I
always had a wish to travel to many cities and exploring their beauty. We, as in
my family, were deciding on it for days and chose to travel to the northern
part of India. We chose cities like Delhi, Agra, and Gwalior so that we can
accompany my sister who was staying at a rented house in Gwalior for her
studies.
Our trip began soon after we booked a cab from home at 7:00 am to reach the Chennai Airport where we can catch our flight to the City of Delhi. On reaching there,
I was astonished to see the so-developed infrastructure of the Chennai airport
as most of the times, I have come to the airport for dropping my sis or parents off but
haven’t actually got in but this time I went in, actually, I explored in.
My
parents were waiting and talking about what to do in Delhi where I was just
taking pictures inside the airport with my Redmi Note 5 Pro camera and was
childishly cheering up my photography skills. After some time, we got into the
flight around 9:00 am and it was almost 3 hrs. the long journey to Delhi. In the
flight, I was chit-chatting with my parents, looking amazed at the clouds with
the cities in a miniature format, browsing through my phone and the useless
magazine with eating the tasty food ordered.
We reached Delhi’s airport at 12:10 pm and picked up my sis who had traveled from Gwalior to Delhi to join with us. My parents had already decided to reside with relatives at Delhi, instead of booking a hotel so we reached there, chilled for some time and went shopping.
For
shopping, we went in an autorickshaw with relatives to Sarojini Nagar Market of
South Delhi is famous for its really cheap designer clothes. The street
market sells all kinds of clothes and fashion accessories, sprawl onto the
street. New stocks arrive every Tuesday, so, we brought few items with the
relatives at the market and reached back home.
The next day, we decided to explore the whole city of Delhi – Both south as well
the north and our first hotspot were the famous Qutub Minar.
Qutub
Minar
We
reached the spot and were walking towards the beautiful Qutub Minar. Qutub
Minar is said to be completed in the 12th century, it is India’s
tallest minaret and now UNESCO World Heritage Site. The site attracts many
international visitors and its ornate five-story tower rises more than 70 meters
covered with intricate carving featuring the history of Qutub along with
inscriptions from the Koran. It was also constructed of a no. of different
types of stone (Red sandstone and marble). We took some pictures with the tower
and walked over to the spot to see the other ones as the complex also includes the
Quwwat-ul-Islam Masjid, a mosque at the base of the tower; a gateway built-in
1310; the tombs of Altamish, Alauddin Khaliji, and Imam Zamin; and a
2,000-year-old un-rusted Iron Pillar as well as the Alar Minar. After seeing
the whole complex, we decided to move towards the India gate.
India
Gate
When
we reached India gate, it was filled with a lot of people roaming around
with their families and friends. India Gate is a magnificent stone arc built as
a memorial to Indian soldiers killed in WW1. When we went very close to it, we
saw an eternal flame burning beneath the massive structure, and its walls are
inscribed with the names of more than 90,000 soldiers who died in the conflict.
We couldn’t cope up with the heat that Delhi was pouring on us, so we brought
few umbrellas and my sister was using an electric fan to cool herself up. We
ate a spicy snack nearby and I was interested to get the reflection of the
India gate in the staggering water nearby so I was with my camera for it and my
parents just watched the children’s playing with a ball, kicking and throwing
it away. We left the spot after few minutes.
Rajpath
and Rashtrapathi Bhavan
The Rashtrapathi Bhavan. PC: Vijaya Shankar O
While
I didn’t know that Rastrapathi Bhavan is so near to the India gate. My father just
showed me the Bhavan and I was like “Can we go there?”. He immediately pulled
over the car to there and I was mesmerized with the building’s architecture
and the whole arena looked so gorgeous. I took few clicks on my camera and we
left from there to the Lotus Temple.
Bahai
Lotus Temple
When
we walking towards the Bahai Lotus Temple, my eyes noticed those little
colorful flowers kept on the sides of the lane towards the temple. It was so
colorful and unique that only when we reached somewhat near the Temple, I
was just awestruck with the architecture and design of the temple being like a
lotus. The temple also has a swimming pool and we all were asked to remove our
slippers while entering the Lotus temple. The sheer magnitude of the
temple can be seen by drones as it has nine sides and a stunning central dome
which is constructed of white concrete and marble. The structure looks like
rising from surrounding nine pools as if it is blossoming now. When we entered the temple, in a queue, it was dead silent. The inside also had the
magnificent beauty that the outside structure had, but it was pin-drop silent.
There were no idols or religious pictures or outward symbols of religion inside
the temple. It looked mostly like a church where everybody sits and prays for a
goodwill. The ambiance inside was so mindful and calm that it actually relaxed
me a lot from the hot climate of Delhi. After few minutes, we came out and I
clicked a shot of people entering the temple. The temple is said to be
built in 1986, and since then it has attracted more than 70 million visitors
making it one of the world’s most visited attractions.
Laxminarayan Temple (Birla Mandir)
Then,
we went to Birla Mandir and worshipped all the devotees here, especially the room where the idol of Vishnu is kept with all mirror around it, surprised and
amazed me out. The temple is said to be built in 1939 and was the first in a
row and later many temples were built in different cities by the different
branches of the family. The architecture remembers to include the Nagar style
and the temple is dedicated to Laxminarayan known as Lord Vishnu and it was
inaugurated by Gandhiji as the construction was finished by Baldeo Das Birla
and his sons.
The Indira Gandhi Museum
Seeing
the museum was a different experience for me as I haven’t seen many museums in
life, especially the museum had rare photography’s, the room’s that Indira
Gandhi stayed, the clothes of hers and Gandhi family during normal days and on
her death, her book collections, written scriptures, personal objects, news
articles and clippings, awards, and many others which actually taught me a lot
about the Journey of Indira Gandhi with other Gandhi’s family members and seeing
those real things preserved with eyes just excited me to learn more.
The next day, we went to Agra to see Red Fort and Taj Mahal. After seeing the whole complex of the red fort and the beautiful white marbled Taj Mahal, we went to the
Railway station and traveled to Gwalior.
Gwalior
Fort (Man Mandir Palace)
We
reached Gwalior and rested for some time in our sister’s rented house. After a
deep rest, we went to the Gwalior Fort which was perched atop a rocky mountain.
For reaching the fort, we got into the van and were dropped off near the fort.
On walking to the fort, itself, I could see the phenomenal fortress. The
fortress is said to be impenetrable during attacks and has witnessed many
historical events which proudly states as the “pearl amongst the fortresses in
India”. It sprawls over an area of 3 km, can be seen from every nook and cranny
of Gwalior. It is also said to be only tourist places that dominate the entire
cityscape which can be viewed through the arc. We decided to go inside the fort
and when we went inside, we saw staircases going downwards and was curious
about it. So, we asked few people over there and they said that the pathways
lead to various ground levels which is hard as there is a particular way to come
back until we go with a proper guide. We decided to go in but there weren’t any
guides available so we quit that idea and observed the exotically designs in
the fort and the carving embedded in it. Also, we were advised not to stay at
night as it will be so dark there.
Saas
Babu Temple
After
seeing the fort, we got back into the van and it took us to Saas Babu Temple
which was originally named Sahastrababu temple. Also, it is another name for
Lord Vishnu with many hands. The temple was constructed in the reign of the king
Mahipala of the Kacchapaghata Dynasty wished for a prosperous and
successful kingdom from the lord of the universe. The temple also praised for
its intricate designs and impeccable carvings.
When
I went in there, I was shocked with the number of detailed sculptures and
carvings made on the temple as well as the Door kind of thing which gives you
the cityscape of Gwalior. I thought that the whole temple can be researched and
documented cause it holds so much information in its carvings and sculptures.
Also, when the sun was behind the temple it gave a stellar glow to the temple,
making it shine in my eyes.
Teli
Ka Mandir
At
then, we saw the Teli ka Mandir temple which is dedicated to Shiva, Vishnu and
Matrikas and have been variously dated between the early 8th and the
early 9th century CE. The temple is the highest building in Gwalior
(100 ft) and was said to be used to process oil before the Britishers occupied
the Gwalior fort. The temple is famous for its unique architecture as it holds
a Dravidian look, but the sculptures are typically North Indian. The temple
also a classical example of a design based on “musical harmonics” in
architecture, one that Hermann Goetz called a masterpiece of the late Gupta era
Indian art.
Jai
Villa Palace
On
the next day, we went only to explore the Jai Villa Palace which was so much
interesting to even seen in our naked eyes. The Majestic White palace looks
enigmatic with armors from the era of Shah Jahan and Aurangzeb to the freedom
movement during the reign of Rani Laxmi Bai. The palace is so well-preserved the palatial monument which was built by Jayaji Rao Scindia who was once the
Maharaja of Gwalior. The palace sprawls its regal branches over an area of 75
acres and it serves as a grand resident to the descendants of Jayaji Rao
Scindia as well as a huge museum constituting 35 rooms.
The palace holds the dresses they wore, their personal objects, their rooms, their
war armors, their own transport vehicles, their diamond sizzling fountain, the money they used and their jewelry, and many more...
So,
it was actually a fun experience to travel all over the cities of north India and
I got to know the palaces, temples and many more in there which I wouldn’t have
known if I neglected to travel to those places. Adding to it, it was fun to
travel along with my parents and sister as we took some photos, laughed a lot,
suffered on hot climate and chit-chatted while traveling.
Overall,
I really love the travel experience and I would so much love to go again if I
get a chance to visit the places again and the missed ones, too.
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