Fatehpur Sikri

Fatehpur Sikri (Hindi: फतेहपूर सिकरी, Urdu: فتحپور سیکری) is a city and a municipal board in Agra district in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. It was the political capital of India's Mughal Empire under Akbar's reign, from 1571 until 1585, when it was abandoned, ostensibly due to lack of water. It is located in what is now Uttar Pradesh, India.

Built in honour of Sufi saint Salim Chishti in 1571 by Mughal emperor Akbar.

The fort is situated at 27° 05' N latitude and 77° 39' E longitude and a mean altitude of 708 meters above sea level.

Fatehpur Sikri shared its imperial duties as a capital city with Agra, where a bulk of the arsenal, treasure hoards, and other reserves were kept at its Red Fort for security. During a crisis, the court, harem, and treasury could be removed to Agra, only 26 miles away, less than a day's march.

Innovations in land revenue, coinage, military organisation, and provincial administration emerged during the Fatehpur Sikri years.

It is regarded as Emperor Akbar's crowning architectural legacy. Indeed, its numerous palaces, halls, and masjids satisfy his creative and aesthetic impulses, typical of Mughals.

Fatehpur Sikri is a World Heritage Site. Some contemporary Indian architects, notably B. V. Doshi, have cited it as an important source of inspiration. Architect or layperson, this city generally captures the imagination and wonder of all who experience its urban spaces and see its buildings. Charles and Ray Eames, cited Fatehpur Sikri in the landmark 'India Report' that led to the conception of the National Institute of Design, India's premiere design school. It is here, that the legends of Akbar and his clever courtier Birbal must have arisen. Another of his navaratnas, Tansen, perhaps had performance spaces integrated within the architecture of this fort.

The layout of the city shows a conscious attempt to produce rich spatial effects by the organization of built forms around open spaces in interesting ways. Of particular note is the way in which shifts in axes occur as one moves along the city and the location of squares in important places with buildings forming a backdrop or envelope.

Unlike other important Mughal cities (such as Shahjahanabad, which has a very formal planning), Fatehpur Sikri has aspects of informality and improvisation. Indeed, the newly constructed city bore a similarity to the movable imperial encampment also designed by Akbar.

The buildings of Fatehpur Sikri show a synthesis of various regional schools of architectural craftsmanship such as Gujarati and Bengali. This was because indigenous craftsmen from various regions were used for the construction of the buildings. Influences from Hindu and Jain architecture are seen hand in hand with Islamic elements. The building material predominantly used is red sandstone, quarried from the same rocky outcrop on which it is situated.

Some of the important buildings in this city, both religious and secular buildings, are:

• Naubat Khana – Drum house: near the entry, where important arrivals are announced.
• Diwan-i-Am – Hall of Public Audience: a building typology found in many Mughal cities where the ruler meets the general public. In this case it is a pavilion like multi-bayed rectangular structure fronting a large open space.
• Diwan-i-Khas – Hall of Private Audience: famous for its central pillar with thirty-six voluted brackets supporting a circular platform for Akbar.
• Raja Birbal's house: the house of Akbar's favourite minister, who was a Hindu. Notable features of the building are the horizontal sloping sunshades or chajjas and the brackets which support them.
• Jodhabai's palace: The building shows Gujarati influence and is built around a courtyard, with special care being taken to ensure privacy.
• Pachisi Court: a square marked out as a large sized board game (modern day Ludo) where live coins- people- participated.
• Char Chaman Tank: a tank with a central platform and four bridges leading up to it.
• Panch Mahal: A five-storied palatial structure. The bottom floor has 176 intricately carved columns.
• Buland Darwaza – the 'Gate of Magnificence': one of the gateways to the Jami masjid, a stupendous piece of architecture from the outside, gradually making a transition to a human scale in the inside.
• Jama Masjid: the mosque, built in the manner of Indian mosques, with liwans (aisles) around a central courtyard. A distinguishing feature is the row of chhatris (small domed pavilions) over the sanctuary.
• Tomb of Salim Chisti: a white marble encased tomb within the Jama mosque's courtyard.

Building of Fathehpur Sikri	The five-storey Panch Mahal	The Tomb of Salim Chisti	Buland Darwaza
Detail of carving	View across Fatehpur Sikri	Central pillar of Diwan-i-Khas

The Mahabodhi Temple (Literally: "Great Awakening Temple")

The Mahabodhi Temple (Literally: "Great Awakening Temple") is a Buddhist temple in Bodh Gaya, the location where Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha, attained enlightenment. Bodh Gaya is located about 96 km (60 miles) from Patna, Bihar state, India. Next to the temple, to its western side, is the holy Bodhi tree. In the Pali Canon, the site is called Bodhimanda, and the monastery there the Bodhimanda Vihara.
Buddhist legends concerning the site of the Mahabodhi Temple

The site of the Bodhi tree at Bodhigaya is, according to the Buddhist commentarial scriptures, the same for all Buddhas. According to the Jatakas, it forms the navel of the earth, and no other place can support the weight of the Buddha's attainment.

When no Bodhi tree grows at the site, the Bodhimanda (ground round the Bodhi-tree), for a distance of one royal karīsa, is devoid of all plants, even of any blade of grass, and is quite smooth, spread with sand like a silver plate, while all around it are grass, creepers and trees. None can travel in the air immediately above it, not even SakkaJ.iv.232f.

In the case of Gautama Buddha, his Bodhi tree sprang up on the day he was born.

Rise of Buddhism

Traditional accounts say that, around 530 BC, Gautama Buddha, wandering as a monk, reached the sylvan banks of Falgu River, near the city of Gaya, India. There he sat in meditation under a peepul tree (Ficus religiosa or Sacred Fig), which later became known as the Bodhi tree. According to Buddhist scriptures, after three days and three nights, Siddharta attained enlightenment and the answers that he had sought. Mahabodhi Temple was built to mark that location.

The Buddha then spent the succeeding seven weeks at seven different spots in the vicinity meditating and considering his experience. Several specific places at the current Mahabodhi Temple relate to the traditions surrounding these seven weeks:

* The first week was spent under the Bodhi tree.
* During the second week, the Buddha remained standing and stared, uninterrupted, at the Bodhi tree. This spot is marked by the Animeshlocha Stupa, that is, the unblinking stupa or shrine, which is located on the north-east of the Mahabodhi Temple complex. There stands a statute of Buddha with his eyes fixed towards the Bodhi tree.
* The Buddha is said to have walked back and forth between the location of the Animeshlocha Stupa and the Bodhi tree. According to legend, lotus flowers sprung up along this route, it is now called Ratnachakarma or the jewel walk.

In approximately 250 BC, about 250 years after the Buddha attained Enlightenment, Buddhist Emperor Asoka visited Bodh Gaya with the intention of establishing a monastery and shrine. As part of the temple he built, the diamond throne (called the Vajrasana), attempting to mark the exact spot of the Buddha's enlightenment, was established. Asoka is considered the founder of the Mahabodhi Temple.

Buddhism declined when the dynasties patronizing it declined, following White Hun and the early Islamic invasions such as that of Muhammad bin Qasim. A strong revival occurred under the Pala Empire in the northeast of the subcontinent (where the temple is situated). Mahayana Buddhism flourished under the Palas between the 8th and the 12th century. However, after the defeat of the Palas by the Hindu Sena dynasty, Buddhism's position again began to erode and became nearly extinct in India. During the 12th century AD, Bodh Gaya and the nearby regions were invaded by Muslim armies. During this period, the Mahabodhi Temple fell into disrepair and was largely abandoned. During the 16th century, a Hindu monastery was established near Bodh Gaya. Over the following centuries, the monastery's abbot or mahant became the area's primary landholder and claimed ownership of the Mahabodhi Temple grounds.

In the 1880s, the-then British government of India began to restore Mahabodhi Temple under the direction of Sir Alexander Cunningham. A short time later, in 1891, the Sri Lankan Buddhist leader Anagarika Dharmapala started a campaign to return control of the temple to Buddhists, over the objections of the mahant. The campaign was partially successful in 1949, when control passed from the Hindu mahant to the state government of Bihar, which established a temple management committee. The committee has nine members, a majority of whom, including the chairman, must by law be Hindus. Mahabodhi's first head monk under the management committee was Anagarika Munindra, a Bengali man who had been an active member of the Maha Bodhi Society.


Mahabodhi Temple's central tower rise to 55 meters, and were heavily renovated in the 19th century. The central tower is surrounded by four smaller towers, constructed in the same style.

The Mahabodhi Temple is surrounded on all four sides by stone railings, about two metres high. The railings reveal two distinct types, both in style as well as the materials used. The older ones, made of sandstone, date to about 150 BC, and the others, constructed from unpolished coarse granite, are believed to be of the Gupta period (300 CE – 600 CE). The older railings have scenes such as Lakshmi, the Hindu goddess of wealth, being bathed by elephants; and Surya, the Hindu sun god, riding a chariot drawn by four horses. The newer railings have figures of stupas (reliquary shrines) and garudas (eagles). Images of lotus flowers also appear

Mahabodhi Temple is claimed as property of state government of Bihar, part of India. Under the terms of the Bodh Gaya Temple Act of 1949, the state government makes itself responsible for the protection, management, and monitoring of temple and its properties. The Act also has provisions for a Temple Management Committee, along with an advisory Board, which consists of the governor of Bihar state and twenty to twenty-five other members, half of them from foreign Buddhist countries.

The Temple Management Committee is the executive body for management of the Mahabodhi Temple and certain adjoining areas. The TMC functions under the supervision, direction, and control of the state government of Bihar.

In June 2002, the Mahabodhi Temple became a UNESCO World Heritage Site, specifically nominated for the international World heritage program.

All finds of religious artifacts in the area are legally protected under the Treasure Trove Act of 1878.

The Delhi Fort also known as Lal Qil'ah, or Lal Qila, meaning the Red Fort, located in Delhi, India is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The Red Fort was the palace for Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan's new capital, Shahjahanabad, the seventh Muslim city in the Delhi site. He moved his capital from Agra in a move designed to bring prestige to his reign, and to provide ample opportunity to apply his ambitious building schemes and interests. The Red Fort stands at the eastern edge of Shahjahanabad, and gets its name from the massive wall of red sandstone that defines its four sides. The wall is 1.5 miles (2.5 km) long, and varies in height from 60ft (16m) on the river side to 110 ft (33 m) towards the city. Measurements have shown that the plan was generated using a square grid of 82 m.

The fort lies along the Yamuna River, which fed the moats that surround most of the wall. The wall at its north-eastern corner is adjacent to an older fort, the Salimgarh, a defense built by Islam Shah Suri in 1546. Construction on the Red Fort began in 1638 and was complete by 1648. But it is believed that it is The Ancient City of Lal Kot which was captured by Shahjahan since Lal Kot literally means Red(Lal) Fort(Kot). lal Kot was the capital city of Prithviraj Chauhan in the late 12th century

On 11 March 1783 Sikhs entered Red fort in Delhi and occupied the Diwan-i-Am. The city was essentially surrendered by the Mughal wazir in cahoots with his Sikh Allies. This task was carried out under the command of the Sardar Baghel Singh Dhaliwal of the Karor Singhia misl.

(Sardar Baghel Singh Dhaliwal on the third of his 3 campaigns to conquer Delhi.)

The Red Fort was conceived as a whole, and subsequent modifications have not taken away from the overall unity of the scheme. In the 18th century, however, occupiers and looters damaged some sections of the palace. After the Sepoy Mutiny of 1857, when the Fort was used as a headquarters, the British army occupied and destroyed many of its pavilions and gardens. A program for restoring the surviving parts of the fort began in 1903.


The walls of the fort are smoothly dressed, articulated by heavy string-courses along the upper section. They open at two major gates, the Delhi and the Lahore gates. The Lahore Gate is the main entrance; it leads to a long covered bazaar street, the Chatta Chowk, whose walls are lined with stalls for shops. The Chatta Chowk leads to a large open space where it crosses the large north-south street that was originally the division between the fort's military functions, to its west, and the palaces, to its east. The southern end of this street is the Delhi Gate. On axis with the Lahore gate and the Chatta Chowk, on the eastern side of the open space, is the Naqqar Khana ("drum house"), the main gate for the palace, named for the musicians' gallery above it. Beyond this gate is another, larger open space, which originally served as the courtyard of the Diwan-i-Am, the large pavilion for public imperial audiences. An ornate throne-balcony for the emperor stands at the center of the eastern wall of the Diwan, conceived as a copy of the throne of Solomon.

The imperial private apartments lie behind the throne. The apartments consist of a row of pavilions that sits on a raised platform along the eastern edge of the fort, looking out onto the river Yamuna. The pavilions are connected by a continuous water channel, known as the Nahr-i-Behisht, or the Stream of Paradise, that runs through the center of each pavilion. The water is drawn from the river Yamuna, from a tower, the Shah Burj, at the northeastern corner of the fort. The palace is designed as an imitation of paradise as it is described in the Koran; a couplet repeatedly inscribed in the palace reads, "If there be a paradise on earth, it is here, it is here". The planning of the palace is based on Islamic prototypes, but each pavilion reveals in its architectural elements the Hindu influences typical of Mughal building. The palace complex of the Red Fort is counted among the best examples of the Mughal style at its Shah Jahani peak.


The two southernmost pavilions of the palace are zenanas, or women's quarters: the Mumtaz Mahal (now a museum), and the larger, lavish Rang Mahal, which has been remarked for its gilded, decorated ceiling and marble pool, fed by the Nahr-i-Behisht. The third pavilion from the south, the Khas Mahal, contains the imperial chambers. These include a suite of bedrooms, prayer rooms, a veranda, and the Mussaman Burj, a tower built against the fortress walls, from which the emperor would show himself to the people in a daily ceremony. The next pavilion is the Diwan-i-Khas, the lavishly decorated hall of private audience, used for ministerial and court gatherings. This finest of the pavilions is ornamented with floral pietra dura patterns on the columns, with precious stones and gilding. A painted wooden ceiling has replaced the original one, of silver inlaid with gold.

The next pavilion contains the hammam, or baths, in the Turkish style, with Mughal ornamentation in marble and colored stones. To the west of the hammam is the Moti Masjid, the Pearl Mosque. This was a later addition, built in 1659 as a private mosque for Aurangzeb, Shah Jahan's successor. It is a small, three-domed mosque in carved white marble, with a three-arched screen which steps down to the courtyard.

To its north lies a large formal garden, the Hayat Bakhsh Bagh, or 'Life-Bestowing Garden', which is cut through by two bisecting channels of water. A pavilion stands at either end of the north-south channel, and a third, built in 1842 by the last emperor, Bahadur Shah Zafar, stands at the center of the pool where the two channels meet.

Qutub Minar - The tallest brick minaret in the world

Qutub Minar (Urdu: قطب منار) is the tallest brick minaret in the world, and an important example of Indo-Islamic Architecture. The tower is in the Qutb complex in South Delhi, India. The Qutb Minar and its monuments are listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The Qutub Minar is 72.5 metres high (237.8 ft) and requires 399 steps to get to the top, although it had not been possible for visitors to ascend the tower for some years, due to safety reasons (mainly due to the stampede tragedy) ,but now the visitors can reach the top of the tower by paying a fees of 500 INR or about 12$. The diameter of the base is 14.3 metres wide while the top floor measures 2.75 metres in diameter.

Surrounding the building are many fine examples of Indian artwork from the time it was built in 1193. A second tower was in construction and planned to be taller than the Qutub Minar itself. Its construction ended when it was about forty feet tall.

Inspired by the Minaret of Jam in Afghanistan and wishing to surpass it, Qutb-ud-din Aybak, the first Muslim ruler of Delhi, commenced construction of the Qutub Minar in 1193; but could only complete its basement. His successor, Iltutmish, added three more stories and, in 1368, Firuz Shah Tughluq constructed the fifth and the last story. The development of architectural styles from Aibak to Tuglak are quite evident in the minaret. Like earlier towers erected by the Ghaznavids and Ghurids in Afghanistan, the Qutub Mahal comprises several superposed flanged and cylindrical shafts, separated by balconies carried on Muqarnas corbels. The minaret is made of fluted red sandstone covered with intricate carvings and verses from the Qur'an. The Qutub Minar is itself built on the ruins of Lal Kot, the Red Citadel in the city of Dhillika, the capital of the Jat Tomars and the Chauhans, the last Hindu rulers of Delhi.

According to John Keay's "History of India," 27 previous Hindu and Jain temples were destroyed and their materials reused to construct the minar.[citation needed]

The purpose for building this beautiful monument has been speculated upon, apart from the usual role of a minaret—that of calling people for prayer in a mosque—in this case the Quwwat-ul-Islam mosque to the northeast of minar in AD 1198. It is the earliest extant mosque built by the Delhi Sultans. Other reasons ascribed to its construction are as a tower of victory, a monument signifying the might of Islam, or a watch tower for defence. Controversy also surrounds the origins for the name of the tower. Many historians believe that the Qutb Minar was named after the first Turkish sultan, Qutb-ud-din Aibak but others contend that it was named in honour of Khwaja Qutb-ud-din Bakhtiar Kaki of Ush, a saint from Baghdad who came to live in India who was greatly venerated by Iltutmish. According to the inscriptions on its surface it was repaired by Firuz Shah Tughlaq (AD 1351–88) and Sikandar Lodi (AD 1489–1517). Major R.Smith also repaired and restored the minar in 1829.

Small wonder - Darjeeling Himalayan Train ( The toy train huffing and puffing its way up from Siliguri to Darjeeling is no ordinary train)

You've seen this locomotive chugging away happily in popular Hindi movie songs such as Mere Sapno Ki Rani and, more recently, Kasto Mazaa from Parineeta.

Of course this toy train huffing and puffing its way up from Siliguri to Darjeeling is no ordinary train. It's part of the folklore of the hill people. Locals wait everyday for the train to show up, coming from behind the mountains and then disappearing into the distant mist.

They wait for this sighting, for the tiny steam engine to blow its whistle and puff past their houses. The sound has been part of their memory since 1881, so much a part of their daily life that the railway authorities had to modify the whistle of the diesel engine to make it sound like a steam engine's.

The train runs on a zig-zag railway track not more than 2 feet wide. Along its way, it crosses tropical mixed evergreen forests and tea gardens (where you get Darjeeling tea from), making the hill railway what many say "a marvel of miniature engineering."

What's fascinating about the toy train is that even after 100 years little seems to have changed about the journey. Along the 86 km-stretch travellers can see magnificent pine trees dotting the Bhutan range, and the Teesta river just below.

On some stretches, the train runs parallel and on the same level as the Hill Cart road and provides a breathtaking view of the tea gardens on either side of the track. But what leaves everyone enchanted as they enter this toy train is the fascinating idea that perhaps the Lilliputian world described in Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels has finally come to life.

Love in marble - Rabindranath Tagore called the Taj 'a tear drop upon the cheek of time.

What can be said about the Taj Mahal that hasn't already been said? Ever since it was unveiled to the world, almost four centuries ago, praise for the marbled wonder has never ceased.

Shah Jahan, himself, in his Badshahnama, wrote that the sight of its beauty 'creates sorrowing sighs and makes the sun and moon shed tears from their eyes.'

Other poets, writers and artists too outdid themselves, when it came to speaking about the Taj. Rabindranath Tagore, for instance called it 'a tear drop upon the cheek of time.'

The British painter Hodges compared it to 'a perfect pearl on an azure ground - with an effect so dazzling that no other work of art can ever produce.' Even the otherwise reticent Rudyard Kipling found it to be 'an embodiment of all things pure.'

So, what makes the Taj so universally appealing? When Shah Jahan conceptualised it, he wanted his monument to be unique. And, his architects did not let him down. The main marble tomb stands on a square plinth, with four minarets on each corner of the plinth, giving it a symmetrical design.

The minarets, in fact, have been so designed that in an earthquake, they will fall away from the tomb and not on it. The surface of the tomb has been extensively decorated with exquisite calligraphs.

However, what adds to Taj's beauty, many feel, is not just its physical perfectness but also the story behind it - of Shah Jahan and Mumtaz, which gives that extra touch of romance to the monument. Maybe it is this diversity, in which lies the beauty of Taj — to be different things to different people, yet still be beautiful to all.

Chariot of the Sun - The Sun Temple of Konark is a stupendous sight.

Even in a half-preserved state, the Sun Temple of Konark is a stupendous sight. The temple does require a bit of thinking to be envisaged in its original form-the Sun god passing through the heavens on his divine chariot, being pulled by seven horses. But then the 'whole' does not seem to matter to the eye when each part here is an example of exquisite Indian craftsmanship.

Each stone slab in the perfectly proportioned structure is alive with precisely chiselled motifs of flowers, animals, birds, royals and deities. The leaves of a tree, the adornments of the courtesans, the carved spokes of the wheel - the details on each block are striking.

The panels carry erotic sculptures as well, besides those depicting other everyday activities like hunts, dances and battle scenes. It is said that the base of the temple alone has some 2,000 images of elephants. The main sanctum, where the principle deity was enshrined, is in ruins.

The fame of the 13th century structure, located in Puri district of Orissa, had reached far and wide even during medieval times. It was visited by the Vaishnava saint Chaitanya as well as Abu'l Fazl, the author of A'in-i-Akbari, in which he wrote: "Near Jagannath is a temple dedicated to the Sun. Its cost was defrayed by 12 years revenue of the province. Even those whose judgement is critical and who are difficult to please stand astonished at its sight." Ditto, we say.

Spiritual glory - A monastic retreat for the monks, Ajanta is any visitor's delight.

Set amidst lush greenery along the face of a mountain with a small stream cascading through the valley below, Ajanta is any visitor's delight. A monastic retreat for the monks, these stupendous structures embellished with some of the most lovely paintings and splendid sculptures took 800 years to be carved out.

About 200 monks worked relentlessly on the hillside hanging over the tiny streamlet, chiselling and drawing into the heart of the rock, digging deep into the hillside, some going 100 feet deep. It is believed that the caves were strategically located along the trade routes so that the monks could travel safely with traders to far flung areas to spread their faith. For many years the caves functioned as a perfect retreat for the monks but around the 8th century AD they were abandoned for the nearby Ellora caves. The reason for the shift is shrouded in mystery but once past its days of glory, Ajanta slipped into oblivion. The caves lay hidden for over a 1,000 years under dense forest overgrowth before being discovered by sheer chance by a hunting team in 1819.

There are 28 caves at Ajanta, two chaityas or prayer halls and three viharas, a place for the monks to rest, study and meditate. The walls and ceilings on the inside are adorned with sculptures and murals depicting stories from the life of the Buddha and the more popular tales from the lives of Buddha's previous incarnations. Some paintings also contain scenes from the royal court and popular life of the ancient times. The paintings on the walls are of the highest craftsmanship and depict a mastery of forms, positions and gestures that had never been seen before in ancient India. And like many say, it's hard for anyone who has not been to Ajanta to imagine the charm of the caves.

Grand and beautiful - The great Temple of Lord Shiva ( Brihadeshwara Temple of Tanjavur)

If there is a beauty contest for temples, the Brihadeshwara temple in Tanjavur will win it hands down. The magnificent Chola temple which was constructed in 1010 AD is a perfect blend of what is termed as 'beauty with brains'. So while there is an amazing simplicity about the various parts of the temple: square vertical base, tall tapering body and over it all the graceful vimana (the crowning glory of the temple), the temple also has many a dazzling architectural feat to its credit. Its vimana, for instance, it is said, never casts a shadow at noon at any time of the year.

The walls of the temple are covered with beautiful sculptures of gods and goddesses and its top is capped by a monolithic cupola. In those times, moving such a massive block to the top of the temple was a remarkable achievement and legend has it that this task was accomplished by constructing a ramp 6 km long and elephants were employed to pull the stone to the top, a technique also used by the pyramid builders of Egypt.

The most dominating feature of the temple is the vimana, which is the tallest structure in the temple. This makes Brihadeshwara temple somewhat unusual, since the tallest structure in most Indian temples is the gopuram.

There is a sense of solidity about Brihadeshwara and the grace and form of the structures is amazing. At the entrance of the temple sits a huge stone bull (nandi) which is considered among the largest in the world. Legend has it that the nandi continued to grow and grow until finally a nail was driven on its back and the growth stopped.

Shiva's abode - Kailash Temple of Ellora

The Kailash temple in Ellora is a sight to behold

The name of this temple is unlikely to pop up in your minds when you think of ancient Indian wonders. In fact, not many of you may have even heard of it, but Kailash temple in Ellora is a sight to behold. Constructed by the Rashtrakuta king Dantidurga (725-55), the temple stands as an eloquent example of the wonders that can be created when art meets religion.

Designed to resemble Mt Kailash, the Himalayan abode of Shiva, the temple was carved out from a hillside with the work starting from the top and then going downwards almost like a statue. The work on the temple continued for years. According to one estimate about 40,00,000 tons of rock were scooped out in over 100 years to complete this grand project.

The temple itself is in four parts: its main gateway, a nandi (bull) shrine in between, the main body and smaller shrines around the courtyard. The entire precinct is adorned with sculptures of divine figures, animals and scenes large and small that are amazing in their grace. The main temple sits on a raised platform and has been carved out to suggest that elephants are holding the structure aloft. The temple is considered by many as the most stupendous work of art in India.

First residential university - Nalanda

The Nalanda university had 2,000 teachers and 10,000 students from all over the Buddhist world.

A walk in the ruins of the university takes you to an era that saw India leading in imparting knowledge to the world - the era when India was a coveted place for studies. The university flourished during the 5th and 12th century.

Founded in the 5th Century AD, Nalanda had 2,000 teachers and 10,000 monks students from all over the Buddhist world lived and studied there, the first residential international university of the World.

The total area of the excavation is about 14 hectares. All the edifices are of the red brick and the gardens are beautiful. The buildings are divided by a central walk way that goes south to north. Yesteryear bollywood blockbuster Johny Mera Naam starring Dev Anand and Hema Malini was shot here.

The famous Chinese traveller centuries. Hieun Tsang (Xuanzang) stayed here in the 7th century AD and left detailed description of the excellence of education system and purity of monastic life practised here. He also gave a vivid account of both the ambience and architecture of this unique university of ancient times.

The Gupta rulers patronised these monasteries, built in old Kushan architectural style, in a row of cells around a courtyard. Emperor Harshavardhana was one of its most celebrated patrons who built temples, monasteries and ‘Viharas' here.

Otherwise known for its soccer and coffee, Brazil has of late earned fame for its Nalanda Buddhist Centre (NBC), which was set up in 1989. "Scholars at my centre are thrilled about the name Nalanda. I am constantly providing them updates about this place." said NBC director Ricardo Sasaki.

Red Fort becomes the World Heritage site

New Delhi: The historic 17th century Red Fort was declared a World Heritage Site today by Unesco - the third in the capital after Qutub Minar and Humayun Tomb. "The Red Fort is considered to represent the zenith of Mughal creativity, which, under the Emperor Shah Jahan was brought to a new level of refinement," a Unesco statement said. The World Heritage Committee added four cultural sites to the Unesco list today. The other three are the Sydney Opera House (Australia), the Iwami Ginzan Silver Mine and its Cultural Landscape (Japan) and the Parthian Fortresses of Nisa (Turkmenistan). The World Heritage List has over 830 sites, of which 27 are in India. "The Red Fort's innovative planning and architectural style, including its garden design, strongly influenced later buildings and gardens in Rajasthan, Delhi, Agra and further afield," Unesco said. "Through its fabric, the complex reflects all phases of Indian history from the Mughal period to independence." The Red Fort complex was built as the palace cum fort of Shahjahanabad - the new capital of the fifth Mughal emperor Shah Jahan. It gets its name from its massive enclosing walls of red sandstone. The private apartments have a row of pavilions connected by a continuous water channel, known as the Nahr-i-Behisht, or the Stream of Paradise. The palace was designed as an imitation of paradise as described in the Koran. A couplet inscribed in a palace wall reads, "If there be a paradise on earth, it is here, it is here, it is here". The planning of the palace is based on Islamic prototypes, but each pavilion reveals architectural elements typical of Mughal buildings, reflecting a fusion of Persian, Timurid and Hindu traditions, Unesco underlined. The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), which is in charge of the preservation and maintenance of the monument, said the listing of the Red Fort was a welcome move and would help the cultural heritage to get a wider audience across the globe. "Though the standing of the Red Fort cannot be challenged, its inclusion in the World Heritage list will force people to talk more about it. More tourists from across the globe would now be eager to pay a visit to the magnificent monument," an ASI official said. The Red Fort would have been included in the World Heritage Sites list, but Unesco did not want to include a historic monument that housed Indian soldiers at that time. It has been included now that the army has vacated the fort and handed over its management to the ASI.