The whole collection of the museum is well-maintained and preserved in a damage free and safe environment. The place had a really enriching ambiance. I could feel a constant cool breeze as I strolled down the beautiful gardens in the lawn of the museum. Though this place is difficult to reach for people because of climbing problems, my effort was totally worth it. I felt closer to my country as I saw such detailed projection of the Indian History and Culture in its prime stages. I could not resist noticing the remarkable architecture of the building of the museum itself. The best thing that I loved the most and which really stood out of all the other things I saw was the exhibitions of the dolls of different states of the country. I will forever cherish the time I spent amidst the legendary history at Himachal State Museum, Shimla, and I recommend a visit to everyone who visits Shimla.
One always feels that essence of pride when he is acquainted with its history. I experienced it myself during my visit to the Himachal State Museum, Shimla. Built in 1974, this heritage of Himachal was established with an aim to preserve the hill culture and the history of Himachal Pradesh. This gothic structure protects the various art forms and archaeology if this wonderful state and houses various exhibits depicting different stages of Indian history and the Culture. It was not difficult to reach the museum. It is situated on the Mall Road of Shimla. One has to take a short walk to the place accounting to the permanent restrictions on the movement of the vehicles. It definitely repels the visitors due to its location at the steep hill corner. I reached the place and purchased the 50 Rs camera ticket (20 Rs for people without a camera) and entered the premises of the museum. This place was a treat for a history lover. One could easily spend 3 hours complementing the beauty of those amazing artifacts. I saw ancient coins, statues, masks which went back as far as 5th century.
The whole collection of the museum is well-maintained and preserved in a damage free and safe environment. The place had a really enriching ambiance. I could feel a constant cool breeze as I strolled down the beautiful gardens in the lawn of the museum. Though this place is difficult to reach for people because of climbing problems, my effort was totally worth it. I felt closer to my country as I saw such detailed projection of the Indian History and Culture in its prime stages. I could not resist noticing the remarkable architecture of the building of the museum itself. The best thing that I loved the most and which really stood out of all the other things I saw was the exhibitions of the dolls of different states of the country. I will forever cherish the time I spent amidst the legendary history at Himachal State Museum, Shimla, and I recommend a visit to everyone who visits Shimla. There is always so much more to a city then the weather and its people. There is always a history that makes the place special. The magnificent colonial Rashtrapati Niwas Shimla was one such beautiful place. It is situated on the observatory hills of Shimla is a must visit for every tourist. It is located around 3 kms away from the Mall road of Shimla. This royal gothic building served as a former residence of the British Viceroy of India. Presently, the main building is now operational as the academic institute of Advanced Studies as converted by Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru and Dr. Radhakrishnan. I was fortunate as an architect to witness the majestic building as an absolute amazing piece of architecture. I went along the entrance portico which leads to the reception hall which was marked with a spiral staircase and a magnificent fireplace. I could not get enough of the elaborate wood-work and the beautiful interior of the building itself. I made my way to the famous treaty room where the Shimla agreement was signed between India and Pakistan on 2 July by Prime minister of India Indira Gandhi and President of Pakistan Ali Bhutto.
There is the historic museum room too which houses the interesting photos from the post and pre independence time. The amazing flower beds and the well maintained lawns were really a treat to the sore eyes. I took a full guided tour which could not get more informative and rich with Indian history than it was. I was overwhelmed with the architecture as well as the fact that I was at the same place where the legendary partition bill was signed. I took as many snapshots in the non restricted spots to preserve the memories of my trip to this royal Rashtrapati Niwas Shimla. This wonderful creation built in the summer capital of British India serving as the Indian institute of Advanced Studies is truly pride of this city like a diamond on the ring. I was now ready to visit the Himachal State Museum Shimla and witness the next page of history. Stained Glass Catholic Church Shimla : I have always been fascinated by painted glass works and glass mosaics. The stained glass catholic church of Shimla is a unique combination of beauty and art. It is a place for catholic religious tourists. I enjoyed viewing the amazing glass mosaics on the church windows. They were true depictions of glass art.
Unfurling Shimla by trekking or hiking would disclose the hidden and unseen splendor of this hill station located in Himachal Pradesh. The places of tourist attraction are unending in the fascinating hills of Shimla. Jhaku Temple Shimla is among one of them. Being hardworking person by nature I always put my best efforts to get the highest yields and at the same time I love to travel in and outside India to unwind with great pleasure. I never forget to pack my camera before packing my luggage for travelling and I am fond of relaxing in the nearest spa centers wherever I travel. These activities put me in the land of quest and excitement. Visiting this temple of Shimla was equally an affair of exhilaration. Located 2km away from the heart of the city, the temple is bestowed with its reviving beauty and offers a captivating view of the hills and remote mountain ranges. Sunrise and sunset are equally thriving from this state of point at the time of monsoons. The temple is the holy shrine of Lord Hanuman, the prime worshipper and devotee of Lord Rama. Legend says that Lord Hanuman stopped here during his search for Sanjivani Plant, an herb that required curing Laxman who was fatally wounded during the battle in Lanka. The temple is connected with a ropeway and it houses a tall figurine of Lord Hanuman with 108 feet in height. I was left with spellbinding experience and capitulate myself to the divine place. The temple is easily and excitingly accessible from the Ridge that crosses near Christ Church. I loved to see the monkeys wandering around the temple but not hurting anybody with their mischievous acts. I gave them sum bananas that I carried with me during my visit to the temple. The temple is also approachable through dense forests and needs good stamina to climb. Ponies are also available there to carry pilgrims to the Jhaku Temple Shimla. It is the best ever seen point of attraction that Shimla embrace in its treasured casket. I came out of the temple to witness some of the more interesting places of Shimla.
There are always certain perks of being a successful architect. You get to travel a lot. You get to derive every creative thought and delve it into the buildings and projects you work on. As much as I love my job, there is always saturation when I need a break. It was one of these times I decided to ease off the pressure and rejuvenate my soul and my mind. Shimla was a place to be to feed my love for holiday camping and photography. I took time to book the flight to Shimla for the next weekend. I always prefer flying in Air India accounting to the immense comfort and facilities this airline has to offer every time I travel. I packed my bags, put on my holiday cap and I was all set for my journey from Agra to Shimla by Air India Airlines using its Shimla holiday packages. I overslept till 10:00, late enough to be running to catch my 13:45 flight. I hopped inside the cab and paid him a little extra to press the gas and make a race to the airport. Thankfully I got in on time and boarded the flight. It was a smooth flight only except the little turbulence in the last hour. I had to make three stops from Agra to Khajuraho where I boarded the next flight to Varanasi at 15:35.
After a brief final stop at Delhi airport I set out for my last stop Chandigarh INX airport at 10:45. I had pre-booked a cab for the remainder of my overnight road journey to Shimla. Twenty hours and fifty five minutes of flying and further six hours of drive had juiced out all the energy from me. I finally checked in the Hotel Asia - The Dawn, also pre-booked and a part of my entire package. I took the luggage to my room, ordered the dinner and gave myself a rejuvenating nap before I could do anything. After a 3-hour nap and my journey from Agra to Shimla on Shimla holiday packages by Air India Airlines, I finally was ready to walk out of my room into this beautiful city and enjoy its allure. Ok I admit. I make frequent visits to Delhi more often. The last time I headed to one of my favourite cities in India, was for my cousin’s wedding last month. Now it was nothing short of a big fat Indian wedding. My maternal uncle and aunty had left no stone unturned for their daughter’s wedding to remain memorable for as long. From Bollywood-inspired dresses, traditions, singing, and dancing to mehndi, dhol, shehnai, and what not! However, all my dearest cousin sister and I would remember was the pre-wedding shopping. It was indeed fun, enjoyable and our gang of crazy girls made the most of it! Kinari Bazaar was one of our first wedding shopping destinations. At first, it didn’t appeal to me too much but as and when we immersed in traditional shopping there, it turned out to be quite pleasing. Firstly, Kinari Bazaar, Delhi, is not any other market, mark that! It is an easily distinguished place with wholesale as well as retail shops selling everything and anything under one roof!
Thankfully, we were carrying our Bankcards otherwise; we surely would be facing the music. The variety of wedding essentials featured in this market is unmatchable. There is everything from dresses to jewellery, accessories, bangles, anklets and so much more. The shopkeepers there generally quote higher prices but they sweetly offer you heavy bargains too. Tip - Bargain with them like there’s no tomorrow! What I was surprised to see was the immense variations available there. Like you can easily get a regular churidar as well as evening gowns and bridal Sarees as well. Isn’t that great? So apart from shopping for both the bride and the groom, the rest of us also picked up tons of clothing stuffs. It was jaw dropping to find such a huge variety of embroidery work, stone work, thread work, gold/silver work etc., from across various regions in India. We got exclusive dresses with beautiful embroidery work within our budget! In addition, it is worth noticing that the quality is very not compromised upon. So, I would advise that whether you are on a tight budget or not, whether it is wedding or any other family function, do make sure you get your stuffs from Kinari Bazaar, Delhi and experience best quality products at affordable prices! Enjoy! Dakhni Sarai, Punjab : If you are in Punjab and you love palace or fort this is a must visit place for you. It is also a part of the sarai mahal. It was built by in 1640 AD during the rule of Shah Jahan by Ali Mardan Khan who was of the most well known Mughal nobles.
Sanghol is a village in Punjab, located in the district of Fetehgarh Sahib. It is one of the important excavation sites in India and historians have excavated many coins and seals belonging to Toramana and Mihirakula od Central Asia. In 1968, a Buddhist Stupa was found from here and then in 1985 117 stone slabs, which were beautifully carved, were excavated. These included pillars, figures, cross bars etc, belonging to the Kushana style of art. Sanghol Museum is the major attraction here, which contains a number of relics from the late Harappan Civilization in 1720 BC-3000 BC to 6th Century AD. It took us more than 3 hours to reach Sanghol from Amritsar. The museum is under the Archaeological Survey of India and was inaugurated in 1990, on April 10th. It was built to preserve the treasures discovered during the excavations at the excavation sites in Sanghol. The museum had two floors and the ground floor that we enter contained items other than the stone sculptures. They were arranged chronologically, so that you get an idea as to how the civilization developed. It contained seals, coins, precious stones, terra cotta, sealings, ivory and carvings. It also had a lot of graphs, photos, chars, maps and drawings to help us understand about the objects we see. It contained specimens of pottery from Harappa Civilization, Mauryas, Sungas, Guptas and Muslim Culture. There were coins and seals made of baked and unbaked clay. One of the seals had the name of Huna king belonging to the fifth century. In front of the stair case leading to the upper floor, we saw a stucco head of Buddha, probably from the fourth century AD. On the first floor we saw mottled red sandstone sculptures. There were figures carved on pillars, stones, crossbars and railings of the stupas that were excavated in Sanghol. We saw many themes among which most important were woman and three Vignittes, mother and child motifs and some other descriptions. One of the popular themes was that of a woman holding tree branches. The sculptures here represented the Kushana style of art of Mathura.
The visit to the museum helped us to get some information on the history of India, of which we were quite unaware. Harappa is in Punjab, Pakistan, and is an archaeological site. Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro are the ancient towns that flourished in the Indus valley. A lot of excavations have been carried out by historians and archaeologists and we have come to know a lot about the life of people then, their culture and traditions. They had well planned townships with houses made of bricks and proper drainage system. The people of Harppan civilization were literate and the language used was Dravidian, which is yet to be deciphered fully. Only a part of the language has been deciphered till now. Both Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro are similar in their construction and layout, which shows that both were governed by the same power. Harappan Civilization was urban and there are evidences that it had trade relationships with Mesopotamia, Persia, Afghanistan and Southern India for items like gold, silver, turquoise and copper. They seemed a peaceful bunch of people as the remains did not show any military activities. Also there were no divisions based on class. No palaces or any important buildings have been excavated. You can see only houses that were similar in size. Small seals with images of animals and some inscriptions were excavated from the place. Sculptures made of male figures were also got, which were believed to be the gods worshipped by the people. Some bronze figures were also discovered. The civilization was believed to have reached its peak in 2500 BC. After which it declined gradually from 2000 BC. Various seals, gold jewellery, pottery and sculptures belonging to Harappan Civilization have been discovered. There were figures of girls in dancing poses and also figures of monkeys, cows, dogs and bear. The dancing girl of Mohenjo-Daro, which is a bronze statue of a dancing girl, is very famous among those excavated. Priest King is another important statue that was found belonging to the Mature Harappan Civilization. Many necklaces, bangles and other ornaments were other items found. Many toys and games were also made by the people of Harappa. A harp like instrument was also found, which is believed to have been used as a musical instrument. All these show that we had a rich and ancient culture which we must be really proud of.
Mosque And Circular Well, Sarai Nurmahal : Our next destination “Serai Nurmahal” is real close to my heart. My grand father took my here a couple of time when I was a kid. This palace was built by the great Mughal Emperor Jahangir. One of my favorite part of this mahal is the beautiful Mosque and Circular Well.
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About Me..
A big hello to everyone here... I am 'the' Geeta Sharma, a young, vibrant, and fun-loving girl from Agra. As a kid, tall buildings always inspired me and now as I type, I myself have attained a master’s degree in Architecture and am working on several projects in and around my city. Whenever I feel taxed of my job, I find a way out in the nature, my second habitat for obvious reasons! Meditation, camping, and photography are activities for which Mother Nature inspires me! On my way back, I also make it a point to get my mind and body relaxed at nearby spa centres. That is about me and you will find much more in detail with regular blogs and updates from me. So stay tuned and sit tight for new experiences every day!
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