| |
|
|
|
|
click on the map
to pick up destinations
|
| |
|
|
|
Tarun
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
| The port city of Bombay
bustling with tycoons, crowded with skyscrapers and big business houses,
is the nearest thing in the East that compares with the West, and the modern
Gateway to India. It is a city bursting with life, colour, and vitality. |
| In 1534 the Portuguese arrived and tried to develop
it into a port, but dissuaded by the malaria infected swamps gave
it over to the British as part of the dowry of Catherine of Braganza
when she married Charles II of England in 1661. It was leased out
to the British East India Company for a paltry sum in gold in 1668
and in 1862 the seven isolated mud islands were converted into a single
land mass, One of the islands into whose rock caves were cut and are
a testimony to the faith of those who excavated them contain some
astonishing friezes of minute detail. These are the Elephanta Caves.
|
|
[ Bumbay ]
|
|
|
|
| This rugged state of Maharashtra, had a number
of kingdoms which rose and fell. The Deccan being on the main trade route,
received visits from monks who wandered around. |
[ Statue ]
|
They were Buddhist, Jains
and Hindu. The Aurangabad, Ellora Caves were the finest examples
of rock cut caves in India and dated back to the the 7th and 10th
centuries AD. If these caves became known for their sculpture and
fine carving the Ajanta Caves took honours for their beautiful
frescos and wall paintings. These caves were the acievements of the
Buddhist monks who arrived here in the 2nd century BC. Most were carved
between this time and the 7th century BC, and the remainder in bursts
of activity during the 7th and8th centuries AD. The saying is that
if you saw these caves after visiting the Aurangabad and Ellora ,
it was like saving your dessert for the last. |
|
|
|
| North of Bombay is the least
tourist-infected state in India, Gujarat, a stronghold of Jainism
and the home of Gandhi. One of the most industrialised states in the
country, it is the home of traditions and religion, with a colourful
lifestyle of textiles, handicrafts, folk dances and festivals. |
| Untouched by tourism the southern part
of the state provides the best beaches, wildlife and temple
architecture that Gujarat can offer. Life here is peaceful and
very laid back The central attraction in this state is the ex
Portuguese port of Diu, which is a small idyllic town of Mediterranean
charm Close by is Somnath, a major Hindu pilgrimage centre,
which was destroyed and built seven times. At Sasan Gir
is the last natural refuge of the Asiatic lion, frequented
by very few tourists. |
|
[ Tribal women ]
|
|
| Throughout the 17th century,
Gujarat was probably the most important source for folk embroidery
in the world. Marriage costumes, wall hangings, quilts, cradle cloths
and animal trappings are embroidered, appliquéd, decorated with beadwork
and embellished with mirrors, sequins, buttons and shells. Each tribe
passes on its own design which stays unchanged from generation to
generation along with the cut of garments, and this forms part of
the visual delight of the state's textiles. |
|
|
|
| South of Bombay is Golden
Goa. Once the jewel of the Portugal's eastern empire, it
still retains many ways of the old Portuguese colony and is a firm
favourite with the tourist. With miles upon miles of beautiful beaches,
good food, wine, |
[ Goa ]
|
|
song and dance it is a place for enjoying life.
From the high class Aguada and Bogmalo beaches,
to the bustling ones at Calangute and Colva, and the
party going Anjuna and Chapora beaches, there are also
the peaceful palm fringed coves with not a soul in sight. But
Goa is not only beach country. Within close proximity of the
capital, Panjim, one of India's prettiest cities, are a variety
of temples, churches, lakes, market towns and old style Portuguese
villas. Then there is Old Goa which is a city of Catholic
cathedrals. |
|
|
|
|
| The Baroque facades of the churches and sunny
plazas of Panaji are more characteristic of Latin America than
of Asia. The people are easy going and gentle and Goa is a self contained
place where tourists end up staying longer than planned. |
|
| |
|
