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The
commercial nerve centre of
India
,
Bombay
, is a city of contrasts, with superb specimens of colonial architecture amidst
the modern edifices of concrete and chrome.
The 100 – year old Victoria
Terminus, the Prince of
Wales
museum, the Flora Fountain and the Gateway of India conjure images of the
British Raj days.
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Hit the beaches at Chowpatty and
juhu, which throb with colour
and gaiety reminiscent of an Indian mela.
At Pune,
the
Raja
Kelkar
Museum
houses an amazing private collection of Indian arts and crafts. Close by, are
the forts of Chattrapathi Shivaji – Sinhagad, Raigad, Torna and Purandhar.
400 kms
from
Bombay
, tucked amongst hillocks is
Aurangabad
with the impregnable Daulatabad For,
perched atop a rocky hill. This is the arrival point for Ellora and
Ajanta
. Buddhist, Jain and Hindu shrines comprise the 34 rock-cut temples at Ellora.
The 29 Buddhist caves at
Ajanta
have remarkable sculptures and wall paintings.
Ahmedabad,
the capital of
Gujarat
abounds in fine example of Indo-Saracenic architecture. The shaking minarets of
Rajpur Bibi and Sidi Bashir mosques and the finely carved screens of the Sidi
Sayyid mosque, are the most remarkable amongst them. The three unique museums
– the Calico Museum of Textiles, the Utensils Museum and the Kite Museum,
present age-old traditions in Craft and leisure. Across the Sabarmati river
stands the ashram of the father of the nation-Mahatma Gandhi.
North west
of Ahmedabad, are the
exquisitely carved sun temples at Modhera.
Palitana,
with its 863 temples dating back to the 10th, 11th and 12th centuries; and
Girnar, are both premier Jain pilgrimages in
Gujarat
.
80 kms to
the south lie the ruins of a great civilization dating back to 3000 B.C. –
Lothal, once a well laid out port as is evident from the dockyards, streets,
houses, and an underground drainage system as well.
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Lonavala
and Khandala (64 kms); Mahabaleshwar and Panchgani (125 kms); and quiet Matheran
(automoblies are banned in Matheran by law) – the lovely hill resorts of
Maharashtra
are all easily reached from Pune.
Sunny Goa,
still Portuguese in character, has a 100 km long coast line which sports
palm-fringed expanses of sandy beaches like the Calangute, Colva, Anjuna and
vegator.
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The Chital
and the Nilgai speed away as the roar of the Asiatic lion breaks the still of
dawn at Gir forest. The Gir Wildlife Sanctuary is the last stronghold of the
king of the jungle in
Asia
.
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Western
India
