PUSKAR, RAJASTHAN

Famous Brahma Temple in Puskar Rajasthan

Puskar is famous for the world famous Brahma Temple. The Brahma Temple was built in the 14th century near the bank of Pushkar Lake. One more interesting thing of the Temple is, it is the only one Brahma Temple in all over the world. Two goose are standing on the both side of the Famous Brahma Temple. The goose are the official carrier of Lord Brahma. The steps of the temple are made by white Marbles. There is a silver turtle lies embossed in the floor facing sanctorum. There is an another interesting thing that is the coins studded in the floor, placed by devotees to commemorate the births and deaths of their loved ones. There is also many Paintings are created on the walls that are images of the peacock - the vehicle of Brahma's consort Saraswati on the walls. The statue of Lord Brahma is shown in a life-size form with four hand and four faces, facing four different directions. The statue of Lord Brahma is in a sitting position. It is a beautiful temple across Rajasthan as well as across the World.

HOW TO REACH THERE 

Reaching Pushkar is not at all a problem. You can find here the nearest airport at Sanganer which is about 130 kms from the city of the Pushkar. You can also take the help of Jaipur airport which is connected to the metro cities like Mumbai and Delhi. You can reach Pushkar by train also as the nearest railway station is at Ajmer and it is just 11 kms from Pushkar. Even for bus also you have to come to Ajmer. You can also take the help of taxis.

Best time to visit Pushkar is from October to March as the summers are very hot here.

              

Pushkar is a sacred little town in Rajasthan and it is located just 11 km from Ajmer. This place is very much famous for its scenic beauty and also for temples as it has more than 400 temples. Pushkar is associated with numbers of tourist destinations like Pushkar lake, Brahma temple etc. Pushkar is also famous for its annual Pushkar Fair which held every year in Oct-Nov. There are many attractive destinations which include:

Pushkar Lake:  it is the most famous tourist attraction in the Pushkar which is a holy town for Hindus. It has 52 lovely ghats which looks very beautiful as the shape of this lake is semi circular. Usually devotees take a dip in this lake especially on the occasion of Karthik Poornima.

Brahma Temple: this is the only temple which is dedicated to Lord Brahma. It is the belief of the people that Lord Brahma was the creator of the Universe. So people have great faith in this temple.  Here you will see the four-headed idol of Brahma which is made from the beautiful marble and also decorated with silver coins.

Varaha Temple: this temple is dedicated to Lord Vishnu and it is one of the most sacred temples in Pushkar. Here you will see the image of Lord Vishnu in the form of wild boar.

Apteshwar Temple: this temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva. It is a very old temple which was built in 12th century.

Savitri Temple: this temple is dedicated to goddess Savitri who was the first wife of the Lord Brahma. This temple is the second most important temple in Pushkar. It is located on the hill top, just behind the Brahma temple and also provide the beautiful view of the Pushkar lake and the near by sand dunes.

                          

 

MADURAI, TAMIL NADU

 

 

 

History of Madurai

It is narrated in legend that Madurai was originally a forest known as Kadambavanam. One day, a farmer named Dhananjaya who was passing through the forest, saw Indra (The king of the gods), worshipping a swayambhu (self created Lingam ) under kadamba tree. Dhananjaya, the farmer immediately reported this to King Kulasekara Pandya. Kulasekara Pandya cleared the forest and built a temple around the Lingam. A city was soon planned with the temple as its centre. On the day the city was to be named, Lord Shiva is said to have appeared and drops of nectar from his hair fell on the town. So, the place was named Madurai - mathuram meaning "sweetness" in Tamil. 

Madurai has a rich historical background in the sense that Lord Shiva himself performed sixty-four wonders called "Thiruvilaiyadals". 

As early as the 3rd century BC, Megasthanes visited Madurai. Later many people from Rome and Greece visited Madurai and established trade with the Pandya kings. Madurai flourished till 10th century AD when it was captured by Cholas the arch rivals of the Pandyas. 

The Cholas ruled Madurai from 920 AD till the beginning of the 13th century. In 1223 AD Pandyas regained their kingdom and once again become prosperous. Pandian Kings patronised Tamil language in a great way. During their period, many master-pieces were created. "Silapathikaram", the great epic in Tamil was written based on the story of Kannagi who burnt Madurai as a result of the injustice caused to her husband Kovalan. In April 1311, Malik Kafur, the general of Alauddin Khilji who was then the ruler of Delhi, reached Madurai and raided and robbed the city for precious stones, jewels, and other rare treasures. This led to the subsequent raids by other Muslim Sultans. In 1323, the Pandya kingdom including Madurai became a province of the Delhi empire, under the Tughlaks.

The 1371, the Vijayanagar dynasty of Hampi captured Madurai and Madurai became part of the Vijayanagar empire. Kings of this dynasty were in habit of leaving the captured land to governors called Nayaks. This was done for the efficient management of their empire. The Nayaks paid fixed amount annually to the Vijayanagar empire. After the death of Krishna Deva Raya (King of Vijayanagar empire) in 1530 AD, the Nayaks became independent and ruled the territories under their control. Among Nayaks, Thirumalai Nayak (1623-1659) was very popular, even now he is popular among people, since, it was he who contributed to the creation of many magnificent structures in and around Madurai. The Raja Gopuram of the Meenakshi Amman Temple, The Pudu Mandapam and The Thirumalai Nayakar's Palace are living monuments to his artistic fervor. 

Madurai started slipping into the hands of the British's East India Company. In 1781, British appointed their representatives to look after Madurai. George Procter was the first collector of Madurai.

Now after India's independence, Madurai is one of the major districts of Tamilnadu State. In 1984, the Vast Madurai district was bifurcated into two districts namely Madurai and Dindugul Districts. Subsequently in 1997, Madurai district was bifurcated into two districts namely Madurai and Theni Districts. In Madurai District, there are 10 State Assembly constituencies and two parliament constituencies.

Madurai is surrounded by several mountains. The Madurai city has 3 hills as its city boundary. Yanaimalai, Nagamalai, Pasumalai named after Elephant, Snake and Cow respectively. It is famous for Jasmine Flowers. Jasmine flowers are transported to other cities of India from Madurai.

HISTORY OF MEENAKSHI TEMPLE 

Meenakshi Amman Temple (Other names : Meenakshi Sundareswarar Temple or Tiru-aalavaai  or Meenakshi Amman Kovil) is a historic Hindu temple located in the southern bank of river Vaigai in the temple city of Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India. It is dedicated to Parvati who is known as Meenakshi and her consort, Shiva, named here as Sundareswarar. The temple forms the heart and lifeline of the 2500 year old city of Madurai. The complex houses 14 gateway towers called gopurams, ranging from 45-50m in height, the tallest being the southern tower, 51.9 metres (170 ft) high, and two golden sculptured vimana, the shrine over sanctum of the main deities. The temple is a significant symbol for the Tamil people, and has been mentioned since antiquity in Tamil literature, though the present structure is built during 1623 to 1655 CE The temple attracts 15,000 visitors a day, around 25,000 during Fridays and gets an annual revenue of sixty million. There is an estimated 33,000 sculptures in the temple and it was in the list of top 30 nominees of the "New Seven Wonders of the World". The annual 10 day Meenakshi Tirukalyanam festival celebrated during April–May attracts 1 million visitors.

 

 

PILIBHIT , UTTAR PRADESH

  The district of Pilibhit is the north-eastern most district of Rohilkhand division which is situated in the sub Himalayan belt on the boundary of Nepal. It lies between the parallels of 28^o6' and 28^o53' north latitude and the meridians of 79^o57' and 80^o27' east longitude. On the north are the district Udhamsingh Nagar and the territory of Nepal, on the south lies the Shahjahanpur district, on the east the district is flanked for a short distance by district Kheri and for the remaining distance by the Shahjahanpur district and on the west the district of Bareilly. According to the central statistical organization, the District Pilibhit had an area of 3,504 sq km on July 1, 1971, occupying 49th position in the state. Major part of Pilibhit District is covered by dense forest. Total 78478 hectare is forest. The Sharda canal is the main canal of the district, the others being its branches. Total length of canals in the district is 938 Km. Though Pilibhit District is a bit backword in the area of industry. The main crop in this area is sugar cane. So there are four sugar factories at Majhola, Puranpur, Bisalpur and Pilibhit. Other major units are three solvent plants, one flour mill, one steel plant and one Alcohal Distillery. Small scale industries are Rice mills, engineering units, brick klins, candles and mainly bansuri (flute) manufacturing

HOW TO REACH THERE 

By Air:The nearest airports to Pilibhit are at Lucknow (250 km) and Delhi (264 km). One can avail the facility of both local and prepaid taxies and UPSRTC buses to reach Pilibhit city from Lucknow airport.
By Train:Trains are the most comfortable mode of travel that one can opt for while visiting Pilibhit. Trains from Pilibhit runs to Agra, Lucknow and also to places like Nainital in Uttarakhand. Trains from New Delhi are taken till the city of Bareilly, and from there one can either opt for buses or local meter gauge trains to reach Pilibhit.
By Road:Pilibhit is well connected by road. National highway 74 and State highways 26 and 29 are the nearest connecting highways to the city of Pilibhit. Once you enter the city, you can take benefits of local buses, autos and taxi services to move within the city.
By Bus:One can drive down or avail the services of local and UPSRTC bus services to move to Pilibhit from the nearby and major cities.

Pilibhit City History-Importance-Origin-Architecture

As per the locals, Pilibhit was ruled by an ancient king named Mayurdhwaj or Moredhwaj also known as King Venu, who was believed to be a great devotee of lord Krishna and a loyal friend of Arjun ( one of the five Pandavas). King Venu's name and the geography of his kingdom can be traced in the Hindu epic Mahabharata.
The area of Pilibhit, at the end of 10th century, was ruled by a line of princes of Chhinda dynasty. The record of their names and the fact that they made a canal out of River Sarada is the only thing mentioned in an archaic script written in Sanskrit found near Dewal village.

James Tod (1782–1835), a British historian Lieutenant-Colonel states in his writings that Amar Singh, son of Maharana Pratap fought 17 wars with the Mughal emperor Akbar, but conditionally accepted the Mughals as rulers after Maharana Pratap's death, in 1595. At this time, Maharana Pratap's band of loyal Rajputs which included the groups from Rathores, Deoras, Chauhans, Parihars, Tomars, Kashwahas, Ranas, Tharus and Jhalas (collectively known as Tharu) became disheartened by the surrender and left Rajasthan. They settled mostly in the sub-Himalayan belt on the boundary of Nepal in and around of dense forest of present district Pilibhit in Uttar Pradesh. Many of the Tharu tribe are still living in the remote forest area of the district and trying to conserve the tradition and culture they brought from Rajasthan.

The city of Pilibhit was an administrative unit in the Mughal era under Bareilly suba. The Mughal subedar, Ali Mohammed Khan constructed four magnificent gates around the administrative building in 1734 AD due to security reasons. These gates were named Barellwi Darwaza at the west, Hussaini Darwaza at the East, Jahanabadi Darwaza at the North and Dakhini Darwaza at the South. Negligence in maintenance by the local people had resulted in the loss of these historical sites and as a result they are all in ruins.

Marathas invaded this city in 1772 AD. This Kurmi community came into this region during this time. This particular community was believed to be the successors of the Marathas and also the major communities in the region. The last king of the Shah dynasty of Nepal was sheltered in Pilibhit by the ruler of Rampur suba Faizullah Khan in 1789 AD, after being attacked by the Gorakha king of Nepal.

The local history begins in the 18th century, when Pilibhit fell in the hands of Rohella warrior Hafiz Rahmat Khan, after the death of Ali Mohammed Khan. In 1774, Hafiz Rahmat Khan was killed in a battle near Miranpur Katra with the Nawab of Oudh, who was aided by British force lent by Warren Hastings and was added to Oudh. The records available on papers shows that in 1801 when Rohilkhand was relinquished to the British in lieu of payment of tribute, Pilibhit was a pargana of the district of Barielly which was lost in 1833 because the arrangement being temporary and the tract being again united with Bareilly in 1841.
In 1871, the Pilibhit sub-division were formed comprising of Jahanabad, Pilibhit and Puranpur. In 1879, Puranpur was eventually converted into a separate district. The parganas of Pilibhit, Jahanabad and Bisalpur were formed into separate tehsils soon after the introduction of the British rule. Puranpur was united for this purpose with Khutar. In 1824, a redistribution of the area was effected when the Bisalpur tehsil contained the parganas of Bisalpur and Maurari, which afterward become a single area, Jahanabad. Later it was joined with Richha to form tehsil Pareva and Pilibhit with Baheri, the headquarters  being at Pilibhit.

Baheri and the other tarai pargana were taken under direct management in 1851. Richha, in 1863, was attached to the new Baheri tehsil. Pargana Jahanabad was assigned to Pilibhit which also received Puranpur on its transfer in 1865. Later in 1871, became a sub-tehsil dependent on Pilibhit. The endorsement of Puranpur into a full tehsil took place in 1879, whereas Bisalpur throughout remained a separate subdivision. Thus the area is now divided into three tehsils and four parganas. Puranpur and Bisalpur constitute individual tehsils and parganas while the tehsil of Pilibhit represents the parganas of Pilibhit and Jahanabad.
Sepoy Mutiny at Pilibhit, 1857

On June 1, 1857 during the great 1857 Indian Sepoy Mutiny, news of the raising of troops under the leadership of Khan Bahadur Khan Rohilla at Bareilly reached Pilibhit and tumults at once brook out amongst the population in the city, while the surrounding villages remained prey to the acquisitiveness and extortion of the rival Zamindars. The Joint Magistrate was forced to run to Nainital. The mutineers of city nominally admitted the authority of Khan Bahadur Khan Rohilla, Nawab of Bareilly, and the grandson of Hafiz Rahmat Khan. After winning the Bareilly battle, the British order was restored on May 13, 1858 by the British force lent by Commander Colin Campbell, 1st Baron Clyde of 9th Regiment of Foot of British Army with the help of Captain William George Drummond Stewart of 93rd (Sutherland) Highlanders of the British Army, some of the mutineers were captured and sentenced to death.

The Rohellas, The Chhinda dynasty, Marathas, Mughals, Rajputs, The British are the rulers who ruled the kingdom.
Besides being known as a place for flute manufacturing there are some famous historical incidences for which the city is famous. A memorial place exists at Khakra chouki (today's Police Center), where 21 freedom fighters were hanged on 14 January 1909, on the day of Makar Sankranti. They were sentenced to death as they refused to follow British government's order and rebelled against them. In respect for these 21 martyrs, a rock (named All Martyrs) was underpinned in the compound of the police center.
Another historical incident took place when Mahatma Gandhi addressed a huge rally on 12th November 1929 in the field of Gauri Shankar temple along with Kasturba and Mirabehn. He planted a tree in the temple campus, which is still there.

Famous personalities- Pilibhit has gifted India with a number of personalities well versed in music, poetry and literature.
Maulana Enayetulla, a freedom fighter from Pilibhit, voluntarily played host to the exiled Queen of Avadh, Begum Hazrat Mahal, who reached Nepal in late 1859.

Anjum Pilibhiti, a poet and song writer, wrote songs in 1940’s for several movies like Najma (1943), Humayun (1945), Badi Maa (1945), Eighteen Fifty Seven/1857 (1946), Hamjoli (1946), Anmol Ghadi (1946), Meri Kahani (1948), Vidya (1948), Anokhi Ada (1948).

Akhtar Pilibhiti, born in Pilibhit on March 12, 1928, is well-known for his famous contribution in the movie Shehnaaz. His song "ai dil tujh hii ko niind na aayii tamaam raat" was the famous song in 1948. During 1940’s, Akhtar witnesssed a hit jugalbandi with young Mohammad Rafi (Famous bollywood singer of Golden era).

Hafiz Pilibhiti, born on November 29, 1860, was a famous writer in Urdu literature. His major contribution includes Urdu Nazam and patriotic Urdu songs which became very famous during the movement against British government. He died on 15 July, 1929. All of this work has been protected National Council for Promotion of Urdu Language (NCPUL).

Rafiq Pilibhiti, an engineer by profession, was born on 14 July 1933. Besides being an engineer by profession, he wrote poetries, started at the age of 50. His major works are His major works are Jahan Numa (Hindi), Hare Zakhm (Hindi, English), Ishq–e–Madaam (Urdu), Zikr Us Parivash Ka (Urdu) and Jahan Numa (Urdu). His father His father late Sheikh Abdul Latif was also a poet and his pen name was 'Naaz'.

Suroor Jahanabadi, real name Munshi Shri Durga Das Sahai, was born in a poor kayastha family of town Jahanbad in Pilibhit district in 1873. He composed poems suffused with patriotic sentiments. His famous collections of Urdu poems are Jama-i-suroor (1911) and Khumkhana-i-surror (1930-posthumous). Some other famous plays written by Surror Jahanabadi are Ruksat-i-Shaheb, Gul-i-firdaus, Diwwar-i-khoon.
Fateh Singh Vatsayan, a Hindi and Sanskrit scholar, was born on 13 January 1913. He has served 41 years as a Hindi and Sanskrit professor in various universities in India. In 1966, he was honoured by prestigious National Literature Award by the President of India for his work Kamayani Sundarya. He also received various awards and honors from various state governments and organizations. His major works include Kamayani Sundarya, Sahitya Aur Sundarya, Bhartiya Samaj Sashtra, and Dayanand Aur Unka Ved Bhasya.

   India- Nepal Border at Tanakpur

 

About Chuka Beach Information-Pilibhit

 Chuka Beach, situated between the main Sharda Canal and Sharda Sagar dam, is within the range of Mahof forest. This forest area is protected by the Government of India and is among the five forest reserves in the city: Mala, Haripur, Barahi, Mahof and Deoriya.  

  

About Pilibhit Tiger Reserve Information-Pilibhit

The Pilibhit Tiger Reserve is one of the finest examples of the exceedingly diverse and productive Terai eco-systems. It is home to a habitat for over 127 animals, 556 bird species and 2,100 flowering plants. A large number of rare and endangered species which includes tigers, leopard, swamp deer, hispid hare, Bengal floricans, etc. They are also home to around 6 million people who depend on them for their livelihoods.

The reserve has a core area of 1089 sq km and buffer area of 627 sq km (proposed). The northern edge of the reserve lies along the Indo-Nepal border while the southern boundary is marked by the river Sharada and Khakra.
In September 2008, Indian government has decided to reserve four new areas for Tiger including Pilibhit Tiger Reserve. Pilibhit Tiger Reserve lies on the India-Nepal border in the foothills of the Himalaya and the plains of the ‘terai’ in Uttar Pradesh. This new reserve would run through Pilibhit, Kishenpur sanctuary and Khutar range of Shahjahanpur, the existing one would have Dudhwa, Katarniaghat and Kakraha range of Bahraich division. Pilibhit, Khutar and Kakraha are reserved forest areas which will be converted into protected areas for the reserves.
In actual fact, Dudhwa tigers are distributed in one major and three smaller populations. The major population is constituted by Dudhwa reserve which includes Dudhwa National Park, Kishenpur and Katarniaghat wildlife sanctuaries and forests of Pilibhit, north and south Kheri while the smaller tiger populations are found in Bijnor forests in west, and Suhelwa and Sohagibarwa wildlife sanctuaries in east. The study done by Wildlife Institute of India (WII) shows that Dudhwa-Pilibhit population has high conservation value as it represents the only tiger population with the ecological and behavioral adaptations of the tiger unique to the Tarai region.