04/03/2009 On 4th March 2006, I travelled to Allahabad, Varanasi, Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh which are among the holiest places in India and also Agra which is famous for Symbol of Love, Taj Mahal. The trip was arranged for 10 days, which was one of the long trips with my friends. We planned to travel through train, so we can also enjoy city out cuts through train. We booked tickets two months before the journey to Allahabad, in the train named Patna Express (6359. We were five friends and planning to reside in hotels. Since I had a friend from Allahabad, he arranged a car favorable for the trip.
We started our journey on 4th March at night from Ernakulam South Railway station. The train departure was in right time at 22:45. We reached Allahabad Junction on 7th March, Tuesday early morning 01:00, after 50 hrs amazing journey. My friend Ullas Paul received us and he took us to one of the best hotels in Allahabad. Since we were tired so we took sound sleep and we got up early at 7 am. Ullas booked an Indica car and in car we left to our first destination Sangam, which is situated around 7 km from Civil Lines, overlooked by the eastern ramparts of the fort, wide flood plains and muddy banks protrude towards the sacred Sangam. We noticed that, at the point at which the brown Ganges meets the GreenishYamuna, pandas (priests) perch on small platforms to perform puja and assist the devout in their ritual ablutions in the shallow waters. Beaches and ghats were littered with the shorn hair of pilgrims who came to offer pind for their deceased parents.
The sacred Sangam is the confluence of three of the holiest rivers in the Hindu mythology – Ganga, Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati. After our holy bath in Sangam we went to Mankameshwar Temple, which is situated near Saraswati Ghat, on the banks of Yamuna, this is one of the famous Shiva Temples of Allahabad. We also worshiped lord Hanuman in Hanuman Temple, which is also situated near Sangam and is unique in North India, for its supine image of Hanumana. The big idol of Lord Hanumana is in a reclining posture. The interesting fact is that when the Ganga is in spate, this temple gets submerged. After our visit to Temples, we visited Akshaya Vat or immortal Banyan tree, which was really huge and very spiritual. Next to this was Allahabad Fort, which is one of the massive forts built by Emperor Akbar in 1583 A.D., the fort stands on the banks of the Yamuna near the confluence site. In its prime, the fort was unrivalled for its design, construction and craftsmanship. This huge, majestic fort has three magnificent galleries flanked by high towers. Now it is used by the army and only a limited area is open for visitors. During evening we had spent our time in leisure in one of the famous parks in Allayhabad, Minto Park which is situated near Saraswati Ghat. It has a stone memorial with a four-lion symbol on top. The park was very peaceful and lot of people were spending there time in park. We also went to Civil lines which is one of the major market areas of Allahabad, and is famous for its shopping malls, hotels, cinema halls and restaurants.
We had spend our first day in Allahabad and really it was very thrilling experience to be part of their culture and traditions.
08/03/2009 We were planning our onward journey by road to next holy place, Varanasi which was nearly 130 km from Allahabad. After our night hall in Allahabad we left to Varanasi on 8th early morning 5 am through NH2 and we reached Varanasi at 8 am. First we had Holy bath in Ghats of Ganga which perhaps is the holiest spots of Varanasi. The Ganga Ghats at Varanasi are full of pilgrims who flock to the place to take a dip in the holy Ganges, which is believed to absolve one from all sins. We also visited number of temples on the bank of the Ganga river in Varanasi. It is believed that people are cleansed physically, mentally and spiritually at Ganga Ghats. It is at the Ganga Ghats where we see life and death together. Then we worshifped Vishwanath temple. Really we felt divinity in the air. Then we visited the Banaras Hindu University or BHU which is an internationally reputed University and is situated in Varanasi. We also saw Bharat Kala Bhavan, Inside the BHU campus, which is an art and architecture museum and houses a vast collection of paintings, Hindu and Buddhist sculptures and other materials of archeological importance. The most amazing visit was to the Jantar Mantar which was built to measure the local time, the Sun's declination, altitude, the declination of stars, planets and to determine eclipses. The Jantar Mantar has several masonry instruments to record the motion, speed and properties starts and planets and study astronomy that are accurate and can still be used efficiently today. The Jantar Mantar incorporates multiple structures of unique form, each with a specialized function for astronomical measurement. We loved this place and it has its own kind of reputation here. We saw many foreigners who visited this place. We had our lunch in one of the top “Dhabas” (hotel built in road side). Next place we visited was great Ramnagar fort which was about 14 km. from Varanasi and is situated on the opposite bank of river Ganga. It is the ancestral home of the Maharaja of Banaras. We came to know that Maharaja Balwant Singh built this fort-palace in the eighteenth century. The fort is built in red sandstone. The Ramnagar fort has a temple and a museum within the grounds and the temple is dedicated to Ved Vyasa, who wrote Mahabharata, the great Indian epic. The Ramnagar fort houses a museum displaying the Royal collection which includes vintage Cars, Royal palkies, an armory of swords and old guns, ivory work and antique clocks. We also visited nearby Durga Temple and Chhinnamastika Temple in Ramnagar. We noticed a big clock inside the giant walls of the Ramnagar fort-palace. This clock not only displays year, month, week and day but also astronomical facts about the sun, moon and constellation of stars. In evening we made our pockets empty in shopping hotspots in Varanasi, Chowk, Gyan Vapi, Vishwanath Gali, Thatheri Bazar, Lahurabir, Godoulia or Dashswamedh Gali and Golghar were those places where we had shopping till late night. We spent our night in one the Ashrams near Vishwanath temple.
09/03/2009 Next day on 9th, early morning at 4:00 am we left to Ayodhya, the divine land where Lord Rama was born. It was nearly 200 kms from Varanasi. By 8:00 am we arrived Ayodhya. Fortunately the day we arrived Ayodhya was ‘Ramnavami', the day of the Lord's birth. The city was decorated with lights and flowers. We worshiped lord Rama in Ramkot Citadel, the chief place of worship in Ayodhya. We also visited Jain Temple, Sumantanath which is one of the most important Monuments in Ayodhya. Later we also worshiped lord Hanuman in Hanuman Garhi which is one of the most popular religious shrines in Ayodhya. Soon we also visited the Ram Katha Museum, houses a very interesting collection of arts and artifacts. It holds a special appeal for the lovers of history in particular. The coins, rare palm leaf manuscripts and pottery that are exhibited here throw a great deal of light on the past.
In evening we had wonderful site of town. Every where shops and houses were lighting with small colourful bulb lights. We purchased some photos of temples, shirts with religious prints, devotional objects, idols of Ram and Sita from here. Shopping in Ayodhya was a fun filled experience and we had spend some quality times venturing the Bazaars in Ayodhya. We had our night halt in a lodge.
10/03/2009 On 10th morning at 4:00 we left to Agra which was nearly 450 kms from Ayodhya. Our destination was most beautiful building in the world, Taj Mahal. We arrived Agra at 1:00 pm after noon. First we booked a hotel for two days in Agra and then we refreshed our selves and during evening we left to Tajmahal, "the epitome of love", "a monument of immeasurable beauty". The beauty of this magnificent monument is such that it is beyond the scope of words. We had spent our evening in lap of Tajmahal.
11/03/2009 Next morning on 11th we visited Agra Fort which is surrounded by a moat. The fort looks intimidating because of its lofty battlements that overlook the far stretching mansions of nobles and princes built along the riverfront. Another important and very significant structure is the dominating gateway that is surrounded by the magnificent towers, bastions and ramparts. We also visited Itmad-ud-daula Tomb
which is a special place in the chronicles of both history as well as architecture. As I read in books, this was the very first tomb in India that is entirely made out of Marble.
We spent our evening in Chini ka Rauza and moonlight garden called Mehtab Bagh, which is built on the Yamuna's south bank across the river. It was laid alongside the northern waterfront. We spent our night in Agra hotel and checked out by morning.
12/03/2009 On 12th, it was time to return home and finally we thanked Ullas for his company and valuable hosting and also for his excellent ride all through cities. We together had lot photos and at last we started our journey back to home from Agra Railway station. Since we had return tickets to Ernakulam from Agra in Nizamuddin - Ernakulam Mangala Lakshadweep Express (2618). We boarded from Agra and left the city by 12:30 noon. On 14th we reached Ernakulam Junction at 12:30 pm after fantastic 48 hrs journey. On our arrival, we saw our parents waiting for us. We had memorable days together in Uttar Pradesh.