ONCE UPON A TIME IN 1990,WE WENT ON A MARVELLOUS TRIP TO THE AMAZING SOUTH-INDIAN TOURIST DESTINATIONS-A PANORAMIC SPLENDOUR

In Oct.1990 We ,a group of seven persons, set off on an amazing 20-days tour(20/10/1990 to 09/11/1990) of South India visiting & enjoying some mesmerizing spots with exquisite scenic beauty ,rich cultural heritage & historical background.We started from Delhi by train to Madras(now Chennai)& proceeded to Pondicherry as our first destination.Afterwards we visited Chidambaram, Madurai, Rameshweram /Dhanushkodi ,Kanyakumari /Nagercoil ,Tenkashi /Courtallam 5-Falls, Kodaiknal, Mysore , Bangalore(now Bengluru), Goa and back to Delhi.

South Indian tourist destinations promise quite refreshing feelings while viewing grey clouds blending with greenery of fields,mesmerising beauty of rolling hills shrouded in the alluring mist and dense forests.There is abundance of natural beauty in the water falls,simmering lakes,lush green coconut groves/banana/mango plantations ,eternally pleasant weather,with scenic panoramas of the natural wonderland & serenity(such as in Kodaiknal).It offers colourfully- painted houses ,colonial-era buildings,pristine beaches,Churches(such as in Pondicherry).Amazingly mesmerizing beaches,sunsets and exciting & vibrant nightlife.eclectic seafood,famous New year Carnival,trendy bars,elegant Cafes &disco clubs(as in Goa).Panjim overlooks the calm Mandovi river.The hub of Indian IT revolution& known as Indias’s Silicon Valley(its Bengaluru).Its also known as India’s Garden city owing to the beautiful parks &lakes.Mysore is a nice city with its restaurants offering delicious food&sweets(Mysore Pak).Its rich in cultural &historical significance which is evident in the Mysore Palace & the amazing Vrindavan Gardens with its spectacular light & sound show in the evening.

1)PONDICHERRY(now Pudducherry):

Its the capital and most populous city of Indian Union Territory of Puddicherry in the SE Coast of India surrounded by Tamilnadu with which it shares most of its culture and languages.Pondi muncipallity contains 42 wards

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Main Tourist Attractions:

1)AUROBINDO ASHRAM is located in the white town of Pondicherry. If we want Moksha and inner piece then its a must visit the Ashram as this its main motto. People from all parts of the world come to pay visit to the Ashram. 2)PARADISE BEACH :For activities like walking ,playing,eating &boating. 3)PONDICHERRY LIGHT HOUSE:Its a remarkable site for viewing Pondi from the top for natural &picturesque views.Many events and festivals are organised here.4)Basilica of sacred hearts Church.

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2)CHIDAMBARAM:

Its a town & a muncipality in Cuddalore district of TN once ruled by Pallavas in 9th century,medieval Cholas,later Pandyas,Vijaynagar Empire,Marathas & British. Natraj temple is located in Eastern TN at a distance of 58 km from Pondi.If we want to experience heritage,history,vibrant culture,tradition then visit this wonderful temple.Nearby is a hindu temple-Shiva as the Lord of Dance in Chidambaram. It has mythical roots in a shiva shrine at the site as town was known as Thillai. Chidambaram Univ. is quite renowned one.

3)MADURAI :

Its a major city and the cultural capital of TN and the third largest city.Its located on the river Vagai Madurai has been a major settlement for two millennia. It is closely associated with Tamil language.Official languages-Tamil & English.Historical monuments are Meenakshi temple & Tirumalai Nayak palace.Its an important industrial & educational hub in south TN.

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4)RAMESHWARAM:

Its a town of Pamban island in southeast India in TN.It is renowned for the Ramanathaswami temple-a hindu pilgrimage site with ornate corridors,huge sculpted pillars & sacred water tanks.Devotees bathe in the waters of Agni Theertham off the beach east of temple.A chakra(wheel)is said to bear the imprint of Lord Rama’s feet.Pamban bridge is a railway bridge connecting town of Mandapam in mainland with Rameshwaram and Pamban island. Dhanushkodi is a town at south eastern tip of Pamban island of TN and is about 24km west of Tallaimannar in Srilanka. The town was destroyed during thr 1964 Rameshwaram cyclone& remains unhabited in the aftermath located in Ramanathapuram distt. Its considered as one of the holiest place to Hindus and part of Chardham pilgrimage. Its believed to be named after Rama’s bow at 8km from Rameshwaram. The place with boulders is known as Adams Bridge. Other Attractions :1)Ramanathapuram,2)Tirupulani, 3)Uthirakosamangal,4)Sethu.

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5)KANYAKUMARI :

Its a town in Kanyakumari distt. of TN.Its often referred as ‘the Land’s End’ .On the shores of the town is a temple dedicated to Godess Kanyakumari(the Virgin Goddess)after which the town is named.Devi Kanyakumari is Goddess Parvati in form of an adolescent girl child also known as Shri bala or Shakti,Devi.The Bhagwati temple is located in the confluence of Bay of Bengal,Arabian sea and Indian ocean.Its one of the 52 Shaktipeeths and was also called Cape Camorin during British rule. MAIN ATTRACTIONS:

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1)Bhagwati Amman Temple,2)Thiruvalluvar Statue,3)Vivekanand Rock Memorial,4)Gandhi memorial,5)Our Lady of Ransom Church. 6)Nagarcoil : Its the administrative h/q of Kanyakumari distt.located 20 kms from it. Its situated at the tip of the Indian Penninsula lying on an undulated terrain between the western ghats and the Arabian sea .It grew aoround Kottar town.The main attraction is a Hindu Temple of Nagas (Nagaraja Temple)

6)TENKASHI:

Popularly called the Kashi of the South is a city and H/Q of Tenkashi distt. Here the Kashi Vishvanathan temple is built in Dravidian style. Tenkashi is famous for IT Tech parks and growing to become Silicon valley in Tirunelveli distt. MAIN ATTRACTIONS :

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1)COURTALLAM 5-FALLS:Located at 5kms from Tenkashi, its on the Chittar river and is a major tourist attraction.Located in western ghats,Courtallam is part of Agasthiamalai range where sage AGASTYA is believed to have lived.Also it is believed that the waterfalls have some Ayurvedic values in treatment of certain ailments 2)Kashi Vishwanath temple.

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7)KODAIKNAL :

Its a city in the Dindigul(the gift of the forest)distt. of TN popularly called the Queen of hill stations.It has a long history as the retreat , a popular hill station & Kodaiknal lake boating.Henry Levinge ,the then collector of Madurai was instrumental in creating the lake in 1683.Its famous for boating,beautiful parks & mesmerising views of clouds floating in the valley below when observed from a higher location.Great treat to the eyes.

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8)MYSORE :(Mysuru now)

Its a beautiful city with variety of restaurants offering delicious food & sweets(Mysore pak).Its rich historical & cultural significance can be seen in the Mysore Palace and the beautiful Vrindavan gardens with musical fountains. Main attractions: 1)Mysore Palace,2)Srirangapatnam-a heritage site 15km from Mysore. 3)Vrindavan gardens :Sir Mirza Ismail,the Divan of Mysore founded the Vrindavan gardens built in the Cauvery river high level canal in modern Mandya distt.4)Chamundi hills.5)Karanji lake,6)Mysore Zoo, 7)Philomena Church, 8)Lalitha mahal,9)Jagmohan palace, 10)Bandipur national park,11)Somnathpura-35km Mysore known for Kesava temple.

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9)BANGALORE:(Bengaluru now)

Its the capital of Karnataka (at an elev. of 900 mts-the highest among indian cities)known for a pleasant climate throughout the year.Its the hub of India’s IT Revolution and known as the silicon valley of India.It has best pub culture,pleasant weather,beautiful parks and lakes and is known as India’s garden city. Apart from MNCs, Bengaluru is also home to many start ups and Indian Tech companies. Main attractions :1)Cubban Park, 2) Lal bagh botanical garden built by Hyder Ali.3)Bangalore palace, 4)Tipu sultan’s summer house,5)Nandi’s temple, 6)Vishvesraiya industrial and technological park, 7)Suvarna Vidhana Soudha.

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10) GOA :

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ABOUT GOA :

Its the 25th state of India-a tiny emerald in the west coast of India.It was liberated from Portuguese rule(1509 to 1961) in 1961.It was part of Goa, Daman &Diu Union Territory till 30/05/1987.when it was carved out to form a separate state of Goa.It is to the SW Coast of India within the region known as Konkan and Geographically separated from Deccan highlands by the western ghats.It is surrounded by Indian states of Maharastra to North,Karnataka to East & South with Arabian sea forming its western coast.It is India’s smallest state .Languages: Konkani Main attractions:1)Dhudhsagar falls,2)Aguada fort,3)Anjuna beach, 4)Calangute beach,5)Basilica of Bom Jesus ,6)Dona Paula beach,7)Chapora Fort, 8)Se Cathedral,9)Colva beach, 10)Dr Salim Ali bird sanctuary.

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Finally the splendid tour of Southern states was concluded with each of us enjoying it to the fullest.It was a worth cherishing the beautiful reminensces of the tour!

Looking back down the memory lane, I and my colleague, Mr Duttaray had gone on a short 7-days tour of Mumbai,Goa,& Aurangabad(Ajanta Ellora/Bibi ka makbara/Chand minar) in April 1986.Recollecting some memories of the tour:-

1) ELEPHANTA CAVES:They are located in the Elephanta island in Rajgarh distt. 10 km east of Mumbai in Maharastra. They are UNESCO World Heritage site and collection of cave temples predominantly to hindu God Shiva.The island consists of 5 hindu cavesand a few Buddhist stupa mounds that date back to the 2nd century BCE as well as small group of two Buddhist caves with water tank.Also there is a 6 mtr high Trimurti sculpture.

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2)Visited Goa and performed return journey to Mumbai by Ship which was a very enjoyable 22-hrs journey.From Mumbai proceeded to Aurangabad.

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3)AURANGABAD: Its the largest city in marathwada region and H/Q of Aurangabad distt.in Maharastra. Its located in a hilly terrain in Deccan area.The city is known for major production of cotton textile and artistic silk fabrics.Several prominent instituitions-such as Dr Baba Sahib Ambedkar Marathwada Univ.

At Aurangabad visited the following tourist spots:-

1)AJANTA-ELLORA CAVES: There are approx. 30 rock cut Buddhist cave monuments which date back from 2nd century BCE to 480 CE. in Aurangabad distt. of Maharastra. The caves include paintings and rock cut sculptures described as among the finest surviving examples of ancient art, expressive emotions and gestures ,pose and form.They are Universally regarded as masterpieces of Buddhist religious art in an area of 82 sq km.

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2)Shivaji maharaj museum is dedicated to Maratha King Shivaji. The museum displays war weapons and a coin collection.North of the city,the Aurangabad cave complex houses the ancientrock cut Buddhist shrines.West of the city battlements surround the medieval Daulatabad fort.

3)BIBI KA MAQBARA: It is a tomb located in Aurangabad,was commissioned in1660BC by Mughal emperor Auranjeb in memory of his first & chief wife Dilras Banu Begam .It is considered to be a symbol of Auranjebs love for his wife .It resembles Tajmahal of Agra- the ausoleum of Auranjeb’s mother Mumtaz mahal.

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4) CHAND MINAR: Or popularly called the tower of moon is a medieval tower in Daulatabad near Deogiriji Fort Complex.It was erected by Mughal Allauddin Bahmani in 1443CE to commemorate capture of the fort. It bears resemblance to the Qutab minar of Delhi and was inspired by it, Daulatabad is a human settlement in Aurangabad distt.

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