Ankita Sinha - Travel Blogger from India

India Travel Blogs, best Indian Travel Blogs, India Tourism Blogs: 10 Tallest Waterfalls in India

India Travel Blogs, best Indian Travel Blogs, India Tourism Blogs: 10 Tallest Waterfalls in India: Top 10 Waterfalls in India 1.      Vajrai Waterfall,  Satara-Maharashtra : Height 560 meters, 1840 feet The Vajrai Waterfall ...

Dussehra Navarathri celebrations in India 2012

Navratri (Nine day celebrations) and its importance:

There are nine forms of Goddess Durga matha. Below mentioned are list of goddess forms.

Ekam - First day : This day is dedicated to Goddess  Shailputri (daughter of Himalaya)

Duj - Second day : This day is dedicated to  Goddess Bramcharini (peaceful form of Durga)

Tritiya - Third day : This day is dedicated to  goddess Chandra ghanta (Anger form of Durga)

Chaturthi - Fourth day : This day is dedicated to goddess Kushmanda (Happy form of Durga)

Panchmi - Fifth day : This day is dedicated to  goddess Skand mata (Blessing form of Durga)

Shasthi - Six day : This day is dedicated to Goddess Katyayani(Daughter form of Durga)

Saptami - Seven day : This day is dedicated to Goddess Kalratri (Cruel and violent form of Durga)

Astami - Eight day : This day is dedicated to Goddess Maha gauri (form of mata parvati and symbol of purity)

Navmi - Ninth day : This day is dedicated to the goddess Siddhidatri(knowledge form of Durga)

ABCD

	A
	B
	C
	D

  Show results

Votes so far: 1
Days left to vote: 6

Top 15 Religious Places In India

1. Golden Temple: Golden temple, which is renowned as Harmindar Sahib or Sri Durbar Sahib is the popular holy shrine of Sikhs, located in Amritsar,Punjab-India. The temple is named after the god Hari. It is the sacred and cultural center of Sikhs. This vital Sikh shrine magnetizes more visitors than the Taj Mahal with more than 100,000 tourists per a day. This is the favorite tourist spot for NRI’s (Non-resident Indians). A holy bath at Amritsar Golden temple is believed to purify the soul of the devotee.
    
2. Badrinath Temple: Badrinath Temple is also known as Badrinarayan temple, situated along the Alaknanda River, in the hill town of Badrinath, Uttarakhand in India. The temple is dedicated to Lord Vishnu and is widely considered to be one of the holiest Hindu temples in India. The temple and town are also regarded as one of the four Char Dham and Chota Char Dham pilgrimage sites. It is one of the five related shrines called as Panch Badri and also one of the 108 Divya Desams, holy shrines for Vaishnavites. 
3. Kedarnath Temple:  Kedarnath temple is one of the holiest Hindu temples dedicated to Lord Shiva and also one of the 12 Jyotirlingas in India. It is located near the Mandakini River at the Garhwal Himalayan range near in Kedarnath, Uttarakhand in India. The temple is open only between the ends of April to Kartik Purnima (the autumn full moon sometime in November) due to the extreme weather conditions of the place. 
4. Tirupathi/Tirumala:  The sacred and one of the ancient temples of Sri Venkateshwara is nestled in the verdant Eastern Ghats - a mountain range that runs along south-eastern India. These hills are called as Tirumala Hills and are 3200 feet above the sea level. Lord Venkateswara at Tirumala is considered as the world’s richest temple in with an estimated annual income of over 300 crores. 
5. Srisailam: Srisailam is a famous pilgrimage centre known for the abode of Lord Shiva and His consort Parvathi in the form of Lord Mallikarjuna and Goddess Brahmarambika. The temple of Sri Mallikarjuna and Brahmarambika in Srisailam is considered sacred and must-visit after the temple of Lord Venkateshwara in Tirupati. Over years the popularity of this place has increased so much that Srisailam has gained recognition all over India. 
6. Murudeshwara Temple: The Murudeshwar temple situated atop a small hill called Kanduka Giri is a major tourist attraction. A huge towering statue of Lord Shiva, visible from great distances in Murudeshwar is a sight worth remembering forever. The statue is 123 feet (37 m) in height, which took about 2 years to build. The idol is designed such that the sun s rays fall directly on its face. 
7. Mecca Masjid: Mecca Masjid is a magnificent building with a main hall that is 75 feet high, 220 feet wide and 180 feet long. It can accommodate about ten thousand worshippers at a single go. Fifteen graceful arches support the roof of the main hall, five on each of the three sides. 
8. Kali Temple - Kali ghat: Kali temple is dedicated to Hindu Goddess Kalika and is one of the most sacred pilgrimage destinations of India. The Kali Temple (originally a small hut), was built in 1809 by Raja Basanta Roy of the Sabarna Roy Chowdhury clan - who offered 595 bighas of land to the Temple deity. 
9. Sree Padmanabha Swamy Temple: Sree Padmanabha Swamy Temple at Syanandoora or today’s Thiruvananthapuram has shed its radiance in continuous flow down the annals of oral tradition and written history. Its evolution reflects the social, historic and religious development of the region over which its influence was felt, which often extended to territories lying well inside present Southern Tamil Nadu. Ranking among the best known temples in Kerala, this shrine retains its position as the most important in Travancore standing in majestic splendor in the heart of Thiruvananthapuram, capital of Kerala. 
10. Sri Krishna Janmabhoomi Temple: Sri Krishna Janmabhoomi Temple is also known as Keshava Deo or Keshava Dev Temple. It is the most sought after devout centers in Mathura city. Its predominance compared to other holy spots is because of the belief that the temple stands on the birthplace of Lord Krishna. Krishna was born to Vasudeva and Devaki in the prison. 
11. Meenakshi Amman Temple: Meenakshi Amman Temple is one of the most important Hindu Pilgrimage places, located in the heart of Madurai, Tamil Nadu. This temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva, who is also known as Sundareswarar (Beautiful God) along with his consort Parvati who is also known as Meenakshi. The Temple was first built 2000 years ago and then expanded substantially during the reign of Thirumalai Nayak in the years 1623- 1655 A.D. 
12. Medak Church: Made of solid white granite Medak Church stands at 173 feet tall. The church, the single largest diocese in Asia and the second largest in the world after the Vatican is built in solid white granite. Medak Church was constructed between 1914 and 1924 and Thomas Edward Harding who is an architect put in all his best efforts building the cathedral.  
13. Shirdi Sai baba Temple - Samadhi Mandir of Shri Sai Baba: The Samadhi Mandir of Shri Sai Baba was constructed by a famous Sai devotee Shreemant Gopalrao. It is said that he wanted to enshrine an idol of Murlidhar there but Sai Baba manifested himself as Murlidhar and the temple became the Samadhi Mandir of Baba. 
14. Vaishno Devi Temple: Mata Vaishno devi Temple – a cave shrine dedicated to the Hindu Mythological Goddess ‘Shakti’ – the All-Supreme Goddess of creative power. Most Hindu traditions believe that the Vaishno Devi Temple is the holiest of all the ‘Shakti peetas’ – places of worship dedicated to Goddess Shakti. Vaishno Devi Temple is also the second most visited temple in India after the Tirumala Venkateshwara Temple in Andhra Pradesh. 
15. Amarnath Yatra: The toughest Yatra of them all – the Amarnath Yatra – the Hindu Annual Pilgrimage of Lord ‘Shiva Linga’ is here, beckoning all the strong-willed on a spiritual journey all the way up to13,000 feet altitude to the 130-foot high Amarnath Cave where the ice Shiva Linga naturally forms every year. Amarnath Yatra is open for 37 days this year between 25 June and 2 August. Registrations – online and over the counter are open. On-spot registrations are also possible.

Author:
Bhanu Teja

Travel Time...

The Theory of Relativity couldn't have been explained better than this.

Get this.

You may think - a road is a road and distance is distance and that it takes the same time to cover the same distance - no matter which road you're on. But I'll have you reconsider your theory shortly. Let me show you how.

Let's look at some of the popular roads of India:
1. Bandra-Worli Sea Link Road - a bypass through the sea.
2. Khardong La Road - one of the highest motorable roads in the world.
3. Stilwell Road - once the most expensive road in the world.
4. Grand Trunk Road - one of the oldest roads in the world.
5. Magnetic Hill in Ladakh - one of the strangest roads in the world.
6. Hyderabad-Bangalore Highway - one of the easiest roads in the world.
7. Rohtang Tunnel Road - the longest tunnel-road in India at 10,200 feet elevation.

Geography. Landscape. Weather conditions. Speed limit. Magnetic forces. Unforeseen and uncontrollable forces.  And the driver's disposition towards driving. All contribute to the variation in driving speed and experience.

Now picture this....
1. Bandra-Worli Sea Link is an 8-lane cable-stayed bridge road which is 5.6 kms long and serves as a bypass to the Mahim Causeway, through the sea and is built to reduce travel time by 20 minutes between Bandra and Worli. Though the road may facilitate 60-km drive-speed, the traffic-congestion still brings the vehicles to a grinding halt for more than 15 minutes at both ends. It is one of the best roads in the world and still can't expect to reach on time.

2. Khardong La Road is perched atop a 17,600-feet high mountain in Ladakh, Jammu & Kashmir. Speed is secondary on this road - safety comes first. With all the perennial snow and ice mountains, finding a road beneath the sheets of snow is top priority.

3. Stilwell Road - also called the Ledo Road, was named after U.S. Army General Stilwell and was built during the World War II as an alternative to the Burma Road which was cut by the Japanese Army. In terms of construction costs, this road was once the highest in the world! It's the zigzag that will make you dizzy if you attempt speed on this road.

4. Grand Trunk Road - one of the oldest and longest roads in the world which connects Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Afghanistan. This route was first initiated during the Mauryan Empire  and was renovated and extended during the 16th Century by Sher Shah Suri of the Muslim Sur Empire who took control of the Mughal Empire in 1540. Now this road would be ideal for high-speeds in most parts of its entire length.

5. Magnetic Hill in Ladakh - thousands of curious tourists visit this area to check this strange behaviour of this mountain/hill which is 27 kms west of Leh in Jammu & Kashmir. Tourists who visited this place at 11,000 feet altitude, have reported that this hilly area has magnetic properties which are strong enough to pull vehicles uphill. If this theory is fake, then why do aircrafts increase their altitude while flying over this area? As it is this hilly landscape is not speed-friendly and then this magnetic force which has a mind of its own?

6. Hyderabad-Bangalore Highway - they say you can drive on this road with your eyes closed. There is some reality to that - though should be attempted literally! This is almost a straight road that runs north to south without any deviations. During the day, you would barely see any traffic on the road. And the highway is 4-track road. You can easily cover this 570-km drive in 7.5 hours during the day in a car as opposed to the 12-hour drive in the night. Well.....I did!

7. Rohtang Tunnel Road - the current longest road tunnel of India which is at 10,200 feet altitude under the Rohtang Mountain Pass in the Pir-Panjal Range of the Himalayas on the Leh-Manali Highway. The tunnel is 8.8 kms in length and is supposed to reduce driving distance of 60 kms between Manali and Keylong. 

By this theory, you ought to know better than to apply the same formula of distance, time and speed to all geographies alike!

Madurai Meenakshi Temple

Madurai Meenakshi Temple or Meenakshi Amman Temple is one of the most important and historic temple in India which is well known for its amazing and unique architecture. This ancient temple in Madurai has become one of the major center of attraction and devotee and common people visit this religious temple to view its great architecture. The temple is dedicated to Goddess Parvati and is almost 2500 years old, which add more to its historic importance.

People traveling to Madurai never miss out an opportunity to visit this temple and they consider it as a must to visit travel attraction in their travel itinerary. The Madurai Meenakshi temple is home to around 33,000 sculptures and was also one of the nominees for the “New Seven Wonders of the World”. The festivals and fairs associated with this temple are worth attending and people arriving the temple reaches its peak during festive seasons.

Here is a video that has been fetched from YouTube which helps you to know more about Meenakshi Temple in Madurai, its architecture, its inner premises etc. Hope you enjoy watching this video.

Meenakshi Tirukalyanam festival which is celebrated annually during April–May is one of the major festivals of Meenakshi temple and attracts about one million people. As per reliable sources, the Madurai Meenakshi temple attracts around 15,000 visitors per day and during Fridays the number of visitors jumps up to 25,000. So if you are planning to visit this amazing temple in Tamil Nadu with your family, then it is recommended to avoid it during the Fridays, as there will be a huge rush of visitors.

Savaari in Subcontinent: Puranas Describes Historical culture of India - Savaari in subcontinent

Savaari in Subcontinent: Puranas Describes Historical culture of India - Savaari in subcontinent