An Indian Bureaucrat's Diary

the Gateway to Manipal University and Dharamstala

Because of the similarity of names, many people confuse Mangalore with Bangalore.Mangalore is an altogether different city – about 357 kms from Bangalore.Recently, I received an invitation to visit Mangalore.
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a mixture of the old British Raj and modern India

Calcutta has given four Nobel laureates to the world – Ronald Ross, Rabindranath Tagore, Mother Teresa and Amartya Sen.

I had my entire schooling and college education in this city.
I also spent the first 15 years of my service life here.
I have been visiting Calcutta at least twice every year.
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What is there to see in a small non-descript place like Aurangabad?

You must visit the place to find out.

Two Mughal Emperors visited the region, and they liked it so much that they shifted their capital from Delhi to this region.

The Daulatabad Fort, which is one of the world’s best preserved forts of medieval times, alone would make Aurangabad a great place to visit.

But there is far more to see.
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The Rock cut Caves of Ajanta

Government service does provide some unique pleasures and opportunities.I must thank the Election Commission of India which sent me as an election observer to Buldana (Maharashtra).

I saw the Lonar Crater, Aurangabad, Ajanta, Ellora and vast areas completely devastated by earth quakes.

Ajanta Caves

The rock cut caves of Ajanta and Ellora in Maharashtra represent the ultimate in this type of cave architecture.

The Ajanta caves are older of the two – being over 21 centuries old.
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The rock cut caves of Ellora

In my earlier blog on Ajanta, I have already written that Government service does provide some unique pleasures and opportunities.

I have thanked the Election Commission of India which sent me as an election observer to Buldana (Maharashtra).

This spell of duty made it possible for me to see the Lonar Crater, Aurangabad, Ajanta, Ellora and vast areas completely devastated by earth quakes.

The caves of Ellora represent the epitome of Indian rock-cut cave architecture.

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Guardian of the Western Ghats

Panhala is a beautiful hill station – 977.2 metres ( 3177 feet) above sea level – about 18 km north-west of Kolhapur in the state of Maharashtra.
The most interesting thing here is Panhala Fort – the largest of the Deccan forts.
The Fort is strategically located on one of the principal routes passing through the Western Ghats and was therefore of great military importance. It is also intimately connected with Shivaji and the Maratha rule.

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Jyotirlinga Shrine

Visiting Char Dham or the ‘four holy pilgrimages’ – Kedarnath, Badrinath, Gangotri and Yamunotri is every devout Hindu’s dream.


Kedarnath

Perched at the head of Mandakini river, 3584 metres above sea level, the Kedarnath Temple is the most important Hindu temple in the Himalayas.
It is also one of the most important Shiva temples in India.
I have visited Kedarnath twice.
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The Most revered Temple of Lord Vishnu

Visiting Char Dham or the ‘four holy pilgrimages’ – Kedarnath, Badrinath, Gangotri and Yamunotri is every devout Hindu’s dream.

Badrinath also known as ‘Vishal Badri’ is situated on the banks of Alaknanda river – 3,133 metres above sea-level.
This temple is the largest and most popular of the five Badri or Vishnu temples in the Himalayas.
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The southern most
of Adi Shankaracharya’s
Four Dhams

Rameswaram is a small town on Pamban Island – an island in South India – separated from the Indian mainland by the Pamban Channel.

Rameswaram is the place used by Lord Rama to cross over to Sri Lanka (Ceylon).Rameswaram is one of the four Char Dhams established by Adi Shankaracharya in the 8th century A.D.

A pilgrimage to Varanasi (Kashi) – famous pilgrimage in North India – is considered incomplete without a pilgrimage to Rameswaram.
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The City of Temples
and the Gate Way to the South

I have visited the 2500 old Madurai City many many times.

The Meenakshi Temple is the largest and most beautiful temple dedicated to any female deity in India.

Madurai is also the gateway to a number of tourist places in South India – such as Rameshwaram, Kanyakumari, Kodai Kanal and Yercaud.

Madurai is the headquarters of the world famous Aravind Eye Hospital, which is doing outstanding philanthropic work in the field of eye care.

And the hi-so Taj Hotel located on a vantage spot here is really affordable.
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