the capital of Rajasthan, Jaipur, was founded by Mirza Raja Sawai Jai Singh II on November 18, 1727.
One of the first planned cities of India, with straight roads, drainage and water supply systems - built on the principles of Shilpa Sastra, the treatise on Indian architecture.
Jaipur has a number of forts of which Amber or Amer is the oldest as the ruler built it first but due to water shortage on top of the hill he started the construction of Jaipur.
In 1853, the whole city was painted pink to honour the visit of the Prince of Wales and older parts of the city still today remain pink.
Goa: the multicultural state
The Portuguese ruled India's smallest state, Goa, for 450 years till 1961. The socio-cultural impact of that rule is still evident in every nook and corner of Goa.
These images show some of the best churches in India - the Bom Jesus Basicila that hold the remains of the St. Francis Xavier, the Se Cathedral dedicated to St. Catherine of Alexandria with one of the biggest bells in the world - the Golden Bell, the recently restored Church of St.Francis of Assissi originally built in 1517, and the St.Cajetan Church.
The Islamic presence is reflected in the tank adjoining the Safa Masjid built by Ibrahim Adil Shah of Bijapur in 1560 and the Fort Aguada built by the Portuguese between 1609 -1612 to command the waters and protect Old Goa from enemy attacks.
The Fort was named Aguada (meaning water) as it provided water supply to the ships harbouring here.
Mandu: romance in stone
Originally the fort capital of the Rajput Parmara rulers of Malwa built by Raja Bhoja in the 11th century, Mandu passed on from the Taranga dynasty to the Khiljis in the early 14th century.
Sprawled over nearly 15 kms, Mandu or Mandav is built on an elevation of 2, 079 feet on the central Indian plateau overlooking the Narmada river.
Apart from its immense historical importance Mandu is more popularly associated with the romance between its last ruler Baz Bahadur (1555 - 1562) and the Rajput singer Roopmati. With every step you take in this scenic region this love wafts past you.
Mandu: romance in stone
Originally the fort capital of the Rajput Parmara rulers of Malwa built by Raja Bhoja in the 11th century, Mandu passed on from the Taranga dynasty to the Khiljis in the early 14th century.
Sprawled over nearly 15 kms, Mandu or Mandav is built on an elevation of 2, 079 feet on the central Indian plateau overlooking the Narmada river.
Apart from its immense historical importance Mandu is more popularly associated with the romance between its last ruler Baz Bahadur (1555 - 1562) and the Rajput singer Roopmati. With every step you take in this scenic region this love wafts past you.
Murshidabad: Bengal Nawabs
Berhampore is situated on the eastern side of the Bhagirathi River, a major distributary of the Ganges.
The city's industries include silk weaving, ivory carving, rice and oil-seed milling and precious metal working.
A famous type of metal used to make bells called "Khagrai Kansha" is made in the city. This is a type of brass that is used to make utensils like dishes & bowls.
Berhampore was fortified in 1757 by the East India Company, after the Battle of Plassey in June 1757, and it continued as a cantonment until 1870. On 25 February 1857, the first major armed battle of the First War of Indian Independence of 1857 took place in Barrack Square, Baharampur, while Berhampur was ruled by Raja Krishnath and his ancestors.
In 1901, Baharampur had a population of 24,397, and included the ancient town of Kasim Bazar.
Leh: Vision of dreams
Leh was the capital of the Himalayan kingdom of Ladakh, now the Leh District in the state of Jammu and Kashmir.
The town is still dominated by the now ruined Leh Palace, former mansion of the royal family of Ladakh. Leh is at an altitude of 3524 metres (11,562 ft), and connects via National Highway 1.
Leh was an important stopover on trade routes along the Indus Valley between Tibet to the east, Kashmir to the west and also between India and China for centuries. The main goods carried were salt, grain, pashm or cashmere wool, charas or cannabis resin from the Tarim Basin, indigo, silk yarn and Banaras brocade.
The most attractive feature of the landscape of Ladakh are the Buddhist monasteries situated on the isolated hillock in the vicinity of villages, these aesthetically pleasing, architecturally interesting monasteries provide the focus for the faith of the highly religious Buddhist people. Monasteries are the places of worship, isolated meditation and religious instruction for the young.
The approach to the monasteries is lined with mane walls and Chortens. Mane walls are made of votive stones on which prayers and holy figures are inscribed, while Chortens are semi religious shrines or reliquaries, containing relics of holy people or scripts.
Hyderabad: Splendour unveiled
Hyderabad is located on the banks of the Musi River in the Deccan Plateau in southern India.
It was established in 1591 by Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah and remained under the rule of the Qutb Shahi dynasty until 1687 when Mughal emperor Aurangzeb conquered the sultanate, and the city became part of the Deccan province of the Mughal empire.
In 1724 Asif Jah I, a Mughal viceroy, declared his sovereignty and formed the Asif Jahi dynasty also known as the Nizams of Hyderabad. The Nizams ruled the princely state of Hyderabad for more than two centuries, under subsidiary alliance with the British Raj.
The city remained the princely state's capital from 1769 to 1948 when the Nizam signed an Instrument of Accession with the Indian Union following the Operation Polo.
The city became capital of Andhra Pradesh following the 1956 State Reorganisation Act.