DELHI SIGHTSEEING

Delhi is a fascinating place, country's capital and is made beautiful for last few years. The place is horrible near Red Fort, Candani Chowk and Old Delhi. However, we time off to visit some places travelling by metro, which is a superb means of transportation..... fast, no traffic, reliable and cheap. Some of the places we visited were

INDIA GATE

1. India Gate: At the centre of New Delhi stands the 42 m high India Gate, an "Arc-de-Triomphe" like archway in the middle of a crossroad. Almost similar to its French counterpart, it commemorates the 70,000 Indian soldiers who lost their lives fighting for the British Army during the World War I. The memorial bears the names of more than 13,516 British and Indian soldiers killed in the Northwestern Frontier in the Afghan war of 1919.

JANTAR MANTAR

2. Jantar Mantar:(Yantra - instruments, mantra - formulae) was constrcted in 1724. Maharaja Jai Singh of Jaipur who built this observatory went on to build other observatories in Ujjain , Varanasi and Mathura. Jai Singh had found the existing astronomical instruments too small to take correct measurements and so he built these larger and more accurate instruments.

RED FORT

3. Red Fort: The Red sandstone walls of the massive Red Fort (Lal Qila) rise 33-m above the clamour of Old Delhi as a reminder of the magnificent power and pomp of the Mughal emperors. The walls, built in 1638, were designed to keep out invaders, now they mainly keep out the noise and confusion of the city.
The main gate, Lahore Gate, is one of the emotional and symbolic focal points of the modern Indian nation and attracts a major crowd on eachIndependence Day.

4. Swami Narayan Temple (Akshara Dham): Swaminarayan Akshardham in New Delhi, inaugurated in 2005,  epitomizes 10,000 years of Indian culture in all its breathtaking grandeur, beauty, wisdom an d bliss. It brilliantly showcases the essence of India’s ancient architecture, traditions and timeless spiritual messages. The Akshardham experience is an enlightening journey through India’s glorious art, values and contributions for the progress, happiness and harmony of mankind. 
The Swaminarayan Akshardham complex was built in only five years through the blessings of HDH Pramukh Swami Maharaj of the Bochasanwasi Shri Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS) and the colossal devotional efforts of 11,000 artisans and thousands of BAPS volunteers. Heralded by the Guinness World Record as the World’s Largest Comprehensive Hindu Temple, the complex was inaugurated on 6 November, 2005.

BIRLA MANDIR

5. Birla Mandir: Laxmi Narayan Temple, also known as Birla Mandir, is one of Delhi's major temples and a major tourist attraction. Built by the industrialst G.D. Birla in 1938, this beautiful temple is located in the west of Connaught Place.

6. Karol Bagh: Also spelled as Qarol Bagh, is a mixed residential-cum-commercial neighbourhood in Delhi, India, known for its shopping streets, like the Ghaffar Market and Ajmal Khan Road.

7. Palika Bazaar: This underground, air-conditioned market located below the inner circle of Connaught Place was set up in the late 1970s. It is especially famous for cheap electronic goods and clothes. From footwear to clothing to nightwear to perfumes to accessories to electronic gadgets to DVDsand CDs, you will get a wide range of products in this massive market. You may also buy curios and small knick-knacks to take back home as souvenirs. There are hundreds of shops in Palika Bazaar. It is estimated to have some 15,000 people within its confines at any given time and also attracts many foreign tourists. Although bargaining is the mantra for shopping anywhere in Delhi, it must be followed here rigorously.

Monday, 28 Oct.2013