Travel: May 2025

Friday, 30 May 2025

Mysore

The site where Mysore Palace now stands was occupied by a village named Puragere at the beginning of the 16th century. 281 The Mahishūru Fort was constructed in 1524 by Chamaraja Wodeyar 1513–1553, 257 who passed on the dominion of Puragere to his son Chamaraja Wodeyar 1572–1576. Since the 16th century, the name of Mayashūru has commonly been used to denote the city. 31 The Kingdom of Mysore, governed by the Wodeyar family, initially served as a vassal state of the Vijayanagara Empire. With the decline of that empire after the Battle of Talikota in 1565, the Mysore Kingdom gradually achieved independence, and by the time of King Narasaraja Wodeyar 1637, it had become a sovereign state. 228 Seringapatam, near Mysore, the present-day Srirangapatna, was the capital of the kingdom beginning in 1610. 257 The 17th century saw a steady expansion of its territory and, under Narasaraja Wodeyar I and Chikka Devaraja Wodeyar, the kingdom annexed large areas of what is now southern Karnataka and parts of Tamil Nadu, to become a powerful state in the southern Deccan.

The kingdom reached the height of its military power and dominion in the latter half of the 18th century, under the de facto rulers Hyder Ali and his son Tipu Sultan. The latter demolished parts of Mysore to remove legacies of the Wodeyar dynasty. 257 During this time, the kingdom of Mysore came into conflict with the Marathas, the British, and the Nizam of Hyderabad, leading to the four Anglo-Mysore wars, success in the first two of which was followed by defeat in the third and fourth. After Tipu Sultan's death in the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War in 1799, the capital of the kingdom was moved back to Mysore from Seringapatam, 249 and the kingdom was distributed by the British to their allies of the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War. Part of the kingdom was annexed into the Madras Presidency, another to the Nizam of Hyderabad. The landlocked interior of the defeated kingdom of Mysore was turned into a princely state under the suzerainty of the British Crown, 249 with the five-year-old Wodeyar Krishnaraja as titular ruler and with Purnaiah, who had served under Tipu, as chief minister or diwan and Lt. Col. Barry Close as Resident. The British took control of Mysore's foreign policy and insisted on an annual tribute for maintaining a standing British army at Mysore. Purnaiah is credited with improving Mysore's public works. In 1831, claiming there was maladministration, the British took direct control of the princely state. For the next fifty years, the kingdom of Mysore was under the direct rule of British Commissioners, and in 1831 the city of Mysore lost its status as the administrative centre, when the British Commissioner moved the capital to Bangalore. 251

In 1876–77, towards the end of the period of direct British rule, Mysore suffered from the Great Famine of 1876–1878, in which nearly a fifth of the population died. In 1881, Maharaja Chamaraja Wadiyar X was given control of Mysore, in a process called rendition, but with a resident British officer and a diwan to handle the Maharaja's administration, and the city of Mysore regained its status as the capital. 254 The Mysore municipality was established in 1888 and the city was divided into eight wards. 283 In 1897 an outbreak of bubonic plague killed nearly half of the population of the city. With the establishment of the City Improvement Trust Board CITB in 1903, Mysore became one of the first cities in Asia to undertake planned urban development. Public demonstrations and meetings were held there during the Quit India movement and other phases of the Indian independence movement.

Bengaluru

Stone Age artefacts discovered at Jalahalli, Sidhapura and Jadigenahalli on Bengaluru's outskirts indicate human settlement around 4000 BCE. Iron Age tools and burial mounds from around 800 BCE, have been found in Koramangala and Chikkajala. Coins of the Roman emperors Augustus, Tiberius, Claudius, and Caligula found at Yeswanthpur and HAL indicate the involvement of the region in trans-oceanic trade with the Romans and other civilisations in the first century CE.

Begur Nageshwara Temple was built around c. 860, during the reign of the Western Ganga dynasty.

The region of modern-day Bengaluru was part of several successive South Indian kingdoms. Between the fourth and tenth centuries CE, the region was ruled by the Western Ganga dynasty, the first dynasty to set up effective control over the region. According to Edgar Thurston, twenty-eight kings ruled Gangavadi from the start of the Common Era until its conquest by the Cholas in the early eleventh century CE. The Western Gangas ruled as a sovereign power from 350 to 550 CE, and as feudatories of the Chalukyas of Badami, and later the Rashtrakutas until the tenth century. The Begur Nageshwara Temple was commissioned around 860 CE, during the reign of the Western Ganga King Ereganga Nitimarga I, and extended by his successor Nitimarga a Chola I, and captured the region. During this period, the region witnessed the migration of many groups—warriors, administrators, traders, artisans, pastorals, cultivators, and religious personnel from the Southern Tamil speaking regions and other Kannada-speaking parts of the region. The Cholas built many temples in the region including the Chokkanathaswamy temple, Mukthi Natheshwara Temple, Choleshwara Temple, and Someshwara Temple.

In 1117, the Hoysala king Vishnuvardhana defeated the Cholas in the Battle of Talakad in south Karnataka, and extended his rule over the region. In the later part of the 13th century CE, Bengaluru was a source of contention between two warring cousins, the Hoysala ruler Veera Ballala III of Halebidu and Ramanatha, who administered the Hoysala held territory in the southern Tamil speaking regions. Veera Ballala appointed a civic head at Hudi on came under Vijayanagara empire, which saw the rule of four consecutive dynasties – Sangamas 1336–1485, Saluvas 1485–1491, Tuluvas 1491–1565, and Aravidu 1565–1646. In the early 16th century CE, Achyuta Deva Raya built a dam across the Arkavati river near Hesaraghatta, whose reservoir was used to supply water to the region.

Hampi

Hampi is situated on the banks of the Tungabhadra River in the eastern part of central Karnataka near the state border with Andhra Pradesh. It is 140 kilometres 87 mi southeast of the Badami and Aihole archaeological sites.

The synonym Hampi—traditionally known as Pampa-kshetra, Kishkindha-kshetra or Bhaskara-kshetra—is derived from Pampa, another name of the goddess Parvati in Hindu theology. According to mythology, the maiden Parvati who is a reincarnation of Shiva's previous wife, Sati resolves to marry the loner ascetic Shiva. Her parents learn of her desire and discourage her, but she pursues her desire. Shiva is lost in yogic meditation, oblivious to the world; Parvati appeals to the gods for help to awaken him and gain his attention. Indra sends Kamadeva — the Hindu god of desire, erotic love, attraction, and affection—to awake Shiva from meditation. Kama reaches Shiva and shoots an arrow of desire. Shiva opens his third eye in his forehead and burns Kama to ashes.

Parvati does not lose her hope or her resolve to win over Shiva; she begins to live like him and engage in the same activities—asceticism, yogin and tapasya—awakening him and attracting his interest. Shiva meets Parvati in disguised form and tries to discourage her, telling her Shiva's weaknesses and personality problems. Parvati refuses to listen and insists in her resolve. Shiva finally accepts her and they get married. Kama was later brought back to life after the marriage of Shiva and Parvati. According to Sthala Purana, Parvati Pampa pursued her ascetic, yogini lifestyle on Hemakuta Hill, now a part of Hampi, to win and bring ascetic Shiva back into householder life. Shiva is also called Pampapati meaning husband of Pampa. The river near the Hemakuta Hill came to be known as Pampa river. The Sanskrit word Pampa morphed into the Kannada word Hampa and the place Parvati pursued Shiva came to be known as Hampe or Hampi.

The site was an early medieval era pilgrimage place known as Pampakshetra. Its fame came from the Kishkindha chapters of the Hindu epic Ramayana, where Rama and Lakshmana meet Hanuman, Sugriva and the monkey army in their search for kidnapped Sita. The Hampi area has many close resemblances to the place described in the epic. The regional tradition believes that it is that place mentioned in the Ramayana, attracting pilgrims. It was brought to light by an engineer named colonel Colin Mackenzie during the 1800s.

Mahabaleshwar

Legend says that a Yadava ruler from 13th century built a small temple and water tank at the source of the river Krishna. The Valley of Jawali, the area around Mahabaleshwar, was ruled by the More clan who were vassals of the Adilshahi sultanate of Bijapur. In 1656, the founder of Maratha empire, Chhatrapati Shivaji, killed the then ruler of Valley of Jawali, Chandrarao More, and seized the area.Around that time Shivaji also built a hill fort near Mahabaleshwar called Pratapgad fort.

British colonial era

Map of the region 1881

Panchaganga temple in Old Mahabaleshwar, 1850s

In 1819, after the demise of the Maratha empire, the British ceded the hills around Mahabaleshwar to the vassal state of Satara. Colonel Lodwick Later General Sir Lodwick after climbing the mountains near Mahabaleshwar, recommended the place as a sanatorium for the British forces to governor Sir John Malcolm of Bombay presidency. The Raja of Satara was granted other villages in exchange for the British getting Mahabaleshwar in 1828. In old records Mahabaleshwar was even called Malcolm Peth after the governor.

Mahabaleshwar started gaining prominence when British officials of the Bombay presidency such as Sir Mountstuart Elphinstone, Arthur Malet for whom the seat at Point Arthur is named, Carnac, and many others became regular visitors. Venna Lake was constructed in 1842 to collect water from perennial springs; the Venna River flows from this lake. Bartley Frere, the commissioner of Satara in the 1850s, built the road from Satara to Mahabaleshwar. In the mid 1800s, Mahabaleshwar was made into the summer capital of the Bombay presidency. Government spending led to rapid development of the area.

Colonial officials spent part of their year in the area. Their wives spent a longer period of the year in the area to be with their children in local boarding schools in Mahabaleshwar and nearby Panchgani. The British rulers wanted to recreate the English landscape in the hill stations and to that end, European flora such as strawberries were introduced in Mahabaleshwar, and amenities such as libraries, theatres, boating lakes, and sports grounds were constructed.

Lonavala

Present day Lonavala was a part of the Seuna Yadava dynasty. Later, the Mughals realised the strategic importance of the region and kept the region for an extended time. The forts in the region and the Mavala warriors played an important role in the history of the Maratha Empire and that of the Peshwas. In 1871, the Lonavala and Khandala hill stations were established by Lord Elphinstone, who was the Governor of Bombay Presidency at the time.

Politics

The President of Lonavala Municipal Council is Smt. Surekha Nandkumar Jadhav and the Vice president is Shri. Sanjay Mohan Ghone.

Demographics

As of 2011 India census, Lonavala had a population of 57,698. Males constituted 53.47 of the population and females 46.53. The sex ratio in Lonavala is 870, lower than the state average of 929. Lonavala has a literacy rate of 89.33, which is higher than the state average of 82.34. The Male literacy rate is 93.4, and the female literacy rate is 84.57. 10.37 of the total population in Lonavala is of children under 6 years of age.

Religion

At the time of the 2011 Census of India, 75.18 of the population of Lonavala followed Hinduism, 10.13% Islam, 8.75 Buddhism, 2.67 Jainism, 2.32 Christianity and the remaining 0.96 of the population followed other religions or stated no religion.

Religion in Lonavala 2011

Hinduism 75.2

Islam 10.1

Buddhism 8.75

Jainism 2.67

Christianity 2.32

Other or not stated 0.96

Climate

Lonavala has an extreme version of tropical wet and dry climate which barely is borderline with a humid subtropical climate CWa due to the January mean temperature being shy of 18.9°C. It has an extreme wet and dry climate because it's quite dry during the dry months mid October to may while it's extremely wet from June to September. July and August rainfall values are higher than most well known cities annual rainfall.

Monday, 19 May 2025

Air travel

Travel class on an airplane is usually split into a two, three or four class model service. U.S. domestic flights usually have two classes economy class and a domestic first class partitioned into cabins. International flights may have up to four classes: economy class premium economy business class or club class and first class.

Most air travel starts and ends at a commercial airport. The typical procedure is check-in; border control; airport security baggage and passenger check before entering the gate boarding flying and pick-up of luggage and limited to international flights – another border control at the host country's border. Most passengers must go through these steps when flying with a commercial airline.

For longer journeys, air travel may consist of several flights with a layover in between. The number of layovers often depends on the number of hub airports the journey is routed through.

Airlines rely either on the point-to-point model or the spoke-and-hub model to operate flights in between airports. The point-to-point model, often used by low-cost carriers such as Southwest, relies on scheduling flights directly between destination airports. The spoke-and-hub model, used by carriers such as American and Delta, relies on scheduling flights to and from hub airports. The hub-and-spoke model allows airlines to connect more destinations and provide more frequent routes, while the point-to-point system allows airlines to avoid layovers and have more cost effective operations.

Environmental effects

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Main article Environmental impact of aviation

Modern aircraft consume less fuel per person and mile traveled than cars when fully booked. However, the distances traveled are often significantly larger and will not replace car travel but instead add to it, and not every flight is booked out.

Instead, the scheduled flights are predominant, resulting in a far worse fuel efficiency. According to the ATAG, flights produced 781 million tonnes 769 million long tons of the greenhouse gas CO2 in 2015 globally, as compared to an estimated total of 36 billion tonnes 35 billion long tons anthropogenic CO2.Carbon offset is often proposed as solution to mitigate the CO2 emissions of flying. There are many NGOs that offer to compensate CO2 emissions by advancing clean renewable energy, reducing energy consumption and capturing already released carbon in trees or other plants. However, carbon offsetting is a very controversial topic as it only tries to mitigate what has already been emitted.

Travel technology

Booking engines allow easy access for consumers and travel professionals; the systems enable individuals to make reservations and compare prices. Online travel agencies such as expedia.com, are a large contribution to how the travel and tourism industries have changed due to technology. These online agencies help users plan and book trips and provide comparisons of hotels, flights, vacation packages, prices and more, all in one place. The change from of-person to online travel agencies gives the customer more power in planning their trip.

Customer reviews

The increase in review websites has also had a huge impact on the tourism industry. Sites such as tripadvisor.com let users read, post, and interact with reviews of travel experiences and attractions others have had. eWOM, meaning electronic word of mouth, has become a big influence in consumer’s attitudes and actions, resulting in different choices of products and planning aspects.

Social media and mobile technologies

The introduction of smartphones and mobile applications has also had a big effect on the tourism industry. Social media posts allow users to gather general information, free of marketing bias. GPS and social media apps allow users to tag and share their locations. People no longer need to print out directions and can use map apps to help them get around. Social media users can search for locations on social media platforms and gain more knowledge of the locations without using a review site.

Applications such as Uber and Lyft have also made travelling easier. Users no longer have to plan ahead for transportation to and from an airport or a different destination. Ubers and Lyfts may also be used in place of a rental car.

Mobile communication

Today the tour guide can be a GPS tour guide, and the guidebook could be an audioguide and trips could be planned completely online. The continuing evolution of information technology and the widespread public use of the Internet has created a number of conditions that have been both beneficial and detrimental to the modern travel agency. The internet is reshaping many business aspects. As a result, the travel and tourism industries will have to continue to adapt to new technologies in the future.

Travel website

Travel dates back to antiquity where wealthy Greeks and Romans would travel for leisure to their summer homes and villas in cities such as Pompeii and Baiae. While early travel tended to be slower, more dangerous, and more dominated by trade and migration, cultural and technological advances over many years have tended to mean that travel has become easier and more accessible. Humankind has come a long way in transportation since Christopher Columbus sailed to the New World from Spain in 1492, an expedition which took over 10 weeks to arrive at the final destination; to the 21st century when aircraft allows travel from Spain to the United States overnight.

Travel in the Middle Ages offered hardships and challenges, though it was important to the economy and to society. The wholesale sector depended on merchants dealing with/through caravans or sea-voyagers, end-user retailing often demanded the services of many itinerant peddlers wandering from village to hamlet, gyrovagues wandering monks and wandering friars brought theology and pastoral support to neglected areas, traveling minstrels toured, and armies ranged far and wide in various crusades and in sundry other wars. Pilgrimages were common in both the European and Islamic world and involved streams of travelers both locally and internationally.

In the late 16th century, it became fashionable for young European aristocrats and wealthy upper-class men to travel to significant European cities as part of their education in the arts and literature. This was known as the Grand Tour, and included cities such as London, Paris, Venice, Florence, and Rome. However, the French Revolution brought with it the end of the Grand Tour.

Travel by water often provided more comfort and speed than land-travel, at least until the advent of a network of railways in the 19th century. Travel for the purpose of tourism is reported to have started around this time when people began to travel for fun as travel was no longer a hard and challenging task. This was capitalized on by people like Thomas Cook selling tourism packages where trains and hotels were booked together. Airships and airplanes took over much of the role of long-distance surface travel in the 20th century, notably after the Second World War where there was a surplus of both aircraft and pilots. Air travel has become so ubiquitous in the 21st century that one woman, Alexis Alford, visited all 196 countries before the age of 21.

Travel agency

Travel agencies often receive commissions and other benefits and incentives from providers or may charge a fee to the end users. Hotel owners and tour operators typically pay a higher commission rate to travel agencies, whereas airlines typically pay no commission. The customer is normally not made aware of how much the travel agent is earning in commissions and other benefits. A 2016 survey of 1,193 travel agents in the United States found that on average 78 of their revenue was from commissions and 22% was generated from fees.

Accreditation number

Travel agencies are recognized by vendors through their accreditation numbers. In the United States, the main accreditation numbers are issued by Airline Reporting Corporation, Cruise Lines International Association, International Air Transport Association.

If more than one travel agency is booking under the same accreditation number, the agency of record is called a host agency. This is a popular model in the United States, with surveys show anywhere from 43-85 of leisure agencies now booking under a host agency.

Travel technology

Travel agencies use the services of the major computer reservations systems, also known as global distribution systems GDS, including: Amadeus CRS, Galileo GDS, Sabre, and Worldspan, which is a subsidiary of Travelport, which allow for comparison and sorting of hotel and flight rates with multiple companies. Bookings made via travel agents, including online travel agents, may or may not be confirmed instantly. Unlike online travel agencies, metasearch engines and scraper sites, such as Skyscanner, Kayak.com, Rome2rio, and TripAdvisor, travel agencies may or may not have their own booking engine, and instead provide results for search queries and then divert traffic to service providers or online travel agencies for booking. Travel agents may also work with airline consolidators.

Some companies use technology to promote sustainable tourism and bring carbon-neutrality.

Tourism in India

In 1936, the League of Nations defined a foreign tourist as someone traveling abroad for at least twenty-four hours. Its successor, the United Nations, amended this definition in 1945, by including a maximum stay of six months.

In 1941, Hunziker and Kraft defined tourism as the sum of the phenomena and relationships arising from the travel and stay of non-residents, insofar as they do not lead to permanent residence and are not connected with any earning activity. In 1976, the Tourism Society of England's definition was: Tourism is the temporary, short-term movement of people to destinations outside the places where they normally live and work and their activities during the stay at each destination. It includes movements for all purposes. In 1981, the International Association of Scientific Experts in Tourism defined tourism in terms of particular activities chosen and undertaken outside the home.

In 1994, the United Nations identified three forms of tourism in its Recommendations on Tourism Statistics

Domestic tourism, involving residents of the given country traveling only within this country

Inbound tourism, involving non-residents traveling into the given country

Outbound tourism, involving residents traveling to another country

Other groupings derived from the above grouping

National tourism, a combination of domestic and outbound tourism

Regional tourism, a combination of domestic and inbound tourism

International tourism, a combination of inbound and outbound tourism

Tourism has reached new dimensions with the emerging industry of space tourism, as well as the transoceanic cruise ship industry.

The terms tourism and travel are sometimes used interchangeably. In this context, travel has a similar definition to tourism but implies a more purposeful journey. The terms tourism and tourist are sometimes used pejoratively, to imply a shallow interest in the cultures or locations visited. By contrast, traveller is often used as a sign of distinction. The sociology of tourism has studied the cultural values underpinning these distinctions and their implications for class relations.

The first sunrise seen from the torii gate on the sea, which is considered a sacred place Ōarai in Japan

There are many varieties of tourism. Of those types, there are multiple forms of outdoor-oriented tourism. Outdoor tourism is generally categorized into nature, eco, and adventure tourism NEAT. These categories share many similarities but also possess definite and unique characteristics. Nature tourism generally encompasses tourism activities that would take place outside. Nature tourism appeals to a large audience of tourists and many may not know they are participating in this form of tourism. This type of tourism has a low barrier to entry and is accessible to a large population. Ecotourism focuses on education, maintaining a social responsibility for the community and the environment, as well as centering economic growth around the local economy. Weaver describes ecotourism as sustainable nature-based tourism. Ecotourism is more specific than nature tourism and works toward accomplishing a specific goal through the outdoors. Finally, we have adventure tourism. Adventure tourism is the most extreme of the categories and includes participation in activities and sports that require a level of skill or experience, risk, and physical exertion. Adventure tourism often appeals less to the general public than nature and ecotourism and tends to draw in individuals who partake in such activities with limited marketing.

Tourism

International tourism is tourism that crosses national borders. Globalization has made tourism a popular global leisure activity. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes. The World Health Organization WHO estimates that up to 500,000 people are in flight at any one time.

In 2010, international tourism reached US$919B, growing 6.5 over 2009, corresponding to an increase in real terms of 4.7. In 2010, there were over 940 million international tourist arrivals worldwide. By 2016 that number had risen to 1,235 million, producing 1.22 trillion USD in destination spending. The COVID-19 crisis had significant negative effects on international tourism significantly slowing the overall increasing trend.

International tourism has significant impacts on the environment, exacerbated in part by the problems created by air travel but also by other issues, including wealthy tourists bringing lifestyles that stress local infrastructure, water and trash systems among others. In many countries, there have been protests against Air bnb tourism raising rents.

Travel

ravel is the movement of people between distant geographical locations. Travel can be done by foot, bicycle, automobile, train, boat, bus, airplane, ship or other means, with or without luggage, and can be one way or round trip. Travel can also include relatively short stays between successive movements, as in the case of tourism.

Etymology

The origin of the word travel is most likely lost to history. The term travel may originate from the Old French word travail, which means work. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, the first known use of the word travel was in the 14th century. It also states that the word comes from Middle English travailen, travelen which means to torment, labor, strive, journey and earlier from Old French travailler which means to work strenuously, toil.

In English, people still occasionally use the words travail, which means struggle. According to Simon Winchester in his book The Best Traveler Tales 2004, the words travel and travail both share an even more ancient root: a Roman instrument of torture called the tripalium in Latin it means three stakes, as in to impale. This link may reflect the extreme difficulty of travel in ancient times. Travel in modern times may or may not be much easier, depending upon the destination. Travel to Mount Everest, the Amazon rainforest, extreme tourism, and adventure travel are more difficult forms of travel. Travel can also be more difficult depending on the method of travel, such as by bus, cruise ship, or even by bullock cart.

Purpose and motivation

Traveler's motorcycle with large rear box

Reasons for traveling include recreation, holidays, rejuvenation, tourism or vacationing, research travel, the gathering of information, visiting people, volunteer travel for charity, migration to begin life somewhere else, religious pilgrimages and mission trips, business travel, trade, commuting, obtaining health care, waging or fleeing war, for the enjoyment of traveling, or other reasons. Travelers may use human-powered transport such as walking or bicycling; or vehicles, such as public transport, automobiles, trains, ferries, boats, cruise ships and airplanes.

Motives for travel include:

Pleasure

Relaxation

Discovery and exploration

Adventure

Intercultural communications

Taking personal time for building interpersonal relationships.

Avoiding stress

Forming memories

Cultural experiences

Volunteering

Festivals and events

History

Travel during the COVID-19 pandemic

A study in Science found that travel restrictions could delay the initial arrival of COVID-19 in a country but had only modest overall effects unless combined with infection prevention and control measures to significantly reduce transmission. These findings are consistent with prior research on influenza and other communicable diseases. Travel bans may be most effective for isolated locations, such as small island nations.

Researchers came to the conclusion that travel restrictions are most useful in the early and late phase of an epidemic and restrictions of travel from Wuhan unfortunately came too late.

Effects

Together with a decreased willingness to travel, the restrictions have had a negative economic and social impact on the travel sector in their regions. During the pandemic, slow travel grew in popularity as tourists opted to avoid crowded destinations, instead taking their time to explore less well-known locations.

A possible long-term impact has been a decline of business travel and international conferencing, and the rise of their virtual, online equivalents. Concerns have been raised over the effectiveness of travel restrictions to contain the spread of COVID-19.

Traveling to vaccinated venues that mandate COVID-19 vaccines to tourists/staff

Many tourism venues, including museums, visitor centers, restaurants, and hotels, required COVID-19 vaccination for their staff or visitors, designating them as vaccinated venues. Research indicates that tourists have differing beliefs about the effectiveness and side effects of COVID-19 vaccines, which influence their willingness to visit or use these venues.

Goa

Rock art engravings found in Goa are one of the earliest known traces of human life in India. Goa, situated within the Shimoga-Goa Greenstone Belt in the Western Ghats an area composed of metavolcanics, iron formations, and ferruginous quartzite, yields evidence for Acheulean occupation. Rock art engravings petroglyph are present on laterite platforms and granite boulders in Usgalimal, near the west-flowing Kushavati river and in Kajur. In Kajur, the rock engravings of animals, tectiforms, and other designs in granite have been associated with what is considered to be a megalithic stone circle, with a round granite stone in the centre. Petroglyphs, cones, stone-axe, and choppers dating to 10,000 years ago have been found in various locations in Goa, including Kazur, Mauxim, and the Mandovi-Zuari basin. Recently, these petroglyphs have been included in the tentative list of UNESCO world heritage sites.

Evidence of Paleolithic life is visible at Dabolim, Adkon, Shigao, Fatorpa, Arli, Maulinguinim, Diwar, Sanguem, Pilerne, and Aquem-Margaon. Difficulty in carbon dating the laterite rock compounds poses a problem for determining the exact time period.

Early Goan society underwent radical change when Indo-Aryan and Dravidian migrants amalgamated with the aboriginal locals, forming the base of early Goan culture.

Early history

In the 3rd century BC, Goa was part of the Maurya Empire, ruled by the Buddhist emperor, Ashoka of Magadha. Buddhist monks laid the foundation of Buddhism in Goa. Between the 2nd century BC and the 6th century AD, Goa was ruled by the Bhojas of Goa. Chutus of Karwar also ruled some parts as feudatories of the Satavahanas of Kolhapur 2nd century BC to the 2nd century AD, Western Kshatrapas around 150 AD, the Abhiras of Western Maharashtra, Bhojas of Goa, and the Konkan Mauryas as feudatories of the Kalachuris. The rule later passed to the Chalukyas of Badami, who controlled it between 578 and 753, and later the Rashtrakutas of Malkhed from 753 to 963. From 765 to 1015, the Southern Silharas of Konkan ruled Goa as the feudatories of the Chalukyas and the Rashtrakutas. Over the next few centuries, Goa was successively ruled by the Kadambas as the feudatories of the Chalukyas of Kalyani. They patronised Jainism in Goa.

Ooty

The earliest reference to Nilgiri hills is found in the Tamil Sangam epic Silappathikaram from the 5th or 6th century CE. The region was a land occupied by various tribes such as Badagas, Todas, Kotas, Irulas and Kurumbas. The region was ruled by the three Tamil kingdoms of Cheras, Cholas and Pandyas during various times. The Todas are referenced in a record belonging to Hoysala king Vishnuvardhana and his general Punisa, dated 1117 CE. It was also ruled by various dynasties like Pallavas, Satavahanas, Gangas, Kadambas, Rashtrakutas, Hoysalas and the Vijayanagara empire. Tipu Sultan captured Nilgiris in the eighteenth century and the region came into possession of British in 1799. It became part of Coimbatore district of the Madras Presidency.

Map of Udagamandalam in 1903

In 1818, J. C. Whish and N. W. Kindersley, assistants to John Sullivan, then collector of Coimbatore district, visited Kotagiri nearby and reported on the region's potential to serve as a summer retreat. Sullivan established his residence there and reported to the Board of Revenue on 31 July 1819. He also started work on a road from Sirumugai which was completed in May 1823 and extended up to Coonoor between 1830 and 1832. By 1827, it was established as a sanatorium of the Madras Presidency and developed further at the behest of then Governor of Madras Stephen Lushington. The Government Botanical Garden, covering 51 acres 21 ha, was established in 1842 and a library was established in 1959.

Ooty was made a municipality in 1866, and civic improvements including roads, drainage, and water supply from the Marlimund and Tiger Hill reservoirs were added through Government loans. In August 1868, the Nilgiris was separated from the Coimbatore district, and James Wilkinson Breeks was appointed its first commissioner. On 1 February 1882, Nilgiris was made a district, and Richard Wellesley Barlow, the then commissioner, became its first collector. By the early 20th century, Ooty was a well-developed hill station, with an artificial lake, various parks, religious structures, and sporting facilities for polo, golf, and cricket. It served as the summer capital of the Madras Presidency and as a retreat for the British officials.

Shimla

Most of the area occupied by present-day Shimla city was dense forest during the 18th century. The only sign of civilisation was the Jakhu Temple and a few scattered houses. The area was called 'Shimla', named after Hindu goddess Shyamala Devi, an incarnation of Kali.

Anglo Gorkha Wars

The bridge connecting Shimla with Chhota Shimla, originally erected in 1829 by Lord Combermere, Shimla, the 1850s

The area of present-day Shimla was invaded and captured by Bhimsen Thapa of Nepal in 1806. The British East India Company took control of the territory as per the Sugauli Treaty after the Anglo-Nepalese War 1814–16. The Gurkha leaders were quelled by storming the fort of Malaun under the command of David Ochterlony in May 1815.

Early British settlements in Simla

In a diary entry dated 30 August 1817, the Gerard brothers, who surveyed the area, describe Shimla as a middling-sized village where a fakir is situated to give water to the travellers. In 1819, Lieutenant Ross, the Assistant Political Agent in the Hill States, set up a wood cottage in Shimla. Three years later, his successor and the Scottish civil servant Charles Pratt Kennedy built the first pucca house in the area named Kennedy Cottage in 1822, near Annadale, what is now the home for CPWD office. The accounts of the Britain-like climate started attracting several British officers to the area during the hot Indian summers. By 1826, some officers had started spending their entire vacation in Shimla. In 1827, William Amherst, the Governor-General of Bengal, visited Shimla and stayed in the Kennedy House. A year later, Stapleton Cotton, the Commander-in-Chief of the British forces in India, stayed at the same residence. During his stay, a five-kilometre three-mile road and a bridge were constructed near Jakhoo. In 1830, the British acquired the surrounding land from the chiefs of Keonthal and Patiala in exchange for the Rawin pargana and a portion of the Bharauli pargana. The settlement grew rapidly after this, from 30 houses in 1830 to 1,141 houses in 1881.

In 1832, Shimla saw its first political meeting between the Governor-General Lord William Bentinck and the emissaries of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. In a letter to Colonel Churchill, he wrote

Shimla is only four days march from Loodianah Ludhiana, is easy to access, and proves a very agreeable refuge from the burning plains of Hindoostaun Hindustan.

Jakhu Temple in 1910; the temple predates the British settlement in the area

Combermere's successor Earl Dalhousie visited Shimla in the same year. After this, the town was under Nawab King Kumar Ghosal of Bally, West Bengal, and saw regular visits from the Governors-General and Commanders-in-Chief of British India. Several young British officers started visiting the area to socialise with the higher-ups; they were followed by ladies looking for marriage alliances for their relatives. Shimla thus became a hill station famous for balls, parties, and other festivities. Subsequently, residential schools for pupils from upper-class families were established nearby.

Early urban development

By the late 1830s, the city also became a centre for theatre and art exhibitions. As the population increased, several bungalows were built and a big bazaar was established in the town. The Indian businessmen, mainly from Sood and Parsi communities, arrived in the area to cater to the needs of the growing European population. On 9 September 1844, the foundation of the Christ Church was laid. Subsequently, several roads were widened and the construction of the Hindustan-Tibet road with a 170-metre 560 ft tunnel was taken up in 1851–52. This tunnel, now known as the Dhalli Tunnel, was started by Major Briggs in 1850 and completed in the winter of 1851–52. The 1857 uprising caused a panic among the European residents of the town, but Shimla remained largely unaffected by the rebellion.