The Charminar, Hyderabad seemed to be made of granite and limestone. There is also a mosque on one end while the remainder of the roof is said to have been the court of Qutub Shahi. The Friday prayer takes place here with much fanfare and the place is huge enough to accommodate a large number of people. Time beckoned me to move on and I proceeded to the Osman Sagar, Hyderabad for my next tryst with the attractions of Hyderabad.
The beauty of the Golconda Fort was still afresh in my mind and its indelible mark in the history of the region too. But Hyderabad is not only all about a singular fort; it is a kaleidoscope of structures, buildings and a confluence of cultures. With each morning and day, a new aspect of Hyderabad, a new chapter unfolds and presents itself. I had simply engaged my senses and was in tune with the city - Hyderabad. This day was reserved to attend the Charminar, Hyderabad. Standing majestically along the bank of the River Musi, the place is enclosed with the Makkah Masjid on one side and the famous Laad Bazaar on the other. True to its name, the Charminar has char minar or four minarets, which have bulbous domes and tall arches done with accurate proportions. I took the local commute and had no difficulty locating the place. The Charminar was an inseparable part of the life of the Hyderabadis. The grandeur of the bygone eras do not pause for the world, the mortal Kings and Queens do not survive but the proof of their greatness remains through great works of theirs and this monument was a live example of the same. There are many theories that claim to be the reason for the construction of this very important building. Some say that it had been built to mark the eradication of plague and others maintain that it was built in 1591 to celebrate the beginning of the second Islamic Millennium Year. Yet, whatever the reason it may be, the Charminar is a monument that people come from faraway places to see and admire.
The Charminar, Hyderabad seemed to be made of granite and limestone. There is also a mosque on one end while the remainder of the roof is said to have been the court of Qutub Shahi. The Friday prayer takes place here with much fanfare and the place is huge enough to accommodate a large number of people. Time beckoned me to move on and I proceeded to the Osman Sagar, Hyderabad for my next tryst with the attractions of Hyderabad.
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Bhongir Fort Hyderabad : I enjoyed the visit to Bhongir Fort of Hyderabad. Enjoy visiting historical monuments and witnessing stony structures. I believe they all hide countless tales. I even clicked numerous pictures. It was built in The 10th century by a Chalukya ruler. It is named Tribhuvanagiri after the Chalukya ruler Tribhuvanagiri Vikramaditya 4.
I do not believe in half-hearted trips. While in Hyderabad, I had come well-prepared with all my information about the various places that were worth visiting in the city. So for the sightseeing options, the first and foremost place that I wanted to visit was the Golconda Fort, Hyderabad. Golconda is also known as Golla Konda, which means Shepherd’s Hill. As the erstwhile capital of the Golconda Sultanate, this fort finds its location 11 kilometers away from Hyderabad in the western direction and is more famous because of the various priceless diamonds that were once a part of the vault of the Golconda Fort. Based on the fort plan of the Vijayawada’s Kondapalli Fort, this fort was constructed for the western defenses of the Kakatiyas. The place was at its zenith when it was the capital in the 16th century of the Qutub Shahi Kingdom. The Qutubs expanded the fort and were patrons of the flourishing diamond trade, which was the focal point of the fort. Just as the Bahmani Sultanate lost its hold over the Golconda region to the Qutub Dynasty, in the same manner the Qutubs lost Golconda to the Mughal ruler Aurangzeb. Apart from this historical and political lineage, the city and the fort of Golconda is also known for the diamond trade, which was because of the vicinity of the diamond mines from where the famous Kohinoor diamond and the Hope diamonds were found. We entered the Fort through the Fateh Darwaza and I desperately wanted to check the acoustic effect first hand. A clap sound at this point reverberated to the highest point of the fort, which was unique to the fort designed to warn against potential army. Such was the architectural prowess of the fort! There was a world of other things that could be seen at the Golconda Fort, Hyderabad. I checked out the fort adorned with impregnable walls, mosques, temples, magazines, stables and royal rooms, so much still remained to be covered in such a little time, which I felt pressed for time. Since I had to proceed to the Charminar Hyderabad, I decided to wrap up at the Fort.
Any college-goer like me would agree to it that at some point of time, student life gets tedious and too boring. Forget about having fun and frolicking around, tight studying schedule does not even give me a chance to catch up with movies or chill out at malls. That is why, this semester-end I have decided to spend the vacation in the unique way. I am going all the way to Mumbai! This will be my first time to explore the City of Dreams and some of my friends have given their nod for Mumbai Escape, name of our unofficial tour! First of the things we are looking forward in the city is hanging out at Essel World Mumbai. I grew up watching its televised advertisements and it was since childhood that I wanted to be there! Now is our time to enjoy to the max as we have learned that Essel World is a place where one gets the best of enjoyment and recreation. To top it all, there are tons of rides and attractions, just waiting to be explored! Essel World is a huge theme park located on Gorai Island, Borivli. Getting there is easy - there is rail, road, and water transport available as well. The wonderful theme park is well equipped with huge and adrenaline pumping roller coasters and rides. Besides, Essel World also has Mumbai’s largest ice-skating rink, temperature of which is maintained at spine-chilling 4 degree centigrade. Apart from all of it, I am too excited to check out the “so-called” horror ride Monsters in the Mist. I have looked it up online and acquired information that it was inaugurated in 2010 by none other than the popular VJ, Ranvijay. It is entitled as India’s scariest ride, cannot wait to get on it! Essel World is surrounded by Vajreshwari, Vasai Fort, and Mahavir Dham, which are as well considered as prime tourist spots in Mumbai. So, I am planning to hit there too. Just waiting for the vacations, Mumbai here I come!
Cathedral Church of Gudhiyari, Raipur : This is cathedral church of Gudhiyari. We were bored and exhausted after continuous travelling so we decided to take a break on Sunday to chill out. A friend of mine found this church on Google. So we decided to check it out. We attended the sunday masses, talked with the priest and parishioners. They even gave us some travel advice for our raipur trip.
Swami Vivekanada's Statue at Vivekanand Sarovar : We reclined for some time at the Vivekananda Sarovar. The place has a fine statue of Swami Vivekananda. I have always been a fan of Vivekananda's teachings. The garden is a fine place if you wish to enjoy solace in the evening time. Many people come to walk here in the morning time.
After having spent a splendid day in the Kutumsar Caves near the Kanger Valley, on the next day I decided to make a trip to the Mahanadi River coasts. It was the seventh and most probably the last day of my stay in Chhattisgarh as I had decided to make a visit to the Swami Vivekananda Airport on the last day and leave the place. As the name suggests, Mahanadi means ‘large river’ in Hindi and it is one of the largest rivers of the country. The river flows with a length of 900 kilometers on a totality and the catchment basin is of 132, 100 square kilometers approximately. The river flows amidst the states of Odisha, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh. The Mahanadi River’s exact origin is yet to be identified; however through the recent surveys it has been found out that the source of the river is somewhere in Chhattisgarh. The eastern parts of the capital of Chhattisgarh that is Raipur hosts the initial 80 kilometers. The place around the river has rocky and sandy terrains. The confluence of the river with other rivers makes it a perfect place for small gathering. Local people find the place to be much alluring as they tend to spend a good quality time with loved ones. In Chhattisgarh, the river meets its first tributary in a place called Seonath. The river in this part of the country is quite thin as it is the place of origin. The major parts of the river are seen at its mouth which is found in Odisha. The river combines with Hasdeo and Jonk Rivers in Chhattisgarh before it starts moving to Odisha.
The water from Mahanadi River is used for hydroelectric power generation and to provide drinking water to few parts of the Raipur district. There are several projects being carried out at Chhattisgarh region near the river. I had a splendid time around the coasts of the river as it provided a natural ambience. I clicked a number of pictures of the serene water body. There were number of other people taking pictures of the projects and the river. Energy Park, Raipur Chhattisgarh : Energy Park of Raipur has been built in the memory of Late Shri Rajeev Gandhi. It is an amazing park and truly worth a visit on your trip to Chattisgarh. Everything in this park runs on Solar Energy which is truly worth appreciating. I believe it is one of India's great achievements.
It was the sixth day of my stay in Chhattisgarh. No doubt the state if filled with natural resources and each and every part of the place has some uniqueness in it; however Bastar is one such part of the state which endeavors the best places of Chhattisgarh. On the sixth day of my Chhattisgarh visit, I decided to take the plunge of going to the Kutumsar Caves. The Kutumsar Caves are located at a distance of approximately 40 kilometers from Jagdalpur. One can reach almost every lookout place of the state from Jagdalpur as it is the nearest depot where one can find buses and trains quite conveniently. The Kutumsar Caves elongates itself and sprawls over a large area of 1371 meters. They are found below the ground at a level of 35 meters depth. Locate beside the Kanger River, the subterranean limestone cave provides an awesome place for leisurely walk and hangout. The Kanger Valley National Park is also located beside the caves. I had made a visit to the Kanger Valley Park on the first day, but however I missed to make it up to the Kutamsar caves. So finally I made out one more day for visiting the marvelous caves. The Caves were discovered long ago in the year 1900. With about more than thousand years having passed through all these periods, the caves are well maintained by the Government and now it is a tourist place which provides the much required information regarding the history of Chhattisgarh as well as India. The floors of the caves are filled with sediments, silt, clay, pebbles and sand; however one can find a great time in exploring the caves. The temperature within the caves is just ample with 25 degree Celsius. And the darkness within it just speaks how the people in earlier times might be staying or hiding here. There are steel railings all through the walkway of the caves so that people can take help of those to reach near the caves which are much rocky and uneven.
I could also notice a variety of animals like snakes, frogs, rodents, spiders and millipedes within the caves which were obviously not too beautiful! And one needs to take great care while walking through the caves, especially in the evening. The fourth day of my stay in Chhattisgarh was spent at the Hasdeo Bango Dam where I had a splendid evening. On the next day I decided to go for an awe inspiring trip to the Chitrakoot Falls. It was not for the first time I was going to visit natural waterfall in Chhattisgarh. I had already visited the Tirathgarh Waterfalls here. However natural reservoirs have always captivated me and they have an appeal which drags me towards exploring them more and more. Therefore on the fifth day I finally decided to make a trip to the Chitrakoot Falls, which is apparently known as the largest waterfalls of the country and also compared with the majestic Niagara Falls which lies on the border of Canada and United State of America. The Chitrakoot Falls are found at a distance of 38 kilometers from the west of Jagdalpur. The roadway is excellent and provides the driver an awesome mood to cut the varying terrains and reach the paradise. River Indravati collapses into a steep height of 100 feet cavern and hence gives rise to the spectacular waterfalls. As I reached at the waterfall area, there were hundreds of people who were already present for the evening and taking photographs of each other. As I was my own lone companion, I pulled out my DSLR and clicked random pictures of the land terrain and water body. The waterfall area is indeed an incredible manifestation of pure nature surrounded with the might of the Vindhya Ranges. The aesthetics of Chhattisgarh is seen in its dams, water bodies such as falls and river valleys and this place surely stands out to the expectation of providing a magnificent place for leisurely stroll. It was my first visit to Chhattisgarh and first ever visit to the Chitrakoot Falls and it was truly mesmerizing. The period from the months of July to October is known to be the best time as the Indravati River is said to take its perennial traversal from the Vindhya Ranges. The ecstasy of the place is bound to floor each and every visitor. The soothing and serene view of the waterfall made my day and I came back to my hotel with a peaceful mind and soul.
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About Author.
Hello, I am Ayushi Manroa. I love travelling and have also dabbled in photography. Being a student, I mostly end up back-packing! I started this blog to record my travelogues about the amazing places that I have been to. Be it frolicking in Goa, taking a dip in the Ganges, trekking in Coorg or hitching a ride up the Western Ghats, it is all listed here along with some of my best shots. Hope you like it. Happy reading!
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