Ellora Caves

 The Ellora Caves are a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Aurangabad, India. It is one of the largest rock-cut cave complexes in the world, with artwork dating from AD 600–1000, including Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain caves. The complex is a leading example of Indian rock-cut architecture, and several are not strictly caves in that they have no roof. Cave 16 features the largest single monolithic rock excavation in the world, the Kailash temple, a chariot-shaped monument dedicated to the god Shiva. The Kailash temple excavation also features sculptures depicting various Hindu deities as well as relief panels summarizing the two major Hindu epics.

There are over 100 caves at the site, all excavated from the basalt cliffs in the Charanandri Hills, 34 of which are open to public. These consist of 17 Hindu caves 13–29, 12 Buddhist caves 1–12 and 5 Jain caves 30–34 caves, each group representing deities and mythologies prevalent in the 1st millennium CE, as well as monasteries of each respective religion. They were built close to one another and illustrate the religious harmony that existed in ancient India. All of the Ellora monuments were built during the Rashtrakuta dynasty r. 753-982 AD, which constructed part of the Hindu and Buddhist caves, and the Yadava dynasty c. 1187–1317, which constructed a number of the Jain caves. Funding for the construction of the monuments was provided by royals, traders and the wealthy of the region.

Although the caves served as temples and a rest stop for pilgrims, the site's location on an ancient South Asian trade route also made it an important commercial centre in the Deccan region. It is 29 km 18 mi northwest of Aurangabad and about 300 km 190 mi east-northeast of Mumbai. Today, the Ellora Caves, along with the nearby Ajanta Caves, are a major tourist attraction in the Marathwada region of Maharashtra and a protected monument under the Archaeological Survey of India ASI.

Etymology

Ellora, also called Verul or Elura, is the short form of the ancient name Elloorpuram. The older form of the name has been found in ancient references such as the Baroda inscription of 812 AD which mentions the greatness of this edifice and that this great edifice was built on a hill by Krishnaraja at Elapura, the edifice in the inscription being the Kailasa temple. In the Indian tradition, each cave is named and has a suffix Guha Sanskrit, Lena or Leni Marathi, meaning cave

It is also thought to be derived from Ilvalapuram, named after the asura Ilvala who ruled this region who was vanquished by Sage Agastya.

Location

Ellora Caves, general map the rock is depicted as dark green

The Ellora caves are situated in state of Maharashtra about 29 km 18 mi northwest of the city of Aurangabad, 300 km 190 mi east-northeast of Mumbai, 235 km 146 mi from Pune and about 100 km 62 mi west of the Ajanta Caves, 2.3 km 1.4 mi from Grishneshwar Temple India.

Ellora occupies a relatively flat rocky region of the Western Ghats, where ancient volcanic activity had created multilayered basalt formations, known as the Deccan Traps. The volcanic activity that formed the west-facing cliff that houses the Ellora caves occurred during the Cretaceous period. The resulting vertical face made access to many layers of rock formations easier, enabling architects to pick basalt with finer grains for more detailed sculpting.

Ajanta Caves

 The Ajanta Caves are 30 rock-cut Buddhist cave monuments dating from the second century BCE to about 480 CE in Aurangabad district of Maharashtra state in India. Ajanta Caves are a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Universally regarded as masterpieces of Buddhist religious art, the caves include paintings and rock-cut sculptures described as among the finest surviving examples of ancient Indian art, particularly expressive paintings that present emotions through gesture, pose and form.

The caves were built in two phases, the first starting around the second century BCE and the second occurring from 400 to 650 CE, according to older accounts, or in a brief period of 460–480 CE according to later scholarship.

The Ajanta Caves constitute ancient monasteries Viharas and worship-halls Chaityas of different Buddhist traditions carved into a 75-metre 246 ft wall of rock. The caves also present paintings depicting the past lives  and rebirths of the Buddha, pictorial tales from Aryasura's Jatakamala, and rock-cut sculptures of Buddhist deities. Textual records suggest that these caves served as a monsoon retreat for monks, as well as a resting site for merchants and pilgrims in ancient India. While vivid colours and mural wall paintings were abundant in Indian history as evidenced by historical records, Caves 1, 2, 16 and 17 of Ajanta form the largest corpus of surviving ancient Indian wall-paintings.

Panoramic view of Ajanta Caves from the nearby hill

The Ajanta Caves are mentioned in the memoirs of several medieval-era Chinese Buddhist travelers. They were covered by jungle until accidentally discovered and brought to Western attention in 1819 by a colonial British officer Captain John Smith on a tiger-hunting party. The caves are in the rocky northern wall of the U-shaped gorge of the River Waghur, in the Deccan plateau. Within the gorge are a number of waterfalls, audible from outside the caves when the river is high.

Transport

With the Ellora Caves, Ajanta is one of the major tourist attractions of Maharashtra. It is about 59 kilometres 37 miles from the city of Jalgaon, Maharashtra, India, 104 kilometres 65 miles from the city of Aurangabad and 350 kilometres 220 miles east-northeast of Mumbai. Ajanta is 100 kilometres 62 miles from the Ellora Caves, which contain Hindu, Jain and Buddhist caves, the last dating from a period similar to Ajanta. The Ajanta style is also found in the Ellora Caves and other sites such as the Elephanta Caves, Aurangabad Caves, Shivleni Caves and the cave temples of Karnataka. Nearest airports are Jalgaon and Sambhaji Nagar followed by Mumbai and nearest railway stations are Jalgaon & Bhusawal.

History

Map of Ajanta Caves

The Ajanta Caves are generally agreed to have been made in two distinct phases; first during the 2nd century BCE to 1st century CE, and second several centuries later.

The caves consist of 36 identifiable foundations,some of them discovered after the original numbering of the caves from 1 through 29. The later-identified caves have been suffixed with the letters of the alphabet, such as 15A, identified between originally numbered caves 15 and 16. The cave numbering is a convention of convenience and does not reflect the chronological order of their construction.

Salar Jung Museum

 The Salar Jung Museum is an art museum located at Dar ul Shifa, on the southern bank of the Musi River in the city of Hyderabad, Telangana, India. It is one of the notable National Museums of India. Originally a private art collection of the Salar Jung family, it was endowed to the nation after the death of Salar Jung III. It was inaugurated on 16 December 1951.

It has a collection of sculptures, paintings, carvings, textiles, manuscripts, ceramics, metallic artefacts, carpets, clocks, and furniture from Japan, China, Burma, Nepal, India, Persia, Egypt, Europe, and North America.

History

A nobleman of the Salar Jung family of Hyderabad, Nawab Mir Yousuf Ali Khan, Salar Jung III 1889–1949 served as Prime Minister of Hyderabad during the Nizam's rule in Hyderabad state. He spent a substantial amount of his income, over a period of thirty-five years, collecting artefacts from all across the world.

Inauguration of the Salar Jung Museum by Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, c. 1951.

After the Nawab died in 1949, the collections were left behind in his ancestral palace Diwan Devdi. The collection was formerly exhibited there as a private museum, named Salar Jung Museum, which was inaugurated by Jawaharlal Nehru on 16 December 1951.

Old timers believe that the present collection constitutes only half of the original art wealth collected by the Nawab. His employees siphoned off part of it, since the Nawab depended upon his staff to keep a vigil.

The state decided to shift the museum to a new building and after a design competition, Mohammed Fayazuddin was selected as the architect of the new building.

The foundation stone was laid by Jawaharlal Nehru in 1963, and in 1968, the museum shifted to its present location at Dar ul Shifa, and is administered by a board of trustees with the governor of Telangana as ex officio chairperson under the Salar Jung Museum Act of 1961. Some more art pieces were lost or stolen during the shifting of the museum from Dewan Devdi to the present site.

In 2003, the museum signed a memorandum of understanding with the National Mission for Manuscripts, and was declared a manuscript conservation centre.

NTR Gardens

 NTR Gardens is a small public, urban park of 15 hectares 36 acres adjacent to Hussain Sagar lake in Hyderabad, where earlier a thermal power station building stood until 1995. It is named after the former Chief minister of Andhra Pradesh, N. T. Rama Rao. Constructed in several phases since 1999, the area that is predominantly a park is geographically located in the centre of the city, and is close to other tourist attractions such as Birla Mandir, Necklace Road and Lumbini Park. It is maintained by the Buddha Purnima Project Authority of the Government of Telangana.

History

Beginnings

The NTR Gardens is among the gardens in the vicinity of Hussain Sagar lake serving as a recreation park.

The land for the garden was cleared in 1995 after demolishing Hussain Sagar Thermal Power Station. In 1999, a land of 2.0 hectares 5 acres from a 22 hectares 55 acres plot was utilised for erecting a memorial for N. T. Rama Rao, the former Chief Minister of unbifurcated Andhra Pradesh. It was inaugurated by N. Chandrababu Naidu. It was planned to further expand this area, which has since been referred to as NTR Gardens, by constructing a museum about N. T. Rama Rao. This memorial was a part of the Buddha Purnima Project that was being handled by Hyderabad Urban Development Authority HUDA for the beautification and development of the Hussain Sagar lake and its surroundings as a major tourist attraction.

In 2000, the Government of Andhra Pradesh expressed its plans to develop this area with several projects such the NTR Gardens itself, a rock garden and an IMAX theatre. A few days later, a government official firstly said that the rock garden will be taken up by Dubai-based NRIs at a cost of 270 million equivalent to 1.1 billion or US13 million in 2023. Secondly the IMAX theatre project, which was said to cost ₹520 million equivalent to 2.1 billion or US25 million in 2023 was allotted to a private firm. Both these projects were to be executed in the same 22-hectare 55-acre plot which housed the memorial.

Birla Mandir, Hyderabad

 Birla Mandir is a Hindu temple built on a 280 feet 85 m high hillock called Naubath Pahad also known as Mohabat Pahad in early days on a 13 acres 53,000 m2 plot in Hyderabad, Telangana, India. The construction took ten years and was opened in 1976 by Swami Ranganathananda of Ramakrishna Mission. The temple was constructed by the Birla Foundation, which has also constructed several similar temples across India, all known as Birla Mandir.

Architecture

Birla Mandir at night

The temple manifests a blend of Dravidian, Rajasthani and Utkala architectures. It is constructed of 2000 tons of pure white marble. The granite idol of presiding deity Lord Venkateswara is about 11 ft 3.4 m tall, and a carved lotus forms an umbrella on the top. A brass flagstaff in the temple premises rises to a height of 42 ft. 13 m. The temple does not have traditional bells, as Swami Ranganathananda wished that the temple atmosphere should be conducive to meditation.

About the temple

Apart from the main shrine, the consorts of Lord Venkateswara, Padmavati and Andal are housed in separate shrines. The temple also has separate shrines for various Deva and Devi, including Shiva, Shakti, Ganesh, Hanuman, Brahma, Saraswati and Lakshmi. Selected teachings of men and Gurbani are engraved on temple walls. Birla temples are open to all, as identified by Mahatma Gandhi and other Hindu leaders.

Transport

Birla Mandir is near to Lakdi-ka-pul and Assembly Hyderabad metro station. Birla Mandir is well connected by TSRTC buses and MMTS. The nearest MMTS station is Lakdi ka pul.

Bus No: 5K,5S,5 From Secunderabad to Mehdipatnam any bus no. 113 from Uppal to Mehdipatnam.

Parking

Due to its immense popularity, the temple's car parking facilities are often full, leading to a parking shortage near the temple. To avoid parking hassles, local travel guides advise parking cars at the foot of Naubat Pahad near the Assembly and reaching Birla Mandir on foot over a 2-minute walk. 

Ramoji Film City

 Ramoji Film City is an integrated film studio facility located in Hyderabad, India. Spread over 2,000 acres 810 ha, it is recognized as the world's largest film studio complex by the Guinness World Records. Established in 1996 by Telugu media proprietor Ramoji Rao, it has been described as a city within a city by The Guardian.

In addition to serving as a major hub for film production, Ramoji Film City is a popular thematic holiday destination, featuring a mix of natural landscapes, artificial sets, and an amusement park. Around 15 lakh 1.5 million tourists visit the place every year.

History

Ramoji Film City, located in Abdullapurmet on the outskirts of Hyderabad, was conceived by Ramoji Rao, a businessman, media proprietor, and film producer. Drawing inspiration from the grandeur of Hollywood studios, it was envisioned as a state-of-the-art facility for film production and a thematic destination for visitors.

Following the acquisition of land, Ramoji Rao commissioned art director Nitish Roy to design the complex. The site, which originally featured jungles and rugged terrain, was developed with a focus on preserving its natural environment and ecological features.

The first film to be entirely shot at Ramoji Film City was Maa Nannaku Pelli 1997. According to legends, this film city is built on the war ground of the Nizams and is haunted by the spirits of the soldiers who died here many years before.

Studio facilities

Ramoji Film City Entrance

The film city encompasses a wide range of sets and production facilities designed to cater to various filmmaking requirements. The site includes permanent sets such as forests, gardens, mansions, apartment blocks, hotels, a railway station, and an airport, as well as 47 sound stages for indoor filming. Additional infrastructure include a central kitchen to support film crews.

The facility is equipped with six hotels and provides internal transportation via vintage buses and air-conditioned coaches. Employing approximately 1,200 staff members and 8,000 agents, Ramoji Film City handles around 400–500 film productions annually across multiple Indian languages. It can accommodate up to 15 simultaneous shoots.

Tourism

Beyond its role in film production, Ramoji Film City is a major tourist destination, featuring both natural and artificial attractions. Key elements include an amusement park, gardens, and film sets from notable productions such as Baahubali 2015 and Baahubali 2 2017. Attracting nearly 15 lakh 1.5 million visitors annually, the facility offers a range of experiences, including tours of film sets and thematic zones. The site is designed to provide a blend of entertainment and insight into the filmmaking process. 

Golconda

 Golconda is a fortified citadel and ruined city located on the western outskirts of Hyderabad, Telangana, India. The fort was originally built by Kakatiya ruler Pratāparudra in the 11th century out of mud walls. It was ceded to the Bahmani Kings from Musunuri Nayakas during the reign of the Bahmani Sultan Mohammed Shah I, during the first Bahmani-Vijayanagar War. Following the death of Sultan Mahmood Shah, the Sultanate disintegrated and Sultan Quli, who had been appointed as the Governor of Hyderabad by the Bahmani Kings, fortified the city and made it the capital of the Golconda Sultanate. Because of the vicinity of diamond mines, especially Kollur Mine, Golconda flourished as a trade centre of large diamonds known as Golconda Diamonds. Golconda fort is currently abandoned and in ruins. The complex was put by UNESCO on its tentative list to become a World Heritage Site in 2014, with other forts in the region, under the name Monuments and Forts of the Deccan Sultanate despite there being a number of different sultanates.

History

Ruins of the fort

View of the Baradari at the Golconda Fort

The origins of the Golconda fort can be traced back to the 11th century. It was originally a small mud fort built by Pratāparudra of the Kakatiya Empire. The name Golconda is thought to originate from the Telugu గొల్లకొండ Gollakoṇḍa for Shepherd's hill. It is also thought that Kakatiya ruler Ganapatideva 1199–1262 built a stone hilltop outpost — later known as Golconda fort — to defend their western region. The fort was later developed into a fortified citadel in 1518 by Sultan Quli of the Qutb Shahi Empire and the city was declared the capital of the Golconda Sultanate.

The Bahmani kings took possession of the fort after it was made over to them by means of a sanad by the Rajah of Warangal. Under the Bahmani Sultanate, Golconda slowly rose to prominence. Sultan Quli Qutb-ul-Mulk r. 1487–1543, sent by the Bahmanids as a governor at Golconda, established the city as the seat of his governance around 1501. Bahmani rule gradually weakened during this period, and Sultan Quli Quli Qutub Shah period formally became independent in 1518, establishing the Qutb Shahi dynasty based in Golconda. Over a period of 62 years, the mud fort was expanded by the first three Qutb Shahi sultans into the present structure: a massive fortification of granite extending around 5 km 3.1 mi in circumference. It remained the capital of the Qutb Shahi dynasty until 1590 when the capital was shifted to Hyderabad. The Qutb Shahis expanded the fort, whose 7 km 4.3 mi outer wall enclosed the city.