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Varanasi or Benaras, (also known as Kashi) is one of the oldest living cities in the world. Varanasi`s Prominence in Hindu mythology is virtually unrevealed. Regarded as the spiritual capital of India, the city draws pilgrims who bathe in the River Ganges’ sacred waters and perform funeral rites. Along its winding streets are some 2,000 temples, including Kashi Vishwanath, the “Golden Temple,” dedicated to the Hindu god Shiva.

Varanasi has always being in prominence for all the good reasons. During the ancient times, it was an important religious center. It also became the capital of the kings of 16 Mahajanpadas. Buddha in 528 BC gave his first sermon at Sarnath, it is also known as “Dharam Chakra Parivartan” means turning the wheel of law. The religious importance continued to grow in the 8th century, when Adi Shankara charya established the worship of Shiva as an official sect of Varanasi. Prominent writer Tulsi Das wrote Ram Charita Manas in Varanasi. Apart from him Kabir and Ravidas belonged to Varanasi.

During the Medieval period, Guru Nanak visited Varanasi in 1507 on the occasion of Mahashivratri. It gained prominence again during the Mughals. Akbar the Great, who was religious tolerant constructed two beautiful temples dedicated to lord Shiva and Vishnu. . The Kingdom of Benares was given official status by the Mughals in 1737, and continued as a dynasty-governed area until Indian independence in 1947.

In the Modern period, Varanasi became a center of learning. The British Governor General Warren Hasting, Jonathan Duncan founded a Sanskrit College in 18^th Century. It was an important center of rebellion during the first war of independence 1857. In 1897, author Mark Twain said about Varanasi, "Benares is older than history, older than tradition, older even than legend, and looks twice as old as all of them put together." Mrs. Annie Besant founded the Central Hindu College, which later became a Banaras Hindu University in 1916. Besant founded the Central Hindu College because she wanted to bring men of all religions together under the ideal of brotherhood in order to promote Indian cultural values and to remove ill-will among different sections of the Indian population." Since 2014, our Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modiji is the MP of Varanasi Lok Sabha constituency.

The contribution of different religions has made Varanasi as one of the most important symbol of India’s Unity in Diversity

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In the month of July 2017, the Taj Mahal will be open for the night viewing from 7^th July to 11^th July 2017. It is open two days before and two days after the full moon. The tickets are booked 24 hours in advance. The visitor is required to fill up a detailed form along with the copy of their passport.

Altogether, 400 tourists are permitted per night for the visit. The 400 tourists are divided into a batch of 50. There are only eight batches. The timings for the night view commences from 8:30 PM to 12:30 AM according to the Indian Standard Time.

WHAT IS NOT ALLOWED INSIDE THE TAJ MAHAL

There are certain things which are not permitted inside the Taj Mahal. Any electronic gadget apart from your camera and mobile phone, eatables, wires, any sharp article like swiss knife, nail cutter, no religious books except travel guide books, match box, lighter, cigarette, liquor, and any promotional material.

HOW TO CLICK PHOTOGRAPHS DURING NIGHT VIEWING

The night viewing is one of the most breath taking, life time experience. The Taj is not lit up by artificial lights. It is the moonlight that lit up the entire structure. The time duration per batch is only 30 minutes, so normal photography will not be possible. In order to capture the moment, first change your camera or mobile to night vision mode. And then click the photographs. Another thing is that you will not be able to take selfie.

Brave Rani Padmini of Chittor

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In the 13th and 14th centuries, the Khilji dynasty was ruling from Delhi. The Sultans made repeated attack on Mewar on one pretext or the other. Here we may recollect the story of Rani Padmani who was the pretext for Alauddin Khilji attack on Chittor. In those days Chittor was under the Rule of King Ratansen, a brave and noble warrior-king. Apart, from being a loving husband and a just ruler, Ratansen was also a great patron of the arts. In his court were adorned with many talented People one of whom was a musician named Raghav Chetan. But unknown to anybody, Raghav Chetan was also a sorcerer. He used his evil talents to run down his rivals and unfortunately for him was caught red-handed in his evil act.

On hearing about him King Ratansen was furious and he banished Raghav Chetan from his kingdom. This harsh punishment earned king Ratansen an uncompromising enemy. Sulking after his humiliation, Raghav Chetan made his way towards Delhi with an aim of trying to incite the Sultan of Delhi Alauddin Khilji to attack Chittor.

On approaching Delhi, Raghav Chetan settled down in a forest near Delhi which the Sultan used to visit frequently for hunting deer. One day on hearing the Sultan's hunt party entering the forest, Raghav-Chetan started playing a melodious tone on his flute. When the alluring notes of Raghav-Chetan flute reached the Sultan's party they were surprised as to who could be playing a flute in such a masterly way in a forest.

The Sultan ordered his soldiers to fetch the person. When Raghav-Chetan was brought before him, the Sultan Alauddin Khilji asked him to come to his court at Delhi. The cunning Raghav-Chetan asked the king as to why he wants to have an ordinary musician like him, when there were so many other beautiful objects to be had. Wondering what Raghav-Chetan meant, Alauddin asked him to clarify. Upon being told of Rani Padmini's beauty, Alauddin's greed was aroused and immediately on returning to his capital he gave orders to his army to march on Chittor.

But to his dismay, on reaching Chittor, Alauddin Khilji found the fort to be heavily defended. Desperate to have a look at the legendary beauty of Padmini, he sent word to King Ratansen that he looked upon Padmini as his sister and wanted to meet her. On hearing this, the unsuspecting Ratansen asked Padmini to see the 'brother'. But Padmini was more worldly-wise and she refused to meet the Sultan personally.

On being persuaded by her husband Rana Ratansen, Rani Padmini allowed Alauddin to see her only in a mirror. On the word being sent to Alauddin that Padmini would see him he came to the fort with his selected his best warriors who secretly made a careful examination of the fort's defenses on their way to the Palace.

On seeing Padmini, in the mirror, 'brother', Alauddin Khilji decided that he should secure Padmini for himself. While returning to his camp, Alauddin was accompanied for some way by King Ratansen. Taking this opportunity, the wily Sultan deceitfully kidnapped Ratansen and took him as a prisoner into his camp and demanded that Padmini come and surrender herself before Alauddin, if she wanted her husband King Ratansen alive again.

The Rajput generals decided to beast the Sultan at his own game and sent back a word that Padmini would be given to Alauddin the next morning. On the following day at the crack of dawn, one hundred and fifty palanquins (covered cases in which royal ladies were carried in medieval times) left the fort and made their way towards Alauddin's camps The palanquins stopped before the tent where king Ratansen was being held prisoner. Seeing that the palanquins had come from Chittor; and thinking that they had brought along with them his queen, king Ratansen was mortified. But to his surprise from the palanquins came out, not his queen and her women servants but fully armed soldiers, who quickly freed; Ratansen and galloped away towards Chittor on horses grabbed from Alauddin's stables.

On hearing that his designs had been frustrated, the Sultan was furious and ordered his army to storm Chittor. But hard as they tried the Sultans army could not break into the fort. Then Alauddin decided to lay siege of the fort. The siege was a long drawn one and gradually supplied within the fort were depleted. Finally King Ratnasen gave orders that the Rajputs would open the gates and fight to finish with the besieging troops. On hearing of this decision, Padmini decided that with their men-folk going into the unequal struggle with the Sultan's army in which they were sure to perish, the women of Chittor had either to commit suicides or face dishonor at the hands of the victorious enemy.

The choice was in favor of suicide through Jauhar. A huge pyre was lit and followed by their queen; all the women of Chittor jumped into the flames and deceived the enemies waiting outside. With their womenfolk dead, the men of Chittor had nothing to live for. Their charged out of the fort and fought on furiously with the vastly powerful array of the Sultan, till all of them perished. After this Pyrrhic victory the Sultan's troops entered the fort only to be confronted with ashes and burnt bones of the women whose honor they were going to violate.

These women who committed Jauhar had to perish but their memory has been kept alive till today by bards and songs which glorify their act which was right in those days and circumstances. Thus a halo of honor is given to their supreme sacrifice.

Thailand Princess knows Sanskrit and Pali- The Taj Tours

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Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn of Kingdom of Thailand visited the Taj Mahal recently.

She was born on 2nd April 1955 at Dusit Palace, the third child of King Bhumibol and Queen Sirikit. As the royal couple has only one son, the Thai constitution was altered in 1974 to allow for female succession. This made Sirindhorn second-in-line to the throne (after Vajiralongkorn) until the birth of Princess Bajrakitiyabha in 1978.

EDUCATIONAL QUALIFICATION

She ranked first in the National School Examinations in primary level (grade 7) in 1967, in 12th Grade in 1972, and fourth in the National University Entrance Examination in 1975. In 1975 she enrolled in the faculty of arts at Chulalongkorn University and graduated with a BA degree, first-class honors and a gold medal in history in 1976.

From 1976 she continued her studies in two graduate programs concurrently, obtaining an MA in Oriental epigraphy (Sanskrit and Cambodian) in 1980 and also archaeology from Silpakorn University and in 1980. In 1978, she obtained an MA in Sanskrit and Pali from Chulalongkorn University.

In 1981 she enrolled in a doctoral program at Srinakharinwirot University, and was awarded a PhD in developmental education in 1987.

Aside from her passion for technology, she holds degrees in history and a doctorate in educational development. She teaches at the history department of the Chulachomklao Royal Military Academy, where she is the nominal head of the department. In addition to Thai language, she speaks fluent English, French, and Mandarin Chinese and is currently studying German and Latin. She is a skilled performer and avid promoter of Thai traditional music.

The University of Liverpool started a prestigious new scholarship in honor of Sirindhorn. One full scholarship will be awarded annually to enable a Thai student to study at Liverpool to complete a one-year taught Masters program. The scholarship is open to all subjects in which a 1 year Masters program is offered; however, priority will be given to those students who wish to study in a subject area associated with HRH Princess Sirindhorn such as science, information technology, medicine, arts, geography, history and languages.

Mr. Kovind is the 14th President of India- The Taj Tours

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In India, the presidential election was held in India on 17 July 2017 with the votes counted and the result is declared today. Our current President Pranab Mukherjee's term of office will expire on 24 July 2017. Mukherjee declined to seek re-election due to health issues.

Ram Nath Kovind was the governor of Bihar, had the backing of the governing National Democratic Alliance coalition, and went up against opposition candidate Ms. Meira Kumar of the Indian National Congress in the vote. Kovind secured two-thirds of the votes from the electoral college of elected members of federal, state and union territory legislatures and was elected to a five-year term as the President. His term of office will begin on 25 July 2017.

The President of India is indirectly elected by an electoral college consisting of the elected members of both houses of parliament – Lok sabha and Rajya sabha; the elected members of the Legislative assemblies of the 29 states and the elected members of the legislative assemblies of the Union Territories of Delhi and Puducherry. Overall the members of the electoral college were eligible to cast 1,098,882 votes, yielding a threshold for a majority of 549,442 votes. A remarkable 99% votes were cast, that is the highest ever in an Presidential elections.

                                 

During his early career, Mr Kovind was a lawyer in the Delhi High Court and the Supreme Court for 16 years. He made a debut into politics when he was elected as the Rajya Sabha Member from Uttar Pradesh in 1994.  He has served for two consecutive terms as a Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament for 12 years, from 1994 till 2006. During his appointment as the member of Rajya Sabha, he had the honor of representing India in New York as well as addressed United Nations General Assembly in October, 2002.

He has always worked towards uplifting the lives of the marginalized society. During his parliamentary tenure he emphasized on the requirement of basic infrastructure for education in the rural areas. He helped in the construction of school buildings in Uttar Pradesh as well as Uttarakhand under the Member of Parliament Local Area Development (MPLAD) Scheme. He has also been an active member of parliamentary committees like Parliamentary Committee on Welfare of Scheduled Castes/Tribes, Parliamentary Committee on Social Justice and Empowerment. He also held the office as a member of the Board of Management of Dr. B.R Ambedkar University, Lucknow and Board of Governors of Indian Institute of Management, Kolkata.

Did Shah Jahan amputated the hands of the workers of the Taj Mahal - The Taj Tours

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Did Shah Jahan amputated the hands of the workers of the Taj Mahal

The Taj Mahal is one of the most exquisite structures ever built by any emperor. It was constructed by the fifth Mughal emperor in the fond memory of his favorite wife Mumtaj Mahal. The Taj Mahal in terms of architecture, is one of the most symmetrical structures in the world, constructed using pure white marble and adorned with precious and semi precious stones. The construction started in 1631 and got completed in 1653 AD; 20,000 workers worked day and night together for 22 years. But after the completion of the Taj, did Shah Jahan ordered to amputate the hands of 20,000 workers?

The answer is NO because of the following reasons:

Firstly, there is no archaeological evidence like skeletons of hands if this mass amputation was done. Secondly, it is not mentioned in any of the contemporary books nor the foreign visitor’s ever mentioned it who visited India during his time. Thirdly, the ruling time of Shah Jahan is called “Golden Period of Mughal Construction”. During his ruling time construction never stopped. He constructed Moti masjid and Taj Mahal in Agra, Red fort and Jama Masjid in Delhi; founded a city called Shahjahanabad. If he had ordered amputation then no worker would have supported his ventures.

What happened in reality and where did this myth came from?

In reality Shah Jahan imposed a moral boundation on his workers that they cannot work for any emperor. In modern time, we call it as a contract between the emperor and his workers. So, the saying “hands of the workers were amputate” came into being as these workers could not seek new work from any other emperor.

Another fact is that Shah Jahan constructed pucca houses near Taj Mahal (now called Taj Ganj) for all the workers. His extravagant expenditure started draining his royal treasury, enraged by this his son and successor Aurangzeb confined him.

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Agra Fort is one of the most imperative and strongly built edifices of the Mughal rulers, inflated with the sum of opulently adorned buildings incorporating the daunting Mughal style of art and construction. It is situated in Agra of Uttar Pradesh, India. The fort is popular among tourists as Red Fort, Fort Rouge and Laal Quila of Agra. It is positioned on the rightward bank of the Yamuna River and was built by the third Mughal king Akbar on the leftovers of a prehistoric place well known as Badalgarh.

The First Battle of Panipat was fought in 1526 between Ibrahim Lodhi and Babur. The victorious Babur stayed in the fort, in the palace of Ibrahim Lodi. He later built a baoli (step well) in it. His son, Humayun, was crowned in the fort in 1530. But later he was defeated by Sher Shah Suri at Bilgram in 1540. The fort remained with the Suri’s till 1555, until Humayun recaptured it.

Akbar realized the importance of its central location; he made it his capital and arrived in Agra in 1558. Akbar’s historian, Abul Fazl, mentioned that this was a brick fort known as 'Badalgarh'. It was in a ruined condition and Akbar had it rebuilt with red sandstone. Architects laid the foundation and it was built with burnt bricks in the inner core with sandstone on external surfaces. Some 4,000 workers worked on it daily for eight years, completing it in 1573.

Agra fort remained the capital of the Mughal for four generations. Apart from Akbar, his son Jahangir, his grandson Shah Jahan and his great grandson ruled India from this fort. All these emperors gave their contribution by adding different palaces to it. Thus, making it one of the most beautiful Mughal monument of India.

Akbar and Jahangir both made use of red sandstone as the chief building material, as security and safety of the emperor was an important concern. Later, Shah Jahan tended to have buildings made from white marble. He destroyed some of the earlier buildings inside the fort to make his own.

At the end of his life, Shah Jahan was deposed and restrained by his son, Aurangzeb, in the fort. In 1666, Shah Jahan died in Muasamman Burj, a tower with a marble balcony overlooking the view of the Taj Mahal.

The Mughals shifted their capital to Delhi Red fort during the reign of Aurangzeb. Agra fort was invaded and captured by the Maratha in the early 18th century. After their catastrophic defeat at Third Battle of Panipat by Ahmad Shah Abdali in 1761, Marathas remained out of the region for the next decade. Finally Mahadji Shinde took the fort in 1785. It was lost by the Marathas to the British during the Second Anglo-Maratha War, in 1803.

In 1806, British governor Lord Lake captured it. The fort was the site of a battle during the Indian rebellion of 1857, which caused the end of the British East India Company's rule in India, and led to a century of direct rule of India by Britain.

Finally, India gained independence on 15^th August 1947 and it became a UNESCO site in 1983.

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India is also renowned for its spicy cuisine all over the world. The five cities of India have emerged as the top destinations for foodies. According to Booking dot com survey on top food destinations in the country are Amritsar, Hyderabad, Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru. The top cities for food lovers include Amritsar which is known for its Kulchas and Lassi, Hyderabad for its Hyderabadi biryani, Boti Kebabs and Delhi for its butter chicken, Chole Bhature and Chaat. For your travel solutions you can log on to www.thetajtours.com or contact our Business Engagement Managers at info@thetajtours.com or thetajtours@gmail.com or Call on +91 93 125 76783, 98 731 79896.

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Udaipur in Rajasthan, tops the list of best 15 cities of the world, according to magazine Travel and Leisure. Every year for the World’s Best Awards survey, asks readers to weigh in on travel experiences around the globe. For your travel solutions you can log on to www.thetajtours.com

The Walled City of Ahmedabad, which was founded by Sultan Ahmed Shah in the 15th century, has been declared India’s first World Heritage City by UNESCO. There are 2600 heritage sites and over two dozen ASI protected monuments and sites in the walled city. It has joined the club of heritage cities like Paris, Cairo, Edinburg, Bhaktpur in Nepal and Galle in Sri Lanka. For your travel solutions you can log on to www.thetajtours.com

Mahima Chaudhary, the gorgeous actor of bollywood recently visited the Taj Mahal along with her daughter Ariana. For your travel solutions you can log on to www.thetajtours.com or contact our Business Engagement Managers at info@thetajtours.com or thetajtours@gmail.com or Call on +91 93 125 76783, 98 731 79896.

Domestic passengers departing from the Indira Gandhi International airport will now have to pay a User Development Fee (UDF) of Rs 10, instead of Rs 275to 550 earlier. International passengers will have to pay Rs 45, down from Rs 635- to 1,270. For your travel solutions you can log on to www.thetajtours.com or contact our Business Engagement Managers at info@thetajtours.com or thetajtours@gmail.com or Call on +91 93 125 76783, 98 731 79896.

It is being ten years when the Taj Mahal was included in the “New Seven Wonders of the World” It was included after an online voting from around the world. For your travel solutions you can log on to www.thetajtours.com or contact our Business Engagement Managers at info@thetajtours.com or thetajtours@gmail.com or Call on +91 93 125 76783, 98 731 79896.

THE KING OF FRUITS TASTES LIKE HEAVEN

The annual International mango festival of Delhi will commence from 9^th to 11^th July 2017, is a celebration of mangoes and its products. More than 500 different varieties are brought from different parts of the country. The first festival was organized in the year 1987. For your travel solutions you can log on to www.thetajtours.com or contact our Business Engagement Managers at info@thetajtours.com or thetajtours@gmail.com or Call on +91 93 125 76783, 98 731 79896.

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