Basilica Of Bom Jesus - Goa

The Basilica of Bom Jesus was started in 1594 and completed in 1605.A simple monument, not plastered on the outside, it has richly gilded altars. It contains the tomb and mortal remains of St.Francis Xavier who had first arrived in Goa in 1542 to spread Christianity in the Portugese colonies of the east. Even though he had died on 3 December , 1552 in Sancian Island near China, his body was found undecayed in 1554, when it was sent to Goa. After he was canonised, his body was removed to the Basilica of Bom Jesus. Every year a festival is held in Goa on the anniversary of St Xavier"s death, and thousands of pilgrims flock to the Basilica. Every 10 years, the body is exposed to public view on the death anniversary, the next occasion being 2004.The Duke of Tuscany underwrote the construction of the Tomb of St Francis, and Giovanni Batista Foggini, the sculptor from Florence, executed it.10 years were required for its completion, which came in 1698. The bodily remains of St Xaviers are in a silver casket(once, a bejeweled one). Surrounding walls contain murals depicting scenes from St Xavier"s missionary journeys. Next to the Basilica. There is the Professed House, a two-storeyed laterite building covered with lime plaster. The Jesuits opposed its construction but it was completed in 1585. Partially burnt in 1663, it was rebuilt in 1783

Dhamekh Stupa- Sarnath- Bhiar

Ancient Sarangnath or Sarnath also known as Mrigadava (deer park), only 8 kms. away from Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh. He set the great "Wheel of Law" (Dharmachakra) in motion here, more than 2,500 years ago by revealing to the world his Eight fold path - the path to end sorrow, achieve inner peace, enlightenment and ultimate Nirvana. The region once housed 3,000 monks.
Remains of the Dharmarajika Stupa set up by Asoka; his Sarnath pillar edict and ruins of temples and monasteries and the spot where the Emperor meditated in seclusion; takes one back to the heydays of the Mauryan empire. The remains of an ancient monastery can still be seen here.

Bibi Ka Makabra- Aurangabad
Bibi Ka Maqbara is the tomb of Begum Rabia Durani, wife of Emperor Aurangazeb. The monument is an excellent example of Persian Architecture. The arched aclove surmounted by a swelling dome, the idea had acquired its own reputation in India. This is also popularly known as "Mini Taj Mahel". Located in Aurangabad in the state of Maharashtra, it makes excellent iternity with Ananta and Elora caves in the Aurangabad.

Fort of Bidar - Maharashtra
Palaces, pavilions and seraglios ; lush gardens, decorated fountains and perfumed baths have all the trappings of an Arabian Nights fantasy when Bidar was ruled by the Bahamanis and the Barid Shahi Sultans of the Deccan.
The main gateway to the magnificent Fort of Bidar was originally built by Bahamani Sultan Ahmad Shah Wali in 1429. Further improvements to the citadel were carried out by the Barid Shahi Sultans. Ahmad Shah Wali (1422 - 35) the ninth Bahamani Sultan decided to shift his capital from Gulbarga to Bidar for reasons of health. Sprawled on a plateau 2,200 feet above sea level and overlooking the Manjira River Valley, cool and exhilarating Bidar was most certainly a part of ancient Vidharba mentioned in the Mahabharata. The main gateway to the magnificent Fort of Bidar. Built by Bahamani Sultan Ahmad Shah Wali in 1429. In medieval times Bidar belonged to the Chalukyan branch who established their capital in 977 A.D. at Kalyani, 57 kms away. Falling to the Yadavas of Devagiri (Daulatabad) and to the Kakatiyas of Warangal in 1322 A.D., Bidar fully rose to prominence under the sultanate regime.

INDIAN MONUMENTS

Elephanta - Maharashtra
The southwestern side portrays the marriage of Shiva & parvati. The central figures are of Shiva the divine bridegroom, holding the right hand of Paravati. As the daughter of the mountains, she symbolizes the earth and stands demure and a little shy at she weds her divine partner. The portrait of Shiva is wonderful. His strong masculine figure adorned with handsome jewels and wearing a dhoti with a knotted sash presents a powerful contrast to the delicate form of Parvati exquisitely attired in her bridal finery. Brahma, the priest who joins these two together in matrimony, while Vishnu stands behind him as the best man wearing a elongated crown. On the other side in Chand, the moon god framed by a crescent halo, while the sky above is packed with hosts of heavenly beings that have gathered to celebrate the cosmic marriage of Shiva & Parvati.

Rockcut shrines - Ajanta
The ancient Buddhist caves of Ajanta bequeath to us a threefold artistic heritage. Havell, a leading art historian early in this century, had this to say about them. Very rarely in the world`s history has there come together that true symphony of the three arts: painting, sculpture and architectonic design, creating the most perfect architecture, which are so beautifully harmonised at Ajanta. The story of Ajanta is fascinating. Sometime in the second century this rugged horseshoe-shaped cliff, carved out by the Waghora river, was chosen to be the site of a great Buddhist establishment. Buddhist monks or artisans sculpted out shrines for prayer (chaitya halls) and monasteries for their stay (viharas). The next phase began around the fifth century AD with chaitya halls and viharas for monks of the Mahayana sect who portrayed in their paintings and sculptures images of the Buddha, their spiritual teacher and guide. The Buddhist order lived and� and sustaining themselves on the fruits of the forest and donations made by wealthy patrons. The caves once had steps and pathways that led to the meandering river shimmering below, and it is from here that the monks obtained their supply of water. The volcanic rock of the Deccan plateau, rich in minerals, provided the colours for the paintings: ochre reds and yellows, lamp black, lime for white, and lapis lazuli from distant lands for touches of brilliant blue. The rooms, after they had been roughly hewn, were coated with layers of plaster mixed with hay and husks to bind the mud to the ceilings, pillars, and walls. Then paint was applied on the entire expanse, not on wet plaster, as in the technique of fresco painting, but on a semi-dry surface. The caves were carved out of the solid face of the hillside, sculpted with pillars, rooms and images, and painted almost` simultaneously. Then for no apparent reason the caves were abandoned for several hundred years.

LOHRI
The Fire Festival Lohri falls on January 13 every year. Considered the coldest day of the year, Lohri celebrations are marked by the lighting of bonfires. Celebrated in Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, parts of Jammu and Kashmir, and Delhi, Lohri occurs in the month of Magha and falls on January 13 every year. It marks the end of the long and arduous winter. According to Hindu mythology, a year represents a 24-hour period in the life of the gods. The first six months represent the day, which is considered auspicious, and the second half the night, which is inauspicious. Lohri marks the last day in the night of the gods and is succeeded by Makara Sankranti, which welcomes the sun back to the northern hemisphere. This festival follows the solar calendar and also celebrates nature in all its bounty. Lohri occurs at a time when there is nothing to be done in the fields. The overworked farmers therefore take time off from their lands to enjoy and make merry. Since this day is traditionally considered the coldest day of the season, people collect in the evening around a bonfire made of dried hay and leaves to sing and dance. Bhangra and Gidda are the most popular dance forms. Special Lohri songs are also sung. In villages, the Lohri mood builds up over a week. Young boys and girls go from door to door, singing special Lohri songs and collecting gifts and money from residents. In the evenings, people gather to drink country liquor and celebrate. Two days prior to the festival, twigs and logs, dry leaves, hay, and paper are collected and placed in an open area away from the houses and barns. This is in preparation of the Lohri bonfire, the central event of the festival. Sometimes donations are accepted from residents to buy wood from the market. On the evening of Lohri, the eldest woman of the family prays for its welfare and prosperity and for the community. An elder then ceremonially kindles the fire. Once it is ablaze, peanuts, sesame seeds, rewari, batashe, popcorn and other harvest produce are thrown into it. This is probably in thanks giving and to appease Arani Devi. Unmarried girls collect the nuts that escape the fire and eat them, in the hope of getting a good husband. The mood is upbeat and everyone sings and dances around the fire. The fire and the dancing provide respite from the biting cold. A newborn child`s and a bride`s first Lohri in her new home are very important. Friends and relatives are invited for the occasion. Both baby and newly wed are dressed up, a bride in all her finery wearing new clothes and jewelry given to her by her mother-in law. Kheer made with fresh sugarcane juice is a speciality on Lohri. Prayers are also offered to Arani Devi. In Himachal Pradesh, the festival is called Magli. This is the time when the Rabi crop has been sown, and there is little else to do. The farmers enjoy this temporary relief from their agricultural labour. A unique custom observed in Himachal Pradesh on Lohri is the slaughtering of a goat in every house. The goat, symbolic of fertility and prosperity, is fattened the whole year in preparation for its slaughter on Lohri.

SHIVARATRI
The Great Night of Shiva Celebrated on the new moon night in the month of Phalguna, this Hindu festival is dedicated to Lord Shiva. Observed especially by married women to ensure the long life of their husbands, it consists of a full day`s fast and annointing the idol of Shiva with milk, water and honey. Literally `the great night of Shiva`, celebrated on the moonless night of the month of Phalguna, which is fourteenth day in the dark half, this festival is specially dedicated to Shiva, the destroyer. This is an important day for the devotees of Shiva, who stay awake throughout the night, praying to him. In all major centres of Shivalinga worship, Shivaratri, also called Mahashivaratri, is a grand occasion. From the very early morning, Shiva temples are flocked by devotees, mostly women, who come to perform the traditional Shivalinga worship and hence hope for favours from the god. All through the day, devotees abstain from eating food and break their fast only the next morning, after the night-long worship. The day is considered to be especially auspicious for women. According to one myth, Parvati performed tapas, and prayed and meditated on this day to ward off any evil that may befall her husband on the moonless night. Since then,Mahashivaratri is also believed to bean auspicious occasion for women to pray for the well-being of their husbands and sons. An unmarried woman prays for a husband like Shiva, who is considered to be the ideal husband. Devotees bathe at sunrise,preferably in the Ganga, or any other holy water source (like the Shiva Sagartank at Khajurao). They offer prayers to the sun, Vishnu and Shiva. This is apurificatory rite, an important part of all Hindu festivals. Wearing a clean piece of clothing after the holy bath, worshippers carry pots of water to the temple to bathe the Shivalinga. The temple reverberates with the sound of? bells and shouts of Shankerji ki Jai or `Hail Shiva`. Devotees circumambulate the linga, three or seven times, and then pour water over it. Some also pour milk. According to a legend in the Ramayana, once King Bhagiratha left his kingdom to mediate for the salvation of the souls of his ancestors.He observed a penance to Brahma for a thousand years, requesting Ganga to come down to earth from heaven. He wanted her to wash over his ancestor`s ashes to release them from a curse and allow them to go to heaven. Brahma granted his wish but told him to pray to Shiva, who alone could sustain the weight of her descent. Accordingly, Ganga descended on Shiva`s head, and after meandering through his thick matted locks, reached the earth. According to a modified version, what reached the earth was just sprinkles from his hair. This story is believed to be re-enacted by bathing the linga. The love of water, the primary element of life, is also remembered in this ritualistic action. The linga is bathed with milk, water and honey. It is then annointed with sandalwood paste. People offer wood apple or bel leaves and fruit, milk, sandalwood and jujube fruit or ber to the linga. Shiva is believed to be very hot tempered, and hence things which have a cooling effect are offered to him. People decorate the linga with flowers and garlands and also offerincense sticks and fruit. In bigger temples, there is almost a stampede as devotees seek favours from the beloved god. Many also employ the services of a priest to perform special prayers. According to the Shiva Purana, the Mahashivaratri worship must incorporate six items: the ceremonial bath representing purification of the soul; the vermilion paste applied on the linga after bathing it, representing virtue; food offering which is conducive to longevity and gratification of desires; incense, yielding wealth; the lighting of the lamp which is conducive to the attainment of knowledge; and betel leaves marking satisfaction with worldly pleasures. These six items, till today, form an indispensable part of Mahashivaratri, be it a simple ceremony at home or a grand temple worship. By offering water, hugging the linga, lighting the diya and incense, and ringing the temple bells, devotees call into focus all their senses, making them acutely aware of themselves and the universe to which they belong. Shiva being an ascetic god, Mahashivaratri is very popular with ascetics. Thandai, a drink made with cannabis, almonds and milk, is essentially drunk by the devout. This is so because cannabis is said to have been very dear to Shiva. The Puranas contain many stories and legends describing the origin of this festival. According to one, during the samudra manthan, a pot of poison emerged from the ocean. This terrified the gods and demons as the posion was capable of destroying the entire world, and they ran to Shiva for help. To protect the world from its evileffects, Shiva drank the deathly poison but held it in his throat instead of swallowing it. Because of it, his throat turned blue, and he was given the name Neelakantha, the blue-throated one. Shivaratri is the celebration of this event by which Shiva saved the world. According to another legend in the Shiva Purana, once Brahma and Vishnu were fighting over who was the superior of the two. Horrified at the intensity of the battle, the other gods asked Shiva to intervene. To make them realise the futility of their fight, Shiva assumed the form of a huge column of fire in between Brahma and Vishnu. Awestruck by its magnitude, they decided to find one end each to establish supremacy over the other. Brahma assumed the form of a swan and went upwards and Vishnu as Varaha went into the earth. But light has no limit and though they searched for thousands of miles, neither could find the end. On his journey upwards, Brahma came across a Ketaki flower wafting down slowly. When asked where she had come from, the Ketaki replied that she had been placed at the top of the fiery column as an offering. Unable to find the uppermost limit, Brahma decided to end his search and take the flower as a witness. At this,the angry Shiva revealed his true form. He punished Brahma for telling a lie, and cursed him that no one would everpray to him. The Ketaki flower too was banned from being used as an offering for any worship, as she had testified falsely. Since it was on the 14th day in the dark half of the month of Phalguna that Shiva first manifested himself in the form of a linga, the day is specially auspicious and is celebrated as Mahashivaratri. Worshipping Shiva on this day is believed to bestow one with happiness and prosperity. Phalguna is a peculiar month. Immediately after Mahashivaratri, almost like a miracle, the trees are full of flowers as if to announce that after winter, the fertility of the earth has been rejuvenated. And this perhaps is the reason why the linga is worshipped throughout India as a symbol offertility. The festivities differ in various parts of India. In southern Karnataka, for example, children are allowed to get into all kinds of mischief and asking for punishment is the rule of the day, probably originating from the mythological incident of Shiva punishing Brahma for lying. The Vishvanatha Temple at Kashi in Varanasi celebrates the linga (symbolicof the pillar of light) and the manifestation of Shiva as the light of supreme wisdom. Mahashivaratri is thus not only a ritual but also a cosmic definition of the Hindu universe. It dispels ignorance, emanates the light of knowledge,makes one aware of the universe, ushers in the spring after the cold and dry winter, and invokes the supreme power to take cognizance of the beings who were created by him. A legend explains the benefits of the all-night worship of Shiva. There was once a poor tribal man who was a great devotee of Shiva. One day hewent deep into the forest to collect firewood. However he lost his way and could not return home before nightfall. As darkness fell, he heard the growls of wild animals. Terrified, he climbed onto the nearest tree for shelter till day-break. Perched amongst the branches, he was afraid he would doze and fall off the tree. To stay awake, he decided to pluck a leaf at a time from the tree and drop it, while chanting the name of Shiva. At dawn, he realised that he had dropped a thousand leaves onto a linga below which he had not seen in the dark. The tree happened to be a wood apple or bel tree. This unwitting all-night worship pleased Shiva, by whose grace the tribal was rewarded with divine bliss. This story is recited on Mahashivaratri by devotees on fast. After observing the all-night fast, devotees eat the prasad offered to Shiva. There is another possible reason for the origin of the all-night worship. Being a moonless night, people worshipped the god who wears the crescent moon as an adornment in his hair, Shiva. This was probably to ensure that the moon rose the next night

TEEJ
A Festive Procession of Parvati The festival of Teej celebrates the onset of the monsoon in the month of Shravana, after the long and arduous summer. The day commemorates the event of Parvati leaving the home of her parents as a bride and Shiva coming to fetch her. The festival is extremely popular among women in north India. Married women come to their parents` home to celebrate this festival. It is an occasion for them to sing, dance and make merry. Songs in praise of Parvati, whose devotion to her husband is exemplary, are popularly sung. Special swings are hung on tree branches, and the women, revelling in the transformed, verdant country side,swing on them. They dress up as befits a married woman, adorning all the solashringara. They fast to rededicate themselves to their husband and family. It is believed that by praying to Parvati, marital bliss is best owed upon oneself. Usually a fair is organised on this occasion. For the rural women specially, this is a time to pamper and enjoy oneself, by buying bangles, bindis, bead necklaces, gettingphotographs taken, and eatingsumptuous dishes. After a ceremonial worship at home, an image of Parvati, clad in red and gold, borne on a palanquin is taken out in a procession, representative of her marriage procession. Several elephants, camels and dancers accompany the idol. Another form of Teej observed in Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Biharand Maharashtra is Haritalika Teej. This is a three-day festival, celebrated by women also in honour of Parvati, in the month of Bhadrapad. By praying to Parvati on these three days, unmarried girls hope to get a husband like Shiva.Married women pray to her for marital bliss. According to Hindu mythology, Parvati was in love with Shiva. Being an ascetic however, Shiva was not aware of her. Parvati performed penance on the Himalayas for many years before Shiva finally noticed her.Realising the depth of her love and devotion, he agreed to marry her.Since then Parvati has been worshipped as Haritalika. Women and young girls maintain nirjala vrata on these three days, and keep awake all three nights. This is symbolic of the penance which Parvati undertook to get Shiva as her husband.They offer food to Brahmins and young girls. In Maharashtra, women wear green bangles, green clothes, golden bindis and kajal to signify their luck.?`Mehendi` one of the 16 adornments of a married woman, applied on Teej They distribute beautifully painted coconuts to their female relatives and friends and offer fresh fruit and green vegetables to the goddess as thanksgiving. When the rituals are over, they eat a feast of jaggery and rice patolis steamed in banana leaves,a sweet made from coconut milk and rice, and mixed vegetables cooked with spices and coconut milk. Tender coconut water is the treat of this day.